BRUSCHETTA USES UP SOME GARDEN TOMATOES

Still picking lots of tomatoes from the garden. Without a frost, they are still going strong. Since we are celebrating our son-in-law's birthday today, I will be  making a large dish of Bruschetta from some of these delicious ones.
Quite simple to make.

Dice the tomatoes.
Add some olive oil and diced garlic cloves- 2-3.
Add some oregano to taste.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Mix together well.
It can be eaten right away or put in the fridge to rest for an hour or two.
On melba toast, fresh Italian bread or a cracker of choice, bruschetta always makes an easy appetizer.

Now what to do with the rest of the tomatoes!
#tomatoes#bruschettamadewithfreshtomatoes#pickingfreshtomatoes#oliveoil#dicedgarliccloves

GARLIC-A MUST FOR ITALIAN COOKING

 I tried growing garlic in my summer garden this year. Actually turned out okay.

A friend from my Italian Social Club gave me a huge bunch of garlic bulbs. So along with "my crop" and his donation, Barb and I have lots of garlic to use for the next few months. Garlic has been around for 7000 years. It was always popular in Italian cooking. When the influx of Italians came to Canada after World War Two, there was a stigma to eating garlic. How times have changed as everyone uses it now. It is used not only for cooking but some claim medicinal purposes. I use it a lot in my cooking. Many Canadians love the garlic bread at home and restaurants.

We found a quiet, dry corner in the kitchen to hang our garlic bunches.

Our  kitchen looks a little old worldly but some cultures use garlic to fend off vampires so the bunches are a good defense. Must be working-no vampires seen lately!

FOCACCIA-FUN FOOD FOR A SATURDAY NIGHT

One of Barb's favourite stores is Grande Cheese. Not only do they have many different kinds of cheese and Italian products, the ladies there make focaccia the way my mother used to make it.

The tomato one is quite tasty. The plain one with some garlic and rosemary is simple. Focaccia is a great bread substitute with a meal. With some salad and a meat of choice, it rounds out the food groups. It is good for snacking later in the evening too.

THANKSGIVING CANADIAN TURKEY STUFFING

I do love to cook. However, Thanksgiving dinner belongs to Barb. Italians did not celebrate Thanksgiving until they came to Canada. Initially, I was not too fond of a Turkey dinner. It is not the most difficult meal to prepare but it is very tasty. Barb wanted to put her Bread stuffing on my blog. She learned to make it from her mother.

Barb says:
My Mom or Nana's Bread Turkey Stuffing was always a part of our Thanksgiving and Christmas festive dinners. Some Italians in Canada try to claim that a rice stuffing is better in the turkey. Rice stuffing belongs in a duck or cornish hen dish. For me, why try to reinvent a dish that is a great Canadian tradition.

BREAD STUFFING

1 loaf of white Canadian bread.
1/2 loaf of brown or whole wheat Canadian bread.
2-3 Garlic buds.
2 or 3 celery stalks- keeping the leafy middle pieces.
1 onion. White cooking onion or the red onion depending on  your choice.
Fresh parsley. The leafy portion
Sage.
Butter or Margarine- 2 or 3 tablespoons
Salt and pepper to taste.

Once you have decided what time you want to put the turkey in the oven. Make the bread stuffing about 1/2 hour prior.

DIRECTIONS

Washing your hands well before preparing the dish, it is important to wash all the vegetables to be used.

Get a large bowl to mix the ingredients.

Break the bread into bite size pieces mixing the two types together.

Finely dice the garlic buds. You can add more to the mix if you want.

Finely dice the celery stalks and the leafy middle pieces. The leafy pieces help to keep the stuffing together.

Finely chop the onions.

Finely chop the parsley. Use the leafy pieces not the stems.

Mix all the ingredients together.

Add sage- couple of teaspoons  and again mix in the dish. You can add more if you want. Again to taste.

If using butter, cut a few cubes of butter or use a few tablespoons of margarine and place on top, middle and bottom of the mixture.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Put aside.

Take the Turkey- Fresh or Frozen-which should be thawed and rinse out the cavity of the bird.  Put it in the roasting pan. Wash your hands.

Take your bread stuffing and forming handful balls put it in the cavity of the turkey, pushing and really packing it in there. I also put as much as I can in the backside of the bird.

If I can not sew or tie the legs together to keep the moisture of the stuffing intact while cooking, I place tin foil over the stuffed cavity.

Since my children and families love my stuffing, I often double up the recipe ingredients so I have more stuffing than room in the turkey.

I use a casserole dish to cook the extra stuffing. I add some of the beginnings of the gravy being slowly cooked on the stove with the turkey neck, organs for flavour.

The trick to good stuffing is it absorbs the flavour of the turkey while cooking inside so when there is extra stuffing that is cooked separately it does not get the same flavour and can be dry. So mix the stuffing from the bird and the extra together when serving to try to solve that problem.

I also have bought extra turkey thighs to cook. This is another way to cook the extra stuffing. In a casserole dish or separate pan, put the stuffing in the middle with the turkey thighs on the side, again packing them closely, putting on the lid or covering with tin foil to keep the moisture intact.

Depending on the size of the turkey, it is cooked until done. The stuffing is scooped out of the cavity and served in a bowl.

It is one of the main dishes at Canadian Thanksgiving dinners. Adolph and my girls love it so I would not make it any other way!!
#CanadianThanksgiving#breadstuffing#turkeydinner#recipeforbreadstuffingintheturkey#sagemakesthetaste#oldtimeCanadianrecipe

STUFFED EGGPLANT/MELANZANA ALLA PARMIGIANA

The summer harvest is in the markets. One vegetable that is plentiful is the eggplant/melanzana. You either like the vegetable or you don't. My mother used to fry it in thin slices but it absorbed so much oil, it is not a dish I make anymore. Some Italians like to slice it and put it in jars in oil to eat as an appetizer or on a sandwich throughout the year.

I use it in my veggie mix. However, one of my favourite ways to make it and Barb loves it, is stuffed.

STUFFED EGGPLANT

INGREDIENTS

Eggplant- regular or Sicilian. One eggplant makes two servings.

Garlic- 3 buds or more.

Bread crumbs- 1/2 cup per 1/2 eggplant. Some Italians like to make their own by using stale bread, made into cubes soaked in some water for moisture.

Parmesean/parmigiano cheese. Grated. Have as much as needed for the number of people you are serving.

Can of diced or whole tomatoes. You can use a fresh tomato if you want.

Olive oil.

Parsley.

Orgeano.

Salt, pepper.

DIRECTIONS

1. Wash the eggplant well.

2. Cut off the stem end. Cut the eggplant lengthwise in half. Place in a cassorole dish.

3. Scoop out the belly of the eggplant, leaving some pulp in the shell.

4. Dice the scooped eggplant. Dice the garlic buds, Chop the parsley.

5. Mix the eggplant, garlic, parsley with the bread crumbs and some olive oil-enough to make it moist. Add some oregano, salt and pepper to taste.

6. Put the mixture in the shells.

7. Add a generous portion of diced tomatoes on top. If whole tomatoes, chop into pieces to add on top.

8. Sprinkle with parmesean cheese on top of the tomatoes. Again add as much as you like to eat. Some people would also add mozarella or pecorino cheese. As a diabetic person less cheese is less calories so I do not use additional cheese.

9. Put in a preheated oven at 375 degrees.

10. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the outer shell is tender when poked by a fork.

11. When removed from the oven, let sit for awhile so it sets.

This dish is a good one to make when you are baking or making other oven dishes. Saves on energy.

As you can see the portions are big. Barb usually eats 1/2 of a piece, taking the other half to work for her lunch the next day. So one eggplant could make 4 servings if needed. Yes, it smells good when baking in the house.
#stuffedeggplant#parmigianocheese#bakingintheoven#sicilianeggplant#twokindsofeggplant#regulareggplant#buyingvegetablesatalocalfarm#cookingeggplantItalianstyle

A MOIST MEATBALL OR HAMBURGER PATTIE

Barb's cousin Roy reads my blog regularly- thank you! He commented previously about making a moist meatball- he said his were always a little dry. So I thought I would provide a simple recipe for a basic meatball or hamburger pattie.

INGREDIENTS

2 Lbs( 1 kg) of ground meat- 1/2 beef and 1/2 pork. You can just use all beef if you want.
2 garlic buds.
Parsley-about 5 fresh sprigs. You can use dry parsley but fresh is better.
1 egg.
Salt, pepper.
Olive oil.
1/2( 100 ml) cup bread crumbs.

DIRECTIONS

Put the ground meat in a bowl. If two kinds of meat, mix with clean hands.

Dice or chop garlic buds.

Chop washed parsley into fine pieces.

Add the egg to the mixture. You can beat it prior if wanted but just adding and mixing in the meat is okay.

Add the diced/chopped garlic and parsley.

Add a handful or the 1/2 cup( 100 ml)  of bread crumbs or enough to help hold the mixture together.

1 tsp(5 ml ) salt. 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml ) pepper.

The meat can be flattened into hamburger patties to be used fresh or frozen. Or rolled by hand into meatballs.

You can fry the meatball in a frying pan with just olive oil covering the bottom of the pan. When finished, dab off the grease with a paper towel. Or like the hamburg pattie put on grill in the oven to cook. The hamburger pattie is very tasty cooked on a summer barbecue. Meatballs can be used in spaghetti and meatballs or like the picture as a meat dish in a mixed grill meal.

Tip to making a good meatball- When you roll the meatball do not make them too big. Roll them about the size of a golf ball. If they come out too dry like Roy's, you can always tee them up and use them on a driving range!
#amoistmeatballe#ahamburgpattie#makingagoodmeatball#makingagoodhamburgpattie#cookinggranpastyle#granpalovestocookmeatballs#granpalovestocookhamburgpatties

CANADIAN BUSH BEANS WITH AN ITALIAN FLAIR

My summer garden is growing and starting to produce food. I was able to pick my first bowl of Bush Beans.

Beans are easy to grow and are a good  nutritional dish.  Remember any green vegetable is good for the person with diabetes.

Recipe #1

Pick a bowl of beans fresh from the garden. Wash in cold water. Either cut off each end or just snip the ends by hand.

Put in cold water in a pot and bring to a boil. Boiling until done. Test with a fork for softness.

Drain and put in a bowl to cool.

When cool, add some EVOO( extra virgin olive oil), a chopped bud of garlic  and red wine vinegar to taste.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Mix the beans with the ingredients. Allow to sit to absorb flavour.

Makes a nice veggie dish for any dinner and can be made in advance of any meal.

Recipe #2

Pick and prepare the beans as in recipe #1.

When cooked drain and keep the beans hot.

In a large frying pan heat EVOO( extra virgin olive oil), a chopped bud of garlic and add flakes of hot pepper to taste.

When heated, add the cooked beans and mix together, making sure it stays hot.

This dish is best served hot with the meal. The  peppers just add a little spice to the meal.

Barb prefers the beans served this way.

As for the garden, it is best to plant beans several weeks apart then there will be a good supply growing over the summer. Or just visit one of the many markets or farms in your area to get a fresh supply.

MINESTRA-TASTY LOW-CAL LUNCH OR FART SOUP

Minestra is like a soup but thicker. It is a good dish if you want to start to reduce your weight.

INGREDIENTS

Pork hocks- 2 pieces

Garlic- 3 buds diced.

Parsley- 2-3 sprigs.

Celery- 1 long piece.

Can of plum tomatoes.

Savoy Cabbage- 1/2 large- shredded

1 tin of Kidney Beans- 28 oz./750 ml.

Olive Oil- a tablespoon/20 ml.

Salt-a tablespoon/20 ml.

Pepper-1/2 teaspoon/25ml.

Preparation time-10 minutes


DIRECTIONS

Serves about 8.

In a large sucepan add the olive oil. Heat the oil.

Add the chopped garlic, parsley, celery and pork hocks and cook over medium heat for several minutes.

Add crushed plum tomatoes and simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Add shredded cabbage and kidney beans( I drain them but you can use the juice from the tin if wanted) and add enough water to cover the ingredients completely.

Add salt and pepper and bring to a boil.

Lower the heat and let simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

For added flavour you can substitute the water with chicken or vegetable broth.

You can serve with some hot peppers to taste in a bowl like Barb may eat it!

I often nickname this dish - " Fart Soup". Eat it once a week if you want to avoid problems with your colon!

SPEZZATINO DI MANZO-ITALIAN BEEF STEW

Everyone has some kind of stew. Canadians make a good stew with stewing beef and large vegetables. The Irish stew uses lamb.
My favourite stew is the way I learnt from ny region- Ciociaria in Italy.

INGREDIENTS

Meat- some tender beef. Can be stewing beef or round steak. 1 lb- 2.2 kg or more depending on the number of people to be served.
Celery- 1 stalk.
Carrot- 1.
Onion-1.
Garlic.
Olive Oil-EVOO.
Bay leaf.
Salt, pepper.
Red Wine.

Remember if serving a large crowd, just up the number of each ingredient.

You can make Italian stew with a good cut of veal with the same ingredients. However, use white wine.

DIRECTIONS

Dice a garlic bud or 2 and fry with a spoon of olive oil in the pot.

Thinly dice the carrot, onion and celery.



Cut up the meat into small bite size pieces. Saute in the fried garlic.

Add the thinly diced onion, celery, onion. Actually doing all this work, makes me think that Italian cooks must have a lot of time on their hands as it takes time to dice thinly with a knife!

Add 1/2 cup of red wine.

Add a Bay Leaf.

Salt, pepper to taste.

Let simmer in the covered pot for 2-3 hours. Check and stir the ingredients often. 

For you modern cooks, it can be cooked in your slow cooker or crock pot. 

The simmering lets the meat tenderize while cooking. 

Before you start to serve any stew make sure to remove the bay leaf. Many people have choked on it as it does not tenderize or fall apart.

I like to serve the stew on top of some mashed potatoes or you can serve the stew or spezzatino on its own.

Making this dish reminded me of my childhood. We used to have a bay leaf tree- actually it was a bush- on our driveway at our house in Italy. It seemed bigger because I was smaller. I remember we had a chestnut tree and some rosemary and oliander bushes too. Cooking can sure bring back memories.  I could not find a picture of the bushes but did round up some pictures of me near the house and another with my cousins in a field of flowers.



HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE LASAGNA ALLA GRANPA ADOLFO

Although lasagna is not my favourite pasta dish, I make it at the request of my family. For my grandsons's baptism parties a couple of years ago, Granpa made the lasagna. Recently, to help out my busy working daughters and a friend, there were a couple of busy weekends in February and March making several pans of lasagna for them. Of course, for the faint of heart you can buy ready made frozen ones or some markets have ones ready to cook. This dish uses a lot of pots, dishes and really messes the kitchen from one end to another. Good thing I have my assistant Barb for clean-up!

There is nothing more tasty than those fresh from the kitchen of any Italian cook.

It is always a good idea to make several pans as this is a very time consuming dish. So with the ingredients gage the number of ingredient portions by the size of a big pan or smaller pans you are using.

INGREDIENTS

 Homemade egg noodle pasta ( eggs, flour, salt to taste).( See my blog on making this item). For the busy cook you can buy the packaged ready for oven strips. Homemade is better.

Ragu Sauce ( see my blog on making this sauce).

Eggs- 6-12 or more depending on the number of pans you are making.

Mozzarella cheese- 1 or 2 packages. Or if you prefer ricotta cheese 1 or 2 containers. Or like some Canadians who use cottage cheese 1 or 2 containers- I would never make a lasagna with it! My preference is always the mozzarella cheese.

Ground beef- 1/2 to 2 lbs- depending on the number of pans.

Bechamel Sauce- milk, flour and 1 spoon or two of ragu sauce for colour.

Salt, pepper to taste.

Garlic cloves- diced to add to the meat or even sprinkle if wanted on the layers.

Parmesean Cheese.

Use your glass pans or there are good tin foil ones at any market or especially your nearest dollar store. Then when giving to another household there is no need to return the pan!

DIRECTIONS

You can make all the ingredients in one day if you chose.

 I like to prepare the egg noodle pasta the previous day. Kneading it well and leaving it in a ball in a bowl in the fridge.

I also like to prepare the ragu sauce the previous day so it is done and ready to go when I want to make the lasagna.

Many cooks will prepare everything in one day. I like to do things in stages.
 
The day you are making the dish, be ready for the process. If needed have a coffee to drink while working.

Boil the eggs in a pot until done. Remove shells when cooled. Chop into little pieces. Set aside

Cook the ground meat in oil with some garlic and parsley added to taste. When finished cooking, drain the oil and pat with a paper towel to remove as much of the grease. My mother used to make the ground beef into little balls which is more time consuming. I just cook the meat quickly- less work, same taste. Set aside.

Of course you can be boiling the eggs and cooking the meat at the same time.

Grate the mozzarella cheese into a bowl. Set aside.

I have my helper Barb who often helps with the chopping of the eggs and grating of the cheese.

Have the number of pans whether glass or tin foil, ready to go on your counter. Have the dishes of prepared items close to the pans. When you start to layer, everything should be handy.

Have your pasta maker on the counter and your bowl of egg noodle ready to shape into long strips of pasta.

In a large pot, fill with water and let it start to boil.

Put some of the ragu sauce in the bottom of each pan.

As you shape the pasta into long strips, put them in the boiling water. You can make several before you start to boil them. As with any noodle pasta the cooking time is very fast.

On the bottom of each pan, put the egg noodle strips.

Now the layering- a meat layer and some sauce, top with egg noodle strip fresh from the water.

If you cook too many strips and place them on top of each other, they may stick together. So it is better to cook, then layer one or two at a time. If the strips are the length of your pan it makes them easier to layer. So make sure you have the strips the length of your pans.

An egg layer- top with egg noodle strip. You can add some sauce to each layer

A cheese layer- top with egg noodle strip.

It's your lasagna so if you want to mix the egg and cheese in one layer, it is okay.

Depending on the depth of your pan you will determine the number of layers needed.

You are very busy taking the cooked noodles from the hot water and layering. So do be careful to use tongs or other kitchen utensils and not to burn yourself.

The lasagna is layered. Put egg noodle strips on top with enough sauce to coat the top and add parmesean cheese.

Recently I started to make a bechamel sauce- put some milk, a little flour in  a pot and boil-  about 10 minutes, stirring constantly until a little brown, add a spoon or two of the sauce to give colour. Now add to the layered lasagna.

I find it makes the lasagna  moister. I used to find others' lasagna a little dry. So now I have my own touch to add to the dish.

Cook at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. I place the pans in the middle of the oven so as not to burn the bottom.

One big pan for a special party or several small pans for several homes or meals, lasagna is always popular. One useful hint- let the lasagna sit before serving. You can serve straight from the oven but if you allow it to sit the ingredients come together better.

If in smaller pans or even one serving portions, you can freeze it for another day.

#howtomakehomemadelasagna#makingeggnoodleforthelasagna#mozerellacheese#freshpansoflasagnaforgoodeating#granpapreparingthelasagna#usingfreshsauceforthelasagna#groundmeatpanfriedisgoodforthelasagna#ragusauceforthelasagna#granpalovestocook#adolphdimambro

RED PEPPERS ITALIAN STYLE

Fresh red peppers are great sliced as another vegetable in a veggie/dip mixture.

ROASTED RED PEPPERS

One of our family's favourite is roasted red peppers.

Although both types of peppers can be used, I prefer the Bell to the Sheppard. They both have a Similar taste but the Bell roast and peel better.

INGREDIENTS

One pepper per person.
Vegetable oil. This is one dish that is not suitable for olive oil.
Garlic, salt to taste.

DIRECTIONS

Use a rack on the stove top or on a barbecue.
Tongs to turn the peppers as they roast.
The surface of the peppers will be black.
Let them sit in a dish to cool while the rest are cooked.
Start to peel when slightly cooled.

Have a bowl for the peppers and a water container in the sink to rinse your hands as you peel
Do not rinse the peppers in the water as it will remove some of the flavour.
When cleaned and peeled, break or cut the peppers into long strips.
Put in a serving bowl, add a couple of cut garlic pieces and salt.
Add the vegetable oil.
Mix well and let sti for a few minutes so the flavour of the ingredients mixes.

Since it is a very messy endeavor, you can prepare the peppers the previous day.
Just leave ungarnished.

The peppers can be eaten plain as another vegetable dish with your meal.

SOME VARIATIONS

A boiled potato cut in chunks with roasted peppers is vary tasty.

Fresh tomato and roasted peppers is a good combo.

Fresh slice peppers fried in oil make a nice side dish. Of course with some fresh Italian bread.

Adding roasted peppers to a sandwich.

During the Fall, bushel baskets of peppers can be bought. Roasted, bagged unpeeled and put in the freezer, they can be enjoyed during the winter at a reduced cost. Just let thaw and then peel.

I also like Pickled Peppers.

PICKLED PEPPERS

Using the fresh Fall peppers for Pickles.

INGREDIENTS
Peppers.
Garlic cloves.
Water.
Red vinegar.
Mason pickle jars- small or large- your choice.

DIRECTIONS

Wash the peppers well.
Clean and cut them into strips and set aside.
2 cups( 500ml) of water to one cup( 250ml) of vinegar.
Boil in a large pot on the stove.
Sterilize the jars- usually by boiling in water on the stove or can be put in the dishwasher.
Put the pepper strips in the jars, adding a garlic clove.
Pour the hot vinegar brine on the peppers, covering to the top.
Using new sterilized lids, seal well.
The peppers will take about 6 weeks to pickle.
Pickled peppers can be used as a regular pickle in a pickle tray.

VARIATION
Pork chops cooked with some oil, garlic and the pepper pickles using the vinegar brine is quite tasty.

THE BASICS IN MY CUPBOARD

Every kitchen contains similiar food items-
               Milk, bread, eggs etc.

Along with a well stocked kitchen, every Italian cook has a list of basics kept for meal preparation in his cupboard or elsewhere in the home.

Salt Pepper.

Bottles of Passata di Pomodoro/ Pureed-strained Tomatoes. Many Italians in Canada still make thier own passata. I used to help my mother make about 200 bottles annually. Now I have found the prepared ones to be just as tasty without the work.

Cans of Tomatoes- I like the whole plum ones.
Frozen whole tomatoes. It is easy to buy or grow your favourite tomatoe. In the Fall, when the growing season is over, use the ripe ones. Wash and bag, put in the freezer for use throught out the year.

Onion
Garlic
Vinegar- Red, White

Tins of Beans- Romano, White, Kidney, Brown, Ceci-Chick Peas

Variety of Pasta- To name a few- Spaghetti, Spaghettini, Linguine, Fetuccine, Penne-lisce, Rigatoni, Macroni Elbows, Tubetti, Bows, Stars, Alphabet

Olive Oil-Extra Virgin
Olive Oil-EVOO
Vegetable Oil
And of course the herbs! Basil, Rosemary, Oregano, Parsley

Hot Pepper- dried

Cheese as topping or in a Dish- Parmiagiano/ Parmesean
Mozzarella Cheese.

You will find these basics in many of my recipes.

So you can visit my blog weekly for tidbits, recipes and menu plans about my style of cooking. I welcome comments and ideas. If you have trouble commenting just email me at abns@rogers.com