Do you like cookies that are buttery, crisp edged and chewy in the middle?  Mmm . . .  they're the best!

 
I am a big fan of the flavours of rum and raisins together. Rum and Raisin ice cream has always been one of my favourites, right up there alongside of maple walnut and vanilla!


These cookies are absolutely gorgeous!  Crisp edged.  Chewy centred.  Buttery.  Nicely spiced.  And stogged full of lovely rum flavoured raisins.
 

They truly are delicious.  So delicious that despite my diabetes, I scarfed one down almost as soon as it came from the oven.  Naughty me.  I will be paying for that the rest of today  .  .  .
 

Spiced with ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ground coriander . . .  it went down so well with a nice glass of cold milk.  Oh boy . . .  these could be dangerous!  Do note, there are NO eggs in the recipe.  I have not left them out.  Adapted from a little cookbook by the people at Love Food, entitled . . . simply . . .  Cookie Jar.

75g raisins (1/2 cup)


 
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Butter several baking sheets.  Set aside.
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy

Sift in the flour, cinnamon, salt, soda, nutmeg, coriander and cloves. Stir into the creamed mixture, then stir in the rum and raisins.

Divide into 18 portions, rolling each into a ball.  Place well spaced apart on the baking sheets and flatten each slightly with the back of a spoon.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven.  Let sit on the baking sheets for several minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container.


If you only bake one thing this weekend, make it these! They're fabulous! Do not attempt to resist!  Bon Appetit! 

Note - You can use rum flavouring mixed with water instead of the dark rum if you wish and don't do alcohol like us.  Works perfectly.

They, of course, cost twice as much as regular chicken.  It is probably worth it in the end.  I can remember when I was a girl, we hardly ever ate chicken.  It was considered a real treat for us to have some chicken for supper. Now it is considered one of the cheaper sources of protein, but the higher availability and lower price tag has probably come at a huge cost to animal welfare practices.


And of course it also means that our chicken has had most of the flavour bred out of it because it is produced on an enormous, almost factory scale, on farms where the birds rarely see the light of day, or have a chance to exercise their muscles . . .  an almost "concentration-camp" type of production.


When I really think about that  . . .  I am not sure I want to be eating that.  I think I would rather eat less of it and have it taste better and know that at least the meat I am eating had a half decent life.



The end result was a piece of chicken that was moist and tender  . . .  and well flavoured.  Corn-fed really does taste much better, as does free-range organic.  This makes sense really when you consider that regular chicken has very low standards of production whilst organic, free range and corn-fed by EU regulations must have free range outdoor access, and will be at least 72 days old, which provides a really great tasting, slow grown bird.


We both decided that the extra cost was well worth it in flavour.  So we won't be eating as much chicken from now on and when we do, it will be free-range, organic and corn-fed. In short . . .  chicken will now be a treat to eat, and probably a rare one at that, but at least when we do eat it we will enjoy it a lot more.


Roast for 15 to 20 minutes until cooked through and juices run clear.  Cover with foil and let rest for about 10 minutes prior to serving.

 
Today I created a delicious creamy leek and mustard sauce to serve with the chops. Todd also loves leeks.  I love the flavour of leek, but am not so fussy about the way they make your breath smell . . .  but hey, if we are both eating them, not a problem!


If you use low fat milk instead of whole milk, the sauce is not too calorific either, but if you aren't bothered by calories and want something a tiny bit richer, do use whole milk.


I slash the fatty edge of my chops at 1/4 inch intervals.  That way they don't curl up when you are browning them. A simple tip that works a charm.


I also only use the white and light green parts of the leeks.  They  have a much more delicate flavour than the dark.  Save the dark for vegetable soup or some such, or for making stock.  I keep a pot in my freezer that I add all my veggie scraps to and then just make stock with them when I have enough.

 
I think you will find that this is not only simple to make, but very delicious, especially when you serve it with a pile of fluffy buttery mash and some cooked veg on the side.  Today we had Chantenay carrots.  Seriously tasty!

 
salt and black pepper to taste



Slash the fatty edge of your chops at 1/4 inch intervals. This will help to prevent your chops from curling up.  Dust them all over with salt and black pepper to taste, along with some onion and garlic powders.  Heat a bit of olive oil in a large skillet.  Add the chops and cook over moderate heat for about 7 minutes per side, until golden brown and cooked through. 


Pour the sauce into the skillet around the chops and heat through.  Serve each chop with some of the sauce spooned over top.



This is very easy to downsize for only one or two people!  Delicious all the way.  Bon Appetit!

I think you have cottoned on now to my love LOVE of beetroot.  If you haven't, then you haven't been reading my blog for long enough.  I quite simply adore beets.   A week ago I was gifted with some lovely beetroot by a friend! We thoroughly enjoyed them!  I have been trying to spread my beetroot posts out so that you don't get them all in one week, so here is the last of my beetroot posts!


Harvard Beets has to be one of my absolute ways of enjoying beetroot. Back where I come from in Canada, you can buy tins of Harvard Beets in the vegetable aisles and I always used to have several tins of them in the cupboard during the winter months for whenever a craving hit me!


Homemade are infinitely better however!  They are somewhat of a New England tradition, New England being the North Eastern States of America . . .  consisting of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut and Massachussets.  I guess it is only natural that they would also be popular in Nova Scotia seeing as they are very close to each other. 


So what is the actual history of Harvard Beets? How did they begin? We can't really say for sure. Some say they earned the name for the way their deep red color mimicked the Harvard Crimson football jersey hue. Others say they originated in a tavern in England named “Harwood” and somewhere along the way the name was mispronounced in America until it became “Harvard.”  So you see, there is a somewhat, if ambiguous, English connection . . .  which totally justifies me sharing the recipe here!


Originally the beets were cooked only in a sauce made from vinegar and sugar.  The addition of cornflour (cornstarch) to thicken the sauce is definitely a 20th century addition.  I think I would love them either way.  My recipe comes from the Fanny Farmer Cooking School Cookery Book, 1975 Edition.



Whisk the sugar and cornflour together in a small saucepan.  Whisk in the vinegar and water.  Bring to the boil, whisking continuously, and then boil for 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in the cooked beetroot.  Let stand for half an hour.  Add the butter and reheat to the boiling point.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve immediately.

When my children were growing up I used to make oodles of jams and preserves every year.  In June I would be making strawberry jam and in August it would be blueberry.  September would bring blackberry and raspberry jams and jellies, apple butter, apple jelly, peach jam, and one of my absolute favourites pear jam.  I do love pears!  They are one of my favourite fruits, and happily they are Todd's favourite fruit also!


Because there are only two of us however, I never make my own jam. It make so much and we are so few. It would never get eaten and just always has seemed highly impractical. We have fruit trees . . .  one plum, one pear and one apple.  We have a bumper crop of pears this year . . .  conference pears . . .  and so I am trying to pick them a few at a time and preserve them as I am picking them.  To that end I discovered a recipe for Pear & Saffron Jam on a site called Rubarb & Rose.



It turned out beautifully.  I love the clour and the flavour is mmm . . .  mmm . . . mmm.  I love that it didn't make tons of jam and knowing that we will probably use all of it. That's a real plus!


At the end of an hour bring the pear mixture to a rolling boil, then reduce to a gentle boil.  Cook gently for about 20 minutes, stirring it every now and again to make sure it doesn't catch.  At the end of that time, use a potato masher to mash up the fruit coarsely. You want some larger bits and some smaller bits. 


Take the plate from the freezer.  Place a small bit of jam onto it.  Wait a minute.  At the end of that time the jam should wrinkle when touched.  If it doesn't then continue to cook your jam for a further 10 minutes and then test again.
 


Once the jam has jelled, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla paste.  Allow the jam to settle for 5 minutes and then transfer to a clean,dry jar.  Seal the jar and allow to cool completely before storing in the refrigerator.  This is delicious!
Jams use mashed up fruit, while preserves use whole or large pieces of fruit. Both of them, however, are easier and more economical to make than jelly, since they are made of entire fruits instead of just the juice, and can be good either thick or runny. Both are also delectable when homemade! Here are some basic tips that you can follow to make your own jams and preserves.

-Wash and remove the stems or cores, if any. Peel if necessary; cherries and berries do not require peeling; fruit like pears and peaches do. Remember: for jams, cut up or mash the fruit; for preserves, use whole fruits or cut them into large chunks.

- Make jam or preserves in small batches. This way, the fruit will cook quickly and the color and flavor will be better preserved.

-For every cup of fruit you use, add 145g (¾ cup) of sugar. For example, four cups of fruit makes a very manageable batch, so you would need 575g (3 cups) of sugar per batch—unless otherwise specified by the recipe.

-If you are using ripe or particularly sweet fruit, add 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice. The acid from the lemon juice will help the jam or preserve thicken.

- Scorching is more likely to happen to jams and preserves, so in order to avoid that dilemma, stir your mixture often for 15-40 minutes, depending on the fruit. Scorching can ruin an otherwise delicious jam or preserve, but is very easy to prevent.

-To test your jam or preserve to see if it’s done, take a spoonful out of your kettle, and drop it onto a chilled plate.  If it holds its shape after about a minute, your jam or preserve is ready to jar.


I am not sure if they have jam sugar in North America or not.  I suppose you could use regular sugar and some bottled or powdered pectin, or you could just use regular sugar and follow the hints and tips above.  This week I plan on making pear chutney!  Watch this space and Bon Appetit!