Cook&Bake

Final post.

2013-09-14T11:39:00.001-04:00

Well, it's been a while since last time I posted anything! Once again a lot has changed, I moved, I got a cat, and my eating habits are TOTALLY different than a year, even 6 months ago. Due to minor health issues I have cut all gluten and most dairy out of my diet, as well as white sugar and so therefore all "baked goods". Well the traditionally baked goods anyway with wheat flour. It started in may/june I noticed my stomach was not behaving quite well, I had cramps and unpleasant bowel movements and headaches almost everyday. I research a bit online, and thinking it was probably a dairy issue I cut all dairy (except yogurt). I got a bit better but I was still getting cramps, especially after eating pasta or bread. Ding ding ding...I stopped eating all foods with gluten and I have no more cramps and almost never any headaches(unless I spend too much time at the computer...).I was never "diagnosed" by an m.d. because these guys always wanna make you take pills and I don't wanna go down that path. Plus my problems were not so serious as to require medical attention, just a bit of research and a few conversations with a nutritionist were enough to make me choose to stop eating the foods that made me feel uncomfortable. And it took only a few weeks to make a difference. A HUGE difference. Oh and I also lost about 3 inches off my waist...added bonus, right? The exercising may have had something to do with it(swimming, yoga, weight training...), but I've exercised all my life and I've NEVER lost this kind of weight so fast. I'm just saying...And for those of you who might "worry" about the nutrients I might not be getting...don't worry, I eat plenty of veggies and fruits, millet, quinoa, eggs, meat and fish, nuts and healthy olive oil, and yogurt, the only dairy product still hanging out in my fridge...I eat as "clean" as possible. And it feels really good.
So, since this blog is mostly about baking, which I don't do anymore, I will not write anything else on it. This is the final post. I will leave it open because there are good recipes here and it's still getting hits, so for the sake of Google searchers I won't delete anything.
I will, however start a new food blog eventually. Because I do still cook, just no more baking. Not this kind anyway...
So until next time, foodies!

Laurie xox :)

Red Currant Jelly

2012-07-23T21:06:00.001-04:00

I've been on a real jam kick lately. Every fruit I see, I think about turning it into jam. And since the market's overflowing with fresh local fruits these days it's really easy to just go crazy and buy too much...so I end up with a lot of jam! For now it's mostly for me and the man and to give to friends and family but it might turn into a business someday...stay tuned!
So anywyay, last week-end I got some really beautiful bright red currants for pretty cheap, as soon as I saw them I knew I had to make jelly!! When I grew up we had a few bushes by the garden always full of those berries, and my mom used to make a good pudding with them. That would have been good, yes, but considering my latest obsession...

Making jam and jelly is really not that hard, it just takes time. And a good idea of how much sugar and lemon juice to use according to the amount of fruit...if you're using pectin, just follow the recipe, but if you want a good classic-tasting jam or jelly it's better to just let the fruit speak for itself with the sugar. There will be A LOT of it(sugar), but it's worth it in the taste! Usually it takes about 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar for every cup of fruit. Yes, that's a lot. It's jam, people!
Okay, back on the red currant jelly...

Those little things are very tart so there needs to be a good amount of sugar in there to make it tasty. Plus the berries have a lot of natural pectin so they need that sugar to concentrate that pectin and make the juice gel properly. It's a whole chemistry thing, I love it!
So, first of all, weigh and wash the berries and put them into a large pot (leave the stems! they have a lot of pectin too!). For every pound of fruit you'll need to add 1/2 cup of water. I had 2 pounds, so that's 1 cup water.

Simmer on medium while crushing the fruit to release its juices, for about 20-30 minutes, until the berries seem fully cooked and easily crushable... They will become colorless and the liquid will be like a syrup.

Pour that cooked fruit in a colander/seive lined with 3 layers of cheesecloth WITHOUT PRESSING ON IT and let it sit overnight. (I put it in the fridge because it's very humid here these days I didn't want to attract insects...)

The next day, discard the fruit and mesure the amount of juice. For every cup add one cup of sugar. I got 2 cups of juice, so 2 cups sugar. Also if you feel like it you can give it some spice, cinnamon, cloves, star anise and all-spice got into mine...subtle but brings it up a notch...
Bring that juice to a boil and cook until the gel test says it's, about 20 minutes.
To test for doneness, put a few plates in the freezer before you get started and to test spoon a bit of the jelly mix on one, leave it in the freezer for a few minutes and if you see that the sample is not dripping like water when you tilt the plate, but ressembles a jelly-like consistency on top, it's done. Here I have to apologize I didn't take any pictures of that process. Sorry.

When it's done skim the foam off, strain it again in a regular strainer to get the spices out, pour into hot STERELIZED jars and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. I'm not gonna get into the whole canning explanation...the web is LOADED with info on that subject!

When it's all done leave the jars cool 24 hours in a draft-free place. If afterwards there's a jar that didn't get sealed put it in the fridge just in case...it'll stay good for at least a month!

Isn't it pretty?

I got a total of 6 cute little 125ml jars of that good stuff. I'm gonna have to make more because it's too good!

Strawberry-Plum Crisp

2012-07-09T19:10:00.000-04:00

This is what summer tastes like! Fresh fruit!!
Strawberries are in season and I bought a load of them a few days ago to make jam, but even after a big batch I had a lot of fruit left. And I also had a few black plums lying around that were a bit to tart to eat raw but were getting a bit too soft... So I made a fruit crisp, one of my favorite dessert to eat AND to make, also a good way to save fruit that are about to die... There's no recipe, per say, only instinct and common sense!

Ingredients:

For the fruit mix:
3 big black plums, thinly sliced (don't bother peeling them, the peel will get nice and soft)
About 3-4 cups strawberries (maybe 5,...it made 6 cups of fruit total), hulled and sliced in half if needed (I sliced the bigger ones in half, left small ones whole!=BIG strawberrry chunks!!)
1 cup sugar (more if you like it very sweet...)
3 TBSP cornstarch
1 TBSP lemon juice

For the topping:
2-3 cups quick oats
About 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup soft butter, unsalted
1 tsp chinese five spice
Pinch of salt

Mix all the topping's ingredient together until it clumps when you squeeze it. If it's to dry add more butter, if too wet add flour.
Mix all the fruit mix stuff, pour in a 8x8in. baking pan.
Spread the topping and press gently to make it even.
Bake at 350 on the middle rack for about 30 minutes, until it starts bubbling and the fruit is fully cooked (poke it with a fork, there shouldn't be any resistance!).

Grab a spoon and dig in!

p.s. starwberries are very juicy, so to prevent a mess in your oven put a sheet of foil on the bottom rack! This one didn't boil over but just in case... ;)

Peach and Strawberry Coffee Cake

2012-04-23T19:11:00.000-04:00

This is what happens when you get a tub of sour cream on special that's close to the 'best before' date but since you usually don't really use sour cream in semi-healthy baking you kinda end up searching through books and magazines for a recipe that uses LOTS of it...so theeeeen you end up with this yummy, moist and soft peachy coffee cake. I got the recipe in a big baking book and changed it up a bit. It originally called for blueberries, but I didn't have any so I substituted for peaches and strawberries. I also switched half of the sugar for brown sugar because peaches and "cassonade" go hand in hand, right?

Here's the recipe:
the cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, soften
3/4 cup sugar, half regular half dark brown(pack it well!)
1 egg
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla

the filling:
2 cups frozen of fresh fruit of your choice(i used peaches and strawberries)
1 TBSP brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cloves

the topping:
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 TBSP butter or margarine, melted
1 TSPP flour

Start by turning on the oven at 350 and set the rack in the middle of the oven. Also grease or spray with oil a 9in. springform pan.
Get the fruit mix ready by simply mixing the fruit and the sugar with the cloves and set aside.
Make the topping: mix all the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
In another bowl, mix the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the egg, vanilla and sour cream and mix.
Gradually add the flour and blend it all well.
The batter will be a bit hard, it's ok!

Spread 2/3 of that batter in the prepared pan. If it's too sticky, put some butter or oil on your fingers and press the batter evenly around the pan. POur the fruit mix over and sponn the reaming batter over the fruit. Again, oily fingers will help!! Sprinkle the topping over for the final layer and bake for 60-65 minutes, until a knife in the middle comes out clean.
Cool in the pan on wire rack for 10 minutes, then detach the side of the pan to cool completely.
(by the way, I LOVE my springform pan!!! great for cheese cakes! everybody should have one! just saying...)

Oh My!

Raspberry-Cream Cheese-Peanut Butter Brownie.

2012-03-16T17:37:00.002-04:00

Please ignore the mention of "healthy baking" at the top of this blog...this is not one of those recipes. This one is decadent, rich and oh so sinful! It's chocolate, cream cheese, peanut butter, jam, all in one. A medley brownie if you will.
I got the recipe in a big baking bible book, I forget the title, and I changed it a bit to fit today's craving of choco-pb&j-cheesy treat.
It requires quite a bit of organisation so it's good to read the recipe first before getting started. Start by turning on the oven at 350. Also get a 8x8 square pan ready, sprayed with oil.
Here's the ingredients you'll need:

for the filling:
4oz. soft cream cheese
4oz. smooth peanut butter(you could use crunchy but I like smooth...)
1 egg
3 TBSP sugar
1 tsp vanilla

-beat the cheese and p.b. together until smooth, add the egg, sugar and vanilla and mix until very smooth. Set aside.

for the brownie batter:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (NOT melted!)
3/4 cup+1TBSP sugar
1 egg
3oz semi-sweet chocolate melted
2oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 cup all-purpose flour
pinch of salt

-start by melting the chocolates(in the same bowl...), once melted set aside to cool a bit.
-mix the butter and sugar together until creamy.
-add the egg and beat in.
-add the chocolates slowly and mix well.
-add the flour and salt and blend in with a wooden spoon or spatula.

Spread the batter in the pan, leaving 1 cup aside for the topping.
Spread the cheese/pb mix over.
Add a few teaspoonfulls of jam, I chose raspberry. But cherry would be good too, or strawberry, or even marmalade. Drop spoonfulls of the remaining batter on top.
Spread all that goodness around and swirl a knife through the top to make a pattern. It will look messy but the heat of the oven will take care of the final spread...
Pop it in the oven (on the midddle rack)for 35 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack and slice.

It's sooooooooooo gooooooood!!!!!

Pumpkin Chocolate Walnut Muffins

2011-10-14T21:33:00.000-04:00

I love making muffins. I think I've already said that before, many times, but it's true. I love how it's an easy snack, a nice quick breakfast and plus they can be really healthy. I have this one recipe I use as a base, I make them so often I know it by heart now. It's from the Healthy Oven baking book. This one here is a tweaked version.
Today I thought it was time to open the can of pumpkin and have a "pumpkin week"...And since anything goes with chocolate I decided to make them chocolate muffins.

Here's the recipe:

Dry ingredients:

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup coco pwder, sifted.
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp EACH of nutmeg, ground cloves and ground ginger
Pinch of salt

Wet Ingredients:

1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 large egg
1 1/2 TBSP canola oil
1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Turn on the oven at 350. Spray a muffin pan with some good ol' Paaaam.
Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.
In another bowl, wisk all the wet ingredients until frothy, about 2-3 minutes.
Make a well in the flour mix, pour in the wet mix and stir until just combined. Add the cocolate chips and nuts and mix in, but don't over mix.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and unmold and cool on a rack.

Makes about 10 muffins. They will be gone in 2-3 days I garantee it!
(As I type this the man of the house is having his third one today...)

Peach and Berry Cobbler

2011-09-17T10:07:00.000-04:00

I'm baaaaa-aaaack!!
I know it's been a really long time since I've posted anything, I apologize to my followers...but since I've moved my kitchen set-up is different and it's a bit harder to take nice pictures. Plus I have to admit my blogging mojo kinda went away. That does not mean I stopped cooking though, I still cook and bake a lot, even more so because I moved in with my boyfriend who eats A LOT!! So I gotta feed the man, you know?
Last night for dinner I made some chicken casserole thingy, and for dessert I baked this:

Yummy, warm and comforting peach cobbler with berries. I got the recipe in a Taste of Home magazine. The recipe was for double that, so I cut it in half that's why the mesurements are a bit weird...But the result is awesome nonetheless!

Here it is:

6 peaches, sliced
1/6 cup all-purpose flour (take the 1/3 cup and fill it half-way...)
2-3 TBSP honey
Juice of half a lemon
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen berries

Topping:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1/4 cup butter, cold and in small cubes
1/2 cup plus 2 TBSP buttermilk

Start the oven at 400F and spray a 8x8in baking pan with oil.
In a bowl mix the peaches, flour, honey, lemon juice and salt and let it stand for 10-15 minutes.
In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients and cut the butter in until it becomes crumbly, and when you squeeze it it clumps together a bit. Add the buttermilk and stir until it comes together in a soft dough.
Fold the berries in the peach mix and pour in the baking pan.
Drop tablespoon fulls of dough on the fruit. (Sprinkle with sugar if you feel like it, about one teaspoon.)
The dough does not have to be all sealed around the edges, the batter will spread a bit.
Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the topping is cooked( a tooth pick will come out clean, or you can check underneath if you lift it...it should be fully baked).

The bf loved it and i did too! I did miss the cinnamon a bit though, so next time I'll throw some in there. But the fresh peaches speak for themselves. I love them!

Temporarily Out of the Kitchen.

2011-02-23T09:57:00.001-05:00

I'm sorry I've been out of touch these days, things are happening and I don't have time to cook...I've been swimming, though!!

I'll be back in the kitchen soon!

Peace out.

Curry Lamb and Lentil Stew

2011-01-26T17:34:00.001-05:00

I really love cooking stews. Every 2 weeks or so, usually on friday, I make a stew of some sort. It's so comforting when it's -20 outside, like it is now, and it makes the house smell amazing. Most of the time it ends up being a beef stew, because beef is cheap, but this week at the grocery store there was some surprisingly cheap lamb cubes...oh joy. I rarely eat lamb because it's so pricy, so I jumped at that occasion. Now forgive me, I don't remember exactly how much there was, so I can't tell you the amount of meat in there, but it was around a pound. Maybe a bit more...
Anyway the exact amounts in dishes like this is not too important. The end result is what counts!

For this lamb stew I was gonna do it like I do a beef stew, with red wine and rosemary, and some potatoes and onions. But after browsing around some food blogs I got inspired by an indian cooking blog and decided to go for a curry stew. It's quite different in taste, but the procedure is exactly the same!
Here's what you'll need:

About 1 lbs lamb cubes, cut into 1 inch cubes
2-3 TBSP flour
1 big yellow onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 piece fresh ginger, about 1 cm. No need to chop it...
1 cup whole tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/3 cup tomato juice (from the can of whole tomatoes...)
1 TBSP brown sugar
1 cup vegetable broth
1 big carrot
1 branch celeri
1/3 cup red lentils
1 TBSP tomato paste
1 bay leaf

For the spices, I used a curry mix I got as present a while ago, it's called "Panch Phoran". It's got cumin, mustard, nigella, fennel and fenugreek seeds. And I added other spices I really like and that go great in a curry:

2 tsp Panch Phoran, or curry spice mix
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp crushed chili
salt and pepper

Throw all the spices in a morter and pestle and grind away! The smell will be a-ma-zing!

So for the stew. Firt of all, toss the lamb in the flour with about 1 tsp of the spice mix.
In your favorite heavy bottom pot heat up (on medium high) 1-2 TBSP oil and brown the meat on both sides, in batches, until nice and brown. Remove and set aside.
Add a bit more oil and sautee the onion, garlic and ginger with salt and pepper, until the onion is semi-soft. Carefull not to burn the garlic! It might be a good idea to turn the heat to medium for this. Then return the lamb to the pot and mix well, add a bit more spices, about 1/2 tsp. Since these spices can be quite, uh, spicy, I add only a bit at a time and check later if it needs more. Too much is not good, but not enough can be corrected later!!
To deglaze, pour in the tomato juice, and scrub the bottom of the pan to lift those brown bits! Brown bits=flavor!!
Add the tomatoes, broth, sugar and a bit more spices. When it starts to bubble, turn the heat down to low, cover and let it go for about 1 hour.
After that hour as passed add the carrot, celeri and lentils, check and adjust the spice status, re-cover and let it go again until the veggies are soft and the lamb falls appart at the touch of a fork, about 2-3 hours. The longer it simmers the tender the meat! And the less the cover gets lifted the better, too! I know it's tempting to look every 15 minutes but let it have its heat! Patience is key.
When it's all nice and cooked, add the tomato paste. Wait 15-20 more minutes or so to let the tomato paste do its thickening job, and it's ready!

You can enjoy this with rice, coucous, pasta, or by itself with some nice bread.

Awesome.

Seafood and Salmon Casserole

2011-01-21T21:07:00.000-05:00

I had no idea what to do for diner tonight. There was a little piece of salmon leftover from a few nights ago, half a zucchini and a few mushrooms about to turn, and a nice chunck of Fontina cheese begging for mercy. This called for some freestyle cooking! I didn't want to just warm up the salmon, cook some rice on the side and fry up the zucch's and shrooms. Bo-ring...So here's what I did:

I started by cooking some rice, in a bit more water than usual so there'd be some liquid to moistened everything else later! Then I sauteed some onions, garlic, zucchinis and mushrooms in a bit of oil and butter until soft, with some salt, pepper, paprika and thyme. Meanwhile I defrosted a bit of seafood mix. Yes, a frozen seafood mix. It comes in very handy when it's winter time and fresh seafood is not really available...
When the veggies got soft I added the seafood and cooked them for a few minutes, until semi-done. Then I added the rice and the little bit of water left at the bottom of the the pot, along with the already cooked salmon and a bit of milk to tie everything together*. And a bit more salt and pepper.
*I originally thought of making a bechamel sauce but I decided to keep it semi-healthy...
All of this wonderful stuff went in to a baking dish, dotted with a few knobs of butter and got covered in Fontina and some Parmesan.

In a 450 oven it went, for about 5 minutes, then on broil until it got nice and golden.

Easy and delicious. Can't really beat that.

Blueberry Muffins with Quinoa and Flax

2011-01-13T10:24:00.000-05:00

Blueberry muffins are pretty much a classic. In any good bakery you can find a berry muffin, most of the time it's blueberry. I know when I worked at Moguls in Whistler the blueberry muffin was our biggest seller. I'd make at least 2 batches of 24 every morning and by noon they were almost gone. It's quite a good breakfast, especially on the way up the ski hill!

There's no more ski hills in my life now, but I still love my blueberry muffins! The basic of this recipe is my go-to muffin recipe, easily adaptable, and it's low fat and packed with protein. It's from the "Healthy Oven" baking book, by Sarah Philips.
Here's what you'll need:

1 1/2 cup whole wheat PASTRY flour, or all-purpose.
3/4 cup quinoa flakes
1/3 cup ground flax sseds
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 egg
1 1/2 TBSP canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup frozen blueberries

Set your oven at 350F and set the rack in the middle. Spray a muffin pan with canola oil.
In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients and set aside.
In another bowl, mix all the wet ingredients and whisk until frothy, about 2 minutes.
Make a well in the dry mix, add the wet and stri until just combined. Add the blueberries and mix lightly. Carefull not to overmix otherwise your muffins will be a bit tough.
Bake fo 22-25 minutes, until a kinfe inserted in the middle comes out clean.
*My oven is a bit "difficult", it doesn't brown things easily, so for the last 2 minutes I turned on the broiler. But if you do this DON'T WALK AWAY!!
Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, unmold and cool completely on a rack.

Have a great day!

Onion Bread

2011-01-07T18:11:00.000-05:00

First of all, Happy New Year! This is the first post of 2011, and it's quite fitting that it's a bread recipe, since I learned to make bread in 2010 and there's SO much still to learn. I plan to bake a lot of bread and bread-related stuff in 2011. I want to try sourdough, I'd like to give a shot at fresh yeast; pizza dough and cinnamon buns are also on my to-do list. Stay tuned!
Today I had the day off, and the last loaf I bought was kinda so-so (price to pay for not making it myself...). Plus I was craving a ham&cheese sandwich so I thought I should make a fresh new loaf. I paced around the kitchen for about 15-20 minutes trying to come up with a "flavor". I wanted to keep it simple, but I wanted something new to put on this blog. Plain white bread would have been boring. In the end this bread is still pretty simple but it has a nice sweet taste, thanks to the onions. The only thing I would change would be the thyme...I didn't put enough! I love thyme and I thought it would come out but it's VERY subtle! Oh well...
Here's the recipe:

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 TBSP butter
3 TBSP olive oil, divided 1TBSP-2TBSP
4 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp salt
1-1 1/2 cup warm water, at 120F
1 tsp sugar
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme (but if you love thyme like I do put 3-4!!)

First, cook the onions in the butter and 1TBSP oil, plus salt and pepper, on medium-low heat until they're transluscent:

Carefull not to burn them, you want them to turn sweet but not caramelized! Actually, that might be good too but this is not what's happening this time..!
When they're cooked transfer to a little bowl and cool a bit. Also, do not throw any oil leftover in the pan! That can go in the bread too!!
Then, for the dough, mix the flour, yeast, sugar, salt and thyme in a big bowl and make a well in the center. Set aside.
Mesure out 1 1/2 cup warm water at 110-120F and add 2 TBSP oil to it. Mix and add in the middle of the flour/yeast mix.
With a fork, mix slowly from the center out and incorporate as much flour as possible to the water. It will come together in a ball, or kinda...
Transfer to a clean and floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until the dough is soft. Add the onions about half-way through the process. I didn't really need to add more flour, maybe 1/4 cup more total. When the dough is soft like an ear-lobe, put it in an oiled bowl and cover with a clean dish towel, store it in a warm place and let it rise for about one hour, until it's doubled in size.
Take out of the bowl, flatten it a bit to "de-poof" it and shape it however you want to. Here I decided to make a braided loaf, so I cut the dough into 3 fairly equal pieces, rolled them into thin logs and braided them.
Then, put the dough in a oiled loaf pan, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise again for about 40-45 minutes, again until doubled:

Turn on the oven at 450F, brush the loaf with eggwhites. When the oven hits the right temperature put the loaf on the middle rack and turn down to 375F. Bake for 35 minutes, until the internal temperature reads 180F, and the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
Cool on a rack.

I must apologize here for the lack of the "inside view" pictures, they didn't come out right. BUT I did have a wicked ham&cheese sandwich, with Polish ham and brie cheese.

A bit margarine on both sides of each slice (yes, it's greasy. That's how I eat my grilled-cheese sandwiches!!), a little dijon mustard inside, pan-seared until golden. Yum-oh!

I'll send it to Yeastspotting for next week!!

Leek and Potato Soup

2010-12-30T09:24:00.000-05:00

When I decided to make some touriere last week I had to buy some leeks. And of course it's cheaper to get a bunch of them rather than only 2 or 3. And as it happened they were on special, big bunches of 6 big leeks for under 5 bucks. Yippy! I immediately thought of making this soup. It's one of my favorite soups ever. Tastes really smooth for a bunch of onions! And when it's cold outside and you feel like having something velvety and comforting, especially after eating so much on Christmas, this soup is amazing. Sometimes I add chick peas to this for extra protein but not this time. I really wanted only the vegetables and that nice leek flavor.

So here's how simple this is to make. You'll need:

3-4 leeks, chopped (i only used 3 'cause they were pretty big, and also keep in mind they will wilt down when they cook!!).
3-4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped.
1 medium yellow onion
2-3 cloves garlic
4-5 cups chicken broth
Salt, pepper, dried thyme, to taste.
1 TBSP each of butter and oil

Saute the leeks, onion and garlic in the butter and oil, on medium heat until it startes to soften. Add the potatoes, season, stir and add the broth.
Bring to simmer than turn down to med-low, semi-cover and cook until everything is soft.
In batches, puree in the blender, until it's all nice and smooth. Return to the pot, on low heat, check the seasonnings, add a bit of milk or cream if you feel like it ( I added about 1/3 cup 2% milk) and you good to go.

The perfect dunking item for this is a nice toasted bread with melted gruyere. Potato and gruyere and really good friends.

Bon appetit!

French-Canadian Tourtiere Phyllo Pockets

2010-12-26T13:55:00.000-05:00

It wouldn't be Christmas around here without this traditional meat pie. All across Quebec there are many ways of doing it, and it's apperance differs form region to region. If you ask someone from Lac St-Jean and someone from Quebec City they will tell you a complete different recipe for THEIR traditional tourtiere. In and around Montreal this is how the middle looks like. But he way I "wrap" it though is kind of new. Tourtiere for us is usually done like a pie, with a flaky golden crust, and I LOVE that too, but wrapping it in phyllo like this allows me to have it many weeks after Christmas is over. Plus, I'm really not that good at making pie crust. This is safe...
When I was growing up we usually had tourtiere the way Grand-Maman Therese (paternal grandma) used to make it, with lots of leeks and 3 different meats. I've since then always made it the same. Well, this year it didn't come out exactly the same because, I believe, the leeks were a little more bland than normal. So I had to add some spices that are kinda "new" for me in this tourtiere filling. They still taste amazing though (I'm sure my grandma would approve), and I will be able to have my tourtiere fix for a while!

This recipe gave me 32 triangles total. And I packed them up real good, I could've stretched it a bit more. You can see on the picutres, when I cooked those 2 they kinda exploded...oh well, it's all going in the belly anyway!
It's a bit of a process making these, but it's so worth it! What I did is I cooked the mix a day ahead. That way it didn't seem like it took all day.
So first step:

3 lbs ground meat: mix of beef, veal and porc
2-3 big leeks, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3-4 potatoes, peeled and cut in half(or in 4 if they're big)
Salt and pepper

Mix all of that in a bowl, get in there with your hands and make sure the meats and leeks are well aquainted. Then throw it all in a big pot and cover with cold water, almost to the surface but not quite. I needed about 1 1/2 to 2 cups water.

Simmer on medium-low heat for about 1 1/2-2 hours, until the potatoes are tender.
Turn the heat off, take out the potatoes and mashed them up, but not into a puree! You need to have chunks of potatoes in there!!
Return them to the meat, mix and adjust seasonning. I added more salt, pepper, and the unusual I was talking about: all-spice and bit extra ground cloves.

Let it cool and put it the fridge for a few hours or overnight.
*Also, as it cool, you will see the fat come up to the surface. It's a good idea to skim a bit of it. If you don't do it right away, you can always wait until the next day, it will all be at the surface, white and harden and you can just scrape it off.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now comes the fun part. Like I said earlier, the traditional way to make tourtiere is in a pie crust. So if you want the full tourtiere experience then go ahead with that. But here's how I've decided to put my own spin on it:
I first learned to work with phyllo a while back in Whistler, making spanakopitas with my friend Jazz(Hi Jazz!!), and that's when I realized it would be a good idea to make individual tourtieres that way. It's a process, and it takes patience and delicatness (i don't know if that's a real word, but you know what I mean..). But it's easy when you get the hang of it. The most important thing to do when you work with phyllo is to get all you stuff ready BEFORE getting the dough out. Counter clean, small bowl of oil and brush ready, mixture out of the fridge, sharp knife, humid and clean dish towel...Ok, ready.
Take out the dough, unfold it and keep to one side. Take one sheet, brush with oil gently, take a second sheet, lay it over the first, brush again with oil, then repeat with a third sheet. After taking that 3rd sheet cover the rest of the dough with the humid dish towel so they don't dry. When the final sheet is all nice and oily, cut the dough length-wise into 3 strips. Grab a spoonfull of mix and lay it on the bottom part of the strip:

Then fold like a flag! Delicately, making sure all the filling stays in.
Once:

Again:

Etc...
Until you end up with a nice triangle (also lightly brush with oil):

Then you just keep doing that until there's no more mix. Yes, it takes time. Put some tunes on or something! I made these listening to reggae. Island music, wrapping a traditional quebecois meat mixture into a greek-looking pastry. With a nice spanish red wine on the side. Vive la culture internationale, huh?!
Also, if you see the dough is ripping when you brush it, don't worry, the folding process will patch it all up!

After each one, I put it carefully in a big ziploc bag, ready for the freezer. I fit 16 in each bag, not touching each other too much since I want to be able to take them out one or 2 at a time!!
When you're ready to eat, get a few on a cookie sheet, and bake at 400F, about 10 minutes on each side until golden and crisp.

THAT tastes like Christmas!!

Yes, go ahead and put some ketchup on it if you want...I do too, sometimes...

Chocolate Walnut Fudge

2010-12-24T14:25:00.001-05:00

What can I say about chocolate fudge?? Well, not much, really, except whoever discovered chocolate and the fudge principle is genius. Seriously.

I rarely make it because I don't want to gain 400 pounds, but it's Christmas, so I made a batch and will give most of it to my brother and his family. But of course I kept some, they didn't all fit in the box....Oh, too bad...
I got the recipe in the same magazine as the cherry balls. It's so simple, it's a charm to make, not too messy, and it's also easy to cut. Big plus when it comes to treats like that!
So without further ado, I give you the best fuedge in the world, and wishing you all a very Happy Christmas filled with good food and family.
Cheers!

1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
1 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate vhips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup icing sugar
1/2 TBSP almond extract
1/2 TBSP vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts.

Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie (fancy word for "stainless steel bowl over a pot of boiling water) or in a micro-wave if you a have a big enough bowl (it's A LOT of chocolate!!).
While that's going on, line a 8x8in square pan with foil and brush with butter, or margarine.
When the chocolate is all nice and smooth let it cool a bit and add the condensed milk, sugar, both extracts and a pinch of salt. Stir it until all smooth, incorporate 2/3 cup of walnuts and pour into the prepared pan.
Smoothe the top, sprinkle the rest of the walnuts, pushing them down a bit so they stick, and send it to the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Then all you need to do is lift the foil out, the fudge will come out with it, and cut into cubes with a sharp knife.
Who wouldn't love this as a gift??

The kids are gonna go crazy...(and the big kids too!!)

Cherry Brandy Chocolates

2010-12-18T10:52:00.000-05:00

Christmas time is the perfect time to make treats like these. Last night was the swim team's Christmas party and as always we all were required to bring something..Let me just say, potlucks are the best partys! There's so much variety and you get to discover new ways of doing things. Usually at these kind of parties I always bring dessert. Or something along that way...One time I made jello shots...what, it's kinda like dessert!
Anyway, for this party I had a recipe picked out, some kind of brownies, but one night last week I was going through a special edition of "taste of home" featuring cookies and candies only, looking for something cute to bring to my brother on Christmas Eve, and I came accross these little babies. Oh My...I was instantly intrigued. Seemed relatively easy to make, with only a few simple ingredients, so I decided to make these for the swim party too. And I'm glad I did! They were a hit and (like the jello shots) I think they will be remembered...
Here's the recipe, as written in "Taste of Home; Best cookies and candies":

For about 4-5 dozen little balls, you'll need:

1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped
1/2 cup cherry brandy (may be a little hard to find, but it's worth it, and btw that brandy is amazing in Sangrias!!)
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 TBSP unsalted butter, softened
3 1/2 cup icing sugar (yes, it's a lot of sugar...)

6-8 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1 TBSP shortening
White cookie icing (optional but pretty!!)

First step, the night before, soak the cherries in the brandy, cover and refrigerate overnight. I'm sure if you're pressed for time 2 hours would be enough, but the longer it soaks the softer the cherries will be, and soft is what we want here!

The next day:
In a bowl cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar in batches and mix, at first with the mixer but after a while you'll have to let go and put some effort into it, with a good ol' spatula and some elbow grease. It will seem like a lot of sugar, but in the end what you're looking for is a crumbly mixture like this:

Drain the cherries (keep the liquid!! that precious brandy...), add to the sugar mix, along with 2-3 teaspoons of the soaking liquid. Mix until it come together. If you feel like you need more sugar, add more sugar; or if it's too dry more brandy ...
It will look like this:

Then it's time to make the little balls, about teaspoon fulls, roll them nicely and place them on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
After one hour, melt the chocolate and shortening until smooth, and cool a bit.
Roll the balls in chocolate, covering them all around and return to the sheet. I found the best way to do this was with a spoon and a toothpick.
Finally, drizzle the white icing in a disordely fashion, and send it to fridge again, uncovered. Chill until you're ready to go.

Plate, cover, and when you get to that party make sure they stay in the fridge until ready to serve!

Merry Christmas!!

Fruity Date Squares

2010-12-13T20:15:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I went a little crazy at the grocery store and somehow thought I might "need" a big box of dates. Huh. Well it's all good dates are good in oatmeal. But I think deep down I had a craving for date squares. I love those. Plus you don't even need a recipe just some simple guidelines. I remember making them a lot when I was baking at that coffee shop in Whistler. It's super easy!
For these ones though I decided to make them a little more Christmas-sy and add candied fruit and apricots. And it worked really good!

Check this out.
First off, cook the fruit:

2 cups dates
1/2 cup dried apricots, roughly chopped
1/2 cup candied fruit mix
1/2 cup raisins

Put them all in a sauce pan and cover 3/4 with orange juice, add a teaspoon or 2 of brown sugar if you like really sweet things...:

Let them turn into this:

Meanwhile do the "crust":

2 cups oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup flour (all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour...)
Spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves, about 1/2 tsp each.
1/2 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
*you may need more butter, melt a little extra just in case...

For this part, just mix all the ingredients, butter last, and stir until it clumps together when you squeeze it:

If you feel like you need more butter or oats, adjust necessarily.
Oh and by the way, that mix can be used for fruit crumbles...so too much is no biggie..!
Oil-spray or butter a 8inch square pan and evenly press 2/3 of the crumb mix at the bottom. Spread the date mix (that has cooled a bit; really it takes about 10-15 minutes...watch it carefully though you don't want that sticky mess!!), evenly, and sprinkle the rest of the crumb mixture on top.

Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes, until golden, and if need be turn on the broiler for a few minutes for extra crisp!

Let it cool completely on a rack, cut and enjoy!

p.s. don't be impatient like I was and eat a piece 5 minutes after it was out of the oven.....holy burn...

White Chocolate and Cherry Cookies.

2010-12-09T09:24:00.000-05:00

I will have to ask you all to ignore the "healthy baking" at the top of this blog for this post. In fact, from now until after Christmas there might be more "comfort and traditional" rather than healthy and "good for you"...Hey, it's that time of year, let's indulge a bit, right? Right.
These cookies are more like the typical chocolate chip cookie, with lots of butter and sugar. I got the basic recipe in a magazine but changed the flavors a bit.

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
Grated zest of 1 orange
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cacao powder, sifted
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
3/4-1 cup dried cherries

In a large bowl, start by creaming the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and orange zest.
In another bowl mix the flour, baking soda, salt, and gradually add to the butter mixture in 3-4 batches and mix well. Fold in the cherries and white cocolate chips with a spatula.
Roll into balls (or drop heap teaspoonfulls if you don't like getting your hands dirty...) about 1 inch diameter, and place on an oiled cookie sheet, about 2 inches appart.
Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are golden but the middle is still soft-ish. They will continue to bake for a bit even when out of the oven. Cool on the sheet for 4-5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

Enjoy with a nice cup of tea, or a glass of milk...

Quinoa Buns with Sunflower Seeds

2010-11-30T19:45:00.000-05:00

This week I decided to switch the usual "loaf" into cute little buns. Well, they turned out kinda big but still really nice. They came out super soft and they are very filling. It would've been a nice loaf too but I felt like doing something different. I used quinoa flakes for a protein boost and a nice nutty taste. And then of course the sunflower seeds are always awesome in bread. Nice and crunchy bite...

You'll need:

3 1/2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup quinoa flakes
2 tsp instant yeast
1 scant tsp salt
2 TBSP melted butter
2 TBSP honey
1-1 1/2 cup warm water, at 120-140F.
1/2 cups sunflower seeds

Mix the flour, flakes, yeast and salt in a big bowl, make a well in the centre and set aside.
Heat up 1 1/4 cups of water, add the butter and honey and bring to 120F. Keep 1/4 cup plain water on the side in case you need to add more. *That way all the butter and honey will end up in the bread!!
Pour the liquid in the flour mixture and stir gently with a fork, slowly incorporating the water in the flour. When it starts to come together you can get there with your hands and knead a bit in the bowl, then transfer to a floured CLEAN surface and knead for 8-10 minutes until it's all soft, adding flour or water as needed. Add the sunflower sedds about half-way through the process.
When the dough is all nice and smooth put it in an oiled bowl, cover and let it rise for about 45 minutes in a warm place (top of a stove turned on at 400 for a few minutes, for example...). The dough should double in size.

Before:

After:

After it's risen, punch it down gently and transfer to the same work surface, floured, and shape the buns(or the loaf if you choose to do a loaf..).
Cut the dough into small pieces, about the size of baseball, and arrange on an oiled baking sheet.

Cover with cling wrap and let rise again, until doubled again, for about 30 minutes. Now they should be the size of a softball.
When they've doubled in size, score the top with a sharp knife and brush with butter. I added more sunflower seed on top but they didn't really stick after. But still it looks nice...

Bake at 375 for 20-22 minutes, until it sounds hollow when tapped, or when a thermometer read 170F. Turn off the oven and leave them in there for about 5 minutes. Cool on that same baking sheet, placed on a rack.

Sooooooo soft!!!!!

They are headed to Yeastspotting!!

Veggie-Lentil Soup with Ginger

2010-11-27T20:00:00.000-05:00

This is a soup I've been making very often, for the past 5-6 years. It's like a cross between minestrone and curry lentil soup. Sometimes I put italian spices in it but this week I had a bit of fresh ginger left, and since I felt a little cold coming, it was gonna be a gingered soup! By the way, the cold didn't make it!! Killed it right in the bud with this wonderful natural medecine. Seriously, the chinese have it right. Ginger heals. Every time I feel a cold coming, I drink ginger tea or use it generously in a soup, like this one, and done the cold is. Miraculous!
Anyway. Other than that I also had a few vegetables that were getting a little soft in the crisper, and soup is the best for rescuing those rather hopeless veggies...

Like any other soup or stew, start by chopping (and peeling those that require peeling)all the vegetables:

1 carrot
1 celeri
1 onion
1 parsnip
1/2 zucchini(or a whole one, but that's what was left in the bag...)
5-6 asparagus
1/2 yellow pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 big chunk fresh ginger

In 1-2 tablespoons of oil, sautee on medium-high heat, first the carrot, celeri, onion, parsnip and ginger. Those are the ones that take longer so I throw them in first. Don't forget the salt and pepper...
After a few minutes add the rest of the vegetables, salt and pepper again, and stir.

Then add:

1 cup canned tomatoes (or if you like throw in the whole can, but again, I only had that leftover from a few days ago when I made a pasta sauce and didn't use the whole thing...)
1/2 cup lentils (I used brown lentils for this one)
1-2 tsp curry powder
1-2 tsp cumin powder
1-2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp crushed chili

Then add about 4 cups of vegetable broth and when it starts to bubble turn the heat to medium-low, semi-cover and let it simmer until all the veggies are soft and the lentils are cooked. Should be about 20-30 minutes.

Adjust the seasonning and enjoy!

Asparagus and Gruyere Omelette

2010-11-21T09:58:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I was at a swim meet ALL day, swam over 3000 meters in races, warm-ups and cool-downs, ate little things all through the day: walnuts, protein bars, 1/2 a cheese sandwich, soy milk, energizer juices, banana, apricots...and then in the evening had the usual after-meet beer, chips and take-out. Today I'm a little sore and my body needed a good proper meal. And what's one of the athlete's favorite breakfast? EGGS. It's hands down the best energizer. Some people will say that the cholesterol content in eggs is rather high and we shouldn't eat too many...blabla. Active people eat eggs. It's high in protein, easy to digest, and fills you up for a while. Honestly I don't really care about the "high-ish" cholesterol, they have so many other good stuff in them this small negative aspect gets lost in all the other nutritonal goodness.
When I make omelettes I use more eggwhites though. One whole egg, two egg whites for one omelette. I find it makes the omelette taste lighter and the other ingredients come out a lot more, since egg whites don't really have flavor. But it's necessary to have that one yolk in it, for fat content and that nice egg taste.
SO here's another variation of this swimmers' favorite breakfast:

1 large egg
2 egg whites
Splash of milk(2% is good.)
5-6 asparagus
2-3 TBSP grated gruyere cheese
1-2 green onions
Salt and pepper (and other herbs if you like...)

Start by grilling the asparagus in a bit of oil, on medium heat, until they're al dente.
(At the same time get your potatoes going, cubed, salted, peppered, and rosemaried.)

Whisk the egg and whites, add the milk, onions and seasonings.
When the asparagus are done(3-5 minutes) get them out of the pan, and pour in the egg mixture.
*On the next picture you can see the floors in my appartment are not quite straight...it helps in keeping the eggs on one side and the potatoes on the other. But if you have nice even floors I guess it'd be better to do the potatoes first and keep them warm somewhere, unless you want potatoes in your omelette, which wouldn't be all that bad anyway...)
When the eggs start to cook lightly on the outside line in the asparagus and the cheese:

Then fold once:

Twice:

And then flip:

After flipping it once, leave it a few minutes, flip it again and turn the heat off.
This should do it. And by then you're potatoes are done too.

Yep. Breakfast of Champions!

Sundried Tomato and Rosemary Bread.

2010-11-14T11:55:00.001-05:00

I love making bread. It's a little time consuming but it's so rewarding! Lately though I've been worling a lot and since I can get bread from work I kinda stopped making homemade loaves. BUT. Last week I was watching (surprise surprise) the food channel and there was chef Smith making homemade bread, so simple and delicious, and versatile! I got the urge to make bread again. You can take this recipe, keep the 4 main ingredients of flour, yeast, salt and water, and go from there and never have the same bread from time to time! There's usually not much room for changing things in baking but you can play around with a bread recipe. I love that! I don't feel like I have to follow a recipe anymore, I actually make it up as I go along, writing it down so I can pass it along to you all. Kinda like freestyle cooking! And i'm proud to say I've come a long way since my first loaf...

For this "bread of the week" I went for a flavor I love and hadn't used yet in bread: sundried tomatoes!! And I decided to pair it with one of my favorite fresh herbs: rosemary!! (yes, again, rosemary. there's a big plant at work growing like crazy, so lucky me i can take some home!:))). And for even more taste I threw in some parm, because you can't really ever go wrong with the King of cheeses!
This is what you'll need:

3 1/2-4 cups BREAD flour
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp salt
1 TBSP sugar
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2-2 cups warm water, at 120-130F
2 TBSP olive oil (or if you're using tomatoes in oil, use THAT oil, it's SO flavorful!)
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
4-5 slices sundried tomatoes, cut finely.

In a big bowl, mix 3 1/2 cups of the flour, yeast, salt and sugar. Mix and make a well in the centre. Keep the 1/2 cup flour on the side for the kneading process.
Heat 1 1/2 water up to 120F and add the oil to it. Keep 1/2 cup on the side just in case..
Pour in the middle of the flour mixture.
Mix with a fork, slowly incorporating the flour to the water, gradually stirring from the middle towards the outer edge.
When the dough comes into a ball, or almost, transfer to a clean, floured work surface and start kneading. This is where you add the parmesan, sundried tomatoes and rosemary, and extra flour if necessary. I ended up adding about 1/4 cup more. Keep kneading for about 8 minutes until the dough gets really soft and elastic and feels like an earlobe.
(I was actually pleasantly surprise how this dough came together like a charm! no sticky mess is always nice!)
When the dough is nice and soft, cover and let it rest for about 10 minutes, while you clean up(...).
Then shape into whatever you feel like; braid, buns, round or long log, or in a loaf pan...
Then just cover with saran-wrap and let it rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes, until it's doubled in size. Here in Montreal it's getting a little cold, so the appartment is cold. What I did was turn on the oven at 200F and put the baking sheet on the oven's cheminee. That's helps A LOT!
Also when it was done "rising" it was a little too round, so I re-shaped it into an oval log. Delicately of course! You don't wanna break the precious air bubbles!
Then turn up the oven to 375F and while this heats up, score the bread 4-5 times, brush with oil (i used the sundried tomato oil from the jar) and sprinkle some parmesan and a bit more chopped rosemary.

Bake it for 30 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave it in 5 minutes extra.
To make sure it's done tap on the bottom it will sound hollow, or check with a meat thermometer, the temperature should say 180F.

Let it cool on a rack, slice and Voila!

This one is going to Yeastspotting!!

I had toast this morning with apple jelly...insanely good with this flavor combo. Sounds weird I know but the salty sundried tomato with the sweet apple is cra-zy!

Beef Stew with Rosemary

2010-11-11T09:20:00.000-05:00

It seems there's been a lot of desserts on here lately...so here's something salty and meaty to balance it all.
I made this stew almost a week ago, on a cold rainy day. I originaly wanted to use lamb but the lamb I found at the grocery store was a bit pricy, so I got beef. Always cheap good ol' canadian beef!
Now, when I make stews I never EVER follow a recipe. Kinda like soups. There are certain methods that need to be followed but the ingredients and amounts of them and the herbs used are totally interchangeable. I don't think I've even made 2 stews that tasted the same. I love that.

SO here's how it goes:

First and foremost, cut all your vegetables so it's all ready to go. What you use is up to you. In this one I used:

1 medium yellow onions,
2 carrots
2 branches celeri
2 parsnips,
handfull pearl onions
3-4 cloves garlic
7-8 new potatoes(I added them only later on, since they cook kinda fast...)

Sautee all veggies BUT the potatoes in a bit of canola oil on medium-high heat until semi-soft, with salt and pepper. When done set aside on a plate while you do the meat.(...)

Pat the meat dry and throw in a ziploc bag with a few tablespoons of flour, shake it to cover all sides of the cubes. This will help brown the meat and will thicken the stew. Plus because the flour will be cooked ON the meat you won't taste the flour at all. Thanx Food Network as always for that tidbit of info...What would I do without that channel I don't know...
Then take the meat out of the bag, shake off any excess flour and in a heavy bottom pot(some call it "dutch-oven"), brown in oil, in batches, on all sides.

When they're all done return them to the pot along with all the veggies and some of your favorite herbs. I used 1 sprig fresh rosemary (THE #1 herb for stews if you ask me! and the fresh stuff is much more mellow than the dry...), 2 sprigs of fresh thyme and a bay leaf. Toss it all together for a few minutes and pour in 1/2 a bottle of red wine and about 1-2 cups beef broth, just up to the surface, not completely covering everything but enough so that everything has some contact with liquid.

As soon as you see a few tiny bubbles appear on the surface, turn the heat down to low, cover tightly and let it go for 3-4-5 hours.
*About one hour after the stew has started simmering, add the new potatoes and check the seasonning. I added more rosemary and some black pepper...
The longer it simmers the better, acutally because stew meat is tougher and it takes time to break down the tissue. I had this one on the stove from 3:30pm to almost 8pm (I got sucked in a movie called "The lovely bones"...).
But what you get in the end is melt in your mouth tender meat:

The final product is pretty darn good, the night of, yes, especially after crying my eyes out from a sappy movie,...:

But it's even better the next day, on some fusili pasta for example:

Apple Walnut Coffee Cake

2010-11-05T17:32:00.000-04:00

Well, I wanted to make muffins last sunday, but since Halloween kicked my butt this year, I was in NO shape of baking on that day. The couch was my haven and could not move. So my lovely Cortlands were still sitting in the fruit bowl, and today on my day off, on this gloomy rainy friday, I felt like baking something more comforting than muffins.

This coffee cake comes from the "Taste of Home-Fall Baking Issue" magazine. Not at all "healthy oven"...no butter in here but LOTS of sugar.
The almond extract in this cake is really delightfull. Different from the ol' vanilla. And the recipe called for only cinnamon but I added cardamom, my new favorite spice, and it's a-ma-zing with the almond flavor!

Ingredients:

4 cups chopped peeld apples
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp almond extract

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

In a big bowl, mix the apples and sugar and let it stand for 20 minutes or so.
In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, oil and extract. Add to the apples and mix well until the apples are all coated.
In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt and spices. Stir into the apple mixture until just combined, and fold in the walnuts.
Pour into an oiled 11x7in. baking pan, smooth the top and bake for 40-45 minutes, until a knife inserted in the middle will come out clean.
Let cool in the same pan. No need to unmold!

I love how this cake is so moist inside thanks to the apples, and I LOVE how the top becomes slightly crunchy.

It's good as it is...:

Or with a big serving of homemade applesauce on top!:

Did I ever mention how much I love apples?...

Homemade applesauce

2010-10-29T19:59:00.000-04:00

Applesauce is so easy to make, and yet I always somehow buy it in jars at the store. Kinda dumb, since I use a lot of it in baked goods and I eat it often before or after working out, or simply as dessert. I figured it would be a good idea to start making my own, especially since apples are still cheap! I don't know why I haven't done that sooner. Laziness I guess...
Anyway, so I got a 5 lbs bag of Cortlands for very cheap, and as much as I love biting into an apple and just eat it raw, 5 lbs is a lot for a single person. Originally I wanted to make muffins but realized I was out of baking powder and didn't have time to get to the store. So I opted for this. I'm glad I did. AND...I still have a lot of apples so I'll make muffins on sunday.
Here's what you'll need for about 2 cups of applesauce:

5-6 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
2 TBSP water
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Put all the ingredients in a sauce pan and simmer on medium heat until the apples are soft.
Turn the heat off and let cool a bit.

Before:

After:

Mash with a potato masher, or blend with a hand blender if you like it smooth.
(I chose to mash it so that it's still a little chunky)

So simple...