Dena DePaoli's Pickled Silverskin Onions

This recipe is my Auntie Dena's and just reading it brings back memories from my childhood. I remember thinking these pickles were perhaps the most disgusting thing on the planet. Oh how your tastebuds evolve with age :). Perhaps it wasn't even the flavour that disgusted me but the hours it seemed to take to peel the mountains of onions that my mom and my aunt would buy and then turn into pickles.

Now, everytime I go to visit her I practically beg her to bring out a jar of these pickles and I think I could sit down and eat an entire jar on my own in one sitting. And what I wouldn't give to get my hands on a mountain of silverskin onions the size that they used to be able to get in the early 80's. I have searched high and low for someone in Ontario who carries silverskin onions in larger quantities than those little mesh bags that seem to cost $4.99 and wouldn't even make a single jar. So far, each summer I come up empty handed.

But if you are lucky enough to get a large bag of these and want to make perhaps the best pickle recipe I have ever come across, then look no further.

Silverskin Pickled Onions

10 pounds silverskin onions

24 cups water

2 1/2 cups coarse sale

4 cups white vinegar

1 cup sugar

1 cinnamon stick

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and place the the onions into the pot for 3 minutes. Remove, drain and cover in cool water immediately. This will help (at least a little bit) the skins peel off easier. This is where you are going to cuss and swear because it takes some time. But trust me...it is all worth it in the end.

Combine the water and salt. Pour over the onions and let stand for a week. Rinsing the onions every evening and returning them back into the original brine. Rinse thoroughly before pickling in jars. You will want to prepare your jars accordingly.

After you have let the onions sit in the brine for a week and have rinsed them thoroughly you are ready for the next step. Place the onions in 500ml jars.

Combine the vinegar, sugar and cinnamon. Heat the water to boiling and reduce and simmer for 5 minutes until the sugar has completely dissolved and then remove the cinnamon stick. Ladles mixture into the jars, leaving 2cm headspace. Place sealed jars into pot of rolling water and process for 10 minutes.

You will want to give these 4-6 weeks to absorb all the wonderful flavours before you eat.

If you try this recipe, let me know your thoughts and if you leave in the Toronto area and come across large quantities of silverskin onions, let me know!

Helloooo Farmers

So at the last Withrow Market I barely had time to leave my booth to check out who else was selling stuff, but I did notice from afar a farmer who was selling onions and this week I got in touch with another farmer who is going to have carrots. It excites me to no end that soon I will be making my jams and pickles with produce from farmer's whom I have met personally. I have always tried to buy locally but this takes it to a whole new level.

So this is a broadcast message going out to all Ontario Farmers....I want to buy your stuff and make it into wonderful jams and jellies.

Reach out. Tweet me. Email me. Heck, even send me a letter. I am all eyes and ears wanting to turn tastebuds around Toronto upside down.

Rhubarb Madness

So I have been talking non-stop about the rhubarb in my garden to almost anyone who will listen. I spoke to my neighbour Bob over our fence on the weekend about how much rhubarb we have this year and that it took me til this summer to see the merits of it. I chatted my friend Kim's ear off this evening talking about the rhubarb jam I made that I have been smothering my toast, my pancakes and my yogourt with since I made it last week and I told my co-worker Rebecca about how delicious it is. Probably to the point of exhaustion...so my apologies friends and family.

I think I have a problem.

My husband has always loved Rhubarb and he would make it with custard all last summer. At the time I wasn't buying it. But this year my tastebuds did a 180 and I can't seem to get enough.

With that in mind I have been scouring cookbooks, blogs, my mom's old recipes for more ways I can twist and contort this wonderful spring time delight and thought I would share with you some of my favourite discoveries.

We will start with a recipe for Rhubarb Shrub. I love this recipe for a couple of reasons. I always love discovering something new and I had never heard of Shrub. But the other reason I love this is as I read the recipe my mouth actually started to water and I knew I had to try to make it. I even had to rush out and buy a scale. It is currently sitting in my downstairs fridge waiting for the first taste test.

The next recipe I found as I was trolling for good food blogs and came across this article in the National Post and started to click through to some of the blogs listed in it. The name of the recipe alone made me weak in the knees; Rhubarb Fool with Lavender Cream and Pistachios. Do I even need to say another word? I think not.

Then the justoposition of Rhubarb and Rosemary made me try this recipe last weekend and you wouldn't imagine this, but it tastes fabulous as a side with some roast pork. Trust me, it does...Rhubarb and Rosemary jam tastes great with pork.

Finally I will share a relatively simple recipe that my friend Allen shared with me last year. I sadly can not tell you if this is an original creation of his or if it is family recipe or something he got out of a cookbook. I just know that as he said when he sent it to me, that it is a winner:

Roasted Rhubarb Tarts with Strawberry Sauce
Yield: Makes 6 servings
Active Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (from a 17 1/4-ounces package), thawed
1 lb rhubarb stalks, trimmed and cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 (10-ounces) package frozen strawberries in heavy syrup, thawed
3/4 cup crème fraîche or sour cream

Bake pastry:
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Unfold puff pastry sheet and gently roll out with a floured rolling pin on a very lightly floured surface into a 12-inch square. Trim edges with a sharp knife, then cut pastry into 6 rectangles (about 6 by 4 inches each). Arrange rectangles 1 to 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet and prick them all over with a fork.

Bake in middle of oven until pastry is puffed and golden, 13 to 15 minutes. Cool pastry on baking sheet on a rack.

Roast rhubarb while pastry is cooling:
Reduce oven temperature to 375°F.
Arrange rhubarb in 1 layer in a lightly oiled shallow 15- by 10-inch baking pan (preferably nonstick) and
sift 2 tablespoons confectioners sugar evenly over it. Roast in middle of oven until tender, 15 to 25 minutes, then cool in pan on a rack.
Make strawberry sauce and cream filling while rhubarb is roasting: Purée strawberries with syrup in a food processor, then force purée through a very fine sieve into a bowl.
Sift 5 tablespoons confectioners sugar over crème fraîche and whisk to combine.

Assemble tarts:
Sift remaining tablespoon confectioners sugar over pastry rectangles. Make a 3-inch lengthwise trough in the center of each rectangle by gently tapping with back of a teaspoon. Divide cream filling among troughs and top with rhubarb, then drizzle with strawberry sauce.

Cooks' note:
Strawberry sauce and cream filling can be made 1 day ahead and chilled separately, covered.

So now go forth and buy fresh rhubarb at the closest Farmer's Market to you, climb over your neighbours fence in the cover of darkness and pick some (unless you are my neighbour of course :)) and make something delicious with rhubarb.

Then we can talk about our addiction together and I won't feel so alone.

How Does Your Garden Grow

I was reminded of this poem or is it a nursery rhyme as I tackled the planting of my garden today.

Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells, and cockle shells,
And pretty maids all in a row. 

Mine will have neither silver bells or cockle shells, but will have wonderful things like arugula, rocket, turnips, parsnips, beans, peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, leeks, green onions, basil, oregano, sage, etc.

We used the compost that we have been collecting from our green bin over the winter to add some extra nutrients to the soil, staked the tomatoes and the border so that Betty Boo knew not to tromp through it like a bull and crush everything we have grown :) and started to plant.

The infamous Betty Boo jsut as refernce so you know who might be trampling my plants and why the border around the garden was required.

Beginning to work on the garden

Sorrel and lavender that come back every year. The lavender is great to make little satchels inside your pillow so you smell lavender all year long and the sorrel, if you have never had it before is almost like lemon spinach. I grab a handful and sprinkle it in almost every salad in the springtime. Also makes a great soup. Perhaps I will make that this week and share the recipe.

The garden is planted and now we wait for things to begin to grow, so that we can enjoy fresh vegetables all summer long. So excited.

We also moved the fish outside into their pond and it is hard to believe but I think I now know what a happy fish looks like. They are swimming around, chasing one another. Like they are up at the cottage for the summer after having spent the winter cooped up indoors in the small tank.

May Long Weekend Garden Adventures

If asked for one word to describe the weather this weekend, the first that pops into my mind would be "glorious". Blue sky, sunshine and a slight breeze. You quite honestly couldn't ask for better. It was opening weekend for Withrow Market and the people were out with their dogs, their children and their shopping bags. It was a fantastic turnout, so thanks to everyone who paid Manning Canning a visit.

After the market ended at 1pm and the car was packed and then unpacked back at home, I was staring 2.5 days of free time right in the face and I knew just what I wanted to do with it. Absolutely nothing. Or at least, my version of absolutely nothing :).

It started off with checking in on my chive flower vinegar. Already it is turning a gorgeous colour. A few of my flowers are yet to bloom, so I look forward to getting at least 2 more batches of this put away before they disappear.

Then I did some weeding in the garden and at the end of it decided to bring some of the amazing smells that are taking place outside with so many of my flowers in bloom to the inside and pulled together this little arrangement.

And then to end the day yesterday I pulled some of the rhubard which has absolutely exploded in the garden and decided to make some jam for James and I to have on our pancakes in the morning. I settled on 2 different batches. The first, rhubarb rosemary and the second which we enjoyed this morning and which I shared with my neighbours, rhubarb vanilla...which is amazingly good.

There is something to be said about making jam from something from your very own garden, which makes it taste that much fresher and all the more delicious. The next batch will go with me to the commercial kitchen so I can make some to sell at the market in 2 weeks. The supply will be limited, so reserve yours today!

Chive flower blossom vinegar

I came home from work this evening knowing that I would be enveloped in raspberries for the better part of the night. Tonight I had raspberry jam making on the agenda.

But before I got down to business, I popped out into the garden to check on something that I have been checking on every evening for the past week. My chives! When-oh-when are those babies going to blossom? Each night I pop my head out the door anxious to see if the flowers will have opened, because I have plans for those babies. I love chives. I could put them in almost anything. Great in a salad, great in salsa, great in chili...you get the picture.

I made tarragon vinegar a couple of months ago and I just can't get enough of it. Flavoured vinegars are amazing and so versatile, so I started to think about what chive blossom vinegar would be like and in my mind, it sounded GREAT!

Flavoured vinegars are so easy, so if like me, you have noticed that your chive blossoms are about to open up their beautiful little blooms and you are wondering what you could do with them, you have come to the right place cause I am about to tell you.

Like me, you wait until those babies have bloomed and the flowers have opened. Then you cut them all off, put them in a big bowl of cold water and give them a good rinse. You are not the only one that has been waiting anxiously for these flowers to open. Numerous insects have been waiting to enjoy them as well and we don't need any protein in our flavoured vinegar. So give them a good rinse. Use a salad spinner if you want to be extra thorough.

Then get your jar, which you will have previously sanitized and stuff the flowers inside it. 1/2 or 3/4 full is what I always aim for. Then depending on your budget you can do one of two things. 1) you can fill that jar full of regular old white vinegar or 2) you can fill the jar full of white wine vinegar. I usually opt for white wine but you can do either.

Then cover that jar with 2 layers of saran wrap and let it sit for at least 2 weeks in a cool dark place. Give the jar a swirl every couple of days. 2 weeks later, strain the liquid, discard the flowers and put your vinegar into a pretty jar of your choice and enjoy!

Not only does this vinegar taste ever so subtly of onions but it will turn a soft purple lavender in colour which makes this vinegar particularly lovely to look at in a jar and makes a great hostess gift for all of the bbq's or cottages you will get invited to this summer.

Pear and Vanilla Aigre-Doux

Yesterday I spent the morning in the commercial kitchen making pineapple jam and apple earl grey jelly. I am preparing for the Withrow Market but also needed to fill a few orders that came in over the week. On days where I spend a lot of time making preserves or jams, etc for others, I like to balance things out by making something new for myself. Generally something I have never made before. It helps to keep the love alive if you know what I mean.

I had bought some pears at the market earlier this week and was originally thinking to preserve them with ginger which is something I have done before in the past. But I was really looking for something altogether different and my recent affair with Aigre-Doux needed a little more exploration. So when I came across the recipe for pear and vanilla aigre-doux, I knew I had found my project for the late afternoon. When something calls for pears, white wine (I used Gewurztraminer) honey, champagne vinegar, sugar, vanilla beans and black pepper I am powerless to resist.

It is almost instantly gratifying as unlike jams or jellies that can take close to an hour or longer to make, the Aigre-Doux is wrapped up and in the hot water bath generally in 20-25 minutes. And once again I found myself thinking that it looks almost too good to eat, but only almost. There was a little of the aigre-doux sauce left over and I reduced it down in a medium sized pan for about 4 minutes and then let it cool slightly and drizzled it over a spinach salad with some roasted walnuts. So good.

I used the Mandarin Aigre-Doux from last week as well. I drained the juice and reduced it down and then blended it with the mandarins and drizzled a little bit into some parsley soup. It was like a splash of spring in the bowl.

My Summer Adventures at Withrow Market

This summer you will be able to find my at the Withrow Market every 2nd Saturday starting on May 19th, which I realized earlier this week is next weekend. Gulp...so much still to be done. Thankfully I spent the better part of the day in the Commercial kitchen today making more Pineapple Jam and Apple Earl Grey Jelly so I know that I will have enough for opening day. Alongside those two favourites, there will be Onion and Garlic Jam, Angry Pickled Garlic, Spicy Pickled Carrots, Orange Onion Jam with Sage and Thyme, Jalapeno Jelly, Ginger Jelly, Meyer Lemon Marmalade, Raspberry Jam...the list is long and I hope people love it.

Earlier this week I went to the Market meeting and met some of the fabulous people who bring this market to life for the people in the community. They volunteer doing things like making sure traffic doesn't get congested, that people know where to set up their stalls, that there is entertainment for kids, they take photos and this year there is talk of videos, they put up signs, circulate flyers, etc. If you live in the area you should really consider volunteering. Without the market, where would you get access to fabulous farmer's bringing you their fruits and vegetables as well as get great jams and jellies such as mine :).

I am really excited to be a part of it and hope you make it out one weekend this summer.

3 easy steps to an afternoon pick-me-up

I was out later than usual last night. My friend Sheri was in town from Scotland and a group of us met up for a few drinks. So this afternoon after I took a nap on the lawn in the sunshine with my dog Betty I needed a little something to shake out the cobwebs and get me energized to make a batch of jam. Allow me to introduce you to the Afternoon Energizer

Ingredients:

4-5 ice cubes

1/2 cup of milk

1/4 cup of Coffee Booziness

Mix all 3 ingredients in your blender of choice, pour into a nice tall glass and enjoy. It is exactly what this Sunday afternoon called out for!

The beauty of preserves

So I love making preserves for a lot of different reasons. Raspberry jam is possibly one of my all time favourites because I love every step of the process. From walking up and down a raspberry patch with a plastic bucket and picking the berries (eating more than I save) to mashing them up, to making the jam to spreading it on my toast with a little melted butter. Pickled Green Beans it is all about the final product. Having a crisp and spicy pickled green bean floating in a nice spicy Caeser drives me to make jar after jar of them. Caramelized Onion and Roasted Garlic Jam it all comes down to smell. The smell of onions caramelizing drives me crazy with hunger and most times when I roast the garlic I roast a clove or two just to spread on a baguette. Spicy Tomato Jam ranks up high on the list as well. I have enjoyed growing the tomato plants from seed and knowing that what ends up in the jars is grown from my own garden with no pesticides makes me savour each and every bite. I could go on and on.

But then we come to Jalapeno Jelly. I find making jellies in general therapeutic. I love straining the jelly over and over again to ensure the final product is almost crystal clear. The entire process takes several days as the jelly needs to sit for a few days so the sediment settles on the bottom and I think I enjoy the pace of it. And yes the final product tastes delicious. A spoonful of this jelly with cream cheese on a cracker is heavenly.

But Jalapeno Jelly is GORGEOUS, it is as simple as that. I make jalepeno jelly because I love to look at it. I would line my window sills with jars of it and just sit and watch as the sun shines through. In fact that is exactly what I found myself doing this morning with my latest batch.