Archive for May, 2008
Forget advertising junk food to kids; it should be illegal to advertise Wendy’s triple cheeseburgers and Vanilla Caramel Latte Häagen-Dazs on the TVs at the gym.
I nearly chewed my arm off on the way home at 5pm. When I got here, I scarfed down enough bites of lentil-barley salad straight from the bowl to probably make up for the 600 calories the elliptical trainer told me I burned. I completely understand the French wish of bon appetit; ravenous hunger makes even lentils and barley taste like food straight from the gods. Not that I don’t love lentils and barley under normal circumstances - just maybe not quite as much as a double cheeseburger and a pint of Häagen-Dazs.
But wait… it appears I haven’t posted my lentil-barley salad recipe! The one with feta and tomatoes? I can’t seem to find it… I suppose we generally eat it for lunch. Soon. I’d post it now, but I ate it all - there’s nothing left for a photo.
I asked Mike to mix up a batch of pizza dough while I was gone, and we made a pizza, topped with crumbled up spinach meatballs and some sautéed red pepper because that’s what was in the fridge. When it stops raining, I’ll start doing pizza on the grill again, but it’s wet and cold enough out that I didn’t mind turning on the oven. If you want to crisp up the bottom of your pizza, slide it off of the cookie sheet, directly onto the oven rack, as soon as it’s stable enough to do so. This dough recipe makes enough for two round pizzas, or one big rectangular one about the size of a large rimmed cookie sheet. I get the heavy-duty ones at Costo: they used to come in packs of 2 for $20.
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May 21 2008 | leftovers | 1 Comment »
Normally I would stir up some biscuits to accompany soup, but today it was the other way around. I made a batch of pesto-filled cheese slab scones for CBC this morning, thinking they might be appropriate for our chat about kids and picnicking, but later on, when there was a slab scone to spare, I really couldn’t imagine anything better to accompany a bowl of soup. Since it has been about to rain all day long (like the pause before a sneeze), soup is fitting. Since the scones are filled with pesto, roasted tomato soup made sense. All the stars fell into alignment when I noticed a bunch of tomatoes going wrinkly on top of the breadbox.
But, the scones. Inspired by the mega scones on Heidi’s blog, these are great slabs of cheesy biscuit dough, folded over pesto to enclose it like a letter. Heidi’s version was lemony, slathered with raspberry jam and drizzled with a glaze. I turned mine into cheese biscuits, divided the dough in half and filled one package with sundried tomato pesto (this one was the best - it came to the studio with me this morning) and one with plain basil pesto, as per W’s love for the stuff.
There is so much potential for these scones. I love that you can fill them, easily, with anything; jam, preserves, cinnamon-sugar, ham and cheese, pie filling, even. Most scones take on additions well, but these you can flavor and then fill. The best part is you can slice off pieces as thin or thick as you like; it even made a great base for eggs on toast at lunch.
Pesto & Cheese Slab Scones
If you want a sweet version, omit the cheese and use jam or preserves in place of the pesto. If you like, add grated orange or lemon zest to the dough, brush the tops with milk and sprinkle with coarse sugar before baking.
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar (or more if you make a sweet version)
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces
1 cup grated old cheddar cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, half & half or 2% milk
1/2-2/3 cup sun dried tomato pesto or basil pesto (from a jar)
Preheat oven to 375°F.
In a large bowl or the bowl of a food processor, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Blend using a pastry cutter or fork, or pulse the food processor until the mixture is combined but there are still bits of butter no bigger than a pea.
If you’re using a food processor, dump the mixture out into a bowl. Add the cheeses and toss to combine. Add the buttermilk, cream or milk, and stir just until the dough comes together. Divide it in half, and on a floured surface roll each piece into a 10″-12″ square. Spread the pesto in a strip down the middle third, and fold each half over it, overlapping like a letter. If you like, brush the tops with a little extra milk.
Transfer to a baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes, until golden. Cut into whatever sized pieces you like.
Makes two slab scones.
And the tomato soup. Another easy thing to make, and a great use of tomatoes that have passed their prime. I don’t really bother measuring, although I’ve provided some measurements below for those who crave them; I’ll use about 4 big tomatoes, 6 or so Romas, or a pint of cherry or grape tomatoes. Spread them on a cookie sheet and roast them with as many cloves of garlic as you like, then add stock and a bit of milk or cream, until you have soup with the consistency you like. Puree it until it’s chunky or smooth.
Roasted Tomato Soup
It’s important to use ripe, flavorful tomatoes for this soup, since their flavor is paramount. If you have overripe, wrinkled, or squishy tomatoes around, use them up, so long as they don’t have any bad spots. Roasting them transforms their flavor, making them sweet and smoky. It’s a great way to make tomato sauce for pasta, too - just blend it without adding the stock.
about 3 lb. ripe tomatoes
a good drizzle of canola or olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 head garlic, cloves peeled (or 2 cloves, if you don’t want it too garlicky)
2 cups (500 mL) chicken or vegetable stock
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup milk, half and half or whipping cream (optional)
Chopped fresh basil or pesto (optional)
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Cut the tomatoes in chunks (or in half, widthwise, if you’re using Roma tomatoes) and place them on a large rimmed baking sheet or in a roasting pan with the cloves of garlic. Drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for about an hour, until the tomatoes are juicy with dark edges and the garlic is very soft. Set it aside to cool for a bit.
If you have a hand-held immersion blender (I highly recommend one), transfer the tomatoes, garlic and all the juices that have collected in the pan into a
medium saucepan and set it over medium heat. If not, transfer it to a blender or food processor, puree it (add a little stock if you need to get it moving) and then transfer it to a pot. Add the chicken stock and sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes. If you are going to add cream, turn the heat down to low and add it at the last minute, stirring just until the soup is heated through. If you like, stir in a small handful of chopped fresh basil or a spoonful of pesto just before serving.
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May 20 2008 | bread and freezable and soup | 5 Comments »
I have to share a snippet from one of the greatest emails I’ve ever received. This was sent not to me, but to someone I’ve never met from someone I’ve never met, and the one on the receiving end forwarded it to me because she thought I’d get a kick out of it. (I did.):
Just an update on the “pear gingerbread upsidedown cake” situation. I took two PGUCs to a CWA coffee morning and they very nearly caused a stampede. I sent the recipe to five women. One of them took it to a Conoco-Phillips coffee morning and handed out four copies of the recipe. Trouble is, now I feel like I can’t take it to any more coffee mornings because someone else is sure to show up with it - after all, pretty much everyone in town has the recipe by now. I predict that this recipe alone will cause Jakarta grocery stores to run out of molasses.
I have no idea what CWA stands for, but the very idea that Jakarta might be hurting for molasses as a result of this recipe has made me smile for days. So although I rarely make this except during the fall and at Thanksgiving, I can’t wait that long. Besides, there were several pears with giant bites out of them sitting in my fruit bowl.
And here’s the recipe that’s apparently causing a run on molasses in Jakarta:
Upside-Down Pear Gingerbread
One of the biggest selling points of an upside-down cake is the fact that it needs no decorating. When you invert the cake the pear slices end up on top, making it look gratifyingly complete with no need for frosting. It does, however, scream for ice cream or whipped cream – provide a bowl of it alongside for people to serve themselves, or put a dollop on each slice. Pear gingerbread is also great with thick vanilla yogurt. It even works for breakfast.
Topping:
1 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. honey or corn syrup
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1-2 ripe but firm pears or tart apples, peeled and thinly sliced
Gingerbread:
1/4 cup butter or non-hydrogenated margarine, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk
1/4 cup dark molasses
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger, or 1 tsp. powdered ginger
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice (optional)
1/4 tsp. salt
Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray an 8″ or 9″ round cake pan with nonstick spray.
To make the topping, melt the butter, honey and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat or microwave it until it’s smooth. (Or combine them in the bottom of the pan, put it in the oven until it melts, then take it out and stir it together.) Pour the mixture over the bottom of the pan and arrange the pear slices on top, placing them tightly together - they shrink a bit as they cook, so you can even get away with overlapping them.
To make the gingerbread batter, beat the butter and brown sugar in a medium bowl until well blended. Add the egg, buttermilk, molasses, and ginger and beat until thoroughly combined.
In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and stir by hand or on the lowest speed of an electric mixer just until the batter is combined. Pour the batter over the sliced pears.
Bake the cake for about 40 minutes, until the top is springy to the touch. Let it stand for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto a plate while it’s still hot. If it cools too much and sticks to the pan, warm it in the oven again before you try to invert it. Don’t worry if any pear slices stick to the bottom of the pan – simply peel them out and place them back on top of the cake where they belong.
And here’s a more summery thing to do with it: to make Blueberry Gingerbread, omit the topping and stir 1 cup of fresh or frozen (unthawed) blueberries into the batter. Bake it as directed in an 8″x8″ pan, and cut into squares.
For dinner, cold sesame noodles. Sesame noodles because I’ve had this weird craving for them for months, and also: have you seen what we’ve been eating lately? I actually wished we had some tofu that I could press the moisture out of and caramelize in the way that Heidi does on 101 Cookbooks. I mean, look at the mahogany colour of that tofu! (I generally don’t consider myself a tofu fan, but I do like it once in awhile when it’s nicely flavoured and crispy. The trick to this is pressing some of the excess moisture out. Soft tofu can also easily travel incognito in things like smoothies and peanut sauce.) My ulterior motive is a piece on picnics tomorrow morning for which I needed to do a test batch of noodles before bringing it to the studio.
A few weeks ago I was at an Asian grocery (Arirang, beside Community Natural Foods on 10th Avenue SW) looking for panko, and picked up a couple packages of fresh noodles. They are the thick(ish) ones you see in Shanghai noodle dishes at Chinese restaurants.
My intent was to take a stab at Shanghai noodles, since W devours them whenever we get takeout. Halfway through the cold sesame noodles it occurred to me that he might not appreciate a dish of cold, vinegary noodles, and so pulled some out of the pot and fried them up in a slick of sesame oil (in the pan that had just done the garlic and ginger), with a drizzle of soy sauce and dab of honey (I have no idea what they do to Shanghai noodles to make them that way), and they turned out pretty well, actually. I sprinkled them with sesame seeds, and he devoured them just as enthusiastically as those that cost $12.95 a plate.
It occurred to me then that my favourite cold sesame noodles might very well have been sautéed before being cooled down and tossed with the dressing/sauce; I think next time rather than just boil and cool the noodles, I’ll give them a quick flash in the pan, too, before cooling them off.
Cold Sesame Noodles
1 Tbsp. canola oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. rice or balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp. honey or sugar
a tiny squirt (about 1/4 tsp.) chili sauce or sambal oelek
1 lb. fresh Chinese noodles, rice noodles or spaghetti
2-3 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds (optional)
1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts (optional)
In a small skillet (or a large one, if you want to sauté your noodles after you boil them) heat the canola oil and sauté the garlic and ginger for a few minutes, until soft but not brown. Transfer to a bowl and add the sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, honey and chili sauce.
Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to the package directions, or until tender. Drain them in a colander and run them under cold water to stop them from cooking and cool them down. (Alternatively, drain them and then toss them into a hot skillet with a bit of sesame and/or canola oil, and toss for a few minutes, until the noodles start to brown; set aside to cool before tossing with the dressing.)
Add to the bowl of dressing along with the green onions and sesame seeds and toss well to coat. Let sit for an hour, or refrigerate overnight. Serve topped with chopped peanuts, if you like. (this is best served at room temperature.)
Serves 4-6.
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May 19 2008 | cake and pasta and vegetarian | 5 Comments »
Don’t hate me because I’m hungry.
My parents, sisters and (remaining) husbands left the kids with babysitters and went for a real, grown-up dinner at River Café tonight - something we’ve actually not ever done since grandkids started appearing. (Well, we might have at some point since #1 appeared 17 years ago, but not since they started coming in quick succession.)
I really love River Café, especially in summertime when the patio is open and the place is airy and not too hot or bright. Fall is beautiful, too. And spring. And winter, when the island is covered in snow and frost and you get a spot by the stone fireplace and don’t want to leave. Because I’m not independantly wealthy, I’m not a regular visitor; lunch and weekend brunch are good ways to experience the place if you’re the one paying. On Sundays there’s no corkage fee, so that helps. We brought a few bottles, and my pregnant (one of the reasons we were celebrating on Day 100 that I was not yet allowed to tell) sister drove.
It would have been far too wordy to list what I ate for dinner tonight at the head of this post:
An amuse buche of Maple Braised Wild Boar Jowl on Potato Rösti (just because it was jowl; when am I ever going to have the opportunity to eat jowl again? It was similar to the beef cheeks I had in Toronto with E - the texture of flank steak, but extraordinarily tender.)
House Cured Duck Prosciutto / Red Wine Preserved Cherries / Hanninen Farm Hazelnuts (sorry, no photo - I kind of wish I chose the morel mushroom peroghies.)
Olson’s High Country Farm Bison Tenderloin / Bison Pemmican with Anchovy Herb Marinated Cherry Tomatoes, Sunchokes and Grilled Ramps (I always order bison if I have the opportunity at a place like this - I know it will be cooked perfectly! Ramps are like a large green onion - sort of halfway between a green onion and a leek, but more garlicky.)
And a spectacular Lemon Blueberry Tart topped with Earl Grey Ice Cream, sitting in a puddle of orange caramel that actually reminded me more of marmalade than pf caramel; luckily I am a fan of marmalade, but more so on toast. The flourless chocolate cake my dad ordered was also mind-numbingly good.
And of course their fresh rosemary bread with butter as a palate cleanser between courses. (Hey, they didn’t bring out sorbet, what was I supposed to do?)
I was inspired by a few things on the menu - red lentil hummus, big, crunchy Yorkshire puddings stuffed with braised beef rib, and the best mushroom barley risotto I think I’ve ever had - we all picked it off Mike’s plate until he had hardly any left. It was nuttier, chewier and far less starchy (the heavy starchiness is not a selling point for me) than regular rice risotto - and of course far higher in fiber. Stay tuned - I will definitely be giving it a try!
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May 18 2008 | eating out | 1 Comment »
I worked today, cooking for Customer Appreciation Day at Willow Park. (On these days I get to rifle through their massive kitchens and challenge myself to creatively use up whatever has piled up in their fridges and freezers. They have an entire fridge devoted to cheese. Today they had more Spolumbos sausages than I ever care to see in one place again.)
I got home around 5, and we decided to have an impromptu barbecue on the back porch to celebrate the fact that a) the trees are finally starting to grow leaves, and b) it’s actually warm enough (33 this afternoon!) to have an impromptu barbecue on the back porch. So a bunch of assorted friends congregated in our back yard; K & N brought cross sections of corn on the cob, wrapped in bacon (inspired by the menu at Palomino). J & P brought teeny sweet peppers, tossed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and chunks of pineapple threaded onto skewers to grill for dessert. Everything got thrown on the grill, but unfortunately I got distracted taking photos of all the boys hanging out the kitchen window and our bacon-wrapped corn caught fire. After extracting the cobs, we actually had to douse the lingering flames with baking soda.
To make bacon-wrapped corn, all you need to do is cut the corn into chunks about the same width as your strips of bacon, then wrap a strip of bacon around each piece, securing it with a toothpick. (Soak them in water first if you don’t want them to burn.) Grill, turning as you need to, until the corn is sort of shrink-wrapped by the cooked bacon.
The peppers, similarly, were slicked with oil (and a bit of balsamic) and tossed whole onto the grill until they were slightly charred and soft, then returned into their bowl with its oily, vinegary residue.
I didn’t have much time to think about what to make (Spolumbos sausage would have been easy), nor did I feel much like cooking anymore, so called my trusty pork satay into service - besides being quick, they are easy for larger numbers of people to eat while sitting on folding chairs on the deck. Plus, I haven’t met a little boy yet who didn’t love meat on a stick.
I told you - when I stumble upon something that works, I make it over and over again. I did switch back to the maple-rosemary version though.
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Maple-Rosemary Pork Satay
2 pork tenderloins
Marinade:
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. grainy Dijon mustard (or any mustard you like)
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
Cut the pork tenderloin in half widthwise, then into even strips lengthwise. Put them into a ziplock bag along with the marinade ingredients; knead the bag a bit to blend everything, then stash in the fridge for up to 24 hours or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
When ready to grill, soak bamboo skewers for at least 10 minutes, then thread the pork onto the skewers and grill for a couple minutes per side (depending on the thickness of the pork), just until done. Serve hot, warm or cold, preferably with peanut sauce.
Makes lots. (We fed 8 adults and 5 kids.)
For dessert, the pineapple was simply grilled until it was soft and grill-marked, then drizzled with honey.
And finally, a raspberry crumble cake, made with a handful of the frozen raspberries I keep in the freezer for smoothies. This eat-straight-from-the-pan cake is one of my favorite go–to recipes, and perfect for summer because you get the benefit of cake and fruit crumble all in one. It’s not too sweet, easy to eat with your fingers, and can be made with any kind of fruit you have around, even if it’s getting wrinkly. In the summer, use berries, peaches or plums, and add some grated lemon zest to the batter. At Christmas, try it with pears and cranberries with grated orange zest in the batter.
Apple, Plum or Berry Crumble Cake
Sometimes I throw a handful of sliced almonds into the crumble mixture, or sprinkle them overtop before the cake goes into the oven. For a raspberry-almond cake, you could also use almond extract in place of the vanilla in the cake batter; this would go well with raspberries.
Crumble:
1/2 cup whole wheat or all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1-2 Tbsp. ground flax seed (optional)
a shake of cinnamon (optional)
2-3 Tbsp. butter
Cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup low fat sour cream or plain yogurt
Fruit:
a large apple (peeled and sliced), or 3 plums, pitted and thickly sliced, or a large peach or nectarine, pitted and sliced, or a cup or so of fresh or frozen (unthawed) berries
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8″ square or round pan with nonstick spray.
To make the crumble, stir together the flour, brown sugar, flax seed, cinnamon and butter and blend it with a fork or your fingers until the mixture is well-combined and crumbly. Set aside.
To make the cake, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until it’s light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Add half the flour mixture and stir by hand just until it’s combined. Stir in the sour cream, then the remaining flour mixture, stirring until it’s just blended.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Spread the apples, plums, peaches or berries on top and sprinkle with the crumble mixture. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the cake is golden and springy to the touch. (Springiness may be difficult to test with the fruit in the way – you could also test it by sticking a toothpick or bamboo skewer into the cake. If it comes out with moist, not gooey, crumbs sticking to it, it’s done.)
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May 17 2008 | appetizers and cake and pork and snacks and sweet stuff and veg | 5 Comments »
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