Maple Syrup Sweet Potatos

This photo shows them cut in wedges - the shape is up to you

Maple Sweet Potatoes
Prep time: 5 minutes
Roasting time: 15-20 minutes
Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed (1-2” pieces)
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp thyme
Salt & pepper
Juice of 1 lime

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C

2. Place the sweet potato chunks on a lined baking sheet with sides, sprinkle with the rest of the ingredients, toss and bake for 10 minutes. Toss again and bake until done, probably another 5-10 minutes, depending on the size of the chunks.

Related links: Food and Drink Recipes Vegetables

Lemon Zest Spinach

Lemon Zest Spinach
From Every Kitchen Tells Its Stories

Hands-on time: 5minutes
Sautee time: 5 minutes
Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 tsp olive oil or butter
1 green onion, chopped (including green portion)
1 clove garlic, minced
½ bag/bunch fresh spinach, washed, dried, stems removed
1 ½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
1-2 tsp grated lemon zest ( ½ lemon)

Directions:
1. In a large sauté pan, over medium heat, warm olive oil. Add green onions and garlic, cook until soft (approx 1 minute).

2. Add spinach leaves, cover pan and cook, stirring once or twice until all the spinach is wilted and tender but still bright green. (approx 3-5 minutes)

3. Remove from heat. Add vinegar and lemon zest and stir

4. Transfer to platter and serve.

Tips & Variations
Don’t let the garlic burn or it will taste very bitter.

Sautéing the spinach actually only takes a few minutes, so have everything else almost ready.

Related links: Food and Drink Recipes Vegetables

Lemon Tilapia

Lemon Garlic Tilapia
From Every Kitchen Tells Its Stories

Prep time (marinating): 5 minutes
Cooking time: 5-10 minutes
Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 tilapia fillets
1 tbsp olive oil
Cajun spice to taste
Marinade:
1 tbsp olive oil
Juice of ½ a lemon
1 clove of garlic, minced
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Garnish: chopped cilantro or parsley

Directions:
1. In a small bowl combine marinade ingredients. Coat fish and allow to marinate for 5 minutes NOT LONGER.
2. Heat non-stick fry pan on high until hot (2-3 minutes) add oil, swirl once or twice and add fish fillets. Lower heat to medium high and sprinkle with Cajun spice to taste. Cook for five minutes or so and turn fish over. Cook for an additional five minutes or less. The fish is ready when it is white in color.
3. Garnish with cilantro or parsley and additional Cajun spice if you like it hot (or not if you just like a little kick) and serve.
Tips & Variations
Halibut or other firm-fleshed fish works well too.

Great with steamed green vegetables and new potatoes.

Related links: Food and Drink Recipes Fish

The Dreaded Brown Rice Diet

Well it's that time of year for me to do my detox ritual. Nothing horrible - unless you (like me) think brown rice tastes like wood. I actually have a wonderful recipe for baked brown rice that I found in Cooks Illustrated, June 2004 and it tastes great - except when I do this detox thing. For one week it's only brown rice (made with water not stock) served with raw fruit (not bananas or oranges - don't ask me why) and fresh vegetables (except corn and mushrooms) - raw, steamed, baked, roasted, grilled or sauteed lightly in a little bit of olive oil. No meat, fish, poultry, eggs, cheese or bread products - but herbs and spices are fine as long as there's no salt or MSG.

For those of you worried that I might be doing something stupid to lose a million pounds (I wish), let me assure you that a naturopath gave me this plan years ago. She puts all her new clients through it to see whether or not they have any food allergies. You slowly integrate food back into your diet after the first week-one thing at a time, starting with bananas, dried fruit and rice pastas and ending with cheese products. Nuts, then fish then chicken, legumes and wheat fall in between. You are really supposed to wait a few days after adding one item and before trying any additional item to allow your body to adjust and for you to be able to notice any reactions. This process is supposed to take about a month to do properly if you are really checking for allergies. I incorporate things much quicker than that....probably about an additional week or so before everything is back in. I do take multi vitamins so I'm not really missing anything and it is for a short time. It allows my body to have a break from over indulging - something I've been doing a lot of lately what with Domestic Goddess' Sugar High Fridays and testing dessert recipes for the cookbook. It also forces me take stock of what and how much I actually eat.

Just so you don't feel too bad for me I thought I'd share a day in the life...
Breakfast
Fruit smoothie made with strawberries, blueberries, peaches and some Ceres juice which is pure and has no added anything - just wonderful juice - delicious anytime really
Lunch
Salad with olive oil & lemon juice with lots of herbs and pepper
Or
Sliced tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with fresh basil (it is the perfect time of year for this!!!)
Or
cup of brown rice with left over vegetables from last night's supper
Fresh fruit (this diet is fine in the summer but brutal in the winter when there is no flavorful fresh fruit to be had. How many apples can a person eat!?!
Dinner
brown rice - tossed with fresh herbs, lemon zest and pepper (not worth a picture)
grilled vegetables - last night was eggplant, red peppers, asparagus and thick red onion slices marinated in olive oil, lemon juice and garlic

OR
tonigth I think I'll stuff the rice in a grilled red pepper
Fruit salad (I actually found Ontario strawberries that look fabulous and smell wonderful)

My real challenge is after dinner, because no matter how much rice and veggies I eat, I'm not satisfied without some real protein (like meat, fish, eggs and cheese) and bread. So this week it's early to bed for me, but I do feel better for it once it's over.

If anyone has any interesting ideas for veggies, I'm all ears

Dinner at Fife House

Once a month I join a group of volunteers to cook and serve a community meal at Fife House, a non-profit organization that provides affordable supportive housing and support services for people living with HIV/AIDS. My daughter was really the one to choose Fife House, visiting and doing errands for some of the residents, as well as joining one of the teams running the twice monthly community meals. A group of 5 or 6 of us prepare and serve a Sunday Supper for the residents who wish to come down to share a meal and chat. Joanna actually only participated in one Sunday Supper before deciding that she was going to travel through Europe with a friend for an extended period of time. So she asked me if I would be interested, knowing that I love to cook and was looking for some volunteering opportunity myself. It's been seven years and I'm still involved. So I thought I'd share our menu for this past week - perfect for anyone on a hot, muggy summer day.

Another Sunday Supper
Cold cuts from a favourite deli (Donna, our illustrious leader, bought the cold cuts, cheeses, rolls, etc)
Roast pork slices (Sharon made this with a wonderful gravy)
Sliced cheeses
Potato salad (Yvonne made two kinds - one creamy and one with an oil andvinegar base- both delicious)
Cole Slaw (my contribution and the recipe follows)
Sliced tomatoes with onion and basil drizzled with balsamic vinegar and pepper (Sue's contribution)
Sliced cucumbers
Pickled beets
3 kinds of pickles (thanks to Sue)
Tossed salad
Rolls
Dessert
Fresh fruit salad (fruit provided by Julie and prepared by all of us)
Watermelon slices
Ice Cream
Italian coffee cake



Confetti Coleslaw
From Every Kitchen Tells Its Stories

Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Refrigerate: 1 hour +
Makes 6 cups and keeps for up to three - four weeks in the fridge.

Ingredients:
Coleslaw Mixture
½ head cabbage (sometimes I mix purple cabbage with green to make a very colorful slaw - it looks like confetti)
1 large carrot, peeled and finely julienned
1 clove garlic
2 green onions
½ red pepper
Dressing
½ cup sherry vinegar
¼ cup sugar
3 oz. olive oil
Salt & pepper

1. Cut the pepper, and green onions into 2” cubes and coarsely chop in the following order using a food processor with the regular steel blade: drop the garlic through the feed tube with the motor running, add pepper and green onion until coarsely chopped. Empty into a large bowl. Add julienned carrots.

2. Change to the slicer blade, cut cabbage into wedges to fit in the feeding tube. Discard the core - it is the wrong texture and has a very sharp flavor. When my mother made coleslaw she would always save the core for my father to eat. He loved it, so naturally we kids wanted to eat it too, until we tasted it, that is) Slice using light to medium pressure otherwise the slices will be too thick. (By hand, cut through the wedges from the core side out, and slice very thinly.) Add to the carrot- red pepper mixture.

3. Combine the ingredients for the dressing in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once the sugar has melted (less than a minute), pour the hot dressing over the coleslaw mixture and toss well.

4. Transfer to a large container, cover tightly and refrigerate for at least one hour but preferably until the next day.

Tips & Variations
This recipe works so much better if you have a food processor, but obviously you can do it by hand - it just takes longer.

Instead of sherry vinegar you could try champagne or white wine vinegars as well

Tastes better next day and will keep for up to 4 weeks.

Do not freeze.

This is a great side dish for grilled meats like flank steak and goes especially well with ribs.

Perfect for picnics because, even on a hot day you don't have to worry about it spoiling in the heat as you do with mayo-based coleslaws.

Pesto Pasta with Roasted Asparagus & Mushrooms

Pesto Pasta with Roasted Asparagus & Mushrooms
Prep time: 15 minutes
Roasting time: 5 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients
Boiled & drained pasta (I like penne for this dish, but choose your favorite)
½ cup reserved pasta water
2-4 tbsp pesto
½ bunch fresh asparagus (12 spears or so) cut in 2” pieces after snapping off the tough bottoms
2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
1-2 tbsp olive oil

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C

2. In the meantime, boil pasta in water with 1 tbsp salt

3. In a large bowl, toss the asparagus pieces and mushrooms with the olive oil

4. Line a rimmed baking pan with tin foil and place the vegetables in one layer and bake for 4- 5 minutes or until the asparagus are bright green and fork tender.

5. On top of the stove, heat (not too hot) a large non stick skillet and add the pasta, vegetables, pesto and ¼ cup of pasta water. Toss over low heat to blend the pesto.

6. Taste for seasonings and add more pesto or some additional olive oil and serve with extra grated parmesan cheese.

I love this dish - yet another great way to cook with pesto.

Related links: Weekend Herb Blogging Food and Drink Recipes Pasta

Mashed Potato & Fried Onion Patties - The Recipe

Ingredients:
Leftover mashed potatoes
Leftover ( or freshly made) thinly sliced fried onions
Salt & pepper to taste
Matzo meal ( or coarse cracker crumbs) enough to coat the patties
2-3 tbsp vegetable oil for frying

Directions:
1. Combine potatoes, onions, salt & pepper and form patties. (3/4 cup or so per patty)
2. Place some matzo meal or cracker crumbs on a plate, place the patties gently on top, cover with more crumbs and scoop up the sides to completely cover the potatoes.
3. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat and cook for 3-4 minutes. Gently flip and repeat.

Enjoy on their own or as a side with roasted chicken or meat.

Related links: Food and Drink Recipes

Kensington Market & Chinatown

Well, after my last post and the shock of Christmas stuff for sale, I felt I HAD to venture out even though it was 31° C (88° F for those of you in the US) with a humidex of about a million!!!

I’ve been talking about going to Kensington Market and Chinatown/Spadina for a month now but something always seems to get in the way – most often --- the heat naturally since I’m such a wimp.

Yesterday was a very lazy, hazy day in Kensington Market. Even the basil was wilting


Everyone was moving in slow motion, not the usual hustle and bustle. Of course Thursday is not Saturday, but still it’s usually busier with both locals and tourists checking out the wares and the people. Even the store keepers were indoors unless they were on the shady side of the street. Normally I wouldn't be able to get a shot just of the produce.


Shops and stalls in Kensington Market sell everything from clothes (both new and vintage)

to trinkets and food, fish markets, fresh produce, condiments and more from around the world.


This area of Toronto has always been the place where many new immigrants start their lives in Canada. An Orthodox Jewish synagogue,

built in 1930 when the area was predominantly Jewish stands beside a Vietnamese establishment.

Around the corner there are many West Indian shops as well. I love the diversity of this neighbourhood.

It was too hot for me to be tempted by the many cafes but not too hot for me to meander around the streets and into some of the shops. My favourite was Casa Acoreana – the best looking bulk food store ever!!!

The riot of colours from coffees to spices to candies was awesome with everything in rows of huge mason jars lined up sharply like soldiers on parade. I bought some cardamom pods and garam masala. However, I think I’ll wait until it cools down some to cook. And of course, I couldn’t leave there without buying some of my favourite sweets – black licorice. There were at least fifteen varieties. Life is full of so many decisions…..I finally chose licorice babies and a new sugar coated type I’d never seen before – delish.

Another wonderful shop was Little Tokyo that carries everything Japanese - table ware, jewellery, videos and food – canned, bottled, boxed and frozen – awesome.

Moving over to Spadina, the heart of downtown Chinatown, I must admit that during the summer I usually find the air here a little to pungent – especially when it’s this hot, but yesterday, I guess because a lot of the fresh produce and fish was kept indoors, it wasn’t as fragrant and usual.

In Chinatown produce stores are interspersed with Asian Importers carrying everything from toys, to trinkets, to clothes, electronics and household goods. On Saturdays, in particular, the vendors hawk their wares very loudly. Cars honk their horns to deal with the frustrating traffic (streetcars, double parked cars, pedestrians ambling across the road without paying much attention to the vehicles). It all adds up to a wonderful cacophony of sights, sounds and smells. I guess it was just too hot for everyone - so much quieter than usual.

My most interesting purchases were some exotic looking fruit from two very friendly, charming and helpful young men. I couldn’t resist their smiles.

Rambutan, which looks prickly but the prickles are actually soft, has a fruit that is similar to lychees - sweet but not as perfumy (I like it better).

Mangosteen, which looks like purple cartoon fruit and taste great – sweet and tangy – definitely a winner.

Dragonfruit, looks like a medieval toy – bright fuchsia with streamer-like flaps. The inside looks like kiwi fruit – but really tasted quite bland - maybe it was just this particular piece- not sure what it really is supposed to taste like.

Down the street I saw some Durian fruit. You can check out some interesting factoids here -
I have heard that it smells something fierce and some places won’t even allow it to be served. So the closest I’ll get to it is this photo.

You can see ducks, pork and more aging and marinating in windows of restaurants

Beautiful Chinese desserts and pastries, Dim Sum, and Pho noodle houses abound. You can buy Chinese greens grown locally in small gardens and trinkets as well right on the street. Ginseng root will cure what ails you and if it won’t there are herbalists around that can find something that will.

Well, that's it for Kensington Market and Chinatown - at least until it gets cooler. A must see for those of you who plan on visiting Toronto and for those of you who live here as well. I find I usually don't do the exploring in my hometown as much as I do when I travel. Too bad, really since there is so much to discover.

Can Summer Be Winding Down Already?

Well, the local strawberries are really gone and the Washington Bing cherries are too. I was hoping that the local cherries would be as big and juicy and purple and firm, but they're not. I guess the weather has been too hot and not enough rain. Local peaches should be here soon and, hopefully they will fare better.

I couldn't figure out why a subtle sadness has been creeping in. I know I've been whining about the heat alot, but I really do love this season. When else can we stroll endlessly to people watch and window shop or enjoy outdoor dining? When else can you wear skimpy clothes and display brightly coloured toes in strappy sandals? When else can you eat fruits so juicy, it drips down your chin and arms - watermelon, anyone? When else is nature in its fully glory - riotous blooms, fields in every shade of green, fruit and vegetables in abundance, their colours never brighter?

But yesterday it really hit me. I was doing some shopping at Costco (haven't been in ages) and there it was - Christmas cards and wrapping paper!!!!! Can it be that the summer is almost half over!!! My friends are talking about visiting day at camps - a true sign. The shops are starting to display heavy Fall coats and sweaters. Sports talk is all about hockey. It can't be happening - and yet it is. So let's all savour every Summer moment left. Today I'm off exploring - no more work on the cookbook today!!! It's time to get out of the house - air conditioning and all - Spadina (the heart of downtown Toronto Chinatown) and Kensington Market - here I come.

Tomorrow I'll post photos.

Eating Out in Toronto

This was a weekend spent mostly out of the house. It started out on Friday, meeting my husband downtown for a dinner date. We wanted to do some Summerlicious exploring. Now I did tell you that if I had nothing nice to say, I wouldn't say anything. Well - I'll modify that statement because the experience was quite disconcerting. I won't mention the name of the restaurant(although I'm tempted), just the events. I called one particular restaurant and was told that the earliest reservation we could have was for 7:30 (normally not so bad, but we were hoping for 7:00). Usually it takes forever for my honey to make his way from the office, but not this time. We actually met at Indigo on John and Richmond at 6:30 and it was way too hot, sticky and muggy for us to stroll around Queen Street for an hour (anyone who's been reading my posts knows how much I LOVE the heat), but after 30 minutes, we had enough browsing and so decided to head over to the restaurant early. As Gomer Pyle would say "Suur-Prize, Suur-Prize" the place was three-quarters empty. The first table they tried to seat us at was right beside the washrooms. We asked to be seated at a booth by the window that had a reserved sign on the table and the hostess told us we couldn't have that one because it was reserved. My hero reminded her that WE had a reservation. Her response - that booth is only for those who specifically requested the booth. It sounded bizarre, but we sat at another table right beside the booth and for the next one and a half hours ate beside an empty booth and many other empty tables. The food was fine, our server was nice, but the experience was neither. I even called on Monday to complain and got this answer "Oh I heard we had a lot of cancellations on the weekend" - no - "I'm sorry your experience was bad" or "How can we make it up to you". So much for customer satisfaction - no wonder the restaurant was practically empty. Summerlicious is the event where restaurants get the opportunity to show off their stuff to people who might not ordinarily think of trying them out. The fixed menus go for $20 or $35 dollars for a three course meal, depending on the restaurant. That said, you'd think that this restaurant would want to impress their guests to entice them to return.

But enough ranting, Saturday and Sunday were much, much better. We started our our Saturday morning doing errands and eating a lovely breakfast at Bregman's on Yonge near St Clair, being served by our favourite waiter - Rick. In fact, our 5 year old niece calls it Rick's Restaurant. They bake their own breads and the challah toast was particularly delicious with my egg white spinach and Swiss Cheese omelete. It is wonderful to go to a place where the waiter doesn't just remember your name, he remembers what you usually order - who likes their coffee black, etc...

More errands and then off to see Kung Fu Hustle - an Asian Martial Arts film by Steven Chow (Quentin Tarintino loves him). Think Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and a little bit of Jerry Lewis stapstick. A fun way to pass 2 hours in a cool theatre. Then we strolled along Bloor taking in the local artists exhibition along the street. It was great to see the variety and creativity of artwork displayed on storefront windows. Naturally we had to eat, so we dropped by Sushi Time. Perfect service, and delicious food - he had the Baseball Sushi Combo - (they also have football, golf and basketball combos as well, if you're into sports metaphors) excellent value and beautiful presentation. Since I like sushi, but it doesn't like me, I had gyoza (Japanese dumplings) and Urajiro (deep fried Japanese mushrooms stuffed with shrimp in a tempura batter) - fabulous!!!

Sunday started out in our typical fashion , New York Times, Sunday edition in bed with freshly brewed coffee followed by David's French Toast. This time, our daughter slept over to take advantage of air conditioning and we experimented a bit - trying different toppings beside the usual maple syrup for the girls and peanut butter for him. Here's what we thought: the dulce de leche (a new addiction over ice cream) came in third; nutella didn't make it into the finals - too overpowering for the thyme; a very close second was honey from the honeycomb I bought at The Honey World in St Lawrence Market. That said, we all decided that our old time favourites still won the day. Some things, you just shouldn't mess with.

The rest of the day was spent hanging around watching old movies, munching fruit and drinking smoothies and finally eating a wicked salad for dinner. I love it when I just open the fridge door and see what's on hand. The results of this exploration:

Lazy Sunday Supper


Wicked Salad
Hearts of Romaine lettuce (for crispness)
Handfuls of fresh parsley, oregano and basil
Belgian Endive
Pitted Nicoise olives
Jarlsberg cheese (julienned)
Carrots (julienned) - I love my new gadget, but more about that in another post)
Spicy Italian salami (julienne strips)
Roasted artichoke hearts
Dressing
Extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic (minced)
champagne vinegar
mustardo Italiano (Kozlik's of course)

Grilled Focaccia with Cheese
Toast some Rosemary Focaccia slices (I love the one by Ace Bakery)
Top with thin slices of Brie (or what ever else you love cheese-wise)
Broil until the cheese melts and bubbles

Dessert was left over nectarine tart put under the broiler for a couple of minutes to crisp it up.

I know yesterday technically wasn't the weekend, but we did try another Summerlicious restaurant - this one closer to home. Circle Fine Thai Cuisine was great. The service was perfect - attentive, warm; the food delicious - I had a seafood medley that was sooo good and David enjoyed his grilled filet of sole too. We both started out with a Thai salad with shrimps and slivers of pink grapefruit, and ended with chocolate mousse cake - yum

So now that I've spent the morning writing about all I've eaten over the last few days, I'm getting hungry.....think I'll have the last of the honey cake I made for Sugar High Friday - it's still moist and yummy.

Sugar HIgh Friday # 10 - Honey Cake, Fruit Salad with Lavender Honey, Nectarine Tart

Since my trip to Oleg's Honey World, I've been looking for, and trying out a bunch of honey recipes for Sugar High Friday #10 . Given the weather-hot, and my favorite time of year for fresh fruit - last of the strawberries and into blueberries, with imported but still tasty peaches and nectarines- what would be better than fruit salad with lavender honey and lemon sugar to boot.



The lavender honey and lemon sugar for the fruit salad was inspired by a strawberry recipe I found on Epicurious.

Lemon sugar
1/2 cup sugar
fresh zest from 1 lemon

Mash them together in a small bowl, cover and set aside.

This keeps well for at least a week in a sealed container at room temperature (although these days in Toronto, that's probably hot enough to melt it!!! Sorry I couldn't resist whining about the weather)

Lavender honey
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 heaping tbsp honey
2 tsp lavender blossoms (I found some at The Spice Trader, on Queen St West)

In a medium sized pot, bring everything to a gentle boil over medium high heat until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the lavender flavor is pronounced (3-5 minutes).

Strain the syrup into a small bowl and discard the lavender. I keep the extra honey in the fridge. It's also wonderful in iced tea.

Fruit Salad
What can I say - mix your favorite fruit in a bowl, pour some lavender honey in to your taste - at least a couple of tablespoons for a single serving. Toss to coat all the fruit and then sprinkle some lemon sugar on top.

The honey cake recipe is the one I generally make for the Jewish New Year and I thought I'd do a kitchen testing of it for the For Every Kitchen Cookbook. So any comments on the cake and the directions are appreciated.

Honey Cake
From Every Kitchen Tells Its Stories

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year and traditionally we eat sweet things and start the year with a blessing over apples and honey. This is my favourite honey cake recipe. It’s dense and flavorful and I make it throughout the year as a great breakfast and snack cake. This recipe makes a huge batch, but it keeps well and never lasts long anyway.

Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Total Baking time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ cups dark honey
½ tsp baking soda
1 cup strong tea (I let it brew for at least 5 minutes)
¾ cup vegetable oil
4 cups all purpose flour, sifted twice
3 tsp baking powder
1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)
½ cup raisins

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. In the top of a double boiler, stir honey, tea and baking soda until the honey and baking soda are dissolved (about 2-3 minutes).

3. Beat the eggs and sugar until they are light and fluffy (3-5 minutes). Add oil. In a separate bowl combine the flour and baking powder. Alternatively beat the honey and flour mix alternately into the eggs and sugar.

4. Fold in nuts and raisins.

5. Bake in lined and greased 14”x10”x2” Ovenproof pan for 1 hour or until the top of the cake is golden and cracked in the center.

6. Let the cake cool over cake racks. Cut into squares or slices before serving.

Tips & Variations
· To test for doneness, stick a clean wooden toothpick in the center of the cake and it’s ready when it comes out dry.

· For a fancier presentation, arrange squares on a cake plate, cover with a paper lace doily or cut out initials, hearts, flowers, etc. on a sheet of parchment paper and dust with icing sugar or just sprinkle some lemon sugar on top.

· It’s a great companion to fresh fruit salad.

Nectarine Tart with Honey & Pistachios




Actually I was reading Nigella Lawson's latest book Feast (It's so easy to get lost in it. She's such a wonderful writer. You can taste and smell the ingredients, feel the textures and vicariously be a part of her celebrations, but I digress) and she referenced Waitrose as a wonderful resourse in Britain. It is now added to my favorite links. You can find the recipe there. I substituted nectarine slices for apricot halves and drizzled more of that lavender honey over top, because naturally I can't leave well enough alone!!!

It reminds me of baklava, which I'm sure will be well represented at this SHF. I can't wait to see what everyone else writes about.

Honey

The next Sugar High Friday focus is on honey. For most, it's probably a simple thing to come up with a recipe, the central ingredient of which is honey. Not so simple for me though. I'm much more a brown sugar person, myself. In fact the only time I make it a point of eating honey is during Rosh Hashona, the Jewish New Year celebrations in the Fall. Like January first, it's a time to reflect on what positive changes you will make during the next twelve months. It's also a time to celebrate the season's bounty and most dishes served, are sweet to symbolize our hope for a sweet year ahead. So we eat tart apples (MacIntosh are my favorite) dipped in honey. The balance of the crispness and sharp taste of the apples with and the over-the-top sweetness of the honey is delicious.



Honey glazed carrots (I add ginger marmalade to the mix) accompany chicken and meat dishes that are mellow rather than spicy. And then there's dessert...no home would be without it's special version of honey cake.

When I was growing up my mother made tayglech every year. It's a gooey, sticky confection of pastry balls cooked in honey. Everyone (except me) loved them and my mother would make them for all her sisters and brothers as well as for us for the New Year celebration. I, on the other hand, could never get used to the smell of the dough cooking in the honey for an hour.

So, knowing that there are a great many varieties of honey, I thought I would do a little research on the subject and go to the Dufferin Grove market where there are some honey sellers in hopes of getting some inspiration for this week's SHF. Unfortunately, they weren't there this week, so I went to the St Lawrence market to talk to Oleg Konashenkov

of Honey World and find out all about honey.

First off, Oleg had me taste a variety of honeys to distinguish the subtle and not-so-subtle differences. It reminded me of going to wine tastings at the vineyards near Niagara-on-the-Lake. I learned about which trees and flowers produced which types of honey. Some are medicinal, like Manuka honeys from tea tree that are used to cure everything from burns to stomach problems, sore throats to acne. Some are mild in flavor, some tasted a little like pine trees (that's the Christmas favorite in New Zealand, apparently). Some are very liquidy like Nodding Thistle, while some are thick and more caramel-like. Queen Victoria's favorite was Pohutukawa and mine is Tasmanian honey from the flowers of the Leatherwood tree. After tasting at least 10 varieties (I think about a half a cup in total), I decided I might just be a honey person after all.

A New Look at the Seasons

It seems like yesterday that I was waiting in anticipation for local Ontario strawberries - so juicy, and red, and sweet and now they're just about gone. This week I've been gorging myself on cherries, another short-lived delicacy.

Even though cherries are a particular favourite of mine, I am too lazy to actually pit them to turn them into jams, or pie fillings, etc. I just pop them in my mouth whole and eat them until my lips, tongue and fingers turn that unique shade of purple that lets everyone know what I've been up to.

I usually think of the seasons in terms of the weather: Winter- cold and dreary and lasting wayyyy too long, particularly because I'm not a skiier or skater; Spring - my favourite, when everything comes to life, but is sooooooooo fleeting; Summer - usually wayyyy too hot and muggy for me to take full advantage of patio dining, picnics in the country, or the many outdoor festivals (I wish I weren't such a delicate flower that wilts in the heat), and Autumn - my second favourite season, with leaves changing colours and a crispness in the air, and is also wayyyy too short.

Writing these postings have me now focused on the foods of the seasons which makes it much easier to get through this especially muggy and hot summer. Now, instead of whining about the weather (when few people agree with me anyway), I just think of what's new at the market, how flavorful everything is because it's locally produced, and what's coming next....peaches, corn, tomatoes.....mmmh.

Of course, it also makes me notice how quickly time passes. Remember the adage "don't forget to stop and smell the roses along the way"? Well my new one is - don't forget to savor the delicious bounty when it's at hand.

Speaking about savouring the moment, last night the weather was not too hot and quite breezy so we went to Hollywood Gelato, a very popular ice cream parlor not too far from home. The range of flavours of gelatos and sorbets is awesome. I'm addicted to their hazelnut and rocky roche, which is a chocolate gelato with crushed up Ferraro Roche balls. Other favorites are tiramisu, key lime pie, coconut cream, three chocolate variations and the menu keeps on changing. I keep meaning to try out the fruit sorbets that are so brilliant in color, but I keep coming back to the hazelnut, rocky roche and cappucino.

Ambling down Bayview with its cool shops and trendy restaurants, just checking out the diners eating on the patios (so I'll know where to go next and what to order) and window shopping while eating the smooth, rich gelato - what could be a better way to spend a summer Sunday evening.

Shrimp & Steak Kebobs - The Recipe

Shrimp & Steak Kebobs
Adapted from Delicious Magazine, Vol.2, Issue 11

Prep time: 20 minutes (most of that was peeling the shrimp)
Marinating time: 15 minutes
Grill time: 6-8 minutes
Serves 3 (the magazine said 4, but the three of us managed to polish them off)

Ingredients:
¼ cup Extra Virgin olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 tsp mild paprika – I used a Spanish one
¼ tsp Tabasco sauce
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
Juice of ½ lemon
20 large tiger shrimp/prawns, peeled and deveined (the recipe called for 12 with the tails left on, but I know my audience – so more shrimps and tails removed) **
1 lb/ 450g sirloin (they used 350 g – but what can I say) cubed (1”/2.5cm)
Lemon Wedges and chopped cilantro or parsley to serve

Directions:

** If you are using frozen shrimp, here's the best way to defrost them so they maintain their plumpness but don't get too spongey - place a large bowl in the sink and fill with cold running water. Keep the water running so it maintains a temperature that is very cold to your hands, but not as cold as the shrimp. Frequently toss the shrimp until they separate and begin to soften. Only then peel your shrimp - leaving or removing the tails is your preference. Now to the rest of the directions....

1. Soak 6 bamboo skewers in cold water for 30 minutes or longer ( I always do a couple more than I think I need, just in case the food won’t all fit on the skewers stated in a recipe).
2. Whisk together the olive oil, garlic, paprika, Tabasco & Worcestershire sauces and lemon juice in a bowl.
3. In the meantime, heat up the BBQ – remember this dish doesn’t take very long to actually cook, so while the BBQ is heating up start to marinate your meat and organized your other dishes so that everything is ready once the kebobs are done.
4. To Marinate: dip each shrimp in the marinade and place on a plate; toss the steak into the rest of the marinade and let them sit for 15 minutes.
5. Alternately thread the shrimps and steak cubes onto skewers and once they are all ready, bbq on medium high heat for 6-8 minutes, flipping once or twice. The shrimp will be pink and the steak medium rare.
6. Squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the skewers, sprinkle with some chopped cilantro or parsley and serve.

Related links: Food and Drink Recipes Shrimp Steak

Nutella Crepes

Yesterday I combined quality testing for blintzes (crepes) for the cookbook, with my new obsession for Nutella. And I got to use one of my favourite kitchen appliances – my Salton electric crepe maker in the process. Crepes always come out thin and evenly round. What more can a girl ask for!

This is a simple recipe and a great way to avoid having lumps in your batter.



Makes about 1 dozen crepes

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 cup cold water
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup flour

Filling:
½ jar Nutella

1. Combine the eggs, water, salt and oil in a blender on medium speed until well mixed. Then slowly add the flour in 2 batches on a low speed until there are no more lumps. Let the mixture sit in the blender for at least 30 minutes to get rid of the bubbles and gently stir. This eliminates having holes in your crepes.

2. If you’re using an electric crepe maker - some come with a pie plate-like container for dipping the pan into. If not, use a pie plate, it’s just as effective. Just dip the pan into the batter, making sure the entire pan gets covered with batter and quickly remove and turn upright. (It takes a bit of practice if you've never used one before, but don't give up - it's worth it once you get the hang of it). They usually have a little light that tells you when the crepe is ready, but the best way is to wait until you see the steam rise and the batter looks dry. Gently flip the crepe onto waxed paper to cool. You might need to use a rubber spatula around the edge to start the process. Between crepes, use a paper towel dipped in a little vegetable oil to rub around the edges so the crepes won't stick. Don’t stack the cooked crepes while they are hot or you will never be able to separate them.

3. If you are using a regular fry pan, go for a small one that is non-stick, (about 6-7” in diameter). Using a large serving spoon or small ladle pour the batter (about 3 tbsp) into the lightly oiled pan. Quickly rotate the pan so that the mixture covers the bottom completely and evenly before it has a chance to set. The crepe is ready when it looks dry. Turn onto waxed paper to cool.

4. Once the crepes are cool, heat the Nutella for about 25 seconds in the microwave – just enough to soften it a little so that it won’t tear the crepe when you spread the filling on it. Spread as close to the edges as you can. Then fold the crepe in half and in half again. (3-4 per person).

5. Garnish with some more Nutella, diluted with just a touch of water or cream, a little honey and add a scoop of your favourite ice cream. – What could be better?

Where Does the Time Go

Since I’ve been back from Montreal, I don’t know where the time has gone. Too much going on I guess. I’m spending lots of time on the design for the cover of my cookbook Every Kitchen Tells Its Stories, that hopefully will be out late Fall. It’s a labour of love and very exciting, but also time consuming. You would not believe the time spent on finding the right color and texture for the background. I finally found it at The Japanese Paper Place which has the most beautiful handmade papers. It’s like going to a museum, except that the art is affordable. If you’re in Toronto, you have to check it out.

A friend asked me to contribute a cooking class home party for a silent auction fundraising event for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada to be held at the Indian Motorcycle Café & Lounge sometime in August. Stay tuned for more details. So I’ve been busy coming up with a cool marketing piece for that.

I’ve also been feeling guilty about not keeping up with all the festivals around town or local markets. Good thing I gave you all links to them and you can try them out for yourself since I’m not doing a very good job of it. That said, Summerlicious starts tomorrow. It's the opportunity to try out fixed menus at restaurants all over the city (I stopped counting at 50). They each offer three options for appetizers, mains plus dessert for either $20 or $35, depending on the restaurant. Although, every restaurant is booked for day one, I will test some out before July 24th when it ends. Now I’m not a restaurant critic. In fact, I’m like the person who said I don’t know anything about art – I just know what I like. I also go by the adage my father told me when I was little – if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything. So over the next couple of weeks I will be writing about the meals I really liked and ignoring any that don’t ring any bells.

The next Sugar High Friday is coming up next week and the focus is on honey, which is not usually my favourite ingredient except for adding to salad dressings, making my traditional honey cake for the Jewish New Year celebrations and pouring some into tea when I’m feeling sickly. My favourite sweetener is brown sugar so I really am wracking my brain to come up with something wonderful. I’ll be heading over to Dufferin Grove Market today to talk to the honey experts and get some inspiration.

In the meantime, all this talk about food is making me hungry. I'm still in Montreal food mode, so today for lunch I'll be having a salami sandwich on challah with mustard.

Since I ate the last of the Whippets (chocolate coated marshmallow cookies I favored in my childhood) yesterday, I guess I'll just have to eat some cherries for dessert.

Nostalgic Canada Day Trip to Montreal

We drove to Montreal for the Canada Day long weekend for a nostalgic visit to my roots and stayed with two of my favourite cousins. Even though we’ve been living in Toronto for 15 years (it’s been a few years since I stopped calling the subway the metro or a convenience store a depaneur), I still need a Montreal fix at least a couple of times a year.

Once we got through the hellish traffic of what seemed like every Torontonian trying to escape the city and its heat (it took one and a half hours just to get past the burbs), the rest of the drive was smooth sailing. We listened to our favourite tunes, chatted and planned the food stops we’d need to hit while in Montreal. As usual, I looked for interesting animals in the fields and woods. There was nothing but cows unless you count the llama farm that was across the road from the truck stop where we ate our very Canadian lunch – BLT for me and grilled cheese and bacon for him.

I thought I’d share some of the food highlights. Please take into account that each one is a snapshot of some wonderful times gone by and never really was crammed into any one weekend - I swear!!!

Friday night supper was a recreation of a typical Saturday evening with our cousins. When we lived in Montreal, we’d get together with them at least once a month at their place for take out and a video.

The ritual:
1) Put out every take out menu in the house; decide between Greek, Italian, Chinese or “Canadian" (you know, chicken, burgers, ribs, wings, etc.). – 9 times out of 10 we’d go Chinese and since we’ve moved to Toronto, it’s the only option!

2) Decide on which restaurant has the best combos – Yangtze Restaurant usually won because they have the best egg rolls – check out this review –



3) Once dinner is decided and the order called in for pick-up, we head over to the local video store to choose the evening’s entertainment and then get dinner.

4) Back to the house, settle in with food containers spread out and pop in the film. We’re never done until we’re so stuffed that we can hardly move.

Back to the egg rolls for a second….remember my post about Toronto Vs Montreal bagels? Well, IMHO, Montreal egg rolls are the real deal… now I’ve never been to China or San Francisco and didn’t eat any in New York or Vancouver, and yes, I know that each of you, in whatever city you live in feel the same…but you’re wrong!!!! Montreal egg rolls, Yangtze, in particular, have really dense fillings and are deep fried in crispy wrappers. It was a shock to my system when we moved to Toronto – I can’t even begin to describe the differences, so I eat spring rolls or dumplings in Toronto and egg rolls in Montreal.

Saturday morning, breakfast at Beauty’s which was established in 1942 in what was a predominantly Jewish district at the time, on Plateau Mont Royal for French toast, made with challah, and bacon (maple syrup, naturally) for him and bagel, lox and cream cheese with slices of tomatoes and red onion. Mmmmmmmh… Montreal bagels – delicious. The service was great and the waitress, very sweet and friendly.

Then we wandered around St Larent and St Denis streets, the French hip area with lots of wonderful restaurants, clubs and cool shops. It sort of reminds me of a cross between Yorkville and Queen W in Toronto but with a very different feel. Toronto has a frenetic energy while Montreal is more laid back. The architecture in the east end of the city is fabulous – row houses that are triplexes (3 flats on top of each other with wrought iron circular stairs and balconies leading to the front door of each flat. This is the best picture I could find and it doesn't really begin to show them off. I don’t know why it’s so hard to find a photo. The stairways are so unique!! But I digress….so back to food.

Lunch at Thursday’s on Crescent Street – the anglo version of St Denis. We sat on the balcony patio overlooking the street and people watching. I had salade Nicoise and he had croquet Monsieur. They had fabulous baguettes that we could not get enough of. It was too hot to stay for crème caramel for dessert so we took a short trip to the Museum of Fine Arts and saw the Edwin Holgate exhibit which was lovely.

Time to head back to my uncle’s apartment where we’re going to have supper with more cousins. The menu: some of my favourites from Snowdon Deli – smoked meat sandwiches on rye bread so fresh it’s almost sticky when you bite into it, the meat juicy and cut thick so you really can taste it; party sandwiches – the best are the rolled ones with cream cheese, lox and a sweet pickle piece in the center (everyone fights over them); French fries, and, naturally, for dessert number one – mun cookies (pronounced somewhere between moon and mun) baked very thin and crispy. They’re just a sugar cookie base with poppy seeds, but no one else makes them as thin. I’d have taken a picture – but they didn’t last long enough for me to get the camera!!!

Dessert number two – a walk on Monkland in NDG topped off with Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. I had butter pecan and don’t even remember what anyone else had.

We decided to leave early Sunday to avoid the traffic later in the day of the rest of the hords of Torontonians trying to take in every last vacation moment before heading home. Of course we couldn’t leave town without bagels ( half were gone before we made it home) and karnatzel - like skinny pepperoni but different (none of those made it back to Toronto).

Some missed food opportunities:
Orange Julep hamburgers, hot dogs, fries and their famous drink.

Croissants & pain chocolat – like bagels and egg rolls – there’s nothing like the Montreal versions. My favourite bakery is Patisserie Belge on Parc Avenue

Moule frites (Mussels & fries) on St Denis

Picasso’s for a pig out, heart stopping cholesterol laden breakfast

Don’t get me wrong – I love living in Toronto – I love the energy, the many ethnic communities that are like little cities in themselves - Spadina Chinatown, Little Italy on College, Greektown on the Danforth, Queen West of University all the way to Ronscesvales and up- just to name a few. I love the street vendors with choices of hot dogs and sausages, and everywhere you go foods from around the world. I am glad, though, that Montreal is not that far away. Think I'll go have the last of the bagels now.

Cool Supper for a Hot and Steamy Night

This heat wave seems to never end. My lawn is bristley and even the weeds are sickly. I fondly remember last year when I didn't have to water the lawn even once and it was lush and green. Now it's bald and brown. My wonderful basil plants are drooping and no amount of water seems to satisfy. I've retreated to my air conditioned house, thinking I'll never venture out again. Fortunately I did a grocery run yesterday, so at least I'll have food for a while. Somehow, when I'm sweltering, the idea of really "cooking" a meal does not even enter my mind.



Basil Tomatoes with Goat cheese
The hothouse tomatoes are beautiful this time of year and so delicious too - not just a pretty face as they often are in winter. They team so wonderfully with shredded basil, some crumbly soft goat cheese first rolled in Italian herbs, freshly ground pepper and a drizzle of seasoned rice wine vinegar. Best of all, it only takes a couple of minutes to prepare when energy is low and I am as wilted as my basil plants.

The chicken salad is a fond reminder of my mother. She used to make it whenever she made chicken soup and it was always a star on the many picnics and family backyard summer feasts. She actually would make the soup in order to make the chicken salad even on hot summer days and no air conditioning to boot!!! Stewing the chicken really does give the salad a creamier texture, but I cheat in the summer using bought bbq chicken or left over grilled chicken breasts as the base. The recipe is simple - the hardest part (because it's hot) is boiling the egg.

Chicken Salad
Hands on time: 10 minutes
Fridge time: 1 hour
Serves 4

Ingredients

3 cups of cooked chicken, diced
1/2 cup fennel root, coarsely chopped (my mother used celery)
1 hard boiled egg, chopped
1/3 cup onions, finely chopped

Dressing
2 tbsp fresh dill, snipped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 tsp powdered mustard (I like Keen's best)

Combine all of the ingredients together and mix well. Add extra dill, salt, pepper mayo to taste. I like mine creamy and peppery.

Let it sit in the fridge for about an hour to set the flavors. Of course, it often doesn't make it to the fridge before a heaping plateful is eaten just for testing purposes, you understand.