High-Fibre Bran Loaf

I made a fresh batch of granola yesterday, so I decided to incorporate some of it into this bread. But since the granola was relatively sweet, I only used half the amount and then added pumpkin seeds to fill in the rest of the amount. I would have also liked to have put in some flax seeds, but I couldn't find them, so they didn't make it into this rendition, but I've recommended them so I remember to try to include them next time.

High-Fibre Bread

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

Ingredients

• 280g hard (strong/high grade/bread) whole wheat flour
• 2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 c. warm water
• 250g sourdough discard (optional)
• 1/4 c. butter
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1/2 c. granola (or 1/4 c. granola + 1/4 c. pumpkin seeds)
• 2 Tbsp. flax seeds (optional)
• 1/2 c. wheat germ
• 1 Tbsp. wheat bran
• grated zest of 1 orange
• 400-500g hard (strong/high grade/bread) flour

Directions

1. Combine the whole wheat flour, yeast, salt, warm water, and sourdough discard (if using) and mix well.
2. Add the butter, honey, granola, flax seeds (if using), wheat germ, wheat bran, and orange zest and mix thoroughly.
3. Gradually work in the white flour until a soft dough forms.
4. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead, working in more flour as needed, for 20-30 minutes.
5. Shape into a ball and place in a covered bowl to rise (60-90 minutes).
6. Knock the dough back, divide into two equal portions, and round each one.
7. Cover and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, grease two 20x10cm (8x4") loaf pans.
9. Shape the dough balls into loaves and place, seam-side-down, into the prepared loaf pans.
10. Cover and allow to rise for 30-45 minutes.
11. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
12. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 15-20 minutes.
13. Reduce temperature to 180°C (350°F) and bake until done (5-15 minutes longer).
14. Allow to cool in pans for 5-10 minutes, then turn onto wire racks to cool.

Cream Cheese Icing (Breakfast Bible)

I've made a few different cream cheese icings before. But, since I've been working through The Breakfast Bible, I figured I'd try out their cream cheese icing recipe. I mean, I'm still somewhat dubious about any dish with icing that claims to be breakfast. But it was tasty nontheless. Especially on the cinnamon bus (also from The Breakfast Bible) that I made to put it on.

Cream Cheese Icing

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 180g icing (powdered/confectioners') sugar
• 60g cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• grated zest of 1 orange
• ~1/4 c. whole milk

Directions

1. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl.
2. Add the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and orange zest.
3. Beat until crumbly.
4. Continue beating and gradually add milk until a thick, but pourable icing forms.

These were okay. Not my favourite, but it was fine. And they were quick and easy to put together.

I ended up making them with whole wheat flour instead of white, because we were out of white flour and the grocery store was completely sold out the last time I was there.

I think some walnuts would have made a nice addition. And they also could have used a bit of cinnamon. Still... they were good overall.

Orange Spice Pancakes

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 1 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 1/3 c. orange juice
• 1 tsp. grated orange zest
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Combine flours and and sugar.
2. Sift in baking powder and ground ginger.
3. Add the cinamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt and mix well.
4. Beat the egg, orange zest, and vanilla with the orange juice.
5. Mix in the melted butter.
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine.
7. Add the walnuts (if using) and stir to mix.
8. Heat a tawa or griddle over medium heat. Grease as necessary.
9. Pour some batter into the tawa/pan and cook until bubbles form and edges look dry.
10. Flip and cook until brown on both sides and cooked through.
11. Repeat with remaining batter.
12. Serve pancakes with marmalade and/or butter.

This is yet another recipe from my time in New Zealand. (Not that I got the recipe in NZ, but I made it for the first time while I was over there and then never got around to writing it up.) This is a nice, enriched white bread. The recipe makes enough dough for two loaves. Meanwhile, there is enough filling for one. So, in a single batch, you get a plain white sandwich bread as well as a lovely dessert loaf, replete with nuts and cinnamon!

Photo goes here.

Lee's Rich Loaf

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

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. butter
• 1 1/4 c. water
• 1/3 c. dry milk powder
• ~700g hard (strong/high grade/bread) flour
• 2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
• 2 large eggs

Filling

• 1/4 c. chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1/4 c. raisins, soaked and drained
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 tsp. grated orange zest
• 1 Tbsp. butter, melted

Directions

1. Combine salt, sugar, butter, water, and milk powder over low heat and cook until butter is melted and water is very warm, but do not allow to boil.
2. Place ~250g of the flour into a bowl, pour in the warm liquid, and mix well.
3. Double check the temperature to make sure it's not too hot. Batter should be no more than 50°C.
4. Add the yeast and mix well.
5. Stir in the eggs, then beat for 2-3 minutes.
6. Add the most of the remaining flour a little bit at a time until a rough, shaggy dough forms.
7. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead, using any remaining flour to dust as necessary to keep it form being excessively sticky. Be very careful not to add too much flour! The dough should remain soft and pliable.
8. Continue kneading for 10-20 minutes.
9. Round the dough and place it in a covered bowl to rise for ~1 hour at room temperature.
10. Once the dough is well-risen, knock it back and knead a few strokes.
11. Divide into two equal portions and round each one.
12. Cover and rest for ~10 minutes.
13. Meanwhile, combine the nuts, raisins, cinnamon, sugar and orange zest in a bowl and mix well.
14. Grease two 20x10cm (8x4") loaf pans.
15. Take one of the dough balls and press/roll it into a flat rectangle ~35cm (14") long and ~1cm (1/2") thick.
16. Brush the melted butter onto the dough, leaving a 1-2cm margin where the seam will be.
17. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the butter.
18. Carefully roll the dough into a log and pinch to seal.
19. Place the loaf, seam-side-down, into one of the prepared loaf pans.
20. Shape the other dough ball into a loaf by your preferred shaping method and place it in the remaining empty loaf pan.
21. Cover and set aside to rise for ~45 minutes.
22. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
23. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 15 minutes.
24. Reduce temperature to 180°C (350°F) and keep baking for an additional 10-20 minutes.
25. Turn out onto baking rack to cool.

I was asked to bring some biscuits or scones to the Mother's Day festivities this year. (Yes, I know. This post is very late. I made these back in May. I've just been bad at actually getting around to the write-ups.) I did make some plain drop biscuits, but I thought it would be nice to make a second variety as well. The plain ones are great for toppin and enjoying with cream and jam, but the flavoured ones can be nice to have just on their own (or maybe with a bit of butter). Both were appreciated.

Photo goes here.

Chocolate-Orange Scones

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 250g flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 6 Tbsp. butter
• 1/2 c. chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1 Tbsp. orange zest

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).
2. Sift the baking powder into the flour.
3. Add the sugar and salt and stir to combine.
4. Cut in the butter.
5. Mix in the chocolate chips.
6. Beat the egg with the milk and orange zest.
7. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix with a fork.
8. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few seconds.
9. Pat dough into a 20cm (8") round.
10. Cut into 8 equal wedges.
11. Transfer scones to baking sheet and bake until done (~12 minutes).

This was meant to be done with lamb shanks, but I found some bone-in "lamb pieces" and shoulder chops on sale, so I opted to use those instead. The shanks would have been lovely (and probably resulted in everyone getting a bit more meat), but these were tasty too. And a lot cheaper!

Citrus-Braised Lamb Shanks

From Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan (p. 123)

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 lamb shanks, about 1 lb (450 g) each
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
• 3 small sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 c. dry white wine
• 1 c. chicken broth
• Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• Grated zest and juice of 1 lime
• Grated zest and juice of 1 orange

Directions

1. Heat 1 Tbsp of the oil over medium-high heat (preferably in a Dutch oven).
2. Season the shanks with salt and pepper.
3. Working in batches, sear the shanks, turning as needed, until browned on all sides, 6–8 minutes. Set aside.
4. Preheat the oven to 120°C (250°F).
5. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp oil to the pot and place over medium-low heat.
6. Add the carrot, onion, and celery and sauté until softened (~5 minutes).
7. Add the thyme, bay leaf, garlic, and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
8. Add the wine, broth, and lemon and lime zests and juices.
9. Return the shanks to the pot and bring the liquid to a gentle simmer.
10. Cover and cook in the oven, turning the shanks every hour, until the meat is completely tender (2-3 hours).
11. Transfer the shanks to a platter and keep warm in the oven.
12. Pour the juices from the pot into a large, heatproof measuring pitcher and let stand for 1 minute. The fat will rise to the top. Use a bulb baster to transfer the juices underneath the fat to a small saucepan.
13. Simmer to reduce slightly. Stir in the orange zest and juice.
14. Drizzle the reduced juices over the lamb shanks and serve.

I've had this recipe in my queue for a while, but kept failing to actually make it. It was alright in the end. Not amazing, but not bad either. And I did quite enjoy the almonds in it. A decent side dish all-in-all, even if it's not the star of the show.

Photo goes here.

Roasted Broccoli with Almonds and Orange

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 500g broccoli, cut into florets
• 4 tsp. olive oil, divided
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp. orange juice
• 1 tsp. orange zest
• 2 Tbsp. almonds, toasted and chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).
2. Toss broccoli with 1 Tbsp. of the olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Spread in an even layer on a baking sheet.
4. Roast at 220°C (425°F) for 20-30 minutes, flipping and stirring halfway through.
5. Transfer to a bowl and drizzle with remaining 1 tsp. of olive oil and orange juice.
6. Sprinkle with orange zest and almonds and serve.

I'm used to caraway being paired with rye flour in breads. Usually a mix of rye and wheat, but there's still generally at least some rye in the mix. Not this one though! This is an entirely white flour caraway bread. With orange zest. And brown sugar. Definitely a somewhat unusual mix. And it's also tiny. I'm used to using ~450g of flour for a standard 20x10cm (8x4") pan loaf. This recipe only calls for 250g of flour! It makes the ittiest, bittiest loaf. I baked it in an oven-proof bento container! It was adorable. Shortlived, but adorable.

Swedish Caraway Bread

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

Ingredients

• 3/4 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• grated zest of 1 orange
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 tsp. caraway seeds
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (or 1 3/4 tsp. instant yeast)
• 250g hard (strong/high grade/bread) flour, divided

Directions

1. Combine the water, sugar, orange zest, butter, and caraway seeds and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Reduce heat to medium and continue boiling for 3 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool to ~45°C (115°F).
4. Add salt, yeast, and ~1/2 of the flour to the water mixture and beat for 2-3 minutes.
5. Cover and set aside to rise at room temperature for ~1 hour.
6. Mix in ~1/2 of the remaining flour.
7. Spread the rest of the flour onto the work surface and dump the dough out on top of it. Knead until dough is smooth and supple (8-10 minutes) adding a little more water if necessary.
8. Round the dough, cover, and rest for 5-10 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, grease a very small loaf pan (18x8cm/7x3").
10. Shape the dough into a loaf by your preferred method. (I like to do a letter fold and then roll it up like a jelly roll.)
11. Place the loaf, seam-side-down, into the prepared pan, cover, and set aside to rise for another hour or so.
12. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 30-40 minutes.
13. Turn out onto wire rack to cool.

This was quite good. The chicken cooked up nice and tender and the sauce was lovely.

Recipe as written, it calls for using skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs. And, since I was able to find some on sale, that's what I used this time. That said, I think this would also work well with a whole chicken, cut up into parts. It might also be interesting to try it with chicken breasts instead of thighs sometime. I think you'd still want to go with skin-on breasts, since you get a lot of flavour from the rendered schmaltz. (Yes, you pour most of it off before making the sauce, but it still adds good flavour and helps make a nice fond.) Basically, as long as you have at least 1300g of chicken with the skin on, I don't think it matters too much which parts you're using. Personally, I'd go with breasts and/or thighs over drumsticks or wings, but... follow your heart!

Oh, and one more thing... I couldn't find any tangerines at the grocery store, so I ended up having to substitute clementines. I don't know if my clementines were unusually small/un-juicy or if tangerines are normally significantly juicier or what, but I found that I needed way more clementines than the recipe called for tangerines. I suggests two tangerines and indicates that they should yield ~1/2 c. of juice. I found that I needed five clementines to get that amount of juice. And, since I figured that the flavour of the clementines might be a bit milder than the tangerines, I decided to use the zest of all five as well. I'm happy with the results that I got. So, in future, I think I'll just do the same and keep zesting and juicing until I get 1/2 c. rather than relying on using a specific number of fruit.

Photo goes here.

Braised Chicken with Tangerine and Star Anise

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2-6 tangerines
• 1.3kg (~3lbs.) skin-on bone-in chicken pieces (preferably thighs)
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 c. chicken stock
• 2 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp. Sriracha (or similar hot sauce)
• 2-3 whole star anise
• 2 tsp. cornstarch (cornflour)
• 1 Tbsp. water

Directions

1. Zest and juice enough of the tangerines to produce 1/2 c. of juice. Set aside.
2. Season the chicken with the salt and pepper.
3. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
4. Add the chicken, skin-side-down, and sear until skin is crispy and fat has rendered (~10 minutes).
5. Flip and sear briefly on the other side (~5 minutes).
6. Transfer chicken to plate and drain off most of the fat. (Leave 1-2 tsp. in the pot.)
7. Return pot to medium heat and add the onion.
8. Cook, scraping the bottom of the pan, until onion softens (~4 minutes).
9. Add the garlic, ginger paste, and half of the tangerine zest and cook for another minute or so.
10. Add the chicken stock, tangerine juice, soy sauce, Sriracha, and star anise and bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pot.
11. Return chicken to pot, skin-side-up, cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until chicken is cooked through (~25 minutes).
12. Transfer chicken to a serving dish.
13. Bring sauce to a boil.
14. Whisk cornstarch into water and then mix the slurry into the boiling sauce.
15. Continue cooking for another minute or two until sauce thickens.
16. Pour sauce over chicken, sprinkle with remaining tangerine zest, and serve.

We don't tend to eat a lot of beets. The Kidlet isn't really a fan and I find them kind of annoying to prepare. And with so many other veggies that we do all like, it just never really seems worth getting the beets. I do like them though. So I was keen to find a recipe to use them up when we got a few in our last produce basket by accident.

This recipe is specifically written for "baby" beets. And the ones in our produce basket were the perfect size. Unfortunately, there were also only a handful of them. So TF had to go out and get us a few more. And the grocery store didn't have any small beets. So we had to make due with much larger ones. Cutting them down into smaller pieces seemed to work well enough though.

Roasted Beet Salad with Orange Vinaigrette and Goat Cheese

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 450g baby beets (3-5cm diameter), any colour
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 orange, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1/4 c. walnuts, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. orange juice
• 1 bunch watercress, arugula, or spring mix
• 60g fresh goat cheese, crumbled

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Cut the leaves off of the beets, leaving ~2cm of the stem in tact.
3. Rinse and scrub very well.
4. Place in a baking dish, toss with 1 Tbsp. of the oil, and season with salt and pepper.
5. Roast beets at 200°C (400°F) for ~25 minutes.
6. Add orange and chopped walnuts, drizzle with another Tbsp. of oil, and continue roasting until beets are very tender (~10 minutes longer).
7. Meanwhile, combine the red wine and orange juice and whisk in the remaining 1 Tbsp. of oil.
8. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
9. When the beets are done, allow them to cool and then remove the skins.
10. Pour the vinaigrette over them and toss to coat.
11. Place a handful of greens on each plate and top with some of the beet mixutre.
12. Sprinkle with goat cheese and serve.

I've been continuing to try out sourdough recipes from the King Arthur Flour website. This one is full of inclusions and spices. And, between the starter and the oatmeal, doesn't actually contain all that much fresh flour. Which made it a bit difficult to work with initially. The dough seemed very loose and wet and had very little gluten development. I actually ended up adding ~50g of extra flour, just to try to adjust the consistency to something slightly more workable. After it had sat overnight in the cold room though, it had tightened up quite a bit and I found myself wishing that I hadn't added the extra flour after all. So, I guess next time I'll trust the recipe and go with the original amounts.

Walnut and Raisin Oatmeal Sourdough

Slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients

• 120g ripe (fed) sourdough starter @ 100% hydration
• 250g cooked steel-cut oats¹, cooled
• 30g honey
• 30g water
• 30g unsalted butter
• 1 tsp. allspice berries, ground
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 Tbsp. orange zest
• 220g hard (strong/high grade/bread) whole wheat flour²
• 1/8 tsp. instant yeast (optional)
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 65g walnuts, toasted and chopped
• 90g raisins

Directions

1. Make sure your starter is well-fed and active.
2. Combine starter, oatmeal, honey, water, butter, allspice, nutmeg, and orange zest and mix well. (Make sure the oatmeal isn't too hot or it will kill the yeast/starter.)
3. Add the flour and yeast and mix very well.
4. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 30-60 minutes.
5. Work in the salt and let stand for another hour or two.
6. Do a bowl fold and then let rest for another hour or so. Repeat until dough feels light and well-risen.
7. Work in the walnuts and raisins.
8. At this point, dough can be covered and stored in the fridge overnight or allowed to rest for one more hour before shaping.
9. Shape into a loaf and place in a banneton or prepared loaf pan. (If desired, dust the banneton/pan with some finely chopped steel-cut oats first to give the loaf a nice coating.)
10. Cover and allow to rise at room temperature for 2-3 hours.
11. If desired, loaf may be proofed in the fridge overnight.
12. Preheat oven to 230°C (450°F) and boil some water.
13. Bake bread at 230°C (450°F) over a pan of boiling water for 15 minutes.
14. Remove water pan and reduce heat to 190°C (375°F) and bake for another 20 minutes or so.
15. Turn off oven and let loaf stand in hot oven for 10 minutes.
16. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

---

¹ Oats should be cooked with a ratio of 1:4.1 oats to water by mass. I started with 100g of oats and 410g of water and cooked until the oats were somewhat tender with a decent tooth/chew to them and the oatmeal was reasonably thick. I then weighed out 250g of the cooked oatmeal and reserved the rest for another use. ^Back
2 The original recipe calls for 220g of all-purpose flour. I ended up using 120g of whole wheat flour and 160g of all-purpose flour. I think next time I'd try using entirely whole wheat flour, but sticking to the originally recommended quantity. ^Back

It was TF's birthday today. She chose spaghetti a la carbonara as her birthday meal. And, as usual, she made it herself. But I wanted to do up some sides to go with it. Since, while carbonara is delicious, it's also not exactly health food. And I felt the need to try to put some greens on the plate.

I picked up a head of broccoli and roasted it with a drizzle of olive oil and some salt and pepper. But I figured that another vegetable side wouldn't go amiss, so I put together this salad as well.

The suggestion for topping it with toasted walnuts and orange segments came from a thread on Reddit. The same user also suggested adding either goat cheese or shaved Parmesan as well as a few olives. I chose to add the Parmesan, but omitted the olives.

For the dressing, I went with a slightly modified version of a lemon vinaigrette recipe found on Love & Lemons. I added a bit of red wine vinegar and half a shallot to mine, reduced the salt slightly, and omitted the thyme.

I'm really happy with how the salad worked out overall. And, as an added bonus, I drizzled a small amount of the dressing over the broccoli when it came out of the oven. I feel like the bright citrus flavours worked really well with the roasted broccoli. And the acidity helped balance the fat from the carbonara somewhat. All-in-all, a good combination!

Arugula Salad with Clementines and Walnuts

Adapted from Reddit and Love & Lemons

Ingredients

Vinaigrette

• 1/4 c. lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1/2 shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. Roman mustard
• 1/2 tsp. honey
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/4 c. olive oil

Salad

• ~100g arugula
• 2 clementines (or 1 orange), sectioned
• 3-4 Tbsp. walnuts, toasted and chopped
• shaved Parmesan

Directions

1. Combine the lemon juice, vinegar, shallot, gerlic, mustard, honey, salt, and pepper and mix well.
2. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking vigorously. Set aside.
3. Place the arugula in a salad bowl and top with clementines and walnuts.
4. Spoon some of the vinaigrette over. (You will not need it all.)
5. Top with Parmesan shavings and serve.

Gingered Rhubarb Crisp

I don't tend to do a lot with rhubarb. I enjoy the odd strawberry-rhubarb pie. But I don't think I've ever made one myself. I usually just get them ready-made from shops and restaurants. And, other than that, my rhubarb experience is very limited. But I know that TF enjoys various rhubarb-based confections as an occasional treat. And I do now have a bunch of recipes that call for it. And she also loves ginger. So, when rhubarb came into season this spring, I decided to give it a try. (I then failed to write it up for half a year, but that's beside the point.)

Gingered Rhubarb Crsip

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 680g rhubarb, cut into 1cm pieces
• 1 large orange
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 2.5cm (1") piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 3/4 c. flour
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/3 c. rolled oats
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 c. unsalted butter, melted
• vanilla ice cream, to serve (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
2. Combine rhubarb with 1 tsp. orange zest, 1/3 c. orange juice, and the (granulated) sugar in a 23cm (9") square baking tin.
3. In a bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon, and salt and mix well.
4. Add the butter and stir until evenly mixed.
5. Sprinkle the oat mixture over the rhubarb.
6. Bake at 190°C (375°F) until topping is golden and juices are thick (30-40 minutes).
7. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.
8. Serve as-is or with vanilla ice cream.

This is another recipe from my backlog that didn't get written up right away. So, as with so many of the others, I don't remember it very well. But I'm going to try to write it up anyway for completeness sake.

Garlicky Shrimp and Kale Sauté

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 450g shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, divided
• 1 orange
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 300g chopped frozen kale
• 6 cloves garlic, minced and divided
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, divided
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 Tbsp. minced flat-leaf parsley

Directions

1. Toss shrimp with 1 tsp. of the salt and set aside for 15 minutes.
2. Zest and juice the orange.
3. Heat 1 Tbsp. of the oil over medium-high heat.
4. Add the kale, half the garlic, 1/4 tsp. of the pepper flakes, and remaining 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt and sauté until wilted (3-4 minutes).
5. Transfer kale to a plate and sprinkle with orange zest.
6. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp. of oil to the pan.
7. Add the shrimp, remaining garlic, remaining 1/4 tsp. pepper flakes, and the bay leaf and sauté until shrimp turns opaque (1-2 minutes).
8. Add the orange juice and cook for another minute or so.
9. Top the kale with the shrimp and any pan juices.
10. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

I've been vibing with waffles lately, but still trying to make something a bit different every time. For this iteration, I decided to go with the whole wheat waffle recipe from the Breakfast Bible and try the suggested orange and thyme inclusions as I figured they'd be a nice complement to the apples and cheddar. I think this would be even better with some fresh lemon thyme, but regular dried thyme works okay in a pinch. I also think a few walnuts would be excellent folded into the batter. I didn't use any this time, but, having tasted it, I would definitely add them next time.

Orange-Thyme Whole Wheat Waffles with Apple and Cheddar

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 200g whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon thyme (or 1 tsp. dried thyme)
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 c. milk
• 2 large eggs
• grated zest of 1 orange
• 2 Tbsp. orange juice
• 90g unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 c. chopped walnuts (optional)
• 3/4 c. grated Cheddar cheese
• 3 apples, cored and sliced

Directions

1. Preheat your waffle iron.
2. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and thyme and mix well.
3. Sift in the baking powder and stir to combine.
4. Beat the eggs with the milk.
5. Mix the orange zest, juice, and butter to the wet ingredeints and mix well.
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to mix.
7. Add the walnuts (if using) and stir until just combined.
8. Pour a portion of batter into the waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer directions. Repeat with remaining batter.
9. Top waffles with cheese and apple slices.

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

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 ended up taking a few liberties with this recipe. The original was written for a 650g boneless leg of lamb roast and was meant to be cooked entirely under the broiler. I ended up adapting it for a 2kg bone-in leg of lamb cooked on the "convection roast" setting in my oven. I feel it worked quite well overall and I would absolutely do it this way again.

I'm usually not a huge fan of fennel¹, but between the seasonings, the roasting, and the pan sauce/gravy... this fennel was actually pretty good!

Since I didn't figure the lamb and roasted fennel and onions would be sufficient to be a dinner on their own, I opted to serve them alongside some polenta with sautéed mushrooms and greens. I feel like this rounded out the meal nicely. (Although I think an additional vegetable side wouldn't have gone amiss either.) It made for a nice meal and TF and I both really liked the combination.

Leg of Lamb with Roasted Fennel & Onions

Adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. orange zest
• 1/4 c. minced fresh thyme (or 2 Tbsp. dried thyme)
• 1/4 c. minced shallot
• 4 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds, crushed
• 3 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground, divided
• 2 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground, divided
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 bone-in leg of lamb (~2kg)
• 1 large fennel bulb, cut into thin wedges
• 2 red onions, cut into thin wedges
• 1/3 c. dry vermouth
• 1/3 c. chicken stock
• 1-2 tsp. flour

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F). Use "convection roast" setting if available.
2. Combine orange zest, thyme, shallot, and fennel seeds and mix well. Separate ~1/4 of the shallot mixture and set aside.
3. To the remaining (larger portion) of shallot mixture, add 1 Tbsp. of the salt, 2 tsp. of the pepper, and 2 Tbsp. of the olive oil and mix well.
4. Coat the lamb with the oily shallot mixture.
5. Roast at 220°C (425°F) for 20 minutes.
6. Reduce temperature to 180°C (350°F) and continue roasting for another 70-90 minutes (or until desired doneness is reached).
7. Meanwhile, toss the fennel and onion with the remaining 1 Tbsp. of olive oil.
8. Separate 1 Tbsp. of shallot mixture from the reserved portion and set aside.
9. Add the remaining shallot mixutre to the fennel and onions along with the remaining 3/4 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper and mix well.
10. Spread the veggies out on a parchment- or silicone-lined baking sheet.
11. When the lamb has ~20 minutes left, place the baking sheet with the veggies in the oven and roast until tender and beginning to brown. If the veggies are not quite browned enough by the time the lamb is ready to come out, move them to the uppermost position and turn on the broiler for 2-3 minutes.
12. Once the lamb is done, transfer it to a serving platter.
13. Pour any juices from the roasting dish into a small pot and skim off as much fat as possible.
14. Pour the vermouth into the empty roasting dish and scrape the bottom to deglaze. Add this mixture to the pot.
15. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until reduced slightly.
16. Add the reserved 1 Tbsp. of shallot mixture and stir to combine.
17. Whisk the flour into the chicken stock, pour into the pot, and continue cooking until slightly thickened.
18. Pass the pan sauce at the table to be drizzled over both the lamb and the roasted veggies.
19. Serve with roasted potatoes and/or polenta and additional vegetable sides if desired.

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¹ As a vegetable, I mean. I like fennel seeds as a seasoning. I'm just not crazy about fennel bulbs most of the time. ^Back

Pavlova has become my go-to for using up excess egg whites. So when I ran across this recipe in the Dessert of the Day cookbook, it was an easy choice.

I opted to make one large pavolva rather than several smaller ones and I added a little plain Greek yogurt to balance out the sweetness of the meringue and cherries. But other than that, I followed the recipe as written.

It was nice as is, but I think I would have actually preferred it with the cardamom and lime mixed into the meringue rather than combined with the cherries. I honestly might leave the syrup out altogether next time and just top the pav with some thawed frozen cherries and maybe a little icing sugar. Honestly, thinking about it more, I think it would be interesting to try topping it with different fruit as well. Don't get me wrong, I love cherries, but I'm not sure they're the best complement to the cardamom. I'd be tempted to try it with some canned mandarins instead. So, uh... here's the recipe for the cardamom-cherry pavlova and then I guess I'll write up my ideas for a cardamom-mandarin pavlova below that.

Cardamom-Cherry Pavlova

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

Meringue

• 4 large egg whites
• 1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. cornstarch (cornflour)

Toppings

• 20 green cardamom pods, lightly smashed
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/3 c. water
• 450g cherries, pitted and halved
• zest and juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp. icing sugar
• 1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until foamy.
3. Beat in the sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time.
4. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.
5. Sift the cornstarch over the meringue and mix it in.
6. Scoop the meringue onto the prepared baking sheet and form into a wide disc with a depression in the middle.
7. Bake at 160°C (325°F) for 5 minutes.
8. Reduce temperature to 120°C (250°F) and bake for another hour.
9. Turn off oven and allow meringue to stand in oven overnight.
10. Meanwhile, combine the cardamom pods, sugar, and water and bring to a boil.
11. Reduce heat and simmer for ~5 minutes.
12. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
13. Combine syrup, cherries, lime juice, and lime zest. Set aside.
14. Beat whipping cream with vanilla extract and icing sugar until stiffened.
15. Top meringue with yogurt followed by whipped cream and cherries.
16. Serve immediately!

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Variations

Spiced Orange Pavlova

Ingredients

Meringue

• 4 large egg whites
• 1 tsp. lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. lime zest
• 1/4 tsp. cardamom seeds (from green pods), ground
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 tsp. cornstarch (cornflour)

Toppings

• 1 (540mL) can mandarin oranges
• 1 whole clove
• 1/2 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp. icing sugar
• 1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. Beat egg whites with lime juice until foamy.
3. Mix in lime zest, cardamom, and vanilla.
4. Beat in sugar 1 Tbsp. at a time.
5. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.
6. Sift cornstarch over the meringue and mix in.
7. Scoop onto prepared baking sheet and form into a disc with a depression in the middle.
8. Bake at 160°C (325°F) for 5 minutes.
9. Reduce heat to 120°C (250°F) and bake for another hour.
10. Turn off oven and allow to cool in the oven overnight.
11. Meanwhile, simmer the oranges with the clove for a few minutes. Add a little extra sugar if you feel they need it.
12. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
13. Beat the cream with the vanilla and icing sugar until stiff.
14. Top the meringue with the yogurt, followed by the whipped cream and oranges.
15. Serve immediately.

Continuing my way through the parfait recipes in the Breakfast Bible, I decided to give this citrusy one a try. It's ideally meant to be made with pistachios and goji berries, both of which I usually have on hand. But I'd forgotten that I'd used up the last of my goji berries a while ago and hadn't bothered restocking immediately since I don't tend to use them very often. Whoops! Fortunately the recipe also suggested golden raisins as an acceptable alternative. And those I did have!

I really enjoyed this combination. The colours were pretty and the flavours were excellent. That said, I think it also would have been fine with regular oranges. Not quite as visually striking, maybe, but I think the flavours still would have worked out quite well. And I actually really liked the sweetness of the raisins in it. The do think the goji berries would have been a nice complement to the lemon, but they also tend to be a bit less sweet than raisins in my experience, so choose your fruit according to your tastes.

I found pistachios a somewhat surprising combination here. It was good, don't get me wrong! Just unexpected. I really enjoyed the pistachios in it, but I think it would be interesting to experiemnt with different nuts too. Toasted almonds were my first idea, but I think cashews could also be quite nice. Maybe something to consider for next time...

Blood Orange and Lemon Curd Parfaits

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 c. lemon curd, divided
• 4 blood oranges, peeled and sectioned¹, divided
• 1/4 c. dried goji berries or golden raisins, divided
• 3 c. plain Greek yogurt, divided
• 1/4 c. chopped pistachios², divided

Directions

1. Put 2 Tbsp. of lemon curd in the bottom of each jar.
2. Top each with the sections from 1/2 an orange.
3. Add 1/2 Tbsp. of raisins or goji berries to each one.
4. Then add 6 Tbsp. of yogurt to each jar.
5. Repeat layers. (This should use up the remainder of the lemon curd, oranges, raisins/goji berries, and yogurt.)
6. Top each parfait with 1 Tbsp. of pistachios and serve.

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¹ The original recipe called for "peeled and sliced", but I felt like cutting out the membrane entirely would make them easier to eat, so I opted for sectioning rather than slicing. ^Back
2 If you have the time and patience for it, I think toasting the pistachios before chopping would make the final result even tastier. That said, I still found it very good with untoasted pistachios, so go with whatever works for you. ^Back