Plum Crisp

My contribution to a pot-luck dinner hosted by a colleague. The other items on the menu: an apéritif made with homemade ginger syrup and soda water, white bean & kale soup, a rustic loaf of wholegrain bread, and a salad of mixed baby greens, sweet bell peppers and pecans. Did we eat with abandon? No, I wouldn't say that. But we did eat with freedom, enjoyment and gratitude.

Plum Crisp, adapted from a recipe for berry crisp in "Food to Live By", The Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook

Plum Crisp

Makes one 1-quart crisp

FOR THE FILLING:

2 cups frozen, pitted plums, thawed and cut in quarters
1 cup frozen apple-and-pear sauce, thawed
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons Turbinado sugar (use more or less depending on sweetness of fruit and your taste preference)
2 tablespoons maple syrup

FOR THE TOPPING:

1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. Make the topping. Place flour, cinnamon, salt and brown sugar in a medium-size bowl. Stir together until blended. Add the butter in small chunks. Work the butter into the dry mixture with a fork or your fingers until it is in small, sweetlet pea-like bits. {Make mental note to self to try Heidi's recipe for crumb topping next time.} Add the rolled oats and stir to combine.

2. Set topping aside. {Take a break to give some love and a treat to any pet who knows some kitchen goodness is happening, a crumb or two may fall, and so is leaning heavily against your lower legs while you stand at the sink.}

3. Position a rack in the centre of the oven and preheat it to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. Make the filling. Place the plums and apple-pear sauce in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and sugar until blended. And the cornstarch and sugar to the fruit. Toss gently to combine. Transfer the fruit mixture to a shallow baking dish. {I used a quiche/flan pan.} Drizzle the maple syrup on top of the fruit.

5. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit but do not pack it down.

6. Bake the crisp until the fruit juices bubble up around the edges of the baking dish and the topping turns golden. {In my convection oven, this took about 30 minutes.} Let the crisp cool slightly before serving it warm.

Adapted from a recipe for Summer Berry Crisp, Food to Live By: The Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook, page 346.

Resources for people with dysphagia (collection #1)

Maple Custard, a nourishing, tasty, easy-to-swallow food

Last November, an intern's question prompted me to update my inventory of education material for people with dysphagia. Keen, energetic interns never fail to inspire me, but when we're so busy collecting and discussing new information, I don't have much time to refine my notes into a publishable blog post. You may have heard me lament I don't write quickly. You also may recall last week I vowed to finish some of the things I've started, blog posts being one of the main unfinished things.

This morning I pulled out the draft post where I'd compiled dysphagia resources, re-visited each site to refresh my memory about its content, and decided, yes, each one is well worth sharing. Here now, with brief commentary, are three resources.

Please note: Not every tip or recipe in these resources will be appropriate or safe for people with specific types of swallowing disorders who must limit their intake to a particular consistency for solids (e.g., pureed) and liquids (e.g., honey-thick).  Though people who can eat soft and minced/finely chopped foods usually also can eat pureed foods, the reverse is not necessarily true.

Meals for Easy Swallowing (PDF)

This is a publication from the ALS division of the Muscular Dystrophy Association (U.S.). An ALS clinic coordinator, registered dietitian, nurse & speech-language pathologist compiled recipes "derived from our patients and their creative spouses who translated their caring into foods that look good, taste good, are easy to chew and to swallow, and minimize discomfort." In addition to recipes for beverages, soups, breads, entrees, sauces, vegetables, and desserts there are helpful tips on food preparation, service, menu-planning. Most recipes are suitable for a pureed diet but there are some recipes for soft and minced textures, too.

A separate Nutrition Issues page discusses related topics such as maintaining weight, hydration, choking and feeding tubes.

WebWhispers Laryngectomee-Friendly Recipe Collection

WebWhispers is an international Internet group that provides information and support to laryngectomees and those with laryngeal cancer as well as more diverse group of persons with other head and neck cancers, permanent tracheostomies, caregivers and health care providers.

To help its members eat safely and with enjoyment, the website's library includes recipes "specifically tailored to laryngectomees at various stages or abilities." The Food-Nutrition-Recipes section also includes books and articles, practical tips for managing eating problems and more recipe links.

Easy to Swallow

Food stopped being a pleasure and instead became a chore.

~ Claire Wade

And so Claire Wade, a young woman with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), took steps to restore her joy in eating.  She collected recipes from renowned chefs, who included Nigella Lawson, Graham Kerr and Sophie Grigson, and published them on her site, Easy to Swallow. There are recipes for soups, main meals, vegetables, sauces, desserts and drinks.

Though the site hasn't been updated since September 2006, the content remains timely as well as tasty with helpful tips and creative, appealing recipes. I've picked a few to test including the Pumpkin & Ricotta Rotolo and the vegetable mashes and purées.

Snow Food

It's snowing.

I've just come in from the early morning Westie walk, my feet are still cold, and to warm myself up I'm dreaming of Sophie's breakfast quinoa, Vincci's risotto, Kathryn's spiced salad (& a picnic next spring), Kelly's latest recipe (Moroccan Spinach and Chickpeas), and Lucy's...well any of Lucy's recipes or photos will nourish me.

 What are your favourite cold weather foods?

Roasted eggplant & tomato sauce

This post has been sitting in draft form for over a month. I'm publishing it today, although in my part of the world we're past the season when we harvest eggplants and tomatoes from our home gardens or buy them at farmers markets. But I do want to share this recipe now (if it appeals to you, mark it to try later) because it's simple, tasty, nourishing, and very much in the spirit of An Honest Kitchen, which has been inspiring my new way of cooking.

A variation of Culinate's recipe for Eggplant and Ricotta Sauce, Sicilian-Style.

My modifications; I used:

1) More eggplant, fewer tomatoes
2) Heirloom tomatoes (Black Prince, Amish Gold) instead of Italian Plum
3) Martha Rose Shulman's method to roast the eggplant
4) Lots of golden oregano, fresh from the balcony, during cooking
5) No cheese

Addendum, November 8th: After I let this post sit in my drafts folder for over a month, I then rushed to edit and publish it -- and forgot to tell you how and with what I ate this sauce. You may be able to tell from the half-filled bowl in the middle photo I sampled quite a bit.  And rather than cook pasta, I simply warmed some pita breads cut in half, spread them with hummus and then generously filled them with the thick sauce. A very tasty and simple lunch, rounded off with a serving a yogurt and piece of fresh fruit.

Mushroom-Kale-Barley Soup

During September, fresh tomatoes and eggplants occupied my attention so I completely missed National Mushroom month. In fact, I made this soup in July when organic mushrooms were on sale at a local supermarket. But soup and summer usually don't go together (unless we're talking gazpacho or chilled cucumber) so I saved the recipe and post for cooler days.

Now, neither I nor this humble soup can compete with the Mushroom Masters but I offer it to you today as a simple, nourishing, warming, everyday meal.

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 Mushroom-Kale-Barley Soup

Adapted from The Clueless Vegetarian by Evelyn Raab, page 47. The original recipe does not include kale but I was harvesting the last leaves of the season from the plant on my balcony & thought they'd make a tasty, healthy and green addition to this soup so I tossed them in.

Serves 8 - 10

3 tablespoons (45 mL)  butter or vegetable oil [I used oil]
2 small onions, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, squished
1 pound (3 L) vegetable broth
1 cup (250 mL) barley
[a handful of fresh, tender kale leaves -- I used young 'Lacinato' kale leaves]
1 teaspoon (5 mL) crumbled dried thyme
2 tablespoons (30 mL) chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons (30 mL) chopped fresh dill weed
salt & pepper to taste

In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter [heat the oil] over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic and cook, stirring for about 10 minutes or until tender. Add the sliced mushrroms and cook for another 5 to 8 minutes until the mushrooms have let out their juices, and the liquid is beginning to evaporate.

Now add the vegetable broth, barley and thyme, and bring to a boil. Cover the pot with a lid, lower the heat to a simmer, and let the soup cook, stirring occasionally for 1 1/2 hours.  If it is becoming too thick, add more water. Add the chopped parsley and dill [and kale, if desired], simmer for another 15 minutes, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

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In my information foraging, I discovered a new book, nutrition facts, research &  growing guides on mushrooms:

An interview with Greg Marley, author of Chanterelle Dreams and Amanita Nightmares: The Love, Lore, and Mystique of Mushrooms

Nutrition facts

Mushrooms & Vitamin D

[Note: The Office of Dietary Supplements (OHS) cites research that shows "mushrooms provide vitamin D2 (erogocalciferol) in variable amounts. Mushrooms with enhanced levels of vitamin D2 from being exposed to ultraviolet light under controlled conditions are also available." I believe this is the study the OHS is referring to: Vitamin D2 Enrichment In Fresh Mushrooms Using Pulsed UV Light (PDF).]

How to grow edible mushrooms by Carolyn Herriot (renowned British Columbia gardener & author)

Growing mushrooms (from Channel 4 Food | Jamie Oliver)