It is officially summer, a season that leaves us a lot to celebrate. At our house that means no school and no lunches. The minute that the last bell rang, my children were ready for a summer escape.
Shivers went up my spine when they came running and screaming into the house, knowing that they were all mine for two months. I quickly took a moment to give thanks to the teachers and the bus driver, who make my job easier for the other 10 months of the year.
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Ask tough questions to determine if business still works
Across the country, a hard conversation is unfolding. Many producers are starting to ask a tougher question: can we keep doing this the way we always have?
Without hesitation, I dive into summer with them. What the heck, everyone needs to escape daily routines and get away from the ordinary. Life is short and we need to have fun. Summertime is also a time to have fun with food. Try these new recipes.
Beer dip
2 packages (8 oz. each) 500 g
cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup beer or nonalcoholic 75 mL
beer
1 envelope ranch salad 20 g
dressing mix
2 cups shredded cheddar 500 mL
cheese
pretzels and vegetables of your
choice to dip
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, beer and dressing mix until smooth. Stir in the cheese. Serve with pretzels and/or veggies. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 31/2 cups (875 mL).
Slow cooker barbecue chicken
This recipe is ideal for summer entertaining. While the meal is cooking, you can be enjoying your company.
8-10 skinless chicken thighs or breasts 1 cup barbecue sauce 250 mL
1/2 cup apricot jam 125 mL
1 tablespoon dijon mustard 15 mL
1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce 0.5 mL
Place chicken in a four quart (four litre) slow cooker. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low heat setting for six or seven hours or until chicken is cooked through. Serves four.
Source: Atco Blue Flame Kitchen’s latest cookbook, Everyday Delicious. To order a copy, call 877-420-9090.
Orange berry salad
1 head of romaine lettuce, chopped
1 can (10 oz.) mandarin orange 284 mL
segments, drained
1/2 cup fresh sliced 125 mL
strawberries
1/4 cup sunflower seeds 60 mL
2 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil 60 mL
1/4 cup vinegar 60 mL
1/4 cup sugar 60 mL
1 tablespoon poppy seeds 15 mL
Toss the lettuce and first four ingredients in a large salad bowl.
Sweet vinaigrette: Combine cooking oil, vinegar, sugar and poppy seeds in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake well. Makes about 1/2 cup (125 mL) vinaigrette. Just before serving, drizzle dressing over salad. Toss. Serves four.
Strawberry rhubarb pie
Try this pie from Company’s Coming’s new sweet recipe collection of Most Loved Summertime Desserts.
pastry for a two crust 9 inch
(22 cm) pie
1 large egg
1 cup sugar 250 mL
3 tablespoons flour 45 mL
3 cups fresh rhubarb, chopped 750 mL
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries 250 mL
1/2 teaspoon sugar 2 mL
Divide pastry into two portions, making one portion slightly larger than the other. Shape each portion into a slightly flattened disc. Roll out larger portion on lightly floured surface to about 1/8 inch (0.32 cm) thickness. Line nine inch (22 cm) pie plate.
Beat egg in large bowl. Add first amount of sugar and flour. Mix well. Add rhubarb and strawberries. Stir. Spread evenly in shell. Roll out smaller pastry portion on lightly floured surface to about 1/8 inch (0.32 cm) thickness. Dampen edge of pastry shell with water. Cover with pastry. Trim and crimp decorative edge to seal. Cut several small vents in top to allow steam to escape.
Sprinkle with second amount of sugar. Bake on bottom rack in 350 F (180 C) oven for about 45 minutes until browned and fruit is tender. Cuts into eight wedges.
Ice cream sandwich dessert
1 box ice cream sandwiches
1 container whipped topping
(or whipped cream) 500 mL
1 crushed Skor bar
Layer bottom of dish with ice cream sandwiches. Next, layer with whipped topping. Repeat layers. Top with crumbled candy bar. Freeze until time to serve. Servings: 28.
Watery whipped cream
Dear TEAM: When I beat whipping cream, I can get it to form soft peaks only, then it starts breaking down and gets thin and watery. Am I doing something wrong? – P.W., via internet.
Dear P.W.: You may be overbeating the cream, which will cause it to separate and fall. For best results, start with cold whipping cream. Choose a deep metal or glass bowl because it will double in volume. Place the bowl and beaters in the freezer for at least 15 minutes before using. Beat quickly, scraping the bowl occasionally, until soft or stiff peaks form, depending on what your recipe needs.
Convection ovens
Dear TEAM: I recently moved into a home with a convection oven and wonder if I should be modifying the cooking time or temperature when baking in convection mode. What do you recommend? -G.P., Rosetown, Sask.
Dear G.P.: Like you, I recently started cooking with a convection oven. I am adjusting well and love the way the oven works. Convection ovens are equipped with a fan that provides continuous circulation of hot air around the food. This method cooks food up to 25 percent faster. Food also cooks evenly no matter how many pans are on a rack or how close the racks are placed to one other. For the fullest benefit of convection cooking, it’s best to use baking pans with low sides.
As a general rule, to adapt a recipe to use in a convection oven, heat the oven 25 degrees lower than the recipe suggests and expect foods to cook in about 25 percent less time, depending on the size of the food being cooked.
Pet story deadline
Here is this week’s pet story. June 30 is the deadline to enter our draw with your own story. Please send your stories to team@producer.com or mail them to The Western Producer, Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask. S7K 2C4.
Reader story
I read your page as soon as we get The Western Producer and enjoy the interesting articles you print. Here is my pet story for your contest.
It was now an abandoned yard. Kitty had no one to care for her.
When my mother moved from her farm home to live in the personal care home, she left behind one fluffy calico cat. This cat fended for herself while the weather was warm, but when October came, I noticed on one of my visits to the yard that she was getting thin. I shifted into rescue mode and decided to take her home.
That proved to be more difficult than I anticipated. She was not to be caught without a fight. On the first attempt I lured her into the porch of the house with food. She was hungry. When I attempted to catch her, I was confronted with scratches and bites. A failed attempt.
The next day I came back equipped with food, a gunny sack and thick leather mitts. Success.
I took her home and made a bed for her in the garage. As soon as I put her into the garage, she found her way up to the top shelving and there she stayed. I put out food and checked a couple of hours later. The food was gone. Kosyk, as I now named her, was up in her bunk again. This went on for a week, but she began to trust me more each day, and soon I could pet her. Next she would follow into the yard and then inside the house.
She became one of the nicest pets I’ve had. She would sit on my lap, lick my chin and look into my eyes as if to say “thank you for letting me come to live in your home.”
– V.M., Rossburn, Man.
Jodie Mirosovsky 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.
