Food

While canned pumpkin is fine in a fix, the few simple steps to creating your own are worth the effort and add greatly to the depth of flavour.

The best after-school cookie—chocolate and peanut butter.

This recipe was created for Ultimate Foods for Ultimate Health and don’t forget the chocolate! (Whitecap, 2007) but I adapted it for alive and I love this version better than the original. Peanut butter and brown rice syrup make the perfect sticky combo to keep the cereals “glued” together.

Dry ingredients:

This salad is as flexible as your taste in cheese and can be varied accordingly. However, goat cheese is richly flavourful, more easily digested than traditional dairy, and widely available.

While you can use regular bacon (or none at all) with this recipe, the flavour imparted by smoked varieties blend wonderfully well with both bison and maple whisky butter. Prepare red wine sauce and maple whisky butter ahead of time, as both will hold nicely refrigerated.

This classic cream of celery is very aromatic. If you have a challenge finding celery root, you can use celery instead, but make sure to strain diligently to remove the threads.

Raspberry Sorbet

Barley is a much underused heritage grain that’s just waiting to be rediscovered. This super whole grain is one of the richest sources of both soluble and insoluble fibre.

Quinoa (pronounced “keen-wah”) is an ancient cereal that was eaten by the Incas centuries ago. It was so revered that they called it the “Mother Grain.” Quinoa is so high in protein (13 percent) that the United Nations classified it as a supercrop, giving this tiny nondescript grist the nutritional clout of an Olympic athlete.

Cinderella pumpkins are a bright orange heirloom variety increasingly available at farmers’ markets. If not at hand, substitute pie pumpkins or switch it up with a squash such as butternut.

The date and pecan crust in this dish balances the slight gaminess of the venison, which is increasingly available at specialty meat shops. Green beans and turnip make great side dishes.

This ice cream uses five-spice powder, a Chinese spice mixture containing star anise, fennel seeds, Szechuan peppercorns, cloves, and cinnamon. It is available at most grocery stores.

In the 1970s every bride-to-be was almost guaranteed a set of French onion soup bowls as a shower gift. This lighter version of that popular soup is my idea of a comfort food.

This light cream soup has a woodsy flavour and is excellent as a first course or as a light meal served with crusty rolls and a main course salad.

Urfa pepper is a Turkish variety of chili pepper with a fantastic sweet, slightly smoky flavour with a touch of dried fruit on the palate. If sourcing is a challenge, Aleppo pepper offers a similar flavour profile. 1 cup (250 mL) fine burghul (bulgur) 5 oz (140 g) lean ground lamb 1 onion, finely diced 1 tsp (5 mL) allspice 1 tsp (5 mL) cumin 1 tsp (5 mL) Urfa pepper flakes 2 Tbsp (30 mL) plain flour Salt and pepper, to taste Filling 2.5 oz (70 g) soft goat cheese Half a lemon, juiced and zested 2 Tbsp (30 mL) pistachios, chopped and toasted Pinch chopped mint Pinch chopped cilantro Pinch chopped flat-leaf parsley Salt and pepper, to taste Cover burghul with boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain in fine colander. Spread on paper towels to absorb any moisture. Process burghul, lamb, onion, spices, and flour in food processor until it forms a paste. Season with salt and pepper, and refrigerate for 1 hour. For filling, whip goat cheese with lemon juice and zest. Transfer to bowl and mix in herbs and pistachios. Season with salt and pepper. Put goat cheese mixture in plastic piping bag. Form lamb mixture into 6 - 4 in (10 cm) sausages. Using a wet index finger, make long hole through centre of each sausage and gently work your finger to create a cavity for filling. Place goat cheese filling into each sausage until about 1/3 full and seal, moulding into a torpedo shape. Smooth over any cracks with fingers. Place on foil tray and refrigerate uncovered for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C). Place sausages (kibbeh) on baking sheet lined with parchment paper; bake 10 minutes or until cooked. Serves 6. source: "Sanafir", alive #314, December 2008

Kanafa is a pastry similar to a stringy version of phyllo that is found in the freezer section of Middle Eastern and Greek food shops. Ras el hanout means “head of the shop” in Arabic and is a popular blend of herbs and spices used across the Middle East and North Africa, most often including cardamom, clove, cinnamon, paprika, coriander, cumin, mace, nutmeg, peppercorn, and turmeric. It is also often perceived as an aphrodisiac!

Popularized throughout the Middle East, hummus has become a familiar favourite worldwide; this recipe taps into the cold cellar to bring a sweet touch of pumpkin.

Kecap manis, a key ingredient in this recipe’s marinade, is an Indonesian soy sauce that usually contains star anise, garlic, and palm sugar, giving it a slightly sweet flavour and a syrupy texture. Marinating overnight gives the beef tremendous flavour and texture. You can find Japanese cucumbers at Asian or Middle Eastern markets; substitute English cucumbers if necessary.

1 oz (30 mL) Cointreau

Simple syrup is a breeze to prepare. Dissolve two parts sugar in one part water for a sweetener in any cocktail.

I discovered this recipe in a food and wine magazine back in the 1980s and have been using it ever since. Rose Levy Beranbaum for the Cordon Rose Cooking School in New York developed it, and it’s a winner.

Fellow professional home economist, Barb Holland, gave me a jar of these for Christmas last year, and they were such a huge hit that I had to hide them from my family so I could at least have a couple.

Spice up your breakfast with this delicious Indian scrambled egg dish, a simple way to jump start your day.