Grape Fruit Leather

I don't makes things with grapes very often, because grapes tend to be expensive. But at the moment I happen to have access to a lot of Concord grapes, so I thought it would be fun trying to make something with them.

Since I also have access to a dehydrator, I decided on making fruit leather. I haven't really made fruit leather before. In the past we have generally used our dehydrator to dry apple slices and other fruit. But drying grapes would just make raisins, so I thought I should try something a little different.

The first task when making something with Concord grapes, I have learned, is removing the seeds. How you go about doing that is by "popping" the grapes - squeezing each grape until the insides pop out of the skin. You save the skins for later and all the insides go in a pot to be cooked briefly then put through an applesauce strainer.

Once the seeds have been removed you add the skins back in, along with some sugar, and cook the mixture on the stove for a while. Once it was cooked I used a blender to puree it.

The grape puree filled two trays in the dehydrator. I used one fruit tray that came with the dehydrator and I put parchment paper over a second tray and left it to dry overnight. Interestingly, the parchment paper tray did better than the other tray!

I thought it would be fun to roll the fruit leather up in long strips with wax paper, just like fruit roll-ups from the store! Kenneth wasn't sure what to think of it, but Steven really liked the "grape chips". I consider the fruit leather to be a success. Since there are so many grapes, maybe I'll make another batch!

Sorrel Pesto and the Mystery Plant

We love pesto, but it's definitely not cheap. That's why the idea of making our own pesto has always interested me. I tried making a kale and walnut pesto once, but I forgot to add salt and it didn't really turn out. But that was a long time ago, and I decided it was time to try making pesto again. Before I share the recipe I used, I first need to tell you the story of the mystery plant.

We moved into our current home in January—while there was snow on the ground—so we didn't have much of an idea of what we'd find growing in the gardens. We were told there would be tulips, and we could see a couple rose bushes and hydrangeas, but other than that we got to be surprised as things came up. As the spring and summer progressed we were able to identify most of what we found in the gardens, but one thing had us stumped: a set of three large plants that looked very much like spinach. The problem was that they came up from root balls that have clearly been there for a long time—and spinach is an annual plant, not a perennial. We made guesses and asked around and did some Google research, but nothing seemed to make sense. So I just gave up for a while. I felt sure that they must be edible because they are growing in what had clearly been a vegetable garden, but I didn't want to harvest it unless I knew what it was. The plants grew and went to seed and died back. But then once the cooler weather of fall arrived, the plants started growing again, and once again I got the motivation to find out what they are. I decided to try eating a leaf, and found that it was sour and lemony and tasty. That gave me something to work with, and after some research I came to the conclusion that it must be sorrel. It looks right and tastes right, and sorrel is a perennial plant. Mystery solved!

Now that I had three large sorrel plants, I really wanted to do something with them! I looked around for recipes and discovered that you can make sorrel pesto! I knew that I had to give it a try.

The recipe for sorrel pesto is very simple: two cups of packed sorrel leaves, half a cup of slivered almonds, two cloves of garlic, some salt and pepper, and a quarter cup olive oil. You mince the first five ingredients in a food processor and then add the oil. You can find the recipe I used here.

Apparently two cups of packed leaves is a pretty vague measurement. I think I managed to fit a lot more sorrel into my two cups than I was supposed to, because my pesto definitely needed more almonds, and oil, and everything else really. But it was easy to make the additions, and turned out beautifully!

I put the pesto in a canning jar in the fridge and we have enjoyed it for a couple different meals now. You can definitely taste that it is made from a plant, more so than pesto from a store, but it is still really good! I consider sorrel pesto to be a success!

One More Potato

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I thought that I would share something else that I am thankful for.

I am thankful for one more potato.

Let me explain.

I was preparing food for the Sunday potluck that we host every week. I had decided to make what I dubbed a "Thanksgiving shepherd's pie", basically a shepherd's pie with a layer of stuffing on top of the mashed potatoes. (It actually turned out really well! I would recommend trying it.) As I was peeling and chopping potatoes and putting them on to boil, I wondered if I had prepared enough potatoes. After some consideration, I decided I should peel one more, just in case. I reached down into the cupboard and pulled out one more potato.

One more potato. That was all. But that moment was very profound for me.

You see, most of us can reach into the cupboard and pull out another potato. It's so normal, we don't even think about it. But I invite you to consider for a moment with me just how amazing that is:

We have so much food. Even though there have been times when money was short, we've never gone hungry.

I get to choose what food I want to prepare. I have access to almost any kind of food I could want.

Food is a thing. Have you ever thought about that? Things grow that are edible, and we can use them to get the nutrients we need to live.

I have a wonderful, large kitchen that I get to use. It isn't a dark cave or very old and dirty like some of the other kitchens in places we have lived.

We have a large household, with an open door. I've always wanted it to be like that. We aren't just a family of two parents and two kids—we have opened our home to so many, and I am thankful for each of them.

One more potato—such a simple thing—but a reminder that I have so much to be thankful for.

What is something normal in your life that has reminded you to be thankful?

Red Pepper Jelly

With the end of summer comes canning season! Last year I didn't get to do much canning (for a good reason!) so it was nice to be able to return to canning again this year. So far we have canned peaches, salsa, spaghetti sauce, jam, and my most recent addition—red pepper jelly! I've wanted to try making red pepper jelly for several years now, so I finally did it.

I looked up a few different recipes and modified them a bit. I ended up using three cups of pepper purée, which was basically just four red bell peppers chopped up in my food processor, along with two jalapeños. Then I also added a cup of apple cider vinegar, six cups of sugar, and two packets of pectin. It turned out to be just as easy as making a batch of jam! I guess, since I didn't strain the bits of pepper out of it, that technically makes it red pepper jam, but you can hardly tell the bits are in there.

My recipe ended up making six small jars as well as some extra that went into a container in the fridge. I am very happy with how it turned out! My only complaint is that it could be a bit spicier. Next time I'll add another jalapeño!

Look at that beautiful colour! My favourite way to eat red pepper jelly is on crackers with goat cheese. So delicious (and pretty)!

Chewy Granola Bars

Our family went camping on the Easter weekend this year. Although we knew we would be camping near a town where we could buy food, I put a lot of thought into planning meals and packing food and snacks from home so that we could save money. We really enjoyed our camping trip, but unfortunately we forgot our cooler of food at home and had to buy food anyway. Sigh. But thankfully the granola bars weren't in the cooler, so we got to enjoy them all weekend!

It was my first time making my own granola bars, and I thought they turned out really well. So here's the recipe!

Recipe: Simple, Soft and Chewy Granola Bars Recipe

The first step is toasting the oats and nuts in the oven.

Cook butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla and salt in a pot on the stove, then stir it into the oats and nuts. After letting it cool a few minutes add the dried fruit and chocolate chips.

Press the granola bar mixture into a pan that has been lined with tin foil, making sure to press it in firmly. Top it with a few more chocolate chips!

Cool the bars in the fridge for at least two hours, then take them out of the pan (the tin foil really helps with this) and cut them into bars. The bars are soft when kept at room temperature and harder when stored in the fridge.

You can mix and match any kind of nuts or dried fruit in these granola bars. I made one batch with peanuts and raisins and one batch with walnuts and dried mango. Everyone really enjoyed them!

Banana Surprise

A few days ago I really wanted dessert.

The problem was that we didn't really have any dessert food in the house. An easy solution would be to make something, but it was late and I was tired.

While pacing around the kitchen, I decided to flip through a cookbook. In the cookbook I came across a recipe called Banana Surprise. It looked very easy, so I thought I might as well give it a try.

The first step involves putting a couple tablespoons of butter and a couple tablespoons of honey in a small bowl with a dash of cinnamon and microwaving it until the butter melts, then mixing it together.

Meanwhile, you slice a banana or two.

The banana slices go into some kind of cup or dish (I used a mason jar) and the honey mixture is drizzled on top along with a pinch of nutmeg. Then you microwave it a few more seconds to make sure it's nice and warm.

It can be eaten plain, or with ice cream or whipped cream. We didn't have either, but we had some soy ice cream that our lactose intolerant people hadn't been eating. Maybe they forgot about it, I don't know, but I figured they wouldn't miss a couple spoonfuls. Don't tell on me.

The real question of the day is why is it called banana surprise? I have no idea. It's not like the bananas are surprising or that there is anything random hidden in the bananas. But I will say that this recipe surprised me with how good it is! I'm generally not a huge fan of bananas, but I would definitely make this again!

What is your favourite easy dessert recipe for when you're in need of something sweet?

Apple Pie Burritos

When I was considering what to write about last Thursday, I decided to try out this recipe I found a while ago. By the time I finished making it (and eating it) I ran out of time to write about it! But here it is now, and I definitely recommend it.

Our old house had an apple tree that produced so much last summer. I made lots of things with the apples, including some pies for the freezer. When there were still more apples to deal with I decided to freeze some bags of apple pie filling. They have been useful for making a lot more things than just pies!

I heated a bag of apple pie filling in a pot and let it simmer until the apples were cooked. The apples were already mixed with some sugar, cinnamon, and corn starch. I added a bit more corn starch so it would get nice and thick.

Some filling went in each tortilla and I rolled then up like a burrito. I used large tortillas because that's what I had, but I think it would be even better with little tortillas. One pie's worth of filling was enough for 6 large tortillas.

I heated some oil and fried them on each side until they were golden brown.

While they were still warm I rolled then in cinnamon sugar and they were ready to eat!

They were really good eaten warm and the leftovers were eaten cold for breakfast the next morning!

Baked Potato Fries

What do you get when you cross baked potatoes with fries?

I'll give you a hint - it's what this blog post is about!

We love pretty much any form of potato around here, but oven fries has got to be one of our favourites. The only problem is that it takes a lot of time and effort to make oven fries, so I don't do it very often. When I saw this idea for "sliced baked potatoes" on pinterest, I thought it just might be the shortcut for making fries that I was looking for.  Was it? Yes and no. The tops got nice and crispy like oven fries, but the bottoms were liked baked potatoes, thus my conclusion that these are a cross between baked potatoes and fries. Are they still great? Absolutely!

To make baked potato fries (or sliced baked potatoes, whatever you want to call them), you'll need a couple potatoes per person, depending on how big they are. I recommend washing them and leaving the skins on.

Slice each potato into thin slices, but NOT all the way through. One way to do this is lay the handle of a spoon or butter knife on the cutting board behind the potato so that the knife you're cutting with hits it before cutting all the way through the potato.

Put all of the potatoes on a baking tray and fan out the slices.

Drizzle with melted butter or olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. Bake in a 425 degree oven for around 45 minutes, or until the slices are brown and crispy and the centres are soft.

Enjoy them plain, or load them up with your favourite baked potato toppings!

Chicken Pot Pie With Biscuits

I really like chicken pot pie.  To be honest, I like any kind of meat pie.  Or just any kind of pie.  Basically, I love pastry.  But chicken pot pie is pretty great!  However, making that oh-so-yummy pastry takes extra work, and most days I just don't have time.

One day I was really wanting to make chicken pot pie for supper, but didn't have the extra time or energy to make pastry.  I was contemplating this when I remembered something I saw somewhere once... maybe on Pinterest.  The idea was to make chicken pot pie filling and then top it with biscuits instead of pastry.  Now the pastry may or may not be the best part, but I thought it would be worth giving it a try anyways!

So here it is: Chicken Pot Pie With Biscuits

It starts with lots of chopping.  First you chop some chicken into pieces and fry them.  Then you chop whatever veggies you want and fry them.  I used onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms.  I also added some spinach and chickpeas later on.  After the vegetables have softened a little, add the chicken you cooked earlier and just enough broth to cover everything.  Cook until the potatoes, etc. are almost as soft as you want them to be.

Mix some flour with milk (or almond milk like I did) and pour into the meat and veggie mixture, stirring as you pour.  This will thicken the gravy.  Continue to stir as it heats up again, then remove from the heat and spoon into a casserole dish.

Make some biscuit dough for the top.  Here's an easy recipe:

Mix:
2 c  flour
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
Add:
1/2 c oil
1 c milk

Form the dough into biscuit-sized lumps and cover the top of the filling mixture.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

Serve so that each person gets a biscuit on top of their chicken and vegetables.

I was pleased with how it turned out, and everyone said they really enjoyed it!

Success!

Cheerios Maple Syrup Balls

I'm always on the lookout for easy, yummy recipes.  This is one that I came across a while ago, when I was searching for ideas to use up some stale cheerios from a box that had been open too long.  Since then Steven's ability to get through a box of cheerios has increased exponentially, so we don't have a problem with stale cheerios anymore, but we still love making this recipe! 

Check out the original recipe here:  Cheerios Maple Syrup Balls


Cheerios Maple Syrup Balls

(disclaimer - these ingredients are for a single batch, but I always make at least a double or triple batch, or they are gone too quickly!)

1 c. cheerios, lightly crushed
1/2 c. oats
1/3 c. dried cranberries
3 tbsp. honey
1/4 c. peanut butter
3 tbsp. maple syrup
2 tbsp. butter
1/3 c. chocolate chips

 Mix together the cheerios, oats, and cranberries.

In a small pot, combine the honey, peanut butter (I like using crunchy), maple syrup, and butter.  Turn up the heat and mix until it's well blended.

Add to the bowl of cheerios, and mix well.  Wait 10 minutes or so, then add the chocolate chips.  The waiting is important, or it will be too warm and the chocolate will just melt.

Form the mixture into balls, and place on a tray.  I generally just use a couple of spoons and make them more like drop cookies.  Put them in the fridge to cool and harden.  Store the completed cookies in the fridge.

In addition to being extremely tasty, these cookies also give a great energy boost.  So much so, that Jesse calls them "power balls" and likes to take them on his mountaineering trips!  And, of course, Steven loves the "kee-coo" (as he calls them) too!