Kahlua

You know I love a simple recipe, and it doesn't get much simpler or more rewarding than this five minute recipe for homemade kahlua. I make mine with Laughing Whale Seventh Wave Espresso. It's much less sweet than the commercial version--I think it's ideal for sipping straight.

Ingredients

1/4-1/2 cup sugar to taste

1 1/4 cup espresso or coffee brewed at 2 1/2 times regular strength,hot and fresh

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup vodka



Directions 


Stir sugar into hot espresso and stir to dissolve. Add vanilla extract and vodka. Stir to combine, bottle, and enjoy at your leisure.

Notes: Vodka quality is not terrifically important for this recipe, so use what you can afford!

To make your own version of Tia Maria, simply substitute a favourite rum for the vodka.


Really. So. Easy. 

Next week: Cherry Bounce! 

Lemon-Pickled Scapes

1.    I don't like pickles. Or at least I didn't until I realized that what I really dislike about them is A) vinegar and B) the bendy quality vegetables get after a pickle jar is immersed in hot water in order tobecome shelf stable. In fact, neither of those aspects is at all necessary to enjoy a pickle! In recent months I have been going pickle-crazy, immersing all my fave veggies in a lemon juice brine and putting them directly in the fridge. They won't keep longer than a couple months and they can't be kept on a shelf, but they're an easy, fantastic bit of something something to have on hand for anytime snacking. If you're simply not a scapes person, try this recipe with carrots, cucumbers, or any other vegetable you like.
   
   
   Ingredients
   ·         1/2 pound garlic scapes 
   ·         2 hot chile peppers, sliced with seeds (jalapeno, serrano, or whatever crops up in your garden or farmers' market)
   ·         2 " cube of fresh ginger, sliced 
   ·         3/4 cup lemon juice
   ·         3/4 cup water
   ·         1 tablespoon salt
   
   
   Directions
   Trim the heads and cut ends off the scapes and cut into short pieces so that they resemble green beans.
   Toss scape pieces with sliced peppers and ginger. Fill mason jars nearly full, packing mixture tightly.

   Combine lemon juice, water, and salt in a separate container, then pour over mixture in jars until full to the brim. Cover tightly and transfer to the refrigerator immediately. Allow pickles to flavour up for about a week before opening. Enjoy!
   
   

Cranberry Apple Pickles

This is a perfect side dish for the holidays--all three main ingredients (apples, cranberries, and lemon juice) have a detoxifying effect to combat your holiday indulgences, and the taste is a lovely complement to roast turkey and ham alike.


Cranberry Apple Pickles


Ingredients (per 500 mL jar)


1/2 cup lemon juice (substitute rhubarb juice for a completely local choice)
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar or honey
2 teaspoons salt
2 large or 3 small-medium apples, any varietal
1/2 cup fresh whole cranberries


Directions


Combine lemon or rhubarb juice, water, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.


While brine is heating, peel apples and slice into long strips or chunks, according to taste. Slice cranberries in half. Place half of cranberries at the bottom of jar, followed by a layer of apples, then topped with remaining cranberries.


Pour simmering brine over fruit mixture to a level 1/2 inch from the top of the jar. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then cover tightly, label, and store in the refrigerator.




This recipe will keep in the refrigerator for up to two months, so make it now, put it away, and forget it until Christmas! It even makes a lovely food gift for those of you who want to impress friends and family with your craftiness. They don't need to know how simple it was--I won't tell if you don't.

Watch the Author

All the publicity work I'm doing for A Taste of the Maritimes is a blast! I'll be on CTV Morning Live this Tuesday, the 13th, at 8:15 AM, so don't forget to tune in. Until then you can satisfy yourself with my author video from the Nimbus East Coast Reads series.

Cookbook ahoy hoy

The book is launched! Blogger doesn't like my fancy photographs, but you can sneak a peek at the photos from the launch here.


If you are new to this blog and have bought the book, please feel free to ask a question or leave a comment. I'm always happy to chat about local food, where to find it, and how to prepare it. Welcome!

Apple Pie Gelato with Caramel Stracciatella

We don’t drink a lot of juice at my house, but I couldn’t resist the amazing apple cider from Suprima Farms at the Lunenburg Farmers’ Market this week. As long as we were having a treat, I decided to go whole hog. And ended up with this:

Ingredients

2 ½ cups apple cider

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 cinnamon sticks

2 cups heavy cream

½ cup milk

6 egg yolks

½ cup white sugar

½ cup caramel sauce (store bought or homemade—it’s easy! Try this recipe).

Directions

Heat apple cider in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce the cider to 3/4 -1 cup, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, add vanilla, stir, and set aside.

Place the cinnamon sticks in a closed plastic bag and smash to shards with a hammer. Combine cinnamon shards with heavy cream a in a saucepan. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium low heat and simmer, stirring frequently, for ten minutes. Remove pan from heat, cover, and set aside to steep for one hour.

After an hour, strain shards out of the cream. Return strained cream to a clean pan. Whisk in yolks and sugar. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom of the pan, until custard thickens, about ten minutes.

Remove custard from heat and whisk to combine with milk and reduced apple cider. Refrigerate mixture overnight, then process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Just before removing from machine, pour caramel sauce into the machine in a slow stream to form a ribbon. Remove to a container and freeze until hard, 2-3 hours.

This one passes the self-control test—as in, you won’t have any, so proceed with caution. Enjoy!

Seed Starter

...is it already that time again? The garden has turned from slushy to boggy, the birds are singing, and little pink nubs of rhubarb are sticking their heads obstinately from the half-frozen soil. So yep, we're starting seeds.

I owe a great debt of thanks to the fine folks at Hope Seeds, Annapolis Seeds, and Broadfork Farm for all the excellent heritage plants we're putting in the ground this year. Our gardens will include raspberry canes, grape vines, two varietals of kale, rhubarb, strawberries, rainbow chard, rutabaga, corn, pumpkins and two other winter squash, zucchini, cauliflower, 5-7 varietals of tomato (we'll see what comes back from last year), parsley, dill, cilantro, lavender, basil, mint, chives, rosemary, two varietals of sweet pepper, three varietals of hot pepper, and 200 heads of garlic.

Jeez louise, it's starting to sound less like a garden and more like a farm! Now if only we could keep chickens in the town of Lunenburg...