Metis flavours influence this Prairie Berry Crumble.--PHOTO BY JOLYNN PARENTEAU
Pre-pandemic, I never considered myself a good cook. In my early 20s, if company was coming, the oven was a great place to hide dirty dishes. On more than one occasion I’ve definitely tried to pass off takeout as a home-cooked meal.
Then after moving to the Hat a couple years ago, somehow tabs for dining out with new friends over a single summer could have amounted to a tropical getaway. It was time to put on my chef’s hat, dust off those Company’s Coming cookbooks I mysteriously acquired but never opened, and start meal planning.
Most singles will tell you, “Cooking for one is no fun.” It’s easier to have cereal or chips and dip for dinner if no one is over your shoulder to hassle you about a balanced diet.
Then as we all know, 2020 saw many of us isolated, and good health became Priority One. I was fortunate to pair up during the early part of the pandemic, and my new partner and I both wanted to impress the other in the kitchen. Food is absolutely the way to my heart. From the start, unable to dine out, we were trying to outdo the other in the kitchen, with my stuffed peppers (thanks, YouTube recipes!) and his cast iron pizzas. Seventeen months into living the stay-at-home life, we’re still impressing each other. Most of the time, I’m still winging it.
Tonight, we have friends over for dinner (the allotted one other household, of course). For dessert, I’ve managed to whip together a crumble with a Metis twist, using berries that can be harvested across the Alberta homelands of the Metis Nation.
I threw this together between setting up a jack-o-lantern carving station and building a charcuterie board (look at me now!), loosely following an English plum crumble recipe but heavily modified to what I had in the cupboards and fridge; there’s definitely no vegan butter in this household. Beyond an ingredients list, I don’t care to retain instructions, but I’ve detailed how I pulled it all together myself below. It came out a real treat, so I’m happy to share.
Kookum means ‘grandma’ in Cree. I might not be a kookum myself but this is my submission to another instalment of Kookum’s Kitchen, submitted for the approval of all the beloved Miywasin Elders, whose recipes I look forward to featuring in future articles. Feel free to steal this recipe and call it your own.
Prairie Berry Crumble
Prep time 10 minutes
Bake time 45 minutes
Crumble ingredients:
2 cups steel-cut oats
2 cups bread flour
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 cup butter, softened
Filling ingredients:
2 pints raspberries, mashed
2 cups saskatoons, mashed
1 cup strawberries, finely chopped
½ cup maple syrup
4 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350°C. Grease a 9×13″ pan. Set aside.
In a medium pot, whisk together your filling ingredients. Cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes until reduced to a thick syrup consistency.
While your filling simmers, in a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the crumble and mix by hand. Add in the butter and mix by hand until the crumble clumps together. Press 2/3 of the crumble into the pan in an even layer to build your dessert base. Bake uncovered for 10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, about 10 minutes.
Pour the hot filling evenly over your base. Smooth with a spoon. Using your hands, crumble the remaining 1/3 oats mixture over the berry filling until covered. Bake 35 minutes.
Allow to cool slightly before serving. Garnish with berries. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whip cream.
Am I a food blogger now?
JoLynn Parenteau is a Metis writer out of Miywasin Friendship Centre. Column feedback can be sent to jolynn.parenteau@gmail.com
