Baked Halifax Meat Egg Rolls

Growing up in Halifax, Nova Scotia I was lucky enough to experience many amazing gastronomical creations that were not available elsewhere. My three top food items were:

• Moon Mist Ice Cream - a combination of grape, banana and bubblegum flavours - the day I recently found out that Save-on-Foods carries it way out here in Vancouver was a very happy day indeed!!!!
• Donairs - Halifax has the BEST donairs in the world. I miss them. I read that King of Donairs is expanding west. I hold out hope that some day they will open a shop out here on the west coast. 
• Meat Egg rolls - Here is something that I have never found outside of Halifax - egg rolls made from a meat paste. No visible veggies, just meat. They are more flat than round and they are soooo good. Below is a recipe that is as close as I can come up with (based on a compilation of other recipes) to the memories of my childhood. Any other Haligonians out there missing their childhood egg rolls?

Makes 10 egg rolls.

Time: 40 minutes (20 prep; 20 bake)

Ingredients

1 lb ground pork

1 medium onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 cup shredded green cabbage

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tsp Chinese five spice powder

2 tbsp cornstarch

1-1/2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce

2 tbsp warm water

1 tsp garlic, chopped

10 egg roll wrappers

extra oil for brushing

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Heat large pan over medium high heat and and oils.
3. Add pork, salt, pepper, and onions. Brown pork until cooked through – about 10 minutes.
4. Add celery, cabbage, and five spice powder and cook until vegetables are soft – about 5 minutes.
5. In a small, bowl combine cornstarch, soy sauce and water.
6. Add to pan along with garlic, cook for 2 minutes.
7. Take off heat.
8. Place pork mixture in food processor and pulse until a smooth paste is formed.
9. Place 3-4 tbsp of meat mixture in the middle of an eggroll wrapper.
10. Brush beaten egg along the outside of the wrapper (about an inch wide).
11. Fold one end of the wrapper over the long side of the mixture and press down. Then fold the other long side over that (like an envelope fold). Don’t make them too tight – they might burst.
12. Fold the ends over about half an inch – all seams should be on one side of the egg roll. If they don’t stick you can add a bit more egg wash to make ends stick.
13. Brush oil over both sides of egg roll and place on baking pan, seam side down.
14. Bake for twenty minutes, flipping at 10 minutes.
15. Serve with plum sauce or for something different serve with mango chutney!

Cinnamon Sugar Baked Tortillas

These tortilla chips are so easy! In fact, they are perfect when you and your kids want to do something together in the kitchen. With a little guidance from you with the cutting and oven handling, you can have a great time together, bake something healthier than the average chip and then eat it together!

All you have to do is pick your favorite tortilla – white, whole wheat, cheese, spinach, tomato …the varieties are endless and add your favorite spices…salt, pepper, garlic, curry, paprika or cinnamon and sugar for a sweet treat.

Today, we used to varieties of tortillas – both white but one was made by Indian Life and the other by Dempster’s. The Indian version had a bit more fat in the tortilla and we found that it came out flakier when baked vs the regular Dempster’s variety. Both were great, just a little different!

Portion control is easier with these snacks than when confronted with an entire bad of chips because you can make as many or as few as you want. And, of course, since you bake them with just spices and a spray of cooking oil they are healthier than regular chips too!

Note: If you want to make your own cinnamon sugar to have on hand just mix 1/2 cup sugar with 1 tbsp of sugar (you can add a bit more if you like it extra cinnamony) and store it.

You may want to go a little lighter on the cinnamon/sugar
than my daughter did!

Ingredients

4-10+ tortillas (depending on how many you want to make)
1/4 c cinnamon sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cut tortillas into desired shapes/sizes or just use a pizza cutter to cut up like a pie.
3. Spray large baking pan with a baking spray such as Pam or brush with a small amount of vegetable oil.
4. Place tortillas on pan.
5. Spray/brush tortillas with more spray/oil.
6. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar or other desired seasonings/herbs.
7. Bake for 7-9 minutes (depends on your oven and the size of your tortillas), until golden.
8. Remove from oven and cool.
9. Repeat if you have more tortillas!
10. Store in air tight container. They should last at least a week or more.

Muesli Fruit Crisp with Strawberries and Apples

Add a little frozen strawberry Greek yogourt and this muesli crisp is fit for a Queen!

Do you like muesli?  I have to admit that the muesli I have tried is usually too bland, dry, raw and dusty for my tastes. But I'm always looking for healthy new foods for my young kids. My 7 year old son loves oats so I thought I'd let him try muesli to see if he likes it. He did! So when I had an opportunity to try some samples of muesli and granola from Dorset Cereals I took it. I wasn't expecting to like it myself but I was pleasantly surprised. I was sent 6 boxes of muesli and one box of granola which represents their entire line offered in Canada. That's a lot of cereal!*

Dorset Cereals - love the muesli, granola and the boxes!

I have to say they have converted me to a muesli lover! Today we are eating "Simply Nutty" muesli which is loaded with ...well...nuts...brazil nuts, cashews, almonds and hazelnuts. There's also dates, raisins and oats. There are no added sugars or fats. For breakfast, we mix it with yogourt or make parfaits - layers of muesli, yogourt, fruit and sometimes a little honey.

I couldn't convert my 8 year old daughter to a muesli lover but she does love their "Honey Granola". I asked why she liked it. Her response was "It tastes really good. I like the honey." I agree. I also like the sunflower seeds as it lends a flavour that isn't in the other granolas we've tried.

I wanted to find a few other uses for muesli besides just as a breakfast. I'll be sharing a few recipes over the next week or so. The first one is this muesli fruit crisp. For this recipe, I used Dorset's "Simply Delicious" variety. If you don't have muesli you could substitute oats and perhaps throw in a few raisins or nuts if desired. I used strawberries and apples but most fruits/berries will work. I also divided the fruit amongst five creme brulee bowls but you could put it all in a 8 or 9 inch square pan.

Ingredients

Topping

2 cups muesli
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (can use all purpose if desired)
1 cup unsalted butter, cold
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 freshly grated nutmeg or tsp ground
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Base

4-5 medium sized apples, peeled cored and thinly sliced
1 lb strawberries, sliced
1/2 tsp cardamom
zest of one lemon
1 tbsp cornstarch
juice of one lemon

Instructions

1. In small bowl, combine lemon juice and cornstarch. 
2. Place all of the fruit, lemon zest and cardamom in a large bowl and gently combine. 
3. Add the lemon juice/cornstarch. Combine again.

To make the topping:

1. Whisk together all the topping ingredients except the butter.
2. Cut the cold butter into 1/2 inch bits and add to the topping.
3. Using your hands, rub the butter pieces into the flour mixture until the butter is about the size of peas.

To finish dessert:

1. Evenly divide the fruit amongst 5 shallow dishes.
2. Add a handful of topping onto each dish (should work out to using half the topping).
3. Place dishes on a cookie sheet to catch any overflowing juices.
4. Bake for 12 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and evenly divide the remaining topping over each dish. 
6. Place back in oven for approximately 15-20 minutes or until topping is golden and juices are bubbling.
7. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Check out Dorset Cereals website for more details on there different varieties and where to buy it. In Canada, it is currently available in Ontario and British Columbia.

*Dorset Cereals provided their cereal to me without charge but all opinions are my own.

Honey Oat Muffins

My kids love these muffins! I thought the cardamom might be a little overwhelming but it isn't. The cardamom flavour is definitely stronger in the batter than in the baked muffin but it still adds a nice little "something-something" to this snack. The honey shines through in this recipe and can be tasted in every bite. You can also use maple syrup instead of honey. Of course, if you want to use less the sugar leave out the chocolate chips.

I've also occasionally used one pack of individual instant oats (any flavour) when I've been out of regular oats. I use whole wheat pastry flour but you can use all-purpose flour though it might make a slightly more dense final product (not that there is anything wrong with that).


Makes 12 muffins.

Ingredients

3/4 cup quick or instant oats
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar or turbinado sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (all purpose can be substituted)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup plain yogourt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

On medium low heat combine honey, oats, cinnamon, cardamom and vanillla. Heat until honey is warm. Remove from heat.

In large mixing bowl beat together sugar, eggs and oil on medium high speed for 3 minutes.

In small bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Add half the flour mixture to the egg bowl and stir on low speed until just combined. Add the yogourt and mix again. Add the oat mixture and stir. Add the last of the flour and chips. Stir just until combined.

Evenly divide amongst muffins tins and bake for 15-17 minutes until golden and tooth pick test comes out clean.

Cool for ten minutes in tins and then remove muffins from tin and cool completely on wire rack.