Christie's Corner

How to Cook Rice -- Reader's Question

charmian.christie@gmail.com (Christie's Corner) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:35:00 +0000

When I held the contest for Dana's Top Ten Table giveaway, I asked you to post your dinner dilemmas and promised to answer them all. So far, Dana has answered 10 of your most pressing questions in a podcast (don't panic, I'm going to be posting recaps) and I covered Debbie's yam versus sweet potato question.

Today, I'm addressing Marta from Calgary's question. She wrote:

I cannot believe I'm admiting to this in public... I don't know how to make white rice!! Yes, just plain, fluffy white rice! Mine always turns out sticky and clumpy. How do people get each grain to be separated?!?!?!

I had the same issue, Marta. I now stick to basmati and follow the directions I posted for Perfect Basmati Rice. Because the technique requires light frying, I do not rinse the rice. I buy good quality basmati and have never had an issue. To be on the safe side, I stick to one or two trusted brands. The one time I ventured into the bulk bin, I regretted it.

For those who want to move beyond basmati, here's a quick primer on rice.

While there are far too many types of rice to deal with in one blog post, the two main types you'll find in the grocery store are short grain and long grain. Short grain rice tends to be starchier and is more tender and sticky when cooked. This makes it perfect for sushi, risotto and rice pudding. Long grain rice tends to have less starch and is drier when cooked, separating into drier, fluffier individual grains.

The rice on the left is short grain arborio. The rice on the right is basmati, a long grain rice. They are not interchangeable.

No matter how you cook arborio rice, it will not cook up fluffy and light. Conversely, even I find it hard to make basmati sticky.

Long grain rice may or may not need rinsing. If you're steaming or boiling the rice, rinsing won't make a difference. But if you're making a pilaf, which requires frying, you don't want to rinse the rice because it will steam.

Short grain rice, on the other hand, is usually rinsed — sometimes several times — to remove the outer starch. Of course, there's always an exception. Don't rinse arborio rice when making risotto because you want all the sticky starch to make the risotto as creamy as possible.

Now before you ask for specifics, I'd follow the instructions on the package. A lot depends on the type of rice you buy and how it's been processed. However, to get a jump start on the most common questions:

Most rice is cooked with 2 parts water to 1 part rice. Basmati, is an exception and requires 1 1/2 cups water to 1 cup rice.
1 cup of uncooked rice yields 2 to 3 cups of cooked rice. Again, this depends on the type of rice you're making.
If stored in a cool, dark, dry pantry, uncooked rice keeps for years. But once cooked? It will survive only a few days in the refrigerator.

So that's the long and short (grain) of rice. Which type do you prefer and how do you make it?

Sticker Shock -- Part 2

charmian.christie@gmail.com (Christie's Corner) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:19:00 +0000

May 23, 2008, I had an essay, Sticker Shock, published in The Globe and Mail. In it I confessed to Impostor Syndrome brought on by a cobalt blue belly dance bumper sticker from my mother-in-law. With little talent and none of the elaborate costumes, I felt I hadn't earned the right to drive around with such a sticker on the back of our car.

I wrote an essay, shoved the sticker in a file folder and made a bold prediction. By the time we got around to replacing our Altima, which had only 153,000 kms (92,000 miles) on it, I would be ready to embrace my inner dancer. I wrote:

"... I haven't chosen that all-important belly dance name. I have no I Dream of Jeannie costumes either. Just yoga wear and a cheap hip scarf that flings its coins across the room as I shake. Nameless, costumeless and graceless, I show up, I listen, I try to dance.

...I've got plenty of time to learn how to shimmy... [When I do] I'll announce it with my perfectly preserved bumper sticker, slapped on a brand-spanking new fender."

Big words from a woman who thought she had 3 to 5 years to get her shimmy down pat.

On May 25, 2009, almost exactly a year after the Globe essay, our black cherry Altima lost an argument with another vehicle. By a minor miracle, only the car suffered irreparable damage, but my perspective on what is and isn't important changed.

The other day, I filed away the last of the insurance papers, and came across the bumper sticker again. After a few minutes debate, I took an inventory. I now have one teal-blue beaded costume to my name, two recitals under my belt and a new-to-us silver Versa in the driveway.

Don't get me wrong. I still dance like a marionette under the control of a demonic puppeteer. But that no longer matters.

If you see me, honk and wave.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

charmian.christie@gmail.com (Christie's Corner) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:09:00 +0000

Pretty snazzy, if I do say so myself. I wouldn't be ashamed to serve these at a fancy garden party. You can almost hear the light jazz in the background.

But in reality, this is a simple dip that you can dump in a bowl and serve with tortilla chips. I just bought some new dishes and wanted to show them off.

I made this for a meeting where one of the people has a severe garlic allergy. Fresh from my roasted red pepper victory, I thought a non-garlic version of hummus would be a pleasant change of pace. What the dip lacked in garlic, would surely be made up for in roasted peppery goodness.

I never have tahini on hand to add to the mix and skipped the olive oil since many people are watching their waistlines. With so many omissions, I'm not sure this can still qualify as hummus.

But it was bright and enticing and I was all excited about my cucumber slice idea. And The light was right, so I began snapping.

Snap...

Snap....

Snap...

Oh Charmian, get over yourself! To be honest, the dip needed a handful of herbs before it was worthy of such attention. Plus, I was so enamoured with my redheaded model, what lurked just outside the photo frame went unnoticed. Hmmm. Someone, who gets a brownie point for cleaning out the bird bath, must hand it right back for not tidying up after himself.

Seriously, how did I miss this?

Welcome to my world.

Now, imagine this same dip — without a toothbrush loitering nearby — delicately flecked with green herbs. The final results were so good someone (whose initials are JB) asked to take some home with her. I obliged, but didn't tell her about the toothbrush.

How do you like your hummus? Loaded with garlic? Hot and spicy?

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Printable recipe

Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients

1 can (19 oz) chickpeas (about 2 cups), rinsed and drained
1 roasted red pepper, diced, skin and seeds removed
2 tbsp Greek yogurt or sour cream
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
2 drops of Tabasco (optional)
2 tbsp fresh dill, minced
1/4 cup cilantro, minced

Instructions

Puree the chickpeas, roasted pepper, yogurt, lemon juice, and cumin in a food processor or in a medium-sized bowl using an immersion blender.
Taste and adjust salt, pepper and lemon juice. Add Tabasco at this point if using.
Stir in fresh herbs.

Variations

Add 2 tbsp of olive oil, pouring it in slowly while the hummus purees. Add up to 4 tbsp to achieve the consistency you like.
Add garlic, starting with 1 clove. Taste before adding a second. Much will depend on the size of the clove and you personal preferences.
If fresh garlic is too strong, add half a bulb of roasted garlic.

Recipe Index, Printable Recipes and More

charmian.christie@gmail.com (Christie's Corner) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:58:00 +0000

If you subscribe by RSS feed you're likely wondering what possessed me to update a whack of posts. I'm not just a glutton for attention. I've been slogging through the tedious task of fulfilling my promise of providing a recipe index and printable recipes.

The mission proved to be less stimulating than filing a tax return. At least with Revenue Canada there's the adrenaline rush of wondering whether or not I'll get a refund. Or an audit.

Anyway, over the past few days I've chipped away at the twin tasks. I still do way too many desserts but at least have curbed my unnatural passion for hazelnuts.

Here's what's new.

A recipe index: I've organized the recipes alphabetically by main category and given them straight forward titles. This means they may not match the recipe name in the blog post, but will be easier for search engines and people who are new to the blog to find. Lesson learned, no more smarty-pants titles.

While I'll update the recipe index as I post new recipes, you can always access it via a link in the left column, just under the Want More section. See...

I'm sure I missed a recipe or two or have something mislabeled. Feel free to let me know (nicely, I am crossed-eyed from staring at computer screens) and I'll get things fixed.

Printable recipes: Now, you can print any recipe from the post in which it appears with one click. The recipe index will take you to the original post. Scroll down to the recipe and click "Printable Recipes". You will be taken to a printer-friendly version which you can print. I am eternally grateful to Susan of StickyGooeyCreamyChewy for her blog post on Food Blog Alliance outlining how to do this on Blogger (which doesn't allow for this kind of attachment).

New Categories

I've been adding tags for gluten-free and vegan recipes for a while now and decided this would be a good time to flag a couple more categories.

Dairy-free category: Recipes in the index are marked with a D for Dairy-free, or you can click "dairy-free" in the label cloud on the left hand column. Apply the same logic to gluten-free (marked with a G) and Vegan (marked with a V).
Legume and Lentils: Although the recipe index doesn't list these separately, you can find all recipes based on bean, legumes and lentils by clicking "lentils and legumes" in the label cloud.

That's it for now. If there are any more features you'd like to see, let me know. In the meantime, it's back to the kitchen.

Recipe Index

charmian.christie@gmail.com (Christie's Corner) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:27:00 +0000

This is a listing of all the recipes posted on Christie’s Corner. The recipes are organized by main category.

To help people on special diets I’ve marked certain recipes for quick identification.

D = Dairy-free recipes
G= Gluten-free recipes
V = Vegan recipes

TO USE: Click on the recipe you’re interested in and the link will take you directly to the original post. A link to the printable version is embedded in the actual post, just under the recipe title. I know this is extra work for you, but it was either an extra click for you or 148 extra steps for me, with the chance of error creeping in with each each and every step of the way.

Thanks for understanding and happy cookin’~

APPETIZERS
Black Bean Salsa Dip DGV
Grill-Roasted Garlic DGV
Hummus G
Marinated Olives DGV
Olive Tapenade Rolls
Pecan Cheesies
Red Pepper Jelly Tarts
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus G
Rosemary Spread G
Smoked Oyster Dip G
Sour Cream Mushroom Tarts

BEVERAGES
Kitchen Sink Sangria DGV
Mango Lassi G
Scotch Marmalade (Spiced Scotch) DGV
Spiked Caroling Coffee G

BREAKFAST
Buttermilk Pancakes
Buttermilk Scones
Cornmeal Pancakes
Homemade Granola DGV
Oat and Fruit Bars DGV
Waffles

MISCELLANEOUS
Creme Fraiche G
Multi-purpose Marinade DGV
No Fail Pastry
Tzatziki G

MAINS — BEEF
Italian Meatballs
New York Steak with Fennel Seeds DG
Simple Beef Stew with Orange-Walnut Gremolata D
Tuscan Sausages D

MAINS —CHICKEN
Byron’s Butter Chicken G
Chicken with Fancy Preserves G
Chicken Souvlaki DG
Chicken-Filled Spankopita
Chicken with Dried Cranberries and Orange DG
Curried Chicken Pot Pie
Green Curry with Chicken DG
Herb and Olive Chicken DG
Mango Chutney Chicken DG
Moroccan Chicken DG
No Butter Chicken G
Pad Thai DG
Patchwork Chicken Curry DG
Perfect Chicken Stock DG
Spicy Southern Fried Chicken

MAINS — FISH
Ten-Minute Salmon G
Tilapia Piccata with Asparagus

MAINS — PIZZA AND PASTA
Garlic-Free Pesto G (sauce is gluten-free)
Garlic Scape and Fresh Herb Pesto GV
Cauliflower Pasta G (sauce is gluten-free)
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Stromboli
Wheat-free Pizza G

MAINS — VEGETARIAN
Spanikopita
Vegetarian Chili DGV

SIDES — RICE
Butternut Risotto G
Lemon Risotto G
Perfect Basmati Rice DGV

SIDES — SALADS and DRESSINGS
Black Bean Salad DGV
Black and Kidney Bean Salad DGV
Cranberry Orange Jellied Salad GD
Homemade Ranch Dressing G
Lemon-Loaded North African Dressing DGV
Maple and Apple Cider Vinaigrette DGV
Roasted Pepper Salad G
Strawberry Spinach Salad DGV

SIDES — VEGETABLES
Basil and Walnut Green Beans DVG
Grill-Roasted Red Peppers DVG
Oven-Roasted Rosemary Potatoes DVG
Quick Carrot Ginger Saute DVG
Roasted Cauliflower with Fennel DVG
Snow Peas with Cashews DVG
Sweet Potato Casserole

SNACKS
Caramel Corn G
Garlic and Rosemary Popcorn G
Perfect Stovetop Popcorn GV
Sort-of-Healthy Marshmallow Squares
Spicy Roasted Chickpeas DVG

SOUPS
Avgolemono Soup G
Black Bean Soup DVG
Brown Lentil and Lemon Soup DVG
Cauliflower Soup G
Cheddar Apple Soup
Herbed Greek Soup G
Mulligatawny Soup GD
Scottish Red Lentil Soup G
Slivered Mushroom Bisque G
Sweet Potato Soup DVG
Thai Chicken Noodle Soup GD
Thai Coconut Soup GD
Zucchini Bisque G

SWEET THINGS
Apple Betty
Baci Brownies
Baklava
Berry Crisp
Best Ever Banana Bread
Blueberry Frozen Yogurt G
Brandy Sauce G
Brie and Whisky Tarts
Brown Sugar Cake
Butterscotch Cream Pie
Champagne and Grapefruit Sorbet GV
Chocolate Chipotle Brownies
Chocolate Ginger Cheesecake
Choux Pastry Swans
Cinnamon Ice Cream G
Classic Vanilla Crème Brulee G
Concord Grape Pie
Crispy Flax Cookies
Double Ginger Cookies
Fennel Pinwheels
Ginger Ice Cream Pie
Goofy Cake
Grand Marnier Nanaimo Bars
Grilled Pineapple G
Hazelnut Chocolate Cheesecake
Hazelnut Torte Hazelnut Truffles
Honey Carrot Cake
Lemon Bars
Lemon Meringue Pie
Lemon Poppyseed Bars
Maple Pecan Pie
Maple Walnut Ice Cream G
Marty’s Muskoka Maple Pie
Mixed Berry Sorbet GV
Oatmeal Cookies
Oatmeal Date Cookies
Oatmeal Flax Squares
Oatmeal Squares G
Pavlova G
Pears Poached in Black Currant Wine
Pumpkin Pie
Pralines and Cream Philadelphia Style G
Prize-Winning Butter Tarts
Raspberry Maple Ice Cream G
Red Velvet Cake
Rhubarb Muffins Two Ways
Rumballs
Shortbreads
Sour Cream Apple Pie
Tiramisu
Washington Hotel Tart Cherry Crepes
Wild Blueberry Muffins
Zabaglione G

The different types of ice cream explained

charmian.christie@gmail.com (Christie's Corner) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:07:00 +0000

We tend to use the term "ice cream" generically, but the fat and calorie content between a scoop of French Vanilla ice cream and an equal portion of peach sorbet can be significant. So, what's in your bowl? Ice cream, ice milk, gelato, sorbet, sherbet or a simple ice?

As if the flavour options aren't confusing enough.

I've had several people ask me the difference between the various frozen desserts, but until now, I haven't blogged about this topic specifically. To address this egregious error, here's a glossary of the terms to help you the next time you're at the cone shop or frozen food section. Or if you're like me, in front of your ice cream maker.

ICE CREAMS

Ice cream: The modern commercial versions contain little cream and lots of milk products like "whole milk solids". Government regulations about what does and doesn't meet the definition of ice cream can be so convoluted you'd choke on your Rocky Road. Let's just say ice cream is made with cream and / or milk and is churned to keep it from freezing into a solid mass. Expensive ice creams have less air (also called "overrun").
French Style Ice cream: A cooked egg-yolk custard makes this ice cream very rich and smooth. It's dense and almost silky.
Philadelphia Style Ice cream: This ice cream has no eggs and is simpler to make. Without the custard base it's firmer, freezes harder and is slightly lighter than the French version.
Gelato: This is the Italian word for ice cream and simply means "frozen". True Italian ice cream is less sweet but more dense than its commercial North American cousin. It has less air and may or may not contain eggs.

OTHER FROZEN TREATS

Ice milk: This lower-fat frozen dessert doesn't have enough milk fat to meet the legal definition of ice cream. It's lighter, lower in calories and less creamy.
Sherbet: Classic sherbet is made with fruit juice, sugar and water or wine. Some versions contain milk, buttermilk, egg whites or gelatin. Technically sherbet and sorbet are different, but most people play fast and loose with these definitions. Don't be surprised to see them used interchangeably.
Sorbet: Also called sorbetto, sorbet (pronounced sor-BAY) is often used as a palate cleanser between courses or as a lovely, fresh and light dessert. A true sorbet is vegan, made without milk, eggs or gelatin.
Granita: Sometimes called ices, granita is an Italian term for flavoured shaved ice. It is not churned, but mashed with a fork. The resulting ice crystals can be eaten on their own (like a high-end Slushy) or spooned over ice cream.

Now that you know the difference, what'll it be? I've got to make my $112 ice cream maker earn its keep, so give me some suggestions.

Blueberry Frozen Yogurt

charmian.christie@gmail.com (Christie's Corner) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:27:00 +0000

Looks can be deceiving. This blueberry-raspberry frozen yogurt looks tasty but was chalky and unpleasant. I ended up letting it melt and pouring it over granola for breakfast.

Thinking fresh and simple is best, I'd pureed raspberries and blueberries in the blender with plain yogurt and enough sugar to take the edge off. In theory, it should have worked beautifully, but something was missing. Wish that something had been the seeds. For my Raspberry Maple Ice Cream, I strained the raspberry puree through a sieve. It was a bit of a pain, but now that I've been digging seeds out of my molars for two days, I've decided it was worth the extra 10 minutes of effort.

While my raspberry-blueberry attempt tasted fine, the gritty texture was off-putting. So I turned to the Ice Cream Man himself, David Lebovitz, and took a look at his tricks. I saw three differences. He:

Suggested Greek or strained yogurt. Less water, fewer ice crystals, creamier texture.
Strained the fruit mixture. Fine blueberry seeds made my frozen yogurt taste like I'd dropped it in the sand.
Added a touch of booze —kirsch to be precise. While too much alcohol prevents ice cream from freezing, a teaspoon or two can make it creamy.

Trying again, I followed David's lead but swapped framboise for cherry-flavoured kirsch and used vanilla sugar because I had some on hand and think everything is better with vanilla. The results were darker and smoother than my first attempt.

While frozen yogurt isn't as creamy as ice cream, it is a refreshing and low-cal treat for the warm weather that's finally, FINALLY hitting Ontario.

So scoop yourself an extra large portion and see if you can eat it before it melts.

Between spoonfuls, tell me, which do you find most refreshing: ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet or ice milk?

Blueberry Frozen Yogurt
Printable recipe

Makes about 1 litre (1 quart)

Adapted from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop (Ten Speed Press, 2007).

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups strained plain yogurt (strain an entire 759g tub and reserve the extra 1/2 cup or so for dips)
3/4 cup vanilla sugar (plain is fine)
3 cups unsweetened blueberries, plain or frozen
1 tsp raspberry liqueur (peach schnapps would be nice, too)
2 tsp lemon juice

Instructions

In a food processor or blender, puree yogurt, sugar and blueberries until smooth.
Press the blueberry mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to remove seeds.
Stir in liqueur and lemon juice.
Chill for 1 hour.
Freeze in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. This might need some additional chilling in the freezer.

Garlic Scape and Fresh Herb Pesto

charmian.christie@gmail.com (Christie's Corner) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:03:00 +0000

Yesterday I issued a plea for ideas of what to do with garlic scapes. The answers rolled in. I heard from people via Twitter, Facebook, email and the comments section. Thank you all. I was thrilled with your response.

Of course, with so many great solutions to choose from, I left my decision until late in the day. By then, someone-who-shall-remain-nameless had taken the car and raced off to play ball, leaving me with only the ingredients on hand. Not his fault really, but I need someone to blame for my lack of planning, and we don't call him Handy Andy for nothing.

Here are some of the scape suggestions. I wanted to try each and every one of them, so have included a reason why I didn't give it a go this time round:

Katarina loves her scapes sauted with zucchini. I was out of zucchini.
Monica Bhide twittered a quick recipe for spiced garlic butter. I was tempted but wanted something for dinner.
BMK and Kim U suggested grinding them — roasted or not — into hummus. I was out of chick peas.
Dana McCauley likes to slice them up and stir fry them with chicken and seafood. I was out of shrimp, scallops and halibut.
Erik sent a tweet saying I should toss sauted scapes on pasta with a cream sauce. I'm saving my cream quota for frozen desserts like raspberry ice cream.
Rene says scapes are delicious with beef or pork. I had only frozen chicken in the freezer and no time.
Divawrites wins most creative solution for her advice. Wave them about to ward off tiny vampires. Dang! Fresh out of small supernatural creatures. Again.

With few groceries on hand and only 8 scapes, Marta's recommendation made a lot of sense. She said:

Let it [the scape] truly be the star of the pesto, maybe throw in a tiny bit of basil, really good olive oil and, well, I wouldn't even bother with the nuts. Just let the scape shine!

So I raided the fridge and scavenged in the garden, grabbing all the herbs I could — and a few flowers. I then whipped up some pesto while the pasta cooked.

Here's what I learned:

If you use too much of the stem, scapes are not as mild as people say. One recipe for garlic scape vichysoisse called for 2 cups of scapes OR 1/4 cup garlic. I would say the scapes were 1/2 the strength of garlic, not 1/8th. Don't use the stem.
If you use too much of the stem, you'll get woody, fibers in your pesto and will spend the next two hours extracting what looks like sisel from between your teeth. Don't use the stem.
I need to grow more garlic.

For those who have scapes at hand, here's my "recipe". I didn't really measure, just eyeballed the pesto as I went along. I used cold pressed canola oil, which is mild but flavourful. Olive oil or even a nut oil would be fine. I also used a mix of herbs. I think lemon basil would be idea but a combination of lemon balm and basil is also lovely.

No flowers? No problem, it tastes just as good without them.

Garlic Scape and Fresh Herb Pesto
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 part scapes
1 part fresh herbs — lemon thyme, basil, cilantro, lemon balm
oil — cold pressed canola, olive oil or other
1/2 part Parmesan
lemon juice to taste
salt, to taste
fresh cracked black pepper

Instructions

Put scapes and herbs in a blender or food processor and pulse a few times.
Slowly add a few drops of oil, blending until the herbs and scapes become smooth. (Smooth will never happen if you don't cut off the woody stems. Sigh...)
Add Parmesan and blend again.
Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Blend and taste, adding more lemon, Parmesan, salt or pepper as needed.
Toss on fresh hot pasta.

Garlic Scapes -- Ideas Needed

charmian.christie@gmail.com (Christie's Corner) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:30:00 +0000

This pointy, off-white thingy is a garlic scape. Left to its own devices, it will flower. Once removed, it forces the bulb to grow bigger and drives chefs mad. Apparently, these puppies are a hot commodity.

I had no idea what a scape was when I planted garlic near my climbing rose a couple of years ago. I didn't plan on harvesting the garlic. I just wanted to see if roses really do love garlic like all the companion planting books tell me.

For ten years the rose bush made half-hearted attempts at a display. A few blooms, a few inches of growth, but nothing spectacular. The year after I planted a few garlic bulbs at its base, the former reluctant climber sprung to life. Perhaps it was the loss of the two giant maples that shaded the yard? Perhaps it was the abundant rain? Or maybe it was the garlic? I'm not sure, but right now I've got some lovely red climbing roses, a handful of scapes and no clue what to do with them beyond pesto.

According to all my research scapes are true garlic puppies. They have all the characteristics of fully mature garlic but lack the bite. Normally I experiment with a new ingredient, but I don't have much to play with -- eight scapes to be precise. See, this is the whole shebang.

So, what do you do with them? Chop them up? Saute them? Eat them raw? If you've got scape solutions, I'm listening!

Too Clever By Half -- And a Poll

charmian.christie@gmail.com (Christie's Corner) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:09:00 +0000

I outsmarted myself the other day. After months of hemming, hawing and finding new ways to procrastinate, I finally posted my Pitch Policy. For those who aren't familiar with this term, it's an outline of my policies and review practices to help PR reps send appropriate pitches. While it also covers my code of ethics regarding freebies and disclosure practices, I figured it wasn't something most readers would be interested in.

So that I wouldn't bore recipe seekers with such niceties, I backdated the post and gave it a permanent link in my "Want More?" section (under my photo on the left hand column).

Mission accomplished. I patted myself on the back and went on with my day.

Then a few comments trickled in.

And "mentions" on Twitter.

How'd they find this? Had I stumbled upon a hot topic? Was I cutting edge without knowing it?

No. Turns out I'd completely forgotten about my RSS feed. Not every reader comes directly to my blog. Some get read it via feed, others by email.

So, in case I have confused you, that's why a month-old post showed up on your feed / inbox the other day.

But it also got me thinking. While Google Analytics is handy in providing stats, it's just part of the picture. How do you read my blog? If you have 10 seconds, take my new poll. It's on the far left, immediately under my brand-spankin' new Pitch Policy.

Dominion Day Raspberry Ice Cream

charmian.christie@gmail.com (Christie's Corner) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:06:00 +0000

While the rest of the nation celebrates Canada Day, in our house July 1st is Dominion Day. And Andrew has the t-shirt to prove it. For those who are curious about my husband's patriotic insistence, check out last year's blog post.

For those who care about food, it's ice cream time again. Yes, I've pulled out my $112 ice cream maker and am heading into this holiday with a spoon in my hand and a bowl full of frozen dessert for breakfast.

Last year I fell in love with homemade ice cream. Despite a couple of stellar failures, I did manage a few wins: maple walnut, coconut cream pie, ginger, pralines and cream, chocolate chipotle, grapefruit and champagne sorbet and even an herb-infused French vanilla. This year, I thought I'd kick off a new season of ice cream bingeing with a very Canadian flavour — Raspberry Maple. After all, it's our nation's 142nd birthday.

The recipe is courtesy of Anita Stewart, aka the Patron Saint of Canadian cuisine. She generously gave me permission to publish the recipe from her award-winning cookbook The Flavours of Canada.

Raspberry is one of my favourite tastes, but at the cone shop the best one can hope for is raspberry ripple or a decent vanilla topped with an overly-sweet pseudo-raspberry syrup. Commercial raspberry sorbets tend to be harsh and have an unpleasant after-taste. But this?! Anita, where have you been all my life?

This, THIS is raspberry ice cream.

Not raspberry-ish or raspberry-esque or raspberry-inspired or raspberry-infused. It's full-blown, no holds barred, honest-to-goodness raspberry. This is the flavour I've been craving and couldn't find. I'm sure there's some amazing gelateria in Italy that makes a rival, but in North America, with its ooey-gooey, caramel-chocolate-peanut-butter fetish, this pure fruit taste is all but forgotten.

Until now.

And I have the whole summer ahead of me to experiment. Are there any flavours or combinations you'd like me to try? Remember, I'm anti-bananas and iffy on licorice. Other than that? Well... let's just say I'm open to suggestions.

In the meantime, enjoy...

Anita Stewart's Raspberry Maple Ice Cream
Published with permission. © Anita Stewart.
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

4 cups raspberries (fresh or frozen and thawed)
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups half & half cream (10%)
1 cup whipping cream (35%)
1/2 cup maple syrup

Instructions

Mash raspberries through thoroughly. Strain to remove seeds.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and sugar for 4 to 5 minutes until thick and light yellow.
Stir in the raspberry puree, half & half, whipping cream and maple syrup.
Freeze in an ice-cream maker following manufacturer's directions.

Barbecue Roasted Red Peppers

charmian.christie@gmail.com (Christie's Corner) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:11:00 +0000

I'm feeling a tad guilty again. While yesterday's post about roasted garlic got a lot of you excited, it turns out this dish raised a few issues. First, DivaLisa is extremely allergic to garlic. Although she was too polite to say this, I'm pretty sure a close-up of her culinary nemesis caused her more discomfort than is warranted on a Monday morning.

Second, Dana McCauley pointed out that firing up the grill just to roast a head of garlic is wasteful. She's got a brilliant method for pan-braised garlic that she swears is easier on energy consumption and better tasting to boot. I'm going to bookmark her technique for future reference. After all, I won't always have the grill fired up for something else.

The "something else" in question was roasted red peppers. I adore them. Tossed into salads, pureed into soups, ground into dips...

A while ago my friend Janie asked how to roast peppers, and although I distinctly remember answering her, I can't find anything in the blog archives. So, here's a recipe for roasted red peppers that has no garlic, won't waste resources and answers Janie's question.

If you already make and consume these wonderful vegetables (I know, they're technically a fruit because they have seeds) what dishes do you use them with? Or are roasted peppers too time-consuming for you?

Grill Roasted Red Peppers
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

Whole red peppers, washed (this works with green, orange and yellow peppers)

Instructions

Heat the grill to medium. (You can also do this in your oven under the broiler.)
Place peppers directly on a lightly greased grill. Close the lid and grill, turning every 5 minutes or so, until the peppers are charred on all sides.
Wrap peppers in a paper bag or place them in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Let sit to allow the steam to loosen the skin. [Update: Dana McCauley says: "I place the hot, grilled peppers in a bowl and cover it tightly with foil. Once the peppers are cooled to room temp, I remove the foil and the peels have usually almost literally sweated off." Thanks, Dana!]
When the peppers have cooled enough to handle, peel the skin off. Remove the stem and seeds.

Barbecue Roasted Garlic

charmian.christie@gmail.com (Christie's Corner) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:01:00 +0000

Lesson learned. Don't blog for a few days and family members will phone to check up on you.

I'm fine. Really. I haven't succumbed to swine flu, only the temptations of summer. Truth be told, I've been playing hooky with my barbecue — I mean grill.

Our house can't take the heat of the oven once the warm weather hits, so we're cooking everything we can outdoors. I needed some roasted garlic for a recipe I'm developing and couldn't bear to crank up the stove for such a small item. So, since I was roasting some red peppers on the grill I cooked up the garlic, too.

Now, I'll confess. I don't actually like roasted garlic on its own. I know, it's sweet and far milder than its uncooked counterpart. But there's something pasty about the texture. But mash it into a dip in lieu of raw garlic? I'm there!

Since I wasn't sure if garlic would roast well on a grill, I cooked only one bulb. And it worked like a charm. See? Soft but still perfectly whole.

To roast the garlic without burning, I put the peppers directly on the grill one side over a flame and the garlic on the upper rack on the other side with the heat turned off. While I only tested this technique on a single bulb of garlic, you can roast more, just wrap them individually.

I'll get to the recipe in a minute, but I'm curious. Do you use roasted garlic? If so, how? If not, are you turned off by the texture like I am? Or is roasted garlic not on your radar?

Grill-Roasted Garlic
Printable Recipe

If you don't have a gas grill, you can get the same results in a standard oven set to 350°F.

Ingredients

Whole head of garlic
Olive or canola oil

Instructions

Preheat grill with one burner set to medium.
Cut the top of the garlic off with a sharp knife.
Place the garlic on a piece of aluminum foil large enough to envelope the whole bulb.
Drizzle lightly with oil.
Wrap the garlic tightly and place on the upper rack of your gas grill on the side WITHOUT the flame.
Close the lid and let the garlic roast for 30 minutes or until the garlic is soft.

Feeding Fussy Eaters

charmian.christie@gmail.com (Christie's Corner) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:00:00 +0000

This is Cheryl Arkison, aka the Backseat Gourmet. She's got a full-time job, a couple of blogs and two young kids. She's also got a lot of good ideas about handling fussy eaters. When I posted a Reader's Question about feeding fussy eaters, Cheryl didn't just post an idea in the comments section, she posted an excellent short article.

Now, Marta made an excellent point about not forcing kids to eat, and Teresa helped her fussy eater develop an adventuresome palate by offering choices — between healthy options, mind you. But, a few of you remain stumped and even confess to being picky about food yourself. Please, if you're over 21 you're "discerning".

Anyway, I liked Cheryl's thoughtful and detailed response so much, I asked her permission to repost it here. She graciously agreed and provided a photo along with this short bio:

I am a thirty something mom to two girls, ages 3 and 1. While I currently have a desk job working on climate change related issues, once upon a time I worked in professional kitchens and restaurants. Rather than go to cooking school I chose grad school - and look where I ended up! Still wishing I was more directly involved with food again. I take out those tendencies on my children and husband! I don't think they're complaining.

Well, Cheryl, here's your chance to be more directly involved with food again. For those who didn't read the comments section, here are some solutions from a mother of two.

Getting Kids to Eat
Courtesy of Cheryl Arkison

As my kids get older I am starting to believe that fussy eaters are partially made, not born. There is an element of kid personality in there - stubborn, adventurous, fearful, curious - but there is also what we, as parents do. I believe that if we make an issue out of things, it becomes an issue. So if your kid won't eat vegetables and we are constantly harangueing them to eat their peas, then they will grow up fighting you on them.

We feed our kids what we eat for dinner - same spices, same seasonings, same ingredients. We put a little of everything on their plate. After that they can choose to eat it or not. If the 3-year-old is refusing her dinner and insisting on cookies then she doesn't get cookies. But if she ate at least some of what we gave her, and tried everything at least once then she gets some fruit and a cookie (if we have them in the house). She doesn't go to bed hungry. But if she won't eat her dinner and just wants a cookie? Sorry kid, you're S.O.L. No negotiation, just a simple fact that you have to eat dinner before treats.

In terms of on-the-ground tips?

Sit down together so they see everyone eating the same thing (positive peer pressure). They copy what we do all the time, so model your own good eating.
Utensils. Change it up sometimes or let them eat with their hands. Novelty can go a long way (for example, The Monster asked to go out for sushi the other day, then refused to eat. We got her the kiddie chopsticks and suddenly she was a a sashimi fiend).
Get them in the kitchen. It's no guarantee, but having them help, even as a toddler, gives them ownership and pride in what's on their plate.
Get them in the field. Have them touch the food in the ground, as it comes out of the ground. Those memories will trigger lots of enjoyment and association at the dinner table.
Don't lie. I'm not a fan of hiding vegetables in food or making up fun names for conventional things. It is what it is and they will like it or not. Of course, family nicknames for things don't count (we call filled pasta Ghosts, for example)
Relax. Over the course a week most kids eat a balanced diet (if you offer them one). So one day is not great on the veggie or milk front, tomorrow they'll eat a bowl of yoghurt and it will be fine.
Offer, offer, offer. If you only give your kids chicken strips and cheese then that's what they'll eat, so don't complain about it. If you want them to eat something besides that then prepare yourself for a few weeks of tantrums and simply take that stuff out of the house. Then just keep presenting what you want them to eat, no pressure, and hope for the best.

Many thanks to Cheryl for sharing her hard-earned, first-hand experiences. Anyone try these approaches? How did they work? If you've got other tricks, we'd love to hear them.

From the Archives: Ginger Ice Cream Pie

charmian.christie@gmail.com (Christie's Corner) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:26:00 +0000

I just found out my friend Geoff is coming to town this summer. His visit is more than a month away, but I have got to start planning the pie NOW.

You see, I'm into cakes and cookies, but Geoff is all about Pie-Pie-Pie. For my dad, the decision would be easy — Lemon Pie all the way. But Geoff? Well, he's a pie aficionado. He's eaten pie of every kind across the globe. And I'm up against the best bakers in the world.

Given the post below, I have to serve Ginger Ice Cream Pie, but I've seen this guy order ice cream as an appetizer and I need a backup dessert. So tell me, what's your favourite pie? Or would you secretly be wishing I'd serve cake?

Original post is here.

Geoff loves sweets and he adores pie most of all. Just talk about candy within earshot and Geoff's face lights up. Say the word "pie" and his grin cracks so wide you can see the fillings in his molars. If you aren't careful he will go into great detail about where to buy the best pie in any major city in North America. Whether you've been there or not.

A few months ago Geoff and I had a joint gelato binge. We sampled our way through a gut-busting array of delicious flavours. When I mentioned the ginger gelato was as good as my homemade version, Geoff's stopped eating and looked at me. He fell silent for a few seconds. "You know what would be even better?" he asked. No, Geoff. What?

"Pie!"

A dizzying world-championship-ping-pong match of a conversation followed. Do not take time to breath when you read it, because we didn't.

Geoff: Ice cream pie!

Me: Ginger Ice Cream Pie?

Geoff: Yes!

Me: With crystalized ginger...

Geoff: In a pie.

Me: Crust -- pastry or cookie?

Geoff: Cookie.

Me: Chocolate or ginger?

Geoff: Ginger.

Me: Any chocolate?

Geoff: Gotta have chocolate.

Me: Churned in or drizzled on top?

Geoff: On top.

Me: Done!

Geoff: But not drizzled -- rolled!

Me: Rolled?

Geoff: You know. Those little logs.

Phew. In less than ten seconds we'd designed Geoff's dream pie and I'd promised not only to make it in his honour, but to post the recipe on his birthday. And his birthday just happens to fall on November 11th. Year unstated.

So today, I fondly remember my time with Geoff, sampling our way through the menu at American Spoon, Petosky, Michigan.

And yes, Geoff, I know those little chocolate logs. All too well. I have chosen to save my sanity and drizzle the chocolate on top instead. It will taste just as good. Promise.

See?

The following recipe for the ice cream pie can be made by anyone. Geoff's candy-inspired smile? That can only be experienced first hand.

Happy birthday, Geoff! This one's for you.

Ginger Ice Cream Pie
Make a 10-inch deep dish pie

Ingredients

Crust

2 cups ground ginger cookies
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 cup butter, melted

Ice Cream Filling

1 cup fresh ginger, sliced, unpeeled
2 cups whipping cream
1 cup milk
3/4 cup white sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup crystalized ginger, minced

Chocolate Drizzle

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, broken into chunks
1 tbsp butter

Instructions

Crust

Preheat over to 350F.
Grind the ginger cookies until fine.
Mix in brown sugar and ground ginger. Add melted butter and blend thoroughly.
Press firmly into the bottom and sides of a 10-inch deep dish pie plate.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Allow the crust to cool before filling.

Ice Cream Filling

Place sliced ginger in a saucepan. Cover with water by a good 1/2 inch.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 2 to 3 minutes. Drain liquid from ginger.
Place blanched ginger with 1 cup cream, the milk, sugar and salt in the sauce pan and heat to just simmering.
Turn off heat, cover and let sit for an hour. Remove ginger.
Add the remaining cream and chill the base thoroughly.
Churn according to manufacturer's instructions.
In the last 5 minutes, churn in the chopped crystalized ginger pieces.
Meanwhile, prepare the crust.

Assembly and Chocolate Drizzle

Melt chocolate and butter together, stirring until smooth.
Coat the inside of the crust with melted chocolate using the back of a spoon. This prevents the ice cream from making the crust soggy.
Harden the coated crust in the fridge for a few minutes.
When the chocolate has hardened slightly, pile the ice cream into the coated crust.
Drizzle remaining chocolate over the filling. (Note: I poured the remaining chocolate into a small Ziploc bag, snipped the corner with scissors to create a disposable piping bag. It allowed for a fair amount of control and made clean up easy.)
Chill the decorated pie in the freezer to allow the ice cream to harden.
A half hour before serving, soften pie in the refrigerator.

Roasted Cauliflower with Fennel - A Virtual Potluck with Monica Bhide

charmian.christie@gmail.com (Christie's Corner) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:47:00 +0000

Okay, I'm trying really hard to keep it real. See the aqua cast iron pan? It's older than I am and has permanent baked on stains. Remember that. It's important.

Why? Because this is my contribution to Monica Bhide's Virtual Potluck Party and I'm trying really hard not to let my head get too big. I think this is the first of its kind and I know the guest list is impressive.

As a fun way to promote Modern Spice, Monica invited a couple dozen food bloggers to a virtual potluck. We're all making dishes from her book, posting on our respective blogs, and then "gathering" at Monica's to share the results.

After I accepted the invitation Monica told me dessert was being covered by Dorie Greenspan — yes, THAT Dorie Greenspan, the five-time James Beard winner who is the Julia Child of baking. I began to breathe quickly.

And later, when Monica oh-so-casually mentioned that Julie Powell is also taking part — the blogger who landed the Julie & Julia book deal that became a best seller and then got made into a movie starring Meryl Streep — well, I practically hyperventilated.

What would I wear? How would I shoot the dish? What if I screwed up? I ran around the kitchen flapping my arms and trying to dispel the bad mojo of my previous podcast. I was just about to hurl myself into what my mother calls a full-bore-lateral-panic when I saw my aqua blue cast iron skillet sitting on my crappy grease-splattered stove. Both humble items have cooked hundreds of meals. They're seasoned veterans. Those stains are battle scars, culinary badges of honour, if you will.

So, I put the Roasted Cauliflower and Fennel in my hand-me-down aqua blue cast iron pan and popped the dish into my bottom-of-the-line gas stove. The dish came out perfectly. And the aqua enamel provided a subtle contrast to the golden brown of the roasted cauliflower. I then went outside, took some shots, and proceeded to eat the entire dish all by myself.

No wonder Monica says of all the recipes in the book, this is the favourite of her and the kids.

When you're done here, stop by Monica's to see what the final meal looks like and sneak a peek at her guest list. I'm not sure if everyone has arrived yet, but I'm going to be one of those annoying guests who shows up early while you're still half dressed and haven't had time to set the table. Just keepin' it real.

Roasted Cauliflower with Fennel
Printable Recipe
Recipes courtesy of Monica Bhide, from her book Modern Spice (Simon & Schuster, 2009)

I owe eGullet.org a lot—it taught me how to cook well and how to take chances with ingredients and cooking methods. This dish is a perfect example. I had made cauliflower every which way—I blanched it, sautéed it, boiled it, mashed it, deep fried it, and have even eaten it raw. But until eGullet, I never knew I could roast it! This recipe really brings out the richness of the cauliflower and is matched perfectly with the robustness of the spices. I use my fennel rub along with a few other spices. If you have sea salt, it works really well with this recipe. The cauliflower tends to shrink when roasted so one head of cauliflower is about right for 2 servings.

Serves 2
Prep/Cook time: 40 minutes

1 medium head cauliflower (about 1 1⁄4 to 1 1⁄2 pounds)
1⁄4 cup vegetable oil
1 1⁄2 tablespoons Fennel-Chile Dry Rub (see below)
1⁄2 tablespoon coriander seeds, crushed
1⁄4 teaspoon table salt to start

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut the cauliflower into 1-inch florets and place in a large bowl. Drizzle with the oil and toss with your hands to coat each floret.
2. In a small bowl combine the dry rub, coriander, and salt. Add the spice mixture to the cauliflower. Once again, no tool is better than your hands. Get in there and make sure all the florets are well coated.
3. Place the cauliflower on a baking sheet and spread out evenly in a single layer. Don’t worry if it is a little crowded. If you really cannot fit it on one sheet, use two.
4. Bake for about 15 minutes. Stir and bake for another 15 minutes or until the cauliflower is well browned and cooked through. Serve hot.

Fennel-Chile Dry Rub

This is a wonderful rub for meats and fish. While I prefer it as a dry rub, you can add lemon juice or a neutral oil like grapeseed to make it wet if you like. Use the rub on your choice of meat, allow it to marinate for a few minutes, and then grill, roast, or sauté. As with any spice, if you are going to store this for a long time, please ensure it is still flavorful before using. Use your nose—if you can smell the spices, it is still good to go; if not, toss it and make a fresh batch. This rub lasts up to two months in a sealed container.

Makes about 1/4 cup
Prep/Cook time: 5 minutes

1⁄4 cup fennel seeds
4 whole dried red chiles
1⁄2 teaspoon ground peppercorns (use a medley of different colored peppercorns)

1. Heat a small dry skillet over medium heat. Add the fennel seeds. Toss until the seeds are fragrant. This takes just about 1 minute, so watch them carefully and keep tossing the seeds in the pan or they will burn.
2. Add the chiles and toss for another 5 seconds.
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
4. Grind to a coarse powder in a spice grinder. Add the peppercorns and mix well.
5. Store, covered, until needed.

Dana McCauley and My First Ever Podcast

charmian.christie@gmail.com (Christie's Corner) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:47:00 +0000

Update: First podcast launch ever? Make that WORST podcast launch ever. Internet Explorer refuses to launch it. Blogger refuses to embed it. And until iTunes adds me to the feed, no iPod can use it.

Changing my motto to: Real podcasts. Real life. They ain't always pretty..

Fools rush in where techies fear to tread.

In an attempt to solve your dinner dilemmas, I created a new one of my own. As a follow up to her cookbook giveaway, I've got an amazing interview with food trend expert and cookbook author, Dana McCauley, all loaded up and ready to be broadcast as my first podcast -- and it's 40-minutes long!

Bear with me. It took every brain cell in my head to figure out how to record, edit, compress and upload the thing. I even created "chapters" so you can jump to any question that interests you. But that feature is only accessible in iTunes and it could take up to three weeks before my podcast gets registered there.

Dana gives thorough, well thought out answers and I'm not about to reduce her wisdom to a series of sound bytes. So, today I'm posting the interview in it's entirety and relying on your feedback.

Tell me: Would you listen to a 40-minute podcast at work, on a commute or while working out? Or is it worth my time to break it up into mini podcasts. If so, how long should they be?

And now, without further ado, here is Dana McCauley answering your Top Ten Questions via podcast.

I hope.

Rhubarb Muffins Two Ways

charmian.christie@gmail.com (Christie's Corner) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:20:00 +0000

Since I didn't blog yesterday I'm double dipping today.

First I'm answering Debbie's question from her contest entry. She asks.

What's the difference between a sweet potato and a yam?

Seems Debbie isn't the only one who's confused. Google yielded 24,700 hits when I typed in her question. Even the Library of Congress has an article about the differences. Check it out here if you're so inclined.

In a nutshell, in Canada and the US, most "yams" are actually sweet potatoes. True yams are a starchy, dry tuber related to the lily family. Native to Asia and Africa real yams are rare in North American grocery stores. Sweet potatoes, however, are easy to find. Although they originate in the tropical regions of Central and South America, we grow sweet potatoes here. Not a real potato, sweet potatoes are actually the roots of a morning glory variety. There are two main kinds. The pale yellow version isn't very sweet and is dry and crumbly when cooked. The more familiar variety is dark orange, sweet and moist. Even though "candied yams" is fun to say, "candied sweet potatoes" is more accurate. Here endeth the botany lesson for the day.

Secondly, I've created a recipe that uses sweet potatoes —and the rhubarb that (finally) grew in my garden.

For this recipe, I simply popped an extra sweet potato in the oven while cooking dinner the other night. But the twist comes in the baking.

I was going to use a simple streusel topping but since my schedule has been turned upside-down lately, I thought I'd make an upside-down version to boot. To my surprise — even though the batter was the same — the muffins turned out totally differently. You can see the size difference below.

The sugar topped muffins (seen on the right) baked up bigger and lighter, spilling over the rims. They're moist, but dry enough to pick up and eat with your fingers. See?

The upside-down version stayed within the confines of the tin and had a rich, sticky-pudding texture. Once overturned, these require a plate and fork.

If I had to choose, it would opt for the heavier, messier upside-down muffins. Moms might disagree with me. Either way, these are tasty.

Ever had upside down muffins before? Do you like yours sprinkled with sugar or would you rather have your muffins naked?

Two Way Rhubarb Muffins -- Sugar-Topped or Upside-Down
Printable Recipe
Make 12 muffins

Ingredients

Batter

1 cup cooked sweet potato, skinned
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ginger
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups fresh rhubarb, finely diced

Toppings for Sugar Sprinkled version

1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp butter, room temperature
1 tsp spice mix, reserved from batter

Bottom for Upside-Down Version

1 cup fresh rhubarb, finely chopped
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

Instructions

Preheat to 400 degrees F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with muffin papers.
Using an immersion blender or food processor, puree the sweet potato with the buttermilk until smooth. Transfer puree to a small bowl and mix in egg and melted butter until smooth.
Blend cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves and ginger together. Set aside 1 tsp of this spice mix for sprinkling on top. If making the upside-down version, you can save this for another purpose or add it to the batter for a stronger flavour.
In a large bowl blend together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, all but 1 tsp of the spice blend, and salt.
Toss rhubarb in the flour mixture to coat.
Add sweet potato mixture to the flour and stir until the batter is just blended. Do not overmix! Overmixing muffins will make them tough.
If you are making the upside-down version, blend the ingredients for the bottom together, mixing to coat the rhubarb well. Spoon the rhubarb mix into the bottom of the lined muffin tin, dividing evenly.
For either version, spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins, filling them to the brim.
If you are making the sugar-coated version, blend the sugar, butter and 1 tsp of spice mix until the mixture resembles crumbs. Sprinkle over the batter.
For both versions, bake 15 to 18 minutes. The muffins will spring back when tapped lightly.
For sugar-sprinkled version, set the muffin tin on wire rack to cool.
For the upside-down version, turn the muffin tin over, to let the rhubarb mixture soak in. When cool enough to handle, but still warm, remove the muffin papers and leave the muffin rhubarb side up.

The Winner of Dana's Top Ten Table is...

charmian.christie@gmail.com (Christie's Corner) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:48:00 +0000

Talk about slipping in under the wire. Elizabeth from Stevensville, MI posted her comment at exactly noon today. I was in such a rush to enter her information and select a winner that I left the "e" off Stevensville. My apologies to all Stevensville residents.

Congratulations, Elizabeth! Not only did you beat out 60 other entries, your timing is impeccable. I'll be emailing you later for your mailing address.

Now, before the rest of you go away dejected, you're all winners. Dana McCauley is going to answer 10 of your most pressing dinner questions in Christie's Corner first-ever podcast. And what she doesn't cover I'll be tackling as Reader Questions.

Thanks to everyone for playing. And to Dana for her generous donation of the book and her time.

Readers' Questions - Dealing with Fussy Eaters

charmian.christie@gmail.com (Christie's Corner) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:47:00 +0000

As the entries to win a copy of Dana's Top Ten Table roll in, a few patterns emerge. You're bored, strapped for time and dealing with fussy eaters. While Dana's going to address the first two questions (and eight others) in an interview later, I thought I'd get a jump start on the third issue -- finicky eaters.

John Wilmot once said, "Before I was married, I had a hundred theories about raising children and no children. Now, I have three children and no theories." Well, I've no children and I'm no fool. I can tell you it takes 8 to 15 exposures to get a child to accept a new food. I can tell you to include everyone in the meal planning and dinner preparations to get buy-in. I can even point you to a quiz to assess which type of taster you and your family members are (point, point). But I know this is all theory and doesn't always translate neatly to reality. Heck, my mom did the 15-exposure thing with me and peas. And what did she get? A stash of dehydrated veggies tucked under the table ledge.

And I'm still no fan of peas.

So, whether you're dealing with a two-year-old, a 62-year-old or any age in between, why not share your tips and tricks on getting dinner into picky eaters. What works? What doesn't? Maybe between us we'll find some solutions that suit some of the people some of the time.

Oh yes, and if you haven't already entered the book giveaway, the contest is still open until noon on Monday.

Do you eat local? Think again.

charmian.christie@gmail.com (Christie's Corner) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:07:00 +0000

I don't normally get on a soapbox but this video deserves 2 minutes and 46 seconds of your attention. It's not funny. It's not cute. It's just very eye-opening.

I saw a raw version of this video during the Hellman's information session I attended a couple of weeks ago. During the viewing, I gasped out loud when I heard the ratio of homegrown to imported pears.

Denial immediately set in. I told myself all sorts of soothing things. The biggest comfort? Living just outside the farm-rich Kitchener-Waterloo region most of my food was local. Pears must be one dramatic exception. Yes, that's it. They picked the one item that would grab me by the collar and shake me.

But the researchers for this video must have been psychic. Part way through my mental placating, the narrator dropped another bomb. On average, meals in the K-W region, despite being surrounded by farms, travel more than 4000 kilometers to get to the table. And pears alone don't make a meal.

Busted.

The video is now up on YouTube, with fancy graphics in place, but the information is no less unsettling the second time round. In fact, I'm a bit more disturbed since I've absorbed more of the data. While they use Canadian statistics, I'm sure the numbers aren't all that different for the US border states. And what would the numbers be for countries with a short growing season and little arable land?

In the interest of full disclosure, I remind you the information session was hosted by Hellman's, who paid for my hotel, transportation, meals and beverages. The presenters tell me the numbers used in this video came from a wide variety of impartial sources and were meticulously vetted before going live. Based on the thoroughness of their legal department in allowing for reciprocal links, I believe them. I also want you to know I'm under no obligation -- legal or implied -- to mention or promote this video.

After seeing this, Andrew pointed out that we don't know where the flash frozen fruit that stocks our freeze all winter comes from. We just assumed that the local company we buy from sells local berries. While I'm not about to give up mangos, lemons, coffee and coconut, I realize I've been taking a lot on faith and need to ask more questions before dropping produce in the cart.

To help with your local purchase choices, Hellman's lists in-season ingredients by province on their Eat Real, Eat Local site. Your Farmers' Market website or Greenbelt Fresh can also provide information about seasonal and local produce. If you live in Quebec, SOS Cuisine is an outstanding source for seasonal food. I'm not sure what sites exist for US readers, but if you know of any, please post the link in the comments section and I'll set up a link section listing local food sites for both countries.

Or you could take matters into your own hands like BBS did. He writes:

The Essex County Federation of Agriculture recently published a Local Foods map. It's limited in some ways as they only published those sources who paid to be included in the map. Nevertheless, it's a good start. They published 20,000 hard copies of the map for distribution. I took the locations they had listed on the map and created an Essex County Local Food Map using Google Maps. Every location listed on the map was also invited as collaborators. Initially the map drew around 2 to 3 thousand views, which then drew the interest of the Federation. They have since included the map on their website and the views are now over 21,000.

I'm currently working on filling out enhanced profiles for each of the locations. As well, several other local food enthusiasts have joined up and we're planning a second free online version of the map that will include all the local food sources that we can find.

Google Maps is a great free resource that can be utilized anywhere to create your own local food map. Hard copy maps are great, but they can be expensive and time consuming to create. This is a simple free solution that can then be shared online through blogs, websites, Facebook and other social media sites. If anyone is interested in setting up or promoting their own local map online, I'd be more than happy to help.

Almost forgot -here's a quick and rough example of how you can also use Google to create your own free site to help promote your map.

I know I recently wrote about eating local and many of you, like BBS, weighed in on the topic, but I'm curious, does a video like this drive home the reality better? Or do we just need to keep talking about the topic to keep it in the front of our brains? Or have we talked about it so much you'd eat Chinese garlic to shut me up?

Food or Sleep?

charmian.christie@gmail.com (Christie's Corner) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:48:00 +0000

I've just returned from back-to-back conferences.

Conference #One had decent coffee (with organic milk), fabulous croissants at breakfast, and a wide variety of flavourful food at the dinner buffet. And the desserts? I actually had a chocolate treat that was so rich I could barely finish it. While the catering impressed me, the conference facilities were a let down with unreliable internet access and dodgy lodgings. The bed sagged, the carpet was as spotty as the WiFi and the air conditioning sounded like a plane flying overhead in a holding pattern. The good food went a long way to balance the bad sleep.

When I arrived at Conference #Two, I heaved a sigh of relief. The bed lulled me to sleep and the feather pillows were so comfy, I was tempted to steal them. While the jacuzzi called it was hard to leave the balcony with its view of Niagara Falls. But my joy lasted only until breakfast. Battery acid coffee, bran muffins that tasted like wood chips, and eggs I wouldn't eat on a dare. I had one decent lunch but my good night's sleep was tempered by lousy food.

Ideally, I'd have had good food and comfortable accommodations simultaneously. but that wasn't in the convention cards. If you'd asked me last week I'd have said food was more important, but now I'm not so sure. Have you ever had this kind of situation? If so, how did you feel about it? What did you remember most -- the good or the bad?

Book Giveaway - Dana's Top Ten Table

charmian.christie@gmail.com (Christie's Corner) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:15:00 +0000

After a steady diet of archive posts, I'm ready for something new.

Culinary trend tracker, chef and cyber-friend, Dana McCauley, has generously donated a cookbook and her expertise for the cause. Not only will the lucky winner receive a signed copy of Dana's Top Ten Table, ten (10!!) entrants will have their everyday cooking or meal dilemma questions answered by Dana herself.

The Book
Dana's Top Ten Table is an antidote to culinary boredom anyone can administer. No outrageous prep times. No expensive machinery. No trips to gourmet specialty shops. And no heavy reliance on sodium-laced, pre-packaged items.

Instead of steering readers away from the Top Ten dishes — chicken, burgers, steak, pork, fish, soup, casseroles, pasta, pizza an sandwiches — Dana embraced the familiar and created 200 updated variations the whole family will love.

I recently reposted her recipe for Stromboli, but if Italian isn't your thing try saying "Butter-Basted Bison Burgers" three times fast. This bistro-inspired meal is on the table in 20 minutes. Ginger Cranberry Chicken Breasts are in the oven in 5 minutes and on the table before the hour's out.

Alongside her easy-to-make recipes, Dana also serves up ideas for large batches, freezing and side dishes.

The Contest
This giveaway is open to residents of Canada or the US and closes at noon EST on Monday, June 15, 2009. To enter, just leave a note in the comments section with the following information:

Your name
Your city and province / state
Your pressing dinner dilemma or everyday cooking question.

The cookbook winner will be selected with my handy-dandy Dine-o-Matic widget. When I announce the winner, I'll also post a podcast interview with Dana in which she answers your Top Ten culinary questions.

Ready? 1-2-3... GO!!

From the Archives: Thai Coconut Soup

charmian.christie@gmail.com (Christie's Corner) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 11:35:00 +0000

I'm on the road this week and will be dipping into the archives for a few tasty blasts from the past. This posts features a recipe that can warm you in winter but goes down easy any time of year. And if you're complaining about the heat, my winter woes might change your mind.

Thai Coconut Soup Click here for original post

The long-predicted storm has hit. Fluffy, delicate flakes are not wafting from the heavens like diamond dust making everything merry and bright. Au contraire! Tiny, razor-sharp ice crystals are thrashing about in the wind, whitewashing the great outdoors. In this weather, a jaunt for the mail morphs into a life-threatening journey.

I'm no dummy. Andrew collects the mail while I make soup.

In defiance of the weather, I made a tropical Thai soup. The coconut milk base, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass and chilies are almost enough to make me forget the storm. Bright colours and a burst of citrus are the perfect antidote to this mid-winter brouhaha. Best part? In less than half an hour it's on the table.

Take that Old Man Winter!

Thai Coconut Soup
Printable recipe

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 to 4 red chilies (more or less depending on your heat tolerance)
2 tins (400 ml) coconut milk
2 cups chicken stock
4 stalks lemon grass, bruised and cut in 2-inch lengths
1 piece galangal (optional)
1/4 cup fresh ginger, sliced thinly
8 kaffir lime leaves, torn
12 ounces (about 2 whole) skinless, boneless chicken, cut in thin strips
4 ounces button mushrooms (whole if tiny, quartered if large)
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tbsp fish sauce
fresh cilantro

Instructions

Heat a wok or saucepan until hot. Add 2 whole red chilies and cook until they just begin to turn brown. (If you can't take any heat, omit the chilies.)
Add coconut milk, stock, lemon grasss, galangal, ginger and 4 kaffir lime leaves. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Simmer 10 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the spices from the broth.
Add the chicken and mushrooms. Simmer 5 to 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. Timing will depend on how large you made the chicken pieces.
Stir in the lime juice and fish sauce.
Add the remaining lime leaves and garnish with plenty of chopped cilantro. The brave can add a couple of chopped red chilies.
Serve immediately.

From the Archives: Stromboli

charmian.christie@gmail.com (Christie's Corner) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:33:00 +0000

I'm on the road this week and will be dipping into the archives for a few tasty blasts from the past. This posts features a hit recipe by trend expert, cookbook author and cyber-friend Dana McCauley.

Italian Week - Stromboli Click here to read original post

It's Italian week and I'm more than a little intimidated. You could spend a lifetime studying its regional dishes and only take a small bite out of the country's offerings. Where do I start? What should I cover? Can I do The Boot justice?

So, to start the week off right, I turned to a pro -- Dana McCauley. Cookbook author, chef and food consultant, Dana generously shared her recipe for Stromboli, a delicious and innovative take on pizza.

What's Stromboli? Dana describes it as "a Philadelphia pizza specialty that is somewhat similar to an open ended, large-size calzone. This folded pizza is named for a particularly active volcano located near Sicily, Italy because, as the Stromboli bakes, the cheese and sauce often flow out of the ends like a delicious, savory lava."

She calls this dish a "conversation starter" since it got her school-age son and his friend talking about volcanoes and Italian geography. Delicious, nutritious and educational? You can't beat that combination.

In true Italian-style generosity, Dana provided not one, but three recipes (one for the Stromboli, one for her pizza dough and one for her pizza sauce) and is sharing her research on top ethnic cuisines in Canada on her blog today.

I feel like I've been given a big hug and a kiss on both cheeks.

Family-sized Stromboli
Printable recipe

Serves 4

Keep the ingredient combinations simple for Stromboli so that the eruptions aren’t so severe that the finished dish is an absolute mess to handle. Ideally the finished Stromboli will be easy to pick up and to eat out of hand after a brief cooling period.

1 portion pizza dough (recipe follows)
2 cups (500 mL) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup (125 mL) shredded or grated Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup (125 mL) basic pizza sauce (recipe follows)
1/2 cup (125 mL) thinly sliced pepperoni
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp (2 mL) poppy seeds

Preheat the oven to 450 F (225 C). Roll or stretch the dough out into a large rectangle, about 11 x 15 inches (27.5 x 37 cm). Place the dough on a greased, baking sheet.
Blend the cheeses and reserve. Spread the sauce down the center of the rectangle, leaving a wide, uncovered border of dough along each side. Sprinkle a little cheese and a layer of pepperoni over the sauce. Repeat the layers until all of the cheese and pepperoni have been used.
Fold one side of the dough over the filling and brush the edge with egg. Fold over the other side to overlap the dough like folding a letter. Pinch the seam to gently seal the dough together, leaving the ends open. Brush the top of the stromboli evenly with beaten egg and sprinkle evenly with poppy seeds.
Using a sharp knife, cut slashes every two or three inches down the length of the dough. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the stromboli is golden brown and the cheese is bubbling at the ends. Cool for about 10 minutes before slicing into thick portions. Makes 4 servings

Top Ten Table Pizza Dough:

1 1/2 cups (375 mL) all-purpose flour
1 tsp (5 mL) quick rising yeast
3/4 tsp (4 mL) salt
1 tbsp (15 mL) honey
1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) olive oil
1/2 cup (125 mL) very warm water between 105 to 115 F (43 C to 47 C)

Blend the flour, yeast and salt in a food processor fitted with a metal blade; add the honey and oil or butter. With the motor running, drizzle in water; mix for 1 minute or just until a ball forms.
Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface into a smooth ball; transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat it all over with oil. Cover and let the dough rise for 30 minutes. Stretch the dough into a circle about 12-inches (33 cm) in diameter and transfer to a lightly floured pizza pan or baking sheet; fold under the edge to make a rim. If time permits, let the dough rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator before topping.

Top Ten Table Pizza Sauce:

2 tbsp (30 mL) extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 carrot peeled and finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1/4 cup (50 mL) chopped fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp (15 mL) each chopped fresh thyme and oregano
3 (28 oz) cans diced tomatoes or 2 1/2 lb (1 kg) peeled, seeded chopped Roma tomatoes
1/2 tsp (2 mL) each salt and pepper
1 tsp (5 mL) each granulated sugar and red wine vinegar (approx)

Sauce: Heat the oil in Dutch oven set over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrot and parsley. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, basil, thyme and oregano. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and stir until well combined. Bring to a boil. Reduce the temperature to low and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until tomatoes are cooked down. Stir in the salt and pepper. Taste and add sugar and vinegar as required to balance the flavors. Cool to room temperature. Puree the sauce mixture in batches if necessary in a food processor or blender. Makes 2 cups (500 mL). (Recipe doubles or triples easily.)

Recipes from Dana's Top Ten Table: 200 Fresh Takes on Family-Favourite Meals. Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. Copyright © 2007 by Dana McCauley. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.