Recently I was given a copy of High Plains: The Joy of Alberta Cuisine by Cinda Chavich. This is a book that makes you feel proud to be from the Prairies.
Chavich is a journalist, food specialist and advocate of Alberta cuisine. She defines regional cuisine as a style of cooking that is connected to the land. She visited farms, dairies, bakeries and delis looking for the best Alberta has to offer in regional cuisine. The resulting book combines recipes, photographs, food sources, cooking and shopping tips and local history. It is put together in such a way that I was forced to sit in the easy chair and read through it. The stories are interesting and the recipes are user-friendly, old-fashioned and nutritious.
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For a harvest lunch this week, I made the following delicious concoction from High Plains.
My minestrone
This recipe makes a big pot of homey vegetable soup, inspired by Italian minestrone but with the addition of barley or brown rice instead of the usual pasta.
2 tablespoons olive 30 mL
or canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup chopped, 250 mL
cooked ham, or, substitute
4-5 slices double-smoked
bacon, chopped
1 cup chopped carrots 250 mL
2 cups peeled and 500 mL
chopped potatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped celery 250 mL
4 large tomatoes, chopped
(fresh or canned)
6 cups chicken broth 1.5 L
1 ham bone
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup pot barley or 125 mL
brown rice
11/2 cups cooked white 375 mL
beans
1 cup frozen peas, 250 mL
thawed (optional)
salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons basil 30 mL
pesto or, to taste,
hot sauce
In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil and sauté the onion until it starts to brown. If using bacon instead of ham, cook it with the onions. Add ham, chopped carrots, potatoes, garlic and celery and continue to sauté until vegetables are fragrant and beginning to get tender, about five to 10 minutes.
Add tomatoes and cook two minutes. Add broth, ham bone and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, cover partially, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for one hour.
Stir in barley or rice, beans and peas, if using, and return the soup to boiling. Cover and simmer at low heat for 30 minutes longer, until barley or rice is tender. Season soup with salt and pepper, to taste, and stir in pesto or place a little dollop in each bowl of soup when serving. Season with hot sauce to taste. Serves eight.
This is a recipe that you can alter according to your taste buds. It really is a wonderful dish – hearty enough to fill our 20-year-old son Matt and 23-year-old Alex who is a young Australian staying with us and helping with harvest. It is a heart-healthy meal-in-one. For supper I made another recipe from High Plains I recommend.
Chicken breasts in cranberry mustard sauce
Serve this chicken with mustard sauce over creamy cornmeal polenta or garlic mashed potatoes, with tender green beans or steamed broccoli on the side.
4 boneless, skinless
chicken breasts
1/4 cup all-purpose flour 50 mL
seasoned with 1/2
teaspoon (2 mL) each:
salt, freshly ground black
pepper, thyme
2 tablespoons canola oil 30 mL
1/2 cup minced onion 125 mL
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine 125 mL
3/4 cup chicken broth 175 mL
3 tablespoons Dijon 45 mL
mustard
1 teaspoon whole 5 mL
mustard seeds
1 tablespoon honey 15 mL
1 teaspoon fresh thyme 5 mL
leaves
1 teaspoon cornstarch 5 mL
mixed with 1 teaspoon
(5 mL) water
1/4 cup dried cranberries 50 mL
Toss chicken breasts in seasoned flour to coat, shaking off excess. Heat oil in a large, nonstick pan over medium heat and sauté chicken until browned on both sides, about 10 minutes. Set aside and keep warm.
Add onion to pan and stir until beginning to brown. Add garlic and cook for one minute. Stir in wine, stirring up any browned bits, and boil vigorously for one minute to reduce by half. Add broth and whisk in mustard, mustard seeds, honey and thyme. Bring to a boil. Add cornstarch solution and cranberries and cook until sauce is thickened.
Return the chicken to the pan, cover, and heat through for three minutes. Serves four.
Recipe request
Dear TEAM: When we were at a lawn party, we had a wonderful dessert called drumstick slice. They said it had peanut butter, whipped topping and cream cheese mixed, and finely chopped peanuts sprinkled on top. The base was crunchy. Would you have this recipe? I sure would like to get it. – T.R., Killarney, Man.
Dear T.R.: I, too, enjoyed this dessert. It is one I copied from my mother’s recipes. Mom keeps it in the freezer and just cuts a slice or two as needed. It is an excellent make-ahead dessert that keeps well in the freezer for harvest meals, unexpected events or planned holiday happenings.
Drumstick dessert
1 box vanilla wafers,
crushed, 250 wafers
1/2 cup pecans, walnuts, 125 mL
or peanuts
1/2 cup margarine, melted 125 mL
Put one-half the crumb mixture in 9 x 13 inch (22 x 23 cm) pan and bake for eight minutes.
Filling:
1 pkg. cream cheese 250 g
1/2 cup sugar 125 mL
1/4 cup peanut butter 50 mL
4 eggs
Blend all filling ingredients and add one large Cool Whip container (four cups/one L). Spread over the crust. Drizzle butterscotch topping over the slice and swirl with a knife. Scatter the rest of the crumbs on top. Freeze. Take out 20 minutes before serving.
