Caramel Apples Got Crunchier with SweeTango Apples...

Have you heard? I mean... literally 👂📣

SweeTangos loved for it's crisp, juicy bite and sweet-tangy flavour, have arrived in the stores, but as quickly they are here... they will go. Grown in Nova Scotia, the recent Hurricane Dorian sadly ravished 80% of the crops 😣. Luckily we are able to savour the remainder, but for maybe another month.

Perfect timing for scary season with none other than homemade caramel apples for the ultimate crunch 🎃🍎! Usually sweet chewy caramel is the star ingredient but believe me this apple is the true ROCK STAR 🎸. SweeTangos holds the Guinness World Record for “Loudest Crunch of an Apple” (March 2016)

The bite produced a crunch that clocked in at a remarkable 79.1 decibels- in the same category as the likes of kitchen blenders, vacuum cleaners, or alarm clocks, all of which fall in the 70 – 80 decibel range according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. A super fun fact my kids were all over! They are avid readers of the Guinness Book of Records and Ripley's Believe It Or Not? you know 😄...

Look for these shiny red-yellow pretties at Loblaws, Fortinos and Zehrs, and get in the noisy, crunchy action. 📣🍎🍎

Flavour described as having a lovely touch of citrus, honey and spice.

Ultimate Crunch Caramel Apples

5 SweeTango apples, washed, well dried
1 pkg. (340 g) Kraft Caramels
2 Tbsp. water or milk

Remove apple stems. Insert wooden pop stick into stem end of each apple. Cover large plate with waxed paper; grease with cooking spray/butter. Microwave caramels and water/milk in microwave on medium heat for two minutes, stopping to stir halfway until caramels are completely melted. Dip apples in caramel and swirl to coat; spoon additional caramel over apples if necessary to evenly coat apples. Let excess caramel drip off. Scrape bottoms of apples; place on prepared plate. Refrigerate one hour to set.

Sebastien's favourite!

Give individual caramels a squeeze; the wrapper pops right open.

Swirly Twirly...

It's the most happiest time of... 🎵🎶

I enjoyed this partnership with SweeTango Apples to promote it's distinct taste, texture, and quality stem from careful breeding, expert horticultural practices, and meticulously selected growing locations. Apple breeders at the University of Minnesota crossed the sweet Honeycrisp and the tangy Zestar! apple varieties to create SweeTango for the nationwide market in 2009. 

Get them before they're gone...

Flashback to another caramel apple experience... Over the summer, my son wanted a $7.00 jaw-breaking candied apple from The Ex. I told him we will make our own with caramels. For the same hefty price of one, we made FIVE👋 (not only shows him the value of money but we had fun cooking together and he's like an expert caramel apple maker)!

Sprinkles being the "candy" in these confection apples

The Great Thanksgiving Gratitude...

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend folks! 🍂🙏

Flash back four years ago...

I was featured in Chatelaine magazine and in their on-line video: Exclusive survey! This is 40(ish) featuring 40 Canadian women on what we're doing differently in our 40's- from what we really think about love, sex, work, guilt, money and ambition!

For me, this decade has truly been about giving back to the community and our future generation-- through my real food advocacy efforts then as a voluntary Food Revolution Ambassador, and my personal and work projects to promote food education, cooking fresh from scratch & healthy eating with all ages, especially kids 👩‍🍳👨‍🍳.

At this Thanksgiving, I take pause to relish in my accomplishments, and channel my gratitude for the wonderful people I have met, partner with and the incredible opportunities I have been given to do my life's passion. Thank you all, my family and to the universe that has been so good to me. 💕🙏. #namaste

#susanssavourit #gratitude #givingthanks #ethos #payitforward #thisisbeyond40 #community #👆❤ #foodeducation

Chatelaine January 2016 issue (shot in fall 2015)

Connecting with Nature At Andrews' Scenic Acres Farm 🚜🌾🍂

To be able to be in an open field, basking in nature's glory is so freeing-- you feel instantly recharged like a reboot to your system weighed down by the humdrum of day-to-day and hecticness of city life...

This 39-year old farm is rustling with fun family activities, food, a haunted forest walk-through and pick-your-own pumpkins, corn, berries and even flowers, just within a relatively short drive from the hustle and bustle of the city core. They grow 165 acres of luscious fruit and vegetables with their home farm dedicated 100% to pick your own crops, and these days it's pumpkins, Indian corn as well as apples, red grapes and raspberries! They also have excellent flower picking: dahlias, sunflowers & gladiolus 🌻. Located west in Halton Hills and housing a Mennonite constructed barn as a 3200 sq. ft. farm market, they offer the same ready picked fruit and vegetables that are available in the fields along with a great selection of honey, fruit jams, home-baked goods such as cookies, tarts and an array of delicious pies. They also ferment on site over 25 different award winning fruit and grape wines and cider 🍎🍇🍷🥂.

The sprawl of stunning scenery is endless.... catches you in the moment and let's you stay there taking it all in one breath at a time... savouring it @andrewsscenic. Check it out!

Sunday Sun Salute! 🌞🙏

Sometimes, life needs yoga and wine... cause gratitude and grapes goes hand-in-hand 😄🧘‍♀️🍇🍷

At Gallucci Winery

Thanksgiving at my parents place with the entire fam bam on Saturday. They haven't tried my cabbage rolls yet, and I was pretty excited to bake them up there for all to try.

Pork and Rice Cabbage Rolls

"Mom.... we want to contribute something!" 👨‍🍳👨‍🍳👨‍🍳

So cookies it was. Crispy on the outside, chewy inside... Scroll down for recipe.

Chewy and Crispy Oatmeal Raisin and Chocolate Chip Cookies

My brother-in-law's stuffed sage and garlic rubbed 17 lb.-er turkey!

The potluck Thanksgiving dinner spread... a mish mash of Canadian and Chinese food :D

These oatmeal chocolate chip raisin cookies were the little sweet finale to a full and satisfying Thanksgiving dinner with family 💕... sooo good to the last crumb. 

Chewy and Crispy Oatmeal Raisin and Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 30 cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups rolled large oats
1 cup dark chocolate chips (or use semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips)
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine butter, both sugars in a large bowl, and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and well combined. Add egg and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl and stir until well blended. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Place 3 inch apart on prepared baking sheets and flatten slightly with back of a spoon (cookies will spread). Bake cookies for 13 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden at the edges. Let cool on baking sheets for five minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack(s).

Great Addition TIP: Add 1/2 cup raw, shelled sunflower seeds or 1/4 cup hemp seeds or ground flax seeds, and add with oats in step 4.

Cooking TIP: When you bake one sheet of cookies at a time, it ensures crisp and evenly browned edges. But you can bake two sheets at a time, just use the top and lower oven racks and switch positions halfway through baking.

Beets For Borscht Ode To Ontario Agriculture Week...

Happy Ontario Agriculture Week! 

Give me a B for Beets. Another B for Borscht 🥣! What better way than to celebrate with a beautiful soup honouring the many precious treasures from our mother earth! 🥕.

The first time I made this beautiful borscht, it also had kidney beans. I was inspired by a Ukrainian family recipe by a senior, in a collaborative community published cookbook titled "Hot Pot Cookbook" that reflects the plethora of cultures in Bathurst-Finch, an area with a huge high school Northview I have done many food events and culinary work in.

A group of community agencies wanted to celebrate the different heritages by socially engaging local low-income seniors and this food project came about. It is a free cookbook full of recipes contributed by seniors embraced by North York Harvest Food Bank, operating the Bathurst and Finch Community Food bank which is the largest food program in the neighbourhood. They asked older clients of the food bank to contribute hand-written recipes to be put into a box. A total of 48/60 were selected, tested and published. The food bank serves a large number of Russian-speaking seniors about 700 households a month. Read more about it here.

Last week I toured the Holland Marsh area with ambassadors at Produce Made Simple hosted by Holland Marsh Growers. At our final stop Gwillimdale Farms, we received a generous goodie bag filled with their farm produce 🤗! Scanning the fresh assortment of beets, carrots, onions and potatoes, amidst this fall weather, borscht came to mind and it was this Ukrainian-inspired version. Sweet and tangy, with a dollop of mayo, it's a comfort vegetarian haven!

Ukrainian Borscht

Work with cooked beets on a non-porous plate or cutting board such as glass so not to stain. Gloves help too.

дуже смачний! (Delicious! in Ukraine). The natural sweetness of beets is divine-tasting!

B for Beauty!

Here with Produce Made Simple ambassadors at our first stop in Holland Marsh- The Muck Research Station, a part of Guelph University. This region is the largest area of organic (muck) soil developed for agriculture in the province and one of the most intensive areas of agricultural production in the country.

and one of the most intensive areas of agricultural production in the country which is why the University of

Guelph established a research station here

Field research is conducted in both mineral and organic soil. The emphasis is on discovery research in crop protection and production, to contribute to improved integrated pest and crop management in their plant pathology lab, controlled greenhouses and cold storages. They conduct insect counts, isolate target conditions when diseases occur, and optimize spray time to reduce costs and unnecessary chemicals on food and in the environment. Yay! R&D are unsung heros! 🎵🎶🤗.

Onions are ready when the tops droop.

Vegetable crops grown in Holland Marsh such as carrots (cello-types or jumbos), onions, lettuce, celery and Asian vegetables are the focus here at Muck Crops Research Station.

On the field with some jumbos 🥕🥕...

#Repost @producemadesimple with @repostsaveapp ・・・ For those of you who may be new here, let us tell you a little bit about who we are! Produce Made Simple is owned by the non-profit Ontario Produce Marketing Association. Our goal is to inspire and educate others to enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables as much as we do. Eating fresh produce tastes great! To help us achieve this, we've partnered with amazing food writers and bloggers this year, and we just toured the Holland Marsh Area! Did you know that The Marsh is one of the most intensive areas of agricultural production in the country and grows over 40 different varieties of vegetables?

Our next stop was at Springh Farms. Shane Singh is a second-generation grower, producing a variety of greens that appeals to a higher end and diversified population. Amongst the regular lettuces, he grows red and green oak leaf lettuces, as well as herbs, swiss chard, kale, bok choy and dandelion greens.

.

Neat rows, and rows and rows...

He has broaden his customer base by also selling to retailers, food service, direct to consumers via farm stands and CSA box programs.

Aren't these gorgeous radishes, grown with love.

Grower Shane Singh

Our Suzie and Nicole collecting fresh goodness for our group.

Swiss chard in the front, kale in the background.

Gwillimdale Farms is one of Ontario's largest grower-packer-shippers of root vegetables, specializing in carrots, onions, beets, parsnips and potatoes. As an industry leader and family owned business, they have made investments to improve the quality of food distributed in Ontario, as well as improve the sustainability of their farms.

Visiting Gwillimdale's packing facility.

Over onto our lunch venue in their private Fair View Barn with Little Red Catering Co.

It was a delicious lunch! 

I loved this parsnip and pear soup starter with the exquisite table side tea pot pour.

Thank you for this awesome canvas bag filled with fresh goodies!

I used your carrots, onions and potatoes in Japanese curry teaching a cooking class with seniors. 

Who doesn't love curry? But it's all about the fresh produce that goes in it!

Japanese Curry with Chicken and Potatoes

And of course, the makings of this beautiful Borscht.

More soup on the horizon... and it's Creamy Potato, Parsnip and Leeks 🥣.

Going through my big potato bag of white rounds... Although they are of the waxy type, thin skin and low in starch, I still wanted to make this soup (waxy potatoes yield a gluey texture). So for silky creaminess, I doubled up and countered with added mashed potatoes (waxy is actually preferred for a smooth mash) for balanced texture and body. What a harmonious trio with parsnips for sweetness and leeks for delicious onion flavour! So simple. So divine!

I love this piece on Produce Made Simple site about potatoes. In a 2013 study, the majority of respondents said that they do not believe potatoes to be “nutritious”, nor “a good source of energy”! Well... they are naturally fat free, low in calories and gluten- free. A medium sized potato (150 g) is just 110 calories and really helps to satisfy hunger. It even has 3g of protein! Potatoes are an excellent source of potassium, a good source of vitamin C and a source of fibre and folic acid. So go on... Eat your potatoes 🥔🥔🥔.

Creamy Potato, Parsnip and Leeks

Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup (Sans Cream)...

No matter how long I wished to ride the coat tails of summer, it's really, really Fall. But that's ok, I welcome the comfort foods that nourishes the soul inside and out. And we can't talk about soul-replenishing comfort without referring to the ultimate-- soups! Especially with the cool of fall and harvest of cruciferous and root vegetables, and tubers a-plenty, we must make harmony with nature in weather and food. Thus I present you the humble cauliflower, roasted for a creamy soup. Remember not long ago, a small head would run you like $6.00, now huge ones are a mere $3.00. My kids love 'em florets roasted with olive oil, thyme and sprinkled with sea salt and black pepper. To change things up, I got inspired after seeing this recipe for a soup version that uses an entire cauliflower, trading in thyme for a wee sprinkle of warming nutmeg. And what's more, just a bit of butter gives it a luxurious creamy body without rich cream, and a splash of lemon for tang. Now that's my kind of hearty heaven in a bowl. Seconds please!

Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup (adapted from Cookie and Kate)

1 large head cauliflower (about two pounds), cut into bite-size florets
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Fine sea salt
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic,  minced
4 cups vegetable broth
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, or more if needed
Scant ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
For garnish: 2 tbsp. finely chopped green onions, chives or flat-leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 425 F. If desired, line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.

On the baking sheet, toss the cauliflower with 2 Tbsp. olive oil until lightly and evenly coated in oil. Arrange the cauliflower in a single layer and sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake until the cauliflower is tender and caramelized on the edges, 25 to 35 minutes, tossing halfway.

If I eat these like that, I roast with dried or fresh thyme.

Heat the remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil over medium heat in a skillet or pot, add the onions and ¼ tsp. salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and translucent, about three mins. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds, then add the broth.

Reserve four of the prettiest roasted cauliflower florets for garnish. Then transfer the remaining cauliflower to the pot. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, to give the flavours time to meld.

Use red or standard yellow onions. 

Once the soup is done cooking, remove from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. Then, carefully transfer the hot soup to a blender, working in batches if necessary. (Do not fill past the maximum fill line or the soup could overflow!) Add the butter and blend until smooth. Add the lemon juice and nutmeg and blend again. Taste then season with salt. Blend well.

One Tbsp. butter is all you need to add a silky body.

Top individual bowls of soup with one roasted cauliflower floret and a sprinkle of chopped green onions and/or parsley. This soup keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for about four days, or for several months in the freezer.

Creamy deliciousness without the added rich calories!

Full Recipe:

Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup (adapted from Cookie and Kate)

1 large head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), cut into bite-size florets
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Fine sea salt
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic,  minced
4 cups vegetable broth
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, or more if needed
Scant ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

For garnish: 2 tbsp. finely chopped green onions, chives or flat-leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 425 F. If desired, line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.

On the baking sheet, toss the cauliflower with 2 Tbsp. olive oil until lightly and evenly coated in oil. Arrange the cauliflower in a single layer and sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake until the cauliflower is tender and caramelized on the edges, 25 to 35 minutes, tossing halfway.

Heat the remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil over medium heat in a skillet or pot, add the onions and ¼ tsp. salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and translucent, about three mins. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds, then add the broth.

Reserve four of the prettiest roasted cauliflower florets for garnish. Then transfer the remaining cauliflower to the pot. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, to give the flavours time to meld.

Once the soup is done cooking, remove from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. Then, carefully transfer the hot soup to a blender, working in batches if necessary. (Do not fill past the maximum fill line or the soup could overflow!) Add the butter and blend until smooth. Add the lemon juice and nutmeg and blend again. Taste then season with salt. Blend well.

Top individual bowls of soup with one roasted cauliflower floret and a sprinkle of chopped green onions and/or parsley. This soup keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for about four days, or for several months in the freezer.