So your sweetie can’t do gluten and you want your kids to eat more veggies. Here’s a tasty solution to both challenges in one delectable dessert.

Ingredients:

• 1 c. cooked, mashed sweet potato
• 1 ½ cup sugar
• 1 cup almond meal
• ½ cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
• 1/8 t. salt
• 4 eggs
• 2 oz. bittersweet chocolate
• 2Tbsp. soy milk
• 1- 9 inch Spring form pan, greased & floured

Preheat oven to 375

• blend mashed sweet potato with 1 cup sugar, almond meal, cocoa & salt until smooth.
• separate 3 eggs
• beat egg whites until they stand in soft peaks
• add the rest of the sugar (1/2 cup)
• beat until egg whites are stiff
• add 3 egg yolks & 1 whole egg into sweet potato mixture
• fold beaten egg whites into mixture
• bake 45 minutes
• cool 10 minutes
• melt chocolate
• stir in soy milk & mix
• spread over torte
• allow chocolate to harden…

ENJOY!

It’s the middle of winter and many folks think that canning season has come to a complete halt. However, with a basic marmalade recipe and a little imagination you can create beautiful and tasty marmalades to share with family and friends.

My favourite recipe is a Canadian one from Elizabeth Baird that I first found in a cookbook by Globe & Mail restaurant reviewer Joanne Kates.

This recipe is labour intensive – and worth every last ounce of energy you are willing to put into it if you are a marmalade lover.

Start with 6 seville oranges

Cut in half and juice them, discarding the pulp. Set aside the pits and cover with water to sit overnight. Scrape the skins clean of the white pith (use a sharp knife). Cut the orange skins into as fine a match-stick cut as you can manage.

Place the finely cut peal in the juice and let sit overnight.

The next day strain the pits from the jelly (this is the natural pectin) that has formed and tie them in cheese cloth. Add the pits to the juice and peel and simmer until the peel is soft. The time will vary depending on the thickness of the peel. Remove the pits, add the pectin and measure. Add an equal amount of sugar (or less if you like your marmalade tart) and simmer until the liquid reaches the jelly stage on a candy thermometer or a small amount poured onto a chilled plate sets quickly.

Pour into sterilized, self sealing canning jars.

I have had fun using different citrus combinations such as:

• blood orange and red grapefruit
• lemon and lime
• Mayer lemons and tangerines
• kumquats and limequats sliced thin into any other citrus combination

So get your creative juices flowing and enjoy a little sunshine in the middle of winter.

Note: the London Co-op Store carries organically grown citrus so you can use the peel without harm.

PRESTO PASTA VERDI

This is a fairly quick dish that is full of vitamins, minerals, fibre and (if made with whole grain pasta) complex carbohydrates.

4 c chopped onion
2 Tbsp olive or avocado oil
1/2 tsp salt
8 cups chopped greens (my favourites are a combination of Swiss chard – including the stems and dinosaur kale -stems removed; spinach may be substituted for the chard or collards for the kale)
3/4 lb extruded pasta such as penne or spirals that will “catch” the sauce.
3/4 lb feta cheese, crumbled or grated.
1/4 cup pesto (either jarred or home made – recipe follows)
freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Put the pasta water on to boil. Chop onions, wash and chop the greens.
TIP: keep packages of chopped, blanched kale on hand in the freezer and add them to this or any other dish requiring kale.
2. Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed pan over medium heat. Add the onions greens and sprinkle with salt. Stir so that oil and salt are evenly distributed and reduce heat to low. Cover and let veggies wilt or melt. This should take about ten minutes or about the same time as it takes to cook the pasta.
TIP: This wilting method allows you to get the effect of sauteing with less fat.
3. Add the pasta when the water has come to a boil. Cook to al dente stage. Drain.
4. Toss together the cooked veggies, pasta, feta and pesto. Season with pepper to taste.
OPTIONS: Chopped green or yellow zucchini can replace some of the greens. Sweet red pepper (up to a cup) can be added for a little colour. Chopped bulb fennel can replace some of the onion for additional flavour (up to a cup). Add any of these optional items at the same time you would cook the other veggies.
Serves 4 to six as a main dish, more as a side.

PESTO

This recipe omits the cheese so that you may add it at cooking and serving time. If you’re choosing to freeze the pesto, it means you take up less freezer space and have fresh cheese at serving time. In addition to the traditional Reggiano Parmesan, try Romano for a stronger taste and Asiago for a milder, nuttier taste.

1 oz (1/8 cup) toasted pine nuts (sunflower seeds may be substituted where nut allergies are a concern)
1 cup tightly packed, cleaned basil leaves
1 – 2 cloves garlic, minced (depending on size and your relationship with garlic)
1/4 cup olive oil (fruity olive oil imparts a lovely flavour)
1/4 tsp salt (optional)

Toast pine nuts at 300F for 5 to 10 minutes until they start to get golden and their aroma seeps out into the kitchen. Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until a smooth paste is formed. Either use immediately, refrigerate for up to three days or freeze in an ice cube tray and pop pesto cubes into a zip lock bag so you can use them when ever you need a little pesto.

This vegetarian dessert recipe can be made vegan and chocolate-free by choosing the appropriate substitute ingredients.

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