hello FLAVOUR!

Well for all you Googlers who have been finding me with your rhubarb searches, I have yet another treat for you. If you like flavours with a tangy zing to them, then you will LOVE this recipe.

Gingered Rhubarb Jam

• 4 cups sliced rhubarb (slice it thin but not superthin)
• 3 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup candied ginger
• 3 Tbsp lemon juice

Combine ingredients and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently. Be sure not to let the bottom of the pan burn. When the jam has thickened pour it into sterilized jars. Next, process the jars in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Then…  YUM, enjoy for breakfast and snacks!

them apples: take two

So what to do with all those apples…? How about my favourite – the ever so easy apple crisp? Yes, in fact it’s SO easy, why am I even bothering to post a recipe for it? I mean, you could probably make apple crisp with your eyes CLOSED… right? Well that’s what I thought for years, having tossed away the recipe card for apple crisp sometime in my late teens. By then I was making it with one hand tied behind my back. And after that I graduated to TWO hands behind my back! I mean, come on, who REALLY needs an apple crisp recipe?!?

You do.

Yes. You need this recipe I am about to give you. You need it more than you know, because until you make it you will be missing out on the best darn apple crisp you have ever tasted.

Best Darn Apple Crisp (from one of my favourites The New Best Recipe)

Topping

• 6 Tbsps all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp each of cinnamon, nutmeg and salt
• 5 Tbsps cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch squares
• 3/4 cup chopped nuts

Filling

• 6 medium apples (The authors of TNBR recommend a mix of Granny Smith and McIntosh, but I’ve tried this dish with Ida Reds, Cortlands, McIntoshes… you name it)
• 1.5 Tbsp of lemon juice (or for a little more LOCAL zing, substitute with apple cider vinegar – yowza!)
• 1/4 cup sugar

Place the dry topping ingredients (not the nuts though) in a food processor and pulse briefly. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal. Add the nuts and pulse briefly a few more times. Heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Quarter and core the apples – some people like to peel them as well, but I prefer to leave the skins on. Toss the apples with the sugar and the lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Put the mixture into an 8×8 inch square pan or a 9-inch pie plate. Sprinkle the topping evenly on top and place into the oven for 40 minutes or until the topping is golden brown.

Enjoy with abandon because before you know it, it will all be gone. Thank goodness it’s so easy to make. You’ll be making it again and again and again!

Cadbury Creme Egg Showdown

Well, I think my pancreas may finally be in recovery-mode. At least I hope so because I feel another chocolate craving coming on. But I am starting to wonder… how many years until my sweet-tooth pushes me into diabetes? Definitely food for thought. So let me post an update to the Cadbury Creme Egg comparison before I swear off sugar for good.

Here it began. The Cadbury Creme Egg Taste Test: Canada vs. U.S.A. Two eggs, side-by-each, with only a language barrier – eh? – and a wrapper to separate them.

The competition started off so innocently. The judges noted that the American was somewhat smaller, several grams less than the robust Canadian.

But when it came time to split each one in two, it was the American that held herself together. The Canadian faltered, cracking somewhat under the pressure. The judges tsk-tsk-ed and jotted down notes.

And then it was time for the taste test.

Round 1: The judges began – first a bite of the Canadian, then a swig of water to cleanse the palate, then a bite of the American. The crowd was divided with cheers hollered in every which direction. The judges refused to show any emotion.

Round 2: The judges, after palate-cleansing break, started with the American this time. Then the Canadian. The judges paused, glancing at each other, but remaining silent. They noted their marks and handed in their scorecards – stone-faced through it all.

It seemed like forever for the marks to be tabulated. The crowd started heckling, anxious for a result. Still the clock ticked on… until FINALLY the scores were revealed:

	Canadian Entry	American Entry
Texture	9.1	8.6
Taste	9.4	8.7
Overall	18.5	17.3

The American turned to the Canadian and smiled with a slight nod of defeat. She picked up her crumbs and looked proud as she waved to the cheering crowd, knowing that she would be back again next year. She walked off with her head held high. The Canadian stayed, waving to the crowd – looking somewhat awkward, as Canucks tend to do – and proudly accepted her medal.

And there it was folks, the Cadbury Creme Egg Showdown.

extra insulin, anyone?

So, after Kathy’s post on I Wet My plants, I broke down and signed up for Google Reader. And I gotta tell you, it really does save me time. I can’t believe I used to load the long list of of my favourite blogs ONE by ONE, just to see if they had posted anything new. Now I open one page and it’s easy peasy lemon squeezy! And with so much time saved… well I’ve just added more blogs to GR!

So, as you can probably guess from my blogroll on the sidebar over there ->, Food on the Food is one of those blogs in my GR… (now don’t get cocky, you don’t know all my secrets yet). I love Tammy’s posts at FotF – she’s a whole lot nutty, a whole lot local food, and on top of all that she used to test recipes for Cook’s Illustrated magazine – how freaking cool is that? But when she made this offer to trade and compare Cadbury Easter eggs, I had a really tough time sticking to my local food guns, especially when I had recently been given so much Easter chocolate. So I signed up, did the deed and waited.

The goods arrived last week, and on Saturday I conducted the taste comparison with interesting results. But you’ll have to forgive me because I’m still coping with the after-effects of a sugar-induced coma. Stay tuned for the update…

marriage is no picnic!

I don’t know about your Easter weekend but mine was SWEET. Supersweet. Fill-my-belly sweet. My-dentist-is-going-to-kill-me-sweet.

On Friday night, my beloved decided he couldn’t wait for all the Easter candy that was going to come, so he baked some awesome oatmeal and raisin cookies. Of course, I had to eat them to show him how much I appreciate such efforts on his part. Then on Saturday morning, we went to the Carp Farmer’s Market and he loaded up on tarts because he saw that the woman who makes them uses local ingredients whenever possible and he knew I would be thrilled with that. Of course, I had to eat them to show him how much I appreciate such efforts on his part. Then on Sunday we went to my aunt’s for Easter dinner and she showered us with chocolates. My beloved packed them up and took them home for us. Of course, I had to eat them to show him much I appreciate such efforts on his part.

It’s hard being married.

local connection… maple syrup

Believe it or not, spring WILL COME to the Ottawa Valley. One of the first and best harbingers of the season is maple syrup. With warm days and cool nights, the sap starts to flow. I’m hoping to go to my favourite sugar bush for a pancake breakfast, some taffy on the snow, and to take home a big bottle of syrup. And if I don’t get to do all that, then I’ll have to pick up a local bottle elsewhere and make these maple scones.

sweet strawberries

These frozen strawberries satisfied my sweet tooth last night, and helped me to avoid an emergency candy bar mission to the corner store. I also realized how many pounds of frozen strawberries I have stored in my freezers – lots. They’d be perfect for strawberry margaritas. Hmmm, I wonder if there’s anybody making local tequila…