kitchenvixen.ca

With Ontario corn being plentiful and sweet this year, succotash is a great way to use this summer's bounty. After discovering succotash, I have to say I'm a little puzzled as to why it is not more popular in Ontario, and seems to remain a southern U.S. dish.

Loaded with corn, a traditional succotash generally has red peppers and Lima beans. Since Lima beans are also in season, you could easily get some to use in this recipe.

However, I had Edamame beans in the freezer, ready to use, and I thought they would make this dish not only tasty, but a super energy-filled meatless meal.

Quinoa is considered an ancient grain and is a complete protein. That means, unlike other plant forms of protein this little gem does not need to be combined with other types of food for your body to recognize it as protein.

This is an easy dish, that you can make richer with the addition of some salty meat (tiny bits of bacon or sausage work well) or you can leave out that extra meat and have a lean wholesome treat.

Chef Tricks: If you have some extra time, you can also cook the Quinoa in a risotto style by first toasting it in a pan to boost the flavour, and using vegetable or chicken stock to cook it in. Roasting the red pepper before adding it to this dish will intensify the flavour, and make this a company-worthy side or main.

Here's what you need:

175 grams Quinoa

1 red bell pepper

2 ears of fresh corn

1/2 cup frozen edamame beans

1/2 jalapeno pepper

1/2 cooking onion

juice of half lemon

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Rinse and boil quinoa until cooked through. While quinoa is cooking, dice red pepper, and onion into small pieces, and cut kernels from corn. Mince the jalapeno pepper. Once quinoa is cooked drain thoroughly. Sauté quinoa in a little olive oil with onions, red pepper, corn and edamame. Once the edamame is cooked, the dish is ready. Season with salt and pepper and add a fresh splash of lemon juice before serving.

Blueberries are pure nostalgia for me. Having grown up in a small town on the outskirts of a small Northern Ontario city, I spent many a summer in the blueberry patch, and nothing tastes like summer like blueberry pancakes, or one of my ultimate favourites blueberry upside-down cake.

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll notice I have an obesssion with affinity for upside-down cakes, from apple to pineapple to rhubarb and blueberry, I think they’re a great way to showcase a fruit (although I’m not sure that rhubarb can be considered a fruit). They let the flavour of the fruit shine through and offer up a moist crumby companion to soak up the juices.

This recipe was adapted from the wonderful Earth to Table recipe book. I tried it at first with just blueberries, but then was struck with inspiration when our local peaches starting hitting the markets. Bettina Schormann the pastry chef half behind this tasty tome serves up the cake with some crème fraiche. I whisked a little maple syrup into some yogurt for a lighter accompaniment.

I also added in a little lemon zest into the recipe which is decadently buttery. Blueberries and lemon go exceptionally well together, so I figured why not. The little bit of tartness helps cut through the richness of the cake, so well.

This cake can be made in a 10 inch cast-iron skillet, or any other 10 inch cake pan that is at 2 ½ inches deep.  If you make it in the skillet, you cut down on dishes, as you can melt the butter and sugar together directly in the skillet before adding the fruit.

The beauty of using the peaches and blueberries is you can use as little or as much of each fruit as you like. If you only have 3 or 4 peaches, you can add more blueberries, they just fill in the spots where there are no peaches.

After trying it this way, I would likely do more peaches and less blueberries next time for a more visually striking cake, since the berries bleed quite a bit, and stain the peaches. To skin your peaches, make a shallow X with a knife at the opposite end of the stem, blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes or until skin loosens slightly. Immediately submerge in ice cold water, and the skins will slide right off.

Also, the key to this kind of cake is to have your ingredients at room temperature. Butter and eggs should be room temp before attempting this cake, or it will not rise properly. The butter and sugar must cream together well and create a light airy mixture before adding in eggs.  

A big thanks to my little brother who picked me a couple of baskets of wild blueberries  to make this possible!

Blueberry Peach Upside-Down Cake

Topping:

¼ cup of unsalted butter

½ cup packed brown sugar (I use dark demerara sugar)

4 peaches, skinned and cut into eighths

2 cups fresh wild blueberries (frozen works too)

Cake

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

¾ cup yellow cornmeal.

Zest of one lemon and about 1 tbsp of juice

2 tsp of vanilla extract

1 cup butter  (told ya it was buttery!)

¾ cup granulated sugar

4 eggs

½ tsp salt

¾ cup yogurt

Preheat oven to 350 F.

For topping

Melt butter and brown sugar together until sugar melts  (do not overcook, or butter will burn, I tell you this from experience!).

Arrange sliced peaches in a decorative fashion, and fill in spaces with blueberries. Set aside.

Cake:

Whip butter with the paddle of an electric mixer until light and airy, add in sugar and continue to beat until fully incorporated. Add in eggs one at a time, beating between each addition.  Add salt, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla and mix well.

In a separate bowl, mix together flour, cornmeal and baking powder, making sure to eliminate any clumps. (Sift if necessary)

Next, add dry ingredients into egg, butter and sugar mixture. Fold in well, Stir in yogurt.

Scoop cake evenly over fruit topping, and spread out to cover pan completely.

Bake for 50 minutes or until topping achieves a deep golden brown look and a toothpick inserted in centre of cake comes out clean.

Run a knife around the edge of pan and invert onto a plate while still warm to ensure fruit loosens from pan.

OK, and since you made it this far, I'll give you another reason to keep coming back... pictures of my beautiful little boy! He's a handful, but when he makes faces like this, well, it's all worth it!



Eating well when you’re a new mom is, I’m finding, a challenge. With my husband back at work a week after our son arrived, I found myself subsisting on cereal and peanut butter and banana sandwiches.

Our son is a bit of a cranky baby. He wants to be held constantly, which makes cooking rather difficult.

But I’m finding that I can manage certain things with him in a Snugli, so long as he isn’t fussing and flailing his little arms about. The oven is off limits, but I can cook on the stove (we have a glass cooktop so no open flame), and I usually cover his legs with an apron to avoid any spatter. It’s a learning curve, but we’ll get it figured out, because he’s so worth it!

So when I did get a chance to do some cooking, I opted for something a little out of the ordinary.  I’m finding it handy to make meals that my husband and I can tag team on. For instance this tandoori spiced chicken. I can do all the prep work and the marinating, then when he comes home, he can do the grilling.

Also this raita-inspired salad can sit in the fridge for hours (it’s actually better that way!).  So by the time my husband fires up the barbecue for the chicken, I can set the table and get the salad out of the fridge and we’re eating like normal people again.

This salad is fresh and cool, a perfect accompaniment to a hot and spicy barbecue!

Raita-inspired salad

3 small carrots

½  English cucumber

2 green onions

1 clove garlic

½  lemon (juice and zest)

2/3 cup yogurt

½ tsp ground mustard seed

1 tsp freshly grated ginger

Salt (to taste)

Chopped fresh cilantro

Cut the carrots and cucumber into batonnets (thick julienne). Slice the onion thinly on a bias. Mince the garlic. Place cucumber, carrots and onion in a large bowl. Combine yogurt, lemon juice and zest, garlic, mustard and ginger together. Season with some salt to taste. Pour over vegetables and mix in. Let sit for several hours. Before serving mix in some chopped fresh cilantro.

Tandoori-spiced chicken

Traditional tandoori uses food colouring for the vibrant red colour commonly associated with tandoori. I prefer a more “natural” look. This marinade can sit overnight for best results. You can use whole chicken quartered or for an easier and economical option buy chicken thighs and drums. Garam Masala is a spice blend that is fragrant and includes many warm spices like cinnamon. Each blend is a little different, so find one that you like.

2 ½ lbs of skinless chicken

1 cup full fat yogurt

Juice of one lime

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 garlic clove minced

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground turmeric

½ tsp salt

½ tbsp garam masala

A few strands of saffron and a tablespoon of boiling water.

Soak saffron in boiling water, and let sit for a couple of minutes

Blend the yogurt, rice wine vinegar, garlic, cumin, turmeric, salt and  garam masala. Mix in saffron and water.

Make several score marks on pieces of chicken. Pour yogurt mixture over chicken and marinate for several hours, or overnight.

Grill chicken on a barbecue until cooked through (about 30 minutes for bone-in pieces). Serve hot with cool raita-inspired salad.

Rhubarb season is drawing to a close, sadly.

This year, a lot of the rhubarb I was able to scrounge up ended up in muffins. The rest topped a ricotta tart and and strawberry-rhubarb tart with a pine nut crust.

When it comes to the muffins, there are two types. The kind that are “breakfast muffins” and the kind that are “cakey muffins.”

Cakey muffins are just like cupcakes, minus the frosting and sometimes have the redeeming quality of having fruit in them (if we’re lucky—triple chocolate muffin anyone?).  Breakfast muffins have a little more nutritional value. These muffins will have whole grains, and maybe a little less fat. I find the first type to be a little misleading since most of us tend to think of muffins as breakfast, and not dessert.

While the first batch of muffins I made was strictly white flour, just to test out a recipe, I conceded that I’m really not the type for cakey muffins.

This recipe has two whole cups of rhubarb, which leaves less room for other non-nutritious things. Did you know that rhubarb is rich in vitamin K? Vitamin K helps keep your blood healthy and assists with bone density. So this is a good way to get it, unless you’re like my sister and you just like to eat the rhubarb raw. Personally if I eat that way, I prefer it with a bowl of sugar for dipping.

This recipe makes exactly 12 regular sized muffins. It’s uncanny how it’s just the perfect amount.

Rhubarb Buttermilk Oat Muffins

1 cup rolled oats

1 ¼ cup all purpose flour

¼ cup  ground flax seeds

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp ground ginger

1 ½ cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

½ cup canola oil (or other mild tasting vegetable oil)

2 cups chopped rhubarb

Preheat oven at 350F

Combine rolled oats, flour, flax seeds, salt, baking soda and baking powder and ginger. Set aside. Whisk together egg, and oil, add in buttermilk and combine well. Pour into dry ingredients and incorporate into a smooth paste (don’t overmix). Stir in rhubarb.

Scoop into muffin tin and bake at 350F for 20 to 25 minutes.

 On a side note, I recently gave birth to our son. Born June 13, he is a healthy happy baby boy, who is demanding much of my time. However, I hope to be blogging more regularly soon. Stay tuned for more on this, and maybe a baby picture or two!