How is your harvest? As I write this, we are on the last field, and now another little shower has slowed us down. By the time we finish, it will be two months since the day we started.
It has been quite a year. My face is healing from the fall on the scale I-beams, and now another small disaster. I blew up the motor on our old Tandem Allison automatic truck. We were thankful it was near the end of the season.
Despite this, harvest has not been too stressful. We have had several pinch-hitters helping us out, with a day or two here or there to accommodate other commitments. The grass is still green, we have mountains of grain piled on the ground, and vegetable garden production was plentiful. My parents gave me carrots and onions, and this carrot chowder from Jean Pare’s Company’s Coming Soup & Sandwiches cookbook, served on the combine, disappeared quickly. We all loved it.
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Carrot chowder
4 cups carrot, peeled and cut 1 L
2 cups chicken stock 500 mL
1 cup chopped onion 250 mL
11/3 cups potato, diced 325 mL
3 tablespoons butter or 45 mL
margarine
3 tablespoons all-purpose 45 mL
flour
1 teaspoon salt 5 mL
1/8 teaspoon pepper 0.5 mL
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt 1 mL
4 cups milk 1 L
Combine carrot, onion, potato and stock in saucepan. Cook until vegetables are tender. Do not drain. Cool a bit. Run through blender. Set aside. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour, salts and pepper. Add milk. Heat and stir until it boils and thickens. Add carrot mixture. Reheat and serve. Makes seven cups (1.75 L).
- Add dill or other spices you prefer.
Low fat treats
I have been experimenting with some low fat recipes passed on to me from my sister-in-law, Sandra. These give us a tasty treat to enjoy.
Poor man’s turtles
1 bag (13 oz.) Rolo candy 369 g
60 fat-free tiny twist pretzels
60 pecan halves
Place pretzels on a parchment or foil lined cookie sheet. Place one Rolo on top of each pretzel. Bake at 325 F (160 C) for about four minutes or until the chocolate gets shiny. Remove from oven and gently press one pecan half onto each treat. Cool for 10 minutes, then place sheet in refrigerator to set. I used waffle pretzels, and made some with peanuts rather than pecans. They, too, were tasty.
Fat-free fudgy brownies
1/3 cup unsweetened 75 mL
cocoa powder
2/3 cup all-purpose 150 mL
flour
2/3 cup sugar 150 mL
3/4 teaspoon baking soda 3 mL
1/2 teaspoon baking 2 mL
powder
1/8 teaspoon salt 0.5 mL
1 teaspoon dry instant 5 mL
coffee dissolved in 1/3 cup 75 mL
boiling water
1/3 cup fat-free skim milk 75 mL
1 jar (21/2 oz.) baby-food 70 g
pureed prunes
11/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 7 mL
2 egg whites
confectioners sugar for dusting,
optional
Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C). Spray an eight inch (20 cm) square pan with non-stick vegetable cooking spray and set aside. Sift the cocoa powder into a large mixing bowl. Add the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix well. In another bowl, combine the dissolved coffee, milk, prunes, vanilla and egg whites. Mix well. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well.
Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Allow the brownies to cook in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes and then invert it onto a serving plate.
Cool completely before cutting them into 16 squares. Dust top with confectioner’s sugar, if desired.
Crustless pumpkin pie
We served this along with traditional pumpkin pie at our family Thanksgiving dinner. Although I didn’t find it nearly as tasty, it certainly is a good substitute for those who want a lower fat dessert compared to a crusted pumpkin pie.
3 eggs
13/4 cups pumpkin 425 mL
1/2 cup sugar 125 mL
1/2 teaspoon salt 2 mL
1/2 teaspoon ginger 2 mL
1 teaspoon cinnamon 5 mL
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 2 mL
1/4 teaspoon cloves 1 mL
1 cup 1 percent milk 250 mL
Mix the eggs, pumpkin, sugar and spices. Add milk. Pour into pie plate. Bake at 350 F (180 C) for 50-60 minutes.
Dill yogurt dip
This dip is excellent with vegetables, crackers and sandwiches.
Steam three cups (750 mL) of broccoli for six minutes. Rinse with cold water to cool quickly. Repeat with three cups (750 mL) of cauliflower. Mix together:
1 cup plain low fat yogurt 250 mL
1/2 cup reduced fat sour 125 mL
cream
2 tablespoons lemon juice 30 mL
2 tablespoons dill weed 30 mL
11/2 teaspoons sugar 7 mL
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt 2 mL
1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1 mL
Serve with the prepared vegetables and two cups (500 mL) of cherry tomatoes.
Brighter whites
Dear TEAM: I’m sending my whitener for yellow-aged clothes:
1 gallon hot water 4 L
1 cup dishwasher soap 250 mL
1/4 cup bleach 60 mL
Put the hot water into a large container. Add the dishwasher soap and bleach and stir. Soak. Rinse in water with some vinegar added. For polyester, let water cool before soaking. – A.S., Snowden, Sask.
Dear TEAM: One of your household hints was to use Arm & Hammer Washing Soda laundry detergent in the hot water cycle to wash mouldy towels. My thoughts are that Arm & Hammer works in conjunction with normal laundry detergent in hard water areas. It somehow boosts the action of normal soaps that in hard water have a hard time working. My friend’s household hint is to use the newer Cascade or Electrasol gel pacs for this.
My household hint would be if you have an overflow of produce for your fridge crisper, place vegetables in a cardboard potato chip box and tape shut. Then place it above crisper drawers. Or try double bagging vegetables in brown paper. It works great so they breathe and don’t freeze. – D.L., Lumby, B.C.
Cookbook draw
We are planning another cookbook draw for early December. What does your family serve at seasonal celebrations like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah or New Years? To enter the draw, share your recipes by sending them by e-mail to team@producer.com or mail to TEAM Resources, c/o The Western Producer, P.O. Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask. S7K 2C4. The deadline for entries is Dec. 6.
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.
