Ingredients:

4 cups mixed berries, rinsed (hull and slice strawberries)

1/4 to 1/3 cup pure maple syrup

1 Tablespoon lemon juice or to taste

6-8 slices stale bread such as challah or potato bread, crusts removed

In a medium size, non-reactive sauce-pot, place berries and Maple Syrup over medium heat. Bring to a boil, immediately reduce to a simmer and cook stirring occasionally and until berries begin to release their juices and thicken slightly, about ten minutes. Turn off heat, add lemon juice, let cool to room temperature.

Line a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with plastic wrap, letting 3″ hang over on all sides. Press plastic wrap into pan, leaving no air space.

Trim bread slices to fit pan, place a single layer in pan bottom. Using a slotted spoon, place generous single layer of fruit over first layer of bread.

Dip second layer of bread slices into pot with berries for half a minute per side to soak up excess fruit juices. Place over berry layer. Repeat with two more layers of fruit and bread. Finish with a layer of bread, top with remaining juices. Fill to just above rim of pan.

Fold over excess plastic wrap and over loosely with additional plastic wrap as needed. Place loaf pan on a rimmed cookie sheet to catch any overflowing juices. Cover with a second cookie sheet and place several heavy cans on top to press and weigh down pudding. This allows berries to release all their juices into the bread and forces pudding to hold it’s shape nicely. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

To unmold, remove top layer of plastic wrap, invert onto serving platter. Lift off loaf pan and peel off plastic wrap lining.

Serve one slice per person. Optional: Garnish with a dollop of real whipped cream and a sprig of fresh mint. Drizzle a teaspoon or so of pure maple syrup over the whipped cream. Serve immediately.

This berry pudding not only takes advantage of seasonal, sweet summer berries, but is also served cold, making it refreshing and filling.  Adding the sweetness of pure Canadian maple syrup is a perfect addition to the berries and toast.  The consistency of the maple syrup will soak nicely into the bread while sweetening the berries as needed.

Preparing this dessert is quick and easy, so nix the always melting ice cream cake and heavy desserts this summer and stick with a fresh, delicious berry pudding.

Summer Berry Pudding

If you’ve never prepared a berry pudding don’t fret. It’s really a very simple dessert and will likely take you longer to read the recipe than to prepare it. If you’re counting calories, you can choose to make this recipe with potato bread, available from most bakeries and specialty markets. The pudding takes no time to assemble, but does require several hours in the refrigerator, so best to make it a day ahead.

Finally, don’t skimp on the pure maple syrup. Pancake syrup, which contains high fructose corn syrup, is no substitution!

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

4 cups mixed berries, rinsed (hull and slice strawberries)

1/4 to 1/3 cup pure maple syrup

1 Tablespoon lemon juice or to taste

6-8 slices stale bread such as challah or potato bread, crusts removed

In a medium size, non-reactive sauce-pot, place berries and Maple Syrup over medium heat. Bring to a boil, immediately reduce to a simmer and cook stirring occasionally and until berries begin to release their juices and thicken slightly, about ten minutes. Turn off heat, add lemon juice, let cool to room temperature.

Line a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with plastic wrap, letting 3″ hang over on all sides. Press plastic wrap into pan, leaving no air space.

Trim bread slices to fit pan, place a single layer in pan bottom. Using a slotted spoon, place generous single layer of fruit over first layer of bread.

Dip second layer of bread slices into pot with berries for half a minute per side to soak up excess fruit juices. Place over berry layer. Repeat with two more layers of fruit and bread. Finish with a layer of bread, top with remaining juices. Fill to just above rim of pan.

Fold over excess plastic wrap and over loosely with additional plastic wrap as needed. Place loaf pan on a rimmed cookie sheet to catch any overflowing juices. Cover with a second cookie sheet and place several heavy cans on top to press and weigh down pudding. This allows berries to release all their juices into the bread and forces pudding to hold it’s shape nicely. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

To unmold, remove top layer of plastic wrap, invert onto serving platter. Lift off loaf pan and peel off plastic wrap lining.

Serve one slice per person. Optional: Garnish with a dollop of real whipped cream and a sprig of fresh mint. Drizzle a teaspoon or so of pure maple syrup over the whipped cream. Serve immediately.

Seriously… with oppressive humidity and sweltering record-breaking temperatures, who wants to eat a hot meal…much less prepare one?

Preparing a heavy hot dinner just isn’t too appealing after a long day at work or an afternoon at the pool with the kids.

Light, cool meals are refreshing during the sizzling summer months and there are an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables and simple healthy meals that your family can enjoy all summer long.

Here are some delicious and nutritious recipes that are quick and easy to prepare.

Choose organic ingredients where possible and enjoy!

Summer Cool Fruit Salad (Great for breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner)

Prep time: 15 minutes

½ cup peeled, pitted, and diced mangoes 1 cup blueberries

3 bananas, peeled and sliced 1 cup raspberries

3 kiwis, peeled and sliced 1 cup blackberries

1 cup stemmed, sliced strawberries 1 cup seedless grapes

½ cup dried, unsweetened coconut ¼ cup grade B maple syrup (optional)

Combine all the fruit in a large bowl and toss well. Mix in syrup and sprinkle with coconut. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Makes 6 servings.

Avocado, Raspberry and Mango Salad

Prep Time: 15 minutes

4 cups mesclun salad mix 2 cups spinach leaves

2 avocados, peeled and diced 1 cup fresh raspberries

1 mango, peeled and diced ¼ cup maple-glazed pecans

½ cup Imus Ranch Honey-Dijon dressing (recipe below)

Combine mesclun and spinach in a large bowl. Add avocados, dressing and toss gently. Transfer to serving dish and top with the raspberries, mango, and walnuts. Makes 4 servings.

Imus Ranch Honey-Dijon Dressing

Prep Time: 5 minutes

¼ cup honey (local honey) ½ cup olive oil

1/3 cup brown rice vinegar 1 tbsp. sea salt

3 tbsp. Dijon mustard 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Combine honey, vinegar, mustard in food processor for 1 to 2 minutes. While blending, slowly add oil until the dressing is well blended and thickened (if too thick, add small amounts of water). Add salt and pepper. Makes 1½ cups.

About the Imus Ranch, Founded by Don and Deirdre Imus in 1998
The Imus Cattle Ranch for Kids with Cancer is an authentic 5,000 acre working cattle ranch in northern New Mexico, which provides the experience of the American cowboy to children suffering from cancer and various blood diseases, as well as to children who have lost a brother or sister to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Deirdre Imus is the Founder and President of The Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology® at Hackensack University Medical Center and Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Imus Cattle Ranch for Kids with Cancer. Deirdre is the author of four books, including three national bestsellers.  She is a frequent speaker on green living and children’s health issues, and is a contributor to FoxNewsHealth.com. For more information go to www.dienviro.com

I’m not quite sure if it’s my New England upbringing, the fact that I lived in Quebec for a year and a half, or my distaste for all things artificial, but I cannot stand fake maple syrup. It’s not that I don’t like the taste. That’s okay, I suppose. But when I contemplate how nature gives us this amazing sweet water that drips from trees with solely the help of a small spout, and then all is required of us to turn it into liquid heaven is to boil it down, my mind boggles. And then I wonder why anyone would want to drench their breakfast in a thick corn syrup filled with artificial coloring and flavoring (I don’t mean to hurt anyone’s feelings here, so now I’m done with the negatives on the subject).

I just think it’s amazing that something so sweet is harvested-not in some remote tropical location, but in season-changing locations such as Canada and the North East.

For Canada Day, I thought I’d subject you to my ranting on why real maple syrup is good, and then give you a recipe for whole wheat blueberry sour cream pancakes.

Sour Cream Blueberry Pancakes

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sour cream
1 1/3 cups milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
1 tablespoon butter, plus more for pan and serving
half pint fresh blueberries

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In a large liquid measuring cup, combine sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla, honey, and 1 tablespoon melted butter. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and whisk until just combined.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Grease with butter, and ladle on 1 cup of batter. Drop on a handful of blueberries, taking care to disperse them evenly. Cook until bubbles around the edges of the pancake pop, but do not refill with batter. Flip and cook for one minute more. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve with butter and pure maple syrup.

That sticky syrup you love to pour on French toast and pancakes may actually be good for you.

Good news just in time for sugaring off season. That sticky syrup you love to pour on French toast and pancakes may actually be good for you, too.

Sure, it’s full of sugar and calories. But according to a research from the University of Rhode Island real maple syrup is also full of compounds touted for their health benefits. A pharmacy professor specializing in medicinal plants found 20 antioxidants in 20 litres of the sweet stuff from Quebec, including 13 never before found in maple syrup.

According to findings presented at the American Chemical Society’s annual meeting, the newly-discovered compounds include lignans, also found in flax seed and whole wheat, a stilbene, which is in the same chemical class as the red wine extract resveratrol, and flavonoids, which are known for their anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and antioxidant properties. The syrup also contained phenolic acids, commonly found in berries and coffee.

Although more research is needed to determine whether people can actually benefit from maple syrup, the researchers recommend using it as a sweetener and in cooking. But as with everything else, not too much. And there’s another caveat: Make sure it’s the real stuff not commercial syrups with maple flavouring.

Mixologists are experimenting with natural syrups, like maple, honey and agave, to differentiate their drinks. Maple syrup has been sugaring cocktails and other drinks here in America since Colonial times. The tree-sap syrup is a key component in a number of classic cocktails, including the bourbon-based Maple Leaf, Maple Sour and Hot Toddy, and is currently enjoying a modest revival among trendy bar chefs.

“Compared to using simple syrup, you’re kind of getting two for one because maple syrup is a sweetener but it has that extra flavor that cane sugar doesn’t have,” says Meaghan Dorman, head bartender at the Raines Law Room in New York’s Flatiron District. Currently on the drinks list at the recently opened cocktail bar (named after an 1896 tax and regulations package aimed at decreasing alcohol consumption) is the Fourth Route, made with Hennessy VS Cognac, lime juice, maple syrup and ginger ($13). A Maple Leaf Sour cocktail, which mixes the syrup with Scotch and lemon juice, was also on the specials list last winter. Another specialty is a maple-flavored variation on the Collins, made with Buffalo Trace Bourbon, maple syrup and lemon, topped with club soda.

“Maple syrup is great for comforting drinks,” notes Dorman, who finds it mixes best with brown spirits such as whiskey or brandy. “And maple goes really well with rhum agricole.”

Acid-wise, maple syrup marries with both lemon and lime juices, according to the mixologist. Another Raines Law bartender pairs it with grapefruit juice as well. The lounge uses grade A amber maple syrup for cocktails because the lower grades are too bitter, says Dorman, and the higher grade is too light in flavor to stand up in a mixed drink. “It’s important to only use pure, 100 percent maple syrup,” advises Dorman. Although interest is largely seasonal, use of maple syrup in cocktails seems to be on the upswing. “I think next season, you’ll see more bartenders working maple syrup into their menus, especially in this area where we have access to good-quality maple syrup,” predicts Dorman.

The syrup scores on the health front, too. A new research study conducted by the University of Rhode Island discovered more than 20 antioxidant compounds in Canadian maple syrup (Canada produces 80 percent of the world’s supply). In a presentation on the findings at the 2010 annual meeting of the American Chemical Society, Dr. Navindra Seeram noted that several of these antioxidant compounds are also reported to have anti-cancer, anti-bacterial and anti-diabetic properties. In addition, maple syrup’s high levels of zinc and manganese can assist in heart health and boosting the immune system. “Maple syrup is unique in that it is the only product in our diet that comes from a plant’s sap,” Seeram pointed out.

Sweet variations

Cocktails often contain a sweet element to offset the sourness of citrus juices. Mixologists tend to use simple syrup; here are some alternatives.

• Agave syrup (also called agave nectar) is made from the same agave plant as Tequila and mescal. Thinner than simple syrup, agave syrup dissolves readily in cold liquids. The nectar is available in light and dark amber; the latter has a fuller flavor. Initially used to sweeten margaritas, many bartenders have made agave their go-to syrup for all mixed drinks.
• Bacon is the latest “it” cocktail flavor. Because of its high fat content, some bar chefs “wash” the bacon in alcohol infusions, then remove the fat. An easier solution is Torani’s Bacon Flavored Syrup, ready to use right out of the bottle.
• Syrups are usually mixed into beverages for a jolt of flavor. But Smucker’s has an interesting variation for use with its Platescapers line. In a recipe for Raspberry Cream Lemonade, the raspberry syrup is viscous enough to be painted in a decorative pattern inside the glass for a striking presentation.
• The Aztecs, who discovered chocolate, like to lace their drinks with spicy chilies. In a tribute to those ancients, Monin’s new Spicy Chocolate Syrup has a warm peppery kick to it. The syrup is made with pure cane sugar, to boot.
• The tiki bar concept is experiencing a renaissance as the cocktail crowd rediscovers classics like the Zombie and Planter’s Punch. With its pineapple and almond flavors, Tiki Syrup from The Simple Syrup Company is a natural to sweeten those fruity tropical drinks. The company produces half a dozen syrups, including Burnt Orange & Vanilla Bean and Pomegranate & Tahitian Lime. Distribution to bars and restaurants is through Vanguard Luxury Brands.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2-3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup pure Canadian maple syrup

• 1 pork tenderloin (about 1 - 1 ½ lbs)
• Coarse salt and cracked black pepper
• ¼ cup flat leaf parsley, very roughly chopped

Directions:

1. Combine mustard, oil, garlic, salt, pepper and maple syrup in bowl. Whisk to combine.
2. Trim excess fat and silver skin from tenderloin.
3. Place pork in large plastic storage bag and coat thoroughly with marinade. Cover/seal, then chill in the refrigerator overnight (or minimum of 8 hours).
4. Preheat outdoor grill or indoor grill pan to medium-low heat.
5. Remove pork from marinade, and set aside. Put remaining marinade in a small saucepan, and cook on stovetop over medium-low heat for 5 minutes to reduce.
6. Spray or brush grill grating with oil to prevent sticking, and place meat on grate. Brown each side for 2 minutes per side.
7. Grill pork for approximately 15-20 minutes, basting occasionally with marinade until interior of pork is no longer pink (internal temperature of 160°). Cover with tin foil and let meat rest for 10 minutes.
8. Slice into thick pieces with a sharp knife and spoon remaining hot marinade over chops.
9. Garnish with fresh parsley. Serve immediately.

Tip: If you want a slightly richer sauce, stir in a tablespoon of butter at the very end.

Herbs: If you’ve got them around, thyme and rosemary are wonderful in this dish. Mince them finely and add once the sauce has thickened and turn off heat immediately. Let herbs “stand” in the sauce for a minute before serving.

Great Sides for Kids: Mashed or roasted sweet potatoes seasoned with salt and pepper and pure maple syrup are always a hit with kids. Other great picks are steamed green beans seasoned with a pat of butter, a drizzle of maple syrup, salt and pepper.

Skip the usual burgers and dogs and use my maple mustard marinated pork tenderloin recipe to make sure everyone comes running for seconds. The natural sweetness of pure Canadian maple syrup is the perfect partner to the savory saltiness of the pork and garlic. Adults will appreciate the tender, moist meat from browning the tenderloin, and allowing it to rest tented under foil after coming off the grill. Kids will also be licking their fingers because of that mapley sweet goodness in the marinade and glaze.

If your family doesn’t love pork, this delicious marinade would also make a great topper for grilled chicken breasts. No need to marinate the chicken breasts, just combine all the marinade ingredients in a sauce pan and heat over medium-low heat for 10 minutes to reduce into a sticky delicious glaze. Throw in a splash of bourbon before reduction for a more complex sauce. Baste the chicken on both sides while cooking 5 minutes per side.

Whether it’s pork or chicken, this maple mustard sauce will surely wow a crowd!

Maple Mustard Pork Tenderloin

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2-3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup pure Canadian maple syrup

• 1 pork tenderloin (about 1 - 1 ½ lbs)
• Coarse salt and cracked black pepper
• ¼ cup flat leaf parsley, very roughly chopped

Directions:

1. Combine mustard, oil, garlic, salt, pepper and maple syrup in bowl. Whisk to combine.
2. Trim excess fat and silver skin from tenderloin.
3. Place pork in large plastic storage bag and coat thoroughly with marinade. Cover/seal, then chill in the refrigerator overnight (or minimum of 8 hours).
4. Preheat outdoor grill or indoor grill pan to medium-low heat.
5. Remove pork from marinade, and set aside. Put remaining marinade in a small saucepan, and cook on stovetop over medium-low heat for 5 minutes to reduce.
6. Spray or brush grill grating with oil to prevent sticking, and place meat on grate. Brown each side for 2 minutes per side.
7. Grill pork for approximately 15-20 minutes, basting occasionally with marinade until interior of pork is no longer pink (internal temperature of 160°). Cover with tin foil and let meat rest for 10 minutes.
8. Slice into thick pieces with a sharp knife and spoon remaining hot marinade over chops.
9. Garnish with fresh parsley. Serve immediately.

Tip: If you want a slightly richer sauce, stir in a tablespoon of butter at the very end.

Herbs: If you’ve got them around, thyme and rosemary are wonderful in this dish. Mince them finely and add once the sauce has thickened and turn off heat immediately. Let herbs “stand” in the sauce for a minute before serving.

Great Sides for Kids: Mashed or roasted sweet potatoes seasoned with salt and pepper and pure maple syrup are always a hit with kids. Other great picks are steamed green beans seasoned with a pat of butter, a drizzle of maple syrup, salt and pepper.