dream pie

Life sure has been busy for the past few weeks. Along with lots of holiday fun, there was lots of work to be done as well. Presentations, proposals, lots of designing and a bit of coding here and there...and one of the highlights of this busy season was working with a fellow food blogger with a redesign of her blog! Alanna over at A Veggie Venture needed a new look and new functionality and I was so flattered that she felt that Cornelius and I were up to the task. She knew what she wanted from the get-go (hooray for clients with vision!) which made our working relationship as sweet as pie. Working with Alanna was great, so head on over to her blog and take a peek at all her yummy veggie recipes (well needed at this time of year)!

And speaking of sweet relationship pie, the day after New Year's Day was Cornelius' birthday! Before the big day, I sat Cornelius down and made him select his dream cake recipe from a skyscraper pile of post-it note marked cookbooks. And instead of a dream cake, he picked a dream pie! Coconut-banana cream pie with a dark chocolate lined crust, to be exact. Oh my! Lucky for me one of my resolutions for this year is to eat more healthy...so I was more than pleased to make a cream pie that I didn't want to eat (you know, back to the banana thing again). But don't worry about me, I loved making this pie! There were quite a few steps involved but I loved that intensity. Not that it was that difficult, but I did have to do things that kind of scare me...like making custard and pie crust* from scratch. But the pie was a success and well worth the effort (according to Cornelius and his parents who all sampled the pie). The recipe I used was adapted (I subbed light coconut milk for whole milk for that crazy coconut twist!) from the banana cream pie recipe from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook.

* The only problem with the crust was that it shrunk during baking quite a bit. Any thoughts as to why it happened? I didn't use pie weights so might that be the problem? Regardless of the shrinking, it apparently was tasty!

dream pie

Life sure has been busy for the past few weeks. Along with lots of holiday fun, there was lots of work to be done as well. Presentations, proposals, lots of designing and a bit of coding here and there...and one of the highlights of this busy season was working with a fellow food blogger with a redesign of her blog! Alanna over at A Veggie Venture needed a new look and new functionality and I was so flattered that she felt that Cornelius and I were up to the task. She knew what she wanted from the get-go (hooray for clients with vision!) which made our working relationship as sweet as pie. Working with Alanna was great, so head on over to her blog and take a peek at all her yummy veggie recipes (well needed at this time of year)!

And speaking of sweet relationship pie, the day after New Year's Day was Cornelius' birthday! Before the big day, I sat Cornelius down and made him select his dream cake recipe from a skyscraper pile of post-it note marked cookbooks. And instead of a dream cake, he picked a dream pie! Coconut-banana cream pie with a dark chocolate lined crust, to be exact. Oh my! Lucky for me one of my resolutions for this year is to eat more healthy...so I was more than pleased to make a cream pie that I didn't want to eat (you know, back to the banana thing again). But don't worry about me, I loved making this pie! There were quite a few steps involved but I loved that intensity. Not that it was that difficult, but I did have to do things that kind of scare me...like making custard and pie crust* from scratch. But the pie was a success and well worth the effort (according to Cornelius and his parents who all sampled the pie). The recipe I used was adapted (I subbed light coconut milk for whole milk for that crazy coconut twist!) from the banana cream pie recipe from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook.

* The only problem with the crust was that it shrunk during baking quite a bit. Any thoughts as to why it happened? I didn't use pie weights so might that be the problem? Regardless of the shrinking, it apparently was tasty!

Tomorrow's lunch

When I spied the recipe for Linguine with Tofu and Coconut-Lime Sauce on Crystal's blog, I was instantly smitten. Coconut + Lime = Awesomeness. Plus, I had everything to make this amazing sounding dish on the spot! My friend Kristen was coming over for dinner and I figured this would make a quick and delicious vegan meal. Originally, I was going to use the magic loaf studio to concoct some kind of tasty magical loaf, but didn't want to risk turning on the oven, as it was already hot enough in the kitchen. So after studying Crystal's recipe, I made a few mental notes and got to cooking. When you have someone else in the kitchen it seems silly to keep running to the computer to check on a recipe, so I just started chopping and frying as Kristen, Cornelius and I laughed and talked and drank ice cold club soda to keep cool.

I wish I had the forethought to take some photos before we all dug in (and hey, each one of us went back for seconds), but it didn't even cross my mind. So unfortunately, you'll have to stare at my very unglamorous refrigerated leftovers tucked inside a Que Pasa salsa container. Someone is going to have a very lucky lunch tomorrow!

My notes: Although I did like the taste of using regular Italian fettucini here, next time I would use Asian rice noodles instead to keep things a bit more authentic. I also added in spinach and basil to the recipe since I had some on hand. This is a great recipe base to use up any vegetables in your fridge, so if you've got some celery, bok choy, carrots or broccoli on hand, throw it in!

Fettucini with Tofu and Coconut-Lime Sauce
(recipe adapted from poco-coco.com)
1 500 gr package of fettucini
1 package extra-firm tofu, patted dry and cut into 1/2-inch squares
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoon peeled minced fresh ginger
1 c sugar snap peas, trimmed
1 red bell pepper, sliced into 2-inch strips
3 green onions, sliced
1 bunch spinach
1 small bunch basil
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 t cornstarch
1 can light coconut milk, well-stirred
2 T soy sauce
juice of 1 lime + zest

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well.

2. Heat olive oil in a large wok over medium-high heat. Add garlic and ginger and heat for 1 minute. Add tofu and stir fry until golden. Remove tofu from pan. Add sesame oil to pan. Add peas, green onion and bell pepper; saute 3 minutes until softened. Add coconut milk, soy sauce, lime juice and zest. Add basil and spinach and let wilt in the liquid. Mix together the cornstarch and broth and add to pan, bringing mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes or until slightly thick. Add pasta and tofu; toss to coat.

stir fry it up

Oh Blogger you can be such a bitch sometimes. Today is the first day in ages that I've been able to post and Blogger's buggy nature is making me want to tackle Wordpress. Early in the week it was hot and sunny and we had the fans turned on high. I decided that I would start a "Leisure Club" for me & my friends with tennis being the first thing on the agenda. So I drew a flyer, sent it out and now the Strathcona Leisure Club is more than just a blip in my brain. Of course, I can't even play tennis, but that won't stop the fun times ahead. Tennis + friends + beer = good summer fun!

It's back to cold and rainy weather again, but the hot weather didn't stop me from thinking about curry. I made this the same day I made the tennis poster and a little hot weather certainly won't be a stop to my cravings for curry. The key of course to this curry is pineapple. Really, don't try making it without it....I mean, it will still be good n' all, but it won't reach the level of greatness that is pineapple perfection. The vegetables, however, can be substituted to whatever you've got on hand and chicken or tofu can most certainly be added. Just don't skip the pineapple!

pineapple - coconut vegetable curry
1/2 large head of cauliflower, torn into florets
1 head of broccoli, torn into florets
1 red onion, chopped into large peices
1 red pepper, roughly chopped
1 green pepper, roughly chopped
1 carrot, sliced on the diagonal
1 T oil
1 t soy sauce
1/2 t crushed red chilis
1 small can of coconut milk (5.6 fl. oz.)
3 T curry paste (I used Patak's Korma curry paste)
1 c fresh pineapple chunks

1. Heat the oil in a large pan or wok. Add the vegetables and quickly stirfy on high. Add the soy sauce and chilis and continue stirring. Turn down heat.

2. In a small sauce pan, heat up the curry paste (if your paste has no oil, add a small amount into the pan) and add the coconut milk. Stir to blend.

3. Add the coconut/curry mixture to the vegetables, stirring to make sure all the vegetables are coated. Add the pineapple and continue cooking until the pineapple has cooked through, about 3 minutes.

4. Serve over rice or noodles.

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.

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.

wedding + honeymoon = tasty!

On June 25, C and I decided to tie the knot and get hitched up all legal-like. Getting prepared for the wedding was actually quite fun and all the design, crafting and baking were definite stress relivers. Half of the wedding food was catered from a local catering company as well as a few items from, costco (cheese!), a sushi restaurant (sushi!) and a vietnamese restaurant (chicken wings!). The rest of it was made by me and some dedicated friends. It turned out wonderfully and there was enough food to feed the hungry and then some. I enlisted my good friend kyla to also help with the cakes as well as my mother in law who harnessed all her church ladies into baking up a storm for us. Not to be outdone, I too made cupcakes and a cake as well.



I designed our wedding programs to look like a recipe card. the front half had all the necessary program information, like who was oficiating the ceremony & what song we walked down the aisle to (Marvin Gaye's "You're All I Need to Get By"). The other side, contained our wedding cupcake recipe which is Ina Garten's Coconut recipe found here. Enjoy, we did!

Our honeymoon was a road trip through several states and we made sure that we ate good food (nearly) everywhere we went. Highlights included:

• The Farm Cafe in Portland, OR. Our good friends treated us here on our first night. The food was fresh and the room was beautiful. Thanks Kyla & Sergio!


• Eating fresh crab on Fisherman's Warf in San Francisco.


• Burritos at Pancho Villa, in the Mission (S.F.)


• The best burger ever at the Cow Palace in Amato, AZ. It's located across from the Longhorn Grill, which admittedly did look appealing from the outside, but inside it looked like a country cupboard. I'm glad we ate across the street. Good lemonade too!


• In n' Out burger. I finally went and it was worth the wait!


• Los Cuates in Albuquerque, NM. Amazing sopas.


• Our Trader Joe's tuna curry boil-in-bag that we cooked on our propane burner while camping. Delicious! Trader Joe's is a campers heaven.


• Raspberry pancakes at a cafe in Hillsboro, NM.


• Iced coffees and a blackberry coffee cake at Macy's Cafe in Flagstaff, AZ


• The Moab Lime beer at Eddie McStiff's Brew Pub in Moab, UT. Their pizza was pretty good too.


• The steak sandwich and $1 microbrews after midnight at the Main Street Station Brew Pub in Vegas.

Damn, why did we come back to Vancouver again? Oh yeah, REAL LIFE. Sigh.