Category Food Businesses, Products, & Recipes

After pulling out copious quantities of weeds from my garden the other day, my body was crying out for greens. I decided to let my British shine, pull a Mrs. Patmore (TV series Downton Abbey’s quick-witted head cook), and cook up a pot of Chilled Watercress Soup.

Watercress doesn’t seem as popular today as it was when I was a child. When I saw a farmer rave about watercress on a recent Jamie Oliver episode, I decided it was high time that I got better acquainted with this healthy green.

Here is my version of Chilled Watercress Soup, refreshing and satisfying. It’s a fast and easy recipe. Olive to make up a batch, store it in the fridge, then pull it out for a quick lunch or serve it in small bowls as an elegant starter to a summer dinner.

Now, where’s that Daisy to help me with the dishes?

Olive’s Chilled Watercress Soup

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the potatoes and onions. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sauté for about 5 minutes or until onions are tender,  stirring frequently so that potatoes don’t stick.

Stir in the water. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.

Add the watercress and simmer just until the watercress is wilted but still bright green, only about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat immediately. Stir in the butter.

Let cool, then carefully purée in a blender or food processor until smooth. Adjust salt to bring out the flavour, if necessary. Chill in the fridge. Serve cold, straight from the fridge. Garnish with a tablespoon of light ricotta cheese, a crumble of soft chèvre, or a sprinkling of snipped chives.

What better way to celebrate the arrival of summer than under a perigee supermoon (the closest and largest full moon of 2013)…

with an equally spectacular strawberry tart?

My Strawberry Tart is a simple but elegant way to showcase the fragrant, local field strawberries that I picked up at Streetsville Farmers’ Market on Saturday.

Based on the gorgeous fruit tarts popular in France during festival time, my recipe is an easy and relatively healthy summer dessert that looks almost as stunning as a tarte aux fraises from a fine Parisian pâtisserie. After listening to the utterly charming audiobook French Women Don’t Get Fat (read by the author herself, Mireille Guiliano), I learned that the fattening pastry cream, that is often spread over the base of a tarte aux fraises, is not necessary. Great, because I am not crazy about pastry cream, but olive strawberries!

There are a few easy steps to this tart. You can make the simple syrup required for the coulis well in advance. It keeps for 2 to 3 weeks in your fridge and can be used to dress a fruit salad or to sweeten homemade lemonade or ice tea.

Bake the crisp, shortbread cookie crust in the morning, filling your kitchen with a delicious aroma, then set it aside to cool. It has a hint of ground almonds, which you can replace with flour if there are allergy concerns.

Later (at least two hours before you want to serve the tart), fill the tart with a concentric arrangement of the prettiest, similar-sized, scarlet-coloured strawberries you can find. Then make the coulis and glaze the berries immediately. The berries will glisten under the coulis; both will perfume the air with sweetness. Refrigerate the tart for at least two hours to allow the coulis to set. It’s best eaten the day it’s made but it is still good the next day or two, with a softer crust. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream if you wish.

You can use other seasonal fruit instead, such as raspberries, peaches, or apricots (but not kiwi, pineapple, papaya, or figs). Make sure you use the same fruit for the coulis.

Olive’s Strawberry Tart

Simple Syrup:

Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and heat gently until sugar has dissolved, stirring a couple of times. When the sugar is completely dissolved, bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Boil for 5 minutes. Cool before storing in a covered jar in your fridge for up to 2 to 3 weeks. Can be used to dress a fruit salad or sweeten homemade lemonade or ice tea.

Shortbread Cookie Crust:

Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly butter the bottom and sides of the inside of a 10” round tart pan with straight, fluted sides and a removable bottom.

Mix the flour, ground almonds, brown sugar, and salt in a medium bowl with a whisk until combined. Cut in the butter by rubbing the flour mixture and butter between your fingertips, until the mixture blends into coarse crumbs. Knead gently with your hands to form a ball.

Distribute pieces of the dough evenly onto the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Using the heel of your hand, pat the dough to cover the bottom and sides evenly. Make sure there are no gaps. Bake on the middle oven rack for about 15 minutes, until golden brown. Cool completely before adding the fruit.

Strawberry Filling & Strawberry Coulis Glaze:

2 quarts of strawberries, washed, dried thoroughly, and hulled but left whole

Pick out the best-looking, similar-sized berries and arrange them on top of the crust in an attractive, concentric pattern, with their tips pointing up and their hulled ends pointing down.

Note: You will need approximately 1 ½ quarts of strawberries to fill the tart and for the coulis but buy 2 quarts just to be sure and to allow you to pick out enough of the best berries for the tart. You will need 1 ½ cups of strawberries for the coulis.

Coulis Glaze:

Prepare the gelatin sheets according to package directions, first following the Basic Directions and then the Cold Preparation Directions.

Meanwhile, purée the raw strawberries with a squeeze of lemon juice in a food processor. Add the simple syrup and blend. Strain through a sieve into a bowl, rubbing through with a rubber spatula. Discard the seeds and remaining pulp.

Before the gelatin begins to set, fold the gelatin into the strained coulis; then immediately pour the coulis evenly over the tart to glaze each berry. Refrigerate the tart until the coulis is set, about 2 hours. Store any leftovers in the fridge.

Note: I learned the basics of simple syrup, coulis, and glazes from the Gordon Ramsay Desserts cookbook. He uses many interesting ingredients to whip up different variations of flavoured stock syrups, coulis, and glazes. It’s well worth checking out the cookbook, available from the Mississauga Library. I modified his recipes for Stock Syrup and Coulis to fit the requirements of this recipe.

Olive is on a mission. I would love to see a small-scale independent grocery store open up in the downtown core of the Village of Streetsville.

When I was growing up in Streetsville, there used to be two grocery stores downtown. One was the IGA (which is now Shoppers’ Drug Mart at Centre Plaza) and the other was Dominion (later Foodport, which is now the Portuguese Community Centre at Britannia and Queen).

I lived in Montréal for a period, where I could walk to a great fresh fruit and vegetable store,

a gourmet butcher, a baker, a full-service grocery store, and an ethnic grocery store (not to mention a handful of great restaurants!). And that was all within 4 blocks of my apartment. Streetsville villagers need a grocery store that we can walk or cycle to, on a short jaunt, to pick up fresh produce without making a car trip outside of the village.

I am so envious of the Mineola neighborhood in Port Credit, which has the fabulous, small-scale gourmet grocery store Cousin’s right in their neighborhood.

Todd Ladner, Chairman of the Streetsville Business Improvement Association would like to start a movement. He thinks the building currently occupied by the post office (at the southeast corner of Queen Street South and Kerr Street) would make a great location for a small-scale gourmet grocery store or co-op farmers’ market.  The post office at this location will be closing and then re-opening on a smaller scale in the former location of JOE LAD (on Queen Street South between Thomas Street and Pearl Street). So, this building will soon be vacant. The property will be sold by the federal government to a private owner. It has parking, a loading dock, and lots of space.

Imagine turning this

into something more like this,

or this,

or maybe even this. Olive The Apple Factory!

Todd would like to hear what you think. What kind of grocery store would you like to see in the Village of Streetsville? Please share your thoughts with us by commenting on this post. And forward this post to as many Streetsvillites as possible, so we can hear the voice of Streetsville loud and clear.

Long on my wish list, olive the idea of riding my bike (scarf in the wind) to a village gourmet grocery store to pick up a warm baguette, a block of fine cheese, some fresh produce, and some gourmet goodies. Let’s make it happen Streetsville! Cousins and The Apple Factory, I hope you are listening.

Olive local field asparagus. I have eaten so much of it this season that it’s practically growing out of my ears. I have been longing to taste asparagus raw, the moment after it is freshly picked. I really wanted to make it out to Andrews’ Scenic Acres to pick my own asparagus this season but it was raining every day that was available to me to make the trip. I even thought of delaying this post by one day so I could get out there today. Guess what it’s doing this morning? Raining! Thankfully, there has been plenty of local field asparagus available at our local farmers’ markets.

Olive asparagus prepared in many different ways but my go-to recipe is a healthy, simple oven-roasted asparagus that once cooked, needs little (if any) adornment – perhaps just a squeeze of lemon.

I prefer to eat my asparagus the day I buy it but it will keep in your fridge okay for 2 to 3 days if you stand the stem ends in a jug of water or wrap them in a damp paper towel and cover the bunch in plastic wrap.

Simple Oven-Roasted Asparagus

Serves 3 to 4

You could also grill the asparagus on your barbeque, instead of roasting it in the oven.

Ingredients:

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Hold asparagus loosely near the end and snap off the tough end where it breaks naturally. Wash asparagus carefully in cold, running water, paying special attention to the head where sand and grit get trapped. Drain well and pat dry.

Pile the asparagus on a parchment-lined, rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with  salt. Toss until evenly coated with oil. Spread the asparagus out in a single layer on the baking sheet, making sure that stalks are not touching each other. Roast on the middle rack for about 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the spears, until asparagus is tender but still slightly firm. Asparagus will have acquired lovely little caramelized spots here and there. Serve hot, cold or at room temperature.

My Simple Oven-Roasted Asparagus is lovely as a vegetable on your dinner plate but just as nice in a salad.

I once saw this idea on the pages of one of my beloved Gourmet magazines and have been smitten with it ever since. Olive to top my Simple Oven-Roasted Asparagus with a soft poached egg, then squeeze on some fresh lemon juice, sprinkle on a few shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano, some fleur du sel, and a cracking of freshly ground black pepper. The lemon and egg yolk mix together and make a bright, rich sauce that compliments the robust asparagus beautifully. Simple perfection. Guilt-free breakfast or lunch. One happy Olive.

www.andrewsscenicacres.com

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Great news for the Erin Mills area! On Saturday June 8, a new farmers’ market will be opening across from Erin Mills Town Centre and Credit Valley Hospital. The Backyard Farm & Market at Erin Mills will be bringing chemical-free, fresh produce from local farmers and delicacies from local artisanal producers right to our own backyard. According to Garden Coach and Project Lead, Deanna Berry, the market has sought out only organic or chemical-free farmers and producers and will host 17 vendors to start.

Located on 1.5 acres of land, the site will also include an urban educational farm, boasting a straw bale vegetable micro-farm, herb spiral, and compost demonstration site.  Kids will enjoy fun food education programs, a story telling circle, a picnic area, and play spaces (including straw bale forts and a labyrinth)! Wow, that sounds like fun! Olive labyrinths!

The project was initiated by The Daniels Corporation, who has donated the land and remain active partners with The Cutting Veg and Garden Jane in a collaborative effort to increase urban agriculture in the community. Their hope is that the site will become a community food hub that will encourage area residents to “grow, learn and enjoy local and sustainably sourced food in a fun community space”.

Oh how happy I will be on Saturday mornings this summer, getting up early to visit the Streetsville Farmers’ Market and then The Backyard Farm & Market at Erin Mills.

The Backyard Farm & Market at Erin Mills

Every Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., June 8th to October 12th, 2013.

Located at the northeast corner of Eglinton Avenue West & Erin Mills Parkway, just outside of Streetsville.

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