Berry cobbler pie bars

recipe and photo found on Joy the Baker
Crust and Topping

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes

zest of two lemons

Berry Filling

4 large eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup sour cream

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

2  (16-ounce) packages frozen mixd berries, defrosted and drained

(You can also use 6 cups of fresh berries, or 1 (16-ounce) package frozen berries and 3 cups of fresh berries)

To make the crust and topping-

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a half sheet baking pan (12x17-inch) with butter or cooking spray and set aside.  If you use a 9x13-inch baking pan you'll have thicker bars.  Zest two lemons.  Measure out the sugar onto a clean work surface.  Rub the lemon zest into the sugar with a bench scraper or the back of a spoon.  Rubbing the zest into the sugar will release oils from the zest and create a lemon scented sugar.

Combine lemon sugar, flour, salt and butter in an electric mixer fit with a paddle attachment.  Beat the ingredients on medium speed until the mixture looks dry and crumbly.

Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the crust mixture to use as the topping.  Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan.  Bake the crust for 12 to 15 minutes until it is golden brown.  Let cool for 10 minutes while you make the filling.

To make the filling-

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl.  Add the sugar, sour cream, flour and salt.  Gently fold in the berries.  Spoon the mixture evenly over the crust.  You may have to distribute the berries evenly around.

Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture evenly over the filling.  Bake for 45 to 55 minutes until the top is lightly browned.  Cool for 1 hour before slicing.

**If you're using frozen berries, be sure to defrost and drain the excess liquid.  Place the frozen berries on a plate in the refrigerator overnight.  They're defrosted and ready for bar baking!

chewy sugar crusted ginger cookies

Chewy sugar crusted ginger cookies

from Big Fat Cookies by Elinor Klivans

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves3/4 cup 
(1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses 
1/2 cup turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw)


Position a rack in the middle of the oven.  
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.


Sift the flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.  
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar and spices until smoothly blended, about 2 minutes.  Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing.  


Add the egg and molasses and mix until blended and an even light color, about 1 minute.  
On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just to incorporate it.


Spread the turbinado sugar into a small bowl.  Roll 2 Tablespoons of dough between the palms of your hands into a ball, toss the ball in sugar to coat and place on the prepared baking sheet.  Continue making cookies, spacing them about 2 inches apart.


Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm but they are still soft in the center and there are several large cracks on top, about 12-14 minutes.  Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Glory Bowl with excellent dressing

* adapted from Whitewatercooks cook book
 Ingredients: (SERVES 4)
    The Bowl
    4 cups brown rice
    1 cup beets, grated
    1 cup carrots, grated
    1 cup almonds, toasted
    2 cups spinach leaves
    1 package firm tofu cut into 1/2-inch cubes
     Dressing
     1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes *
     2 tbsp water
     3 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
     3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
     1 clove garlic, crushed
     3/4 cup sunflower oil
     1 tbsp tahini paste
Directions:
1. Prepare rice and set aside.
2. Sauté tofu cubes in a skillet with a little vegetable oil.
3. To prepare dressing combine nutritional yeast flakes, water, tamari or soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, tahini and crushed garlic in blender. Add oil in a steady stream.
4. To assemble the bowls, place cooked brown rice into 4 bowls, top with beets, carrots, spinach leaves, almonds, and sautéed tofu cubes.
5. Drizzle bowls generously with the dressing.

We also make this into a delicious wrap using whole-wheat flour tortillas and all the same vegetables with falafel instead of tofu.
*Nutritional yeast flakes can be found at any natural foods store.

Bran muffins

Moist, sweet and healthy bran muffins!  Perfect for a meal on the go.

Bran Muffins

adapted from eva's recipe

2 cup flour

1 1/2 cup bran

2 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp grated orange rind

2 cup butter milk

1 egg

1/2 cup molasses

4 tbsp melted butter

3/4 cup of chopped dates

1/2 cup sliced almonds

combine wet and dry ingredients.  distribute combined ingredients into greased muffin tins.  

Bake at 350 F for 23 minutes.

*Makes 12 large muffins

Honey cilantro basil dressing

Picture by guilty kitchen

Honey Cilantro Basil Dressing

recipe adapted from guilty kitchen

1/4 cup Rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar

Juice of 1 Lime

2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

3 Tbsp  Honey

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup cilantro (loosely packed)

1 cup basil (loosely packed)

Salt & White pepper to taste

1. In small bowl or food processor, combine vinegars, Lime juice, Dijon & honey.

2. Drizzle olive oil into vinegar mix while mixing / blending.

3. When all is combined, add salt & pepper. Allow to sit for an hour or more to allow flavours to meld and intensify.

Granola Bars

Whitewater Cooks Granola Bars
recipe shared by Isadora
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cup brown sugar
1 cup corn syrup
6 cups oats
1 cup coconut (toasted)
1 cup sunflower seeds (toasted)
2 cups chocolate chips/ raisins or combination or other nuts / dried fruit

Cream butter, peanut butter, vanilla & sugar.  Add corn syrup, then remaining ingredients.  Press into greased 12x9 pan.  Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly before cutting into squares or bars.

carrot fennel ginger soup

Carrot Fennel Ginger Soup
~ recipe by me

Olive oil
1 large fennel bulb (thinly sliced)
12 carrots (diced)
5 garlic cloves (sliced)
6 cups vegetable broth
1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice + pulp (2 oranges squeezed)
3/4 cup coconut milk
4 tbsp fresh ginger - grated
2 tbsp lemon juice
sea salt
pepper

In a large pot warm 2 tbsp of live oil over medium heat.  Add chopped fennel and stir until softened.  Stir in diced carrots and sliced garlic and cook for a few minutes.  Add vegetable broth, orange juice.  Cover and cook over medium heat for 25 minutes or until carrots are soft.
Remove from heat and puree with handheld blender or in food processor.  Once puréed put soup back on low heat and add coconut milk, ginger and lemon juice. Simmer for 10 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

the perfect chocolate chip cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Published in NYTimes 

adapted from Jacques Torres

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons

(8 1/2 ounces) cake flour

1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract

1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or chips 

Sea salt.

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.
Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.

cabbage rolls

Joël's cabbage rolls

* Best cabbage rolls I've ever had!

inspired by smitten kitchen, Eva & Baba

1 head of green cabbage

1 lb extra lean ground beef

1 onion (chopped)

olive oil

3 carrots shredded

3 celery stalks, thinly sliced

3/4 cup un-cooked rice

3 tbsp Brown Sugar

3 tbsp white vinegar

1 tbsp capers

1 tsp italian seasoning

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp dill

1/2 tsp thyme

3 tbsp soya sauce

combine 1 can of diced or crushed tomatoes with 4 cups of v8 juice for tomato sauce

Cut the core out of the cabbage, leaving cabbage whole. Place it with the empty core area facing up, in a large bowl. Boil a pot of water and pour the water over the cabbage and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Heat approximately 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large pan. Cook the onions until they are soft, add remaining ingredients. Season mixture with salt and pepper, transfer mixture to a bowl and let it cool. Mix in the meat, rice and season again with salt and pepper.

Drain the head of the cabbage. Pull off large leaves, pat leaves dry with a towel. Roll about 1/4 cup of filling in each leaf and arrange in a large pan or pot. Pour enough tomato sauce over to cover the rolls completely. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat, letting them simmer covered on the stove on low heat for 50 minutes.

Serve with sour cream

citrus salad

Mixed Citrus Salad

recipe adapted from smitten kitchen

1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup orange juice

5 pieces of citrus, preferably a mix (ex. cara cara, blood orange, grape fruit, navel orange)

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1/4 cup feta cheese, chopped or crumbled

1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped or cut into tiny slivers

Place your red onion in a medium bowl pour orange juice over onion.

Peel the citrus fruits. Use a knife to peel off all remaining white left from the peel. The fruit’s exterior should be “white”-free.
Turn the fruit back on its side and cut it into 1/4-inch thick wheels, removing any seeds and thick white stem as you do.
Spread the fruit slices out on a platter. Scoop out the onion bits and sprinkle them over the oranges, leaving the juice in the bowl. Whisk two tablespoon of juice with red wine vinegar, Dijon and olive oil. Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Drizzle the dressing over the citrus, sprinkle with feta and mint. Serve immediately.

Pad Thai

J and I have made several attempts at making Pad Thai over the years - all of which have ended up turning into noodles with some sort of peanut sauce. We were pleasantly surprised to stumble across this recipe and found the results to be even better then eating out!

Pad Thai

*recipe adapted from Chez Pim

Begin by preparing the sauce

3/4 cup tamarind pulp*

1/2 cup fish sauce

1/2 cup white sugar

Thai chili sauce

Melt all these together in a small pot over a low flame. Taste and adjust the flavor balance until it suits you. Then add the chilli sauce, begin with a teaspoon or two, depending on your taste, and keep adding until it tastes the way you like it. By the time you're done flavouring the pot should be simmering happily. Turn off the heat and let the sauce rest while you get to the other ingredients.

The sauce should lead with a salty flavor, follow by a mild sourness, then just a gentle sweetness and a soft caress from the chilli at the back of your throat at the very end. A finished plate of Pad Thai will be served with a sliver of lime and extra chilli sauce to be mixed in at the table, so you could keep these two flavors in the sauce mild for now.

Prep Ingredients

Rice noodles

Place one package of rice noodles into a bowl and cover with warm water. Soak noodles until they are pliable and almost edible, like very al dente pasta, then drain well. You will need about 1-2 loosely packed cups per portion.

Shrimp or Chicken

Use about 7 pieces of medium size shrimps per portion, peeled of course. You can also easily substitute chicken, about 2oz of chicken meat (cut into bite-size pieces) per portion will be plenty.

Extra Firm Tofu

Cut the tofu into thin, bite-size pieces, and use about a small handful in each carnivorous portion. For a vegetarian portion, with only tofu and no other meat, you will have to use more.

Eggs Crack one small egg into the wok while cooking each serving.

Ground Peanuts Use roasted and unsalted peanuts (you can roast your own) for this. Ground the peanuts roughly, beware not to overdo it as you will end up with peanut butter and not ground peanuts. You will need 1-2 tablespoons per portion, depending on how much you like peanuts.

Garlic

Chop up several garlic cloves. Allow for one garlic clove per portion.

Bean Sprouts

One to to handfulls per portion - put on top or on the side of each serving

Putting it all together...

Follow these steps carefully and the best Pad Thai you've ever had will be the one you've just made! Keep the sauce pot warm on another burner next to your wok. Keep a bowl of water handy too, if things get to hot in the wok you can sprinkle the water on it to slow it down.

1) Heat a large wok over high heat until very hot, to the point of smoky.

Add a splash of oil, about 3-4 tablespoons. Don't be shy, this ain't no diet food.

2) If you are making chicken Pad Thai, add the chicken first, cook, stirring vigorously, until it's half way done, about 1-2 minutes, then add the tofu, a tablespoon or two of the sauce to flavor the chicken, and a pinch of garlic if you're using it. If you are making tofu or shrimp and tofu Pad Thai, then only add the tofu (and garlic) for now. Cook for another minute until the tofu is crisp and slightly brown at the edges.

3) Add the noodles, about 2 loosely packed cups for one portion, and then a ladle (about ¼ cup) of warm sauce. Stir rigorously, keep everything moving in the wok, and cook the noodle until soft. Remember to break up the noodle and don't let it lump together. If the sauce evaporates too quickly and your noodle isn't quite ready, sprinkle a bit of water and keep stirring. Add a bit of oil if the noodle still stubbornly sticks together. As I said, this ain't no diet food.

4) When the noodles are ready (taste it to be sure), push it up to one side of the wok and crack an egg into the middle. Let it set for 10-15 seconds and toss everything all together.

5) Add the shrimp meat. Keep things moving. Add more sauce if it looks a little pale.

6) When the shrimps are done, shouldn't take more than a minute. Turn the heat off, and quickly give the wok a good stirring to mix everything together.

7) Add the finished Pad Thai to a plate and serve. Give the used wok a quick rinse with warm water, wipe off any excess bits of food with a warm towel, then put the wok back on to the fire.

As soon as it heats back up to a smoking point, you're ready to do another portion. Repeat this process until all your dinner guests are fed.

**A note on tamarind:

You can buy tamarind in blocks or readymade pulp that comes in plastic or glass containers. If you buy readymade pulp, check to make sure that the ingredients only contain tamarind and water, no sugar or anything else. If you buy block tamarind, soak the block in 4 cups of hot water in a large bowl. Mash the tamarind and water together and let sit until the water cool down enough not to burn your hands. Stick your hands -your impeccably clean hands as Julia Child would say- into the bowl and work the tamarind and water together until the consistency is a bit looser than room-temperature ketchup. Add more warm water if needed. Then, strain the mixture to remove the pits and tough membranes from the tamarind pulp. The consistency will be thick enough that you'd need to press it through the strainer. Use as much as you need for the Pad Thai sauce and keep the rest in a glass jar in your fridge. You'll have tamarind pulp handy for a long time.

cannelloni

Cannelloni ~ my mom’s recipe!

Tomato Sauce

2 large canned of crushed tomatoes

3 cups V8juice

1/2-cup pesto

Just a bit of each - salt, pepper, oregano & sugar

- whisk together, taste, adjust seasonings and set aside

White Béchamel Sauce

4 cups Sour Cream

3/4-cup Shredded Parmesan

a little bit of salt & Pepper

Whisk together then loosen with a little water so you can easily spoon over cannelloni

Topping

Olive oil

More grated Parmesan

Mozzarella (pieces or shredded)

Filling

2 large boxes or 1 giant bag of spinach

400g (2 containers) Ricotta cheese

4 Garlic cloves,

1/2 red onion

1/2 tsp oregano, marjoram, & nutmeg

Oven ready cannelloni pasta

In very large Pan sauté together:

2 knobs butter, olive oil

4 finely sliced garlic cloves

1/2 red onion finely chopped

fresh oregano, marjoram & nutmeg

Once sautéed, add as much spinach as will fit in pan, keep turning it over (and mixing with herb mixture), as it wilts add more spinach until all of the spinach has wilted. Some of the moisture should cook out of the spinach.

Remove from heat and cool spinach.

Once cool, chop spinach with hand blender

Fold ricotta cheese into spinach.

Preparation

-Pour some tomato sauce into bottom of a baking pan/dish

-Pipe Cannelloni - filling tubes. Lay each tube over/in the tomato sauce. Drizzle with more tomato sauce and cover with foil.

-Bake at 350 until bubbly and pasta is just cooked (25 -30 min)

-Remove foil

-Spoon over white béchamel sauce, drizzle with olive oil and top with shredded (or pieces) of mozzarella and a little more Parmesan.

-Return to oven and bake until all is just bubbly (another 10 min) don’t overcook.

new years 2009

To bring in the new year this year we got together with our dear friends/neighbours and made a delicious 7 course meal!

The menu:

• Moscato, Innocent Bystander '09
• Smoked salmon lox roles with marscapone cheese
• Domaine la lieue, chardonnay '08
• Lime butter VI scallops
• Caramelized prosciutto and pear salad (see below post for recipe)
• Mussels with fennel, cracked mustard and apple crema (see below post for recipe)
• Haut-censy Muscadet
• Cilantro sesame marinated albacore tuna with mango mint dipping sauce
• Road 13 chardonnay
• Prawns with shiitake and portobello mushrooms
• Tiramisu
• Pacific Sun - black tea

vanilla roasted pears

vanilla roasted pears

recipe and picture by smitten kitchen

Serves 4 or so
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean
1 1/2 pounds slightly-under-ripe, fragrant, medium pears, peeled if desired, halved though the stem and cored (I used Bosc but will be giving this recipe a spin with Bartlets later today; Schneider says all varieites work)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
Preheat oven to 375°F. Place the sugar in a small bowl. With a thin, sharp knife, split the vanilla bean lengthwise in half and scrape out the seeds. Stir the seeds into the sugar.
Arrange the pears in a large baking dish, cut-side up. Drizzle the lemon juice evenly over the fruit, then sprinkle with the sugar. Nestle the vanilla pod among the fruit (I first slit my halves lengthwise into quarters). Pour the water into the dish. Dot each pear with some butter.
Roast the pears 30 minutes brushing them occasionally with the pan juices. Turn the pears over and continue roasting, basting once or twice, until tender and caramelized, 25 to 30 minutes longer (if the pears are small, test for doneness after 35 or 40 minutes of cooking; a paring knife poked into the thickest part of one should meet with no resistance).
Serve warm, spooned with the caramelized pear drippings from the pan over ice cream, dolloped with crème fraîche, on your morning oatmeal, chilled with cheese and crackers or...