Fall Harvest Recipes with Lori and Lois

 

It has been a great pleasure to grow plants in our plot at Terra Nova for artist materials, but also for ingredients for using in our Victory Gardens for Diversity Recipes.

 

Lois Klassen and I showed our audience some of our culinary creations inspired by the vegetables and fruits grown just a few feet away from the little Red Barn. We are indebted to our super volunteer Barry, who weeded and watered the plots all summer. Thank you so much!!!!!

 

First up: Lois's beautiful focaccia made with potatoes and beets from our garden. It's a hearty, chewy snack, or a light lunch all on it's own.

Potato & Rosemary Focaccia

Lois Klassen

• 2 medium potatoes (the one for the dough should be 150 grams; the other can be substituted for baby potatoes for a nice display on the surface of the bread)
• 2 1/4 tsp yeast (1 packet)
• 2 c flour (plus more for kneading)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp honey
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2/3 c lukewarm water
• Optional - 2 or 3 other root veggies (a carrot and/or a small beet; onions)
• Optional – 2 cloves crushed garlic
• A sprig of fresh rosemary or a 1 tsp of dried rosemary
• Optional - ½ tsp wild fennel seed
• Optional – ½ c grated asiago cheese
•  

Instructions

Boil one of the potatoes until tender. Drain, remove skin and mash well or pass through a potato ricer.

Sprinkle yeast over the warm water and allow to “bloom” (about 5 minutes).

After mixing the flour and salt together, add the yeast, honey and mashed potatoes, mix and then knead into a flat ball. Put a tablespoon of the oil into a clean bowl. Place the ball of dough into the bowl and turn it over a few times so that it is completely coated with oil. Let it rise in a warm place until it is double in size (1 hour).

In the meantime, par-boil the other potato and other veggies. Cool them with a cold-water rinse. Slice them into ½ cm thick slices.

Line a pizza pan with parchment. Press the risen dough evenly over the pan. Arrange the sliced veggies over the top. Sprinkle with garlic, rosemary and fennel seeds. Top with grated cheese if you like.

Allow to rise again for 20 min.

Meanwhile pre-heat the oven to 400F (200C).  

Bake for approximately 20 minutes until the dough is cooked and the surface is slightly browned. Serve warm or cold or toasted.

 

 

Lois is a wonderful story teller and she told us the tales of two different approaches to making borcht: Martha Klassen's encouragement to use whatever is on hand, and Margaret Dragu's strict guidelines to her preferred ingredient list. Lois's warm tangy broth was like a kind familial embrace of its own. Much needed in these stressful times. Let's all make borscht!

Harvest Borscht

 

“… you can use as much or as little of the cabbage, carrots, beets, [tomatoes] and potatoes as desired…” Martha Klassen

 

2 liters meat or veggie stock (preferably home-made)

1 fall cabbage (any kind) or a big bag of oversized Swiss Chard leaves

2 large carrots

1 medium beet

1 potato

1 onion

2 bay leaves

10 peppercorns

1 star anise

1 large can diced tomatoes (or 3 cups of chopped garden tomatoes)

Fresh dill (or 2 tsp dried dill, or quantities to taste)

2 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice

2 tsp sugar

Salt & pepper to taste

 

Make 2 liters of meat stock from left over beef or pork bones, or a veggie stock. Strain and set aside. If you are using bones, pull of any meat that might be left on the bones and shred it to add back to the soup at the very end.

 

Shred and chop the veggies. In a soup pot, add the stock and everything except the dill, vinegar, sugar and s&p. Simmer for about 30 minutes. After cooking, add dill, vinegar, sugar and s&p to taste and bring back to a simmer.

 

Serve with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream in each bowl, if you like. This soup is of course better after aging for a day or two in the fridge. It can also be made in larger quantities and kept frozen in quart jars for future meals.

 

Adapted from “Borscht (Cabbage Soup)” in Martha’s Traditional Favourites by Martha Klassen, Self-published for her family in 2017.

 

 

One of my favourite recipes is Lois's fig platz. I have made it with plums, like my grandma used to bake it, and with fresh figs. It was wonderful made with grapes from Lois's back yard and ground cherries from our garden at Terra Nova.

Fig Platz (or, modified with other fruit)

 

Lois Klasses

 

2 ½ c flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 ½ c white sugar, divided

½ tsp salt

1 c butter, cold and cubed

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

¾ c milk

2 tsp orange zest (lemon is a good substitute)

Ripe fresh figs (about 20) cut in half (top to bottom); or 2-3 cups of seedless backyard grapes or ground cherries; or other fruit (for the classic “platz” use stone fruit like prunes, plums, apricots or peaches that are cut open with stoned removed)

 

Preheat the oven to 350’ F. Line a cookie sheet or 10x15 inch jelly-roll pan with parchment.

 

In a large bowl mix flour, baking powder, 1 c of the sugar and salt. Cut in the butter until the pieces are the size of small peas. Set 1 c of the crumbed mixture aside for the topping. In a small bowl, mix eggs, vanilla and milk. Stir the wet ingredients into the crumbed mix. Stir in the zest. Spread the mixture into the pan. Arrange the figs (or other large fruit) with the open side in rows; or sprinkle the smaller fruit in an even layer over the batter. Large fruit should be close but not touching so that the cake can be cut into individual pieces, each featuring half a fruit piece, for serving.

 

Make the topping by mixing the reserved crumb mixture with the remaining ½ c sugar. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the fruit.

 

Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until browned and the toothpick comes out clean. Once cool, cut into dessert-sized squares, each featuring a fruit half (if using large fruit).

 

Adapted from “Fig Platz” by Lois Klassen in Flavours of Vancouver complied by Sheila Peacock and Joan Cross (2005, Douglas & McIntyre)

 

And here's Lois's adaptation for those who would like a gluten free version of the platz.

Recipe: Gluten Free Platz

• 1 cup white rice flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup cold butter
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup golden brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups of fruit (I used ground cherries sprinkled in a layer on the cake base for this demo; figs, prunes, plums or peaches that are cut in half with stones removed and arranged in rows with the cut side up makes the classic “platz”).

Crumb

• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/8 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8×11.5 pan with parchment.

In a large bowl, combine the rice flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. I just do this with my hands….seems to do the job well!
In a smaller bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, brown sugar and vanilla. Stir into the rice flour mixture.

Pour into prepared pan and cover evenly with the fruit.

Combine the crumb ingredients in a bowl and sprinkle over the fruit and batter. 

Bake for 30 minutes or until the base is nicely browned.

Adapted from “Gluten Free Guide to Niagara” by Irene and Chelsea (https://glutenfreeguidetoniagara.wordpress.com/2013/09/06/recipe-gluten-free-platz/ )

 

 

It was a chef named Danilla that got me addicted to the snack called samosa chaat. It’s usually made with samosas, and some delicious toppings: chutneys and crunchy bits. So I’ve basically taken the ingredients and made my own deconstructed version. It’s nice for an afternoon snack or even a light lunch. Chickpeas are a good source of fiber and protein and also contain calcium, folate, vitamin b6, vitamin c, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc.

Deconstructed Samosa Chaat: a riff on a South Asian street food

Madame Beespeaker

 

 

Pastry Crackers

½ cup AP flour

1/8 cup plus ½ cup spelt flour

1/2 tsp salt

½ c butter cut into small cubes

¼ cup cold water.

2 tsp curry powder (I use a French vadouvan blend)

½ tsp peppercorns, cracked

1 tsp coriander seeds, cracked

 

Mix flours together with the salt. Use your fingers or a pastry cutter to blend the butter with the flour until it makes pea sized pieces.

Add the cold water and knead the dough until the ingredients are combined and hold together.

Divide the dough into four pieces and roll each piece into a rough circle, 1/8 inch thick. Cut into square using a knife, or use a heart-shaped cookie cutter.

Bake at 375 F for ten minutes until lightly browned.

 

Salsa Verde aka Green Chutney

For the recipe I used garlic and walking onions grown in my own garden, but you can use regular white onions, or whatever you've got on hand. This salsa is great in soups and stews and you can use it as a condiment for anything that appeals. I hope you are enjoying this wonderful harvest season!

1 lb tomatillos
1 cup chopped purslane (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c chopped onions
4 cloves garlic
juice of one lime
4 seeded jalapeno peppers

Optional: cilantro and or mint to taste

Simply put the cleaned and chopped ingredients in a food processor and blend to the desired texture.

 

 

Deconstructed Samosa Filling

5 small potatoes

1 14 oz. can chick peas

 

Garnish

1 bunch fresh cilantro

salsa verde and chutney

plain yogurt or raita

 

Peel and boil the potatoes until they are fork tender. Drain and cool.

Drain the chickpeas. You can save the liquid in the tin (aka aqua faba) for other recipes.  Rinse the chickpeas in a strainer. Put the chickpeas in a small pan with ½ cup of water and 1 tbs chopped cilantro. Simmer for five minutes over medium heat (or longer if you prefer a softer texture). Drain.

Before serving, reheat the chickpeas and potatoes. Cut the potatoes into bite-sized cubes and fry with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Fry the chickpeas in olive oil until heated through.

Put a portion of potatoes in a bowl and spoon on some of the chickpeas. Add some of the crackers on top and spoon on some chutney/salsa/raita.

 

 

And that's a wrap! Thanks to everyone who came to our workshops and we hope that these recipes become your own family favourites! From our heart to yours, please take care of yourselves and nourish your heart, belly, mind, and soul. Bee safe, bee kind and bee calm.

Photo by Crystal Lee

Finding Your Happy Place

It’s so important in a time of crisis to find a space that inspires you and helps you feel inspired, but also safe. Those of us who don’t own cars need to find our happy place within walking distance from home. I love going on walks in nature, but often rely on the bus to get me out to where I want to go. The quarantine has made me find places close to home that fill me with delight and help me to get away from all the worry and grief. I’ve written about searching for signs of spring and how the red flowering currant is a particular sensory delight. I’ve mapped out the currant bushes in my neighbourhood and challenge myself to make a circuit of them on a daily basis to get some exercise and keep my spirits up.

I’ve also started doing some of the yoga and basic training exercises missing from my schedule. I chose a place with benches where I can see a blooming currant bush and watch the hummingbirds flit to it while I do push-ups and squats. The bush functions as my personal coach, silently glowing in the sunlight and shifting in the breeze as I find the joy in moving my body and testing my flexibility and strength. The hummingbirds are bold enough not to bother with me as I do my repetitions. I notice tiny weeds blooming and other little details as I move through the space over and over again. 

 

What about you? Have you been walking around your neighbourhood or even your back yard to look for signs of spring? Do you like to have a destination or do you just choose a general direction and wander? I like to do a bit of both. I usually choose some bee habitat hot spots to head towards. This week I’ve found two bee rich destinations: a huge white icicle currant at the top of Queen Elizabeth Park and the pussywillows at the duck pond in the same park.

I've been watching the television series called The Durrells, which is based on the autobiographical books by naturalist Gerald Durrell. There's a lovely episode where twelve year old Gerald sits next to a wall which he observes for hours, making notes about the bugs, spiders and lizards he observes. On Sunday I sat on a wall and watched the insects and hummingbirds in the white icicle currant. It was a joy to feel the warm sun on my back as I documented the bees and flies with my camera.  I got into "the zone" and forgot about anything else other than what was in front of me, losing myself in the sensory experience. It was sublime.

This is a "bee fly". See the large eyes that meet in the centre and the stubby antennae? There are also only two wings, which makes this a wannabee--a fly that is mimicking a bee. it's obviously enjoying the nectar of the Ribes sanguineum.

If you can find some pussywillows nearby I encourage you to go out and observe them on a sunny day. The bushes were just humming with bees, mostly honeybees, but some bumblebee queens and small solitary bees. The honeybees are powdered with the copious amounts of powdery yellow pollen. They mix the powder with bee spit and pack it onto the corbiculae or baskets on their hind legs. The tiny ground-nesting bees that forage in these willows are just emerging. I couldn’t get close enough to identify them. I love the way the big bumblebee queens straddle the catkins as they slurp up the nectar. Once they’d established a nest they’ll also be collecting pollen the way the honeybees do.

There were also wasps and flies in the willow. They are thirsty for the nectar and so some pollinating, but they don't have the copious amount of branched hairs or setae that gives bees the pollen-collecting advantage.

Tachinid flies are a bit tricky because they do have a head more similar to the almond shaped bee face. But if you take a closer look, you'll see the stubby antennae and lack of four wings. You can see on the thorax that this fly is carrying some pollen grains from catkin to catkin.

Once you've found a series of "hot spots" or happy places, you can take photos or just immerse yourself in the environment, going through your five senses to explore the space. (Maybe skipping the sense of taste, unless you really know your plants. And please don't eat any bees!) Create a series of experiences that become memories to hold onto when you wake in the middle of the night with a sense of uncertainty or fear. Hold on to the healing power of nature. Bee well.

An Aromatic Apple Tart

Hope you are keeping well in these times of social isolation. I hope that through this blog I can reach out to an audience and we can engage in some projects together from a safe distance! Sewing, gardening, and cooking are all on the agenda so I hope you can connect with us in this way. And boy, am I ever missing connecting with friends, family, students, colleagues and other community members. Social media has played an important part of feeling like I'm still connected to local and global community. So let's get started!!!!

First we bake.

A Rustic Apple Tart

We are adjusting to life in the time of Corona.  Everyone has ways of getting through the days of careful isolation. Some people are cleaning, organizing, alphabetizing. Others are exercising, binge watching, and cocooning. Some folks are getting outdoors to escape and find solace in nature. How are you coping? I am gardening and baking. I have waged battle on the weeds in my back yard and attack them with renewed fury every day. It’s satisfying and cathartic. And every day I make comfort food: crêpes, soup, and pies.

The pie quest began on pi day, the day when nerdy folks celebrate the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. You know, the 3.14 etc etc etc. I saw someone make a really lovely pie on social media. His name is Jeff, and he has awesome pie crust skills. (I, on the other hand, have terrible fancy crust skills, so beginners can use this recipe too.)  He inspired me to clean out some of last summer’s fruit from the freezer and made something comforting and fun. Which I did. But today, I've got to use some apples that are getting a bit mealy.

My piecrust recipe is simple and basic:

1      1 cup unbleached white flour

1/8  c stone ground spelt flour

½ tsp salt

½ cup cold butter, cut into 1 cm cubes

After you’ve mixed the dry ingredients, cut in the butt and mix until it is in pea-sized pieces. (I actually use my hands for this, but real chefs use pastry cutters.) Now add the water and stir with a fork until it’s well mixed. See if it’s too wet or dry and add a bit more flour or water accordingly. Now get your hands in there and combine the dough until it is a nice firm ball. Work it as little as possible. Once you’ve done this a few times, you get a sense of when it’s right. Then pop this in a bowl in the fridge with a tea towel on top.

Now you deal with the fruit. You can use just about any fruit to make a rustic tart. Berries are easiest because they don’t require prep. You can add sugar to taste. I try to put in just enough to make the flavor of the fruit sing. As I was using apples, I cored them using a device my mom gave me one Christmas. It’s one of the few single task kitchen gadgets that’s worth the cupboard space. It cores the apple and sliced it so you can easily peel the slices. You may prefer just doing that with a paring knife. I used six medium apples. I sliced the apples into smaller piece, but you can leave them in slices if you like. This recipe is very forgiving and easy to customize. I mixed the apples with 3 tbs sugar, 1 sp cinnamon and ½ tsp ground cardamon.

Preheat the over to 400 Degrees F.

Now it’s time to flour the surface of your counter and roll out the dough. I use the stone-ground spelt because then the dough picks up a nice grainy texture. Just keep rolling it out in a rough circle and don’t worry about the oddly shaped edge. Once the dough is 1/8 of an inch thick, get your pan and lay in out on top. (You can fold the dough gently to transfer it. I use a round “pizza stone” because it bakes nice and evenly.  I spread 2 tbs of the spelt flour onto the middle of the crust to soak up some of the apple juices as the tart bakes.

So I’m not fancy, I just pour the apple bits in the middle of the crust and spread them out to a desired thickness, eyeballing the edges of the crust which your are going to fold up and over the fruit. You can pull it right together or leave a large opening in the middle—just experiment and see which style you prefer.

Put the pie in the oven and bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350 F and bake for an additional 30-35 minutes.

You’ll smell that classic scent of sugary cinnamon goodness when the pie is ready. Just check to see if the crust is browned to your liking and then take the pie out and let it cool for ten to fifteen minutes before you serve it. When I was growing up, mom always served apple pie with vanilla ice cream. I like it with whipped cream and a hot cup of black tea. This pie also goes great with masala chai.

You could also use this idea to make savoury pies as well—the kind of clean-out the fridge pie where you can transform leftover steamed veggies into a savoury rustic tart. Our family is transitioning to going vegan, so in the coming days I’ll try some alternative recipe, but this one is my current go-to standard.

I would love it if you would share what recipes are getting you through the days of isolation and would love to connect and perhaps make a recipe book from people’s contributions. Then when the quarantine is lifted, we could have a potluck!!!

You can e-mail me beespeaker(at)gmail(dot)com or just put a link to your own social media posts about what you’re making and baking. I am @beespeaker on Instagram.

Bee well!