Sunday, February 26, 2012

Pumpkin Cookies on the Fly

After a weekend of Maple Pecan Spice Cake, I felt renewed and ready to face the world again. On Wednesday, P was scheduled to return from an extended visit with his family and I couldn't have been more excited to see him.
I was all set to greet him with steaming plates of Curried Chickpea Stew with Brown Rice Pilaf (thanks to Cooking Light). The dish is so fragrant - the finishing dolop of plain yogurt on top adds the perfect bit of creamy tang to complement the spices. I was out of cilantro, so sprinkled some fresh green onions on top instead, which worked beautifully with the flavours.

Right before P got in the door, I was looking through my calendar and suddenly realized the date. Despite multiple entries on my phone and reminders set, the damn thing hadn't reminded me that tomorrow is Uncle B's birthday. There was no time to run out for a last minute gift and I was sure to run into Uncle B at work the next day, so I got into panic mode and decided to whip up a quick batch of cookies. When P walked in the door he got a very brief and distracted greeting, instead of the warm welcome I had been planning to give him.

The cookies I decided to make are a twice-tried Pumpkin-Cranberry recipe I'd found in the Milk & Cookies cookbook - Uncle B is crazy about pumpkin desserts. This recipe alone justifies the cookbook purchase. It is incredible! Luckily, I had bought a large can of pumpkin puree on Saturday (some higher power must have been influencing that decision). I didn't have any dried cranberries on hand, so substituted instead half dried currants and half raisins. They turned out extremely well, although I think the cranberries may balance the sweetness of the cookie a bit better than the currants. These cookies are soft and cakey, with a really moist crumb. They feel so light and soft going down, I could easily eat half a dozen without thinking. A big hit the next day with Uncle B (and everyone else at work passing by), and P didn't seem to mind the distracted greeting too much once he wolfed down 3 of these.

One beautiful little discovery this week was the world of roasted vegetable sandwiches. I cut up some slices of eggplant and roasted them with red pepper the previous night. For lunch the next day, we put the roasted eggplant and red pepper on slices ciabatta slathered with basil pesto, and topped the whole with with goat cheese and spinach. It was so tasty. I couldn't wait until the next day so I could make it again. If we ever open up a restaurant, this simple yet delicious little sandwich will definitely be on the menu.

Thursday night was fajita night - nothing too extraordinary about it. Unknowingly, I was setting myself up for a long weekend full of Mexican-inspired cuisine. Things could definitely be worse... I found a nice fajita spice recipe online for the chicken and vegetables, and I was able to cook the vegetables just perfectly - the onions were nicely caramelized. I think the finishing touch, though, was the spicy avocado lime cream. I saw this recipe while watching Chuck's Day Off and it has become an instant classic in our household. It's a nice substitute for guacamole and adds a fresh brightness to tacos and nachos that I love. I was missing the jalapeno peppers it called for, so used a little bit of chipotles in ancho chile sauce, which lended a good amount of heat and flavour to it.

To continue our Mexican-theme Friday night was dinner at Pancho Villa's for Uncle B's birthday - a nice Mexican restaurant nearby with amazing chimichangas. Saturday morning P and I made scrumptious breakfast burritos with a nice helping of the leftover spicy avocado-lime cream and scrambled eggs. What a nice way to start off the day! And next we'll be having some leftover fajitas tonight. Can't wait!

Monday, February 20, 2012

Maple Pecan Spice Cake Therapy

The last few weeks have been utter stress. P and I have been inundated with guests for the past couple of weeks and work has been non-stop. Not to mention that P has just been introduced to the wonderful world of unemployment. I've been slowly simmering, but reached my boiling point this Friday. It was just all too overwhelming. Lucky for my in-laws, they were in town to witness my rapid combustion.

What I really needed was a weekend alone. I don't think I've had a day alone for almost a year now. Every holiday P and I get is spent either away visiting friends and family, or in town with friends and family visiting us. Even those normal weekends at home with no guests and no plans, there is still P and his endless talking. I love the man and I love his ability to talk, but after 4 years living alone sometimes I miss the quiet.Which is exactly what I planned for this weekend.

As of Saturday at 1:00, I was free! No more talking, no more guests - just quiet. And in that time, I've never felt so connected to the rest of the world. I've now spoken with my neighbour about four times in the last two days, which is more than I've spoken to her in the last 2 years. My parents and sister S were visiting last weekend. I'm usually lucky to speak to S once a month, and my parents usually call every other week. But I just spent an hour on the phone with S and missed a call from my parents. Not to mention the Facebook conversations and endless texts from work about computer issues and complaints.

I find the best way to cope with all stressors is to bake. Baking helps me take my mind off of everything that's troubling me and bury myself in the recipe. Not to mention, the delight afterwards of getting to eat whatever I made is stress release itself. Nothing feels so comforting and fulfilling than eating a slice of cake that is perfectly moist and slathered in rich icing. It is so satisfying knowing that at least this part of life will always come out right. (Just don't ask me on days when the oven breaks or the cake doesn't rise.)

The stress release of this weekend was Maple Pecan Spice Cake. The recipe came from Cooking Light, so I could at least pretend I was eating something that wasn't completely horrible for me. I had tried it once before and ended up overcooking the cake slightly, so I made certain I didn't this time.The icing was a little bit tricky and cooled way too quickly. I had to rush to cover the whole thing while it was still warm, and even so the cake looks distinctly "homemade". The cake is rich and spicy with chucks of toasted pecans, which perfectly cut the sweetness of the icing. As I was mixing, I could feel the stress slowly ebbing away and being replaced by quiet contentment.


The first bite was sheer and utter bliss. Almost. The next best thing would be to share this cake with P, despite his noise.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Disappointment...

Sunday afternoon and inspiration hits: I'm going to make gnocchi. The fact that I've tasted gnocchi only once before doesn't daunt me; I am absolutely confident in my abilities.

I get well into the process and then realize that I don't have a ricer to mashify the potatoes. No matter - I can just mash the potatoes by hand, right? This worked well in theory, but once I started rolling out the strands, little chunks of unmashed potatoes fleck the dough like flies. Ew.

The next step of shaping the gnocchi on a fork reads like brail to me. (Note: I don't read a lick of brail) Roll the dough down the fork how?? Thankfully, some industrious soul has posted instructional videos on YouTube. Mystery solved.

Everything else seemed to work smoothly. My favourite part was boiling the wee suckers. They bob right up to the surface when done, like little corks. It's so cute!

I tried a recipe I'd found for lemon-thyme sauce (loaded with butter and onions), which sounded delicious. I followed the recipe studiously, despite some reluctance when it came time to add the tbsp of lemon zest and 2 tsp of lemon juice. After it was done I tossed all of the gnocchi in the sauce. BIG MISTAKE! I took one bite of it and wanted to spit it out. So bitter and lemony. I was so disappointed! After I had taken the time to make the gnocchi by hand (and decipher the recipe), just to have it ruined in the end. I guess I'll be taking one important lesson from this experience (which should be a given by now): to always taste first.

We followed this failed meal the next night with homemade chicken souvlaki pitas. Yum! I left this in the able hands of P and he did not disappoint. Loaded with pickled turnip and fresh tzatziki from the local Middle Eastern bakey, it was incredible! It was enough to resolve some of the lingering bitterness left in my mouth from the gnocchi.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Past Projects

I guess I'm in a posting kind of mood today. Here's a quick snapshot of some of my past projects in no particular order:
Cake for Baby Shower


Cake for Baby Shower

Lemon Poppyseed Shortbread Cookies

Chocolate Banana Cake
Pinecone Cake
Chocolate Cake with Tomato Ganache - to represent the Eternal Flame
White Chocolate Cheesecake with Lemon Curd and Ladyfingers
Birthday Cake
Practise Birthday Cake
French Yogurt Tart
Pumpkin Muffins

Lemon Poppyseed Scones

Cake Decorating Exercise

Fudge Walnut Brownies

Blueberry-Nectarine Pie

Chocolates

Chai Pistachio Muffins

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Caramel Apples

French Apple Tart

Return of the Absentee Blogger

More than a year later, I am finally returning to the empty wasteland that is my blog... it's so dark in here. Is anyone there?


[silence]


Okay. So once again I will start fresh, roll up my sleeves and dig right in. So much has happened since the last blog posts. Although, that can't be surprising considering the time lapse. Unless I was a hermit. Close, but not quite.

Let me sum up 2011 in two: absolute crap. That may sound dramatic and I suppose most people can look at past years and gloss over some of the more unpleasant aspects... I'm gonna need a bit more distance from this biggie before I start to feel generous.

It started with the threat of a job demotion and big shake up at the workplace. Then news that, just as I've long suspected, I'm defective. Bits of drama here and there - some self-created, some not. More big changes at work and boatloads of stress. And worst of all, months of dieting and calorie-counting, dangerously devoid of baked-goods and sweets. But  there was one thing (and P of course) that kept me going throughout those long interminable months: the promise of an excess of butter and sugar and flour in 2012. For I am set on the path to culinary delights galore; starting in April, I'll be working towards a diploma in patisserie.

So stay tuned, for if the guilt of an empty blog is sufficient to lure me away from my oven, I shall have many more food-related posts to come, accompanied by many self-indulgent break-downs, no doubt.