tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12245956062031468222024-02-07T12:30:45.082-08:00Dispatches from the Dinner TableThe Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1224595606203146822.post-26822366689194913332013-10-25T14:29:00.000-07:002013-10-25T14:29:43.259-07:00Saying goodbye<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A fog hangs about Agassiz this morning. No mountains or hillsides or even sky for backdrop, just the yellow-dropping-leaved trees in the neighbour's yard. Other mornings have been the same, riding my bike to work by obscured moonlight, dew condensing on my cheeks and jacket and gloves. By noon the fog burns away and corn-stubbed fields, the damp hazelnut groves, the kaleidoscopic neon yellows, oranges and greens on the surrounding slopes, all fall in the sun's warm hold. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Today I am in a wispy place. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Last Saturday, I strode up soft, October-sun-obliterated drifts of snow, up loose, rusty-red rocks to the top of Mt. Cheam. I went up to say goodbye. I looked down the steep face of the mountain I look up to every day. I found the house I live in, the houses I had lived in, the houses my friends lived in, the roads we drove, the gravel we biked, the paths I ran. I picked out the place where I worked, the field where we grew, the cranberry bog down the way, the brown parcels that had been corn, the green swathes that had been hay. I saw the threads of the river, the shadows on the bridge, the sand we stuck our bare feet into, the rocks we skipped. I pinpointed the cemetery with the age-etched gravestones and steep steps and fallen leaves where we howled at the moon. I named the hillocks and the farms and the streets. The entire actuality of this last year laid out in front of me. There was mist creeping up the Fraser Valley, hiding everything past Sumas from view, but up there, I could see. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Today that is harder. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I had a dream once that I was blind. I had lost my eyesight and I was scared. My body fumbled into unknown edges, crashed into walls I was unaware of, hurt I hadn't anticipated. Then, slowly, I began to feel things. I slid my hand over crooks and curves, into cracks and corners. I felt edges and angles, and as I did this I saw what I was touching. I knew its shape and size and, what's more, I knew its colour! I moved with grace and ease, no longer afraid, feeling the vibrations around me, feeling the rainbow of colours. I couldn't see and still I could see. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Now it is afternoon and snatches of sun are working away at the mist. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It is hard to see what is behind me, or what is ahead, in this fog. In between one place and another; work to finish and work to come; paths I remember and ways I do not know. Still, I must move. I trust that I can see things my eyes cannot. </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYeKm974jtXUkR70bqPysRreDVyl1AUitEslD0aUtzZ3-mGIH3SWCBY1Clf2fVguGg1h9Cev3ZFivYnWTTOXh9SWCsqsefnocXWRlow-vMD4JcIbBOiXNkSL2lnmb-34_Hu2W80-lfGkA/s1600/IMG_1577.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYeKm974jtXUkR70bqPysRreDVyl1AUitEslD0aUtzZ3-mGIH3SWCBY1Clf2fVguGg1h9Cev3ZFivYnWTTOXh9SWCsqsefnocXWRlow-vMD4JcIbBOiXNkSL2lnmb-34_Hu2W80-lfGkA/s400/IMG_1577.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
*In one week, David and I will be in Pemberton, nestling into a new valley, looking at a new mountain range, a new river at our side, new fields to plant and harvest, a new house and farm to make our own!</div>
<br /></div>
The Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1224595606203146822.post-32244678299544458992013-08-31T20:31:00.000-07:002013-08-31T20:31:15.448-07:00Last sip of summer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It has been a fast and frenetic summer, the sort where if you blink you'll miss it. I can hardly believe that August is winding to a close. And I must say that I am particularly and inexplicably sad about Summer ending this year. Sure there are fine times ahead - the crackle of dry, brown leaves under my bike wheels; the pleasantly crisp mornings; russeted apples to eat with hunks of cheddar; dense, sweet orange squash; dusky purple grapes; the mists that will return to loll about the hillocks just so. But still. I just haven't gotten my fill of Summer yet. I haven't jumped in enough lakes, or eaten enough drippy, sweet nectarines, or felt the sticky heat from a tent hit by the fiery blaze of a rising sun, and I definitely haven't climbed enough mountains.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So, I think I am dealing with this by escaping to a warmer place, to the sights and smells of Spain. I am dreaming of the steps I took in March and April of 2009, one thousand kilometres worth, on my way from Sevilla in the South to Santiago de Compostela in the Northwest, walking the Via de la Plata. I am remembering the fiery province of Andalusia with its white-washed villages; the wails and insistent clatters and claps of a flamenco dancer; jostling night crowds spilled out onto the warm, cobblestoned streets; oh the <i>jamon,</i> dangling, sweet and musky, leg after leg, from ceilings, everywhere from the supermarket to the local bar. The sparsely populated province of Extremadura with its parched earth; grey olive trees and gnarled grape vines; the red rust paprika of an insanely fresh, moist chorizo; countryside of Holm oak and stone walls and fat-bellied <i>Ib<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: center;">é</span>r</span>ico</i> pigs. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57EpqVRl_cEgNaecWEws6Ga6v2UQJUCVQNZPkC_PiDgt-ep4UTOUQR4Cw2IdvvnmMmffbbtxGOfZXa5BsqZOEiwrMtzm4UxF6u2BjxJeuVBLNoeJsW0N_J6HXw5nWFuxNioXnWEzyFOo/s1600/Spain+057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57EpqVRl_cEgNaecWEws6Ga6v2UQJUCVQNZPkC_PiDgt-ep4UTOUQR4Cw2IdvvnmMmffbbtxGOfZXa5BsqZOEiwrMtzm4UxF6u2BjxJeuVBLNoeJsW0N_J6HXw5nWFuxNioXnWEzyFOo/s400/Spain+057.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcBVPvPfTtVowv08f5YtATnRc5uWj1uKClhqGZnZmeK0XpXLwwUZRGG7-MXPL-eGc4d3i0oOguBv-01B_PcVVmWzaLaMuBjGtgH1AWcMZmpXlXDVNhL_FOfa5IFl1jv38QB5-mfd_fL-o/s1600/Spain+043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcBVPvPfTtVowv08f5YtATnRc5uWj1uKClhqGZnZmeK0XpXLwwUZRGG7-MXPL-eGc4d3i0oOguBv-01B_PcVVmWzaLaMuBjGtgH1AWcMZmpXlXDVNhL_FOfa5IFl1jv38QB5-mfd_fL-o/s400/Spain+043.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_knURPsCOUsV6ZfNAO1zDzbrvO_z6PayieS4IkJQr28AfnmVU1OXuSgt2AO51u4F2J73FIf77vPlujxUL8Iq4kAVEtSJMIj0tI410OBM3F9zOThHAVmWaKftgedp3gMGbf9Txz8C_hCA/s1600/Spain+095.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_knURPsCOUsV6ZfNAO1zDzbrvO_z6PayieS4IkJQr28AfnmVU1OXuSgt2AO51u4F2J73FIf77vPlujxUL8Iq4kAVEtSJMIj0tI410OBM3F9zOThHAVmWaKftgedp3gMGbf9Txz8C_hCA/s400/Spain+095.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsPQdV3jsY86a_aP7fLQmFYCupLz3IMN3W7g5Hn0_Sw91s6le-Yt9ejbGBvHcPT7gYFRqVBz9hqVbI7_yzlwhPiTulT5uI5YIUh-OcehGgwu_-qf3w-4FDv9dDVdPNaarUZ5gfOmb-ydQ/s1600/Spain+187.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsPQdV3jsY86a_aP7fLQmFYCupLz3IMN3W7g5Hn0_Sw91s6le-Yt9ejbGBvHcPT7gYFRqVBz9hqVbI7_yzlwhPiTulT5uI5YIUh-OcehGgwu_-qf3w-4FDv9dDVdPNaarUZ5gfOmb-ydQ/s400/Spain+187.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7RnITgZ5ISzAAzNosr_9OBfWcp5yUmNIcVZ_cQZDlsnXy7oneHj8ndsQreo2q1GpaJlPWveEwpUX3ctVdPkpXbWPkbClzNtJ7UuCyn_Pa7CUC2HW5h1KC5apt2UA7cgF1gxDr3zfjzuA/s1600/Spain+124.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7RnITgZ5ISzAAzNosr_9OBfWcp5yUmNIcVZ_cQZDlsnXy7oneHj8ndsQreo2q1GpaJlPWveEwpUX3ctVdPkpXbWPkbClzNtJ7UuCyn_Pa7CUC2HW5h1KC5apt2UA7cgF1gxDr3zfjzuA/s400/Spain+124.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuzSIydQri4BE4IRGGlQjjrSFn23_q3SknKE5b5lCOBztKfdJgSBESreF8yGq_Ngw5Zx16KJTmoj46VxaI_SOOGhN-UpNMRGchrYIxexZGiGt3cqQ2g8IO1PBkZxkSVs4P71GRKD4HJ9A/s1600/Spain+183.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuzSIydQri4BE4IRGGlQjjrSFn23_q3SknKE5b5lCOBztKfdJgSBESreF8yGq_Ngw5Zx16KJTmoj46VxaI_SOOGhN-UpNMRGchrYIxexZGiGt3cqQ2g8IO1PBkZxkSVs4P71GRKD4HJ9A/s400/Spain+183.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGCR9VHjjsiGIY0I9NShngLmhqswPqFSP2U61XW10Uv_pr2UX-Rnhx1XQC2OD0krEVG69IBcl0Ur8yaTkcPJqI0HE_EP4AbTedFtO40H2-bQjbn4G9Alm-FsRyCuAHmdJV4tlCjurqP8/s1600/Spain+102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGCR9VHjjsiGIY0I9NShngLmhqswPqFSP2U61XW10Uv_pr2UX-Rnhx1XQC2OD0krEVG69IBcl0Ur8yaTkcPJqI0HE_EP4AbTedFtO40H2-bQjbn4G9Alm-FsRyCuAHmdJV4tlCjurqP8/s400/Spain+102.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I suppose all this surfaces for another reason too, as my boss is off to Spain to walk her own Camino, the Camino Frances. I am here, Spain is there, what to do? I dig out my cookbooks and take the last gifts of Summer - the twisted, thin-skinned peppers; sweet, sun-ripened tomatoes; fresh, pungent garlic. I find some stale bread and reach for my jar of sherry vinegar and use plenty of olive oil. I open a bottle of wine at lunchtime. I bring Spain to me.</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<b>Cold Tomato and Roasted Pepper Soup (<i>Salmorejo</i>)</b><br />
From <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mediterranean-Harvest-Vegetarian-Recipes-Healthiest/dp/1605294284">Mediterranean Harvest</a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Even though it was only March when I began my trek the days were intensely hot, easily climbing into the 30s. The land was dry, with nary a drop of rain, and villages were few and far between. It was a struggle to find and carry enough water. The best end to a sweltering day was definitely a bowl (or shot glass) of gazpacho - bright and cool and ever so refreshing. Every version I tried was different, from the consistency to the garnishes. This was one of my favourites though. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
You use more bread than most gazpachos but that gives it a thicker and, I think, more luscious texture. There is a sweet tang from the sherry vinegar, the bright pop of fresh garlic, and a hit of charred spice from the roasted pepper. In Spain this would be garnished with finely chopped hard-boiled egg and the absolutely amazing <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;"><i>jamón ibérico de bellota</i></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;"> . Nothing compares here, so I just leave it out.</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
2 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped (uhhh, I may have only done the chopping here)<br />
1 large green bell pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped<br />
5 ounces stale French bread, broken into small pieces<br />
2 garlic cloves, minced<br />
1 to 2 tbsp sherry vinegar<br />
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil<br />
salt and freshly ground pepper<br />
1 cup cold water<br />
2 or 3 large eggs, hard-boiled<br />
2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, chives, tarragon, or basil, alone or in combination<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, bell pepper, bread, garlic, vinegar and olive oil. Salt and pepper generously, toss together, cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours. Add the water and about 1/2 tsp salt.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In batches, transfer the mixture to a blender and puree. If you wish, thin out with more cold water, but keep in mind this soup is meant to be thick. Taste and adjust seasonings. Refrigerate until ready to serve.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Cut the eggs into a tiny dice. Toss with the herbs and season with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle each serving with the chopped eggs and herbs, and serve.</div>
<br />
Serves 4 to 6</div>
The Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1224595606203146822.post-47350649590754060032013-07-12T16:39:00.002-07:002013-07-12T16:39:54.455-07:00Pickin' wild mountain berries<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZEYUiDpcTRzdxw0ieejP8kzvnhJM7E88M3K0GpVOk5nhYZ42Xh_jLvMaO8B0vr1iqUJHgAAEExXc68XoqgeVq5wtzIyag2ICA3X8g2aDRnDw8AnlI_R60TGj5QLKC78U5h3g_sbpYhrc/s1600/IMG_20130712_125612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZEYUiDpcTRzdxw0ieejP8kzvnhJM7E88M3K0GpVOk5nhYZ42Xh_jLvMaO8B0vr1iqUJHgAAEExXc68XoqgeVq5wtzIyag2ICA3X8g2aDRnDw8AnlI_R60TGj5QLKC78U5h3g_sbpYhrc/s400/IMG_20130712_125612.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The blueberries are early this year. We picked up our order the other day - twenty-five pounds worth, nestled snug in their cardboard box for the ride home. Most went right into the freezer for smoothies upon smoothies to come. Some went into a rather delicious <a href="http://leitesculinaria.com/81109/recipes-blueberry-crumble.html?fb_ref=.T_EUQ5gsbUk.like&fb_source=home_multiline">crumble</a>, others into a frozen yogurt that's about to be sandwiched between oatmeal ginger <a href="http://www.greenkitchenstories.com/thin-oat-ginger-crisps/">cookies</a>. I wish I had doused all of them in gin syrup though. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiafGZRTw4mlJnNNw6aE0UG6qMBSJXeSG_GD3veQzv6-raTav2admBgwhNt8zOP0DZDwVqvw9GXzHf_-R9zfSs0KOm_BX9eUj6ZPnHRoPXhKiGTtRHcsTPx6gbvRXMNfHl3zG-53vIZZ44/s1600/IMG_20130712_125221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiafGZRTw4mlJnNNw6aE0UG6qMBSJXeSG_GD3veQzv6-raTav2admBgwhNt8zOP0DZDwVqvw9GXzHf_-R9zfSs0KOm_BX9eUj6ZPnHRoPXhKiGTtRHcsTPx6gbvRXMNfHl3zG-53vIZZ44/s400/IMG_20130712_125221.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="text-align: justify;">Yes, gin syrup. You mix some sugar and water together, add a sprig of rosemary, some crushed juniper berries and bring it all to a boil. You pour it over your blueberries - hot, so they don't cook but soften, plumping up ever so sweetly. They turn from dusky to gleaming, glittering, starry-summer-night blue. And then you add gin. And then you wonder why you never realized that blueberries were </span><i style="text-align: justify;">made</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> for this. Because now they taste like they grew on the mossy fringes of an alpine meadow, scented with sun-warmed pine and freshened by cool mountain breezes.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5rvm_ZyeK7Dorzt1G2Kq1kiJBVBQO9QDbRLpB8m0NEyJr0Q0UIlMwQrf0y60TyMX2DSsAlyAAASJaa7kI3ZxzUThmy0H_o64B34IvDDMWL5dQ-HFYWd6XwqaLOveb1eFVVHzk4neD3YM/s1600/IMG_20130712_125503.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5rvm_ZyeK7Dorzt1G2Kq1kiJBVBQO9QDbRLpB8m0NEyJr0Q0UIlMwQrf0y60TyMX2DSsAlyAAASJaa7kI3ZxzUThmy0H_o64B34IvDDMWL5dQ-HFYWd6XwqaLOveb1eFVVHzk4neD3YM/s400/IMG_20130712_125503.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What to do with your jar of refreshing, woodsy-sweet berries in syrup? Take to them with a spoon! Pour into glasses, add soda water to taste and more gin if you like for the best drink of the whole summer. Imagine yourself in far-off, high mountain places. Maybe watch this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTiRgS44G3c">video</a>, too.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbLaNRm0qKctPnXQZ01Ie2iLh6TUMyytZnBk_dl1QC_CtulPI9683xOWRDtuNA8GOai5tJ4cabQit4FhXfsOR8UTyTB1fr6WS-m4oGs1n8gDVleWjyKnWJLOjP8UKEwUl8QHNvMly2Om8/s1600/IMG_20130712_124834.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbLaNRm0qKctPnXQZ01Ie2iLh6TUMyytZnBk_dl1QC_CtulPI9683xOWRDtuNA8GOai5tJ4cabQit4FhXfsOR8UTyTB1fr6WS-m4oGs1n8gDVleWjyKnWJLOjP8UKEwUl8QHNvMly2Om8/s400/IMG_20130712_124834.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Blueberries in Gin Syrup</b></div>
<div>
From <a href="http://www.gourmet.com/recipes/2000s/2008/08/blueberriesingin">Gourmet</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
1 cup water</div>
<div>
3/4 cup sugar</div>
<div>
15 juniper berries, crushed</div>
<div>
1 (4 inch) sprig of rosemary</div>
<div>
pinch of salt</div>
<div>
1 1/2 lbs blueberries</div>
<div>
1/4 cup gin (perhaps <a href="http://www.victoriaspirits.com/">Victoria Spirits</a>)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Combine water, sugar, juniper berries, rosemary and salt in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Simmer until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 10 to 12 minutes.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Place blueberries in a heatproof bowl and strain syrup through a sieve over the berries. Stir in gin. Macerate until completely cooled, about 30 minutes. Store in the fridge. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
The Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1224595606203146822.post-15657409042367089602013-07-04T15:45:00.000-07:002013-07-04T15:45:24.008-07:00A new style<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And has Summer ever arrived - riding upon rays of sunshine, stretches of blue skies and solid smacks of sheer heat! As temperatures pushed awfully close to the 40s, I had the good fortune to have most of Canada Day off, and the even better fortune of jumping into mountain-icy-cold-lake water. A hike was attempted too, but that was abandoned not far up the de-commissioned forestry road. Hunky (our truck) was none too pleased about his rear end scraping gravel every time we went over a deep hump. And, judging by the hands covering my eyes and bouts of hyper-ventilation, I'm not sure if 4-by-4-ing is really for me. </div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's been so suffocatingly hot in our house that we had to drag our mattress down the stairs, into the minimally cooler living room, where it remains. It kinda feels like we're camping only better because there are no mosquitoes or strange, possibly-animal things brushing against the thin fabric of our tent and we don't need a flashlight to go to the bathroom. We still seem to get up at 4:30 in the morning though.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg2KrYTW24nxrI9-6nrUtV-CiDBA6fNzlclGnLYkPcvNJI_799m5ROe7lL94GXcr8MCaqLWxYWgMSYPWHEnrFzJWwTu7JTnP3vm2vNosCxcfeSqKQ1JjcrgWsUSmoFP3DFdl5ukTLZxpc/s1600/IMG_20130704_151932.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg2KrYTW24nxrI9-6nrUtV-CiDBA6fNzlclGnLYkPcvNJI_799m5ROe7lL94GXcr8MCaqLWxYWgMSYPWHEnrFzJWwTu7JTnP3vm2vNosCxcfeSqKQ1JjcrgWsUSmoFP3DFdl5ukTLZxpc/s400/IMG_20130704_151932.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Life is busy. Busy and bountiful. We are doing two or three farmers' markets a week. David is out in the field every day, harvesting, weeding, watering. New things all the time - sweet, yellow-buttery potatoes, fragrant green and purple basil, tiny bunches of green onions. At work we're transitioning to a new, much-larger cheese vat with all its advantages and drawbacks. We still carve out time for marathon SYTYCD sessions, and suppers with friends, and glasses of wine.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Yes, with life all a-whirl, I found it very challenging to get into the kitchen and cook, at least consistently. We'd inevitably bring home some leftover produce from a market and I'd dutifully collect a selection to stash away in the fridge. It was hard to fit ten bunches of kale and a rag-tag assortment of herbs and fennel and mustards greens in there though. It was even harder to use before the next batch of leftovers arrived. Every week I'd clean out the fridge, compost the greens I still hadn't used, re-stock, and repeat. Until now.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I read a book called <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/An-Everlasting-Meal-Cooking-Economy/dp/1439181888">An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace</a> by Tamar Adler. As the title suggests, it is about cooking simply, and well. There are essays on making salad dressings and cooking beans and using the odds and ends of last night's supper for tonight's. In the first chapter Tamar explains what she does with her vegetables after a trip to the grocery store, or farmers' market or whatever. She puts a pot of water on to boil and then she cooks all her vegetables at once, in batches; chopping up bunches of greens while others simmer, to be followed by cabbage, or potatoes, or whatever it is she has found that day, then finally pasta, or grains, or beans. She might make a quick supper then, but most of the prepared vegetables she keeps in her fridge, to use in the meals to follow. </div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I must admit I was a bit shocked, and also off-put. <i>Boiling</i>? <i>Really</i>? Not my preferred cooking method for fresh vegetables. And I always cooked my vegetables specifically for the dish I was making. But, as the unused bunches of kale continued to pile up, I decided to give her approach a try. I filled up my biggest pot with water, added lots of salt, and cranked the heat up. I tore off stems of Swiss chard and gave them a good rainbow-y chop and plop into the hot water. They cooked much faster than when I would saute them, and I didn't have to keep a watchful eye and splash of water handy. When they were done I tasted a piece, still dubious, and it was freakin' delicious. Still fresh and green-tasting but not toothsome in the least. About an hour of chopping and boiling and juicing left me with a large container of boiled kale, a smaller one of boiled Swiss chard (stems and leaves), a bunch of boiled potatoes, a jar of cilantro pesto and a small yet potent jar of bright green juice. It certainly took up less space in the fridge. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheH1bXV_uvx8fEVu2ebMeh8XJgrfQ_N7jw9g7Y67iEealsMb4DzgJsk426vKZlR08ZFzj-s6dxUYIN8RZeevbrx891A-8IPjL_q3zqHtF-6EwUnOvDcpLc41o0tOMHU1pIj3vf-PhKHf0/s1600/IMG_20130704_151232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheH1bXV_uvx8fEVu2ebMeh8XJgrfQ_N7jw9g7Y67iEealsMb4DzgJsk426vKZlR08ZFzj-s6dxUYIN8RZeevbrx891A-8IPjL_q3zqHtF-6EwUnOvDcpLc41o0tOMHU1pIj3vf-PhKHf0/s400/IMG_20130704_151232.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: justify;">The real magic happened the next day when I came home and, after 10 hours of work, made a tart! A Swiss chard, pine nut, olive and feta tart. I made the crust myself, trying out a new recipe which is now a firm favourite (and which I will share with you very shortly), and while that rested for half an hour in the fridge, I foraged for ingredients. While it baked, I relaxed and checked my e-mail. There were even leftovers for lunch the next day. And for supper that next night, again after 10 hours of work, I made another tart - this time maple sausage with kale. And in the morning I had fried rice with kale and an egg for breakfast. Somehow, though I never believed it would make a difference, having my vegetables ready to go made it so much easier, and enticing to get into the kitchen. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwv73VuPHQioENvICCiohgfqtR2gYt89_uYFbab1tkTs6-FDmalo4TJbByy0XyLaMgwCwDpp-CzRgyrQ4mQj4vgcYNemuFnytw_dB2BfzLIprh5MSwX9ravW82BBdwM2K1BqPcWHoz4X0/s1600/IMG_20130623_144232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwv73VuPHQioENvICCiohgfqtR2gYt89_uYFbab1tkTs6-FDmalo4TJbByy0XyLaMgwCwDpp-CzRgyrQ4mQj4vgcYNemuFnytw_dB2BfzLIprh5MSwX9ravW82BBdwM2K1BqPcWHoz4X0/s400/IMG_20130623_144232.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Cooking styles seem to evolve as our lives do, and right now, this one is working for me! Today, my prep work produced a container of roasted zucchini, one of roasted mushrooms, another of sauteed radicchio, some boiled collard greens, a jar of juice to add to my morning smoothies, and a bowl of kale chips for snacking on. Pizza? Pasta? Sandwich? Salad? It could go in any direction from here, depending on what I'm into that day. Dinner is that much closer to actually happening and, these days, that is a very good thing.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Now, here is a recipe:</div>
<br />
<b>Simple, Easy (and also Gluten-Free) Tart Crust</b><br />
From <a href="http://www.greenkitchenstories.com/feta-spinach-pie-with-an-oat-crust/">Green Kitchen Stories</a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This isn't a flaky, butter-laden crust and that's fine. It is light and healthy but also delicious. And gluten-free. And slightly sweet thanks to oat and ground almond flours. I find that a nice balance to a tart that is chock-full of greens. I make both the oat and ground almond flours myself, using a coffee grinder dedicated to such culinary purposes. I simply measure 1/2 cup rolled oats and blitz away until I have a finely ground flour. Same goes for the almonds. Though it might not be completely accurate that 1/3 cup whole almonds equals 1/3 cup ground almond flour, it's good enough for me. You could use regular flour if you like, or something else - buckwheat might be nice. Other nuts are tasty as well. I used walnuts in the crust for my sausage and kale tart. The dough will seem a bit sticky at first but, no matter, just wrap it up and stick it in the fridge. There's also no need to roll it out, simply push it into a pan with your fingers, and away you go!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I haven't included a recipe for the filling, I'll leave that up to you and your imagination. You might want to check out the Green Kitchen Stories recipe though. I loosely followed it - mostly the egg/cheese proportions, which give you a tart that is mostly greens, and none of this thick, heavy quiche stuff. A tart as it should be, I think. </div>
<br />
1/2 cup (65g) oat flour<br />
1/3 cup (45g) ground almond flour<br />
2 tbsp cornstarch<br />
1/2 tsp sea salt<br />
3 tbsp organic butter or coconut oil<br />
3 tbsp ice-cold water<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Pre-heat your oven to 350 F. Combine the flours, cornstarch and salt in a medium bowl. Add the butter and cut into the flour with a pastry cutter, or your fingers, to make small, flour-coated, butter pebbles. Add the water and mix with a spatula until just combined. Gather into a ball, wrap with plastic, and refrigerate about 30 minutes. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Press evenly into an 8" pie pan, prick the bottom with a fork and blind bake for about 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 F, add your filling to the tart case, and bake about 30 minutes until set and/or done. Let cool somewhat before serving.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Makes enough for one 8" tart.<br />
<br /></div>
The Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1224595606203146822.post-49269070922141974952013-05-17T21:32:00.000-07:002013-05-17T21:32:30.255-07:00Better late than never<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Do you ever get tired of <i>reading</i> this blog? I mean, do you ever wish you could simply <i>listen,</i> or maybe just <i>watch </i>rather than use precious brain power to decipher letters into words into sentences into paragraphs into sense? Well, you are in for a treat today!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
You may recall how, last year, a string of guest bloggers waxed poetic about <a href="http://www.dispatchesfromthedinnertable.blogspot.ca/2012/02/leaving-for-lent-and-date-bread-for.html">dates</a>, and <a href="http://www.dispatchesfromthedinnertable.blogspot.ca/2012/03/and-now-for-something-entirely.html">being vegetarian</a>, and <a href="http://www.dispatchesfromthedinnertable.blogspot.ca/2012/05/snack-to-attack.html">choosing the correct tool with which to spread peanut butter</a> on Dispatches from the Dinner Table. There was another guest lined up, waiting in the wings, but his post didn't materialize. Until the other day, when (over a year later) it showed up in the form of a link to a video he had made. A 13-minute-long video just for Dispatches from the Dinner Table! I must admit I was quite impressed.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So, allow me to introduce you to my latest and greatest guest blogger Cameron: He's a schoolteacher and serious Canucks fan. He is very fun to banter with, can recount all sorts of movie trivia and is allergic to apples (among other fruit). He loves competition and Snifty Snakes (among other games). He likes beer, and sleeping, and also cats. He dislikes cilantro, cleaning (as you will soon see) and loud chewing. You can hear more of Cameron on <a href="http://whatsthedealshow.com/">What's the Deal</a>, a podcast series in which Cameron and his friends Patrick and Chris discuss every single episode of Seinfeld. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Now, prepare yourselves for cooking as you've never seen it before!</div>
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8WtZsa6-aw&feature=youtu.be">ACTION</a>!<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
The Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1224595606203146822.post-83635536201399501402013-04-29T23:41:00.000-07:002013-04-29T23:41:46.730-07:00A sip of Spring<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<span style="text-align: justify;">Out like a lion, these last few days of April. Nothing but bluff and bluster; the wind skimming across thigh-high grass, shaking loose the last of the magnolia flowers, knocking milk crates over into an untidy pile. A swirl of raindrops here, a streak of warm sun there, dark simmering blue sky in the mountaintop distance. </span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Things are as lush and green and full as far as my eye can see. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFb-M9oa5tkBqU2APAAO-FH7D6Nqjp9LRrXP5JTBbKQ9pQ_INcRx0yAu6TOesL5zs7nYZxSpfbp27jGrWd12sy3Lwe92KRFYkuUU54pvNeD3MnLr6GuOjTwCcXPW4yK-yTxNTxMrdJyi4/s1600/IMG_20130429_224046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFb-M9oa5tkBqU2APAAO-FH7D6Nqjp9LRrXP5JTBbKQ9pQ_INcRx0yAu6TOesL5zs7nYZxSpfbp27jGrWd12sy3Lwe92KRFYkuUU54pvNeD3MnLr6GuOjTwCcXPW4yK-yTxNTxMrdJyi4/s400/IMG_20130429_224046.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
We open the window at night to let the cool breeze and chorus of a million frogs multiplying and rattle of the trains across the tracks in. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Life has been a whirl lately. Transplanting. Sunburns. Baby goats (kids). Plenty of visitors. Fishing by the river. Cows leaping, let out to pasture. Our first market! Rhubarb.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLRGRHte0ixsIBUUUIBuzNLRqUOlzPFn5NYRejwXi4xWbCmEtEEN2aQby-Y-omxSVJt3CENI0sXGZt-oCsjnhkRD3t2G34gRbtGLX4-26Aowahwgr55iehsoM4tFrMmzdx6b_vGLDBPs/s1600/IMG_20130428_153129.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLRGRHte0ixsIBUUUIBuzNLRqUOlzPFn5NYRejwXi4xWbCmEtEEN2aQby-Y-omxSVJt3CENI0sXGZt-oCsjnhkRD3t2G34gRbtGLX4-26Aowahwgr55iehsoM4tFrMmzdx6b_vGLDBPs/s400/IMG_20130428_153129.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Can I tell you about the flowers? There were snowdrops on cemetery hillsides, daffodils, acres of tulips and a succession of cherry blossoms. The apple trees are blooming, the lilacs deepening into purple and alongside every road stands an elderberry bush or two, flush with fragrant white flowers.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
They are easy to gather, and with them you can make an elixir that captures the scent of these sweet, cool, hopeful days.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHK6CXiWc82E-X40aZysjBlfvjZabr_OJ7YNsP0TiRhhdt7flTXnIaMb4VcWfMEeCx0tCXhLP9uMTdN5Ufkg60ldv8xuCg2Z6wRccoCgbSa-1DYreOeEzCu_AJP05eT3GKZNRCqm1pW28/s1600/IMG_20130429_223724.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHK6CXiWc82E-X40aZysjBlfvjZabr_OJ7YNsP0TiRhhdt7flTXnIaMb4VcWfMEeCx0tCXhLP9uMTdN5Ufkg60ldv8xuCg2Z6wRccoCgbSa-1DYreOeEzCu_AJP05eT3GKZNRCqm1pW28/s400/IMG_20130429_223724.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Elderflower Cordial</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
From <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Tender-Cooks-Guide-Fruit-Garden/dp/0007325215/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1367299673&sr=8-4&keywords=tender+nigel+slater">Tender: Volume II</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
20 (about 225g) elderflower heads</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
1 kg sugar</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
1.25 L water</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
2 lemons, cut into quarters</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
2 limes, cut into quarters</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Inspect the flowers for insects and dust. Shake or quickly rinse, but don't wash them. Remove the toughest stalks with scissors; they are likely to be bitter.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Warm the sugar and water together in a large saucepan til the sugar has dissolved, then remove from the heat. Dunk the flowers and the quartered fruit into the syrup and set aside to cool. When the liquid is cold, cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours. Strain through a fine sieve and decant into sterilized bottles.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRJKYtbDbNYu-h5_L8faa8H3nTPWk9WWkw2kyj3OWSk_d2rQagXK-Sbz147E28hglpTEi4YuOVhevgHKXzPo7OSlMOQKz70xwGRqGSXN5GQlZ1r8D30lOFttsjB_OfvwuiISfzwyHPdPE/s1600/IMG_20130429_223325.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRJKYtbDbNYu-h5_L8faa8H3nTPWk9WWkw2kyj3OWSk_d2rQagXK-Sbz147E28hglpTEi4YuOVhevgHKXzPo7OSlMOQKz70xwGRqGSXN5GQlZ1r8D30lOFttsjB_OfvwuiISfzwyHPdPE/s400/IMG_20130429_223325.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
This is an excellent use for your elderflower cordial:<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Elderflower Collins</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you don't have your own elderflower cordial, try using <a href="http://www.belvoirfruitfarms.co.uk/shop/elderflower-presse">Belvoir Elderflowe<span style="font-family: inherit;">r Press<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.5px; text-align: left;">é</span></span></a>. It's already bubbly so you won't need any sparkling water.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
1 measure elderflower liqueur (like <a href="http://www.stgermain.fr/index2.php">St. Germain</a> or <a href="http://www.islandspirits.ca/home.html">Island Spirits Distillery</a>'s Holunderbluten)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
1 measure gin (I am partial to <a href="http://www.victoriaspirits.com/">Victoria Spirits</a>' version)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
elderflower cordial</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
sparkling or soda water</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Mix elderflower liqueur and gin together, top with cordial and finish with a splash or two of sparkling or soda water.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
The Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1224595606203146822.post-23825475514485652582013-03-14T16:37:00.001-07:002013-03-14T16:37:44.528-07:00Salads for all seasons<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Today, I have salad on the brain. Never mind that there's not much green growing around here, except for the grass. Even in the dead of winter I believe it's possible to make delicious and seasonal salads. You know what I think the secret to that is? A well-stocked pantry. That means having a whole whack of oils, vinegars, dried fruits, nuts, seeds, grains and legumes right at your fingertips. Pick and choose from these staples as your mood or imagination or the weather dictates, add whatever is freshest, juiciest or ripest and you'll end up with an easy, satisfying and healthy meal.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In the Spring and Summer I tend to make salads that are light and refreshing whereas in the Fall and Winter I want something heartier and filling. Whatever the time of year, I follow roughly the same formula when making a salad. I start by making a dressing in the bottom of a big bowl that I'll serve the salad in or eat out of (if it's just me). The essential elements of a typical salad dressing are some sort of fat (any kind of oil, cream, buttermilk or yogurt) emulsified with an acid (vinegar and/or lemon juice) combined with a bit of salt and a crack of freshly ground black pepper. There's talk about the ideal ratio between oil and vinegar for salad dressings - anywhere from 2:1 to 5:1. It all comes down to personal preference. I like my dressings on the sharper side so I add less oil in proportion to vinegar. Experiment and discover what you like best! Other things I might add to a salad dressing include: mustard, honey, jam, jelly or preserves, any kind of citrus juice (orange, grapefruit, lime, etc.), maybe some chopped up garlic or ginger, occasionally a splash of pickle juice! Unusual ingredients inspired by a particular cuisine might include pomegranate or date molasses, tahini or rosewater (Middle Eastern); miso paste, soy or fish sauce (Asian). Whisk all the ingredients you've chosen for your dressing together and then taste it! At this point it should be much saltier/stronger/sharper/brighter than you'd expect the final salad to taste like. This is as it should be since the dressing will be tempered by the ingredients you have yet to add. At the same time, you want it to be balanced. If it's really sweet or rich you might need to add a bit of vinegar; conversely if it's too acidic, add some oil. When you're first starting to concoct your own salad dressings keep it simple. It's easier to adjust the taste of a salad dressing with only four ingredients than one with eight. One more thing: If you're planning on using raw onion in your salad you might want to add it at this point. If you slice it thinly and let it sit in the dressing while you prepare the rest of your ingredients you'll find that the acidity of the vinegar softens the onion and mellows its flavour.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Now that the dressing is made, it's time to get to the substance of the salad. In my opinion the heart of any salad is the fresh vegetables and fruit you put into it. These should be of an awesome quality because it's what's going to make your salad delicious and nutritious! Making a salad in the Spring (with so many fresh green things) or Summer (such abundance) is pretty easy. Doing so in Winter might be challenging but also rewarding. Winter squash, sweet potatoes or parsnips can be roasted. There's always onions and potatoes around. Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli and beets can be used raw or cooked. There's kale and collard greens, Belgian and curly endive, radicchio. Don't forget crisp celery or fennel (and their leaves or fronds). Use avocados, sprouts, mushrooms. As Fall fades to Winter there are still persimmons and grapes, pears and apples. Oranges, grapefruit, pomegranates and kiwifruit are all at their best in Winter. I especially like contrasting textures in a Winter salad so I'll often roast some vegetables while leaving others raw. Anytime you roast or saute a vegetable you can add herbs or spices that will transport you to any corner of the globe - say cumin, coriander and sumac for a Middle Eastern experience or cardamom and curry leaves to channel India. (I think I'm going to have to talk about spices in another post. I am beyond wordy as it is). The way in which you prepare each vegetable for your salad makes a difference. You might shred carrots and beets and cabbage for a winter slaw. You might combine fat hunks of roasted squash with torn kale leaves for a rustic salad. You might finely slice beets or fennel using a mandoline if you're going for a refined look. You can slice your pear or cut it into fine cubes. Think about colour. Do you want to work with an all-green palette or would you like a vibrant mix of oranges, purples, whites and greens?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I really like to bulk out my Winter salads, adding almost anything and everything. Grains with a toothsome texture, like wheat, spelt or rye berries are particularly nice. I'll slice stale bread into fat croutons which I'll drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, maybe some pepper and toast to a rich brown. I love adding dried fruit to Winter salads; you get a punch of concentrated sweetness and sense of warmth. Throw smaller dried fruit (like raisins or cranberries) in whole and give larger fruits (such as dates, apricots or pears) a quick chop. I think the more kinds of nuts and seeds you use the merrier. I like to toast mine before I toss them in (though you could also get real fancy and candy 'em). If I have cheese around (which these days I often do) that goes in as well, maybe grated or sliced, or in chunks. If you want more protein you could add some leftover meat, or a hard-boiled egg, or some canned fish. Consider olives or capers or pickles. A friend of mine has been using a microplane to finely grate chocolate into her salads! People, it's hard to go wrong.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Think about everything in your salad - how you're going to pick it up with your fork, how it's going to feel in your mouth, how it's going to taste and look combined with everything else. You'll find it becomes easier and easier to imagine what kind of salad you want to create as you make more salads and eat more salads. You'll have a rummage through the fridge and cupboards and improvise from there. It'll be fun and rewarding. I think of us as artists. All the goodies we have in tins and jars and plastic bags are our paints and pencils and canvases. We use our creativity and a bit of inspiration (perhaps from a cookbook) to craft a beautiful dish, our version of a painting. Instead of hanging it on a wall we get to eat it!</div>
<br />
Here's some of my sketches from Winter days past:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu4kd2MysOojpfbZlhqGT1FpUwjE0xAhWIYVRVyMW4oNK968F9hlFytnXoz3Vv4kgAa_CaFnWGD6c50dnrbbRsbP2xpocHoPb36h1WhrcglDKSyDX6_Jy8DmkkbHtU9Wx8ZguV1vXQ1Mk/s1600/hornby+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu4kd2MysOojpfbZlhqGT1FpUwjE0xAhWIYVRVyMW4oNK968F9hlFytnXoz3Vv4kgAa_CaFnWGD6c50dnrbbRsbP2xpocHoPb36h1WhrcglDKSyDX6_Jy8DmkkbHtU9Wx8ZguV1vXQ1Mk/s400/hornby+002.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;">This is a simple yet classic winter salad. Slivers of raw fennel, grapefruit segments and avocado slices with salad greens.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVdWc7CHkoRpHOUlMm3t6wVYBji5_2NJ9ASpqzbIWduObhVHNaEQQE5Ely5qJ0sgCWtqURP6tk3DmHof8koDT7zCivW-bzPE-TF4IYinwF0e_VDwW-8AAXayKFKsuSCcc0fDyNCTztGcs/s1600/februaryy+031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVdWc7CHkoRpHOUlMm3t6wVYBji5_2NJ9ASpqzbIWduObhVHNaEQQE5Ely5qJ0sgCWtqURP6tk3DmHof8koDT7zCivW-bzPE-TF4IYinwF0e_VDwW-8AAXayKFKsuSCcc0fDyNCTztGcs/s400/februaryy+031.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I took some notes on this lovely, monochromatic salad after I made it: pear (juicy, crisp); cauliflower roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper and some fennel seeds (savour/crunch/slight liquorice notes); shaved raw cauliflower (variety of textures); toasted pine nuts (buttery, smooth richness); currants (a ball of sweetness); picked onions (acidic tang, silky texture); olives (briny/salty) and sheep's milk feta (rich but sharp, creamy and tangy). A beautiful salad to behold with lots of complex, interesting flavours going on.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dMhCa-Isk59OT8CXQK0VZswB71NAZ_7vi370x1q9zMDxwl_e-8Dt9YLwFdqmsizzENDZB0ZETRck6xxJjZF-TmaUEZ-KNtOty5An3F2uc4orxcUidI8Jtfo8kZLemW524O_Y3hh9lNI/s1600/IMG_0716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dMhCa-Isk59OT8CXQK0VZswB71NAZ_7vi370x1q9zMDxwl_e-8Dt9YLwFdqmsizzENDZB0ZETRck6xxJjZF-TmaUEZ-KNtOty5An3F2uc4orxcUidI8Jtfo8kZLemW524O_Y3hh9lNI/s400/IMG_0716.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Here's a hearty winter salad with roasted cauliflower and squash, shreds of raw radicchio and kale, pieces of persimmon, leftover sorghum and a combination of pecans, pumpkin and hemp seeds.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixXkjDU577RGbWw7DYmrJqNktQY0GPoRwZ2tfKn0bDWkrTUNTfK0WCpmnlBoBRK-tS4bmK_tqgzxgyMiK1xWXzUBZHhOFR8-95kYfJpCV5xgNT0cAnQdj-9TBfyFtn4NVnB_JQE2eZuok/s1600/goodbye+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixXkjDU577RGbWw7DYmrJqNktQY0GPoRwZ2tfKn0bDWkrTUNTfK0WCpmnlBoBRK-tS4bmK_tqgzxgyMiK1xWXzUBZHhOFR8-95kYfJpCV5xgNT0cAnQdj-9TBfyFtn4NVnB_JQE2eZuok/s400/goodbye+006.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Finally, in this salad we have Israeli couscous cooked with garlic and celery, cooled, mixed with slivers of red onion soaked in sherry vinegar and orange juice, black pepper, olive oil, shreds of roasted red pepper, an assortment of olives (shrivelled black and pungent green), very sour dried cherries, peppery arugula, roasted cauliflower and carrots (sprinkled with dukkah), orange segments and crumbled sheep's feta.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I hope you find this post useful and are inspired to create some tremendous and tasty salads of your own!</div>
<br /></div>
The Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1224595606203146822.post-67120783421796525352013-02-12T19:10:00.001-08:002013-02-12T19:10:44.813-08:00The start of it<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To see the shades of early Spring light, grey and oranged on bare branches, dazzling electric green on grasses. The leaves of last Fall have sunk into the soil and now smell of it - new dirt, fresh earth, soon to be planted, soon to sprout with seedlings sown. Seedlings to feed us, and those we know, and those we don't and may never will. Light lengthens upon light, stretching each day wider, till it shifts enough to be sensed, enough to name otherwise. Dormancy over, Spring has arrived.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzO0vEj2f9UITY3jpXfECxEgDWe-aUiT2dLMB0GXq99JspSGyJpn87tODE8UJso7xWiOiyjF0JNKc7hFEjSnY_7qkXmKdTmt1Fq8x5D4WbVUkkkMCZmJi5clKD0X5bibjUg9NN9N0dPuY/s1600/IMG_20130207_161257.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzO0vEj2f9UITY3jpXfECxEgDWe-aUiT2dLMB0GXq99JspSGyJpn87tODE8UJso7xWiOiyjF0JNKc7hFEjSnY_7qkXmKdTmt1Fq8x5D4WbVUkkkMCZmJi5clKD0X5bibjUg9NN9N0dPuY/s400/IMG_20130207_161257.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This Spring is something different for David and I. The kernel of the idea we've shared - to work with our hands, growing and tending - has been watered and weeded and nurtured and, in short, experienced just the right conditions to finally break the surface of the soil. This year will be our first year farming! We don't have any land yet. We are borrowing, with the greatest gratitude, the two acres on which we will grow basil, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, celeraic, cilantro, collards, cucumbers, dill, fennel, fava beans, green beans, kohlrabi, kale, leeks, mustard greens, parsley, parsnips, peppers, potatoes, radicchio, salad greens, scallions, sugar snap peas, sweet onions, Swiss chard, winter squash, zucchini and more! We are learning the ins-and-outs of GST returns, over-the-border brokerage, net worth statements, web design and the difference between vector and raster images. There is crop planning, soil analysis, the search for compost, ordering walk-behind tractors and hoes and harrows and seeds and salad spinners - every kind of tool we'll need for the intensive, organic kind of agriculture we aim to practice. Right now we're still in the theoretical realm - planning, scheming, dreaming.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Frsi4pAqQENWid71eIeRYtUwWYNZWCUsBPFfmQWeOfV0X1wcA_F27HgjL5cabhcqUnqEt17ubenLwS-F_O4kTvjf2L7sCpIl_KZphLpGKwndw0mliEToNV_d3DHxctHeM-4Y2ME3W8Q/s1600/DSC_0453.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Frsi4pAqQENWid71eIeRYtUwWYNZWCUsBPFfmQWeOfV0X1wcA_F27HgjL5cabhcqUnqEt17ubenLwS-F_O4kTvjf2L7sCpIl_KZphLpGKwndw0mliEToNV_d3DHxctHeM-4Y2ME3W8Q/s400/DSC_0453.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But, the sun is starting to send out whispers of Spring. Soon, we'll be in the thick of it; plans put into action; our bodies, not just our heads, hard at work. I don't know what Spring will be like in Agassiz - if there will be cherry blossoms or daffodils. I don't know about Summer either. I expect it will be hot and humid and that the corn will reach sky-high and I hope there are a good deal less mosquitoes than in Alberta and I know that I'm looking forward to it, however it will be. </div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Can I quote some Tom Petty?<br />
<br />
There's somethin' lucky about this place<br />
There's somethin' good comin'<br />
For you and me<br />
Somethin' good comin'<br />
There has to be.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
The Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1224595606203146822.post-89932524501913030312013-01-31T17:34:00.000-08:002013-01-31T17:34:41.379-08:00Hello again<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
(Silence).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Yes, I know. That's what it's been like around here as of late. I'm sorry.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To tell you the truth, there have been some changes around here. Big ones. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv8r5mWQqoJm39y8dNZlFkHa5ciqHS_1AorNcr451r0RCIBpC9lEiuGHileaphu8a_SV59NRSnochi_sVbxtM8Ma4Q1v6lm1wzOPykEBIRtQcgKh0MtgwJYEdKYvYS-4ueyiX6KSisQvo/s1600/IMG_0755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv8r5mWQqoJm39y8dNZlFkHa5ciqHS_1AorNcr451r0RCIBpC9lEiuGHileaphu8a_SV59NRSnochi_sVbxtM8Ma4Q1v6lm1wzOPykEBIRtQcgKh0MtgwJYEdKYvYS-4ueyiX6KSisQvo/s400/IMG_0755.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In October, David and I loaded up our new truck, our new trailer, said <i>sayonara </i>to Alberta and hightailed it back to B.C. As we crossed the bridge, narrow and metal-framed, slanting upwards over the Fraser river, that delivers you to Agassiz my shoulders slumped in sheer relief to be back. I was here last Fall, doing a cheese-making internship that I wrote about <a href="http://dispatchesfromthedinnertable.blogspot.ca/2011/10/file-this-one-under-fall.html">very</a> <a href="http://dispatchesfromthedinnertable.blogspot.ca/2011_12_01_archive.html">briefly</a>. In fact, I was meaning to tell you more but somehow never did. Well, let me tell you this: every day that I was here felt like magic. I rode my bike to work past cornfields, donkeys, barking dogs (that chased me down the road), pumpkin patches, windrows of hay drying in the sun. The hillsides were freckled with yellow, with orange, with green. The mist moved over everything so that nothing ever looked the same. And when it wasn't there Mt. Cheam could be seen, rising stony and sometimes snow-flecked, so downright majestic I would always gasp. I trained with some of the strongest, funniest and wisest women I have ever met. There was another intern who happened to be my <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.545454025268555px; text-align: left;">doppelgänger</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 14.545454025268555px; text-align: left;"> </span></span>and is now one of my best friends. I lived with a family, everyone in it so entirely unique and great, that welcomed me into their fold. So, when an opportunity arose to come back, to all of this, and this time with David too, well, I said <b style="font-style: italic;">YES!</b> Every time I cross that bridge into Agassiz I get giddy. My stomach butterflies, my lips curl upwards, my eyes probably shine. I can't believe I'm actually here. That, after ten years of different cities, basement suites, and roommates, after so many moves and travels, I finally, finally feel like I have landed. I am home.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicGVKaw78uQbJYIKkl_jfbIiK2aYM7-pK5sJUyQPuVJiLKVLN2TTNQBUSmWlBV3w2GBQwcM0oiLMB4jceoSHCxbHv1qu1rAXdMkbyAZ-FGiIOhT0KUOEI1StR9as58juuchape9pY3CwQ/s1600/hmmm+020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicGVKaw78uQbJYIKkl_jfbIiK2aYM7-pK5sJUyQPuVJiLKVLN2TTNQBUSmWlBV3w2GBQwcM0oiLMB4jceoSHCxbHv1qu1rAXdMkbyAZ-FGiIOhT0KUOEI1StR9as58juuchape9pY3CwQ/s400/hmmm+020.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I've got so much more to tell you. The silence is over!</div>
</div>
The Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1224595606203146822.post-12261970319792960552012-09-25T14:59:00.000-07:002012-09-25T14:59:36.741-07:00Crumby<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>
<w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
</w:Compatibility>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
It's your last day of vacation and you're at the <a href="http://pentictonfarmersmarket.org/">Penticton Farmers Market </a>when you spy a loaf of bread so beautiful and rustic and sesame-crusted that it's bought before you've even finished browsing. So you also end up with a dark chocolate-stuffed baguette. It's not much of a contest when it comes to choosing which to have for supper that night. (Chocolate). The first loaf is forgotten the next day when you arrive at your parent's house where the bread basket overfloweth. When you finally get home the bread is substantially older and drier, but at least you are wiser. Better make some breadcrumbs.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
You might think you should use a bread knife but the bread is so stale that you have to bite hunks off to spit into your coffee grinder, where they're whirled into fine breadcrumb oblivion. You toast them in a 350 F oven for about 10 minutes - maybe more, maybe less. You weren't really looking at the clock. It's wise to check on them often because one second you're thinking they need some sun, the next you're reaching for the aloe vera. Dump those babies into a bowl because you didn't pay five dollars, spend half an hour chewing and then nearly overheat your coffee grinder for nothin'. (They'll burn if they stay on the baking sheet). Toss them with some fine sea salt (to taste) and olive oil (about two tablespoons for each cup and a half of breadcrumbs). Feel free to use different types of oil too - a wee bit of hemp oil is rather scrumptious. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBtVeJ17A_qgaQcRfBiqn4VwHW3ZlHsPU05TsOvcRB0XNTGwji71a_qo-gIeeQsxlmAdUibAOLKzZ2d6mylaCAs960aQqx5L4et5-ybHNU3JL3MZ1NeXwuQe3JELH6vkqgRS-7Bt3MsBU/s1600/IMG_0475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBtVeJ17A_qgaQcRfBiqn4VwHW3ZlHsPU05TsOvcRB0XNTGwji71a_qo-gIeeQsxlmAdUibAOLKzZ2d6mylaCAs960aQqx5L4et5-ybHNU3JL3MZ1NeXwuQe3JELH6vkqgRS-7Bt3MsBU/s400/IMG_0475.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
You can sprinkle your breadcrumbs over grilled vegetables (try zucchini with pecorino), a sumptuous hash (with fresh shelling beans, tomatoes, corn, potatoes and zucchini as the major players), <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pasta-with-Pesto-My-Way-358071">pasta</a> or just leave the bowl on your kitchen table so you can eat a spoonful every time you walk by. There you have it - breadcrumbs!</div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
The Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1224595606203146822.post-47740506104157782252012-08-08T09:20:00.000-07:002012-08-08T09:22:23.315-07:00Cooked as a cuke<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-align: justify;">You'd think it was the zucchini that was the trouble. The zucchini that was multiplying like mice on a farm or mosquitoes during a hot, muggy Alberta summer. Well, there's been a lot of it sure, but so far this year the star producer of our garden has been the cucumbers. If you're finding yourself in similar straits, I have two recipes to help you out. I know the saying goes "cool as a cuke" but here you're going to cook your cucumbers! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvt1dOlweMIc9coBxs0Jsp8sLv-KpG3IfnoJtN589fg0GqRCt4Q65AZhiUdjjkPcrJSkefET2Api92OV5RwdUvQB02Cq9hMZMTSNtNEIeMFDOp_Qte0rAah-W-Jt8nH0eFcAgWQPWH1AY/s1600/IMG_5574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvt1dOlweMIc9coBxs0Jsp8sLv-KpG3IfnoJtN589fg0GqRCt4Q65AZhiUdjjkPcrJSkefET2Api92OV5RwdUvQB02Cq9hMZMTSNtNEIeMFDOp_Qte0rAah-W-Jt8nH0eFcAgWQPWH1AY/s400/IMG_5574.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Spiced Cucumbers and Coconut Milk</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From <a href="http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2012/06/spiced-cucumbers-and-coconut-milk">Bon Appetit</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
This is totally delicious. The cooked cucumber reminded me somewhat of eggplant but maybe even better. In the interest of full disclosure I didn't peel my tomatoes (because life is too short for that), I used dried rather than fresh chiles (which may have made my version a little less spicy) and I used parsley leaves instead of cilantro (because that's what I had). It was suggested that you serve this with rice.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1 tbsp vegetable oil</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2 cups of 1/4-inch-thick slices of peeled cucumber</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
salt and freshly ground black pepper</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2 small tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
4 scallions, thinly sliced</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2 red Thai chiles (with seeds), thinly sliced</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1 garlic clove, smashed</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1 1/2 tsp honey</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
fresh lime juice</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add cucumber. Saute until beginning to soften, about 1 minute. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Add tomatoes, scallions, chiles and garlic. Saute until vegetables are soft, 2-3 minutes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Add coconut milk and honey; simmer until vegetables are cooked through, 2-3 minutes. Stir in the cilantro leaves and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Makes about 4 cups.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Sour Pickles</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From <a href="http://www.wildfermentation.com/wild-fermentation/">Wild Fermentation</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
These are the genuine, real-deal pickles you've dreamed of. No vinegar, just straight-up lactic-acid fermented, brined cucumbers. Apparently the bane of pickle-makers is the cucumber's tendency to turn mushy rather than crispy. Adding grape, oak, cherry, or black currant leaves (which are rich in tannins) is said to help keep your pickles crunchy. I tried using red currant leaves and they seemed to work.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3 - 4 pounds unwaxed, small to medium cucumbers</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3/8 cup sea salt</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3 - 4 fresh flowering dill heads, or 3 - 4 tbsp of any form of dil (fresh or dried leaf or seeds)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2 - 3 heads of garlic, peeled</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
a handful of fresh grape, cherry, oak, black currant and/or horseradish leaves, washed (if available)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
a pinch of black peppercorns</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Rinse the cucumbers, taking care not to bruise them and making sure their blossoms are removed. Scrape off any remains of the blossom end. If you're using cucumbers that aren't fresh off the vine that day, soak them for a couple hours in very cold water to freshen them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Dissolve the sea salt in 2L of water to create a brine solution. Stir until the salt is thoroughly dissolved.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Clean a ceramic crock or food-grade plastic bucket with a capacity of at least 4L. Place the dill, garlic, fresh leaves and black peppercorns at the bottom. Put the cucumbers on top. Pour the brine over the cucumbers, place a clean plate over them, then weigh it down with a jug filled with water or a boiled rack. If the brine doesn't cover the weighed-down plate, add more brine mixed at the same ratio of just under 1 tbsp of salt to each cup of water.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Cover the crock with a cloth to keep out dust and flies and store it in a cool place.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Check the crock every day. Skim any mold from the surface, but don't worry if you can't get it all. If there's mold, be sure to rinse the plate and weight. Taste the pickles after a few days. Eventually, after one to four weeks (depending on the temperature) the pickles will be fully sour and no longer white in the centre. Continue to enjoy them, moving them to the fridge to slow down fermentation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Makes about 4L.</div>
</div>The Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1224595606203146822.post-20937290381487246732012-07-28T10:39:00.000-07:002012-07-28T10:39:51.330-07:00Birthday Balthazars (and what to do with the leftovers)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>
<w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
</w:Compatibility>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">In the month of May, which now seems a million miles away, my sister and I threw a birthday party. See, she turned 24 on the 24th of May and, later, I turned 27 on the 27th of June - those are </span><a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=champagne%20birthday" style="background-color: white;">champagne birthdays</a><span style="background-color: white;">! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Around December, when we realized this was a milestone year for both of us, we decided that a big celebration was in order. As we tossed around ideas, like a pie-eating contest or bouncy castle, I declared that we needed a Nebuchadnezzar of champagne. Now, at the time, I didn't quite know how much was in a Nebuchadnezzar (that'd be 15L). All I knew was that after your typical 750ml bottle they had names and they started to get a little wacky - Magnum (1.5 L), Methuselah (6L), etc. So the search began.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
At first I thought we'd special order a big bottle from one of the many excellent B.C. wineries making sparkling wine. No one did anything remotely close to that size. I trolled the internet looking for large bottles but my only leads came from the U.K. (with prohibitively expensive shipping costs) or the U.S. (with crazy border taxes). Finally, I was reminded that one of my cousins works for a big booze company. I fired off an e-mail and within 24 hours he'd found us a bottle! Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) we could only get a 12L bottle, a mere Balthazar. Well, it would have to do.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The day of the party dawned clear and chilly; sun sparkled on frosted wild strawberry blossoms outside the community hall near my grandparent's old farm. We shifted into last-minute party-planning gear with lots to do - lights to string, chairs to set up, outhouses to move.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMZ5LHMeLrw_04nc0bfOmKkDa6WexEPEofKHzahm4b7xk_PJj0he1jZP2pPKbnyL00rIOoqOXxwsW6AMMiO_fKOwByzpnbCAIqI9YAJJMO-Trly4KQuqS4NHYWTyHwuhPTb8azdCrqgWc/s1600/champagne+birthday+044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMZ5LHMeLrw_04nc0bfOmKkDa6WexEPEofKHzahm4b7xk_PJj0he1jZP2pPKbnyL00rIOoqOXxwsW6AMMiO_fKOwByzpnbCAIqI9YAJJMO-Trly4KQuqS4NHYWTyHwuhPTb8azdCrqgWc/s400/champagne+birthday+044.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMoDNmDLVcbrmr229YgmkHUWajXViUXsh6-7eefdzOgRWXhA3JA0X0SDia0amH5Ys75QBCI7KybedS83yOi9CNTmHghYBbkkx9NEneupotq0dNLIYJGEDEPC_YpiwkA9BzT6QRJqwVjRo/s1600/IMG_5843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMoDNmDLVcbrmr229YgmkHUWajXViUXsh6-7eefdzOgRWXhA3JA0X0SDia0amH5Ys75QBCI7KybedS83yOi9CNTmHghYBbkkx9NEneupotq0dNLIYJGEDEPC_YpiwkA9BzT6QRJqwVjRo/s400/IMG_5843.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq9JSQ9miSYz7Gp8GnLsx-wLqySbBlqKfKFInZVuKUyanmS_-ZVlHZs6_nWSv1-G-x4sPbpGwa2nY8rj-NVmPNG7qcVEx_1nj47qtTUgKFjLS7xBSetq3GM8VGCROGqyaErOs3HHycKmQ/s1600/champagne+birthday+084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq9JSQ9miSYz7Gp8GnLsx-wLqySbBlqKfKFInZVuKUyanmS_-ZVlHZs6_nWSv1-G-x4sPbpGwa2nY8rj-NVmPNG7qcVEx_1nj47qtTUgKFjLS7xBSetq3GM8VGCROGqyaErOs3HHycKmQ/s400/champagne+birthday+084.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Soon enough, our guests started to arrive - aunts and uncles, grandpas, high school friends, old co-workers who drove through the night to make it! Over 70 people dined on an entire spit-roasted pig with incredibly crispy, fatty skin and a gamut of potluck fixin's. They visited, lounged around the fire and played football. We blew out birthday candles on seven different kinds of cake - each with a different set of letters that, put together, spelled out HAPPY BIRTHDAY! And then we opened the champagne. It took a good while, but we opened it!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXc6KhdbGqL9Veu7q6h-HEsDN6-AxPXu0PrCc687nj-875ll-gABNFTuyDBgyo66YeMAQOEvFouC6zjutZ2-S-_i8lzmRk3ek1D2AZoyhWyDcHLrTjFZ04cjGZuto0V-vJtchsOqS0tyU/s1600/champagne+birthday+068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXc6KhdbGqL9Veu7q6h-HEsDN6-AxPXu0PrCc687nj-875ll-gABNFTuyDBgyo66YeMAQOEvFouC6zjutZ2-S-_i8lzmRk3ek1D2AZoyhWyDcHLrTjFZ04cjGZuto0V-vJtchsOqS0tyU/s400/champagne+birthday+068.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUw9PsnaXdprvuO-U1bkhwAJYOell37MMcC4qhUxWjrTZmKu3lYfmoA6dNmCjb5KlTmBnAwSyt54Vec0uL3SatHSODOyVdQcbE5KNZVI8vSsCc_PUffcXxeW9VNfEUXfxMSmkOee7TL_U/s1600/champagne+birthday+090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUw9PsnaXdprvuO-U1bkhwAJYOell37MMcC4qhUxWjrTZmKu3lYfmoA6dNmCjb5KlTmBnAwSyt54Vec0uL3SatHSODOyVdQcbE5KNZVI8vSsCc_PUffcXxeW9VNfEUXfxMSmkOee7TL_U/s400/champagne+birthday+090.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHD0uXLZUSyU1hj0A8UeVWpg4mv5VeycZgG1UgBc3wIkScZZb_1b28njL1DlY5lS5obCkxxdWo1YkpfuReyBiAhyiYGHlkpiui4WDzox1M3vZAFC6Ic9n_VOstSnLqGE6y1okibSBYgO4/s1600/IMG_5798.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHD0uXLZUSyU1hj0A8UeVWpg4mv5VeycZgG1UgBc3wIkScZZb_1b28njL1DlY5lS5obCkxxdWo1YkpfuReyBiAhyiYGHlkpiui4WDzox1M3vZAFC6Ic9n_VOstSnLqGE6y1okibSBYgO4/s400/IMG_5798.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4LpaewZxpNsVf3MKQWGAq6KQUWyKvHfWNlSPvhzsGtE8wEpSjuDm2lQYmyb5b4Q7TNrwdIZCHJ80AkDmYZLDYbirLT1BTAzHCwUeI14gEIR1Vk_KkDdU0Nh8ZaXhmedE-grSmWzGOjNM/s1600/IMG_5815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4LpaewZxpNsVf3MKQWGAq6KQUWyKvHfWNlSPvhzsGtE8wEpSjuDm2lQYmyb5b4Q7TNrwdIZCHJ80AkDmYZLDYbirLT1BTAzHCwUeI14gEIR1Vk_KkDdU0Nh8ZaXhmedE-grSmWzGOjNM/s400/IMG_5815.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Once everyone had a glass of bubbly in hand we toasted to birthdays and started the evening festivities. We gathered around another campfire, this one in a clearing inside the woods on my Dad's nearby land. We roasted marshmallows and smokies, drank </span><a href="http://www.alleykatbeer.com/aprikat.htm" style="background-color: white;">ApriKat</a><span style="background-color: white;"> beer and more champagne. We watched a fireworks extravaganza. We danced under Christmas lights and starlight in the middle of that clearing, in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, and it was good.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgag8aavTTPl340uOKtaE0h_z7_G5vYb9qAldqFTjWvxU4l1id9_XaWrdVj5_gVaABglXchlmiay7bMo6OuebPZFuHTl6aWjvwET3zrm2yVJQ0JoIdB6NExHHrVuEpyWmvrKzB1dhrjHTs/s1600/champagne+birthday+149.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgag8aavTTPl340uOKtaE0h_z7_G5vYb9qAldqFTjWvxU4l1id9_XaWrdVj5_gVaABglXchlmiay7bMo6OuebPZFuHTl6aWjvwET3zrm2yVJQ0JoIdB6NExHHrVuEpyWmvrKzB1dhrjHTs/s400/champagne+birthday+149.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
We didn't finish the champagne that night though. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
We didn't even finish it the next morning, mixed with orange juice, to wash down pancakes a la Steve (with real maple syrup) and rhubarb pie. We didn't finish it after the final clean-up when everyone in my family had a big glug as we posed for pictures.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
David and I siphoned about 4L into an empty water jug and my sister took whatever was left in the bottle. We drained that a few weeks later, with the help of some grapefruit juice, at a post-funeral brunch. I shared some of mine with folks on the farm. I made a few cocktails. It was going nowhere but flat, fast. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Then I found this recipe. It called for beer in the batter but I thought champagne would be a better match for blini. Having a glass of champagne in hand while you nibble on one topped with sour cream and caviar is practically a pre-requisite for this pancake of Russian origin. We ate ours with a smorgasbord of spring delights from the woods, our garden, and the farm (the grocery store too). There were radishes, butter, sea salt, asparagus, hard-boiled eggs, dill, nettle pesto, <a href="http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/parmesan-cheese-spread-recipe.html">pecorino cheese spread</a>, fresco mixed with some lemon zest, smashed peas with almond butter and bresaola. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">After I made a second batch the birthday champagne was finally laid to rest.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaCcQcVe2cbrlby9MjbjuDpnKIczfZnTUPOvY2hXrDV9aCBT8h3HndoYBstGtRtGp7ls12hzqAuEQj-TUjD7-VU_gvXIyYwdRhKiLZnBJFC4oiSqp1km_NF_WLMPweuMf7AJAP-4vl42g/s1600/IMG_5065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaCcQcVe2cbrlby9MjbjuDpnKIczfZnTUPOvY2hXrDV9aCBT8h3HndoYBstGtRtGp7ls12hzqAuEQj-TUjD7-VU_gvXIyYwdRhKiLZnBJFC4oiSqp1km_NF_WLMPweuMf7AJAP-4vl42g/s400/IMG_5065.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbab_Dk1wEl0AeK5Fk_HOHmDy3hXn1SpipmBNkvN5RxAyhZcf65FL1mhF2EF5eo_3Ex0rFpUXCNsLNHwk9TsMgkfWUlWYKMeQ5gf3pyJsYyHi_IvA-ncW80apKynGOrLLPfmK4Xz8JVMA/s1600/IMG_5061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbab_Dk1wEl0AeK5Fk_HOHmDy3hXn1SpipmBNkvN5RxAyhZcf65FL1mhF2EF5eo_3Ex0rFpUXCNsLNHwk9TsMgkfWUlWYKMeQ5gf3pyJsYyHi_IvA-ncW80apKynGOrLLPfmK4Xz8JVMA/s400/IMG_5061.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhywDgbVTLkN_IKirMuElsa95lcvLvdAu0s-jk4QjR9BXCnqrTNHs9DIxAj3C5KY1tCnEyq-svS-CVtgE8H9310yXOdN3cwOgdOgsQqtaZGrpQ0fc4DNKWDV859JXyO17oAL_pn72pjX2o/s1600/IMG_5066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhywDgbVTLkN_IKirMuElsa95lcvLvdAu0s-jk4QjR9BXCnqrTNHs9DIxAj3C5KY1tCnEyq-svS-CVtgE8H9310yXOdN3cwOgdOgsQqtaZGrpQ0fc4DNKWDV859JXyO17oAL_pn72pjX2o/s400/IMG_5066.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="background-color: white;">Champagne Blini</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Adapted from </span><a href="http://casayellow.com/beer-blini/" style="background-color: white;">The Yellow House</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I made some changes to the recipe, using instant yeast instead of active dry because that's what I had on hand and it's what I prefer. I like that you don't have to proof it before you use it. All you do is whisk it in when you're combining your dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients and proceed. Super easy. I also used some buckwheat flour in a nod to the classic blini. The recipe calls for olive oil but you can use whatever kind of oil you like. I think I used canola with a bit of hemp oil (both from a <a href="http://www.mightytrio.com/">terrific Alberta producer</a>) the first time around. The second time I tried some of the camelina oil I'd just gotten as a birthday present. Oh, and finally, if you don't have 3 cups of champagne kicking around use half water, half champagne. The original recipe used half water, half beer but I was itching to get rid of as much champagne as I could!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2 tsp instant yeast</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1 cup all-purpose flour</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1 cup whole-wheat flour</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1 cup buckwheat flour</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
good pinch of salt</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2 eggs</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3 tbsp olive oil</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3 cups leftover champagne, warmed</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
butter, for cooking</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Whisk together the yeast, flours and salt in a large mixing bowl. Crack the eggs into the mixture, add the oil and start whisking. Gradually add the champagne and continue whisking until smooth. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and set aside in a warm place for an hour, though more won't hurt. Once the mixture has risen visibly and is frothy you are ready to cook. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat and film with a thin layer of butter. I like to use leftover butter wrappers for this purpose. Scoop heaping tablespoons or quarter-cups of batter (depending on whether you want tiny or large-ish blinis) onto the hot surface. When the edges look a bit dry, bubbles appear throughout the batter and the surface has fluffed up significantly (like making pancakes), flip. Cook on the other side until golden brown. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Keep the blini in a pile on a plate in a low oven until you've cooked them all. Serve them warm with a smorgasbord of toppings to pick and choose from. Mix and match to your heart's content!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Makes a lot of appetizers or enough for about 4 as a meal, with plenty of toppings.</div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>The Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1224595606203146822.post-15054210564563521962012-06-30T20:46:00.000-07:002012-06-30T20:46:57.005-07:00Bananas, boats and dreams<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">It is a fact that dispatches from this table have become few and far between. I could give all sorts of excuses </span><span style="background-color: white;">- say sheep bit off my fingers, Columbian druglords held me hostage, gremlins stole my good ideas, I had a month-long nap. Yet, I suspect that none of these explanations would satisfy the likes of you, you hungry readers. And really, what are you hungry for? (Feel free to leave comments)!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Well, how about this: BANANA DREAMBOATS! I know, I know. It sounds more like some sexual connotations got mixed up with a male stripper than a recipe but, trust me, it is JUST what you need this summer. Some of you, most likely many of you (seeing as I wouldn't shut up about this during a certain period of my life), have heard of the banana dreamboat, some of you have been lucky enough to experience it. It is my mission to make sure everyone gets that chance.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">So next time you're going camping - whether hiking a remote backcountry trail, pulling your RV into a mosquito-riden provincial park or even just throwing logs into the backyard fire pit, it doesn't matter - bring along some tin foil and prepare to drift away.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="background-color: white;">Banana Dreamboats</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Modified from a similar campfire delicacy introduced to my sister by her friend Holly</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Warning: The following pictures may depict graphic and/or stringy material. Viewer discretion is advised. Thank you to Steve, Pamela and Cody for their superb modelling.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Bananas </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Peanut butter (smooth, sweet Kraft is preferable here)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Chocolate (whatever floats your boat)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Marshmallows</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Tin foil</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The first and perhaps most important step is to peel one section of your banana peel back BUT not all the way. It must remain attached to the rest of the peel still surrounding the banana. The best way to do this is by grasping the stem and pulling forward so you peel a section from the inner curve of the banana peel.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpytGsSGsxA9TNWW28iYzW95lsVzxXgUo96U6x3gazTvWTp2v9bnDBRaNrglfCv_SywviRb1OLhsOeUOcg3CIRdGkAuUzQ-KO3Y3kdFSFppsNUxnurxTWyRDGlcVDmJ8Dsm5_p2Z1UwYQ/s1600/champagne+birthday+025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpytGsSGsxA9TNWW28iYzW95lsVzxXgUo96U6x3gazTvWTp2v9bnDBRaNrglfCv_SywviRb1OLhsOeUOcg3CIRdGkAuUzQ-KO3Y3kdFSFppsNUxnurxTWyRDGlcVDmJ8Dsm5_p2Z1UwYQ/s400/champagne+birthday+025.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Next, using a spoon, scoop out a layer of banana. How much you remove depends on how much you like peanut butter. Eat what you remove. But don't eat all of the banana.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoCbyNS23wqe0fDJoHq4EnMeLCLYAYXzbWRnnzDiUm3kpIdT0ISFrFmhG3o-o-1iobsirwGprLAus5tkjMMTE0yURPj59ffbKpUPQoXO1qiKSHHQf1wtmsJac1_N6HSjFI7gTrnMd8300/s1600/champagne+birthday+026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoCbyNS23wqe0fDJoHq4EnMeLCLYAYXzbWRnnzDiUm3kpIdT0ISFrFmhG3o-o-1iobsirwGprLAus5tkjMMTE0yURPj59ffbKpUPQoXO1qiKSHHQf1wtmsJac1_N6HSjFI7gTrnMd8300/s400/champagne+birthday+026.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Next, spread peanut butter over the remaining banana. Doesn't my last instruction make sense now?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF6-XWOQnzUeBwzRg4wOeOH29v1tfF2BulEYUzBRNtc3L6F4PvZmx3-KEexjMqVSQiJ86PVDMlQj7k_0V0KVtoaG0vzrSTos13BREwK_9IW9nv7RgYGo-fNsvuFFFvb4Aa5ETuvHvJ4UM/s1600/champagne+birthday+027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF6-XWOQnzUeBwzRg4wOeOH29v1tfF2BulEYUzBRNtc3L6F4PvZmx3-KEexjMqVSQiJ86PVDMlQj7k_0V0KVtoaG0vzrSTos13BREwK_9IW9nv7RgYGo-fNsvuFFFvb4Aa5ETuvHvJ4UM/s400/champagne+birthday+027.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Break your chocolate into rough chunks or crisp squares, whatever you prefer, and press into the peanut butter, single-file-style.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLDWcta4GJoqKW3EPlZjqcQ4x9-jp-gKKLxRnPPL5oTwUFKdLVTyoMqRrVIQS24noBFskdmMadwTGG-wVle9U36t89LGhOiX9MPZCubgt1ODa073KLHIFZbZ3NHHppO_C_P6B1XM1MNWk/s1600/champagne+birthday+029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLDWcta4GJoqKW3EPlZjqcQ4x9-jp-gKKLxRnPPL5oTwUFKdLVTyoMqRrVIQS24noBFskdmMadwTGG-wVle9U36t89LGhOiX9MPZCubgt1ODa073KLHIFZbZ3NHHppO_C_P6B1XM1MNWk/s400/champagne+birthday+029.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Tear marshmallows in half then squish the halves on top of your chocolate layer until the banana boat is full.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjcZ5wsX_4nzTzq2flvGS1XyetiCUww2u1c7UA5Yn8ATAxwD-5iK0EKZA4w_YK-am5VVo4LDT7Fx4U8LYajU0O4HoH_jrx_9W2ec7NJnommUSQw2RDHqAOTOrZHbHIZtIzMHzjlWA-TEY/s1600/champagne+birthday+033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjcZ5wsX_4nzTzq2flvGS1XyetiCUww2u1c7UA5Yn8ATAxwD-5iK0EKZA4w_YK-am5VVo4LDT7Fx4U8LYajU0O4HoH_jrx_9W2ec7NJnommUSQw2RDHqAOTOrZHbHIZtIzMHzjlWA-TEY/s400/champagne+birthday+033.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOKnIWeKEukjo_Nv-pAUdFBZZc6dHt5LxEgvxA1y6yVbgaPpbLY9ynPVOq49Ub_Ntejem2mrMyTBi0TWlL4sPtEoSXnjib-9-pU23sHBDjOw1ToHxBzz4BROEjohQbJ4gMJR3mEeumjzY/s1600/champagne+birthday+034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOKnIWeKEukjo_Nv-pAUdFBZZc6dHt5LxEgvxA1y6yVbgaPpbLY9ynPVOq49Ub_Ntejem2mrMyTBi0TWlL4sPtEoSXnjib-9-pU23sHBDjOw1ToHxBzz4BROEjohQbJ4gMJR3mEeumjzY/s400/champagne+birthday+034.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSQya3Q-RKMREk75eolAxnoithRuRiOEf-y6dB2LMIjClRZaH79stwNd46zWr-7aMBEEFuXcDnmFZKv-SjZSmW5kT0G-_RlCqZiBM1GZ5BPHOJgSZbrn6JVM4nvafmL2T5XqIil6U273k/s1600/champagne+birthday+035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSQya3Q-RKMREk75eolAxnoithRuRiOEf-y6dB2LMIjClRZaH79stwNd46zWr-7aMBEEFuXcDnmFZKv-SjZSmW5kT0G-_RlCqZiBM1GZ5BPHOJgSZbrn6JVM4nvafmL2T5XqIil6U273k/s400/champagne+birthday+035.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Take the peel you stripped but did not separate from remaining peel and put it back in place. If necessary, press down firmly to keep the contents inside. You have essentially just stuffed a banana with dreams. Wrap tightly in tin foil and place on the waning but still glowing embers of a campfire.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBPHssHkWNmbn8wB48b3IUqukGNmkQU3FOoDeZyYFynURSyPgevKGbcUpzDA03Y8M-gjA4lDju52E6QWbkHtKMrGAOVYiFxNdvH1XJHBg5qQmIgfftCMdR8FOc-gxpsRzjTlJZTgty42E/s1600/champagne+birthday+036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBPHssHkWNmbn8wB48b3IUqukGNmkQU3FOoDeZyYFynURSyPgevKGbcUpzDA03Y8M-gjA4lDju52E6QWbkHtKMrGAOVYiFxNdvH1XJHBg5qQmIgfftCMdR8FOc-gxpsRzjTlJZTgty42E/s400/champagne+birthday+036.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is the trickiest part. It is hard to gauge how long your banana dreamboat will take to cook. If you leave it too long the banana will turn to a slimy mush and everything will coalesce into a rather unappetizing slop. If you don't leave it long enough the flavours won't mingle and meld into the heavenly concoction you desire. You want your chocolate melting, your marshmallows molten but perhaps still slightly toothsome in the centre, and your banana warmed through. Of course, you only have one shot to get this right. Once you unwrap, there's no going back. Here's my advice: use a not-too-hot fire (more coals than flames), and flip often. It usually only takes 3 or 4 minutes. Practice, practice, practice. In time you'll make the banana dreamboat of your, er, dreams. And remember, sometimes even professionals like me make duds. If at first you don't succeed, try again!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLeQoqRpYthLfMcyRMGWIsGnLG6f_jl315fh3gslBo9MiKMb6kqxuhqVc4mJdnf-OLmTgzwmdiI5cnqXBg86q5vKQOvv3NN_Wu4LbgTveM2CxYZY-BfS1nF1nUYBVVJ_-bAa1sleSjh08/s1600/champagne+birthday+037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLeQoqRpYthLfMcyRMGWIsGnLG6f_jl315fh3gslBo9MiKMb6kqxuhqVc4mJdnf-OLmTgzwmdiI5cnqXBg86q5vKQOvv3NN_Wu4LbgTveM2CxYZY-BfS1nF1nUYBVVJ_-bAa1sleSjh08/s400/champagne+birthday+037.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Alright, when you decide your dreamboat is ready remove it from the fire. (Ha! I guess this part can be tricky too). Open the tin foil package, preferably on a plate (this can get messy folks), and strip away the peel that holds it all in place. Eat with a spoon by the glow of an evening campfire. Seriously, make sure it's dark when you eat this. It may taste delicious but it looks awful. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
There you have it. <span style="background-color: white;">Your life has just been enriched. Go forth, share the word, make this the summer of your banana dreamboat dreams.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyZeDJRjPHf1jLWQq-MogJvvW7u1HiBAXVn6WZQgIzCNAyCvsHIyK5HKYE3-nyv-NnyjRBvj4cb0Scq72WtgaowjPT2Z3NHqnJdZxR9Tc6K8HNfWfRiQ0YZvT-Dz2ucmFc58xRX9x3lw/s1600/champagne+birthday+031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyZeDJRjPHf1jLWQq-MogJvvW7u1HiBAXVn6WZQgIzCNAyCvsHIyK5HKYE3-nyv-NnyjRBvj4cb0Scq72WtgaowjPT2Z3NHqnJdZxR9Tc6K8HNfWfRiQ0YZvT-Dz2ucmFc58xRX9x3lw/s400/champagne+birthday+031.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">I think you know you can make as many as you want or are prepared to make. I find one dreamboat per person per camping trip plenty though.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
</div>The Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1224595606203146822.post-58573896712096676962012-05-11T17:06:00.001-07:002012-05-11T17:06:52.722-07:00A snack to attack<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I've finally wrangled my boyfriend David into handing over his guest blog entry. About time! He invented a snack to put all other snacks to dirty, rotten, blushing, bashful shame.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
David is over 6 feet tall, has preternaturally curly hair and can eat a jar of peanut butter in less than 3 days. He loves farming, dogs (especially Matty) and making huge batches of popcorn. He likes long walks, baths and stealing all the covers. He dislikes whininess and being told what to do. David also has a <a href="http://evergreenfarmer.wordpress.com/">blog</a> which he hasn't updated in a donkey's years.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And here he is:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's hard to remember this memory having already overlaid it with several weeks of snacks, but what the hay, I'll give it a try!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It was midday and as happens around the time, I was hungry. I rustled through the cupboards and our fridge - oranges, apples, an avocado, tins of sardines, a bag of cashews. All excellent snacking material! It just goes without saying though that sometimes events in life don't unfold along the creases. Sometimes you have time, dates and a greasy jar of peanut butter in the drawer.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Fire on a Log</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To spread the peanut butter I'd recommend using a fork - the back of its teeth to be exact. This gives your peanut butter a fiery look, leaving the impression of a log burning - hence the name of this snack.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The adventuresome might try stacking this treat on a slice of organic dairy such as mild or aged cheddar cheese.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Organic raw dates, pitted</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Organic crunchy peanut butter, well-stirred</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Using a fork, smear a generous amount of peanut butter onto each date, filling the hollow where you removed the pit. Eat.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Make as many as you want to make. </div>
</div>The Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1224595606203146822.post-87327342204929331562012-04-23T19:11:00.000-07:002012-04-23T19:11:32.903-07:00Bet you can't eat just one<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Where did we last leave off? That's right, eager with anticipation for more guest bloggers. Unfortunately, they've been busy or shy and are going to make us wait a little bit longer. It'll be worth it, I'm sure.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKf2hzcf3DudiSAcXFNZ75xuuAm18sSZQIzt3cFB9aIfM39Byx96HO2Caq2PBihsLaA7zzmLFWEAUME9SMuqcVFGs6A6dtgjqRbpchFSJAkTe8CV1YRSdjt6uiJwHw2zwzfDxlzFk2rjo/s1600/alberta+057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKf2hzcf3DudiSAcXFNZ75xuuAm18sSZQIzt3cFB9aIfM39Byx96HO2Caq2PBihsLaA7zzmLFWEAUME9SMuqcVFGs6A6dtgjqRbpchFSJAkTe8CV1YRSdjt6uiJwHw2zwzfDxlzFk2rjo/s400/alberta+057.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, I've been settling into my new home for the next few months. A trailer home. In Alberta. Parked in the middle of the widest, most-likely-blue sky and endless drab-yellow-brown everything else that is April. We've come here to learn about sheep dairying and more cheese-making and who knows what else. Nearly ten years ago, when I first left this province for the greener pastures of B.C. I hardly expected to find myself back, ever. But here I am, slugging pails of milk to baby lambs, leaping over fences, wrangling sheep, dodging feces. I'm scrubbing floors and ceilings and shelves and cheese. It all makes one tired, and hungry!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And segueway to the point of this entry....</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I made these granola bars, though you could just as easily call them a square, a couple days ago. My Mom had given me a jar of almond butter (a splurge item I would rarely, if ever, buy) and the far recesses of sleep-deprived brain remembered a <a href="http://www.food52.com/recipes/12067_saras_granola_bars">recipe</a> I had bookmarked that used just such a nut butter. I improvised a bit with what was on hand, swapped some nuts in, some fruits out, reduced the honey so they'd be a little less sweet and voila, genius! Insanely and addictively delicious. We probably could have eaten the entire pan in one sitting but we restrained ourselves. Slightly. Each time I sent David back to the fridge for "just one more" he gave a whoop and did a little happy dance.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEBkU8qLb54_3FFa1HCyZPepZfdc3-VB6vMYl6uJRl5PeHTL_hjWsqA9Bg-r9Bq5Llxzqf9XE96RzNF_qUHRFvUAiR8PS5ghmmR9ZvkJwT7kqZ9QxbBCrXEWFV7XR30zs8fNT5PekjJZk/s1600/lambs+034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEBkU8qLb54_3FFa1HCyZPepZfdc3-VB6vMYl6uJRl5PeHTL_hjWsqA9Bg-r9Bq5Llxzqf9XE96RzNF_qUHRFvUAiR8PS5ghmmR9ZvkJwT7kqZ9QxbBCrXEWFV7XR30zs8fNT5PekjJZk/s400/lambs+034.JPG" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>You Will Eat the Entire Pan of Granola Bars</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Adapted from <a href="http://www.food52.com/recipes/12067_saras_granola_bars">Food52</a><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As always, tweak to "suit your need". The nuts, puffed cereals and dried fruits you use are imminently interchangeable. I ended up using about 1/3 cup of goji berries, a little less than 2/3 cup of prunes, chopped, with a few dried apple slices, also chopped, and a sprinkle of coconut flakes. My almond butter was roasted, creamy and unsalted. I'd recommend the same.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/4 cup flaxseeds</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/4 cup almond meal</div><div style="text-align: justify;">3/4 cup puffed rice </div><div style="text-align: justify;">3/4 cup puffed millet</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 cup assorted dried fruit</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/2 cup almond butter</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/4 cup honey</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/4 cup brown rice syrup</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/2 tbsp flaky sea salt</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 tsp cinnamon </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pre-heat the oven to 350 F. Oil an 8-inch square baking pan. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Toast the oats, pumpkin and sunflower seeds in the oven until fragrant and barely browned. It is best to toast them separately as they take different amounts of time. Toss them in a bowl with the remaining dry ingredients.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Combine the almond butter, honey, and brown rice syrup in a small saucepan. Warm over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until liquidy and smooth and just beginning to bubble slightly, about 5 minutes. Stir in the sea salt and cinnamon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pour over the dry ingredients and mix to combine evenly, ensuring no dry spots remain. Take care not to crush the puffed cereals.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Scrape into the prepared pan and, with oiled hands, press down firmly to create an even layer. Chill, uncovered, until firm, about 30 minutes. Cut into roughly 2-inch squares and see if you can't finish the whole pan.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you can practice considerable self-restraint these will keep for up to a week in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge (where they'll be firmer) or up to a month in the freezer. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Makes about 16 squares.</div><br />
<br />
P.S: In lieu of an Easter entry, check out my friend Caitee's blog, where she makes my Easter speciality: <a href="http://ckitchenette.blogspot.ca/2012/04/mini-egg-pancakes.html">Mini-Egg Pancakes</a>!</div>The Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1224595606203146822.post-66191155985870012552012-03-14T15:30:00.000-07:002012-03-14T15:30:32.879-07:00And now for something entirely different<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">[Insert trumpeting and fanfare.] My parade of guest bloggers continues and today I am very pleased to introduce you to one of my best friends. Erin and I have known each other since grade one, though it wasn't until high school that we had enough sense to become friends. We both moved to Victoria to go to university and have been sometimes roommates and always friends ever since.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Erin has a sharp wit, biting sense of humour and is the only person I know who excels at crossword puzzles. She loves cats, coffee (though she is on a sabbatical) and - wait, do I detect a <a href="http://www.dispatchesfromthedinnertable.blogspot.com/2012/02/leaving-for-lent-and-date-bread-for.html">pattern</a>? She likes Joel Plaskett and Agatha Christie. She dislikes meat and, despite all the hypothetical scenarios I used to bombard her with, shows no sign of stopping. Erin currently writes for CVV magazine and I was lucky enough to watch her in action at a recent <a href="http://cvvmagazine.com/calgarys-michael-bernard-fitzgerald-livens-up-lucky-bar-eg-anderson/">Michael Bernard Fitzgerald show</a>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Let's turn it over to Erin:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dear Alyssa's sole blog reader (kidding)!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In terms of the culinary arts, I would be Alyssa's foil. Where she will spend three hours making dinner, I aim for three minutes. While her kitchen is full of tools and spices, I have neither a paring knife or salt. Whereas she seldom makes anything twice, I eat the same things nearly every day.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Strangely, though we are opposites in a thousand respects, we grew up in close proximity and have recently passed the ten-year anniversary of our friendship. I'm sure Alyssa's history in the kitchen is known by you, so I will share some of mine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thinking back, the first thing I learned to make was probably coffee. I was about 4 or 5 when I learned how to add Maxwell House grounds by the spoonful and the right amount of water, then press the button till the little red light came on. In terms of making actual food, I would say that I began cooking for myself probably around age 11 or 12. The most common childhood meals that I can recall are macaroni and cheese (from a box, but not KD), hot dogs and wieners 'n' beans. Also, my mom used to sometimes make me have hot chocolate and toast for dinner. It's delicious. Try it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">At age 12, I became a vegetarian. I would still make wieners 'n' beans for my brother (recipe: boil hot dogs, slice and add to beans in a pot on the stove) but I ate soup and sandwiches instead. My sister favoured white cheddar macaroni and cheese and I would make that sometimes for the two of us. My dad used to make me a tuna casserole but, when I gave up fish a few months later, he was pretty much out of ideas.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, you lucky readers, here are my favourite, lasting recipes from fifteen years of cooking for one:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Wraps</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For breakfast, lunch and dinner, you can enjoy a quick meal with a few variations. The base ingredient is whole-wheat tortillas. From there, you can go either the burrito route<b> </b>or the egg route. My preferred brand of salsa is Old El Paso Medium. Also, I have made a wrap out of avocado, salsa and a tortilla before. I called it an avocado wrap and it is totally copyrighted. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Egg Wrap</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cheddar works with either mustard or salsa, but gouda is sort of wasted on salsa. The bell pepper can be diced and cooked with the egg or added with the greens. <b> </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">one scrambled egg</div><div style="text-align: justify;">mixed greens or baby spinach</div><div style="text-align: justify;">cheddar or smoked gouda </div><div style="text-align: justify;">mustard or salsa</div><div style="text-align: justify;">avocado (optional)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">bell pepper (optional)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Burrito</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Occasionally vegan.<b> </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">black beans, rinsed and microwaved (50 seconds)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/2 avocado</div><div style="text-align: justify;">mixed greens</div><div style="text-align: justify;">cheddar cheese (if not currently vegan)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">salsa</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Bonus Recipe</b>: You can always freshen up salsa up adding shredded arugula, diced bell pepper and avocado and then eating with chips. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As you may or may not know, I have been periodically vegan. The last time I went vegan, I realized that I am mostly vegan already. One, my breakfast, which I have every weekday, is muesli and rice milk plus bananas/nectarines/strawberries/whatever. For the past two years or so, my lunch has consisted of Campbell's rustic lentil soup and crackers. Now that I am not vegan, I have been mixing it up by visiting the dining hall at work and eating the bagels and cream cheese that come with catering in the morning. My favourite catering food is the chocolate croissants that show up rarely. We also sometimes get cheese and crackers at work, which is either soft goat cheese, smoked cheddar or Irish porter cheese. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Rice and Things</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">About a year ago, David gave me a bag of wild rice. I went out and purchased a bag of long grain brown rice and have since successfully made rice several times (Alyssa, I feel your immense pride welling up as you read this). I have found that 1/3 cup wild rice and 2/3 brown rice makes for a good combination. You can cook a cup of rice and then microwave it whenever you need it again. It almost makes the 45 minutes it takes to make in the first place worth it. Almost. Below is a great recipe for rice:<b> </b> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Rice and Broccoli</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">rice</div><div style="text-align: justify;">broccoli (steamed in microwave)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">soy sauce</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I love broccoli. [Jesse, if you are reading this, you may remember that I used to steam broccoli using a bowl and a plastic bag when we lived together. I know I'm totally doomed to get cancer from that, but on the plus side, all those plastic particles will keep my corpse looking smoking gorgeous.]</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">If I am feeling fanciful, I will make a stir-fry to go with my rice. I will use the following ingredients:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Stir Fry</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">bok choy</div><div style="text-align: justify;">brown mushrooms</div><div style="text-align: justify;">orange bell peppers</div><div style="text-align: justify;">broccoli</div><div style="text-align: justify;">soy sauce</div><div style="text-align: justify;">teriyaki sauce</div><div style="text-align: justify;">olive oil (even though it's carcinogenic when heated - it's too late for me already) </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I will also sometimes bake a yam and eat that with my rice. Butternut squash and yam are a good combination to mash together, because the squash is less sweet and firmer than yam.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>But What About Fancy Occasions?</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the event I feel the need to change it up, I also enjoy takeout of the Thai variety (curry) and Japanese (sushi, sans fish). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I also have a favourite meal that I will consume on special occasions or when I am severely depressed or when I lack the patience to even cook a single egg:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Ten Tiny Open-Faced Sandwiches</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">bread, sliced</div><div style="text-align: justify;">cheese (Tipsy Jill is a favourite)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">avocado, sliced<b> </b><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">mixed greens (in a bowl)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dijon mustard</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I like to assemble them as I go, in the following order: bread, mustard, cheese, avocado and mixed greens. Baguettes work but you can also use larger bread, although I wouldn't make ten of them if I did that. This recipe pairs great with beer, wine or television.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>What if People are Coming Over?</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The only time I really want to cook anything that takes longer than five minutes is when people who are not me will eat it. Alyssa can testify that despite my culinary failings, I have made things that she enjoyed. I made a great Day of the Dead Bread for our Dia de los Muertos party; when she stayed with me I made her some Lemon and Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes and recently I made a Beet Risotto that was savoured by all. But my general hosting strategy is to buy wine and then lure Alyssa over, knowing that she will bring many delicious things and compliment me on my amazing wine selections.</div><br />
</div>The Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1224595606203146822.post-20320813420651577012012-02-25T16:39:00.000-08:002012-02-25T16:39:19.491-08:00Leaving for Lent and a date bread (for dates)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Earlier this week we had a Fat Tuesday potluck with a breakfast-for-supper theme. We filled our bellies with <a href="http://www.food52.com/recipes/7645_david_eyres_pancake">Dutch babies</a> and bacon, butter, <a href="http://orangette.blogspot.com/2010/05/you-deserve-waffle.html">raised waffles</a>, applesauce, and all kinds of syrup. Then I decided to give up writing blog entries for Lent. Don't worry though, I've recruited a motley crew of boyfriends and vegetarians, bakers and mothers to handle the dispatches during those 40 days. So let me introduce you to my first-ever guest blogger:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Emily is a cake-baker, ice-cream maker and fan of nostalgic sweets. Emily loves cats, coffee and Patrick. She likes linguistics (most of the time) and tattoos. She dislikes eggs and mushrooms, though she's trying to train herself to like them (the mushrooms I mean). Emily has her own <a href="http://thatdogistired.tumblr.com/">blog</a> which, coincidentally, shares the same birthday as mine! She posts everything from adorable pictures to thoughtful quotes to funny interviews to good music videos and occasionally even offers us a glimpse into her kitchen.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Emily, take it away:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sometimes, in the busyness of school and work and family and baking cookies, I forget about quick breads. This should not be so. I mean the name - quick! bread! - is all you need to know especially if, like me, you love bread and dessert and think they both ought to exist in the same loaf, and fast. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzrE4XqfTq6kYD0csk9SQMsGsbiJuM74BgvO7kHoxpzTICwISc_I3XPHtsV1NXy1r8T1fmhmCNykQmeGkNrGKLpg-qRcEluedPybJ7mcDChdatkrdJHGiTTgxJ_LMIA3b9jXfOuKXU6g/s1600/DSCF3853%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzrE4XqfTq6kYD0csk9SQMsGsbiJuM74BgvO7kHoxpzTICwISc_I3XPHtsV1NXy1r8T1fmhmCNykQmeGkNrGKLpg-qRcEluedPybJ7mcDChdatkrdJHGiTTgxJ_LMIA3b9jXfOuKXU6g/s400/DSCF3853%25282%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This one in particular is spicy and best with butter, and packs well in wax paper for little journeys. I took some for snacks on a weekend trip over the straight and I'm so glad I did. It's adapted from Kim Boyce's <i>Good to the Grain</i>, my go-to "I need to feel good" cookbook.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzOAo8PGp8rU_n-9uAoKfm6mwYgWAO7HNc-O1BpU-7fbBCArJdYCVHZwrc_q9wCXUg-oX-Kl1OJnH59b4i4vdZHB-NKagI_WSuqQ-l8PGB1ImOur-06EA-XQ8iT89nddffScZQ0_7WdMM/s1600/DSCF3852.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzOAo8PGp8rU_n-9uAoKfm6mwYgWAO7HNc-O1BpU-7fbBCArJdYCVHZwrc_q9wCXUg-oX-Kl1OJnH59b4i4vdZHB-NKagI_WSuqQ-l8PGB1ImOur-06EA-XQ8iT89nddffScZQ0_7WdMM/s400/DSCF3852.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Date Bread</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Adapted from <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Good-Grain-Baking-Whole-Grain-Flours/dp/1584798300"><i>Good to the Grain</i></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">butter for your pan</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 1/2 cups hazelnuts, chopped roughly in halves</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2 tsp olive oil</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/2 tsp kosher salt</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">8 large Medjool dates, halved and pitted</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 cup all-purpose flour</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 cup whole-grain pastry flour</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/2 cup teff flour</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 tbsp baking powder</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2 tsp ground nutmeg, preferably freshly grated</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 tsp kosher salt</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">4 ounces (1/2 cup) cold, unsalted butter</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/3 cup sugar</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2 eggs</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/3 cup honey</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/2 cup plain yogurt</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Preheat your oven to 350 F. Toss nuts in oil and salt and spread on a baking sheet. Toast in the middle of your oven until they smell too good, about 12 minutes. Be watchful. Set aside to cool, leaving your oven at the same temperature.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, bring half a cup of water to a boil and then, once boiled, pour over dates in a container deep enough to use an immersion blender in. Let dates soften.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Butter a loaf pan.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Measure dry ingredients into a large bowl, whisking to combine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Put the butter and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or use a wide-paddled spoon to mix by hand. (Be vigorous!) If using the mixer, cream for 3 minutes on medium speed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Blend the dates with an immersion blender (or food processor, or blender, or what-have-you). In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, honey and yogurt together with the date puree. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pour half of this mixture into the bowl of the mixer and mix on low until well combined. Add half the dry ingredients, then alternate, mixing until just combined. Scrape down the sides and stir in the hazelnuts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Scrape into a loaf pan, smoothing out the top with a wet spatula. Bake on the middle rack of your oven for 70 to 75 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. It will be good and dark and you'll be worried it's burnt but persevere.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">When it's finished, really finished, CAUTIOUSLY slide a knife around the edges and remove the loaf from the pan, so it can cool completely on a rack. Don't shake the pan to loosen, or you'll end up with this:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4QNxkRyghsDiGbwvhF5z7eIjRjScyskbt_yLhzoBk2g2NnqSUpXfPXgALBRCUp6LoRV3-NlnpfOMpK_8_A-vIDYSbn1qWWbjQIiEHLQ7cse5vmG8MMiCnWHg15oLXKMJg1_xmgiPPisk/s1600/DSCF3854.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4QNxkRyghsDiGbwvhF5z7eIjRjScyskbt_yLhzoBk2g2NnqSUpXfPXgALBRCUp6LoRV3-NlnpfOMpK_8_A-vIDYSbn1qWWbjQIiEHLQ7cse5vmG8MMiCnWHg15oLXKMJg1_xmgiPPisk/s400/DSCF3854.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Makes 1 loaf. </div><div><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span></div></div>The Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1224595606203146822.post-2767225929238289742012-01-19T16:03:00.000-08:002012-01-19T16:03:48.112-08:00Black, sticky and gingered-all-over<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I had been gathering gingerbread recipes like cobwebs or kitchen paraphernalia so, when December arrived, I knew a thorough sweep was in order. I armed myself with bitter-black molasses, ginger in all its incarnations and a good amount of butter. Every week, a new batch, wafting spice and sticky sugar, sat cooling on the kitchen counter.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first recipe up to bat was a home-run! Pitch-black with a crunchy, caramelized cover that hid its feathery soft insides. The slice I hid at the back of the fridge only got better as it slumped into itself, deeper and denser. <a href="http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2011/11/melissa-clarks-sticky-cranberry-gingerbread.html">Second to hit</a> was a mild-mannered brown number with a lick of golden syrup and sunken cranberry bottom. Next up was an education as Caitee learned that gingerbread is not only a kind of cookie dressed like a man (or boy), but a type of cake! I discovered that applesauce can't be hurried, particularly when using four varieties of apples. Our cake was made partially with kamut flour, barely sweetened with applesauce and distinctly spiced with a blend of aniseed, allspice, black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg and finely ground coffee. A <a href="http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/pumpkin_gingerbread/">pumpkin gingerbread</a> followed almost immediately. Then a <a href="http://www.publicradio.org/columns/splendid-table/recipes/special_holiday_gingerbread.html">player on a diet</a> that included mustard, coffee, even cardamom, but barely an ounce of butter. It didn't make it past third so the crumbs were folded into a tangy, tiny-bit-boozy ice cream reminiscent of eggnog. Finally, on Christmas morning, there was a gingerbread that was <a href="http://food52.com/recipes/8266_monkey_gingerbread">all balls</a>, risen (perhaps not to its full potential) with the help of yeast, drowning in caramel. Monkey balls were the main topic of conversation for the next few days.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">You know what? I'm not sick of gingerbread. In fact, I'm already collecting recipes for next year. The competition is heating up! Do you have any gingerbread recipes you want to throw into the fray? As for this year, I'd say the starting batter, black, sticky and gingered-all-over, was the hands-down winner.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Black Sticky Gingerbread</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">From <a href="http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/black-sticky-gingerbread-recipe.html">101 Cookbooks</a> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the interest of eating as many different kinds of gingerbread as possible I divided this recipe by two and baked it in an 8-inch square pan. The only tricky part was halving the eggs. I usually crack an egg into a bowl on top of a scale to figure out how much it weighs, then take away half of it to use in an omelette or some other baking project. Also, I used buttermilk instead of milk with no adverse side effects. I didn't line my pan with parchment either but I buttered it very thoroughly.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 cup unsalted butter</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/2 cup water</div><div style="text-align: justify;">3/4 cup unsulphured blackstrap molasses</div><div style="text-align: justify;">3/4 cup flavourful honey</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> 1 cup tightly packed dark brown sugar</div><div style="text-align: justify;">3 cups all-purpose flour</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 1/2 tsp baking soda </div>1/2 tsp salt<br />
2 tsp ground ginger<br />
2 tsp ground cinnamon<br />
1/2 tsp allspice<br />
1/4 tsp ground cloves<br />
3 large eggs, at room temperature <br />
1/2 cup milk<br />
1 packed tbsp freshly grated ginger root<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"> Preheat the oven to 325 F, with a rack in the centre. Butter and line a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking pan with parchment so it hangs over by a few inches, which will help you remove the cake from the pan later.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Combine the butter, water, molasses, honey and brown sugar in a medium, non-reactive saucepan and place over low heat. Stir frequently until the butter is just melted and all of the ingredients are well blended. Remove from the heat, pour into a large bowl and set aside to cool.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and cloves, and set aside. When the molasses mixture feels just warm to the touch, add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the milk and stir to combine. Fold the dry ingredients into the batter but don't be concerned if you can't get every little lump out. Stir in the grated ginger.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 60 minutes. The baking time depends on your oven and the shape of your pan. It's ready when the top of the cake springs back after you've touched it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes, then, using the overhang of parchment, lift the cake out of the pan and cool completely on a wire rack before cutting. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Serve with whipped cream, if you like. This cake gets better with age and, if refrigerated, its texture becomes deliciously dense and sticky.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Enough for 12 to 16 people.</div></div>The Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1224595606203146822.post-92147106036540834812012-01-10T19:35:00.000-08:002012-01-10T19:35:12.799-08:00The most wonderful time of the year<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">It only comes about once a year. Sugarplums, snowflakes, nutcrackers, candied orange peel, bows, bells, baubles and holly. Christmas. This year, mine was a collaboration between two families in a cozy, rain-flecked cabin on Bowen Island. Everyone pitched in to put a rich, rainbow of a feast onto our forks, into our bellies. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzw4lMT1fn1EkHIlAoOwrwL6WX2QRij8Z1esgrPpagfzl9tvG7-XByHF2CG9jBQpJNNVLk65ZJvdrPM-ixafSqD28w-6a86YUFJtgrmTGlYqZ2ho7XU4BW7Hr4khzNkqJmWDW8GmR754M/s1600/christmas+108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzw4lMT1fn1EkHIlAoOwrwL6WX2QRij8Z1esgrPpagfzl9tvG7-XByHF2CG9jBQpJNNVLk65ZJvdrPM-ixafSqD28w-6a86YUFJtgrmTGlYqZ2ho7XU4BW7Hr4khzNkqJmWDW8GmR754M/s400/christmas+108.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzw4lMT1fn1EkHIlAoOwrwL6WX2QRij8Z1esgrPpagfzl9tvG7-XByHF2CG9jBQpJNNVLk65ZJvdrPM-ixafSqD28w-6a86YUFJtgrmTGlYqZ2ho7XU4BW7Hr4khzNkqJmWDW8GmR754M/s1600/christmas+108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYLRFaAa3oca3FE8vPo9OhYVJHwFdTx_ybzsgbobsZVqkTq4BP7zjRJPQ4PYZYsZSPW03VQRp4sA6HxoNAcHtKJwudPt5DA9YKeJAvAr-Zor5CMe7E-7RQQp5Sn0KixIbj5q6_V2j_Q7k/s1600/christmas+124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYLRFaAa3oca3FE8vPo9OhYVJHwFdTx_ybzsgbobsZVqkTq4BP7zjRJPQ4PYZYsZSPW03VQRp4sA6HxoNAcHtKJwudPt5DA9YKeJAvAr-Zor5CMe7E-7RQQp5Sn0KixIbj5q6_V2j_Q7k/s400/christmas+124.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLvqzWNqGOfcL8bb3ifkOtp5IA3lj6ly4AccdUi4lYYLRy6bGq01chmL4Fu0wnuESWDH8XCDZjWPO6Z2pfmirApynvUDXfvjCjLDzR_gYTphW157gDfrhbVZFWUow4bYo1uEQ3t5husiw/s1600/christmas+127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLvqzWNqGOfcL8bb3ifkOtp5IA3lj6ly4AccdUi4lYYLRy6bGq01chmL4Fu0wnuESWDH8XCDZjWPO6Z2pfmirApynvUDXfvjCjLDzR_gYTphW157gDfrhbVZFWUow4bYo1uEQ3t5husiw/s400/christmas+127.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">Sean started us off with all kinds of good stuff - caramelized onions, blue cheese and roasted apple - in one bite. I laid out a spread of prosciutto and fiery-orange persimmon slices to nibble on before supper. There was the usual last minute kerfuffle as gravy was whisked into existence, Brussels sprouts hit hot bacon fat, steel carved into meat and tin foil fought to keep everything warm. When the dust settled there was dinner to be had. Purple potatoes mashed with a bit of celery root, courtesy of Dad and Daniel. Sweet squash mash from David who also handled the Brussels sprouts (with a little help from his friends). A medley of beets, carrots and parsnips, thanks to Anne. Christmas coleslaw, a la me. Tart cranberry sauce, a rosemary-scented, garlic-studded heck of a leg of lamb, complete with sauce, all Simon. A delicious turkey, missing only one wing, with great gravy, that'd be Mom. Stuffing, Pamela. Hot, tender, tear-apart oatmeal molasses rolls, yeah me. I'm an overachiever. </div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">Given the option, I like to call dibs on the salad course at these Christmas/Easter/Thanksgiving extravaganzas. It's always nice to provide a light and fresh antidote to all the usual rich fare on offer as well as something more exciting than say spinach salad. (Not that I be hatin' on the spinach). I look for a salad that is simple and sturdy enough to stay put, given the vagaries of the occasion, but that can also be made partially, or even totally, in advance. This Thanksgiving it was a <a href="http://www.food52.com/recipes/8647_brussels_sprouts_salad_a_la_m_wells">shaved Brussels sprouts salad</a> and at Christmas it was this coleslaw. It was a bit brighter, tarter than your typical coleslaw but sure tasty. It had shreds of cabbage <i>and</i> crispy, sweet kohlrabi. Vitality from a generous amount of alfalfa sprouts with a whiff of royalty from rubied sour cherries. </div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">All from my current culinary crush, a man I've been rather enamoured with lately. It's actually been going on since last Spring. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/feb/19/recipes-from-nopi-yotam-ottolenghi">Prawns with Fennel, Feta and Pernod</a>. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/apr/30/beetroot-salad-stuffed-artichoke-recipes">Rhubarb and Beetroot</a>. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/mar/19/chicken-sorrel-spicy-gratin-recipe">Chicken Salad with Sprouting Broccoli and Sorrel</a>. I never failed to be intrigued by the fusion of disparate ingredients and whiff of exotic spices that emanated from his weekly column at the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/series/yotam-ottolenghi-recipes">Guardian</a>. I queued at my local library (position 72) for a chance with his new cookbook <i>Plenty </i>then, tummy-rumbling, bookmarked half the recipes. Mango and Coconut Rice Salad. Sweet Potato, Dried Persian Lime and Quinoa. Cardamom Rice with Poached Eggs and Yogurt. During the Summer, while in London, my brother and I visited one of his locations for brunch and couldn't resist picking up lunch which fueled our brisk (and ultimately blistered) tour of the town. Beetroot, Plum and Feta Salad. Melt-in-your-mouth marinated Eggplant. Spiced Potato Wedges. Who is the man behind all this? None other than <a href="http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/">Yotam Ottolenghi.</a> I've already given you one of his recipes, but how about one more?<br />
<br />
<b>Cabbage and Kohlrabi Salad</b><br />
From <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Plenty-Yotam-Ottolenghi/dp/0091933684">Plenty</a><br />
<br />
A few days after Christmas I made this salad again but added celery, which blended right in and provided more juicy crunch. Leftovers taste even better the next day, despite the sprouts becoming a bit soggy, and are excellent crammed into a turkey sandwich. Finally, while typing the recipe out I noticed that I didn't follow the last step in which you transfer the salad to a serving bowl, leaving most of the juices behind. The salad was still scrumptious.<br />
<br />
1 medium or 1/2 large kohlrabi<br />
1/2 medium head green cabbage (about 1/2 pound total)<br />
large bunch of dill, roughly chopped (about 6 heaping tbsp)<br />
1 cup dried whole sour cherries<br />
grated zest of 1 lemon<br />
6 tbsp lemon juice<br />
1/4 cup olive oil<br />
1 garlic clove, crushed<br />
salt and freshly ground black pepper<br />
2 cups alfalfa sprouts<br />
<br />
Peel the kohlrabi and cut into thick matchsticks that are about 1/4-inch wide and 2-inches long. Cut the cabbage into 1/4-inch thick strips.<br />
<br />
Put all the ingredients, apart from the alfalfa sprouts, in a large mixing bowl. Use your hands to massage everything together for about a minute so the flavours mix and the lemon can soften the cabbage and cherries. Let the salad sit for about 10 minutes.<br />
<br />
Add most of the alfalfa sprouts and mix well again with your hands. Taste and adjust the seasoning; you need a fair amount of salt to counteract the lemon.<br />
<br />
Use your hands again to lift the salad out of the mixing bowl and into a serving bowl, leaving most of the juices behind. Garnish with the remaining sprouts and serve at once.<br />
<br />
Serves 4, or more if it's part of a feast. <br />
<br />
End Note: I just realized I seem to have a penchant for gay, British food writers.</div><div></div></div>The Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1224595606203146822.post-8949094220797345102011-12-06T16:28:00.001-08:002011-12-06T16:32:37.776-08:00You don't know me!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjavBe_xSePp1-4Y6gqVERmKkZ1NiIazAc6nvZFzbFQLwU48RquTQuXJ1OXUOQ8lHsT_Nc5PTX4HId18BZ7QcbZFJVSPf_akM5YUj3iyNA5AAsy9VIx0wWYEsPF8S7cDRVJH-4OGnClr8/s1600/IMG_3617.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjavBe_xSePp1-4Y6gqVERmKkZ1NiIazAc6nvZFzbFQLwU48RquTQuXJ1OXUOQ8lHsT_Nc5PTX4HId18BZ7QcbZFJVSPf_akM5YUj3iyNA5AAsy9VIx0wWYEsPF8S7cDRVJH-4OGnClr8/s400/IMG_3617.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Or maybe you do.<br />
<br />
But do you know that I can't snap my fingers?<br />
<br />
That I prefer waffles to pancakes?<br />
<br />
I just finished a cheese-making internship with the fine folks at <a href="http://www.farmhousecheeses.com/">Farm House Natural Cheeses</a>.<br />
<br />
Though I still eat Cheese Whiz. (No, I am not ashamed and will never stop).<br />
<br />
I have a bike named Nikki, sometimes called Nikki-san, other times Medium Grain Rice, who I adore.<br />
<br />
I also have a car named Putt-Putt who I tolerate. Barely.<br />
<br />
I love blood pudding.<br />
<br />
And champagne.<br />
<br />
I was born at 2:22 in the morning.<br />
<br />
And I can sing every single word of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAsV5-Hv-7U">American Pie</a>.<br />
<br />
There, ten things you never knew about me.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thank you to <a href="http://canadianculinarytravel.blogspot.com/2011/10/things-you-didnt-know.html">Murissa</a> for inviting me to participate in this meme. It may have taken me over a month to finish but better late than never, right? Right?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>The Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1224595606203146822.post-23681025449576321072011-10-27T23:50:00.000-07:002011-10-27T23:50:59.805-07:00File this one under Fall<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've been waiting an entire year to tell you about this.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It would have been sooner but by the time I was back to the blogging of things, last January, it already seemed as if Spring was striding forward. And this recipe should definitely be filed under Fall. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I think we're back there now. When the sun finally manages to roust itself out of bed at 7:46 am (sixteen minutes later than ME!) it sparkles upon frost, not dew. The once-towering corn that lined my way to work has been shorn to yield fields of bare brown and stubble. A haze of mist hangs over the hillocks that blaze with orange dropping leaves. And a dusting of snow, like icing sugar, powders the topmost tip of Mt. Cheam and crisps the valley air. October, you make me feel a bit older and, though hardly octogenarian, wiser too.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWWqGmpe1uH1umK-zuLLlTnHTXwJbihP2XQMDdA-stWesENtR7bHJA14RJPIbyohw7hUZCU4MPT2s0g0rLcRwywhbAKvVcyKm8rjs1T3n6chVD-R4E7Upp5im_NG7gm2ztmlJEM69a9P4/s1600/as+047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWWqGmpe1uH1umK-zuLLlTnHTXwJbihP2XQMDdA-stWesENtR7bHJA14RJPIbyohw7hUZCU4MPT2s0g0rLcRwywhbAKvVcyKm8rjs1T3n6chVD-R4E7Upp5im_NG7gm2ztmlJEM69a9P4/s400/as+047.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4UV9hd1abqtzm3KbMDLECyksXHTDXc6FcNwoVfOSZ5dRBRuvOkpWVYzocTobIUmq9MkQvnUKzbsdAP4CZ1lAzXMaMOSOmX3V9f4HJZ5ToBefwemg42A4hdkX-BqHvdREvlu-heEcAAUg/s1600/as+045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4UV9hd1abqtzm3KbMDLECyksXHTDXc6FcNwoVfOSZ5dRBRuvOkpWVYzocTobIUmq9MkQvnUKzbsdAP4CZ1lAzXMaMOSOmX3V9f4HJZ5ToBefwemg42A4hdkX-BqHvdREvlu-heEcAAUg/s400/as+045.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2PaKmdPRsq-9RXagw5fQ3yKpdYUkXKgNKUeuLgWgO5nKmRkH20gjlA0ZKj4ASLB8GIaXC9KBUoXV1qhSRHIdlrRk_gkPWA3H3ne3dC3eCB3MuGR1xxfvUay23Io6AeVOd7d5rLhYorwY/s1600/as+031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2PaKmdPRsq-9RXagw5fQ3yKpdYUkXKgNKUeuLgWgO5nKmRkH20gjlA0ZKj4ASLB8GIaXC9KBUoXV1qhSRHIdlrRk_gkPWA3H3ne3dC3eCB3MuGR1xxfvUay23Io6AeVOd7d5rLhYorwY/s400/as+031.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ahem. Where was I? Right, the recipe worth waiting for. (Even though you didn't even know you were). It was about a year ago, during Italy week in culinary school, and we were making gnocchi. Out of all the tips and tricks bestowed upon us my favourite was using a bit of chestnut flour in the production. So, when I had some leftovers to bring home my first thought was to eat them with the chestnuts I had, already handily shelled and waiting, vacuum-packed, in the fridge. But, as I was flipping through a tome of a cookbook that had been dug out of the library for our perusal, the plot thickened. I came across a description of a gnocchi dish with chestnuts <i>and</i> prunes. Now, I don't know about you, but I love me some prunes. I was sold.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Home I went where I browned up my gnocchi in lots of butter, tossed in a few chopped chestnuts, some slivered prunes and, just for colour, a bit of parsley. Bam. Boom. You better believe you'll fall for it!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4OklQIUzwW0HAbOoTXNfj2HMMNu5HG9vDj8LPvHxx77z5SnDXGiQ8V8kXxrjinEKqtWgLSKrUNvcL5SzOx13tGQxHX0CMJ8mph96prAm-maa5WKLyCvnIYJ50nRrA5LLyjWdR-QDk2rM/s1600/novemberr+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4OklQIUzwW0HAbOoTXNfj2HMMNu5HG9vDj8LPvHxx77z5SnDXGiQ8V8kXxrjinEKqtWgLSKrUNvcL5SzOx13tGQxHX0CMJ8mph96prAm-maa5WKLyCvnIYJ50nRrA5LLyjWdR-QDk2rM/s400/novemberr+002.JPG" width="400" /></a></div></div>The Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1224595606203146822.post-85763979450799387632011-10-05T20:43:00.000-07:002011-10-05T20:43:41.458-07:00Swooning for sardines<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">I like to try new things. So much so that I often don't eat the same thing. But, there is one meal that I have and will most happily eat over and over and over again. I owe its advent to two separate sources. Number one: <a href="http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/the_wednesday_chef/2008/04/an-update.html">The Wednesday Chef</a> and her snack of sardines on mustard-streaked Triscuits. Number two: a simple open-faced sandwich on <a href="http://www.food52.com/blog/836_tartine_with_mustard_mayo_and_mashed_avocado">Food52</a>. I simply smashed the best of both worlds together (mustard, sardines and avocado) on my preferred medium (toast) and dropped the non-essentials (like mayonnaise, since I'm not the kind of person who keeps a jar of the stuff about the fridge - though at the moment I am living in just such a household and I kinda love it).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I like this for breakfast and, while that may not be for everyone, I urge you to try it, just once! </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH3F9ImfWEDJ_3S-1ggcuBcGSDFDyLGmYJfCWb1Uxj1nz4C-64V8iqitNCBFfG9Hv7GJnAwC4Dk9zgPuyZ5bJVc7tf0L6zim2ptHMuOTv4zdvEkk_NVVbXcP5dgabK_ymUNYB4q4Q_wjs/s1600/gkdgl+049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH3F9ImfWEDJ_3S-1ggcuBcGSDFDyLGmYJfCWb1Uxj1nz4C-64V8iqitNCBFfG9Hv7GJnAwC4Dk9zgPuyZ5bJVc7tf0L6zim2ptHMuOTv4zdvEkk_NVVbXcP5dgabK_ymUNYB4q4Q_wjs/s400/gkdgl+049.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<b>Sardines, Avocado and Mustard on Toast</b><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">This falls more under the rubric of suggestion than recipe. You choose what kind of bread to use (I prefer a really seedy, wholesome sort of loaf), how much nostril-clearing mustard you can stand, and what kind of sardines to use. I strongly suggest finding ones that are packed in olive oil - they are far superior than those specimens that come in soybean oil. Awhile ago I took a chance on a slim, black tin of sprats. I didn't know what to expect but holy moly! Tinier than sardines, less bony and with a hint of smoke, they are flat-out luscious! Anyway, try them if you can, use a whole avocado if you want. You're the boss.</div><br />
2 slices bread<br />
1 tin sardines, preferably packed in olive oil <br />
mustard, to taste<br />
1/2 ripe avocado <br />
fleur de sel<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Toast your bread as you prefer. I like mine with a top layer of crunch but still slightly soft and chewy interior. While your toaster does its thang open the can of sardines but don't drain them (unless you are using the far inferior water or other-random-oil-packed type). When your toast is ready, spread with as much mustard as you like. Scoop out the avocado, divide between the slices and smoosh it in (yes, sorry, you need a knife, fork and spoon for this thing). These are open-faced sandwiches by the way. Haul the sardines over the avocado and smash them in. Drizzle a bit of their oil on top, if you like, or some non-sardine-infused olive oil, if you don't. Finish with a sprinkling of fleur de sel and there you have it - a breakfast to beat 'em all!</div><br />
Serves you. </div>The Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1224595606203146822.post-65098742007619927382011-10-01T01:51:00.000-07:002011-10-05T20:44:26.006-07:00Germany and generosity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I know, I know! Where have I been? Well, in July, I was on vacation. I was in Germany. I have relatives there (most of whom I had never met before) and, as it turns out, they live pretty interesting (and delicious) lives. For just a couple of weeks I was caught in their magic. </div><br />
So, Germany: <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAjBtmyCST5WebiWJ_V39dqdzaJEzMe5_OTjOGv7VmHS0GswlTFU16NEh11LhFh1D2K15orqVn08ZuPqSn_3pF8XkeBZjdZozsG_-Ee7N4Ip-7wnIqtLBh6mWT6pll0ZVJgelVCDKoGJY/s1600/IMG_2337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAjBtmyCST5WebiWJ_V39dqdzaJEzMe5_OTjOGv7VmHS0GswlTFU16NEh11LhFh1D2K15orqVn08ZuPqSn_3pF8XkeBZjdZozsG_-Ee7N4Ip-7wnIqtLBh6mWT6pll0ZVJgelVCDKoGJY/s400/IMG_2337.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn0qn3grSDy_rFdTVyMTjv8bqF36o7iEBMnckscCQ9LrPfZFb7Esmc5A0cEayFZPwuRVY9jye-gKJ0UtDQ9vMMxafHI3lw-l0_GExFKmkdNq0aRMKHVB8yoC0DfJddX78oQByT38kWwzc/s1600/IMG_2369.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn0qn3grSDy_rFdTVyMTjv8bqF36o7iEBMnckscCQ9LrPfZFb7Esmc5A0cEayFZPwuRVY9jye-gKJ0UtDQ9vMMxafHI3lw-l0_GExFKmkdNq0aRMKHVB8yoC0DfJddX78oQByT38kWwzc/s400/IMG_2369.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTDDeBwqQZ3g2F7sqiCB8aTcpF6_SR_vVwYckTvFBXI8KCJj5iwzZDrih9w87AmbOaqTdl0XyVGQI8BwZjhc0_VnhgpwP6wt7XXU8ZKNz-gkgguaPnqNhMIcsXiA_wUI6jwbc0VcKygOE/s1600/IMG_5242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTDDeBwqQZ3g2F7sqiCB8aTcpF6_SR_vVwYckTvFBXI8KCJj5iwzZDrih9w87AmbOaqTdl0XyVGQI8BwZjhc0_VnhgpwP6wt7XXU8ZKNz-gkgguaPnqNhMIcsXiA_wUI6jwbc0VcKygOE/s400/IMG_5242.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA58pVPe1ibxPWQ5RQVc-BQLWnqr58MOHXksH1u7Y8qNLYx3_3EuMzvGdI3JJJG0OL6gRzlRjCgVO14OQvC2qmsSZTjzquQLCBU2jBzYhXCQDDXBWvMbuBMh9aMVA38KEo6pM3IGK-D5k/s1600/IMG_3395.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA58pVPe1ibxPWQ5RQVc-BQLWnqr58MOHXksH1u7Y8qNLYx3_3EuMzvGdI3JJJG0OL6gRzlRjCgVO14OQvC2qmsSZTjzquQLCBU2jBzYhXCQDDXBWvMbuBMh9aMVA38KEo6pM3IGK-D5k/s400/IMG_3395.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Where there are the glossiest, tissue-paper-thin slices of Westphalian ham and served for breakfast too! Where there are pretzels and <i>wurst</i> and enormous bottles of <i>bier</i>. Where sour cherry trees are a dime a dozen, dangling their wares, and your great-grandmother's cousin's son's wife makes a gently warmed <i>kirschsuppen</i> dappled with a swirl of cool cream that makes you swoon, more than slightly.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFhti-ZNBCdkTrw5QPzoD6gKVRYEmnnu0wZ7Tth5sCVfdv-og_UBR3Gi7muSbaOVpYpOrYK8UDIvyUTwqmojV9m4wu0tEZ_611T0pLheY6NuHVy2TlLTQ9vPQTaQ4oc3-_baH0tfFRKOw/s1600/P1010831.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFhti-ZNBCdkTrw5QPzoD6gKVRYEmnnu0wZ7Tth5sCVfdv-og_UBR3Gi7muSbaOVpYpOrYK8UDIvyUTwqmojV9m4wu0tEZ_611T0pLheY6NuHVy2TlLTQ9vPQTaQ4oc3-_baH0tfFRKOw/s400/P1010831.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDFuFFZHBXp6FYWiF0XW9ayo0Vpu8WnVQ-jWXde6KOKOSGOYOetROSK8iBd50W7jns5gk1XpG7zRAp1oEeQ2BBjoMnifp6t3jJtMBaKyYaIIfl7ZAvmozshyphenhyphenBsvwLwS2EI6s0CejQYW7M/s1600/IMG_2401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDFuFFZHBXp6FYWiF0XW9ayo0Vpu8WnVQ-jWXde6KOKOSGOYOetROSK8iBd50W7jns5gk1XpG7zRAp1oEeQ2BBjoMnifp6t3jJtMBaKyYaIIfl7ZAvmozshyphenhyphenBsvwLwS2EI6s0CejQYW7M/s400/IMG_2401.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJxfEZrJRhE6PRmdnP4TeVjcV-J2ecN2UPonZ1VxQytcbtJWIcf_4u5JGXCJMujNqHP9rDdXl-BgEjLVzpJAqTbU-3LYQGSiZSztradYchrhvV_UQiJ3aQb2gGEMFTz_p_CL4oQ5l1bZA/s1600/IMG_2347.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJxfEZrJRhE6PRmdnP4TeVjcV-J2ecN2UPonZ1VxQytcbtJWIcf_4u5JGXCJMujNqHP9rDdXl-BgEjLVzpJAqTbU-3LYQGSiZSztradYchrhvV_UQiJ3aQb2gGEMFTz_p_CL4oQ5l1bZA/s400/IMG_2347.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Where among faces you've never seen before you find faces you've known all your life. Where you toast with fragrant wild rhubarb flower liquor to those ties that bind. Where football is a serious sport, even when played on a table. Where herring and yogurt and onions make the best salad to eat on a suddenly sunny evening just before a big bike ride - ten of you in total, pedaling past neat, nestled villages and orderly <i>Deutsch</i> fields, meandering rivers and old farmhouses, all in the glimmering golden set of the sun. Where, on a helter-skelter tour through a town famous for its white <i>spargel</i>, you have gelato at 9 am and feast your eyes upon the spread of <i>vollkorn</i>- and <i>roggen</i>- and <i>sonnenblumenkernbrot</i>, blood-and-tongue sausage, liverwurst and headcheese, piles of potatoes, stacks of onions and baskets of berries for sale at the farmer's market. Where you are invited for lunch in a rambling garden of a backyard with trellised cucumbers to note and peas to pick. Where your hostess serves a huge tureen of vegetable soup - tender cabbage and carrots and peas and chunks of sausage all floating in a dill-dotted broth. You're hot - from the soup and the weather - and it is barely 11 o'clock, you've had more than enough (and there is always enough) but still there is a proud cake spread thick with whipped cream and dusted with cocoa.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX2eS1Ka6IdX90VnHEM8qrmKK7N-eWF0kox_-dN26RQxrfyUSvf6QXtppPgPHhO30WH-HaJM2V9L-O1XoEv0bB6-YXoiYaQh-l4wFgwlj5-GYvft04dsbZ0zlIzPslUe0XbSAJu2FREUA/s1600/IMG_2472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX2eS1Ka6IdX90VnHEM8qrmKK7N-eWF0kox_-dN26RQxrfyUSvf6QXtppPgPHhO30WH-HaJM2V9L-O1XoEv0bB6-YXoiYaQh-l4wFgwlj5-GYvft04dsbZ0zlIzPslUe0XbSAJu2FREUA/s400/IMG_2472.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6hNCd4El-ANkMrZiFpQoiHpv0LKpVe9aypQIiSUFuH156lpDfxnHXp9CHX0Uv7ahsIk3wJouwm9eSrt9kzIhVuyTFit2e1QkB306ysDcAENJE9hOjcHAnJAlwNVwnW8e6ntMksz_7yo/s1600/IMG_5230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6hNCd4El-ANkMrZiFpQoiHpv0LKpVe9aypQIiSUFuH156lpDfxnHXp9CHX0Uv7ahsIk3wJouwm9eSrt9kzIhVuyTFit2e1QkB306ysDcAENJE9hOjcHAnJAlwNVwnW8e6ntMksz_7yo/s400/IMG_5230.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZWLVtrduefZcetC8GG2aHGEeEendR2AbFlrlxhy0Nx9hNpAxGuF80nFmTHW9qzNGsDuRX3o0r8KG-hEz8i3s76LF60nw5j4lQpdFBStWYPsPcAijTjVXENgqGOuqqGhnQ6Xy3I9H5KIw/s1600/IMG_2456.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZWLVtrduefZcetC8GG2aHGEeEendR2AbFlrlxhy0Nx9hNpAxGuF80nFmTHW9qzNGsDuRX3o0r8KG-hEz8i3s76LF60nw5j4lQpdFBStWYPsPcAijTjVXENgqGOuqqGhnQ6Xy3I9H5KIw/s400/IMG_2456.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXAcH8rXNbY-BueRrvfcD-aYBCl4GLtJv3ZaWDckIh6EzB3B0Rtfxbx5A8USjlTSHgZsCgb4GjO29lfad5gckQlRxOf3OnJFHn40Eq-6JYCGwexY4kgGDGXaELeFrezq8ey4FXRRsOSkg/s1600/IMG_2463.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXAcH8rXNbY-BueRrvfcD-aYBCl4GLtJv3ZaWDckIh6EzB3B0Rtfxbx5A8USjlTSHgZsCgb4GjO29lfad5gckQlRxOf3OnJFHn40Eq-6JYCGwexY4kgGDGXaELeFrezq8ey4FXRRsOSkg/s400/IMG_2463.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Where, after you've managed a quick road-stop picnic (and mind you this the same day as the market and backyard meal) you are welcomed to the eastern side of the family with beer, more beer and shots of "<i>medecin</i>". It's a boozy afternoon before the BBQ is lit and a thunderstorm rumbles through, sending everyone into the shelter of a crumbling barn, ceiling strung with twinkling lights. As rain pelts the roof the heaving platters of steak, skewers of shrimp, bratwurst, pork cutlets and chicken start circulating in concert with bowls of salad and baskets of garlic bread. Just like the rain, it never stops coming. And soon, what with the sparkling wine and vodka and more beer and scotch, everyone is nearly falling down drunk and that night, or morning rather, you keep your sister up for two hours talking but also, since you need water, because it is hard to chug two litres of the sparkling stuff in any less time. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKAZmbK459pNzi8eRkpBYE7nQepIfyhrL2ZY2oEOFONR0YMpAOGvCDtQHicEX68Eonqgch_YFW4dfXauW3gM8ENETNYKpbqNqayzZgQQlnkKciiXSj_-M_XydCA8xM_ngAOWxvleXAILQ/s1600/IMG_2517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKAZmbK459pNzi8eRkpBYE7nQepIfyhrL2ZY2oEOFONR0YMpAOGvCDtQHicEX68Eonqgch_YFW4dfXauW3gM8ENETNYKpbqNqayzZgQQlnkKciiXSj_-M_XydCA8xM_ngAOWxvleXAILQ/s400/IMG_2517.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg28O1DlgtnvxCxmy1QsMTAbvtpOkhcV4cYJ9_k0knXlg6xWKkbjjdp4zvVDXVQJq1NKiUu0WpWU-ZhW8iVRxZNy5Lr0U9K5EgF_OBonHHW2YlischYvnahW9zPygaaVmWOIwo9rXIc5Gs/s1600/Europe+2011+164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg28O1DlgtnvxCxmy1QsMTAbvtpOkhcV4cYJ9_k0knXlg6xWKkbjjdp4zvVDXVQJq1NKiUu0WpWU-ZhW8iVRxZNy5Lr0U9K5EgF_OBonHHW2YlischYvnahW9zPygaaVmWOIwo9rXIc5Gs/s400/Europe+2011+164.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Where you actually have a relative, the husband of your dad's cousin, who is a butcher, whose "<i>reich"</i> is the huge kitchen in a shed behind his house, who makes the best roast suckling pig, and who serves you the crispy, juicy ear when you ask. Whose wife is a beekeeper that brings over a bag filled with jars of honey after you ask for one for your <i>liebling karnickel</i>. Whose mom fills you with awe at her practical frugality (washing her feet in a tin bucket every night before bed) and beautiful simplicity (welcoming you with a bowl of perfect gooseberries she has patiently topped and tailed). Whose son owns a country estate, a manor house nearly, who takes you mushroom hunting in the woods, actually the old Soviet military-testing range, with his dog and baskets. And that night, after the great, big family reunion, after songs and speeches, tears and trips in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant">Trabant</a>, afternoon <i>kaffee</i> and <i>kuchen</i>, a climb up the church tower and evening snack of <i>wurst</i> and white bread, everyone gathers in the courtyard, under moonlight (and a little electricity) to trim mushrooms.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGtzJFMU0s6DI1Uik-ulYhJuNrEBtHGay4ASNT4BrDJA5Lqd3WWvTdNjabS2i5_mxrffVV3CEpa7cZO2YCaAV0dkvrZ5j6XlhYLuGi80GyqflPTZt5-fa5g2d16D1sH2-WJzcRddDages/s1600/IMG_2578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGtzJFMU0s6DI1Uik-ulYhJuNrEBtHGay4ASNT4BrDJA5Lqd3WWvTdNjabS2i5_mxrffVV3CEpa7cZO2YCaAV0dkvrZ5j6XlhYLuGi80GyqflPTZt5-fa5g2d16D1sH2-WJzcRddDages/s400/IMG_2578.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzRz1F_8681uK3C0_2Slg1rt6CxMxwR0F_mMbCaC3Czhoc_2AJ4MSAHJ_zXJEj4EDOvWhVzBJkMwcId1LIIcnSUiH64FUYIh5UdmNw32X6vX4CBqj_M21r42FULqYTU1364Qziej2NFfE/s1600/IMG_2621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzRz1F_8681uK3C0_2Slg1rt6CxMxwR0F_mMbCaC3Czhoc_2AJ4MSAHJ_zXJEj4EDOvWhVzBJkMwcId1LIIcnSUiH64FUYIh5UdmNw32X6vX4CBqj_M21r42FULqYTU1364Qziej2NFfE/s400/IMG_2621.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihwFGxWkUhWOngF8nFVMj1jfA9IkAiWC8TKYWwCysJQvDdBO_T0NUH3g1lF4ce3aszzDYC9XS2eSP67NItTxI_pT-1mn-nMeeN22ODGKPBxn3z2MCvDAObyqSJd8jR8ew0uF83BYPizHs/s1600/IMG_2630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihwFGxWkUhWOngF8nFVMj1jfA9IkAiWC8TKYWwCysJQvDdBO_T0NUH3g1lF4ce3aszzDYC9XS2eSP67NItTxI_pT-1mn-nMeeN22ODGKPBxn3z2MCvDAObyqSJd8jR8ew0uF83BYPizHs/s400/IMG_2630.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_FSg4r3JDdlPExZEaP-q7fpuP-2whCws3oZxcp3Cfinr7ado06sj8l-SjNlIo1lOwWn-6DovGPB4aqXWetbDSwLRMqzTPrQNI0KtfuapaKBHjI67WCJM5O4xGK45XMf4MMRrfpRrwn_8/s1600/IMG_2641.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_FSg4r3JDdlPExZEaP-q7fpuP-2whCws3oZxcp3Cfinr7ado06sj8l-SjNlIo1lOwWn-6DovGPB4aqXWetbDSwLRMqzTPrQNI0KtfuapaKBHjI67WCJM5O4xGK45XMf4MMRrfpRrwn_8/s400/IMG_2641.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUmH8yumsNY-efj0xETtned8aIAa68as0aQ3hQQWXKd5CwnM4eMcj0yWz4i16c6GyrfjjoYekc2YihHLKSy1Gz9cTKHxEwDEDT5Kia8225C0b3FEcCBWuFP6R0WLR2iSBdcquMWkf-d8s/s1600/IMG_2648.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUmH8yumsNY-efj0xETtned8aIAa68as0aQ3hQQWXKd5CwnM4eMcj0yWz4i16c6GyrfjjoYekc2YihHLKSy1Gz9cTKHxEwDEDT5Kia8225C0b3FEcCBWuFP6R0WLR2iSBdcquMWkf-d8s/s400/IMG_2648.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSqqp5_307RVGD_oZR01WRd7gu-dDOl3iNvd_uKqbS0lC3rceuDybaNyXIJBoql3KmynRoJONgvTLwJBkvo3jCvNkF0eaxc2ZNLD42Iy4iKUGCJOiRHEZNEBBL_738Gi7d36teNAgOuYI/s1600/IMG_2654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSqqp5_307RVGD_oZR01WRd7gu-dDOl3iNvd_uKqbS0lC3rceuDybaNyXIJBoql3KmynRoJONgvTLwJBkvo3jCvNkF0eaxc2ZNLD42Iy4iKUGCJOiRHEZNEBBL_738Gi7d36teNAgOuYI/s400/IMG_2654.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The next morning you slide out of bed early, early, and join the matriarch of the house and her daughter and her daughters-in-law and their big, blond, wide-blue-eyed German babies in the kitchen to wash and chop and trim even more and finally cook those <i>pfifferling</i>. With the tiniest cutting board and the dullest knife you hack up some onions and cook them translucent, you whisk together almost a dozen eggs, dab your finger in to taste for salt and scramble them until they are just softly set, like you always do, and then set the pan on the buffet table, where they are gone before most anyone even knows it, a treat for those who have been up with you, and piping hot eggs, mushrooms, bread, lumped together, they belong, like you.</div><br />
I never understood generosity until this summer. I have never felt so crushed with love. In the stomach. <br />
<br />
That was Germany.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFiff22c-HKMyqJBGC6b67X2kTBZ2S7ZY4_j5GJSQOkjIBDFE3tfPQYGOVaTc2eo3BOMimLK6eZoy_ofDjEb5-rsf5fQQyKjN2EewjjJylg0w0o2KOs4UoFcm71I3HQ4xS8xCruMb2H_k/s1600/IMG_3460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFiff22c-HKMyqJBGC6b67X2kTBZ2S7ZY4_j5GJSQOkjIBDFE3tfPQYGOVaTc2eo3BOMimLK6eZoy_ofDjEb5-rsf5fQQyKjN2EewjjJylg0w0o2KOs4UoFcm71I3HQ4xS8xCruMb2H_k/s400/IMG_3460.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
</div>The Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1224595606203146822.post-12161248703520923092011-06-29T10:03:00.001-07:002011-06-29T10:04:46.521-07:00A peculiar thing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fava beans. Broad beans if you're a Brit. Before I ever tried them I had heard that they were quite <i>the</i> thing. I read a lot of literature that likened them to the first, faintest whiff of early summer, that enthused about their sweet tenderness as if they were a type of vegetable crack. I was completely seduced by the idea of long, leisurely hours spent double-shelling them on a sun-drenched Italian terrace with my nearest and dearest, glasses of crisp white wine and hunks of pecorino at hand.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I couldn't wait to try them. I had already fallen for them, in theory! But, in reality, it was not destined to be love at first sight. Sweet they were not, only unpleasantly musty. They had a solid starchiness that positioned them somewhere between a fresh and dried bean. I guess they weren't completely awful, but they certainly weren't sweeping me off my feet.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Still, I was pretty invested in liking them so I arranged a second date, then a third. I expanded my test group to include the large, twisted pods from Fairway, the tiny ones fresh from the Campus Community Garden that only needed a single-shelling, and everything in between. Yet, despite my best efforts, I remained fairly ambivalent towards them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I thought that's what we were. Acquaintances, maybe friends, purely platonic either way. Then, last Spring, I noticed a very peculiar thing. First of all, throughout the year I'd been collecting fava bean recipes. I had a whole pile of them. When I saw some in the store I bought them. I brought them home and cooked them. I ate them, to a ho-hum reception, and then, and this is the thing, I did it again. Whenever I had the chance I would do it again - buy, cook and eat 'em. What was going on?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For a vegetable I was supposedly neutral about we were spending a lot of time together. There was the ragout thrown over pasta, a green-tinged panzanella. I ate them raw with cheese and radishes, cooked with bacon and dill.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This year it happened again. I started ear-and-bookmarking broad bean recipes. My compulsion grew stronger than the season and I bought a bag of frozen ones at Fairway. I made quinoa, radish and avocado salad, hot yogurt soup, and marinated mushrooms, all with the help of those favas. Before long I had bought another bag, now long gone and which would have been replaced were I not moving and trying to clear out the freezer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
Where do we stand now, me and the favas? When it's just the two of us, we can't seem to get it together. But throw in a bit of that, and a snatch of this, and it's alright. Somehow a whole mess of things will coalesce into a great, delicious whole. I don't know if I like fava beans but I know I like this:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgTnnM24OF6yoijl8m3qkbuMzTIUo2wZaiPvtIfUqOHRrR_TjFJtR0yAZx4yKZ6iAYBnnLgQ6RbyLe2GRys88loYW9c3brnU-r8cVjk6dI4bV1XTYP8AhynpG6fw5LCs7J_2n1g48c0_4/s1600/gkdgl+039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgTnnM24OF6yoijl8m3qkbuMzTIUo2wZaiPvtIfUqOHRrR_TjFJtR0yAZx4yKZ6iAYBnnLgQ6RbyLe2GRys88loYW9c3brnU-r8cVjk6dI4bV1XTYP8AhynpG6fw5LCs7J_2n1g48c0_4/s400/gkdgl+039.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<b>Marinated Mushrooms with Walnut and Tahini Yogurt </b><br />
From <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1452101248/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=485327511&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0091933684&pf_rd_m=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB&pf_rd_r=00BXA2AC9S56PYVR9CH2">Plenty</a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">I wouldn't worry too much about acquiring fresh dill and oregano for the final garnish. If you have some great, if not use whatever herbs you have at hand - parsley, cilantro, it'll work just fine.</div><br />
1/3 cup olive oil<br />
1 tbsp white wine vinegar<br />
1 tbsp maple syrup<br />
juice of 2 medium lemons (divided use) <br />
salt and black pepper<br />
3 cups sliced button mushrooms<br />
2 cups beech (shimeji) mushrooms, large base removed<br />
1/2 cup Greek yogurt<br />
2 1/2 tbsp tahini<br />
1 small garlic clove, crushed<br />
3 cups shelled fava beans (frozen or fresh)<br />
2/3 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped<br />
1/2 tsp ground cumin<br />
1 tbsp chopped dill<br />
1 tbsp chopped oregano<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, maple syrup, half the lemon juice, about 1/2 tsp salt and some black pepper. Pour this over the mixed mushrooms in a large bowl and toss well, making sure all the mushrooms are coated. Leave to marinate for 1 hour.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix together the yogurt, tahini, garlic, remaining lemon juice and 1/2 tsp salt. Use a fork or small whisk to whip everything together to a light paste. (You can refrigerate this sauce for up to one day).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Next, pour plenty of boiling water over the fava beans in a bowl and leave for a minute, then drain well and leave to cool down. Squeeze each bean gently to remove the skin and discard it (if your beans are small or you don't mind the skin you can skip this step).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Add the beans, walnuts, and cumin to the marinated mushrooms and stir well to mix. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve the mushrooms in small bowls or plates, each portion topped with a dollop of thick tahini sauce and sprinkled with herbs.</div><br />
Serves 4</div>The Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1224595606203146822.post-42050684535902917522011-06-22T10:46:00.000-07:002011-06-22T10:46:46.330-07:005:10<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Can we talk? It won't take long. And it just might change your life. Maybe!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The month of May motored by, June joined the fray and, what do you know, it's already almost over! Are you busy? I sure am - leaving my job, planning a trip to Germany, Poland, Ukraine and Switzerland, writing letters like there ain't a tomorrow, and, as if that weren't enough, throwing moving into the mix.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In such helter-skelter times I'm happy to turn to the egg. The ever-dependable, infinitely-variable egg. Whether it be the blue or brown spotted or pale green pride of a chicken, the freckled find of a quail, or, with good fortune like mine, a dozen duck eggs bulging out of their carton. The latter have nearly impenetrably strong shells and yolks so luminous and large, so thick and viscous, I am nothing but in awe. They are <i>some</i> eggs.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLGBqsXgJeDAKK9iSQ0e62nujCTAktli9SpW07BwhVZ4CCo-Vx1f4_sOInwQLxtpmAQ4oUIg13-Gh2j7ASfbH1rJ8STm-G5v9y6LYNF9Ma6Dok9iMOzPPiDZki61UEOL58xB22FUPmqQA/s1600/kjf+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLGBqsXgJeDAKK9iSQ0e62nujCTAktli9SpW07BwhVZ4CCo-Vx1f4_sOInwQLxtpmAQ4oUIg13-Gh2j7ASfbH1rJ8STm-G5v9y6LYNF9Ma6Dok9iMOzPPiDZki61UEOL58xB22FUPmqQA/s400/kjf+005.JPG" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
And how do I eat all these eggs? Let me count the ways! Sizzled in olive oil to a crisp, brown-laced edge. So softly scrambled as to be barely set. Poached in a gauze of white. Hard-boiled, straight-up with a shake of salt. "Poochie" in a little egg cup with a spoon and strips of buttered toast. My family tends to invent words and "poochie" is our term for soft-boiled. It's a style I've been rather enamoured with lately. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, there are many, many, many schools of thought regarding the proper technique for <i>the </i>perfect hard or soft-boiled egg. Should you add the eggs to cold water then bring it to a boil or add the eggs to already boiling water? Should you simmer them for 5 or 6 or 7 or 8 minutes or should you take them off the heat immediately, clamp on a lid and let them sit for 10 or 11 or 11-and-a-half or 12 minutes? How do you choose your method? And, in all that crush of information, how do you remember it?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfVDTTID9OTOetJb-1SVBc5dofGccwlVk3Y_nJldSqzzHzIIXiUqU6diNXEIXa8EPZSOtKrIpiSp0N87kwJArvFajw96lbIa0Gbwz0eeN2KT9dtP9mXfSjR45VNwCJtNW0wFgBsgNObds/s1600/gkdgl+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfVDTTID9OTOetJb-1SVBc5dofGccwlVk3Y_nJldSqzzHzIIXiUqU6diNXEIXa8EPZSOtKrIpiSp0N87kwJArvFajw96lbIa0Gbwz0eeN2KT9dtP9mXfSjR45VNwCJtNW0wFgBsgNObds/s400/gkdgl+005.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Well, one night at work there was a special - salmon, I think - served with a soft-boiled egg. The most gorgeous soft-boiled egg I'd ever had the pleasure of partaking in - its yolk a gush of gold wrapped in fragile, creamily-set white. I asked my co-worker how he did it and all he said was 5:10. What? Then it came back to me - last summer, borrowing the <a href="http://www.momofuku.com/">Momofuku</a> cookbook from the library, copying out all the recipes to do with egg-cookery, forgetting about them. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I went home, found the recipe, put on some water, plopped in an egg and soon enough had my own glorious soft-boiled specimen. I made another the next morning for breakfast. I've been making them this way ever since. Perfect and perfectly easy soft-boiled eggs! Put them on top of anything - be it salad, vegetable or grain - and you'll never be hungry again. That's the life-changing part.<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Perfect Soft-Boiled Eggs (aka 5:10 Eggs) </b></div></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">From <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Momofuku-David-Chang/dp/030745195X">Momofuku</a> <br />
<br />
Large eggs, as many as you like<br />
<br />
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Gently lower the eggs, in their shells, into the boiling water with a slotted spoon or spider. (Some will crack, though they should still be usable even if they're not beautiful). Set a kitchen timer for 5 minutes and 10 seconds from the moment the eggs go into the water, and prepare an ice water bath for the eggs in a large, deep mixing bowl.<br />
<br />
When the timer rings, use the spoon or spider to transfer the eggs to the ice water. Peel the eggs when they are cool enough to handle, cracking them open on a cutting board and then peeling them underwater, in the bowl. (The little bit of water that sneaks in between the shell and the white helps with the peeling). Reserve the eggs in the fridge until ready to use, or for up to 8 hours. Warm them for a minute under hot running tap water before serving.<br />
<br />
Makes as many as you decide to make! </div><br />
</div>The Brazen Belterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17746788941929448124noreply@blogger.com0