The large, blood-relative family event seems to be going the way of the grandfather clock.

Many extended families don’t gather as they once did at Christmas. Part of the reason is family members live farther apart nowadays. They can be outside the country, or otherwise so far away travel becomes prohibitive. Busier lives and conflicting schedules, priorities and obligations often make getting together tricky or downright impossible.

Households are smaller too. Slightly more Canadian couples now have no children compared with those that do, according to the 2011 Census of Population. There are more lone-parent families, and many single-person households today.

Christmas dinner with the relatives ceases in many families for another reason — the female relative with the time, energy and skill to make it happen declaring she’s had enough. If no one else is bossy and organized enough to take over, the tradition ceases. Then we all just stay home and “cocoon” in our smaller family unit.

The long and short of it is Christmas dinner is a quieter, smaller-group affair for more of us than it used to be.

What does that mean for food traditions? For one, the hefty traditional Christmas pudding isn’t so popular anymore. Smaller gatherings can’t finish one.

What about a whole turkey? If fewer dads wear mom’s apron and carve for big broods, are Canadians switching their meat preference too?

No, says Wendy Harrisko, marketing and communication co-ordinator for Manitoba Turkey Producers. Whole birds remain popular and sales are strong this time of year. But her organization is paying attention to this trend toward smaller gatherings. That’s why it now promotes recipes for smaller cuts, such as the breast only.

“The whole turkey is still popular,” she says, “but we do know that family dynamics have changed, and recognize smaller gatherings aren’t necessarily going to eat whole birds.”

I wish you a wonderful Christmas spent with family and friends, no matter how lavish or intimate your holiday gathering is. Here are two stuffed turkey breast recipes, compliments of Chef Jason Wortzman and Granny’s Poultry (Manitoba) Cooperative Ltd.

Rustic Italian Stuffed Turkey Breast

• 1 whole Granny’s seasoned boneless turkey breast, thawed
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 c. Pancetta or bacon, diced
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1/2 c. fennel, diced
• 1/4 c. green onion, diced
• 1 tbsp. garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 c. homemade or low-sodium chicken stock
• 2 c. crusty Italian bread, cubed
• 3 tbsp. fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• Black pepper to taste
• 1/4 c. homemade or low-sodium chicken stock (onlyrequired for slow cooker method)

Sauté bacon in oil until just crisp. Add butter, fennel, onion and garlic and cook until lightly browned. Add stock and then transfer to a mixing bowl. Add bread cubes, parmesan, salt and pepper and mix until stock is absorbed. Make a cut in the top of the turkey breast from one end to the other, not cutting all of the way through. Create a large pocket in the turkey breast by cutting a slit further on each side. Place the stuffing mixture into the pocket.

Oven Method:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Place the breast on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover the stuffing area with a greased piece of foil. Bake for 40 minutes, remove foil and continue baking for another 20 minutes or until it reaches a minimum internal temperature of 170 F. Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

Slow Cooker Method:
Place the breast in a slow cooker and add 1/4 cup of stock beside the breast. Cook on low setting for a minimum of 4-1/2 hours.

Recipe courtesy of Chef Jason Wortzman, Granny’s Poultry Cooperative (Manitoba) Ltd.

Serves 4 to 6.

Turkey Breast Stuffed with Brie and Cranberry

• Granny’s Seasoned, Boneless Turkey Breast, thawed
• 3 oz. brie, chopped
• 1/2 c. dried cranberries
• 1/4 c. slivered almonds
• 1/8 c. green onion, chopped
• 1/8 c. egg white

Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine brie, cranberries, almonds, onion and egg white in a bowl. Cut a large pocket in turkey breast. Stuff the brie and cranberry mixture into the pocket. Place the breast on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover the stuffing area with a greased piece of foil. Bake for approximately 45 minutes until meat reaches a minimum internal temperature of 170 C. Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

Preparation time: 5 minutes.
Cooking time: 45 minutes.

Serves 4 to 5.

The post Recipe Swap: Smaller meat cuts for smaller families appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Fifteen minutes before everyone else is summoned to the dining room, elderly colony members, new mothers and caregivers of the sick are invited to eat.

First call is one of the food-related traditions of Hutterites revealed in Mary-Ann Kirkby’s new book Secrets of a Hutterite Kitchen published in April. You may remember her as author of the bestselling I Am Hutterite, released in 2007, which took readers on a fascinating journey inside a Manitoba Hutterite colony. Mary-Ann was raised at Fairholme in the 1960s until, at age 10, her parents left the colony. She lives with her husband and family in Prince Albert, Sask. today.

Secrets of a Hutterite Kitchen is her second foray into Hutterite life, this time to rediscover the food and food culture of her childhood. The Schmiedeleut sect was the backdrop for her first book. For this one, she explores the Lehrerleut and Dariusleut sects, spending over two years visiting Hutterite colonies’ kitchens and dining rooms across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Montana meeting and talking with their head cooks and gardeners, and the teams of women who work alongside them.

This is a book of stories, diary excerpts, and menus that reveal Hutterite food traditions and rituals and all the ways food is incorporated into milestone celebrations.

• More recipes from the Manitoba Co-operator: Recipe Swap: A new oil for the Prairies

We hear about Maultosche, also known as “big cheek soup” as she describes the steaming bowls of it dished out to “first callers.” She writes of work in the slaughterhouse, where she joins in the feather plucking and singing, and of preparations for a wedding feast (where the sight of a couple seated together in the dining room is unusual because men and women sit separately). We catch up with young Frieda on her first “bake week” when the 17-year-old’s 52-dozen buns turn out “just perfect.”

She devotes an entire chapter to the role of the colony’s head cook. It’s the most prestigious of the five managerial roles women assume in colonies. The job, Mary-Ann writes, is “backed by an entrenched and sophisticated system of support much like the head chef, line cooks and sous chefs of a hotel kitchen” with all colony women between ages 17 to 45 assigned and rotated through their duties in the kitchen.

There are all sorts of fascinating anecdotes through Secrets of a Hutterite Kitchen, such as how women after age 45 begin to gradually retire from their duties in the kitchen and garden and slaughterhouse.

Secrets of a Hutterite Kitchen is an intimate and respectful portrait of the lives of these women.

Cleaning, says Kirkby, is “the quiet obsession of Hutterite women,” as she describes their methodical, continuous scrubbing, sweeping, and washing that keeps everything just so in the kitchen and everywhere else on colonies. Hutterites, she notes, routinely survived the epidemics that razed European populations in the 1600s due to their observance of sanitation and hygiene.

Mary-Ann was in Manitoba last week to promote her new book. I asked her to describe colony food.

“Hutterite food is rich, fresh, delicious and really quite simple to make,” she said. But don’t try eating this way yourself unless you’re busy and active.

“These meals were made for people who did a lot of manual labour,” she said, adding that Hutterites, just like the rest of us, find themselves gaining weight when their output of energy gradually decreases.

I loved this book as it made me appreciate the extraordinary food and organizational skills of Hutterite women all that much more. We could all learn a thing or two from the way Hutterites respect their cooks and kitchens, and teach foods skills to the next generation.

Secrets of a Hutterite Kitchen includes recipes too, for hearty soups and breads and buns, and Hutterite specialties such as Schuten Pie (cottage cheese pie) and Feigen Kraplen (fig pockets). Mary-Ann includes the original recipes from colonies with large-volume ingredients, but she’s also included the same recipes scaled down — “my Mom’s recipes” — so you can make smaller versions.

Zucker Pie

This is a traditional Hutterite recipe, one Mary-Ann calls her childhood favourite.

• 1 c. thick cream
• 1 c. sugar1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

Beat all the ingredients together and pour into an unbaked pie crust. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 350 F for 35 to 40 minutes.

Recipe source: Secrets of a Hutterite Kitchen by Mary-Ann Kirkby. Copyright Mary-Ann Kirkby, 2014. Reprinted by permission of Penquin Canada Books Inc.

Frucht Mues (Fruit Pudding)

Another much-loved colony dessert.

• 1/3 c. chopped dried apricots
• 1/3 c. chopped dried peaches
• 1/3 c. seedless raisins
• 1 c. prunes
• 1-1/2 c. hot water
• 2/3 c. sugar
• 1/3 c. flour
• 1/2 c. cold water
• 3 c. scalded milk
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon or nutmeg
• Dash of heavy cream

Wash fruit, then combine with hot water. Bring to a boil. Cook over low heat until tender. Combine sugar, flour and cold water. Add to simmering mixture, stirring steadily, followed by scalded milk. Cook until lightly thickened. Add cinnamon or nutmeg if desired. When serving top each serving with a dash of heavy cream. Serve cold. Excellent served over meat or deep-fried cottage cheese pockets.

Recipe source: Secrets of a Hutterite Kitchen by Mary-Ann Kirkby. Copyright Mary-Ann Kirkby, 2014. Reprinted by permission of Penquin Canada Books Inc.

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Homecoming 2001 Cookbook helped raise funds for town celebrations

Holiday plans for many former Manitobans include a trip home this year. Homecoming 2010, a province-wide initiative, expects to lure at least 50,000 over the next few months.

Hundreds of family, school and town reunions are planned. On May 15 over 60 towns will host a community social.

It’s a page right out of Birch River’s books. They hosted a community reunion back in 1981 and the event was so successful, with thousands of visitors showing up, they hosted another in 1991 and again in 2001.

Another is planned for 2011.

It was in 2001 that retired school teacher and farmer Georgina Mosiondz suggested they do a community cookbook too, to mark that year’s July homecoming, and, she writes, in a note to the Co-operator, to “recognize and celebrate in joyful remembrance the many years and people that made this land and us.”

Their cookbook, Homecoming 2001 was hugely successful as a fundraiser, helping offset the costs of throwing the substantial community party.

More than 3,000 cookbooks, containing 800 recipes apiece, were sold. It went over so well, a small committee looking after the town’s historical display did it all over again in 2003, with the release of another 550-recipe cookbook, containing festive and ethnic holiday recipes, including detailed descriptions of old-world histories and food traditions. Both cookbooks continue to sell for $15 apiece, or the pair for $25.

Like all community-based cookbooks, people love these cookbooks, knowing not only who submitted many of the recipes, but cooking and baking with confi dence from them, knowing only the best of people’s best recipes end up in community cookbooks.

Georgina sent us a package of recipes for pies, jellies, marmalades, puddings, and chowders, all selected from their 2001 cookbook. Here’s a recipe for a festive roast duck (Georgina and her husband raised ducks, turkeys and geese on their farm at one time), plus two more for making lovely desserts with fresh fruit and a delicious chowder using abundant fresh vegetables. There are many ample gardens grown in this region. We’re always looking for favourite recipes from readers. Do you have one to share? Can we help you track down a specific recipe? Let us know if you’re looking for something and we’ll publish your requests.

STRAWBERRY CREAM PUFFS

1 c. water

1/2 c. butter or margarine

1 tsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. all-purpose flour

4 large eggs

In a large saucepan or double boiler, bring water, butter, sugar and salt to a boil. Add flour all at once. Stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from heat and beat in eggs, one at a time. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny. Drop by spoonfuls, 2 inches apart on a large ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 400F for about 35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Cream filling:

2 pints fresh sliced

strawberries

1/2 c. sugar, divided

2 c. whipping cream

Confectioners’ sugar

Additional sliced

strawberries

Mint leaves, optional

Combine strawberries and 1/4 cup sugar. Chill 30 minutes. Beat cream and remaining sugar until stiff. Just before serving cut top off puffs. Combine strawberries and cream mixture. Fill cream puffs and replace tops. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar. Garnish with additional strawberries and mint.

Yields 10 cream puffs.

2, 4-lb. ducklings, cleaned

1/2 c. sweet red wine

Sauce:

1-1/4 c. fresh orange juice

1 tbsp. grated orange peel

1 clove garlic, minced

Rice stuffing:

3 tbsp. cooking oil

1 c. diced celery

with leaves

1 c. orange juice

2 tbsp. thinly sliced

orange peel

1 zucchini, 6 -8 inches

long

1/4 c. butter

1 small onion, chopped

1 tbsp. fresh parsley

2 tbsp. fresh basil or 1/2

tsp. dried

1/2 tsp. salt

Dash pepper

1/8 tsp. paprika

3 medium tomatoes,

peeled and chopped

3 tbsp. cooking oil

1 tbsp. cornstarch

2 tbsp. sweet red wine

1 tbsp. honey

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/8 tsp. pepper

1 c. fresh orange sections

2 tbsp. chopped onion

1-1/2 c. water

1-1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. thyme

1/8 tsp. marjoram

1-1/2 c. chicken stock

1/2 tsp. lemon juice

1 c. corn, scraped

from cob

1 pint light cream

2 tbsp. flour

1/2 c. shredded

Cheddar cheese

2 tbsp. Romano cheese

(optional)

Oregano to taste

(optional)

GARDEN VEGETABLE CHOWDER

SEND RECIPES OR RECIPE REQUESTS TO:

Manitoba Co-operator Recipe Swap

Box 1794, Carman, Man. R0G 0J0

or email

lorraine@fbcpublishing.com

SASKATOON PUDDING

3 c. saskatoons

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/3 c. sugar

1 tbsp. flour

1/2 c. butter or margarine

1/2 c. sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1 c. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. milk

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease an 8 x 8-inch cake pan. Wash and sort saskatoons, drain well. Place saskatoons in bottom of cake pan. Squeeze lemon juice over berries. Combine 1/3 c. sugar with 1 tbsp. of flour and sprinkle over berries. Set aside. In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg, vanilla and almond extract until mixture is light and fluffy. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into batter alternately with milk, ending with flour mixture. Spread batter over berries. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with cream or vanilla ice cream.

Rice stuffing:

Heat oil in a 2-quart saucepan. Fry celery and onion until onion is transparent. Add water, orange juice, orange peel, salt, thyme and marjoram. Bring to rapid boil. Add 1 c. uncooked rice. Stir to blend thoroughly. Cover saucepan tightly; reduce heat to very low and cook about 25 minutes without removing cover. Cool slightly. Stuff ducklings. Place ducklings breast side up on a rack in roasting pan. Puncture duckling skin generously with a fork. Pour 1/2 c. wine over ducklings. Roast at 325F for 2 hours (allow 25 minutes per pound). Baste occasionally.

Sauce:

In medium saucepan, lightly sauté orange peel and garlic in cooking oil. Add 1 cup orange juice, 2 tbsp. wine, and 1 tbsp. honey. Mix cornstarch with remaining orange juice. Slowly add to other liquid, stirring constantly until smooth. Simmer for 1 minute. Stir in ginger, pepper and orange sections. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Serve hot sauce with roast duckling.

Cut zucchini lengthways in half, chop into 3/8-inch slices. Melt butter in a heavy 3-quart pot. Stir in zucchini, onion, parlsey and basil and cook for six to eight minutes. Stir in flour, salt, pepper and paprika and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in chicken stock and lemon juice. Return to heat and heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Add corn and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally until the corn is cooked, about 4 minutes. Stir in cream and tomatoes. Heat just to boiling. Stir in cheese and cook over low heat stirring until cheeses are melted.

The post Birch River 2001 Cookbook A Tribute To Land And Local People appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Like so many early Prairie towns, present-day Strathclair grew up around a cluster of services for farmers – a grist mill, a church, a post office, a stopping-over house, a store.

It’s now been more than 125 years since people began calling Strathclair, or “Strath,” as some say, home.

Strathclair is one of those smaller, intimate places where, if you’ve ever lived there, you’re never forgotten. Someone’s bound to remember you.

That’s why, for the last few years, a focus of this community at Christmas has been a tree, lit up with blue lights, each purchased in memory of a loved one. Those who want someone remembered, may still reside in Strathclair, or they may be far away.

The women who make up the Memory Tree committee saw an opportunity last year to sustain another memory; they put a cookbook together to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Rural Municipality of Strathclair. 125 Years of Dining Memories: 1884 to 2009 contains this community’s “family recipes” in every sense of the term.

They reflect enduring food traditions of local families. Plus, virtually every recipe in it – and this cookbook contains around 1,100 – was submitted “in memory of” someone with a connection to Strath. The book is dedicated to all those “woven into the tapestry of our community.”

“It’s a lovely book,” says retired school teacher Gayleen Stimpson who serves on the five-member Memory Tree committee.

Dances, fireworks and parades marked the celebrations last summer. So did catered suppers, luncheons and a sold-out banquet.

Hundreds got in line to purchase 125 Years of Dining Memories when it came off the press last year. The only complaint anyone had was that more should have been charged per book.

Revenue from sales of all but about 100 of the 1,100 cookbooks printed has all been invested back into the community. We’re always looking for favourite recipes from readers. Do you have one to share? Can we help you track down a specific recipe? Let us know if you’re looking for something and we’ll publish your requests.

The McMurachy Wheat Cairn here stands in honour of Malcolm J. S. McMurachy, a pioneer responsible for the development of McMurachy Wheat, a rust-resistant strain bred into succeeding rust-resistant varieties.

The waters at nearby Salt Lake are highly saline and in earlier times valued for their medicinal properties. Historians note that, at one time, provincial leaders even proposed building a health spa at the site.

The Strathclair Bend Theatre was completed in 1947 out of fine woods from Kippen Mill and constructed by entrepreneurs Alex Kippen and Paddy Trim. Today it’s home for the Strathclair Drama

FROSTED CAULIFLOWER

1 medium head

cauliflower

2 tsp. prepared mustard

Salt

Cook cauliflower in boiling salted water 12 to 15 minutes. Place cauliflower in shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with salt. Mix mayonnaise and mustard together. Spread over cauliflower. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 375F for 10 minutes.

CHEESY CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI CASSEROLE

A few things you might not know about Strathclair

3 c. hot cooked broccoli

1/2 c. shredded

cheddar cheese

2 c. cubed cooked chicken

3 tbsp. dry bread crumbs

3/4 c. shredded

sharp cheese

1/2 c. mayonnaise

1 can cream of

broccoli soup

1 tbsp. margarine melted

1/3 c. milk

Arrange broccoli and chicken in shallow two-quart baking dish. Combine soup and milk and pour over. Sprinkle with cheese. Mix crumbs with margarine and sprinkle over cheese. Bake at 450F for 20 minutes or until heated through. Serve with rice.

Recipes from 125 Years of Dining Memories

SEND RECIPES OR RECIPE REQUESTS TO:

Manitoba Co-operator Recipe Swap

Box 1794, Carman, Man. R0G 0J0

or email

lorraine@fbcpublishing.com

Club, which presents annual full-length, live musical

productions. Strathclair Municipal Hall was built in 1906 by Winnipeg architects S. F. Peters and W. A. Peters. The original building has been renovated, but the brick exterior and hardwood dance floor still reflect the old-style charm.

Strathclair Museum is a relocated CP Rail Station.

The original site of the community is found just north of the Bend Cemetery where an old millstone and remains of an ice house can still be found.

2 pkg. dry yeast

1/3 c. shortening

1/2 c. warm water

1 tbsp. salt

1-1/2 c. boiling water

SHAKER BREAD

6-1/4 c. sifted

all-purpose flour

1 c. quick-cooking

rolled oats

2 eggs slightly beaten

1/2 c. light molasses

Soften yeast in warm water. In large bowl combine boiling water, rolled oats, molasses, shortening and salt. Cool to lukewarm. Blend with yeast mixture. Stir in two cups flour. Add eggs and beat well. Add remaining flour, two cups at a time, mixing vigorously after each addition to make moderately stiff dough. Beat vigorously until smooth about 10 minutes. Grease top lightly. Cover tightly with clear plastic wrap or foil and place in fridge for two hours or overnight. After refrigeration, shape dough into two loaves. Let rise until double in bulk. Bake at 375F for about 40 minutes.

OLD-FASHIONED POTATO SOUP

1/2 lb. bacon fried

and diced

2 tbsp. parsley

(fresh or flaked)

4 c. potatoes, peeled

and diced

2 tsp. salt

3 c. carrots, diced

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 medium onion diced

Add diced vegetables to bacon drippings and bacon. Cover with water. Add parsley, salt and pepper. Cook one hour covered.

The post 125 Years Of Dining Memories In Strathclair appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Users can evaluate different net-return per-acre scenarios involving N source and cost, the expected crop price and soil nitrogen (nitrate-N in pounds per acre to 24 inches deep). Users must select the appropriate soil moisture for wheat and barley, which in turn represent yield potential based on research trials.

Have a pork chop: Keystone Agricultural Producers is urging the public to support pork producers by buying Canadian products and increasing their pork consumption. “We are calling upon consumers today to put their support behind the pork industry and stand up for our producers by consuming pork products,” said president Ian Wishart. In addition to new environmental limits, the introduction of U. S. country-of-origin labelling and the global financial crisis, the hog industry has been hit by misconceptions related to H1N1 Influenza A.

Arson charges: A 14-year-old boy from the Pine Creek First Nation has been charged with arson for starting the April 23 fire that destroyed the Dauphin Fairgrounds grandstand. The youth was arrested and charged May 7. He is scheduled to reappear in court May 27. RCMP had been investigating the fire as an arson since the grandstands burned to the ground in the early-evening fire.

Golden Carrot nominations: If someone you know has a unique farm or garden, is working quietly behind the scenes to get good food to Manitoba tables, schools or community centres, or is sharing their food traditions with others, they are a candidate for a Golden Carrot Award from the Manitoba Food Charter.

The organization is calling for nominations. Just let the charter folks know what your candidate is doing, how to get in touch with him or her, and send a picture before June 30. Nomination forms can be found at: www.manitobafoodsecurity.ca.

The post In Brief… – for May. 14, 2009 appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.