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Sunday, August 28, 2011

Tzatziki


My husband and I made this recipe together this weekend and liked it so much we ate it two nights in a row!  It goes great either with pita chips, or as a sauce for another one of our favourites, chicken souvlaki. 
Ingredients
- 1 cucumber
- 1 cup plain greek yogurt
- 4 tbsp fresh dill
- 5 garlic cloves
- 3 tbsp olive oil

Directions

Peel cucumber and cut into quarters.  Cut each piece into quarters again, and run through a food processor.

Strain cucumber mixture through a cheesecloth until only pulp remains.   It is important to strain as much juice as absolute possible out of the cucumber to ensure the tzatziki is the right consistency.


Put pulp back in food processor.

Add yogurt to food processor and blend.  Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth.

Transfer to a bowl or jar and let rest in fridge for at least an hour before serving. 



Enjoy!

Nutritional Info [1 tbsp]
Calories - 15   Fat - 1    Carbs - 1     Protein - 1     Iron - 0    Fibre - 0

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Chicken Fried Rice


I've been making this recipe ever since I was a teenager.  I used to make large batches and freeze leftovers for a future meals. 

 Ingredients

  • 1.5 cups of your favourite rice (dry)
  • 4 small chicken breasts
  • 1/2 medium sweet onion, diced
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 2 tbsp sesame oil
  • 4 tbsp soya sauce
  • 1 tsp worchesire sauce

Directions


Cook rice as per instructions.  Set aside.

Cut chicken into very small pieces.  

Fry in a large wok preheated over medium heat until chicken is cooked through. 

Add onions and 1 tbsp sesame oil, sautéing the onions until tender.  

Add peas and fry until warm.

Make a space in the centre of frying pan and scramble eggs, one at a time, incorporating into the rest of the mixture.

Add cooked rice and 1 more tbsp sesame oil and 4 tbsp soya sauce.  Turn heat to high and fry for 5 minutes.  Be sure to flip the rice often so not to burn the bottom.

Add more soya sauce/sesame oil to taste. 

Enjoy!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Strawberry Jam

Recently my good friend Holly and I (along with her 2 month old son Jonas) went to a local U-Pick farm.


 

We ended up picking nearly 24 lbs of fresh strawberries.


We each took 5 lbs to eat/freeze and used the rest to make 30 jars of jam and 2 pies.

It was our first time making jam unassisted (although I did make a quick SOS call to my Gramma to ask about Paraffin wax, which Grampa graciously sent a picture of so I could find it easily in the store).  


This recipe makes 8 cups of jam.  We filled 8-250 ml jars of jam per recipe.


Ingredients

- 4 1/2 cups of strawberries*
- 1 box pectin crystals (we used Certo)
- 1 tsp butter
- 7 cups sugar

* We also threw in some fresh rhubarb into a few batches, it turned out awesome!  We used about 1 cup rhubarb and 3 1/2 cups strawberries instead.

You will also need

- Jars for jam equal to approximately 2 l (2,000 ml)
- paraffin wax (only if you don't have proper seals and canning jars, ie are using recycled jars).

Directions

The jars should be warm when you pour the jam into them.  Some people like to boil the jars first.  Being the modern cooks that we are, we ran the jars through the dishwasher's 15 minute rinse cycle while we were making the jam.  Whatever you choose to do, be sure that you dry the jars well before using.

Rinse the strawberries and cut into halves (or quarters, depending on the size of your strawberries).

In a large bowl, mash strawberries using a potato masher.  How well you mash them depends on how chunky you like your jam.

In a large pan, stir together fruit, pectin crystals, and butter.  Bring to a rolling boil over high heat.

Add sugar and bring mixture back to a boil, stirring constantly.

While mixture is still hot, pour into warm jars and seal.  Be sure to keep the seal and rim of the jar completely dry or it won't seal properly.

You should hear the seals "pop" about 30 minutes or so after you seal the jars.

If you don't have canning jars with proper sealing lids (ie you are using recycled containers, etc.), melt some paraffin wax and pour a layer onto the top of each jar to seal.

Enjoy! 

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Cherry Brandy Pie



A few weeks ago my husband's Uncle Frank and I had a day filled with cooking.  He had recently aquired quite a few fresh B.C. cherries, so we made jam & pies all day.  This recipe was pulled from one of his ancient cookbooks, (at least a decade older than myself) and filled with the best homemade recipes (see photo attached).

Ingredients
  • 2 pie crusts
  • 4 cups fresh cherries (pits removed and cut in half) 
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 tbsp quick cooking tapioca
  • 2 tbsp cherry (or plain) brandy
  • 1 tsp lemon zest (or lemon juice)
  • Butter or margarine

Directions

Prepare and roll out pastry.  Line a 9-inch pie plate with 1 pastry.  Trim pastry to edge of pie plate.

In a large bowl combine cherries, sugar, tapioca, brandy, lemon zest, and 1/8 tsp salt.  Let stand 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Turn mixture into pastry-lined pie plate.  Dot with butter.  Cut slits in top crust; place pastry on top of filling.  Seal and flute edge high.  To prevent overbrowing, cover edge of pie with foil.  Bake in 375 oven for 30 minutes.  Remove foil; bake for 25 to 30 minutes more or until golden.  Cool pie on rack before serving.


Enjoy! 

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