Located in Bruce Grey County, just outside the tiny hamlet of Ayton, Ontario you can find one of the oldest organic farms in Canada, Filsinger’s Organic Foods. Founded by Alvin Filsinger in 1953, this farm has stayed true to its roots over the years and has become world renown; Filsinger himself was honoured with the Lifetime Organic Hero Award in 2004 by the Canada Organic Grower’s Association, and his methodologies are studied at McGill University, The Australia Soil and Health Association as well as academic institutions around the world.

Now in the caring hands of Debbie Backer and her sons Sean, Cory and her nephew Brandon Weber, this family is passionate about keeping things real, organic and healthy.

Deb worked on the farm from 1985–1990 and became a big advocate of Filsinger’s philosophy, leaping at the opportunity to purchase the property in 2006. Since that time, she has added 1,600 apple trees to the 3,000 already there, as well as currants, pears, rhubarb and numerous other vegetables.

The Farm is certified organic by OCIA International; the soil is treated with seaweed extracts, minerals and compost, everything grown without the use of chemical herbicides and pesticides. The practices utilized on the farm are proof that it is possible to be sustainable, organic, healthy for the workers, the land and the consumers, and profitable. And the product itself is second to none.

Filsinger’s organic pear puree is made from tree-ripened pears grown on their farm, no sugar added, and perfect as a spread or a sauce with pork, duck or poultry. Similar care goes into the apple cider vinegar and the unpasteurized and additive free apple butters and applesauce.

The sweet apple cider, fresh-pressed on the farm, is made with a variety of apples and devoid of preservatives or additives, bottled unfiltered. Served chilled or hot, at skating rinks or in après ski cocktails and toddies, apple cider is a Canadian classic. With the recent proliferation of “brown liquor” cocktails, a hot mulled Apple Jack is both classic and hipster chic.

For the last four years, Filsinger Farms has been holding an Apple Blossom Festival in late May, usually the weekend after Victoria Day, and plans are well underway for the fifth annual festival which features a tour of the farm, pony rides, a petting zoo, face painting and craft fairs. If nothing else, the sight of thousands of apple trees in full fragrant blossom certainly sounds worth the trip. In the meantime, you might want to try a Hot Apple Jack.  After all, spring is still a few months away!

Hot Mulled Cider Recipe

makes 8 cups

INGREDIENTS

1/2 gallon of apple cider

1 orange

15 cloves

4 3-inch sticks of cinnamon

15 allspice berries

1 teaspoon of nutmeg

7 pods of cardamom

METHOD

1 Pour apple cider into a 3-quart saucepan, cover, turn the heat on medium-high. Quarter the orange and add to the cider with the rest of the ingredients. Heat the mulled cider mixture to a simmer. Cover, then reduce heat to low, simmering for 15–20 minutes. Strain, discarding solids.

Makes 8 cups.

Hot Apple Jack

–1 ounce Jack Daniels

- mug of hot mulled cider

–garnish with cinnamon stir stick

more information about the Apple Blossom Festival can be obtained at

info@filsingerorganic.com

The January winds are howling, the mercury is huddled under the zero degree mark and the last of the turkey leftovers have been souped, sandwiched and a la kinged. It is time to bring out our favorite cooking vessel for a pottage of beans, the Dutch oven. Put the oven on, maybe for most of the day, warm up the kitchen and make a big batch of molasses baked beans with Maritime molasses and oatmeal bread.

The olfactory combination of a pot of slow cooked beans and baking bread is second to none, especially in the dark of winter.

For those of you that have roots in the maritime provinces, the aroma will have you close to weeping, especially if you have spent the day skiing, tobogganing, or shoveling snow. Which certainly won’t be the case in Toronto so far this winter, but nonetheless this classic Canadian supper, economical, healthy, and delicious, of beans & bread will warm you from the inside out. Nothing fancy, but for many of us, nothing beats it.

This down home dinner is best served with a pint of beer, we recommend a hearty winter beer such as Muskoka’s Winter Beard Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout, or a glass of ice-cold Harmony Organic milk. Like many one-pot dinners, baked beans are even better the following day, served with bacon and eggs, home fries, hot coffee and thick slices of your delicious Maritime bread hot out of the toaster, slathered with butter.

Maritime Molasses-Baked Beans

serves 6

Ingredients:

1 lb dry navy beans

1 large onion, chopped

1 can tomato paste

¾ cups blackstrap molasses

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ ketchup

2 tsp dry mustard

salt pork, or 4 ounces thick slab bacon

1 bottle of beer

½ tsp pepper

½ tsp salt

Instructions:

1) Rinse beans and soak in water over night

2) The next day, drain and rinse the beans. Place beans in a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes

3) Drain and rinse beans, reserving 2 cups of liquid

4) Mix molasses, 2 cups reserved liquid, beer, onion, ketchup, brown sugar, tomato paste, mustard, salt and pepper

5) Put beans in Dutch oven and cover with mix. Add any reserved liquid to just cover beans.

6) Lay bacon or salt pork on top of beans

7) Place covered Dutch oven in pre-heated 300 F oven

Bake for 4–5 hours or until beans are tender and dark. Note that this may be a matter of taste; some prefer their beansquite soft, others prefer them more al dente. Remove lid of Dutch oven for last 2 hours of cooking adding any liquid as needed to keep beans from drying out.

Old Fashioned Molasses Bread

makes 3 large loaves

This bread was a staple in our family growing up, made every week during the winter. Since there was always some leftover porridge or Red River Cereal in the pot every morning, this got mixed with molasses and thrown into Mom’s basic brown bread recipe, often with left over sweet potato.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons yeast

1 tsp sugar dissolved in 1 cup warm water, to proof yeast

1–2 cups of cooked porridge or Red River Cereal

1 sweet potato, grated or mashed

½ c molasses

1 egg

1-tablespoon butter

1-teaspoon salt

6 or 7 cups whole-wheat flour

½ cup sunflower seeds

Instructions:

1) Proof yeast in warm sugar water

2) In very large bowl, mix egg, molasses, sweet potato, salt, butter, cooled porridge

3) Add yeast to mix

4) Add flour, I cup at a time, mixing with spoon until you have to mix it by hand

5) Turn out contents of bowl onto floured counter and knead, adding flour as you go, a small handful at a time.  Add sunflower seeds and continue needing until dough is well worked, about 10 minutes; dough should be tacky but not overly sticky

6) Place dough in lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and put in a warm area. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

7) Heat oven to 400 F. Punch down dough (sponge). Shape into loaves, place in buttered loaf pans and let rise, about 45 min-1 hr.

Bake in middle rack for 15 minutes at 400. Reduce heat to 375 and bake for another 15–20 minutes. Bread is ready when it sounds hollow when tapped on bottom.

9) Remove bread from pans and cool on wire rack. For a soft crust, brush loaves with butter while they cool.

Note: If your beans are in the oven while you are preparing bread, you can remove them and place on a low heat burner while the bread bakes, then return beans to oven at 300 while the bread cools and the beer chills.

The winter holidays are upon us, and for many, nothing says the holidays like a batch of home-made cookies. Most of us have a favorite, depending on our memories of years past, and we trot out our favorite recipes year in and year out, passing our favorites down to the next generations. Whether you are celebrating Christmas, Hannukkah, Kwanzaa or Festivus, this is your time to get your bake-on. Here we have a look at four of our favorite holiday treats.

Hannukkah

Traditional Rugelach are ubiquitous around Hannukkah, similar to a French croissant, but most often jazzed up with a filling of nuts, fruit jellies and or chocolate.

Rugelach

Makes 4 dozen

Ingredients

Dough

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

3 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Pinch of coarse salt

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough

Filling

4 ounces walnuts

1/2 cup sugar

Pinch of cinnamon

Pinch of salt

12 ounces apricot jelly, melted

2 cups mini semisweet chocolate chips, or currants or a combination

Finishing

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/4 cup fine sanding sugar

Directions

Make the dough: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and cream cheese at medium speed. Add sugar, and beat until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, beating to combine after each addition. Add vanilla and salt, and beat to combine. Reduce speed to low, and beat in flour. Remove from bowl, and divide into 3 pieces on a lightly floured surface. Pat into disks, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and up to overnight.

Make the filling: In a food processor, combine walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pulse until fine.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with Silpats (French nonstick baking mats). On a lightly floured surface, roll one piece of dough into a 12-inch round, less than 1/8 inch thick. Brush evenly with jelly. Sprinkle with one-third of the walnut mixture and one-third of the chocolate chips. Using the rolling pin, gently roll over filling to press ingredients into dough.

Cut the round into 16 equal-sized wedges. Beginning at the base of each wedge, roll to enclose filling, forming crescent shapes. Pinch to seal. Place on prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough and filling ingredients. Brush tops with beaten egg, and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa was created by Maulana Karenga, the African-American scholar and activist, and first celebrated in 1966. The word Kwanzaa comes from the expression “Matunda ya Kwanzaa”- first fruits of the harvest.

Here is a recipe for a Kwanzaa cookie often served during Kwanzaa. “Benne” means sesame seeds, and these are deliciously crispy little cookies. They originate in Africa, and are common in Arab and Muslim cultures.

Delicious Benne cookies

1 cup sesame seeds, toasted

3/4 cup butter, melted

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to 375º F. Mix the brown sugar, melted butter, egg, vanilla extract, flour, salt, baking powder, and toasted sesame seeds together until well combined in a large mixing bowl. Drop cookie dough by half-teaspoonfuls onto greased baking sheet at least two inches apart; they tend to spread.

Bake for about six minutes or until edges begin to brown. They will be a little puffy when you take them out, but after about three minutes will flatten like a wafer. Remove them to a wire rack and allow to cool. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container, and serve with spiced hot tea and milk

Christmas

In Britain, and much of Canada, Christmas treats means mincemeat. Whether you make a pie or bite size tarts is up to you. Here is a very quick and delicious recipe we posted last year for mincemeat tarts, especially great if you are pressed for time. We received so many requests for it, here it is back by popular demand!

This year we have “tarted up” the mincemeat by providing a recipe for Brandy Butter, a traditional British accompaniment to mincemeat. Pop a few of these beauties before you head into the madding crowds on Boxing Day.

Brandy Butter

Ingredients:

4 oz/ 100g soft, unsalted butter

8 oz/ 225g icing sugar

3 — 5 tbsp brandy or Cognac

Preparation:

Place the soft butter into a large baking bowl. Beat with an electric hand whisk until light and creamy.

Add the icing sugar and beat again until all the sugar is incorporated.

Add the brandy or Cognac to taste and stir well. If you add too much brandy the mixture may curdle. If it does, don’t worry, just add more icing sugar until the mixture binds back together.

Spoon the butter into a serving dish, cover and store in the fridge until required.

Festivus

There are many of us out there who do not celebrate the traditional Big Three Holidays this time of year. Thankfully, Cosmo Kramer and Frank Costanza introduced us to Festivus, a merry way to get in on the holiday spirit.

We have found that persimmons, which are ripe and ready for action this time of year can be made into a delicious cookie that will wow your family and give you energy to prance around the Festivus Pole. Festivus for the rest of us.

Festivus Persimmon bars

3 very ripe persimmons (1 1/4 lb total)

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 large egg

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup loosely packed dried pitted dates (5 oz), finely chopped

1 cup walnuts or pecans (3 1/2 oz), finely chopped

glaze

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest

preparation

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 15– by 10-inch shallow baking pan (1 inch deep), knocking out excess flour.

Discard dried green or brown calyx (stem and leaves) from each persimmon, then force persimmons 1 at a time through a medium-mesh sieve into a bowl, using a rubber spatula to press hard on solids (discard solids). Transfer 1 cup purée to a small bowl (discard remainder) and stir in lemon juice and baking soda. (Mixture will become foamy, then jell slightly.)

Sift together flour, salt, and spices in another small bowl.

Whisk together egg, sugar, oil, and dates in a large bowl until just combined. Add flour mixture and persimmon mixture alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and stirring until just combined. Stir in nuts.

Spread batter evenly in baking pan and bake until golden brown and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a rack.

Glaze and cut bars:

Stir together all glaze ingredients until smooth, then spread over top of cooled cake. Cut crosswise into 8 strips, then lengthwise into fourths, for a total of 32 bars.

Eggnog is associated with Christmas the way pumpkin pie is inextricably linked to Thanksgiving. You know the holidays are right around the corner when you see cartons of this sweet grog standing up rank and file alongside the milk and butter at supermarkets and corner stores, shimmering in deep glass punchbowls next to the buche noel at office parties.

The origins of eggnog are widely debated, but most agree that the drink was originally associated with the British upper class, as the hoi polloi had little access to fresh dairy products or refrigeration.

It is likely that it caught on at Christmas since this was a time when everyone splurged a bit; you bought the fattest goose, you drank what the rich people drank.

Alcohol has always been a part of it, the “nog” being derivative of a middle English “noggin”, a small wooden mug used to serve alcohol, and folks began mixing in the popular local spirits; Madeira, brandy, whisky, and in the New world, Rum and Bourbon.

Modern eggnog, the kind you buy in grocery stores, has very little –if any-actual egg in it, as government regulations often allow less than 1% egg yolk solids. Our friends at Harmony Organic have put out their own eggnog and are giving out samples in the store this weekend, make sure you grab a taste on your weekly shopping trip.

Making your own eggnog at home is fun and easy too, and you can alter a basic recipe to make it your own, substituting soy or nut beverages for milk, and adding your favorite hooch. Here are two of our favorite recipes for eggnog

Chez Piggy Eggnog (serves 6)

This is Sue Newberry’s recipe from Chez Piggy in Kingston. This appearance of this Holiday treat alongside her famous Gingerbread houses are much celebrated annual event at the famed Kingston restaurant. One sip and you will be putting more than a penny in the old man’s hat.

Ingredients

7 eggs, separated

1 cup sugar

2 cups whipping cream

2 cups milk

1 cup bourbon, chilled

1/3  cup amber rum, chilled

Directions

Fresh ground nutmeg for garnish

Beat egg whites to soft peaks while slowly  adding half the sugar. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat egg yolks with remaining sugar until creamy. Fold in egg whites. Set aside.

Whip cream and fold into egg mixture. Whisk in milk, bourbon and rum. Ladle into glasses and garnish with nutmeg.

“Cooked” eggnog (serves 12)

This is a good recipe for those who are worried about eating raw eggs. It’s a little more work, but it keeps well in the fridge and doesn’t separate.

Ingredients

4 cups milk

5 whole cloves

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

12 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 1/2 cups light rum

4 cups light cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

Combine milk, cloves, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and cinnamon in a saucepan, and heat over lowest setting for 5 minutes. Slowly bring milk mixture to a boil.

In a large bowl, combine egg yolks and sugar. Whisk together until fluffy. Whisk hot milk mixture slowly into the eggs. Pour mixture into saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 3 minutes, or until thick. Do not allow mixture to boil. Strain to remove cloves, and let cool for about an hour.

Stir in rum, cream, 2 teaspoon vanilla, and nutmeg. Refrigerate overnight before serving.

November is soon to end and December will be upon us. How time flies. It seems like only yesterday we were talking about planting daffodils and carving Jack-o-Lanterns and already Santa is peeking his bushy beard around the corner and sniffing the air for the scent that always signals the holidays are on their way. Roasted chestnuts may always be associated with Christmas, we have Mel Torme and Nat King Cole to thank for that, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be enjoyed all winter.Chestnuts are surprisingly versatile. When dried, they can be milled into gluten-free flour suitable for cakes or doughnuts known as fritelli, made into pasta, used as a thickener for sauces and stews.

Chestnut flour is the traditional ingredient for Corsican polenta known as pulenda. Candied chestnuts called marrons glaces also make an appearance in the holiday culinary repertoire of France, and in Italy; steeped in brandy and covered with marzipan, appearing as the titillatingly named Nipples of Venus.

Nipples of Venus made a memorable appearance in “Amadeus”

But it is the humble and rustic bag of roasted chestnuts that captures our collective imagination each winter. Certainly any excuse to crank up the oven to 400 for a half hour or so while the winter winds blow outside is fine by me, but regardless, snacking on a bag of  these hot, fresh roasted gems is habit forming, no matter what the season.

This Saturday Scarpetta Restaurant will be soliciting donations for Movember and offering complimentary bags of roasted chestnuts from 11-3pm.

If you can’t make it to Scarpetta, then preparing them at home couldn’t be any easier, the important thing to remember is to score each chestnut with an X before roasting, thus allowing the steam to escape and preventing the nut from exploding. Best enjoyed while still warm, you can also save them in a jar for snacking later, but peel them while they are warm as this is difficult to do when the nuts are cold.

Roasted Chestnuts

Method

–preheat oven to 400 F

–score each nut with an X

–place nuts on shallow pan

–roast in oven for 20 minutes

–peel while still warm