Mhammara (Red Pepper and Walnut Dip)

We had some leftover kibbeh and beans for dinner tonight, but I felt like it needed something else to go with it. I debated a few different options, but decided to go with this simple dip in the end. It's very easy to throw together, especially if you already have a jar of roasted red bell peppers on hand. If not, it doesn't add much extra time or effort to roast them along with the chile before mixing up your dip.

I did end up slightly scaling back on the olive oil while bumping up the pomegranate molasses, but otherwise made my dip to spec. I used a jalapeño as my chile since I had a few left over in the fridge that really needed to be used, but a cayenne or Thai chile would probably be more appropriate. Feel free to experiment a bit with the exact type and number of chiles though.

Mhammara

Slightly adapted from Our Syria by Itab Azzam and Dina Mousawi

Ingredients

• 2 red bell peppers (or 200g of jarred roasted bell peppers)
• 1 chile (preferably cayenne or Thai)
• 80g walnuts, toasted
• 1-2 tsp. harissa
• 1 clove garlic
• 1-2 Tbsp. pomegranate molasses
• 2-3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• flatbreads (and/or veggies and/or chips), to serve

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Cut the peppers and chile in half and remove the cores and seeds.
3. Place on a baking sheet, skin-side-up, and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil and salt.
4. Roast in the oven until the peppers soften and the skin darkens (15-20 minutes).
5. Remove from oven and allow to stand until cool enough to handle.
6. Meanwhile, chop the toasted walnuts in a blender or food processor.
7. Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, remove skins if desired (optional), and add them to the blender with the nuts.
8. Add the harissa, garlic, pomegranate molasses, olive oil, salt, and pepper and blend until smooth.
9. Adjust seasonings to taste.
10. Serve with pita wedges (or whatever other dippers strike your fancy).

I've been working through the waffle recipes in the book in order (more-or-less¹). So the fact that this was "next up" and I already had an open can of coconut milk in the fridge worked out pretty well. (I mean, I ended up not having enough coconut milk in the fridge, so then I had to open up a new can anyway, but at least the "timer" is effectively reset now.)

These waffles were really nice. The coconut flavour was mild, but did, indeed, come through. And they had a light texture that fell somewhere between fluffiness of a buttermilk waffle and the creaminess of a Belgian waffle.

The exterior crisped up nicely (which the Kidlet appreciated), but I did find that I had to turn the heat on the waffle iron up slightly higher than I typically use for most other waffles. I also left the waffles in for ~30 seconds beyond when the waffle iron said they were done. Having made those adjustments though, they came out great!

Coconut Waffles

Slightly adapted from Waffles: Sweet, Savory, Simple by Dawn Yanagihara

Ingredients

• 2/3 c. unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted
• 180g (~1 1/3 c.) all-purpose flour
• 60g (~5 Tbsp.) sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 c. coconut milk
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter², melted

Directions

1. Preheat your waffle iron. If it has adjustable temperature, set it a little higher than you normally would. (eg. I normally cook most waffles on "4" on my waffle iron, but I found that these ones cooked better when it was set to "5".)
2. Combine the coconut, flour, sugar, and salt.
3. Sift in the baking powder and mix well.
4. In a large measuring cup, beat the egg yolks with the vanilla and coconut milk.
5. Whisk in the butter (or coconut oil).
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until just combined.
7. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.
8. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
9. Pour a portion of batter into the preheated waffle iron, close, and cook, leaving the waffles in the iron for 15-30 seconds longer than indicated. Repeat until all batter has been used.
10. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to stand for 30-60 seconds before serving.
11. Serve plain or with you favourite compote, syrup, or fresh fruit. (Bananas work particularly well.) Alternatively, reduce the sugar in the batter slightly and serve with ice cream, caramel sauce, whipped coconut cream, and/or lime curd for dessert.

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¹ I had to skip over the malt waffles for now because I haven't been able to get any non-diatastic malt powder yet. And, of course, all the various sauces and compound butters and whatnot appear in their own chapter at the end of the book, so I've been doing those out of order as well. But, other than that, I've been making all the actual waffle recipes in the order in which they appear in the book. ^Back
2 I made these with butter this time, but I think it would be nice to try making them with melted coconut oil. It probably wouldn't make much of a difference, but it'd be interesting ot see. ²

We still have a few steaks left in the freezer, so I've been keeping my eye out for good recipes to use them up. This recipe is really meant to be made wiht filets mignons, but we didn't get that cut with this beef, so I decided to try it with a rib steak instead. Sadly, this was a bit too tough for this particular preparation. But it was tasty otherwise.

Miso Butter Steaks with Mushrooms and Broccoli

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country February/March 2021

Ingredients

• 2-4 Tbsp. unsalted butter¹, divided
• 4 tsp. red miso paste²
• 4 (170-225g) filets mignons, trimmed
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 450g mushrooms³, sliced
• 450g broccoli florets
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Mash all but 1/2 Tbsp. of butter with miso paste in a 3:1 ratio (ie. 1 Tbsp. of butter to 1 tsp. miso) and set aside.
3. Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper.
4. Melt the remaining 1/2 Tbsp. of butter over medium-high heat.
5. Add the steaks and cook until well-browned (~3 minutes per side).
6. Transfer steaks to rimmed baking sheet and roast at 180°C (350°F) until meat registers 50°C (~120°F) for medium-rare (10-15 minutes). (Cook longer and to a higher internal temperature if you would like your steak more well-done.)
7. Tent with foil and let stand for 5-10 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, add mushrooms to now-empty pan, cover, and cook over medium-high heat until beginning to brown (~5 minutes).
9. Add broccoli, garlic, and 1 Tbsp. of miso butter (or simply 1 tsp. of miso if your mushrooms were oil-packed).
10. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until broccoli is tender (~6 minutes).
11. Add 2 more Tbsp. miso butter (or 2 tsp. miso paste for oil-packed mushrooms) and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
12. Top the steaks with the remaining miso butter.
13. Serve the steaks with the mushroom mixture.

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¹ The original recipe calls for 6 Tbsp. of butter: 1 Tbsp. to cook the steak, 3 Tbsp. to cook the mushrooms and broccoli, and 2 Tbsp. to dress the steak. I used only 2 Tbsp. of butter in my rendition: 1 Tbsp. to cook the steak and 1 Tbsp. to dress the steak. Personally, I think that I probably could have cut the cooking butter back to 1/2 Tbsp. That said, had I been using fresh mushrooms rather than jarred ones (which were packed in a mixture of oil and vinegar), then I would have used at least 2 Tbsp. for cooking the mushrooms and broccoli. So, do with that what you will... ^Back
2 I didn't have any red miso, so I just used some of the white that I already had in the fridge. ^Back
3 The original recipe calls for shiitake mushrooms here. However, I had a jar of mixed "wild" mushrooms in the pantry, so I opted to use them instead. I think shiitake would have been great, but this mix also worked well here. ^Back

I had a bunch of extra basil to use up and this frittata has been on my short list for a while, so it seemed like a good fit. It's very simple, but it was tasty nonetheless. There are also several variations provided. The asparagus-ham version sounds particularly appealing...

Parmesan and Basil Frittata

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country August/September 2015

Ingredients

• 12 large eggs¹
• 3/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 c. whole milk²
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 230°C (350°F).
2. Whisk the eggs with the Parmesan, basil, milk, salt, and pepper.
3. Heat the oil over medium heat.
4. Add the egg mixture and cook, stirring with a spatula, until large curds form and the spatula leaves a wake in the pan. (Egss should be clumpy, but still very wet.)
5. Shake the pan to even out the eggs and cook, without stirring, for ~30 seconds.
6. Transfer to oven and bake until puffy (~5 minutes).
7. If you would like the top more browned, turn on the broiler and cook for 1 more minute.
8. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
9. Use the spatula to loosen the frittata and slide it onto a plate. Cut into wedges and serve.

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Variants

Asparagus, Ham, and Gruyère Frittata

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 250g asparagus, trimmed and cut into 5mm pieces
• 100g deli ham, cut into 1cm pieces
• 1 shallot, minced
• 12 large eggs¹
• 3/4 c. shredded Gruyère
• 1/4 c. whole milk²
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 230°C (350°F).
2. Heat the oil over medium heat.
3. Add the asparagus and cook until lightly browned (~3 minutes).
4. Add the ham and shallot and cook until softened (2-3 minutes).
5. Meanwhile whisk the eggs with the gruyère, milk, salt, and pepper.
6. Add the egg mixture and cook, stirring with a spatula, until large curds form and the spatula leaves a wake in the pan. (Egss should be clumpy, but still very wet.)
7. Shake the pan to even out the eggs and cook, without stirring, for ~30 seconds.
8. Transfer to oven and bake until puffy (~5 minutes).
9. If you would like the top more browned, turn on the broiler and cook for 1 more minute.
10. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
11. Use the spatula to loosen the frittata and slide it onto a plate. Cut into wedges and serve.

Leek, Prosciutto, and Goat Cheese Frittata

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 leeks
• 85g thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 1cm pieces
• 12 large eggs¹
• 1 c. crumbled goat cheese
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 c. whole milk²
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 230°C (350°F).
2. Trim and halve the leeks lengthwise, wash them very thoroughly, and slice thinly.
3. Heat the oil over medium heat.
4. Add the leeks and cook, covered, until softened (6-8 minutes).
5. Meanwhile whisk the eggs with the goat cheese, basil, milk, salt, and pepper.
6. Add the proscuitto and the egg mixture and cook, stirring with a spatula, until large curds form and the spatula leaves a wake in the pan. (Egss should be clumpy, but still very wet.)
7. Shake the pan to even out the eggs and cook, without stirring, for ~30 seconds.
8. Transfer to oven and bake until puffy (~5 minutes).
9. If you would like the top more browned, turn on the broiler and cook for 1 more minute.
10. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
11. Use the spatula to loosen the frittata and slide it onto a plate. Cut into wedges and serve.

Mushroom and Chive Frittata

Leek, Prosciutto, and Goat Cheese Frittata

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 280g cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 170g shiitake mushooms, stemmed and sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 12 large eggs¹
• 3/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh chives
• 1/4 c. whole milk²
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 230°C (350°F).
2. Heat the oil over medium heat.
3. Add the both kinds of mushrooms and the onion and cook until dry and lightly browned (~15 minutes).
4. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with the Parmesan, chives, milk, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
5. Add the garlic and cook for 30-60 seconds.
6. Add the egg mixture and cook, stirring with a spatula, until large curds form and the spatula leaves a wake in the pan. (Egss should be clumpy, but still very wet.)
7. Shake the pan to even out the eggs and cook, without stirring, for ~30 seconds.
8. Transfer to oven and bake until puffy (~5 minutes).
9. If you would like the top more browned, turn on the broiler and cook for 1 more minute.
10. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
11. Use the spatula to loosen the frittata and slide it onto a plate. Cut into wedges and serve.

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¹ I had some excess egg whites to use up, so I actually made this frittata with 10 eggs + 3 egg whites. ^Back
2 The original recipe calls for 3 Tbsp. of half-and-half (10% MF). I happened to have some half-and-half in the fridge this time, so I did actually use that, but normally I would just put in a bit of milk instead, so that's the way I've written it up here. ^Back

TF and I grew up with very different concepts of "stew".

For me, stew was a boiled dinner consisting of large chunks of meat, potatoes, and other vegetables (usually cabbage, turnip/rutabaga/swede, and carrots) in a thin, clear broth. The potatoes would be cut in half -- or even left whole if they were on the small side -- and the other veggies would be in similarly large pieces. You were expected to need a knife and fork to eat your stew with a spoon to finish off the broth.

TF, on the other hand, grew up with stew being a thick, brown meaty mixture with any veggies present being cut small enough and cooked long enough that they broke down and merged into the rich gravy that swathed the fall-apart tender meat.

TF is very fond of her family's stew. (As am I, for that matter.) So when I saw this recipe for bourguinon, I knew it would be an instant hit. It's basically her favourite stew, but with pancetta, a bottle of red wine, mushrooms, and an entire bag of pearl onions tossed in. So, you know, the same but better!

Beef Bourguinon

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1.5kg stewing beef¹
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt, divided
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground, divided
• ~1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 180g pancetta, diced
• 1-2 carrots, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 750mL red wine
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 Tbsp. dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
• 450g cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 24 thawed frozen pearl onions (give or take)

Directions

1. Sprinkle the 1/2 tsp. of the salt and 1/4 tsp. of the pepper over the meat.
2. Toss the meat with the flour to coat. Use extra flour as needed.
3. Heat the oil over medium-low heat.
4. Add the pancetta and cook until crisp (~5 minutes).
5. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pancetta to a bowl and set aside.
6. Raise heat to medium-high and, working in batches, sear beef on all sides. Transfer beef to bowl with pancetta.
7. Add carrot and onion to pot and cook until browned (~5 minutes). Transfer to bowl with meat.
8. Reduce heat to medium and add the wine.
9. Stir and scrape to deglaze the pan, then return meat and veggies to the pot.
10. Add the garlic, thyme, bay leaf, tomato paste, and remaining 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper.
11. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 2-3 hours.
12. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, melt 1 1/2 Tbsp. of the butter over medium heat.
13. Add the mushrooms and cook until softened and lightly browned (~5 minutes). Add a little water and cover the pan for a few minutes if they seem to need help cooking. Transfer to a bowl.
14. Add the pearl onions and the remaining 1/2 Tbsp. of butter to the pan and cook until golden (~10 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside.
15. Once the beef has cooked for 2-3 hours, add the mushrooms and onions to the pot.
16. Stir to combine and cook for another hour.
17. Once the stew is done, transfer all the solids to a serving dish.
18. Skim as much fat as possible from the liquids, then raise the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.
19. Cook until the sauce thickens slightly (~2 minutes).
20. If you would like a thicker sauce, you can separate out a few Tbsp., allow it to cool slightly, and then mix in a couple tsp. of extra flour. Mix this slurry back into the sauce and cook for a few more minutes or until desired thickness is achieved.
21. Pour the sauce over the meat and serve. Ideally with a crusty loaf of fresh bread.

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We were a bit short on stew meat, so I cut up some sirloin steak to make up the difference. ^Back

Most of the recipes that I have that call for cranberries want dried cranberries. Aside from making cranberry sauce, there aren't too many that use the fresh berries. So it was nice to see this hash going heavy on the fresh cranberries (and green onion).

I think, in future, I would choose a different method for cooking the sweet potatoes. While baking and then peeling worked fine, I did find them a bit annoying to peel. I might try peeling and cubing them first next time and then either boiling or steaming the cubes. However, since I haven't had a chance to try that method yet, I've left the instructions alone for now. Feel free to experiment with the procedure to find something that works well for you.

Sweet Potato-Cranberry Hash

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 900g sweet potatoes
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1-2 apples, diced
• 1/2 c. sliced green onion
• 1 c. fresh (or thawed frozen) cranberries, chopped
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1-2 allspice berries, ground
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Pierce the potatoes with a fork in several places and then place them directly on the oven rack and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 45-55 minutes.
3. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
4. Once cool enough to handle, peel and cube the potatoes.
5. Melt the butter over medium heat.
6. Add the apple and cook until browned and caramelized (~5 minutes).
7. Add the green onion and cranberries and cook for 1-2 minutes.
8. Add the sweet potatoes, cinnamon, allspice, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through (4-5 minutes).

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Variations

Vegan Version

Ingredients

• 900g sweet potatoes
• 2 Tbsp. coconut oil
• 1-2 apples, diced
• 1/2 c. sliced green onion
• 1 c. fresh (or thawed frozen) cranberries, chopped
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1-2 allspice berries, ground
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground

I've been itching to try out this lemon chiffon pie recipe for a while. I love lemony desserts. And I even had some extra egg yolks to use up after making the last pavlova!

Ideally this would have been made with a freshly baked, home-made gingersnap crust. But when I spotted a bunch of "reduced for quick sale" ready-made gingerbread crumb crusts at the grocery store just after Christmas, I figured that would give the same ginger-y vibe as the gingersnap crust, but with a bit less effort on my part.

This was great in theory, but the recipe ended up making more filling than would fit in the store-bought crust, so I ended up whipping up a quick graham cracker crust to contain the excess. So now I've got two pies: one (slightly underfilled) with a home-made graham cracker crust and one with a store-bought gingerbread crust.

We've only tried the gingerbread one so far, but it was a hit. Although I found that the ginger notes were kind of drowned out by the lemon. The crust tastes gingery when eaten on its own, but it doesn't really come through when combined with the lemon filling. Maybe next time I can try it with a home-made gingersnap crust and see if that produces a punchier flavour.

Lemon Chiffon Pie

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Crust

• 125g gingersnaps, crushed
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 75g unsalted butter, melted

Filling

• 1/4 c. cold water
• 2 1/4 tsp. (1 packet) unflavoured gelatin
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 3/4 c. lemon juice
• 4 large egg yolks¹
• 1 Tbsp. orange zest
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 1/4 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1/4 c. icing (powdered/confectioners') sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Combine the gingersnap crumbs and sugar and mix well.
3. Add the butter and thoroughly combine.
4. Dump the crumb mixture into a pie plate and press firmly. Try to create and even layer of crumb mixture across the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate.
5. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for ~7 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
7. Meanwhile, sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and allow to stand until softened (5-10 minutes).
8. Add the sugar, lemon juice, egg yolks, orange zest, and sea salt and whisk to combine. It may be a bit lumpy and that's okay.
9. Cook over medium-low to medium heat², whisking constantly, until slightly thickened (~8 minutes). Do not let the mixture come to a boil!
10. Remove from heat and place pot in ice bath and allow to cool to room temperature.
11. Once custard mixture has cooled, in a separate bowl, beat the cream with the icing sugar until stiffened.
12. Add the whipped cream to the custard and gently fold it in.
13. Scoop the filling mixture into the prepared pie crust and smooth the top.
14. Cover and chill until set (~4 hours in the fridge or 1 hour in the freezer).
15. Let stand at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before serving.

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¹ My eggs were a little on the small side so I tossed in an extra yolk for my pie. ^Back
2 The recipe calls for cooking over medium heat, but also warns against boiling. I started mine off over medium heat, but gradually nudged the temperature down as it cooked to ensure that it stayed below a boil. ^Back

These would be great served over pasta, but I decided to try them over polenta with a bit of broiled rapini. This turned out to be a great combo! (Even though I forgot to add the wine to the sauce.)

The polenta and rapini was actually from a Cook's Country recipe, so I'll write that up separately later. In theory it was meant to be served with fried eggs, but the meatballs were fantastic with it! Especially since the tomato sauce sort of filled in for the missing sun-dried tomatoes that were supposed to get stirred into the polenta.

Chicken Meatballs with Spicy Tomato Sauce

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 450g ground chicken
• 160g frozen spinach, thawed
• 6 Tbsp. panko breadcrumbs
• 3 Tbsp. grated Parmesan
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Sauce

• 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. red chile flakes (or more to taste)
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/3 c. dry red wine
• 1 (~800mL) can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh basil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F) and lightly oil a baking sheet.
2. Combine all the meatball ingredients and mix well.
3. Working with ~2 Tbsp. of meatball mixture at a time, form into balls and place on prepared baking sheet.
4. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 15 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
6. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened (~4 minutes).
7. Add the chile flakes, thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper and cook for another 30-60 seconds.
8. Stir in the wine and cook until reduced by half (4-5 minutes).
9. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil.
10. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
11. Meatballs may be kept separate or simmered with the sauce. (I chose the latter option.)
12. Serve meatballs and sauce over a substrate of your choice. (Pasta and polenta both work very well.)
13. Garnish with fresh basil. Add a little extra Parmesan if desired.

I snagged some snow peas on sale the other day so this simple Asian-inspired noodle dish made sense as an easy dinner option.

I opted to quickly fry my tofu before adding the sauce, but the original recipe calls for adding the sauce to the pan/wok first and then simmering the tofu in it. Either is a perfectly acceptable option.

I just used tofu and snow peas in my rendition of these noodles, which is exactly what the recipe called for. But I felt they could have done with a few more veggies, so I've written them up with optional onion and bell peppers here. I can vouch for this turning out a perfectly serviceable dish even without the extra veg, but I do with it would have been nicer and tasted a little more balanced with them in. I also added some lime zest, green onion, and parsley to mine (although cilantro would have been preferable). I quite liked these additions and would definitely make it that way in the future.

Noodles with Tofu and Peanut Sauce

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 170g snow peas
• 180g dried Chinese egg noodles (or 250g fresh)
• 1 Tbsp. canola or peanut oil
• 1 onion, halved and sliced lengthwise (optional)
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced (optional)
• 450g extra-firm tofu, cubed and patted dry
• 1/2 c. coconut milk
• 1/2 c. peanut butter
• 1 Tbsp. red Thai curry paste¹
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/4 c. vegetable broth
• 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. lime zest
• 1-2 green onions, chopped
• 2-3 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the snow peas.
2. Cook for 1 minute, then strain out the peas (reserving the hot water).
3. Shock the peas in cold water, drain, and set aside.
4. Return the pot with the cooking water to the heat and bring back up to a boil.
5. Add the noodles and cook for 1 minute (or until desired doneness).
6. Drain and shock in cold water to stop cooking. Drain again and set aside.
7. Heat a wok over medium-high heat.
8. Drizzle in the oil and swirl to coat.
9. Add the onion (if using), bell pepper (if using), and tofu and stir-fry for a couple minutes.
10. Add the coconut milk, peanut butter, curry paste, sugar, broth, light soy, and dark soy and reduce heat to medium-low.
11. Simmer for ~5 minutes.
12. Stir in lime juice, lime zest, and green onions.
13. Add noodles and snow peas and toss to combine.
14. Cook until heated through (2-3 minutes).
15. Sprinkle with cilantro (if using) and serve.

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¹ For a different taste, try experimenting with different types of curry/chile paste: green, yellow, Paneng, gouchujang, doubanjiang (豆瓣酱)... so many possibilities! ^Back

I know I've written up blueberry compote recipes before, but I was working from a recipe out of a new cookbook this time, so I decided to do a new write-up. It's a very simple procedure: just simmer some blueberries with a bit of sugar, cornstarch, and water and stir in a little lemon juice.

Blueberry Compote

Slightly adapted from Waffles: Sweet, Savory, Simple by Dawn Yanagihara

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 1/2 c. blueberries
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 1 tsp. lemon juice

Directions

1. Bring the sugar, cornsatarch, blueberries, and water to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for ~5 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.
4. Adjust to taste with either more sugar or more lemon juice as desired.

I know I've been posting a lot of waffle recipes lately, but I've honestly been having a lot of fun running through the waffle cookbook and comparing all the different varieties! Today's flavour are buttermilk waffles with wild blueberries and just a hint of lemon mixed in.

Blueberry Buttermilk Waffles

From Waffles: Sweet, Savory, Simple

Ingredients

• 280g + 2 tsp. all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 2 1/3 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 tsp. lemon zest
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter, melted
• 2 c. frozen wild blueberries¹

Directions

1. Preheat waffle iron.
2. Combine 280g of the flour with the sugar, and salt.
3. Sift in the baking powdre and baking soda and mix well.
4. In a large measuring cup, beat the buttermilk with the eggs and lemon zest.
5. Slowly beat in the melted butter.
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and wisk until combined.
7. Toss the frozen blueberries with the remaining 2 tsp. of flour.
8. Add the blueberries to the batter and give a couple strokes with a spatula to combine.
9. Pour a portion of batter into the preheated waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer's directions. Repeat until all batter has been used.
10. Serve with maple syrup, compound butter, jam, fresh fruit, and/or fruit compote.

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¹ Cultivated blueberries are too large and have a less pronounced flavour. ^Back

TF was hankering for chocolate cake and trying to resist the urge to order a slice when we were getting dinner the other night. I told her to skip ordering it and I'd make a chocolate cake while we were waiting for the order to arrive.

I spent a while browsing recipes and decided to roll with the bourbon-chocolate Bundt cake from the Dessert of the Day cookbook. Except that I didn't have any bourbon. So I opted to swap in some dark spiced rum instead. I'm pretty happy with the result, but I found the alcohol taste a little strong when the cake was still fresh. It has mellowed out over the last few days though and I like it better now.

I appreciate that this is an easy recipe to throw together. The batter is simple (and, as an added bonus, it used up a bunch of the sour cream that I had sitting in the fridge) and the "glaze" is basically just a dark chocolate ganache with a little corn syrup added for shine.

It's not a "favourite" chocolate cake for any of us to be sure. But it is a good one. And it's easy and convenient, so that definitely earns it some points!

Chocolate-Rum Bundt Cake

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 c. unsalted butter
• 125g dark chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 c. (55g) natural cocoa powder
• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 3 large eggs
• 2 c. sugar
• 1 c. sour cream
• 3/4 c. dark spiced rum
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract¹

Icing

• 125g dark chocolate, chopped
• 1/4 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 2 Tbsp. corn syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease and flour a 10-cup Bundt pan.
2. Melt the butter and chocolate for the cake over medium heat, whisking until smooth.
3. Remove from heat and mix in the cocoa. Set aside and allow to cool.
4. In a separate bowl, sift the baking soda into the flour and mix in the salt.
5. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar on medium speed until lightened in both texture and colour.
6. Reduce speed to low and beat in the sour cream, bourbon, and vanilla.
7. Beat in the chocolate mixture.
8. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Be sure to give a final stir by hand.
9. Pour batter into prepared pan.
10. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 45-55 minutes.
11. Allow to cool in pan for 5-10 minutes.
12. Turn out onto wire rack to cool.
13. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and cream for the icing over medium-low heat, whisking until smooth.
14. Mix in the corn syrup and vanilla and set aside to cool.
15. Once cake and icing are both at least mostly cooled (room temperature or slightly above), place the cake (still on the wire rack) on a rimmed baking sheet and pour the icing over, allowing it to drip down the sides as desired.
16. Allow icing to set and cool a little more before cutting.
17. Serve alone or with strawberries and whipped cream.

¹ I ran out of vanilla extract, so I ended up using ~3/4 tsp. of extract plus the paste/seeds from half a vanilla bean. ^Back

This was originally meant to be a rainbow chard gratin with ricotta and gruyère. TF isn't particularly fond of chard (silverbeet) though and I couldn't get any gruyère, so I ended up swapping in a mix of spinach and kale and some low-fat Swiss cheese instead. I also halved all the quantities so that I could make a smaller gratin as three pounds of kale seemed like... a lot. And this smaller quantity also perfectly used up the half tub of ricotta that I had left over. And I'm very happy with how this worked out! It's not amazing, but it makes for a perfectly acceptable vegetable side dish.

Kale Gratin with Ricotta and Swiss

Adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 680g kale¹
• 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 c. ricotta
• 60g grated Swiss cheese
• 1/2 Tbsp. Roman mustard
• 1/2 c. breadcrumbs²

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F) and grease a casserole dish.
2. Chope the kale, keeping the stems and leaves separate.
3. Heat the oil over medium heat and add the kale stems, onion, and garlic and cook until softened (~6 minutes).
4. Add the kale leaves, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook until wilted (~4 minutes).
5. Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, Swiss, and mustard and mix well.
6. Once the greens are cooked, try to press out and discard as much liquid as possible.
7. Add the cheese mixture to the greens and stir to combine.
8. Press the mixture into the prepared casserole dish and top with breadcrumbs.
9. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 20 minutes.

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¹ Ideally this would be made entirely with fresh kale. I didn't have enough, so I made up the difference with some frozen spinach. ^Back
2 The recipe called for fresh breadcrumbs, but I was feeling lazy and just used panko instead. I'm really happy with the results this gave. ^Back

These were surprisingly tasty! I wasn't expecting much from a filling made up predominantly of zucchini and corn. Especially since the dish seemed to rely entirely on store-bought salsa for its seasoning. But it actually produced really nice results. A bit lacking in protein maybe, but there were certainly no issues with the flavour!

If I were doing this again, I might try swapping out half of the zucchini for some black beans, just to make it a little more filling and nutritionally balanced. But overall, it was very good.

Vegetable Enchiladas

Adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 zucchini
• 1 (400mL) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 c. frozen corn
• 1 onion, quartered and sliced
• 1 c. grated cheddar cheese
• 2 (~400mL) jars salsa verde, divided
• 12 corn tortillas (20cm/8" size)
• 1 c. grated Monterey jack¹
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. lime zest
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 avocado, divided
• 2-4 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
2. Quarter the zucchini lengthwise and slice crosswise.
3. Combine the zucchini, beans, corn, onion, and cheddar and mix well.
4. Wrap the tortillas in a tea towel or tortilla warmer and microwave until softened (30-60 seconds).
5. Pour 1 jar of salsa into a 23x33cm (9x13") baking dish.
6. Place a warm tortilla on your work surface and put 2-3 Tbsp. of filling down the middle of it, then roll up and place seam-side-down in the prepared baking dish.
7. Assemble remaining enchiladas in the same way.
8. Pour remaining jar of salsa over the enchiladas and top with Monterey jack.
9. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes.
10. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes.
11. Meanwhile, combine the sour cream, green onion, lime zest, salt, and half the avocado and mix very well, mashing the avocado as you stir.
12. Slice the remaining half avocado.
13. Serve the enchiladas topped with avocado slices, sour cream mixture, and cilantro (if using).
14. Radishes and tomato salsa/salsa roja also make good toppings.

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¹ I ended up swapping out the Monterey jack for 125g of sliced Swiss cheese instead, which worked reasonably well. More cheddar would also be acceptable in place of the jack. ^Back

Honey-Orange Compound Butter

I've been wanting to try some of the various toppings from the waffle cookbook, but I never seem to have the wherewithal to put toppings and waffles together at the same time. But I woke up early this morning and had already made a batch of waffles yesterday, so I was able to quickly mix up this complementary compound butter to go with them this morning.

I did have a bit of trouble with this butter. While the honey and orange zest incorporated very well, I could not seem to get the orange juice to mix in. First the butter looked sort of clumpy and curdled. More mixing caused it to smooth out, but also seemed to make the juice fall out of the mixture and stay stubbornly separate. It was still tasty, but I wish that I could have gotten the juice to mix in fully.

Honey-Orange Counpound Butter

From Waffles: Sweet, Savory, Simple by Dawn Yanagihara

Ingredients

• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. orange juice
• 1/4 tsp. orange zest

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients and mix well.
2. Serve on waffles, toast, and/or pancakes.
3. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week. Bring to room temperature before using.

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Variations

Molasses-Orange Compound Butter

Ingredients

• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 2 Tbsp. molasses
• 1/2 tsp. orange zest

I gave the next recipe in the waffle cookbook a go today. They were nice, but I don't think I liked them as well as most of the others that I've tried so far. They were neither as crispy nor as fluffy some of the previous types. The honey and wheat germ were nice, but they didn't come through super strongly.

I think it would be nice to try making these as 100% whole wheat, rather than using the mix of white and whole wheat flour. I might want to try adding a little more honey next time as well; just to see if I can get it to come through a little more.

Honey-Wheat Waffles

Slightly adapted from Waffles: Sweet, Savory, Simple by Dawn Yanagihara

Ingredients

• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 c. milk
• 3 Tbsp. honey
• 1/4 c. wheat germ
• 280g (2 c.) whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 large eggs

Directions

1. Melt butter over medium heat and cook until browned (~5 minutes).
2. Stir in milk and honey and set aside.
3. In a separate pan, toast the wheat germ over medium-low heat until darkened (8-10 minutes).
4. Transfer wheat germ to a bowl and mix in flour and salt.
5. Sift in baking powder and stir to combine.
6. Preheat the waffle iron.
7. Beat the eggs in a large measuring cup or medium bowl.
8. Beat the milk mixture into the eggs.
9. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine.
10. Pour a portion of batter into the preheated waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer directions. Repeat until all batter has been used.
11. Serve waffles immediately with syrup, whipped cream, jam, fresh fruit, and/or fruit compote.

I was looking for an easy, relatively healthy dessert the other day and this fit the bill. And, as an added bonus, it even used up the last of the mascarpone that was left over after making the last batch of tiramisu!

The original recipe called for macerating the cherries with a bit of sugar. But it also called for Ranier cherries. For the sake of convenience, I just ended up using some frozen dark, sweet cherries. I didn't feel that these needed any extra sweetening, so I just used them as-is, with the cascarpone on top.

Cherries with Vanilla Mascarpone

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. mascarpone
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 340g pitted sweet cherries

Directions

1. Mix the sugar and vanilla into the mascarpone and set aside.
2. Get out two bowls and put half the cherries into each.
3. Spoon half of the mascarpone mixture onto each portion of cherries and serve.

Lilva Nu Shaak (Green Beans with Tomato)

This side-dish curry comes together really easily and uses ingredients that we basically always have -- spices, frozen green beans, and tomato.

Lilva Nu Shaak

660 Curries by Raghavan Ayer (p. 511)

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp coriander seeds, ground
• 1 tsp cumin seeds, ground
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp sugar (or 1 Tbsp jaggery)
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp asafetida
• 500g green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-2cm lengths (frozen is fine)
• 1 ~400mL tin of diced tomatoes
• 250mL tomato
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add the mustard seeds and cook, covered, until popped.
3. Remove from heat. Stir in the whole cumin, then the the coriander, ground cumin, salt, cayenne, sugar, turmeric, and asafetida.
4. Stir in the beans and return to heat.
5. Add the tomato and water and bring to a boil.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until beans are fork-tender, ~12 minutes.
7. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

This turned out alright, but wasn't a favourite. The original recipe called for pancetta, which we were out of; I made it with halal chicken bacon analogue, and I think it would be fine with streaky pork bacon as well.

Kale Salad with Bacon and Eggs

Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan (p. 266)

Ingredients

• 200g bacon (or chicken bacon or pancetta)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, divided
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 4 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 5 large eggs, hard-boiled, peeled, and cut into 8ths
• 2 bunches kale, stems removed, coarsely chopped
• ½ tsp cayenne

Directions

1. Cook the bacon or pancetta in a large skillet. Remove, chop coarsely, and buffer.
2. Drain the skillet, reserving 1 Tbsp oil (or adding some olive oil or bacon fat if you used something doesn't render off much fat, like chicken bacon). Heat over medium heat.
3. Add the garlic and cook until just golden, ~1 minute.
4. Remove the garlic and deglaze using the balsamic vinegar.
5. Whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar/bacon fat mixture, wine vinegar, parsley, garlic, and black pepper.
6. Toss with the kale and bacon.
7. Gently fold in the eggs, garnish with cayenne, and serve.

Ricotta salata -- a low-moisture, salted ricotta -- is not commonly available here. There are various ways to emulate it, but for this recipe we used a roughly 50/50 mix of pressed cottage cheese and crumbled feta. We also added an extra bell pepper, since the ones we had were fairly small. The end result was delicious, although I think it wouldn't have minded another egg or two.

Pasta with Sausage, Peppers, Eggs, and Ricotta Salata

The Good Egg by Marie Simmons (p. 267)

Ingredients

• 500g italian sausage, skinned
• 5 Tbsp olive oil
• 3-4 bell peppers, cored and cut into thin strips
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp parsley, chopped
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• 450g short pasta such as rotini or penne
• 225g ricotta salata, or a mix of pressed cottage cheese and feta

Directions

1. Cook the sausage over medium heat, breaking apart, until browned. Remove and buffer.
2. Add olive oil, if needed, to make ~1 Tbsp. Add bell peppers and sautée over medium heat until softened and charring at the edges, ~10 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to low, add garlic, and cook until fragrant and not yet browned, <1 minute.
4. Remove from the pan and buffer with the sausage; add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Add remaining olive oil and increase heat to medium low. Break all four eggs into the skillet and fry until the whites are set, spooning the hot oil over them occasionally.
6. Remove from heat and top with parsley and red pepper flakes.
7. Meanwhile, the pasta al dente in lightly salted water; drain.
8. Combine the pasta, sausage, bell pepper, eggs, and cheese in a large bowl and toss to combine, breaking up the eggs in the process.

These are yeast-leavened waffles that go extra-heavy on the butter and should ideally be made in a deep-pocketed Belgian waffle maker. Browning the butter first adds a bit of extra depth and nuttiness to the finished waffles. The final result produces rich, buttery waffles. They have a delicately crisp exterior with less "bite" to it than the chemically-leavened waffles that I've made over the last few weeks. And, while the interior is light and soft like the other waffles, it's more creamy than fluffy.

I quite like them, but it is a decidely different result than any of the previous recipes.

The Kidlet preferred the more "hearty", almost crunchy exterior of the buttermilk waffles. Although she still quite enjoyed these ones. I think I preferred the richness of these waffles, but I preferred the overall texture of the basic waffles and the cornmeal waffles. (The buttermilk waffles were also good when they were fresh, but they went extremely stale very quickly. And they weren't as nice stale or as easy to revive as the other two varieties.)

Honestly, I've been happy with all of the waffle recipes out of this book so far. And I also appreciate how different they are! Despite the recipes looking fairly similar on paper in a lot of cases, the final result of each one has been quite distinct. This is definitely a good one to keep on hand. The extra butter would make it especially appealing as a dessert offering.

Belgian Waffles

From Waffles: Sweet, Savory, Simple by Dawn Yanagihara

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. unsalted butter
• 2 c. milk
• 280g (2 c.) all-purpose flour
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp. instant (rapid-rise) yeast
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Melt butter over medium heat and cook, stirring, until brown and nutty-smelling (~5 minutes).
2. Stir in milk, remove from heat, and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.
4. Beat eggs with vanilla.
5. Gradually pour milk mixture into egg mixture and beat well.
6. Pour wet ingredients into dry and whisk to combine. (Some lumps are okay.)
7. Give a final stir with a spatula to make sure everything is well-combined and there are no pockets of dry flour.
8. Cover and allow to ferment in the fridge overnight (12-24 hours).
9. When ready to cook, preheat waffle iron and give the batter a quick stir.
10. Pour a portion of batter into the preheated waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer's directions. Repeat until all batter has been used.
11. Serve with macerated strawberries and whipped cream, maple syrup, or any other toppings of your choice.

This dessert is given as the recipe for December 30th in my Dish of the Day cookbook. the idea is that it's meant to be something light and refreshing to offset all the rich, heavy foods that tend to get eaten over the holidays. I lightened it up slightly more by swapping out the whole milk ricotta for low-fat ricotta. I also halved the pistachios. The original recipe called for equal parts ricotta and nuts! I think next time I might double the ricotta and orange as well. I like the idea of having those two elements making up the bulk of the dish with the pistachios, honey, and pomegranate acting as highlights.

This was a pleasant dessert. It's definitely not going to become a go-to favourite or anything, but it was easy and it did taste nice, just not amazing. And it also let me use up most of the leftover pomegranate I had sitting in the fridge plus some of the blood oranges from the freezer. (Although I accidentally grabbed one blood orange and one navel orange, so only half of my little ricotta pots had actual blood orange in. Whoops! Oh well...) So, overall, glad I tried it and I might make it again sometime, but it probably won't be a regular occurance.

Ricotta with Blood Orange, Pistachios, and Honey

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 c. ricotta
• 4 blood oranges
• 1/4 c. pistachios, chopped
• 1/4 c. pomegranate arils
• 1/4 c. honey

Directions

1. Place 1/4 c. of ricotta in each dish/jar/cup.
2. Use a knife to remove the peel and pith from the oranges. Segment or slice as desired.
3. Place 1/4 of the orange pieces (1 orange worth) on top of each portion of ricotta.
4. Top each with 1 Tbsp. of pistachios, 1 Tbsp. of pomegranate, and 1 Tbsp. of honey.

This is the very first recipe in Bernard Clayton's Bread Book. It's meant to be an easy loaf for the new baker who's still getting the hang of things. Much like the loaf for learning from the Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book.

I grabbed this recipe because I needed bread in a hurry, but didn't want to do another soda bread/quick bread. This works excellently as a basic yeast-leavened, bread-in-a-hurry sort of deal. It was also a nice way to continue experimenting with the stand mixer and dough hook. I'm still not used to working dough by machine and it's surprising more difficult to dail in than I'd expected. (Although using machine assistance allows this bread to come together even more quickly, which was definitely a big bonus given the time constraints.)

This recipe works very well as is. I added in a small amount of sourdough discard. I don't think the discard made much difference to the dough, but it was a nice way to use it up and keep my starter happy. Feel free to omit the starter; you'll probably need a bit less flour and end up with slightly less dough overall in this case. Not a problem, just something to be aware of.

First Loaf

Slightly adapted from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads

Ingredients

• 700-850g hard (strong/high grade/bread) flour, divided
• 40g (3 Tbsp.) sugar
• 13g (2 tsp.) coarse sea salt
• 1 3/4 tsp. instant yeast
• 1/4 c. skim milk powder
• 2 c. hot (50-55°C) water
• 100g sourdough discard @ 100% hydration (optional)
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

Directions

1. Combine 280g (~2 c.) of the flour with the sugar, salt, yeast, and milk powder.
2. Add the water and beat with a wooden spoon or the flat beater of a stand mixer for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add the starter and butter and mix well.
4. Add another 140g (~1 c.) of flour and beat for another 2-3 minutes.
5. If using stand mixer, switch to dough hook before continuing.
6. Keep adding flour 35g (~1/4 c.) at a time until the dough comes together and seems to reach a reasonable hydration level, neither too loose nor too tight.
7. Knead by hand for 20-30 minutes or by machine for 4-8 minutes¹.
8. Cover and let rise at room temperature for 45-60 minutes.
9. Knock back, knead a few strokes, and divide into two equal portions.
10. Round each portion, cover, and rest for 5-10 minutes.
11. Grease two 20x10cm (8x4") loaf pans.
12. Shape each dough ball into a loaf and place, seam-side-down, into prepared pans.
13. Cover and let rise at room temperature for 30-45 minutes.
14. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
15. Slash loaves as desired and bake at 200°C (400°F) for 10 minutes.
16. Reduce temperature to 180°C (350°F), rotate loaves, and continue baking for another 20-30 minutes.
17. Turn off oven and allow loaves to sit in hot oven for 5-10 minutes.
18. Turn out onto wire racks to cool.
19. If desired, brush crust with a little butter.

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¹ I'm still dialing in the ideal machine kneading time, but this one definitely seemed closer to the mark than previous attempts. ^Back

I made some delicious beef bourguignon last week and realized partway through making it that we were all out of bread. I knew I didn't have enough time to make a proper yeasted loaf at that point¹, so I gave this chemically-leavened bran bread a try instead. It was pretty good and I actually liked it a lot better than I thought I would. That said, the batter produced by the recipe as written was way too dry! It was basically a dough. I had to add a bunch of extra milk and some sourdough starter to even get it to the point of being a thick batter. Having made those adjustments though, it was great!

Bran-Nut Bread

Slightly adapted from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads

Ingredients

• 300g hard (strong/high grade/bread) whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 2 c. wheat bran
• 1 2/3 c. milk²
• 125g sourdough discard @ 100% hydration
• 1 large egg
• 2 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 2 Tbsp. molasses
• 1 c. walnuts, chopped
• 1 c. currants or raisins (optional)

Directions

1. Grease and flour a loaf pan. Use a larger one if you plan to include the dried fruit, smaller if you don't.
2. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
3. Combine flour and salt and sift in baking powder.
4. Mix in bran.
5. In a large measuring cup, beat egg with milk, starter, butter, and molasses.
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine. Adjust consistency with a little more milk if needed.
7. Mix in walnuts and currants (if using).
8. Pour into prepared loaf tin and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes.
9. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 45-60 minutes.
10. Turn out onto wire rack to cool.

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¹ I probably could have made the yeasted batter bread out of the same book. But I'd made that one before and I wanted to try something new! ^Back
2 I'm not sure exactly how much milk I put in. I started with the 1 1/3 c. called for in the recipe and mixed the batter up as specified, but ended up going back and adding a bunch more milk at the end when the batter proved to be way too dry. I think I probably added at least an extra 1/3 c., possibly a bit more. Use enough milk to make a thick batter. ^Back

Tiramisu (Dish of the Day)

I really liked the tiramisu recipe that I got from Bon Appetit. I would have just stuck with making that recipe, however there was also a tiramisu recipe in the Dish of the Day cookbook that I've been working with lately. And I wanted to see how that compared (and also be able to check it off).

Although the two recipes shared many similarities, there were a few striking differences. Probably the most significant was the proportion of mascarpone and cream. This version had 50% more mascarpone relative to the BA one, but only 25% as much cream! (It also had twice as much rum.) This recipe also included more than twice as much rum. And, although it had about the same amount of sugar overall, it divided it up differently. The BA recipe put most of the sugar into the saboyon (egg yolk mixture) and only 1 Tbsp. into the coffee. This recipe, meanwhile, put almost 60% of the sugar -- a whole 1/4 c.! -- into the simple syrup for the coffee and only a scant 3 Tbsp. into the saboyon.

Overall, I think I prefer the BA rendition of tiramisu. That said, this one was still good. And I did prefer McMillan's method of making the coffee bath. Making a simple syrup first and then mixing in the coffee and rum ensures that the sugar is very well dissolved and means that you can put more sugar into the coffee without it sinking to the bottom and separating out. I quite liked the sweeter coffee bath. I think it makes it a little more balanced. And I'm also a fan of the higher cheese content of this version. Although I did feel it was a bit skimpy on the cream.

I think next time I'll do a mash-up of the two: Use the coffee bath from this recipe, but with the rum content of the BA one; use the saboyon recipe from BA, but include the vanilla from this one; use the mascarpone content of this recipe, but bump up the amount of whipping cream to be somewhere between what's called for in this one and the BA instructions. Hopefully that will make a nice, balanced tiramisu.

I've included two recipes below. The first is following the recipe as written from the book. This is what I actually did for this iteration. Below that are the instructions incorporating the adjustments discussed above. That's how I'd make it next time.

Tiramisu

From Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Coffee Bath

• 1/4 c. sugar
• 3 Tbsp. water
• 3/4 c. espresso¹
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. dark rum

Filling

• 45g (~2.5 Tbsp.) sugar
• 3 large egg yolks
• 3/4 c. mascarpone
• 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 18-22 ladyfingers
• cocoa, to dust

Directions

1. Combine the sugar and water for the coffee bath in a small pot and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
2. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring, until sugar is completely dissolved.
3. Mix in the coffee and rum into the syrup and set aside to cool.
4. Meanwhile, combine the egg yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl and beat for a minute or two to mix very well.
5. Bring ~5cm of water to boil and set the bowl over the water. Beat the yolk mixture on medium speed with an electric mixer for 7-8 minutes. The mixture should become pale and at least double in volume, forming ribbons when the beaters are lifted out of the mixture.
6. Once the saboyon (yolk mixture) is cooked and ready, remove from heat and beat in the mascarpone and vanilla.
7. In a separate bowl, beat the cream until stiff.
8. Fold the whipped cream into the yolk mixture.
9. To assemble, dip the ladyfingers into the coffee bath. Working with one biscuit at a time, dip it and then place it into the bottom of a loaf pan (or container of your choice). Use ~1/3 of the biscuits for the bottom layer.
10. Top the biscuit layer with ~1/3 mascarpone mixture.
11. Repeat the layers twice more. (Three layers each of biscuits and mascarpone, ending with mascarpone.)
12. Cover and chill for at least 6 hours.
13. Dust with cocoa and serve.

Improved Tiramisu

Ingredients

Coffee Bath

• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 3 Tbsp. water
• 1 Tbsp. instant coffee
• 3/4 c. boiling water
• 2 Tbsp. dark rum

Filling

• 1/4 c. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. white wine
• 3 large egg yolks
• 3/4 c. mascarpone
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 18-22 ladyfingers
• cocoa, to dust

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¹ I didn't have any espresso, so I just used extra-strong instant coffee. The instructions called for 1-2 tsp. per cup of hot water, so I used 2 tsp. for 3/4 c. Next time I think I'd make it even stronger. Maybe 1 Tbsp. for 3/4 c. ^Back

I've never had persimmons before and, I have to admit, I was a little wary of them. But they're actually quite tasty! And I really like the combination of flavours in this recipe. The toasted pistachios are especially nice. But really, it's all good and works well together.

Bulgur Salad with Persimmons, Pistachios, and Pomegranate

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 c. bulgur
• 1 c. chicken or vegetable stock
• 1/4 c. lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 c. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/3 c. chopped fresh mint
• 1/2 c. chopped green onion
• 1/2 c. shelled pistachios
• 3 fuyu persimmons, cored and chopped
• 1/4 c. fresh pomegranate arils

Directions

1. Place the bulgur in a heat-proof bowl.
2. Bring the stock to a boil and pour it over the bulgur. If using homemade stock, add a little bith of salt as well.
3. Cover and set aside for 15-20 minutes.
4. Mix in the lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, mint, and green onion and allow to rest for 20-30 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, toast the pistachios over medium heat for 3-4 minutes.
6. Just before serving, stir in the persimmons, pistachios, and pomegranate.

I've been enjoying working my way through the waffle cookbook and I figured waffles are always a good way to coax the Kidlet out of be in the morning, so I gave these cormeal ones a try. The Kidlet didn't like them quite as well as the buttermilk waffles I made last time, but they still ranked quite highly and I really enjoyed them too.

The author suggests that they are particularly good with blueberry compote or molasses-orange compound butter. I didn't bother with any of that though. The Kidlet wanted butter and some of Grampie's red currant jelly on hers. TF had some leftover cranberry-orange relish as her topping of choice. And I just had mine plain with some haggis on the side.

Cornmeal Waffles

Slightly adapted from Waffles: Sweet, Savory, Simple by Dawn Yanagihara

Ingredients

• 200g cornmeal
• 140g all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 2 1/3 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat waffle iron.
2. Combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, and salt.
3. Sift in baking powder and baking soda and mix well.
4. Beat egg yolks into buttermilk.
5. Mix butter into buttermilk mixture.
6. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir to combine.
7. In a clean bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form.
8. Fold egg whites into batter until just combined.
9. Scoop a portion of batter into the waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer directions. Repeat until all batter has been used up.
10. Serve with butter, maple syrup, fresh fruit, fuit compote, jam, and/or compound butter.

This salad has a few variants, but we made the raspberries and blue cheese version; the others are documented below. Not a favourite, but I'd eat it again.

Marinated Beet Salad

Cook's Country October/November 2016, by Katie Leaird (p.17)

Ingredients

• 1½ lb whole beets, trimmed
• ½ C water
• ¼ C sherry vinegar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (or ½ tsp dried)
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 2 oranges
• 1L arugula, kale, or other greens
• ¼ C shaved romano cheese
• ½ C walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

Directions

1. Wrap beets and water in tin foil. Roast at 400°F for 1 hour or until fork-tender.
2. Whisk together vinegar, oil, thyme, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
3. Once beets are cool, rub gently to remove skins, then cut into 1cm wedges.
4. Add beets to bowl with dressing, toss to cover, and let stand for at least 30 minutes.
5. Divide oranges into individual wedges.
6. Add oranges, greens, cheese, and walnuts to bowl with beets and dressing, and toss to combine.

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Variations

Marinated Beet Salad with Pear and Feta

Ingredients

• 1½ lb whole beets, trimmed
• ½ C water
• ¼ C sherry vinegar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (or ½ tsp dried)
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 1 pear, cored and thinly sliced
• 1 L arugula, kale, or other greens
• ¾ C crumbled feta cheese
• 2 tbsp pistachios, toasted

Marinated Beet Salad with Raspberries and Blue Cheese

Ingredients

• 1½ lb whole beets, trimmed
• ½ C water
• ¼ C sherry vinegar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (or ½ tsp dried)
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• ⅔ C raspberries
• 1 L arugula, kale, or other greens
• ¾ C crumbled blue cheese
• ½ C hazelnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

I picked up some sweet potatoes a while back and keep not quite getting around to actually cooking them. Luckily sweet potatoes keep pretty well and I managed to get it together enough to do something with them before they went off.

This is a very simple dish. Just a handfull of ingredients tossed together with no complicated prep or cooking. And, while the results aren't spectacular, it does give a nice result.

That said, I did make a few adjustments. The original recipe called for 3 Tbsp. of oil and 1 Tbsp. of molasses for 450g of sweet potatoes. I thought that sounded like a lot of oil, so I scaled it back to only 2 Tbsp. for a scant 900g of potatoes. I also decided to swap out the oil for bacon grease. We had a bunch in the fridge and I thought the savoury-salty notes would go nicely with the other elements of the recipe. I definitely think that scaling back the oil was the right choice! Honestly, it still seemed like there was quite a bit of fat and I might have been able to scale it back even further. I've given a range in the recipe below. Use your judgement.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Molasses and Chili

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 900g sweet potatoes
• 1-2 Tbsp. bacon grease or canola oil, melted
• 2 Tbsp. molasses
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 230°C (450°F) and line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.
2. Peel the sweet potatoes, halve them lengthwise, and then cut crosswise into 1-1.5cm thick pieces.
3. Combine bacon grease and molasses in a large bowl. Warm them up slightly if they're difficult to mix.
4. Add the sweet potatoes and toss to coat.
5. Sprinkle with chili powder, pepper, and salt and toss to distribute evenly.
6. Spread out in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
7. Bake at 230°C (450°C) for 20-30 minutes, flipping/stirring once.

I needed a vegetable side dish to go with dinner a while ago. This recipe for braised kale fit the bill nicely. Although I ended up using a mix of kale, spinach, and fenugreek leaves for the greens and swapped out the ham called for in the original recipe for some smoked tofu. I also adjusted the seasoning slightly to give it a slightly more Indian vibe since we were going to be serving it with curry and rice. I think this all worked quite well. Not so well that I'd call this dish a "favourite", but it did the job of making sure we had enough veggies on our plate and tasted nice: mission accomplished!

Braised Greens with White Beans and Smoked Tofu

Adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 450g greens of your choice¹ (fresh or frozen)
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 125g smoked tofu, diced
• 1/2 c. chicken or vegetable stock
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt²
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 (470g) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tsp. dabeli masala

Directions

1. If using fresh greens, remove and particularly tough ribs and discard. Tear or chop the greens into ~5cm pieces and set aside.
2. Heat the oil over medium heat.
3. Add the garlic and sauté for 30-60 seconds.
4. Add the tofu and cook for another minute or two.
5. Add the greens and cook until just wilted/thawed.
6. Add the broth, salt, and pepper and cook for another 4-5 minutes.
7. Add beans and dabeli masala and increase heat to medium-high.
8. Cook, stirring often, until beans are heated through (~3 minutes).
9. Adjust seasoning to taste and serve.

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¹ I used a mix of spinach and kale with a little bit of fenugreek mixed in. The original recipe just called for two bunches of kale. Swiss chard and/or mustard greens would probably also work well in this dish. Use whatever appeals to you the most. Back
² I used 1/2 tsp. of salt because I was using homemade chicken stock with very little salt in it. You may find you need less salt if using store-bought stock. The beans may also affect the overall saltiness of the dish since many canned beans have salt added to them during processing. ^Back

I had to improvise slightly with this one. Some of my bok choy had started to go off, so I had to supplement with some other veggies. I added a bell pepper and an onion to bring it back up to the 450g the original recipe called for. I actually really like this mix. I think having a mix of veggies was nicer than having just the beef and bok choy. I also added a bit of sugar to help balance out the flavours.

Beef & Bok Choy Stir-Fry

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. shaoxing wine (绍兴酒)
• 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp. spicy bean paste (辣豆瓣酱)
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. canola or peanut oil, divided
• 300g baby bok choy, quartered
• 1 bell pepper, sliced
• 1 onion, sliced lengthwise
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. minced ginger
• 450g thinly sliced steak

Directions

1. Combine shaoxing wine, soy sauce, bean paste, and sugar and set aside.
2. Heat wok over medium-high heat.
3. Drizzle in 1/2 Tbsp. oil and swirl to coat.
4. Add the bok choy, bell pepper, and onion and stir-fry until tender-crisp (2-3 minutes).
5. Transfer veggies to a bowl and add the remaining 1/2 Tbsp. of oil to the wok.
6. Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
7. Add the beef and stir-fry for ~2 minutes.
8. Return the veggies to the wok and toss to combine.
9. Add the wine mixture and stir-fry for another minute or two.