Plum Tree Kitchen – Cream of the Crop Cookbook Recipes

FILLING
Combine in pan 1 cup chopped dates and ½ cup water.
Bring to boil and cook dates until soft enough to mash with a fork.
Mash and cool.

CRUMB
Preheat oven to 325º. Blend 1 cup flour and ½ tsp soda and 1/8 tsp salt. Cut in 1 cup butter. Blend in 2/3 cup brown sugar and 2 cups rolled oats.
Put ½ mixture in 8”x 8” pan. Add Filling and then rest of crumb mixture.
Bake 35-40 min until brown.

A warming soup for a chilly March day

Soak 10 sun dried tomatoes in 1 cup boiling water and drain and chop
Sauté 1 ½ cups chopped onions
3 cloves minced garlic
1 chopped jalepeño (no seeds!) in 2 tsp. oil OR use ¼ tsp. cayenne if no jalapeño
Add 1 tsp. cumin (or more to taste)
1/3 cup water
3 cups (28 oz) tomatoes and simmer 10 minutes
Add 4 cups (2 cans) undrained cooked black beans
Add dried chopped tomatoes and
Cook 5 – 10 minutes
Add ¼ cup chopped cilantro and thin with water or tomato juice if necessary.
Pureé ½ the mixture if you’d like it more creamy
Serve with chopped fresh cilantro……yummm!

Warming on a chilly spring day! Great by itself or with chicken or pork.
INGREDIENTS
2Tbsp extra virgin olive oil,
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice,
T Tbsp tamari soy sauce
2 tsp honey or coconut sugar or plain sugar
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp ginger past or crush ginger to taste
2 garlic cloves minced
2 cups EACH finely shredded red cabbage and green cabbage
4 whole green onions, chopped
¼ cup EACH chopped toasted peanuts and chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
Crushed dried chili flakes to taste (optional)

METHOD
In a large bowl, combine oil, lime juices, tamari, sugar or honey, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic. Vigorously whisk until blended; add red and green cabbage and green onions and TOSS.
Spread peanuts, cilantro, mint, and crushed chili flakes (optional) over top. VOILA!

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F.
INGREDIENTS
1 can (230 g) unsalted butter,
3 cups (0 g) chopped dark chocolate, divided in half
4 medium eggs
2 ¼ cups (450 g) organic cane sugar or granulated sugar
1 cup (125 g) quinoa flour, 1 cup (125 g) buckwheat flour
4 tsp (16 g) baking powder
2 tsp salt
1 cup (120 g) cacao nibs

METHOD
Fill a shallow sauce pot with water and bring to a simmer.
Place butter and half of the dark chocolate into the medium stainless-steel bowl and set over the simmering water above to create a ‘bain-marie’ (double boiler).
Stir gently until chocolate and butter are completely melted. SET ASIDE
Measure the flours, baking powder, and salt into a small bowl. SET ASIDE
Chop the remaining dark chocolate into sunflower seed side chunks. SET ASIDE
Place the 1 cup of cacao nibs into a second small bowl. SET ASIDE
Place the eggs and sugar into the bowl of your stand mixer (or a medium blow with a hand mixer or a whisk) and whisk eggs until they are pale, light, and thick.
Scape chocolate and butter mixture into the lightened eggs and whisk JUST until well-combined
Add the dry ingredients and whisk to form soft dough.
Add the chopped chocolate and cacao nibs – Mix thoroughly! Dough will be quite soft – somewhere between dough and batter.

Cover the surface with piece of parchment or wax paper. Move to the fridge. Let mixture set in fridge several hours until cool and firm…. BUT NOT hard!
Scoop into apricot-sized balls onto a parchment-lined or greased baking sheet.
Bake 12 to 14 minutes depending on your oven, rotating halfway through baking!
Cookies should be just puffed and barely starting to crack. REMOVE from oven immediately!
Serve warm or at room temperature.
This dough freezes beautifully. If you have extra, scoop it into balls, and freeze in an airtight container. Pull a few cookies at a time whenever you need a treat!

Almost ½ c. Fresh Lemon Juice (100 ml) and zest of 2 lemons
2/3 c. fine white sugar (125 ml), 1¾ c. whipping cream (425 ml)
Combine lemon juice, zest and sugar in sauce pan. Bring to a boil ensuring sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and keep warm. Add whipping cream to a different sauce pan and bring to a gentle boil. Turn heat off immediately and add lemon sugar syrup to whipping cream.
Strain mixture, and immediately pour into serving bowls to set. Allow to cool and then refrigerate for 4 hours before serving.
Serve with your favorite shortbread or cookie!

INGREDIENTS
¾ cup ground almonds
¾ cup ground hazelnuts
¼ cup all-purpose or gluten-free blend flour
¾ cup sugar
½ cup melted butter
3 eggs
¼ cup orange-flavoured liqueur
½ tsp baking powder

METHOD
Put ground almonds and hazelnuts into a food processor.
Sift flour over nuts, add sugar & melted butter. Process until well mixed and sticky.
Add eggs and the orange liqueur; process until consistency is like very thick cream.
Sprinkle with baking powder and blend.
Optional – throw in some cocoa powder when processing in blender.

Transfer mixture to a 10-inch pie plate/tart pan, which has been lightly oiled and dusted with flour. Tap pan a few timeS to settle its contents.
Decorate the top with whole almonds or hazelnuts as you wish.
Bake at 350 F for 35 to 40 min or until the top has browned, the sides have pulled away & the straw comes out almost dry. Let cool completely in pan.
Serve wedges from pie plate directly onto pools of optional cream, with a light fruit coulis or on it’s own. Our favourite is home-made plum jam with vanilla ice-cream! And, it is equally delicious for breakfast too!

Pastry Chef Merri Schwartz
A classic Southern Italian dessert, Torta Caprese is a delectable, dense chocolate cake with hints of orange and nuts. Naturally gluten-free!

INGREDIENTS
scant ½ cup dark chocolate
1/5 cup + 3 Tbsp butter
5 medium egg yolks
½ cup sugar
5 medium egg whites
1/5 cup sugar
1 large pinch salt
1 generous cup almond meal
1 generous cup walnut meal
1 orange, zest
Optional: icing sugar for dusting

METHOD
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Butter or line a 9” cake pan with parchment paper. SET ASIDE
Measure the almond and walnut meal into a bowl and mix. SET ASIDE.
Zest the orange and add it to the nut meal.
Fill a large pot with water and set over the stove. Measure the chocolate and butter into a large bowl. Rest the bowl over simmering water to form a double boiler. Melt the chocolate and butter to a smooth mixture, stirring gently. SET ASIDE.
Separate the eggs. Set the yolks aside.
With electric mixer/hand mixer whip the whites to soft peaks, pinch of salt, ½ cup sugar SET ASIDE
Whip the yolks and ½ cup sugar until they are thick and pale.
Whisk the yolks into the chocolate mixture.
Add the nut meals and orange zest. Mix in thoroughly.
Gently fold in the whites to form a light batter.
Transfer the batter to your prepared cake pan.
Bake at 325 degrees F, rotating pan regularly, until a skewer poked into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Baking will depend on your oven, but will likely be about 30 minutes.
When the torta is baked through, the top will puff and crack slightly / Cool the torta to room temp.
Slice into wedges and dust with icing sugar if desired.
Serve with a dollop of fresh cream and strong espresso. Buon appetito!

In your favorite bowl combine…
2c flour
2 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
½ cup butter – cream in, then mix in 1 cup of milk until blended well.

METHOD
Turn out on floured surface, knead a few times and roll out to about 1″ think.
Cut the biscuits with a wide mouth glass or large cookie cutter.
Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

VARIATIONS and TIPS
– You can use any kind of shortening and any kind of liquid.
– if your butter is cold you can grate it into the dry mixture like cheese with great results.
– You can skip the kneading step and just drop them on to the pan by the scoop full.
– This recipe can handle about 1 ½ cups of other goodies added in. Feta and sundried tomatoes, cheddar and dill, raisins, brown sugar and cinnamon – the combos are endless!
– You can use this dough for dumplings. Just drop by the spoonfull onto the top of your simmering soup for the last 12 minutes. Lid on. Absolutely no peeking! 😊

INGREDIENTS
2 cans Chickpeas
2-3 cans Coconut milk
1 large diced Onion; 3 Tbsp minced Ginger; 5 cloves minced Garlic
4 large, diced Tomato
1 ½ Tbsp Smoked Paprika; 1 ½ Tbsp Cumin; 1 ½ Tbsp ground Coriander
1 Tbsp ground Black Pepper and 2 Tbsp Salt
1 Tbsp Garam Masala (Optional)
METHOD
Sauté onion on medium heat until slightly browned.
Add ginger, garlic, salt and sauté for 2 more minutes.
Add all ground spices and sauté for 1 minute, until aromatic.
Add tomato and reduce to low heat. Cover and let cook for 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
In a blender combine sauce with 1/2 cup of chickpeas. Blend until smooth.
Return mixture to pot and add the remainder of the chickpeas. Cook on medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
Add 2 cans of coconut milk and cook for another 20 minutes on medium heat, stirring regularly / Adjust salt to taste and Serve with cilantro DELICIOUS!

INGREDIENTS
1 lb of spicy chorizo sausage,
2 pounds lean ground beef
2 white chopped onions
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 EACH red and yellow bell pepper, chopped
2 cups sliced mushrooms,
2 diced jalapeno peppers, remove ribs and seeds
Spices: 4Tbsp red chili powder, 1 ½ tsp chipotle chili pepper, 1Tbsp EACH cinnamon and cumin
1 tsp thyme flakes, 2 tsp each salt and pepper
1½ cup packed brown sugar
2Tbsp EACH molasses and Dijon mustard
¼ cup white vinegar,
2 cans (14 oz) EACH drained plum tomatoes, and kidney beans
½ cup EACH white sugar and ketchup
1 cup EACH grated old cheddar & sour cream (Optional)

METHOD
In a large and deep skillet, cut casings off the sausage and sauté the ground beef and sausage until brown. Drain excess fat and set aside.
In a stockpot, sauté the onion in olive oil until tender. Add the garlic, red and yellow pepper, mushrooms and diced jalapeno. Soften on medium heat.
Add the beef and chorizo to the pot and slowly stir in ALL of your spices
Stir well – brown sugar, molasses, Dijon mustard, vinegar, ketchup.
Add the plum tomatoes and kidney beans. Cook over low heat for 1-2 hours, allowing to simmer gently. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Adjust the sweetness by adding a couple of tablespoons of white sugar for balance.
Optional – serve with grated cheddar and/or a dollop of sour cream
Great in cold wintry weather!

Take favourite colour
Mix with
1 cup breath
3 cups love
6 yolks vision

Tenderly paint over any dead or unyielding areas. Stand back. Wait 10 minutes.
Listen for any signs of life.
Clean brushes. If nothing happens, don’t hold back.

Take next favorite colour.
Mix with
1 cup conversation
free squeeze of this and that
Light (if available)
Vigorously baste entirety with a smile on the heart. Serve when canvas begins to sing.
Garnish with a sprig of gold leaf. Enjoy!