East Coast Recipes

Authentic recipes from East Coast Kitchens

Atlantic Cod au Gratin

Cod is a fish you can sample pretty much anywhere you care to travel on the East Coast. Its a tastey white fish that is low in fat, low in calories and a good source of protein. Need B12? This is yer fish. Remember takin’ cod liver oil pills as a kid? Maybe not but its sure good fer what ails ya! You can find so many recipes for cod. Cod cheeks. Cod tongues. But I will share Cod au Gratin with ya. Its my best way to eat cod! My Mamma taught me!

Ingredients:

1 lb cubed cod
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour(I use gluten free)
1 1/4 cup milk(I use lactose free)
pinch salt r not
pepper…lots
Parsley and thyme(optional)
squirt of lemon juice
1 small onion chopped fine
1 stalk celery chopped fine
mushrooms sliced
1/2 cup bread crumbs or cracker crumbs(gluten free Bretons)
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese(white/marble cheese=less fat)

Method

Preheat oven to 375
in a skillet melt butter and stir in flour til smooth
remove from heat and add milk
heat this till smooth and shiney
add remaining ingredients and cook and stir till smooth and thick
Place cod in greased casserole dish
Top with the white sauce
Sprinkle with bread crumbs and cheese.
Bake 20 – 30 minutes till bubbles and slightly brown
Serve with potatoes ‘n veggies or yer favorite salad.
Yum! Enjoy!

East Coast Potatoes

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East Coast Potatoes are a main staple in every household since way, way back. They are so versatile; you can boil, bake, fry and mash them up with butter and milk. Yum! Yes they have carbs but “oh well” I say! Here on the East Coast we grow potatoes everywhere. Prince Edward Island is the most famous for potato growing and has been a big industry for the Islanders from the beginning of time. They sure grow a good spud in that red mud! East Coasters love potatoes! Do you? I know I sure do! Now; I am not a potato farmer and my method is not scientific but its all pretty basic anyway.

Planting Potatoes

There is nothing better than digging up your own home grown potato. Its like finding golden nuggets in the rich loomey earth. Its real easy to do and I will share what I know with advice from my farmer friends. There are so many varieties to choose from and some are better for baking or mashing. You can grow chieftans, yukon golds and my favorite is the Irish Cobblers. Planting is done early in the spring when you can till up your soil and the weather is cold. Seeds are cut from the seed potatoes you buy or save year to year. Slice the peeling with an eye attached. If you are real lucky; the seeds will have multiple ones. Now my farmer friends tell me to let these dry for a few days. In rich, fertilized soil you plant the the eye pointing upward, about 1″ down and 1′ apart. Pat the ground firm and sit back and wait. Dont forget to water.

Growing Potatoes

Once the plant takes hold; you have to hill up the earth around the base of the plant. This not only supports the plant but provides a good bed for the potaotes to grow in and keeps the potato under the soil. You dont want your potatoes showing above the soil or they will all turn green! Now let them grow! Water…water…water…! Once they flower; watch out for the dreaded potato bug. Hopefully you wont see them but if you do; you need to hand pick these little critters or they will strip your plant. Luckily I dont ever have any! But keep a mason jar of water in the graden and just put them in that. Once they are done flowering you can dig but they will be small. Once the plant is no longer green and starts to yellow; your potatoes should then be at their fullest. This usually takes me to the fall harvest. Dig up and enjoy!

Potatoe growing and planting — **Baked Potatoe**

Breakfast Baked PEI Potatoes

Ingredients

4 baked russet potatoes
4 fresh eggs
shredded cheese
pre-cooked bacon
chives
S&P

Method: serves 8

Preheat oven to 375
Slice potato in half and hollow out a small bowl in the centre
Place 1 T of butter in each
crack 1 egg in each hollow
Sprinkle with cheese, S&P and crumbled bacon
Place on cookie sheet and bake 17-25 minutes until egg is set.
Serve hot or cold

Bannoch Bread or Scone

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Is Bannoch a bread or scone? Is it rooted from the Scots or the Indigenous Peoples? It was originally a heavy, round, flat bread made of unleavened oatmeal or barley dough, lard and water. It was cooked on a griddle or stane(stone) on an open fire. Once it bubbled you could flip it to cook the other side. Todays bannoch uses leavened flours with a much lighter and airy texture and baked in an oven. Much like a scone. There are many many variations of ingredients and and methods of cooking. The English version was comprised of pastry rather than the bread dough.

Scottish Origin

The Scottish Bannoch was a common food in festivals and rituals and the most common one was at the changing of the Gaelic seasons. St. Brides for spring, Bealtaine for summer, Lammas for autumn harvest and Samhain for winter. There was a recipe for most any occassion. Selkirk bannoch is probably the most common and resembles a fruitcake with lots of raisins. It was named for Selkirk Scotland where it was first made.

North American Origin

Indigenous North American bannoch(Inuvialuk) is a type of flat bread. It was initially made using local resources of corn, roots, tree sap and flour from acorns and camas bulbs. It was then pan fried(stone) on an open fire. It resembled a flat bread. Today it is a traditional soul food!

There is question as to the origin of bannoch. Given the minimal resources at the time; the basic flat bread was common in England, Scotland and North America. Today’s recipes vary and you may have your favorite passed onto you by family. Bannoch; as we know it, now resembles a light and fluffy scone with or without raisins. Yum! Flat bread derives from the traditional form of Bannoch fried in a pan. Do you have a favorite recipe?

Recipe serves 8

INGREDIENTS

6 cups (1.5 L) flour

6 Tbsp (90 mL) baking powder

3 ½ cups (875 mL) milk, warmed

¼ cup (60 mL) vegetable oil

1. In large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, milk and oil. Stir until dough comes together in a ball; do not overmix. Shape into rough oval; place on baking sheet or oven-safe casserole dish.

2. Bake in 400°F (200°C) oven “until a beautiful golden brown,” about 30 minutes.

3. Serve warm or cooled.
Read more at http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/traditional-bannock/16288/#SmH57uZle4hfVwDM.99

Welsh Cakes

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A special taste from Wales. Griddle scones cooked on a hot griddle or cast iron fry pan. A cross between a pancake and a biscuit. Flakey, tastey & melt in yer mouth. Serve warm with butter.

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup caster sugar (finely ground sugar)
1/4 cup currants/raisins
1 egg beaten with 3 Tbsp milk
Prep time:15 mins Makes 15

Method

Mix dry ingred. and cut in butter.
Mix milk and egg together and add to dry mix(thick dough)
roll out 1/4″ thick & cut wth cutter
cook on med heat 3-4 mins on both sides
sprinkle sugar on top
serve warm with butter….Yum

Mama’s Hodge Podge

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Ingredients

Combine 6 cut up potatoes
shelled peas (a good bunch)
yellow/green beans (lots)
1/2 sm onion cut up fine(optional)

Method

Combine ingredients in large stock pot
Boil til soft
Drain and add milk/cream enough to cover just 1/4
Scoop and dollop with butter
Salt & Pepper to taste
Note: I add a good bit of cut up chives. Tastier with real cream! Yum!

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