Ding-a-lings for Book Club

My grandma used to make ding-a-lings at Christmas and this year I am carrying on her tradition. I'm going to bring them to our book club meeting tomorrow night.

Ingredients

1 package butterscotch chips
1 package chocolate chips
about 1/3rd of a package of chow mein noodles
about 1/2 cup peanuts

Melt both kinds of chips in a double boiler. In a bowl combine noodles and peanuts. Add to melted chocolate and stir. Drop mixture on parchment paper and chill.

Enjoy!

Spiced Nuts for the Native Education College Artisan Fair and Bake Sale

 

This past weekend I had a table at the Native Education College's Artisan Fair and Bake Sale. The basket in the picture is filled with the things I made for the sale. Almond butter crunch (see recipe in previous post) was by far the most popular item (I even sold my plate of samples!:) The spiced nuts were the next most popular item.

The recipe below is loosely based on a few recipes I found on-line. If you like really spicy nuts add more cayenne and chilli pepper. Be careful about the garlic salt though because if your nuts are already salted it is easy to make them too salty. 

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 egg whites
• 1 c. pecan halves
• 1 c. whole almonds
• 1 c. dry-roasted unsalted peanuts
• 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

Preparation:

Beat two egg whites until frothy. In a large bowl mix together half of spices and half of the Worcestershire sauce and add egg whites and nuts and stir.

Preheat the oven to 300°. Add butter to a 13- x 9- x 2-inch baking pan; set the pan in the oven to melt the butter. Remove the pan from the oven; add pecans, almonds, peanuts to the melted butter. Gently stir until well mixed.

Bake the nut mixture until it is toasted, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Remove the nuts from the oven and sprinkle the mixture evenly with the remainder of the chili powder, garlic salt, and cayenne pepper. Toss until well mixed. Transfer the warm nuts to a bowl and serve immediately, or let cool and store them at room temperature in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Makes 3 cups of spiced mixed nuts.

Mushroom Risotto

 

This risotto recipe comes from allrecipe.com. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/gourmet-mushroom-risotto/detail.aspx

 The recipe author notes that it is important to check the rice by biting into it. It should be slightly al dente or resist slightly to the tooth but not be hard in the center.

Risotto rice can be hard to find not in a box mix. I bought this risotto from Angelo Tosi's in downtown Vancouver (see previous post for more details).  

 

Ingredients

• 6 cups chicken broth, divided
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 pound portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 pound white mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 shallots, diced
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• sea salt to taste
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped chives
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In a saucepan, warm the broth over low heat.
2. Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the mushrooms, and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Remove mushrooms and their liquid, and set aside.
3. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to skillet, and stir in the shallots. Cook 1 minute. Add rice, stirring to coat with oil, about 2 minutes. When the rice has taken on a pale, golden color, pour in wine, stirring constantly until the wine is fully absorbed. Add 1/2 cup broth to the rice, and stir until the broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente, about 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Remove from heat, and stir in mushrooms with their liquid, butter, chives, and parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Grandma Ople's Apple Pie

I got this recipe from allrecipes. com and it is so good! Cole said it is better than his mum's apple pie, which is the biggest compliment he could give because he raves about his mother's pies all the time:) It is basically apple pie filled with caramel. Between four people we ate this entire pie in one sitting!

Here is the link to the recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/grandma-oples-apple-pie/detail.aspx I have also pasted the recipe below along with directions for the pastry.

Ingredients

• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced

Directions

1. Melt butter in a sauce pan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add white sugar, brown sugar and water; bring to a boil. Reduce temperature, and simmer 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.
3. Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes.

 Pastry (from the Tenderflake box) 
Yield: Three 9-inch double crust pies or 6 pie shells


6 cups cakes and pastry flour
2 tsp salt
1 lb Tenderflake lard
1tbsp vinegar
1 egg lightly beaten
cold water

*two tricks that have been passed down to me from Grandma Askew (my dad's grandma) and my own nana are to add a pinch of cream of tarter to the flour and to keep the water in the freezer. This will make the pastry more flaky. The other trick I have been taught is to be very careful not to over handle the dough. I was told to be very careful to touch it the least amount that you can.

1. Mix together flour and salt
2. Cut in lard with pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse oatmeal
3. In a cup measure, combine vinegar and egg. Add water to make 1 cup. Gradually stir liquid into lard mixture. Add only enough water to make dough cling together.
4. Gather into a ball and divide into 6 portions and refrigerate or freeze.
5. Roll out each portion on lightly floured surface. If dough is sticking, chill 1-2 hours.
6. Transfer dough to pie plate. Trim and flute shells or crusts and bake according to your recipe.

The Original Magic Cookie Bar (Dolly Bars)

As a child these were one of my favorite treats. I still love them and they only take about 10 minutes to make. My mum used to make them if she had friends coming over for dinner with children that were fussy eaters and didn't like cheesecake or whatever dessert she was making. My mum called them Dolly Bars.

I found a good recipe for them on the Eagle Brand condensed milk wrapper. Here it is (tweaked a little):

Ingredients
1 cup graham wafer crumbs
1/3 cup melted butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 1/3 chopped pecans

Combine graham crumbs with butter; press evenly onto 8 X 8 inch baking pan. Pour condensed milk evenly over crumbs. Sprinkle with chips, coconut and pecans; press down firmly. Bake in preheated over for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool thoroughly and cut into bars. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

Dill Pickles!

Cole and I made pickles and they turned out to be delicious! I have heard that making pickles can be very tricky, especially the texture- they sometimes turn out soft. So...I was very nervous to try ours but in the end there was no reason for me to be worried:)

A few tricks my dad told me he heard from an Armstrong woman (who plans to make the best pickles in Canada!) is that pickles are most crunchy if they are canned on the day the cucumbers were picked. The second tip is to not boil the jars with the cucumbers in them. Apparently if you don't do this you need to wait a minimum of 3 months before you eat them. We didn't follow either of these tips, which is partly why I was nervous! But Cole thinks that submerging the cucumbers in ice water probably played a big role in helping to give our pickles such a nice texture.

We followed a really simple recipe that doesn't require fancy canning equipment. I have basically copied the recipe. The only change is to make the brine with more vinegar. You can find the original recipe here:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Making-Dill-Pickles/

Note: You are supposed to wait at least 3 weeks after pickling to eat the pickles.

Ingredients

8 pounds cucumbers (cut into spears if too large for the jars)
5 cups white vinegar
12 cups water
2/3 cup pickling salt (we used regular table salt and it worked fine)
16 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
fresh dill weed

Equipment it's helpful to have (though we didn't ):
Boiling-water canner.

1) Chill the cucumbers.
 Wash cucumbers, and place in the sink with cold water and lots of ice cubes. Soak in ice water for at least 2 hours but no more than 8 hours. Refresh ice when it melts. This took all the ice in my freezer and an additional bag that I had to run out to get.

2) Boil the brine. 
 In a large pot over medium-high heat, combine the vinegar, water, and pickling salt. Bring the brine to a rapid boil. Note: Although the ingredients called for pickling salt, we used regular table salt, and made sure it was completely dissolved in the liquid. This picture was taken when most of the brine was already in jars with cukes, btw; initially it filled the entire pot. But check out the briny goodness encrusted on the sides of the pot!

3) Sterilize the jars and lids.
Wash 8 (1 quart ) canning jars, bands, and lids in hot soapy water and rinse. Dry bands and set aside. Place the jars and lids in 180-degree (near-boiling) water for at least 10 minutes. Also sterilize the tongs you use to put them in the boiling water and take them back out. Don't touch them with your hands after you sterilize them. Keep the jars and lids hot until used.


4) Load the jars with spices, cucumbers, brine and seal.

  Right after you take the jars out of the sterilizing bath, place in each 2 half-cloves of garlic, some dill, then enough cucumbers to fill the jar (about 1 pound). Then add 2 more garlic halves, and some more dill. Fill jars with hot brine. Leave headspace of 1/4 inch. Make sure nothing is hanging over the side. Remove air bubbles by sliding a nonmetallic spatula between the jar and food. Clean rim and threads of jar with a damp cloth. Center heated lid on jar. Screw band down to "fingertip tight." NOTE: If they are too tight, the lids deform when the steam tries to escape during processing (next step).

 

 5) Process sealed jars in the boiling water bath.

Process quart jars for 15 minutes.
a. It's suggested to use a rack to keep jars from touching canner bottom and to permit heat circulation; we didn't have the right size rack, so we didn't do this .
b. It's suggested to put jars into a canner that contains simmering water. We just used the three biggest and heaviest pots we had.
c. After adding jars, add boiling water to bring water 1 to 2 inches above jar tops. We couldn't get water above the jar tops, but comments I read online said this wasn't necessary.
d. Bring water to a rolling boil. Set timer and process for recommended time.
e. Remove jars from canner immediately after timer sounds.
f. Cool for 12-24 hours on a rack or towel. Or on the counter, as you see here.
g. Do not retighten screw bands after processing.
h. After jars are cooled, remove screw bands, wipe jars, label and date.
i. Store jars in a cool, dark place.
j. For best quality, use within one year.

Rice and Summer Bean Salad

Serves 2-4.

This is another recipe from the Rebar cookbook. I've been on a two week candida cleanse. It has been so hard! The diet required is very restrictive, no sugar, milk, cheese, sour cream, alcohol, caffeine, fruit (other than berries), tofu, walnuts, peanuts...this list actually goes on:( I cried on the first day, The good news is it has become much easier to follow and has led me to make some new dishes that I would never have made otherwise. This recipe actually calls for kasha rather than rice but I did not have success with kasha (it ended up a consistency of mush) so I used rice instead.

Vinaigrette

juice of 1/2 lemon
zest of 1/2 lemon, minced
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp minced fresh dill
1/4 tsp cracked fresh pepper
1/2 sunflower oil

Salad
1 cup buckwheat groats/kasha  (or 1/2 cup rice)
2 bay leaves
1 tsp salt
2 cups water/1 cup water
2 medium beets roasted in olive oil
1/2 lb green or yellow beans, blanched
2 tbsp sunflower seeds, toasted
2-3 hard-cooked eggs for garnish


1) To make the vinaigrette, combine lemon zest, juice, vinegar, garlic, and Dijon mustard and whisk to blend. While whisking slowly drizzle in the oil. Add 1 tbsp dill and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

2) Next, spread kasha in a single layer on the pan and roast in 350 degree oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Bring water to boil in a small pot and stir in kasha, bay leaves and slat.  Simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let fluff for at least 5 minutes. (Or cook rice according to package instructions).

3) Peel and dice the roasted beets into 1-inch cubes. Toss with small amount of vinaigrette and set aside to marinate. Trim the ends of the blanched beans and slice each bean into three pieces on the bias.

4) To assemble the salad, toss kasha and beans with enough vinaigrette to coat. Gently mix in the marinated beets, the remaining dill and toasted sunflower seeds. Turn onto a serving dish and garnish with an arrangement of slice eggs and dill sprigs.

Easy Six Minute Chocolate Cake

I made this cake for Kaley's going-away BBQ a few nights ago. It is so quick and easy, almost like a cake mix! My sister gave me the recipe for it, she used to make it all the time. If I am ever going to an event with any of my vegan friends I bring this since there is no dairy in it.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups sifted white flour
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 chopped roasted nuts (optional)
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp cup safflower oil
1 cup lukewarm water
1 tbsp vinegar

Mix dry ingredients together then add the oil, water and vinegar. Stir just enough to combine wet and dry ingredients. Don't stir too much.

Pour into a greased 8 inch square or round baking pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Enjoy!:)

PIzza Dough

I made two pizzas last weekend when a group of us went to Saturna. We had them as an appetizer and everyone liked the dough. It didn't turn out as crunchy as real Italian pizza. Every time I have made home-made pizza dough this has been the case. I actually prefer it soft so I don't mind. I've been told that it is very difficult to make the dough crunchy without a brick oven. Baking the pizza at a high temperature ( 425 degrees) will make it a bit less soft.

The toppings I used for these two pizzas were varied. One half I kept simple and just had mozzarella (*if you can find it, soft buffalo mozzarella is amazing! They sell it Bosa in Vancouver), parmesan, and thin slices of tomato, the other pizza halves were a mixture of capers, prosciutto from Angelo's, carmelized onion, and different types of cheeses.

For the pizza dough I followed 'Jay's Signature Pizza Crust Recipe' from allrecipes.com:

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.
2. Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.
3. Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Use for your favorite pizza recipe.
4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your toppings on the dough, and bake immediately. If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise for 15 or 20 minutes before topping and baking it.
5. Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Tiramisu

This dessert is one of my all-time favorites. My friend told me this recipe makes Tiramisu that is better than any Tiramisu she tasted while visiting Italy! The recipe written here is very similar to the Joy of Baking.com Tiramisu recipe, the only difference is I added whipping cream as an additional layer to the cake and reduced the amount of rum in the coffee mixture since I found the rum taste overpowering. 

Ingredients:

Cream Filling:

2 cups (480 ml) milk, divided

3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar, divided

1/4 cup (35 grams) all purpose flour

6 large egg yolks

1/4 cup (60 ml) Marsala or dark rum

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

8 ounces (1 cup) (227 grams) mascarpone cheese, room temperature

Whipping cream 

I use a small cartoon.

Ladyfingers:

28-32 crisp ladyfingers

Coffee Soaking Syrup:

1 1/2 cups (360 ml) very strong brewed coffee or espresso

1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated white sugar

1/8 cup (60 ml) dark rum or Marsala

Topping:

Cocoa Powder for Garnishing 
1 ounce (30 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, grated or chopped. * For an even nicer look, run a vegetable peeler down the edge of chocolate bar. 

Fresh Raspberries (optional)

Instructions: 

Cream Topping: Put 1 3/4 cups (420 ml) milk and 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar in a medium sized saucepan. Place over medium heat, and bring this mixture just to boiling, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, in a heatproof bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup (60 ml) milk, 1/4 cup (50 grams) sugar, flour, and egg yolks. When the milk comes to a boil, gradually whisk it into the egg yolk mixture. Transfer this mixture into a clean large saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it comes to a boil. When it boils, continue to stir for another minute or two or until it thickens. Remove from heat and strain into a large bowl. (This will remove any lumps that may have formed.) Whisk in the Marsala (or rum), vanilla extract, and butter. Immediately cover the surface of the custard with plastic wrap to prevent a crust from forming. Refrigerate until thick and cold, at least two hours.

Once the custard has cooled sufficiently, remove from the refrigerator. In a separate bowl, with a wooden spoon, beat the mascarpone cheese until it is soft and smooth. Gently fold, or whisk, the cold custard into the mascarpone until smooth.

Coffee Soaking Syrup: In a large shallow bowl combine the coffee (espresso), sugar, and Marsala (rum). Taste and add more sugar if you like.

To Assemble: Line a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan with plastic wrap. Make sure the plastic wrap extends over the sides of the loaf pan. 

Have ready the ladyfingers, coffee mixture, and cream filling.

Working with one ladyfinger at a time, dip 7-8 ladyfingers in the coffee mixture and place them, side by side, in a single layer onto the bottom of the loaf pan. Spoon 1/3 of the cream filling over the ladyfingers, making sure they are completely covered. Then add a layer of whipping cream. Repeat with another layer of ladyfingers by dipping another 7-8 ladyfingers in the coffee mixture and placing them on top of the cream. Add another layer of whipping cream if you like. Again, cover the ladyfingers with cream and repeat with another layer of ladyfingers, cream, and ladyfingers. Cover the Tiramisu with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. 

To Serve: Remove the plastic wrap from the top of the tiramisu. Gently invert the Tiramisu from the loaf pan onto your serving plate and remove the plastic wrap. Sift cocoa powder and/or grated chocolate over the top of the Tiramisu and decorate with fresh raspberries.

Makes 8 - 10 servings. Preparation time 30 minutes.

Hazelnut Custard Ice Cream

My mum borrowed her friend Dora's ice cream maker. This recipe is a combination of a few recipes I found in the recipe booklet that came with the ice cream maker and from the hazelnut gelato recipe at Epicurious.com.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup whole milk
4 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla
4/4 cup finely chopped hazelnuts  (*Extra delicious if roasted: bake in oven at 350 degrees, stirring every 5 minutes for 20 minutes or until you can smell their fragrance. Be careful not to burn!)
** Try to buy hazelnuts without the skin because it can be time consuming and difficult to remove them.

Directions

(1) Roast hazelnuts and rub off any skins in a kitchen towel, then cool completely.

Pulse with 1 tbls sugar and a pinch of salt in a food processor until finely chopped.

Transfer to a heavy saucepan and add heavy cream. Bring just to a simmer over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, then remove from heat and let steep, covered, 1 hour.

(2) In a medium sized sauce pan heat milk until scum forms on top and milk bubbles on edges.

With a fork mix sugar and egg yolks.

Slowly pour 1/2 of milk into egg mixture, stirring constantly. Pour mixture into a different sauce pan, add remaining milk, blend well.

Stir constantly, cooking about 5 minutes or until mixture coats spoon and thickens slightly. Don't let it boil (make sure the temperature does not go beyond 175 degree F. Custard can burn easily (I learned this the hard way:( Immediately pour custard through cleaned sieve into a metal bowl, then set bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and cool, stirring occasionally. Chill custard, covered, until cold.

(3) Blend hazelnut mixture with custard. Place in ice cream maker and follow instructions.

Ice Cream maker instructions:

(1) Place chill chamber in freezer overnight.
(2) Pour in your ice cream ingredients
(3) Turn a few times to "churn". After churning about 5-8 minutes ice cream is ready!  Transfer to a separate container for harder ice cream and to store for later.

Optional topping: Nut Fudge Sauce

2 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 oz (3 squares) unsweetened chocolate
2/4 cup cream
1 t. vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts

Mix together in sauce pan the sugar, brown sugar, chocolate, cream, and butter. Cook over medium heat until the mixture crinkles around the edge of the sauce pan. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla and chopped nuts. Serve at once.

My brother and I about to have some ice cream:)

Angelo Tosi's Heritage Italian Grocery Store

 Today I went to Tosi Italian Food Importers, an Italian grocery store owned by a man named Angelo Tosi. It is quite the place! The business was started by Angelo's father and has been in the family for 111 years.  The two-story building housing the store is in the heart of Chinatown and is the only remaining structure of the original Woodwards store. According to Angelo's store website, in the past the area had many Italian shops, however, between 1930-1960 the Portuguese and Chinese arrived and bought most of the houses in the area. As Chinatown began to grow, Angelo remembers it being extraordinarily beautiful, and recalls such things as people smoking water pipes amongst all of the fresh produce they were selling.

I'm really glad I had a chance to meet Angelo and see the store since the business may not be in operation for too much longer. The Vancouver city council is considering rezoning parts of Chinatown for highrises, and Angelo's store is in the middle of one of the blocks likely to be redeveloped.

Angelo is 79 years old and his father worked for the business until he died at the age of 85. Angelo told me that he eats a tablespoon of lecithin every day and adds dandelions to his salads to keep the blood in his veins flowing quickly. He also told me I was going to make love to the olive oil I bought from him when I put it on salad and that his canned tomatoes are so good that if I'm a good cook the second I open them I'll be able to smell how delicious they are. He gave me a sample of his yummy organic parmesan cheese and I also bought some of his bulk olives and a chunk of salami prosciutto for Cole to try. I'm looking forward to eating well this weekend:)

The Vancouver Sun published an article about Angelo and his business in April, 2011:

 http://www.vancouversun.com/Tosi+Chinatown+heritage+classic+classic/4585795/story.html#ixzz1VWUq34XR

The things I bought! The boxes at the back are risotto. the darker box is the higher quality of the two. I love the balsamic vinegar bottle. Planning to make hazelnut gelato with the hazelnuts. Everything was very reasonably priced, I spent less than $50 for everything here.

Let's Cook Italian

This past March I took an Italian cooking class at the the Italian Cultural Centre in East Vancouver. I am finally getting around to recording a few of the recipes and posting some of the pictures one of my classmates took. I definitely recommend the class! My favorite day was when we made pane, pizza Napoletana e focacce liguri (bread, Neopolitan pizza and focacia bread from Liguria). I've copied our Italian teacher's copy of the recipes to give a sense of the traditional way of recording and preparing Italian food as we learned it in the course.

White bread

15 gr. of salt
2/3 spoons olive oil
25 gr. fresh yeast (Using fresh yeast really adds to the taste!)
500 gr flour
250 ml warm water
2 tsp of sugar

Bake at 400 degrees C.

Focacia and pizza dough

Same ingredients as above plus choice of rosemary, thin onion slices, minced olives, cherry tomatoes cut in half for focacia.


Pizza, tomato paste, capers, soft mozzarella cheese

Preparation

Melt yeast in the warm water. Add sugar. Dissolve salt in a separate glass with warm water. Sift the white flour, add other ingredients. Knead with strength. Make a nice smooth ball. Let it rest.
Remanipulate the dough. Stretch it with the rolling pin or by hand.

Some additional notes from our teacher:
*Dough should rest one hour
*Rest in a place that is warm and not airy
*Cover the dough while it is rising
*Use warm water

 

 

First day of class. Hand-made pasta with tomato and pesto sauce. One important lesson I learned- sometimes less is more! An important part of Italian cooking is using only a few high quality ingredients. For example, all that went in the tomato sauce was fresh tomatoes, garlic, fresh parsley and salt and pepper.

We made short-bread pie with berry jam and cake with lemon custard cream and pine nuts on the last day.

This appetizer was so simple yet completely delicious! Sliced oranges with high quality olive oil drizzled on top with a dash of salt and pepper.

Frijoles con Queso, Etc. Casserole

This recipe is from 'The Enchanted Broccoli Forest' by Mollie Katzen, the author of the Moosewood cookbooks. I found the beans a bit too cheesy and rich but Cole really like it.

Here is the recipe as it is written by Katzen.

This is  3-layer casserole and almost like a cobbler with spicy, cheesy beans on the bottom, vegetables in the middle, and a crusty cornbread topping. Soak your beans well in advance, and prepare other parts of the casserole as the beans cook. (1 1/2 hrs to prepare; 40 mins to bake)

1 1/2 cups raw pinto beans
4 oz (1/2) cup cream cheese
1 cup firm yogurt
1/2 cup backed mild white cheese
1 tbs olive oil
1 1/2 cups onion
2-3 large cloves crushed garlic
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried basil
lots of black pepper and cayenne
1 medium zucchini, in chunks
2 medium-sized tomatoes, chopped
a few dashes each, salt, pepper, oregano, basil


(1) Soak the pintos in plenty of water for several hours (overnight is best). Cook them twice in as much water until tender (approx. 1 1/2 hrs). Drain, and immediately cut in the cream cheese, so it will melt nicely into the still-hot beans. Mix in yogurt and cheese. Set aside.

(2) YOU CAN DO THIS WHILE THE BEANS COOK. Saute the onions and garlic in olive oil with 3/4 tsp. salt, the cumin, the 1/2 tsp basil, and the black and cayenne pepper...about 5-8 minutes. Add this saute to the bean/cheese mixture. Mix well, and transfer to a buttered, 2-quart, deep casserole.

(3) In the same skillet you used to saute the onions, etc. pan-fry the zucchini chunks (you don't need to add extra oil if you are careful) with a little salt, pepper, basil and oregano. Use medium heat, and stir constantly. Cook them for only about 3 minutes, then add the chopped tomato, turn the heat up a little and continue to stir and cook another 5 minutes. Spread this mixture on top of the beans.

CORNBREAD TOPPING

1 cup yellow corn meal
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup yogurt
1 large egg

(1) Combine the 4 dry ingredients. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
(2) Beat together the yogurt and egg, and stir onto the dry mixture until well-mixed.
(3) Spread this batter on top of the zucchini/tomato layer of casserole.
Bake 40  minutes at 375 degrees F, uncovered. Serve immediately.

Cheesecake with Sour Cream and Honey Topping

Looks much nicer when the sides of the pan are taken off. The topping is nice because it hides the cracks cheesecakes often have.

This is my mum's recipe and the topping is a nice addition. I half the recipe if I am only making it for a few people.

* Makes 2 round 8" pans. Or one cake in a 10" springform pan.
Ingredients:

2 lbs cream cheese
1/2 lb butter
1 cup white sugar
4 eggs
vanilla
Graham crumbs

Fruit topping (optional)

Any berries cooked down with a bit of sugar and water. Instead of cornstarch as a thickener I just let the berries simmer for a while to get rid of some of the liquid. I used blueberries because they are in season and especially delicious right now! 

Topping:
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup honey or sugar

Mix 1/4 lb melter butter into graham crumbs, press in base (I just follow the graham crumb box directions for butter to graham crumb proportions).

Cream remaining butter, sugar, cream cheese, eggs, vanilla. Pour over 'crumbs'. Cook at 300 degrees for 50 minutes. Then add topping and bake for 10-15 minutes.

Chill and serve with fruit topping.

Strawberry Mousse

I made this recipe the night before we went to Saturna and we ate it out on the deck.

This recipe is from Cole's stepmum, Gill, and it is now one of my favorite desserts! It comes from one of her South African cookbooks, "Cooking with Ina Paarman". The book actually calls it 'Strawberry cheese dessert' but Gill calls it strawberry mousse, which sounds nicer:)

Ingredients
387 g sweetened condensed milk (1 and 1/3 regular sized tin)
1/3 (80 ml)  cup lemon juice
300 g fresh strawberries
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla esence
250 g cream cheese (called creamed cottage chesse in the cook book)

1 cup whipping cream
mint leaves for decoration

Use a food processor or electric mixer for easy mixing. Blend the condensed milk and lemon juice until the milk thickens. Wash, dry and hull the strawberries, reserving 12 for decoration. 

Blend the remainder with the condensed milk. Add the vanilla essence and cream cheese.

Whip the cream in a separate bowl until think and fold into cheese mixture. Pour into a glass dish or individual glasses.

Serve with reserved strawberries and decorate with mint leaves.

Instant Burfi- Indian and Pakistani Fudge

This recipe is another from Cooking Where Cultures Meet by Sylvia Mangalam.

1 can condensed milk
1/4 cup butter plus one tablespoon
3 cups instant non-fat dry milk granules
3 cups ground almonds
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons ruh kewra *

Open the can of condensed milk. Set in a pan of water on a very low heat, so that it warms gradually while you are working on the rest of the recipe. Do not let it burn.

Have ready a large mixing bowl and a buttered 8" X 8" or larger pan. Melt the 1/4 cup butter in a large frying pan with sides 2" high. Warm butter gradually until it just starts to bubble. Keep the heat low.

Add the dry milk, and stir briskly and constantly until the milk turns a creamy golden colour-it will be too hot to hold in your hand. Watch it carefully. Dry milk burns very easily.  If a little patch turns light brown on the bottom, squash it into the rest. If it turns black or dark brown remove.

When done, pour out immediately into the waiting mixing bowl. Put 1 tablespoon butter into the pan, and add the ground almonds. You may work on a slightly higher heat here, as the almonds do not burn quite as easily. But they do turn brown all at once, so you must watch them and keep stirring. After one minute add the icing sugar and continue stirring.

When the mixture is really hot and golden but not at all brown, add to the milk in the mixing bowl.

Stir. Immediately add the warm condensed milk and the ruh kewra. Stir an knead until everything is smooth. Quickly pat it out into buttered pan and chill. It may be cut and wrapped when cold.



*According to Mangalam: "Ruh kewra/kewra essence is flavouring extract made from a flower. Used in desserts. My memory of the Ruh Kewra pronunciation is "roo kee or da" I love it. Ruh kewra is available in Indian stores. Taste after adding this, and if you really like it, add a little more drop by drop. It is delicious, but too much is unpleasant". (I used vanilla but plan to make this recipe again once I have a chance to buy the ruh kewra.

Global Village Market Haystacks

This is the recipe for the yummy haystacks sold at Global Village Market in Hamilton, Ontario. This shop is in Westdale near the McMaster campus. Penny Palmer, the owner, opened Global Village not too long ago. I miss the coffee, I really think it is the best I've ever had!  It was Emily, Penny's daughter who gave me the recipe, and even wrote in that soy milk could replace regular milk since at the time I was trying to be a vegan.

1/2 cup margarine (I used real butter)
1/2 cup milk (can use soy milk)
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups sugar
6 tbsp cocoa

Bring to a boil for one minute
take off heat and let cool for a few minutes
Add
1 cup coconut
2 cups quick cooking oats

Sylvia's Lentil Soup

I lived with my grandmother in Salmon Arm a few summers ago after she broke her hip. Her neighbor, Sylvia, was an amazing cook and used to run over with the most delicious food - including lentil soup. This recipe is based on her description to me of how to make it. I wouldn't say it always turns out quite like hers but it is really good and I make it all the time because it so easy and healthy.

1 onion chopped
3-4 cloves garlic minced
2 carrots chopped
2 celery sticks chopped
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cans green lentils (or about 1.5 cups dry lentils rinsed)
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp cumin
1-2 tbsp rosemary
2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar

1) Saute onions, garlic, carrots and celery. Add vegetable broth, lentils bay leaves and rosemary. Bring to a boil and then simmer until lentils are soft (about 1 hr if using dried lentils, 15 minutes if using canned lentils.

2) Remove bay leaves.

3)Blend half of soup and return to pot. Sylvia explained to me that this thickens the soup and releases the flavor. Add sugar and soy sauce.

4) Enjoy!

Noodle Kugel

This recipe is from Sylvia Mangalam's Cooking Where Cultures Meet and is quite delicious. Mangalam draws on her family's Russian background and on South Indian and Pakistani cooking in this unique book. Her husband is from Kerala, India. Mangalam learned about South Indian and Pakistani cooking while living in Lahore.

The Noodle Kugel recipe is Russian.  Mangalam writes: "Mama used to make this in her little one-burner cast-iron stove top oven. It can be made just as well in a regular oven, in a bread pan."

3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 lemon, grate rind only
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons honey
2/3-3/4 lb cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
1/2 cups raisins
1/2 cup nuts
1/2 lb broad noodles

Beat eggs, flavourings and honey. Add to this the cottage cheese and combine well. The mix should be lumpy. Add raisins, nuts, noodles and fold together. Bake at 325F for 1 hour. Serve with yogurt.

Option: This can be a savoury dish as well. Instead of these sweet items (honey, raisins and nuts and vanilla), substitute 1 fried onion, 1 cup grated sharp cheese,  and/or bits of ham, bacon, friend cabbage or carrots, soybeans or other beans. In either case, this is very good cold as a finger foo, or slathered with yogurt, sour cream or jam or in the case of a savoury dish, mustard or horseradish.

Rhubarb Streusel Cake

Rhubard is in season! This recipe is from my mum's friend, Barb.

Beat together:

1/2 cup soft butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tspn vanilla

Mix in dry bowl:

1 tspn baking powder
1/tspn salt
1 1/4 cups flour

Add together:

1/2 cup milk
dry ingredients

Put into greased 9X9 baking dish.

Top with three cups diced rhubard.

Streusel Topping:

3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tspn cinnamon
1/4 tspn ginger
1/3 cup cold butter shaved (or soft butter cut in)
1/2 walnuts or pecan pieces (optional)
Mix until crumbly, add to top.

 Bake at 375 F for 50-55 minutes.

Festive Red and Green Cabbage Salad

 This is a salad my family usually eats on Christmas, Easter or for other holiday meals. My mum got the recipe from her gardening friend, Dora.

Ingredients:

1 cup green cabbage chopped
1 cup red cabbage chopped
1 cup walnuts pieces (I roasted these first)
1 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup red onion chopped

Dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt

Salad and dressing should be mixed together at least 3 hrs before serving. Keeps in the fridge up to 5 days.
Dressing can be mixed ahead and salad ingredients chopped the night before needed.

Peanut Butter Balls for Easter

Happy Easter! These are yummy, really easy to make and pretty healthy too. My sister gave me the recipe, but I think she may have gotten it from my mum since my family has been eating these on Easter for quite a few years.

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup dried coconut
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup soy/dairy milk powder
10-12 dried apricots, chopped
2 tbsp vanilla
1 medium size chocolate bar or chocolate chips

Method:

Mix all ingredients together (except chocolate) into a large bowl. Form into medium-sized balls, put on a plate or tray and set aside. Melt chocolate using a double-boiler. When chocolate has melted roll the peanut butter balls in chocolate until they are lightly coated.  Then put a sheet of wax paper on a tray and put into the freezer for at least two hours before serving.

*Best if kept in the freezer since the chocolate melts really quickly.