Whitney Bremner Whitney is thinking about foods that are ideal for Valentine s Day.

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1 January 2013 Recipes Guest Chefs Whitney Bremner Whitney is thinking about foods that are ideal for Valentine s Day. Love Soup A Gift in a Jar, the following recipe makes 1 jar 1/3 cup beef bouillon granules, ¼ cup dried minced onion, ½ cup dried split peas, ½ cup uncooked twist macaroni, ¼ cup barley, ½ cup dry lentils, 1/3 cup long-grain white rice, 1 cup uncooked tri-colour spiral pasta Directions 1. Use a canning funnel or any funnel that has about a 2-inch neck. This will make it easier to fill the jar with the ingredients. Be sure to use a wide-mouth, 1-quart canning jar. 2. Layer ingredients in the order given: bouillon, onion flakes, split peas, small shape pasta, barley, lentils, rice, and enough tricolour spiral pasta to fill jar. 3. Attach tag with cooking instructions: In large kettle, brown 1 pound ground beef or stew beef cut into bite-size pieces in a little olive oil. Remove tricolour pasta from top of jar and reserve. Add the rest of the jar contents to the kettle with 12 cups water. Let come to a boil and simmer 45 minutes. Add tricolour pasta and simmer 15 minutes more. Serve with your favourite bread or rolls and a tossed salad. Whitney s Frosting Tip: How to make roses with frosting (see photos) Make roses out of icing by using a 2D frosting tip. Start the rose by putting the tip in the centre of the cupcake and slowly move the tip in an evenly spaced circular motion. Spelt & Date Scones 2 cups (280 g /10 oz) wholemeal spelt flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, ½ tsp. ground cinnamon, 100 g (3½ oz) butter or alternative ( I used about ¼ cup, less than called for) 1 tsp.. vanilla bean paste or extract, 1 tbsp. honey ½ cup (125 ml / 4 fl oz) your choice of milk (soy, dairy, nut, seed or rice) 120 g (1 cup / 8 oz) fresh pitted dates or figs cut into chunks ( I plumped mine in bowling water, the moisture helps mix the dates into the dry ingredients) 1 cup (100 g / 8 oz) rolled oats (next time I think I ll just add the oats to the mixture but add more liquid) Preheat your oven to 200 C / 400 F. Combine spelt flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Cut in the butter gently using your fingertips. Add the dried fruit. Combine milk, honey, and vanilla separately, then pour into the dry ingredients. Mix lightly to form a soft sticky dough. Sprinkle half the oats onto a working surface and place over the soft dough. Flatten down slightly then sprinkle the rest of the oats on top. Gently press down until the scone dough is about 2.5 cm thick or about 1 inch. Cut into rounds with a cutter or squares with a sharp knife. Place onto a lined baking tray.

2 Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 12 scones. (I made 8) Enjoy. Turtles Basic Vanilla Caramels 2 cups sugar, 1 cup white corn syrup, 2 cups whipping cream lukewarm, ½ cup butter, 1 tsp. vanilla Caramel: Lightly oil inside of 3 qt. saucepan. Combine sugar and corn syrup, cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is completely dissolved and mixture comes to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally until firm ball stage. Add warm cream very slowly so mixture never stops boiling. Cook until firm ball stage again. Add butter, bit by bit, so mixture never stops boiling. Stir a little to blend and cook to firm ball stage again. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour into a pan and cool until you can spoon it over pecans. Don t let harden too much. They say firm ball stage is 250 F using a candy thermometer, but we haven t had too much luck using a candy thermometer as we do it in a Dutch oven and I think it s too shallow. Finding the right stage seems to work better using the old method of putting a glob into cold water and checking it that way. Making the Turtles: Make up basic vanilla caramel recipe and cool in fridge until you can handle it easily, but not before it sets too hard. You need to be able to spoon it over the pecans. Put two pecan halves on a cookie sheet that has either been greased or better yet, use parchment paper. You ll probably need 2 ½ cookie sheets. Spoon the caramel over the pecans and then put in fridge until firm and cool to handle. You can even put them in the freezer. Melt chocolate in microwave we use the dark dipping wafers (Foley s) from Thrifty s and dip each turtle, coating thoroughly, put back on cookie sheet and you re done. Wrap nicely in food bags or boxes for a gift. Willa Reddig Willa has two Gluten Free Recipes for you this month. Shortbread ½ cup corn starch, ½ cup icing sugar, 1 cup sifted gluten free flour, ¾ cup butter ¾ tsp. xanthan gum Sift corn starch, icing sugar, flour and xanthan gum together. Blend in butter with spoon, mixing until a soft, smooth dough forms. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place about 1½ inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet; flatten with a lightly-floured fork. Sprinkle with coloured sugar or top with slice of candied cherry, if desired. Bake in

3 300 F oven minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Note: if dough is too soft to handle, cover and chill 1 hour. Fudge Puddles Base: ½ cup Crisco shortening, ½ cup margarine, ½ cup sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, packed, 1 egg, ½ tsp. vanilla, ½ tsp. salt, 1¼ cups gluten free flour, ¾ tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. xanthan gum Filling: 1 cup milk chocolate chips, 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, 14 oz. sweetened condensed milk, 1 tsp. vanilla, chopped nuts Base: Cream together butter, shortening, and sugar; add egg and vanilla. Stir together flour, baking soda, salt and xanthan gum. Add to creamed mixture. Mix well. Chill one hour. Shape into 48 1-inch balls. Place on lightly greased mini muffin tins. Bake at 325 F for minutes or until lightly browned. Removed from oven and immediately make well in the center of each by lightly pressing with a melon baller. Cool in pan 5 minutes. Then carefully remove to wire rack. Filling: Melt chips slowly in microwave. Stir in milk and vanilla. Mix well. Using a small spoon, fill each shell with filling. Linda Huisman s Recipes Veggie Pizza 1 pkg. Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (235 g), 1 large pkg. cream cheese, 1/3 cup milk, ½ cup light mayo, ¼ tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. dill weed, ½ cup shredded cheese (if desired), chopped veggies: cauliflower, broccoli, cucumber, tomatoes, etc. Unroll crescent rolls out onto greased pizza pan. Use fingertips to spread dough to edges of pan. Bake at 375 F for 7-8 minutes or until golden brown. Cool. Using hand mixer on low speed, blend cream cheese with milk, mayo and garlic powder. Spread mixture onto cooled crust. Sprinkle with dill weed. Cover with desired finely chopped veggies. Press gently into creamed layer. Chill. Add shredded cheese just before serving. Cut into wedges or small squares for serving. Cherry Almond Nanaimo Bars Bottom Layer: ½ cup butter or margarine, ¼ cup sugar, 1/3 cup cocoa, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 egg, beaten, 1 cup fine coconut, 1¾ cups graham crumbs, ½ cup chopped almonds Cook margarine, cocoa, vanilla and beaten egg in medium pot, over low heat; stirring until mixture thickens. Remove from heat, and stir in coconut, graham crumbs, and almonds. Pat firmly in 9" x 9" pan. Chill 1 hour.

4 Filling: ¼ cup butter or margarine, 2 tbsp. cherry juice, 2 cups sifted icing sugar, 1/3 cup chopped maraschino cherries, 1 tsp. almond extract Cream margarine, cherry juice and almond extract. Gradually beat in icing sugar, until smooth. Stir in cherries and spread over first layer. Chill Top Layer 2 squares semi-sweet chocolate 1 tbsp. butter Heat chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth. Drizzle over filling. Chill. Nancy Bremner s Recipes Nancy s Tip: How To Soften Brown Sugar Brown sugar will turn to an almost rock like consistence because the moisture has been removed from the sugar. It is not because it has absorbed too much moisture such as salt. If you have a brown sugar stone soak in water 24 hours before you are going to soften the sugar. Place brown sugar in a large bowl. Heat a cup or two in a container in the microwave to boiling. Add the bowl with the brown sugar and put on one of the lowest power settings for 5minutes. Check the consistency of sugar. Be very careful because the sugar gets very hot. When it is no longer like a rock and you can stir it remove the bowl from the microwave; caution it is very hot. Let cool. Place in a heavy-duty freezer bag; wipe the sugar stone so that it is dry. Add to sugar along with 2 slices of fresh bread. Periodically check brown sugar to make sure that it is still soft. You can replace the bread with a fresh slice and also refresh the sugar stone by soaking in water. Don t throw away the bread; just dust off any sugar and grind or crush to use as breadcrumbs. Sausage Strata Company s Coming with Nancy s twist 12 bread slices with crusts removed, 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese, 2 lbs. sausage meat, 8 eggs, 1 tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper, ½ tsp. onion powder, 1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce, ½ tsp. dry mustard powder, 2 2/3 cup milk. Nancy s additions: 5 Mac apples peeled, cored and sliced, ¼ tsp. cinnamon, ½ tsp. savoury Spray a 9x13 inch Pyrex pan with Pam or similar type oil spray. Line the bottom of the pan with 6 slices of bread. Sprinkle the cheese over the bread. Scramble fry the sausage meat in a frying pan. If you want the addition of apples, prepare the apples and microwave until soft add the extra ingredients of cinnamon and

5 savoury to the apples. Spread evenly over the cheese and bread. Cover with the remaining bread slices. In a bowl beat the eggs then add the spices and Worcestershire Sauce and dry mustard powder; mix well. Pour over the sandwiches. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or put into the fridge until bedtime. Before going to bed program your stove to come on at a specific time in the morning, the strata needs to cook for at least an hour so this will give everyone time to get out of bed and clean up. Remove the plastic wrap before placing in the oven. Cook at 350 F for at least an hour or until set. Serves Makes good leftovers. Chicken And Wild Rice Soup - The Best Of Cooking Light (everyday favourites) 1 cup uncooked wild rice, cooking spray, 1 cup chopped onion, 2 garlic cloves, minced, 3 cups chicken broth (homemade or Lipton), 11/2 cups cubed potato, 1/3 cup flour, 3 cups reduced fat milk (or reduced canned evaporated milk - recommended), 10 oz of light processed cheese such as Velveeta, 2+ cups chopped raw chicken breasts (skinless) 2-3 depending on the size of the breasts, ½ tsp. freshly ground pepper, ¼ tsp. salt, ¼ cup fresh parsley (optional) or 2 tsp. dried parsley Cook wild rice according to the October 2012 Recipe Pages. Set aside Coat with cooking spray a large pot then heat over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and chicken breasts; sauté for at least 3 minutes or until chicken is mostly done. Add broth and potato; bring to a boil then cover, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender. Lightly spoon flour into a jar, add milk, and shake well to remove any lumps. Add this mixture to the broth and potatoes and stir constantly until slightly thick. Lower heat or remove from heat (I left it on low heat) and the cheese and wild rice, salt and pepper, garnish with parsley or add to soup whichever you wish. Stir until cheese is melted and warmed through. Yield 8 1-¼ cup servings. Nancy s Note: I didn t have any Velveeta but I did have Queso cheese dip and added 1-¼ cups of it to the soup. We really liked the addition of the cheese dip because it had a slight kick to it. This soup was a big hit since it had lots of chicken, rice, and potatoes so was thick and creamy. Braised Parsnips Parsnips are not featured very often but are an excellent winter vegetable in soups, stews or served as simply as this recipe. Have enough parsnips for the amount of people at dinner. Clean and peel just as you would a carrot. Leave the bottom skinnier ends whole and slice thick ends into more even pieces. In a non-stick frying pan add a small amount of margarine 2 tbsp. of water and parsnips. Cover the pan and heat at medium low and let them steam and braise for about 15 minutes checking to see how they are cooking; flip so that all sides get

6 browned. Just before serving sprinkle the parsnips with a tbsp. or two of brown sugar, stir let the sugar melt and get slightly caramelized then serve. Great with roast beef or pork. Quilters Recipes of the Month! Elaine's Apple Streusel Muffins 1½ cups flour, ½ cups sugar, 3 tsp. (1 tbsp.) baking powder, ½ tsp. salt, ¼ cup oil, 1/3 - ½ cup milk, 1 shredded apple (about 1 cup), Topping: ½ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup butter Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add oil, milk and shredded apple. Mix gently. Pour into greased muffin tins. Mix topping and sprinkle onto each muffin. Bake at 350 F for about 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Terry's Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Cookies 1 cup butter or margarine, 1 c. peanut butter, 2 c. sugar, 2 eggs, 2½ cups flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1 c. chocolate chips In medium bowl combine peanut butter and margarine. Beat well until soft and creamy. Gradually add sugar and beat until very fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating after each addition. Combine flour and baking powder. Add to mixture by the spoonful and beat. When all mixed together, add chocolate chips. Bake at 350 F on greased cookie sheets for minutes or until very light and golden. Do not over bake. You can add whatever extras you'd like. Terry's Applesauce Cake 1¼ cup white sugar, ½ cup butter or margarine, ½ tsp. cinnamon, 2 tbsp. cocoa, 2 cups applesauce, 2 eggs, beaten, 2 cups flour, 1½ tsp. baking soda, ½ tsp. salt Topping: 2 tbsp. white sugar, ½ c. chopped pecans or walnuts, 1 cup chocolate chips. Combine cake ingredients and beat until well blended. Place in greased 9' x 13" pan. Mix topping ingredients and sprinkle over top of the batter. Bake at 350 F for minutes. Ann's Fruit Bars ½ cup soft butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, 2 eggs (slightly beaten), 1 tsp. vanilla, 2/3 cup flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, ¼ tsp. salt, 1 cup chopped nuts, ½ cup red candied

7 cherries, 1 cup sliced pitted dates, ½ cup soft sliced dried apricots, ½ cup soft sliced figs, very fine fruit sugar Cream butter, add sugar and cream until light and fluffy. Add eggs, beating thoroughly. Add dry ingredients, nuts and fruits. Mix well and spread batter into a 9" square pan. Bake at 350 about 45 minutes. Let stand in pan until cold. Cut into bars. Roll lightly in fruit sugar if desired. Sigga's Cherry Cookie Sheet Cake 1 cup margarine, 2 cups sugar, 4 large eggs, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1½ tsp. almond extract, 3 cups flour Blend margarine and sugar. Add vanilla and almond extract. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Add flour 1 cup at time. Beat well. Spread 2/3 of batter in greased 10 x 15 cookie sheet. Spread 1½ cans of cherry pie filling over batter. DON'T USE THE OTHER HALF OR YOU GET TO CLEAN IT OFF YOUR OVEN! I have not tried any other fruit but I would imagine that you could use almost any fruit. Drop remaining batter by spoonfuls and spread with a fork. I added some milk to make it really runny. When you spread it, it gets a swirly look. It does not matter if there are small holes in the batter as they will shrink when the batter rises. Bake at 350 F for 40 minutes. Sprinkle with icing when cool. I made a thin icing with a little almond extract for flavour. I just drizzled it on as we cut each piece.