Happy Mother’s Day!

I’ve previously told you about how my Mom’s pretty awesome because she can bake bread from scratch, milk a goat and turn the output into cheese and ice cream and make a seriously tasty omelet too. But what you don’t know about Mom is that she’s also the nicest, most compassionate, thoughtful and caring person you will ever meet. This means that she puts others before herself and goes out of her way to help those in need. If everyone were to be as lucky as I am and have a Mom like mine, the world would certainly be a different and much happier place.

When I was little my Mom would tuck me in and sing me to sleep at night, hug me every morning and remind me daily that I’m loved. She gave me books like Charlotte’s Web and The Secret Garden to read and encourage my imagination to grow and develop. From as early as I can remember I’ve always loved sports and that’s probably because Mom would take me skating and skiing in the winter and go biking and swimming with me in the summer, (and she still does). Mom doesn’t speak ill of other people and as such has taught me the value of respect and acceptance of others. At times in my life when I have had to make the decision of whether or not to do something questionable, my decisions have always hinged on the fact that I wouldn’t want to do something that would disappoint my Mom or make her less proud of me. She’s my number one cheerleader in all that I do and is sure of me when I’m not sure of myself.

I assure you, if you’ve ever had the privilege of crossing paths with my Mom, you’re a better person for it. Unfortunately, I think people that are as nice as she is, (if other such people even exist) are often underappreciated. In her role as an elementary school principle, Mom goes to work early and comes home late everyday, she genuinely cares about the wellbeing of her students and staff and yet still has to put up with far more nonsense and politics than anyone should have to. Despite all of that, Mom has a positive outlook on life and believes in the good of people. But if I had things my way, Mom would have retired long ago so that she could spend her days gardening, going for hikes and bike rides, reading and writing a book.

If I had things my way I would also be home for Mother’s Day so that I could spend the day with my Mom. I would start by making her some fabulous cornmeal waffles for brunch, (a Dorie Greenspan recipe from this book) and top them with maple blueberry sauce and fresh orange segments. Then we would relax and read the paper on the deck in the sunshine and talk about where in the Travel section we wanted to go most. When we finished reading the paper we would drive to the beach to go for a walk along the water and get an ice cream cone with two scoops each. After we got home Dad and I would start making dinner and Mom would work in the garden until it was time to eat. Depending on our mood following dinner we would play cards or watch a movie. It would be a wonderful day with my Mom. Unfortunately, she will have to take a raincheck on that one because I can’t make it home this weekend, but I still love her very very much and hope she has an amazing day because she really deserves it.

Happy Mother’s Day Mom!

Morels and Nostalgia

There are some places, people and things with which we are inextricably linked. Childhood homes seem to have a hold on people. Even when you’ve lived away for longer than you lived there, something still binds you to the place where you grew up. Memories of that place are often tinged with gold. But when you go back, it’s not the same. There are new houses, new signs, new people. The landscape has changed, the trees have grown up and so have you. When I visit the place where I grew up, I can’t help but feel nostalgic. It’s as though Madonna’s This Used To Be My Playground is always playing in the background. But even though the place has changed, the magic still remains. If I close my eyes I can still see the sparkling water as the last rays of sunlight sink below the horizon, the sky ablaze in reds and purples. I can still feel the sand between my toes or a warm summer breeze on my skin. I can still taste strawberries from the garden or penny candy from the Beach Memory general store. I can still hear kids playing baseball at the end of the road or the gentle baaaahhh of a baby lamb looking for its bottle. And if I take a deep breath I can still smell the earthy scent of a fresh morel.

When I was little I hated mushrooms. I picked them out of spaghetti sauce, omelets and anything else my parents tried to sneak them into. I hated all mushrooms except for morels. Morels were different. Because every spring after the temperature climbed to just the right degree and we would get just enough rain, the morels would begin to pop up and my family would go morel hunting. We went to the same places every year and without fail, the morels would be there. All we needed were our morel eyes and the proper morel stick to find them. As soon as I spotted my first morel I would call out to let everyone else know. Dad would then hand me his smooth silver pocket knife so that I could cut it off at the base. I would then cup the morel in my palms, lift it my nose and breathe it in. As the saying goes, where there’s one, there’s more. After finding the first one, the second one usually wasn’t far off. We would pick until our basket was full and then return home. When I was little we used to find so many morels that we’d feast on some immediately and then lay the rest out on the deck in the sunshine to dry so that we had morels all year long. The best way to eat them was simply to fry them up fresh with butter and they were delicious. Not only was I lucky enough to have morels for dinner, but we’d also usually go foraging for fiddleheads at the same time of year and fry some of those up too.

This year I returned to the place I grew up, in search of morels. I went with my parents and we met up with friends of ours who still live there. These friends are the owners of the baby lambs, (who eventually become sheep) and they have a fabulous wool businesss, The Philosopher’s Wool. They are also the source of my wool when I make silly things like knitted cupcakes… Spring at their house means lambing season and the little guys are too cute to resist. I remember years where there were lambs, that for one reason or another needed to be bottle fed and they would stay in the house instead of the barn. I loved going to visit the bottle lambs. And while I was there I would go out to the chicken coop to collect eggs, always happy when there were some to find. I could use a chicken coop these days for the amount of eggs I go through.

But back to the morels. It was still early in the season when I returned to my old haunts to look for them. We were looking for the black morels as they come up first, followed by the more blond coloured ones and not in the same places either. There’s a certain place where we go early in the season and then it changes later on. On this particular journey we only found 8 morels. This is a far cry from the days when I would come home with an overflowing basket. Like I said though, places, people and things change and I guess morels are no exception. Change is inevitable but I’ll still pine away for the days of overflowing baskets, sand dunes and baseball at the end of the road.

The recipe you see here is from Jamie Oliver and is an Asparagus and Potato Tart. The only thing I’ve changed is to add fresh morels and fiddleheads, (which makes it a million times better, but you could still make it without and it’ll be pretty good too). As a bonus, the asparagus was picked fresh from the garden, some of the first spears this year.

Asparagus and Potato Tart (From Jamie Oliver’s Jamie at Home via the Foodnetwork)

1 pound potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
Sea salt
1 pound asparagus spears, woody ends removed
8 ounces filo pastry
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup freshly grated Lancashire cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Cheddar
3 large organic or free-range eggs
1 (8-ounce) container heavy cream
Pinch fresh nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper

Put your potatoes into a pan of salted boiling water and cook for 15 minutes. Meanwhile blanch your asparagus in a separate pan of salted boiling water for 4 minutes, and drain in a colander.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Get an ovenproof dish - I've used many different shapes and sizes. Layer the sheets of filo pastry in the dish, brushing them with melted butter as you go and letting about 1-inch hang over the edge. You want to get the pastry about 5 layers thick. Put a clean, damp kitchen towel over the top and put aside.

When the potatoes are done, mash them with the cheeses. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs and cream and stir into your cheesy mashed potato. Grate in the nutmeg, season well with pepper and mix together. Spread the mashed potato over the filo pastry, then bring up the sides of the filo and scrunch them together to form a rim. Take your blanched asparagus and line them up across the filling, making sure you cover it all. Brush all over with the remaining melted butter and pop into the preheated oven for around 20 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Allow to rest for 10 minutes. Serve just as you would a quiche for a quick lunch or supper, with a salad.

Technorati Tags:

Morels + Asparagus + Potato + Tart + Jamie Oliver

Salmon, Rice and Music

I suppose I should give things to you in that order, food and then music since this is a food blog after all. The salmon and rice are both recipes I made a long time ago but never got around to posting, (picture quality is usually the reason for late posting, but sometimes I simply mislabel/lose photos and then have nothing to show for my efforts). I should really stop telling you that I made certain dishes a long time ago and let you assume that I post about things on the day I make them, it would make me seem much more accomplished. I’m posting this one today though because I’d like to get back in the habit of eating fish twice a week, because I like to. I don’t have any excuse for not doing it, fish is the ultimate 30 minute meal as it cooks in no time. I’d even go so far as to say it’s a 20 minute meal, (take that Ray Ray!). I just have to actively seek out new fish recipes so that I don’t resort to baking it on a bed of lemons all the time. That’s what I usually do and it’s delicious, but it can get a little boring after a while. The teriyaki recipe I used on the salmon this time wasn’t boring, was easy to make, (falling into my 20 minute meal guidelines) and could be used on veggies or chicken too.

The Vegetable Fried Rice is from my favourite Steamy Kitchen, (the Jumbo & Jaden Project strikes again!) so obviously it’s great. If you have not read this particular post from Jaden, go over there and read it now whether you want the rice recipe or not, (which of course you do) because it’s hilarious. I think I made this rice purely because I loved the post that went along with it so much. You’ll also want to go visit Jaden’s blog to see a much nicer photo of what your rice might look like. From my experience, (that’s not saying much, I know…) fried rice works best with day old rice so make a little extra next time you’re having rice for dinner and then you can have this the following night.

Ok, on to the music! Hurrah! I love music and there are lots of new things happening lately. Many artists are choosing alternative ways to release their music to the masses, rejecting traditional forms and the constrictions placed upon them by record labels. Last year Radiohead released the album In Rainbows as a name-your-price digital download with massive success and other bands and artists are following suit and developing new ways to put out music.

Earlier this year Trent Reznor released the four part album Ghosts I-IV without giving any warning that it was coming. It’s an instrumental album that was made available in many different ways, ranging from a free download to a $75 deluxe set, (which sold out). Last week NIN finished a new track called Discipline, mastered it in the studio and released it to radio within 24 hours of its completion. It’s awesome and you can download a copy of Discipline for free via the NIN website by clicking here. And then click back to NIN.com on May 5^th for some sort of announcement, I’m hoping for more downloads, but I’m greedy.

Coldplay has a new album, Viva La Vida, (album art is pictured below) which will be released in its entirety in mid-June but they have also opted to make the first single, Violet Hill, available for free download. You can download a copy of Violet Hill via the Coldplay website by clicking here.
If you’re having trouble getting the Coldplay song, wait a while and try again later, I think the site’s been overloaded as it took me a couple tries to get the song, but it was well worth it.

That’s all for now. If anyone wants to give me free tickets or take me to see these bands, that would be super… I’ll make you dinner in exchange. It’s clearly an amazing deal all around. Everyone wins.

Salmon Teriyaki (from Food Network)

1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin or medium dry Sherry
2 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons peeled, chopped fresh gingerroot
2 (1/2-thick) salmon steaks

In a small saucepan simmer sauce ingredients, stirring until sugar is dissolved, until reduced to about 1/2 cup and cool to room temperature in a metal bowl set in a large bowl of ice and cold water. In a baking dish large enough to just hold salmon steaks in 1layer marinate salmon in sauce, turning to coat, 15 minutes.

Preheat broiler. Line broiler pan and rack with foil. Arrange fish on rack in a single layer, not touching each other, brush with melted butter or margarine, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Just how long fish should be broiled can only be estimated by size and shape. For a 1/2-inch cut steak, the steak should be 2-inches away from the heat and you should cook the first side 3 minutes and 3 to 5 minutes on the second side.

Technorati Tags:

Salmon + Teriyaki + Fish + Rice + NIN + Coldplay

Daring Bakers: Cheesecake Pops

I woke up this morning and the first things I thought were 1- Why is my bed so comfortable? and 2- Why does my room smell like daffodils? After those first few seconds of foggy confusion passed I remembered that I was home for the weekend and that means a queen sized bed and fresh flowers from the garden by my bedside. It also means access to an ice cream maker and waffle iron and that sounds like a winning breakfast combination to me. I've already made two ice creams and a sorbet, (which will be revealed at a later date) so I set about making some wonderful cornmeal waffles (a Dorie recipe) with maple blueberry sauce and orange segments for breakfast. However, my waffle maker is not the most efficient machine ever, it only makes two waffles at a time and takes about 8 minutes to make those two. That means that once the batter is made, there's a lot of in between time while waiting for a whole batch of waffles to cook.

So I popped open the laptop and clicked over to Tastespotting, (an addictions of mine) and one of the first pictures I saw was a Daring Baker cheesecake pop. Uh oh, who posted April's challenge early? I checked the link to see who it was from and was surprised when it was none other than Tartelette. At this point I started to wonder if I had misread the posting date. Helene wouldn't do something stupid like posting a challenge early but I was sure that this month's challenge wasn't supposed to be up until the 30th. I clicked onto a few other Daring Baker websites and quickly realized that I was in the wrong and that if I didn't start typing, my post would be one of the late ones. Luckily I had already completed the challenge weeks ago, (which is somewhat shocking in and of itself as I'm generally the queen of procrastination) so all that was left to do was to slap together a post and do a little photo editing. But then I had to finish making waffles and once that was done I realized it was a gorgeous sunny day and I needed to go on a morel hunt, (more on that later too) so here I am, finally getting around to writing something about those adorable little treats on sticks.

So about the cheesecake pops: I made mine orange scented by mixing the zest of two oranges into the sugar before proceeding with the rest of the recipe. I used Wilton wafers to dip my cheesecake pops and they were really easy to work with. Speaking of the Wilton wafers, have to thank a certain Cream Puff for doing some of my shopping and bringing me the Wilton wafers as well as the lollypop sticks. Shortly after the challenge was announced I had emailed Ivonne, asking her if she knew where I could find both of those items and she told me about a place called Golda's Kitchen, a kitchen supply store in Toronto that I can't believe I had never heard of before. As luck would have it, Ivonne was also planning a visit to Golda's and asked me if I wanted her to pick anything up for me while she was there. I browsed the website and found way more goodies than I could afford. I decided to stick with what I needed for the challenge and just got the wafers and lollypop sticks, (and maybe some silver dragees for an as yet undetermined use).

Thanks Ivonne, they were much appreciated! I brought my completed pops to a potluck lunch and didn't return home with any, which is always a good sign. Cheesecake pops certainly make for a fun and whimsical display, but I'm not itching to make them again, they were messy and took forever! That's not a comment on the recipe, but just on the nature of cheesecake pops. They require multiple steps and quite a bit of time and don't fall under my usual slogan of "Go Big or Go Home." They were tasty and pretty though and something I had wanted to make ever since I saw Bakerella's Cake Pops so I'm glad I got a chance to make them. Big thanks to our hosts this month Deborah of Taste & Tell and Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasms, I was very happy that they chose this recipe. (which can be found in Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O’Connor). As per usual, you can check out a multitude of cheesecakes on sticks by visiting the Daring Bakers Blogroll.

Tarts and Bikes

It seems as though we’ve skipped spring altogether and launched right into summer. If that means no rain, I’m ok with it. I hate rain like nothing else. Luckily, there hasn’t been too much of it and it’s been pretty warm in the city which means that bike weather is back. When I lived in the country, biking was a leisurely activity whether on or off road, in the city it’s always an X-treme sport. Yes, capital X to the treme. The hazards that you deal with in city biking far outweigh anything you might encounter in the country. In the country I might have to avoid the occasional car, (which I will probably wave to because I know them) sometimes a squirrel, (which I will probably wave to because his name is Nutkin) maybe a dog if it’s a bad day, (but it won’t really be that bad, cause I’ll probably just wave to the dog because I know him too). In the city I always have to be on guard, ready to defend myself against things like crazy inept city drivers, (in cars, trucks, buses and transport trucks) streetcars, (and possibly even worse are the tracks they leave all over the place) other bikers, (you’d think we’re all in this together, but some bikers are nut-jobs) pedestrians, (and their various accoutrements) and random other dangers like construction, potholes, city animals, street lights and a lack of bike lanes.

As if all of that isn’t bad enough, I live in the bike theft capital of the universe so if I wanted to continue to put my life at risk on my bike I have to keep it chained to me at all times. I swear, just stopping at a traffic light could leave you susceptible to having your bike stolen while you’re still on it. One minute you could be riding along and the next minute you’re on the ground, pedaling the air and wondering what the hell happened to your bike. Despite all of this, I put on my helmet, warmed up my bell dinging thumb and headed out for a ride today in the sunshine. I made it home in one piece, although the sun got the best of me and I’m a horrendous shade of pink this evening. What does all of this have to do with the vegetable tart you’re looking at? Nothing, but I wanted to remind people to be nice to bikers and the tart seemed like a nice backdrop to do so. And while I’m ranting- could grocery store employees please be gentle with my produce? Eggplants are not to be hurled like footballs. Thank you.

The tart is actually Anna Olson’s Roasted Garlic Vegetable Tart which is from her new show Fresh and is the April recipe for the Cooking Club Challenge on the Foodtv.ca blog. The tart requires you to make much more garlic oil than you will actually need but it’s not hard to find other uses for it. Or, if you’d rather, you could probably just roast some garlic, puree it and then only add as much oil as you need to brush it onto the phyllo. I also opted to top some of my tarts with goat cheese instead of feta and it was super. I realize it’s not exactly butternut squash season right now, but this tart lends itself well to substitutions, so whatever looks fresh would probably be good. Oh, and next time I’d add bacon. Definitely bacon.

Roasted Garlic Vegetable Tart (From Fresh with Anna Olson)

1 heads garlic

1 cup canola oil

6 cups peeled and diced butternut squash

salt and pepper

1 x red bell pepper, diced

1/2 heads sliced fennel

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh sage

finely grated lemon zest

3 sheets phyllo pastry

4 ounces feta cheese

For roasted garlic oil, preheat oven to 375 F. Peel garlic cloves and place in a baking dish. Cover with oil, stir to coat, and cover dish. Bake until garlic cloves are golden, about 40 minutes. Let cool.

Toss squash with 3 tbsp garlic oil and season lightly. Bake squash, covered for 15 minutes at 375 F, then uncover and reduce temperature to 350 F, and bake until tender, about 20 more minutes.

Toss cooled squash with diced red pepper, sliced fennel, sage and lemon zest. Season to taste.

To assemble tart, increase oven temperature back to 375 F. Spread out 1 sheet of phyllo (keeping other sheets covered). Brush lightly with garlic oil and lay another sheet over. Continue layering remaining phyllo sheets, brushing with garlic oil between each layer. Fold phyllo in half lengthwise and gently lift and place in an ungreased rectangle (4-x- 10 inch) removable-bottom tart pan. Spoon squash filling into tart shell and crumble feta over. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until phyllo is a rich brown.

Serve tart warm or at room temperature.

Technorati Tags:

Tart + Phyllo + Squash + Fennel + Garlic

Fruit Compliments and Bits and Bites

Aren’t those little oranges adorable? I didn’t make anything with them, I ate them as is, but they demanded to have their picture taken and I complied. Since when do oranges call you cute? I don’t know, but I could get used to receiving compliments from fruit. I’m not choosy, I’ll take ‘em where I can get ‘em. If a pineapple wants to call me pretty or a kiwi wants to call me smart, I’m ok with that too. Of course, I would prefer if the Kiwi was tall with a cute accent, but once again, I’ll take what I can get.

Ahem, back to the food… About twice a month I write a review for Paper Palate. Sometimes I share the review here or link to it and sometimes I forget altogether. That was the case last month when I posted a review on Paper Palate of the March issue of Bon Appetit which featured that amazing Caramel Walnut Upside Down Banana Cake and then falsely thought I had also posted about it on Jumbo Empanadas. Eventually I realized this error and posted about it here too because it’s definitely a cake that deserves to be seen.

Also in that post, which was filled with bananas, I mentioned making Banana Walnut Whole Grain Muffins from the Wellfed Network and Bran Banana Raisin Muffins from Cookie Baker Lynn but I didn’t post pictures of either of those. It wasn’t because I didn’t have any, but because for some reason, (lack of organization or a Kiwi to remind me) I couldn’t find them at the time. They’re here now though, so enjoy.

And for the record, I jazzed up the Wellfed muffins by subbing the walnuts for white chocolate chips and filling the middle with bittersweet chocolate chips. On top of that, I had been seeing a lot of carrot cakes with cream cheese frosting and I really thought I wanted carrot cake, but then I realized it was just the cream cheese frosting I wanted. So I made some, ate it with a spoon, (craving satisfied!) and then topped a few of the banana muffins with it.

When I discovered the banana pictures that I had forgotten to post I also found some pics of more dishes I made at Chef School, (which were MIA at the time I was going to post about them). So the Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast and Lasagna Bolognese with Spinach Noodles both should have been in last week’s post about chef stories. Geez, this post is filled with links. You’ll be lucky if they all lead where they’re supposed to, half the time I don’t even know.

More recently on Paper Palate I reviewed my new Food & Wine magazine, (which I received courtesy of the amazing Katie) and made Reverse Chocolate Chip Cookies from that issue. They were so good that I took them in to work on my day off so that others could enjoy them, (and by ‘others enjoy them’ I mean so that I didn’t devour the entire batch myself). In my quest to make cookies an acceptable currency, (and to make everyone love me) I’m slowly gaining ground, every cookie helps.

Have you had enought yet? I’m cleaning out my closet and I’ve still got one more Paper Palate post of mine to share with you that’s all about Italian cuisine, or more specifically The New Regional Italian Cuisine Cookbook. This is a book that has a photo of every single recipe, as well as scenic shots of Italy and close-ups of ingredients.

Recipes are titled in both English and Italian and are indexed by region as well as by course which is very convenient for scatterbrains such as myself who are constantly losing things. The only reason I remember what I made from that book is that I wrote it down: Insalata al Pecorino (Salad with Pecorino Cheese), Ossobuco d’Agnello (Braised Lamb Shanks) and Crostatina di Mele (Apple Puff Pastry Cake). Which reminds me, there were a whole bunch more recipes from that book I wanted to try. I should go do that…

Technorati Tags:

Bananas + Italian + Cookies + Muffins + Paper Palate

Time Goes Back

I feel like I’m living in the past. Maybe it’s because I’m putting up another post that would have been more appropriate 2 months ago when I actually made this dish. Hearty risotto and ribs are great when it’s cold outside, (like in February) and you want something to fill you up and keep you warm. It’s not generally what you crave when the weather is balmy and patios are all the rage again, (I wish I had a patio...). I suppose, however, that you could do these ribs on the bbq instead of in the oven and they’d be pretty nice for an outdoor dinner. The risotto might need to be replaced with potato salad though.

But I digress, when I read a claim of ribs in under an hour over at The Kitchen Sink, I was immediately intrigued. They looked absolutely amazing but could you really make ribs in under an hour? The answer is yes. These ribs were pretty good. They weren’t fall off the bone tender like would be achieved by cooking them low and slow for hours on end, but if you don’t have all day to make ribs, these are a very good substitute and will definitely satisfy a rib craving.

As for the risotto, I’ve posted twice before about wild mushroom risottos, (here and here) and have made many other risottos that I haven’t posted about, usually because I don’t follow a recipe when making it. Once you have the basic technique for making risotto the flavour possibilities are endless. You can pretty much turn anything into a risotto. If only everything were so easy.

Chinese Barbecued Baby Back Ribs (Gourmet, November 2007)

3 tablespoons chopped peeled ginger
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons honey
4 pounds baby back ribs (2 to 4 racks)

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Line a 17- by 12- by 1-inch baking pan with foil.
Purée ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and oil in a blender, then transfer to a bowl and whisk in hoisin sauce and honey. Reserve 1/2 cup sauce and coat ribs with remainder.
Arrange ribs, meaty sides down, in pan and bake, turning and basting once with some of reserved sauce halfway through baking, until cooked through, about 40 minutes.
Turn on broiler. Brush ribs, meaty sides up, with remaining sauce. Broil 4 to 5 inches from heat until edges are lightly charred, 4 to 8 minutes.

Technorati Tags:

Ribs + Risotto + Chinese