Lemon Olive Oil Cake

This  is a slow-baked Italian breakfast cake that uses olive oil rather than butter as the fat. This cake has been described as "unctuous". That's a good thing.

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 cups of flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 3 large eggs

• 1 cup of sugar

• 3/4 of a cup of plain yogurt (not low-fat)

• finely grated zest of 3 lemons

•  3/4 of a cup of extra virgin olive oil

Methods:
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9-inch spring-form pan. Mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. In another larger bowl and using an electric mixer, beat together the eggs and sugar until pale and thick (5 minutes). Add yogurt and lemon zest and beat to combine. Add the oil in a steady stream to the mixture using a medium speed on your beater. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the dry ingredients until they are all incorporated into the batter. Pour the batter into the oiled pan and bake for 40-45 minutes on the middle rack of your oven, or until the centre of the cake 'springs back' when touched. Let cool completely on a rack before serving.


The cake does not require icing, however if  you would prefer to have an iced cake, this is the way to do it.....

Melt a 1/4 cup of butter. Add a 1/4 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice to the butter. With a hand held blender, add 4 cups of icing sugar to the lemon/butter mixture. Blend until smooth.

Really Retro - Creamed Salmon and Peas

I frequently make this dish at the cottage, a place at which I revert to making a lot of unusual dishes due either to lack of key ingredients, or a dearth of required tools. Don't get me wrong, the cottage  kitchen contains lots of gadgets, many more than I have in my own home kitchen in fact; it's just that many of them look like ancient instruments of torture.

My mother used to make creamed salmon and peas. Despite being old-fashioned, it's a very easy-to-make, very comforting form of comfort food. You'll note that I used a puff pastry base, which turned out totally weirdly because I didn't have a rolling pin to roll the pastry properly, but the salmon and peas are equally good when served on toast. My mother used to butter slices of crustless white bread and jam them into muffin tins, then toast these in the oven until they formed crispy 'cups' used to hold the creamy mixture. I would have done the same had I had anything other than whole wheat soda bread available to me. 

Ingredients:

• 1 tin of high quality salmon, drained 
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• about 1 and 1/2 cups of milk
• about a cup of frozen peas
• 4 pieces of puff pastry baked, or pre-made vol-au-vent shells, or buttered toast, or toast 'cups'

Methods:
Open the tin of salmon , drain it and place the contents in a bowl or on a board to remove any dark bits of skin or large bones. Chunk the salmon into large pieces. In a medium-sized heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat, then add the flour, stirring the flour into the butter with a whisk to make a roux. Cook the roux for several minutes stirring constantly, then add the salt , pepper,  and 1 cup of milk and stir over a medium-low heat until a sauce is formed. You have just made Béchamel sauce, BTW. 

The sauce is likely to be very thick, so continue to add milk in small quantities while stirring until the sauce is at your preferred consistency. Traditionally, one might heat the milk before adding it, but I never do and it always works. Add the peas to the sauce and stir until they have warmed through, then add the chunks of salmon, again stirring gently until the salmon is also warm. Check the seasoning and adjust as you wish. Place two pieces of toast (or whatever base you have chosen to use) on a plate and spoon on the creamed salmon and peas. This recipe serves two generously (or should I say comfortably). 

It's a roux.

The source of the salmon

Flank Steak Tacos

This is my take on a recipe for seared salmon tacos that I ripped out of the May 2015 edition of REALSIMPLE while at my hairdresser's. I'm not totally uncouth by the way, I did ask for permission before removing it from the magazine. 

So last night I served my husband half a seared flank steak and decided to keep the other half for these tacos. They had a nice crunch and were tasty, not spectacular, but definitely crunchy and tasty. Lunchworthy.   

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

• 1 teaspoon brown sugar

• leftover (rare) flank steak sliced thinly (about 12 ounces)

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise

• 2 teaspoons hot sauce (Sriracha is fine, and seemingly very trendy, but any hot sauce will do)

• 2 baby cucumbers sliced

• 1/4 cup sliced scallions

• 1/2 cup of raw julienned carrots

• a small amount of red cabbage finely sliced

• 6 small corn tortillas, warmed

Methods:
Wrap the tortillas in aluminum foil and place in a 250 degree F. oven until warmed through. Alternatively, you can warm each tortilla individually in a skillet on the stove. Combine the soy sauce and brown sugar in a small bowl. Pour half the dressing over the already cooked and sliced steak. Reserve the remaining dressing. Then combine the mayonnaise and hot sauce in a small bowl. Quickly re-heat the leftover steak in a non-stick skillet. Divide the steak, carrots, scallions and sliced cucumber and cabbage between the warmed tortillas. Spoon on as much of the spicy mayo as you prefer and drizzle with a smidge of the reserved dressing (or not). Then roll 'em up and serve. 

Tortillas ready to pop in the oven. They appear to be floating over the countertop towards the oven....that's what happens in my magical kitchen.
 

Now lunchworthy

Sylvia's Veggie Curry with Garlic Naan and Raita

My sister Sylvia is a masterful cook who creates recipes almost daily. I'm not sure why I'm the food blogger. The following is her version of veggie curry.

I: Ingredients for the Vegetable Curry:

• 2 tbsp coconut oil

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced

• 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced

• 1 stalk celery, finely sliced

• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped

• 2 tbsp curry powder and 1 tsp turmeric

• 1 tsp dried chili flakes

• 1 head cauliflower, chopped into bite-size florets

• 2 more green vegetables of your choice, about 1 cup each, diced

• 1 large can diced tomatoes, do not drain

• 2 cups vegetable stock

• 1 cup red lentils

• 1 can chickpeas, drained

• 1 can full fat canned coconut milk

• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

• Juice of one lime

• Salt and pepper

Methods:
Saute the onion, carrot and celery in coconut oil for 2-3 minutes, until the onion is soft. Add sweet potato, curry and chili flakes, then saute for another minute. Add the cauliflower, diced green vegetables, tomatoes, red lentils, chickpeas and broth. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. If using baby spinach as one of the green vegetables, add it at very end of cooking time since it takes nanoseconds to cook. Stir in the coconut milk and add salt and ground pepper to taste. Turn off the heat and let the curry stand for 5 minutes. Stir in the lime juice and parsley.  Serve over basmati rice in warmed bowls with the raita (Indian yogurt dip) you made yourself, garlic naan bread and mango chutney. Then pat yourselves on the back.

II: Ingredients for the Raita:

• 1 cup Greek yogurt

• 1 cup shredded and drained cucumber

• 1 clove garlic, grated

• Juice of 1/2 lemon

• 1/4 tsp ground cumin

• fresh mint chopped or a teaspoon of Indian mint chutney

Methods: 
Mix all the ingredients together and refrigerate until use.

III: Ingredients for the Garlic Naan:

• 3 cups flour

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp yeast

• 2 tsp sugar

• 1/2 cup warm water (or more if you need it) 

• 1/2 cup pressed yogurt ( labneh)

• 2 tbsp melted butter

• 1 large cove garlic, grated

Methods: 

Mix together the water, sugar and yeast in a medium-sized bowl. Let stand 5 minutes until bubbly. Stir in the yogurt, melted butter and garlic. Place the flour and salt in a large bowl, pour in the yogurt mixture  and stir well to form a soft dough. Knead 200 times (about 10 minutes), then place the dough in a warm spot, oiled and covered with damp tea towel. Allow the dough to rest for at least 1 hour until it is doubled in size. Then punch it down in the bowl. You can allow a second rise  and punch down if you wish. Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll out into small oval discs. Pull gently to elongate each disc. Heat a large nonstick frying pan on the stove, then place the  naan in the hot pan for 2-3 minutes, until bubbles form in the dough. Turn over and cook about 2 minutes more. Crunchy dark spots on the naan are acceptable. Aim for crispy on outside, soft on inside. Brush with butter and keep warm in the oven until use. 

Make your own labneh (pressed yogurt) by placing a sieve lined with cheesecloth over a large bowl. Tie up the ends of the cheesecloth and let the yogurt drain overnight in the fridge. The next day you have a cheesecloth bag full of labneh.

Aggression Cookies

When I was a teenager, my sisters and I came upon a special recipe for very buttery oatmeal cookies. We thought it was hilariously funny that they were called aggression cookies, presumably because the dough is mixed together with your hands and you thereby release all of your pent-up aggression. Not sure why I found that so amusing. What can I say, it was a more innocent time of life. This recipe is drawn from my sister Sylvia's memory, which is better than mine.

Ingredients:

• 1 & 1/2 cups of softened butter

• 1 & 1/2 cups of sugar (half white sugar and half brown)

• 1 & 1/2 cups of flour

• 3 cups of oatmeal, or more if the dough is too sticky 

Cookies in progress....first as balls, then as flattened discs

Methods:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Cover your baking sheets with parchment paper.  Dump the cookie ingredients together in a large bowl and get mixing with your hands. Feel the tension flow from your shoulders into the bowl. Hopefully, you won't get all tense again when you realize what a mess you've created. Anyway, roll walnut-sized cookies and space them a couple of inches apart on your baking sheets. Using the dampened bottom of a glass dipped in sugar, flatten each cookie somewhat. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking racks. These buttery cookies are delicate, so handle them carefully after baking.

   

Ross Lewis Brown Soda Bread

This delicious bread recipe is adapted from a Lucy Waverman adaptation of an Irish recipe from Chapter One (a fancy Dublin restaurant). My version of the recipe was a result of forgetting to add two of the ingredients, so it was really an error rather than a true adaptation. But do rolled oats really belong in soda bread? And who adds a single teaspoon of sugar to anything anyway? A cool thing about this recipe is that when you're putting some of the ingredients together it feels like you're participating in a crazy science experiment....you'll see what I mean, you mad scientist you.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 & 1/2 cup wheat bran
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (this is what I forgot to add)
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sugar (I forgot to add this too. Big deal.)
• 650 ml buttermilk (approximately 2 & 1/2 cups)
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 4 teaspoons baking soda

Methods:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan and line it with parchment paper.

Combine all of the ingredients except the buttermilk, molasses and baking soda in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.(If you have one, otherwise use a large bowl and hand mixer). 

Heat the buttermilk with molasses in a pot until just warm. Stir in the baking soda (here's where the excitement happens), then add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix on a medium speed for 5 minutes. Increase the speed to high and mix for 2 minutes more.

Scrape the dough into the prepared pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until the loaf is dark brown and hollow-sounding when tapped. Allow the bread to rest on a rack for 2 hours out of the pan. 

Wacky Chocolate Cake

Wacky cake is one-pot cake recipe dating back to the 1930’s or 40’s. The premise for its wackiness is the non-use of butter, eggs and milk to bake the cake. Apparently this was a popular recipe during World War II due to rationing of those ingredients. Everything can be mixed together in the pan, using only a fork. My sister iced this cake with dark chocolate and vanilla buttercream. So much for the lack of ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups (213 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (198) granulated sugar
• 4 rounded tablespoons (22 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white or cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup (240 ml) water

Methods: 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Mix all ingredients well with a fork either in a bowl or in the pan you plan to bake in. Bake in a greased 9"x 9" pan for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick placed in the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Date Squares.......I'm married to them

Believe it or not, dates squares are known in Western Canada as Matrimonial Cake. This was first brought to my attention by my friend Garth the Galloping Buffoon, who happens to be from Winnipeg, and was confirmed by Internet sources. So, I guess he's right. This recipe is from Edna Staebler's cookbook, Food that Really Schmecks. It tastes better than most, because of the addition of orange (rind and juice). I love these date squares. There's nothing more to say except "I do".

Ingredients for the filling:

• 1 and 1/2 cups of dates
• 3/4 cup sugar
• rind of one orange, grated
• 1 and 1/2 cup of boiling water (or half water, half orange juice)

Ingredients for the top and bottom of the squares:

• 1 cup of softened butter
• 1 and 1/4 cups of brown sugar
• 1 and 1/2 cups of flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 and 1/2 cups of rolled oats

Methods:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Put the dates, rind, sugar and boiling water/juice into a saucepan and gently cook until jam-like in consistency. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together, then add the rest of the dry ingredients, mixing until crumbly. Pat half of the oatmeal mixture into the bottom of a buttered 9-inch square pan, spread the date mixture over the base, then cover with the remaining oatmeal mixture. Bake for 45 minutes.

Simple Chicken Pie

This is a very tasty way to use up leftover chicken. And leftover vegetables, if you happen to have them available.

Ingredients:

• double pie crust (use frozen or make your own by following directions of the Crisco or lard box)
• about 3 cups of roasted or poached chicken cut into bite-sized pieces

• about a cup of frozen peas

• about a cup of par-boiled carrots

• one small onion diced and quickly sauteed in a bit of butter to soften

• about 1/4 cup of diced red pepper, sauteed with the onions to soften

• 2 tablespoons of butter

• 2 tablespoons of flour

• salt and pepper to taste

• 1 teaspoon of dried thyme leaves

• about 1 cup of milk, perhaps more

Methods: 
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. 

Combine the meat and chopped pre-cooked/sauteed vegetables in a large mixing bowl then quickly combine the butter and flour in a small saucepan on the stove to make a roux. (See roux-making instructions below) Add the milk to the cooked roux  and whisk it until the liquid has thickened. You've just made a white sauce. Add salt, pepper and thyme leaves to taste, then pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables and mix well. Cool the mixture to room temperature, then pour it into the bottom pie crust and top with the second crust. Crimp the edges of the top and bottom crust together to form a firm seal, then crust a slit in the top of the pie to allow steam to escape while it bakes. At this point, you can brush the crust with a bit of cream or beaten egg if you want a browner, shinier finish after baking.

Place the pie on a middle rack in the oven and bake until it's a lovely golden brown. This may take 30 to 45 minutes, or longer, depending on the fickleness of your oven. Remember, the ingredients are mostly cooked before the pie enters the oven so baking the pie is all about melding the flavours of the ingredients and getting the crust right. 

Roux Making:    
To make a basic roux, use equal weights of fat and flour. Butter is the most commonly used form of fat; other fats can be used, but will have a different flavor. Melt the butter over medium heat; slowly add the flour to the butter, whisking constantly. Within 2 to 3 minutes the roux will have a consistency of a cake frosting. A white roux is done when the flour loses its "raw" smell and begins to develop a toasty aroma.

Peanut Soup - Another warming wintertime meal

I was served peanut soup for the first time by a friend, on the eve of a winter solstice past. She developed the recipe based on her memory of a peanut soup that she had eaten at a now-closed tearoom. Its origins can either be attributed to Colonial America or West Africa, depending on which Wikipedia site one chooses to read.The following is my version of this strangely delicious soup.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon of oil
• 1 small onion, chopped 
• 3/4 to 1 cup of peanut butter, depending on your taste
• 1 large tin of tomatoes ( 796 ml)
• 1 cup of water or vegetable broth
• 1/2 to 1 tsp. of ground cumin to taste
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes or a pinch of cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste

Methods:
Sauté the onion in the oil in a pot on top of the stove until translucent. Add the other ingredients to the pot stirring over a medium heat until the peanut butter has melted. Use a hand-held blender to whiz the ingredients until smooth. Alternatively, pour the soup into a blender to puree. Re-heat the soup and adjust the seasoning before serving. 


Use a tin of fire-roasted tomatoes rather than plain old tinned tomatoes for additional zing. Chopped scallions would be an appropriate garnish. 

The Humble Meatloaf

I’ve been making up meatloaf recipes with varying degrees of success for years; just ask my husband. Tonight's edition was simple but remarkably effective. The secret ingredient was couscous, which took the place of the more frequently used breadcrumbs. My husband doesn't like couscous. He calls it foufou. But what he doesn't know won't hurt him.

Ingredients:

• somewhat over a pound of lean ground beef (I had 1.2 pounds available so that's what I used)
• 1/3 cup of homemade or other good quality tomato-based chili sauce 
• 1 small onion diced
• 1 beaten egg
• 2 tablespoons of uncooked couscous
• Salt and pepper to taste - you must use enough seasoning in meatloaf
• Smoky barbecue sauce to drizzle on top

Methods:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together all ingredients (except the barbecue sauce) until well combined. You might need to get your hands dirty to get things really well mixed. Grease a loaf pan and pack in the meat mixture. If you don’t own a loaf pan simple shape the meat into a loaf-like shape and place it on any greased flat baking sheet with a bit of a lip. Drizzle your favourite barbecue sauce over the top. Bake for around 40 minutes or until juices run clearish, or at least, not pink.. Meatloaf is not something you want to serve rare, and it needs to be firm enough to slice properly. Drain excess juices from the pan. Cover the cooked loaf and allow it to sit for around 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Summit Salad

If I had to guess which post on my previous blog had the greatest number of  hits over time, I'm not sure I would have guessed this particular salad. But this is it; the most popular post on that particular blog. Maybe readers thought it was a salad appropriate for a meeting of world leaders. Who knows? The photo isn't even that appetizing. (Bad photo).

There's something about this hearty salad, originally derived from a cookbook called Whitewater Cooks, that appeals. I was given Whitewater Cooks  by sisters who grew up in Nelson B.C. but attended university in Ontario. The cookbook contains recipes for the "pure, simple and real creations from the Fresh Tracks Cafe" at the Whitewater Winter Resort in the Selkirk Mountain Range, some 21 km. south of Nelson. (Ahhh, the summit). This is food that fit, healthy skiers eat. 

I made this gargantuan salad for a bunch of non-skiers and they seemed to consume it with vigour even though I forgot to add the sprouts. There wasn't enough room on the platter anyway.

Ingredients: ... for the salad

• 8 cups of mixed baby salad greens
• 2 cups of grated beets (raw)
• 2 cups of grated carrots (raw)
• 2 cups of chickpeas, drained
• 2 cups of crumbled feta cheese
• 2 cups of sprouts
• 1 cup of sliced sun-dried tomatoes

...for the vinaigrette

• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 tsp. crushed garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon basil
• 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
• juice and zest of one small orange
• 3/4 cup of safflower oil
• 1/4 cup roasted sunflower seeds
• salt and pepper to taste

Methods:

Whisk together the first 7 ingredients for the vinaigrette, then add the oil in a steady stream. Roast the sunflower seeds in a skillet over medium heat until they are lightly browned and add them to the dressing. Season with salt and pepper to taste. You can either 'compose' the salad on individual plates, or put everything on a large platter as I have done, prior to spooning the dressing over the salad.

New York Times Brown Butter Cornmeal Bread

·     The New York Times has a fabulous cooking section with wonderful photos of their recipes. Since I have a particular fondness for rustic breads, brown butter, maple syrup and cornmeal the following recipe seemed like it was made for me. As I was pouring the batter into my cast iron pan, I thought there was way too much of it and it would certainly expand in the oven, overflow and make a mess. And yes, yes it did. For a while I was not exactly sure what I had done wrong and was quite prepared to blame the New York Times. However, common sense prevailed and I measured the diameter of my cast iron pan, which happens to be an inch smaller than the size recommended in the recipe. Eureka.

   On the bright side, this is an example of how things don't have to look perfect to taste good.  All's well that ends well.....and this ended very well.

        Ingredients:

•  1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter

•   ½ cup maple syrup

•  2 ¼ cups buttermilk

• 3 large eggs

• 1 ½ cups yellow cornmeal, fine or medium-coarse grind

• ½ cup whole wheat flour

• ½ cup all-purpose flour

• 1 ½ tablespoons baking powder

• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

•  ½ teaspoon baking soda

Methods: 
Heat your oven to 375 degrees F. On the stovetop, in a 11- or 12-inch skillet (ovenproof, preferably cast iron and on the large size), melt the butter over a medium heat. Cook, swirling the pan to lightly coat its sides and bottom, until the foam subsides and the butter turns a deep nut brown. It will have the characteristic nutty aroma of brown butter at this point. Pour the brown butter into a large bowl. Do not wipe out the pan. 

Whisk the maple syrup into the butter, then whisk in the buttermilk. The mixture should be cool to the touch; if not, let it cool before whisking in the eggs to avoid scrambling them. Then whisk in the cornmeal, flours, baking powder, salt and baking soda.

If the skillet is no longer hot (cast iron retains heat longer than other metals), reheat it briefly on the stove for a few minutes. Then scrape in the batter. Bake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into it emerges clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool in the skillet for 10 minutes before slicing. I'm planning on serving this with butter, and dare I say it, more maple syrup.

Pear and Parsnip Soup

This is a Foodland Ontario recipe from last year's fall flyer. Their fall recipe flyer had me in its thrall.

The soup has great flavour if you happen to like parsnips and pears, and interestingly, did not require the addition of either salt or pepper to enhance its flavour. I did find the texture to be somewhat fibrous but that may be because I did not peel the pears (as suggested in the recipe). I did attempt to make parsnip chips to garnish the soup, but unfortunately answered a phone call at a rather critical point in the frying process, and that was the end of that.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth

• 1 cup milk or cream (10% butterfat)

• 4 cups diced parsnips

• 1 small onion and 1 small shallot diced

• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

• 2 cloves and 2 bayleaves

• a 1/2 inch chunk of ginger root , peeled and halved

• 2 tablespoons of both vegetable oil and balsamic vinegar

• 3 pears peeled, cored and diced

Methods:

Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees F. In a roasting pan, combine the parsnips, onion, shallot, thyme, cloves, bay leaves, ginger, oil and vinegar. Toss the ingredients well. Roast for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the pears and roast for 10 minutes longer. Add the broth and roast for an additional 10 minutes or until the parsnips are tender. Discard the bay leaves, cloves and ginger. Purée the mixture, then place the soup in large saucepan. Add the cream (or milk) and re-heat on low. 

Foodland Ontario suggested serving the soup with crumbled blue cheese and fried parsnip shavings. Good luck with that. 

The Future of Food

The front page of the Globe and Mail on the first day of the new year revealed the interesting connection between Hollywood, the Canadian prairies, and the pea, in an article entitled  Pulse of the Prairies: Investors Plow into the Humble Pea.  A great play on words by the headline writers at an ever-shrinking 'broadsheet'. Here's the link.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/james-cameron-among-investors-hoping-the-humble-pea-will-become-the-food-of-thefuture/article37467585/