"What you give away you keep."

Black Forest cake

2012-01-26T19:16:00.008-05:00

We made this black forest cake for my mothers birthday.

Black forest is one of the easiest cakes to make and it's very tasty and impressive.

All you need is the sponge cake (recipe below) and then whipped cream about a litre and a half.

Dark chocolate for shaving and to make curls.

For the filling we mixed some leftover cherry filling from the pierogi (it is just fresh cherries pitted and boiled with sugar) with some cherry jam and the juice from a jar of sour cherries (you'll find it in a european store)

The cherries from the jar also went into the cake but we sliced them in half and reserved them.

Also we mixed some cherry kirsch into the jam and soaked each layer in this mixture then layered with a third of the chopped sour cherries (from the jar) and some whipped cream. We had 4 layers of cake and 3 layers of filling.

Then we covered the whole cake in whipped cream and coated the sides with shaved chocolate.

The large curls of chocolate were reserved for the top and we piped roses on the top and topped with stemmed maraschino cherries.

Black forest sponge cake:

6 oz Bittersweet chocolate; cut

6 tb Unsalted butter

1 ts Vanilla extract

1/3 c Water

6 lg Eggs; at room temperature

1 c Sugar

1 c Cake flour

1/2 ts Salt

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Butter 3 pans of 7" measurements and place a round parchment in the bottom of each.

Alternately use a 9 X 13 pan (as I did)

- In a double boiler melt the bittersweet chocolate with the butter & the 1/3 cups water

- In your mixer bowl whisk the eggs with the sugar for 10 mins until very fluffy, adding in the vanilla at the end.

- Meanwhile place a piece of parchment onto the counter and sift your flour and salt.

Now cool down the mixture in the double boiler and then add it into the eggs, and also gently fold in the flour.

Bake the round pans for 10-15 mins and the rectangular pan baked for about 20-25 (I kept an eye on it!)

I made this recipe twice yielding 2 rectangular pans and slicing each cake horizontally for 4 layers in total. It was a big cake but it goes fast!

** IF you do not have bittersweet chocolate substitute for a mixture of the following ingredients in your double boiler.

1/2 cup, plus 1 tbsp plus 1 1/2 tsp cocoa powder

1/2 cup, plus 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp sugar

3 tbsp and 2 tsp butter (in addition to the butter that is already in the recipe mentioned above)

New Years and January 2012

2012-01-26T19:06:00.005-05:00

While I don't blog too much during the winter season (due to lighting) there is definitely no shortage of food or cooking, here are some shots from New Year's and also meals enjoyed during the month of January.

Pina Colada rolls and more

2012-01-26T18:05:00.005-05:00

Here's my basic cinnamon roll recipe and the variations are endless, below I mixed brown sugar and added toasted pecans into the mix.

For the pina colada roll I simply spread the dough with room temperature philly cream cheese and then sprinkled with toasted coconut and finely chopped candied pineapple pieces.

Once they're baked and cooled you glaze them with a simple mix of milk and powder sugar (mixed into a glaze) and sprinkle with more toasted shreddes sweetened coconut.

- 4 3/4 c flour or 5 cups

- 2 tsp instant yeast

- 6 1/2 tbsp sugar

- 2 eggs

- 3/4 c softened butter

- 1 tsp salt

- 1 1/2 c very warm milk.

And zest or orange or lemon (optional)

Cream butter, add eggs, add mixed dry ingredients working the butter into the flour by hand

- Add warm milk, knead together until very smooth for 10 mins.

-Allow to double in size oiled and covered in a bowl, then roll out and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (you can spread with butter first if you want)

-Roll it up and cut thick slices then arrange in a parchment lined pan and allow to double in size again.

-Bake at 350 for 20-30 mins.

Cherry pierogi (dessert)

2012-01-11T14:12:00.005-05:00

Dough

2 cups unbleached flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 large egg

1/2 cup sour cream

2- 4 tbsp water

Place the flour, egg, salt and sour cream into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a dough blade. Pulse a few times. If the dough doesn't form into a ball and pull away from the sides, then add a tablespoon of water at a time until it does. You want a soft, slightly sticky dough.

Process the dough for a few seconds, then place it into a buttered bowl and cover with a damp kitchen towel while you make the filling.

Filling: Fresh cherries, pitted (I use this technique!)

Conversions & Equivalents

2012-01-05T12:12:00.000-05:00

Conversions & Equivalents

Converter

Temperature Conversions

275°F = 140°C = gas mark 1
300°F = 150°C = gas mark 2
325°F = 165°C = gas mark 3
350°F = 180°C = gas mark 4
375°F = 190°C = gas mark 5
400°F = 200°C = gas mark 6
425°F = 220°C = gas mark 7
450°F = 230°C = gas mark 9
475°F = 240°C = gas mark 10

Volume Equivalents

60 drops = 1 teaspoon
1 dash = 1/16 teaspoon
1 pinch = 1/8 teaspoon
1 teaspoon = 1/3 tablespoon = 1/6 ounce
2 teaspoons = 2/3 tablespoon = 1/3 ounce
3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon = 1/2 ounce
2 tablespoons = 1/8 cup = 1 ounce = 1 standard coffee scoop
4 tablespoons = 1/4 cup = 2 ounces
5 1/3 tablespoons = 1/3 cup = 2 2/3 ounces
8 tablespoons = 1/2 cup = 4 ounces = 1 gill
16 tablespoons = 1 cup = 8 ounces
2 cups =1 pint = 1/2 quart = 16 ounces
4 cups = 2 pints = 1 quart = 32 ounces
16 cups = 8 pints = 4 quarts = 1 gallon

Ingredient-Specific Equivalents

Butter
1 stick = 4 ounces = 8 tablespoons = 1/2 cup
4 sticks = 16 ounces = 32 tablespoons = 2 cups

Chocolate
1 ounce = 1/4 cup grated
6 ounces chips = 1 cup chips
1 pound cocoa = 4 cups cocoa

Creams
Half and half = 1/2 milk + 1/2 cream = 10.5 to 18 percent butterfat
Light cream = 18 percent butterfat
Light whipping cream = 30 to 26 percent butterfat
Heavy cream = whipping cream = 36 percent or more butterfat
Double cream = extra-thick double cream = clotted or Devonshire cream = 42 percent butterfat

Eggs
1 large egg (approximately) = 1 tablespoon yolk + 2 tablespoons white
1 cup = 4 jumbo = 4 to 5 extra-large = 5 large = 5 to 6 medium = 7 small

Flour
1 pound = 4 cups all-purpose or bread flours = 4 3/4 cups cake flour
1 cup sifted cake flour = 7/8 cup sifted all-purpose
1+ cup self-rising flour = 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour + 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder + 1/2 teaspoon salt

Lemon
1 lemon = 1 to 3 tablespoons juice, 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons grated zest
4 large lemons = 1 cup juice = 1/4 cup grated zest

Onion
1 pound = 2 1/2 cups sliced or chopped

Sugars
1 pound white = 2 cups white = 454 grams
1 pound packed brown = 2 1/4 cups packed brown
1 cup packed brown = 1 cup white
1 pound superfine sugar = 1 cup white sugar = 190 grams
1 pound powdered sugar = 3 1/2 to 4 cups
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar = 1 cup white sugar
1 cup powdered sugar = 80 grams
100 grams white sugar = 1/2 cup

Yeast
1 cake = 3/5 ounce = 1 packet dry = 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 teaspoons dry

Nuts etc.
Almonds, shelled, whole, blanched: 1 cup = 125 grams
Almonds, sliced: 1 cup = 70 grams
Almond meal (a.k.a. ground almonds): 1 cup = 100 grams
Almond butter/purée: 1 cup = 240 grams
Cashews, shelled, whole: 1 cup = 130 grams
Chestnuts, shelled, cooked: 1 cup = 130 grams
Hazelnuts, shelled, whole: 1 cup = 120 grams
Macadamia nuts, shelled, whole: 1 cup = 125 grams
Nut butter: 1 cup = 240 grams
Pistachios: 1 cup = 125 grams
Poppy seeds: 1 cup = 145 grams
Walnuts, shelled, halves: 1 cup = 100 grams

Baking
Agave syrup: 1/3 cup = 100 grams
Baking powder (levure chimique or alsacienne): 1 standard French sachet = 11 grams = 1 tablespoon
Cacao nibs: 1 cup = 120 grams
Chocolate chips: 1 cup = 160 grams
Cocoa powder: 1 cup = 120 grams
Honey: 1 cup = 300 grams
Honey: 1 tablespoon = 18 grams
Salt, fine: 1 teaspoon = 5 grams
Sugar, brown: 1 cup (packed) = 170 grams
Sugar, confectioner’s: 1 cup = 130 grams
Sugar, granulated: 1 cup = 200 grams
Sugar, granulated: 1 tablespoon = 12.5 grams
Molasses: 1 cup = 280 grams

Flour, grains, etc.
Bulgur: 1 cup = 190 grams
Chickpeas (dried, raw): 1 cup = 190 grams
Cornmeal: 1 cup = 165 grams
Dried beans: 1 cup = 180 grams
Elbow macaroni: 1 cup = 150 grams
Flour, all-purpose or whole wheat: 1 cup = 120 grams
Polenta: 1 cup = 160 grams
Quinoa: 1 cup = 190 grams
Rice, basmati: 1 cup = 180 grams
Rice, short-grain: 1 cup = 195 grams
Rolled oats: 1 cup = 100 grams

Fruits, vegetables, herbs
Baby spinach leaves: 1 cup (packed) = 30 grams
Basil: 1 cup (packed) = 20 grams
Blueberries: 1 cup = 190 grams
Carrots, grated: 1 cup (loosely packed) = 90 grams
Fava beans, shelled: 1 cup = 120 grams
Green peas, shelled: 1 cup = 145 grams
Hibiscus flowers, dried, semi-crushed, lightly packed: 1 cup = 40 grams
Mâche: 1 cup (packed) = 20 grams
Raisins: 1 cup = 150 grams
Raspberries: 1 cup = 125 grams
Rocket: 1 cup (packed) = 25 grams
Strawberries: 1 cup (small strawberries, or large strawberries, sliced) = 125 grams
Young salad greens: 1 cup (packed) = 20 grams

Other
Agar-agar: 1 teaspoon = 2 grams
Baby shrimp, shelled, cooked: 1 cup = 100 grams
Capers: 1 cup = 120 grams
Dried bread crumbs: 1 cup = 100 grams
Hibiscus flowers: 1/3 cup = 15 grams
Oil: 1 tablespoon = 9 grams
Olives: 1 cup = 180 grams

Pans and dishes
10-inch tart or cake pan = 25-centimeter tart or cake pan
9-inch cake pan = 22-centimeter cake pan
4-inch tartlet mold = 10-centimeter tartlet mold
9-by-13-inches baking dish = 22-by-33-centimeter baking dish
8-by-8-inches baking dish = 20-by-20-centimeter baking dish
6-ounce ramekin = 180-mL ramekin
9-by-5-inches loaf pan = 23-by-12-centimeter loaf pan = 8 cups or 2 liters in capacity

Also be sure to check out Cooking for Engineers for great advice on recipe substitutions and conversions & The English Kitchen for British-American conversions.

Source: Chocolate and Zucchini, smitten kitchen

December 2011 - Cookie Challenge

2012-01-03T08:59:00.005-05:00

It's 2012!! Happy New Year everyone.

Somehow it seems that every december I'm either occupied or kept away from blogging... but now I'm back and I brought cookies!! (well recipes :))

It's been a great month, filled with lots of sales, shopping and some baking. I took on this last minute challenge of making a variety of holiday cookies in less than 14 hours straight, it was alot of work but I'm proud of my accomplishment.

Here are some of the varieties I chose and I'd love to share the recipes with you all because not only are they impressive but also very easy!

The pinwheel:

Made one batch of the following but did not divide and add any cocoa.
Then went back and made another batch adding twice the amount of cocoa listed and then rolled out two sheets into equal squares, once they were chilled I layered the chocolate over the white and rolled like a jelly roll firmly. Chill for another hour or so (or up to 2 days in the fridge) then slice into 1/4 inch and bake on a sheet.

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon pure lemon extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 large egg

Directions

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until well blended, 1 to 2 minutes. Add vanilla extract, lemon extract, and salt. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, scraping down sides of bowl.

Turn dough out onto a clean work surface; it will be loose and crumbly. Knead dough by pushing small amounts away from you with the heel of your hand for 1 to 2 minutes. Divide dough in half. Sprinkle cocoa powder over one of the halves. Knead until cocoa has been fully incorporated.

Place each half of the kneaded dough between two sheets of plastic. Using a rolling pin, shape dough into two 7-inch squares, about 3/8 inch thick. Using a sharp knife and a ruler, slice each square into nine 3/4-inch-wide strips.

Whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon water. Cover work surface with plastic wrap. Place three strips of dough on plastic, alternating white and chocolate strips. Brush tops and in between the strips with egg wash. Gently press strips together. Repeat, forming second and third layers, alternating colors to create a checkerboard effect. Wrap assembled log in plastic. Repeat process for second log, reversing color pattern. Refrigerate 30 minutes, or freeze 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper. Slice each log into 1/4-inch-thick slices; place on baking sheet. Bake until done, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven, and let cookies cool 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

RECIPE courtesy of Martha Stewart

Chocolate Kissed Gingerbread Cookies

3 cups flour

2 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. nutmeg (I omitted)

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup molasses

1 egg

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Semi-sweet or dark chocolate disks (I used Trader Joe’s chocolate callets)*

Mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt in large bowl.

Using a mixer, beat butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add molasses, egg and vanilla; beat well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Press dough into a thick flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges of cookies just begin to brown. Immediately press a callet into the center of each cookie. Remove to wire racks; cool completely. Store cookies in airtight container up to 5 days.

Elfin Shortbread (super easy and always a hit with these melt in your mouth nuggets!!)

Elfin Shortbread Bites

from Simply Homemade Food Gifts

1 1/4 cups flour

3 TB sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 TB red and green sprinkles

Cut chilled butter into small cubes with knife, add flour and sugar then work with hands until resembles coarse crumbs. Gently add sprinkles in the end and bring the dough together. Flatten into a square about 1 inch thick and cover with cling wrap, refrigerate and then slice into small squares and bake for 12 minutes on 325 F.

Piparkakut Cookies by The New York Times

Ingredients

9 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter

1/2 Cup Sugar

1/4 Cup plus 2 Tablespoons Molasses

1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1/2 Teaspoon Cloves

3/4 Teaspoon Cardamom

1 & 1/2 Teaspoons Ground Ginger

1/4 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1 Teaspoon Finely Ground Orange Zest

1 Egg

Dash of Salt

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

2 & 3/4 Cups Flour

1 Egg White (optional)

Directions

Heat your Butter, Sugar, Molasses, Spices, and Orange Zest in a small saucepan for about 4-5 minutes, or until your sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and continue to stir for a bit. Leave alone for about 20 minutes or until room temperature. Pour into a mixing bowl and beat in the Egg, Salt and Baking Soda. Combine half of your flour. Now mix in the other half. Mix until just combined. Now form into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350, and working in small batches, roll out your dough onto a floured surface. Rolled as thin as you’d like them, really…and then cookie cutter away! Arrange cookies 1/2 inch apart on a parchment lined Cookie Tray. If you would like to , beat one Egg White and Brush on top of each cookie and sprinkle Turbinado sugar on top. Bake for 8- 10 minutes . Shout “I Love Finland!”

All photographs were taken by the man who saved this blog from nasty injected viruses, Evan Lentz…we praise you and your brilliance.

Now for my favourite little thumb print cookies. It starts with two basic doughs, one chocolate and one vanilla and from there you can just go crazy!!

I remember when we were younger we'd make roll the white dough in coconut and do strawberry jam in the centre or roll in chopped walnuts and dot with blueberry jam. This time I rolled in crushed pistachio and went with apricot jam. Also a chocolate dough with raspberry.

Go wild! Maybe try a white dough rolled in crushed hazelnuts and dotted with nutella :P

Follow the instructions below for the basic dough, once it's made and chilled a bit roll them into small balls (bite size)

Next you poke a small hole in the centre with the back of a wooden spoon.

Beat a little egg white until frothy and set aside, then dip the tops of the cookies in the egg white and into the chopped nuts or coconut, it will stick to the top nicely.

Next use a small spoon or tiny piping bag to drop a tiny bit of jam into the centre (the thumb print/hole you made with the wooden spoon) not too much jam or it will over flow.

Bake on 350 for 12 mins or so.

Basic vanilla dough:

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder (omit if making thumbprints, ball cookies, or spritz cookies)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 sticks unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Beat butter and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, and beat until combined.

Basic chocolate dough:

Ingredients

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking powder (omit if making thumbprints, ball cookies, or spritz cookies)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 sticks unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Beat butter and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, and beat until combined.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

(yeilds 4 to 5 dozen, depending on the size you make them)

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

2 tsp (or a little more)vanilla

4 eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

Powdered sugar for rolling the dough in

--------------------------------------

-Mix together the sugar, oil, melted chocolate and vanilla.

-Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until blended.

-Stir in the flour, salt and baking powder. Mix until well combined.

-Chill the dough, covered, in the fridge at least three hours, or overnight.

-Heat the oven to 350f

-Drop the dough by heaping teaspoons into the powdered sugar and then shape into balls. Place on parchement lined baking sheets and bake for 8 to 12 minutes until beautiful.

Makimono

2012-01-03T08:49:00.003-05:00

Eggnog french toast

2011-12-12T16:22:00.003-05:00

3-4 eggs

A big splash of eggnog

A splash of vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Mix it up.

6 thick slices of your favourite bread.

A knob of butter for frying.

Heat pan, add some butter..

Dip the bread in the mixture, let it soak a few seconds then fry them up until golden on both sides flipping half way.

Enjoy with maple syrup or your favourite topping.

Harvest Dinner

2011-11-12T16:29:00.007-05:00

This is our Eid harvest dinner inspiried by a "thanksgiving" menu.

We put together a little of east and west, bringing in some elements of kurdish eid feasts which also consist of turkey but served with rice an stewed apricots.

Here we roasted the organic, free range turkey in the oven after brining for 24 hours using Nigella's recipe. We chose organic because I was convinced it was the only way to go after watchigna program about how the traditional turkeys are raised sitting down most of their lives to develope a very large bird with alot of breast meat, which seems unnatural to me. Our organic turkey was a lot pricier but well worth it, hopefully the bird had a great life running around the farm before ending up on our table.

The dinner was planned weeks before the actual date and was very much stress free. I made the cranberry sauce around Canadian thanksgiving when fresh cranberries were in stores then froze the batch in the freezer until the date of.

Cranberry sauce is very easy to make, it's just a matter of boiling the cranberries in a saucepan with sugar until they burst (which is a matter of minutes!) Do not let it boil further or they begin to taste bitter. Your sauce can be spiced or with a hint of orange juice or zest. It's delicious!

My apricot sauce consisted of soaking dried apricots until plump then gently stewing in a pot with liquid. Blanched almonds were added towards the end and a tablespoon of apricot jam.

Blanched almonds can be store bought or in my case it's just a matter of pouring some boiling water over almonds and then removing the skin when they swell up a bit in 15 minutes or so.

Stuffing:

We went with a leek and mushroom stuffing with toasted oats.

Mushrooms add a lot of flavour and I used both fresh shiitaki and cremini, sauteed with leeks, celery and a tad bit of fresh garlic.

We chopped up rye bread in small cubes and toasted them off in the oven after pouring some good olive oil over them.

A little oatmeal (oats) were toasted on low in a shallow pan over the stove top.

On the day of we simply combined the sauteed leek mushroom mixture with the toasted bread and 1 egg and homemade chicken stock (we always have this in our freezer!) Then toasted oats were sprinkled over and tiny knobs of butter added to the surface.

(Stuffing bakes for 30-40 minutes on 375)

Mashed potatoes:

Very easy, peeled, washed and chopped potatoes added to a large pot of salted water and boiled on the day of. Let them sit in a bit of the water with the lid on until closer to serving time.

When ready to serve just mash them up adding warm milk (as much as it can absorb) and some butter. Whip it with a whisk and pour in a serving bowl.

Gravy:

I did grandma's traditional german meat gravy (made weeks in advance and frozen) and we added some of the turkey drippings to it.

If you have enough drippings and caramelization at the bottom of your turkey roasting pan you can simply add flour to the oils, whisk then add a liquid until it comes together. Season to taste and you've got a lovely sauce.

Roasted vegetables:

My sister wanted a roasted vegetable dish adn so she selected butternut squash, sweet potato and carrot, to which I added some slices of red onion and small white pearl onions and they all roasted on 400-425 until tender with a bit of olive oil and seasoning, as well as fresh sage.

My mother sauteed some fresh green beans garnished with toasted almonds for our second vegetable dish, my sister added some cherry tomatoes in there as well.

Butter and buns:

We had some homemade butter on our table as well! It's much easier than you think. I tried a different method this time than the traditional kitchen aid (..blend until you're past the whipped cream stage and until it solidifies) and decided to pour 1 carton of room temperature whipping cream into a large jar with a secure lid and shook it while watching television.

In 15 minutes it came together, you'll feel a ball developing inside the jar and then it will go completely solid and white and you'll wonder what's going on and finally immediately it'll go back to a ball and you'll have water splashing around it inside the jar (the buttermilk!!)

I strain out the buttermilk and set aside (this will be used for my dinner rolls)

The butter is then washed 7 times with ice water in a strainer on a piece of cheese cloth and then I press all the remaining water/buttermilk out and salt lightly (for preservation) then it can be rolled it a cling wrap until ready to use, can be frozen too!)

You could add herbs or garlic or anything for a nice compound butter.

On the day of just leave it out and then set it in a bowl along side the buns.

For more photos and instructions click here

Homemade buttermilk rolls:

Here I went with feel and touch, no official recipe, bread it one of my passions and I love playing with dough.

I pretty much mixed the following, give or take a little.

1 tsp instant yeast, proof with sugar and a bit of warm water until frothy.

Adding in:

2 3/4 - 3 cups all purpose flour

1 egg

1/3 cups melted butter

Sprinkling of salt

As much warm buttermilk (heat in microwave) as needed to form a dough.

Knead for 10 - 15 minutes. It is an important step, I knead by hand until it's very soft.

Set aside in an oiled bowl with cling wrap over overnight (so this was made the night before)

At dawn I cut the dough into small balls, much smaller than you would expect because they will puff up. Forming little balls I set them on a tray (not too close as they will expand) and then covered with cling wrap)

Before heading out to the Eid prayer with my family around 8 AM I brushed them with egg wash after they had expanded and baked at 350-375 for 20-30 minutes or until they were no longer doughy inside but nice and soft, fluffy and just perfect!

Dessert consisted of homemade pecan pie (very easy!) Made the crust in advance and froze it in the pie dish, and it came together the night before the big day. With Pecans toasted in advance and pie crust made in advance and set in the fridge to thaw out a bit the filling was very easy.....

Pecan Pie, served with homemade vanilla ice cream (recipe below)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups shelled pecan halves

1 cup golden or light corn syrup

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 large eggs, at room temperature

Crust: Pate Brisee

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°F. Spread pecans on a large baking sheet; place in oven and toast pecans just until fragrant, about 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk together syrup, brown sugar, salt, butter, and vanilla until smooth. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, mixing each until just combined. Pour in pecans and stir to coat. Pour mixture into unbaked pie shell. Adjust pecans so that they are evenly distributed and right side up.

Place on center oven rack and bake for about 60-75 minutes, the center will puff slightly. You can serve warm or at room temperature.

Homemade Vanilla ice cream also made week in advance.

The base is made over stove top then set in the fridge for 12 hours, then it's put through the ice cream machine (mine takes about 20-30 minutes to churn) then I put it in a plastic container and freeze until needed.

In a large pot mix:

2 1/2 cups whole whipping cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean, scraped and bean added.

Bring to a simmer on medium low and remove from heat, let it sit for an hour or two until the vanilla infuses.

Now when ready to make in a bowl whisk together:

1/2 cup sugar

10 egg yolks

I use this method so the egg yolks do not scorched, some sugar mixed with them prevents this.

Once the vanilla infuses bring it back to a simmer (on medium low!!!) and take a laddel full and gently pour it into the egg/sugar mixture and whisk, just small bits at a time to temper it. Once it is all incorpirated add the egg mixture into the pot and mix that well.

As soon as you can draw a line in the mixture on the back of a spoon (like you would do with cream sauce but it's much thinner and still drips like a liquidy dropplet) then it's done!

Remove from heat and strain pouring into a shallow baking dish, cover, setting aside in the fridge for 12 hours.

Churn according to your ice cream maker's directions.
For step by step instructions with photos click here

For any questions feel free to contact me :) I hope that covers it all. It was a wonderful dinner!! Definitely requires a strategy to keep it all flowing and stress free but when it comes together you really have a great time with family. This is my first time preparing such an elaborate meal (out of my middle eastern comfort zone) and I just want to say that you can most certainly pull it off too.

Maple mini Corn bread

2011-11-05T11:33:00.006-05:00

1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for the pan - reserve 1 tbsp aside from the 1/3 cups.

1 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled

1 cups cornmeal

1 tablespoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cups whole milk

2 large eggs

1/3 cup maple syrup, reserve 2 tbsp aside mixed with the reserved melted butter.

1. Heat oven to 400° F. Butter cupcake tray very well! (must be non stick) .

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the milk, eggs, the maple syrup, and the butter; whisk together the wet ingredients, then incorporate the dry ingredients until just combined (do not overmix).

3. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the remaining butter and maple syrup. After removing the corn bread from oven, brush with the glaze butter mixture. Pop them out of the pan while still warm so they don't stick.

Makes 12, or 1 cupcake tray.

Enjoy !

Recipe adapted from Dine & Dish

Warm Green Bean Pasta Salad

2011-11-04T10:37:00.005-05:00

One of my favourite warm (or cold) salads

Can easily be made into a pasta salad too!

Ingredients:

-Boiled green beans (frozen or fresh - regular cut or french style strips)

- Red onion (diced or sliced thinly)

- Red pepper (chopped in small cubes)

- Salt & Pepper

- Lemon juice (a squeeze to taste)

-Olive oil

- Pomegranate Molasses (just a drizzle)
- Ground Sumac (just a pinch)

-Boiled pasta (optional)

Toss all the salad ingredients and let them sit for a bit, the longer it sits the more flavourful it gets.

For a pasta salad toss in the warm pasta and serve!

Candied Pear Slices

2011-11-01T10:40:00.006-05:00

Slice pears thinly with knife or mandolin.

Sprinkle a few table spoons of sugar on a flat plate.

Press the pear slices into the sugar and coat both sides.

Gently lay the pear slices on a tray lined with parchment and bake at 250 F until caramelized and dehydrated. Flipping them from time to time.

Or alternately bake at 320 F for 15 minutes and flip over slices and bake for another 15 minutes.

Serve with ice cream or dessert of your choice!

Apple wafers are another treat idea!

Make sure to remove seeds before baking or in this case eating as they can be toxic.

Apple Pie Ice Cream

2011-11-01T08:00:00.008-05:00

Here's a little something I made and it seems all the elements came together beautifully in one dessert.

The ice cream part is an apple pie ice cream using a vanilla custard base, if you have an ice cream maker I would highly recommend trying it, it's easy and you just forget about it!

You need to do this 12 hours in advance before the part where you use the ice cream maker.

Vanilla Ice Cream Base:

2 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 large vanilla bean, scraped

1 cup sugar

10 yolks

Follow the photo sequence of instructions here just for the vanilla base, not the banana part (unless you want to make banana ice cream! :) )

Thanks to Zoe bakes for the great ice cream making instructions.

--------------

Now for the Apple pie part, well it really is just a pie, a whole pie baked and then chopped up in big chunks and layered with the ice cream. I made it in a form of a galette, like this except without the almonds and marzipan.

I always seem to have some pate brisee in my freezer, one batch can be divided in 4 and frozen in disks so I took some out and rolled it out, topped with apple slices that were sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, knobs of butter and then before baking I sprinkled the entire exposed crust with sugar.

I don't know if the sugar did anything specific but my goal was to caramelize the crust so that it would avoid it going mushy and soaking up any liquid while layered inside the vanilla ice cream. I think the idea worked pretty good because the crust remained amazing! I also baked it on a lower temperature for longer to really get a delicious crispy crust.

When the galette cooled I chopped it using a knife into large pieces/chunks and set them on a plate in the freezer.

Once the vanilla base ice cream mixture was put through the machine and completely churned I layered the soft ice cream in a casserole with the pieces of pie and set it back in the freezer to firm up.

--------------------

Caramelized Apple

After visiting the farmers market last week I had more apples than to know what to do with so I set out to bake some. These soft caramelized baked apple pieces were perfect to serve with the apple pie ice cream!

Chop your apples into bite sized pieces, sprinkle with sugar and dollops of butter and bake on 375 in a single layer in a casserole dish until they are tender, plump delicious, sweet and sticky with brown bits here and there.

Set aside to cool before topping your ice cream.

----------------

Apple slice wafers

This part was a bit of an experiment. It turned out really great though! Very concenetrated apple flavour in that chips and makes a nice presentation.

Set the oven on low, 250 F is good.

Slice your apples thinly with a knife or mandolin. Press each piece front and back in a plate of sugar and then on a tray lined with parchment.

Bake and keep an eye on them, remember they do firm up once they come out so if they're a little sticky and soft just remove one and set it on another cooled piece of parchment and if it sets up you'll know it's ready. The sugar on the slice caramelizes so make sure it doesn't go the other way and just burn either.

Once they are done and cooled on another piece of parchment you can garnish your desserts or just snack on them.

October

2011-10-31T19:40:00.006-05:00

A fun weekend filled with food and art. On the menu is southern fried chicken, guacamole and apple pie ice cream (yes that's an apple pie, filling crust and all layered with homemade vanilla ice cream) topped with caramelized apples and an apple slice wafer.

Lots of pumpkin seeds from the carved out pumpkins... roasting ideas in the next post as well as more details on the dessert elements.

I've always thought fried chicken was complicated but it is probably the easiest thing to make!

I threw the chicken in a bath of buttermilk (really just watered down yogurt - lots of it!) and spices. Paprika, garlic, onion powder, cajun seasoning, first rubbed all over the chicken then saturated with buttermilk and left to marinade for 24 hours in the fridge.

The following day I set all the chicken in a strainer and let the buttermilk strain off, if it's too thick you can wash them a bit and let them dry.

Now they go into a flour mixture (just seasoned with salt, and more yummy seasonings as mentioned above)

This step is very important, they have to sit for an hour to absorb all the flour and create a "dough" so set them back in the fridge.

Now they get fried up and sprinkled with a bit of salt when they come out, served with fries.

Guacamole appetizer, another one of those easy party dishes, it's a big hit and you can make a huge batch.

Normally I add the cilantro into the mix but it doesn't look so good in pictures so I left it out and sprinkled it over later.

Chop up your guacamole, tomato, red onion, cilantro.

Add some smashed garlic, olive oil, lime juice and season with salt and a touch of cumin.

Some people like to mush up the avocado a bit into a dip but I like mine in cubes and not too "mushy"

Garnished and served with corn chips.

I served with these chipotle flavoured corn disks that were on discount at the supermarket because a few broke in the pack - so I took the opportunity to break the rest of them into chip sided pieces.

Healthy blanched nuts

2011-10-29T17:24:00.004-05:00

Today I'm sharing one of my favourite snacks, blanched or sprouted nuts!

Just like that apple a day adding these nuts to your diet on a regular basis or even daily is very easy...

I always keep almonds and walnuts on hand, it's good to store them in the freezer but have them handy and simply grab a small handful of each and throw them in a bowl on the counter. Before you're ready to go to work in the morning rinse and cover them with water.

When you get back from work in a few hours they are pretty much ready and you could enjoy them as a nice snack before dinner or later in the evening while watching some tv.

The walnuts are crunchy and delicious and the almonds are creamy but you'll need to peel the almonds, the skins slip off easily!

Dr. Oz even recommends the soaked walnuts and says "On my desk is the perfect snack: a handful of walnuts, soaked in water for softer texture. Keeps me feeling full and is loaded with omega-3 fats. What do you keep around your desk?"

Berries & Cream Cake

2011-10-25T05:45:00.007-05:00

Here's a lovely dessert that comes together in minutes!

All you need is:

- Store bought angel food cake

- Blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries, whatever you fancy

- Heavy cream

- Real vanilla extract (it's worth investing in the good stuff here because we're working with pure simple flavours)

- A few tbsp powder sugar

Begin by unmoulding your cake and placing it on a plate.

Handle your berries delicately and wash then lay them on a paper towel to dry, be careful not to squish them.

In a bowl pour your chilled heavy cream and add some vanilla, powder sugar (about 2 or 3 tbsps)

Whisk by hand or use a mixer/hand blender until it is creamy but still has a soft peak texture without seizing up too much.

Gently scoop the whipped cream all over the top of the cake.

Now layer all the berries on top and chill!

With the berries that didn't make the cut I threw them in a small pot with some sugar and as soon as they come to a boil I smashed them with a fork, ran them through the strainer and saved the juice. This makes a great sauce when plating.

Serve & Enjoy!

**Whenever there is whip cream on sight kitty comes by for a taste. He needed a good distraction while I shot the cake

St. Jacobs Country

2011-10-25T05:37:00.004-05:00

Root Beer float Cake

2011-10-19T12:35:00.003-05:00

Here's a cake recipe I had bookmarked for over a year. Tracking down the IBC Root beer was a bit of a challenge but thanks to the Soda Pop Central in whitby Ontario, where I found the root beer brand and discovered a whole lot of other unique sodas and goodies!

This cake is not only easy but it's super fudgy and chocolatey however to be very honest I did not taste any of the root beer. Everyone loved it though and I would make it again.

The only changes I did was soaking the cake in root beer too before frosting it to add more root beer-y flavour but the taste still didn't come through, the cake however was moist and tastes even better a few days after being left in the fridge to really meld together.

Root Beer Float Cake

From Baked, New Frontiers in Baking

2 cups root beer (don’t use diet)

1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

Preheat even to 325 degrees F. Spray the inside of a 10-inch Bundt pan (or 2 round cake pans) with nonstick cooking spray, or butter generously and dust with flour, knocking out the excess.

In a small saucepan, heat the root beer, cocoa powder and butter over medium heat until butter is melted. Add sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

In a small bowl whisk the eggs until just beaten. Then whisk into the cocoa mixture until combined. Gently fold the flour mixture into the cocoa mixture. The batter will be slightly lumpy. You can give it a quick whisk if you like, but don’t over beat the batter or it could cause the cake to be tough. Don’t worry, the batter is very loose.

Pour the batter into prepared pan and cook for 35-45 minutes (or 25-30 minutes for 2 cake pans), rotating the pan halfway through baking until a sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely then loosen edges with a butter knife and turn out onto a cake plate.

Chocolate Root Beer Frosting

2 ounces 60% cocoa, melted

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon salt (you may want to use less… maybe just 1/2 teaspoon)

1/4 cup root beer

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using an electric hand mixer, beat softened butter and cocoa powder. Once combined add the melted chocolate, salt, powdered sugar and root beer. Beat together until smooth. Spread on top of cooled cake. Slice and serve with vanilla ice cream.

Thanks to Honey & Jam for the recipe

Date & Walnut brown butter "Chewy"

2011-10-14T18:40:00.003-05:00

Date & Walnut brown butter "chewy" cookie.

Adapted from Alton's chocolate chip "The chewy" recipe (original recipe below)

Ingredients

2 sticks unsalted butter

2 1/4 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar plus 2 tbsp

2 tbsp molasses

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup chopped dates

1 cup walnuts

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat, you can stop here or you can let it "brown" which takes about 15 minutes or so (stir it from time to time and once it smells right and the bits are golden strain it through a sieve and set the butter aside to cool)

Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar, plus molasses. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chopped dates and walnuts.

Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Alton Brown's The Chewy recipe

Ingredients

2 sticks unsalted butter

2 1/4 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Jamie's 30 minute rib eye stir-fry

2011-10-12T14:59:00.008-05:00

This is a step by step menu featured on Jamie Oliver's new show (and in book) 30 minute meals
. We did pot stickers and sauteed assorted mushrooms on top of the original menu. I also did rib eye and

flank steak, both were equally delicious and tender. While I make asian-inspired recipes at home all the time this was fun to do and in the process I discovered black bean sauce which is fabulous!

Two day Italian Feast

2011-10-12T11:42:00.004-05:00

This is our two day italian feast which we enjoyed over the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend.

Just really easy comfort foods that don't require slaving over a stove.

Autumn 2011

2011-10-12T11:28:00.008-05:00

Changing leaves, pumpkins, starbucks, apple brie turnovers, farmer's markets, rainbows, apple pie tea and more...

A gorgeous season.

Fish in a Green Sauce (salsa verde)

2011-09-27T13:17:00.009-05:00

Here's something new, you probably don't notice me posting many seafood recipes that's mostly because it's one of the hottest topics these days and I haven't figured it out quite yet. Issues like over fishing, farmed fish vs. fresh and Canadian fish being shipped halfway across the globe for processing. Many of our fish mongers sell imported fish and if you want a good fish it is quite expensive, plus all they do is thaw out frozen fish at the "fresh fish counter" it seems.

I once paid $22 for a small "fresh" fillet of grouper from a reputable fish monger. At that price you lose your appetite.

When I was little we had fish on our table from time to time, it was a bit of a ritual and usually my mother carefully flaked apart pieces to make sure none of us choked on bones. The fish was also an oily river fish because after we ate the smell did not come off our little hands and we all had to wash up from this tall glass jar of lemon cologne like hand wash that my dad brought with him from his travels. None of my sisters or my dad were really fans of fish but we ate it as a family (for health reasons I guess? or maybe because the guards happened to think it was a good idea to pick some up from time to time while out shopping for us at the market)
My mother loves ocean fish, shrimp, things of that nature which she was familiar with from her upbringing back in Canada which is why she usually jumped on the opportunity of ordering these items whenever we were in Turkey.

I love fish and seafood, simply grilled up with some lemon is all you need! It's one of nature's most delectable bounties I think. As many of you may or may not know I used to be a vegetarian for about ten years, so seafood was my protein source but once I stumbled upon a nice piece of reasonably priced catfish and made a delicious curry out of it only to discover that it threw me into a bit of a coma (oh wait that was the allergy pill that put me in a coma, haha!) ever since then I tread carefully when it comes to seafood.

My favourite place to eat fish is when I'm away, in Cuba or the Dominican, it's fresh, locally caught and while most try to secure themselves as much local lobster as possible I take all the other fishies and have the chefs do a quick simple preparation for me.

As I promised in my previous post about octopus that I would try to include more fish recipes so here is one that is not only yummy but super fast and only uses a handful of ingredients.

Inspired by Annie Sibonney's recipe at the secret food society in Spain

Substitute Hake for Cod or Haddock (they come from the same family) I went with a lighter fish like Ocean perch. Or use any white fish of your preference.

You're going to need a nice fresh bunch of parsley (chopped finely)

Garlic

Good olive oil

Clam juice or stalk

Flour

Salt

I don't cook with alcohol either so no white wine for me. Here is the original recipe, I remembered the preparation on tv so just went with it but use the recipe if you're more comfortable using exact amounts.

This dish was so good that I didn't even miss lemon!! Wine is acidic so you may want to substitute something with a note of acidity if you're omitting it.

Don't forget to get a nice crusty piece of bread, you'll want to mop up those juices!

Pink Lemon Poppy seed cake

2011-09-26T15:24:00.005-05:00

Here's a fun cake!

A little contrast with the frosting made this lemon poppy seed cake POP!

The frosting is a new recipe, normally I make swiss meringue buttercream but not having any egg whites on hand (sometimes a bad thing can turn into a great thing!) I ventured out to try something new.

A cooked buttercream recipe, the milk, sugar, heavy cream and a tad bit of flour are cooked into a bachamel type consistency then it's cooled down and whipped while small cubes of room temp butter are added.

It's really amazing!

The recipe is courtesy of Bourbonnatrix without the caramel part, and even so the sugar amount was perfect.

She mentioned having a little trouble with it going soupy and thankfully that did not happy with me, I cooled the creamy mixture down really well and actually made the entire process by hand (I know, totally stupid but my kitchen aid broke down!! Check out the bang up marks on my hand from whisking like mad with my teeny tiny whisk)

It worked! Had to put it in the fridge a few times before it was about to split, and also while adding the food colouring. You could use red food colouring or concentrated beet juice (if I had any I would have gone with it - natural colours are so much healthier than artificial)

Frosting:

Cooked Frosting

Inspired by Baked Explorations recipe

In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

Add:

1 1/3 cups milk (I used 2% honestly)

1/2 cup heavy cream

If using whole milk use 1 1/2 cups and 1/3 heavy cream.

Cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until the mixture comes to a boil and has thickened, about 10-15 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer, and beat with the paddle attachment until cool. Reduce speed to low, and add:

1 1/2 cups softened butter, cubed

1 tsp pure vanilla

Mix until thoroughly incorporated, the increase speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.

If using food colouring add it in at the end or mix it with the creamy milk mixture.

Cake recipe is thanks to Technicolor kitchen

I varied it slightly by using up some extra coconut milk I had instead of the water in the glaze.

Also using sour cream instead of buttermilk and thinning it down to the consistency of buttermilk also using canned coconut milk.

She got 3 cakes out of the batter and I measured 2 and 6 cupcakes. All the syrup was used to drench the two cakes.

This week

2011-09-24T16:53:00.003-05:00

Fresh Coconut Loaf cake

2011-09-23T15:13:00.006-05:00

I saw this fresh moist looking coconut cake and knew my little sister would love it!

There were two versions of the cake on the original site (here) and I went with fresh, it was a lot of peeling and shaving and to be honest half of the flesh did not infuse into the milk at all (which evaporated into about 1 tbsp) so I went with the fresh flesh and canned coconut milk to make up the rest of the milk that had evaporated.

The glaze also split once, then the second batch split while on the cake (which was probably still warm) but all in all it was good, and everyone loved it!!

So for all you coconut lovers out there this is a keeper, but I would recommend adding a coconut extract for more flavour and maybe finding a good coconut tasting fresh coconut (some of them taste of nothing)

If you can buy pre shredded then you're in luck as it'll save you lots of time.

Give it a try and let me know! :)

p.s I got one loaf by halving the fresh coconut recipe but using 3 eggs instead of 2.5 as there is no point in trying to halve an egg.

Thanks to my sisters for the lovely shots, that's me holding the cake in the shots below and pigging out while they both shoot the cake.

Cabbage Dolma

2011-09-18T07:08:00.007-05:00

Making cabbage dolma (Iraqi style!)

Forgot to add the minced meat (Ground beef) in the rice mixture. But oh well, vegetarian is always good!

Included is a photo-sequence on how to seperate the onion layers and stuff them.

Remember not to fill with too much stuffing as the rice expands and fills out the onion nicely. Laying them loosely is fine and letting them "burn" or brown a bit on the bottom of the pot is always the best part.

Yum!

Credit: Thanks to my lovely talented sister S for taking the pictures.

Deep fryer fun

2011-09-18T06:59:00.006-05:00

It all began with the sale, picking up the deep fryer at walmart at the anniversary sale for a great price, also lots of pyrex bake n 'store!

Snacking shots here and there, and the apple crumble my sister baked.

Standing around enjoying fried fries, hotdogs, and even frozen cheddar potato perogi. Haha!

Those are the homemade pickles too!

Cactus Fig Iced Tea

2011-09-14T19:37:00.007-05:00

Cactus pear, cactus fig, prickly pear, cactus fruit, whatever you call it is one of my favourite fruits!
On my last visit to Teaopia, I tried a sample of the iced tea prepared in store and when I asked what the yummy tea was they told me it was Cactus fig (which I was pretty sure was the same fruit I call cactus pear or prickly pear)

Either way the tea was yummy and I had to have it!

Here I brewed some up and chilled it, sweetened with honey or agave nectar (your choice) and enjoyed with some citrus it is a nice way to enjoy these last days of summer.

Your local gourmet tea shop will give you instructions on how to brew up each blend and ideas to enjoy it hot or cold, it's awesome and healthy!

On a funny note, lesson learnt that objects in reality are farther than they appear in my macro lens. This is the second time I make this mistake thus ending up with honey on my counter this time around.

Chocolate Bread Pudding with Poached Plums

2011-09-14T18:43:00.007-05:00

I really enjoyed the sweet spicy tart flavour of the plums along with the rich chocolate bread pudding, just something I put together earlier today. I ADORE regular bread pudding and never thought of making it chocolate but this is definitely a new favourite of mine.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

Stale bread (just tear it apart in bite sized pieces - I like it chunky)

Eggs (2 or so)

Dark chocolate, coarsley chopped to help it melt quickly.

Milk (I used some regular and evaporated since I ran out of regular milk)
Sugar

Vanilla

Oil or butter

Heat the milk until warmish and pour over the chocolate whisking to melt it.

Add the sugar, vanilla, oil or butter and whisk in the eggs. Pour over the bread.

Set aside for 30 mins.

Bake at 275 for 20-35 mins (keep an eye on it)

Sever warm or cool.

Poached Plums

-Peeled ripe plums (to peel mark an X on the bottom with a paring knife then drop the plums in boiling water. Remove and peel, if the peel does not come off easily run under cold water for a second)

Slice and remove pits, set aside (or in fridge for the following day)

Water

Sugar

Chinese five spice

Cinnamon stick

If you're not using five spice then add star anise and anything else you like to flavour the syrup.

Bring mixture to a boil and poach the pears gently until they are sweet (plums are sour so taste as you go along)

When they are ready remove plums and reduce syrup.

The leftover plum syrup is great over ice cream or for drinks, so save it! :)

Hope you enjoy!

Banana Caramel French Toast

2011-09-13T15:53:00.003-05:00

French toast

Serves 2

2 thick slices of stale(ish) bread

Beat and strain the following and add to a shallow dish:

4 eggs

3-4 tbsp milk

1-2 tsp sugar (Brown sugar is ok)

pinch salt

Vanilla

For frying:

2 tbsp butter

Heat 1 tbsp of butter in pan and if it browns a bit it's ok, it's just more flavour.

Soak your bread flipping so both sides absorb and fry them on medium high flipping, just a few minutes and they're done!

Set french toast aside.

Banana Caramel Sauce:

2 tbsp butter

3-4 tbsp brown sugar

2 bananas sliced in thick slices

pinch of cinnamon (optional)

Wipe out your pan with a paper towel and add the butter and brown sugar on medium high, let it melt then add the banana in a thin layer. Allow to bubble a bit then flip the banana slices over one at a time.

Once the bananas look good pour the sauce over your french toast.

Garnish with whipped cream, optional.

Kale Chips

2011-09-12T11:14:00.006-05:00

Here's a healthy snacking recipe!

Kale chips, they've been all over the internet lately and I was shocked to see people carrying little bags of the stuff at my local farmers market the last time I was there.

When I found the vendor selling them, boy were they expensive!

So here's my attempt at making them.

Ingredients:

A bunch of kale.

To clean: run the knife down the stem to remove the leaves and discard the stems (or use them if that's what you do - I haven't a clue)

Cut them in evenly sized pieces (bite size sort of - remember they do shrink so keep them a little larger)

- Olive oil

Salt & Pepper

Now that's your basic recipe above. Now go crazy and season the way you like.

I went with:

- Hungarian Smoked Paprika

-A squeeze of lemon juice

- Garlic

- Finely grated dry aged cheese (in my case master's choice beemster - which is a dutch cheese)

Use Parmigiano-Reggiano, an old aged cheddar or any strong dry cheese so it gives a punch of flavour without liquid or gooeyness which will only weigh the chips down (we're not making nachos here!)

Ok so get a pan and line it with parchment (I know I didn't do this in my instructional photos and that's because I forgot the parchment paper on my last shopping trip)

You want a big pan and to spread the kale pieces out.

At this point heat your oven to 375 F.

Drizzle olive oil on your kale, just a light drizzle. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and whatever spices you like. Grate the garlic and toss with your hands to coat everything.

Spread it in an even layer.

Now squeeze the lemon over and sprinkle the cheese (do not toss after this!)

Bake for 12 mins (set your timer!) and then give it a check and finish another 3 minutes if needed. You can flip them or move them around the pan. If the tiny pieces are done then remove them and allow the larger pieces to finish baking until crisp and dry. (they should still be greenish and not brown or burnt)

So the whole pan shrunk down into that one dessert plate. I started out with about 1/3 of a bunch of kale.

I think next time I'll do spices and lemon alone for a fresh version and cheese and garlic for a "comfort food" version.

Enjoy!

Chicken Noodle Soup

2011-09-12T06:49:00.004-05:00

With the mild flu symptoms I've been experiencing lately chicken noodle soup just seemed like the perfect remedy.

At the grocery store this week I picked up two whole chickens. I removed the 4 breast segments for General Tso's Chicken dish recipe. The remaining carcasses (minus 2 legs) made a lovely concentrated stock.

Making stock is very easy, it is one of those things I love to make from time to time and also it's the reason I prefer to buy the whole chicken (none of it goes to waste and it's cheaper!)

The bones are the secret, even if all the meats are removed it still makes a good stock, and even if the carcass is a leftover from a roasted chicken it makes a lovely variation of stock!

Stock can be frozen or refridgerated and always comes in handy. In our household while growing up we never purchase meat stocks mostly because they weren't available but homemade always tastes best (and you know what goes into it for health purposes)

To make stock you just need these things:

A big pot

Chickens or Chicken carcasses

Garlic bulbs (however many you like) Leave the peel on and all

Onion (just remove one shiny outer peel in case it's dirty)
Celery sticks (just roughly chop up)
Carrots (yields a sweeter soup - totally optional)

Salt

Pepper corns
Bay leaf

Those are the basics

For a variation on flavour additionally add fennel seeds, celery seeds, turmeric (will make a yellow stock)

Add cold water to the chicken and set on medium low heat - never boil as it will cause a cloudy soup (something about the bones releasing something.. ) but its a bit of trouble clarrifying if that does happen.

Now just leave it alone. 3-6 hours or more. Checking from to time if there is enough water and adding more if the levels go down.

When it's done strain out all the bones and limp veggies and that's it!

If you have meat on those bones you want to remove them about an hour into the cooking when they're tender and flavourful, any longer and they lose flavour so just pick off the pieces with a pair of tongs and set aside for later, then let the stock finish cooking.

I like to refrigerate it and remove the layer of fat off the top then it's ready to use so making it a day in advance is good.

Chicken noodle soup

- 3-4 cups of homemade stock
- 1-2 cups chicken meat (set aside from stock making)

-Water to thin out the stock

-Salt (for seasoning)
-Worstershire sauce (about 1 tbsp)

Add to that:

Finely (bit size) and evenly chopped carrots, celery, green pepper (just a bit and it's optional - mum always put some green pepper in our soup)

4 cloves of garlic (whole)

1 onion (whole which can be removed later along with the garlic)

Let this come to a boil and simmer for 20-35 mins or until veggies are tender.

Noodles:

I used half of the noodle dough for the soup and it should serve about 6
(If you don't want leftovers halve the recipe so 1 1/2 cups flour and 3 eggs) or set the dough aside in the fridge and make something else with it another day in the week (Ravioli?)

3 cups flour

6 whole eggs

(or if you only have yolks which are leftover from other recipes like I do that's fine too, I've done a egg noodle using 3 cups flour and 6 yolks and 2 whole eggs and a few tbsp of water - usually 1 for every egg white missing)

Make a well with the flour, add the eggs and slowly incorporate it into a dough using your hands, once it's smooth and yellow divide and wrap in plastic. Let it sit for 30 mins to rest.

When you're ready to make the pasta roll it out (dusting board or counter with some flour) and using a rolling pin roll it very thin. If you have a pasta machine this is a good time to use it!

I like to be able to see the counter through the pasta so it should be thin and evenly rolled out.

Use a knife or pastry knife/cutter to slice thin strips and then cut it horizontally to create shorter noodles of 2 inch strips.

At this point you could use a slotted spoon and strain out your veggies into a big bowl.

In the pot with the stock add the noodles as you cut, work quickly and keep adding them in and let them cook briefly.

Add your veggies back in and pieces of chicken meat set aside.

Serve hot! Enjoy!

General Tso's Chicken

2011-09-11T07:44:00.008-05:00

Ingredients

FOR THE CHICKEN:

3 teaspoon Toasted Sesame Oil

2 Tablespoon Soy Sauce

2 whole Large Egg White

1/2 cups Plus 4 Tablespoons Cornstarch

4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken breasts (cut into strips)

Canola, Peanut, Or Vegetable Oil For Frying

FOR THE SAUCE:

2 Tablespoon Peanut, Canola Or Vegetable Oil

4 cloves Garlic, Peeled And Minced

Whisk in a bowl:

4 Tablespoons Finely Chopped Fresh Ginger Root

2 cup Chicken Broth Or Stock

1/2 cups Soy Sauce

2 Tablespoon Cornstarch

2 teaspoon Chinese Chile-garlic Sauce

6 Tablespoons Raw (turbinado Or Demerara) Sugar

FOR SERVING:

Steamed Rice

Steamed Broccoli

Sesame seeds and green onion for garnish

Prep your chicken:

In a mixing bowl, stir together the sesame oil, soy sauce, egg white, and 1/2 cup plus 4 tablespoons of cornstarch until a thick slurry forms. It will look gummy but smooth.

Add the chicken pieces and stir until all are evenly coated. At first it may appear that it will not come together but it does!

Set chicken aside, covered lightly with plastic wrap, at room temperature for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Begin the sauce:

In a separate bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients until smooth. Everything except the ginger, garlic and oil.

Add the 2 tablespoons of oil to a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium/low heat. Stir the garlic and ginger into the oil and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant.
Remove the pan off the heat if needed, DO NOT LET IT OVERCOOK. Garlic gets extremely bitter if burnt so the sauce will ruin.

Just let the garlic smell fragrant (like the smell of cooked garlic bread!)

Pour the remaining whisked ingredients into the garlic and ginger, stirring, until the sauce becomes thick and shiny. Once the sauce thickens, lower heat and keep the saucepan over a low burner partially covered to stay warm.

**I added a splash of rice vinegar and I think it needed a squeeze of lime too. That's just me, but I recommend tasting it and adjusting to taste, gradually add the soy sauce too and taste so it's not too salty and the sugar amounts can be lessened too.

To fry the chicken:

Heat enough oil in a heavy-bottomed, high-sided frying pan or skillet over high heat for frying. Or use a deep fryer.

When the oil is shimmering, add one piece of chicken at a time, taking care not to crowd the pan. Cook chicken for 4 minutes on each side, or until deep golden brown and crisp on both sides**.

Fry the chicken until it's golden brown and cooked through.

Transfer the fried chicken to a paper towel lined plate and repeat the process until you’ve cooked all the chicken.

Then slide all of the fried chicken into the prepared sauce and toss to coat. (If desired, add some steamed broccoli to coat with the sauce also.) Increase the heat to medium, stir and cook just until hot all the way through.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve immediately over white rice.

If you're a chicken leg person try the original recipe here and another with detailed photos here

Hot Cross bun day

2011-09-09T22:06:00.009-05:00

Sunday is hot cross buns day! Here's a lovely recipe - super easy and perfect results yielding a fluffy delicious bun.

Hot Cross Buns (recipe from Tablespoon)

2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast

3 to 3 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

4 tbsp butter, softened

¾ cup warm milk (100º)

¼ cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

4 tsp all-spice

1 tsp salt

1 cup raisins (or half cup raisins and half a cup dried black currants)

1 tbsp lemon zest

Egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 tsp water)

Glaze (1 tsp milk and 3-4 tbsp powdered sugar)

Directions:

Heat milk to 100º F and dissolve yeast in milk for 10 minutes, until mixture is foamy.

Meanwhile, mix 3 cups of flour, sugar, spices, zest and salt in a stand mixer.

Add yeast mixture and mix until combine. Add eggs one at a time until combined. Add softened butter.

Mix with dough hook attachment until dough is smooth and elastic. Add remaining flour if dough is too sticky. Kneed dough by hand and mix in dried fruit).

Shape dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours.

Punch down risen dough and divide into 12 equal pieces, rolling each piece into a ball.

Place dough pieces on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet about 1-inch apart. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise another two hours.

Preheat oven to 375º.

Remove plastic wrap from buns and score the tops of each bun with a cross shape, about ¼-inch deep. Brush the tops with egg wash and bake for 15 minutes or until deep golden brown.

Allow to cool completely before drizzling a cross shape with glaze on the tops of each bun.

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For more fun foodie holidays check out this awesome site that I've been following for over a year now! Foodimentary

Leche Merengada

2011-09-07T17:12:00.004-05:00

Helado de Leche Merengada

Serves 4 to 6

1 quart whole milk

3/4 C sugar

pinch of salt

1 cinnamon stick

1/2 vanilla bean or 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

zest of 2 lemons

4 egg whites @ room temperature

2 T sugar

Combine the milk, 3/4 cup of sugar, salt, cinnamon stick, vanilla bean portion and lemon zest into a saucepan. Bring the mixture just to a boil, stirring to blend the ingredients. Lower heat and simmer for three minutes. Remove from heat, discard the cinnamon stick and cool. Pour the mixture into a shallow container with a cover and chill overnight.

A couple of hours before you plan to serve the dessert, remove the vanilla bean and place the container in the freezer. When it has just begin to set up, take it out and stir it with a fork to smooth it out. Return it to the freezer for another half hour or so. When it looks like it’s become slightly firm but still mushy, whip the egg whites on medium speed until they are opaque. Slowly add 2 tablespoon of sugar and whip until the meringue holds shiny firm peaks.

Remove the milk from the freezer and stir it again with a fork to break it up and smooth it out. Gently fold in the meringue and put it back in the freezer for another half hour or so until it firms up a bit.

Serve with a dash of cinnamon.

Lovely recipe courtesy of Pastry Studio

Tea - the perfect drink for cool weather

2011-09-07T16:45:00.010-05:00

I love tea!! Here are some shots that I've taken over the last year or so from the various kinds of teas in my kitchen.

The blooming teas are impressive and so gorgeous.

If you haven't tried a lot of these already I encourage you to indulge... this Autumn go to your nearest gourmet tea shop and pick some up!

Brew a nice pot of this universally enjoyed beverage to share with your friends and family.

A little background

2011-09-05T22:49:00.004-05:00

My father's side is Kurdish and my mother's side in half Egyptian and German. I was born in Pakistan due to my parents settling there for work shortly after they married. Pakistan is beautiful and the food is amazing, we continue to make Pakistani and Indian dishes at home because we adore South East Asian cuisine. When I was 7 years old my dad's work lead us to his own country, Northern Iraq where the Kurdish people settled and their culture flourished.

I've always been interested in food and often check out what other kids are bringing to school and that's what sparked my curiosity, I'd go home and describe things I've seen to my mother and she's ask one of my fathers relatives or friends to teach us these recipes. My grandma (father's mother) lived in the south, beyond the Kurdish boarder and it was not always easy for her to cross back and forth due to Saddam's regime but when I finally met her she taught me a lot of things.

My mother and I watched her cook, she loved to sit on a small stool on the floor and work close to the ground, even her chopping board was a stool type mini table that she worked on. Other times she'd move to the living room to watch the kids play or watch a bit of tv and there she had a large steel tray with grains or lentils or rice and she'd sort through it removing bits of stone and the like. From what I remember my grandmother loved to cook, it was how she showed her appreciation for her family members. The techniques she showed us over and over were vital in learning the Kurdish cuisine, there is a skill involved and my mother being an amazing cook herself picked it up very quickly. I was still very young at the time but I was able to rely on my mother learning the cuisine to be able to teach it to me later in life.

After many years we had to flee and that landed us in Turkey for a while before setting up our flight arrangements back to my mother's homeland (Canada) and there along the way we stayed with distant relatives (Turkish Kurds) and our learning experience with food continued. These Kurd's recipes were different and had more turkish influences to them, from the Aleppo peppers which I had no seen used anywhere in Kurdistan to the stews that mixed many vegetables and especially eggplant (A turkish favourite vegetable) We also taught them quite a few things about cooking and baking!

Back in Toronto my journey with food did not stop just yet because in my grandmothers house we managed to taste all those delicious German recipes my mother spoke so fondly of, we did make german food at home wherever we lived but there were some things "best left to Grandma" and mum was right about that. Also another rich food culture was brought to the table, my Grandfather's Egyptian cuisine... many of those Egyptian ingredients were not easily found in parts of the middle east that we lived in so we had an advantage with the large Arabic community and many imported products in the General Toronto area.

Egyptian folk cuisine is rustic and earthy, it was very easy to open our hearts and appetites to it and it continues to be one of my favourites! Through being exposed to people of different multicultural backgrounds in Canada I eagerly wanted to learn more, I enjoyed the food by the large South African Indian community as well as the Bosnian and Albanian who produce such delicate and beautiful meat or spinach and cheese filled savoury pastries, I can't get enough of the local Chinese and Asian supermarkets that are opening up all over the city ...

Just a few months after my 19th birthday I took a trip with my sisters to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, what a fantastic hub for all kinds of food from all over the world! There I experienced Moroccan food and fell in love with it instantly, I was vegetarian at the time and that fava bean soup I ordered was perfect, it had so much flavour and richness that I felt I was not missing out on anything compared to the rest of the diners at my table, even the vegetable tagine was absolutely beautiful, fresh stewed vegetables delicately spiced and decorated with olives... that little pot of chili paste on the table was incredibly addictive, and let's not forget the fresh handmade couscous, it was superb! Small delicate fluffy grains that soak up all the flavourful juices from the tagine.

Later I took a trip to Yemen for a few months and there I discovered Yemeni cuisine, it varies from region to region, there is a lot of Indian influences in the northern region of Hadramout, and in the South in places like Aden the fish is abundant! The fish markets all over there were amazing, full of so many beautiful tropical fish from that same day's catch, from the tuna to the parrot fish, so many meaty delicious varieties, as a vegetarian who only ate fish at the time it was heaven for me! I discovered that Yemenis love heat, chili sauce is a staple on every table and even children love to add heat to their meals. Yemeni cuisine is rustic, it's different from the rest of the Middle East, it's unique and they don't let any of it go to waste by using innovative ways to turn leftovers into new meals. Fenugreek both fresh and dry seeds is a flavour that I distinctly and consistently tasted in most Yemeni dishes.

Another pleasant surprise was my discovery and learning of many Somalis living there, their stories, and their food of course which I enjoyed very much! One lovely somali friend of mine was showing me the bread she makes every morning and how the starter was something inherited from her mother in somalia. She just had to take it with her so she smuggled it over on a boat with her to Yemen. If you tasted the chewy bread with that developed flavour like a good sour-dough bread you'll know it was well worth the trouble to smuggle it!

I've always been interested mainly in the foods of the Middle East, the food varies from region to region, it isn't all the same, it's not just what you get at your local shawarma place like falafel and kebobs, those foods are yummy but they're street foods. Most Arabs go out to eat these foods (like taking your kids out for a burger!) I want to bring you what people eat at home, what mothers and grandmothers are cooking in their kitchens, the recipes that are passed down, the variation of flavours from region to region, the spices, the herbs the marinades so that you can experience these flavours and decide how you want to introduce them into your cooking.

When it comes to food there is so much to offer here that I've only begun my adventure.

Baby Octopus Stew

2011-09-05T22:07:00.004-05:00

Baby octopus stew

This recipe requires only a handful of ingredients and the basics that everyone should have in their kitchen.

- Baby Octopus (fresh or frozen - thawed if frozen)

- Olive oil

- 4-7 garlic cloves, peeled, chopped and mashed using a bit of salt.

- Italian strained tomato sauce

Wash the octopus well. Add to the pot and cover with cold water.. salt the water slightly.

Let it come close to a boil then remove the water and add new cold water and repeat the process.

Once the octopus is tender (and you can cut the tenticles with a fork or poke through it easily) then it's done.

Remove and strain, set aside.

In a pot on medium heat add a few tablespoons of olive oil, add the garlic and as soon as it smells (just a few seconds in) Add the tomato sauce and let it simmer until the garlic is tender (10 minutes or so) Taste for salt and if it needs add some.

Add in the octopus and toss, cover and simmer a little longer until the octopus is tender and the whole thing smells great.

Enjoy!

The exact same stew can be used to make calamari rings, my grandfather used to make it for us this way, you don't need to blanch them in advance though so just poach them in the sauce until they're tender.
Serve with couscous.

Lemon water for stress

2011-09-04T21:43:00.005-05:00

Here's a healthy routine that is recommended for daily drinking.

I've began doing this recently after hearing a homeopath doctor preach the benefits on a talk show.

Squeezing a lemon in water every morning, that can't be too difficult, right?

Lemons have come down in price a lot recently, so one thing to do is add 7 extra lemons to your grocery list so you have a lemon a day and you're set to go for the week. If you want to do half a lemon that's fine too, I can't see why not!

All you need is lemon, and water (a nice warm temperature, so I boil the kettle and let it sit to come to a comfortable drinking temperature)

Some other things to add in are Ginger root, and Cayenne pepper, as well as honey for sweetness.

I boil the ginger and water, or steep fresh ginger root in a cup with hot boiled water then let it come to the warm temperature on it's own, then I squeeze the lemon juice in and it's ready. You can remove the ginger root and sweeten with honey if you like. And if you're brave add a dash of cayenne pepper. This is the concoction in the yellow glass while the one at the front is simply lemon water and some honey.

If you want to drink lemon and water without a sweetener then that's perfectly fine too! Maple Syrup (the real stuff) has a lot of benefit so alternately try using it as a sweetener.

Take this drink half and hour to an hour before your breakfast, so as soon as you're up, then later have a good healthy breakfast and go about your day.

This is also great drink to cleanse your insides, alkalise your body and de-stress as well as provide extra vitamin C and a whole lot of other good things for your health so give it a try and see how you feel.

Here's a list of benefits for Cayenne pepper too, and if you've got ulcers or have been told to stay away from cayenne then by all means check with a professional before trying this.

Empanada with Guava Sauce

2011-09-04T17:11:00.002-05:00

Here's an empanada recipe using pie dough. Of course I always seem to have some on hand, this was from the last time I doubled the recipe to make those little cherry pies.

I froze the leftover dough disks and they come in handy once removed from the freezer 30 mins in advance to whipping up something. (or in this case frying up)

The filling is easy, just sauteed finely minced onion and green pepper then browning the ground beef nicely, adding salt & pepper, a dash of cumin (not sure if that's authentic or not) and I would have added paprika but I wanted to leave it simple this time. A splash of Worcestershire sauce and a tbsp of flour (not to make it goopey) but just gather up the rest of the liquid on the bottom and seize it into a nice filling that won't drip out. The mixture is cooled before stuffing.

Rolling the pie dough out I made circles using a bowl, about 5 inches in diameter.

Filled them and crimped the edges for a scalloped or twisted look. Now they chill a bit in the fridge while the oil heats up and off they go (everything is cooked inside so it's just a matter of browning that lovely dough to create a flaky crust)

For the sauce it's guava paste (comes in cans and plastic tubs at your local Caribbean grocer) then melt it down with a bit of hot water whisking it (it's pretty gummy but it'll soften) And a drop of plain vinegar goes in and that's about it.

Easy as "pie"

Next time I'll make the dough for empanadas specifically and go with an authentic recipe, I think there is supposed to be an egg in the dough.

Thrifting for props

2011-09-02T23:08:00.009-05:00

I love rummaging! Mostly because it wastes a lot of time and when you finally find something you just feel so excited and proud of yourself! Hehe

Vintage clothing and fashion items are what I usually go for, but finding kitchen items is super fun too because there is a huge selection out there, and you could go to your nearest salvation army, goodwill or value village, or a garage sale, flea market or whatever and you're likely to find something great!

You've probably noticed that I use this little copper tray in a lot of my pictures, it's one of my favourites and when I picked it up it was so dirty and horrible looking. With a bit of elbow grease and polish it turned out amazing!
Now it's a gem in my kitchen.

So go to your nearest thrift store and see what you can find. The key is not to buy something that you won't use because sooner of later it could turn into an addiction (more so for some people perhaps) but keep a list of things that you need and that you would go to a regular store to buy and while you're at the thrift store have a look, because you may find it, things like baking dishes and glasses are really easy to find.

There are so many plates out there too.

For example the asian set that I picked up looked totally new, I used that in my Mac & Cheese shot and use it often for Ramen. People tend to get gifts and just can't be bothered then donate them.

There is an abundance of teacups, and they don't have to be used for the conventional purpose so switch it up and see what you can come up with.

Just look over items to make sure they're not broken, or scratched. And go on days when there is a sale, places like value village really rack up the prices so sometimes I find them just too expensive that I could go to a place like TJ Max and find a kitchen item on clearance for less!!
Here it's called Winners and Home Sense is just for home items but they are awesome too!

Chinese Food Reviews

2011-09-02T22:23:00.009-05:00

Here are some of my Chinese food reviews from different experiences over the summer.

There is also the Wokker that I featured here, but upon ordering again I was disappointed when they forgot major ingredients which I requested in my order and also charged me extra for it.

Will not return, prices also more expensive.

A good one on the other hand is featured here on my other blog, this is an older review from 2010
for the Hong Kong Garden & Tavern

Now for Ming's Garden

Photos 1-4

Ming's Kitchen

3235 Hwy 7 E

Markham, ON L3R

Back in mid June 2011.

The dishes were fresh and delicious, some of the best Cantonese style Chinese food I've tasted!! Everything was perfect.

Another visit a month later, and was told that owners had took over the place and started running it themselves. The food was greasy and totally different.

Photos 5 & 6 after they charged.

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Photos 7, 8 & 9

Peking Garden

4532 Kingston Rd

Toronto, ON M1E

Fried rice was perfect, beef was so tender and still pink, vegetables very fresh too.. the only complaint is is the "shanghai" dish which the noodles are different and the chicken very very dry, also not much flavour if requested no spicy sauce.

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10, 11, 12 & 13

WANLEE xin Chinese Restaurant (Halal) Hakka Style & More

5651 Steeles Avenue E #7

Scarborough, ON M1V 5P6

Unique flavour, not cantonese but good. Ho Fun with beef is very good!

Pickup orders over 22 get free fried rice! And plain rice with veggie dish, lots of food, very well priced.

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Last photo is from Super wok inside T&T supermarket on steeles avenue east. in Same plaza above.
Food court style takeout, and quite cheap but udon was instant instead of regular kind.
Not too good.

Fried rice was not fried rice at all, but an instant style rice which was so inedible.

Eid

2011-09-01T01:39:00.003-05:00

Arabic Breakfast

2011-08-29T20:14:00.000-05:00

This is how I serve the cheese. Since it is tighly twisted and pretty salty I cut about a quarter or half (the rest goes back in the fridge wrapped up)

Now with a quick twist of the twist it unwinds of comes apart then I soak it in warm-hottish water for a little bit to soften it and remove the excess saltiness.

Once it is stretchy and soft I drain the water and place it in a bowl and serve it along side sliced vegetables, fresh flat breads and tea!

A perfect breakfast.

Kleacha (Eid Celebration Date Filled Pastry)

2011-08-28T04:29:00.004-05:00

As the Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting comes to an end the Eid celebrations begin.

Usually the last week of the month is filled with holiday baking, but many people begin serious Eid preps around the last ten days, organizing their houses, decorating, buying gifts and lots of baking and menu planning!

Kleacha is a traditional cookie, it has a date filling (and some filled with nuts and such) and it's very popular in Iraq, Kurdistan and other parts of the Arab world. Ma'moul or Ka'k is a similar but more flakey pastry that also has a filling and then formed in an intricate mould and dusted with powder sugar, recipes vary by country and region.

What I remember about Kleacha is that it's a Eid staple. Around Eid time people bake big batches of them and store them away. Most of the time there is too much to bake for a conventional home oven so us kids would borrow some trays and take them to the bread baker down the street or in the local neighbourhood market and ask him to bake them for us in his big oven.
Mother would give us a small dish of beaten egg and we'd egg wash the cookies at the baker's before he bakes large batches at a time.

My sister and I would hang out there supervising until they were done.

On Eid when guests pop in for greetings and short visits to exchange gifts you serve them some kleacha along with tea or coffee, candies and roasted nuts.

The cookies also keep well and can be frozen and defrosted when needed.

Everyone has their own recipe, but this is my mother's recipe, some people like the hint of spices and some omit it as well as the sesame seeds in the dough.

It's not a complex recipe at all, and it's just a matter of prepping the fillings and dough beforehand.

Date Cookies (kleacha)

Dough ingredients:

6 cups flour

1 tsp salt

Optional ingredients:

1/3 cup sesame seeds (roasted/toasted)
1 tsp cinnamon ground

1/2 tsp all spice

Mix the above in a big bowl. Add in and mix until it is resembling crumbs:

1 1/4 cups oil (or instead 3/4 cup melted butter and 1/2 cup oil)

In a small bowl proof the yeast:

1 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup warm water

When foamy in 5 mins or so mix a little warm milk (below ingredient) into it and dump the yeasty mixture it into the dough.

Begin adding the warm milk below little by little until it looks like a good dough.

1 1/2 - 2 cups warm milk

Allow the dough to rise for two hours.

Filling ingredients:

Date paste or pitted whole dates from the bulk store (a large bag)

Walnuts, chopped up, mixed with some sugar to sweeten

Shredded coconut, mixed with sugar to sweeten

Prepare date filling by putting 4 cups pitted dates into a pot add 1/8 cup oil, 1 cup water and 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional) then bring to a boil until it turns into a soft sticky paste. Set aside to cool flattened out on a plate.

Roll dough into a thin layer (about 1/8 inch) into a big square.

Spread the date mixture all over.

Roll it up like a cinnamon roll, but tightly and slice 1 inch pieces.

Lay them on the tray, the same way they were sliced (unlike cinnamon rolls which are laying on their sides).

Wipe the tops with beated egg then bake until browned on preheated 375 Oven until dough is cooked and they are golden brown.

Macarona Bachamel

2011-08-28T03:14:00.010-05:00

Here's a famous Egyptian dish, it's super delicious and easy to do!!

You could make it with leftover boiled pasta as well if you've got some around.

Give it a try, I'm sure you'll love it!

While it's not a one pot dish it can be easily made in one pot, just using it 3 different times for the 3 components of the dish, then it is baked off to get all bubbly and yummy.

There is no cheese in it, the white layer is a rich creamy sauce.
The sauce has a hint of spice (cinnamon) not to sweeten it, but it lends a beautiful touch to the beef.

The bechamel white sauce has a hint of nutmeg in it, all in all it's a lovely dish, it's fast to whip up and kids love it too, it's a great pot luck recipe or a nice pasta dish for those large family gatherings along side other foods.

Macarona Bachamel

Ingredients:

Part 1 - Sauce:

2 tbsp oil

1 lb ground beef

4 tbsp tomato paste (or 3/4 small can)

Salt & black pepper

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Water

In a pot heat the oil and brown the meat, season it with salt & pepper. Add the cinnamon. Stir in the tomato paste and brown it a bit to remove the raw taste. Add enough boiled water to make a sauce like consistency.

Cover and simmer on low for 15-20 mins.

Set aside.

Part 2 - Boiling pasta:

In another pot or the same pot, remove the meat sauce and bring water to a boil.

Add salt.

Boil 3/4 standard package of large pasta (penne or tubes, something big)

Once they are cooked, strain and rinse with cold water to cool them down a bit.

In the meantime prepare a casserole or deep baking dish.

Layer a teeny bit of sauce on the bottom just so the pasta doesn't stick (I removed a bit of the oily off the top of the sauce for this)

Divide the boiled pasta in half, the first half goes into the pan nice and evenly.

Now top with all the sauce you made, nice and evenly.

The last batch of pasta goes over the sauce in an even layer.

Set the casserole aside for now.

Meanwhile preheat the oven to 375-400 F.

Part 3 - Bechamel Sauce:

- Approximately 4 tbsp butter

- Approximately 1/3 cup flour

- Approximately 4 cups milk
- 1 egg

- half a tsp salt

-1/8 tsp nutmeg

In the same pot (cleaned or wiped up) or another pot melt the butter on medium high heat, add the flour and blend it to make a roux. Cook it until it bubbles stirring well so it doesn't burn and immediately add milk (it could be warmed or cold, it works either way)

Stir and stir until it thickens, once it's thick enough to coat the back of a spoon or kinda like warm pudding or custard consistency then remove off the heat.

Add the nutmeg, a dash of salt and while whisking quickly drop the egg you had previously cracked into a bowl and whisk it up really well to incorporate into the sauce. You must do this quickly as the sauce is hot and you don't want the egg to cook in large pieces once it hits the cream sauce so whisk it well.

Pour the cream sauce all over the top of the pasta in the baking dish.

Part 4 - Baking:

Now bake in the preheated oven for 30 mins or until top is browned. After 30 mins if the top isn't browned set it on broil and watch it, it will develop dark brown blisters and then remove it immediately.

Wait for it to cool down before serving as it tastes better that way, also makes GREAT leftovers!! Tastes even better the next day.

Turkish Manti Dumplings

2011-08-25T19:26:00.003-05:00

Last autumn I made an Armenian Manti recipe, with a wonton wrapper shortcut, but this Ramadan I wanted to do the Turkish kind, dough and all from scratch. Also using my homemade yogurt to make the sauce (not that it makes any difference in taste but if you got a big pot laying around you gotta use it ; ) )

It's very simple and the most time consuming part is making the dough and stuffing the little dumplings, the rest just comes together in no time.

So here it goes.

Serves about 6, it's everything in the blue casserole dish (in the last photo, and what is on the serving plate above)

Dough:

3 cups flour

1 egg

Pinch of salt

2/3 cups water

Prepare the flour and salt, make a big heap (think pasta making!)

Crack the egg in the centre and drizzle the water... now with your hand mix the liquid mixture in the middle incorporating flour from the sides of the well of flour as you mix until all is incorporated.

Now it's a dough, keep kneading it for 10 minutes or so until it's soft and pliable.

Cover in cling wrap after forming into a disk and set aside for 30 mins.

Prepare your filling:

-Ground beef or lamb (I used about 1 lb and has a tiny baggie leftover)

- Salt & Pepper

- 1 small onion (finely chopped or grated) optional.
- A bunch of parsley finely chopped. Optional.

Mix it all up and knead, then to make the process easier I made little meatballs, those balls in the photo on the plate were actually too big later so I divided each one into two but still having them laid out like that makes it easier than having to stick your hands in the meat bowl and pull some out every time.

When you're ready to make them divide the dough into 3 portions.

Begin rolling one portion (keeping the others covered well with cling wrap as not to dry out)

Try to roll in a rectangle or square to the best of your ability and roll it very thin, the original recipe says knife thin, the thinner the better I think (think wonton wrappers)

Once your sheet of dough is rolled out cut into squares about 1 inch (that's pretty small) to 1 1/2 (this is what I tried to stick with)

Get a little glob of meat and plop it in the middle then fold the corners up to join in the middle, now seal the sides so you have this cute little shape (like in the photo)

Repeat, repeat, repeat, and then repeat with the other 2 portions of dough.

Bring a big pot of water to a boil, add salt and boil the dumplings until the meat is cooked (if the dough is thin enough you'll see the meat through the sides which makes for a more tender dumpling I think) and once the meat is cooled drain.

To make the yogurt sauce you'll need:

- 2 cups Yogurt

-Salt to taste

-3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

Peel and crush the garlic, add the salt to it on the cutting board and mash it into a paste (the salt helps to soften it) or use a mortar and pestle if you like.

Mix the garlic with the yogurt and set aside.

Red sauce:

3-4 tbsp butter/oil

1 tbsp tomato paste/2/3 tsp paprika

2-3 tbsp water

Dried mint

In a pan add some butter, tomato paste and water, let it simmer for a few mins, then add the paprika (at the end!)

Ladle some yogurt sauce over the manti in a platter, then spoon the red sauce over and sprinkle with dried mint. Garnish with fresh mint.

You could sprinkle red turkish chilli pepper or sumac over if you like.

Luqmat al Qadi - Arabic Yeast Donuts

2011-08-25T07:15:00.009-05:00

Simple Syrup:

2 cups water

2 cups sugar

Squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Mix all in a small pot and bring to a boil, remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Luqmat Al Qadi

-4 cups flour

-3 cups water

-1 tsp yeast (active dry) dissolved in 1 tbsp warm water

-Pinch of salt

-Oil for frying.

Mix all really well.

Let sit at room temperature for 3 hours.

When ready to fry heat oil.

Mix batter fast to release the gas bubbles.

Drop spoon fulls into the the hot oil and turn them to brown evenly on all sides.

Immediately use slotted spoon to remove and drain on paper towel.

Drop them straight into the syrup and let them get coated well and then remove and present on platter.

Recipe will make twice what is seen in the photos, meaning 4 plates. I suggest halving it like I did.

If you find it difficult to drop the gooey dough into the oil fill a piping bag and push some through then cut it off with a scissors close to the oil to let the little balls fall into the oil.

I've attached an arabic video to show an interesting technique.

Making Yogurt

2011-08-24T06:47:00.010-05:00

Yogurt.

This is my first attempt on my own. I remember my aunt and mother making it a few times when we were little but it always seemed to be such a confusing lengthy process so you can imagine my surprise when I actually decided to try it. It not only worked out but it was SO EASY!

This is the leftover milk/heavy cream mixture that was used the day before to make Geymar.

What I was left with after the Geymar was a whole pot of milk!

The first step in yogurt making is to boil the milk and by that time I realized that there was only about a quarter of a prepared yogurt container in the fridge (I ate a lot of it this month!)

Now you need yogurt to make yogurt, the culture (bacteria!) in it. Most recipes said to use a lot more, but I decided to risk it and use what I had.

So I boiled the pot of milk, let it cool down until it was like warm drinking milk, mixed up the yogurt with a bit of the warm milk to make a nice creamy mixture and added it right into the rest of the milk and stirred it up.

At this point the pot needs to be covered and wrapped in blankets (?) So I wrapped it in towels and one big towel and placed it on the low rack in the oven (which was comfortably warm, like you could sit in there and not burn up or anything)

My mother said to leave the oven off, but the sites said to leave it on very low (lowest oven temp!) (making sure the towels do not touch the elements or anything to cause a fire!) You should definitely do this during the day while awake to supervise.

So now it sits there in the oven for 5-12 hours.

Then you place it in the fridge and let it chill for a few hours (overnight?)

Enjoy your homemade yogurt in the morning! :) I'm not a yogurt and fruit person but here I added a wedge of fresh spice mango.

If you've never heard of a spice mango then according to wiki they are " Buxton Spice mango. This mango is unique to Buxton (Guyana) being fleshy and sweet like others but having a unique spicy taste."

Maybe it will make a fantastic curry?! or chicken marinade?

Ok, not to get carried away.

Back to yogurt.

The yogurt can be made directly in plastic yogurt containers next time for easier storage and it can be used for just about anything you would do with regular store bought yogurt.

Strain it for a thicker creamy breakfast dip .. recipe here
And photo here