Making bagels

I've been on a baking kick lately. That's how I roll -- doing activities in fits and spurts. Maybe it's because of the weather (still wintery) or maybe it's because I'm supposed to be working on a proposal right now and I'm doing everything else but.

So yesterday I made bagels. While bagels have in recent years earned a villainous reputation for being high carb/high calorie, these delicious ringed treats are in a baked good class of their own -- chewy, sometimes crisp, on the outside, and all spongy and doughy on the inside. Toasted or not, topped with butter or cream cheese or just plain, fresh-out-of-the-oven bagels are worthy of an occasional indulgence.

They're also fun and relatively easy to make, especially when you employ the bread machine to make the dough.

The ingredients for my simplest bagel recipe are:

• 1 cup water
• 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 cups bread flour
• 2 tsp active dry yeast

In my breadmaker it takes about 30 minutes to mix the dough followed by a one hour rise cycle, which is useful for times (like yesterday) when I wasn't paying attention to when the mix cycle had ended and I'd wandered off and gotten immersed in some other form of procrastination (cleaning the barn, making potting soil -- anything but the dreaded proposal).

When I finally pulled the dough out it had that lovely soft-as-a-baby's-bum texture, all springy and puffy and alive.

Careful not to handle the dough too much, I gently stretched it into a longish loaf -- not as long as a baguette, but not as plump and stout as a regular loaf. Like a jelly roll.

From there I scored and cut the dough into 12 roughly similar-shaped sections. With each piece I gently massaged the dough back into a circular shape (as the cutting tends to flatten it a bit) while pressing a hole through the centre with my thumbs. (A photo here would have been useful but I always seem to be covered in sticky dough and flour at this stage with no little hands around to man the camera.)

After doing this with each piece, I placed the uncooked bagels on a greased tray covered with a clean dishcloth and then placed the tray in a warm spot to rise. (Near the woodstove works well.)

While the bagels were rising, I filled my stockpot halfway with water and about 2 tbsp of sugar and brought it to a rolling boil. When the bagels were ready, I dropped three at a time into the boiling water, simmering for three minutes, turning each bagel once.

I then fished the bagels out with a slotted spoon and placed them on a greased cookie sheet. Then I (or one of my helpers, who had since come home from school) painted each bagel with a beaten egg and sprinkled it with our favourite toppings, either poppy seeds, sesame seeds and onion flakes (our version of the "everything" bagel), or just plain poppy seed.

The last step is to bake at 400°F/204°C for 20 minutes for crispy bagels, less for chewier bagels.

The only bother with making bagels (besides the calories) is that they don't last long around here. That and I still have my dreaded proposal to finish...

Rhubarb made three ways

One of the things I love about growing food is that my kids get to experience the full spectrum of local, in-season eating -- the waiting, the watching, the harvesting and the eating. Ever since we discovered the pleasures of rhubarb last year, Jack has been eyeing up rhubarb row, waiting for the time when we can once again pick some fresh 'barb.

While asking the children to help me dig up weeds is like pulling teeth, it was lovely to see them embrace the task of leafing through the rhubarb patch in search of the most tender and ruby-red stalks.

The is just the first of many, many baskets.

The kids asked if they could eat the stalks raw, to which I replied, "sure!" What I didn't tell them was just how tart and tongue twisting it tastes!

As they chewed, they scrunched up their faces like they'd been sucking lemons. It didn't take long before they spat out their mouthfuls and declared that while they both liked rhubarb baked "in things", raw was just "gross."

This easy-to-grow perennial can be quite prolific, so I've been on the lookout for recipes that will make the most of our delicious bounty.

I recently found one for rhubarb cinnamon muffins, made with whole wheat flour and two cups of diced rhubarb. They're a lovely not-too-sweet afternoon snack, tasting more bread-like than muffin-like, and studded with chunks of rhubarb that deliver its unmistakable tangy smack.


I also found a new recipe for rhubarb crisp (Jack's favourite); one that has the oatmeal crust on both the top and bottom. This recipe takes four cups of rhubarb and I'm going to try freezing several trays of it to enjoy later in the year.

But this season's greatest taste-tingling surprise was rhubarb juice -- a delicious twist on the traditional pie/crisp arrangement.


If you like the tartness of rhubarb, you'll love the puckery pleasure of this juice. It's a concentrate, with a 1:1 mix ratio, which we've added to water, orange juice and even ginger ale for a bubbly treat. I'm sure it would make a lovely addition to a tonic-based cocktail, too.

Here's the recipe for basic rhubarb juice concentrate:

• 12 cups sliced rhubarb (1" slices) (yes, 12 cups!)
• 4 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1.) In a large stainless steel pot, combine rhubarb and water.* Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat, cover and boil gently until rhubarb is soft, about 10 minutes.**

2.) Transfer to a strainer lined with several layers of cheesecloth over a deep bowl. If you don't have a strainer handy, raid your husband's workshop for clamps and attach the cheesecloth directly to the pot. We're really high tech around here. (Those clamps are cleaner than they look.)

Let drip undisturbed for about 2 to 3 hours, or until all the liquid has drained.


3.) In a clean stainless steel saucepan, combine rhubarb juice and sugar. Heat to dissolve sugar but do not boil. Remove from heat and skim off foam.


At this point, you can choose to can the juice (ed. update: via boiling-water canner), but I left one jar in the fridge and froze the second one in a few smaller plastic yogurt containers. It's a delicious, vitamin-packed way to capture one of spring's earliest seasonal pleasures. Enjoy!

* If you want to make "Sunshine" rhubarb juice, add the grated zest of one lemon and one orange.
** Once you remove from heat, add juice from one lemon and one orange.

P.S. No post would be complete without a new duckling photo. We're up to four now. Yep, four.

Making homemade yogurt

Yogurt is a part of our family's daily diet and that's a good thing -- it's rich in calcium, high in protein and teaming with good-for-your-gut bacteria. But not all yogurt is created equal and many store-bought varieties are also loaded with sugar, artificial dyes, preservatives and stabilizers such as gelatin.

I'm always on the lookout for ways to buy less and make more, so I started making our own yogurt. It's deliciously tasty, wonderfully textured, less expensive and so easy too!

There are lots of low-tech ways to make yogurt using a cooler, insulated canister or even the pilot light of your oven, but I use a yogurt maker -- simply because my dad gave me his.


Regardless of the tools you use, the process is essentially the same: you heat milk to just below boiling, cool it to around 110 degrees Fahrenheit and then carefully add a starter culture of live bacteria. Nature does the rest. (For some fascinating reading on "how yogurt works," pop over this New York Times article by Harold McGee.)

The key is to keep the yogurt warm and draft-free during fermentation, which is where the yogurt maker comes in handy.

The recipe I use calls for:

• 3 1/2 cups of milk (I use whole cow's milk, though I'm going to experiment with goat's milk next)
• 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup instant milk powder (I use the greater amount for a thicker yogurt)
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt with live or active bacteria cultures (simply take this amount from your current batch and use it for the next)

Processing takes anywhere between four and 10 hours , depending on how mild or tart you want your yogurt.

This is after just four hours in the yogurt maker and two hours chilling in the fridge:

At this stage, the yogurt's taste is mild, milky and gentle on the palate. While it's lovely to eat on its own, we enjoy adding dried fruit, homemade jam and honey. But our hands-down favourite has to be locally-produced maple syrup.


Homemade yogurt makes the perfect compliment to our DIY granola, but it's more than that. As Salon author Francis Lam writes, "I don't know exactly how the tradition of eating yogurt for breakfast started, but it's a lovely symbol. Mornings are about renewing, and yogurt is a perfect symbol of rejuvenation -- of making old milk new again, living and breathing and good."

For the love of zucchini

The kids and I were working on our seed "wish list" the other day (yes, while some of you are coddling your seedlings, out here in zone 5a we're still at the dreaming stage) and I thought it was fun to see what was on each of their 'must-grow' list.

Jack wanted to grow pumpkins, beans, peas, tomatoes and watermelon; Ella agreed, and added cucumbers, corn, peppers, carrots and of course, sunflowers.

When I asked if there was anything else, she put one hand on her hip, the other to her chin (as if to scratch a non-existent beard) before blurting out, "Zucchini, mama.... zucchini! We can't forget the zucchini."


Despite warnings to exercise restraint when planting this prolific summer squash, I always transplant one or two extras, just 'in case'. Invariably, I end up producing enough to feed a small country.

But I love growing zucchini. When I'm battling Japanese beetles and tomato hornworms, while struggling to figure out the best way to stake tomatoes and cucumbers, it takes just one look at those elephant ear-sized leaves and the beautiful, shiny baseball bat-sized fruits to make me feel like a gardening guru.


OK, I know you're not supposed to let them grow that big. But the kids get such a kick out of monster vegetables.

But I also hate food going to waste. Once I've exhausted the number of people I can foist zucchini on to (watch for me on August 8th as I celebrate National Sneak Some Zucchini on to your Neighbour's Porch Day!) then I start getting creative. Zucchini sneaks into every recipes, from breads to dips, soups to sauces to cookies.

Last August, I was planning on making a batch of zucchini pickles and some relish, but then I got distracted by this recipe for Gingered Zucchini Marmalade -- and it uses five cups of shredded peeled zucchini, or 10 cups if you double the recipe!


It's a bit finicky, but worth it.

Here it is:

• 2 oranges
• 2 lemons
• 3 tbsp chopped ginger root
• 5 cups shredded, peeled zucchini
• 1 tart apple, cored and grated
• 4 cups granulated sugar

1.) Using a vegetable peeler, remove peel from each orange in one long strip. (Step one and it's already finicky. Hang in there!) Cut orange peel into thin strips and place in a large deep stainless steel saucepan. Set aside.


2.) Remove white pith from oranges and peel and pith from lemon. (Yes, more finickyness. It gets better.) Set fruit aside.


3.) Tie orange and lemon pith and peel and ginger root in a square of cheesecloth, creating a spice bag. Add to sauce pan. (See, that was easy.)


4.) Working over the saucepan to catch juice and using a small sharp knife, separate orange and lemon segments from membrane. Place segments in saucepan and squeeze membrane to remove as much juice as possible, collecting it in the saucepan. Discard membrane and seeds. (OK, I admit, this part was quite tedious.)


5.) Add zucchini, apple and sugar to saucepan and mix well Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil hard, stirring frequently, until mixture reaches gel stage, about 45 minutes. Remove from heat. If gel stage has been reached, skim off foam. Discard spice bag.

6.) Meanwhile, prepare canner, jar and lids. Ladle hot marmalade into hot jars, leave 1/4" headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace. Wipe rim, centre lid and screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip tight.

7.) Place in hot water canner, ensuring jars are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid, wait five minutes, then remove jars, cool and store. Makes about four 8-oz (250 ml) jars.

I admit this might not be the most efficient way to make use of excess zucchini. It's quite time consuming and the outcome is less than if you were to bake and freeze several loaves of zucchini bread.

But if you enjoy preserves like we do, the taste is unlike any store-bought marmalade. And in the depths of winter, when summer still seems so far away, it serves as a cheerful and flavourful reminder of the bounty of our garden.

How (not) to make granola

I'm always looking for ways to create wholesome, nourishing food for my family and save money at the grocery store. Both my kids love eating cereal for breakfast but with all the empty-caloried, sugar-filled yuck on the market, there are only a few brands that we'd buy -- and these don't come cheap. So I started making my own.

Here's our favourite wintertime cereal recipe : a simple Honey Almond Granola, filled with nutritious grains and crunchy nutty goodness, kissed with a hint of sweet and a dash of love.


I get most of the ingredients at the bulk food store, except for: the honey, which my dad buys from a local farmer (until we get our own hives buzzing); the vanilla, which we make ourselves from vanilla beans; and the vegetable oil. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

First, here's the recipe:

• 4 cups large flake rolled oats
• 1/2 cup oat bran
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 cup unsweetened large flake coconut
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 sesame seeds, not toasted
• 1 cup unsalted raw almonds, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 vegetable oil
• 1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup golden raisins *
• 1 cup dried cranberries *
• 1/2 cup dried currants *

* or dried fruit of your choosing

1.) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Have ready two heavy-bottomed baking sheets.

2.) Stir together the rolled oats, oat bran, wheat germ, coconut, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and almonds in a large bowl and set aside.


3.) Stir the raisins, cranberries and currants (or dried fruit of your choosing) in a separate bowl. Marvel at how pretty and festive it looks. Set aside.


3.) Place the honey in a small pot and heat until melted. Add the vegetable oil and vanilla extract and stir until combined. Pour over the rolled oat mixture and stir until the grains are evenly coated with the honey mixture.

4.) Do not get swept away by your six-year-old's insistence that we should add the berries now because it would look oh-so-pretty.


5.) Do not spread the mixture out on the two baking sheets before re-checking the recipe.

6.) Do not spend the next 20 minutes hand-picking all the 'pretty berries' from the grains and cursing the recipe for having 2-1/2 cups of assorted dried fruit in it. Do not notice the pursed lips in the photo posted below.


7.) Do not give up and decide to bake the granola anyway, covering the baking sheets with tinfoil and hoping for the best. Do not ignore the scent of roasting cranberries/raisins.


8.) Skip steps 4 through 8.

9.) Divide the grains and honey mixture without the dried fruit onto the two baking sheets. Place in the oven without the tinfoil and bake for approximately 20 to 25 minutes, stirring frequently. When ready, oats (but not the dried fruit) should start to turn a light golden brown. Check often as it can burn quickly.


10.) Remove from oven, cool and place mixture in a large bowl. Only then add the dried fruit mixture and stir until well combined.


The recipe makes about 12 cups and keeps up to four weeks, but it never lasts in our household that long.

Even with the 'oops', this hearty granola tastes delicious topped with with hemp seeds and served with your choice of milk. Or not. Lucas takes his straight up, sometimes with yogurt -- if he's feeling adventurous.

If you haven't already, be sure to visit my Valentine's Day Giveaway post for a chance to win a copy of Louise Riotte's 'Carrots Love Tomatoes!"

Love, cookies and simple things

I'm not a dozen roses, expensive chocolates or a fancy dinner kind of girl when it comes to Valentine's Day, but I do love the idea of simply celebrating love. Around our house, that means two things: handmade cards and home-baked cookies.

We spent the first part of our day enjoying our annual tradition of making simple cards for the kids' friends at school.



Then it was time to make the cookies. Like Mama Pea over at A Home Grown Journal, I have our own "special" sugar cookie recipe that we use for Valentine's Day, Halloween, Christmas, even birthdays -- really any occasion that calls for a fun, cut-out, decorative cookie.

While her secret ingredient is nutmeg, mine is ground cardamom. I don't know what it is about its resinous, aromatic, almost ginger-peppery flavour that makes these cookies so delicious, but I do know mine are the only sugar cookies my husband enjoys.

Here's the recipe:

• 3/4 cup softened butter
• 3/4 raw sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom

1.) Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add egg. Beat well. Add vanilla. Beat until smooth.

2.) Ask kids to clean up. Remark that this is the only time they're keen to do dishes.


3.) Combine remaining five dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add to butter mixture in two additions, mixing well after each addition.

4.) Divide dough into equal portions. Shape each portion into flattened disc, wrap in wax paper and chill. The recipe says to do this for at least six hours to make the dough more manageable, but I find that two hours is just fine. Or, maybe we're just impatient.

5.) Roll out dough onto a lightly floured surface to 1.25" thickness. Cut with lightly floured cutters.

6.) Place on a cookie pan about 2" apart. Roll out scraps to cut more shapes.



6.) Place in 350 degree F preheated oven for 10 minutes until cookies are puffy and edges are just golden.

7.) Enlist loyal watchdog to guard over cookies in case of siege by bandits.

8.) Remove and let cool completely. Chase away thieving children/husband/loyal watchdog.


9.) Mix royal icing. This is the recipe I use for our gingerbread house making.

• 1/3 cup meringue powder
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 45 ml hot water
• pinch of cream of tartar

i.) Blend meringue powder and water at low speed for one minute. Then blend for 4 to 7 minutes at high speed until thick, soft peaks form. Or not. Peaks never form for me.
ii.) Blend in icing sugar.
iii.) Decorate!

Mama's cookies

Ella's cookies for her Valentine's Day school party.
Jack decided to take plain cookies.
When I asked him why he said, "I'd like my teacher to have a good time at the party and not have to chase around a whole bunch of kids freaking out on sugar."
Evidently, Ella didn't have the same concern for her teacher.

Wishing you all a day filled with love, bliss and yummy cookies.

Baking up our own storm

It’s here. Weatherman said there was a big storm coming. It even has a name -- the “Groundhog Day Storm” -- and it’s expected to dump anywhere between 20 cm and 30 cm of snow in 24 hours. It's hitting hit hard and fast. Outside my window the flakes fall and swirl like those from a snow globe; the scene is achingly beautiful, but deceptively treacherous. Snow is blowing into huge drifts, smothering our farm with an icy blanket, finding its way into every crook and cranny. Snow’s tricky that way.

Since moving to the country, the weather has earned my respect for its sheer power, ruthlessness and beauty. A storm like this out here, in the middle of nowhere, is a call to action. We’ve got the pantry stocked, a pile of my dad's homemade beeswax candles at the ready, the barn is battened down and in case the power goes out, the generator is on standby with several jerry cans of fuel.

The whole farm crew is home today – kids have a snow day and Lucas couldn’t get into work. It’s easy to get cabin fever when hankering down under one roof. Our solution? We’re baking up our own storm.

I’ve made some whole wheat date oatmeal cookies…


…and a loaf of Apple-Raisin Spice Bread.


Lucas whipped up his famous (infamous?) Gonky Balls….


… and he’s making some Portuguese corn bread rolls to accompany tonight's vegetarian chili. Comfort food makes everything better, doesn't it?


But the most fun was making these amazing and so simple Wheat Germ Scones.

Here's the recipe:

• 1/2 cup wheat germ, divided
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup currants
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk

1.) Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Reserve one tablespoon wheat germ. Combine remaining wheat germ, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.

2. Cut in butter with pastry blender (or two knives) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in currants.

3.) Beat eggs in small bowl. Add milk; beat until well mixed. Reserve 2 tablespoons milk mixture. Add remaining mixture to flour; stir until mixture forms soft dough that leaves the side of the bowl.

4.) Turn out dough onto well-floured surface. Knead.


5.) Roll out dough into 9" by 6" rectangle. Cut down into six (3") squares. Cut each diagonally in half, making 12 triangles.

6.) Place triangles 2" apart on ungreased baking sheet. Brush triangles with reserved milk mixture and sprinkle with wheat germ.

7.) Bake 10 minutes until golden brown. Serve immediately with a dollop of butter. Eat three more in quick succession.


While our backs may ache from shovelling (our plough is in the shop -- brilliant timing, I know!), but we're sure to have full bellies from all this home-baked goodness!

For folks who have to work and travel today, a snowstorm like this can be a major inconvenience and even scary. But on days like this, where there is nowhere else to be but here, I feel such gratitude to have created our own refuge from the storm.