Recipes from Balsillie Fruit Farm

• 4 cups fruit, peeled, sliced, and/or pitted
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 Tbsp corn starch
• Mix together and place in 2 qt. casserole.

Preheat oven to 350F. Combine in bowl:

• ½ c. sugar
• ½ c. flour
• ½ c. milk
• 1 t. baking powder
• ¼ t. salt

Pour into 9x9" greased pan. Add: 2 c. fruit - fresh, frozen or canned. Bake in oven for 40 minutes.
Enjoy!

1 baked pie shell

2 quarts fresh raspberries, washed

1 c. sugar

2 ½ cornstarch

Put ½ of the raspberries in the pie shell. Put the other half of the raspberries in a saucepan, and add sugar and cornstarch. Boil & stir until clear and thick. Cool a little before pouring over raspberries in pie shell. Let stand 2 hours. Serve with Cool Whip. Delicious!!

• 1 ¼ cup packed brown sugar
• ½ cup cooking oil
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup buttermilk

Beat in a large bowl. Stir in 1 ½ cup chopped rhubarb + ½ cup chopped walnuts.

In a separate bowl, stir together:

• 2 ½ cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Fold dry ingredients into fruit mixture until just blended. Spoon into greased tins or large paper liners. To make topping, melt 1 Tbsp butter or margarine, and add 1/3 cup white sugar + 1 tsp cinnamon. Scatter these crumbs on the muffin batter and press lightly into batter.

Bake at 400 F for 20 to 25 minutes or until delicately browned.

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Sprinkle over top of fruit mixture. Bake for 25 minutes in 350 F oven, or Microwave on High for 10 minutes. Serve warm or cold. Makes 8 servings.

Tip: When using frozen fruit, cook mixture in microwave on high until it thickens. I usually cook it for 5 minute, stir it; cook for another 5 minutes, stir it; cook for 2 minutes then stir it. Continue at 2 minute intervals until it thickens.

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A special request from Darlene:

Chutney is the ideal sauce to go with every meat. Stir into steamed rice for extra zip.

• 3 cups peaches, peeled, pitted, finely chopped
• 2 cups pears, peeled, cored, finely chopped
• 1 cup plums, unpeeled, pitted, finely chopped
• ½ cup red pepper, finely chopped
• ¼ cup red onion, finely chopped
• ¼ cup raisins
• 2 cups lightly packed brown sugar
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
• 1 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. chili flakes
• ½ tsp. ground ginger
• ½ tsp. black pepper
• ½ tsp. turmeric

Stir all ingredients together in a large saucepan. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered 1 to 1 ¼ hours. Stir occasionally during cooking and frequently near the end of cooking to prevent sticking. The chutney should be thick and a rich caramel colour. Remove from heat , then pour into sterilized jars and seal. Makes 4 cups.

• 2 cups chopped, peeled fresh peaches
• ¼ cup chopped sweet onion
• 3 Tbsp lime juice
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped hot peppers, seeded (can substitute Jalepeno peppers, or sweet peppers, depending on how hot you like it)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp snipped fresh cilantro (can substitute parsley for cilantro for a different flavour)
• ½ tsp. sugar

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together peaches, onion, lime juice, peppers, garlic, cilantro and sugar. Cover and chill for 1 - 2 hours. Makes 2 cups. Serve with tortilla chips for dipping, or however you enjoy salsa.

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• 1 double recipe of pastry (2cups flour + 1 cup Crisco + 4 Tbsp water)
• 4 cups peeled, sliced peaches
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 ½ Tbsp corn starch
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

Mix together and pour into pie crust. Top with pastry with vents, and sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top. Bake at 450F for 15 minutes, then turn oven down to 350 F for 35 minutes. Cool and serve.

Notes: Fresh peach pie is delicious, but to enjoy this in the winter, I freeze the filling like this: Line your pie plate with plastic wrap larger than the pie plate. Mix the filling using fresh sliced peaches + sugar + corn starch. Pour filling into pie plate, and leaving the plastic open, place in freezer overnight. Remove frozen filling form by pulling the plastic away from the pie plate. Tape plastic wrap shut with masking tape. Put frozen pie filling in a second plastic bag, labelled, and return to the freezer. To bake, line pie plate with fresh pastry and remove plastic from frozen filling. Cover with top pastry. Put in microwave on high for 10 minutes to begin thawing filling. Then bake as usual in regular oven at 450 F for 15 minutes, and 350 F for 35 minutes.

Note : For 10" pie plates, I use 6 cups of fruit + 1 ½ cups of sugar + 4 Tbsp of corn starch.

• 1 double recipe of pastry (2 cups flour + 1 cup Crisco + 4 Tbsp water)
• 2 cups rhubarb, diced in 1" cubes
• 2 cups strawberries, fresh or frozen
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 ½ Tbsp corn starch

Mix pastry and set aside. Mix fruit together and top with sugar & corn starch. Cook in the microwave for up to 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes until mixture starts to thicken. Line pieplate with a single crust, and pour the fruit mixture into pie crust. Top with pastry with vents, and sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top. Bake at 450F for 15 minutes, then turn oven down to 350 F for 35 minutes. Cool and serve.

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Pastry for two-crust 10" pie
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
8 to 10 apples (Empire, Mutsu, Idared or Spy)
1 cup cranberries (easier to chop if frozen)

Peel, core and slice apples (makes about 7 cups). Slice or coarsely chop cranberries (makes about 1/2 cup), and add to apples. Stir together cornstarch, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt, and sprinkle over prepared fruit. Whisk together maple syrup, egg and vanilla and pour over fruit mixture. Stir until evenly coated.

Roll out 1/2 of the pastry and line a 10" pieplate. Fill with fruit mixture, and roll out the other 1/2 of the pastry. Place on top, trim and seal pastries. Make several slits on top for steam.

Preheat oven to 425 F. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges start to brown. Lower temperature to 350 F and bake for 40 more minutes. Cool at least 30 minutes before serving. Garnish with cheese if desired.

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4 cups fruit, peeled, sliced, and/or pitted
1 cup sugar
4 Tbsp corn starch
Mix together and place in 2 qt. casserole.

Batter: Blend together 1/2 cup golden Crisco, 1/2 cup sugar + 1 egg until smooth. Add 1 cup flour + 1 tsp. baking powder. Drop by spoon on top of fruit mixture. Bake at 400 F for 30 minutes or until batter is golden brown.

We enjoy this all winter with frozen fruit. This can be put on top of the frozen peach pie fillings . We also like a mixture of 2 cups of strawberries + 2 cups of chopped rhubarb (increase the sugar to 1 1/2 cup when using rhubarb).

Our current favourite is Bumbleberry pudding : 2 cups frozen cherries, 1 cup frozen raspberries + 1 cup frozen blueberries; add 1 cup sugar + 2 1/2 Tbsp corn starch.

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1 double recipe of pastry (2cups flour + 1 cup Crisco + 4 Tbsp water)
3 cups raspberries
3 cups sour cherries
1 cup sugar
4 Tbsp corn starch
Mix fruit together with sugar and corn starch until juice forms. Line a 10" pie plate with pastry and pour fruit mixture into pie crust. Top with lattice pastry (lattice top definitely makes it taste better!), and sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top. Bake at 450F for 15 minutes, then turn oven down to 350 F for 35 minutes. Cool and serve.

This pie won 1st place in the Pie Auction at the 1996 Harrow Fair, and was auctioned for $135 for the Children's Rehabilitation Center. Quite a thrill for me!

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• 1 baked pie shell
• 2 quarts fresh strawberries, washed
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 & 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

Put 1/2 of the strawberries in the pie shell. Put the other half of the strawberries in a saucepan, and add sugar and cornstarch. Boil & stir until clear and thick. Add lemon juice. Cool a little before pouring over berries in pie shell. Let stand 2 hours. Serve with Cool Whip.
Delicious!!

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Great sauce over ice cream, yogurt, sliced peaches or other fresh fruit. Also nice as a sauce for a dessert crepes.

2 ½ cups sliced rhubarb ( ½ inch slices) (fresh or frozen)
¾ cup water
½ cup white sugar
juice of 1 lemon
grated rind of 1 lemon
¼ tsp cinnamon
2 cups fresh raspberries or 1 cup thawed raspberries

In sauce pan, combine rhubarb, water, sugar, and lemon rind. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until rhubarb is tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice, cinnamon and raspberries. Let cool. Serve warm or cold over vanilla ice cream. Makes 3 cups of sauce.

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• 1 double recipe of pastry (2cups flour + 1 cup Crisco + 4 Tbsp water)
• 8 cups peeled, sliced apples (we prefer Mutsu, Idared, Jonagold or Empire, but if you don’t have these varieties, we usually mix at least 3 varieties of apples)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice (for very sweet apples)

Mix together and pour into 10" pie crust. Top with pastry with vents, and sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top. Bake at 450F for 15 minutes, then turn oven down to 350 F for 35 minutes. Cool and serve with ice cream or cheese (Apple pie without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze!)

Note: This makes a very high pie with a thick filling, and that’s how our family likes it!

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1 ¼ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup cooking oil
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk

Beat in a large bowl. Stir in 1 ½ cup chopped apples + ½ cup chopped walnuts.

In a separate bowl, stir together:

2 ½ cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon

Fold dry ingredients into fruit mixture until just blended. Spoon into greased tins or large paper liners. To make topping, melt 1 Tbsp butter or margarine, and add 1/3 cup white sugar + 1 tsp cinnamon. Scatter these crumbs on the muffin batter and press lightly into batter.Bake at 400 F for 20 to 25 minutes or until delicately browned.

(Substitute diced rhubarb for apples for a delicious springtime treat!)

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