Archive for July, 2010
If I were to select the contents of a perfect day, the lineup might look like this: an early morning visit to the coffee shop, then Jupiter for a still-warm grainy blueberry and white chocolate muffin almost the size of a small cantaloupe to nibble on as we stroll down the beach. The bulk of the afternoon spent on the beach at Tonquin park running in the waves, digging channels to the ocean in the sand, building castles and dragons, watching bald eagles and finding starfish. (W has a sunburnt plumbers’ butt from bending over to dig and examine things in the sand, exposing a wedge of pale 4 year old flesh between his shirt and swimmers.) I didn’t bring my camera. I attempted a Julie: unplugged sort of afternoon, and tried not to cringe at every missed photo op.
After, a famished late lunch of crispy cod clubs (thick slabs of fresh fish coated in Panko, with crispy bacon, rock shrimp, guacamole, tomato, onion and lettuce, served with fries cut and cooked as we wait at tables fashioned from old ship spools and driftwood) at Wildside Grill. Later, an evening around a beach fire, roasting marshmallows and making real s’mores. Idyllic, no?
My mom has invented a new drink to help wean her off Diet Coke (which she used to wean herself off real Coke): iced green tea with a key lime squeezed in. Unsweetened, because she’s diabetic, but I’d add a drizzle of honey. Because we came back from the Saturday morning Tofino market with a fresh basil plant and a bag of basil, she tossed a couple leaves in the glass too. Here’s how she makes it: brews green tea using 2 teabags, then chills it in the fridge. Pours herself a glass over ice, and adds an entire key lime – those are the little ones, the shape and size of ping pong balls – and she says it’s not the same with different types of tea, nor with plain old green Persian limes. I like the fact that it’s real green tea, not one of those bottled green tea beverages with tea coming in last on the ingredient list after the artificial flavours and preservatives.
At the end of the afternoon when everyone curled up with their books (and Mike with his iPod) I pulled out the laptop and popped in to check on a few of my favourite blogs. A Russian Gratin with Raspberries reeled me in instantly, and seemed the perfect thing to do with the disappointing (pulpy and flavourless but nevertheless brutally expensive) peaches we bought at the Tofino Co-op. I made it with wedged peaches, roasted for ten minutes first to get them softened a little, but they released too much juice and it wound up a beautiful but ultimately soupy, curdled-looking mess.
We picked at it anyway while playing Scrabble, but decided we needed a dessert do-over. I may attempt to follow instructions and use raspberries next time, but I have Big Plans for tomorrow. Hint: it will include plums.
July 25 2010 | leftovers | 9 Comments »
For any of you who may be sick of all the gushing over Tofino already, I apologize in advance. I’ll try to ballast my swooning with some recipes here and there. I’m already dreaming some up.
Yesterday afternoon we rolled into Tofino just in time for fresh crab to come in. We steamed it along with some corn, and ate the rest of a curried brown and wild rice and barley salad with chickpeas I brought along as well. I’m sorry I’m a day behind, but we been on the road for two days and having just arrived and unpacked, I opted to head to the beach rather than sit down at the computer.
We have our drive-to-Tofino itinerary down just as pat as anything – leave early (this time we were ready by 5:30, but had a flat tire before we even left our block), coffee in Golden, a quick break to throw rocks in the river under the bridge in Revelstoke (this time we ate salami and cheese sandwiches and leftover quinoa, black bean and mango salad that I tossed in with a half container of baby spinach, just to use it up).
Then ice cream and a visit with the baby holsteins at D Dutchmen Dairy in Sicamous. In order to satisfy my seemingly insatiable ice cream addiction, you know. (I had butter maple.)
This time, we decided to stop overnight in Chilliwack. (Of all the times I’ve driven through and from Vancouver, and even lived there for a few years, I don’t think I’ve ever actually been into Chilliwack. The boys thought the name was hilarious.) First, we stopped at Bridal Falls:
Then found a hotel that would welcome Lou and needed to find some dinner. Mr Mikes was across the street. For years we joked about Mr Mikes as we drove past billboards advertising it. They have a Mikeburger on the menu. This month, for their 50th anniversary, $1 from every burger goes to charity (the Chilliwack location chose their local childrens’ hospital). We saw it as a sign and went for Mikeburgers. During dinner, as the boys happily coloured their special placemats and drank Shirley Temples (I didn’t think they did such things anymore, but was happy they did, and felt very much like a Real Mom in that booth) the owner came over and proudly told us that their location was in the lead for funds raised, and that the winning location would have their donation matched.
They were delicious burgers, served quickly on chunks of crusty French bread instead of buns, with the option of yam fries. The servers were wonderfully friendly, in the way that makes you notice how just nice – but not in an over-the-top way – they are. It was reasonably priced, good food, great service, and we all left full and happy.
July 24 2010 | leftovers | 9 Comments »
I made a couple hundred biscuits today for the Slow Food Calgary booth at the Calgary Folk Festival this weekend (which I sadly won’t be attending, because I’ll, with any luck, be in Tofino). Yesterday Kris, Jenn, Maxwell and I made a few vats of chili (using beef from Tim Hoven), organic beans and other tasty stuff (including sweet marjoram and summer savoury from Kris’ farm) – but who wants a plain old bowl of chili with no carbs to dip in?
So today I holed up in the downstairs kitchen of the Cookbook Company and lost count at about 20 batches. That’s a lot of biscuits. I made an enormous mess. I took a picture. You don’t want to see it.
But – good news! Aviv is back. He came by to visit. He’s freshly back in Calgary after spending four months in Kathmandu-Tel Aviv-Paris-Montréal – he baked bread at Tangboche and at Everest base camp and worked with one of the best bread bakers in a city full of bakers and boulangeries. I sweated a little bit when he checked out the flour (from Kris and Highwood Crossing), then picked up a biscuit and bit into it. He liked them. Or at least he was being nice about it.
And lucky us-he’s going to stay right here in Calgary. He has decided to call his new bakery (for which he has plenty of cool ideas, but I’m not sure he’s ready to share them) -Sidewalk Citizen. How cool is that? So very cool. Just like his shoes.
Large-Batch Biscuits
Use any ratio of all-purpose to whole wheat flour you like, so long as you wind up with 3 cups. (Keeping some all-purpose flour in there will ensure you get some lightness and lift.) If you like, toss a handful of chopped fresh chives, parsley or green onion (or a bit of each) into the dry ingredients, or whiz them up in the food processor with the butter to finely chop and disperse them.
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3-1 cup butter, cut into chunks (I used roughly a third to a half a pound of butter – it doesn’t have to be exact)
1 cup milk or half & half, plus a little extra for brushing on top
In the bowl of a food processor (or a large bowl), combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the butter and pulse or work with a pastry cutter, fork or your fingers until the mixture is well combined and crumbly, with bits of butter no bigger than a pea – you want to leave some larger bits, rather than blending it completely – the larger chunks are what will make them flaky.
If you used a food processor (this is my favourite way) – dump the mixture into a bowl. Add the milk and stir just until you have a soft dough (you may need to use your hands). Pat the dough out about 3/4″ thick and cut into small rounds with a biscuit cutter, glass or open can rim, or a knife, or if you really want to streamline things, pat it into a circle and cut into 8 wedges. Place on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with nonstick spray, spacing them a bit apart. If you like, brush the tops lightly with milk. (I do this to the whole circle of dough before cutting it.)
Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden. Makes 8 large or 2 dozen small biscuits.
Wanna hear about dinner? Ironically the day before yesterday, in a state of panic, I made room in the freezer for all the stuff that will likely go stinky if left to its own devices in the fridge for the next couple weeks, which of course displaced much of the frozen stuff. I lobbed bags of cooked beans (white, red, black), six whole frozen tomatoes (which melt right into soups, stews, chilis and curries in the slow cooker), a bag of frozen cooked ground meat I couldn’t identify but turned out to contain zucchini, frozen diced tomatoes and peppers into the pot, plus a chunk of frozen chipotle pepper, and shook over some chili powder and cumin and let it go (on low) for 6 hours.
It was fab over new potatoes, cooked in a hot pan with a bit of canola oil, then topped with cheddar. W suggested we add a fried egg, so I obliged. It was actually pretty damn tasty.
Tomorrow: Tofino.
July 20 2010 | bread | 17 Comments »
It would have made sense to post this recipe on the weekend, since this is what I made approximately a dozen batches of between Friday night and Sunday. I was on the kitchen stage all weekend, and this year the canola producers asked if I’d do a demo for them. I was happy to, since I tend to extol the virtues of canola oil while up there on my soapbox anyway. It really is great stuff.
They ran a recipe contest, and wanted me to make one of the winning recipes – a recipe called Saskatoon Bars. It turned out to be one of those great versatile recipes that come in such handy in summer, when depending on the week you might have rhubarb or apricots or blueberries or blackberries to use up. This makes a big batch of cookie-like bars that with the dough patted on the bottom (sounds like it’s getting a spanking) and then dropped on top, reminded me of a cobbler. So I renamed them Blueberry Cobbler Cookie Bars. It’s all in the branding, don’t you think?
And because the saskatoons aren’t quite ready yet, I used blueberries. Also, the original recipe called for almond extract, but I’m not a fan. It does pair well with blueberries or saskatoons though, so feel free to add it back in.
Blueberry Cobbler Bars
Adapted from the third place recipe submission (Saskatoon Bars) by Sharlene from Regina, Saskatchewan. Thanks to the folks at Canola Info for the recipe! If you like, whisk together a cup of icing sugar with a capful of vanilla or almond extract and a tablespoon or two of milk until you have a drizzling consistency, and drizzle the icing over the bars.
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
3 cups blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, Saskatoon berries or sliced strawberries, fresh or frozen (don’t thaw them)
Preheat oven to 350ºF and spray large 10.5 x 15” jelly roll pan or rimmed cookie sheet (I used a half bun pan) with nonstick spray.
In a large bowl, cream together canola oil, butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Add the flours and baking soda and stir just until the batter comes together.
Spread 2/3 of the batter in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with berries or sliced fruit, then drop the remaining dough in spoonfuls over the fruit – it will spread as it bakes, and you don’t need to cover it all.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, until golden and springy to the touch.
July 20 2010 | cookies & squares | 17 Comments »
Has there ever been an ice cream intervention? I think I may need one. At the very least, someone needs to take this ice cream machine away from me.
I got it in my mind weeks ago, when blueberries first started showing up, to make little blueberry pies. I envisioned them at first as galettes, but wanted them more deep-dish, so settled on little tarts. But they sound better if you call them little pies, don’t they? Most berry pies have lids, but I love that these are topless – berries exposed and not stifled by too much pastry. It’s too hot for lids, anyway. The filling is ever so slightly tart and juicy – not too sweet and cornstarch-gluey – a perfect vehicle for ice cream. I sweetened mine with maple syrup, but honey or brown sugar would be pretty fab, too.
Baking on an evening like this, after 12 hours on the grounds yesterday and another few this afternoon, plus dinner (a quick frittata, guacamole and salad made with fresh greens a nice person brought to me at the Stampede kitchen theatre from the Cedarbrae community garden) is evidence that a) baking need not be a big production, and b) is in fact a way to wind down, not stress you out. And it doesn’t need to take a lot of time – I had a disc of pastry in the freezer, and to roll, cut and fill cups (W helped) took maybe 20 minutes.
As they baked, I stirred together a cup of whipping cream and a cup of 2% milk with 1/3 cup pure maple syrup (try honey or packed brown sugar instead if you like) and poured it into the ice cream machine – less work than whipping cream. You don’t have to stand there with the beaters, anyway. The 2% made it ever so slightly icy-refreshing and creamy rather than overly heavy. We served it up soft – straight from the machine – rather than hardening it up in the freezer. Who can wait that long?
Also, it was great to pick up the phone and call across the street to ask if anyone there might like a warm blueberry pie with maple ice cream. Tip: this is how to lure teenagers out of their bedrooms.
Baby Blueberry Pies
Pastry for a single crust pie
Filling:
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. cornstarch
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
Preheat the oven to 400F. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out about 1/4″ thick and cut into 3″ rounds with a cookie cutter or glass rim; press into each of 12 muffin cups.
In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar and cornstarch to get rid of any lumps; add the berries and lemon juice and toss to coat. Fill shells. Bake until crusts are golden and filling is bubbly, about 25 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edge of each tart and remove while still warm; if they cool completely, any overflowing goo will cool and stick to the pan.
Makes 12 pies.
July 18 2010 | dessert | 24 Comments »
« Prev - Next »
