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Easy Blueberry Muffins

July 5, 2017 No Comments

Easy Blueberry Muffins

Summer is definitely upon us now and with it comes lots of fresh berries! We covered strawberries in our last post, and next up comes blueberries. Manitoba is a blueberry hot spot and lots of people pick wild berries in cottage country to put in pretty much everything, including pancakes, muffins, and pies. They are a tasty addition to lots of dishes, and they are packed with lots of nutrition as well.

This muffin recipe is super easy and shouldn’t take you more than a few minutes to put together. They are best straight from the oven while the blueberries are still nice, soft, and juicy.

Blueberry Muffins

2017-07-02 13:15:37

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Ingredients

6 tablespoons butter or margarine, at room temperature
¾ cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt (if you use unsalted butter or margarine, increase to ½ teaspoon)
½ cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 ½ cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 tablespoon sugar, mixed with ½ teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease, or line your muffin tins.
Sift together flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time - beat well after each addition.
Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and beat well. Stir in the milk and both the vanilla and the almond extracts. Mix till smooth. Stir in the berries quickly.
Fill the muffin tins about ¾ full. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, if using.
Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing them.

Adapted from from King Arthur Flour's "Favourite Blueberry Muffins"

River City Cookery http://rivercitycookery.com/

Winnipeg

Where to Pick Strawberries in Manitoba

June 28, 2017 No Comments

Where to Pick Berries in Manitoba

We wait patiently all year long for berry season. In fact, we rarely buy strawberries unless they’re in season and/or local. Fortunately, the wait is over and ripe Manitoba strawberries are here! Today we’re sharing our best tips and tricks if you’re looking to pick strawberries in Manitoba!

Strawberry picking season typically starts at the end of June and only lasts a few weeks. Make sure to take advantage of this season when you get the chance! Not all berries are ready for picking at the same time, raspberries and blueberries ripen later in the season, for example.

The Prairie Fruit Growers Association website is a great resource for finding all types of berry picking farms that are close to you. They also list some other important information about the farms (think: parking, all fruits available to pick, other family friendly activities) as well as some berry-filled recipes!

A few helpful berry picking tips:

Pick berries than are evenly red – avoid the green ones (they’ll be ready for the next person in a week or so!). Also avoid ones that are already rotten or moldy – they will impact all the berries around it in your bucket.
Typically at farms you pick berries into 4L baskets and they usually range in price (about $12-15). We try to get as much as we can into the basket but try not to smoosh them.
If you’re not interested in picking, may farms offer 4L baskets for sale but expect to pay more than the U-Pick price.
Bring the whole family – many farms are family friendly and may have other activities that you and your little ones may be interested in.
Keep your freshly picked berries refrigerated and use them up as soon as you can!
Freeze your berries whole or stewed, turn them into jam, or try drying them. Turn them into crisp along with some of your fresh rhubarb!

Our personal favourite farms are Grenkow’s Strawberry U-Pick and Boonstra Farms but all the U-Picks have their pro’s and con’s so use the Prairie Fruit Growers Association website to find the best farm for you!

Recipes, Vegetables

Sauteed Spinach

June 21, 2017 1 Comment

Sauteed Spinach

As spring slowly turns into summer, us avid gardeners are looking forward to harvesting our first lettuce, baby kale, swiss chard, and perhaps also spinach. That is, if we haven’t already made a fresh salad with the first cuttings!

This super simple sauteed spinach recipe takes about 10 minutes from start to finish, and can easily be modified to add other great, fresh vegetables if you want.

Sauteed Spinach

2017-06-20 17:30:52

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Ingredients

6 oz spinach
3 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp lemon juice, preferably fresh

Instructions

Heat canola oil in non-stick saute pan over medium heat.
Peel garlic and crush with the side of the knife, so they are cracked open. Add to the pan and let them heat through until they become fragrant, about 30 sec-1 min.
Add spinach to the pan and saute. The spinach will shrink down immensely; it will only take about 5 minutes.
Add the lemon juice to the pan, put a lid on the pan and let the spinach steam for 1-2 minutes.

Notes

This recipe is easily doubled. Feel free to double the amount of spinach, or add different greens to the mix. If you are adding kale or chard, it may take longer for the leaves to cook down.
To make a variation, begin by sauteeing some diced onions,peppers, and spices. Add the spinach (or kale/chard) at the end with a shot of cooking wine or stock and let steam until tender.

River City Cookery http://rivercitycookery.com/

Do you have an over load of spinach in the house? Here are some of our best tips for storing leafy greens!

Baking

Rhubarb Berry Crisp

June 14, 2017 3 Comments

Rhubarb Berry Crisp

Our gardens are overflowing with ripe, delicious rhubarb right now, and this rhubarb berry crisp is the perfect way to start using it up!

Crisps are one of our favourite desserts. They can be made very quickly, often with ingredients you always have on hand, and are perfectly suited for a crowd. This recipe combines tart rhubarb with sweet berries to create a perfect dessert that can be served with ice cream or stand alone.

Bring this rhubarb berry crisp to your next summer potluck!

Rhubarb Berry Crisp

2017-06-13 20:18:30

Serves 8

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Cook Time

55 min

Cook Time

55 min

Ingredients

3 cups rhubarb, chopped
3 cups berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries), sliced if strawberries
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup oats
3/4 cup sugar
pinch salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375F and take out a 9x9 baking dish.
Add fruit in your 9x9 dish and mix to combine.
Combine flour, oats, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium bowl and mix to combine.
Cut in the cold butter to your flour and oats mixture. You can also crumble it with your fingers!
Pour flour mixture evenly over your fruit and bake for 50-55 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Notes

We used a 1:1 ratio of rhubarb to berries but if you prefer your crisp a little less sweet you can use a higher ratio of rhubarb.
Serve crisp with ice cream, whipped cream, or as is!

River City Cookery http://rivercitycookery.com/

One final note: if you still have oodles of rhubarb after making this crisp don’t forget that you can freeze it or try out these Rhubarb Tea Biscuits!

Food Preservation

Freezing Herbs

June 8, 2017 No Comments

One of my favourite things to plant in the garden are fresh herbs. They smell fabulous and always add a great punch of flavour to many dishes – BBQed meats, salads, pasta dishes, even drinks – the list goes on! Unfortunately, we have a VERY short growing season, so the optimal time for using these lovely fresh herbs is short. Some herbs are hardy and you can over-winter them inside (like rosemary), others are not as hardy and love the warmth and sunlight summer provides (like basil).

There are a couple ways you can prolong the use of these herbs throughout the year that don’t include the hassle of trying (and failing) to over-winter the plants:

Drying: it’s easy to dry all kinds of herbs in your house. You can cut herbs into bunches and tie them with string to hang in a cool, dry place. Visit Getty Stewart’s site for more info on drying and preserving herbs.
Another great way to preserve these herbs is by freezing them. A regular ice cube tray is the perfect way to portion the herbs out.

You can strip the leaves off the stalks of the plant – above is rosemary and oregano. The rosemary leaves are not chopped and the larger oregano leaves are coarsely chopped. Fill the cube about half full – about 2 tsp of fresh herbs.

Beside the oregano, I have added some dill to the tray as well.

Before sliding it into the freezer, you can add either olive oil or water to these herbs to help preserve them. For this post, I added some extra virgin olive oil to the oregano and rosemary:

And water was added to the dill:

Fill the cubes until the herbs are completely covered.

Once they have frozen, you can easily pop them out of the tray and into a freezer bag, which makes it super easy to take one cube out at a time. They can be used for pretty much anything – add them to potatoes before roasting or grilling them in a package on the BBQ. Or, you can put them in a sauce on the stove top.

Salads, Whole Grains

Greek Barley Salad

June 2, 2017 No Comments

This colourful Greek Barley Salad is packed full of flavour, fibre, and veggies. Using barley as the base to this salad has the benefit of giving it a huge nutritional punch while also being easy to prepare.

Greek Barley Salad

The recipe is very versatile. You can use pot or pearl barley to make this salad and feel free to make extra barley to freeze for future use. Any veggies you have on hand can be added or substituted to make this salad your own. We strongly recommend making the salad dressing in a mason jar so that you can shake to mix the ingredients well – this is a fun task for kids too!

Greek Barley Salad

2017-05-23 19:30:33

This colourful Greek Barley Salad is full of veggies and packs a nutritional punch. Serve it as a dinner side or as part of a healthy lunch.

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Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

40 min

Total Time

50 min

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

40 min

Total Time

50 min

Ingredients

1 cup Pot or Pearl Barley
1 English Cucumber, chopped
1/2 Red Onion, chopped
1 Red Pepper, chopped
1 cup Baby Tomatoes, slice in half

Dressing

1/4 cup Canola Oil
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar
1 Tsp Oregano
pinch Salt
pinch Black Pepper

Instructions

Combine barley with 2 cups of water and cook until tender (about 40 minutes).
Meanwhile, combine salad dressing ingredients in a mason jar. Shake and set aside.
When barley is cool, combine with cucumber, onion, pepper, and baby tomatoes in a large bowl.
When ready to serve, pour dressing over salad and mix to combine.

River City Cookery http://rivercitycookery.com/

For more information about barley, check out our past post!

Vegetables

How to Freeze Rhubarb

May 31, 2017 1 Comment

How to Freeze Rhubarb

It’s the season for rhubarb, are you ready?

Rhubarb may be a new vegetable for you (yes, it’s a vegetable!) or you may find yourself coming into a whole bunch of it thanks to a kind coworker or friend. Your next thought may be “what can I do with this stuff!” Never fear, we’re here to share how to freeze rhubarb so you’re able to enjoy it year round!

A few important things about rhubarb:

The leaves are poisonous so make sure to cut them off (you can compost them)
The stalks have a sweet and tart taste and are great in pies, crisps, and jam. You can also make stewed rhubarb to top your ice cream.
It has been said that spring rhubarb is nicer to work with because it’s less woody. Why not take advantage while the pickings are plenty!
You don’t need to do anything (i.e. blanch) to the rhubarb before you freeze it.
Frozen rhubarb can be used in almost any way that fresh would be used in but be sure to check your recipes notes if you’re unsure.

How do Freeze Rhubarb:

1. Trim rhubarb stalks off the plant as close to the ground as you can.

2. Trim off the leaves (toss or use in your compost bin) and wash your stalks.

3. Chop into small pieces (0.5-1 cm in width).

4. Place in a freezer bag or container and freeze as is – I like to portion into 1-2 cups and label as such.

How to Freeze Rhubarb

5. You can freeze them individually on a tray so that you can portion out what you like when you like. This way requires more space initially but can be more convenient for portioning in the long run.

How to Freeze Rhubarb

Find more rhubarb facts from Getty Stewart here.

Baking

Lemon Cranberry Scones

May 24, 2017 No Comments

Lemon Cranberry Scones

One of my favourite fresh spring tastes is lemon. It holds the promise of spring and all the wonderful fresh fruits that are yet to come. These lemon cranberry scones are the perfect complement to the cheddar chive scone recipe that we shared last week. Not too strong, but still enough to taste, the lemon is the perfect partner for the tartness of the dried cranberry.

A perfect companion to a cup of tea, enjoyed on the patio!

Lemon Cranberry Scones

2017-05-23 15:25:11

Serves 8

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Ingredients

1/4 cup cold salted butter, grated
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt (increase to 1/2 tsp if using unsalted butter)
2 tbsp sugar

Add-ins

1/4 cup dried cranberries
zest of 1 lemon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450F and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, lemon zest, and dried cranberries.
In smaller bowl, combine eggs and buttermilk and beat well.
Grate butter into dry ingredients using a box grater. Gently stir into dry ingredients.
Pour egg mixture into dry ingredients. Stir to bring all ingredients together and to form a slightly shaggy dough.
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Use your hands to bring together, if necessary, but try not to handle the dough too much. Pat into a circle approximately 8" in diameter and 1" thick. Cut into 8 wedges. Place on prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven when the bottoms are a light golden brown.

River City Cookery http://rivercitycookery.com/

Baking

Cheddar Chive Scones

May 17, 2017 No Comments

Cheddar Chive Scones

Scones are one of the easiest types of quick bread to make so over the next couple of weeks we’re going to share two of our favourite scone recipes – one savoury, and one sweet! These Cheddar Chive Scones are the perfect savoury scone to highlight the fresh spring chives that are springing up.

This recipe is very quick to put together and makes 8 pieces. They are the perfect scone to serve with soup or salad or to eat all by themselves with some butter. We dare you to eat only one!

Cheddar Chive Scones

2017-05-16 19:17:40

Serves 8

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Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt (increase to 1/2 tsp if using unsalted butter)
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup cold butter, grated*
2 large eggs, beaten
1/3 cup buttermilk

Add-ins

3/4 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
2 tbsp chives, choped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix together well.
Combine the grated butter and wet ingredients in a small bowl.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and combine to form a shaggy dough.
Fold in the cheddar cheese and chives.
Turn out dough onto a floured surface and form into a circle 6-8" in diameter and about 1-1.5" thick. Cut into 8 pieces and transfer to baking sheet.
Bake for 12-15 minutes and remove from oven when they have a golden brown bottom.

Notes

If the dough seems to dry, feel free to add a splash more of buttermilk.
*Use a cheese grater to grate the butter to more evenly distribute it throughout the dough

River City Cookery http://rivercitycookery.com/

Entertaining

Creating a Cheese Tray

May 10, 2017 No Comments

Creating a Cheese Tray

At any kind of party, there is really nothing better than a fabulous cheese tray. With the beginning of May, comes endless brunches, barbeques, and spring and summer nights in which a cheese tray could do no wrong.

Here are a few simple ideas that can help make your cheese tray appealing to ALL of your senses:

It is always best to go for a wide variety of cheeses: this means you want some hard and soft cheeses. You also want a variety of tastes: play around with mild, strong, and smoked cheeses. These will provide some visual interest as well.
Cheese is not the only thing that goes on a cheese tray – add some grapes or some nuts, like walnuts and almonds to add some texture.
To take your cheese tray to the next level, add some salami or prosciutto, and some olives to make it more of a charcuterie board.

The next thing you need is some sort of vessel, to get the cheese to your mouth. My #1 go-to is the cracker! The options are endless in the cracker aisle, so feel free to go crazy with flavour here. If you don’t love the cracker like I do, a baguette or a ciabatta loaf will do nicely as well.

Creating a Cheese Tray

For the cheese tray above, we used brie, edam, a double smoked cheddar, and a jalapeno monterey jack. Using a ciabatta as our bread, and some nuts, dried fruit, and grapes to break it up with some texture and colour. Other cheeses you could use could be marble cheddar, goat cheese, blue cheese, or a crotonese. An Italian crotonese is a very hard, crumbly cheese with a similar nutty taste and smell to parmesan.

To help you create your own wonderful cheese tray, here are a few helpful tips!

Cheese Tray Cheat Cheet