A Life, Lived

Travel Tuesdays - Niagara Wineries

Saturday was one of those nice days we get in late fall where it is warm enough to get out and about without having to bundle up too much. We decided to go to two wineries in Niagara. The first winery, 13th Street Winery, had Muskoka chairs set up around fire pits. It was wonderful to sit outside and enjoy a glass of wine. The second one we visited was Sue-Ann Staff. There we found a large event tent set up with small tasting areas inside. It was great to get out and enjoy some nice wines in a socially distanced way.

Honey Mustard Sheet Pan Pork Chops

This is one of those recipes that I had planned on making for weeks. I had all of the ingredients on hand but for some reason it was never made.

I finally got it together this week. You can guess what happened . . .

Yes, it tasked amazing and I was left wondering why on earth i hadn't made it before!

There are certain recipes that scream 'fall flavours'. This is one of them. While certainly it would be great at any time but when the weather turns colder and the leaves change colour you'll appreciate this blast of comfort food on your plate.

The recipe is from Simply Recipes. The only change that I made was to use dried thyme instead of fresh - our thyme being a causality of the fall cold snap.

Enjoy!

Honey Mustard Sheet Pan Pork Chops

1 pound Brussels sprouts, halved or quartered, depending on the size (about 4 cups prepared)
2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 cups chopped)
10 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, grated or finely minced
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
Four 1-inch thick center-cut loin pork chops (about 2 1/2 pounds)

Preheat the oven to 400˚F.

Toss the Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, thyme, oil, salt, and pepper together on a rimmed sheet pan. Make sure the vegetables are all evenly coated with oil.

In a small bowl, mix together the garlic, mustard, and honey.

Brush the pork chops with honey-mustard: Nestle the pork chops between the vegetables on the sheet pan. Brush both sides of the pork chops with half of the honey mustard sauce (reserve the remaining) and sprinkle with some salt and pepper.

Bake the pork chops: Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Brush both sides of the pork chops with the remaining honey-mustard sauce. Cook another 10 to 15 minutes, until the meat is cooked through and has reached an internal temperature of 145˚F.

Serve: Divide the vegetables and pork chops between places and serve while hot.

Borscht

A million years ago when I was a kid my parents were in one of those International Cooking clubs that were all the rage in the 70s. For one of them the group 'traveled' to Russia for their menu. My parents were picked to cook the soup course - borscht.

It is funny how certain memories from your childhood remain tucked away in the mass of your brain. I can remember eating this soup. It was a happy memory (as compared to a bevy of unfortunate liver memories) and from time to time I crave borscht.

I had planned to make this on Saturday night but 'someone' in this house threw away the beets! My lord Paul, people are starving out there - a wrinkled beet never hurt anyone!

Anyway, on Sunday I bought some beets and we were off. In the end it was perfect  Sunday was a hellish fall day - cool, dark, windy, and wet. Perfect for a large bowl of comfort.

I made this recipe but followed the instructions for the Instant Pot. It makes a lot and I was forced to swap out the smaller pot for the large Instant Pot I keep for such emergencies. It's pretty easy - saute the meat, de-glaze the pot, dump everything in, put on the lid, pressure for 10 minutes (I did 15 because it was so damn full). When the pressure is released stir in the dill.

YUM!

Borscht

4 – 6 tsp. canola oil, divided
1 -2 lb. trimmed sirloin beef, chuck, or beef of your choice cut in 1/2 in. cubes
8 oz. mushrooms – sliced
4 med. beets (about 1 lb. ) – peeled and cut in chunks
1 c. carrots – thick sliced
1 c. onion – cut in chunks
1 c. celery – thick sliced
2 c. cabbage (red or green or combo) – pre-shredded or cut into chunks
4-6 small – med. white or red potatoes – large diced, rinsed (optional for those counting ww points)
1/2 c. red wine (optional)
6 c. low sodium beef broth
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 t. Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper
1/4 c. fresh dill, plus more for garnish
sour cream

Put beets, carrots, onion, celery and cabbage in food process and chop.

Heat oil in Dutch oven over med-hi heat. Add steak and cook, stirring frequently till beginning to brown. Transfer  to bowl.

Add 1 tsp. Oil to pot over med. Heat, add mushrooms and cook, stirring, till beginning to brown. 3-5 mins. Transfer to bowl.

Add remaining oil to pot. Add all the chopped vegetables. Cook, stirring, till begins to soften. (about 10 mins.)

Add wine, scraping up any browned bits. Add beef and mushrooms, broth, tomato sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and bring to boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, covered, about 1/2  hour. Add potatoes, cook another 1/2 hour. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Before serving. Stir in 1/4 c. Dill. Top each portion with 1 t. Sour cream and garnish with more dill, if desired.

May refrigerate up to 3 days before serving.

Instant Pot version:

Saute the beef until well browned on all sides. About 2 minutes.

Deglaze the pot, and add all other vegetables.

Pressure cook on high for about 10 minutes and use natural release.

All ingredients and measurements stay the same as the original recipe.

Travel Tuesdays - Wandering Perth County

Perth County is a rural area about 90 minutes from home. It is an area we have a connection to through family, theatre, food, and plenty of visits!

A couple of weeks ago Paul and I took advantage of a fabulous day, the likes of which we rarely see in November, to go on a bit of a drive. In fact, it was the furthest we had been since February!

Dark Christmas Cake

Old English Fruitcake. Dark and moist with plenty of spices and packed with plenty of currants, nuts, and sweet glacé fruit. It’s been a Christmas tradition in my family for decades.

Even though Christmas is still more than a month away this is the time to make your Christmas Cake. After baking it you want to soak it in rum, wrap in cheesecloth, followed by foil, and store in a cool, dark place until you eat it on Christmas Day.

My mom has a recipe that she has been using for more than 50 years. We used to make the cakes together but with work being so busy I've fallen out of the tradition for the past few years. This year, with the COVID challenges everywhere, it seemed to be time to return to tradition.

Sort of.

I did not use mom's recipe. Yup, I'm likely on the list of children destined for hell as a result but it was time for a change.

This recipe made about half the cakes that mom's recipe makes. While we like Christmas Cake not everyone does and I'll be damned if one of my Christmas Cakes will become that white elephant gift at the gift exchange that no one wants.

I liked that this recipe soaked the fruit in rum overnight. Boozy fruit is good.

This recipe also uses molasses to darken the cakes - mom's recipe uses grape juice.

I think change will be good.

I followed the recipe as printed with a couple of exceptions - I doubled all three of the spices. 1/4 teaspoon seemed like a tiny amount. I used half a teaspoon and the batter tasted amazing and the cakes had a lovely scent when I pulled them out of the oven. The recipe calls for one large cake which you later cut into smaller cakes. You cans see from the pic below that I used small pans to bake the cakes in - as a result I cut the coking time a bit as well.

Other than that I followed along perfectly.

I'll let you know around December 24th how they tasted.

Dark Christmas Cake

• • 2 cups dried currants
  • 2 cups candied mixed peel
  • 1 1/2 cup coarsely chopped candied pineapple
  • 1 1/2 cup red glacé cherries , halved
  • 1 1/2 cup seeded Muscat raisins or lexia raisins
  • 1 cup amber or dark rum or brandy
  • 2 cups alI-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon each ground allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg
  • pinch salt
  • 3/4 cups butter, softened
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup strawberry jam
  • 2 tablespoons fancy molasses
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cup chopped walnut halves

In large bowl, combine currants, mixed peel, pineapple, cherries, raisins and 3/4 cup of the rum; cover and let stand for 24 hours, stirring occasionally.

In bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; toss 1/2 cup into currant mixture. In separate bowl, beat together butter, brown sugar, jam and molasses until fluffy; beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Stir in remaining flour mixture in 1 addition just until combined. Stir in currant mixture and walnuts. Scrape into 13- x 9-inch (3.5 L) double-thickness parchment paper–lined cake pan, smoothing top. 

Set shallow pan on bottom rack of 300°F oven; pour in enough water to come halfway up sides. Bake cake on centre rack for 1 hour. Lay foil loosely over cake; bake until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean but a little sticky, 45 to 60 minutes. Let cool completely in pan.

Remove cake from pan; peel off parchment paper. Soak double-thickness 16-inch square of cheesecloth in remaining rum; wrap around cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and overwrap in foil. Refrigerate for 1 month. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 3 months.) Cut crosswise into 6 bars.

Travel Tuesdays - Visiting the US

We stopped visiting the US when Donald Trump was sworn in as President. It has been a long four years . . . prior to the 2016 election we visited the US regularly.

I am looking forward to heading across the border and visiting some of our favourite spots again!

Finally

Yes, being a good person matters again. Finally.

The World is Still Anxiously Waiting

Get This Right America . . .

Taking a break from Travel Tuesday because of a little activity south of the border . . .

Hallowee'en Dinner

COVID19 has kicked traditions to the curb.

Last night, for the first time in decades, no pumpkins were carved and set outside with flickering candles inside. No children were welcomed at the door. Paul and I didn't rush to the door to see the kids in their costumes and pass out treats. I didn't make a big pot of chill.

Instead we went out and wandered about during the day.

When we got home we left the front lights off.

I had a deep, deep nap.

Later I put together a dinner that had been cooked by the chefs at Masion Selby, a nice French restaurant near my office. I ordered during the week, picked it up in Friday before I left the city, and had a fabulous meal.

They even carved a mini pumpkin and set it home with a tea light to add the right ambience to the meal.

While COVID19 has messed with traditions this was a happy alternative!

The menu:

“Screeching” Pain au Lait
Osprey Bluffs honey butter
~
“Blood” Red Beet Salad
chèvre, candied pumpkin seeds
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Boeuf “BOO”rguignon
pomme purée, roasted root vegetables
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Caramel Apple Tart