This recipe takes oatmeal outside of the bowl and into the muffin cup. Bake up a batch of these and you’re set for a few quick breakfast meals. If you want to use rolled oats, simply swap them for steel-cut oats and skip the soaking step.
1 cup (250 mL) steel-cut oats 1/2 cup (125 mL) oat bran 1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped walnuts 1 tsp (5 mL) allspice 1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt 2 large free-range eggs 1 cup (250 mL) pumpkin purée 3/4 cup (180 mL) low-fat milk or unsweetened nondairy alternative of choice 1/4 cup (60 mL) plus 2 Tbsp (30 mL) pure maple syrup 2 cups (500 mL) fresh or frozen blueberries 1/3 cup (80 mL) water 1 tsp (5 mL) cinnamon 1/2 tsp (2 mL) almond extract 2 tsp (10 mL) cornstarch
In bowl, cover oats with water and soak overnight or for several hours in refrigerator.
The following day, preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).
Drain oats and add to large bowl along with oat bran, walnuts, allspice, and salt.
In separate bowl, lightly beat eggs and mix with pumpkin, milk, and 2 Tbsp (30 mL) maple syrup. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir to combine.
Divide oat mixture among 12 medium-sized paper-lined or greased muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes, or until set. Let cool before unmoulding.
To make compote, place blueberries, water, remaining maple syrup, cinnamon, and almond extract in medium-sized saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Dissolve cornstarch in 1 Tbsp (15 mL) water, stir into blueberry mixture, and heat for 1 minute.
Serve baked oatmeal cups warm with blueberry compote.
Serves 6.
Each serving contains: 310 calories; 11 g protein; 10 g total fat (2 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 50 g total carbohydrates (19 g sugars, 7 g fibre); 138 mg sodium
source: "Oats", alive #361, November 2012
Tourtière is, for me, the dish that best represents Québec. It can be traced back to the 1600s, and there’s no master recipe; every family has their own twist. Originally, it was made with game birds or game meat, like rabbit, pheasant, or moose; that’s one of the reasons why I prefer it with venison instead of beef or pork. Variation: If you prefer to make single servings, follow our lead at the restaurant, where we make individual tourtières in the form of a dome (pithivier) and fill them with 5 ounces (160 g) of the ground venison mixture. Variation: You can also use a food processor to make the dough. Place the flour, salt, and butter in the food processor and pulse about ten times, until the butter is incorporated—don’t overmix. It should look like wet sand, and a few little pieces of butter here and there is okay. With the motor running, through the feed tube, slowly add ice water until the dough forms a ball—again don’t overmix. Wrap, chill, and roll out as directed above.
My love of artichokes continues with this classic recipe, one of the best ways to eat this interesting, underrated, and strange vegetable. Frozen artichoke hearts are a time-saving substitute, though the flavour and texture of fresh artichokes are, by far, much superior and definitely preferred.
Cervelle de canut is basically the Boursin of France, an herbed fresh farmer’s cheese spread that’s a speciality of Lyon. The name is kind of weird, as it literally means “silk worker’s brain,” named after nineteenth-century Lyonnaise silk workers, who were called canuts. Sadly, the name reflects the low opinion of the people towards these workers. Happily for us, though, it’s delicious—creamy, fragrant, and fresh at the same time. Cervelle de canut is one of my family’s favourite dishes. It’s a great make-ahead appetizer that you can pop out of the fridge once your guests arrive. Use a full-fat cream cheese for the dish, or it will be too runny and less delicious.