A Lost Watch And The Last Of The Blueberries
Here are a couple of recipes for the last of the blueberries, with thanks to the blueberry buddies: J, N, M and, especially, G.
Desserts/Pastries
Cake recipes from the 1940s and ’50s
When you bake using basic ingredients, you know where they come from. Jump back 1/2 century and try your hand at these home-baked cakes.
Hints about cooking from the 1950s
Back in the early days of the 1940s and ’50s we made most desserts at home. Here are some of great hints for how to enhance your home baking:
No maple trees? No problem
To find authentic maple syrup, made from Canadian maple trees, you go to Richard Beaudoin. This Yukoner has taken up the task of introducing Yukoners to authentic Canadian maple syrup.
Apple bourbon crumble
Apple crumble is as close to a perfect food as I’ve ever found. It can be breakfast just as easily as it can be dessert or even dinner. It’s fast to prepare, and when it comes right down to it, pretty healthy.
Oven Stewed Rhubarb with Cornmeal Biscuit Crumble
INGREDIENTS 1½ cup sugar, divided 1 Tbsp cornstarch 2 pounds frozen rhubarb ⅔ cup all-purpose flour ⅔ cup cornmeal Pinch of salt ⅓ cup coconut oil ⅓ cup water Honey, to drizzle Toasted shredded coconut, to garnish Vanilla ice cream (or whipped cream) to serve METHOD 1. Set oven to 375ºF degrees. In a large …
Oven Stewed Rhubarb with Cornmeal Biscuit Crumble Read More »
Honey Panna Cotta with Pineapple
Panna Cotta is a great dessert for a dinner party because it’s best when made a day in advance. Think of it as an adult pudding cup.
A Home Away From Home
Stepping into Johnson’s Crossing Lodge nestled off the Alaska Highway at historic Mile 836 feels more like walking into your mom’s living room than a highway lodge. Vintage tins and rusted relics line the shelves overtop a cozy room with tables and chairs. A table top is scattered with hundreds of puzzle pieces waiting to …
Sweet Swing
The All City Band is comprised of students between the ages of 12 and 17, playing alongside more experienced adult musicians. The group is comprised of sections: the All City Jazz Band, the Junior and Senior Concert Bands and the Grade 8 Band. “The All City Band is a great musical opportunity for students in …
Beet Brownies
3. Bake brownies until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it, about 45 minutes. Allow brownies to cool for 20 minutes before slicing. Makes 16 brownies
All Tarted Up
I extracted a small tub of raspberries from the freezer yesterday, comforted to see it near overflowing with the season’s harvest. Though saskatoons and blueberries came in in droves this year, the raspberries that made it to the freezer were few and far between – their perishability and spotty cropping this summer made them all …
Whisky and Cake
It’s 6 a.m. on a rainy morning just before Canada Day. In six hours I need to be ready to drive to Mayo, with three canoes on the roof and six days of breakfasts, dinners and desserts packed and labelled for the communal kitchen, and 17 days of lunches for me and my companion. Tomorrow …
Desserts
Apple Crisp Cake: 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour 1 cup sugar 1 ½ tsp baking soda ½ tsp salt 2 eggs 1 ½ cups sour milk* ⅓ cup vegetable oil Icing: 14 oz. pk. cream cheese, soften ¼ cup butter 1 cup icing sugar ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder ½ tsp …
An Evening of Romance
Bring family, friends, or even a date, because the All-City Band Society is hosting the 16th annual Dessert and Dance. The evening will start off with some sensational tunes provided by All-City Jazz Band, with the lights dim and the jazzy sounds of saxophones alongside the trumpets and trombones, controlled by the beat and rhythm …
A Buffet of Freaky Treats
Halloween parties for the mature crowd can’t simply offer a feast of candy and chips. We have issues such as cholesterol, blood pressure and the adult palate to keep in mind. Luckily, there are many healthy party snacks that can be served. Here are some ideas. For a sophisticated-but-creepy appetizer try black caviar. Grab some …
Cherries for the Delayed Win
Last holiday season I cajoled members of my family into forming teams and entering a contest, invented by me, entitled, “The First Annual Shake-off, Stiroff Cocktail Competition,” to be held on Christmas day just prior to dinner. My 85-year-old mother agreed to be the judge. There were many things wrong with this idea. First of …
The Proof is in the Pudding
Ah, Christmas — the time of year when magazines abound with recipes promising taste sensations derived solely from rainbows and snowflakes. At least that’s my assumption because they are the only things not on the list of excluded ingredients. Consider a delectable chocolate cake that carries no sin because it has no fat, sugar, or, …
Oh What a Pear!
By this time of the year in old Klondike days, food supplies were running a bit low. However, in most cabins there was flour for bread baking and a few tins of fruit. In my perusal of food references (“grub”) in the Yukon Archives, I find many references to canned pears. Canned pears together with …
Starting to Go Plum Crazy
That special Yukon summer time is here. Go out and pick some fresh wild raspberries to combine with ripe, red plums in this delicious summer dessert. Yukon river banks and the sides of old railroad tracks and ditches usually yield a motherlode of wild raspberries. Take a bunch of friends with you so you will …
Tutti Fruit-ee, Go Fruit
Sometimes fresh is not always available. In early Klondike days, canned or dried fruit was the norm. Many modern-day Northerners dry fruit for lightweight hiking food or for long-term winter storage. This quick and nutritious crisp dessert can be made using frozen, dried or canned fruit. While summer may seem eons away, this is a …
Bittersweet Endings
While the snow is gone, and with it the skiing and snowshoeing, back come the swans, ducks, crocuses and the long-awaited spring light. One season ends and another begins. End a meal with both bitter and sweet flavours, a decadent creamy texture and get an extra bit of calcium and add Vitamins A and D …
Rhubarb and Strawberry Fare
Rhubarb is the earliest crop to be harvested in the Yukon and is now fresh and plentiful. Grab it from your garden or find a friend who has a bunch. Ruby-red or tart-green rhubarb, along with sweet summer strawberries, make this a quick-to-prepare cake that packs a wallop of flavour. Enjoy a slice with a …
Approaching Life ‘Gingerly’
There is nothing like ginger for spicing things up. Fresh, candied, pickled in syrup or dried; all forms of ginger are pungent, fragrant and especially aromatic when in the oven baking. Fruit desserts like this Pear Apple Crisp are quick and easy to prepare and contribute lots of nutrients and soluble fibre. Leftovers, if you …
Pairing the Sweet with the Sweet
I had some friends out to my cabin this past weekend for a great fall dinner with pasta and several good Oregon pinot noirs to try with the main course. For dessert, one of my guests brought a wonderful, home-made Tiramisu. I recently read an article that called it “heaven in your mouth!” All those …
Cranberries Colour Christmas
The bright-red colour and tart flavour of Yukon cranberries complements Christmas feasts beautifully. For a change, try baking cranberry sauce ahead of the big day. Adding thyme and some Northern sage imparts a nice woodsy mellowness. Cranberry-Orange Squares are a welcome treat on your cookie tray and make up quickly with the use of a …
Cooking on the Wild Side of Summer
Wild raspberries are yours for the picking in a ditch or river bank near you. Take advantage of our warm summer weather and gather plump, succulent red raspberries or peach-coloured salmonberries for jam, juice, pie or these delicious squares. Similar to a date square in texture but amped up in flavour, these will be quickly …
Why Wines Differ
Last night a friend stopped by for dinner. He brought moose sausages to grill; I boiled up some Yukon grown red potatoes and added butter and rosemary. We washed it down with the better part of a bottle of one of my “go to” bottles of Italian red wine, a 2009 Citra Montepulciano D’Abrruzzo (about …
Best Beer in Food
My partner likes to separate his beer and his food. I’m in favour of mixing them. One day we will find common ground. In the meantime, I will continue to feed him experimental dishes of spicy sautéed spaghetti squash doused with Big Rock’s McNally’s Irish Ale, or Smoked Porter Ancho-braised pork shoulder chops… and he …
