have a boozy christmas

All of my Christmas shopping has been done and I just finished my last holiday sweet this evening. Phew! I love giving away pretty containers filled with homemade treats during the holidays and this year's bounty is pretty impressive. I've made a batch of pretty iced Ginger Gems, some white chocolate candy cane bark, plenty of dark chocolate salted mixed nut bark, Orangette's building blocks (with salted mixed nuts, raisins, candied ginger & dried cranberries) and my yummy fleur de sel caramels. But I felt something was missing so I dug into my bag of tricks and came up with rum balls!

I'm totally new to the world of rum balls...a recent convert so to speak. One afternoon during a long walk on Commercial Drive (a street known for it's hippies, Italian community and local food spots), Cornelius put me up to a rum ball challenge. We stopped off at 3 different bakeries and tried rum balls at all 3 just so that we could figure out which bakery made the best one. So you better trust that even though I'm new to the rum ball existance, I'm certainly no slacker when it comes to determining what makes a great rum ball. And these, my friends, are great rum balls! A great holiday cookie indeed. Since these are no-bake cookies, the rum flavour doesn't burn off and they've got enough of a kick to keep a smile on your face during whatever holiday stress you encounter.

I don't have a food processor, so I chopped all the pecans by hand. This works really well for this recipe because a nice nutty texture is best here and you don't want to end up with a messy paste of finely ground nuts. If you don't have chocolate cookies, give gingersnaps or shortbread a try!

rum balls
1 1/2 c pecans
1 1/4 c chocolate wafer cookies
1/2 c powdered sugar
1/4 t cinnamon
2 T cocoa powder
2 T corn syrup
1/4 c amber rum

+ powdered sugar, grated coconut and sweetened cocoa powder

1. Toast the pecans in a 350 degree oven until fragrant (about 10 minutes). Let cool and then chop finely. While pecans are toasting, crush chocolate wafers until fine.

2. In a large bowl, combine crushed pecans, gingersnaps, powdered sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa and stir until well mixed. Add in the rum and corn syrup and mix well. Chill for at least 1 hour.

3. Roll 1 teaspoon of the mixture into balls and roll in your choice of powdered sugar, grated coconut or cocoa powder.

Makes 28 balls...so go ahead and double the recipe!

have a boozy christmas

All of my Christmas shopping has been done and I just finished my last holiday sweet this evening. Phew! I love giving away pretty containers filled with homemade treats during the holidays and this year's bounty is pretty impressive. I've made a batch of pretty iced Ginger Gems, some white chocolate candy cane bark, plenty of dark chocolate salted mixed nut bark, Orangette's building blocks (with salted mixed nuts, raisins, candied ginger & dried cranberries) and my yummy fleur de sel caramels. But I felt something was missing so I dug into my bag of tricks and came up with rum balls!

I'm totally new to the world of rum balls...a recent convert so to speak. One afternoon during a long walk on Commercial Drive (a street known for it's hippies, Italian community and local food spots), Cornelius put me up to a rum ball challenge. We stopped off at 3 different bakeries and tried rum balls at all 3 just so that we could figure out which bakery made the best one. So you better trust that even though I'm new to the rum ball existance, I'm certainly no slacker when it comes to determining what makes a great rum ball. And these, my friends, are great rum balls! A great holiday cookie indeed. Since these are no-bake cookies, the rum flavour doesn't burn off and they've got enough of a kick to keep a smile on your face during whatever holiday stress you encounter.

I don't have a food processor, so I chopped all the pecans by hand. This works really well for this recipe because a nice nutty texture is best here and you don't want to end up with a messy paste of finely ground nuts. If you don't have chocolate cookies, give gingersnaps or shortbread a try!

rum balls
1 1/2 c pecans
1 1/4 c chocolate wafer cookies
1/2 c powdered sugar
1/4 t cinnamon
2 T cocoa powder
2 T corn syrup
1/4 c amber rum

+ powdered sugar, grated coconut and sweetened cocoa powder

1. Toast the pecans in a 350 degree oven until fragrant (about 10 minutes). Let cool and then chop finely. While pecans are toasting, crush chocolate wafers until fine.

2. In a large bowl, combine crushed pecans, gingersnaps, powdered sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa and stir until well mixed. Add in the rum and corn syrup and mix well. Chill for at least 1 hour.

3. Roll 1 teaspoon of the mixture into balls and roll in your choice of powdered sugar, grated coconut or cocoa powder.

Makes 28 balls...so go ahead and double the recipe!

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.

wait, there's green in my muffin!

The other night I discovered a new food blog, Pinch My Salt. It's filled with lovely photographs and beautiful looking recipes. And when I spotted the recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Muffins, I knew it would be the perfect recipe to start off the long Labour Day weekend. These muffins use applesauce instead of a lot of oil and I definitely liked the sound of a low-fat treat. I had a little bit of applesauce in the fridge, but I quickly made some more out of 2 very large and truthfully, rather unappealing Granny Smith apples. Here's my very simple recipe for applesauce.

applesauce
2 large apples, diced or sliced thinly
1/4 c of water or more
1 t cinnamon

1. Combine all three ingredients into a medium sized pot. Turn heat to medium and cover. Stir occassionally, adding more water if needed. About 20 minutes later, you should have applesauce! You can blend it or mash it with a fork to acheive a fine purreed consistency. Or enjoy it a bit chunky. Makes about 3 cups.

Cornelius is pretty much enamoured with these muffins...the only thing he would have changed to improve them slightly is to add mashed bananas instead of the applesauce. I'd have to agree.

chocolate zucchini muffins
(adapted from Pinch My Salt)
1/4 c sugar
3 T vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 c applesauce or mushed bananas
2 c all-purpose flour
2 T unsweetened cocoa
1 1/4 t baking soda
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 c finely shredded zucchini
1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips
cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, oil and eggs until pale and creamy. Add in the fruit puree and mix well.

3. In another bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add this dry mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined. Add in the zucchini and chocolate chips and mix well.

4. Drop batter into muffins tins sprayed with oil. Fill about 3/4 full. Bake for about 20 minutes or until done. Makes about 18 muffins.

let's celebrate

This past weekend was our very first wedding anniversary and I don't think there is any better match for me than Cornelius -- he's my most perfect fella. Last June 25th, we tied the knot in a small little ceremony with all of our friends and family present (well, minus my dad who was too afraid to fly across country). The ceremony and reception was held at an indie gallery/diy workspace called Blim and it was a truely d.i.y. affair, with lots of homemade food and cake, dancing and way too much beer. My dress was handmade out of a set of vintage drapes and I even embroidered on a leaf and flower pattern on the skirt out of colourful buttons and left over fabric. Of course, Cornelius looked handsome in his pink shirt and grey suit found in a Seattle vintage shop. The day was lovely and perfect and way better than anything we could have dreamed up.

So when the date for our anniversary came around this year, we figured what better way to celebrate than to throw a party....a Mississippi Luau, in fact! We hustled around picking up decorations and groceries and lots of liquor (for the pina coladas and mint julips, dontcha know) and set it all up at Cornelius' (vacationing) parents house in the suburban wilds of Burnaby. Yes, we did ask permission. On Saturday, friends gathered and games of croquet and bocci ball were played and lots of food was grilled and eaten. A most perfect anniversary celebration, I think.

Out of all the food at the party, I was especially proud of my two desserts, the blue hawaii coconut cupcakes and the Chocolate/Bourbon Pecan Pie. I made these vegan cupcakes awhile ago but the pie was a first and very successful. I did run out of corn syrup and I substituted 1/4 cup of maple syrup which I wouldn't recommend...unless you leave out the bourbon. Just too many competing tastes! Just stick to the recipe and you'll do fine.

chocolate bourbon pecan pie
(adapted from epicurious.com)
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c butter, room temperature
1 T flour
3/4 c corn syrup
1/4 c bourbon
1 t vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 c chopped pecans
1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips
1 pastry crust (cold), rolled out and placed in a pie plate

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line pie crust with foil. Fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until crust edges begin to brown and crust is set, about 17 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Bake until golden brown, pressing with back of fork if crust bubbles, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer pie crust to rack. Maintain oven temperature. If your pie crust is storebought, I'd just skip this step and put the filling right into the frozen pie crust.

2. Beat sugar and butter in medium bowl until smooth; beat in flour. Gradually beat in corn syrup, then bourbon and vanilla. Mix in eggs, then chopped pecans. Sprinkle chocolate chips over bottom of crust. Pour filling into crust.

3. Bake pie until filling is puffed around edges and just set in center, covering edge of crust if browning too quickly, about 45 minutes. Transfer pie to rack and cool completely. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

breakfast can be this good.

I love weekend mornings. They can be leisurely and relaxing and everything just seems better with a second cup of strong coffee. A short stack of pancakes also keeps that smile on your face just a bit longer too. A fluffy & almost ethereal short stack of spicy chocolate pancakes? Well, I think you've got the makings for a perfect day!

Don't worry, these aren't sweet pancakes, so feel free to add liberal amounts of maple syrup to your pancakes! A touch of sweetened whipped cream certainly wouldn't be out of line, either.

cinnamon chocolate pancakes
1 c flour
1 t baking powder
1 T sugar
1/4 t salt
3 T cocoa
1 t cinnamon
1/2 c milk
1/2 c vanilla yogurt
1 egg
1 T melted butter

1. In a large batter bowl, mix together the first six ingredients until well incorporated.

2. In a large measuring cup, mix together the last 4 ingredients. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and lightly mix together with a fork. The batter should still be a bit lumpy and you don't want to over mix.

3. Cook on a hot, lightly oiled griddle, using about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook until bubbles begin to form and the pancake is slightly brown on one side and around the edges; flip.

Makes about 4 fluffy pancakes. Serve with maple syrup.

minty goodness

I've always been a huge fan of chocolate and mint. When I was little, I would only eat green mint chocolate chip ice cream and After Eight mints were always a holiday staple in our house and I'd always manage to find my dad's secret hiding spot for them.

When I saw the mint chocolate chip cookie recipe on Crystal's blog (she makes them at the Austin Folk House) I kept them in mind for future holiday baking. This afternoon when I headed out to refill my coffee supply from the local Italian market, I noticed a lonely bag of mint chocolate chips for only a dollar. I immediately popped them into my basket. It was destiny! I practically ran home to whip up a batch. These cookies were beyond fantastic and I'll definitely be making them again during the holidays.

Crystal notes that the cookie dough is a bit stiff. Luckily, I've got my hearty Kitchen Aid mixer working for me...but if you don't, be prepared for a bit of a workout.

Chocolate Andes Mint Cookies (I didn't use name brand chocolate chips!)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 bag (12 ounces) Andes mint chips (my bag was only 10.5 oz but the resulting cookies were still minty good!)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chips. Drop by well-rounded teaspoons onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until centers are set. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

short and sweet

Tonight's dinner was left over bbq pork/vegetable stirfry that I made last night to rave reviews from Cornelius. Dessert? Gingerbread chocolate chip cookies from a Martha Stewart recipe. I didn't follow the recipe exactly, as I didn't flatten the dough, nor did I wait 2 hours for the cookie dough to chill. I let it chill exactly 15 minutes and just scooped the batter out with a spoon and skipped the added sugar bit too. It made 30 yummy cookies that are crispy out the outside and chewy good on the inside. So good.

Chocolate Chip & Ginger Cookies

7 oz chocolate chips
1 1/2 c plus 1 T flour
1 1/4 t ground ginger
1 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground cloves
1/4 t ground nutmeg
1 T cocoa powder
8 T softened butter
1 T ginger
1/2 c brown sugar, packed
1/2 c molasses
1 t baking soda

1. In a medium bowl, mix flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa.

2. In another bowl, beat butter and ginger until fluffy. Add brown sugar and molasses and mix until combined.

3. In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water. Mix half of flour mixture into the butter mixture, then add the baking-soda mixture and the rest of the flour mixture. Mix in chocolate chips.

4. Heat oven to 325°. Roll dough into balls and chill for 15 minutes. Bake until the surfaces crack slightly, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

NOTE: The next day, these cookies were hard as delicious little stones. Still tasty, but they lost that soft/crisp edge.

thanksgiving pt. 2

It seems that good food and good boardgames go hand in hand at my house. I'm sure my downstairs neighbours never want to hear "Corner on wheat!!!" at 2am ever again, but a good, roaring (and perhaps drunken) game of Pit rounded out a great Thanksgiving meal.

I love this recipe! It's the perfect compliment to any meal and I get rave reviews everytime I make this. This Thanksgiving meal was meatless, but this chutney tasted great alongside the richness of the baked macaroni & cheese and a couple of people used the chutney to top their greens instead of salad dressing. Oh yum.

cranberry chutney
1 12oz bag of fresh or frozen cranberries
1 granny smith apple, chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1/3 c cider or red wine vinegar
2/3 c packed brown sugar
juice of 1 orange
grated orange rind from 1 orange
½ t salt
½ t cinnamon
½ t nutmeg
1/8 t cloves

1. Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, spices, orange rind, celery, onion, apple, and orange juice in a medium saucepan. Set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.

2. Reduce heat to a simmer, and stir in the cranberries. Cook until the skin begins to pop, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

3. Store in an airtight container, refrigerated, up to 4 weeks.

---

Seeing that I was busy on one side of the kitchen making the chutney and preparing the brussel sprouts, I had Cornelius make this delicious recipe. I have no idea where I found it (it definitely was online somewhere), but I'm making this again. Too delicious for words! I also planned on taking a photograph of this beauty (Cornelius baked it in a pretty bundt pan), but it went really fast. You'll just have to use your imagination.

Pumpkin Chocolate chip cake

1 ¾ c flour
1 t baking soda
2 t pumpkin pie spice*
½ t salt
½ c margarine
1 c granulated sugar
2 large eggs
¾ c pumpkin purée
¾ c semisweet chocolate chips
¾ c walnuts, finely chopped

* If pumpkin pie spice is not available, use 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg and ¼ teaspoon each of ginger and cloves.

Grease bottom and sides of 9 x 5-inch loaf pan*. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine flour with baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Cream margarine in large mixing bowl. Gradually add sugar and cream at high speed of mixer until light and fluffy. Blend in eggs; beat well. Turn mixer to low speed and add dry ingredients, alternating with pumpkin. Begin and end with dry ingredients; blend well after each addition. Stir in chocolate morsels and chopped walnuts and pour into prepared pan. Bake for 45 - 55 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched in center. Cool, then glaze with Spicy Glaze.

Spicy Glaze
½ c confectioners' sugar
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 to 2 tablespoons light cream

Combine confectioners' sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon. Blend in cream until the consistency desired (should be thin).

* We greased and floured a bundt pan.

pumpkin chocolate chip oatmeal cookies

The great thing about working from home is that I've got cookies in the oven and I'm finishing up an ad for a client all at the very same time. Nice! These cookies are actually Cornelius' favorite cookies and he talks about them all the time. Since fall is here and I'm enamoured with everything pumpkin, I figured now would be the perfect time to share these beauties!

2 c flour
1 c quick or old-fashioned oats
1 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1 c (2 sticks) butter
1 c firmly packed brown sugar
1 c sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1 c cooked and pureed pumpkin (I use canned)
1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips (I usually use more)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine dry ingredients (flour through salt). Set aside.
3. Cream butter. Gradually add both sugars and cream until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix well.
4. Alternate additions of dry ingredients and pumpkin, mixing well after each addition.
5. Stir in chocolate chips.
6. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto baking sheet, leaving room for cookies to spread. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until tops of cookies are dry and spring back when touched lightly. Remove from baking sheet and cool on racks.

c is for cookie.

I love this recipe! It was originally printed years ago in the Georgia Straight, our local free weekly and I've made some additions and I think it's a near-perfect cookie recipe. I like to keep the cookies in tins to keep them soft. I made them last night in a fit of procrastination. It was much easier making these cookies than gathering work for my portfolio!

These can also be easily made into vegan cookies since there are no eggs in this recipe. Just replace the butter for vegan margerine or Natural Balance. Yum!

chocolate chip oatmeal cookies
1 c butter
1 c brown sugar, lightly packed
1 t baking soda
1/4 c boiling water
1 t vanilla
1 3/4 c flour
1/2 t salt
2 c oats
1/2 c dried coconut
2 c semi sweet chocolate chips (this is where I play: I mix walnuts, raisins and chocolate chips to equal to 2 cups)

Cream the butter with the sugar until well mixed. Dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water and add it to the butter/sugar mix, followed by vanilla. Stir together the dry ingredients and add it slowly to the creamed mixture. Mix well. Stir in the chocolate chip (or mixture) and combine. Form small balls, flatten a little, and bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.

brownies

Last night, we needed something sweet after our dinner (sandwiches!), so I went to my old standby favorite, Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home cookbook's brownie recipe. It's easy to make and it turns out perfect everytime*. I added lots of walnuts in my version, cuz that's how I roll!

Moosewood Fudge Brownies
Recipe from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home

1/2 c butter (1 stick)
3 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 c lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 t pure vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c unbleached white flour

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly coat an 8- or 9-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.

In a pot large enough to hold all of the batter, melt the butter and chocolate together on low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat. Add the brown sugar and vanilla and beat by hand or with an electric mixer. Add the eggs and beat well. Stir in the flour and mix until the batter is thoroughly blended and smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes, until the brownies are just beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan and are still fudgy in the center. If you prefer more cake-like brownies, bake an additional 5 minutes.

*Okay, the only time they didn't come out stellar was when Cornelius wasn't paying attention to the recipe and used an entire cup of butter instead. We ate it up anyway and it still wasn't horrible.