Try our perfectly Pickled Silverskin Onions

Our pickled silverskin onions come in two varieties; the white brine version, which uses a recipe passed down from my aunt and the malt vinegar version which was a recipe passed down from my husband’s British grandmother (in the UK, they are often eaten alongside fish and chips).

Our delicious pickled onions will be available at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair individually or in a pickle lovers gift pack perfect for the holidays. 

The Process

Our pickled onions use Ontario grown silverskin onions. What’s more impressive is that we hand peel around 300 pounds of these onions – equivalent to approximately 22,000 onions! These little onions then spent seven glorious days in a salt-water brine, getting rinsed daily. So, when they arrive on your plate they are the perfect combination of crunchy on the inside and tender on the outside.

What makes our onions so special is that we only make them once a year, in August and September, as this is when silverskin onions are in season. Once they are sold out, they’re gone until the next growing session – so make sure to grab them at the Royal Winter Fair!

Why you’ll love them

Our pickled silverskin onions taste amazing in sandwiches and wraps, on a burger or with sausages. They also make a great addition to potato salad. I would even throw them in any salad for an added crunch.

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Written by Farhana Choudhry, Intern

Grandma Betty's Recipe Book

Grandma Betty's recipe book

My husband and I just returned from 10 days in North Devon. We went with his mom to see her 98 year old mother and of course, my husband's grandmother. A word about Betty before we get to her cookbook. She is as I mentioned 98 years old and she still lives on her own. She has fantastic neighbours who drop in on her daily. They pick up groceries she may need, make her a quiche now and again and visit with her on a regular occasion. But - Gran still makes most of her meals, she knits afghans, for as she puts it "old people in the home" and she does the crossword every day. She is still extremely sharp if somewhat forgetful. 

One day on our trip, we were sitting in Gran's conservatory enjoying the sunshine and the gorgeous view of the Moors from the back of her house when my husband brought out a book that looked like it had seen some action. The spine was cracked as if the book had been opened and closed more times than it could count. He had a curious smile on his face as he was looking at me and I immediately knew that what was inside, would be of immense interest to me.

It was Gran's recipe book and the first recipes inside of it were dated from November, 1938. I sat on my hands and waited patiently as James flipped through the pages on the other side of the room. He read things out like "Cheese Scones, Sweet Orange Marmalade, Red Tomato Chutney and Dried Apricot Jam". I could barely take it.

Finally, he handed it over to me. The book felt so well loved and so fragile in my hands. There were pages that were completely loose from the binding. As I flipped through the pages, I could tell the recipes that were the most popular from the splatters on the pages.

As I was exclaiming about some of the recipes, Gran said these magical words "Why don't you take it home with you?". WHAT??? I couldn't believe it. I got rather choked up at the thought. I wanted it more than I could express, but would never have asked for it.

I continued to flip through the pages and there at the very back was a record from 1941 - 1997 of how many pounds of Seville Oranges Gran had turned into marmalade each year.

Over this summer, I am going to ask friends to join me in making some of the recipes from the book and will post our successes and failures with the recipes here. I already have my first friend chosen and can't wait to choose which recipe we will attempt together!

Heritage Pickled Eggs

Back in February I was out in Alberta visiting my mom who is currently going through a bit of a rough patch, so while she was resting I decided I was going to make her some chicken stock. While going through her recipe holder I stumbled across a recipe I had never locked eyes on before.

It was typed on an index card, so I could already guess that it wasn't a 'new' recipe so to speak. When I asked her about it she said she used to make them all the time. Now reaching back into the deep recesses of my mind I can remember my mom's home made raspberry and peach jams, I can remember all of her fabulous cookies and I can remember her super crunchy dill pickles. But I know I have never seen nor heard of her pickled eggs.

We determined that she had to have been making them 'before my time'.

It's a simple enough recipe, but the fact that it is older than me tells me that it might not necessarily be safe. What makes me think that? Well first off, the acetic acid in vinegar used to be much higher than it is today. So the balance of water, salt and vinegar in my mom's pickled egg recipe might not necessarily make it safe for water bath canning today. So what does one do next?

The recipe sounded SO good that I had to try it to find out.

I started with a small batch...just enough to follow the recipe exactly as it was laid out. I am letting it age for the typical 4 weeks that a pickle recipe needs in order for the item being pickled to fully absorb the brine. And the final step will be to pH test it this week.

Each time I try a recipe that is newly created or newly uncovered from old family archives, I pH test the final product to ensure that the pH is within the acceptable limits for water bath canning. What is the best way to pH test a product? I use a digital pH tester that goes to 3 decimal points. If you don't want to invest in a pH tester you can also get strips that are much less expensive but also less accurate.

In this instance, I will take a portion of the egg, the brine and the spices and blend them together until they are all liquified. After calibrating my pH tester I will then test this liquified pickle to get an accurate reading of it's pH. It is important not to just test the pH of the brine but get the fruit or vegetable being pickled in the reading as well.

If the final reading shows me we have a product that is not safe for water bath canning - it will be back to the drawing board. Because no matter how great they may have tasted when my mom used to make them - ingredients change and we have to keep that in mind when using old family recipes.

Bummed out Banana Bread

It's been a tough start to 2016 and today I am having a hard time feeling motivated to do much of anything on my to do list. And my to do list is long. Thankfully my husband is a wonderful man and while I retreat from life for a little time to build myself back up, he has revved things up on his end and is carrying the both of us.

I got back a week ago today from Calgary. I was out there for just under 2 weeks. I went out, because Mamacita Manning (my mom) is undergoing chemotherapy. In total she will have 6 rounds and between me, my 4 sisters, my aunt and my uncle - we are each taking turns to be there for her for each of her treatments. For seven days I took her to the hospital. On each day, she received 3 injections in her abdomen. Each day her stomach would get a little bit sorer and she would lose a little more of her appetite and her strength.

I flew back to Toronto last Wednesday and just haven't been myself since I got back. I feel a little like I left a part of myself with her...which perhaps is a good thing, because she needs it. But it makes it hard to face my days here.

On top of all of this, I have been diagnosed with frozen shoulder. Certainly not as serious as cancer, but I have to be honest - I would not wish frozen shoulder on anyone. It is not very treatable, yet it is strangely and chronically painful. Makes sleeping difficult and doing my job, which consists of lifting heavy boxes of produce, making jam, lifting heavy jars, setting up farmers market tents, etc rather painful and difficult.

So, I think it would be fair to assume that I am feeling a little bit sorry for myself. So seems like the perfect time to make some Banana Bread. My Auntie Dena shared this recipe with me several years ago. I have adapted it slightly over the years and what I share with you today is the adapted version.

Bummed Out Banana Bread

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter

2 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs (room temperature)

2 tsp vanilla

2 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp grated orange rind

3.5 cups flour

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

5 ripe bananas (mashed)

1 cup sour cream

1 cup chopped pecans

Cream together butter and sugar, add eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and orange zest and mix thoroughly.

In a separate bowl combine flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. In a third bowl combine the mashed bananas and the sour cream. Then combine the flour mixture and the butter mixture together. Do this slowly combining ingredients thoroughly. Stir in banana mixture and finally the pecans.

Pour into 2 greased and floured loaf pans and bake at 350 for 1.5 hours or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Then allow it to rest, cut yourself a big fat slice, toast it and smother it with marmalade and all of a sudden your frozen shoulder is temporarily forgotten because your taste buds are singing too loudly.

Perfect Pickled Jalapeño Peppers

A couple of weeks ago I headed south over the border with my mom to visit my Uncle in Lewiston, NY. How could I possibly begin to describe my Uncle Louie so you can appreciate the kind of person that he is?

Well to start, his nickname for me is 'the brat'. He has called me that for as long as I can remember. Now you might think that one would find this kind of nickname insulting. But when you hear him say it with his Italian accent, his godfather voice and with the cheeky glint in his eye, you would know that he says it only in love. And like me, you would grow to love the nickname. 

He is an extremely talented man who could build almost anything; from his own house to the most beautiful doll houses for his grandchildren to a stunning birdhouse made of cararra marble. He has endless patience and is a meticulous man - as could be witnessed by the fact that he hand painted all of his tools the same colour blue and each and every tool has a particular spot just for it or by the fact that his tomato plants grow with absolute precision. He pinches them, ties them and trains them to grow in straight lines full of fruit.

While we were visiting he brought out a jar of Pickled jalapeño that his neighbour had made for him. He exclaimed about the simplicity of the pickle and how he could sit and eat them straight out of the jar. It reminded me that a couple of years ago I had made jar after jar of a very similar pickle and that my pantry was currently devoid of them. Time to get my pickle jalapeño ON!

Perfect Pickled Jalapeño Peppers

Ingredients

4 cups chopped Jalapeño Peppers

2 cups red wine vinegar

2 cups water

2 tbsp pickling salt

Combine vinegar, water and salt in a non-reactive pot and bring to a boil, add pepper rings and stir to submerge. As soon as the brine and peppers return to a boil, remove the pan from the heat.

Funnel peppers into your previously sterilized jars, top off with brine. Burp your jars to remove any trapped air bubbles and measure your headspace to 1/2 inch.

Wipe rims, apply lids and process jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Do not start timing until the water is at a boil.

It is best to let these age for at least 2-4 weeks in the jar before opening to enjoy and eat out of the jar as my Uncle Louie does!