Harvest Strata

A wonderful way to take advantage of the fall bounty

Ingredients:

1 large beet
2 large carrots
1 butternut squash
1 small sweet potato
1 medium size russet potato
1/2 an onion
1 egg
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup shredded cheese

Directions:

Get out your favourite casserole dish and grease it with some of the butter.  Peel the beet and slice it thinly.  Layer it across the bottom of dish (the beet goes on the bottom or every thing under them turns purple), then dot with butter.  Repeat the process with the carrots.  Repeat the process again using the top three inches of the butternut squash.  With the sweet potato peeling is optional (I will often leave the peel on taking off only the tips) otherwise repeat the previous process one last time.

Preheat your oven to 400F

Shred you potato and onion placing them in a separate bowl, ensure the potato water makes it in too. Mix in the breadcrumbs,cheese and egg. Add salt and pepper to the mix if you wish.  Spread evenly across the top of the casserole dish and cover.  Place in the oven for 40 minutes to an hour you want an inserted knife to sink smoothly. You can switch to broil and remove your covering for 5 minutes if the top hasn't browned.

The Twist:

There is of so much you can do with this one.  Turnips, parsnips, broccoli stem, they all add their own special flavours to the mix.  Do not, however, substitute a different kind of potato.  The russet has the most starch which helps the topping bind.  Also I'd avoid using any vegetable like zucchini or egg plant that contain a lot of water or you'll find yourself eating a stew.

Another nice twist is to put a layer of bread cubes, covered lightly in an egg and milk mixture, on the bottom.  It's very tasty but be warned cleaning your dish afterwards may be a pain.

Bara Brith

This is a Welsh fruit bread, not quite as dense as a fruit cake it's easy to make and tasty to boot.

Ingredients:

2 tea bags
1 1/2 cups mixed dried fruit
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon fancy molasses
1 cup strong hot tea
1 large egg well beaten
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups all purpose flour

Directions:

Star by brewing your tea. Place two tea bags in 1 cup of boiling water and let steep for at least 10 minutes. Remove the tea bag then add the brown sugar and molasses, stir until dissolved. Add the mixed dried fruit, cover then go to work, or bed, or whatever, just don't touch for at least six hours.

Heat your oven to 325 F.  Grease a 1lb loaf pan.

Beat your egg and add it to your wet ingredients.  Don't worry if they have absorbed most of the tea, it won't affect the recipe. In a separate bowl combine your dry ingredients and mix until well blended.  Add it all together and mix well.  Scrap the stick paste into your loaf pan and do your best to level it out.  Cook for one hour or until a skewer comes out clean.  you'll need some thin longer then a tooth pick to reach the center.  Let it cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pan.

The Twist:

The fruit you choose to use will greatly effect the end result.  Raisins, currents and dried cranberries will absorb a lot of fluid which will cause your bread to be a little more dense.  You can add another 1/3 cup of tea to lighten it up a bit.  Mixed fruit refers to the candid dried fruit often found in fruitcake. Because it is candied it won't absorb as much liquid but I find it isn't to everyone's taste.

The brown sugar and molasses take the place of muscovado sugar which is harder to get here in Canada and frankly, unnecessary.  Be warned if you choose to use blackstrap molasses instead of the fancy, it has a much stronger flavour.

The baking powder, salt and all purpose flour create a homemade batch of self rising flour.  If for some reason you actually have self rising flour you can substitute it directly.