Honey Crisp Apple Sauce

It was a beautiful crisp fall day today. The sun was shining bright, but there was a definite chill to the air. Over the weekend, my mom and I went to Ralph's Produce on Fraser Hwy and picked up a 20lb box of Honey Crisp apples to make applesauce. Even though the boxes were labeled "seconds", the apples were perfect for chopping up and simmering down to a delicious sauce.

Honey Crisp apples are fairly sweet, so they make wonderful applesauce apples. We find we don't need to add a lot sugar to the apples. This year (maybe because of all the warm sunshine through the summer) we found we didn't need to add anything to the apples. Which means each jar is 100% pure apple yumminess.

We start with washing all the apples. A little bit of bruising here and there is okay. No worm holes or rough scale spots to cut away this time, so we are good to go. Next the apples are quartered and then cored, and the seeds are removed. We don't peel the skins off the apples; they boil down with the apple pulp. Then it's into the big stew pot on the stove over medium-low heat.

Basically, the apples turn mushy and soft, and then we take a potato masher and squish them down into a warm, yummy pulp. It's really super technical. Once it's at the consistency we like, Mom (or sometimes Dad) ladle scoops of the mush into the food processor. Couple spins and the skins and apple pulp become one. Then it's into the hot sterilized jars, put on the lids, screw on the rings and into the hot water bath cooker to seal them.

From a 20lb box of apples, we made 23 pint jars of applesauce. We could have made an even 2 dozen jars, but we wanted to keep one open for tasting.

Applesauce is perfect with a number of different dishes, so it is always great to have it on hand in the pantry. Classic pairings include pork chops or pork tenderloin, or fried chicken. A number of muffin and coffee cake recipes call for applesauce. But one of my favourite ways to have applesauce is warm over ice cream with a little cinnamon. The other is chilled and stirred into plain Greek yogurt.

Applesauce is also the last thing we preserve for the winter months and so it marks the end of canning season. Time to put away the canning equipment and start going through those Christmas baking books.......

Banana Rum Muffins

Ever buy a bunch of bananas and have every intent on eating them, but then days go by and they seem to languish on your counter? I personally believe that's why banana bread recipes were invented....to use up the over ripe bananas. Because let's face it, the texture of super ripe, mushy bananas in your mouth is not the most appealing. Mashed up on toast? Sure. Pureed in a blender with milk and honey? Of course. But eating on their own while they squish through your fingers trying to hold onto them? No thanks.

This morning I made some Banana Rum Muffins. My mom can not have a lot of nuts (potassium rich foods are on her "in moderation list" for kidney disease), so I left out the toasted walnuts. You could use other nuts such as hazelnuts or pecans. Toasting them in the oven before chopping them up really brings out their flavour.

Banana Rum Nut Muffins

1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 large bananas, mashed (be sure the bananas are really ripe)
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp dark rum (or 1 tbsp rum extract)
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup nuts (pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts), toasted and chopped

In a large bowl, combine the flour. baking powder, baking soda and salt. If you are going to use nuts in this recipe, add those in now and coat with dry ingredients. Form into a well and set aside.

In another bowl, stir together the mashed banana, sugar, egg, rum and melted butter. Pour the liquid mixture into the center of the dry ingredient well and mix until just combined and dry ingredients are moistened.

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full with batter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes (12-15 minutes for mini muffins. Remove from oven when tops of muffins spring back when touched. Allow to cool in pan on wire cooling rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan.

We had some of these warm with hot earl grey tea before heading out to run errands. It was especially foggy here and we were not looking forward to having to go outside. So it was nice to linger for a moment and enjoy the warmth of the muffins and the tea, which gave us a little bit of a push to start our day.

Hope you enjoy!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Christmas Baking Begins

It's here ! It's here! it's the most wonderful time of the year !

The Christmas season is my favourite time of year for a number of reasons. The cold snap in the air. Mittens and hats and scarves. Spending time with the family. The excitement in a young child's eyes; and the certain sparkle in the eyes of the young at heart.

But by far, this is my favourite time of year for baking. Each year around mid November, I pull out all my baking books and magazines and start marking what I want to make. I also begin a list of ingredients I'll need. I try to keep my selection of recipes down to an even dozen. However, each year it is a struggle between the tried and true cookies that our family loves and the new recipes that I want to try. There is also a discussion and decision meeting with the family. So quite often that selection process ends up at about 16 different varieties.

You may think that 16 different kinds of holiday treats is a bit overboard, but in a family of bakers, this is actually quite easily accomplished. My parents are lucky to have a large kitchen. Having two mixers going at the same time is also a time saver. (I bring mine over to my parents' house and we set them up side-by-side).

Most of the recipes call for a chilled dough, so the batters are often made in advance and then wrapped and labeled for a later time. We find that if we make all the dough over one week, and then do the baking the following week, it doesn't seem like such an ordeal.

When it comes to rolling out the dough and cutting the shapes, we have three stations going; two on the long kitchen table and one on the counter. So really, there are three people working on three different cookies at one time. We just make sure we are all working on recipes that call for the same oven temperature.

The dining room table gets converted into the cooling and storage area. Once a particular batch of cookies has cooled overnight, they get packed into a large tins and labeled. Hard cookies will stay in the dining room, soft cookies will head to the freezer downstairs.

But more important than the actual baking are the memories we share as we are making the dough and cutting the shapes. There are some pretty amazing conversations that occur when there are three people all rolling, cutting and baking at the same time with Bing Crosby playing in the background.

Okay, so what do we need with 16 types of cookies, with between 50 to 60 cookies per recipe? Well, in truth, we give most of it away as gifts. My Oma (grandmother) lives in a wonderful home where a good majority of the residents are of Western European decent (predominantly Dutch, but also German, Danish, and Belgians). They all enjoy home baking, especially those traditional treats they remember from their homelands. So we pack up a couple large tins with an assortment of 4 or so dozen cookies in each for her to offer to her guests that come for coffee. Oma is also diabetic, so we know she won't be eating them herself; and she doesn't have time to bake. My Oma is, and has always been a social butterfly. Her personal appointment calendar rivals that of most teenagers.

Mom likes to give baskets of home made jams, jellies, salsa and a variety of baked goods to her close friends. This will take up another 15 to 20 dozen cookies. Then she also brings a large platter of them to the Christmas Concert for her students. There goes another 12 dozen. I take a few of tins packed with 3 or 4 dozen each to my work, so there is another 10 to 12 dozen. What are we at now ....52 dozen?? That's 624 cookies. Which, if you've been following my math, leaves 176 cookies or 14.67 dozen. These get divided into individual treat bags with a dozen per bag and tied with pretty ribbon to hand out as needed (the postman, the pharmacist who takes my mom's prescriptions over the phone, the delivery driver who comes every other week with her dialysis equipment supplies). Some will go home with my brother and his girlfriend, others home with my nephew.

So really we are left with about 6 dozen assorted cookies for actual drop-by guests and "personal consumption." And when we feel we can't stand to look at another cookie, we pack up the remainder and stick them in the freezer until summer. Lebkuchen and Speculaas in the middle of July? Why not.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting some baking and cookie photos. I hope you will be inspired by these and want to bake something tasty for someone you love.

Happy Baking!

A Year of Pretty - December 01, 2014

Inspiration for all the Christmas baking that is about to begin . . . .

Dizzy Miss Lizzy - Christmas Baking Begins

It's that time of year again . . .time to start baking for Christmas. One of the cookies we make each year are basically a fruitcake in a cookie form. The original recipe from my great-great grandmother called them Lizzies. My grandmother nick named them Dizzy Lizzies. Now they are referred to as Boozie Fruit Cookies. And they are best made by my dad. So realistically, we call them Dad's Boozie Fruit Cookies.

It starts with soaking the dried fruit and nuts in bourbon, but you can use rum or brandy. Some years we have used Maker's Mark (favourite) or Jim Beam bourbon; other years it's been Appleton Estate rum or Asbach. Next year I want to try using Spice Box Whiskey. In the original recipe, the fruit was soaked for one hour, and only in 1/2 a cup of alcohol. But dad over the years has increased the liquor to a full cup and lets the fruit sit covered for up to seven days; tossing the fruit in the liquid every other day. By the end of a week or so, the fruit has soaked up all of the liquid. This means the fruit will remain moist during the baking, and then help to keep the cookies soft.

These are a great cookie for making early in the Christmas season. They keep well and are excellent for packing and shipping. The recipe makes quite a few (7 to 8 dozen), so we often freeze half the batch and take them out as needed (or craved) throughout the new year. Christmas cookies in July? why not !

Dad's Boozie Fruit Cookies

3          cup      seedless raisins

4          cup      pecan halves

1 ¼      cup      citron, diced

4          cup      candied cherries, chopped

1          cup      bourbon, dark or spiced rum or brandy

¼         cup      butter or margarine, room temperature

½         cup      light brown sugar, firmly packed; plus 2 Tbsp

2                      eggs

1 ½      tsp       baking soda

1 ½      tsp       ground cinnamon

½         tsp       ground cloves

½         tsp       ground nutmeg

1 ½      cup      all purpose flour

In a large sized bowl or other airtight container with a lid that seals, combine the raisins, pecans, citron and cherries. Pour the liquor over the fruit mixture and toss to thoroughly coat. Seal the container. Set in a cool location out of the way. Each day for a week or so, remove the lid and stir the mixture. (Or you can do what my dad does, which is to just pick it up and shake it so that the liquid re-coats the fruit. . . Be sure the lid is on tight!). When there is little to no liquid remaining, the mixture is ready.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and spices. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the softened butter or margarine until light and fluffy. Add in the light brown sugar and continue to beat until well blended. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.

Add the flour mixture and continue blending until smooth. Fold in the fruit mixture. There is not a lot of batter-to-fruit ratio in these cookies, so don't be alarmed if the batter seems really lumpy. It's supposed to be.

Drop by teaspoon onto prepared baking sheets. Bake in a pre-heated slow oven at 325 degrees F for about 15 minutes, or until firm. Remove from oven and transfer to wire cooling racks. Allow to cook completely before storing in an airtight container. 

If you have fans of Christmas fruit cake in your family or friends, then these are certainly going to be a hit for you. They pack all the flavours but without the heavy density sometimes found in the traditional cake. My nephew has been known to polish off a half dozen cookies in one sitting. But then he's going on 15 and 6'3" tall.

Enjoy and Happy Holidays !

(shown clockwise from top are Lemon Poppyseed Shortbread, Chocolate Crinkles, Vanilla Chocolate Thumbprints and Dad's Boozie Fruit Cookies)

Perfect Pesto

Every summer my mom and I make pesto using the basil from her garden. The plants get to be quite large; about waist high and two feet across. Lovely leafy green stuff. Just before the plants start to flower, it's time to pick.

You need a fair amount of leaves to make a good batch of pesto. For every 1 cup or 8 oz of pesto, you need about 8 cups of leaves. If you can, it's best to make a double batch and freeze it (more on that later). But if you just want a small amount for a pasta sauce or to spread over some prawns or chicken, then the batch can be halved to produce less.

There are many recipes available out there in Interwebz Land for pesto but honestly with time we have created our own and basically now just eyeball it with our tastebuds. The basic ingredients are the same though.

fresh basil leaves
extra virgin olive oil
ground pine nuts (though we have used ground almonds as well)
ground parmesan cheese (the real stuff, not the cheap stuff that comes in a green and red shaker ..cough, cough)
2 or 3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped (not the paste or the pre-minced stuff from a jar; you want the garlic to be fresh)

Having a food processor is also pretty essential. I suppose it could be done in a blender, except probably in smaller amounts and the end result may not be as smooth. The use of a food processor also allows me to drizzle the oil in while it's still running, which would cause quite a mess if attempted while using a blender.

So, to begin . . . .we strip all the leaves off the stalks. These then go in the food processor. Let 'er spin until the leaves are all munched down into a dark green goo. If you're going to add the garlic cloves, now would be the time. Start to drizzle in the oil until the mixture starts to turn more freely. Then add in the ground pine nuts and parmesan, adding more oil to get a nice, smooth consistency. It usually works out to:

1 cup / 8 oz of pine nuts
1 cup / 8 oz of parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cup / 12 oz of the oil.

Give or take.

Once it's all blended and tasty, it's read . Well, sort of. You can use it right away but we have found it's better if it sits at room temperature for about an hour before using. This allows the flavours time to blend. Then it can be used in a sauce, brushed over chicken, or with a bit more oil; and a marinade brushed over prawns.

We don't like to store leftover pesto in the refrigerator. We find the oil separates from the other ingredients and the garlic becomes stronger somehow. Instead, we fill an ice cube tray with the remaining pesto, cover with wax paper, and freeze. Then we pop the cubes into a freezer bag. When needed, the pesto cubes are a perfect size to quickly thaw out, and we only need to thaw as much as what's needed.

Just remember to thoroughly wash the ice cube trays out before using them again for making ice. There was an incident once when bits of greenery were left behind and the resulting ice cubes were slightly green. Now the running joke is "rye and ginger, hold the garlic and greens."

Easter Brunch . . . times two !

This Easter weekend brought about not one, but two Easter brunches.

The first was hosted on Good Friday by my friend Sarah of Green Tomato Supper Club. Now, you know it’s going to be a good brunch when you ask if there is anything you can bring and your host replies “Perhaps some bubbly for mimosas….” Nice ! There can never be too much bubbly at a brunch.

It was a beautiful warm spring day, so we were able to sit outside under the cherry blossom trees and catch up with friends we hadn’t seen in a while. Sarah produced a beautiful spread, with quiche tartlets, cheeses, breads, individual caprese bites and her own made preserves. The dining room table was pushed to one side and set up as a buffet to allow more room for people to move around. Throughout the house were cheerful bouquets of daffodils . . .as well as several children and Mezzo the rather large roly-poly cat.

The next day was our family brunch. Mom and I decided to serve bacon wrapped scallops and an assortment of pickles, crackers, salsa and sliced cheeses to start. I know, I know…..bacon on Easter weekend. Not very Lent friendly. The weather being so beautiful, we sat out on the veranda and coloured eggs while nibbling on the spread. Mom grilled a delicious pork tenderloin with lemon and rosemary, while I made oven roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli.

For dessert I made some fun chocolate cups using balloons dipped in chocolate.  When the chocolate set, I snipped the neck of each balloon to deflate it and peel it away from the chocolate. The result ends up looking like half of an egg shell; perfect for the Easter theme. These I filled with a sort of blackberry apple fool, made using Mom’s blackberry apply jelly. Little bit of coconut for a nest, couple little chocolate eggs and some blueberries for garnish, and dessert is done. These can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Easter Sunday morning I finished decorating mini chocolate cupcakes. I had baked the cupcakes in those little condiment cups you get for ketchup so that they sort of looked like flower pots instead of the traditional cupcake wrappers. They also are the same cups used to dispense pills at the hospital, which is where they were going to be delivered. They were a bit tricky to remove from the wrapping, so I clipped into the side to create a starting point. Cupcakes decorated and packed up, it was time for scrambled eggs and cinnamon buns.

So, a full weekend with friends, family and feasting . . . .a perfect way to spend the Easter holiday.

Brunch at Yew

Ah…Sunday Funday!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of joining a friend I hadn’t seen in way too long for brunch. Initially, it was to be a whole gaggle of gals, but because of a nasty flu bug that’s going around and last minute cancellations, it ended up being just the two of us. Which was just as nice. It gave us a chance to catch up that we otherwise might not have had with a whole group.

I have several favourite places for brunching. This time, I chose Yew in the Four Season Hotel. It’s a beautiful room; open, full of light, interesting architectural features and lots of wood accents. We sat in a cozy booth for two, which was not butted directly up against the wall. Instead, there was a 12 inch wide wood “shelf” between the table and the backlit wall, perfect for hand bags and coats. No putting the purse on the floor or on another chair. It’s great when restaurant designers think of the comfort of the guest and combine it with function.

Yew does a 3 course brunch for $29.00. Essentially, you choose a starter, a main course and a dessert. I chose Lemon Buttermilk Pancakes to start, followed by a Goat Cheese and Chive Omelet and finishing with a Brulee Duo. My friend chose a Shaved Apple and Fennel Salad, a BLT Eggs Benedict and the Chocolate Explosion to end.

Instead of standard bread that arrives after ordering, we received little sugared mini donuts with a mixed berry mango dipping sauce. Warm doughnuts? For brunch? I’m in!

Yew also offers all their bottles of wine at 50% off on Sundays. Like I said….Sunday Funday! With just the two of us, we decided to skip on ordering a bottle and save that for when we’re able to have the whole gang. Instead, I had a peach bellini. Not the slushy, overtly sweet kind but the traditional, muddled peach nectar and champagne kind.

And so we enjoyed a nice leisurely two hour brunch catching up and chatting about life and its many twists and turns. Our jobs, our homes, our projects. Bad boyfriends. Family. Afterwards, it was off to Holt Renfrew for some post-brunch shopping.  We oogled over Chanel and Prada, decided that at 60% off, $7995.00 was still too much to pay for a blazer jacket; and then said our goodbyes, with the promise “let’s do this again soon”.

Dinner with Friends = Family Dinner

My girlfriend and I decided we needed to have a dinner party. Well, in truth, she had bottled wine with her roommate and it was time for the wine to be consumed. Not all 30 bottles mind you, but a healthy amount.

So Friday night we rounded up some friends. Or rather, SHE rounded up some friends while I sat at the bar drinking a martini while I waited. Then we were off to T&T market to find “provisions”. The girls in the group wanted to do salmon. But it’s January, so fresh salmon is not exactly plentiful.  Nor is asparagus. While they contemplated the fish in the display case, I took off to find the rest of the meal. Fresh green salad with sugar peas, mandarin sections and apple with a sesame oil red wine vinaigrette, steamed broccoli with lemon juice, yams baked in brown sugar and orange juice. When I found the group again, they had settled on chicken with coconut. Which meant a hunt for panko crumbs. Also picked up some gyoza to start, and some aloe vera juice and papayas to make muddled fruit vodka cocktails. Quick stop at the liquor store for the vodka and we set off for home.

I will say I definitely learnt the pros and cons of six people trying to prepare dinner in a tiny apartment with an uber tiny kitchen space; while you might think the work would go faster because of all those extra hands in truth it took much longer….mainly because we needed to take dance breaks and refill the beverages.

Divide the group into teams of two. Understand that not everyone is comfortable with a knife or knows to remove the seeds before juicing citrus. Know when enough is enough. Relax, have fun…it’s just food.

After a bit of prep work, a few fruity beverages and much laughter later, we sat down to a beautiful dinner with candles and the promised wine.

Summer Sizzle

Nothing says summer’s here quite like the first barbeque of the season. Don’t get me wrong, we are lucky enough to grill pretty much year round, despite the wet weather and sometimes snow. Our grill has also served us well in times of power outage. Having a side burner to boil water for tea certainly comes in handy when the power goes out.

Our family cooks all kinds of stuff on the grill. Some of the family favourites include asparagus, bell peppers, potatoes, whole salmon, pineapple, bananas, peaches . . . you name it, we grill it!

One of the easiest (and fastest) things I like to grill are pesto prawn skewers. Each year, my mom and I make our own pesto using basil grown in the garden. We freeze it in ice cube trays to make ideal portion sizes. Defrost the frozen cubes in the sun, add a bit of olive oil to make it more spreadable, add in the peeled prawns and toss to coat and all the hard work is done.  Set the bowl in the refrigerator to let the prawns marinated and absorb all that basil goodness.

Successful skewers begin with soaking the wooden skewers in water for about an hour. This keeps them moist and prevents them from burning when on the grill (yeh, I know . . . there are metal skewers out there especially designed for grilling…one day I’ll pick some up). Then I thread the marinated prawns onto the skewers, usually six per skewer. In a package of 31 – 40 count prawns, I end up with six skewers. I line them up when I put them on; tail ends all facing the same direction. Then it’s onto the grill they go, at a 90 degree angle from the grill slats so that they don’t fall in as sacrifice to the Grill God (that’s what asparagus is for).

Prawns cook quite quickly on the grill, depending on your temperature. Essentially, the prawns need to turn from translucent to white and firm with pink veining. This usually takes about two or three minutes; flip the skewers, baste with pesto marinade, and two or three minutes more.

You can serve the prawns as they are on the skewers, and use a fork to pull them off. Often I’ll put these out as an appetizer while preparing the main meal. Or, I’ll take them off the skewers and add them to the top of a salad with other grilled seafood such as scallops, salmon and a white fish like halibut or cod.

They also work well on a bed of pasta (remember that side burner I mentioned? Perfect for boiling pasta) with the grilled bell peppers and asparagus.

Grilled prawns lend themselves well to a variety of dishes and are a great way to start your summer grilling season . . . (or throughout the year)

L is for Lamingtons . . .

Ah . . . lamington. The word makes me smile. I just enjoy the sound of it. Fun and sophistication all rolled in one.

Which is exactly what a lamington is. It’s the rogue sister to the French petit-fours. Still retaining some elegance, but saying . . . “Pwaa!!! Who needs pastel pink and green and yellow fondant with teeny tiny flowers when you can be bathed in chocolate and coconut like me?” Or something to that effect.

A lamington is a little dessert cake which has its origins in Australia. It’s made up of squares of sponge cake that are coated first in a layer of chocolate icing and then lightly rolled in desiccated coconut. Sometimes (like when I make them), the squares are cut in half lengthwise and a layer of lemon curd or strawberry or raspberry jam is snuck in the center before the chocolate bath. I’ve also taken a little melon baller and hollowed out the center so there is more room for the filling. I know. I’m a rebel.

The chocolate coating is a thin mixture, and is absorbed into the outermost layers of the sponge where it sets. The cubes are then covered with coconut and left to set.

Most believe lamingtons are named after Lord Lamington, who served as Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901, and resemble the homburg hats he favoured. It is thought Lamingtons’ chef Armand Gallad (who was French-born and missed his beloved petit-fours, was woken in the middle of the night to provide something to feed unexpected guests. According to the local newspaper at the time, Chef Gallad cut up some leftover French vanilla sponge cake, dipped the slices in chocolate and set them in coconut. Before Federation in 1901, coconut was not widely used in either European or Australian cooking. But Chef Gallad had a secret weapon. His wife was from Tahiti, where coconut was a common ingredient. Lady Lamingtons’ guests, ever enthralled with anything exotic, asked for the recipe.

The alternative claim is that Gallad, still half asleep at being woken so abruptly …. accidentally dropped a block of sponge cake into a dish of chocolate. It was later discovered that desiccated coconut, sprinkled over the top, made the cakes more appealing.

Ironically, Lord Lamington was believed to have hated the dessert cakes that had been named in his honour, referring to them as "those bloody poofy woolly biscuits".

Today lamingtons are sold in Australia and South Africa by youth groups in much the same way Boy Scouts and Girl Guides sell cookies in North America, and are called “Lamington Drives”. They are also sold at church bake sales and school fundraisers. The packages are usually boxes with a dozen squares.

Friday July 21, 2006 was designated as National Lamington Day in Australia.

Ingredients

·         2 cups of all-purpose flour

·         2 tsp of baking powder

·         1/4 tsp of sea salt

·         2 large eggs

·         1/2 cup of room temperature butter

·         3/4 cup of white sugar

·         1 tsp of pure vanilla extract

·         1/2 cup of milk

·         2 cups of icing sugar

·         1/3 cup of cocoa powder

·         3 tbs of butter

·         1/2 cup of milk

·         lemon curd (optional)

·         strawberry or raspberry jam (optional)

·         whipped cream for serving

Make the sponge cake

1. Preheat oven to 375° F (180° C).
2. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
3. Whisk cream and sugar. Beat eggs and add, one by one, together with a tablespoon of flour each time.
4. Fold in remaining flour.
5. Transfer batter to a prepared 8” square cake pan. If you divide the cake dough between 2 smaller pans it will bake faster.
6. Bake in middle shelf for minutes to 1 hour to 1¼ hours - 45 minutes to 1 hour if using 2 pans.

Make the icing

7. Sift sugar and cocoa into a small bowl.
8. Add butter and water and mix until smooth.
9. Stand the bowl inside another larger bowl with hot water until the butter has melted and the icing is fairly runny.

Finish the cakes

10. Cut the sponge cake into squares.
11. Refrigerate the squares for at least two hours so that they become firm. If filling with jam or lemon curd, fill squares before refrigeration.
12. Coat the cake squares with icing, then roll in coconut.
13. Let them cool on a sheet of grease proof paper.
14. Store in an air tight container for up to five days.

Or, if you are short on time, you could follow the Quick & Easy Lamingtons recipe over at Coles Australia. 

 

And isn't this Lamington Express train adorable for a little tyke's birthday party?

 

 

Roll On . . .

Looking for an interesting gift for the baker or kitchen-savvy friend who seems to have every kitchen gizmo and gadget imaginable? I came across these gorgeous rolling pins offered by hobbyco, which would make a very unique gift regardless of the time of year. Not only are they beautiful and would look great hanging as a decorative item, but they are functional.

Naturally finished with no paint make them safe for everyday usage. With repeated use, the natural oils from both your hands and from baking (butter, shortening and lard in all those sugar cookie and pie pastry dough recipes) will only add to the polished beauty of the wood over time.

I also like the different handle styles that are available, such as the one shown above right, which make for easier gripping and less slippping.

The rolling pins each have several layers of salad bowl oil which makes for a durable finish. The care for these beauties pretty simple ~ wash by hand with a warm soapy wash cloth, rinse, dry with a towel. Never put in the dishwasher or let soak in water. To refresh the high shine, just rub with salad oil and buff with a soft cloth.

Each one is individually made, so no two will be exactly the same. Which means having a collection of them would be an eye-catching display and make you look like you know your way around the kitchen (even if you have trouble making toast in the mornings).

Penzey's Spices

Spice truly is the variety of life . .and at Penzey’s Spices, there is a lot to choose from. Specializing in gourmet spices and seasonings, if you are looking for something particular, they are sure to have it; from Adobo Seasoning (a traditional salt free Mexican spice mix) to Zahtar (a popular Middle-Eastern seasoning blend of sumac, thyme sesame and salt), with everything in between. Penzey’s also carries a variety of natural liquid flavourings such as single and double strength Pure Vanilla extracts.

Penzey’s prides itself in a variety of house blended spice mixes, such as their BBQ 3000. This blend works as a spice rub for meat for grilling and is a blend of (ready?) . . . .salt, paprika, black pepper, nutmeg, powdered mustard, allspice, powdered lemon peel, garlic powder, ginger, sage, thyme, white pepper, cinnamon and natural smoke flavour. . . .whew! That’s a whole bunch of flavour!

Being big salad eaters, we purchased the Buttermilk Ranch mix, which when added to sour cream and buttermilk was much lower in fat than any of thee popular store bought brands and we could make as little or as much as we wanted so that it was always fresh at each meal.

We also picked up a gift set for some friends. The gift set, called the Salad Lover’s Gift Box, contained one 70gr or 2.5oz jar each of Buttermilk Ranch, Creamy Peppercorn, Green Goddess and Italian. Again, our friends were able to make as little or as much as they needed, ensuring the dressing was fresh.

A great wedding gift idea is Penzey’s Gift Crates. These are deluxe gift sets that include an overall selection of spices and seasonings, perfect for setting up a new home together. For the couple just starting out together in the kitchen the original The Wedding Gift Crate is ideal; with one jar each of Chicago Steak Seasoning, Chili Powder, Basil, Rosemary, Garlic Salt, Pizza Seasoning, Oregano, Jerk Chicken and Fish rub, Parsley, Cocoa, Taco Seasoning, Italian Herb Mix, Cinnamon, Country French Vinaigrette Mix, Dill Weed, French Thyme and Pure Vanilla Extract. The crate also includes a beautiful wooden salt and pepper shaker set as well as whole nutmegs, cinnamon sticks and star anise pods. Definitely not a boring wedding gift the bride would want to return.

The staff were very knowledgeable, providing tips on how to use their products, the shelf life of the spices (did you know most spices should be used within two years?) and whether or not we could bring them across the border into Canada from the United States. We also discovered that Kosher salt has a sodium level of less than half of that of regular table or sea salt. For someone with a family member on a sodium-reduced diet, this was a great bit of information, and we have since switched to Kosher salt.

Penzey’s Spices are located in Wauwatosa, WI, but we visited their store at Pike Place Market in Seattle, WA. There are Penzey’s store locations in 27 states (check their website for store locations).They are also available to order online and ship throughout the United States including Hawaii and Alaska. Sadly, they do not ship to Canada.

Penzey’s: Love to cook – Cook to Love

A Lighter Side to Fruitcake

Fruitcake seems to perpetually have a bad rap. Not entirely sure why. I mention the words "fruit cake" to someone and they are often met with "ehwww....I hate fruit cake. So gross.". Why? What did fruit cake ever do to them?

Many find fruit cake too dense and heavy. True, a number of fruitcakes are made this way. I have discovered that most commercially made fruitcakes contain too much fruit to batter ratio and this is what makes them so heavy. Added to this is a thick layer of overly sweet marzipan (personally, I'm not a fan of the stuff in any season).

I've been making our family fruitcakes for years. I like to make two types. One with the traditional candied cherries and peel and nuts and dark raisins. The other I make with only the light fruit. Golden raisins, dried citrus peel, dried cranberries and slivered almonds. This mixture gives the cakes a more blonde appearance with the red dried cranberries giving just a bit of colour.

I also separate the egg yolks from the egg whites (trivia question - what is the egg white called . . . besides "egg white"). The yolks get blended into the cream mixture while the egg whites are beaten stiff and then folded in at the end. This makes for a lighter, airier cake.

Another problem with fruitcake is that it can be dry. Good fruitcake remains moist. This comes from properly curing the fruitcake. And this takes time. And brandy. And a dark closet. So I usually start the fruitcakes in mid October.

So here is the recipe our family has used as far back as I can remember.

Blonde Fruitcake

Fruit Mixture

2              cup         golden raisins

1              cup         diced candied citron

1              cup         dried cranberries

1              cup         candied pineapple, chopped

1              cup         slivered almonds

1              cup         brandy, orange brandy, asbach or spiced rum

Batter

¾             cup         milk

¼             cup         brandy, orange brandy, asbach or spiced rum

1              tsp          almond extract

1 ½          cup         butter, softened

2              cup         granulated sugar

6                            eggs, separated

3 ½          cup         all purpose flour

1              tsp          cream of tartar

Cheesecloth for wrapping cakes

2              cup         brandy, orange brandy, asbach or spiced rum

In a large bowl, combine the raisins, candied citron, cranberries, pineapple and slivered almonds with the 1 cup liquor and toss to coat. Cover and allow to sit for two days. Toss, and allow to sit for another two days. Repeat until all liquid has been absorbed by the fruit mixture (about a week).

Butter 4 standard sized loaf pans (8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ½ “). Line bottoms with brown paper. Butter brown paper. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.

Combine the milk, ¼ cup liquor and almond extract and set aside. In a large mixer bowl, cream the butter at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add the granulated sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add the flour alternately with the milk mixture, beating well after each addition. Pour over fruit mixture. Mic well and set aside.

In a clean mixer bowl and with clean beaters, whip the egg whites on high speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until still peaks form. Fold into batter. Spoon batter into prepared loaf pans. Pack evenly by pressing down batter with the back of a wooden spoon.

Bake at 275 degrees F for 1 ¾ hours until skewer inserted into center of each cake comes out clean. Remove pans from oven and cool in pans on wire racks for 30 minutes. Run knife around edge of cakes to loosen. Remove cakes from pans. Peel off paper and allow cakes to cool completely.

Wrap each cake with a double layer of cheesecloth. Using extra liquor, brush each cake with enough liquid to dampen cheesecloth. Wrap cakes in aluminum foil and store in a dark closet for 2 to 3 weeks, brushing occasionally with more liquor.

Cured cakes can be frozen for up to a year. 

lazy Sundays are meant for . . .

. . . breakfasts with the family.

Sunday mornings are rather slow paced at our place. They usually involve sleeping in until I hear the soft tinkling sound of a teaspoon stirring in a teacup. Regardless of how deep my sleep, believe me, my eyes pop open at that distinctive sound in the upstairs kitchen. This is usually accompanied by the smell of maple bacon. Upstairs, my dad is busy making buttermilk pancakes, fluffy scrambled eggs and the a-fore mentioned maple bacon. My nephew is already seated and waiting at the table. With my mom, the four of us enjoy our weekly “Papa’s Sunday Breakfast”.

After breakfast (in which my nephew has been known to tuck away 8 pancakes, 4 strips of bacon, 3 scrambles eggs and 2 cups of tea . . .he’s 11 and I think BOTH his legs are hollow), mom and I will make our journey to the living room to sit in the bay window and knit and crochet (she knits, I crochet) or take our mugs of tea and a stack of cookbooks out into the garden. We are accompanied by the sound of my nephew practicing his cello and song birds. “Papa” heads downstairs to his chair and to watch the Sunday game.

The busier the work week, the more I enjoy and appreciate my lazy Sunday mornings.

D is for Dulce de Leche . . . .

Dulce de leche is a thick, caramel-looking sauce or spread, which is made by slowly heating sweetened milk until it turns a golden brown and the sugar caramelizes. Dulce de leche translated means “sweet from milk”. First appearing in Argentina, it is popular in other Latin American countries, most notably Chile, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Columbia. In Brazil it is known by its Portuguese name doce de leite.

France also has a version called confiture de lait, which the French spread with butter on their morning baguettes . . . which are really the leftover dinner baguettes that have been toasted. Still, extremely yummy.

The most basic recipe calls for slowly simmering milk and sugar, stirring almost constantly, Just as the milk begins to boil, baking soda is added. Much of the water in the milk evaporates and the mix thickens; the end result is usually about a sixth of the volume of the milk used.

Although dulce de leche can be enjoyed simply on its own over toasted bread, it is also used to flavor foods such as candies, cakes, cookies and ice cream. For example, it works as a great middle between oatmeal cookies (a family favourite). A friend of mine enjoys making Banoffee Pie ( . . . and I enjoy eating it). You can also spread a thin layer on a cooled brownie cake and chilling it before spreading with a traditional chocolate frosting so that you end up with “chocolate-duce de leche-chocolate”. So sinful . . . so good.

Dulce de Leche
4 cups milk
1 vanilla bean
4 ½ cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda

In a large saucepan, bring milk to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and strain through cheesecloth. Return to pan.

Cut vanilla bean in half and scrape the seeds in the milk. Add the bean to the milk. Stir in the sugar and replace the pan on medium-high heat, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved. Just as the milk mixture begins to boil, stir in the baking soda. Reduce the heat to medium, stirring constantly until mixture thickens but do not re-incorporate the foam that appears on the top of the mixture. Continue to cook for 1 hour. Remove the vanilla bean after 1 hour and continue to cook until the mixture has reduced to about 1 cup, approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours. When a wooden spoon drawn through the mixture leaves the bottom of the pan visible, and the mixture is light brown in color, remove the pan from the heat. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer.

Place the pan in an ice bath and stir constantly until the dulce de leche has cooled. Pour into sterile jars, and store in the refrigerator.

True, the process takes awhile, but the results are well worth it. You could search for a recipe that used store bought condensed milk to speed up the process, but the end product is not as nice. A bonus is that dulce de leche can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a month, though it never seems to make it that long in our house.

B is for Brioche

Buttery, warm, melt in the mouth brioche. There are two places I know to get really good brioche. One is at a bakery around the corner from the bed & breakfast I stayed at just outside of Paris. The other is if I am lucky enough to be in the pastry kitchen at Cin Cin Ristorante in Vancouver when Thierry Busset is baking his brioche(yes, a true Frenchman in an Italian kitchen !) Note: Thierry will be opening his own atelier style pastry and chocolate shop called simply "Thierry" on Alberni Street in Vancouver soon . . very soon.

Brioche is a highly enriched French bread, whose high egg and butter content give it a rich and tender crumb. It has a dark, golden, and flaky crust from an egg wash applied after proofing (rising). Brioche à tête is perhaps the most classically recognized form. This style of brioche is formed and baked in a fluted round, flared tin; a large ball of dough is placed on the bottom, topped with a smaller ball of dough to form the head (tête).

Brioche dough contains flour, eggs, butter, milk, yeast, salt, and sometimes some sugar. Usual recipes have a flour:butter ratio of about 2:1; when the flour:butter ratio is closer to 5:4, it may be called La Pâte à brioche mousseline or Brioche Mousseline or Rich Man's Brioche because the higher butter ratio results in a richer brioche.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in his autobiography Confessions (completed in 1769 but published after his death in 1782), relates that "a great princess" is said to have advised with regard to peasants who had no bread, "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche". This saying is commonly (and inaccurately) translated as "Let them eat cake" and attributed to Queen Marie-Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI.

Brioche à Tête
(from Jacques Pepin's Complete Techniques, 2001)
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 c. lukewarm water
1 pkg. dry active yeast
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 tsp. salt

In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, water, and yeast. Let stand undisturbed for 5 minutes to froth and double in size.

In a large bowl, cream butter with salt. Add eggs. Stir in flour Place the remaining ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment, start mixing on low, adding the yeast mixture slowly. When all the ingredients hold together, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Mix at medium speed for 5 minutes. The dough should be well blended, and elastic, velvety, and hold into a lump around the beater.

Remove the dough from the mixer bowl and place the dough in a large greased bowl. Cover with a towel and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size(about 2 hours).

Gently punch down dough. Generously butter large brioche mold or several smaller individual molds (which I enjoy making, they are so pretty piled in a basket on the breakfast table). For the large mold, separate a piece of the dough about the size of an orange. Place the remaining dough in the mold so that no seams are showing and you have a nice smooth surface. Using your fist, make an indentation in the center of the dough. Shape reserved dough into a smoothball and place in the indentation to form the “tête”. Press down gently to secure pieces of dough together. For smaller molds, divide dough into portions equal to number of pans, remembering to also form smaller balls to make the top knobs or “tête”.

Let the brioches rise in a warm, draft-free place for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Preheat your oven to 400 F, and brush tops of brioches with an egg wash (1 egg, beaten). Bake for approximately 25 minutes for a large, single brioche and adjust the baking time to less for the smaller portions. They should be golden brown on the outside. Allow to cool ten minutes before removing from molds.

These are best the day of, when still warm. They are already very buttery, so a little jam or marmalade is all that is needed. They will also keep in an air-tight container for 3-4 days.

Mmmm, so buttery, melt-in-your-mouth good, and comforting on a cold October day like today.