Recipes

This recipe makes great use of canned cranberry sauce and tastes just like FALL.

Cranberry Pear Cobbler

Cranberry lovers rejoice!

Ingredients:

• 7 medium Bosc or Anjou pears, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped (about 6 cups)
• 1 16 - ounce can whole cranberry sauce
• 1 cup fresh cranberries or 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• ½ cup packed brown sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice*, divided
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup cornmeal
• 3 tbsp. granulated sugar*
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder*
• ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice*
• ¼ cup cold butter, cut up
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• ½ cup canned pumpkin
• 2 tablespoons half-and-half
• Whipping cream, half-and-half, light cream or vanilla ice cream
• *Available from Well Seasoned

Instructions for fillings:

1. In a large bowl, combine pears, cranberry sauce, cranberries, brown sugar and the 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice. Transfer filling to 11x7” baking dish. Bake, covered with foil, in a 375 degree F oven for about 30 minutes.

Cobbler Instructions:

1. Meanwhile, for the cobbler topping, in a medium bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, the 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, baking powder and remaining ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice. Using a pastry blender, cut butter into flour mixture until pieces are pea-size. In a small bowl, combine egg, pumpkin and half-and-half. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture all at once, stirring until just combined.
2. Remove baking dish from oven. Spoon the topping into 8 mounds on top of the hot pear mixture. Return to the oven and bake, uncovered, about 30 minutes more or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center of the biscuit topping comes out clean. Cool for 30 minutes. Serve warm with whipping cream.
3. Makes 8 servings.

End of season tomatoes are almost gone….this is one last way to enjoy all of their deliciousness while it lasts.

Fresh Tomato Soup

The frozen finished soup freezes really well be sure to make a double batch

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp. Well Seasoned Olive Oil*
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled & chopped
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 4 pounds fresh tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
• 1 tbsp. tomato paste*
• ¼ cup packed chopped fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish
• 3 cups chicken stock*
• 1 tbsp. kosher salt*
• 2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper*
• ¾ cup whipping cream
• *Available from Well Seasoned

Instructions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions and carrots and sauté for about 10 minutes, until very tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the tomatoes, sugar, tomato paste, basil, chicken stock, salt, and pepper and stir well.
2. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes, until the tomatoes are very tender.
3. Add the cream to the soup and process it through a food mill into a bowl, discarding only the dry pulp that's left. Reheat the soup over low heat just until hot and serve fresh basil leaves.

Do you Dutch Baby?

Apple Dutch Baby

A Dutch baby pancake, sometimes called a German pancake - it is essentially a large Yorkshire pudding but this one is made with fresh, local apples. Give it a try, it's super delicious served with maple syrup of course!

Ingredients:

• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• ¾ cup whole milk, room temperature
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract*
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt*
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided*
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 large Gala apple, peeled, sliced ¼” thick
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar*
• *Available from Well Seasoned

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Whisk eggs, milk, flour, vanilla, salt, and ½ tsp. cinnamon in a medium bowl until smooth.
2. Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a 10” skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium heat. Add apple and sprinkle with brown sugar and remaining ½ tsp. cinnamon. Cook, tossing often, until apple is coated and softened, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
3. Wipe out skillet and heat in oven until very hot, 8–10 minutes. Carefully add remaining butter to skillet, tilting to coat bottom and sides. Add apple to centre of skillet; pour batter over. Bake until pancake is puffed and golden brown around the edges and centre is set but still custardy, 12–15 minutes. Serve fresh from the oven with maple syrup.

We're heading into soup season!

Tuscan Vegetable Soup with Italian Sausage

Enjoy this hearty soup as we move into the first days of autumn.

Ingredients:

• 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans
• 1 tbsp. Well Seasoned Olive Oil*
• ½ large onion
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 small zucchini
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh sage leaves
• ½ tsp. salt*
• ¼ tsp. pepper*
• 32 ounces vegetable or chicken broth*
• 1 x 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 2 cups chopped spinach leaves
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan*
• 3 Italian sausage links, casing removed
• *Available from Well Seasoned

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl mash half of the beans with a masher or the back of a spoon, and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the sausage, onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, garlic, thyme, sage, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and cook stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the broth and tomatoes with the juice and bring to a boil. Add the mashed and whole beans and the spinach leaves and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes more.

We've got Basil fever. Did you catch last week's feature recipe (Fresh Basil & Spinach Pesto with Almonds)? Join us as we enjoy the fresh, end of summer herbs!

Creamy Basil Dressing

This dressing toasts your fresh market (and home garden) bounty - get fresh for dinner! Vegetarian and vegans can easily replace the mayo with a plant or soy based mayo in the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh basil
• 1 cup mayo
• 1 small shallot
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
• Salt & pepper to taste*
• *Available from Well Seasoned

Instructions:

1. In a small food processor or bender, process the shallot and garlic to chop, then add the mayo and lemon juice, process until smooth.
2. Add the basil and process adding the buttermilk slowly to smooth it all out.
3. Season with salt & pepper. Pour generously over your favourite salad.

Let's put your herb garden to use!

Fresh Basil & Spinach Pesto with Almonds

Fresh pesto is incredibly versatile and something we like to keep in our freezer all year. When the summer basil is abundant, we make big batches for freezing. Use your homemade pesto tossed with hot pasta for a quick sauce, use it as a base for a homemade pizza, add it to sour cream & dollop over baked potatoes, or cream cheese to spread onto crackers.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1 cup baby spinach leaves
• ¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese *
• 2/3 cup Well Seasoned Olive Oil*
• ½ cup toasted almonds, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ teaspoon salt, more to taste*
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more to taste*
• *Available from Well Seasoned

Instructions:

1. Wash the spinach and basil, add it to the bowl of a food processor, pulse to start to process. Add the almonds and continue to pulse until you have a bit of a paste. Add the garlic and cheese and pulse several times more. Scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Turn the processor on and slowly stream in the olive oil, with the food processor is running. Occasionally stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor, making sure all of the ingredients are well incorporated and finally add the salt & pepper. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until you are ready to use.