Cranberry Honey Sauce

Looking for a twist on the more traditional cranberry sauce?  This spiced up version is delicious served with the usual roast turkey or chicken or even roast pork.  It is also makes an awesome spread served as an appetizer with cheese and crackers and a quick dessert sauce over good quality ice cream or cheese cake. The recipe features honey and red wine instead of the usual white sugar and water and is kicked up a notch with walnuts, cayenne pepper, fresh ginger and anise seed.

Click on this link for a printable recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen - 750 ml
1 cup red wine - 250 ml

1/4 cup red wine vinegar - 60 ml

3/4 cup honey - 175 ml
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped - 60 ml

1/4 tsp cayenne - 1.25 ml

1 tbsp ginger raw - 5 ml

1/4 tsp anise seed - 1.25 ml

METHOD:

1.  Add all ingredients to a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil, stir well and reduce heat and simmer until the skins on the cranberries start to split and pop which releases pectin and helps the sauce thicken.  It will thicken more as it cools.  In the picture below I have added a few Red Zinger tea bags and used a local cinnamon flavoured honey for extra flavour.  I have many versions of this recipe.  Make it once and you'll come up with your own modifications.  Great with a chopped fresh orange etc.

2.  Fill a sterlized 250 ml/1 cup jar with the sauce and seal.  Allow it to cool and once the lid "pops" it is sealed.  Pour remainder into a serving bowl.  Serve warm or cold.  The extra jar should be stored in the refrigerator up to 3 months.  If you want longer shelf life and not store it in the fridge you should process the jar in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes.

Yours in good taste,
© Nancy Guppy, RD, MHSc
http://nancyguppy.com/

Low sodium tomato sauce - slow cooker

Here's a simple way to use fresh garden tomatoes to make a delicious, low sodium sauce that cooks down very well in your slow cooker (crock pot.)  Use it in a multitude of ways such as a starter sauce for pasta, on pizza in ratatouille etc.  Add fresh herbs of your choice.  I used basil and rosemary.  Follow through to the bottom to see the nutrient analysis.

Ready made tomato sauce is often very high in salt.  When I made this recipe it didn't really need salt as the tomatoes were fresh and sweet. You decide.  I did show the analysis with 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) salt for the batch.

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Makes 8 x 1 cup serving= 16 x 1/2 cup servings = 2 litres cooked and pureed.

36 Italian plum tomatoes
1 cup white onion, diced - 250 ml
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red hot chile pepper, minced (optional)
1 Tbsp olive oil - 15 ml
2 bay leaves, whole
2 Tbsp rosemary, fresh - 30 ml
1 cup basil, fresh - 250 ml
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper - 2.5 ml

1.  Add ingredients to crock of a slow cooker.  Cover and cook on HIGH setting.  After 2 hours and when it is boiling, remove lid, stir and leave uncovered so moisture evaporates.  Cook another 2 hours or until liquid reduced and mixture is thick like that below.

2.  Remove bay leaves and stem from rosemary.  Puree with immersion blender or mash with a potato masher.  Use in your favourite recipes.  It freezes well but is not suited to canning due to acidity being lower.

Below is an example of easy too use suggestions.  I made a garden zucchini ratatouille with some onions etc. to make a few containers for the freezer.

I

NUTRITION FACTS (per 1/2 cup - 125 ml): 40 calories, 1 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 80 mg salt, 7 g carbohydrate, 2 g fibre, 4 g sugar.   % Daily Values 25% Vitamin A, 35% Vitamin C, 2% each for calcium and iron.

(c) Nancy Guppy, RD, MHSc.  

Visit my website to find out more about online nutrition counselling. http://nancyguppy.com/ 

Chimichurri Sauce

Chimichurri is an Argentinian sauce that I have become quite fond of it.  I first made it  last summer and was delighted to find another easy use of the garden garlic, onions, parsley and oregano. They have all been growing with wild abandon lately.

Traditionally in Argentina chimichurri is served with grilled steak.  It works well as a condiment and/or marinade with fish and chicken and is also delicious with grilled pita and many cooked vegetables (e.g, green beans, grilled mushrooms and zucchini).  You can eat it with corn chips/tortillas too!  It is quite similar to a salsa fresca (i.e., uncooked salsa) although the version I make does not have tomatoes or peppers.  Feel free to add them though.  This is perhaps not the most appetizing of photos (above) but do try the recipe as it is very flavourful and versatile.

GARDEN and ORGANIC ingredients:

4		Jalapeno peppers, raw, cut in chunks
½ cup	125 ml	Red onion, raw, diced
4		Garlic cloves
½ cup	125 ml	Parsley, fresh, leaves and stems
¼ cup	60 ml	Oregano or marjoram, fresh
1 Tbsp	15 ml	Black pepper, freshly ground
2 Tbsp	30 ml	Olive oil, extra virgin, organic
¼ cup	60 ml	Red wine vinegar – I used Eden organic
2 Tbsp	30 ml	Lemon juice, raw (use a bit less if you use bottle)
¼ cup	60 ml	water

METHOD:

1.  Combine the first ten ingredients for the Chimichurri sauce in a food processor or blender and pulse until finely chopped.  

Note: follow this link to the Chicken Farmer's of Canada website for a recipe I developed for them of grilled chicken with chimichurri sauce and brown rice

http://www.chicken.ca/DefaultSite/index.aspx?ArticleID=3166&lang=en-CA.  Part of the chimichurri is used as a marinade and the remainder of the sauce is served as a condiment.

NUTRITION FACTS for 1/4 cup - 60 ml

Calories	50
Total Fat (g)	3.5
Saturated Fat (g)	0.5
Cholesterol (mg)	0
Carbohydrate (g)	4
Fibre (g)	1
Cholesterol (mg)	0
Sugar (g)	1
Protein (g)	1
%Daily Values
Sodium	5%
Calcium	2%
Iron	4%
Vitamin A	8%
Vitamin C	25%

		2000 Calories	2500 Calories
Total Fat (g)	Less than	65 g	80 g
Saturated fat (g)	Less than	20 g	25 g
Cholesterol	Less than	300 mg	300 mg
Sodium	Less than	2400 mg Preferably 1500	2400 mg Preferably 1500
Total carbohydrate (g)		300 g	375 g
Fibre	At least	25 g	30 g

%Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.  Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Calories per gram       Fat 9    Carbohydrate 4          Protein 4

Tastefully yours,

© Nancy Guppy, RD, MHSc

Chapman's Landing Cooking Studio

Our next cooking class coming up at Chapman's Landing is "100 Mile Diet of SLOW Foods" on Friday July 16th followed by "Thai Cuisine" Saturday July 17th.  Please see my menu and register online at http://www.chapmanslanding.com

Cranberry Rhubarb Chutney

I have always loved cranberries and rhubarb.  I love how they are sour and bitter at the same time - especially if you don't overdo it with the sweetener.  Here I have paired them up in this creative chutney that has a multitude of uses.  Canned or jellied cranberries will do in a pinch but they are too sweet and far  from the real thing.  If you don't make fresh cranberries for your special dinners you really should give this version a whirl.  Fast and easy to do.  My method is to make a double batch so we can eat half and put the other half in a clean, sterilized jar that will seal and be ready in the fridge or cupboard for another occasion.  Cook once, eat twice.

USES:

- serve with cheese and biscuits/crackers.  Old white cheddar comes to mind

- spread over a round of brie or camembert and melt in oven.  Serve with a crusty baguette

- stuff into crepes with brie cheese and melt

- use as a condiment with roast pork or poultry

- mix with cream cheese for a tasty spread....

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups (1 liter) rhubarb, diced (fresh or frozen)

2 cups (500 ml) cranberries, fresh or frozen

1 cup (250 ml) onion, red, diced

1/2 cup (125 ml) dark brown sugar or honey

1/4 cup (60 ml) red wine vinegar

2 Tbsp (30 ml) ginger, grated

2 tsp (10 ml) garam masala*

1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) red pepper flakes or cayenne powder

1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) cinnamon, ground

Note:  If you don't have rhubarb you can substitute tart apple

*  garmam masala is an Indian spice blend of black pepper, cardamom, coriander, cloves, cumin and nutmeg.  If you don't live near an Indian market you can usually buy it at the bulk food store.

METHOD:

1.  Combine all ingredients in a saucepan.  I used my garden frozen rhubarb.  I bought organic Stanbush cranberries as I didn't make it to any of our local bogs this fall.  Cover and cook on medium high heat, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until fruit softens, cranberries "pop" and sauce begins to thicken.  You can make the chutney in a glass bowl in the microwave or on top of the stove. 

2.  Spoon into warm, sterilized jars while it is still very hot (right away) and seal immediately. Canning companies recommend that chutneys be processed for 20 minutes in a boiling water bath to ensure food safety. Refrigerate after opening and use within 2-3 months.

As you can see below this is a small batch recipe making only 2 pint (500 ml) jars.

NUTRITION FACTS (per 2 Tbsp/30 ml serving): 20 calories, 0 g fat, 0 mg sodium, 5 g carbohydrate, 1 g fibre, 4 g sugar, 0 g protein.  %Daily Values are 4% vitamin C, 2% calcium and 2% iron.

Yours in good taste,


© Nancy Guppy, RD, MHSc


http://nancyguppy.com/