For the love of baking

Is there something in your life that when you are doing it, strike a chord inside you, transports you to a different place and lightens your soul?  For me, it is baking.  As I measure the ingredients, pre-heat my oven and create my edible masterpiece, I feel as if I have sprung these mythical wings and escaped to the enchanted forest.  My kitchen becomes a place where magic happens and fairy dust comes in the form of coloured sprinkles.  The sound of the mixer harmonizes with the quiet sifting and gentle folding of ingredients.  The warmth grows and the smells begin to fill the air.  The world around may be full of imperfections but, in this place only a gratifying sweetness exists.  An ingredient looses itself and becomes an emotion, a gift, a peace offering or moment to share with another.  Chocolate takes a new name, bliss...

Tartrazine a dye with many names!

Several years ago I had a allergic reaction that caused my lips to itch and swell until they made Angelina Jolie jealous.  After weeks of outbreaks and not having any idea what it could be and, even my doctor having a chuckle at my state I solved the mystery.  Not only had I been ingesting this but it was in almost every lip gloss, lipstick, and chapstick I owned. 

What is this terrible ingredient: Tartrazine.  Think that you don't eat this?  Ever had Kraft KD or fruit loops?  Not only can it be listed as tartrazine but also yellow dye#5, C.I. 19140, E102, and even as the non threatening ingredient:colour.  How much damage could this little dye do you wonder?  Aside from sever allergic reactions causing hives, swelling and extreme itchiness, it is also know to cause hyperactivity in children. 

I recently made a trip to the theatre to watch a movie and after having a couple of handfuls of popcorn goodness(or so I thought) I spent the rest of the evening in Claritin induced delirium trying not to scratch the hives that covered my wrists, chest and neck.  I awoke in a better state but a few hours later and, much before the claimed 24 hour dose time on the package,  the hives reared their ugly heads again.  Benadryl now became my drug of choice and amidst the fog in my brain every 4 hours new breakouts appeared as this toxic substance makes it's way through my body.  How long will it last, the kind ER doctor said it could take up to a month!

I'll share my word of warnings, walk through your pantry, or turn the labels on your next visit and see how many places you'll find this awful dye.  Make better selections for you and your families and hopefully you won't spend your days with oven mitts duck taped to your wrists to avoid tearing your skin off!!  YUCK!

Is Vegan a 4 letter word?

I love to bake and, when I find a good recipe I also like to share.  I am not prejudiced against a recipe by the side note: vegan or vegetarian but, I find it funny the reactions I get when I say this about something I've baked.  There are generally two different responses, the first of which is joy and excitement at the opportunity of a healthy alternative, that if coming from my kitchen is almost always a hit.  The second reaction is one that amuses me, it's the horror that spreads across the face of someone that just found out their soon to be treat will most likely, in their minds, taste like cardboard and they will have to come up with a convincing response as to why they must avoid consumption of such an item.  I have in the past been disappointed by the "healthy" alternatives and had my share of cardboard cookies and loaves of gluten free bread that could impale someone but have not let those disastrous encounters cloud my optimism.  So I turned to one of my favorite vegetarian cookbooks, ReBar, and began to find something I hadn't made yet.  Vegan, gluten free, trail bars and power spheres won out and I planned my trip to Whole Foods to pick up a few items.  By mid morning on Sunday my kitchen was full of the sweet smells of my vegan snacks.  Flavours of apple, apricot, pineapple and peanut butter, mixed with toasted hazelnuts and sesame seeds, filled my home and gave the neighbours something pleasant to smell while walking through the main lobby to the elevator.  I finished, wrapped and packed some up to share at work and voila, success!  Wrapped up little bundles of proof, that vegan is not a 4 letter word and some recipes can hold their own with the best of them even without animal by-products. 

Salad Cravings - Cajun Prawn Cesar

I commonly hear of people's cravings as being fried or sugary foods they should avoid rather than indulge.  I admit that sometimes mine would fall into that category.  Although believe it or not, I often crave things that would do me quite well and I should perhaps think to add to my menu more often.  The other night this was in the form of Cajun Prawn Cesar Salad.  Cesar dressing can often outdo french fries for saturated fat and caloies however, my healthy choice is a yogurt based one that I use on the side rather than drenching the taste of lettuce away.  I started with jumbo prawns, drizzled them with olive oil and added a little "Slap yo Mamma" Cajun seasoning.  A few minutes under the broiler, a quick flip and a few more minutes later "ta da".  Served on a bed of romaine, dressed with lemon juice, ciabatta croutons and fresh Parmesan cheese.  If you are looking for a meal that's easy and fantastic, look no further.  It was so yummy, I ate one for lunch the next day as well.  And for those who know me, this is saying a great deal! 

O Plantain, how do I love thee?

During my recent trip to Costa Rica I was again reminded of how much I enjoyed plantains.  It is not a common marketplace purchase here however, not as difficult to find as it once was.  So what do you do with this large ugly banana thing?  The possibilities are almost endless.  Bake, grill, pan-fry, deep-fry....  It can be eaten green or if you wait until it looks like something died and left its corpse behind it's pleasantly sweet.  More texture than its relative the common banana it can flavour your stew or stand alone as dessert. 

Visiting a restaurant on the outskirts of San Jose, their method of choice, as with all their food, was on the grill.  When this cheese covered, sweet delight arrived at our table, it shone despite the dated plastic plate it was served on.  Such a versatile ingredient it will be on my shopping list next time I'm out and about.  I will most likely stay away from deep-frying and grilling(still a little cold outside) but nothing says comfort food like a casserole dish lined with plantains and smothered with cream cheese.  I mean really, can you go wrong with cream cheese?

How to eat your emotions?

I recently had the opportunity to have a weekend away from home, without my son, and visited a friend.  While my friend had a bit of a heavy load on her plate at this time, we were able to enjoy each other's company and eat and drink our way through our emotions.  How did we do this?  With great enthusiasm!

It started with a decedant dinner of steak & lobster served along side cesar salad with fresh homemade dressing.  A joint effort we started by naming our lobsters: Jose, Ferdinand and my specialty, Dinner!  You would think that by naming your food you might be less inclined to eat it, you would think wrong around us gals.  We gave our lobsters a salt water "hot tub" and started on the steaks.  Start with some seasonings, add a little olive oil, sear in the flavour and transfer to the broiler to finish and top with some crumbled Borsin.  My friend shared her "secret" recipe for cesar salad dressing and before you know it we were sipping our Francis Coppola Claret and digging in to our feast!  If there were room for dessert we would have had more lobster but instead we moved on to un-buttoning our top buttons and having some more wine.

The source of the inspiration: Canadian Living magazine.  The cover had the token how to loose weight article overtop of the decedant dessert that would make you break that diet in a heartbeat.  So instead of feeling bad we started making the angel food cake and fresh lemon curd.  Great effort on our part and quite a success!  The bowls were licked to an almost immaculate state and the aroma of the cake filled the house.  We almost didn't wait until the next day to endulge.  I must say that by this time we were feeling relaxed and there were smiles all around. 

We started the day off right with coffee and Bailey's.  Who says you have to wait until later in the day to start drinking?  Taking our lead from a country song, the motto for the day was "it's 5 o'clock somewhere".  Breakfast was searved and eggs benny with homemade hollandaise sauce was served, back bacon and all!  I don't there is anything else you can say except, YUMMY! 

Next steps after feeling only slightly guilty at the indulgence of the last couple of meals, was a brisk walk to the the local grocery and liquor stores.  We did after all have to prepare for this evenings dinner and, we had a hankering for beer.  Absorbing the sunshine and vitamin D we smiled all the way back home.   Lunch was quick and simple with Mac N Cheese and fake Mac N Cheese (for those of us allergic to yellow #5).  Beer in hand we prepared the mascarpone whipped cream for the cake and the layers were formed.  Tea time followed behind beer time very closely and before we knew it we had a replica of Canadian Livings temptation in our bellies.  I would say that we were ready for our next meal but, who am I kidding we needed to digest and it was definitely nap time. 

As a special treat I was on dinner duty and made one of my family specialties "Arroz con Pollo" or for those of you who are not fluent in Spanish "chicken rice".  As no two women in my family make it exactly the same mine is a combination of my mom's and grandma's with my very own flare.  Post nap time rice was accompanied by our need for a vegetable in the form of more cesar salad and, the traditional accompanyment of potato chips.  Pour me another glass and dinner was complete.

If you thought we were done, you would have been wrong.  We continued our evening with a an informal wine and cheese.  Nothing says a good evening like Genoa salami and Camambert cheese.  By the time we were ready to turn in I think we have successfully eaten our way through, happy, sad, silly, melancholy, funny, and too many more emotions to count.  It was a weekend spent with old friends and new friends alike,  enjoying each other's company, great food and terrific wine!  Shouldn't all weekends be like this?

oops I forgot it's 8:30pm and I need to bake a cake for tomorrow

Yes, the Queen of planning sometimes gets lost in the calamity that is life.  That and since my 3 year old woke up from his late nap, he has been joined to me at the hip.  Looking at the clock at 8:30pm I realized oops I forgot, it's 8:30pm and I need to bake a cake for tomorrow.  What to do?  Not a problem, dig out my trusty new bundt pan and grandma's chocolate cake recipe and hop to it.  Flour and cocoa sifted, coffee brewed and all ingredients combined and in my oven by 8:48pm.  New record for me, as in between I was updating this blog!  With the right weapons in your arsenal (bundt pan, and a full pantry) preparing a cake in 18 mins is a snap. I dare you to try!

Latte anyone?

For years I have been longing for an espresso machine that would keep me in the caffeine high I am accustomed to without the high prices of "Starsbucks" as my 3 year old calls it.  To make an investment of this amount it took some debate and heaving consideration.  The math was done and when I found a machine that was refurbished at $400 less it weighed it seemed to tip the scales in my favour.  What to do next???  Select my coffee of course.  Having my roots originating in Costa Rica there was no doubt where I would be getting my espresso beans from; Cafe Britt!  The coffee arrived in a few short days and well before I had a chance to go purchase the machine, was this the order I should be doing things in? No worries too late now...  I finally got over the delightful (insert sarcasm here) upper respiratory infection and was able to pick up my machine.  Lucky for me there was one left with my name on it!  The math said that if we made 2 lattes a day for 11 weeks instead of going to a cafe it would pay for itself in savings.  Now how fast do you think it would pay for itself if we upped that amount to 4-6 per day????  It's hard not to have more than one when the espresso is smooth and not bitter and the milk is heated to the right temp and the foam is plenty.  I even went as far as to pick up all my favorite syrups and sprinkles.  It makes getting up a little easier, even when you've only had a few hours sleep.  Best part; the commute is no existent and pj's are acceptable attire.  Second cup?  Of course!

Beef & Barley Stew

As the weather changes it's time to spruce up those dreary winter days.  A great way to do this is a warm and hearty stew.  Not just any stew, a beef & barley stew with red wine!  Since I posted this photo I have already had the recipe request a couple of times so here it goes....

Ingredients:
1 kg stewing beef, cubed, rinsed and pat dried
1 bottle of a hearty red wine (I used a Chilean Cab Sav)
Chopped or dehydrated garlic
2/3 cup Pearl onions
3 Carrots
1 Red pepper
1 small sweet potatoe, peeled
9 nugget yellow flesh potatoes
1 can sliced mushrooms
1 can diced tomatoes or 1 cup grated fresh tomatoes
2 TBSP Italian Seasoning (basil, oregano, marjoram, rosemary)
1/2 cup barley (pearl or pot barley both work fine)
Stock or water
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400F
In a dutch oven or other oven proof pot with a lid brown beef with 2 tbsp vegetable oil, salt and pepper.  Once brown add wine and stir to deglaze pan.  Continue cooking at med/high until 1/2 of the wine boils off. 
Chop veggies into similar sizes, if the nugget potatoes are small and tender no need to peel.  You can substitute regular potatoes but those should be peeled.  Add all veggies & barley and stir to coat.  Add seasoning and salt and pepper to taste.  Add enough stock or water to come up to the 3/4 full mark on your pot.  Cover and put in the oven for 45 mins.  Check occasionally to ensure there is enough liquid and add stock or water as needed. 

Serve with a crusty Italian bun or loaf and watch the dreariness disappear!

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

What better inspiration than a bag of the most lovely eggplant I have seen.  It was next to some delicate zucchini and after adding a few more ingredients to my shopping list roasted veggie lasagna was on it's way to becoming a reality.  First was to roast the zucchini and eggplant with olive oil and Italian seasoning.  Second saute the spinach with some fresh garlic, salt, pepper and a smidgen of nutmeg.  Put together an organic tomato basil sauce and add a can of diced tomatoes some Italian seasoning and fresh garlic.  My secret ingredient??? Umami paste added to my sauce to give it that extra special flavour.  You may ask what other secrets I have up my sleeve?  Fresh lasagna sheets instead of dried pasta, it makes all the difference!  Now for the layers:

1. small ladle of sauce

2. fresh lasagna sheets

3. ricotta cheese, topped with sauteed spinach, topped with sauce and a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese

4. next layer of fresh lasagna sheets

5. zucchini, eggplant topped with sauce and another sprinkle of mozzarella cheese

6. final layer of lasagna sheets topped with the remainder of the sauce

7. add a good helping of mozzarella cheese

Bake at 350F until bubbling along the edges and cheese is browned slightly.  I'd say take the time to savour and enjoy every bite however it's so delicious it won't last that long!  Enjoy!

Cajun

Not sure what the allure is.... whether it's because it's the setting for one of the vampire stories I read, or the thought of blackening items and still being able to eat them and say "that's exactly how it's supposed to look".  Maybe it's just the feeling that down home cooking gives you on a cold day?  Whatever the reason I find Cajun food fabulously interesting.  My husband recently travelled to Louisiana and although I could not go with him he made sure that packed away in his suitcase were a few key ingredients to help me create some masterpieces!  Fist up: Fish Fry.

Dinner with friends was served up Cajun style with a good old fashioned fish fry.  I took my package of Louisiana fish fry and some fresh snapper and made a gigantic mess of fried goodness in my kitchen.  Topped with your choice of "Cajun Seasoning" or "Slap Ya Mamma" spice dinner was a hit in the making.  To accompany, and also regulate our intake of fat...I served a spinach salad topped with almond slices, pumpkin seeds, fresh tomatoes and a little buffalo mozzarella.  Last but not least, what would be the point of serving a fried fish without some sort of a chip, Smashed Potatoes!  A take away from watching Michael Smith's Chef at Home it's tasty and a work out all at once.  Cooking these potatoes at high heat always sets off my smoke detectors and my family and I frantically wave blankets and cloths to try and stop the beeping.  It's my way of working off a few calories before I eat them.  Great times were had by all and leftovers were transformed into Cajun fish burgers the following night!  Two birds killed with one stone.

Untammed Feast - Wild Mushrooms

As a yearly tradition I visit the Circle Craft fair and look for something I just can't live without.  Whether it be the olive spoon, aluminum earrings or this year dehydrated wild mushrooms!  Upon approaching the bustling Untammed Feast booth it was clear that they had generated some excitement.  Samples tend to do that amongst a crowd.  We patiently waited our turn and had a taste of their alder smoked chantrelle mushroom dip!  It was love at first bite and I instantly had to have them all... and I did.  Now what to do with these mushrooms?  Go home and make wild mushroom risotto for dinner, that's what.  I began my risotto mostly following the included recipe but used dry white vermouth instead of wine.  The smell that permeated the kitchen and most of my place was making my mouth water.  It was all we could do to wait for it to be ready.  17 mins later it was risotto bliss.  Now looking forward to the next mushroom delight!

Pescatarian for a month

Pescawhat?  Think of a vegetarian that eats fish and shellfish and then you have a pescatarian.  If you have never heard of this you are not alone.  When I recently decided to give up meat for a month and called myself a vegetarian who eats seafood my friend shared that there was actually a name for that, who knew?  In efforts to prepare for the holiday season of amazing delicacies I am eating healthy for the next month.  Now if I happen to loose a few pounds before my birthday and Christmas then so be it!  How did I start this off you may ask?  Well nothing short of delicious in a prawn and tofu stir fry over mung bean noodles.  Healthy, tasty and low fat.  If only all meals could be this easy.  I'll share some of my many food adventures this month and let me know if you want to try this out???

Watermelon Salad

Long gone are the days that salads are just a side line filler.  A good salad can be every bit as satisfying and delicious as any other part of a meal.  In fact if you have ever had the opportunity to eat one of my salads they are usually a meal on their own.  I had the privilege of attending a friends wedding this summer and found yet another interesting salad.  Nothing says freshness quite like a juicy watermelon and when it becomes the center piece of the salad you will never look at it the same way. Served in a bowl topped with goat cheese and fresh basil.it's a delightful blend of sweet and savory.  I'll be trying this again!

Campagnolo Roma - East Vancouver Eats

It's not often that I'm introduced to a new restaurant that really intrigues me to return within 1 week.  When a friend suggested a restaurant in my old neighborhood that just opened recently it was decided to try it out for our group outing.  Not much to look at in that the restaurant seats maybe 35 people it's charming warmth was very welcoming. 

The menu was short and sweet but supplemented with a fresh board of the day's specials.  We had no problem in choosing where to start as none of us had ever had a whipped ricotta.  Gently whipped ricotta seasoned with lemon juice and zest topped with fresh cracked pepper and olive oil, served with a house made rustic loaf.  Worth every mouthful we quickly finished and moved on to the eggplant bruschetta.  It did not disappoint and before we knew it our appies were done!  Pasta al dente, hand stretched pizza and pasta that would make your Nonna jealous.  We probably should have stopped there but when you have a honey panna cotta and tiramisu that tastes like Heaven in  your mouth why would you? 

Friendly and helpful the staff didn't complain that we lingered over coffee.  An experience that led to a couple of more visits over the next couple of weeks and I'm pleased to say that each visit was a pleasant and tasty as the first!  Go see for yourself if you don't believe me.

Strawberry Shortcake with Grandma's Cake

Having now made my grandma's orange coffee cake several dozen times now I thought it about time I added my own twist.  I swapped the orange juice for mango juice and gave it a tropical flair.  Then I added peach juice, apricot juice and almost any other juice taking up space in your pantry.  With the great texture and taste of this tried and true recipe it can become almost anything.  I decided one night that it would be a perfect base for strawberry shortcake.  A few sliced strawberries and some whipped topping made one of my favorite classics come to life.  All that was left was to make a cup of tea!

Lobster for breakfast

One of my husband's recent work trips landed him in the lovely province of Halifax.  Being famous for their lobster it was only natural I requested some be brought home.  He obliged and as his carry on luggage were 5 lively lobsters on their way to being a meal!  The flight is a long one and although my promise to pick him up at the airport was fulfilled cooking at 11:30pm was a little out of the question. 
Who needs to wait until dinner, first thing in the morning there was a pot of salt water boiling and 5 lobsters enjoying the last few minutes of their lives....  While my little boy looked on in wonder as I put the skittish little crustaceans into a boiling bath we all waited for breakfast to be served.  15-20 minutes later the now vividly red lobsters took a cool bath in some iced salt water.  It stops the cooking and prevents it from sticking to the shell.  Fresh French bread, garlic butter and delectably sweet lobster far outweigh a breakfast burrito any day!

Dissapointed by Lao Shan Dong

It is always sad when one of your go to places for a good homemade noodle soup lets you down.  We have been going to this little hole in the wall place for amazing homemade noodle soup and delicious pork dumplings for years now.  That is until today.  After stopping in for a take out order we made it all the way home before finding out that we were shorted one soup.  I called them to let them know of their mistake and it took over 5 minutes to get the lady to understand what I was trying to say.  By the time we finally got all of our meals we were terribly disappointed by the decline in quality.  The once tasty soup was not only lacking in flavour but drowning in salt...  I must say that we won't be back and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone I liked!

Where is FoodyMom?

Finding out your limitations is never pleasant....  My goal of blogging once or twice a week about my many food adventures was thwarted.  By what you may ask?  It's more like by whom, my little 2 1/2 year old son.  Working full time in a new position and being a full time mom, wife, daughter and sister makes any semblance of a personal life non-existant.  How do you find balance?  Quite simply, you don't, you make sacrifices instead.  Trying to squeeze a few minutes here and there I can hopefully begin to blog again....  Where else are you going to read about my Canuck's bake off to the Stanley Cup and calamities of cakes gone wrong? Here is where!

Joey's -Burnaby

 A night out "kid-free" is a rare and special occassion and even when it occurs I find it hard to let go. On my last night out we went out with friends to Joey's in Burnaby. Calling ahead on a Friday night can only go so far and after we arrived we found ourselves waiting.... It wasn't that long before a hostest came to offer us a seat with one exception it was to be seated at the chef's table. We were in a mood to try something new and this seemed a perfect fit.

  The table was a long woodent table that sat facing the orderly chaos that is a reastaurant kitchen. We were treated to complimentary cocktail tasters and appetizers and pleasant conversation with many staff that would come by our table.  It is a facinating experience to watch the many wonders of just how your food comes to your table looking so tantalizing.  The speed and efficiency of the staff boggles my mind as I think of how just one other person in my kitchen could drive me crazy.  The location of the table leads to a noisier than usual atmosphere so if you are looking for a quiet dinner to talk this would not be your best selection.  For a fun and enlightening experience and if you don't mind kicking up the volume this is a unique way to spend an evening. 

The downside of this type of a dinner, it makes choosing your dinner a difficult thing.  Seeing all this yummy food coming from the kitchen with the delicious aromas puts you in the mood to try everything....  I had to settle on some comfort food and after appys of chicken wings, calamari and flat bread, chose the ahi tuna club as my main course.  The ahi tuna cooked to a pleasant medium rare, the onion rings gently battered and the thin shoestring fries with their light and crispy flavour only confirmed I made the right choice. 

Why stop there, with a final challenge ahead we chose to share Joey's interpretation of apple pie.  A light puff pastry with apples dressed in a caramel crumble it was tasty enough to have without the icecream.  After all you know how I feel about apple pie a la mode, it really should be served with cheddar cheese!

All in all a great evening out and one to be repeated again soon!