My 6 year old nephew and his family had a hot chocolate and cookies stand this afternoon – after school to catch the rush (they live right across the street) – to raise money for the Alberta Cancer Foundation. They called it Cole’s Cocoa for Cancer.
(Does anyone even call it cocoa anymore? I suppose Cole’s Hot Chocolate for Cancer wouldn’t have the same ring.)
We went and hung out on the lawn, nibbling cookies and sipping cocoa.
Wait – does anyone (besides my dad) actually use cocoa to make hot cocoa? Or have we become too reliant on the packaged mix? While we’re on the subject, let me (ahem) pull out my soapbox for a minute to relay the ingredient list you’ll find in the instant powdered stuff – we’ll use Carnation Rich & Creamy Hot Chocolate as an example.
YUM! It just makes me want to curl up beside a roaring fire with a steaming mug of sodium aluminum silicate. Which goes so well with marshmallows.
This is in no way a commentary on Cole’s cocoa – my point is that real cocoa takes approximately two seconds longer to make – as much time as it takes to spoon some sugar or honey into your mug (the time you spent spooning in your cocoa powder equals the time it would have taken to spoon in the mix – get it?) so I really don’t think the instant stuff should have as big a market share as it does. Use about a tablespoon each of dark cocoa and sugar or honey to a cup of warm milk, et voilà. Since it looks like we’re on the verge of hot chocolate season, we should start out on the right foot, don’t you think?
Cole served his with mini marshmallows and baked hundreds of Chocolava cookies, half made gluten-free by swapping a gluten-free flour blend. These are great to make in (very) large batches, and fun for young kids to help with if you don’t mind your entire kitchen being coated with icing sugar. I know I’ve posted the recipe before, but it’s been over two (!!) years. Here it is for those of you who haven’t been hanging around that long. Or who may have missed that day.
Chocolava
These are rich, intensely chocolate, brownie-like cookies, rolled in icing sugar before they’re baked to create a crackled surface as they rise and spread in the oven. They’re also low fat.
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 large egg whites or 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp. vanilla
icing sugar, for rolling
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a large bowl or in the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt, breaking up any lumps of brown sugar. Add the butter and pulse or stir with a fork, pastry cutter or whisk until the mixture is well combined and crumbly.
Add eggs and vanilla and stir by hand just until the dough comes together. The dough will be fairly dry – it will seem at first that there isn’t enough moisture, but if you keep stirring, or get in there and use your fingers, eventually it will come together.
Place a few heaping spoonfuls of icing sugar into a shallow dish. Roll dough into 1 1/2” balls and roll the balls in icing sugar to coat. Place them about 2” apart on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake for 12–14 minutes, until just set around the edges but still soft in the middle. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Makes 20 cookies.
Per Cookie: 111 calories, 2.6 g fat (1.5 g saturated fat, 0.7 g monounsaturated fat, 0.1 g polyunsaturated fat), 21.3 g carbohydrates, 6.2 mg cholesterol, 1.8 g protein, 1.3 g fiber. 20% calories from fat
For real! You too can be a parental superhero (without even wearing tights) – make it yourself using cheese strings (or cut mozza yourself) – more details over here.
How many of you will be impressed when I name drop Mamma Yamma?
How about Patty?
They have two of the most familiar (and when I think about it, comforting) voices in our home. Patty co-hosts (with Sid) Kids’ CBC, and Mamma Yamma is an extraordinary character on the show – a cook, in fact, with a big personality and a little deli in Kensington market. (On the show, not for real – don’t go looking for it.) Played by puppeteer Ali Eisner, who was not around at the time, Mamma Yamma was there in body, but not in spirit. Regardless, it was thrilling. I’m not sure who was more excited – me or W. (Who am I kidding? I was doing internal backflips. As if I could manage any other kind.)
Here’s a little introduction to Mamma Yamma – via one Jian Ghomeshi.
It almost makes up for the fact that Nigella Lawson is doing a dinner at the Royal York in Toronto tonight that I could have attended if we had been in town just ONE MORE DAY. And the fact that one JAMIE OLIVER is going to be in Toronto next week, and my editors at Parents Canada got an invite to go meet him. In person. How could I be so close, yet so far off?
But I got to meet Patty and Mamma and some of the great folks behind Kids’ CBC. I got to wander around the CBC building, and check out Mr. Dressup‘s tickle trunk and the Friendly Giant‘s stone wall. And, you know, at least we have our health.
We arrived home late last night and this morning W planted himself firmly in front of Kids’ CBC, proud that he’s on a first-name basis with Patty now, and I went through a near-empty fridge in an attempt to scrounge up some sort of breakfast. (What, no pastries and coffee?) My sister had planted the thought of muffins in my head when she told me about a meeting she had had a few days ago with the vice-principal of a school here in Calgary (I’ll leave out any identifying details here), who had told her she was coming in to the school today, on her day off, to bake muffins for her staff. (The ovens in the culinary arts department would enable her to bake more at a time.) I love that sort of story. How many people spend their day off baking muffins for their co-workers? (I also know she reads this blog from time to time, so if you’re reading this – thanks for making me feel all warm and fuzzy and inspiring me to bake muffins. I don’t really have co-workers per se, but there are a few people in my life – some with new babies – who may appreciate a batch. Thanks for the reminder that there are people in the world who bake just to make other people happy. Is there a better reason to?)
And yes – these particular muffins were also inspired by a friendly yam I met in Toronto.
Mamma Yamma Muffins
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup sugar (white or brown)
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 packed cups coarsely grated sweet potatoes (the dark ones most often labeled yams)
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup canola or light olive oil
3 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 pear or apple, coarsely grated (don’t bother peeling it)
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray muffin cups with nonstick spray or line them with paper liners.
In a large bowl, stir together the flours, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Add the yams, pecans and raisins and toss to combine well.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add to the yam mixture with the grated apple and stir just until the batter is combined. Don’t worry about getting all the lumps out – overmixing will make the muffins tough.
Fill the prepared muffin tins almost to the top. Bake in the middle of the oven for 25-30 minutes, until the muffins are golden and the tops are springy to the touch. Tip them in their cups to help them cool by allowing steam to escape.
I JUST realized I never posted this recipe. And it’s one you’ll really want.
Never mind the driving force of social media – word on the street is that the Nenshi family kept Naheed’s team of volunteers in homemade samosas throughout his campaign. His mother, it turns out, is well known for her samosas, and generously agreed to share her recipe via Naheed’s sister, Shaheen. I’ve known Naheed for years (we went to Junior High together) and so a couple days after the election, on arguably the busiest week of his life, I emailed to ask if his mum might share her samosa recipe? Of course he came through.
Then, while we were in New York, he sent recommendations for food, shopping and sight-seeing, tipping us off about a secret burger joint in the lobby of Le Parker Meridien, a swanky New York hotel. And Cafeteria in Chelsea, a very hip restaurant with über fashionable New York hosts -one with a snakeskin eyepatch, even- fantastic food and even a kids’ menu. W had hand-cut fries with truffle oil with his big, made-from scratch chicken fingers and in-house made chocolate ice cream. My point is, he nailed two perfect New York restaurants that had brilliant food while being five-year-old friendly – the guy has good taste, too.
Noorjah’s Samosas
The citric acid (available at Community Natural Foods and other specialty/health food stores as well as many Indian groceries) is used as a souring agent – you could substitute lime juice or amchur powder, which is made from dried unripe mango – both are naturally high in citric acid.
Filling:
1 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 tsp. citric acid (optional)
1 tsp. crushed garlic
1/2 tsp. crushed ginger
1/2 tsp. garam masala
1 tsp. dhana – jeera mix (coriander and cumin powder)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. crushed green hot pepper
4 long green onions, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 bunch chopped fresh cilantro
Samosa paste:
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. water
1 pkg. samosa or spring roll wrappers, thawed if frozen
canola oil, for cooking
In a large, heavy skillet, cook the ground beef, adding the citric acid and breaking up any lumps. Add all the spices and continue cooking until meat is cooked through. Remove from heat and drain any fat on paper towels. Stir in the onions and cilantro.
In a small dish, stir together the flour and water to form a paste. Fill and fold the samosas. (Note: if you don’t know how to do this, Google it for visuals. Generally you want to fold over the end of a strip of wrapper to form a triangle, form it again to form a pocket, fill the pocket, then keep folding, maintaining the triangle shape, to the end of the wrapper. Use the paste to seal it closed and fill any holes in the tips of the three corners.
In a medium heavy pot, heat a couple inches of oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Fry a few at a time, without crowding the pot, flipping as necessary as they turn brown. Remove with tongs or a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Serve warm. Makes about 1 1/2 dozen samosas.
We’re in Toronto now – we took the 12 hour (actually 13 hour) ride from Penn Station in New York yesterday – through Yonkers, Poughkeepsie, Albany, Schenectady, Utica, Syracuse, Buffalo, Niagara Falls – it was beautiful and comfy (business class) and great, until the last few hours. We arrived in Toronto tired and cranky, having eaten far too many snacks and forgotten to bring movies for W to watch. He had a bath, and got something to eat, and I was too tired to sit down and pull together all that has happened for the past few days in New York. Just: wow.
But – I do have a post going up that tells all about this chocolate quinoa cake. It’s brilliant. It’s not made with quinoa flour, but actual cooked quinoa, whizzed into a batter with sugar and eggs and cocoa and flour, then baked into this rich, dark cake that has a texture better than any gluten-free cake I’ve tried (admittedly I’m not a gluten free expert, but I do know what good cake tastes like, and this is it). Just look at it! It tastes as good as it looks. I posted the recipe over at Family Kitchen.
(Soon, I’ll tell you all about meeting the girls from FK – we call each other FKers – in New York! At a hip little wine bar in Chelsea? How SJP is that? After getting myself lost on the subway, of course.)
