Is it 'pumpkin pie' time soon?

I think it is and if you are in the mood here is the link to the best pumpkin pie filling and my Mom's pastry recipe. (clink here to go to the recipe)  The recipe linked here is for a non-dairy substitute but I simply used milk instead and I doubled this recipe to get two delicious pies that you see below. Hope you enjoy!

Huh...I wonder who will be eating these beauties? 

Spanakopita - Devon's Style

This dish is as old as time and has been made millions of ways and millions of times but this recipe is simple, delicious and has a special twist to it. Generally, spanakopita is primarily made with spinach but because Devon is such a Chard or Swiss chard* fan we tried this recipe using mostly Swiss chard and 1/4 of the filling we used fresh spinach. The results were amazing so please enjoy this culinary journey with us. 

Spanakopita is a popular Greek savory pie made of perfectly flaky phyllo dough with a comforting filling of spinach and feta cheese nestled in.

 3 tbsp. olive oil 

3 tbsp. butter

1 large onion - diced small

4 garlic cloves - diced very small

1 cup fresh parsley (pack the parsley in tight to make the 1 cup)

1/2 cup of fresh dill - de veined and chopped 

salt & pepper to taste

2 large bunches of Swiss chard

1 package of washed & trimmed spinach (approx. 284 grams or a little bit less)

2 large eggs

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 1/4 cup feta cheese - crumbled into tiny chunks

1/2 package of phyllo pastry/dough ( warning here!!!  thaw the phyllo dough in fridge or on the counter. Do not open the plastic wrap that it comes in until your filling is ready and cooled as the dough dries out very quickly.  Be prepared with a damp, clean tea towel to lay across the phyllo dough once opened. The dough will dry out very quickly and become unusable as you are assembling the spanakopita.

1/2 cup olive oil & 1/4 cup melted butter to brush onto the phyllo pastry

1 glass baking dish (please see photo below)

Assembly:

Sauté onions and garlic in 3 tbsp. olive oil and butter until onions are transparent. Remove from the heat. 

To prepare the Swiss chard it is important to remove the steam from the leaves and there are several ways to do this effectively. For this recipe I gently tore the green leaves away from the center stems. At this point I have a large bowl in the sink filled with cold, clean water and I immerse each leaf deep into the clean water. This is the cleaning stage and it is very important. The leaves stay immersed while you trim all of the Swiss chard.

After all leaves are rinsed of dirt or debris, transfer to a salad spinner or onto a clean tea towel to remove most of the excess moisture.

At this point I place the leaves onto a large cutting board and chop into small pieces so they can be cooked.

Rinse and trim the dill and parsley as well. Chop also into small pieces.

Meanwhile, continue the food prep by adding together 2 eggs, ricotta cheese, feta cheese in a large mixing bowl.  Mix well and set aside.

Add chopped Swiss chard and spinach to the cooked onions on low heat on the stove.  Stir well to ensure all the leaves are coated with the onion, garlic, oil and butter.

Add the egg mixture to the chard mixture and continue to mix well until well incorporated.

Open the phyllo dough to it's full length and immediately cover with a damp tea towel...not wet but just damp. This will help to prevent the dough from drying out.

Lay one sheet of phyllo dough in prepared baking pan (sprayed with baking spray), (cover dough with the damp tea towel each time your remove one sheet) and brush lightly with olive oil & butter. Lay another sheet of phyllo dough on top but turn the dough so it runs the other way. Brush again with the oil/butter mixture.  Repeat this process by adding two more sheets of phyllo. Not to worry because the sheets will be bigger than the baking dish and will overlap the pan. Spoon all of the Swiss chard/spinach mixture onto the sheets of phyllo in the baking dish. Be careful not to tear the phyllo when you are spreading it out. To finish this off, repeat the dough process again by laying down four more sheets of phyllo dough, one at a time, on top of the chard mixture, brushing each sheet with oil/butter. Finally,  fold over all of the overhanging dough onto the top of the filling to seal your spanakopita. Brush again with oil/butter. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 375° until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting. Serve hot.

Cut up into portions needed for dinner and serve with Tzatziki.  I will be publishing a great recipe for Tzatziki soon. Please stay tuned.

I hope you enjoy!

Stay safe out there everyone!

My friend Devon of https://wolfewisdom.ca/

Swiss Chard 

Feta Cheese, eggs & Ricotta Cheese

*Chard or Swiss chard is a green leafy vegetable. The leaf stalks are large and often prepared separately from the leaf blade. The leaf blade can be green or reddish in color.

The best baked beans ever

Cole and Christine Pantages have the best recipe for curried beans. I am using their recipe but changing it slightly so I can bake the beans in a slow cooker or in the oven.

1 large onion - small diced,

6 slices bacon - diced and sautéd with onion

2 large cans (14 ounces each) brown beans 

1 can of black beans - rinse well first 1 can of red kidney beans - rinse well first 

1 tin of diced tomatoes 

1/2 c. molasses 

1/8 c. vinegar - I am using cider vinegar today but any type of vinegar will do 

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard ( if you don't have dijon not to worry, use regular mustard) lots of curry powder, as much as you want (I am using 1/8 of a cup today) 

2 teaspoons ground cumin 

1 tablespoon chilli powder 

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper 

¼ teaspoon dried oregano  

4 green onions - chopped (optional for a garnish but not necessary) 

 Cut up bacon into small pieces and sauté the bacon and chopped onions until the onions are transparent. Drain cans of beans and rinse well with cold water. Add rinsed and drained beans to a slow cooker as well as the the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Turn slow cooker onto low and set for 4 hours. Stir once at the 2 hour mark. If using the oven preheat the oven to 325°F and bake for 2 hours.

Thanks Kiki & Cole for a great recipe.

Almost Fall Salad Dressing for Auntie Andrea

40 ml         champagne vinegar ( honestly, if I didn't have champagne vinegar I would use apple cider, or vinegar you may have available

1/3 cup       evoo. (extra virgin olive oil)

1 tsp.          dijon mustard

3 tbsp.        maple syrup

2 tsp.          red pepper pot jelly 

salt & pepper to taste

In a small jar or a designated salad dressing container add all the above ingredients together.

Shake well and store in the fridge when not being used to dress your salad.

Enjoy and please stay safe out there.