Mochi – 2 to 3 cakes per person.
Nori — buy the ajitsuke nori — flavoured nori in rectangular shapes.
You can use the big flat sheets and toast it to crisp it but don’t burn it, and cut it using scissors about 2 inches by 4 inches

I use a toaster oven and place the mochi on a small sheet of foil paper sprinkled with flour (to prevent sticking). I toast it twice and it mushrooms up and becomes crusty and a shell is formed. Some charring enhances flavour but don’t burn it. Takes about 5 to 8 minutes, If you don’t have a toaster oven use the broiler in a regular oven and keep it 4 to 6 inches away and watch it closely to the desired doneness.

To Eat: Wrap the nori strips around the hot, broiled mochi, dip it in 2 Tbsp Soya sauce and enjoy.
I add 1 tsp. sugar or brown sugar and mix it with the soya sauce (if you like it sweet).

SWEET POTATO MOCHI

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. mochiko
1 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1-1/4 cups brown sugar
1 can (13-1/2 oz.) coconut milk
1-1/4 cups water
2 cups cooked and diced sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon black sesame seed
Kinako (yellow soy bean powder)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Grease a 13 x 9 baking pan.
In a large bowl, sift mochiko, baking soda and salt.
Add brown sugar and and mix well.
Add coconut milk and water and mix well.
Fold in sweet potatoes; pour into prepared pan.
Sprinkle with sesame seed. Bake for 1 hour.
Cool and cut into 2 x 1 inch pieces. Coat each piece with kinako. Makes 54 pieces.

Hapa Seafood Chowder

Stock:
½ medium onion, coarsely chopped
½ carrot, coarsely chopped
¼ fennel bulb, coarsely chopped
1 piece kombu, about 3-4 inches long
1 cup bonito flakes, lightly packed
¼ teaspoon peppercorns
1 sprig parsley
½ bay leaf
4 cups water.
Bring this to a boil in a large pot, then lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes, drain and discard the solids.

Cream sauce:
3 tablespoon butter
5 tablespoons all purpose flour
Melt the butter, add the flour and cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Gradually whisk in the stock, stirring quickly and cook over medium high heat until the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer over low heat for a few minutes. Set aside

The fish:
1 Tablespoon butter
½ small onion, diced to about ¼ inch pieces
1 carrot, cut in ¼ inch dice
1 medium new potato, cut in ½ inch dice
½ pound firm white fish such as halibut, cod, snapper, cut in 1 inch pieces
½ pound sea scallops, cut in 1 inch pieces if needed.
2 tablespoon sake
2 teaspoon light soy sauce
½ cup whipping cream
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon shichimi powder
4 slices bacon, diced, fried until crisp and drained.

Thinly sliced green onions or chopped parsley, croutons
Melt the butter over medium heat and add the vegetables and sauté over medium heat for 4-5 minutes.
Add the seafood and continue to sauté, moving the seafood gently for 2 minutes.
Add the sake, cover and continue to cook over moderate heat until the fish is almost cooked and the vegetables are soft—another 4-5 minutes. Add a few tablespoons of water if it is too dry and sticks.
Add the seafood to the sauce mix, stir in the soy sauce, whipping cream, shichimi powder, salt.
Heat until hot, taste for seasoning, add salt and pepper (preferably white pepper), if needed.
Garnish the soup with the reserved bacon, green onions or chopped parsley, your favourite croutons.

I have been looking for Christmas baking and this time I am submitting a few new ones and some oldies. You have probably tried them  also, but I haven’t for a long time. Happy Baking!

BAKLAVA ROLLS
A friend, Reisa Schwartzman, brought these over for our Thanksgiving dinner and I thought they were so good and not as sweet as the diamond shaped ones I made before. I phoned her for the recipe to put into this column and she was in Chicago on business so I went in to the internet to get this but there were so many variation so I doctored it up and made it and it turned out very well so here it is.
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 30-45 minutes.
Ingredients: 1 lb. Phyllo sheets (frozen-454 Gm. pkg.) Thaw overnite in fridge.
1 cup unsalted butter (melted)

Filling: 1 lb. walnuts (or pecans or pistachio etc.) coarsely ground
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
Mix together in a bowl.

Syrup: 1-1/2 cups water
1-1/2 cups sugar
10 whole cloves
1/2 lemon (juiced)
Combine water and sugar in pot and simmer over medium high heat until you get a thick syrup about 15 minutes or longer.
Remove from heat and add lemon juice and stir and cool. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Directions to assemble:
Brush bottom and sides of 9×13 pan with butter using pastry brush,
Place a well wrung tea towel on the counter and put the phyllo on top and then cover with another well wrung tea towel on top and keep it covered while working since the pastry dries up fast.
Carefully take one sheet of phyllo on counter and brush it with butter.
Place the next pastry on top and butter it. Third layer butter and sprinkle the filling sparsely on top.
Take one end and roll it as tightly as possible to the end
Place it in the pan with the ends on the bottom. Brush with the butter on top.
Repeat with the rest of the pastry and place in pan touching each other.
Bake in preheated oven 30 to 45 minutes until nicely browned.
Reisa cut hers in 4 pieces and called it Baklava cigars but I cut it into eight pieces (little bites)
Pour the slightly cooled syrup over the rolls.
You may sprinkle finely chopped pistachio nuts on top (I didn’t).
*It sounds complicated but it’s worth the time.

ORANGE SHORTBREAD COOKIES
Alice Bradley kindly submitted this recipe and she said it is very good and easy to make.

1 orange, zest only
½ cup sugar
1 cup butter
2 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoon cornstarch
6 ounces bitter sweet, good quality chocolate
Remove only the orange zest from about ½ of the orange using a paring knife or vegetable peeler. Chop coarsely and put in food processor with the sugar and process until finely chopped. ( if you do not have a processor, grate the zest using a micro plane or grater, you should have about 2 teaspoon zest.
Beat the butter with the orange sugar until fluffy. Mix in the cornstarch and flour. Divide the mix into 2 and form each into logs about 1 ½ inch in diameter. Wrap in wax paper and chill at least 1 hour.
Slice into ¼ inch slices, place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 325 degrees F for about 15 minutes or until slightly brown on the edges. Let cool 5 minutes and remove from cookie sheet onto a rack.
Melt the chopped chocolate over hot water until melted. Let cool, keep slightly warm by placing bowl on a warm cloth. Dip part of each cookie in chocolate, remove any excess on the bottom and place on wax paper to chill. Store in tightly sealed container in a cool place or fridge.

PEANUT BUTTER BALLS
My son’s mother-in-law Lynn Debou brought it over for our twins grandaughter’s 1 st birthday and it was very tasty so here it
it is and so easy to make.

1 cup rice krispies
1 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup melted butter or margarine
2/3 cup peanut butter
vanilla to taste

Mix the above together and roll into 1 inch balls. Put icing sugar on your hands since it is sticky.
Melt 1 or 2 square semi sweet chocolate and dab it on top and place a sliced almond on top.

MARINATED PORK LOIN
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 small onion, grated
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger root OR 3/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4  cup light soy sauce
2 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound)
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon firm-packed dark brown sugar

In a small bowl, combine oil, onion, ginger, lemon rind, garlic and soy sauce.  Stir to mix well.  Set aside.

Place pork loin in glass bowl. Pour soy mixture over pork and turn to coat evenly.  Cover and marinate overnite in the refrigerator.
Remove pork from marinade; drain well
In small bowl, combine wine, honey and brown sugar. Stir to mix well.
Place pork in shallow nonstick pan, pour wine mixture over top. Turn meat to cover all sides.
Roast at 375  degree F for 25 to 30 minutes or until meat’s internal temperature reaches 170 F. Remove from oven and let rest  Slice and serve.
Serve with steamed rice and snow peas.
Makes 5 servings.

Sesame Cucumber Salad
6 mini cucumbers ( 6-7 inches long)
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon Mirin
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoon freshly roasted sesame seeds
¼ teaspoon shichimi powder
Slice the cucumbers in 1 inch pieces
Make 5 cuts into each piece but not all the way through so it looks like an accordion. This allows the seasoning to penetrate the cucumbers in a short time so the cucumber stays crisp.
Mix together the soy sauce, vinegar, honey, mirin, sesame oil until well mixed. Pour this over the
cucumbers, mix and let sit while the sesame seeds are being prepared.
Roast the sesame seeds in a dry fry pan until it is golden but not burned.  Grind the sesame seeds in a suribachi until it is powdery.  ( You could also grind it in the mini bowl of a food processor ) Add the shichimi powder and mix.
Place the cucumbers in a serving bowl , sprinkle the sesame/shichimi  mix over the top and serve.

SALMON GOHAN
2 cups rice
2 cups water
1 small can salmon
2-3 T. soy sauce
1 tsp. salt
2 medium carrots, cut small and boiled

Cook rice as usual
Just when the water is gone from the top of the rice, mix remaining ingredients and spread on top of of the rice.
(I add it on the last 15 minutes on the rice cooker)
Turn heat down and steam for 15 minutes
Remove from heat and let stand for 15 minutes
Mix and serve,     Makes 4-5 servings.

I received this on my e-mail and would like to pass it on.

KEYS TO KEEPING BERRIES FRESH
Raspberries in particular seem like they mold before you even get them home from the market.  There’s nothing more tragic than paying $4.00 for a pint of local raspberries , only to look in the fridge the next day to find that fuzzy mold growing on the sides.

An excellent tip on how to salvage berries that are starting to lose their lustre.
Wash them with one part vinegar and 10 part water (white or apple cider).
Dump the berries into the mixture and swirl around.
Drain; rinse if you want (though the mixture is so diluted, I find that you can’t taste the vinegar) and pop in the fridge.

The vinegar kills any mold spores and other bacteria that might be on the surface of the fruit and voila! Raspberries will last a week or more. I’ve had strawberries (local ones) go almost two weeks before getting moldy and soft. So go forth and stock up on those pricey gems knowing they’ll stay fresh as long as it takes for you to eat them.

Remember this tip for next year!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

CARROT PUDDING
I thought you may want to try this carrot pudding for your Thanksgiving dinner.  It’s been a favourite at our table for the past few years. It’s delicious!

Put in Cuisinart:
2 lbs. carrots cut into small pieces
1/2 cup margarine
3 eggs

Puree the above and add:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda

Put in greased baking dish uncovered and bake at 350 degree oven for one hour

BAKED ZUCCHINI STICKS
1 pouch Shake’N Bake extra Crispy Original Coating Mix
1 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley
1 egg
1 Tbsp. water
4 zucchini, cut crosswise in half, then quartered lenthwise
1/4 cup refrigerated Ranch Dressing

Heat oven to 400 degree.
Mix coating mix and parsley on plate. Beat egg and water in shallow dish with fork until well blended.
Dip zucchini sticks in egg, then in coating mixture, turning until evenly coated.
Place in single layer on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
Bake 20 min. or until crisp tender and golden brown.
Serve with dressing.       Makes 8 servings.

BLUEBERRY and WHITE CHOCOLATE CHUNK SCONES
3 cups flour
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. Sugar in the Raw.(Turbinado Style Golden Sugar) divided
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. milk, divided
1 egg beaten
1 Tbsp. lemon zest
1 cup blueberries
1 pkg.(6 squares) Baker’s white chocolate, chopped

Heat oven to 375 degree F.
Mix flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add 3/4 cup milk, egg and zest, stir just until mixture forms dough.  Stir in blueberries and chocolate.
Divide Dough in half.  On lightly floured surface, pat half into 7-inch rounds.  Cut each round into 8 wedges.  Place on baking sheet.  Brush with remaining milk.  Sprinnkle with remaining sugar.
Bake 25 min. or until golden brown

Note:  Serve warm or at room temperature.

CHOCOLATE CHIP ZUCCHINI LOAF
1 egg
1/2 cup Miracle Whip Dressing
1 -1/2 cups grated zucchini
1-1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
1-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Heat oven to 350 degree F.
Beat egg and dressing in large bowl with whisk until well blended, stir in zucchini.  Mix remaining ingredients in separate bowl. Add to zucchini mixture, stir just until moistened.
Pour into 8 x 4 inch loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray.
Bake 50 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in pan 10 min.
Remove from pan to wire rack.  Cool completely.    Makes 16 servings.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I hope you enjoyed our great summer!

It’s been 10 years since my inaugural Community Kitchen Column and I hope I have brought you some recipes that you have enjoyed. I have asked for your submissions of your favourite family recipes but have received very little response. To those who have shared their recipes, I am eternally grateful.

If you can e-mail me what category of recipes you like to see in my column, I would really appreciate it.

FUKUJINZUKE
Recently I have made some fukujinzuke (I make it every year at this time of the year when vegetables are in season) and it’s so nice to have a jar in the fridge, even if it’s a little bit of work.

Cut 12 cups of vegetables in small pieces: daikon, carrot, beans, eggplant, cucumbers, zucchini, gobo (some people use celery, cabbage cauliflower and renkon as well). Put in a large container and add 1/4 coarse salt and mix it up.  Put weight on and leave it overnight.

Following morning, drain the liquid on a strainer and leave it for a day.
In the evening, make a syrup of 1-1/2 cup soya sauce, 1-1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup vinegar, grated ginger and red pepper seeds and konbu cut up  and sesame seeds. Bring to boil and add the vegetables  and heat for 2 minutes. let it stand in the syrup overnight and in the AM  drain again reserving the syrup. Let it drain for the day and repeat with syrup, bringing it to boil and adding the vegetables.and cook 2 minutes.. Repeat this process for two more days. On the fourth day bring it to a full boil and pack into steilized jars.  Seal. (I seal it in a 350 oven for 20 minutes. Makes 6 – 1/2 pint jars.

I ran out of jars so I froze them in a ziplock bags after it cooled and it’s the same result.

Enjoy!

I recently received some great interesting advice on my E-mail and I am passing it on to you.

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store.
If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.
I didn’t know that!

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.
Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!!  Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yummm!

Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm.
This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg.
Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size.
You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.
Reheating refrigerated bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don’t dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Goodbye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2 inch with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

Get Rid of Ants  
Put a small pile of cornmeal where you see the ants.  They eat it, take it ‘home,’ can’t digest it, so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don’t have to worry about pets or small children being harmed. (It worked in our church’s basement kitchen.)

ANGEL FOOD CAKE SUMMER DESSERT
Angel food cake cut up bite size (bought or baked)
1 QT. canned peach or large tin of canned peaches
1/2 cup sugar
1 box small peach jello (I substituted orange jello when I couldn’t find the peach jello)
1 pkg. of Knox gelatin
1 regular can of evaporated milk
1 tub large light Cool Whip
Bring peaches and juice with sugar to boil.
Add 1 box of peach jello
1 pkg of gelatin dissolved in 1/4 cup cold water first.
Add to peach mixture and cool
Whip the evaporated milk which was cooled overnite in the freezer.  This helps to whip it.
Fold the whipped cream with the peach jello.
In a buttered 9 x 13 pan, put a layer of the angel cake and pour half the peach mixture over and repeat with the next layer of cake and the jello mixture. Refrigerate overnite.
Next morning, smooth Cool Whip on top and refrigerate.

PINEAPPLE AND BANANA DESSERT
2 cups graham wafer crumbs
1/2 cup melted margarine
Press crumb mixture into 9 x 13 oan. Bake at 350 deg.F for 8 min.  Cool.
1/2 cup margarine
2 eggs
2 cups icing sugar
Beat margarine till soft. Add sugar and beat in eggs until fluffy.  Spread over crust.
4 or 5 bananas
1 – 15oz. can crushed pineapple (drained)
1 large tub Cool Whip (light)
Slice bananas into thirds, lengthwise and arrange over icing mixture.
Top with Cool Whip. Sprinkle with sliced almonds or nuts or grated chocolate.
Chill.
Delicious.

FRUIT FANTASY PAVLOVA
1 cup (250 ml) Naturegg simply egg whites well shaken
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp each salt and cream of tartar
1-1/3 cup fruit/berry or extra fine sugar
Custard:
3/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp fruit/berry or extra fine sugar
1 Tbsp.corn starch
1 Naturegg Omega3egg yolk
1 Tbsp margarine
1 tsp finely grated lemon rind
Fruit:
3 cups mixed berries or chopped seasonal fruit
2 Tbsp fruit/berry or extra fine sugar
1 Tbsp margarine melted
1/4 cup mint leaves
Line a large baking sheet with wax or parchment paper.
Place a 10 inch springform ring on the sheet.  Beat together egg whites, vanilla, salt and cream of tartar until foamy.  Beating constantly on high speed, gradually beat in sugar, by the spoonful, until stiff, glossy peaks form.
Scrape the egg mixture into the ring so that it comes halfway up the sides. Smooth the top.  Set in the centre of a cold oven; set the temperature to 250 F.  Bake for 2 hours to 2-1/2 hoursor until crisp on the outside but still soft in the centre.  Run a knife around the edge of ring.  Turn off the oven, let meringue cool completely in oven. Remove the springform ring; gently peel meringue from the paper and pick off any loose crumbs.Custard:  Meanwhile, whisk together milk, sugar ,corn starch and egg yolk in a saucepan set over medium heat.  Cook, stirring constantly, for 7 minutes, or until thickened.  Stir in margarine and lemon rind. Let cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap directly on surface; refrigerate until chilled.

Fruit:  Toss together fruit, sugar, margarine and mint.  Garnish the meringue with the fruit leaving an exposed circle in the centre; spoon custard into the centre.  Serve immediately.  Makes 8 servings.

This is a spectacular, eye-appealing dessert.

Have a great time at Powell Street Festival!

Alice Bradley has sent me these following recipes and I am grateful.  She says, “I made the ribs and they were good with the unusual ingredients being the stout to tenderize the ribs first and the espresso powder in the sauce. If you don’t have espresso powder, I think you can use instant regular coffee granules.”

BARBECUE SPARERIBS
4 lbs. baby back ribs, either whole or cut into 2-3 rib pieces

Rub mix:
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons cumin
1 -1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 tablespoon black pepper
Mix the spices together and rub over the ribs. Place ribs in non corrosive pan or freezer bag and marinate for few hours or preferably overnight.
Place the ribs on a rack in a large baking pan. Use 2 pans if necessary.
Add 1 can or bottle of Guinness stout. Cover the pan tightly with foil wrap and bake at 350 degrees F for 1-1/2  to 2 hours.
Remove from pan, discard any drippings, Barbecue the ribs with the following sauce:
1 bottle  Bull’s Eye barbecue sauce (or use your favorite barbecue sauce if you prefer)
1/2 cup water
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon espresso powder
Mix these ingredients together and brush over the ribs and barbecue over moderately hot flame until the ribs are browned and nicely glazed. Keep brushing with glaze as the meat browns.  Serve immediately.

CORN, BEAN AND TOMATO SALAD
Alice writes that she made this corn salad last weekend for a large party and everyone liked it and some asked for the recipe.

1 pound green beans, cooked until tender crisp and then blanched in ice water to chill. Drain and cut in 1 inch pieces.
1/2 pound frozen edamame, boiled for a few minutes according to instructions on package and drained,
6 -7 ears of corn, boiled until tender, cool slightly and cut the kernels off the cob. I guess you could make it with frozen corn, using a tender variety of corn.
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1-1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Dressing:
1/3 cup finely chopped basil
1 shallot, finely chopped
4 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste (at least 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.  Add more if needed.)
Combine the corn, green beans, edamame, red onion and cherry tomatos in a large bowl.
Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the vegetables, toss and chill.
Garnish with a few tomatoes and parsley sprigs.

BLUEBERRY ORANGE BREAD
With blueberry season coming up, thought you might like to try this.
This makes an excellent 2 large  or 4 small loaves  and it is so moist and light. Freezes well too.

4 cups flour
1-1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 cups blueberries, (if using frozen blueberries, keep frozen until it goes into the batter)
3 tsp. orange peel (optional)
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups orange juice
4 tbsp. oil

Topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup melted or soft butter

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Generously grease and flour 2 large or 4 small bread pans.

With a spoon, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, soda and orange peel. Carefully fold in frozen or fresh blueberries.  Add lightly beaten eggs, orange juice and oil.  Mix carefully so as not to break blueberries.  Pour into prepared pans.

Mix all topping ingredients well by hand or with an electric beater.  Sprinkle on top of bread and place pans in preheated oven and bake 50 minutes for small pans; 1 hour and 15 minutes for large.  Check with toothpick and continue baking until pick comes out clean.

Let’s hope that we can barbecue and eat out on the patio on Father’s day this year.  Last year too was touch and go so I had the table set outside as well as inside depending on the weather.

Son-in-law Steve loves to barbecue and made this Salmon on cedar plank and with the taste of cedar infused in the salmon, it was delicious. Thought some of you may want to try this novel recipe.

CEDAR PLANK SALMON
1 Salmon fillet , about 1-1/2 lbs/750 g
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lemon or orange, juice and zest
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Marinate the salmon fillet in the remaining ingredients.
Meanwhile, soak a piece of untreated cedar plank in cold water for about 2 hours (weighting it down with something heavy), then place in a 450 degree F heated oven for 5 to 10 minutes.

Remove the salmon from the marinade and bake on the plank until cooked, allowing about 10 minutes per inch (2.5 cm.) thickness of fish.

To barbecue, soak the plank as above.  Place the salmon on plank, and put the plank directly on the barbecue grill.

Close the lid and cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes.

*This true BC recipe was originated by retired fisherman Robert Clifton. The plank should be a little longer and wider than the fillet.

HASH BROWN POTATO CASSEROLE
My daughter-in-law Terri often brings us this great potato dish to our family gatherings.

2 lbs. frozen hash browns
1 – 500 ml. carton sour cream
2 tins cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup melted butter
grated onions and salt to taste
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
parmesan cheese

Thaw potatoes slightly for easier mixing.  Mix all ingredients together and place in 9 x 13 baking dish.
Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.  Bake at 350 deg. F. for 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

MANDARIN SALAD
This salad, submitted by Charlotte Sakaki, has been one of my favorite salads for years and guests always ask for the recipe.

1/2 head lettuce
1/2 head Romaine lettuce
1 cup chopped celery
2 whole green onions, chopped
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
1/2 cup sliced almonds
3 Tbsp. sugar

Dressing:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. vinegar
1 Tbsp. chopped parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
dash of pepper
dash of Tabasco sauce

In a small pan. over medium heat, cook almonds and sugar, stirring constantly until almonds are coated and sugar is dissolved. Watch carefully as they will burn easily. Cool and store in airtight container.
Mix all dressing ingredients and chill.
Tear both lettuce into bite size pieces. Place in plastic bag. Add celery and onions.  Refrigerate.
Just before serving, add almonds and oranges.  Toss with the dressing.

DEEP DISH RHUBARB STRAWBERRY PIE
Filling:
1 lb. cubed rhubarb
1 lb. strawberries, quartered or halved
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1/2 cup corn syrup

Pastry:
6 Tablespoon butter
3 ounces regular cream cheese
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Toss together the rhubarb, berries and flour and spread in an 8 inch round or square baking dish.
Mix together the sugar, corn syrup and butter, heat until the mixture comes to a boil and pour over the fruit.
Combine the butter and cream cheese until smooth, stir in the flour and salt and mix to blend.
Form into a ball then flatten into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for about 15-30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 423 degrees F.
Roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper or wax paper into a circle or square to fit the baking dish.
Cover the fruit with the pastry, trim edges if necessary, and crimp edge if you like.  Make a few cuts in the top to allow steam to escape.
Brush the pastry with milk, sprinkle with sugar and bake in preheated oven for about 25 minutes.
Very good with a scoop of ice cream.

Thanks Ann Bradley for this spring time dessert. Sounds delicious!

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

FISH BAKED IN PARCHMENT – ASIAN STYLE

Marinade:
2 tablespoons sake
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce

4 pieces whitefish, about 5 ounces each (halibut, cod, snapper etc.) I used halibut.
1 leek, about 3 inches long, white part only, julienned into 3 inch matchstick size
1/2 carrot, about 3 inches long, julienned into 3 inch matchstick size
10 to 12 pod peas, sliced thinly to matchstick pieces
4-6 fresh shiitake, stem removed, sliced thinly (dried could be used also, softened)
4 slices lemon
4 teaspoons butter or margarine
Thinly sliced green onion or chives

Prepare marinade and marinade the fish for 30-60 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Cut a piece of parchment paper, about 16 inches square, fold in half, trim off the corners so that you have a half oval, open.
On one half of the paper (on one side of the crease) arrange:
one quarter of the leeks,
then, 1/4 of the carrots.
1/4 of the pea pods,
lastly, 4-5 pieces of shitakke.
Place one piece of fish on top of the vegetables, arrange 3 slices of shitakke on top,
then, one slice of lemon,
1 teaspoon butter or margarine,
and last, a sprinkle of chives or green onions.
Repeat with 3 more pieces of paper.
Spoon some of the marinade on top of each equally among the pieces.
Fold over the second half of the paper and starting at one corner, fold over by 1/2 inch and fold over again, then make another fold, slightly overlapping the first (this fold will be triangular in shape) and
keep making little overlapping folds until you reach the other end. Give the paper an extra twist and it would stay in place.
Place on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 10 – 12 minutes for 1/2 – 3/4 inch thick fillets and slightly longer,
about 12 – 14 minutes, for thicker pieces (3/4 – 1 inch thick). Remove from oven and let it rest 3 minutes,
Serve by placing on a plate and carefully cutting the package open with scissors and eat off the paper (novelty} or open in the kitchen and slide the contents onto the plate.

BASIC JAPANESE SALAD SAUCES
My daughter, Michele treated me to lunch at Shota Sushi Japanese restaurant in Kerrisdale today and they served a salad with a delicious sesame dressing. It was so good I came home and looked for the recipe in my Japanese cook books and found it in the Canadian Japanese Cookery book put out by Kamloops JCCA. The plate of Alaska Roll was truly delicious and the place had framed dignitaries comments on the wall—I noticed Michael J. Fox and Marcus Naslund’s from where I was sitting.

GOMASU: 2 Tbsp. sugar. 3 Tbsp. vinegar, 1 tsp. salt, 3 Tbsp. ground sesame seed.

AMAZU: 1 Tbsp. mirin, 2 Tbsp sugar, 3 Tbsp. vinegar , 1-1/2 tsp. salt (with my sweet tooth, I like this one too).

SANBAIZU: 1 Tbsp. shoyu, 1 Tbsp. sugar, 3 Tbsp. vinegar.

NIHAIZU: 2 Tbsp. shoyu, 3 Tbsp. vinegar, 1-1/2 tsp. salt (no sweetness)

MISOSU: 100 gm. shiro miso, 1-2 Tbsp. sugar, 1/2 cup dashi, 2-3 Tbsp. vinegar or 50-75 gm. aka miso, 2-1/2 -3 Tbsp. sugar, 1/2 cup dashi, 2-3 Tbsp. vinegar.

Emi Matsuda gave me the above recipe and she served it on leaf lettuce and the family loved it.

CABBAGE TSUKEMONO
Found this in the cookbook too, and I love tsukemono recipes.

1 medium head cabbage

Brine:
2 Tbsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. vinegar
Enough water to fill an 8-oz. cup
1/2 tsp. dashi no moto

Shred cabbage in 1/4 -inch strips. Pour brine over the cabbage and cover with a plate and weight it down for two days.
Squeeze in the brine a few times. Drain and squeeze dry. Serve garnished with toasted sesame seeds if desired.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

We are eating more fish in our diet than meat these days and Alice Bradley has kindly sent me these following two recipes: Prawn Gyoza and Sake Poached Halibut. Simple to make and very good.

PRAWN GYOZA

5 ounces of chopped, shelled deveined prawns (may be chopped in a food processor, but not too finely)
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
1-1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
2 tablespoons sherry
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
16 gyoza wrappers
Combine the ingredients for the filling and chill for 15 minutes to combine flavours.
Divide the filling among the 16 wrappers.
Moisten the edge and fold as for gyozas.
Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in nonstick skillet until hot.
Arrange the gyozas in the pan and cook over medium heat until nicely browned.
Add 3 tablespoons water to the pan, cover and lower heat and let simmer for about 3-5 minutes until done.

Serve with dipping sauce made of:
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon shichimi powder or 1/4 teaspoon chilli powder

SAKE POACHED HALIBUT

1 pound halibut, cut in 4 pieces
1/2 cup sake
1/2 cup clam juice (from can is OK)
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 green onions, sliced
Mix the sake, clam juice, ginger, garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil in a wide pot and let simmer about 5 minutes.
Add the halibut pieces and green onions and simmer gently over low heat for about 3-4 minutes, turn and simmer until the halibut is cooked through, about 3-4 minutes, or more depending on the thickness of the fish.
Remove the fish from sauce to a heated plate and cover to keep warm.
Raise the heat on the sauce and boil until reduced to about 1/2 cup.
Pour over the halibut, and sprinkle with a thinly sliced green onion and a 1/2 teaspoon of toasted sesame seeds.

This recipe can also be made using chopped fresh coriander/cilantro instead of green onions.

CRISP COATED FRIED FISH

The following is a recipe from Fumiko Greenaway’s column in March 1990 and I have used it often.

8 fresh smelts, tails intact
salt
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup all purpose flour

Optional coatings:
1 cup fine bread crumbs or panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
3/4 cup white or black sesame seeds and or finely chopped peanuts

3 cups vegetable oil

Cut off heads and pull out the guts.
Using scissors, cut undersides of fish up to tail section; cut through backbones at tail ends.
Gently pull out backbones; discard.
Spread fish flat.
Rinse fish under cold running water; drain.
Pat dry with paper toweling.
Sprinkle fish with salt; let stand 10 minutes.
Beat eggs and water.
Place flour in a shallow dish or on wax paper.
Place sesame seeds or panko or any coating you desire in a separate dish or on wax paper.
Dip fish in flour to coat both sides evenly; shake to remove excess flour.
Dip fish in egg mixture, then in either coating of sesame seeds or panko.
Press coating evenly onto both sides of fish.
Let stand 5 minutes.
Heat oven to 200 degrees F.
Heat oil in over high heat in wok, deep fryer or deep heavy sauce pan.
Adjust heat as necessary to maintain proper frying temperature.
Fry 2 fish at a time: slide each fish into oil, skin side up: fry 2 minutes.
Turn fish over; fry until fish is cooked through and coating is crisp, 1 to 2 minutes.
Remove fish; drain on paper toweling.
Keep warm in oven.
Reheat oil to 325 degree F and repeat with remaining fish.
Serve fish immediately with dipping sauce and lemon wedges.

Dipping Sauce:
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 teaspoon prepared Japanese mustard
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

in small bowl: stir to mix well

Makes 4 servings.

STIR FRIED SEAWEED (HIJIKI)

I love this dish but could never find the recipe to taste like mom used to make. I was incapacitated with my broken ankle and had two delightful Japanese caregivers who cooked for me for 6 weeks and made this for me. I watched how she made it but not in measurements so I finally hunted down the recipe and here it is. It’s a savoury side dish, and full of protein, calcium, vitamin A and traces of minerals and can stay in the fridge for a long time.

1 cup Hijiki (dried bulk seaweed) available at your local Japanese food store.
2 pieces aburage (deep fried soy bean curd)
1-1/2 tablespoons cooking oil
1/2 cup dashi
1/4 cup shoyu
2 tablespoons sugar

Soak hikiji in water for 30 minutes, rinse carefully to remove sand.
Drain well.
Pour hot water over aburage to remove excess oil.
Drain well and cut in half lengthwise and then cut in half crosswise into thin julienne strips.
Heat oil in wok or skillet over high heat and add hikiji.
Stir fry over high heat until most of the moisture has evaporated.
Add aburage and mix in well.
Mix together dashi (you may use instant dashi) shoyu and sugar.
Add hikiji and cook over medium heat until liquid is absorbed.
This dish makes 8 servings and can be served hot or cold.