Autumn Harvest

Apples and Cranberries at the Market

Autumn is my favourite season, and is best enjoyed in my other island home of Montreal. With the cooling temperatures and changing landscape palette in southern Quebec comes the bountiful harvest of fresh fruits and vegetables that abound with flavour, colour and texture. The practice of apple picking at a farm is not only fun but also rewarding as you get to bring home fresh, crisp apples for making pies, cakes, and sauces.

I went apple picking last week in Hollis, New Hampshire with my sister Julie; some of the best apple varieties to pick at that time were Gala, Cortland, McIntosh, Rome and Red Delicious. Eating an apple freshly picked off the tree is an experience to behold. The ripe ones are crisp, juicy, and provide the maximum vitamin content. My favourite eating apple is the Fuji variety because they are sweet, crunchy, and juicy, however they were not ready to pick at the time of my visit.

Pumpkin Varieties at the Market

The Atwater Market in Montreal is a splash of colour with flowers galore interspersed with late summer/early autumn harvest produce. Pumpkins in a variety of colours, sizes and shapes are on display in their pre-Halloween glory. It is a tantalizing time to visit the market, and you are sure to return home with an enhanced appetite.

Colour Kaleidoscope of Chrysanthemums and Pumpkins

With all this fresh produce comes the desire to bake so that the home is well stocked with delicious homemade snacks. I whipped up a batch of Oatmeal, Cranberry, White Chocolate cookies made with whole wheat flour, brown sugar, organic rolled oats and roasted walnuts. I baked them a few minutes longer to ensure extra crispiness. The added walnuts enhance the nutty flavour of the oatmeal, and the white chocolate and dried cranberries impart a delightful sweet and sour taste to every bite. These cookies are wholesome, rustic and oh, so tasty.

Fresh Cranberries at the Market

Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cranberries and White Chocolate

Now it is on to more baking from my stash of fresh apples. Happy harvest from Crumbs Homemade!

Pure Pesto

Sweet Basil from the Garden

An essential condiment in my kitchen is Pesto, which is basically a paste or sauce made from fresh sweet basil leaves, pine nuts, fresh garlic, grated parmesan cheese and extra virgin olive oil. It is so easy to prepare that I make sure to have it on hand regularly. Ideally if you can grow sweet basil in your herb garden, you can have the fresh leaves available whenever you are ready to prepare the Pesto. And there is nothing like preparing a dish using fresh herbs just cut from your home garden. Otherwise, basil leaves are usually available in most grocery outlets, but make sure the leaves that you purchase are not withered or blackened, but fresh looking and very green.

Easy to whip up with a food processor that grinds all the ingredients together, Pesto adds a burst of flavour to any dish, and is especially delicious as a spread in sandwiches, as a pasta sauce, for chip dips, or as a cracker spread. Once you start making it, you will always want to have it stocked in your refrigerator.

Tasty, healthy, and versatile - Pesto is one of those must haves in any kitchen.

Fresh Pesto

How Does Your Morning Stack Up?

Cornmeal Pancakes With Fresh Berries

What better way to wake up on a Sunday morning than to the aroma of homemade pancakes cooking in the kitchen? And these are just no ordinary pancakes. They are Cornmeal Pancakes made with a specific type of cornmeal - a gritty, coarse variety sourced from the Bridgetown outdoor market where fresh fruits, vegetables, and condiments abound. This type of cornmeal provides a tasty, wholesome corn flavour, something you can really sink your teeth into. The pancakes are made with buttermilk, eggs, and oil, and no added flour or sugar. Stacked aplenty, topped with fresh berries of your choice - my preference is blueberries or raspberries - and doused with pure Canadian maple syrup, this is a great, hearty way to start a laid back Sunday. As the saying goes, keep it "easy like Sunday morning".

Typical Bridgetown Market Scene