Alma

Makes 6 servings Ingredients 3 Acorn squash Organic quinoa, cooked 1/2 yellow onion 1/2 apple crushed walnuts 2tbsp brown sugar Butter (for baking) Goat Cheese (optional) Cranberries (optional) Directions Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Cut the acorn squash in half and remove the seeds inside. Rub the inside of the squash with butter and place face down on the baking sheet Bake in the oven at 400 degrees Celsius for 35-40 minutes (or until the squash is easily pierced with a fork. While the squash is baking, cook the quinoa according to cooking instructions from the box. Dice the apple and onion then, in a saucepan, melt butter and cook the onions, apples and walnuts. Add 1 tsp of brown sugar to taste (optional). In a mixing bowl, combine the quinoa, onions, apples, walnuts and cranberries (optional). Remove the squash from the oven and place them right side up on the baking sheet. Rub the insides with brown sugar (careful, they will be hot). Return to the oven for another 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes, remove the squash again, and fill the insides with the quinoa mixture. Return the filled squashes to the oven for another 5 minutes. Remove the squash from the oven and serve. If desired, top with goat cheese. Extra Comments I usually end up having a lot of leftover quinoa mix. This mixture is really good to mix into a salad or even just on its own as a side to a meal.

From one of Jamie Oliver’s books. Ingredients A large bunch of fresh rosemary 1 x 2.2 pound shoulder of lamb Olive oil Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper 1 clove of garlic, unpeeled, broken into cloves. I tbsp flour. 2 cups good quality hot chicken or veg stock. 2 heaped tablespoons of capers, soaked, drained and chopped A large bund of fresh mint, leaves picked 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar Directions Preheat your oven to full whack. Slash the fat side of the lamb all over with a sharp knife. Lay half the sprigs of rosemary and half the garlic cloves on the bottom of a high-sided roasting pan. Rub the lamb all over with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place it in the pan on top of the rosemary and garlic, and put the rest of the rosemary and garlic on top of the lamb. Tightly cover the tray with aluminum foil and place in the oven. Turn the oven down immediately to 325 degrees F and cook for 4 hours. – it’s done if you can pull the meat apart easily with 2 forks. Remove the lamb from the oven and place it on a chopping board. Cover it with foil, then a kitchen towel, and leave it to rest. Pour away most of the fat from the roasting pan discarding any bits of rosemary stalk. Put the pan on the stovetop over medium heat and mix in the flour (1tbsp). Add the stock , stirring and scraping the sticky goodness off the bottom of the pan. Add the capera, turn the heat down and simmer for a few minutes. You won’t need gallons of gravy….just a couple of flavoursome spoonfuls each. Finely chop the mint and add it to the sauce with the red wine vinegar at the last minute then pour into a pitcher. Shred the lamb in front of your guests.

Found a good looking recipe for an apple tart by Jennifer Segal Servings: 8 Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cook Time: 1 Hour Total Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes, plus 20 minutes to chill Ingredients For the Crust 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 1-1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) very cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces 1/4 cup very cold water For the Filling ...

Ingredients 4 lbs cut up chicken lemon juice 1 garlic clove peeled and halved 1 tsp rosemary salt and fresh ground pepper. 1 tbsp flour 2 tbsp olive oil 2/3 cup white wine 1/2 can anchovy fillets 28 oz can tomatoes 20 pitted black olives (I would use Kalamata) Directions Rub the chicken pieces with lemon juice and cut surface of garlic clove. Mix the herbs and seasoning with the flour and dust the chicken pieces. Brown in the oil on all sides, then put in a casserole dish. Pour the wine into the frying pan and bring to a boil stirring to get the brown bits from the bottom. Add remaining ingredients and pour over the chicken. Bake in 350 degree oven for about an hour. Notes Great with garlic spaghetti.

Fettuccine Natasha Another fabulous recipe that was introduced to Alma by her aunt Tina. This has become a Scully household favorite. According to Jim White who authored Toronto Star cookbook “Another Ferrari speciality. This is the dish that first put Pronto Ristorante on Toronto’s pasta map”. This recipe is really easy. It is VERY rich and absolutely delicious. Makes 6 main course servings. Ingredients 1/4 cup unsalted butter 1 tbsp finely chopped onion 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 1/4 lb smoked salmon, cut in thin strips (I sometimes buy a chunk of the BBQ previously frozen smoked salmon….just as good and much more economical) 1 large tomato, peeled, seeded, diced salt and fresh ground pepper 3 tbsps vodka 2 cups whipping cream 1 1/2 pounds fettucine 2 tbsps black caviar (I don’t use but have and it is good) 2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan (for garnish) chopped fresh parsley Directions In a large heavy saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter. Add onion and garlic and cook about 5 minutes or until onion is golden. (I put the garlic in in the last minute of the five so it doesn’t turn golden with the onion which will make it bitter.) Add salmon and tomato. Add salt and pepper to taste. Increase heat to high and cook 2 minutes stirring constantly. Pour in vodka, reduce heat and simmer until liquid is reduced by half. Add cream and continue to simmer until the volume is again reduced by half. Meanwhile, cook fettuccine in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but firm (al dente). Drain and place in warmed serving bowl. Add sauce and toss to coat evenly. (I actually serve separately in pasta bowls pouring the sauce over the pasta). Sprinkle with black caviar and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Ingredients ½ cup butter or margarine 1-1/3 cup sugar 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla 2 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp baking soda ¼ tsp salt 1 cup buttermilk or sour milk (1 Tbsp vinegar plus milk to fill a cup; let sit) 2 cups chopped rhubarb 1 Tbsp flour 3 Tbsp butter or margarine 1-1/2 tsp cinnamon Directions Cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and the sugar. Beat in the egg and the vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together the 2 cups of flour, the baking soda and the salt. Alternatively you can add these to the creamed mixture, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Toss together the rhubarb and the teaspoon of flour and fold it into the batter. Spread the batter into a 9 x 13 baking pan. Mix together the butter and cinnamon and sprinkle over the batter. Bake at 350 degrees. this is a guess, as no temperature was given with the recipe :-)

Very tasty. Make sure you disconnect the smoke detector before throwing the salmon on the pan. Ingredients 6 x 4oz (125g) fillets of fresh salmon, skin removed 1 tbsp honey 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tsp honey style mustard 1 tbsp sesame seeds Orange ginger dressing 1 clove garlic, minced 1 tsp fresh minced ginger root 3 tbsp orange juice 2 tbsp soy sauce 2 tbsp rice or balsamic vinegar 2 tsp sesame oil 2 tsp honey 1/4 tsp hot red pepper sauce 12 cups mixed greens 1 lb asparagus, trimmed, cooked and cut into 5cm pieces 1 sweet red pepper cut into strips 1 orange, peeled and sectioned 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro or parsley 2 tbsp chopped fresh chives or green onions Directions Pat salmon dry. In small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce and mustard. Rub over salmon. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Brush non-stick ovenproof skillet lightly with oil. Add salmon and cook for 1 minute per side. Transfer to pre heated 425 F (or 220 C) oven. Cook for 7 or 8 minutes, or until just cooked. To make orange ginger dressing, whisk together garlic, ginger, orange juice, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, honey and hot pepper sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Toss dressing with greens, asparagus, red peppers, orange, cilantro and chives. Serve salad topped with salmon.

This recipe was in Joanne Kates cookbook. She gives credit to Elizabeth Baird. Makes about 8 small jam jars. We’ve been making this for years and it’s the best! Ingredients 6 Seville Oranges (available in January) sugar cheesecloth optional: 2 oz. brandy preserving jars and lids Instructions Cut the oranges in half and juice them. Strain the juice and set aside. Save the orange seeds. With a spoon, scrape out the white pith from the orange skins. discard the pith. Put the orange seeds in a small bowl and cover them with warm water. Set aside and leave overnight. Cut the peels into the finest matchstick shreds you can manage and add them to the juice. Measure the juice and peels. Add an equal amount of water to them. Set aside and leave overnight. The next day add the water from the seeds to the peel and juice. (It will contain the pectin from the seeds, which will cause the marmalade to thicken.) Put the seeds in a cheesecloth bag and place in a pot with the juice and the peel. Simmer very gently for 1 1/2 hours, covered, until the peel is almost soft. Remove the seeds, squeezing out the juice. Discard the seeds. Measure what remains and add an equal amount of sugar. Boil Rapidly for 30 to 45 minutes till the marmalade reaches 220 degrees F on a candy thermometer. (If, like me, you have no candy thermometer, boil for 40 minutes or until somewhat thickened. It’s always worked for me.) Remove from heat and stir in the optional brandy. Sterilize the jars by immersing them in boiling water for 5 minutes. Pour in the marmalade and seal immediately with either new Mason lids or melted paraffin.

Alma’s aunt Tina, who was a fabulous cook, adapted this recipe from the “Silver Palate” cookbook which tells the reader “It is not known whether the Italian ladies of the night (the puttane) who gave their name to this racy pasta sauce did so because they were short of time or cash or both. In any case, puttanesca is quick and cheap and we hope it offends no one’s memory to say so. This dish with its zesty nuggets of garlic, capers, olives and anchovies, is not for the faint hearted. Serve it to food loving friends (with crusty bread for soaking up the juice) and pour an earthy red wine. With practice you can have this sauce ready to eat in 20 minutes. ...

This curry is made with chicken, fruit (bananas, apple, raisins) coconut milk and chick peas. You can really use anything (tomatoes, sweet potatoes, potatoes, cauliflower…etc). I always make this large a batch for company and the whole family loves leftovers. Ingredients 3 tbsps vegetable oil 3 or 4 medium size onions (chopped) 2-3 tbps chopped garlic 1/3 cup fresh ginger cut into tiny matchsticks 6 or 7 skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces 1/2 jar of patak’s madras curry paste (found in any grocery store) 3/4 cup of water 1/4 cup peanut butter (I use the just peanuts kind and sometimes use the oil on top to cook in instead of the vegetable oil as noted for the 1st ingredient) 3 ripe chopped bananas 3 peeled and chopped apples 1 cup of raisins 2 knorr chicken bouillon cubes 2 or 3 cans of lite coconut milk 3 cans of chick peas Optional garnish: chopped fresh cilantro, peanuts, chopped bananas Directions In a large heavy pot, saute onions, garlic, ginger in cooking vegetable or peanut oil. Add chicken pieces and cook partially Add curry paste and stir in. Cook approximately 5 minutes stirring regularly. Stir in water Add peanut butter, bananas, apples, raisins stirring as you add them in. Add bouillon cubes and coconut milk. (If you like lots of sauce add more water or coconut milk.) Add chick peas You can refrigerate overnight here if you want the curry to marinate in the sauce Cover and cook on low heat (225F) in your oven for a 2-3 hours depending if you refrigerated or not. Stir occasionally. Serve with fresh cilantro, chopped bananas and chopped peanuts for garnishon top of basmati rice with nan bread.