Smokey sweet potato gratin with blue cheese

This unusual twist to scalloped potatoes is easy to make for a crowd. Slicing the raw potato is made easy with a mandoline. The flavorful creamy result was a favorite with our Christmas company this year. You won’t regret giving this a try.

Sweet potato gratin
Serves 10-12 as a side in a buffet

• 2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (3 or 4 large orange ones), peeled and thinly sliced on a mandoline if you have one
• 1 3/4 cups whipping cream
• 6 ounces smoky blue cheese, or 4 ounces blue cheese of any type with 2 ounce smoked gouda
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup candied walnuts, chopped into small pieces

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Peel and thinly slice sweet potatoes on a mandoline; use the guard. Set aside.
3. Heat heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat, and add the cheese slowly, so it melts into the cream. Mix in brown sugar, salt, and red pepper flakes. Ideally, bring to a low simmer to incorporate all of the ingredients, over 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Butter a large 12″ diameter baking dish and evenly layer a quarter of the sweet potatoes along the bottom, then lightly sprinkle with salt.
5. When the sauce is ready, pour a quarter of it over the sweet potatoes. Repeat the layering of the potatoes and the sauce three more times until all of the ingredients are in the baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. They should be fork tender but not mushy. if they are ready ahead, remove them from the oven and reheat at serving time.
6. Remove foil, sprinkle with the chopped nuts, and broil to brown the top, 5 minutes.
7. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition
Although there is a fair bit of saturated fat in this dish, for a special treat once in a while it delivers a lot of powerful nutrients besides.

Sweet potatoes pack a good amount of vitamin A, vitamin C, and manganese in each serving. Orange and purple ones contain a lot of antioxidants that protect against chronic disease, possibly even against certain cancers. Anthocyanins in the purple variety may also boost brain health. Fiber in these root veggies promotes healthy bacterial growth in the intestine for a happy gut. Beta-carotene protects vision and supports your immune system.

Blue cheese is a great source of protein. Researchers also believe that the fat in dairy products such as blue cheese may have a neutral or even positive effect on cardiovascular health. Blue cheese is also an excellent source of calcium.

Whipping cream contains choline and vitamins A, D, E, and K, all of which play vital roles in your health. For example, vitamin A is essential for eye health and immune function, while choline is critical to brain development and metabolism. Furthermore, whipping cream contains calcium and phosphorus, two minerals that are necessary for healthy bones.

Profile A single serving (one-tenth) of this dish has 280 calories, providing you with 23% of your daily value for vitamin C, 19% vitamin A, 11% fiber, 8% calcium, 8% protein, and 7% potassium. Total fat amounts to 32%, which although high, contributes to the excellent flavor profile and nutrition of this dish.

Even if you find blue cheese on its own too strong a flavor, baked in a dish this way it is magical. You won’t be sorry if you decide to give this recipe a try. Happy new year!

Tookie’s favorite corn soup

This traditional indigenous soup was lovingly made for Tookie, the heroine of an exceptional book by Louise Erdrich – The Sentence.

Erdrich’s book is spiritual, filled with native lore, black culture, and ghost stories, the last of which I was lead to question. Was Tookie’s ghost to be taken literally or might the spooky visitor have been a symptom of clinical depression.

The story-teller carefully unwraps how difficult Tookie’s life had been. Her bizarre experiences could be considered graphic descriptions of what it’s like to have a mental breakdown. Pollux was Tookie’s anchor. Her love for him grounded her in reality. Pollux makes this soup for Tookie when she is in her darkest corners. It is rich and satisfying. I hope you like it as much as Tookie did.

Chocolate and vanilla angel food cake

Angel food cake with whipped cream and chocolate ganache

Here’s a cake I served to my book club, while we were discussing “Wish you were here”, by Jodi Picoult. Picoult documents the tragedies that stemmed from the CoVID pandemic in this well-researched novel with an unexpected twist. So I thought an angel cake dedicated to all the lives lost to that disaster would be appropriate. And the cake, too, had an unexpected surprise when you cut into it. It is two-toned!

The hardest part in making this cake is separating the whites from the yolks. Once that task is completed, the rest is easy. I always measure everything out before I start mixing anything, to save confusion and mess.

Tropical guacamole salsa is another easy way to serve healthy avocado

I recently posted a recipe for avocado and lime dip and touted all the great reasons for including avocados in our diet. Here’s another tasty avocado idea. Serve this salsa with traditional tortilla chips. It’s also nice as a side for chicken or pork. Or try it on toast in the morning with your coffee. Avocado – any time, anywhere. It makes you smile. What would a duck say who eats avocado? Guac!

Healthy avocado and lime spread

The super goodness of avocados

I went back to researching fats and oils recently and came across an excellent chart for choosing the best oils for good health. But sadly, it omitted avocado oil, one of my favorites. So I did a little digging around to learn more about avocados.

Turns out avocado oil has many amazing qualities. First off, it has a fat profile almost identical to olive oil. As olive oil is generally considered one of the healthiest fats you can use, that means ditto for avocado oil. Check out all that avocados can do for you below.

While looking around, I found two interesting recipes featuring avocados and tweaked them both to my liking. The first one appears here. It’s my avocado and lime spread. It’s easy and can be made up to 4 or 5 days ahead. Store it in the fridge under plastic wrap pressed onto the surface to prevent exposure to air.

Good fats bad fats

Olive oil wins hands down as the healthiest oil to use, whether raw, as in dressings, or for sautéing. Avocado oil has essentially the same fat profile and an even better smoke point, with some other nutritional benefits. Both are excellent choices for good health.

Unraveling the omega-6 to omega-3 fats issue

Boo fat, fat go away. I’ve been putting off writing about fats, because they have a complex biochemistry. But fats are vital to our good health. On the other hand, too much fat or the wrong kinds can do serious damage.

For best health, follow these three rules:

• Choose fats and oils with the lowest possible unsaturated omega-6 fats.
• Eat foods that contain lots of unsaturated omega-3 fats.
• Limit foods that contain large amounts of saturated fats.

Beet salad with gorgonzola and walnuts

This salad is tastiest if you have pickled beets on hand. You can also use canned beets, though. And if you want to boil some beets to use, that’s also a possibility. But I like to use the juice from pickled or canned beets to make a beet-juice reduction for the salad dressing – so good!

I made this salad recently for Valentines Day and served it with preboiled lobster for a red-themed dinner – delicious! My salad recipe serves two, but you can easily double it.

Vinny’s super moist banana bread

Here’s a recipe from Vinny’s stash that I find myself using often. Somehow, we often end up with two or three bananas that have ripened past the point of pleasurable eating. At this point, they are perfect for banana bread.

Absolutely, don’t throw them out. Over-ripe bananas are at their healthiest… full of antioxidants to fight inflammation, plus the usual powerhouse of potassium and other nutrients. This recipe is also packed with fiber and protein to counter the ill effects of the banana’s sugar on your blood stream.

Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Galette

What is a galette?

I tried this unlikely recipe from a new cookbook I received for my birthday from Fortnum and Mason. It is a gorgeous-looking book an inch and a half thick, with creamy pages, a hand-sewn hard cover in brilliant blue, and color illustrations.

For those who don’t know, Fortnum and Mason is an 18th-century department store known for its gourmet groceries. They are still at 181 Piccadilly, in London England, just as they have been for over 300 years. They claim to take extraordinary care over the origins of everything they sell.

So I opened the book with great interest to the first page… only to find Porridge! Just three ingredients – water, salt and oats. Thankfully there were suggestions for toppings to add flavor to what was a painful childhood memory for me.

Many of the other recipes were for British standard fare – grilled kippers, toasted crumpets, sausages, ham, scotch eggs, and various puddings. But one recipe in particular caught my imagination and I gave it a try. I took it to my art group’s potluck closing lunch. People liked it, so I’m posting it here. I, too, thought it was flavorful and “oh so pretty” in my new serving bowl.

French tea cake flavored with anise seed

This egg-rich cake, dotted with anise seed, is easy and quick to make. A friend served it to me recently, and it is loaded with flavor. I discovered when buying the seed for this cake that fennel and anise seeds are different. Although both have a similar, licoricy kind of flavor, the fennel seeds are much larger and prettier. I tried both, and didn’t notice much difference in the flavor. The fennel seeds may be a bit more attractive is all I can say. Your preference.

Kyiv cake, a Ukrainian classic

Slava Ukraini!

Feeling gutted about the butchery going on in the Ukraine these days, I wanted to do something to honor the people there under siege by the Russians. Googling Ukrainian desserts, I came across a delicious-looking cake that is a favorite in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.

Potato-crusted tourtiere

Here’s a gluten-free tourtiere you can enjoy for Christmas Eve. The only difference between this pie and a traditional pie is the pastry.

To make this dish gluten free, I made a thin roasted-potato crust for the bottom of my deep-dish pie plate and used creamy mashed potatoes for the top crust. I flavored the potatoes with some caramelized onions but this is an optional suggestion.

Jeweled Chocolate Cake

My book club, fancifully named “The Alta Vista Friends Reading Salon,” recently discussed Ruth Reichl’s memoir Save Me the Plums, about her time as editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine. The book appealed to me not only because of the inside stories Ruth reveals about the world of food… but also because of her fascinating experiences working as a writer, editor and publisher, a field in which I spent my own career, although in much less lofty positions.

Her relaxed, straight-forward writing style is a pleasure to read and very entertaining. But this is far from a cook book. Ruth regales us more with the quirky personalities of the people she encountered during her time there than with the 1000s of recipes her team developed.

I can’t resist, though, giving you here my favorite Gourmet recipe from Ruth’s book, exactly as it was printed. How could I ever have hoped to improve on something Goumet had tested in its kitchens so many times?

Beautiful beets boost brain power – More tips

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  Gramma, eat beets!

Versatile beets, as well as their leaves with stems, make delicious treats at any meal. Experiment with them to find ways to include them often in your meal plan. Your brain will thank you for it. Don’t forget. Eat beets.

As further encouragement for adding beets and beet leaves to your diet, here are three helpful tips for preparing and serving them deliciously and easily. This post follows on my previous two posts about beets’ bounty. Be sure to read them:

Braised beet greens with toasted walnuts

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As my previous post has pointed out, we can never have too many beets for good health. And the leaves of beets are just as magical as the rosy roots. Because beets contain a compound that oxygenates the blood, they can improve athletic performance and keep our little gray cells working in top order. These properties become even more important as we age. In fact, beets are probably the best food we can eat to help ward off the onset of Alzheimer’s and other age-related brain disorders. It’s never too early to incorporate new and healthy foods to our diets. I hope you and your family will try these easy recipes.

Battling Alzheimer’s disease – Part 4: Beets are a good bet

Fend off those “senior moments”

Vinny’s grandparents have told him that living with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia is one of the scarier prospects of growing older. So he has done a series of posts about some lifestyle choices that could make a positive difference to our mental health in later years. He’s all for starting these habits early, for a longer and more active life. Read on for his forth and final installment.

Super beets: Beets are the ideal brain food. These ones are large enough to use as weights in your exercise class. But for best effect, we suggest you eat them.

Part 4 – Beets are a good bet

Beets may be our best defence against Alzheimer’s disease

You might be surprised to know that beets are one of the healthiest vegetables you can eat. Their bright red color signals a wealth of antioxidants, which are potent fighters of inflammation in the body and, specifically, in the brain.

But beets offer the brain even more useful benefits. Betanin, the compound that accounts for the red hue of beets, disables a protein that contributes to Alzheimer’s disease. It is so effective that researchers are looking into betanin as a possible drug component for sufferers of this serious brain disorder.

Beets help keep the brain healthy in other ways, too. The rich red root contains nitrite, which when converted to nitric oxide, increases blood flow. More blood flowing into the brain means more oxygen, which increases the brain’s efficiency.

Scotch pavlovas with sour cherry sauce

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A pavlova is basically a meringue decorated with whipped cream and fruit. You can use any fruit, but in this recipe, I use sour cherries.

Meringues are much easier to make than they look. There are only a few ingredients and they whip up quickly. I’ve included a few tips for separating eggs and whipping the whites into stiff peaks, so you will succeed even if this is your very first try. I hope you will make this dessert with your family.

Carrot ginger soup brightens your day

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Being a student of nutrition, I was intrigued by a recent give-away in our Buy Nothing neighborhood Facebook group. A member was offering a book with the intimidating title, “The Ultra-Metabolism Cookbook.” I have discovered over several years of trying to encourage families to forego processed foods in favor of healthy meals that people are hooked on the foods they grew up loving. It takes a LOT to get them to consider changes. I wondered whether this recipe book could make a good stab at getting people to consider a regular infusion of fruits, veggies, and good quality protein and carbs.

The seven keys to making your metabolism function well, according to this doctor, Mark Hyman, are

• controlling appetite
• lowering stress
• reducing inflammation
• preventing damage from oxygen, AKA keeping your cells from rusting from the inside out
• burning calories
• strengthening thyroid fuction
• helping the liver do its intended job

But people won’t care about any of that if the food doesn’t taste good, if the ingredients are unfamiliar, and, especially these days, if food prep takes too long.

Hyman takes care of food prep hangups by posting tricks to make shopping, preparing and cooking meals easier. Healthier eating does mean forming new habits and, perhaps, making more of an effort in the kitchen than you are used to. You WILL have to make some changes. But the results for you and your family are worth it.

Hyman’s recipes look easy and they contain foods that promise to deliver on the good doctor’s seven keys to a healthy metabolism. In no time you will feel less stress, maintain a healthier weight, and find more energy. Best yet, a more efficient immune system can help you better fight off those nasty viruses that are making life miserable for most of us these days.

To test things out, I chose a tantalizing recipe for carrot ginger soup. It is made with lots of spices, herbs and foods that derive from nuts and seeds. All these things are chock full of healthiness. You can easily make this dish vegetarian and dairy free, if that’s your thing. I can attest to it being super delicious!

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Carrot Ginger soup

Makes 4 large bowls for lunch or 8 small cups for appetisers. Can easily be doubled and frozen for another time.

• 1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
• 1 medium onion, peeled and diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, scrubbed and minced
• 1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced into coins
• 1 medium clove of garlic, peeled and minced (about 1 teaspoon)
• 3 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth (I use our home-made bone broth)
• 1/3 cup cream (or canned unsweetened coconut milk)
• salt to taste (up to 1/4 teaspoon)
• 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
• 1/8 teaspoon red chili paste (or to taste)
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, leaves finely chopped
• 1 green onion, thinly sliced

1. Prepare the above ingredients, all washed, cleaned, chopped, and measured
2. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed large pot, over medium heat
3. Add the onion and ginger and cook for 3 minutes, until the onion is translucent
4. Add the carrot coins and cook for 2 minutes
5. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute
6. Add the broth, cream and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and boil gently for 25 minutes, until the carrots are tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly
7. Using an emersion hand blender, puree the soup until it is smooth and creamy
8. Add the lime juice and chili paste and adjust the seasonings. You may need more salt and more broth to achieve your desired consistency
9. Serve the soup in bowls or cups and garnish with the chopped cilantro and green onion. I didn’t have these on hand, so I used fresh dill and basil from my kitchen window.

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  Cilantro, packaged for freezing

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  Ginger root

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  Green onion

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Battling Alzheimer’s disease – Part 3: Drink water

Fend off those “senior moments”

Vinny’s grandparents have told him that living with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia is one of the scarier prospects of growing older. So he has decided to do a series of posts about some lifestyle choices that could make a positive difference to our mental health in later years. He’s all for starting these habits early, for a longer and more active life. Read on for his third installment. Featured recipe: Smoothies.

Part 3 – Drink Water

The elixir of life

Humans can last days, even weeks, without food. But without water, we’re in trouble. Just 4 hours without water can lead to mild dehydration, with effects like fatigue and headaches. Going as little as 24 hours without water can have dire results. Brains lacking water lose the ability to retain short-term memories and to recall memories from the past. Lack of water over longer periods makes your little gray cells shrink. A thirsty brain ages before its time, resulting in brain fog, confusion, and worse.

Recipe for home-made liquid stevia sweetener

Stevia has become my go-to sweetener, these days, for so many reasons. It replaces sugar in coffee and tea as well as in yogurt, mixed drinks, puddings and custards, and even baked goods, with a little practice.

Vinny’s recipe for a home-made stevia sweetener results in a liquid that you can measure out by the teaspoon or with a dropper. One teaspoon is equivalent to one teaspoon of sugar in sweetening power. It works reliably well.

Spicy Ginger Cookies for Quarantine

I’m on a kick these days, trying out traditional recipes that represent our mixed heritage in Canada. I’ve just published a recipe for Norwegian glögg, a warm, spicy wine concoction served often at Christmas. Glögg tastes great with spicy ginger cookies, so I’m posting a recipe for these now, which came to me from a friend who was experimenting with cookie recipes during COVID isolation. Turns out this is a take on the traditional British version, favored by Fortum and Mason.

Norwegian Glögg

A mulled wine at Christmas is a tradition in the Nordic household. Our ancester William Cornelius immigrated to Canada from Norway in the early 1900s, by way of North Dakota. He introduced the Norwegian version of mulled wine, Glögg, to his family in Saskatchewan, and the tradition came down through the family since then. I really enjoy the highly spiced flavor of this warm drink.

Orange and cranberry chutney

An essential, whenever you roast a turkey

This post offers one simple but tasty and traditional recipe for cranberry sauce, done up in bows and boasting less sugar and more pizzazz than you get from a can at the grocery store. This is a recipe staple now for our family’s celebrations.

Garden-fresh tomato soup

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  Tomato soup with salmon salad on pumpernickle makes a tasty lunch

With a bumper crop this fall from my tiny COVID garden of five tomato plants, I needed to find some tasty ways to put tomatoes to good use. I love soup, so I decided to make some.

My highest yielding plants were for heritage tomatoes. They were slower to ripen, so I took a whole lot of green tomatoes off them in October. I was surprised to see that by November they had all ripened to a lovely bright yellow, not a red one among them.

The flavor is similar to what I remember tomato soup as tasting, but decidedly different. However, the taste is fresh, tangy, and satisfying. Use whatever fresh tomatoes you have at your disposal. The flavorings in the last step of this recipe can be added in either as little or as much as you might like. Sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor!

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  Tomato soup – basil and other seasonings added at the end

Fresh tomato soup
Makes about 8 cups

• Olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, coursely chopped
• 1 large onion, coursely chopped

• 6 cups fresh tomatoes, coursely chopped
• 4 whole cloves
• 4 cups chicken broth

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Flavorings (Optional)

• 2 tablespoons chopped basil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• a few shakes cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon homemade liquid stevia, coconut palm sugar, or white sugar

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  Red onions and yellow heritage tomatoes were what I had on hand

1. In a stockpot, over medium heat, saute the garlic with chopped onion until limp, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the coursely chopped tomatoes, with skin and seeds, and bring to a sizzle. Allow them to cook until the tomatoes soften.
3. Add chicken broth and cloves. Bring to a boil, and gently boil for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and puree with an immersion hand-held blender. Strain into a bowl, using a large sieve. Use a spoon to force as much pulp through the strainer as you can. Discard the cloves and fiber left in the strainer.
4. In the now empty stockpot, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour to make a paste, cooking until the roux is a medium brown, at least 5 minutes.
5. Gradually whisk in a bit of the tomato puree, so that no lumps form, then stir in the rest.
6. Season with vinegar, sugar, cayenne, and salt, and adjust to taste. Instead of salt and cayenne, I added a teaspoon of TexMex seasoning, which is basically salt and cayenne… Next time, I’ll try it without the vinegar. I found it a touch on the sour side. See what you think before going ahead with the vinegar. I did love the basil, though. And I enjoyed the nip from the TexMex.
7. Serve very hot with some cream on the side for people to add if they choose. The nutrition count below is for the soup without any cream.

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  I like to serve soup piping hot, in pretty mugs or cups

Nutrition

Studies show that tomatoes and tomato products may reduce your risk of heart disease and several cancers. This fruit is also beneficial for skin health, as it may protect against sunburns. These effects are likely due to high concentrations of antioxidants, especially lycopene and beta carotene. But tomatoes also contain several useful vitamins and minerals, namely vitamin A, calcium, potassium, and vitamin C.

A one-cup serving of this soup provides 100 calories; 4 grams protein, 7% RDV (recommended daily value); 4 grams carbohydrates, 1% RDV (just 1 gram sugar); 3 grams fat, 5% RDV; 81 mg sodium, 3% RDV; vitamin A 9% RDV; Ca 7% RDV.

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  Dishes drying in sink after making a pot of soup

As an aside: No pain, no gain

Just thought I’d point out that it may be easier to open a can of soup. But for pure personal satisfation, nothing beats growing your own food and making your own soup. For me, the only down side is the washing up!

But I’ve learned to enjoy the feel of warm water on my hands and the pleasure of seeing tidy work surfaces. I use the wait times between steps in the cooking process to wash utensils used to that point. There is far less to contend with at the end.

Now, I just have to put all these dishes away, and my kitchen will be spick and span again. Whistle while you work!

Spiced ginger and green tomato coffee cake

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A tasty coffee cake that needs no extra sweetness can be had by making up this moist snacking cake. A wonderful treat if you have some green tomatoes on hand, a strong possibility if you were growing tomatoes at home this year, like Vinny was. It calls for 200 grams of green tomatoes, which is about two medium-sized ones.

Ginger is the healthiest spice in your pantry. It is one food that earns its reputation as a “super food” whole-heartedly, as has been proven by science. This recipe uses lots of ginger.

A Bundt cake studded with green tomato pieces and candied ginger, then spiced with masala tadka powder, is perfect with a cup of coffee or tea, or even with a glass of milk.

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Spiced green tomato and candied ginger coffee cake
Makes 12 modest slices

• 1 cup green tomatoes, chopped (200 grams, about 2 medium)
• 1/4 cup (40 grams) candied ginger, chopped finely
• 60 grams unsalted butter at room temperature
• 60 grams (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
• 60 grams (1/2 cup) coconut palm sugar (or light brown sugar)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 150 grams (1 1/2 cups) whole-wheat flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)
• 1 teaspoon masala chai powder or tadka masala spice*
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350F (180C)
2. Prepare a small Bundt pan (6 cups or 7.5 x 3 inches) by lightly coating the sides, bottom and center spindle with canola oil or other flavorless oil. Sprinkled some flour liberally around the sides and turn upside down over the sink to tap off any excess. Make sure the spindle is coated with flour too.
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars with an electric mixer for a couple of minutes. Keep your fingers away from the beaters while they are beating, or else you might catch your fingers in the blades and faint! Vinny knows this from personal experience. No bones were broken, though…
4. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat well.
5. In a smaller bowl mix the chopped tomatoes and chopped ginger together well. Add the 1/2 cup (50 grams) of the flour and toss with a wooden spoon, till the flour has coated the veggie pieces.
6. Sift 1 cup (100 grams) of the flour together with the baking soda, baking powder, and masala powder in another smaller bowl. Add this to the butter mixture in the large bowl in three parts and beat on medium speed after each addition till well mixed.
7. Add the green tomato mixture to the batter in the large bowl and fold in till well mixed using a wooden spoon. The mixture will be thick.
8. Scrape this mixture into the prepared Bundt pan and smooth the top.
9. Turn the oven setting to Bake and cook the cake for 45 to 50 minutes till a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
10. Cool in the tin for about 10 minutes. Then unmold the cake onto a rack to cool.

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To Serve

No need to use a sugar glaze. Leave it plain and enjoy the moist delicious flavor of this spicy cake.

Note

If you don’t have a prepared masala spice mix on hand, add these to the flour mixture: ½ teaspoon cardemom and 1/8 teaspoon each of ground cinnamon, black pepper, cloves, and coriander. If you like a highly spiced cake, you can double these quantities.

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  Ginger and green tomatoes

Nutrition

A serving size of one-twelfth of the cake has 150 calories and 10 grams of sugar. It provides 11% of the recommended daily amount of Vitamin A and 5% of each of protein, vitamin C, calcium, and iron.

Ginger is high in gingerol, a substance with powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It is said to help prevent nausea, improve osteoarthritis, and promote weight loss, among other things.

Spices add way more than flavor to foods. I like to add them liberally every time I cook.

Halloween cooked-carrot and tomato salad

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Halloween doesn’t have to be all about candy. Having gained a very bad 15 pounds between March and August in this year of the coronovirus, and now being well on the way to shedding it all again, I wanted to celebrate a sugar-free evening with the ghosts and goblins.

The powers that be have decreed that it’s not safe for children to go door to door this year… and rightly so, with numbers of covid-19 cases soaring in a second scary wave. So we have not bought the usual crazy amount of mini chocolate bars this year.

Instead of candy, I nominate the color orange to be our celebration vehicle for Halloween in our house.

Pumpkins are a bit cliche… so I chose to make a delicious dinner-time dish from the gorgeous, sweet, orange carrots available in the market these days.

The recipe is modified from one I published earlier for a big crowd. The recipe here provides eight servings as a veggie side dish for dinner. It has enough tangy sweetness to make you forget that there is no candy for you to gorge on, after all the little ones stop knocking on your door on October 31st. Happy Halloween!

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Halloween cooked-carrot and tomato salad
Makes eight 4-ounce servings

• 1.5 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced into coins
• 0.5 – 1 inch fresh ginger, skin scraped and finely chopped (I like lots)
• 5 ounces tomato sauce (I used roasted red pepper pasta sauce)
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
• 1 tablespoon sesame seed oil (optional)
• 1/4 cup vinegar (preferably apple cider vinegar)
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 8-16 ounces tomatoes, coarsely chopped (I used 2 large ripe tomatoes)
• 1 large green onion, sliced, or a handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped, for garnish (optional)

1. Slice carrots into coins, then cook in slightly salted boiling water until tender yet crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain, then submerge in cold water to cool.
2. Combine tomato sauce, oil, vinegar, ginger, and curry powder in a small sauce pan and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes to the carrots and the cooled tomato dressing (sweetened if you wish with 1 tablespoon of my homemade liquid stevia or 1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar). Mix well.
4. Chill until serving time. Garnish with the chopped green onion or the chopped basil leaves. Stays fresh for 3 days in the fridge.

Note: I used pureed tomatoes instead of tomato sauce on one occasion and so I had to add salt and a little coconut palm sugar to taste. Otherwise it was too bitter/sour. There is plenty of dressing, and you may only want to add half of it at first and taste to see if that is enough. I had about a half cup let over the last time I tried this recipe. It’s great as a dressing on any salad.

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  Carrots are sweet enough for Halloween treats

Nutrition summary

Total calories per 4-ounce serving is 234. If you go easy on the dressing that pools in the bottom of the bowl, the calories are reduced somewhat.

Carrots are a sweet veggie, containing a significant amount of sugar. So there is no need for additional sugar. But I did use a little stevia sweetener, to take the edge off the vinegar. You might not need any sweetener at all.

One serving contains 6 times the vitamin A and 33% of the fiber, vitamin C, and potassium you need every day. This salad is also a good source of iron, calcium, and even protein, providing about 10% of the recommended daily amounts.

If you are diabetic, know that one serving provides 11 grams of sugar, twice the suggested amount per dish.

This is a delicious tangy side dish that can serve as your starch portion, as well as your veggie, in one single serving. Trick or treat? I hope you find this recipe more on the treat side of the equation. Boo!

“Eat more leaves,” says Pollan

Reviewing Michael Pollan’s book “In Defense of Food”

“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Michael Pollan has distilled much of the research  into the Western diet over recent years into this simple formula. It’s that easy to eat well for better health.

Small-batch homemade red current jelly

Update – 2023

Harvesting currents

To avoid all the hassle outlined below that I encountered trying to make jelly using the traditional sugar-activated pectins like Certo, this year I picked up something entirely different from a health food store. It’s called Pomona’s Universal Pectin, and it’s a dream to use.

It does not require sugar to set, so you can go ahead and make a low-sugar, or even a no-sugar jam or jelly with no problem. This citric-based pectin sets by interacting with calcium, which comes in a separate packet with the pectin and a wealth of instructions and helpful tips.

My red current jelly this year set with a minimum of fuss and with just a little sugar, supplemented by my home-made liquid stevia to taste. This product is highly recommended!

Making red current jelly: Adding the pectin/canning the jelly

My harvet from one bush

Boiling the berries

Straining the berry juice from the pulp through cheesecloth

Why using Certo or other sugar-activated pectins is more trouble than it’s worth

For several years now, ever since I discovered that the mystery shrub on my property at the end of our hedge was a red current bush, I’ve been trying to make jelly from the berries. And every year I’ve ended up with a lovely syrup, instead.

In 2020, I finally succeeded in making three small jars of ruby red, sweetly tart jelly. But the following year, I failed once again.

Battling Alzheimer’s Disease – Part 2: Choose Mood Foods

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  Yogurt bowl with rhubarb, ginger, cinnamon, and walnuts

Fend off those “senior moments”

Vinny’s grandparents have told him that living with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia is one of the scarier prospects of growing older. So he has decided to do a series of posts about some lifestyle choices that could make a positive difference to our mental health in later years. He’s all for starting these habits early, for a longer and more active life. Read on for his second installment. Featured recipe: Yogurt bowl.

Part 2: Choose Mood Foods

The foods you choose affect your mood. And what is mood but your brain’s reactions to the world around you. Vinny’s yogurt bowl is a treat filled with probiotics and flavenoids to calm your brain and keep it firing on all cylinders.

Battling Alzheimer’s Disease: Part 1 – Fueling exercise

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  Bananas fuel the body well throughout life

Fend off those “senior moments”

Vinny’s grandparents have told him that living with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia is one of the scarier prospects of growing older. So he has decided to do a series of posts about some lifestyle choices that could make a positive difference to our mental health in later years. He’s all for starting these habits early, for a longer and more active life. Read on for his first installment.

Fight stroke with magnesium

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  Scallops, broccoli, and black beans are full of magnesium. Scroll down for easy recipe.

Vinny’s grandparents are getting on, so nobody will blame them if they are starting to look a little worn around the edges. Relying on fast food and maybe even cigarettes over the years to make life easy could be part of the problem. With these sorts of habits, Vinny worried that his family could be setting itself up for medical catastrophes… stroke for example. Holy smokes! Is there anything we can do to help?

Lemon-drizzle cake sweetens the mood

Getting in the groceries

Here we are in the midst of week 6 of self isolation. What began as an adventure is turning into a drudge. Solace comes in knowing that in comparison to other world disasters people have had to face, this one is fairly tame… as long as you can dodge  COVID-19, that is. Plus, we can use the extra time at home to experiment in the kitchen!

Baked cheese and eggs dish

This delicious egg cassarole is easier than a quiche and twice as tasty. It sometimes goes by the name “Strata”, probably because it is a layered approach to eggy goodness. But as Shakespeare once noted, “a rose by any other name is just as sweet.”

Quarantined chocolate soufflés

Have you ever craved a silky soufflé but hesitated to try? I certainly have. The eggy concoction seemed too finicky and prone to failure. Also, I thought it had to be baked at the last minute. So how would it ever work as a make-ahead dessert for company?

Well, with all the time in the world available these days for experimenting, and as the corona virus pandemic is demanding that no company cross our threshold, this seemed the perfect time to try.

Mood-boosting banana and oatmeal cookies

Is your family is feeling a little low what with all this social distancing we are having to endure for the public good these days? Cheer them up with  a batch of hearty banana cookies.  So easy! With just two key ingredients and a few optional add-ons for extra flavor and happiness, these cookies are sure to please your family.

Chocolatey low-sugar brownies

Chill out, everybody!

If you are looking for a low-sugar double-chocolate brownie that your children will devour, look no further. Each moist chocolatey square satisfies with two kinds of chocolate. The squares are sweetened with only 1/4 cup maple syrup and the sugar from the semisweet chocolate chips, plus one secret ingredient. No, it’s not marijuana.

A Princess Elizabeth cake to honor Ondaatje’s novel ‘Warlight’

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Books, friends, and food – a recipe for a pleasant afternoon

Having volunteered to host our bookclub this week with only a few days notice, Vinny and I decided to make a cake we had attempted once before for Canada Day. It was a recipe that Queen Elizabeth had popularized immediately after the Second World War. Food was being rationed in Britain and there was little sugar to spare. At that time Elizabeth was still a princess, not yet 20. She wanted to do her part for the war effort and, as one of her many projects, she came up with a cake that was sweetened not with sugar but with dates and honey.

Carpathian Kasha with Browned Onions and Walnuts

Buckwheat kasha

Carpathian kasha – Vinny made this nutty gluten-free side dish for an Eastern European themed dinner party, with a shout out to Dracula.

Vinny presents the 35 cent loaf – a video!

 

Our first cooking video

One rainy day at the cottage this summer, Vinny and his crew decided to make a cooking video. This is our first attempt at doing such a thing.

Vinny’s cousin Sage will take you through the bread-making process, completely unscripted. Watch it full screen – fun!

This artisanal method of bread-making is so easy, even your kids can do it…. Just like Sage does. There’s no kneading, no waiting over night, and only about 10 or 15 minutes of prep time.

You end up with freshly baked deliciousness for only pennies a loaf. That’s really cheap eats. So lets get baking!

Print this: Artisanal bread recipe

Caution: An adult must  supervise children when putting the pot in the hot oven and taking it out again. Always use oven mitts. Pull out the rack for easy access.

Banana squash is economical as well as tasty

An unusal giant winter squash

On a beautiful family farm near Silver Lake Provincial Park (Ontario), where my parents used to take my sister and I to camp every weekend during the summer, I discovered an intriguingly large vegetable new to me. It goes by the name banana squash.

An ancient Romanian wine starts off our evening with Dracula

An evening with Dracula

The idea for our Dracula-themed dinner party this year stemmed from a bottle of wine we received at Christmas. Tāmâioasā is an indiginous grape variety from Romania, the Eastern European country that harbors Dracula’s castle in the province of Transylvania.

Toasting nuts

To get the most from your nuts, toasting is the way to go. How does that work?

Easy, artisanal bread in five minutes

Have you been afraid to make your own bread, thinking about how it used to take Grandma all day to bake a loaf? Well, here’s a recipe you can serve the day you make it.

Home-made Pie Crust Recipe

Home-made pie shell, ready to fill.

This is a standard pie crust recipe. But I have never made a pie crust in my life. So I decided to start with an easy, classic recipe and see where it takes me. Here it goes.

Ice Krispy Cake with Just 3 Ingredients

Make a delicious tea loaf with just three ingredients.

Here’s something fun to try with your mini chefs. Bake a sweet loaf using just ice cream, cereal, and flour, and enjoy it warm from the oven. Or slice it and make an awesome peanut butter and jam sandwich. You can also use a slice as a base for strawberries and whipped cream or bananas and chocolate sauce. Let your imagination take you on a taste safari!

Etouffée – Smothered chicken and shrimp with Cajun seasonings for Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras colors are purple for justice, green for faith, and gold for power. Beads are thrown from elaborate floats and costumed people riding the floats must disguise their faces, by law.

Mardi Gras is coming soon, offering a fun way to celebrate Spring with friends or to welcome Lent as a prelude to Easter. Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, has its origins in the French Catholic church. The custom was brought to the French colonies in North America in the 1700s, specifically New Orleans, and is now a legal holiday in Louisiana.

Over the years specific dishes featuring Cajun and Creole cuisine have become traditions.

Bruno’s Truffle Omelette

 

Vinny loves all things “eggs,” but a morning omelet is one of his favorites. So when he found a recipe for a truffle omelet from Bruno, Chief of Police of the fictional village of St. Denis in the heart of the Dordogne in France, Vinny couldn’t resist.

Smoked-salmon chowder for Robbie Burns Day

Robbie Burns Day is an annual tradition in our house. Falling on the Scottish bard’s birthday, January 25th, the day is usually marked by a savory steamed pudding called haggis, which at one time came wrapped inside a sheep’s stomach. Bagpipes, Scotch whiskey, kilts, and an “address to a Haggis” are all part of the celebrations.

Easy tourtière, a traditional meat pie

Family traditions are especially important at Christmas. Tourtière is one of them. Vinny just wouldn’t feel right without this savory meat pie for the holidays.

Fat-burning bedtime soother

What if we could lose weight while we sleep…

That idea sounds almost miraculous. But it might just be possible. Here’s the theory.

At night, our body burns the fat we have accumulated during the day. We can speed up that process while we sleep by stimulating the digestive system and increasing our metabolism. Drinking in some of nature’s stronger metabolism boosters can prod our digestion system to be more efficient.