This friend is pretty picky when it comes to flavours. He doesn’t like creams, custards etc. Normally if I was to make a cake, I would want to add flavour through the filling. His preferred filling was chocolate chip mint.  Mint as a filling reminds me of the 80′s – probably because as a kid I LOVED it and always wanted icing to be flavoured with it… and now, no interest. So the cake itself is not too interesting. The decorating worked out ok. I used chocolate fondant dyed black, and then regular fondant in green for the felt. All the pieces are edible (except for the playing cards).  The picture is a little fuzzy, but I didn’t think to bring a camera, only had my phone. Still, for something whipped together Friday night for Saturday, I was pretty happy with it.   Congrats to J & T. Hoping they have a long happy life together.

So if all goes correctly the following will be part of  a summer/fall harvest:

1. tomatoes: big boy, green leprechaun, cherry, yellow heirloom, purple heirlooms
2. beans: red long, green stringless
3. rhubarb
4. pumpkin
5. squash
6. pickling cucumbers
7. early carrots
8. sweet beets
9. swiss chard
10. kohlrabi
11. strawberries
12. a variety of lettuces
13. herbs: rosemary, cilantro, basil
14. And lots of flowers: dahlias, lobelia, poppies and sweet peas

Looking forward to posting a picture of the garden in full bloom sooner than later And maybe, just maybe some recipes.

But I’m trying.  I’m trying to make at least a few meals a week that are reminiscent of the old me.  The side benefit of this is that I actually have meals for lunch at work; their healthier and help with the much needed fiscal responsibility which is my renewed goal for 2011.  A few weeks back I made pulled pork that was versatile and delicious; and then there were carrot and pineapple muffins with a coconut cream cheese icing, treasure hunt muffins (chocolate chips, blueberries, banana and peach muffin – sounds like  lot, they were oddly good!) chicken, shrimp and sausage jambalaya, and then tonights meal of a simple honey glazed roasted chicken, and planning on chicken pot pies with the leftovers.  I am feeling moderately consistent.

The mains I have made lately thrive on slow cooking.  There is something satisfying about facing delayed gratification, waiting for the aromas wafting from the kitchen to reach an almost intolerable desire to want to go check on it, again. These meals have also been traditional and simple in their approaches.  Somehow, over the last few weeks of slow and steady I have convinced myself that if I can work threw some old standbys then I may be on the road back to the kitchen…I’ve kind of missed it.

Honey Glazed Roasted Lemon Chicken

1 – 5lb chicken
extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon
1 head garlic
3-4 tbsp fresh parsley
2 tsp thyme (fresh or dried)
extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Honey Glaze

2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp chicken juices
2 tbsp hot water

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven at 425F
2. Remove any giblets from the chicken
3. Rinse and pat dry chicken
4. Drizzle olive oil over, and inside chicken
5. Season with thyme, salt, and pepper, inside and out
6. Squeeze lemon juice into cavity of chicken, add parsley, garlic and lemon.
7. Base chicken every 20 minutes
8. Mix all glaze ingredients together.
9. Approximately 5 minutes before the chicken is ready to come out of the oven, baste the glaze over the chicken.
10. Remove from oven when bird at thickest point on thigh reaches 175F, it will reach 180F when you allow it to rest for ~5-10 minutes.

I had an abundance of garlic scapes in the fridge that desperately needed to be used. No pine nuts and a guest who didn’t like Parmesan cheese.  So I worked with what I had. The result was a very tasty sun-dried tomato pesto.  I followed the bread recipe exactly.  It was a little dense, not as light of a crumb as I would have liked, but dunked in extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, it was still very tasty.  And for a few days to keep it fresh and as a great snack, I found throwing it in the toaster for a light toast was perfect.

I won’t re-write the recipe for the bread on my site, as you could follow the very clear steps laid out on the original recipe’s site. However, I was happy with the “pesto” that was infused throughout, so instead, that is what you will find here.

Ingredients:

4 garlic scapes roughly chopped
1/4 cup toasted walnuts
6 sun-dried tomatoes softened (either soaked in hot water, or packed in olive oil)
1/4 cup black olives
Extra virgin olive oil
1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Shred mozza and set aside
2. Combine garlic scapes, walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes, and black olives  in food processor, puree.
3. Add olive oil until everything comes together and makes a thick paste, probably about 1/3 of a cup
4. Mix pureed mixture with mozzarella, season with salt and pepper.

A note that the garlic scapes will be very powering raw, but as they bake in the bread they totally mellow out.

So with most of the berries packed away in the freezer, I kept some out to much on over the next day or two…don’t they look beautiful?

Sometimes simple is best. So this morning I rummaged around and found some goodies to throw together in some home made granola. The great thing about granola is how you can use what you have…one of my favourite approaches to food is to use what you have around.  If you always have to run to a store to follow a recipe exactly, I can only imagine how constricting, so if you feel like making some granola, use what you have, no maple syrup? Use honey?  Don’t like cinnamon, don’t add it. And so on, and so on.

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats
a handful of sliced almonds
handful of shredded sweetened coconut
2 tbsp canola oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp cinnamon
chopped dried fruit (i used golden raisins and apricots)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 F.
2. In a bowl combine all the ingredients except the dried fruit and mix thoroughly.
3. Spread on a baking sheet and put in the oven.
4. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown, stirring a few times – just watch it carefully so it doesn’t burn.
5. Remove, allow to cool and then mix in dried chopped fruit.
6. Store in an air tight container, I find that a mason jar works really well.
7. And of course, if possible serve with some fresh berries, either over milk or yogurt – yum!\

So after a beautifully sunny Vancouver day and a long walk around the sea wall in the late afternoon with the dog, I was hungry.  In the fridge I had some peperoni and cheese,  some pizza dough from the local bakery and the pièce de résistance: a cold bottle of white wine.  A while ago Annie from one the most tried and true blogs that I read almost daily had posted the idea of pizza bites. Now it wasn’t rocket science.  And truthfully, it probably would have been a little less work making a simple pizza either on the pizza stone or on the BBQ, but regardless I made these.  And they were fabulous.  Imagine the sun setting, sitting on the patio with a plate full of these little nuggets, a big glass of wine and of course a good book.  What a fantastically relaxing way to end a fabulous day.

The picture leaves something to be desired… not enough light, sorry!  These would be great as an appy or if you are like me, a dinner.  Tasty tasty, as always, thanks Annie.

Ingredients:

3/4 lb of pizza dough
24 slices pepperoni
24 small cubes cheese (I used Havarti because it was what I had on hand (yum!))
spray pam
2 Tbsp cornmeal
extra virgin olive oil
grated parmesan cheese
Montreal Steak Seasoning (random I know!)

pizza sauce, or simple marinara for dipping

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F
2. Spray a pie plate with pam, then sprinkle the corn meal
3. Divide dough into 24 equal parts
4. Flatten into dough discs, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter
5. Place a cube of cheese and slice of pepperoni onto the disc, wrap dough around and pinch close.  Repeat with all dough pieces.
6. Place dough balls in the pie plate, brush with olive oil.
7. Grate parm on top for some crunchy goodness and sprinkle with Montreal steak seasoning, or if you have it Italian seasoning and garlic salt or powder.
8. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
9. Serve with marinara/pizza sauce.
10. Crack open some wine and enjoy.

Good times, wine, food and friends makes for a wonderful weekend.  After a morning at the spa: walking a hydro path, a fantastic lunch at Atlas and a snooze on the lawn in the afternoon sun, we decided to round out the weekend with a chilled west coast tradition. So, Sunday evening just us ladies packed a picnic for the beach, made a campfire in the wind, ate some good food, chatted and drank Babyduck.  One of the goodies in the cooler that we packed was a delicious curried quinoa salad.

This salad is packed full of protein.  And gets better as the flavours meld in the fridge, so a great meal to make and have in the fridge for lunches or a light summer dinner.  I love the savoury coupled with the sweet, the crunchy and the chewy.  Mmmm.

Ingredients
1 lime
3 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp freshly grated ginger
1/2 pkg extra firm tofu cut into 1 inch cups
1 cup quinoa
2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup walnuts
1 cup shredded carrots
3 green onions sliced
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
3/4 cup dried apricots sliced
1/2 cup dried cranberries (optional)
1 tbsp canola oil

Dressing
2 tbsp curry powder
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
1 Tbsp honey
1/4 cup canola oil

Directions:

1. Squeeze juice from lime into a medium bowl.  Stir in soy sauce, sesame oil and ginger. Add tofu and marinate for 30-40 minutes.
2. Place quinoa in a sieve and rinse thoroughly.  Drain and place in a medium sauce pan along with the broth.  Bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer until all liquid is absorbed, about 10-15 minutes.  Remove from heat, fluff with fork, set aside.
3. While quinoa is simmering, preheat oven to 350F. Place walnut pieces on a baking sheet and toast until golden brown and fragrant, about 8-10 minutes.
4. In a large bowl, combine carrots, green onion, parsley, cilantro, apricots, toasted walnut pieces, cranberries (if using) and cooked quinoa.
5. For dressing mix curry powder, lime juice, honey, and canola oil in a seal-able container, shake well to mix and pour over quinoa mixture and mix.
6. Refrigerate salad for at least one hour.  Heat canola oil in a skillet over medium heat: remove tofu from marinade and cook for 2 or 3 minutes per side until browned.  Add cooked tofu to quinoa salad mixture, mix and serve.

Glow, May 2010 pg. 92

In February I was asked by the couple to make their wedding cake. I asked what they were thinking about. They wanted simple.  Good, because who are we kidding, while I enjoy baking I am no pastry chef!  I have made small cakes that serve 20-40 at most, not 150.  So I said yes, and offered the cake as my wedding present to them.

The cake was simple. Three tiers, three layers of cake in each tier. The bottom tier was chocolate brownie cake with a vanilla cream icing, and raspberry filling.  The middle tier was simple vanilla cake with a chocolate/Baileys (yes, can you say yum!) icing and the raspberry filling again.  And the top tier was chocolate/vanilla cake combo with the various fillings as well, kind of the uber tier.  The whole thing was covered in a vanilla buttercream with fondant.  Brushed with pearl dust to give it an iridescence that you can’t really see in the photos and finished off with ribbons in their wedding colours.  The cake topper was made by the bride’s mom – a personal touch to the couple.

So congratulations to Robbie and Cate!

May their years together be long and plentiful, full of love, laughter, and of course…good food!

I made the mistake in my first batch to add some salt before they came out of the oven.  They were just a little too salty for me. I waited the second time and found they didn’t need salt at all.  If this intrigues you, try googling a variety of recipes. You can make these in your oven (like me) or if you happen to have one, a dehydrator.

Ingredients:

4 cups kale chopped into 2 inch pieces, stem removed from leaf
2-3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (if you have it, I found I didn’t need it, but my sheet was in pristine shape)
2. In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar, oil, and salt, and toss with kale leaves. Place in a single layer on cookie sheet and place into oven.
3. Bake 10-15 minutes, flipping halfway through until crispy. A hint on a few sites was to not overcook or allow them to become completely brown as they will taste bitter.
4. Taste one, and lightly salt – I used a seasoned wasabi salt which was a nice touch.  Enjoy!

The twist to these muffins was a little sweetened coconut.  I used a recipe found on Simply Recipes and just slightly modified.  In less time than it took the oven to pre-heat to 350F the batter was ready.  So if you find yourself with 3-4 ripe bananas I recommend trying these.

Ingredients
3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tbsp espresso or strong coffee (optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup of flour
1 cup chopped walnuts (toasted or raw)
1/4 cup sweetened coconut

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl.
2. Mix in the sugar, egg, coffee and vanilla.
3. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in.
4. Add the flour, mix until it is just incorporated. Fold in the chopped walnuts and sweetened coconut.
5. Pour mixture into a prepared muffin tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin. If it comes out clean, it’s done. Cool on a rack.

makes 6 jumbo muffins (seen in the picture above) or 12 regular muffins

adapted from Simply Recipes