All Bran Rusks

Rusks are crunchy, dry cookies that just beg to be dunked in coffee or tea and eaten any time of the day! Although commonly associated with Dutch and South African cuisine, this type of cookie exists in almost every culture. Because they are dry, they last longer when stored in an airtight container. The difficulty in making these is in finding the right consistency between a cookie that falls apart because it's so "crumbly", and one that's just too hard and may cause serious dental damage! The other problem is trying to make this relatively low in fat and sugar. It's impossible to to cut those two ingredients back too much, and still end up with a delicious tasting rusk that is somewhat healthy. I think mine achieves this balance. I have used weight as the measure for the flour as it's more accurate than using cups.

1 stick butter (1/4 lb)

1/3-1/2 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you like things)

150 ml half and half

Juice of half lemon

½ cup Greek style yogurt

1 large egg

200g self-rising flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

 ½ teaspoon salt

1 cup Kellogg’s Original All-Bran cereal (not flakes)

2 tablespoons dried cranberries

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

2 tablespoons uncooked oats

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts

Directions

1.      Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit

2.      Melt the butter and let it cool

3.      Grease and flour a standard loaf tin. I also line the bottom with parchment paper to avoid sticking

4.      Measure the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, nuts, cranberries and sesame seeds into a large bowl.

5.      Whisk the half and half, egg, yogurt until pale in color. Squeeze in the lemon juice then add all to the cooled, melted butter. Pour over the All-Bran cereal. Let that sit for a minute or two so that the cereal can absorb the liquid and soften.

6.      Mix the wet and dry ingredients together, then pour the batter into the loaf pan.

7.      Bake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, then a further 25 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove from oven to cool once a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.

8.      Lower oven temperature to 175 degrees Fahrenheit

9.      Cool in tin for 10 minutes then invert loaf to let it cool.

10.  Cut the loaf into slices 1 ¼ inches thick. Cut each slice into 3 pieces (like fingers). Place the slices on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper.

11.  Dry out slices in the oven for 4-6 hours. Turn off oven and leave the slices in the oven overnight. Remove and store in an airtight container.

Honey Habanero Oven Baked Pig Tails

This is similar to a dish I first had in Kitchener, Ontario at a German style restaurant. I believe it was called the Charcoal Steak House. I was introduced to that restaurant by a friend who lived there for many years. Whenever I visited, it would be a little ritual to go to the steakhouse and order pig tails, and top it off with their Nesselrode Pie for desert. I do not visit as often as I used to so I needed to find a way to do pig tails in a similar way, but with a Jamaican twist.

My recipe uses very few ingredients, Jamaican meat seasoning, light soy sauce and Braswells Honey Habanero BBQ. The sauce is made in Georgia, my adopted home, and is widely available. If it's not available in your supermarket, information as to where you can locate it can be found at www.braswells.com.

While the ingredients are few, the preparation does take a while but is very worth it in the long run. The tails get coated in the yummy sauce and the meat is "fall off the bones" tender. If you can get uncut, fresh pig tails, that really works fine. At my supermarket, I get them only cut into pieces. To shorten the overall cooking times, pressure the pigtails, unseasoned for 20-25 minutes. Flash cool, drain the tails, season them, then go straight to step 2 in the directions. Those times can be shortened to 1-2 hours.
2 1/2 lbs fresh pig tails
2 tablespoons Jamaican meat seasoning
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1-2 bottles Braswells Honey Habanero sauce (depending on how much sauce you want to end up with. I like a lot to put over my rice)
Directions
1. Season the pigtails with the soy sauce and seasoning, rubbing the seasoning into the meat. Make small cuts into the layer of fat on the tails. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and arrange the pigtails on a roasting pan with a rack. I line the pan with heavy duty foil as it makes cleanup that much easier. Bake for 30 minutes.
3. Lower the oven temperature to 225 degrees Fahrenheit, and let the tails slowly bake for about 2-3 hours at that temperature. This helps render the fat and tenderize the meat.
4. Remove from oven and put the tails in a baking dish. Discard the oil that has drained. Pour the Honey Habanero Sauce over it, cover the dish with foil and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for another 45-60 minutes. Serve with rice or Jamaican rice and peas and baked plantains.

Deep Fried Crispy Fish with Quinoa and Kale Salad

This recipe has the potential to be anything you want it to be, and can be tailor made to suit your taste. There are few measured quantities, and offers a lot of flexibility depending on your taste for any particular day. I start with 1/3 cup of quinoa (red or white), and then cook that using 2 parts of water to one part of quinoa. Once cooked, I use that as the base of the salad. For the fish, I use any firm fish, cut in chunks and seasoned with the seasoning of your choice. I use Jamaican fish seasoning but any combination that you like may be used. The fish has to be thoroughly dried prior to seasoning. Let the chunks marinate in the fridge for a while. Prior to deep frying, dredge the pieces with either cornstarch or flour. Deep fry until crisp on the outside but cooked inside. Drain on a paper towel.

Nuts added to the salad can be any that you like (peanuts, cashews, Macadamia, pecans etc). I used plain, raw walnuts but candied ones can also be used. Salad dressing again can be what you like. I like a Raspberry or Strawberry vinaigrette but any can be used.
Directions
1. Place the cooked quinoa at the bottom of a bowl.
2. Add some chopped pickle to this (I use a red cabbage, red onion and cranberry pickle (recipe can be found on this site) but any type of pickle can be used (dill cucumbers, Italian Giardinera, Vietnamese Dua Chua, Pepperoncini etc)
3. Tear a few leaves of kale, and stir fry in olive oil until wilted. Add this as the next layer to the salad.
4. Deep fry the seasoned chunks of fish, drain and arrange as a layer on the top of the salad.
5. Sprinkle nuts on top and add dressing to taste. 
6. Add more salt and pepper if desired.

Pumpkin Sour Cherry Tea Bread

This is a not too sweet tea bread with added oat bran and flax meal. Makes a nice addition to afternoon tea or morning coffee....without a lot of the guilt!

1/3 cup shortening

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup white sugar

2 eggs

½ pound pumpkin, grated

1/3 cup plain non-fat yogurt (not a thick, Greek style yogurt)

2 tablespoons flax meal

½ cup oat bran

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

1/3 cup chopped sour cherries (Montmorency)

Directions

1.      Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

2.      Mix together, flour, oat bran, flax meal, salt, baking powder and soda, cinnamon, allspice, nuts and sour cherries. Make sure the latter is scattered throughout the mixture (sour cherries tend to clump together).

3.      Grease and flour a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan, and line the bottom with parchment paper

4.      Cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy

5.      Add yogurt, shredded pumpkin, and eggs and beat at low speed

6.      Add the flour mixture in 2 increments, and mix until just combined.

7.      Pour batter into pan. Bake for about 65-70 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

8.      Cool for 10 minutes in the pan then invert on to a wire rack to cool. Slice when cool.

Biscoaties

These are twice baked cookies like Biscotti but with the taste and texture of the European type cookie that one gets on many airlines, called Biscoff. They go well with coffee or tea. I wanted to make them as healthy as possible but sometimes that's just not possible! Note to self: Do not make these often!

2/3 cup all- purpose flour

1/3 cup oat bran

½ cup Durum wheat flour

½ cup Arrowroot flour

1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp ground cloves

Pinch of black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup butter

1/ 2 cup shortening

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp vinegar

½ cup non-fat, Greek style yogurt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
3. In a mixing bowl, combine flours, oat bran, spices, salt and baking soda.
4. In mixer bowl cream butter, sugar and brown sugar together on low
5. Add vanilla extract and vinegar
6. Slowly add flours, oat bran, spices, salt & baking soda & beat until well combined, then add the yogurt and mix until dough comes together.
7. Pinch off golf ball size pieces of the dough. Roll into a ball and then press down using the middle three fingers of your hand until the dough comes up between them. Spread about 1 inch apart as the cookies do flatten and spread.
8. Transfer to baking sheet lined with parchment paper, placing approximately 1" apart
9. Bake in preheated oven for 13-16 minutes
10. Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes. Put back in oven for another hour and fifteen minutes at 275 degrees Fahrenheit, and the cookies are a golden brown color. Remove and cool cookies on wire rack. Store in airtight container.