in your kitchen A few sunny days give - me hope that there will be a summer after all. None too soon. For a while our backyard could be ficensed as a kelp farm or a coqperative growing sea asparagus. Now we are less than a week away from summer. In preparation tor those lazy, hazy days in the garden or on the beach, here are four recipes with accurate calorie counts. To calculate the calories of a particular dish is easier than ever before. Books and com- puter programs entice the calorie counter to make those sumber crunching guestima- ions s-ore accurate. “In fact, mv contacts in the foodservice industry predict that in the near future even more “on the package” nutri- tional, allergenic, and calorie information will be available for consumers. - This is tine for commer- cially processed foods. Home menu ingredients are a little more ditticult to add up. That is where the books and some computer programs come in handy. Steamed B.C. farmed salmon 1 fb. fresh B.C. farmed salmon fillets - ‘ _ 3: Tbsp.’ medium “diced onion 3 Tbsp. medium diced green “ pepper. : 1 tsp. lemon j juice : ¥ c.. diced tomato (peeled) 1 tsp. canola oil 6 oz. tomate or V8 juice salt and pepper to taste Method: Select a 10° saucepan with a lid. A 9” wire rack should fit inte the pan. Add water until it almost reaches the rack. Select another saucepan, add the oil, saute the onions and peppers for 3 minutes then add the tomatoes. Saute a couple of minutes longer. Add the tomato juice. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Check for flavour. As an option, 2 little fresh dill maybe added to the sauce. For steaming, bring the water to boiling. Place fish fil- lets on racks. Cover and steam 4-6 minutes per 4” thickness. Place fillets on a platter, pour sauce over, gar- nish with a little parsley and lemon wedges. Serves four. - Each serving has less than 200 calories. Present with rice or parsleved potatoes. Oriental ham soup. The sveret of this recipe is that it should be make with a homemade stock, and the fat removed. Make the stock (beef.or chicken) a day in advance, strain, cover and rettigerate. The next day che fac can be removed, as it solidifies. There are a few locations in the larger markets around the Lower Mainland where such homemade stocks can be purchased. If you do not have the time to make them, they are worth the price: 5 c. chicken stock 6 oz. fresh snow peas lc. fresh sliced mushrooms % c. julienne sliced green onions © 2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar (or lemon juice) just before Servin 2 c. medium diced cooked - ham (trim off fat) Strawberry picking B.C, Strawberry scason is here once again, sig- nailing the start of our favourite season — summer! Farmer’s markets. are now _open and will be‘ brimming with baskets. of locally grown, juicy B.C. strawberries. “Although the strawberry plants flowered later this year, the weather has been right for the dev clopment of good, juicy berries,” said Henry Wiens, manager of the Fraser Valley Strawberry Growers Association. / B.C. strawberries, mainly the Totem and Raineer vari- eties, grown in the fertile Fraser Valley, are often juicier and more flavourful than imported varieties of straw berries. They are vine-ripened and hand harvested daily, resulting ina unique, intense sweet flavour. When shopping for berries, keep in mind that | pound of strawberries will yield approx- imately 4 cups of whole berries, or 3 cups sliced or 2 cups lightly crushed berries. If you .are_ picking .your, own berries, plastic 4-litre ice cream pails are handy’ and hold approximately 5° to 6 pounds whole berries. To Keep them: fresh, plan to refvigerate as soon as possible atter = purchase. Store unwashed berries in a paper towel lined shaliow pan cov- ered with plastic wrap. To pre- pare the berries, gently wash, pat dry and then remove the green hulls so the berries do not absorb water. Buy vour B.C. strawberries at: @ Bissett Farms, RR #1, 2170 Westham Istand, Delta. ‘Farm stand telephone: 946- 7471, Farm stand hours: 8 north shore news OOD Wednesday, June 16, 1999 — North Shore News -& NEWS photo Paul McGrath STEAMED B.C. salmon is a delicious and healthy addition to your summer menu — clocking in at less than. 200 calories per serving. if you want to calculate the number of calories in your favourite summer dish, there are a number of books and computer programs available to help. Method: Slice the peas, and ling up all the other ingredients. Select a saucepan, add stock, and the rest of the ingredients, simmer for 3 minutes (do not boii). The peas should be crisp-tender. Mix in the vinegar. Present at once. Serves four. Each serv- ing has 175 calories. Tangy round steak broil 1 Ib.. top round steak, about %-inch thick 1 garlic clove minced ¥ c, sliced green onions %c. B.C. red wine ¢. mushrooms sliced 1 sp. cornstarch | sp. chopped parsley dat and pepper to taste. Method: Cut the meat into 4 pieces (1 know the por- a.m. to 6 p.m. Open until the end of July. Located on Vestham Island on the read to the Reifel Bird Sanctuary. Watch tor Bisset Farm signs at the Westhani Island Bridge. @ Driediger Farms, 23823 - 72nd Avenue, Langley, B.C. Farm stand telephone: 888- 1665. Farm stand hours: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day until carly August. Take the 232nd north exit off Highway 1, go cast on 72nd Avenue. @ Emma Lea Farms, Vestham Island Road, Delta. Farm stand telephone: 946- 8216. Farm stand. hours: 8 am. to 8 p.m. Fallow: the signs over the Westham Island Bridge and watch for the litde APPLE STRUDEL 2.95 each -— Aegular Price $4.60 each. Westiynn Bakery VALLEY RO., LYNN VALLEY CENTRE 985-1622 tions are small, but remem- ber, we are getting ready for summer). Place all the other ingredients except the mush- rooms and the cornstarch into a glass bow! and put in the steaks. Cover with the marinade. Refrigerate 8 hours. or more, turning once or twice. Round steak is not always tender but the marinade helps a lor. Save the marinade. Broil the steaks to the desired doneness. In the meantime, simmer the marinade with the mushrooms and the corn- starch for about 2 minutes. ° Check flavour. Serve the steaks with sauce on top, gar- nished with tomato slices, and boiled potatocs as a starch. Serves four. Each serving has less than 170 calories. season has arrived red barn. @ Krause Brothers Farms, 6179 - (248th — Street Aldergrove. Farm stand tele- phone: 856-5757. Farm stand hours: 8 am. to 8 p.m. Monday to Saturday, Sundays 9 am. to 6 p.m. Open until mid-Sept. Take the 264 exit off Highway | and follow the Krause Brothers signs. : @ W:& A Farms, 17771 Westminster Highway Richmond. Telephone: 604- 278-5667. Farm stand hours: 8 am. to 8 p.m. every day until carly July. Located on the corner of No. 8 Road and Westminster Hwy. Look tor the big vellow barn with green doors. Mock custard souffle, 1% c. water % c. non fat dry milk powder 4c. sugar 1 envelope gelatin 4 beaten egg y yolks 4 egg whites beaten stiff salt to taste % tsp. rum or almond extract ground nutmeg for garnish unflavoured Method: Select a saucepan, combine milk pow- der, sugar, gelatin, and a little salt, add the water. Whisk in the egg yolks. Cook gently over low to medium heat - until the sauce coats a spoon. Remove trom heat, chill ina larger'bowl, stir occasionally. Fold in the stiff egg whites, and pour into a souffle dish. It should be about a’4-cup dish. When half the material is in make a collar out of wax- paper and add the rest of the souftle. Refrigerate. Before serving, remove the collar. Serves eight. Each serving has* 100 calories. — Send. your questions on any culinary topics to: A Chet -in “Your - Kitchen, PO, Box 18627, Delta BC. V4K' WT. Or | email . Come to a presentation Speaker Barbara M. Fife, will share ways in which her life and the lives of - ~ others have been strength- ened by reading Science and Health. Science and Health is a’ pioneeringbookon everyday practical spirituality. It offers principles and = “*"*"= insights that lead to emotional and physical well- -being. The auihor has recently been honoured in the U.S. © National Women’s Hall of Fame. Offer valid June 17-23/99 4