It's here! It's here! It's finally here!

Three years in the making, The Side Gardener is now on the loose

It may seem odd to look back on 2020 with any kind of fondness, given the stressful sh%$*t show it proved to be, but I’ve discovered the secret to hindsight…good memories are a bunch of loud mouths and they’ll talk right over the lousy ones if you let them.

Three years ago, when the pandemic suddenly brought the world to a screeching halt, I decided to use some of that time to design and create a garden on a neglected piece of land at the side of my house— an exercise that helped make life at the time pleasantly bearable. In fact, it was such a success, I wrote a book about it. The Side Gardener: Recipes and Notes from my Garden, was a true labour of love and last week, we saw its release into the world! I’m actually writing this newsletter from the Toronto airport as I await my flight home, having spent the last few days running around the city promoting the book. It’s been a whirlwind of exciting events, culminating with an in-store interview at the newest Indigo Books with Heather Reisman herself…ummm pinch me!!

In celebration of all of this, I thought I’d share with you one of my favourite recipes from the book: fruit and nut crackers smothered in radish butter! A cracker so good, I treat it more like cookie. I like to double the recipe and freeze half of the finished loaf. This way should the need for delicious crackers arise I always have some on hand. I simply pull out the loaf, slice and bake!

While I think this particular combination of fruit and nuts is damn near perfection (and even more so when spread thickly with radish butter), please don’t hesitate to switch it up should any of it not suit your taste or pantry stock. If possible, I’d suggest making the loaf a day in advance to ensure the easiest, and cleanest cuts. If the loaf is even slightly warm it can prove a little challenging when slicing.

Nutty Fruit Crackers

1 cup/120 g all purpose flour

1/4 cup/50 g firmly dark brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup/40 g raisins

1/4 cup/40 g dried cherries

1/4 cup/35 g roughly chopped hazelnuts

1/4 cup/35 g roughly chopped pistachios

1/4 cup/37.5 g roughly chopped dried apricots

1/4 cup/47.5 g roughly chopped dried figs

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

1/2 cup/125 ml buttermilk

2 tbsp melted butter

Makes: about 36 crackers

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch loaf pan and line with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt with the raisins, dried cherries, hazelnuts, pistachios, apricots, figs, and rosemary. Stir to combine. Add the buttermilk and stir to combine. The dough is on the drier side, so I find it best to use my hands for the final mixing to ensure it all comes together nicely.

3. Press the dough evenly into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

4. Remove the loaf from the oven and set it aside until just cool enough to be removed from the pan. Allow the loaf to cool completely on the wire rack before cutting.

5. Using a serrated knife, carefully slice each cracker very thinly and lay them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Use a pastry brush to lightly coat the face-up side of each cracker with the melted butter.

6. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until a lovely golden brown.

7. You can store the cooled crackers in an airtight container for at least one week or in the freezer for 3 months.

Radish Butter

2 cups/230 g fresh radishes, washed, dried, and finely grated

1 cup “European style” unsalted butter*

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp sea salt, plus more for sprinkling

Makes: about 2 cups/454 g butter

1. Heap the grated radish in the middle of a double layer of cheesecloth. Twist the top closed and give the bundle a good squeeze to remove any excess liquid. Repeat this several times until the radish is very dry.

2. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip the butter and lemon juice until light and fluffy. Add the grated radish and salt and mix to combine.

3. Place the radish butter in a large ramekin or small serving dish, making a lovely little mountain. Sprinkle with a little more sea salt and serve alongside the fruity nut crackers. This butter will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for several days but do allow it to warm slightly before serving to make it easier for spreading.

   * “European” butter has a higher fat content than standard butter and is creamier and richer in flavour. This recipe will work just fine with regular butter, but if using a salted butter just remember to omit the sea salt.

* Should you need a little visual tutorial you can find a video of me making the crackers and butter on my instagram feed.

Fruity Nut Crackers

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