now, that's an order!

Ever since returning from my trip last week, it's been slow going in the blog-reading department. However, I made sure I got all caught up on my blogroll this morning. So many impressive recipes caught my eye, including Honey Roasted Chunky Peanut Butter Cookies from Joe at Culinary in the Desert, Soft Chewy Ginger Cookies at Kaji's Mom, and this not-so-humble Tuna Salad at Cumin & Coriander. Yummy!! But drooling onto my keyboard is one thing, getting breakfast ready was another. When lo and behold, I spotted this lovely Chai Pumpkin Bread at the always wonderful 28 Cooks. I whipped up this simple recipe and in no time my kitchen was smelling like the holidays. Now, not only do I have some delicious pumpkin bread to keep me company this afternoon, but I've got a feeling I'll be making some soup for dinner with the leftover canned pumpkin. Stay tuned!

now, that's an order!

Ever since returning from my trip last week, it's been slow going in the blog-reading department. However, I made sure I got all caught up on my blogroll this morning. So many impressive recipes caught my eye, including Honey Roasted Chunky Peanut Butter Cookies from Joe at Culinary in the Desert, Soft Chewy Ginger Cookies at Kaji's Mom, and this not-so-humble Tuna Salad at Cumin & Coriander. Yummy!! But drooling onto my keyboard is one thing, getting breakfast ready was another. When lo and behold, I spotted this lovely Chai Pumpkin Bread at the always wonderful 28 Cooks. I whipped up this simple recipe and in no time my kitchen was smelling like the holidays. Now, not only do I have some delicious pumpkin bread to keep me company this afternoon, but I've got a feeling I'll be making some soup for dinner with the leftover canned pumpkin. Stay tuned!

snow day

Vancouver is in the midst of a winter wonderland and I'm certainly not complaining. Snow is a rarity here in winter and although I'm favorable to the warmer temperatures we get here on the wet coast, I'm not missing all the rain. I love snow! I like how it makes everything sparkle! I like wearing mittens and sporting rosy cheeks! It's also wonderful to wear boots as something other than a fashion statement. And because Vancouverites aren't used to snow, snow days (ie. days off work/school/etc.) are just part and parcel of a little snowfall. So even though I work from home, many of my clients don't, so it's been a little quiet here in my home office, which means it's catching up time for all of my other little self-directed projects. So when nature dumps snow on my doorstep, I find that it's the perfect time to treat myself to an extended morning. Yesterday I made yogurt waffles with walnuts and caramelized bananas (the bananas were for Cornelius) and today I made scones. Mmmmm, fragrant with a heady aroma of ginger and vanilla, they were the perfect way to stretch my morning into something special. Delicious.

ginger & vanilla scones
1/2 c milk
1 egg
2 c flour
2 t baking powder
½ t salt
1/4 c cold butter, cubed
3 T white sugar
2 T crystallized ginger, diced finely
2 T chopped walnuts
2 t vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Mix the milk and the egg together until frothy and then set aside. In a large bowl, blend the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the cubes of butter and crumble the mixture through with your hands until it's blended through and you have no lumps larger than a pea. Add the sugar, walnuts and ginger and encorporate into the flour. Add in the vanilla and milk mixture, reserving about a tablespoon of the milk as a glaze for later. Mix gently with a fork.

3. Turn dough out onto a clean counter and knead it no more than 12 times. Pat dough into a round approximately 1/2 an inch thick, and cut into 8 wedges. Place on an ungreased baking sheet or a Silpat. Using a pastry brush, glaze wedges with remaining egg/milk mixture. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

snow day

Vancouver is in the midst of a winter wonderland and I'm certainly not complaining. Snow is a rarity here in winter and although I'm favorable to the warmer temperatures we get here on the wet coast, I'm not missing all the rain. I love snow! I like how it makes everything sparkle! I like wearing mittens and sporting rosy cheeks! It's also wonderful to wear boots as something other than a fashion statement. And because Vancouverites aren't used to snow, snow days (ie. days off work/school/etc.) are just part and parcel of a little snowfall. So even though I work from home, many of my clients don't, so it's been a little quiet here in my home office, which means it's catching up time for all of my other little self-directed projects. So when nature dumps snow on my doorstep, I find that it's the perfect time to treat myself to an extended morning. Yesterday I made yogurt waffles with walnuts and caramelized bananas (the bananas were for Cornelius) and today I made scones. Mmmmm, fragrant with a heady aroma of ginger and vanilla, they were the perfect way to stretch my morning into something special. Delicious.

ginger & vanilla scones
1/2 c milk
1 egg
2 c flour
2 t baking powder
½ t salt
1/4 c cold butter, cubed
3 T white sugar
2 T crystallized ginger, diced finely
2 T chopped walnuts
2 t vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Mix the milk and the egg together until frothy and then set aside. In a large bowl, blend the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the cubes of butter and crumble the mixture through with your hands until it's blended through and you have no lumps larger than a pea. Add the sugar, walnuts and ginger and encorporate into the flour. Add in the vanilla and milk mixture, reserving about a tablespoon of the milk as a glaze for later. Mix gently with a fork.

3. Turn dough out onto a clean counter and knead it no more than 12 times. Pat dough into a round approximately 1/2 an inch thick, and cut into 8 wedges. Place on an ungreased baking sheet or a Silpat. Using a pastry brush, glaze wedges with remaining egg/milk mixture. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

food of the gods

Cornelius is picking up the car and soon we'll be jetting down the highway down to Seattle to see a band, eat some good food and do a bit of shopping, American-style. I love road trips...even short ones. Another thing I love is dinner parties and last night I held a small one as a send off to my two friends who will leave on Saturday by bicycle to ride to Mexico and beyond for the next 6 months. It was a wonderful evening, with lots of delicious vegan food, good red wine and lots of laughter. There's nothing more perfect than that, really.

In keeping with this short post, I'm leaving you with this very short "recipe". Really, it's not a recipe but just a simple little thing to whip up after dinner that reads as an elegant end to a meal. I love dark chocolate and I love salt. Combine the two and you have a special piece of heaven put onto a little round toast.

dark chocolate & fleur du sel toasts
Cut up a baguette into rounds, drizzle with a little bit of good olive oil, place 2 squares of dark chocolate on top and sprinkle with a bit of fleur du sel. Put into a 350 degree oven until the chocolate gets a bit melty but still retains it's shape. Remove from oven and serve. Be careful not to burn the roof of your mouth and sit back and enjoy the accolades for the best meal ever.

food of the gods

Cornelius is picking up the car and soon we'll be jetting down the highway down to Seattle to see a band, eat some good food and do a bit of shopping, American-style. I love road trips...even short ones. Another thing I love is dinner parties and last night I held a small one as a send off to my two friends who will leave on Saturday by bicycle to ride to Mexico and beyond for the next 6 months. It was a wonderful evening, with lots of delicious vegan food, good red wine and lots of laughter. There's nothing more perfect than that, really.

In keeping with this short post, I'm leaving you with this very short "recipe". Really, it's not a recipe but just a simple little thing to whip up after dinner that reads as an elegant end to a meal. I love dark chocolate and I love salt. Combine the two and you have a special piece of heaven put onto a little round toast.

dark chocolate & fleur du sel toasts
Cut up a baguette into rounds, drizzle with a little bit of good olive oil, place 2 squares of dark chocolate on top and sprinkle with a bit of fleur du sel. Put into a 350 degree oven until the chocolate gets a bit melty but still retains it's shape. Remove from oven and serve. Be careful not to burn the roof of your mouth and sit back and enjoy the accolades for the best meal ever.

food of the gods

Cornelius is picking up the car and soon we'll be jetting down the highway down to Seattle to see a band, eat some good food and do a bit of shopping, American-style. I love road trips...even short ones. Another thing I love is dinner parties and last night I held a small one as a send off to my two friends who will leave on Saturday by bicycle to ride to Mexico and beyond for the next 6 months. It was a wonderful evening, with lots of delicious vegan food, good red wine and lots of laughter. There's nothing more perfect than that, really.

In keeping with this short post, I'm leaving you with this very short "recipe". Really, it's not a recipe but just a simple little thing to whip up after dinner that reads as an elegant end to a meal. I love dark chocolate and I love salt. Combine the two and you have a special piece of heaven put onto a little round toast.

dark chocolate & fleur du sel toasts
Cut up a baguette into rounds, drizzle with a little bit of good olive oil, place 2 squares of dark chocolate on top and sprinkle with a bit of fleur du sel. Put into a 350 degree oven until the chocolate gets a bit melty but still retains it's shape. Remove from oven and serve. Be careful not to burn the roof of your mouth and sit back and enjoy the accolades for the best meal ever.

the personal is political

I have a great many cookbooks and I peruse them constantly when I'm at odds on what to cook or bake. But sometimes, I can't find exactly what I'm looking for and let's just face it, sometimes it's easier to look online. The joys of the intermanet is the huge amount of recipes available at your fingertips. It's so easy to plug into Google a few ingredients and have it return a million and four recipes back for your choosing. I love technology, especially since it makes my dinner options so vast. Food blogs are another matter altogether. They can be flippant, friendly, all-business or have something important to say. With a food blog, you not only get a recipe, but you get a backstory or a bit of history or a personal connection with the author. In a world where people are less involved in civic and community life, where we more often than not "bowl alone", it's nice to be able to create and participate in an active online community. Yes, I am talking about you, food blog. I read a whole whack of food blogs and I feel connected to how others live and eat and write about something so common to us all.

Enough with the jibbery-jab and on with the recipes. All this long long winded introduction brings me to 2 new recipes this week, both found on food blogs. The first comes from Baking Sheet and a recipe I had bookmarked for quite a while now. The other day, I went to visit with my friends who had a baby and figured that along with a few presents I should bring something edible and just a bit sweet. After all, a couple with a new baby need all the sustinence and treats that they can handle. I thought this recipe for coconut bread fit the bill and it's most perfect for breakfast toasted with a bit of butter. Yum!

bill's coconut bread (from Baking Sheet)
2 eggs
1 1/4 c milk
1 t vanilla
2 1/2 c flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
2 t cinnamon
1 c and a bit caster sugar
2 c shredded coconut
1/3 c butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla in one bowl.

2. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon. Stir in sugar and coconut. Make a well in the center and pour in egg mixture. Stir until just combined. Add butter and stir until just smooth, being careful not to overmix.

3. Pour into a greased and floured loaf pan and bake for 1 hour, or until tester comes out clean. Cool in tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

+++

My second recipe for this post comes from one of my favorite blogs, Bunny Pie. I originally found this blog from an art site and then clicked along to find this. Updates are seem too few and far between for my tastes, but I'm sure it's just cuz I'm being greedy and I want more of the beautifully photographed pictures and vintage dishes. When Debs recently posted a recipe for a Norwegian Apple Cake, I thought it would be a perfect no-fail recipe for my mother-in-law's birthday cake. The recipe is simplicity itself with no need for oil or butter. It's got a lovely crusty exterior and a sublimely chewy interior and is perfect served with vanilla ice cream. If you want to eat cake everyday, this is the cake for you!

norwegian apple cake (from Bunny Pie)
3/4 c sugar
1/2 c flour
1/2 t salt
1 t baking powder
1 egg
1 rounded cup diced apples
1/2 c chopped walnuts
*I also added 1 t of cinnamon & a t of vanilla to great effect

preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Mix together the sugar, flour, salt, and baking powder.
2. Break an egg into the center of the mixture and stir together to mix well.
3. Mix in the apples and nuts and pour into a greased 8" pie pan. I used a small floured and buttered cake tin with removable sides.
4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes.