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vaneramosI didn't learn how to cook a meal until I left home for university, but I always helped Mom with baking and especially preserving. We made freezer strawberry jam with fruit from the local berry farms and wild grape jelly from vines that grew along the beach. We always had lots of zucchini from the garden to make relish.
Best of all were nine-day pickles. Mom told how when she was a little girl her grandmother, my Dommy, used to have a big crock of them in the cellar, sitting in their vinegar all winter. Mom and her sisters would go dipping for pickles wheneve they needed a snack. We used a slightly adapted recipe which I have mislaid. I'll have to ask Mom for it again. Meanwhile, I'm trying a new recipe for sweet gherkins. I bought baby cucumbers at the farmers market and put them in brine on Sunday afternoon. They have to sit in that for two weeks before I make the spicy syrup. I'll let you know how they go. One jar will be designated as a birthday present for my favourite pickle lover, Brenna.
As a teenager I started experimenting with new recipes on my own. It started with looking for ways to use the copious produce from my vegetable garden. I remember watermelon pickles and spicy-sweet pickled string beans were especially good.
Growing up in Essex County, Canada's most southern tip, it would have been truly unfortunate if I didn't like peaches and apricots. The region experimented extensively with those fruits. Harrow Research Station in my hometown produced some important peach varieties, like Harrow Fair. Fortunately, I did like peaches and apricots, in fact they're my favourite fruit, if they're sweet and semi-firm. Bland, mealy ones gross me out.
I don't like preserved apricots nearly as well as fresh ones, because I like them best a little on the tart side, but peaches are another story. I can suck down a whole jar of canned peaches in 30 seconds.
But my favourite recipe is peach chutney. This is another one of my signatures. I make it every September. Unlike Monique's peach chutney (which is excellent, too!), this recipe is mild and sweet. It seems a perfect companion for roast pork, and sometimes I put some on a ham sandwich, but it also goes nicely with roast turkey. My favourite thing to serve it with is curried pork tenderloin, a quick little roast to add some flair to a last-minute dinner party. So I'll include that recipe, too, in case you can't think of how to use this delcious peach chutney.
And speaking of curried pork, I also make my own curry powder. That will come as a surprise to people who know I don't like spicy food. Well, I don't like spicy, spicy food. I adore the flavour of curry in moderation. So once every year or so I mix my own powder. I'll throw that recipe in, too, for good measure. It looks different and tastes much better than the pale, insipid powder you'll buy at the store. Be prepared for an intensely fragrant kitchen during the roasting stage.
I have a pot of chutney simmering on the stove right now. What an aroma, peaches and spice, one of my favourites!
And here we go with three of my all-time favourite recipes.
Peach chutney
6 cups peeled, chopped peaches
4 cups peeled, chopped apples
2 cups raisins
4 cups brown sugar
1½ cups cider or malt vinegar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp allspice
2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
Combine all ingredients and cook slowly, stirring frequently, until thick, about 1 hour. Pour into hot sterilized jars and seal.
Makes 4 to 5 pints.
~~~~~
Curried pork tenderloin
1 lb pork tenderloin
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp curry powder
1 Tbsp dry mustard
½ tsp salt
½ tsp paprika, Hungarian sweet
½ tsp pepper
cooking spray
½ cup mango or peach chutney
Preheat over to 425°F
Trim fat from pork. Combine sugar and next five ingredietns (sugar through pepper) in a small bowl; stir well. Rub pork with spice mixture.
Place pork on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; insert a meat thermometer into thickest portion of tenderloin. Bake at 425°F for 25 minutes or until thermometer registers 160°F (slightly pink). Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Serve with chutney.
~~~~~
Curry powder
½ cup coriander seed
5 Tbsp black peppercorns
1 Tbsp whole cloves
2 Tbsp cumin seeds
2 Tbsp green cardomon seeds
1 Tbsp fenugreek seeds
½ cup turmeric
1 Tbsp mace
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp cayenne
Grind seeds coarsely. Blend all ingredients and place in heavy skillet or roasting pan. Roast until spices have darkened and begun to give off an aroma, stirring often. This will take approximately 5 minutes on top of the stove or 20 minutes in a 375°F oven. Cool, then place in jar with tight-fitting lid.
Makes approximately 1½ cups.
Best of all were nine-day pickles. Mom told how when she was a little girl her grandmother, my Dommy, used to have a big crock of them in the cellar, sitting in their vinegar all winter. Mom and her sisters would go dipping for pickles wheneve they needed a snack. We used a slightly adapted recipe which I have mislaid. I'll have to ask Mom for it again. Meanwhile, I'm trying a new recipe for sweet gherkins. I bought baby cucumbers at the farmers market and put them in brine on Sunday afternoon. They have to sit in that for two weeks before I make the spicy syrup. I'll let you know how they go. One jar will be designated as a birthday present for my favourite pickle lover, Brenna.
As a teenager I started experimenting with new recipes on my own. It started with looking for ways to use the copious produce from my vegetable garden. I remember watermelon pickles and spicy-sweet pickled string beans were especially good.
Growing up in Essex County, Canada's most southern tip, it would have been truly unfortunate if I didn't like peaches and apricots. The region experimented extensively with those fruits. Harrow Research Station in my hometown produced some important peach varieties, like Harrow Fair. Fortunately, I did like peaches and apricots, in fact they're my favourite fruit, if they're sweet and semi-firm. Bland, mealy ones gross me out.
I don't like preserved apricots nearly as well as fresh ones, because I like them best a little on the tart side, but peaches are another story. I can suck down a whole jar of canned peaches in 30 seconds.
But my favourite recipe is peach chutney. This is another one of my signatures. I make it every September. Unlike Monique's peach chutney (which is excellent, too!), this recipe is mild and sweet. It seems a perfect companion for roast pork, and sometimes I put some on a ham sandwich, but it also goes nicely with roast turkey. My favourite thing to serve it with is curried pork tenderloin, a quick little roast to add some flair to a last-minute dinner party. So I'll include that recipe, too, in case you can't think of how to use this delcious peach chutney.
And speaking of curried pork, I also make my own curry powder. That will come as a surprise to people who know I don't like spicy food. Well, I don't like spicy, spicy food. I adore the flavour of curry in moderation. So once every year or so I mix my own powder. I'll throw that recipe in, too, for good measure. It looks different and tastes much better than the pale, insipid powder you'll buy at the store. Be prepared for an intensely fragrant kitchen during the roasting stage.
I have a pot of chutney simmering on the stove right now. What an aroma, peaches and spice, one of my favourites!
And here we go with three of my all-time favourite recipes.
Peach chutney
6 cups peeled, chopped peaches
4 cups peeled, chopped apples
2 cups raisins
4 cups brown sugar
1½ cups cider or malt vinegar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp allspice
2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
Combine all ingredients and cook slowly, stirring frequently, until thick, about 1 hour. Pour into hot sterilized jars and seal.
Makes 4 to 5 pints.
~~~~~
Curried pork tenderloin
1 lb pork tenderloin
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp curry powder
1 Tbsp dry mustard
½ tsp salt
½ tsp paprika, Hungarian sweet
½ tsp pepper
cooking spray
½ cup mango or peach chutney
Preheat over to 425°F
Trim fat from pork. Combine sugar and next five ingredietns (sugar through pepper) in a small bowl; stir well. Rub pork with spice mixture.
Place pork on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; insert a meat thermometer into thickest portion of tenderloin. Bake at 425°F for 25 minutes or until thermometer registers 160°F (slightly pink). Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Serve with chutney.
~~~~~
Curry powder
½ cup coriander seed
5 Tbsp black peppercorns
1 Tbsp whole cloves
2 Tbsp cumin seeds
2 Tbsp green cardomon seeds
1 Tbsp fenugreek seeds
½ cup turmeric
1 Tbsp mace
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp cayenne
Grind seeds coarsely. Blend all ingredients and place in heavy skillet or roasting pan. Roast until spices have darkened and begun to give off an aroma, stirring often. This will take approximately 5 minutes on top of the stove or 20 minutes in a 375°F oven. Cool, then place in jar with tight-fitting lid.
Makes approximately 1½ cups.
