Category Archives: Original Recipes

Recipes from “Anne’s Favourites: Food for the Heart and Soul”

Pumpkin Pie

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Pumpkin PieThis is the perfect Thanksgiving dessert and so simple yet delicious. I got this recipe from my Aunt Marj who says it was off the pumpkin can and I have just changed it slightly to use fresh or frozen pumpkin purée and dark brown sugar. Made with homemade pumpkin purée (see below) and topped with sweetened whipped cream it is ranked at the top of our family favourite list. Luckily for me the filling is naturally gluten-free!

Pumpkin Pie  Click here for PDF version

9 inch unbaked GF pie shell

1  cup dark brown sugar, packed

1  tsp cinnamon

1/2  tsp salt

1/2  tsp mace

2  eggs

1 1/2  cups pumpkin purée, fresh (below) or canned

1 cup milk, scalded

  • Mix brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and mace.
  • Stir in eggs and pumpkin purée until smooth.
  • Add scalded milk and mix until mixture is uniform.
  • Pour into unbaked pie shell and carefully move to the oven without spilling.
  • Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes then reduce temperature to 325°F and continue baking for another 45 – 55 minutes or until centre is set. You may check for doneness by inserting a skewer or knife into the centre and it should come out clean but I look for a little cracking around the outside and no jiggling in the centre which means it is well done.
  • Cool and serve with Sweetened Whipped Cream.

Pumpkin Puree

I make my own pumpkin purée and it is just that much better when it is fresh!

Pie pumpkins should have dense, dark orange flesh.

2 – 4 pie pumpkins

  • Wash, cut and remove seeds from pumpkins.
  • Place in a roasting pan with a cover and bake at 400°F until pumpkin is hot, about 1/2 hour, then reduce heat to 350°F and continue baking several hours until pumpkin is soft and pulling away from the skin. You may also cook the pumpkin in the microwave but it does not develop quite as much flavour.
  • Let pumpkin cool then scrape out of shell and put flesh through a food mill or sieve.
  • Set in a strainer lined with cheesecloth or a porous, clean cloth and let drain for 1 hour, reserving the liquid drained for soups or rice. This step is very important to give you a purée that is the right density for recipes using canned pumpkin. It may be measured in the amounts you need for pies or muffins and can be frozen to use later.
  • It will keep in the refrigerator for about a week.

 

Tomato Dill Soup and Biscuits with 101.7 The One’s Julie B

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Be sure to go to 1017 The One’s website to enter the contest, http://1017theone.ca/contests/2017/01/its-soup-month-julie-b-makes-soup-with-anne-mann/, to win one of my cookbooks, Anne’s Favourite’s. I had lot’s of fun making Tomato Dill soup with the “Soup Queen”, Julie B!  Thank you to Kelly Thompson for doing such a wonderful job of editing the video to give you a quick lesson on making soup and stock.

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Preparing for the video and making the soup reinforced what I already know – it is so easy to make your own soup and such a worthwhile investment of time for such a nutritious and delicious outcome.

Chicken Stock  annes-chicken-stock Click here for pdf version

Even if you are a novice I highly recommend you try making your own stock and freezing it in quantities that you will use. I never buy chicken bones because I freeze bits and pieces from day to day cooking until I have a couple of pounds which is enough to make stock. If you cook a whole chicken just throw the neck into a freezer bag for stock and of course the carcass works also if you are cutting the meat off the bones. I always keep a watch for chicken breasts with the skin and bone and buy them. I debone and skin them keeping the unused portion for soup. This makes a really rich stock since I am no pro at deboning so lots of meat is left attached! Other times I buy whole chicken wings and keep the cut off tips for stock. Some places you can even buy the backs and necks which work well. When drumsticks are on sale you can use a few of those. You can also buy a whole roasted chicken for dinner and save the carcass from that for soup… so no excuse for not trying some home made chicken stock.

Tomato Dill tomato-dill-soup Click here for pdf version

 

 

Cucumber Salad

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cucumber-salad-2

Cucumber Salad – for pdf version click here cucumber-salad

When the cucumbers are fresh and plentiful I love to make this delicious salad. It is particularly nice with the smaller cucumbers from your garden or the farmers market. I use my mandoline to slice them thinly but I it is easy enough to slice by hand also. Kat mentioned you could use a potato peeler for paper thin slices but I prefer them a bit thicker.

You can definitely adjust the extras in this salad to your taste. I love dill so I almost always add a little fresh or frozen dill weed if I have it but if you do not like dill leave it out. We also love onions so always use red onion but it you are not so keen just use green onion or chives.

Kat’s Cucumber Salad

2 – 3     small cucumbers, peeled and sliced as thinly as possible, about 2 cups

2          Tbsp thinly sliced red onion (optional)

salt as needed

1/3       cup sour cream

1          Tbsp mayonnaise or whipped salad dressing

1          Tbsp white wine vinegar

1/4       tsp salt

3/4       tsp white sugar

1 – 2     Tbsp chives, chopped or green onion

1          Tbsp fresh dill weed (optional)

Freshly ground black pepper

  • Peel and slice cucumber and onion as thinly as you can or to your taste.
  • You may use a slicer or even a potato peeler but it is easy enough to do them by hand.
  • Sprinkle liberally with salt and let sit for at least 20 minutes.
  • Strain off liquid and discard. I let them sit in a strainer over a bowl for about an hour. Squeeze excess water out before dressing.
  • For dressing mix sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar, salt, sugar, chives and dill.
  • Pour over drained cucumbers and onion.
  • Top with pepper and adjust seasoning to taste.

Serves 4

Salsa Supreme

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Salsa Mix

It is the best time of the year for eating fresh and local so I am overwhelmed with posts I want to get done and no time to do them! I was part way through the prep for the Romanian Peppers when a friend called to ask if she could post the salsa recipe on Facebook so I told her I would get it on the blog asap. Here is the printable copy of the original salsa recipe based on Ruth Buchmeier’s recipe in Anne’s Favourites  Salsa (click here for pdf of original recipe). The last couple of years at the Lucknow Fall Fair http://www.lucknowagsociety.ca variations of this recipe have taken all three salsa prizes. Sadly, mine was not first!

I have three versions of salsa in my cookbook but I can never decide which one is my favourite so last year I started making a combination of the three in one which I call my Salsa Supreme.

Salsa Supreme                                                             Salsa Mix – click here for pdf version
I love the salty flavour and thickness of the original salsa, the added sweetness of the peaches that allows for some extra heat from the peppers and the yellow from the corn tops it off!

14 cups tomatoes, peeled and chopped
3 cups celery, finely chopped
3 cups onions, finely chopped
3 Tbsp pickling salt
2 cups peaches, peeled and chopped
2 – 3 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup lime or lemon juice
2/3 cup cider, wine vinegar or pickling vinegar
3 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped
2-4 Tbsp hot pepper, minced including seeds or 2 tsp cayenne
2 Tbsp mustard seed
1 sweet green pepper, chopped
1 sweet coloured pepper, chopped
1 cup corn kernels, cooked and cut off the cob
1 Tbsp cilantro leaves
1 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp cumin
2 Tbsp parsley, chopped finely
2 Tbsp lovage, chopped finely (optional)
1 can (5.5 oz) tomato paste

  • Combine tomatoes, celery, onions and salt and let stand for at least 3 hours or overnight.
  • Drain and save the juice for soup. It is nice and salty and full of flavour.
  • Add peaches, sugar, lime juice, vinegar, garlic, hot peppers and mustard seed and simmer about 45 minutes, stirring often.
  • Add green and yellow peppers, cilantro, coriander, cumin, parsley, lovage and tomato paste and continue to boil for 15 minutes. Do not worry if you add the peppers at the beginning –they will just be a little softer and less colourful – still delicious.
  • Sterilize jars by boiling for 10 minutes.
  • Pour into sterilized jars and seal according to manufacturers instructions.
  • Makes about 8 – 16 oz jars. Anne’s Favourites

Pork Tenderloin

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Pork Tenderloin 2

This is a standby BBQ favourite and quick meal anytime. This is one of the recipes in my cookbook that has received numerous raves from readers. Simple, inexpensive and delicious. What more could you ask for? Thanks to my sister-in-law, Marg, for sharing this recipe with me so many years ago!

Pork Tenderloin – Click here for pdf copy of recipe

Pork Loin Marinade
I like to cook an extra one to use for sandwiches. It’s awesome with some Dijon mustard, mayonnaise and lettuce or maybe a little chutney.

2 pork tenderloins
1/4 cup GF soya sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp brown sugar, packed
2 Tbsp oil
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated or 1/2 tsp dry
Whisk all ingredients together and pour over pork tenderloin.
Let marinate for at least 15 minutes, or all day sealed, in the refrigerator.
Barbecue or grill about 7 minutes on each side.
Let sit 5 minutes before slicing.
Makes 6 servings

Anne’s Favourites

Shrimp Risotto

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Shrimp Risotto

Last night when the mercury soared above 30 for the third day in a row I did not really feel like eating and had used a lot of my BBQ favourites since we were on holidays without hydro for the preceding week. I wanted something to make without turning on the oven or BBQ and risotto came to mind. You only had to eat a little and the leftovers would be a great lunch if your appetite did not return but … with the vegetable preparation and testing the chilled apple wine for the risotto we were ready to enjoy our dinner by the time it was ready!

Cliff picked the last of the peas out of the garden, overgrown multiplier onions took the place of leeks and fresh parsley and garlic scapes brought the garden to the table.

Shrimp Risotto click here for pdf version of recipe

I like to make risotto when you only have 45 minutes to get supper on the table and you haven’t thought of anything yet. I always keep chicken stock frozen in 2 cup containers and I like to have a package of frozen shrimp to use for meals like this. If I do not have mushrooms I do not worry, I try to find something else. The more vegetables you add the better.

2 cups chicken stock, homemade or low sodium
2 Tbsp butter or chicken fat
8 – 10 mushrooms, sliced
1 medium – large onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup leeks, chopped, white and light green parts (optional)
1/4 cup pepperette, thinly sliced (optional)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 carrot, sliced thinly
3/4 cup rice, Arborio or Italian short-grain
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup white wine
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
10 – 12 large shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed
1/4 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
Heat chicken stock and keep warm.
Cook mushrooms in 1 Tbsp butter until browned then set aside.
Cook onion and leeks in same pan with remaining butter or chicken fat until soft.
Add pepperette and garlic and continue cooking another minute.
Add carrot and rice and cook several minutes before beginning to add the chicken stock.
Add warm chicken stock one ladle full at a time stirring to deglaze the pan then continue stirring and cooking uncovered adding liquid as it is absorbed.
I usually pour my wine and water in with the stock so you just keep adding from one
pot as needed.
Add red pepper and peas with last addition of liquid.
Put shrimp on top of risotto after final addition of stock and cover to steam shrimp.
Check after 5 minutes to see if they are nicely pink and ready to eat.
Stir in Romano cheese just before serving.
Serves 3 Anne’s Favourites
Variation: Vegetarian Risotto

Omit Shrimp and Pepperette and substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock.

Corrections – Anne’s Favourites Cookbook

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Anne_CB_Cover_2
I was totally unprepared for the amount of time it took to edit  my cookbook for publication. It took 40 hours to read it through and that needed to be done about 8 times (should have been at least one more but I couldn’t do it!), checking all the ingredients and instructions to make sure they matched and nothing was typed in wrong. I thought since I had made each recipe a number of times from the draft it would be correct in the book. I had no idea there was so much room for error as print is formatted to look good on the page…. whole lines disappear, words get moved or lost and every time you correct something there is a chance you made another error in that process!

I am so thankful to Carolyn Klymco at Ampersand Printing for her patience with these edits after we submitted the manuscript or the book would have been full of errors. I doubt another printer would have been so helpful.

Despite the hours of editing and help from Claudia and Nick and the Irwins there are some corrections that you should be aware of if you are cooking with this book:

Pg 86      Whole Wheat Flax Bread – In the instructions it should just be 1 cup of whole wheat flour added in the initial mixing. I also missed adding the flax seed in the instructions for the remaining addition.

Pg 95       Bath Buns – It should be only ½ recipe of the sweet roll dough that you add the extra ingredients to.

Pg 113     Lemon Loaf – It should be ½ cup of yogurt or milk

Pg 152     Gluten-free Muffins – Now that I have been baking gluten-free for a year I would not include a separate recipe for gluten-free muffins. I would substitute my GF all purpose flour with a ½ tsp xanthan gum per cup for the wheat flour and try the recipes in the book. I have brought Banana, Pumpkin, Mincemeat, Prune Spice, Chocolate Zucchini and Orange Almond for coffee break and nobody at Cliff’s Plumbing & Heating  complains.

Pg 160     Ranger Cookies – there should be a cup of all purpose flour as well as the whole wheat. I made them myself out of the book and they were still quite good – just flatter and crisper!

Pg 170     Chow Mien Chocolate Drops – Spelling of chow mien in title. I corrected it in the body of the text but the titles don’t show up in the spell check! When I checked the spelling in the index to see if it was corrected I saw that it was missed in the index!

Pg 208    Orange Carrot Cake –  The ingredient list is correct but the instructions say baking soda and it should say baking powder.

Please let me know if you notice any other errors or omissions!

Hot Cross Buns – Gluten-free Easter Delight

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Toasted Day Old Hot Cross BunsThese are the ones I tried today (March 9, 2013) with the 1/4 cup applesauce added. I like the extra moisture and taste :) These are the ones I tried today (March 9, 2013) with the 1/4 cup applesauce added. I like the extra moisture and taste :)<br

Hot Cross Buns – GF< Click here for pdf version of GF Recipe
Marion’s Hot Cross Buns (Wheat)< Click here for the Original Recipe with Wheat

I’m about 4 blogs behind getting posted but I had to bump these Hot Cross Buns to the top because they were so good and last year I thought I would never get another toasted, fruity Hot Cross Bun the way I like to make them with wheat (There is a great recipe for the wheat version in Anne’s Favourites pg 96 and I will attach the pdf). Once I got the hamburger bun (a future blog) recipe developed a lightbulb went on and I just knew they would adapt to this Easter treat! I wish I would have thought about the Maple Syrup as the glaze before writing Anne's Favourites because it worked perfectly

The English muffin rings are available at The Kitchen Cupboard and Icebox http://www.kitchencupboardandicebox.com in Listowel at a really reasonable price. I bought 3 packages so I have 12. They are great for gluten-free baking, giving you an easy form to spread the dough into and edges to bake which really helps structurally and that is what you are missing without gluten. I use them to make sandwich/hamburger buns also.

I can't wait to make these again on the week-end and will try adding ¼ cup of applesauce to the dough and see how I like that. If you try these please let me know how they turn out for you.

Hot Cross Buns – Gluten-free
3/4 cup milk, scalded
1/4 cup melted margarine
1/2 cup water
3 Tbsp honey
2 cups GF AP flour
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup whey powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp xanthan gum
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 Tbsp instant yeast
2 eggs
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup raisins, I like to use some golden
1/4 cup mixed peel
1/4 cup candied cherries
maple syrup to brush tops
Scald milk and let cool with margarine, water and honey while measuring remaining
ingredients
Sift together GF all purpose and sweet rice flour, tapioca and potato starch, whey powder,
salt, xanthan gum, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Add yeast, eggs, cider vinegar and vanilla to lukewarm liquid ingredients.
Pour in sifted dry ingredients and mix on low until combined. Scrape bowl and mix on
medium speed for 4 minutes.
During last minute of mixing add raisins, peel and cherries and combine thoroughly.
Scoop into 11 or 12 English muffin rings and spread as evenly as you can sealing to the
edges. Let rise uncovered for about an hour until it reaches the top of the pan
Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes until nicely browned and internal temperature
is at least 200 degrees F. Brush immediately with maple syrup if glaze is desired.
You may pipe the cross on with some butter icing if you like.

Tomato Dill Soup

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Tomato Dill Soup – A taste of summer to warm up your winter!

I had a difficult time making up my mind which food to post this week. It has been so busy since mid December that I have a number of photos ready but when I tasted this soup at lunch today it went right to the top of the list!

This is definitely my “go to” soup. I especially look forward to making it if I still have a mixture of tomatoes and dill leaves frozen from summer’s bounty. With the tomatoes already peeled this soup is just a matter of chopping some onions and garlic and putting things together. It only needs to simmer for a half an hour so you can make it right before you eat it.

Tomato Dill Soup – click here for recipe pdf

Tomato Dill Soup – Anne’s Favourites pg 52

1               Tbsp butter

1               Tbsp olive oil

1               onion, chopped

2               cloves garlic, crushed

2               Tbsp GF all purpose flour or potato starch

4               cups chicken stock, homemade or low sodium

12            medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped, 7 – 8 cups
OR 2 cans (28 oz) crushed tomatoes

2               Tbsp fresh dill or 2 tsp dry

1               Tbsp white sugar (omit sugar if using canned tomatoes)

1/4          tsp baking soda (omit if using canned tomatoes)

1               tsp salt, or to taste

1/4          tsp pepper

Cook onion and garlic in butter/olive oil mixture until soft.

  • Add flour and stir until smooth.
  • Slowly stir in broth and bring to a boil.
  • Scald and peel tomatoes and cut into small pieces then add to broth mixture.
  • Add dill, sugar, salt, pepper and baking soda.
  • Simmer for 25 to 30 minutes.
  • Taste and adjust seasonings.

Serve 6