PAIR EP ASE LIS CIE ae OF

Serve trad

BUDGET. BEATERS

WHEN YOU visit Nova
Scotia, think of it as a trip
back in time. Sure, the 1990s
have left their scars, but it’s
easier, there, to go back toa
gentler era, especially the

’ further you move away from
Halifex and into the rurai
communities.

The farming and fishing com-
munities are filled with old, salt-
box-style homes. Most have indoor
plumbing, but it’s not unusual to
see a roadside sign advertising a

* motel or campground with flush
toilets.
_. The big superrnarkets —
Sobey’s, IGA and Super Valu —
have all the latest mixes and junk
food, but they also stock staples
such gs salt cod. :

If you’re interested in trying salt
cod — and it’s wonderfui — it is
available in specialty fish stores
(they may have to order it for you)
or from import shops that specialize
in Spanish or Portuguese food. Last

ea ward

a
itiona
time I bought it ii was about $6 for
a one-pound box.

There‘s not much point ia giving
you a fot of lobster recipes as we
have to treat it as such a delicacy.

However, one of the best buys in
Vancouver is frozen Nova Scotia
tinned lobster, occasionally avail-
able at Costco in red, white and
blue tins — about 314 for 1!
ounces of solid meat from tails and
claws. It’s only about $1 cheaper in
Nova Seeiia.

Fresh lobsters, in season, will
run you about $4 apiece in Nova
Scotia but it takes a good picker to
get much more than four to six
ounces from a one-pound, cooked
beast.

Scallops! Now this is one shell-
fish that we can compete with. I
must admit that the big, Digby scal-
lops are wonderful, but ours aren’t
bad at ull.

in Neva Scotia scalfops are
either fried (gently) in tots of butter
cr sei inte a casserole with some
sort of cream-cheese-wine sauce.

The fried ones are often coated
with very fine breadcrumbs, but,
either way, they come out golden-
brown and never overcooked.

- Here's a simple scallop casse-
role recipe. You cam use the cheap-
er, small Calico scallops or thawed
frozen ones (Save-On has big tubs).

SCALLOP CASSERCLE

1 ib. scallops

1/2 c. chopped onion

1c. sliced mushrooms

ic. diced green pepper .

6 Tbsp. butter

1/4 c. flour ,

Salt and pepper

2c. whole milk OR 1-1/2 c. milk
and 1/2 c. white wine OR Zc.
coffee cream and 2 Tsp. sher-
ry.

1 c. soft breadcrumbs (twe stale

isnes

rolls, grated)
2 Thsp. butter
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese

Pick over the scallops for grit or
shell. Cook the vegetables in butier
gently until soft, but not brown, Siir
in flour and seasonings. Whisk in
milk or other liquid and cook gen-
Uy, stirring until thickened. Add
scallops and cook 3 minutes.

Turn into a sprayed casserole.
Prepare buttered crumbs and toss
on top. Sprinkle with parmesan.
Bake at 375°F, 20 minutes. You can
also bake this in four individual
casseroles.

Serve with a wiid rice combina-
tion or mashed potatoes plus a col-
orful vegetable — sautéed red pep-
pers (cheap just now) are my
choice.

CRAB COBBLER

This recipe is exactly the same
as above excent that you substitute
crab (fresh or two tins) and top with
cheese biscuits. Bake the crab mix-
ture for 10 minutes and then drop
the biscuit batter on top. Raise the
oven temperature to 425°F and bake
20 minutes.

CHEESE BISCUIT TOPPING

1c. flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp. shortening
1/2 c. milk

Stir dry ingredients together.
Add cheese. Cut in shortening with
4 pastry blender or rub in with fin-
gertips. Stir in milk. Drop by heap-
ing spoonfuls on top of seafood
mixture. Bake at 425°F, 20 minutes.

In rural Nova Scotia, almost

every home has a vegetable garden.
{ think a lot of pickle recipes were
created (o use up the last of the crop
und this is certaily one of these.

END OF THE GARDEN
PICKLES

8 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded
and diced

1 quart smali cucumbers, not
peeled, sliced

i quart onions, sliced or use small
ones

1 quart green tomatces, diced

1 canliflower, cut in pieces

Note: a qutart of vegetables for
pickling weighs about two pounds
or can be measured in an eight-cup
measure — big items, loosely,
almost to the top. Cut up, five cups
(four if the recipe is American)
Sauce:
le. flour
6 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. turmeric
2 ¢. white sugar
5c. cider vinegar

Cut up vegetables the night
before. Cover with coid water and
sprinkle with a scant cup of pick-
ling salt.

In the morning, drain well,
reserving the salt water. Bring to a
boil and drop in vegetables. Scald
until the water returns to the boil.
Drain and discard brine.

In a large pot, whisk sauce
ingredients until sinooth. Bring to a
boil and add vegetables. Cook, stir-
ring often, unti! mixture is thick and
smooth.

Fill sterilized pickling jars to
1/2” of top. Seal with sterile lids as
package directs. Process in a boil-
ing water bath for 10 minutes.
Cool. Remove rings before storing
in a cool, dark cupboard. Use after
six weeks.

ol eS 4

from Nova Scotia

Now, about salt codfish. Cover
with cold water and leave
overnignt. Drain in the morming and
cover with cold water again. Bring
to a boil, remove from heat and
cool in the water. Drain. Cover with
cold water and let stand several
hours.

To cook, drain again and cover
with cold water. Bring to a boil and
cook about 15 minutes — the size
of the pieces is important as big
ones take a bit longer. You can tell.
when it’s done by piercing it with a
fork.

Traditionally, salt cod is either
fried with bacon or added to a basic
cream saute. The Mediterranean
people do cnacrful things with
tomatces and olives but I don’t
have any of those recipes with me.

Here’s an ald Nova Scotia
recipe ray mother made often:

CODFISH BALLS

1c. cooked seit cod (follow previ-
ous directions)

2-1/2 c. mashed potatoes (pre-
pared with milk and butter
but no salt)

Dash of pepper

4/4 c. very finely chopped onion

lege
Combine the mixture and ferm

into 2” balls. Fry on all sides in but-
ter (traditionally bacon fat!}. These

are usually served with tomato. .

sauce ar creamed onions.

Something you'll rarely see else-
where but very common in Nova
Scotia — mashed vegetables, pota-
toes, tumips, carrots, squash, etc.
are often served scooped with an
ice cream scoop.

I still have the one my mother
used. Aside from making tidy little
mounds, it's a big help for dieters
— premeasured quantities.

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