Started spending time cleaning up duplicate images and files. What a trip down memory lane. Found all kinds of pictures I forgot about!
Author: rory
Yeah I know
Again with the changing! Trying out WordPress as the CMS for my site. We’ll see what happens 🙂
The Queen of Hearts, Loved her Tarts!!
Something in the air got to me, it was a perfectly delightful crisp morning doing my Pranayama breathing exercises, and the day continued to be just as gorgeous. It didn’t get to hot, I was productive at work, what more could a boy ask for? A tart of course.
A couple weeks ago, and old high school friend posted pictures of a scrumptious looking tart he made. This got me thinking about all my tart fiascoes. I am decent at pastry related things. Even had a chef telling me I should think about going to school for pastry, back when I was still in the business. I have never had good luck with tarts, I fear the crust, which knows when you fear it.
I also have an obsession with lemon filling. I would eat it by the bowl full if I was allowed to. Again I have a fear of lemon filling, I seem to over/under cook it. I just can’t seem to get it right.
I decided that the best idea for this glorious day was to combine my two fears into one lovely
dessert, to surprise Hayley when she got home. That sounds like a smart idea doesn’t it? In this case it actually was, the tart turned out good, not great, it needs a little tweaking and I did over cook it just a smidgen. BUT it tasted yummy, and the crust is very tasty. This recipe will live to see another round, I am thinking it will be at the family Christmas dinner I am currently planning for the family gathering in Winnipeg, MB this year.
On to the recipe. I grabbed this from Food & Drink, which has a good track record in my books for successful recipes.I actually didn’t change anything on this recipe the first time, because of the aforementioned fear.
Lemon Tart – From the Holiday 1999 Food & Drink magazine
To finish this one off, Hayley made a fresh blackberry sauce, it just added to the yumminess of this one!
What would I change?
- Use a little less lemon zest
- Add a tiny bit more sugar
- Watch the tart a little more closely when it is almost done to make sure I don’t over cook it.
Not many changes, and a successful tart. What cooking fear should I tackle next?
How the Cake Rolls!
Several weeks have passed since it was Hayley’s birthday. To continue with our tradition she dug through the baking recipe books and picked out the cake she wanted. The rule is: she picks the cake, I have to make it, doesn’t matter if I have made it before, or if i am even confident that I can make the cake, I have to make the cake of her choice.
This is great for two reasons, one, she gets a fantastic homemade birthday cake, two, I push the limits on my baking skills.
So what was this years choice? It comes from a lovely Williams and Sonoma Cake cookbook, that I wouldn’t normally have picked up, but it was $9 at Costco 🙂 It was a Strawberry Roulade. Which is a fancy way of saying, sponge cake layered with whipped cream and strawberries, then rolled up and iced 🙂
That is neither here nor there, this years choice was much easier in the end than last years choice of Angel Food cake, which tasted good, but was a minor disaster because it fell, that is a whole different post.
Now that I am done rambling about past disasters, I can happily say the only glitch with this cake was that I didn’t roll it tight enough (apparently I haven’t been making Sushi enough at home these days.)
This cake was made extra special as this weekend was the first weekend on the year that fresh Ontario strawberries were available at a reasonable price. So this cake was packed full with delicious local strawberries.
On to the cake. There are two different sets of ingredients/directions, one for the cake, and one for the filling and icing. I recommend being uber prepared and having *all* the ingredients for both measured and read to go as the filling is prepared while the cake is cooling, and you need to fill and roll the cake completely cools.
Sponge Cake recipe (http://wegottaeat.com/discover/recipe/44797)
Strawberry Roulade Recipe (http://wegottaeat.com/discover/recipe/44801)
So, I will definitely try my luck with a roll style cake again, maybe I will make a nice chocolate log for the big family Christmas gathering this year 🙂
For anyone setting up a kitchen :)
ok, so this blog is not mine at all. I read Trents blog (the simple dollar) on a regular basis, I find it very interesting, well researched, and most of all I find a lot of his post very refreshing.
A couple days ago he wrote a piece that I found very interesting, it was about setting up a Minimalist kitchen. I found this interesting because I have never thought about how much in a kitchen is unnecessary toys, or at least not too seriously.
While I do like the idea of a minimal kitchen, I also enjoy having a variety of tools at my disposal (ie my ice cream maker :)). But for those people who are intimidated by the kitchen, or those who are just moving out for the first time this is a great piece about what you really need to get going.
I promise I have lovely food to write about this week, even Hayley is bugging me to post about her birthday cake 🙂
R
Adventures in Ice Cream
So we are going through a ‘heat wave’ in Southern Ontario, in honour of this I am posting a nice cool you down recipe. There is nothing fancy about what I am planning on making, plain old vanilla ice cream. But I am trying one of the recipes I found for Philadelphia, or American Vanilla ice cream.
A lot of ice creams are delicious and rich, but they are a pain to make because it requires a custard, I hate making custard, takes too much time out of my day when all I want is some ice cream to sandwich between two delightful homemade chocolate chip cookies. In warm weather custards are also a pain because they require the stove on for an extended period, not what you want when you are already overheating.
What I found in the back of my ice cream book, which I some how missed over the last two years, was a recipe for Philadelphia no cook ice cream. The no-cook is a misnomer, as it does involve cooking, it requires that you heat the milk and the vanilla bean in order to infuse the flavour of the vanilla bean into the milk. But this requires minimal heat and time so I will let it slide.
Your can make this without an ice cream maker, it just requires you to stir the ice cream every now and then while it is freezing. It won’t be as smooth as a machine made ice cream, but if you like your counter space it is better than storing an ice cream maker.
Ingredients
(makes ~1L)
1 Vanilla Bean
375mL Milk
50g Caster sugar (I’ll be honest I use regular sugar :))
125mL Sweetened condensed milk (chilled)
250mL Whipping cream (chilled)
pinch of Salt
Tools
Ice cream maker
Pot
Paring Knife
Wooden spoon
Directions
- Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and heat with the milk and sugar, stirring occasionally, to just below boiling point, allow to cool, then chill.
- Remove the bean and scrape out the seeds, adding them to the chilled milk. Cover and chill in the fridge
- Add the chilled condensed milk, cream and salt. Mix together, then still-freeze or start the ice cream machine and pour in the liquid.
- Leave to churn for 20 minutes or until the ice cream has the consistency of very soft whipped cream.
- Quickly scrape into plastic freezer boxes and cover with wax paper and lid
- Freeze until firm, ~1 hour.
There you have yummy vanilla ice cream. While this wasn’t my favourite vanilla ice cream, it was definitely good. I found this one to be a little sweet for my taste, but I blame that on the condensed milk. The next time I am going to try to modify this recipe and leave out some of the sugar. Or I might get really brave and replace the condensed milk with something else 🙂
Healthy. Junk. Food.
Lately I have been on a kick to take food that I enjoy (read sugary, greasy, or fatty) and try to make them a little healthier.
Back in April my wife decided to have a “Biggest Loser” finale party, her plan was to have the girls over and eat all kinds of junk food. I on the other hand thought it would be nice to stay with the spirit of the show and try to keep things as unprocessed and healthy as possible. I convinced her to change the plan, I put together a menu of finger foods (that appear unhealthy), and homemade mini pizzas, to which everyone agreed because they love it when I cook.
For finger food, it was a simple choice for me, I love the delicious potato wedges you can get from pizza places they are yummy, greasy and deep fried. I set out to create my own version of oven-baked potato wedges. The end result was quite good, and I have used it a couple times since when I have a craving. The recipe is more of a suggestion than written in stone, the different seasoning really depend on personal taste.
Ingredients:
Yukon Gold Potatoes (I used 2 per person)
EVOO
Oregano
Cayenne pepper
Salt
Pepper
Tools:
Oven – Pre-heat to 425F
Mixing bowl
Spoon
Baking sheet (grease or lined with tinfoil)
Directions:
1 – Wash potatoes and cut into wedges, I get 6 wedges per potato. Put potatoes into your mixing bowl.
2 – Add enough EVOO to coat all the potatoes
3 – Add in oregano, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste. I use a lot of oregano and a little cayenne. If you like them spicy use more cayenne.
4 – Mix well, until all wedges are coated evenly with spices
5 – Spread wedges onto baking sheet, try to make sure they aren’t touching each other.
6 – Bake for 30 – 40 minutes, or until potatoes are soft.
7 – Enjoy!
Your potatoes should end up looking similar to the ones in the picture, just make sure they are soft. I made these once and took them out too early, under baked potatoes are not appetizing. The one good thing that came out of that disaster is that I made them with my own homemade Creole seasoning and that was definitely a good way to do them. If you want the recipe for the seasoning let me know.
Enjoy your potatoes 🙂
R
Eat your way around the world.
So I recently discovered Anthony Bourdain’s show “No Reservations”. Hayley and I have watched the first 3 episodes so far and I am in love with the show. It allows me to continue my vicarious life, I would love to have the means to travel around the world and taste food from everywhere. Why did I just discover this show which is in its fourth season? Well because I don’t get the Travel Network, I find that $25 a month is more than enough to give me most of the TV I would like to watch in a given week. It does mean I miss out on some truly fabulous shows, but I can’t justify $50 for TV channels.
Ok, enough tangent. This show does also follow an interesting theory that anyone can practice, whatever you do, don’t follow the guide books. I’ll admit that in my travels I have eaten at some delicious restaurants that are rated in Zagats (Gramercy Tavern, my first love), but I have, as of late been eschewing these well rated places to discover the hidden gems. On my last trip to NYC (in 2003) I was looking for a quick bite to eat before the buses left, so I ducked into a sketchy looking cafe, which turned out to have delicious homemade soups, served with fresh baked bread. So never judge a restaurant by the looks (I do suggest looking for a health department pass/fail card though).
Since then I have tried to eat in one hole in the wall type restaurant on any trip I go on. I was quite intrigued on our honeymoon in Puerto Vallarta, they had these street vendors who sold quesadillas, tacos, etc. right off a stand (with a gas grill) on the street. The locals would pull up a stool and order, and within seconds have a delicious looking tortilla with all kinds of yumminess on it. They then keep ordering until they are done, at which point they pay. But the owner doesn’t keep track, it is an honour system, you just tell them how many you had.
The problem I had, is that I don’t speak more than 6 words of Spanish, so I was a little shy with sidling up to get something. But I have vowed to learn Spanish for our next trip, just so I can experience more of the food. This is the advantage Anthony has on his trips, he has researchers and guides and translators to help him out, to point him in the right direction. But even without those you can still find some great places, just look for the locals.
Sadly I don’t travel near as much as I would like to, but that will come with time I believe. I for now will continue to hunt around TO for as yet undiscovered by me places to eat.
Bread Baking!!
Lately I have been lurking on The Fresh Loaf and trying my hand at baking bread again. What fun I have had.
The following is my second adventure in making this bread, I tried it a couple weeks ago, it was most delicious and it actually turned out. My previous 2 attempts at bread were ok, but a little dense and not so flavourful.
What I am making today is a honey whole wheat bread. For this time I also tried out a razor blade to put a slit in the top. The last loaves I baked they split in weird places, and they didn’t look so nice.
Also, instead of baking 2 loaves as is mentioned in the directions, I made one loaf to bake today, then I made 14 little round buns and froze them so in the next month when I want a nice fresh bun I just have to grab it out of the freezer, proof it for a couple hours and presto, yummy hot bun for lunch. I will let you know how long to proof and bake once I have tried it out a couple times.
All the pictures can be found (here)
The Recipe:
Ingredients –
1 lb. Whole wheat flour
12 oz Hot Water
227g all-purpose flour (I used 300g)
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup honey
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp dry active yeast
1/4 cup warm water (100F)
1 tsp sugar
1/2 to 1 cup all-purpose flour
Directions –
- Mix the hot water and whole wheat flour together in a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside until around room temperature. ( I let mine sit for about 3 hours because I went out)
- Combine yeast, warm water and sugar. Mix well, and let sit for 10 minutes.
- Add milk, honey, salt, yeast and flour to the soaking whole wheat flour. Mix until well combined.
- Turn out onto a well floured cutting board, knead for about 15 to 20 minutes, adding flour whenever needed to keep the dough tacky, not sticky.
- Your final dough should be smooth, and tacky to the touch. Form into a ball and place into an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside in a warmish place until doubled (about 60 – 90 minutes)
- When doubled, punch down and divide into two. Shape dough into loaves and place in lightly greased bread pans. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Let rise in a warm place again for 60 – 90 minutes.
- Once risen, take a razor blade and slice straight along the top of each loaf.
- Move oven rack to the second from bottom and preheat the oven to 425F. Place loaves in oven and turn down heat to 375F.
- Bake for 45 – 55 minutes, rotating pan once for even browning. Once the bread reaches an internal temp of 190F or until a tap on the bottom of the pan sounds hollow.
- Cool on wire rack for 20 minutes then remove from pan and continue to cool.
Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
This evening I have a friend coming over for tea and I decided that I definately needed cookies to serve. I wanted something relatively healthy, so oatmeal was a must.
This recipe comes from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. I think it turned out quite well. The cookies are small (you could make them bigger) so they are perfect for tea.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cinnamon
2 eggs ( i used large)
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Instructions:
1. Cream butter,sugars, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon, until smoothish
2. Add eggs, mix until smooth again
3. Add vanilla, mix until smooth
4. Slowly add flour, in 3 batches, mix until well combined each time
5. Add oats, mix until well mixed
6. Add chocolate chips, mix.
Preheat oven to 375F.
Scoop dough out onto tray with a teaspoon, keep about 2 inches apart.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until edges are brown.
Cool on tray for 3 – 4 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.