New Posts and a Broken Kitchen

Hello! 

Yes, I have been a terrible blogger the last couple weeks, my kitchen is many pieces right now unfortunately, my landlord is redoing out countertops and cabinets, which is great, but… I can’t even boil water right now. However, I have written something for Scout Magazine on baguettes http://scoutmagazine.ca/2011/11/11/on-a-mission-gone-hunting-for-the-most-authentic-parisian-baguette-in-vancouver/ which can (hopefully) fill you up for another day or two until things are back to normal around here.

xo Claire

Double Chocolate Cookies

I make a slight variation of these cookies at my work, and one of my very favourite things about it is that one of my very favourite people that I work with, loves them. Like, truly loves them and always walks by the oven when they’re in and breaths in the chocolatey smell and tells me how good she thinks they are. And then if there are any left over she sort of squeeks with excitement because she gets to eat one for breakfast. Which, if I’m being totally honest is what I do too, they are seriously good cookies, if not the healthiest of breakfasts. But it’s very gratifying at 7am to have someone that excited about what you do for a living. But I supposed that’s why I started baking in the first place. It makes people happy, way before they normally are in a day.

This is not the first place I’ve made these cookies at, and in fact it’s totally not my recipe. But if the fine people at the Tartine Bakery know anything, it’s how to make a good cookie, and they really do that here.

In the note before the recipe in the cookbook she notes that the amount of chocolate might look like a typo, but it’s not, it just really puts these cookies over the edge into heaven.

Double Chocolate Cookies

(Loosely adapted from the Tartine Bakery)

12 oz Dark Chocolate, either chips or chunked

1 cup AP Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 cup Butter

1 cup Brown Sugar

3 Large Eggs

1 tbsp Vanilla Extract

2 tbsp Milk

Preheat oven to 325F

Line a baking tray with a silpat, parchment or butter, depending on what you have handy!

Over a Double Boiler, or a bowl ontop of a pot of simmering (but not boiling!) water melt 8oz of chocolate.

Meanwhile cream together your butter and sugar.

Add in your cocoa powder, your vanilla and your milk.

Add in the chocolate.

Mix in your eggs, but barely, you don’t want to over mix these or they will be cakey instead of chewey.

Add in the flour and baking powder and remaining chocolate until just combined.

Scoop out onto your baking tray.

Wet your hands and turn the little lumps into balls and then squish them into disks. It will be hard to do this with your hands dry.

Bake for about 7-11 minutes depending on the size, but err on the side of undercooked.

Pumpkin Spiced Caramels

Things I like about Halloween:

1. Costumes- not the ridiculous slutty ones but the cool ones, the ones that let you dress up as people you admire or at least admire their style. I for one, have been Audrey Hepburn many times, and you know I love Audrey Hepburn.

2. Candy, chocolate, caramel, toffee, caramel apples, chocolate covered marshmallows, nutty things. Candy and me, we go way back.

3. Pumpkins, carving pumpkins, picking pumpkins, pumpkin seeds, I love me a gourd what can I say.

Things I don’t like about Halooween:

1. Slutty costumes (I mean really, what is a slutty panda bear anyways!?).

2. Scary movies, seriously. I am scared of everything. Harry Potter, Twilight, you know the non scary movies. I am totally scared in them. This is, needless to say, a huge disapointment to my boyfriend who’s dad had them watching the Excorsist at age 7.

3. Halloween baked goods. I don’t want my cookies to look like spiders, I don’t want cakes with bloody fingers on them, and I don’t want bugs in my puddings. I just don’t.

Because of my love of Halloween one of my dearest friends in the world is coming over and we’re carving pumpkins, drinking mulled wine and joining the parade that happens on my street every year. I love my neighbourhood and the Parade of Lost Souls (which, before it started happening and we just saw signs we thought was an anti-abortion march. Not the case.) And because of my hatred of all things that look Halloween-y but my love of both pumpkins and candy, here is a wonderful recipe for Pumpkin Spiced Caramels, not nearly as hard as it might look, although you do need a candy thermometer. You also need friends because this makes about 100, and I have tried to get through them, and well, that’s what friends are for. Candy eating, wine drinking, and parade going right?

*Update: I recently made Gingerbread Caramels, and with that recipe wrote a bunch about the does and don’t of caramel making! You can get that information HERE if you so wish. 

Pumpkin Spice Salted Caramels:

1 cup Butter

1 1/4 cup Brown Sugar

1 cup White Sugar

1 1/4 cup Corn Syrup

1x 14oz can Sweetened Condesnsed Milk

2 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Numeg

1/2 tsp Cloves

Grease an 8in square pan. Line it with parchment paper , using two pieces to go both ways and then hang over the sides. then grease them too. Don’t skimp here, it will make your life easier in the long run.

In a pot with deep sides add in all the ingredients except the spices and the salt and bring it up to a boil. 

Put your candy thermometer in and, while stirring constantly, bring up to 245F.

Make sure you stir it the whole time, it will burn in a heartbeat if you let it. 

As soon as it comes to 245F add in the spices, stir to combine, make sure it’s all mixed in, and then quickly pour the mixture through a fine sieve into your prepared pan.

Sprinkle with salt, if you so wish!

Let this chill for several hours or overnight. This makes a lovely soft caramel but it is tricky to cut, so put it in the fridge for about 20 minutes before you do.

Cut into pretty little squares and wrap in your wrappers.

Wunderbar Tart

While I am not a big fan of my birthdays, nearly ever, I get borderline obsessed with other peoples. I will always go overboard.

I love giving presents, I love cards (seriously, I can spend days this shop) and, not surprising to any of you I’d guess, I love making cakes. A lot.

So you can imagine that there is a serious amount of planning in making Jordan’s birthday cake.

I deliberate over flavours-it has to be chocolate, but chocolate hazelnut? Chocolate caramel? Chocolate pumpkin?

And textures, are we wanting dense and rich? Or light and whipped? Maybe with a crunchy layer somewhere, perhaps a praline?

Basically, I go on like this for a long time. I write notes, then I doodle pictures of what I want it to look like. I check online for inspiration, then later then I should, I make something and barely get it done in time, if I’m being honest here.

This year it wasn’t a cake per say, it was a mousse tart, a chocolate base, a thick layer of creamy caramel, a whipped mousse of peanut butter just firm enough to hold it’s shape when sliced, and topped with a layer of chocolate ganache gently sprinkled with maldon salt.

It’s an extremely grown up version of a Wunderbar, which just so happens to be Jordans favourite.

It’s also happens to be extremely good.

Wunderbar Tart/Peanut butter, Caramel Chocolate Tart

Adapted from this recipe

Crust

16 oz Chocolate wafers, or Oreo Crumbs

8tbsp Butter, melted

Caramel

1 cup Sugar

3/4 cup Whipping Cream

4 tbsp Butter

1 tbsp Vanilla Extract

Peanut Butter Mousse

1 cup Peanut Butter

3/4 cup Whipping Cream

4 tbsp Sugar

1 tbsp Vanilla Extract

Chocolate Mousse

8oz Chocolate

1/2 cup Cream

1tsp Salt-because I’m the sort of person who keeps vanilla salt around I used that and it was wonderful, but regular fleur de sel or maldon salt it lovely. Just make sure it’s a flaked salt not a chunked salt.

Caramel:

*Make sure you have everything you need for this measure out as caramel can go from light brown to black within seconds. Also, use an extremely clean pot.

Put sugar in pot with just enough cold water to give it the texture of wet sand.

On medium heat cook this mixture stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves.

Take out spoon and bring heat up to high. Shake pot occasionally and watch it carefully.

When it turns amber color immediately pour in the cream. It will bubble up and splatter so be careful!

Add in the butter and vanilla. Allow to cool completely.

Make Crust:

Preheat oven to 350F

Mix butter and crumbs together

Press into a 10inch spring form pan, or a pan with a removable bottom, or 10 small tart shells

Bake until the crust just begins to firm, about 10 minutes. Cool completely.

Make Mousse:

Bring a couple cups of water to a boil.

Slowly add the water a few tablespoons at a time to the peanut butter stirring well until it is smooth, easy to stir and forms slowly dissolving ribbons when you pick up a spoon and let the mixture fall back in. It took more water then I thought it would, don’t be alarmed!

Let cool.

Meanwhile whip the cream and sugar to stiff peaks.

Once the peanut mixture is cooled fold in the whip cream and the vanilla.

Make Ganache:

Bring cream to a boil

Pour over the chocolate and stir until it is smooth.

Assemble:

Pour the caramel into the cooled tart shell. Let it set in the fridge for at least 10 minutes.

Pour the mousse over the caramel and smooth with an offset spatula.

Pour the chocolate over the mousse and smooth.

Sprinkle with the salt.

Rosemary Shortbread with Fleur de Sel

I don’t have much of a story here, no charming childhood memory or anything, just a very good cookie. A cookie with rosemary, a hint of lemon, and a smattering of sea salt. The kind of cookie that’s not too sweet or too heavy. Something that is light and crumbly, and buttery and lovely. The kind of cookie that keeps for a few weeks in a sweet little vintage tin, and you can just pop them out when company comes over. Or you can eat them all in one sitting. Just saying.

Rosemary Lemon Shortbread with Fleur de Sel

(loosely adapted from the Tartine Bakery)

1 cup Butter, very soft

1/2 tsp Salt

2 scant cups AP Flour

1/3 cup Sugar

2 tsp Fresh Rosemary, finely chopped.

Zest of 1 lemon

1 tsp Fleur de Sel.

Preheat the oven to 325F

Butter an 8inch square pan or a fancy pants shortbread pan, whatever strikes your fancy.

Mix together the butter and sugar- the butter has to be very soft. If it’s not soft enough put microwave it of put the butter in a double boiler. It should have the consistency of mayonaise.

Add in the rosemary, lemon zest and salt.

Mix in the flour until barely combined.

Press the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes or until it’s cooked through.

Take it out of the pan and immediately cut them. If you cut them while they’re cold they will crumble.

Sprinkle with the fleur de sel and eat eat eat!

Furniture Redo

I have been on a serious picking-things-up-on-the-side-of-the-road-kick, and no I don’t mean women of ill repute. I mean furniture. First it was a hutch, then it was a side table, and then it was the amazing 1930’s cabinet. I’m not sure if it’s just that I’m on a roll for finding them, or if I’m on a roll for seeing potential but either way I am on a roll.

It started innocently enough we were just driving to Jordan’s parents place for a BBQ but there it was, hiding behind a corner beckoning me, With waterfall edges, bakelite handles and something very sturdy about it, as though it might be real wood underneath. I had to have it.

I screamed at Jordan to stop the car, and we tried to get it into his little Mazda, then we tried to carry it (that’s when we discovered it was hardwood) and then finally the woman with the truck who was waiting for us to give up so she could take it decided to help us. I am eternally grateful.

This was an enormous task, much bigger then I was expecting.

Let me tell you all right now that if you need to strip a large piece of furniture do not, under any circumstances, do it inside a small apartment with very little ventilation. Just don’t. You will get a terrible headache, and it will take days if not weeks to get the smell out.

At least that was my experience, man that was one hell of a migraine.

Anyways here’s how it was done.

 The biggest problem in this was the doors. The doors with the lovely arches on them that were covered with laminate. Laminate that was falling off. Laminate that had to be painstakingly chipped off with a chisel, by hand. That took an unbelievable amount of time.

 Then there was a stripping the paint off the sides. Thick, heavy, chemical stripper was used, this was very easy. Just paint it on with an old brush you can throw out afterwards. Paint it on and immediately it should start to bubble up. After a minute or two take your trusty chisel and it will peel off. This is of course if it’s latex paint. The first layer of this was latex. The bottom I suspect was oil based, and it was much more time consuming to get off. It would have been a much better idea to get an electric sander. But I am much to stubborn for that.

This is of course if it’s latex paint. The first layer of this was latex. The bottom I suspect was oil based, and it was much more time consuming to get off. It would have been a much better idea to get an electric sander. But I am much to stubborn for that.

Then you sand and you sand and you sand and get it into shape.

And then you wash it down to get all the dust off, let it dry and stain and paint! To stain it I painted on with a brush and then right away wiped it off with a cloth. This has to be done quickly or it will stain unevenly. Any part you’re painting you’ll need to prime first. I am very sorry but I accidentally deleted these photos!!

Cauliflower Soup with Mint Almond Pesto

I’m sick. I’m sick and I feel dreadful. I’m sick and all I want is my moms chicken noodle soup because hers always tastes better then mine no matter how much I do it exactly the same way. I’m sick and I’m cranky. I’m sick and I need something comforting that takes very little work to produce, and also very little money because I can’t work when I’m sick, and though I dream of paid sick days they are certainly not in my immediate future. Did I mention I’m sick? And that I’m cranky?

Oy Vey.

So I made cauliflower soup. It’s so simple and takes minutes to make and its so creamy and rich without having any dairy in it (bad for my throat) or being heavy (tough on my stomach). It’s a wonderful, wonderful soup that lends itself to all sorts of things, and in this case it is a perfect backdrop for a mint-almond pesto that makes everything seem just a little bit brighter. Which is a very good thing when your sick and cranky and it’s raining out.  Did I mention that it’s raining out?

Cauliflower Soup with Mint Almond Pesto

2 Heads of Cauliflower, cut up into big chunks.

1 White Onion, Chopped

1 Clover Garlic, minced

3 cups Chicken Stock

1 tbsp Flour

3 tbsp Olive Oil

1 -2 tsp Lemon Juice

Salt and Pepper

Pesto:

Half a Bunch Parsley

Half Bunch Mint

Zest of 1 Lemon

1 cup Almonds

½ tsp Chili Flakes

1 Clove Garlic

¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt to taste

In a large pot on medium heat add warm the olive oil

Add in the onion and cook until it’s translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add in the garlic and cook another minute until the garlic just gets fragrant but doesn’t colour.

Add the flour and mix well so that it forms a loose paste. Stir for 2 minutes to cook out the flour.

Add in the stock and give it a quick stir, then add in the cauliflower. The florets should be barely covered, if  they aren’t add a little water or more stock.

Put in a good pinch of salt and let that simmer until the cauliflower is cooked, about 15 minutes.

Puree in a food processor or blender until smooth, and then rewarm on medium heat. Add the lemon juice just before serving.

Meanwhile:

Turn the oven on for to 400F

Spread the almonds onto a pan in a single layer and put them in the oven for about 10 minutes, turning them once or twice to toast them.

In a food processor put the mint, parsley, garlic, zest and chili and pulse three or four times, just to break up the leaves.

Add in the Almonds and pulse again to break them up.

Taste and check your seasoning and then pulse again until a nice loose consistency is achieved.

 Then eat this soup curled up in a ball in front of your computer while you watch Mad Men reruns. And you will return to health.

Scout Magazine

Hey all, If you’ve been wondering anything about where I work when I’m not here, here’s a link to some information about it, that I wrote for Vancouver based online magazine Scout!

http://scoutmagazine.ca/2011/10/04/chambar-veterans-eleanor-chow-slavita-johnson-opening-cadeaux-on-the-dtes/

Blog posts on canned peaches, cauliflower soup, and plum cake all up very soon!

Pickled Peppers

One of the biggest fights the Man of the House and I ever got in was over hot sauce. I made this beautiful crab and fava bean risotto. I pulled the crab, and made stock with the shells, I painstakingly double peeled the fava beans. It was a beautiful subtle risotto that just tasted like spring, and it was lovely.

Until my man put tabasco on it. All hell broke loose. I may have over reacted.

But I will still call it a maybe.

But here’s the thing of it, I never grew up with spicy food. I never grew up with hot sauce and, while I like a little bit of heat, and I do, I also know that your body doesn’t read spice as a taste it reads it as pain. So I’m hesitant to believe that it makes a dish taste better. Especially when it is laden with vinegar. But, I can also appreciate that I am a bit of a purist, and maybe obsessively sometimes. Maybe not everybody needs to think exactly like me and taste everything exactly like me all the time.

Maybe.

The Man of the House still makes fun of me for my freak out. And that was years ago. So this year, amid my pickling-or-canning-everything-in-sight-frenzy that I’ve been on I thought I would prove a point and pickle peppers.

Spicy! Vinegar! Good girlfriend points! Yes!

I have to say, I’m not sure these taste good yet, it takes a couple months to tell, this is a tentative recipe, but man, I could just hang these on my walls they are beautiful, truly. All these amazing reds and yellows, on looks alone I might be converted to spicy food. So we’ll see if it goes that far, in the meantime I’m just happy to look at these fiery jars while their sealed.

Pickled Peppers

1L Vinegar

6cups Water

1 tbsp Peppercorns

2 tsp Fennel Seeds

2 tsp Coriander Seeds

1 Clove per Jar

2 lbs Good quality fresh peppers

4 1liter jars

Preheat your oven to 375F

Wash your jars very well and put them on a baking tray.

Wash all the peppers very carefully- I had an earwig come out of one of mine!

Slice the peppers however you’d like or keep them whole- just make sure you wear gloves while you do this, or be careful not to touch your face for a few hours afterwards, man oh man will your fingers burn your eyes.

Put the peppers into the jars- not quite all the way up to the top

Meanwhile, bring all the other ingredients up to a boil.

Carefully, using a canning funnel if you have one, pour the liquid over the jars, being cautious not to get any on the rims of the jars.

Put the lids on the jars, and then gently put the screw tops on, not screwing them to tightly. Put them into the oven for 5 minutes, and then take them out and let them cool. They should all pop shut in about 5-10 minutes.

Let the pickles work their magic for at least 6 weeks before opening them up.

These should keep for at least 6 months.

Pumpkin Muffins

A couple nights ago I put on black tights under my dress and put on a scarf and a sweater before leaving the house. Around midnight the rain started. I guess that means it’s fall.

I’m not quite ready for it yet, to give up the beach and the warmth, but none the less I find myself looking longingly at apples and argyle sweaters and knitted blankets. I want to go apple picking and drink mulled wine and wear thick knitted socks and brown leather boots. But instead, as I was by myself for the day without a car, or the budget to go boot shopping, I made pumpkin muffins.

Soft, warm, buttery pumpkin muffins that long for hot chocolate and a good book. And with the rain pouring, sitting in my little apartment, I drank hot chocolate and finished my book, and welcomed in Fall.

Pumpkin Muffins,

Loosely adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, or whole wheat pastry flour (which is what I used)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1/2 cup Butter

1 cup Brown Sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Coarse sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350F

Line a muffin tin with liners of butter and flour them.

In a small frying pan over medium low heat brown the butter- melt it and then continue to cook it until the milk solids turn brown and it develops a nice hazelnut smell. Be careful not to burn it.

Meanwhile measure all the dry ingredients into a large bowl and make a well in the middle.

Pour the eggs and pumpkin and butter into it and mix it quickly to make sure the butter doesn’t cook the eggs.

Mix until just combined- do not over work it.

Spoon the batter into the tins, filling them up 3/4 of the way up.

Sprinkle sugar on top, bake until an inserted skewer comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes.

Aunt Loretta's Tomato Panzanella Salad

 

My Aunt Loretta is an amazing cook. Truly terrific. The sort of woman who teaches healthy cooking classes to cancer patients, raised an incredible cook for a son, and makes the marshmallows from scratch that she uses on top of her sweet potato cassorole for Thanksgiving. She does this all with a huge smile on her face, immaculate nails and hair, perfect clothes and just the right amount of southern sass. She is a force to be reckoned with, let me tell you.

She emailed me a while back about a tomato bread salad that she did up with cod, and it sounded amazing because, well, I’ve never had anything shes made that wasn’t spot on.

So when my favourite neighbours dropped off some tomatoes from their community garden last week I could think of nothing else beside big chunks of bread fried in olive oil, big juicy pieces of local tomatoes and big leaves of basil all bound with lemon juice and capers. I bought some local mackerel because I love mackerel and it’s local here and cod isn’t but use whatever you can get!

So here it is, Aunt Loretta’s Panzanella.
Serves 2

1/2 a thin Baguette of 1/3 of a big one

2 Roma tomatoes, 1 beefsteak, or a big handful of cherry tomatoes cut into wedges.

1 tbsp Capers, I like the teeny tiny ones but use whatever you like best

Half a bunch of Basil

Juice of Half a Lemon

A handful of Arugula

2 Herring, Mackerel, or good fresh fish

1/4 cup Flour

Zest of half a lemon

Salt and Pepper

Olive Oil
Turn your oven onto warm or 180F

Mix together the flour, the zest and a tespoon of salt. Dredge the fish in it.

In a small frying pan over medium high heat and add in a tablespoon of olive oil and fry the fish. Put the skin side down first and cook it almost all the way through then flip them and finish cooking the flesh side. Keep them warm in the oven.

Cut the baguette into 1 inch cubes

Warm a large skillet over medium heat. Add in 1/4 cup olive oil and fry up the bread flipping it reguarly until the bread is a glorious golden brown.

Meanwhile Mix the lemon juic, 1 tbsp olive oil, capers in the bottom of a large bowl.

Add in the tomatoes, arugala, and the basil and toss to combine.

Add in the bread and toss again, serve immediately with the fish on the side.

Whole Wheat Pancakes with Maple Blackberry Bourbon Compote

 

One of my very first kitchen memories is of making pancakes. As kids we were in charge of making our own breakfast and, while that usually meant cereal one day we decided we were grown up enough to make pancakes.

We carefully measured out each thing and and mixed it slowly and left a few bubbles in it so that it wasn’t over mixed. We poured it in little spoonfuls into the pan of bubbling butter and cooked them delicately.

We sat around the table and poured way more maple syrup than my mom would normally allow us too, and dug in. And they were terrible horrible rubbery rubbish. I know now that we forgot to add in the baking soda but at the time I just new they were wretched. They were fed to the dog so our parents wouldn’t see and we tried again.

We painstakingly measured every ingredient and fried them in butter again but this time, they cooked so quickly we almost poured the batter in, flipped them and then they were done, which was great because we were very hungry by this point.

So again, we poured much to much maple syrup on them and again excitedly tried our first bite. They, again, were god-awful-couldn’t-eat-them-terrible. The butter had burnt in the pan making them look cooked but they ran into puddles when we cut them open they were so raw inside. Again, we fed them to our dog (who miraculously had an iron clad stomach) and began to try again.

Fortunately my Dad woke up at this point and decided that enough was enough, and with surprising enthusiasm for a man who was not lying in bed reading the Sunday New York Times with a latte in his hand as was his tradition, taught us how to make pancakes.

First he showed us an old box of Aunt Jemima mix from the back of the cupboard, then he showed us to fry them in canola oil which had a higher burning temperature.

And then let us flip and fry and we brought them to him in bed with the paper.

I have moved up in the world since this disastrous first attempt, and have made many pancakes since. I gave up on mix years ago and became a devoted Joy of Baking pancake user, until I found this recipe that I posted a few months back.

But the other day when I had girlfriends over for brunch I needed a slightly moe flavourful pancake. I needed the sort of pancake that would stand up not only to maple but also to blackberries. That wouldn’t fade into the background of a syrup that had vanilla beans, and orange zest, and also the tiniest bit of bourbon. I needed a pancake with a flavour of it’s own.

These are just that, but not, as is common with whole wheat flour, stoggy, or dense, or heavy. They are wonderful light fluffy pancakes with just enough nuttiness to hold up against a wonderful summertime sauce.

Whole Wheat Pancakes with Maple Blackberry Compote.

Note: This recipe uses whole wheat pastry flour, which is basically really fine sifted whole wheat flour. If you can’t find such a thing, use half whole wheat and half white and sift it to get the bits out.

Maple Blackberry Compote

3/4 cup Maple Syrup

Zest of half an Orange cut into thin strips

Half a Vanilla Bean,

1 tsp Bourbon

1 cup Blackberries

Whole Wheat Pancakes

2 cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (see note)

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/3 cup Sugar

2 1/4 cup Buttermilk

2 Eggs

2 tbsp Butter, melted plus more for frying

A little bit of canola oil for frying

In a small pot warm the maple syrup with the orange zest and the vanilla

Let it sit on medium low heat for 10 minutes, then add in the blackberries and turn off the heat but leave it on the element.

Pancakes:

Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl

Whisk together the eggs and the milk and pour them into the bowl, with the butter and mix until just combined, a few lumps are alright.

Fry them carefully in butter with a little bit of oil as well. When they start to get bubbles in the middle flip them over, and then keep them warm in the oven as you cook the rest. (sorry i forgot to take a picture of them!)

When they are cooked slather then with butter and syrup and berries!

Homemade Instant Oatmeal

I wake up very early in the morning. I wake up before the sun is up and long before the busses start running in the city. I wake up and hear people talking loudly as they stumble home from big nights out. I wake up when bakers wake up.

This is not when boyfriends wake up, or at least not mine.

So I get up quietly, and do as little as possible to make noise, rattle dishes, or open drawers.

And this is all well and good except it takes me about twice as long to bike to work in the morning if I don`t eat breakfast and drink a cup of tea.

So I started making instant oatmeal.

It`s insanely easy, so easy I almost feel guilty putting a recipe for it up, but every morning when I make it I feel guilty for not sharing it.

The only things I always put in it are the oats, brown sugar and coconut, I like the coconut, it gives it a bit of a creamy texture and adds some extra protein. The nuts and fruit I put in change up all the time. I don`t like breakfast ruts.

What I do like though, is that this is not only a great breakfast for quick early mornings but also a terrific breakfast for camping, which is what I did this weekend, and it was nothing short of wonderful.

Instant Oatmeal

5 cups Quick Oats, or 1 Minute Oats

1 cup Brown Sugar

1 cup Shredded unsweetened Coconut

1 cup Slivered Almonds

1 cup diced Dried Apricots

Mix all ingredients together.

Add half a cup of mix to a bowl and add 1/2 cup of boiling water on top

You can share some with your new best friend Cornelius if you felt so inclined. He likes almonds.

And then, with all this new found energy you feel like you can climb this mountain!

Or at least survive a workday. Happy Tuesday!

Blackberry Galettes!

Here’s the thing, I`ve always heard about blackberry bushes in Vancouver. People say they`re at the train tracks, and I`ve seen them there in the springtime with bright red berries on them in Kitsilano around the train tracks at Granville Island.

And then I had an epiphany.

There are train tracks 10 blocks away from my house that I bike past everyday.

I know, I know, I`m a little slow on the uptake.

So I`ve now gone blackberry picking 3 times this week. I am a very happy girl. I love blackberries.

A lot.

So does my beautiful friend Liz, so the other day we spent the day picking berries and wildflowers and pretending we weren`t in the middle of the city, just half a block from a major road. And then we walked back with blackberry juice dripping out of our bags and staining our shoes laughing and just generally being very content in the city that we live in.

So I`ve made many many blackberry things lately that I`ll be sharing up here, but the first thing I did was make blackberry galettes, and they were so good, and so light and so fresh tasting I thought you should get this recipe first.

It`s a little showy but mostly it`s simple, elegant and very satisfying. And, while I made them for desert, I saved one for breakfast this morning, and it was the perfect start to my day!

1 cup (2 sticks, or half a pound) of Unsalted Butter, very cold

2 cups AP Flour

1 tsp Salt

1/4 cup-1/2 cup ice water

9 tbsp Coarse sugar (if you have it, otherwise regular old white sugar will do!

2 pints Blackberries

Make the dough:

Put the salt and flour onto your counter top. Put the butter in the middle and break them up and make sure they’re all covered in flour.

Using a rolling pin roll out the butter into long strips, using a spatula or bench scraper to scrape the butter off the bottom and move in the flour from the sides.

It will look like a big mess, don’t be alarmed!

Add in the water and again, using the spatula or bench scraper, fold in the water until a dough just barely starts to form. You may need to adjust the amount of water depending on the humidity.

Once it starts to come together use your hands to fold it in half, flatten it out a bit, then fold it again, continue to do this until the dough becomes something you think you could roll out without it falling apart but not so long that the dough becomes tough.

Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick and cut it into squares that ate 3 inches by 3 inches.

Fold each square in half on an angle to form a triangle. Cut 2 slits each triangle paralelle to each side leaving a space at the end so that it is connected at 2 ends. I know this sounds confusing but its really easy, just look at the pictures!

Then fold the sides over each other to form a pretty little diamond. Like this:

Chill the dough for 30 minutes in the fridge. You want the butter to be very cold so that when it goes into the hot oven it produces steam and the steam is what makes those lovely puffy little layers of dough, so the colder the better!

Preheat your oven to 375F

Egg wash the tops of the dough, and then fill the middle square with heaps of blackberries.

Sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar onto each tartlette making sure you get lots on the pastry. It will give it a wonderful crunch!

Bake them until they are a lovely golden brown on top and the berries are bursting and juicy.

And then eat and be very very happy!

Coconut Corn Soup.

 

I live in a pretty funny little part of East Van. It was the Italian area and then at some point it became the hippie hang out and now it’s the part of town that has the best cheese shop, a shockingly good vegan Mexican joint, and home to the coffee shop that wakes me up at 7am from crowds of Europeans shouting over soccer goals. It’s a wonderful place, most of the time.

It’s also very food oriented. It has more greengrocers then probably anywhere else in the city and my new favourite fish shop.

And on my way to my new favourite fish shop a couple days ago I noticed a very sweet little man outside with a small truck and a sign that said “Chilliwack Corn”. Now, who am I to refuse fate?

So instead of getting tuna I got sidestriped shrimp (the best shrimp ever doncha know?) and made a big batch of coconut corn soup.

This is good soup.

It’s rich and satisfying, it freezes well because of all of the starch in the corn, and it’s very flavourful. It’s loaded with lemongrass and ginger and lime and it is wonderful. Best takes less then 20 minutes on the stove and it is also terrific chilled, so you can make it the day before company comes by and be totally prepped up!

Coconut Corn Soup

A healthy glug of Olive Oil

1 large Onion, diced

2 cloves Garlic, sliced,

1 stalk Lemon Grass, sliced or chopped,

1 inch piece of Fresh Ginger, sliced,

2 cans of Coconut Milk

4 Pieces of good fresh sweet Corn

1 Lime

Fish Sauce to taste.

8 Shrimp

A small handful of cilantro, mint and/or thai basil.

* because your going to be pureeing the soup don’t worry about how nicely anything is cut!

In a medium sized pot on medium heat warm your olive oil and add in your lemongrass, ginger and onions.

Once the onions are soft and everything is very fragrant add in the garlic and cook until you just start to smell it. Then add in the coconut milk and 1 cup of water.

Cook this mixture for about 10 minutes, and then add in the corn. Cook the corn out for 5 minutes and then take it off the heat and puree it. You can use an emersion blender or a standing blender but either way I recommend pushing it throw a sieve. With the ginger and the lemongrass being so fibrous you just won’t get as nice a texture without that extra step! It doesn’t take long but it does make a big difference.

Now you can either bring it back up to a simmer and serve or chill it to serve. Either way check your seasoning. Add in lots of lime and lots of fish sauce and make sure theres enough salt.

For the prawns, just bring 1 cup of the soup of to a boil in a small pot, and add in the shrimp for 1 minute and then serve them right away!

Garnish with the herbs, and you have a perfect summer meal.

Pickles!

 When I was a a kid, maybe six or seven, my Dad , who never cooked, decided to make pickles. This was, to say the least, a surprising idea for him. Or maybe not, his mother made fantastic pickles so perhaps he was feeling nostalgic, but regardless, he decided to make pickles.

My dad was a doctor and a scientist, so to say he went about this with determination, precision, and gusto would be like calling Dirty Dancing an alright 80’s dance film. Basically he went a little pickle crazy.

A lot of the crazy came from not being able to find dill cucumbers. We went to market after market after market before finally driving an hour or two out side of town to get them at a flea market.

The he came home and washed the jars with scientific precision, boiled the brine, did everything according to his mothers recipe. And then we waiting for about a month to finally crack a jar and taste what we were sure to be just like Nona’s, crisp, tart, and slightly herbal tasting pickles.

When we finally dug into the jars, they were terrible. They were so salty, and so acidic no one but my dad would eat them, and he did eat them all, being a person morally opposed to throwing out food. I think he even liked them by the end, but there’s a good chance that was for show.

I’m telling you this because I want you to know that I have always been intimidating by pickle making.

But I recently sucked it up and did it. And because I am a big believer in go big or go home I didn’t just make pickles, but also pickled beans, and pickled asparagus.

And they were great! They were crispy, they were pleasantly tart, they were flavourful, and downright delicious.

And you know where, I think my Nona and Dad are looking down at me pretty proudly.

*note: I used the same recipe for each, with only the slight variation of making the beans and asparagus a little spicier, because that’s how I like my Ceasars (Canadian bloody Mary’s)

Pickles:

4 Cups White Wine Vinegar (don’t waste your money on the really good stuff but don’t by the super cheap stuff that comes in 4 liter pales. Buy something with flavour.)

4 Cups Water

1 tbsp Chili Flakes

2 tsp Fennel Seeds

1 Clove

2 Strips of Lemon Zest

1 tbsp Peppercorns

4 tbsp Salt

3 Sprigs of Dill,

Enough fruit to full 3 litre mason jars, it will depend on how big the fruit is.

Preheat oven to 300F.

Wash 3 1L mason jars and lids carefully.

Combine all ingredients except the veggies and dill into a pot and on medium high heat bring to a boil, make sure that all the salt has dissolved.

Meanwhile, clean your veggies carefully and then pick the stem sides off your beans or cukes, and snap the hard end off asparagus.

Put the veggies into the jars making sure that all the ends are below the lip of the jar. Add in your herbs if using.

Once your brine has come to a boil pour it into something with a spout like a liquid measuring cup.

Carefully pour the brine over the vegetables until there is half an inch of space left and all the vegetables are completely submerged. Put the lids on.

Put them all on a tray and leave them in the oven for 6 minutes.

Remove from the oven and wait to hear the popping noises of happy jars sealed properly! You should wait at least 4 weeks to eat your pickles.

Kale Ceasar

This year J and I spent a good amount of time and money on making a little indoor garden. We planted all sorts of herbs and then swiss chard and kale, thinking they would be good as leaves in salads and when they got bigger we could cook them.

Then we got aphids.

A lot of our plants died.

Jordan gave up on indoor gardening.

Out swiss chard and our kale survived but 6 months in they still haven’t really turned into the big rustic plants we were hoping for, but they do produce some lovely little salad leaves.

So I knew what we were having for dinner when I was flipping through my Tartine Bread book for inspiration and stumbled upon a kale ceasar salad. Now I know that this may sound crazy to some of you who like your ceasars laden with mayo and super crispy romaine, but this salad is alarmingly good. The kale has this rustic nuttiness, and it really stands up wonderfully to the robust flavours of the anchovies and garlic.

Because I can’t get away with just serving salad for dinner we ate this with a flatiron steak and man was it a good combination.

Kale Ceasar

1 bunch of Kale, or a few big handfuls of of baby kale (see note)

2 Anchovy fillets, minced

2 cloves of Garlic, minced

1/2 cup Olive Oil

1/4 cup Vegetable Oil

1 Egg Yolk

2 tsp Grainy Dijon

Juice of half a lemon

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

6 inches of a baguette, it can, maybe should, be a little stale.

1 Flatiron steak.

Salt and Pepper

Note: If you can’t find baby kale this salad is still delicious, in fact we used half and half. But the adult kale has a very stiff chewy centre so pull the soft leaves away from the big vein in the back and then tear them into bite sized pieces.

Marinate your steak in salt and pepper and leave it wrapped at room temperature.

In a small frying pan on medium-low heat warm up about a tablespoon of the olive oil.

Gently start to cook your anchovies in the olive oil breaking them down with the back of a spoon until they begin to dissolve.

Add in the garlic and cook gently until it just becomes fragrant but hasn’t started to brown at all. Pour this mix into a bowl and put it in the fridge to cool.

(sorry I forgot to take pictures at this stage!)

Meanwhile make the dressing; mix the yolk, the dijon and a little squeeze of lemon into a bowl.

Whisk it together vigorously and while you do slowly slowly start to add in your vegetable oil. If it ever looks streaky stop adding in the oil and keep whisking.

Once you’ve added in about half of the oil add the rest of the lemon juice. Then whisk in the rest of the oil, and about half of the olive oil. It should be a smooth creamy sauce. Now add in the anchovy mixture, whisking vigorously again. Add in the parmesan.Check your seasoning, you may need more salt or lemon.

In a large saute pan pour in the remaining olive oil and bring to a medium heat. Cut the baguette into big chunks and fry them up with a generous sprinkling of salt until they are crispy and golden brown and delicious.

Now, heat a frying pan or a grill pan if you have one to a high heat, pour a little olive oil in and fry up your steak however you like it. For medium rare it usually takes about 5 minutes per side for a flatiron. Then let the steak sit for 5 minutes. this lets the juices run back into the steak so when you cut it open it doesn’t all pour out. Slice your steak up into strips if you’d like.

Now toss the salad, put the croutons on top and lay the steak beside it. Doesn’t that look good?

Madeleines

A few years back my sister, a few friends and I went on a croissant-athon. Basically we looked up all the places in Toronto for the best croissants and biked around the city trying one at each place (we did split them, or else we wouldn’t have been able to keep riding!) and my meticulous sister took notes.

My main criteria is what I call the crunch-to-gush factor.

This is not a technical term.

But it is important. It’s the contrast from perfect crisp exterior to meltingly tender interior. It’s something the french do very well. In creme caramel? Check. Parisian macarons? Check. Madeleines? Check Check.

Madeleines are my new obsession. I decided I wanted to make them for the baby shower I threw last week and so, because I was putting so much work in (aka was having so much fun planning it!) I decided to give myself a gift and buy a madeline pan. And then lie to my boyfriend about when I bought it because he’s threatening to leave because me if I fill our apartment with more kitchen gadgets.

Anyways.

Man madeleines are good! And their good because of the crunch-to-gush factor. The perfect browned edges that lead the way into the most moist vanilla scented cakey center. It’s danm near perfect. And very easy if you have a standing mixer, and of course a fancy madeline pan. I bet you could make these in a mini cupcake holder to, if your really jonesing for them, but there’s just something so wonderful about the little scalloped edges.

Madeleines

Adapted from 101cookbooks

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (6 ounces)
2 tablespoons softened unsalted butter (for greasing pan)
3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
a pinch fine-grain sea salt
2/3 cups sugar
zest of one large lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
powdered sugar

a bit of extra flour for dusting baking pan

Brown the butter: melt it on a low heat until it gets frothy on top, and the milk solids get beautifully brown and it smells like hazelnuts, be careful not to burn it!

 

In the bowl of your standing mixer beat the eggs on high speed until light and fluffy. Then slowly add in the sugar tablespoon by tablespoon while keeping mixer on high speed.

Now carefully fold in the flour, salt, and lemon zest, by hand.

Then fold in the vanilla and butter, being very careful not to over mix.

Then carefully pipe the prepared molds 3/4 full of batter.

Bake for about 8 minutes or until beautifully golden brown. Most recipes say to pop them out right away but I found waiting a few minutes made them come out easier!

Baby Showers!

I have a very beautiful friend Laura who has a very beautiful 7 month old little girl in her belly. We are very excited. So this weekend I hosted a baby shower!

We ate lots of little goodies (lots more on that soon!) and made baby shoes, and hung out in the prettiest little park. So I thought I’d share some fun photos of our day, and I promise soon, there will be lots of recipes coming.

Isn’t this spot just the sweetest? Its deffinately got people around it’s pretty quiet considering how close it is to the seawall.

Laura in her prego glory!

Because Laura has more shoes than anyone I have ever met, I thought it would be fun to make baby shoes! I made cut out the patterns in felt and put them in mason jars with pin cushion tops. Then brought tins full of ribbon, buttons, sparkles and more!

I always get my flowers from The Flower Box, it has the most beautiful selection and Sasha, the owner, makes the most amazing bouquets! She made a bunch of wildflower bouquets for me in my collection of milk glass vases. I think it really tied everything together.

And I just love how the bunting looks on the trees blowing in the wind. It was such a fun day, I just love hosting and planning.

Such a great day, I’ll be back soon with recipes! xo

Southern Goodness!

Two inevitable truths about my life

1. There will always be a half used carton of buttermilk in my fridge

2. My boyfriend will always beg me for southern food.

This will never change.

So recently I decided to join forces, to use buttermilk in southern food. I know I know, this is painfully obvious. I make pretty fantastic friend chicken with buttermilk but that’s not really an every day meal.

Nothing that involves buying 2 litres of vegetable oil constitutes as an every day meal.

But other then that my use of buttermilk in southern food is limited. Maybe I should rephrase that, my knowledge of southern food is limited.

Anyhoo, we had some cabbage in the fridge the other day and a light bulb went off in my head.

And so I made one of the most basic of southern foods and it used up half a cup of buttermilk. That’s right, coleslaw with buttermilk dressing. Obvious isn’t it?

And then I made some really tasty chicken with this amazing spice mix that I picked up at the farmers market, and I made homemade potato chips.

And then I had a very good meal and an extremely happy boyfriend. And my carton of buttermilk is nearly empty. Yes.

Homemade Potato Chips

4 large Yukon Gold Potatos

1/4 cup Olive Oil

A healthy spinkling of salt

Preheat oven to 350F

Using a mandoline or a very sharp knife slice the potatoes paper thin.

Put the potatoes in a bowl and rinse with cold water. The water will get cloudy. This is starch coming out and you want it out! The starch will make your chips soggy instead of crispy so rinse until the water gets clear. You may need to pour out all the water and refill it a few times to get it clear.

Dry off the potatoes gently with a hand towel and spread them out on a baking sheet. Mix with the oil and salt and put them in the oven!

Every ten minutes or so take them out of the oven and flip them gently so that you can ensure that they cook evenly. They may stick together a bit so push them apart whenever possible. Pretty soon they’ll look like this:

In the meantime make your coleslaw.

1/2 cup Buttermilk

1/2 cup Mayonaise

1 tsp Dijon Mustard

1 tbsp Lemon Juice

Fresh herbs, I used italian parsley and mint

Salt and Pepper

Half a head of Cabbage

Mix everything but the cabbage together. Test for seasoning.

Mix in your cabbage! and your done!

Now, I didn’t measure anything for my chicken, but I roasted 2 legs off with just some southern spice mix and salt in the oven at 350 for about half an hour. And it was delicious!