Strawberry apple pie with pastry stars

I love me a pretty pie! The filling in this strawberry apple pie is so bright and beautiful it deserved a pie top that would really show it off. I pressed a star-shaped cookie cutter into my rolled out pastry dough until I had enough stars to layer atop the pie, leaving enough room in between to show off the ruby red yumminess inside.

The strawberry patch in the garden is full of new green leaves and little white flours, but we're still about a month away from getting any berries from our patch. In the meantime, I'm making the most of great strawberry prices at the grocery store and picking up container after container of those juicy red berries, mainly to keep the kids stuffing their faces with one of their favourite snacks.

The apples in this filling add a little needed structure to the pie. I decided to leave the skins on for colour and ease of preparation. The filling was so quick and easy without peeling that I may leave the skins on for all my apple pies in future and just call it rustic!

Here's how I made it:

PASTRY

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp granulated white sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup vegetable shortening, cubed

1 egg

1 tbsp white vinegar

2 tbsp cold water

FILLING

2 cups apples, chopped into 1-inch pieces, skins on

4 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and chopped into 1-inch pieces

1/2 cup granulated white sugar

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

FINISHING

2 tbsp milk

1 tbsp granulated white sugar

To make the pastry, I mixed the flour, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. The vegetable shortening was blended in with a hand pastry blender until crumbly. In a small bowl, I beat the egg with the vinegar and cold water and added the wet mixture to the large mixing bowl, stirring with a fork to bring it all together. I divided the pastry into two balls and rolled one out on a floured surface for the bottom crust and laid it in my 9-inch pie plate, tucking the edges under for a clean finish. The ball was set aside.

To make the filling, I blended the sugar and flour in a large mixing bowl then tossed in the fruit and stirred to coat. The filling was spread evenly in the pie plate, then I set my oven to preheat to 425 degrees (F).

To make the pie top, I rolled the second ball of pastry dough and used a star-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the pieces. I kept rolling out the scraps until I had enough stars to layer on my pie, leaving small gaps in between. To finish, I brushed the stars with milk using a pastry brush and sprinkled on the sugar. It baked on the low rack for 10 minutes, then I moved it to the middle rack and lowered the temperature to 375 degrees (F) to continue baking for 45-50 minutes until the filling was bubbling.

I love me a pretty pie, but no pie is too pretty to eat!

What are you making with strawberries lately? What was the last pie to come out of your oven? What's your favourite kind of pie to make?

Come can with me!

I'm really excited about my newest cooking class! My First Canning Class is a fun 3-hour workshop covering the basics of water bath canning. Together we'll cut and core locally grown apples for a naturally sweet homemade applesauce, and we'll stuff jars with fresh pickling cucumbers, dill and a simple brine for crunchy dill pickles. Participants will learn these two beginner canning recipes and the simple steps to processing the jars in a water bath canner to safely seal in all that yummy garden goodness.

Canning is making a comeback, baby, and it's so easy once you know how!

WHEN: Saturday, August 18th, 2012, 1-4 p.m.

WHERE: Vic West Community Centre, 521 Craigflower Road, Victoria BC

COST: $30 per person, all supplies included

Book now to make sure you get in on the fun! Call 250 590-8922 to register.

Keep checking my new classes page for info on all my upcoming cooking classes, including my next Family Favourites class at The London Chef on June 9th!

Have you been wanting to learn about canning and preserving? Who's coming to My First Canning Class in August?!

Chewy peanut butter cookies

These pretty little numbers are, to me, everything a peanut butter cookie should be - sweet and salty with a lightly crisp edge and a soft chewy centre. No traditional peanut butter cookie fork marks here. Instead, they get a shimmery coating from a quick roll in a bowl of sugar before going in the oven. With a glass of cold milk, they're the perfect little snack for an afternoon sweet tooth.

Here's how I made them:

makes about 30 cookies

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup + 1/3 cup granulated white sugar (divided)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

While the oven preheated to 375 degrees (F), I combined the peanut butter, 1 cup of sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and mixed thoroughly. In a separate mixing bowl, I stirred together the flour, baking soda and salt. The dry ingredients were added to the other ingredients and mixed well to form the dough. The remaining 1/3 cup sugar was added to a small dish. Using my hands, I formed the dough into balls the size of ping pong balls and rolled them in the sugar before placing them two inches apart on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. They baked for 10 minutes, then cooled on a wire rack.

Chocolate chips are nice and all, but a really good peanut butter cookie is my all-time favourite cookie. Especially that chewy centre.

What's your all-time favourite cookie?

A non-perishables cooking challenge

It's Emergency Preparedness Week and my friends over at Emergency Management BC came to me with a challenge. Is it possible to feed a family healthy and delicious food for a minimum of 72 hours with only the contents of your emergency survival kit? Yes it is! It takes planning ahead and getting creative, but with the help of a camping stove and a handy can opener a family can easily share some comforting meals until help arrives.

My first challenge was to prepare a main course using only non-perishables. This Survival Seafood Stew combines stewed and crushed tomatoes, baby shrimp, and iron-rich clams (an excellent food source for anyone who may be injured and has lost some blood), although cans of tuna, salmon or crab could be used instead. Some fresh chives found in the garden served as a garnish.

Here's how I made Survival Seafood Stew:

1 796 ml can crushed tomatoes

1 398 ml can stewed tomatoes

1 142 g can whole baby clams, liquid included

1 106 g can small shrimp, liquid included

torn chives or other garden herbs as garnish (if accessible in an emergency)

The contents of all four cans were combined in a large saucepan and warmed over medium-high heat until bubbling. The garnish was spinkled on top to serve.

My next challenge was to prepare a dessert from non-perishables. This oh-so-simple Preparedness Pineapple Crumble is yummy and offers a real energy boost using only three items from the emergency kit.

Here's how I made Preparedness Pineapple Crumble:

1 398 ml can crushed pineapple, liquid included

1 300 ml can sweetened condensed milk

2 granola bars

I combined the pineapple and condensed milk in a saucepan and gently warmed it over medium heat. The granola bars were crushed in the packet then sprinkled on top to serve.

To find out more about Emergency Preparedness Week and how to get your family emergency-ready, visit the Emergency Management BC website. To watch videos of me preparing these dishes, go to Emergency Info BC's You Tube channel.

What would you cook if you could only use non-perishables?

Halibut & kale with mango mint salsa

As the days get warmer and the sun shines brighter I start to crave lighter, healthier dinners. I'm often just not up for a heavy meal at the end of an afternoon outside with the kids. Besides, eating a light dinner sure makes justifying an evening bowl of ice cream so much easier! You didn't think I was going all health nut on you, did ya? This dinner is tasty and filling, yet completely guilt-free in my book.

I used fresh open water halibut fillets to make this recipe, but thick fillets of cod or haddock would work equally well. The salsa is a combination of sweet mango, fresh mint, lime juice and spicy cayenne pepper, while the red kale is wilted and tossed with Dijon and sesame oil. Delish!

Here's how I made it:

makes 4 servings

1 cup fresh mango, diced

1 dozen fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped

1/4 tsp ground cayenne

juice of 1 lime, divided

1 1/2 lbs halibut fillets (cut into 4 pieces)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/3 cup water

1 lb red kale, roughly chopped

1 tsp prepared Dijon

1/4 tsp sesame oil

To prepare the salsa, I stirred together the mango, mint, cayenne and half the lime juice in a small bowl, then set it aside. 

While my oven preheated to 400 degrees (F), I warmed up a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. I seasoned my fillets with the other half of the lime juice, salt and pepper, and added them to the hot pan, skin side up, and cooked them until slightly golden and cooked half way through (4-5 minutes). The fish was transferred to an oven-safe dish, skin side down, and popped in the oven to finish cooking for 8-10 minutes until flaky and no longer clear. 

Meanwhile, I brought the water to a boil in a large saucepan and added the kale. With the heat lowered to medium and the lid on, I cooked the kale while occasionally stirring for about 5 minutes until wilted. The wilted kale was tossed with the Dijon and sesame oil. 

To serve, I used the kale as a bed for the halibut then topped it with the mango mint salsa.

So fresh and healthy!

How does the warmer weather affect your eating habits? What's happening in your kitchen this week?

Rhubarb raisin chutney

I had been eyeing the backyard rhubarb from the kitchen sink for weeks. It started out a small mass of wrinkled leaves, and with time and sunshine and spring rain drops it grew into a full large-leafed plant. I had to tell myself not to cut it yet. The longer I waited the bigger the stalks would be. But yesterday felt like the day. So as soon as I put my youngest son down for a nap I headed out into the garden with my shears to harvest those red and green stalks of rhubarb, and by the time naptime was over I had four jars of sweet and sour rhubarb raisin chutney cooling on the kitchen counter.

This recipe makes four 500 ml jars of chutney. Prior to filling, I sterilized my jars by boiling them in water for 10 minutes. The seals and rings were boiled for the same amount of time just before screwing them on .

Here's how I made it:

2 lbs rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 1/2 lbs onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup raisins

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup granulated white sugar

3 tbsp dry mustard seeds

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

1 1/2 cups malt vinegar

1 1/2 cups cider vinegar

1 156 ml can (5.5 fl oz) tomato paste

I started by sweating the rhubarb and onion in a large stock pot for five minutes over medium heat. The remaining ingredients were added and the mixture was brought to a boil over high heat. I returned the heat to medium and allowed the chutney to bubble and reduce, uncovered, for 50 minutes, stirring often.

The chutney was ladled into the jars, leaving a half-inch of head room. The jar rims were wiped clean with a paper towel dipped in sterilized water, then the seals were removed from the boiling water and secured in place with the rings. I lowered the jars into the water bath canner, ensuring there was two inches of water above, and processed them for 15 minutes. The jars cooled on the counter until the seals popped (this can happen immediately or take several hours).

If you're not into canning, you can store a jar of this in your fridge for a few months and freeze the rest.

I love chutney with meat, fish, on burgers and inside sandwiches. But my favourite way to enjoy chutney is simply spooned on top of crackers and cheese. So good!

Have you had your canning supplies out yet this year? What have you made, or what are you looking forward to making? Leave a comment and share your recipes and links!