Coconut Sweet Potato Casserole

2 pound sweet potatoes cooked peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks

2 apples peeled and thinly sliced

2/3 cup maple flavored pancake syrup (or pure maple syrup)

1/4 cup butter melted

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Heat oven to 350º.

Place sweet potatoes in greased rectangular baking dish and top with apples.

Mix syrup, butter and salt then pour over apples.

Sprinkle with coconut then cover and bake for 30 minutes.

Uncover and bake 30 minutes longer.

Spiced Pumpkin, Carrot, and Sweet Potato Soup

A sweetly spiced vibrant orange soup, perfect for those dark winter nights when you long for more daylight.

Servings: 6 -8 Servings

• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 onion, peeled and sliced
• 2 cloves garlic – peeled and chopped
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground allspice
• 2 sweet potatoes (about 1 lb.), peeled and roughly diced
• 2 large carrots, peeled and roughly diced
• 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
• 1 eating apple, cored and roughly diced
• 2 pints  vegetable stock
• Scant ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 2  Tbs butter
• Pepper and salt to taste

1. Saute onion and garlic in oil until they are turning golden. Add the cinnamon and allspice and fry until fragrant.
2. Add the sweet potato, carrot, pumpkin and apples and fry for another few minutes.
3. Add the stock and vanilla. Stir, cover and cook for 20 minutes until the ingredients are soft. Season with pepper and salt.
4. Once cooked add the butter, then allow to cool a little and blitz the soup using a stick blender directly in the cooker pot, or transfer to a blender or food processor and whizz until silky smooth. Check the seasoning and add a little more vanilla if required – you want a hint rather than a definite flavour. Add more stock or water to thin.
5. Reheat on the multicook setting at 100C, then switch to the keep warm function if required.
6. Served topped with a swirl of cream and pumpkin and sunflower seeds

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

1 large (about 4 lb.) head cabbage

Boiling salted water

Remove core from cabbage. Place whole head in boiling water. Cook about 5 minutes, or until soft enough to remove leaves. Place separated leaves on paper towels to drain. If leaves begin to get difficult to remove simply repeat the cooking process. You will probably need 20-24 leaves. Cut the thick part of the center stem from each leaf and discard. Chop the remaining cabbage and place ½ in the bottom of a deep roasting pan, or you may want to divide between two pans.

Filling:

1 large diced onion

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

2 lb lean ground beef

1 ½ cups cooked white rice*

2 eggs

2 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

Sauté onion in oil. Add remaining filling ingredients and mix well. Place a heaping Tablespoon of filling on each leaf. Tuck sides over filling while rolling leaf around filling. Place rolls, seam side down, onto of chopped cabbage in pans. Continue until all filling is used up. You may layer the rolls if using a deep enough roaster.

*1/2 cup dry rice steamed in 1 cup water.

Sauce:

1-28 oz. can tomato sauce

1-28 oz. can diced tomatoes, do not drain.

2-10 oz. cans tomato soup

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

Combine and heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Ladle over the cabbage rolls in pans. With a table knife move rolls gently from side to side making sure the sauce runs down to bottom of pan. Do NOT over fill pans with sauce or they will spill over in oven while baking. (I like to leave about 1 ½ inch headway.) Top with remaining chopped cabbage and cover.

Place in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 1 ½-2 hours, or until bubbly and cooked through. Let stand a few minutes before serving. We like to bake ahead and then they can be easily reheated in smaller amounts in microwave.

Awesome Hot Pepper Jelly

I’m on a roll making all kinds of hot pepper jelly. This one is bright red and a really good tasting topper on cream cheese and a Ritz cracker. 

2 red bell peppers
6 RED jalapeño peppers
1 habanero pepper, optional
1 ½ cups plain cranberry juice (not cranberry cocktail)
6 cups sugar
2 envelopes Certo, or 1 box Sure-Jell (I prefer Sure-Jell)
6 or so, drops of red food coloring, optional

Bring a large pot (canner is best) of water to boil. Carefully drop the jelly jars in the water and boil for about 10 minutes to sterilize. Remove and turn upside down to drain. Add the sealing lids to the water to sterilize, but not melt the rubber ring. Remove from water right before filling the jelly jars, wiping off any water from the inside of the sealing lid. 

Remove stems and seeds from bell peppers. Grind in a mini-food processor until liquified. (You need ¾ cup or so). Put in heavy saucepan. Remove the stems and seeds from the hot chilies. You can leave some seeds in if you want it hotter. Grind hot chilies the same way and add to the bell peppers in the saucepan.  

Add juice and sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring often. Boil for one minute. Add the pectin (Certo or Sure-Jell), stirring well. Bring back to a full rolling boil, and boil for one minute. Remove from heat. Skim foam off with a metal spoon. Ladle into hot sterilized jars. Wipe the rim off with a clean damp dishcloth. Wipe the water off the lids that were also sterilized, and place on the jar. Carefully screw on the metal ring tightly. Place in boiling water, with at least 2” of water above the jars. (Do not put the jars directly on the bottom of the large pot, if you do not have a canning pot with a removable metal rack, put some pot holders in the bottom of the pot to cushion the jars. 

Bring the water to a boil and process the jars of jelly for 10 minutes. Remove and let them cool off and set up. I put them on a placemat to cushion the jars. Let the jars set-up without moving, overnight. 

PINEAPPLE PEPPER JELLY

Use the same recipe, replacing red bell peppers with yellow, and replacing cranberry juice with pineapple juice. I would not liquify the peppers, but rather chop them finely in the food processor. It looks real nice to see the flecks of color in the jelly. 

I would also add a can of drained crushed pineapple (maybe even two cans) to the peppers. The yellow and red flecks make this very appealing. 

Orange Butter

Delicious served with scones.

½ cup butter
3 oz cream cheese
⅓ cup powdered sugar
2 Tbs grated orange rind
1 Tbs frozen orange juice concentrate*

Bring cream cheese and butter to room temperature. 
Mix all ingredients until well blended.

Serve at room temperature, with an extra sprinkle of grated orange rind (optional).

Store, covered, in the refrigerator. If it is crumbly after chilling, bring to room temperature and blend again.

*I will try using 2 Tbs orange juice concentrate next time. I think a little more orange flavor would be good, and I think it might help it from possibly crumbling after chilling.

Peach Jala-Habanera Jam

This jam is so good. Dave says it's his all time favorite. We love it with cream cheese and crackers, or in a glaze for chicken wings. If you like hot pepper jelly, this is sure to become your new favorite too. I used frozen peaches in place of apricots. Either will work nicely, but frozen fruit is just superior to using fresh with jellies. Also, please use RED jalapeños. It makes a real pretty colored jelly. Using green jalapeños creates a brownish cast to the jelly. Still tastes fine, but just not as pretty to look at. 

4 c frozen, sliced peaches (or apricots), chopped up in mini food processor

3/4 cup white vinegar

2 cups granulated sugar

4 finely chopped fresh RED jalapeños 

2 med. size fresh yellow bell peppers, finely diced

1 fresh habanera pepper, chopped, optional, for extra heat (I prefer it without)

1 tsp butter

1 pouch of powdered pectin (Sure-Jell)

Wash and sterilize jars and keep them hot until jelly is ready. Place boiling water canner with jar rack insert on burner with enough water to cover your jars once they are filled. Turn burner on high and begin boiling. (I always have extra water ready to boil in case I need it to cover the jars.) Also, place lids in water and boil; then reduce heat to keep them hot and sterile without melting the rubber seals. Just before jelly is done (about 5 minutes before), remove jars from boiling water, and place on CLEAN towel to drain. 

Note: to prevent cloudy mineral discoloration of jars, you may place two teaspoons of white vinegar in your canner water and in the water you are using to boil your jars.

Always use gloves when handling hot peppers. 

In large pan, (I use a large Dutch oven sized pan to prevent boiling over), combine apricots, chopped peppers (jalapeno, orange or yellow bell, and habanera), white wine vinegar, butter, and sugar. Stir. Bring to a full boil for 1minute, stirring constantly. Add powdered pectin and return to boil. Boil rapidly for 1-2 more minutes. 

When done, remove from heat. Scoop off any foam. Have jars ready. Using a canning funnel, scoop jam into jars within 1/2 and 3/4 inch of rim. Using a CLEAN wet towel or paper towel, wash off the rim of each jar. (If any jelly gets on the rim, it will not seal.) Then dry rim. 

Take sterilized lids and rings out of the pan of hot water, and cap each jar. Screw on the ring. Using the tongs, place each capped jar into the boiling water canner (on top of rack). Once all jars are loaded, check the water level. If additional water is needed to cover the jars with at least an inch or two of water, pour boiling water in.

Once the water in the canner is at a rolling boil (meaning you can't stir the boiling water down) time the boil for at least ten minutes. Never use larger jars than pints for canning jelly as one cannot ensure that the internal temperature reached is sufficient in the water bath method. 

Once time is up, turn off heat, and carefully use canning tongs to remove each jar (keeping each upright) and place the jars on a dish towel covered counter. Leave a little space between each jar. If you want to lay a paper towel over them to dry up the water on the lids that's fine, but don't touch the lids. Allow them to seal on their own. You will begin to hear them pop. Some take longer than others, but don't move them. Let them sit undisturbed for 12 hours. 

Any that may not seal should go into the refrigerator and be used within a couple of weeks.