August 2014

Weekend Juicing

I've never been a big juice drinker, not like the kids today who are guzzling all these store bought cartons of different punches and fruit combos.  Back in Pakistan (where I grew up) juice was a treat..   whenever you're out on the streets you could buy deliciously sweet and refreshing sugar cane juice, which I adored!

Two of my favourite juices in the world are sugar cane and carrot juice! My dad brought a juicer home one day and I remember my mother making carrot juice for us.  Vibrant orange, sweet, frothy thick and refreshing with a hint of earthiness, I drank every drop of the stuff!

In my teens I did some juicing, introducing beets, celery and ginger to my favourite orange drink for health benefits.  Lately (as in the last couple of years) I haven't done any juicing, and I don't know how good it is (other than a treat) because I've been reading about some controversial studies but after dusting off the hamilton beach juicer and on a gorgeous day like today it seemed like the perfect project!

I ran over to the supermarket, picked up a bunch of goodies and here you see them all set out onto my kitchen table, then the juicing began!


Some new ingredients that I tried today were Kale & Spinach, alone they were so strong but mixed into the rest of the juices like a cocktail it was really quite delectable!

I can't believe I drank 4 glasses of the stuff though, haha.

Incase you're wondering about the pumpkin seed oil, it's a product that was recommended to me by the shop owner while I spent yesterday morning at the St.Lawrence Market in downtown Toronto.  I got to taste a sample before buying, and it tastes AMAZING! Not for cooking but cold applications of just taken by the teaspoon before bed to replenish vitamin supply in the body.  If you're interested read up more under "Austrian Pumpkin seed oil" or "Styrian gold" and check out the photo sequence of my day yesterday as well here 

So if you've been inspired today to get back into juicing (like me) or try it for the first time then how about making an event out of it? Throw a juicing party and have an array of fresh fruit and veg so that your guests can choose fun combinations that you (or they) can run through the juicer and make fresh juice on the spot!

I think it totally makes the cleanup worth it!

Hot Cross bun day

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

Tea - the perfect drink for cool weather

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.

Poached Pears

- Firm Pears ( I used the bosc variety) Peeled and cored, sliced, halved or whole.

- Enough water to fill saucepan

- 1 cup sugar

- Vanilla bean

- Cinnamon stick, Star anise, Slices of Ginger, Allspice berries, peppercorns, whole cloves.

Or instead of the above you could throw in a dash of chinese 5 spice and a cinnamon stick and whole cloves or ground of either.

Set the pears in the liquid and bring to a low boil/gentle simmer and allow to poach for 15-25 mins.

To prevent pears from floating place a round piece of parchment on top of the liquid to fit inside the pot, and cut a hole inside so it's like a donut to prevent steam buildup.

When they're tender remove from heat and serve warm with a dessert or on ice cream.

Here I served it with a creme brulee ice cream.

Store the pears in the fridge in some of the liquid and store the rest for drinks, it is very flavourful but strain out the spices.

Enjoy!

Mini Cherry Pies

If pies are the new cupcake then these mini cherry pies can rival any cupcakes in the cuteness category and they're 100% home-made and so delicious!

Start with the Pate Brisee, I had leftover from the other day's apple marzipan galette, Pie dough is easily made ahead of time, frozen and left to thaw in the fridge overnight for convenient use.

Martha Stewart's recipe is one of my favourites, however I've altered it slightly below:

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes

1/4 cup ice water, plus more if needed

1 tsp lemon juice (mixed into the ice water)

Directions

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt; pulse to combine. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining, about 10 seconds. (To mix by hand, combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, then cut in butter with a pastry blender or use tips of fingers to rub the butter and flour together, working quickly as not to warm up the ingredients .)

With machine running, add (lemony) ice water through feed tube in a slow, steady stream, just until dough holds together without being wet or sticky. Do not process more than 30 seconds. Test by squeezing a small amount of dough together; if it is still too crumbly, add a bit more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Turn out dough onto a clean work surface. Shape into flattened disk. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. The dough can be frozen for up to 1 month; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.

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With the last of the season cherries I picked up the rest was easy, pitting was the most fun using the cool technique I learned recently and used on my cherry dumplings here.

I think this is probably one of the most useful and exciting tips I've ever learned because before this I would avoid cherries, using a parring knife to peel the flesh around the pit was not fun at all!

 I double the recipe of pie dough above and make 2 flattened disks to refrigerate then I make pie filling using 2 bags of cherries as directed below:

Doubling the pie dough pastry should make about 12 mini (covered) pies with some cherry filling leftover.
OR you can make about 24 open face  tart like pies (like here)  with all the filling.


An alternate and easier design to do for covered pies is something like this 





Cherry pie filling:

-2 bags of cherries (about 80 cherries, or 2 lbs of cherries)

Remove stems, wash, and using a paring knife cut an X in the bottom of each one.

Doing this assembly style is best. Wash, then begin cutting them and moving them into another bowl.

Once finished all, use a chopstick to push through the top of the cherry (where the stem was) to remove the seed/pit. Once pitted add them to a heavy bottomed saucepan.

Add:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- Juice of half a lemon
- 2 tbsp water

Bring to a boil and cook on medium low for about 15 minutes.

Mix together in a small bowl the following ingredients:

- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp ice water

Bring the cherry filling to a boil again and quickly mix in the cornstarch mixture.

Stir the cornstach mixture into the cherries and you'll see it thicken immediately.  Remove from heat and place the filling in another bowl to cool. Place a sheet of plastic wrap on top of the cherries to avoid a seal forming on the top.

Allow to cool completely then refrigerate until ready to use.

Ok so these little pies were made right in the cupcake pan.. no greasing or anything required. Just cut the dough and put it straight in.

The filling should be cool of course and you can begin your assembly creating any type of design you like. Here I made three different designs ...

Use some eggwash to create a nice sheen on the little pies before baking..

Bake between at 375 for 30 mins or so until the pastry is crispy and golden browned where it touches the pan.