Roasted Tomato and Garlic Sauce

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This is my favourite recipe for pasta sauce. Not only is it the most flavourful sauce I’ve come up with, it’s also the least time consuming. Once you chop the tomatoes, onions and garlic, you just let the sauce cook down in the over for 45 minutes to an hour. Roasting the tomatoes and onion allows for caramelization which produces a great depth of flavour. This sauce is perfect to make in the spring and summer when tomatoes are at their peak. You can use any assortment of tomatoes. No matter what, you are bound to get wonderful flavour at this time of year. Enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 3 medium red tomatoes; chopped
  • 3 medium yellow tomatoes; chopped
  • 1 medium onion; chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic; chopped
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 4 basil leaves; torn
  • 1 tablespoon of sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
  • salt and pepper to taste (1 teaspoon of salt & 1/2 teaspoon of pepper)

Method


1. Pre-heat oven to 375’F. Place the chopped tomatoes, onions, garlic and basil in an oven proof dish. Drizzle with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.


2. Roast the tomatoes, onions and garlic for 45 minutes; or until the tomatoes have softened and started to lose their shape.


3. Remove the dish from the oven. Add the sugar and vinegar to the pot and mix well. Taste the sauce and see if more seasoning is needed. Return the dish to the oven for 15 minutes. (Note: this would be a good time to start boiling water to cook your pasta)


4. Remove the sauce from the oven. Pour the roasted tomato sauce in either a food processor or blender and purée the sauce. Remember: you MUST cover the lid of the blender with a dish cloth to prevent any splatter from burning you! (I know from experience…ouch!). You can also use a hand immersion blender to purée the sauce.


Serve the sauce on top of cooked spaghetti noodles. Sprinkle with some grated parmesan cheese. 


Source: Courtney Jones original recipe

Vegetable Chowder

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This vegetable chowder is an absolute favourite around our home. Don’t be turned off by the amount of chopping you have to do for this recipe. The chowder is worth the effort. It’s very hearty and each bowl has at least two servings of vegetables. And we all need more veggies in our diet! Best of all, this recipe makes quite a bit of chowder (yay! leftovers!). I like to make this chowder when I know we have a busy week ahead. The soup lasts a few days in the fridge and is great to take for lunches. 

This may look like a meal you’d serve during the winter months. However, with all of the fresh local produce becoming available as of late, it seems like spring is the perfect time to experiment in making this chowder. You could use fresh corn right off the cob, for example. Or maybe you could add some fresh green beans from your garden. Or, you could even add some fresh chopped spinach if that’s your thing. Options are endless. Enjoy! :)

Ingredients
  • 1 cup of onion, diced or 1/2 cup of leek; diced
  • 1 cup of celery, diced
  • 1 cup of carrot; diced
  • 1 cup of zucchini, diced
  • 1 cup of cauliflower florets
  • 1/2 cup of red pepper, diced
  • 1/2 cup of yellow pepper, diced
  • 1 tablespoon of vegetable or canola oil
  • 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
  • 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups of vegetable stock
  • 2 cups of skim milk
  • 1 cup of fresh or frozen corn kernels
  • 1 cup of Yukon Gold potato; peeled and diced
  • 2 teaspoons fresh thyme; chopped
  • 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
  • 1 bay leaf
  • salt and pepper


Method

1. In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat and then add the carrots, onion (or leeks) and celery and sauté for about 5 minutes (or until the onions are translucent). Add the zucchini, cauliflower, and pepper and sauté for another 3 minutes. Set the vegetables aside in a bowl.

2. Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in the saucepan and sprinkle the melted butter with flour. Stir the mixture constantly for about 3 minutes. Do not allow the mixture to burn. 

3. With a whisk, stir in the vegetable stock a little at a time ensuring the liquid is well mixed into the flour/butter mixture to avoid lumps. Whisk milk in in a slow and steady stream.

4. Return the vegetables to the pot. Add the corn, potatoes, thyme, oregano and bay leaf. Bring the chowder to a simmer. Cover the pot and simmer for about 20 minutes (or until the potatoes are fork tender).

5. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the bay leaf. 

Note: Although this soup is very creamy, you can add 1/4 cup of cream if you’d like a richer soup. Just reduce the milk by 1/2 cup if you use the cream.

Source: Fresh with Anna Olson (Seasonally Inspired Recipes)

Strawberry Chocolate Truffle Tart

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Yesterday, I told my mom that I would be bringing dessert for sunday dinner. I had a fantastic plan to bring the Ferrer Rocher Cheese Cake I have been dying to make! I went to the store to get everything yesterday and then got up early this morning to make the cheesecake. Much to my surprise, I forgot to buy the graham cracker crumbs required to make the crust of the cheesecake! I was so annoyed; especially because I knew I’d be busy the rest of the day and could not get to the store to get the missing ingredients. So, I started flipping through some magazine clippings I had collected for desserts I’d like to try. I stumbled on this strawberry chocolate truffle tart. And I am SO glad I did!!! Thankfully, I had all the necessary ingredients. It was pretty easy to make and looked absolutely lovely when it was all put together! This lovely little dessert got rave reviews. I think everyone had seconds! I’ll definitely be making this dessert again. Maybe next time I’ll try raspberries and drizzle on some white chocolate. Mmm!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter; room temperature
  • 1/4 cup of granulated white sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 cup of all purpose flour
  • 1/4 good quality cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 6 ounces of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate; chopped
  • 3/4 cup of whipping cream
  • 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon of Chambord (raspberry liqueur) (optional)
  • 1 egg
  • 12 strawberries; washed and sliced longwise

Method


1. For the crust, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a medium bowl. Add the egg yolks one at a time. Mix well. Sift together the flour with the salt and cocoa powder. Add to the butter/cream mixture. Mix until the dough just comes together. Shape the dough into a disc and chill until ready to roll. Note: if you prepare the dough quite a bit ahead of time, pull the dough from the fridge an hour before rolling.


2. Pre-heat oven to 350’F. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Line an 8-inch tart pan with a removable bottom with the dough. Trim the edges and chill the dough for 20 minutes in the fridge. Dock the pastry with a fork and then bake for 18-20 minutes. Allow to cool well on a wire baking rack.


3. When the tart shell comes out of the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 325’F. Place the chopped chocolate in a bowl. Then, heat the cream in a small saucepan until it’s just below a simmer. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate. Let the chocolate sit for a minute and then mix slowly allowing the chocolate to melt into the cream. 


4. Add the vanilla and Chambord.


5. Whisk the egg in a cup and then slowly drizzle the egg into the chocolate mixture while whisking continuously. You don’t want the egg to turn into scrambled eggs once the egg hits the heat of the cream! Whisking the egg quickly into the chocolate mixture is key.


6. Pour the chocolate into the prepared tart shell. Bake for 12 minutes. It will come out still quite liquid-looking. That is okay. Allow the tart to cool for 15 minutes on a metal cookie rack. Then chill the tart for 2 hours in the fridge.


7. Once the tart has set and chilled, place the sliced strawberries around the tart starting from the outside and working toward the centre. Place the strawberries so they are slightly overlapping one another. Serve within 3 hours of placing the berries on the tart. Enjoy!


Source: Anna Olson