With holiday traffic, long weekends and homecoming functions in Saskatchewan and Alberta, the number of vehicles on the road is unreal.
With this extra travelling and the rising price of gas, we rural people think even more about fuel consumption. My husband Don was pointing out to me that when we think we get poor mileage on our vehicles, remember that the Queen Mary got 13 feet per gallon, which equals about 700 gallons per mile.
The crops in our area and in other parts of the country that we have seen are looking good, with potential for an abundant harvest. Many of our crops are pulses.
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In a recent Western Producer article, Gord Bacon, head of Pulse Canada, stated the organization is devising a strategy to promote lentil sales.
The plan is to sell North Americans on the health benefits, thus generating a consumer demand to incorporate peas, lentils, chickpeas and beans into food with which we are already familiar. Pulse Canada also envisions adding whole pulses to cereals and using pulse flour as an ingredient in bread, crackers and pasta.
As lentil growers, we have been adding lentils to recipes for quite some time, but rarely have we cooked lentils as a side dish. After homecoming, friends from Edmonton and Ottawa shared a meal with us, enjoyed the following dish and went home with the recipe and a bag of lentils.
Lentils
2 tablespoons butter 30 mL
or margarine
1/2 cup chopped onion 125 mL
1/2 cup chopped celery 125 mL
1 cup lentils, washedÊ 250 mL
2 cups water 500 mL
2 teaspoons chicken 10 mL
bouillon powder
1/4 cup ketchup 60 mL
1 teaspoon 5 mL
parsley
1/4 teaspoon garlic 1 mL
powder
Melt butter in saucepan. Add onion and celery. Saute until soft. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Cook covered until lentils are tender. Serves four.
Source: Vegetables by Jean Pare, Company’s Coming Publishing Ltd.
A variation of the above recipe as found in Alice Jenner’s The Amazing Legume cookbook calls for one cup (250 mL) fresh or canned mushrooms with the onions and celery.
Vegetable marrow preserves
Dear TEAM: I am looking for a recipe for vegetable marrow fruit. There was also orange cut into the fruit. I think you cut the marrow and orange, put the sugar on and let it sit overnight. We used to have this as kids, and would like to try and make some this fall. – M.B., Swan River, Man.
Dear M.B.: A few years ago, a reader requested a fruit preserve recipe using vegetable marrow. Marrow is a green and yellow-hued member of the summer squash family.
The fruit preserve consisted of vegetable marrow cleaned and cut up in round slices like pineapple, which were then cut in chunks.
These were put into a large kettle along with the makings for a medium syrup, sliced oranges and lemons and a broken cinnamon stick.
At that time, several readers shared their recipes for vegetable marrow fruit.
Non-acid foods such as vegetable marrow must be processed in a pressure canner. This is the only way to reach a temperature high enough to destroy potentially fatal botulism bacteria.
Ladle hot mixture into a hot jar to within 1/2 inch (one cm) of top rim. Wipe jar rim to remove any stickiness. Centre snap lids that have been heated in hot water on the jar.
Apply screw band securely and firmly until resistance is met. Do not overtighten. Place jars in canner. Cover canner. Bring water to a boil. Heat the two cup (500 mL) jars for 55 minutes or four cup (one L) jars for 90 minutes at 10 lb. (68 kPa) in a weighted gauge pressure canner.
The following is a recipe we received from a reader:
Vegetable marrow fruit
Peel and cube eight pounds (3.6 kilograms) of vegetable marrow.
Wash and slice two lemons, rind and all, and remove seeds.
Add lemons to marrow and cover with 16 cups (four litres) sugar. Let this sit overnight in a non-metal container.
Next morning, stir to dissolve any remaining sugar and bring to a boil. Simmer for 25 minutes. Put into hot sterilized jars, filled to 1/2 inch (one cm) of the top. Seal and process as above.
This fruit can also be put into plastic containers and frozen.
This recipe originated on Prince Edward Island among Scottish settlers. Fruit was scarce and so was cash. – L.T., Aberdeen, Sask.
Cheese and nut balls
This following appetizer is quick and can be mixed ahead of time. It makes 20 cocktail-sized balls.
1/2 cup ricotta cheese 125 mL
2/3 cup grated 150 mL
cheddar cheese
11/2 tablespoons 22 mL
toasted hazelnuts, chopped
tabasco sauce (to taste)
Worcestershire sauce
(to taste)
In a bowl, mix the cheeses with a splash each of the sauces, then chill in the refrigerator. If you are in a hurry, spread the mixture out thinly so it will chill faster.
Put the nuts in a bowl. Take one teaspoon (five mL) of the mixture and roll into a small ball.
It is tempting to make them big, especially if you are impatient, but they are much nicer small, no larger than marbles.
Drop the balls into the nuts, roll them around until they are coated, and put them on a serving plate.
You can substitute another hard cheese, or use walnuts instead of hazelnuts, but they need to be finely chopped.
If you want to make a colourful platter, you can coat one-third of the balls with nuts, one-third with finely chopped herbs, and one-third with paprika. Another option might be to roll the balls in coarsely ground or toasted flax seed.
Source: No Cook Cookbook by Orlando Murrin, Quadrille Publishing Ltd.
Barbara Sanderson is a home economist from Rosetown, Sask., and one of four columnists comprising Team Resources. Send correspondence in care of this newspaper, Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 2C4 or contact them at team@
producer.com.
