Food. Weekly.

Spinach & Ricotta Ravioli

Sun, 06 May 2012 14:21:28 -0400

We’ve made the jump into the world of fresh, homemade pasta. I was a skeptic at first, but there’s nothing quite like homemade pasta with fresh marinara sauce. Divine. And! Surprisingly easy!

Last night, our dear friends Keanan and Mari came over to our place for a ravioli making party. Taylor and I had made some fresh spaghetti on our own, but this was our first attempt with a “stuffed” pasta.

By no means do I consider myself an expert at pasta making, but here’s the process we followed to make some kick butt raviolis (Recipes after the jump)

I used this recipe from allrecipes.com for the pasta dough.

Word to the wise: use the semolina flour. Really. It makes all the difference. For our first attempt at pasta making, we used only all purpose flour. The results were…well..ramen noodle-esque. While that’s not necessarily a bad thing, you don’t exactly want ramen noodles covered in a red sauce. Blech. Moral of the story? Use semolina flour.

We halved the pasta recipe above. What I really love about allrecipes.com is that each recipe has a servings calculator. So, if you need to halve or triple a recipe, it’s very easy to do.

I made the dough ahead of time and stuck in the fridge for a few hours, so that it would be easier to work with. Keanan and Mari rolled it out into these beautiful sheets.

The dough gets it’s orangey colour from the fantastic, farm-fresh eggs that I buy from a co-worker. As the dough was being prepared, I whipped up a filling.

Spinach Ricotta Filling:

1 package of frozen, chopped spinach, cooked and water squeezed out
1 container of ricotta cheese
Half a head of garlic, crushed
Basil, oregano, and parsley, to taste (I used dried herbs because that’s what I had…I’m sure fresh would be even better.
Mix all ingredients together until thoroughly combined

Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pictures of the actual process of putting them together.

Basically, we used a cookie scoop to put a row of filling “balls” on a sheet of pasta - making sure to leave enough space between balls to be able to seal the dough. Paint an egg wash (1 egg + a bit of water) around the ravioli where you will be sealing the sheets of dough together. Top with another sheet of dough. Use a cookie cutter (or knife, glass, ravioli cutter) to cut around the individual raviolis. Carefully, press all the air out of the ravioli before doing the final seal with a fork

Voila! Zee first ravioli!

Cook for approximately three minutes in boiling, salted water. Cover with your favorite sauce. Eat, and die of carb happiness!

Dutch Baby (My inglorious return to food blogging)

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 13:19:42 -0400

I know, I know. How lame am I? It’s been literally months since I last posted something on this blog. Perhaps you thought my internet had crashed. Perhaps you thought I had stopped cooking all together and ate fast food for every meal. Perhaps you thought I had been on a months long hunger strike. The answer to all of these potential scenarios is a resounding no. I’ve just been lazy. I lost my motivation.

Well, that’s also not entirely true. I did have one of the craziest years in recent memory. I worked full time, managed the University College yearbook project, did the books for my church, acted in a full-length production and, oh yeah, I’m married. I’ve vowed to be far less committed next year so that I can enjoy my life more. This is a good thing.

I’ve still been adventurous with food. Homemade pasta. Massive batches of cinnamon rolls. Indian cooking. I just never managed to take a picture. And a food blog without pictures is…well..really lame.

I did get a snapshot (albeit on the iPhone) of this morning’s breakfast offering.

Recipe after the jump.

Taylor has discovered that there are literal full seasons(!) of his favorite cooking show, Good Eats, on youtube. The host, Alton Brown, chooses a topic, a food item, a cooking method, or a dish and shows you the absolute best way to make it. This recipe for a Dutch Baby (a big, puffy, wonderful oven pancake) comes courtesy of his show.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter, melted and divided
2 3/8 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 1/2 cup
3 tablespoons vanilla sugar, plus extra for serving
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup whole milk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
Lemon wedges

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Place 2 tablespoons of the melted butter into a 10-inch cast iron skillet and place in the oven. Set the remaining tablespoon of melted butter aside to cool slightly. Wait 10 minutes before assembling the other ingredients.

Place the flour, vanilla sugar, salt, milk, eggs and remaining tablespoon of melted butter into the bowl of a food processor or blender and process for 30 seconds. Carefully pour the batter into the preheated skillet. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until the edges are puffed and brown. Sprinkle with additional vanilla sugar and serve with lemon wedges.

(Recipe from the food network website)

This was a fabulous breakfast. Light, sweet, and just plain fun to watch it puff up in the oven. We recently invested in a cast iron cookware. Because cast iron holds heat so well, it made the pancake perfectly crispy. I’ve heard that you can use a pie plate if you don’t have cast iron. My other advice would be to watch it closely. I took mine out of the oven at about 25 minutes. I didn’t want it getting too brown. I suspect that those of you who don’t have a wacky rental apartment oven would have more precise results.

This just might become a Saturday morning tradition.

P.S. Look for more frequent offerings on this blog. The long, free evenings of summer are approaching.

Summer Supper

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 22:29:42 -0400

Summer has been flying by here in Manitoba. We couldn’t have asked for a more glorious summer, in terms of weather. Of the three summers that I have spent in Manitoba, this is far and away the best. Sunny, hot, cloudless days for weeks. Best of all? No mosquitos. None. I haven’t put on bug spray once this summer. Even walking at dusk, there is nothing to swat at. If you have never lived in the prairies, you may not realize how miraculous this is. But trust me, it is a miracle.

Our CSA is giving us more fresh produce than we could ever hope for. I mutter under my breath at my tiny apartment size fridge. I’m not so secretly hoping it will die, so that we’ll be given a new one - one that will fit pounds of produce with ease.

This gem of a summery supper comes courtesy of the weekly recipe handout at our farm. It’s a great way to use up lots of chard, although I’m sure any dark, leafy green would do. As always, I made a couple of alterations. The recipe calls for four chicken breasts. I only used two. I also used a bunch of baby onions from the CSA. I suspect it probably would have worked a bit better if I has just used a regular onion as the baby onions weren’t quite as juicy. I also had no lemon zest, but it still had a nice lemon flavor from the lemon juice. Overall, a quick summer meal that is make-again-able. Recipe after the jump.

Chicken with Swiss Chard, Lemon and Rosemary

1 bunch swiss chard
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. (I only used two)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons of fresh rosemary, chopped or 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 teaspoons of lemon zest
2 tablespoons of lemon juice

Strip swiss chard leaves from stem; trim ends and chop stems and leaves separately and set aside. Sprinkle half of the salt and pepper on chicken. Heat half of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook chicken, turning once, for about 10 to 12 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Transfer to a plate. Add remaining oil, salt, pepper, garlic and onion to skillet. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes or until softened.
Stir in swiss chard stems; cook for 2 minutes. Add leaves, rosemary and lemon rind and cook stirring, until just wilted enough to cover pan.
Nestle chicken into pan, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 5 minutes or until chicken is hot and chard is tender. Sprinkle with lemon juice.

Great Greens: A CSA tribute

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 22:24:36 -0400

Sometimes you need a good kick. Sometimes you need someone to motivate you. Sometimes you need your husband to walk away from the computer desk and say to you, “Well, I’m going to go play video games. You should blog about the CSA.” And, so, here I am.

Last Wednesday marked the beginning of our 12 weeks of fresh, pesticide free produce. We stood back in awe as she filled our bags with an amazing variety of produce. This week’s share featured: Swiss chard, kale, tomatoes, peas, collard greens, onions, lettuce, beets, peppers, yellow zucchini, potatoes and cilantro. Wow. My understanding is that because it is early in the season, this was a small share. Wow.

Needless to say, we’ve been plowing through as many of these items as possible before our weekly pick-up day rolls around again. I made a fresh pea soup that was to die for. One unexpected snack that has now become a household favorite is Kale Chips. Crunchy, tasty and way heathlier than deep fried potato chips.

Oven Baked Kale Chips

1 bunch of kale, stems removed and torn into bite size pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sprinkling of salt (and whatever other spices strike your fancy. I used salt, pepper and garlic powder)

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the kale pieces in a bowl and gently toss with olive oil. Important: only add a small amount of olive oil at a time. I only used one capful. You want the kale to be very lightly coated, otherwise your chips will be oily, instead of crisp. Spread the prepared kale onto a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and/or other spices. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until chips looks dried and crispy. Enjoy!

For more information on Community Supported Agriculture visit: www.localharvest.org

For more information on our CSA farm, Stonelane Orchard visit: www.stonelaneorchard.com

Photo credit: Taylor Summach

Seasonal Offerings: Rhubarb Crisp

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 22:55:58 -0400

Photo courtesy of Taylor Summach

I would like to begin this post with an ode to my friend, Lindsay. Lindsay works at the college with me. She, along with her husband, used to live in the apartment where I currently reside. She moved out this spring as this little apartment was a bit too cozy with the arrival of their daughter. After she had moved out, she asked me, “Emily, would you like the use our chest freezer in the apartment? We won’t need it at our new house.” I, enthusiastically, said, “Yes!” Chest freezer. A dream come true!

I’ve been trying to work through all the food we have in the freezer to make room our CSA offerings. I fished out a bag of frozen rhubarb this weekend and these beautiful little crisps were born. I found a recipe on the internet and modified it to suit my tastes. Have I ever mentioned how much I love ramekins? They really dress up a simple dessert. This sweet and tart crisp is the perfect treat for a warm June evening. I suggest digging into your freezer, pulling the ramekins down from the top shelf and giving these a go as soon as possible.

Rhubarb Crisp
Based on “Rhubarb Crisp”, from About.com

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter four small ramekins.

In a large bowl combine:

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.

Cut in 1/4 cup of butter until the crumble is the size of small peas.

In a saucepan combine:

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cook over medium heat until bubbly and thickened. Pour over 2 cups of chopped rhubarb and stir to coat. Press half of the crumble mixture into the bottom of the ramekins, top with a layer of rhubarb and finished with rest of the crumble. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

Seasonal Offerings: Strawberry Pie

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 20:51:00 -0400

Is there anything quite as lovely as a bite of real, fresh, in-season foods? This is the time of year when the grocery store becomes packed with the juiciest, best strawberries of the year. I wish I could say that I picked these myself, in a sundress as I sprouted freckles on my nose. Alas, a spring fruit like the strawberries won’t be ripe here in Manitoba until…August. I picked these up at Superstore. I’m a little ashamed to admit that I bought three giant cartons of these beauties this week. They were just… irresistible. About a carton and bit of strawberries went into making this:

Sweet, sweet strawberry pie complete with shortbread crust. Last week, I splurged on the Simply in Season cookbook, published, in part, by the Mennonite Central Committee. I am absolutely in love with this cookbook. There are recipes for everything single thing that grows in the earth. I’m so excited to cook the veggies and fruits that will come in my CSA basket this summer and fall.

The strawberry pie recipe was the first thing I’ve tried out of this cookbook, and it didn’t disappoint. I liked that it didn’t call for jello, sure-gel or another other odd thickening agent. The berries really shine in this pie. The only problem I encountered was the goo to strawberry ratio. I put in the exact amounts of berries the recipe called for, but there was too much goo and not enough strawberries, so it was a bit messy. Perhaps I should have let the goo thicken up a bit longer so it would cling to the berries more, but I can never seem to get those sort of things just right. Despite its messy appearance in the photo above, it was the best tasting strawberry pie I have ever eaten. Recipe after the jump:

Strawberry Pie
From Simply in Season Cookbook

1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Blend in a saucepan

1 cup strawberries, mashed
1/2 orange juice or water
Add and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat.

2 tablespoons lemon juice
Stir in and cool.

4-6 cups of whole strawberries (I halved some the of giant ones)
9 inch baked pastry shell, graham cracker crust, or shortbread tart crust
When cooked fruit is cool, gently fold in additional strawberries and pour into crust. Chill for 3 hours.

Mom's No-Bake Cookies

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 21:27:00 -0400

Mmm…the taste of nostalgia. This past Saturday, Taylor was working a shift at the greenhouse and I was trapped at home without a car. It was cloudy, stuffy day outside, so I didn’t want to crank up the oven, but I had the urge to do some baking. I phoned up my lovely mother and asked for the receipe for her no-bake chocolate cookies. As a kid I remember licking the chocolate goo from the steaming pot and impatiently waiting for the cookies to harden. Seriously, cookie hardening time is an eternity when you’re seven.

These cookies are perfect when it’s too hot to turn on the oven. Quick, simple and so summery. I prefer mine straight from the freezer with a glass of milk. Thanks Mom!

Mom’s No-Bake Cookies

In a large pot (non-stick is your best bet), melt:

2 cups of white sugar
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup of butter
2 squares of baking chocolate. (I never have baking chocolate on hand so I used cocoa powder. 3 tablespoons cocoa powder + 1 tablespoon of oil = 1 square of chocolate. Thanks Google for solving all my problems.)

Bring to a rolling boil and let boil for 30 seconds, then remove from heat. To the wonderful chocolate goo add:

1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3 cups of oatmeal, old fashioned or quick cooking.
1 cup of coconut

Drop by tablespoons on to wax paper lined cookie sheets and chill until set.

Photo courtesy of Taylor Summach.

Simple joys.

Sun, 29 May 2011 19:18:00 -0400

Mmmm.

After a hectic month and half of moving, travelling and setting up a home, I have finally settled back into this blog. Taylor and I are renting the most lovely little two bedroom apartment near the college campus where we both work. We’ve been here two weeks now, and I can say that this move has been good for my soul. Green spaces. Fresh air. Natural light. Taylor took the photos and created the lovely triptych above. He now enjoys taking photos for my blog thanks to the big windows in our suite. I vow never to take another food photo in florescent lighting again. Never. This move has been a big step towards the lifestyle we want to live. And what we eat is large part of that lifestyle.

We’re planted a herb garden in our south-facing window. Basil, oregano and parsley are shooting up into warm sunlight. I see a lot of fresh pesto in our future…and what a glorious future that will be. We’ve also been buying farm fresh brown eggs from a gentleman I work with. A mere $3 a dozen -unheard of! My newest guilty pleasure? Liberte yogurt. They have quite the selection at the little grocery store down the road. I’m looking forward to trying each flavour with gusto. Why do all the good food stuffs come from Quebec?

We’ve bought our first share in CSA. We can expect ABSURD amounts of fresh, local fruits and vegetables to come our way starting in mid-July. You can check out “our” farm at www.stonelaneorchard.com To tide us over until our CSA starts harvesting, the St. Norbert Farmer’s Market opens next weekend! If you live in or near Winnipeg, there really is no excuse not to attend. I go for the breads and produce, Taylor for the spring rolls at J.J. Spring Roll.

Life is good.

The Friends Club Caramel Corn

Sat, 02 Apr 2011 16:03:00 -0400

Just about four and half years ago, I started dating a wonderful guy. Aside from all the usual lovely things that come with a new relationship (hand-holding, long walks, adrenaline), I also met some very dear friends. Taylor had a core group of people that he hung out with in Saskatoon that I was introduced to. I now affectionately refer to those people as “The Friends Club”

Just about two years ago, Taylor and I got married. One of my most treasured gifts from a wedding shower was from three ladies from The Friends Club. Mandy, Chantelle and Kari gave me the recipe box pictured above filled with hand written cards of all their favorite recipes. One of my favorites is for caramel corn. I’m not sure which one of the ladies is the owner of this recipe, but, man, oh, man, it’s so good!

I find the idea of candy making intimidating. All that molten sugar, thermometers, bowls of cold water, trying to guess what bloody stage the sugar is at! Gah! Who needs that kind of pressure? This recipe though, is SO easy. No guess work. I’ve made it probably a dozen times and it always comes out perfect. I share this wonderful recipe after the break…my own comments are in italics.
The Friends Club Caramel Corn

Melt 1 cup margarine. Add 2 cups of brown sugar. 1/2 corn syrup and 1 tsp salt. Boil for 5 minutes without stirring. Then, add 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp vanilla. (Stir this in quickly and make sure you have your popcorn ready. This mixture will boil like the dickens. The most gooey, sweet, wonderful dickens.)
Pour over 12 cups of popped popcorn. (A heaping 1/2 cup of unpopped kernels gave me about 12 cups.) Stir well. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour. (I bake the popcorn in my roasting pan. Works like a charm) Stir every 15 minutes. When cooling, spread on a cookie sheet and break apart. Enjoy!

Quinoa. The wave of the future.

Sat, 12 Mar 2011 00:08:48 -0500

Summer 2010 was the summer of weddings. So many of our nearest and dearest decided to tie the knot. One weekend in particular stands out in my memory. Wedding-palooza weekend - Cass and Jared on Saturday, Ruthie and Matt on Sunday.

Cass and Jared served the best food I’ve ever had a wedding. It was also at their wedding that I had a my first taste of quinoa. It was a delicious, cold quinoa salad, full of farm fresh vegetables and tossed in lovely vinaigrette. Quinoa is an amazing little grain that is purchased dried and cooked in the same manner as rice. Nutritionally speaking, quinoa is crazy-good for you.

Flash forward to March 2011- Steinbach finally stocks quinoa at a mainstream grocery store! I eagerly snatched a box of the shelf and tossed it into my cart. My own salad definitely didn’t disappoint. Crisp vegetables, creamy black beans, hearty quinoa, and lovely citrus infused dressing. The types and amounts of vegetables can definitely be altered to suit your tastes or use up whatever is the fridge.

Quinoa Salad
Based on: Red Quinoa and Black Bean Salad by The Church Cook

Dressing:

Juice of 1 lime (I squeezed the bejeebers out of the lime)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 heaping tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup olive oil

To prepare dressing: Combine lime juice and spices in a small bowl. Slowly stream in olive oil while whisking quickly. Stick the dressing in the fridge to let the flavours get to know each other.

Salad:

1-2 cups of dried quinoa. I used the whole package, which seemed like 1 1/2 cups dried.
6 green onions, chopped. The green onions totally up the flavour.
1 1/2 bell peppers, chopped. I used red and green.
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed.
1 1/2 cups of corn. I used frozen corn.

To prepare salad:

Prepare quinoa according to package directions. Set aside to cool slightly.
While the quinoa is cooking, chop up all the vegetables, drain and rinse the beans, and add all the vegetables into a large bowl.
Once the quinoa has cooled slightly, add to vegetable bowl, mix thoroughly to combine.
Add dressing, stir to combine.
The salad is fabulous warm or cold. Enjoy!

Exciting, new things.

Sun, 06 Mar 2011 16:38:13 -0500

By now, you have all discovered my Achilles heel of blogging. Consisting posting. My bad. I promise to do better. Scout’s honor. (I was only in girl scouts for a year…not my cup of tea. I remember cookies and cliques. Grade 6 is a hard age. Don’t deny it.)

Before I get to a lovely recipe, I have two important announcements.

One. I dear friend of mine from college, Joey, featured my blog on her amazing food blog! You can find the post here. Also, if you haven’t perused her blog before, it’s so worth it! She’s one of my blog role models. Really, check it out.

Two. I quit my job! The job that has been causing me stress, angst, and bit too much emotional eating is now in the past. I start my new job tomorrow. I was offered a position back at Providence College, and I happily accepted. Naysayers, I’m ignoring you! It feels like coming home. Less stress and exhaustion equals more baking! Watch for more frequent posts as I get my life back.

Three. Some evenings, all you want a quick and easy recipe. Dinner in 20 minutes or less. Dinner last night came courtesy of my lovely, talented sister-in-law, Lydia.

Ahem.

“2 cans black beans, rinsed
2 c broth (I used bouillon)
1 c salsa
1 tsp cumin

Combine all ingredients. Do a partial purée so some chunks remain. Heat through. Top with sour cream, cheese, and green onions (if on hand if course - they really add to an already flavorful soup). I don’t even add salt because the cumin and salsa have a nice twang. ”

So good, and so easy. There’s no photo with this one because a. I was too lazy to set up a nice photo. b. Have you ever tried to photography black bean soup? It’s….not that attractive. The flavor was amazing.

Watch for a new post later this week!

Whoopie!

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 23:46:34 -0500

I’ll say it here first. I love a good bandwagon. And it seems that the whoopie pie is the lastest foodie bandwagon. Type “whoopie pie” into google and you’ll get pages and pages of recipes. Red velvet whoopie pie. Peanut butter. Cream cheese frosting. Shortening frosting. Dunked. Sprinkled. Dipped. The possibilities are deliciously endless.

I went for the classic. Chocolate cookie with vanilla cream cheese icing. They were surprisingly fun and easy to make. I stumbled upon this version in an issue of Canadian Living. (Hear that immigration!? I’m as Canadian as you can get!)

Before I get to the recipe, a few minor, but important, notes:

-To ensure a round pie, I used a cookie scoop. Two scoops per cookies.

-Do not be deceived Brothers and Sisters. These cookies will spread out like crazy. Give them lots of space on the pan! It’s better to have to make four pans of cookies than to have deformed, stuck together pies….Like my first pan.

-These whoopie pies were fairly big. A generous serving of dessert. If you’re aiming for something more bite-size, one scoop of cookies dough should do you just fine. Be sure to adjust the baking time if you do make them smaller.

See the recipe after the break

Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling From: Canadian Living, Feb 2011 issue

Pies:

1/2 cup of butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk

Cream Cheese Filling:
1 package cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup butter, softened
Pinch of salt
2 cups icing sugar

Pies:

1. In a large bowl, beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg; beat in vanilla

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into butter mixture alternatively with the buttermilk, making 3 additions of the flour mixture and 2 of the buttermilk.

3. Drop by heaping 2 tbsp about 3 inches apart, onto parchment lined baking sheets to make 24 mounds.

4. Bake in a 350 degree oven until tops slightly crack and spring back when lightly touched, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool on pan on rack.

Cream Cheese Filling:

In a bowl, beat together cream cheese, butter and salt until smooth. Beat in icing sugar, 1 cup at a time, until smooth. Drop about 3 tbsp icing over each bottom half of the cookies, sandwich with tops.

The "Carrot Cake that ruined us for a whole week"

Sun, 06 Feb 2011 20:21:00 -0500

Yum. I’ve always loved a good slice of carrot cake. I recall asking for carrot cake for my 6th birthday. The slightly spicy flavor, the moist texture, and the creamy icing all come together to make one perfect baked good, in my eyes.

A couple of weeks ago, I made the carrot cake that is featured in my Flour cookbook. One thing that I have learned about this cookbook is that its philosopy seems to be something along the lines of: “Okay, let’s take classic recipe X and enhance it until it the best version of X that ever existed.” At least, that’s the case with this cake. Its got everything I loved about carrot cake blown way out of delicious proportion. Oh baby.

Be warned, this recipe makes a large, rich layer cake. Make it for a dinner party. Do not make it for week it will be just you, your husband and this cake all alone in your basement apartment. Gluttony will ensure. See the title of this blog post for further details.

Classic Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
From Flour by Joanne Chang with Christie Matheson

Ingredients:

3 eggs
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup canola oil
3 tablespoons butter milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups tightly packed shredded carrots
1/2 cup of raisins (I left this out)
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped (I left this out too)

Cream Cheese Frosting

12 ounces of cream cheese, left at room temperature for 4 hours (I used eight ounces)
1/2 cup of butter, at room temperature
1 2/3 cup confectioners sugar
(Because I used less cream cheese, I adjusted the other ingredients accordingly. 1/3 less each)

1. Position a rack in the centre of the oven, and heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8 inch cake pan (or line a standard 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners)

2. Using a stand mixer fitted with a whip attachment (or a handhelp mixer), (I used a handheld, worked just fine) beat together the eggs and brown sugar on medium high for three or four minutes or until mixture is light and thick. (This step will take about 8 to 10 minutes with a handheld mixer). In a small bowl or pitcher, whisk together the oil, buttermilk and vanilla. On low speed, slowly pour the oil mixture into the egg-sugar mixture. This should take about 30 seconds.

3. In a small bowl, shift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger. Using a rubber spatula, fold the flour mixture into the egg-sugar mixture. When most the of the flour mixture has been incorporated, add the carrots, raisins, and walnuts (I left out both the raisins and nuts as I didn’t have any on hand) and continue to fold until the bater is homogeneous. (Yes, I knew my sociology vocab would come in handy!) Pour the batter into prepared cake pan or muffin cups.

4. Bake the cake for about 1 hour and 20 minutes (Again! What is up with these cooking times? My cake was ready in 50 minutes. Watch it closely.) or the cupcakes for about 50 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and springs back when pressed in the middle with a fingertip. Let cool completely in the pan on wire rack.

5. To make the frosting: While the cake is baking, put the cream cheese in the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat on medium speed for about 1 minute, or until smooth. If you have forgotten to take the cream cheese out of the refrigerator 4 hours in advance, you can soften in the microwave on medium power for 30 seconds. Add the butter and continue to beat for another minute. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and add the confectioners sugar. Beat for 1 more minute, or until well mixed. You should have about 3 1/2 cups. (Or less if you used only one block of cream cheese like me) Cover and refrigerate the frosting for 2 to 3 hours before using to allow it to firm up enough to pipe and spread. (The frosting can be made up to 5 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge.)

6. Remove the cake from the pan an split it into two layers. Place the bottom layer, cut-side up, on a cake plate. Spoon about half the icing onto the layer and, using an off-set spatula, spread it evenly to the edges. Place the top layer, cut side down, on top and press to adhere. Spoon on about 1 cup of the frosting and spread it over the top and down the sides of the cake. This is the crumb coat, which will keep any loose crumbs from migrating to the surface of the finished cake. Spoon the remaining frosting on top of the cake, and spread it evenly across the top and sides.

7. The cake can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. It is best served a little cooler than room temperature, so remove it from the fridge about 2 hours before serving.

Bliss.

Sun, 06 Feb 2011 16:46:49 -0500

The BEST vegan chocolate cake

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 22:01:25 -0500

I’ll be the first to admit it. I lucked out in the in-law department. I love my in-laws. (Hi Monty and Moira!) I love them for many reasons, the main one being that the raised an amazing son. Also, they give really sweet Christmas presents. Like this!

I found this little beauty under the Christmas tree. I have been pouring over the pages since Christmas trying to decide which recipe to try first…and how not to die an early death due to pastry intake.

So far, I’ve only made one recipe from Flour and it is to die for: Low fat, Vegan Chocolate Cake. I know, that sounds awful, right? No, no. This cake is so moist and chocolately, I would put it up against any other chocolate cake. It’s that good.

Vegan Low-Fat Chocolate Cake
From: Flour by Joanne Chang with Christie Matheson

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup dutch processed cocoa (I used no name brand cocoa, and it tasted just fine)
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, or 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder (I went the coffee route)
1 teaspoons of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (I just used table salt)
1 cup water
1/4 cup canola oil (I’m sure any light oil would work)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsulfured light or dark molasses
Confectioners sugar for dusting

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 6 inch round cake pan.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, coffee powder, baking soda and salt. In another medium bowl, whisk together the water, oil, vanilla and molasses. Pour the liquid into the flour mixture and mix together with a wooden spoon until the batter is smooth and homogeneous. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until the cake springs back when lightly pressed in the middle with a fingertip. (NOTE: I found this baking time to be WAY too long. I almost burnt the cake on the first try. Check the cake after 20 minutes and then every 5 minutes after. I have no idea why the cooking time is so off, but trust me, for a moist cake, watch the oven closely.) Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 1 hour. Then invert the pan onto the rack, lift off the pan, turn the cake right side up, and let cool completely.

4. Just before serving, dust the top with powdered sugar.

5. The cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days.

Ta-da. The BEST vegan chocolate cake ever.

Samosas and some 2011 thoughts

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 20:33:00 -0500

Aaaand I’m back to blogging. I have been savouring every last moment of my Christmas and New Years Holidays. You know how even stuff that you really love doing becomes work when you have to do it? That’s why I took a hiatus from this blog. I promised myself that I was going to do nothing but relax during the break. Why? Because somedays my job sucks the life out of me.

Do you know what doesn’t suck the life of out me? Cooking really awesome food! Even after working eight stressful hours, I’m so stoked to come home and cook dinner. Granted it sometimes means that we don’t eat dinner until 8:00 at night, but I married a very understanding man. We make it work.

Also new in our household, Taylor and I are experimenting with weekday vegetarianism. Yup, it’s exactly what it sounds like. 5 days of the week we eat only vegetarian food and on the weekends, we choose whatever we like. (Don’t worry mother, I’m still taking all my vitamins.) This idea was inspired by this video

I pondered the question that he poses at the beginning of the video. Knowing what I know, why aren’t I vegetarian? I realized that one of my biggest barriers, is that I would need to re-learn how to cook. Meat is base that you can build a meal around. Have chicken? Make pot pie. Have hamburger? Make some juicy burgers. Have beans and some carrots? ….ummm. Exactly.

Long story short, I tried to make a consious effort to seek out some vegetarian recipes. That’s when I found this. Hello Samosas.

Bundles of goodness filled with potatos, peas, tomatoes and spices. The recipe was super easy. And while I realize that these are in no way authentic, they were delicious. I made very few changes to the recipe. I used canned green chiles, skipped a few spices (Superstore’s ethnic food aisle consists of taco shells), and added a lot more potato that was needed. I also didn’t bother with the dipping sauce. We used a mango sauce we had in the fridge already. We had a ton of filling leftover, so tomorrow night these little guys will be making an encore.

Happy New Year!

My Fav-or-ite Foodie Magazine

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 23:58:19 -0500

I know this isn’t a recipe per say, but this is the source for some of favorite recipe finds.

I love Food Network Magazine! It’s so well designed and I’m a sucker for a glossy magazine with well photographed food on the front. It was a birthday gift from husband this past summer. I’ll confess, that I check our post office box daily around the end of each month; waiting, in anticipation for the next issue. I’m. a. nerd.

I find the recipes are geared to exactly my level of cooking and baking. It’s a nice middle ground between Food and Wine Magazine (“Where in forsaken Steinbach, Manitoba do you suggest I buy edible gold leaf!?”) and that Kraft Foods magazine that every soul in Canada receives. (Add salsa to KD? Simply inspired. ) Food Network magazine has very do-able recipes that are still enjoyably challenging. They also have a sweet “mini-cookbook” in each issue that offers 50 different recipes in a given category. ie. burgers, stir fry, holiday drinks.

Next time you pass a magazine stand, be sure to pick up a copy and give it a look-see.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Sun, 05 Dec 2010 00:12:38 -0500

Just when you thought, “Good Grief. All this woman does is make and eat dessert. She must be 300 pounds. If I make all the food that she posts, I will be 300 pounds! I have stop reading!”

Fear not. I present to you the very fresh, very yummy Chicken Noodle Soup. After a long and stressful day at my job last week, I wanted to have a big bowl of comfort. Most comforting food in the world? Kraft dinner. Second most comforting? Chicken soup.

I found this recipe online a few weeks ago. I’m not going lie, I chose this recipe because it only called for one chicken breast, which is exactly what I had left in my freezer.

I made a few modifications -shredding the chicken instead of cubing it, adding peas instead of celery, and the addition of little garlic powder and paprika. I also used WAY less broth than it called for. 10 cups? Seriously? I did just fine with a carton of broth and little added water. I prefer my soups not to be super broth-y, so if you like to have more to slurp, feel free to add more broth.

Mmmm. Hot, fresh bowl of comfort.

P.S. Keen eyed observers will note a new look to blog. The theme I was using previously had some annoying feature and some even more annoying glitches, thus, the switch to a new look. Hope you like!

Pumpkin Cheesecake...and another snowstorm.

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 23:13:00 -0500

This past Thursday was American Thanksgiving. My husband and I had big plans to go visit the American side of the family, (that is, my side). But, alas, it was not meant to be. On Wednesday night another blizzard rolled in preventing us from making the trip down on Thursday. To console myself of missing out on family and turkey, I decided to try my hand at a new dessert.

Hello Lover.

Pumpkin Cheesecake-what a dream. I was a little apprehensive about making a cheesecake after hearing terrifying tales of cracked, watery cheesecake. But in the end, it was so easy and soooo good.

My first bit of advice would be to use a springform pan. It really make the experience easier and end result look more attractive. It was the first time I used the pan and it exceeded my expectations. *Shout out to the person who gave us a springform pan for our wedding! Wherever you may be.*

My second bit of advice would be to beat the eggs in one at a time. This ensures a light, fluffy batter which will, hopefully, prevent your cheesecake from “falling” too much after it’s out of the oven.

I used this recipe. Seriously, internet = best cookbook ever. I used my own homemade pumpkin puree, instead of canned. I’m sure using canned puree would work just as well. But, for real, making your own pumpkin puree is so easy and makes you feel extra Martha Stewart-y.

The cheesecake was a perfect sweet, but not too sweet. Dense and creamy. The one thing I would do differently is, although, it tasted great, I felt like it was missing something. Next time, I think some toasted nuts or caramel on top would make it feel extra special-which is really what we all want a slice of cheesecake to be.

The moral of this story? Grab a spring form pan and have at it!

Cranberry White Chocolate Biscotti...and a snowstorm.

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 00:11:00 -0500

I have an obsession. Food Blogs. I could read food blogs for days. And so, like anyone with an obsession, I did what was only natural. No, I didn’t kidnap my favorite food blogger and then force them to cook for me so no one else could eat their food - I started my own blog! And if you have stumbled upon this page, congratulations. You have found my blog.

Winter has hit hard and fast in southern Manitoba. We got 6 inches of snow last night and the flakes are still coming down. Luckily, I had these little gems to keep me happy with a hot beverage.

White chocolate cranberry biscotti. Mmm. Soooo good. Sometimes when the “baking bug” hits me, I know exactly what I want to make. I had a hankering for something sweet with cranberries. Type a few key words into google, and bingo, I’m on my way to the store.

Such simple ingredients. Sugar. Butter. Eggs. Those are the building blocks of happiness.

I had never made biscotti before, so I was a little apprehensive. How do I get to be that classic biscotti shape? I’m pleased to report that it was shockingly easier. The dough was a perfect consistency to shape and didn’t stick to my hands either. The biscotti formed easy rectangles on the pan and puffed up nicely in the oven. The recipe calls for about 30 minutes of baking, which I followed. In hindsight, I think I probably would have baked it a bit longer. Although the they looked very brown, they weren’t as crunchy as I like my biscotti to be.

I recommend a good, hot drink with one of these babies. Celestial Seasoning Gingerbread Spice tea just showed up at the grocery store this week. Just saying.

Want to make these little beauties? Recipe can be found here.

All photos courtesy of Taylor Summach Photography.