the first meal to the field is always a little ‘hairy’… not sure when to cook things, when to pack them up… when to cry because I’m overwhelmed…
the first meal plan was:
- Hot Corned Beef Sandwiches
- Tammy’s Buns
- Garlic Roasted Potatoes
- Fresh Corn Casserole
- Macaroni Salad
- Saskatoon Berry Crumble Cake
the other wrinkle thrown into my plans was a 2 hour wait in a doctor’s office to get my knee looked at… during this time I left my children (child labourers) to tend to the cooking and packing… 
I had made this Saskatoon Berry Crumble Cake earlier on in the morning… I made it in a square baking pan and realized as it was flowing over the sides and making a mess of the oven that a 9×13 is a better idea… I like to learn by mistake – every time – only way I learn anything
Saskatoon Berry Crumble Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
– 2 cups all purpose flour
– 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
– 1 tsp baking soda
– 1/2 tsp kosher salt
– 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
– 1 cup white sugar
– zest of 1 large lemon
– 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
– 2 large eggs, at room temperature
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
– 2 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
For the Streusel Topping:
– 1/2 cup all purpose flour
– 1/2 cup brown sugar
– 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
– 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed
Directions
– preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 9×13 pan
– whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon
– cream the sugar, lemon zest and butter
– add eggs and beat until smooth
– add vanilla and Greek yogurt and mix until combined
– add dry ingredients and mix until just combined
– fold in blueberries with a spatula
– for the streusel topping, combine ingredients and work it until the mixture resembles oatmeal
– pour the cake in the pan and top with the streusel
– bake until golden and toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean
(approx. 40 min)
this Macaroni Salad is delish… I remember being in Oahu and my farmer went out to pick up a cheap supper so we didn’t break the bank on a meal out with our kid’s whom neither of us enjoy a meal out with anyways… so we were left watching ‘River Monsters’ and he came back with ribs, rice and macaroni salad… this is when I discovered that Hawaiians loved macaroni salad as much as people that like to eat at Kentucky Fried Chicken…
Macaroni Salad
Ingredients
– 4 cups dry elbow macaroni
– 3 roasted red peppers, chopped
– 1/2 cup (200 mL can) black olives, chopped
– 1/2 cup dill pickles, chopped
– 6 green onions, sliced (1/2 cup)
– 1/2 cup radishes, sliced
– 1/2 cup mayonnaise
– 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
– 3 tsp sugar
– 1/2 tsp kosher salt
– freshly ground black pepper
– 1/4 cup milk
– small splash of pickle juice
Directions
– cook macaroni in lightly salted water, drain and set aside
– to roast the red peppers, put whole peppers on a sheet pan in the oven at 500 degrees for 30 minutes
– cover with tin foil and let sit for 30 minutes
– cut the top off and remove charred skin and seeds
– mix mayo, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper
– add enough milk to make it pourable
– splash in the pickle juice for extra flavour
– mix macaroni and dressing
– stir in olives, roasted red peppers, pickles, green onions and radishes
– chill for at least 2 hours before serving
the potatoes are curtesy of my garden… and the boys made them for me while I was at the knee appointment… they even blanched them first, then paper towel dried them off and then coated them in the olive oil and spices and then lade them out on the pan individually… I informed them later that it was awesome they did that but didn’t need to go to that much work!
Garlic Roasted Potatoes
Ingredients
– 5 pounds red potatoes (sliced into wedges and enough for 2 sheet pans)
– 1/2 cup olive oil
– 2 tsp kosher salt
– 1 tsp ground pepper
– 2 tbsp minced garlic (around 6 cloves)
– 2 tbsp minced fresh parsley (or 1tbsp dried parsley)
Directions
– boil salted water and put half of the wedges in for 3 minutes or until water is back to a boil to blanch them
– remove with a strainer and put immediately into a ice water or cold water bath (I put mine into the sink filled with cold water)
– repeat with the other half of potatoes
– dry potatoes wedges on a tea towel
– toss the potatoes with the olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic
– transfer onto a sheet pan with parchment paper lining it
– roast in oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crisp
– flip once while roasting
– remove from oven and add parsley
we also went to the garden for some corn on the cob and made it into Garden Corn Casserole… it is one of my favourite ways to take corn to the field…
Garden Corn Casserole
Ingredients
– 12 ears of corn (still in the husk – 10 cups after cut off)
– 1 1/3 cups heavy cream (half & half works)
– 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
– 2 tsp kosher salt
– ground pepper
Directions
– remove corn from husks
– in a large deep bowl, slice off the kernels of corn
– with the dull side of the knife, press and scrape out the creamy milk of the rest of the cob
– add butter, heavy cream, salt and pepper
– put into a 9×13 baking dish
– bake at 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes
lastly… the Hot Corned Beef Sandwiches… I bought the corned beef at Prairie Meats in Saskatoon, SK… and it was excellent… this is my oldest boy’s hand in the picture… my other boy is taking the picture with his phone… they learn from their mom pretty quickly that everyone likes to see every move you make documented on Instagram… they had to make and wrap in tin foil all 20 sandwiches… for boy’s that spent most of August playing Clash of Clans this is quite the undertaking… but they pulled it off!
Hot Corned Beef Sandwiches
Ingredients
– Tammy’s Buns (see following recipe)
– Corned Beef (I bought seasoned at Prairie Meats)
– 1 pound Provolone cheese
– 1/2 cup mayonnaise
– 6 tbsp grated onion
– 1 tbsp poppy seeds
– 2 tbsp spicy mustard
– 1/4 tsp worcestershire sauce
Directions
– cook corned beef at 325 degree oven with beef broth and apple cider vinegar in the pan for 3 hours
– slice the corned beef thinly
– slice buns
– mix mayo and other ingredients
– spread the dressing on both the top and bottom of bun
– place meat and cheese slices in
– wrap each sandwich in foil and either put in fridge to heat up later or bake right away
– 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes
Tammy's Buns
Ingredients
– 3 cups warm water
– 1/2 cup sugar
– 6 tbsp (90 mL) crisco oil
– 1 tsp salt
– 2 tbsp Fermipan instant rise yeast
– 2 eggs, room temperature, beaten
– 8 3/4 cups all purpose flour
Directions
– in a Bosch dough mixer (or any mixer with a dough hook) add all ingredients except for flour and mix
– add half of the flour, mix and then the other half and mix
– beat for 7 minutes
– let rise in a warm place, covered with a tea towel and punch down 3 times every 15 minutes
– form buns and allow them to rise for 45 minutes covered
– bake at 350 for 17 minutes
