Grape Coffee Cake

Filling:
2 cups Sovereign Coronation grapes (fresh or frozen)
2/3 cup sugar
1/8 cup water
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp cornstarch
plus water to make 1/3 cup liquid

Mix de-stemmed grapes, sugar, water and lemon juice into a pot. If using frozen grapes, include any ice that had formed. Place pot on medium heat and allow to come to a boil, mixing occasionally.

Add cornstarch into a measuring cup and add enough water to make 1/3 cup liquid. Once grape mixture has come to a boil, add the cornstarch mixture. Continue to mix the filling until it no longer looks cloudy from the cornstarch mixture.

Remove the pot from the heat and pour filling into a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. If this step is skipped, the filling will bubble up too much and create a mess in your oven.

Streusel Topping:
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Cut all streusel topping ingredients together until crumbly and refrigerate.

Cake Batter:
1 1/3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan.

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla together until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time until well blended.

Sift remaining dry ingredients together. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients until just blended.

Pour into prepared pan.

Drop spoonfuls of the cooled grape filling on top of the batter and then gently swirl with a butter knife (just a little bit because you don't want the whole cake to turn purple).

Top with the streusel mixture and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

This recipe is also linked to...

Ontario Tender Fruit Producers’ Coronation Table Grape Recipes
It's a Blog Party's Fall Fest Recipes 2011
Savory Sunday
Sweet Indulgences Sunday
Crazy Sweet Tuesday
Sweet Treats Thursday
Sweet Tooth Friday
Food on Friday: Cakes

Beef with a Spinach Stuffing

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup red pepper, small dice
1/2 cup white onion, small dice
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup white wine (whatever you’re drinking will work)
8 oz baby spinach
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted in saute pan
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 lbs flank steak
salt and pepper to taste
cooking twine



DIRECTIONS:


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Preheat large skillet on medium heat for 1 minute. Add 2 tbsp olive oil. Saute peppers, onions and garlic for 2-3 minutes, stirring. Cook until softened. Next add in the white wine. Simmer for 1 minute, reducing the liquid, careful not to let it evaporate completely. Next up add the spinach and the pine nuts and saute for 1 minute combining everything. Drain all into a colander, cool and set it aside until you're ready for the filling.

Place the steak on a cutting board, cover with plastic wrap and using a mallet or a heavy bottomed saucepan, hit the meat a few times to thin out a little, which will tenderize it. Once you’ve got all your aggressions out, lay some plastic wrap on your work surface and on top on that lay 6 pieces of twine (approx. 10″ long) perpendicular to you. Place the tenderized steak across the pieces of twine (this is so you can tie your roll together). Use as many pieces of twine as needed to securely tie it all up.

Once the twine is in place season the meat with salt and pepper. Bring out the spinach mixture you made earlier so you can taste it and season with salt and pepper. Place the spinach filling in an even layer spread out on the meat and pat down. Begin rolling the meat like a Swiss roll nice and tightly ensuring the filling stays inside.

Once rolled get yourself an extra pair of hands, if you can, and begin tying the strings tight enough to hold together.

Preheat large skillet on high heat. Add 2 Tbsp olive oil. Season all sides of the rolled beef with salt and pepper. Sear for 2-3 minutes each side until golden brown. Set on a foil-lined baking pan and put it into the preheated oven for approx 30 minutes (or until internal temp 140 degrees F).

Remove and let rest for 6-8 minutes to let the juices redistribute back into the meat.

Snip the strings and discard them, slice the meat and serve.

Brussels Sprouts with Lemon, Thyme and Bacon

Ingredients

1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp sherry vinegar
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp thyme leaves
1/4 tsp finely grated lemon zest
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound brussels sprouts, thinly sliced lengthwise
4 slices bacon (cooked and crumbled)


Directions

In a small bowl, whisk the mustard with the vinegar. Gradually whisk in the 1/4 cup of oil until emulsified. Add the thyme and lemon zest and season with salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, until shimmering. Add the brussels sprouts and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender and charred in spots, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the bacon and half of the dressing. Transfer to a bowl. Serve warm or at room temperature, passing the extra dressing at the table.

This recipe is also linked to...

Everyday Sisters' Sharing Sundays: Green

Asian Meatballs with Rice

Ingredients

1 cup long-grain white rice
1 carrot, shredded
3/4 cup of fresh breadcrumbs
1 1/2 pounds ground pork
3 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
4 tsp hoisin sauce
4 tsp hot-pepper sauce (preferably Sriracha)
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vegetable oil
lime wedges, for serving
cilantro for garnish


Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups salted water to boil. Add rice, stir, and return to a boil. Cover, reduce to a simmer, and cook until rice is tender, about 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and top with carrot. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes, then stir in veggies and fluff rice with a fork.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine breadcrumbs and 3 tablespoons water. Let stand 5 minutes.

Add meat, scallion whites, cilantro, fish sauce, hot-pepper sauce, sugar, garlic and salt. Gently mix to combine and form into 12 meatballs.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium-high. In batches, brown meatballs, on all sides, 10 minutes total (add up to 1 teaspoon oil as needed).

Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and bake until cooked through, 10 minutes. Serve meatballs with rice, scallion greens, and lime wedges.


This recipe is also linked to...

Delicious Dishes
Cast Party Wednesday
Seasonal Inspiration Saturday
Simply Delish Saturday

My Mom's Grape Pie

Ingredients:

4 cups Sovereign Coronation grapes (fresh or frozen)
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp lemon juice
6 Tbsp cornstarch
plus water to make 2/3 cup liquid
recipe for a 9-inch double crust pie

Directions:

Mix de-stemmed grapes, sugar, water and lemon juice into a pot. If using frozen grapes, include any ice that had formed. Place pot on medium heat and allow to come to a boil, mixing occasionally.

Add cornstarch into a measuring cup and add enough water to make 2/3 cup liquid. Once grape mixture has come to a boil, add the cornstarch mixture. Continue to mix the filling until it no longer looks cloudy from the cornstarch mixture.

Remove the pot from the heat and pour filling into a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. If this step is skipped, the filling will bubble up too much and create a mess in your oven.

Line a 9-inch pie dish with one pie crust. Pour the cooled fruit mixture into the crust. Cover with top crust. Crimp and flute edges. Pierce top crust with a fork to allow air to escape as pie is baking.

Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 1 hour (until filling is bubbling inside).

Allow to cool a bit so that the filling has a bit of a chance to set up before serving.

NOTE: If you have Concord grapes or another good juice grape but don't want the seeds in your pie, just follow this step first and then continue with the directions above.

Wash grapes, and remove the skins. Save the skins. Place grape pulp in a large saucepan; mash a few at the bottom to release their juice. Cook over medium low heat until grapes come to a full boil. Remove pulp from heat, and press through a food mill/strainer to remove seeds and return to saucepan. Combine pulp and skins. Stir in sugar, water and lemon juice into the pot. Return pot to medium heat and allow to come to a boil, mixing occasionally.

--------------------
What my mom has to say about her pie:

We bought our first farm in 1976 and we were able to enjoy a wide variety of fruits (various pears, plums, apricots, and grapes). In the early 1990s we began to specialize in grapes. Running our farm has been a family affair and our boys are now grown and heavily involved in Niagara's grape & wine industry.

In 1989 I found a recipe for grape pie in one of my cookbooks and I was intrigued because I had never heard of a grape pie before. So I decided to try it and it became a family affair with all of my children helping. The original recipe called for Concord grapes. The grapes needed to be washed and de-stemmed and the grape peels needed to be removed. The grape pulp then had to be cooked until the seeds popped out. The pulp was then put through a strainer to remove the seeds, the peels were added back into the mixture and the remaining ingredients were added. It was labour intensive and very time consuming, but the result was a fabulous pie that quickly became my husband's favourite pie.

About 10 years ago, we received a master full of Sovereign Coronation grapes from a former employee. At first I wasn't quite sure what to do with quite so many grapes and then it hit me - grape pie!! Sovereigns are a seedless grape and the switch in grapes has made this pie so much easier to make. We also started growing Sovereigns and with the increased availability of the grapes, the number of grape pies in our household also increased.

These days, my grandchildren enjoy eating the grapes and from the time they were still very young, we would pick grapes in the fall. Many of those grapes were enjoyed right off the vine, but even more were frozen so that we could enjoy grape pie all year round. Our family has grown, but we get together for lunch on Sundays and grape pie is always on the dessert menu. Grape pie has been a hit, not only requested by my family, but also by our extended family and friends.


This recipe is also linked to...

Delicious Dishes
Sweet Indulgences Sunday
Sweet Treats Thursday
Food on Friday: Pies and Tarts
Sweet Tooth Fridays
Sweets for a Saturday
Simply Delish Saturday
It's a Blog Party's Fall Fest Recipes 2011

Lemon & Fennel Crusted Pork Tenderloin

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup fennel seeds
zest of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp black pepper
1 lb pork loin
agave nectar or honey
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup broth (veg or chicken)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Preheat skillet on medium heat for 1 minute. Add fennel seeds and toast until fragrant, 4 minutes approx. Do not burn. Add to a mortar and pestle and add a pinch salt. Grind. Once ground, add the lemon zest and pepper.

Lay the pork loin on a cutting board and season with salt on all sides. Roll the loin on the board to absorb all the seasoning. Drizzle agave/honey on all sides of the loin (this is to help the spice coating to stick to the loin), then roll the pork in the fennel mixture, rubbing it in so the mixture sticks. Make sure you coat all sides.

Preheat same skillet on medium heat for 2 minutes and add the olive oil. Once the skillet and oil are hot, add crusted pork and sear on all sides until golden approx 2 minutes each side. Once seared lay on foil-lined baking pan and add the broth to the pan. Put in preheated oven for 10 minutes approx or until internal temperature reaches 125 degrees F.

Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before carving. Don’t be afraid to cook the pork to medium rare. Pork loin, being a very lean protein, shouldn’t be over cooked. By letting it rest you’re allowing time for the juices redistribute into the meat, which should be a perfect moist medium rare/medium when ready to carve.

Quick and Easy Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

Ingredients:

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp vegetable oil (sesame oil is yummy too)
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1/2-inch strips
15-20 skewers depending on the thickness of your chicken
toasted sesame seeds (for garnish)


Directions:

In a bowl, add soy sauce, juice, sugar, oil, ginger and garlic. Stir together and pour into Ziploc plastic bag. Add chicken breasts to bag and zip tight. Place bag on plate and chill in refrigerator several hours. After soaking your bamboo skewers, thread the chicken onto the skewer. Preheat your grill to 350 degrees and grill on each side for approximately 3 minutes or until cooked through. Sprinkle skewers with toasted sesame seeds and serve with rice and vegetables.

This recipe is also linked on...

This Week's Cravings: BBQ/Grilling
Food on Friday: BBQ
Simply Delish Saturday

Chili Macaroni Casserole

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
1 lb/500 g ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/4 cup/60 mL tomato paste
1 can (28 oz/796 mL) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (28 oz/796 mL) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (4 oz/114 mL) chopped green chiles
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese


Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F/190C.

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain.

Meanwhile, in a deep skillet over medium heat, brown the beef with the onion and garlic. Drain off any fat.

Add the tomato paste, diced tomatoes, kidney beans, chiles, chili powder, salt, cumin and pepper. Stir to mix.

Add the drained macaroni. Stir to mix.

Transfer to a 13 x 9 inch/32 x 22 cm baking dish.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Return to oven and bake until cheese melts (about 5 minutes).


This recipe is also linked to...

This Week's Cravings: Eat with Your Kids Day
It's a Blog Party's Fall Fest Recipes 2011
Food on Friday: Stews and Casseroles

Date and Nut Bars

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
3 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup dates, pitted and chopped


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

In a large bowl, combine almond flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda.

In a medium bowl, combine eggs, oil and vanilla extract.

Stir wet ingredients into dry.

Fold pecans and dates into batter. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 22-30 minutes.

Cool and serve.


This recipe is also linked to...

This Week's Cravings: After-School Snacks

Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp coconut flour, sifted
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
1 Tbsp vanilla extract


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 9 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, combine coconut flour, salt, baking soda and sugar. In a small bowl, blend together eggs, oil and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into dry and blend with a mixer or hand blender until smooth.

Pour batter into paper-lined muffin tins. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes.

Cool completely. Frost as desired.


This recipe is also linked on...

Everyday Sisters' Sharing Sundays: Cupcakes
This Week's Cravings: Special Diets (GLUTEN-FREE, DAIRY-FREE, NUT FREE and MORE)

Chocolate Almond Joy Bars

Ingredients

4 eggs
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 tsp almond extract
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup blanched almond flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, coconut milk, almond extract and sugar.

In a smaller bowl, combine almond flour, coconut flour, salt and baking soda.

Mix dry ingredients into wet with a handheld mixer.

Stir in 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips.

Pour batter into dish, then sprinkle shredded coconut and remaining chocolate chips on top.

Bake for 30 minutes.


This recipe is also linked to...

This Week's Cravings: After-School Snacks

Orange-Salsa Chicken

Ingredients:

3-4 chicken breasts
1/2 cup salsa
1/4 cup honey
1/8 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup orange juice
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp ginger
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon cornstarch


Directions:

Arrange chicken breasts in a single layer in a baking dish. In a small bowl, mix together salsa, honey, soy sauce, orange juice, mustard, oil, garlic and ginger. Pour over chicken and turn them to coat both sides.

Bake covered at 400F for 40 minutes. Mix cornstarch with 2 Tbsp of water. As soon as chicken is out of the oven, move the chicken aside and pour cornstarch mixture into the sauce. Stir until sauce has thickened. Coat chicken with sauce and serve.


This recipe is also linked to...

This Week's Cravings: Honey

Quinoa with Red Peppers and Onions

Ingredients

1 Tbsp butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups vegetable broth
2 tsp thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 dash fresh lemon juice (optional)


Directions

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, red pepper and garlic, and saute until lightly browned. Add the quinoa, and toast, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender.

In a bowl, toss quinoa together with thyme and salt. Sprinkle with lemon juice, and serve.