Call for Recipes: Soup, Salad and Croutons!

In December 2023, TILife’s copy editor, Elspeth Naismith, presented "Call for Recipes!" The article showed a tea towel that hangs proudly in her kitchen and provides the ingredients for a "Traditional 1000 Islands Shore Dinner," written by the late Les Cook, renowned Canadian fishing guide. Elspeth suggested that our River communities have many farmers, restaurants, store keepers, and yes, both year round and summer residents who have favourite recipes that all have special River meanings.

Elspeth wrote: . . . "Thousand Islands Life" is asking our readers to share their favourite River recipe with us. Tell us about the recipe, why it’s special, and why it reminds you of the River. Is it something that you only make at a specific time of the year? Is it a dish that you only make when you’re on the River?"

And this month Elspeth provides two recipes that keep her family coming back to the kitchen for more!

Butternut Squash, Carrot, and Orange Soup

Serves: 6 Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 40 – 50 mins

Adapted from an adaptation of a New York Times Cooking recipe – which has continued to be adapted!

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash, about 2.5 – 3 lbs
1 lb carrots, about 8-10
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 leek, sliced in half lengthwise and cut thinly into half moons
1 – 2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
4 cups vegetable (or chicken) broth
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
zest from 1/2 orange (zest before you juice the orange!)
1/2 – 1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Spice bag: 10 black peppercorns, 6 allspice berries, 4 green cardamom pods, 6 wide strips orange zest, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 large bay leaf

Instructions:

1. Remove top stem and bottom of squash(s), then peel. Slice squash in half vertically, remove seeds and strings. Chop into 1” squares. Wash and peel carrots, then slice into 1” discs. Make spice bag.
2. Heat oil and butter in large soup pot over medium heat. Add diced onion and leek and sauté 3 – 4 mins or until translucent. Add squash, carrots, and ginger. Cook, stirring occasionally for 5 – 8 mins or until veggies start to stick to pot bottom. Add in broth, spice bag, 1/2 tsp salt, and bring to a boil. Use a wooden spoon to stir and scrape up any fond (browned bits) on bottom of pan. Turn heat down to a simmer and partially cover. Cook 35 – 40 mins or until squash and carrots are soft.
3. Remove spice bag and use an immersion blender to purée soup until it’s smooth. Or let soup cool then purée in a blender. Stir in coconut milk, orange juice, zest, and seasonings. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to your preference. Serve hot.

Notes: This soup freezes well and defrosts easily. You can serve it with extra coconut milk, a dollop of yogurt or crème fraîche, toasted squash seeds, chopped parsley, or whatever you have on hand – rice, quinoa, nuts, seeds, herbs, etc. Toasted baguette or French bread is also a nice touch.

Killer Caesar Salad with Croutons and Dressing

One of the New York Times Cooking section writers periodically writes what he calls “a no recipe recipe.” This recipe is sort of like that.

Take a head of romaine lettuce.
Wash the leaves, spin them dry, tear them up (or chop them – I won’t judge!), and put them in a bowl. Voila – you have a salad.

But now comes the fun part. You can add things like bacon bits, croutons, and after you’ve dressed it, an extra grating of Parmesan. It’s up to you.

The croutons are simple

Take 3 – 4 thick slices of a good bread, slice into 1/2 – 3/4 inch cubes, add to a bowl and drizzle with a few Tablespoons olive oil. Toss the cubes in the oil so that they’re lightly coated, then transfer to a foil or parchment lined baking sheet and spread out in a single layer.

Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper – but don’t be heavy handed. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can sprinkle the cubes with other herbs or spices.

Put a rack in the upper third of a preheated 375 – 400°F oven and bake 8 – 10 minutes, shaking them around at least once. If they’re not quite crispy or browned enough, then give them 1 – 2 minutes more.

Take ‘em out and let ‘em cool.

Once completely cooled, add to your salad. Any that aren’t used you can keep in an airtight storage container for a week or two. But they’re very ‘snackable’ so they might not last too long . . .

Caesar Dressing

The dressing is the ‘make or break’ part of a Caesar. Traditional Caesar dressing uses raw eggs. What with concerns over salmonella and other nasty bugs, I give the eggs a pass. This dressing was perfected by a dear friend, who would make it by the quart and devour it within a week. Summer wasn’t summer without a jar of it sitting on her kitchen table and the omnipresent bowl of romaine lettuce on the dinner table. So in her memory, we call this the Lynn B Memorial Caesar Salad Dressing. Lynn always added lots of garlic, but go with your own taste – more or less – it’ll still be great! Using fresh garlic cloves rather than the paste or minced garlic that you can buy does make a difference. Ditto for using a fresh lemon, as well as grating your own Parmesan. I go light on the oil and heavier on the vinegar, but that’s me. Again, follow your own tastes.

Ingredients

3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 red wine vinegar
6 anchovy fillets – or 3 Tbsp anchovy paste
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (approx 1/2 lemon)
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard (be generous)
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
4 – 5 cloves minced garlic

Blend all ingredients together. It works best to mash the anchovies (or paste) with some of the oil and vinegar on a plate first, then add the other ingredients. Put the whole works in a jar with a tightly fitting lid, shake the heck out of it to blend well, then enjoy! It will keep for about 2 weeks at room temperature or longer if refrigerated. Just take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before using.

By Elspeth Naismith

Elspeth Naismith grew up in Gananoque, graduated from McMaster University in Hamilton (B.Sc (Bio)), and then from Centennial College as an RN. She also joined the Naval Reserve (thanks to a high school chum), and after spending time on both east and west coasts, she took a break from nursing and accepted a 3-year posting to National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa. The "break" turned into 25 years, and included jaunts to East Germany, Wales and the Irish Sea, and Bosnia. She retired from the Navy in 2011 and moved back to Gananoque in 2013.

Today she not only leaves her mark on all TI Life articles, as she is the "Real Editor", "Comma Queen," and "overall lifesaver," but she is also an official recipe tester for America's Test Kitchen.

Illustrations by Marie Anne Erki

Marie Anne Erki, is a Kingston artist and emeritus professor civil engineering at the Royal Military College. Marie Anne initially considered a career in architecture, but her love of mathematics led to becoming a structural engineer. She says, "At a time before computer assisted drawing (CAD), both disciplines required a huge amount of freehand and mechanical drawing. After a quarter of a century of great fun as a structural engineer, I decided to pursue painting full time." We at TI Life are fortunate as Marie-Anne has accepted to be our Official Illustrator and you will find her work on many of our articles. You can also see her works at marieanneerkipaintings.blogspot.com/