Low Fat Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Guest post  by Frank Shin

Life Moves Pretty Fast  

The beginning of fall weather in Southwestern Ontario is always my favourite time of year. It's still beautiful out, but not quite as hot as the sweltering humid summer was. The nights are just starting to get a little crisp, and the mornings are perfect for fast paced running.

This type of weather gets me thinking about harvest foods and stuff to warm the belly a little. I pulled out an old recipe for pumpkin bread pudding, and continue to modify it, keeping treat-like, but still really, really tasty. Let me know what you think!

Low Fat Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Prep Time: 10 minutes (+ bread soaking time)
Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup Pumpkin Puree
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup pure Canadian Maple Syrup
2 cups milk (skim is fine)
2 egg whites, beaten
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla

1 loaf day old French Baguette
3/4 cup plump California Raisins

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease an 11x17 baking dish.
Cut the loaf into 1 inch slices, and then cube as equally as possible. (I like keeping the crust!)
Put bread into a large bowl and pour milk over, mix and let bread soak for about an hour.

Combine brown sugar, pumpkin, egg whites, vanilla and spices. Mix well, then add to bread/milk along with raisins. Mix all ingredients together, and spread evenly in baking dish.

Bake for 40-45 minutes until top just gets crusty.



Enjoy!

Let me know how you like it!

Cherry Tomato Salad

Guest Post - Fran the Country Cousin
The Kitchen Cousins

A Gardener’s Cherry Tomato Salad

What could be better than standing in your garden on a warm summer evening and popping a just picked cherry tomato into your mouth. Oh man!! Close your eyes, bite down, and feel the skin pop in your mouth. Let the sugary sweetness bless your taste buds. You can’t buy a tomato moment like this at the grocery store. Sun-warmed, sweet as candy, cherry tomatoes can only be had if you grow them yourself.

I grow several kinds of cherry tomatoes for garden munching and summer salads. My favorites include Sun Gold, Sun Sugar, Yellow Pear (be aware it does split – a lot), Black Cherry or Chocolate Cherry, and though not a cherry tomato – Principe Borghese. I also like Green Grape and, a very small white cherry from J.L. Hudson, Mirabelle Blanche. There are sooo many cherry tomatoes to choose from but years of growing them has narrowed my list to the above choices.

For A Gardener’s Cherry Tomato Salad you will need:

• Cherry tomatoes - Just picked is best if you can get them. You will need enough for the size group you are feeding so quantity is flexible. A mix of several different kinds makes for a tastier salad because each one brings its personal tomato nuance to the finished salad. Keep the tomatoes at room temperature. They are at their sweetest when warm.

• Your favorite vinaigrette dressing – homemade from scratch (recipe below), your favorite bottled vinaigrette, or Good Seasons Italian - just follow the directions on the packet. My families favorite is Good Seasons Italian or homemade.

• Salt – I like to use what my bulk food store calls Pretzel Salt – a large granule salt – it melts into the tomatoes

• Fresh ground pepper

About an hour before you plan to eat halve the tomatoes and mix them in a bowl. Salt and pepper to taste and toss with your hands to distribute the seasonings and get the tomato juices flowing. Add vinaigrette a little at a time and determine if you have enough by mixing and tasting. Don’t over dress the tomatoes. Allow salad to sit at room temperature to allow flavors to develop and the dressing to meld with the tomato juices.

Serve with a crusty, buttered bread. You will need the bread to sop up all the juices and clean your plate. Refrigerate leftovers – see tip below.

Homemade Vinaigrette

• About 1/4 cup of a good vinegar – you get what you pay for- cheap vinegar = cheap taste. I’ve used champagne, balsamic, white, cider, white wine, and red wine vinegars. All a little different but all good.
• A pinch of salt
• A dab of Dijon mustard – you can leave this out if you prefer but it is a traditional addition to vinaigrette
  

Simply whisk these three ingredients together with a fork or wire whisk. Dribble in about

• 3/4 cup of olive oil. I often use a mix of olive oil and canola oil.

Whisk as you dribble and keep whisking until smooth. You can also add – if you like

• 1 small garlic clove, very finely minced

Taste and adjust salt, oil or vinegar to suit your taste buds. Refrigerate left overs and bring back to room temperature before using again.

Tip: Leftovers are great so you might want to make extra for tomorrows lunch or maybe as a morning feast with your breakfast toast. Refrigerated leftovers still taste great.

Just Because: Plate up some salad, butter some crunchy bread, and take it all out into your garden. Sit on the ground that grew your tomatoes, feel the warm sun on your head, and feast on the miracle you have just picked. While you’re eating your salad say a blessing over your tomato plants. Amen.

Hey from the farm,
Fran The Country Cousin

Blackened Steak Salad

Guest Post - Paula Montenegro

Vintage Kitchen Notes

This is my kind of salad, with a bit of everything and never to be mistaken for a side dish.

I like to eat salads that are a bit more than a bunch of greens.

The fact that this is called a salad might be deceiving. I know there are greens involved and a dressing, and that I put a lot of both on my plate, but a whole blackened steak on top kind of changes the idea of a simple salad.

Blackened and steak are two words I am very interested in when it comes to cooking. Not only the flavors are wonderful, but there´s no chance you will get a lame colored piece of meat. This is dark, smoky and almost burnt. Amazing to add to a bed of butter lettuce, endives, sauteed onions and peppers, tomatoes and feta cheese.

The spice mixture to `blacken´ the meat is very simple.  I happen to have all ingredients in my pantry at all times. The sliced onion I cook together with the meat. When I turn the steak, I throw in the onions and kind of push them to the sides and let them turn a nice golden color. I sometimes throw in sliced mushrooms if I have some in the fridge. We all know how those tend to loose their charm if not used quickly.

It is a salad that will make a great addition to a buffet table. And of course, if you happen to have leftover steak, a fantastic sandwich awaits you the next day.

This is a heartfelt guest post, as Donna is going through some challenging times. I met her through Sunday Supper and her wit and experience were immediately felt. It´s wonderful to see so many of her friends come to her side. My thoughts are with both of you Donna.

BLACKENED STEAK SALAD

adapted from the Chicago Chop House, via Bon Appetit

Spice mixture:

1 Tbs paprika

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

1 ½ teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon minced garlic

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon dried thyme

2 rump steaks, between 5 to 6 oz. each

3 Tbs butter or olive oil

½ cup onions, thinly sliced

½ red pepper, seeded and cut into strips

Dressing:

¼ cup olive oil

2 Tbs balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

4 cups mixed butter and purple lettuce

1 belgian endive, stem cut and leaves separated

3 oz crumbled feta goat cheese

½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved

Mix all dressing ingredients in a small jar and keep refrigerated.

Combine all spice mixture ingredients in small bowl. Rub over all sides of steaks.

Heat butter or oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add steaks and cook 3 to 4 minutes on one side. Turn the meat and add the onions and peppers to the same skillet. Cook the meat another 3 to 4 minutes, for medium rare. Remove from heat and let rest 5 to 10 minutes. Cut steaks thinly crosswise.

Arrange lettuces and endives on each plate and add dressing. Add onions and peppers.

Arrange sliced meat on top and sprinkle with cherry tomatoes and feta cheese.

Serves 2