I didn't love this and probably wouldn't bother making it again. That said, the Kidlet really liked it, so it might be worth keeping the recipe on hand for her sake if nothing else.

Bean Dip

Slightly adapted from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

Dip

• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 cans (~400mL each) chili beans
• 3/4 c. enchilada sauce
• 1/3 c. sour cream
• 1 c. grated cheese

Toppings

Pick 2-4

• Roma tomato, diced
• avocado, diced
• feta or cotija cheese, crumbled
• green onion, chopped
• fresh cilantro
• lime juice
• sour cream

Directions

1. Melt butter in and oven-proof skillet over medium-low heat.
2. Add onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook until soft and translucent (3-5 minutes).
3. Add beans and enchilada sauce and simmer for another 3-5 minutes.
4. Mash.
5. Stir in sour cream and half the cheese.
6. Top with remaining cheese and broil until melty and bubbling (3-4 minutes).
7. Serve with tortilla chips and desired toppings.

This is a great breakfast. Maybe just don't try to bake the potatoes from scratch first thing in the morning. Bake them the night before and just warm them back up and finish off the prep in the morning. Or "bake" them in the microwave.

Timings aside... I really like this as a breakfast. It's very satiating. You get starch, protein, healthy fats, and a bit of dairy. The only thing it's missing is a bit of veg! I half-wonder if you could get away with mixing a bit of spinach into the potato. I actually think that would be really nice. And Reiver suggested that some chopped chives or green onions would be a nice addition as well.

Eggs in Baked Potatoes

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 4 large baking potatoes
• 4 tsp. butter
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 c. chopped frozen spinach, thawed (optional)
• 1/2 c. grated cheese, divided
• 4 large eggs
• 1-2 green onions, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F) and pierce the potatoes all over with a fork.
2. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for ~1 hour. (Or microwave on high for ~10 minutes.)
3. Split the potatoes lengthwise. Do not cut all the way through! Press on the ends to force them opem a bit.
4. Add 1 tsp. of butter and 1 Tbsp. of sour cream to each potato.
5. Use a fork to break up the flesh of each potato and mash in the butter and sour cream.
6. Season to taste with salt and pepper, 1 Tbsp. of the cheese, and ~2 Tbsp. of spinach to each potato (if using). Mix well.
7. Make a well in the centre of each potato (pushing the flesh to the sides).
8. Transfer the potatoes to a greased baking dish.
9. Crack an egg into each potato and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
10. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 18-20 minutes (or until eggs reach desired doneness).
11. Sprinkle with green onions and serve.

This was the last savoury waffle in the book that I hadn't made yet. I had been holding off on making it initially since we were still avoiding shellfish for the Kidlet. But Reiver had put in a request for waffles and I was vibing with a savoury option, so I decided to finally give these ones a try. And they were really good!

Salt and Pepper Waffles with Clam Dip

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

Ingredients

Dip

• 115g bacon
• 1 (185g) can baby clams, drained
• 6 Tbsp. mayonnaise
• 6 Tbsp. sour cream
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/8 tsp. celery seeds, ground

Waffles

• 140g all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 large egg
• 1 c. milk
• 3 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 1-2 green onions, green parts only, sliced

Directions

Dip

1. Cook the bacon until crisp and chop.¹
2. Combine the clams, mayo, sour cream, green onions, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and celery seed.
3. Mix well, taste, and adjust seasonings as desired.
4. Cover and chill for at least an hour.

Waffles

1. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and pepper.
2. Sift in the baking powder and mix well.
3. Beat the egg with the milk.
4. Stir in the melted butter.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined.
6. If you have a "standard"/American waffle iron, you can put 2-3 tsp. of batter into each quadrant and make mini waffles to serve as an appetizer. Otherwise, you can use a normal quantity of batter to make full-sized waffles.
7. Cook according to manufacturer directions.

Assembly

1. Top the waffles with the clam dip.
2. Garnish with sliced green onion (and chopped bacon if you forgot to stir it into the dip like me).

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¹ I forgot to add the bacon to my dip, so I just sprinkled it on top at the end. ^Back

This soup is a bit different than my usual approach to pumpkin soup. Quite often my soups will involve generous quantities of curry powder and coconut milk and quite often a bit of tomato as well. This one leans into maple syrup with a little bit of cayenne as the main seasoning. (Although I used Kashmiri chilies in my rendition of it.) I think I still prefer my usual curried version overall, but this was an interesting twist on the pumpkin soup theme. Especially with the sour cream and seasoned pumpkin seeds.

Maple Pumpkin Soup

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. sweet paprika¹
• 1/2 tsp. ground cayenne (or Kashmiri chilies), divided
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. butter, divided
• 7 Tbsp. maple syrup, divided
• 1 tsp. water
• 1/2 c. pumpkin seeds, toasted
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2-3 ribs celery, finely chopped
• 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 c. white wine
• 4-5 c. chicken or vegetable stock
• 1250g pumpkin purée²
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 c. sour cream

Directions

1. Combine the sugar, paprika, 1/4 tsp. of the cayenne, and ground sea salt and set aside.
2. Combine 1/2 Tbsp. of the butter, 1 Tbsp. of the maple syrup, and the water and bring to a boil over medium heat.
3. Add the pumpkin seeds and cook until liquid has evaporated and seeds are well-coated.
4. Transfer to bowl with the paprika mixture and toss to coat.
5. Spread out on a sheet of parchment paper to cool.
6. Melt the remaining 2 Tbsp. of butter over medium heat.
7. Add the onion and celery and cook until softened (~10 minutes).
8. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or so.
9. Add the wine, increase heat to medium-high, and cook until reduced by half.
10. Add the stock and the pumpkin, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for ~10 minutes.
11. If soup is chunkier than you'd like, use an immersion blender to smooth it out.
12. Stir in the remaining 6 Tbsp. of maple syrup, sea salt, remaining 1/4 tsp. of cayenne, and pepper and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
13. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.
14. Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of the seasoned pumpkin seeds.

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¹ I just used plain sweet paprika this time, but I think that smoked sweet paprika would actually be really nice in this. ^Back
2 I used a mix of fresh and canned pumpkin for this. One 796mL can + 1 pie pumpkin yieled about the right amount. I cut the pumpkin in half, scooped out the seeds, rubbed it with a little olive oil, and baked it at 180°C (350°F) for 50 minutes, then scooped the flesh out of the skin. ^Back

These were alright, but I think they would've been better if the green onions had had more of a chance to cook down. Next time, I'd sauté the alliums first and then add the eggs and tomatoes. I also think this one really benefits from a bit of cheese. Some mild cheddar grated on top makes it! (I think some chopped pickled jalapeños would also be nice, but I do wonder at what point it starts becoming a new dish entirely.)

Anyway... dress them up or down as you see fit. Serve with a slice of buttered toast or an English muffin to round things out.

Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes, Green Onions, and Sour Cream

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 8 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 6 small green onions, chopped
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• 1/2 c. grated cheddar (optional)
• 2-3 Tbsp. chopped pickled jalapeños (optional)

Directions

1. Beat the eggs with the milk, salt, and pepper.
2. Stir in the basil and tomato.
3. Melt the butter over medium heat.
4. Add the green onions and sauté until softened (2-3 minutes).
5. Add the egg mixture, reduce heat to medium-low and cook, without stirring, for 2-3 minutes.
6. Stir and gently break up the curds. Continue cooking, stirring often, until eggs are mostly set.
7. Stir in the sour cream and cook until heated through (1-2 minutes longer).
8. Add cheese and or jalapeños (if desired) and serve with buttered toast.

This was delicious! Especially with all the toppings. And it's not too difficult to put together either. Although it does take a lot of cheese and eggs. So definitely make sure you are well-supplied before starting.

Chile Egg Puff

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 10 large eggs
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/8 tsp. white peppercorns, ground
• 3 c. grated Cheddar, divided
• 2 c. cottage cheese (preferably fat free)
• 1/4 c. butter, melted
• 1 (~100mL) can of green chilies, drained
• salsa, to serve
• sour cream, to serve
• sliced avocado, to serve
• chopped green onion, to serve

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease a 23x33cm (9x13") baking dish.
2. Beat the eggs with the flour, baking powder, salt, and white pepper.
3. Mix in half the cheddar cheese and all of the cottage cheese.
4. Stir in the butter and green chilies.
5. Pour the egg mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake at 180°C (350°F), uncovered, for 30 minutes.
6. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake for another 10 minutes.
7. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
8. Cut into squares and serve topped with salsa, sour cream, green onion, and avocado.

The Kidlet requested cake pops for her birthday party this year. I was somewhat apprehensive since I've never made them before and they seemed a bit fiddly. But, truth-be-told, they weren't actually that difficult to put together!

On the one hand, you have to bake the cake and then crumble it and mix it with milk to form the "dough". Then form it into balls, partially freeze them, impale them on sticks, and coat each one in chocolate. So it is a bit of a process. But, on the other hand, you don't have to make icing or split, fill, and stack cake layers. You don't have to do any decoration beyond a few sprinkles. And they're extremely easy to serve. No plates or cutlery required!

All-in-all, I'd call these a great success and happily make them again in the future!

My cake pops were a little on the large size. According to the recipe, we were supposed to get 36 cake pops, but we only ended up with 30. I could have reduced the size a bit to the proper proportions, but I figured no one would mind the extra-large size. They're a little less dainty, to be sure. And a little more top-heavy. But I quite liked them nonetheless.

Cake Pops

Slightly adapted from The Perfect Cake by America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

• 210g all-purpose flour
• 200g sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 c. sour cream
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 c. milk¹
• 2 Tbsp. icing (powdered/confectioners') sugar
• ~2 c. white or dark chocolate chips
• 30-36 lollipop sticks
• sprinkles

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease and flour a 20cm (8") square pan.
2. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt.
3. Sift in the baking powder and mix well.
4. Add the butter, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla and mix until just combined.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 180°C (350°F) until golden and cooked through (~25 minutes).
6. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling.
7. Once cake has cooled completely, break into small (1-2cm) pieces.
8. Add the milk and sugar to the bowl and mix until a dough forms.
9. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
10. Form the dough into balls (aim for 30-36 total).
11. Freeze for ~1 hour until firm, but not frozen solid.
12. Gently melt the chocolate in a large measuring cup and place in a bowl of hot water to keep it liquid.
13. Dip a stick into the melted chocolate and then stab it about halfway through one of the cake balls.
14. Dip the cake pop in the chocolate to coat completely.
15. Dip in sprinkles so that some are picked up by the chocolate.
16. Stand cake pop in a piece of florist's foam and allow chocolate to set.
17. Repeat dipping process with remaining cake pops.
18. Store at room temperature for up to 4 hours or in the fridge for up to 4 days.

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¹ The original recipe only called for 1/4 c. of milk, but that wasn't nearly enough to form a cohesive dough. I needed to add an extra 1/4 c. of milk for it to reach that point. ^Back

I'm a big fan of whipped cream. Especially when it's lightly sweetened and flavoured with a bit of vanilla. This variation adds some additional layers of flavour to the mix: A small amount of sour cream gives it a distinctive tang. And using brown sugar rather than powdered or granulated gives it just a touch of complexity from the molasses.

I made it to go with a sour cream chocolate cake, but it also pairs beautifully with fresh fruit.

Tangy Whipped Cream

Slightly adapted from The Perfect Cake by America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Combine the cream, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla and beat on low speed until slightly frothy.
2. Gradually increase speed to high and beat on high speed until cream stiffens.
3. Serve with fresh fruit and/or cake.

Sometimes you just get a craving that will not quit. I had one for chocolate cake hit me last week and nothing I did would banish the thought from my head. So I finally gave in and picked out a recipe I hadn't tried before.

I like a good sour cream chocolate cake. And I appreciated that this one didn't need any sort of glaze or icing. They suggest serving it with lightly sweetened raspberries and tangy whipped cream, but those are both completely optional and the cake is still lovely on its own or with just a light dusting of icing sugar.

Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake

Slightly adapted from The Perfect Cake by America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

• 65g cocoa powder¹
• 170g dark chocolate, chopped
• 1 tsp. instant espresso or coffee powder
• 3/4 c. boiling water
• 240g all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 c. sour cream
• 12 Tbsp. (~170g) unsalted butter, softened
• 400g brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 5 large eggs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease and flour² a Bundt pan.
2. Combine cocoa, chocolate, and coffee powder in a heat-proof bowl.
3. Pour the boiling water into the bowl, cover, and let stand for 5 minutes.
4. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is homogeneous. Set aside.
5. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and salt and sift in the baking soda. Mix well and set aside.
6. Add the sour cream to the chocolate mixture and stir to combine.
7. Cream the butter with the sugar until light (~3 minutes).
8. Mix in the vanilla.
9. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
10. Add ~1/3 of the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
11. Add ~1/2 of the sour cream mixture and, once combined, follow with 1/2 the remaining dry ingredients.
12. Finish up by mixing in the last of the sour cream mixture followed by the last of the dry ingredients.
13. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
14. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until done (40-50 minutes).
15. Allow to cool in tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling.
16. Serve as-is or topped with a dusting of icing sugar, fresh or macerated fruit of your choice, and/or whipped cream. (Or tangy whipped cream, if you prefer.

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¹ The original recipe calls for using natural cocoa powder. I got mixed up and used Dutched/alkalized cocoa instead. I was very happy with the results, so I'm going to go ahead and say that either is fine. I think there's probably enough acid in the sour cream that the pH of the cocoa powder doesn't really matter that much for this one. ^Back
2 If you're worried about flour showing on the surface of the finished cake, brush the pan with a paste of melted butter and cocoa instead. About 1 Tbsp. of each should do the trick. ^Back

I found some diced chorizo on sale at the grocery store last week. I didn't have concrete plans for it when I bought it, but I figured it keeps weel enough that it's worth buying when it goes on sale just to have on hand.

In theory, this recipe really probably wants a Mexican-style chorizo, not a Spanish-style one. But it was still very tasty this way, so I didn't mind the swap!

Tex-Mex Scramble

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 200g chorizo¹
• 6-8 green onions, chopped
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 2 Tbsp. milk (optional)
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 c. grated Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 c. sour cream, to serve
• tortillas, to serve (optional)

Directions

1. Heat a pan over medium heat.
2. Add the chorizo and cook until beginning to brown (~5 minutes).
3. Add the green onions and garlic and cook until softened (2-3 minutes).
4. Beat the eggs with the water and milk (if using).
5. Season to taste with pepper.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low, pour the egg mixture into the pan, and cook until bottom begins to set (1-2 minutes).
7. Stir to break up the curds and allow the uncooked egg to flow under.
8. Once eggs are mostly set, sprinkle with cheese and mix gently.
9. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with sour cream and tortillas (if using).

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¹ For Mexican-style chorizo, you will want to remove the casings and break up the meat as it cooks. Spanish-style chorizo is generally more of a firm, cured sausage, so it will need to be chopped before cooking. Either one will work here. ^Back

This is basically a dal. A very Anglo dal, but still mostly a dal: a soup of legumes cooked with aromatics and curry powder with a bit of roasted squash tossed in for good measure. If it were an Indian-style dal, the legumes would be cooked in water rather than broth. And the spices would probably not involve an Anglo-style Madras curry powder. And the peas would probably be cooked in a pressure cooker to get the desired soft texture rather than puréed with a blender. But the overall concept is still there. It's just had a few of the details changed around.

Curried Split Pea Soup with Kabocha Squash

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 small kabocha squash (~500g)
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 Tbsp. Madras curry powder
• 3/4 c. yellow split peas¹ (chana dal)
• 2 1/2 c. vegetable stock
• 1/2 c. pumpkin or sunflower seeds, toasted
• 1/2 c. sour cream (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F) and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.
2. Cut the squash in half, scoop out the guts, peel the halves, and chop into 2cm cubes.
3. Toss the squash with 1 Tbsp. of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
4. Roast at 200°C (400°F) until tender (30-40 minutes).
5. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 Tbsp. of oil over medium heat.
6. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook until softened (~5 minutes).
7. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two.
8. Add the curry powder and split peas and toast for ~2 minutes.
9. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil.
10. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low.
11. Simmer until peas are tender (~35 minutes).
12. Once peas are tender, partially purée with an immersion blender.
13. Add roasted squash and cook until heated through (~5 minutes).
14. Serve topped with toasted seeds and a dollop of sour cream (if using).

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¹ I think this would also be great with skinned split pigeon peas (toor dal). Although you'd likely need to adjust the cooking time somewhat as I think they generally cook a bit faster than split peas. ^Back

We're all out of cottage cheese and I haven't had a chance to make any more bread yet, so I was at a bit of a loss as to what to make for breakfast.

Luckily we still had some sour cream left in the fridge and I'd gotten a small package of smoked salmon on sale last week. And with the dried chives in the pantry and the neverending supply of eggs from the chickens, that gave me everything I needed to make these simple but special-feeling scrambled eggs.

Smoked Salmon Scrambled Eggs

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 8 large eggs
• 2-4 Tbsp. milk
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 150g smoked salmon, chopped
• 2-3 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives
• 1/2 c. sour cream or crème fra&icric;che
• 1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest

Directions

1. Melt the butter over medium-low heat.
2. Beat the eggs with the milk and season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and allow to cook for a minute or two without stirring.
4. Gently stir the eggs and allow to cook until nearly set (another 2-4 minutes).
5. Stir in the smoked salmon and chives and cook for a minute or so longer.
6. Serve topped with sour cream/crème fra&icric;che and lemon zest.

Reiver wanted to try some unusual waffles while he was here. Initially I made croque-madame waffles, which were delicious, but not weird enough for him. (The toppings were interesting, but it was still just a basic waffle underneath.) So this was the next waffle recipe that I decided to try.

I'd made the buckwheat waffles that form the base of this recipe before. But hadn't had a specific set of toppings or flavour profile in mind when I did. This time I figured I'd follow the suggested recipe in the book and top them with smoked salmon and sour cream¹. So, basically like blini, but in waffle form.

Buckwheat Waffles with Smoked Salmon

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

Ingredients

• 4-6 buckwheat waffles
• 250g smoked salmon
• 1/2 c. crème fraîche or sour cream
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives and/or dill
• 2 Tbsp. capers
• black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Prepare your waffles.
2. Top each with a couple slices of smoked salmon and a dollop of crème fraîche/sour cream.
3. Garnish with red onion, chives, dill, capers, and/or pepper and serve.

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¹ The recipe technically called for crème fra&icric;che, but they didn't have any at my usual grocery store and I didn't want to make a separate trip out to get it, so I just used sour cream instead. Still delicious and slightly lower fat than the alternative! ^Back

Lemon-Ginger Pavlova with Strawberries and Sour Cream

It wouldn't have occured to me to mix sour cream into my lemon curd if the recipe hadn't called for it. I've seen recipes for lemon mousseline that have you fold whipped cream into lemon curd. So, I guess this isn't that different from a sweet mousseline. It just never really occurred to me to use sour cream instead. Honestly, I barely remember that mousseline is a thing most of the time!

All that being said... the sour cream, lemon, ginger, and strawberry combo worked really well! I think it would've been even nicer if I'd been able to get my hands on some of the tiny, intensely-flavoured alpine strawberries that were recommended by the recipe authors, but the regular grocery store strawberries were just fine (if somewhat less punchy).

I'm still kind of torn as to whether I preferred this pav or the apricot one. TF preferred this one. Reiver preferred the apricot one. I was expecting to like this one better, and it was very good, but I think the apricots may have come out slightly ahead for me. That said, it was a near enough thing that I think which one I like best really just comes down to how I'm feeling on the day. They are both excellent and I wouldn't turn either one down!

Lemon-Ginger Pavolva with Strawberries and Sour Cream

Slightly adapted from Delicious.com.au

Ingredients

Meringue

• 4 large egg whites
• 1 tsp. vinegar
• 200g sugar
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch (cornflour)

Lemon-Ginger Curd

• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 140g sugar
• 80g unsalted butter
• zest and juice of 2 lemons
• 2 tsp. ground ginger

Assembly

• 250mL sour cream
• 450g fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
• 6-8 slices candied ginger, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F) and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
2. Combine egg whites and vinegar and whisk on increasing speeds until foamy.
3. Continue increasing speed gradually to high while adding the sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time.
4. Whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form.
5. Sprinkle over the cornstarch and mix in. Do not overmix!
6. Scoop the meringue onto the prepared baking sheet and shape as desired.
7. Place in oven, immediately reduce heat to 120°C (250°F), and bake for 1 hour.
8. Turn oven off and leave pavlova in warm oven to cool for at least two hours or as long as overnight.
9. Meanwhile, combine the eggs, egg yolks, and sugar over low heat.
10. Cook, whisking constantly, for 8-10 minutes.
11. Mix in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and ginger.
12. Add the butter, 1 Tbsp. at a time, while continuing to whisk and cook over low heat.
13. Once thickened, remove from heat and set aside to cool.
14. Once cooled, stir the sour cream into the lemon curd.
15. Transfer the pavolva to a serving platter and spoon on the lemon curd mixture.
16. Top with the strawberries and candied ginger and serve.

Breakfast Tacos (Breakfast Bible version)

I was initially planning on making breakfast burritos for breakfast this morning, but I failed to procure a few of the ingredients and ended up swapping them out for these breakfast tacos instead. I had all the ingredients on hand and it let me use up a few things out of the fridge that really needed used.

There are a lot of different parts to these tacos, but none of them requires much in the way of prep. It's mostly just chopping, maybe stirring a few things together in a bowl. The only thing that really needs cooking is the eggs. So that helps make this a fairly tractable morning recipe. Although it's still a little more complicated than I'd normally prefer for a weekday breakfast. Perfect for a weekend though!

I just filled my tacos with the toppings listed in the recipe: cheese, beans, avocado, crema, pickled onions, and cilantro. And they were great that way. That said, I do think a little salsa (or pico de gallo, as the recipe author suggests) would have been nice as well. And you could certainly experiment with trying out different toppings and adjusting the combination somewhat. Thinly sliced radishes and pickled jalapeños spring to mind as potential candidates. Refried beans... tomatoes... taco sauce... ketchup... take your pick!

Breakfast Tacos

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 6 Tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 c. sour cream
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1/4 tsp. lime zest
• 1 tsp. minced jalapeño
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 8 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. unsalted butter
• 8 small (15cm) corn tortillas
• 1/2 c. cooked pinto beans¹
• 1 avocado, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 c. cheese, either grated cheddar or crumbled cotija or feta
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Stir together the onion, vinegar, and sugar and let stand for at least 30 minutes.
2. Stir together sour cream, lime juice, lime zest, and jalapeño and season to taste with salt and pepper. Let stand while you prepare the rest of the meal.
3. Beat the eggs with the milk and season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Melt the butter over medium-low heat.
5. Pour in the eggs and allow to cook for a minute or two without stirring.
6. Stir the eggs and scrape the bottom of the pan. Continue cooking and occasionally stirring until eggs are soft set in large curds.
7. Meanwhile, warm the tortillas until soft and supple.
8. Assemble to tacos by filling the tortillas with scrambled eggs and topping with beans, avocado, cheese, crema, pickled onions, and cilantro and serve.

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¹ I already had an open can of baked beans in the fridge, so I just used those instead of opening a can of pinto beans or trying to cook some from scratch. ^Back

The Kidlet came home from her cooking class with half of a fairly hefty head of cabbage a couple weeks ago. I wasn't really feeling the cabbage roll casserole or coleslaw, so I've been casting about for another recipe that would use it up. I liked the look of this boiled dinner as a simple, one-pot meal, so I figured I'd give it a try.

Sadly we didn't have any brisket left in the freezer, so I didn't end up making my own corned beef for this. (Maybe next time.)

I actually couldn't find any corned beef (that wasn't out of a can), so I ended up getting a piece of "pastrami-style" brisket instead. They're similar. The pastrami is just more highly seasoned and made from a fattier piece of brisket (and is normally smoked and steamed rather than boiled).

It would have been nice to have had the leaner corned beef for this dinner, but the pastrami still worked very nicely. And TF definitely appreciated how tender it was!

This is a great, simple dinner. Just be aware that you will need a fairly large pot to accommodate all the ingredients. I only had half as much meat and ~75% as many potatoes as I was supposed to and my Dutch oven was still on the verge of overflowing! So, if you don't have a very large pot available, you may want to halve the recipe and make a smaller batch.

Boiled Dinner

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 (1.5-1.8kg/3.5-4 lb.) corned beef brisket¹
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 5-6 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns
• 6 large or 12 small carrots, peeled
• 2 cloves garlic (optional)
• 3-4 onions, cut into wedges
• 900g (2 lbs.) new potatoes
• 1 small green cabbage, cut into wedges
• 1/2 c. sour cream²
• 1-2 Tbsp. prepared horseradish
• black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives (optional)

Directions

1. Place the corned beef in a large pot and add enough water to cover it by 2-3cm.
2. Bring to a boil and skim any foam off the surface.
3. Reduce heat; add bay leaves, thyme, parsley, and peppercorns; cover; and simmer until meat is somewhat tender and has reached an internal temperature of at least 70°C/160°F (2-3 hours³).
4. If your carrots are large, cut them into smaller chunks. (If they're small, they can just be peeled and left whole.)
5. Add the carrots, garlic (if using), onions, potatoes, and cabbage to the pot.
6. Increase heat to quickly bring the mixture back to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and continue to simmer until potatoes are fork tender (~30 minutes).
7. Meanwhile, stir the horseradish into the sour cream and season to taste with pepper.
8. Stir in the chives (if using).
9. Once the vegetables are done, remove them with a slotted spoon.
10. Transfer the meat to a cutting board and slice.
11. Serve the meat and veggies together, passing the horseradish sour cream at the table.

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¹ If you'd like to make your own corned beef, here are the instructions:

Combine 8 cups water, 1 1/2 cups kosher salt, 1/2 c. sugar, 3 Tbsp pickling spices, and 3 cloves garlic, crushed.
Stir until the salt and sugar are dissolved.
Submerge the brisket in the brine, cover, and refrigerate for 5-8 days.
Remove the brisket, rinse, and proceed with recipe.

I didn't end up trying this approach this time (hence why it's down here in a footnote). If I ever do, I'll give it its own write-up in a separate post. I just wanted to have it recorded somewhere in the meantime. ^Back
2 The original recipe called for 1 c. of heavy cream here. You were meant to whip the cream and then fold in 3 Tbsp. of horseradish. TF didn't like the sound of that, so I swapped in some sour cream instead. It was delicious on the beef and went great with the potatoes too! ^Back
3 I was working with a much smaller piece of meat, so mine had already cooked through before it'd even reached the 1-hour mark. Adjust your cooking time as needed based on the size and shape of your brisket. ^Back

I've been making a lot of waffles recently, but I swear that I didn't make three batches of waffles back-to-back! I've just been bad at staying on top of doing the write-ups as I cook the things, so now I've got a huge pile to do and I keep reaching for the waffle recipes first when I sit down to type something up. So, my apologies for this inadvertently becoming a non-stop waffle train, but I do have other recipes in the pipeline, I swear! I just need to find the spoons to actually do write-ups for them. In the meantime, here's another waffle recipe!

I really liked these waffles! They weren't my favourite, but they were certainly way up there in the list for me. They've got a bit of body to them and work well as a base for either sweet or savoury toppings. I had my first one with a dollop of sour cream and some cranberries, blueberries, and haskap berries mixed with a bit of honey. TF had hers with a fried egg and some turkey and cheese. And today I decided to go for almond butter, banana, and maple syrup as my toppings. They all worked great! Definitely a nice way to start the morning.

Buckwheat-Sour Cream Waffles

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

Ingredients

• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 c. buckwheat flour
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 2 large eggs
• 1 c. sour cream
• 1 c. milk
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat your waffle iron.
2. Combine the flours and salt.
3. Sift in the baking powder and baking soda and stir to combine.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the sour cream and milk.
5. Whisk the brown sugar into the egg mixture.
6. Slowly pour in the melted butter while whisking vigorously.
7. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until just combined.
8. Stir with a spatula to make sure there are no dry lumps of flour left. Batter will be thick and a bit gluey; this is expected.
9. Pour a portion of batter into the preheated waffle iron, close, and cook according to manufacturer's directions. Repeat until all batter has been used.
10. Serve waffles with sweet or savoury toppings of your choice.

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

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

I decided at the last minute that I wanted to make an extra dish to share on Boxing Day. I debated between a few different possibilities, but ultimately settled on these very simple galettes. They were easy to make and used up the last few potatoes from the pantry. Plus, I already had a small package of smoked salmon in the fridge that I'd picked up on sale a few days ago. And it really doesn't need much beyond salmon and potatoes.

Potato Galettes with Smoked Salmon

From Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 russet potatoes (~350g)
• 2 Tbsp. canola oil, divided
• 90g smoked salmon, thinly sliced and cut into ~5cm squares
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives¹
• 2 Tbsp. sour cream (optional)

Directions

1. Peel and grate the potato.
2. Squeeze the potato, one handful at a time, in paper towels to remove as much of the moisture as possible.
3. Heat 1-2 tsp. of oil over medium-high heat.
4. Drop ~1 Tbsp. of grated potato into the pan and press it flat.
5. Make several more galettes, leaving enough space between them that they do not touch while cooking.
6. Cook until top is transluscent and underside is golden (3-4 minutes).
7. Flip and cook until the other side is well-browned (~3 minutes longer).
8. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
9. Transfer to a plate and top each galette with a piece of salmon.
10. Garnish with chives.
11. Top each galette with a little sour cream (if desired).

¹ I didn't have any fresh chives handy, so I just used a few freeze-dried chives. Fresh definitely would have been preferred though. ^Back