A Rush Taste Test

School has started and all I seem to be doing is sleeping and reading. However on top of that, I still work and am currently in the midst of editing a cookbook that a friend of mine is working on. Times are busy is what they are.
Today, I have to go to class. In about an hour in fact. But as I have recently purchased a litre of maple syrup from the farmer's market, I felt that it really had to be taste tested out. As such, I made some amazing maple walnut squares this afternoon.
As I said, I have to leave for class shortly, so I will leave you with the recipe and just tell you that they are ridiculously delicious! I adapted the recipe very slightly from it's original as well, so here is what I made.

Maple Walnut Squares (adapted from Foodland Ontario recipe):

base:
3/4 cup all purpose white flour
3/4 cup all purple whole wheat flour
1/4 light brown sugar
1/2 cup margerine

topping:
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 cup amber maple syrup
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tbsp all purpose white flour
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Stir together flour and sugar.
2. Cut in margerine and stir with a fork until mealy.
3. Press into an 11x7 inch pan. Bake at 325 F for 12 minutes.
4. While the base is baking, combine maple syrup and sugar in a small saucepan. Simmer for 5 minutes. Let cool and set aside.
5. Once cool, pour over eggs, stirring constantly.
6. Stir in flour and vanilla.
7. Pour over base and sprinkle with nuts.
8. Bake at 350 F for 25 minutes.
9. Let cool and cut into squares.

Fried Food. Glorious, Glorious Fried Food.

I'm still on a mission to make traditional Bangladeshi foods for my Iftar meals, however, since I was kind of on a role the last couple of weeks with my chola boot, chotpotti and piaju, I thought that I would make dishes that I could extend into my non-Ramadan repertoire. So, that's why last night, after having picked my first eggplant from the garden and having far too many beans to know what to do with them, I pulled out the cookbooks.
My mom has always liked eggplant. As a child, I hated it. Perhaps it was because she often made bharta out of it. Bharta is basically smoked, roasted eggplant, which once soft, is mashed. I firmly believe that it's not for everyone.
She did make another recipe, in which the eggplant is cut into 1-1 1/2 inch rounds. Making sure each round has been patted down to get rid of excess moisture, each round is then seasoned well with salt and pepper, rubbing it in well with your fingers. Then again, using your fingers to rub it in, tumeric is also added. Then each round is fried in a neutral oil on high heat. They are flipped two or three times until they are completely golden and cripsy on the outer edges.
That was what I made last night. Though I wasn't the biggest fan of them as a child, they tasted fantastic last night. The centres were nice and tender and full of flavour and the outer edges had a nice crisp to them.
As for the green beans, I have to say I find the whole steaming things a little boring. even after adding the butter. Thankfully I have my Madhur Jaffrey World Vegetarian cookbook, which is always good for giving me great ideas. I came upon a recipe called bengali-style green beans. Well, this was just perfect. I was a little wearly though as I read the entirity of the recipe. It called for grinding up two tablespoons of mustard seeds and soaking them in 3/4 cup of water and letting it sit for 30 minutes. As I cooked the green beans with some white onion, slivered green chili, salt and pepper, I was to add the mustard liquid, leaving behind the remaining mustard sludge. Now, I love mustard, especially the whole grainy types, but this just wasn't something I was used to. However, as the liquid cooked down, and the beans were served on a bed of white basmati rice, they were actually pretty fantastic. As Matt put it, "the mustard isn't overwhleming at all", which of course is what my fear was.
All of this was served with another dish of fried cauliflower, okra and potatoes. My mom makes a similar dish, in which she starts off with halved okra and diced potatoes and fries them until tender, seasoning them with turmeric and a few other spices. That is then added to some diced eggplant and everything is then stewed together with water, cloves and cinnamon. While I like that dish with the eggplant, I love that first initial process of the fried okra and potatoes. As I had some leftover cauliflower, I added that into the mix as while. On medium high heat, I added just enough oil to a non-stick skillet to coat the bottom. I started with the potatoes and some thinly sliced onion. Once that got going I added the cauliflower, broken into florets. After about five minutes I added the whole okra. I seasoned it all while whole cumin and mustard seeds, turmeric, coriander spice, salt and pepper. I cooked it until all the veggies had nice crisp edges and everything was nice and tender.

I know it seems like I've been cooking a lot of fried dishes as of late. It's probably because I have been. I guess Bengali's just really love fried food?

Iftar Meals

It's Ramadan. The time for Muslims around the world to take a look at their lives and reflect on the good and bad of the past year. During this time we all fast from sunrise to sunset without a drop of water, a piece of gum or a drag of a cigarette. While painstaking the first day or two, as your tummy grumbles and as your throat seems to close up each time you talk, it gets significantly easier.
For me, I make a more earnest effort to get together with my loved ones (though I know I should do this all the time) to share Iftar, the breaking of the fast.
I have also been making a more earnest effort to make traditional Bangladeshi Ramadan meals. This consists of piaju, a onion and lentil fritter, chola boot, which I have no idea what the English would be, but that they look like black chickpeas, shorbot, which is basically lemonade, and moori, which bares resemblence to Rice Krispies. I have never liked moori, so I'll just have to omit that out of my deshi Ramadan meal.
Making the above brings me closer to home. Since I don't have another Muslim to share my Iftar meals with on a regular basis, making such traditional dishes gives me that much more comfort.
The piaju was actually a lot easier than I had thought:

Piaju (adapted from my mother's recipe)

1 cup split red lentils (washed and picked through and soaked for five hours)
1 medium red or white onion, thinly sliced
1 green onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 green chili, minced
1 inch piece ginger, minced
1-2 tablespoon besan (chickpea) flour
1-1 1/2 teaspoon each ground cumin and coriander

-ground lentils into a coarse meal
-mix meal together with all other ingredients
-heat vegetable oil, or other neutral oil in a heavy wok about 3 inches worth on medium-high
-using one tablespoon to scoop the mixture, push down on it with the back of a second spoon to form fritter
-gently using the second spoon, slide the fritter into the hot oil
-cook about 3 minutes per side until crispy and red in colour on each side
-using slotted spoon lift out and place on paper towel lined plate
-eat while still warm and crispy!



Another recipe, though not traditionally a Ramadan meal, is chotpotti. I've always felt chotpotti to be a little daunting. My mom gave me very specific steps in order to make this just right. I was forbidden to use pre-ground spices. I was told to use tamarind pulp that I was to soak and strain myself, etc. But the end result of the chickpea and potato dish which is topped with onions, cilantro, tomatoes and boiled egg turned out so perfect, so exactly like my mother's, that I couldn't fault her for being so precise in her instructions.



Chotpotti

1 can chickpeas
3 medium to large potatoes, boiled and peeled
4 tablespoons tamarind (found at Indian and Thai grocery stores)
2 teaspoons whole cumin seed
2 teaspoons whole coriander seed
3-4 dry red chilies
1 cup water
salt to taste
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
1 medium tomato, thinly sliced
1 green chili, minced
2 teaspoons fresh cilantro, minced

-keep boiled potatoes in fridge until cool
-meanwhile soak about two tablespoons worth of tamarind pulp in about 1 cup of hot water
-in a clean, dry, heavy pan, on low heat roast the cumin, coriander and dry chilies until aromatic and then grind in a spice mill or with a mortar and pestal until finely ground; set aside
-using your hands loosen the tamarind within the water and then using a mesh sieve strain out the seeds and skins. You may have to add about a 1/4 cup more until all the pulp is free of the skins; set liquid aside after discarding skins and seeds
-once the potatoes have cooled cut them into uniform cubes, about the size of the chickpeas
-add the chickpeas, potatoes, spices (reserving 1/2 teaspoon), water and tamarind liquid into large, heavy pot and bring to a boil
-turn down heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until water has reduced, but very little liquid remains
-pour mixture into serving dish and arrange, onion, egg, green chili, tomato, and cilantro over top
-can be eaten warm or cold

The Importance of Maple

We in Toronto have really been lacking summer weather. Yes, the sun is out and shining quite brightly today, but I feel as though this really is a rarity. It's been raining a lot. And when it isn't raining, it's just plain cloudy. Yesterday was really no different than the majority of these cloudy, rainy days, except that apparently in some parts of the GTA it was hailing too.
It is on days such as those rainy days when all I want to do is stay in and bake. However yesterday as I rifled through my cupboards, I noticed that I was lacking a few key ingredients for some of my favourite recipes. This summer Matt and I agreed to try new vegetable recipes for vegetables we rarely eat or think we don't like, since we didn't as children, so a new baked good recipe didn't feel like such a bad idea.
On our latest farmer's market trip I picked up a large bottle of Ontario medium grade maple syrup, and since I had so much on hand I felt that a maple recipe was in order. A quick Google search brought me to the Ontario Maple Syrup website where you can buy cases of maple syrup, maple sugar candies and spreads and even a can of maple syrup shaped like a cabin (which unfortunately for me, but fortunately for my credit card, was sold out). The site also had a time line of the history of maple syrup in Canada. And of course, recipes.
There I found a recipe for maple muffins and a recipe for a maple glaze meant for maple bran muffins. I adapted the glaze ever so slightly by adding some walnuts. The muffin recipe was very simple, calling for the use of only one bowl. The less dishes I have to wash, the better.
I was worried that the glaze might be too sweet on an already sweet muffin, but my ever trusty taste-tester Matt concluded that they were just right.
Maple for me as always been quintessentially Canadian. Right before poutine really. As a second-generation Canadian my identities of home and place have always been conflicting. I grew up eating Bangladeshi curries and sweets, and maple just never fit in to that mix. My mom more often than not bought Aunt Jemima's table syrup instead of real maple syrup. Though in grade one my mom accompanied me and my class on a school trip to a maple sugar house and we bought our first jug of real Ontario maple syrup. The taste had stuck with me since that day, and I literally became obsessed with anything maple. My mom still likes maple too, but as she's so used to her ways, she really only gets to taste anything maple, when I bring her something, like my maple pecan cookies. I feel like loving maple syrup automatically makes me a proud Canadian. And honestly, how can you not love that golden, sweet and sticky syrup? When you pour it onto pancakes or french toast, you never even need anything else. Who needs butter or fruit when you have maple syrup? When you bake with maple syrup or maple sugar, you hardly even need to add any extra sugar to recipe. It adds just the right amount of sugary sweetness on it's own.
All in all maple is perfect. And that's all I have to say about that!

Oh Summer

No blog since May? Blasphemy, I know.
I still have no blog for you today.
Instead, photos.

Impromptu

Today was my final day as a third year English Literature student. I finished the last of my exams today and have now officially completed three years at York University. I have just one more year to complete and then I will be have an actual piece of paper to frame and hang up on my wall, telling me that I have an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English.
In the midst of these last few days, in preparing for my last days as a third year student, I will admit, that like many of my peers I became extremely stressed out! Terms and concepts like "Simulacrum", "subjegated knowledges", "The center is not the center" and people like Viola Desmond and Chief Elsie Knott all became a mass of jumbled words and ideas.
So on one of those stressed out days, instead of studying and reading and re-reading, I headed up Roncesvalles Avenue. I had picked up some bulk pecans and almonds and some cheeses, when I saw that the cheese shop also had some delicious looking fresh bread available as well. I rarely buy fresh breads but these ones were so sweet smelling that I had to pick up one of the French baguettes.
As I begun walking home, I realized why Matt and I so rarely buy baguettes. We can never finish them before they go stale. Even if we do make sandwiches for lunch the next day, we still end up with waste. And so I decided a small dinner party was in order.
First I called Matt at work. I had to clear it with him before he got home at 8pm, possibly tired. After I got the okay, I gave two of my couple friends a call. Once I got that okay, off to the Metro I went for the last few groceries.
The great thing about impromptu dinner parties is that you can use the fact that it's last minute as an excuse not to cook.
And I hardly cooked. Peppers and potatoes went into the oven for roasting to be turned into a pretty delicious potato salad later. Orzo pasta went into boiling water to later be made into a Mediterranean style pasta salad and cannelini beans went into a pan with rosemary and thyme to be made into a bean spread. That was literally it for my end in terms of cooking. Otherwise, I simply put out the bread, the Dijon mustard, the capers and dill pickles, the cheeses, the chorizo and the fire-roasted peppers.
Nothing could have been easier than this.
What I loved most was that I didn't care about matching plates and flatware. I didn't care that I had to sit on the step stool because we don't have enough chairs. I didn't care that we barely had space for our plates on the table, what with all of the accompaniments piled on it.
What I did however care about, was being there with my friends, each of us passing food back and forth to each other, sharing stories, listening to music, enjoying our meal.

Moments of Spring

The Excitement of Accomplishment

These past few days have been beautiful. I mean that weather-wise of course, but also in terms of the moments I've spent and shared. I've had many a good home cooked meal with Matt. Indulged in a lunch of only a basket of fries on a patio with my food buddy. Had a few too many coffees with a friend I do not see often enough. And enjoyed dinner at a cafe with another friend who always has interesting insight to almost everything in life. While these are all delicious moments and while spending time with someone and eating is my favourite combination of anything, I must say that sometimes I just need some Rita time.
It is in these Rita time moments that, especially in this lovely weather, I begin my gardening. I started back in late March and all the work is now showing some results! Green Arrow pea seedlings are popping up. As are the garlic chives, chives, Mammoth dill, Bloomsdale spinach, rosemary, English thyme, Alpine strawberries and cilantro. But the pièce de résistance is my heirloom Cherokee Bush bean plant. In a matter of 11 days it was sprouting quite nicely out of the old baked bean tin can it was planted in.
According to my seed packet that I ordered from Urban Harvest, it is a very rare bean. It also points out that it is a great bean for baking and for stews. I don't think that I could be more excited about a plant.

DAY 11

DAY 12

DAY 13

DAY 16

DAY 17

I always feel such a sense of accomplishment when the plants I grow, especially when the ones I start from seed, do well. I have an even greater sense of this, when I am able to eat the fruits of my labour (although labour may be pushing it a bit). One day I hope to have a big garden in an actual backyard, and maybe in the front yard too. It will be full of several varieties of all of my favourite vegetables. I will be able to grow so much that I will have to go to my friends and neighbours to give them baskets of fresh produce just to make sure that none go to waste.
This is what I hope... One day. Until then, I have my mini, city balconey, with containers and pots trying to make room for all the plants that I hope will thrive and grow.

So to you I say Happy Gardening!

The Allure of Eating Out

I haven't really cooked anything worth writing about these days. Nothing exciting anyhow. Mostly I've been eating out a lot, which in these, "tough economic times" I probably should not be doing. However, I've been doing a lot of running around lately on top of my school and daily work so sometimes it's just that much easier to eat out. I generally get to spend time with my friends when I do this, so really, other than the money side there are no down sides.
I've been going to Mitzi's Sister a bit more frequently. The only reason I can come up with for resurgence is because they now serve crispy tofu with a choice of wing sauce as a pretty yummy starter. As my friend Meag put it, "it's the vegetarian alternative to wing night". I wholly agree. I the tofu is soft on the inside and crispy and savoury on the outside which can be dipped into sauces such as sweet chili lime or spicy barbeque. I'm told that the maple chipotle is also quite a delectable choice. As a whole it's a perfect starter to share with a few friends.
I also recently went to the Gladstone Hotel for dinner. The cafe that I would normally have eatten was closed for a private function so we went across the lobby to the Melody Bar which fortunately for us had the same menu. Meag (who seems to be the only person I ever eat out with other than Matt) and I had checked the cafe menu at home as we were unsure of where we should eat. What sold us in even going to the Gladstone Hotel, despite having eatten scruptious meals there previously, was their platter of local Ontario and Quebec cheeses. Us being cheese lover's, we decided to head there. My friend Dave who also happens to be Meag's boyfriend joined us there soon after our cheese platter order, and thus we set forth in enjoying a lovely meal.
The cheese platter was gorgeous. It was served tostini and baquette slices as well as thin slices of strawberries, apples and whole green grapes. Three different types of cheese were on our platter. A goat cheese and two semi-firm cheeses. One of which reminded me of the Quebecois Migneron. The third had a sharper taste similar to Baluchon but softer. All in all it was a fairly well balanced platter I thought, especially not knowing much of anything about cheeses.
For dinner I had the veggie chili fries. I have an awful obsession with french fries and have a tendency of eating huge servings of poutine for most of my dinners out. As such, I thought that I'd switch it up a notch by getting the veggie chili fries instead. Also as it turns out, the Gladstone Hotel menu also contains a fry bar menu. A fry bar! I may have to go there as often as I go to Mitzi's Sister.
My meal was filling as most carb filled meals are. But I felt less guilty about the whole situation since the veggie chili was packed with kidney beans, white beans and lentils and just the right amount of digestion starting spiciness. The cheddar and the sour cream with chives adding a cool, lightness to the whole mess.
Although I was full, our servers descriptions of the desserts made them seem irressitable! I decided on the banana spilt for which the vanilla bean ice cream is made in-house. I could see the lovely little flecks of dark brown vanilla through out the ice cream which was served with strawberry, chocolate and butterscotch sauce. I don't believe anything compares to freshly churned ice cream. I often frequent Kensignton Ice Cream in the summer for this reason and the Gladstone's was just as fantastic.
I was raised on homecooked meals and eating out as frequently as I have been lately is certainly frowned upon by my parents. The only reason being the amount of money one could save by not eating out and as a student I should probably heed these sentiments. But I am busy most days, and sometimes I do not want to stand over a stove in an already hot kitchen or do the dishes at the end of a meal. Sometimes it's nice to just sit back with a friend or two or three and eat yummy, locally produced food cooked by chefs and cooks and not have to lift a finger, except to pick up my fork of course.

The Magic of Dill

I am so glad that it is now officially Spring! This means that I can actually start planting some seeds in my potted balcony garden. While last year I managed to grow tomatoes, carrots, peas and peppers, I think that this year I may just grow an over abundance of herbs instead. That's not to say I hadn't grown any last year. One can not have a balcony garden without herbs. But I stuck to very basic varieties: cilantro, basil, rosemary. This year, I hope to plant lemon basil, lime basil, german chamomile, garlic chives, mammoth dill, grosso lavender, among many others. And to please Matt, I will also plant a few varieties of beans as well. However, I think of all the seeds I hope to plant, the most important for me this spring shall be the mammoth dill.
Dill. Dill is one of my best friends when it comes to cooking. It loves so many of it's other food buddies. I recently made a fantastic potato salad inspired by Molly Wizenberg's recipe in her new book A Homemade Life. She mentions, that while some folks either make potato salad with a thick mayo dressing and others a light verison with vinagrette and dill, her father made it with mayo and dill. And what a happy combination it was! How easily dill can please the palate.
While dill just loves potatoes, it also loves eggs. And fortunately for me, I am a fan of eggs. One of my favorite things to make for brunch on a lazy Sunday is a frittata. They are so simple to make and hearty to eat, that one should never pass up the chance to learn how to make one. For me frittatas are an easy way to pack in my daily dose of vegetables as well. I've made mine with roasted peppers, potatoes, broccoli and spinach, just to name a few variations.
I first learned how to make a frittata from Ina Garten's Food Network show Back to Basics. She had sauted some onions and peppers with some chunks of potatoes before adding her eggs and cheese and putting the whole pan into the oven. The finished product looked amazing and I vowed to make my own that day.
As I've said, I've made many variations of her frittata; some I've loved, and some were just okay. But today on this lovely spring day, I think I've made my best frittata yet! I like to call it my Spring Frittata, because of it's light, airy flavours. It's packed with soft chunks of potato, handfuls of baby spinach and loads of fresh dill. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect brunch.
So here is my recipe as follows (although to be honest, I'm more a "pinch of this, dash of that" kind of gal, so please excuse the "ishes" thoughout the recipe):

Spring Frittata (for two):

about 2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 a small onion, roughly chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 small-ish thin-skinned potatoes, scrubbed and cut into small-ish chunks
1/2 teaspoon dried chilli pepper flakes
pinch or two of salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 handfuls baby spinach, roughly chopped
1 large handful fresh dill, roughly chopped
4 large eggs
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon freshlysh grated black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon aged raw milk cheddar, shredded (optional)

1. preheat oven to 300 degrees Fareinheit
2. add oil to a medium sized cast iron pan or other oven proof pan and heat at medium high
3. add onions and lower heat to low, stirring frequently for 2-3 minutes or until soft
4. add garlic and chili pepper flakes, stirring frequently for about 30 seconds and then add potatoes, salt and paprika
5. stir well to coat potatoes and bring heat back up to low medium- medium heat
6. stir occasionally to promote even cooking for about 8-10 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender
7. meanwhile as potatoes cook, crack all four eggs into a bowl and beat well; add salt, pepper and water and continue beating until combined well
8. when potatoes are fork tender, turn off heat and add spinach, stirring it into the potato to promote spinach to wilt slightly
9. add fresh dill evenly over potatoes and spinach
10. pour the egg mixture into the pan and turn pan to make sure the egg mixture makes it into all of the crevices
11. put the pan into preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes until egg has risen and has reached a golden colour
12. if you are adding cheese, remove the pan from oven 2-5 minutes before it is done and sprinkle with cheddar and then return to oven for the last few minutes to melt



So there it is, my perfected frittata recipe. I hope that you enjoy it!

Making Pudding

I must start this entry by saying that inspiration for me to write this blog would not have even happened had I not read Molly Wizenberg's (known for her blog Orangette) latest article in Bon Appetit magazine. She writes of the memories of her father and his love for rice pudding. At the end of the article is a recipe for her version of rice pudding.
I grew up with rice pudding, which in my family was the dessert that was made for almost every special occasion. Unlike Molly, I loved it from the get go. I think that the reason I loved rice pudding so much was because it wasn't ever too too sweet. I was one of those weird kids that didn't like sugary things. No cake, pie, chocolate for me. I just did not like it. Also, almost every other Bangladeshi sweet is just too too sweet. Rice pudding for me, called firni or payesh in Bengali was the perfect dessert- Never outrageously sweet, a pleasantly gooey texture, and the creaminess of whole milk and cream.
The way my mom makes rice pudding is lovely. Rich and thick with whole cloves, cardamom and cinnamon making the kitchen smell delicious each time she makes it. At the end she tops it off with slivers of pistachios and almonds. I tell you it is to die for!
Although I will always love my mom's version, I had to try to Molly's as well. I like the idea of using vanilla bean for the flavouring and basically nothing else. And when it was finished, I certainly enjoyed the simplicity of the whole recipe. A beautiful looking dish as well; creamy white with little tiny flecks of black. It is different than my mother's version for sure, but tasty none the less. I'll more than likely be interchanging Molly's recipe as well as my moms for special occasions to come!
Also, to make a offside note, I have always loved rice pudding chilled out of the fridge as opposed to straight off the stove. It just tastes better I think. The texture is thicker as well. Yes, out of the fridge instead of off the stove!

Since.

Since my last post:

Curry was made.

French Toast was served.

More muffins were made... And eaten.

New coffee shops were found.

And playtime with Potato was had.

Quick Breakfasts Fast, Fast, Fast!

Now that the strike is over at York U, I'm finally back to figuring out quick and easy meals for me to make in the morning for breakfast as well as take with me to school for lunch.
Upon reading the latest issue of Martha Stewart published magazine Body and Soul, I saw the Body and Soul Challenge: 35 Days To A New You. Now, half the stuff they listed for their readers to do, I already do. Others things, like cutting down the amount of web surfing and television watching I do, I'm sure that I could eventually get to. When I see articles like that I generally get a boost of inspiration to change my lifestyle, but then when I actually get to reading the whole thing I realize that I do lead a pretty healthy life. I mean, yes, I could probably get some more exercise, other than my daily walking, but otherwise I'd say I'm pretty good to go. There was one quick, easy and healthy recipe that caught my eye though. I've been making it the last couple of mornings and taking the leftovers for lunch and been finding it quite yummy.
All this recipe involves is hard boiling an egg. I mash the egg with about one third of a can of chickpeas, with some, salt, pepper, olive oil, lemon juice and dill, and then simply stuff the mixture into a whole wheat pita pocket. Simple. Easy. Yummy.
I've made some variations as well. For instance, sometimes I'll also boil a small potato with the egg and mash that in there as well. Other times I add small pieces of sun-dried tomatoes or slices of aged cheddar. Spinach is also a nice filler to add. Or you can simply change up some of the herbs. Oregano and thyme I am sure would be delicious in this.
Unfortunatly, in my daily rush, I wasn't able to take photos. But I promise you it also looked yummy!
Anyhow, I'm actually at school at this moment, but thought I'd take a few moments to write about my yummy breakfasts and lunches.
For now, I'm off to buy lunch at my favourite on campus restaurant, Indian Flavours!

It's Winter. Let's Frolic.

The Comforts of Winter

This morning the city announced a extreme cold weather alert. Mind you, it's only -8 degrees Celsius at this moment, but the temperature is set to dip to -23 by late this evening with the wind chill. I can tell you right now, that as soon as I heard that this morning, I had decided not to leave my apartment. York U is still in the midst of a strike and I only work two days a week, so really, I had no reason to leave the house today. I did get a phone call to see if I could cover a shift today but a little tall tale set that aside. I agreed to go in tomorrow instead.
Okay, so all said and done, my plan was to stay in, get some reading done (What We All Long For by Dionne Brand), maybe watch some television, and (as I always do when I have nothing to do and am indoors), try out a new recipe.
While half-watching Giada De Laurentiis' Everyday Italian, I came to notice she was making an Italian style macaroni and cheese. And then, in that half-watching state, it hit me! What better winter comfort dish than mac & cheese. So I went to my go-to website where I knew I would find at least one great recipe for one of the more ultimate comfort foods there ever was. Bonappetit.com. It was there that I found a recipe for what was called Cheesemonger's Mac & Cheese. Just from the photo they used, it looked like heaven. All cheese-crusted and messy looking, I knew that it was a must to make at that exact moment. Fortunately for me, it was about lunch time anyway. Unfortunately, it meant I had to leave the apartment to get some of my ingredients for the recipe. So, I piled on the socks, put on my biggest parka and grabbed my canvas tote and went out into the not-actually-as-cold-as-the-news-said weather and crossed the street to the neighbourhood grocery store. There, I picked up the butter, cream, fresh thyme and sundried tomatoes that would be part of the list of the ingredients in my ultimate mac & cheese.
I have to say, I've never actually made mac & cheese from scratch before. Making a roux, which would be the base for my bechamel sauce were two things I've always been iffy about. Both turned out be excessively easy. The rest of the recipe was even more easy. So easy, that I adapted it just a little. I used macaroni instead of penne, because well, um, it's called mac & cheese!!! I also just used whatever cheese I had on hand. Basil tomato havarti, triple creme rondoux, two year old cheddar and parmesean cheeses were what I ended up using. Not because I'm overly creative but because it's what I had in my fridge. I also added in some chopped up sundried tomatoes.
The finished product... Just give me a second, the thought of the finished product's awesomeness causes me to pause...
Okay, sorry, the finished product was pure winter comfort food heaven. The creaminess of the bechamel, all of the cheeses' sharpness, saltiness and ooziness, and final bread crumb topping's crunchiness, all of it together formed the best possible flavours in my mouth.
Ahh...

Anyway! That's all for now... Until the next winter comfort food!

Muffin Memories

For whatever reason, I can remember only ever eating carrot muffins as opposed to any other muffin as a child. I simply can not remember my mom baking any other muffin either. And so, my only muffin memories (however, delicious) remain those involving carrot muffins.
Now I've been living away from home for about six years now. And I have to say that I've been pretty good at cooking (and sometimes baking) things from scratch for the entirety of my being on my own. But my mom's carrot muffin recipe has always remained untouched.
The main reason for this is because my mom always had, and still has a very 70's rotary grater which she uses to easily grate the carrots. It is a fairly large thing with legs that fold out from the bottom and has about 6 interchangeable blade discs. I remember receiving the task to pull it out of the box and set it up over a plate for my mom. Then, after she cut the carrots into chunks to fit into the grater I got to turn the handle and watch bright shreds of orange come stringing out.
I'd looked for a similar grater before but found anything as sizable as my mom's to be too expensive and anything else to be far too small. For this reason I did not make carrot muffins. Because the thought of grating carrots by hand on my box grater was just too tedious to even think of! I know, I know, it's an awfully lame excuse for someone who supposedly rarely eats any other muffin, even to this day, than carrot muffins. But I am admittedly lazy from time to time.
However, Matt was good to me this holiday season as I mentioned in my last blog, and he gave me a beautiful stainless steel Cuisinart hand immersion blender. It came with a whisk attachment as well as a chopper attachment. It is with this said chopper attachment, which is essentially a mini food processor, that I used to chop up my carrots in two quick batches and made my very own carrots muffins!
They turned out just a touch drier than I'd prefer. But this was my first time making these so I can't really get too up in arms over some dryness. What is so great about these as well, is they so remind me of my mom's muffins. They smell and taste (other than the dryness), exactly like hers! And they are such a great breakfast option for Matt and I. Great for on the go, and they add a bit of diversity to our usual cereal and (soy)milk breakfasts.

That's all for now! It's all snowy and slushy outside so I'm just going to curl up with Potato and continue watching the Lord of the Rings movies that I'd started earlier this morning.

Cheating and Trickery

You would think that this strike would enable me get some more writing done. I would too. But alas, the busy holidays have just passed by and I finally have a few minutes to spare.
And yes, the strike at York University is still on! CUPE 3903 and York University are finally back to resolution talks. Fingers crossed that us students get back soon.
As winter is now upon us and with so much excessive time on my hands, I find the thing I do the most is bake. I bake and complete other domestic duties that I previously did in tandem with my other half. Oh how I wish I was back in class!
Nothing against baking though. It's just that honestly, I know how to bake very few things. Cookies and breads I can do. But that's really about it. I use frozen tart and pie shells when I bake all of that other stuff. I'm a cheater baker. Pies and tarts are simply whole other world away from cookies for me. It's just that kneading dough enough, but not too much. Getting a flaky crust. I just have no idea. But with my cheating skills in tact I have achieved quite delicious butter tarts and tarte aux sucre (sugar pie) over the past few weeks.
I found the recipe for the butter tarts by complete fluke. I was perusing perfectbound's Flickr page when I happened upon a lovely photo of homemade butter tarts. And underneath, with in the comments section, after a few complimentary comments pertaining to the yumminess of the photographed butter tarts, was a quick little recipe. Frozen tart shells and all! My dream butter tart recipe come true! They turned out quite nice and goeey. Delicious and sweet.
As for the tarte aux sucre recipe, I got that one way back in grade 5. It was for a class assignment worth 2% of my final grade in my French class. I know that baking a pie for French language class seems a slight bit odd, but tarte aux sucre is supposed to be a fairly common dessert in Quebec and even in France. So it does sort of make sense. Again, I used premade frozen pie shells for this recipe as well. And again I got a fairly decent result. I should also note, I hadn't made tarte aux sucre since that grade 5 assignment so the fact that it even turned out was a surprise for me. Now Meag has already offered to teach me how to make a proper pastry. So that I may no longer resort to such cheating and trickery. I will have to have her over so she can teach me the joys of making ones own pastry and I can give her a few other filling recipes to her already long list of pie recipes.
I've baked a lot more, mainly cookies and fudge over the holidays. But I think I'd like to switch back to cookery. Matt got me a lovely handheld immerson blender for Christmas which I am very excited to try out in my creamed soup recipes! It even has chopper and whisk attatchments which I've already used. Using even those extra attatchments is a dream! So I'll try my best to keep you posted on how the immersion bit works out for me. I can only imagine it being ridiculously awesome!
Oh, and on the topic of Matt, he has a new blog. Go check it!