A Taste of Haldimand – June 12, 2025

With lots of family visiting for the weekend, my house was abuzz with activity. I took advantage of the captive audience to made a couple new dishes for them to try. You can always count on your family to give you their honest opinion!  

The potato quiche is a recipe from the 4-H Potato Club, where I am one of the volunteer leaders. We enjoyed the unique crust made from potatoes rather than pastry. I chose to use a 9-inch by 13-inch pan rather than dividing into two smaller pans. As with most recipes, you could easily add other vegetables to suit your taste. I thought my grandsons would enjoy this one and I was right!

I pulled out my cookbook “Edwardian Cooking: 80 recipes inspired by Downton Abbey’s Elegant Meals” by Larry Edwards. I chose an asparagus recipe since it’s in season. During that time period, the asparagus would have been a tender wild variety. The abbey residents would have expected to cut the asparagus with their forks, not a knife. Today our asparagus is not as tender, so the author suggests to peel it prior to boiling. I chose to experiment by peeling half the asparagus and leaving the other half as is. We were surprised to discover that it was significantly easier to cut the peeled spears. The author further explained this “was a favorite side dish for any entree featuring seafood, as the acidity of the cider sauce greatly enhanced the flavour of the seafood.” The first taste of this sauce had each of us puckering and saying “oh, this is very vinegary”! After a couple of bites, we grew more accustomed to the intense flavour and we understood how pairing it with seafood would be a good choice. However, I would suggest using half the amount of vinegar and then adjust to your taste. It’s fun having these food tasting experiments. Enjoy!