Changes

Janelle Fontaine, Registered Massage Therapist, formerly practicing at Central Lonsdale Massage Therapy Clinic is now practicing at Movella Massage Therapy at 4701 Hastings Street in Burnaby. www.movellamassage.com

I apologize for any inconvenience that this change may have caused.

I look forward to seeing you at my new clinic.

Sincerely,

Janelle Fontaine
Registered Massage Therapist

The Jandorf

This salad looks a lot like a Waldorf salad however it's kinda far from it. I am not a fan of celery or mayonnaise in my salads; so as a rule, I'm not overly excited about Waldorf salads. For the purpose of this blog post I'll call this salad the Jandorf because this is truly my favorite salad.
What makes this recipe so great is the vinaigrette. The apple cider vinegar is from the Okanagan Vinegar Brewery in Summerland, BC. Vinegar was never something that got me really excited. That changed when I went to Edible BC on Granville Island where they were having a apple cider vinegar tasting. My favorite from the tasting is the iced cider apple vinegar. It's handcrafted, all natural, unfiltered and local. It's beautiful in flavor and not too sharp. What more could a girl want?!
The honey I use is the Mountain Honey from Honeyview Farm from Rosedale, BC. This honey I picked up while on a day trip to Agassiz. My cousin Joey, Christel and I toured a couple farms and came home with all sorts of goodies. My favorites from that trip were fresh local hazelnuts and the Mountain honey. When I bought the honey, I was told that the hives were placed in the wildflower fields of our BC mountains and that the honey collected from the hives were made from an assortment of BC wildflowers. Having hiked through some of BCs most beautiful valleys while they are in bloom, I was excited at the thought of happy little honey bees buzzing about in such a beautifully pristine setting to make this honey. Kind of like the Club Med of honey making if you ask me. Now yes, I am aware that I am eating all of their hard work and if they had a chance they'd probably be really upset with me for doing so. But I am ever so thankful for the honey and I don't use it too much (I've bought only one other pot of honey since that trip which was about two years ago). I try to appease my guilt by envisioning these honey bees in a beautiful environment, not over consuming their product and living as bee friendly* as possible.
Both the iced apple cider vinegar and the mountain honey can be found at Edible BC on Granville Island. I've also found that Capers carries the honey (the one on Robson did anyways).

The Jandorf

3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp minced shallot
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 cup roughly chopped dried prunes (or dried tart cherries)
about 6 cups of baby spinach
1 medium granny smith apple, cored and cubed
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup crumbled pepper goat cheese

For dressing: Whisk first 4 ingredients in a small bowl to blend.
For salad: Layer remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add dressing. Enjoy!

*I like bees. They're super important to every aspect of the food industry and I don't think many people realize this. I know I wasn't aware until I was reading an article about bees while commuting to work and I found myself in tears when I read how we are affecting their survival. It's not something to be proud of.

Tofu, Tomato and Green Bean Curry

This recipe is one straight from a BC Hydro Powersmart add in the Winter edition of Edible Vancouver. I have yet to figure out what is power smart about this recipe but it's darn delicious so really, it doesn't matter :) The only changes I've made (this recipe is with changes) is that I reduced the amount of oil from 1/2 cup to 1 Tbsp, reduced the salt from 1 Tbsp to 1 tsp and switched the chicken for tofu.

Tofu, Tomato and Green Bean Curry

1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 cups chopped red onion (1 large)
2 Tbsp chopped garlic (6 medium cloves)
3 cups chopped tomatoes (6 medium)
1 tsp tumeric
1 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
1 1/2 Tbsp mild Mexican chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cayenne pepper (optional)
1 1/2 firm tofu packages cubed
1/2 cup water
1 lb green beans, trimmed and cut in 1/2 inch pieces

• In a large, heavy-bottomed pan, heat oil on medium heat for 1 minute.
• Add onion and sauté for about 8 minutes, or until light golden on the edges. Don't overcook the red onion, as it is meant to give a sweeter taste to this curry.
• Add garlic and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, then add tomatoes and stir well.
• Add tumeric, cumin, chili powder, salt and cayenne and saute for 5 minutes.
• Stir in tofu, pour in water and bring to a boil.
• Reduce to medium heat, cover and cook for 10 minutes.
• Remove the lid carefully and stir in green beans.
• Cook uncovered, for 5 minutes, or until beans are just slightly crunchy.

This makes a relatively large batch but it's amazing for lunches! I serve it with a mix of brown and wild rice. I have yet to try it with quinoa but I am sure that would be delicious too.

Gluten Free Browned Butter Brownies

Since Gourmet magazine went the way of the dinosaur, I've been receiving Bon Apetit monthly. The articles are almost as good as those in Gourmet and the recipes are equally as inspiring. This month when I opened my little mail cubby, I pulled out a crisp February issue with a simple image of 4 brownie pieces stacked one on top of each other. The cover warned: inside a brownie recipe that will make you want to eat the entire pan. This was not a promise that I was open to considering since I was off dairy, wheat and chocolate. What was gluten free, chocolate free and dairy free were the pictures and recipes. I devoured them with my eyes and let myself be transported to a place where the rich, chewy flavors of a perfect chocolate brownie danced on my tongue.
The magazine had been sitting on my side table for two weeks when I finally told Sean that I had to make these browned butter brownies. Detox was over. Now time to retox! I bought the ingredients and was set to go... but I hesitated... Gluten seemed to be the root of my health issues. And of course, this recipe contained gluten. I quickly looked for a gluten free recipe and was not overly impressed with the results. The last thing I wanted was a healthy version of a delectable treat. So, armed with two recipes, I set off to create a fusion of the two recipes.
By the time I was blending the browned butter and chocolate mixture with the pecan flour I was giddy with excitement. The chocolate hadn't burned in the browned butter mixture. The eggs didn't scramble in the hotness of the chocolate and butter. The pecan mix smelled so good that I could have eaten that all by itself.
I put it all in the oven and hoped for the best. By this point, I figured that what ever cam out of the own I'd eat it. How could butter, sugar, chocolate and pecans go wrong?! The apartment slowly filled with the beautiful smell of cooking chocolate and sugar. What came out of the oven after 30 minutes... well you're just going to have to try this recipe for yourself. Gluten free diet or not this recipe is here to stay. It's blown every other brownie recipe I've ever made out of the water. And for the record, yes, I did eat the whole pan, but over the course of two days.

Gluten Free Browned Butter Brownies

5oz Belgian dark chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp ground pecan meal*
1/4 slightly rounded cup sorghum flour
1 tablespoon tapioca starch (or flour, same thing different label)
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
3 tsp vanilla extract

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line a 9x11-inch baking pan with parchment or foil and lightly oil the bottom and 1/2 way up the sides.
• Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking until butter stops foaming and browned bits form at the bottom of the pan, stirring often, about 5 minutes.
• While butter is browning, in a medium bowl combine pecan meal, sorghum flour, tapioca starch and baking soda. Set aside.
• Remove browned butter from heat; immediately add sugar. Stir until blended (sugar crystals should mostly be dissolved, some may remain).
• Next, add finely chopped chocolate and stir constantly until chocolate had melted and is incorporated in the browned butter and sugar mixture. Add vanilla and salt. Stir to blend.
• Let sit for 5 minutes as mixture will still be hot.
• Add eggs to hot mixture 1 at a time, beating vigorously to blend after each addition. When mixture looks thick and shiny, add flour and stir until blended. Beat vigorously 37 strokes**. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
• Bake brownies until toothpick inserted into center comes out almost clean (a few moist crumbs will still be attached, that's ok), about 25 to 35 minutes.
• Cool in pan on rack. Using parchment/foil overhang, lift brownies from pan. Cut and enjoy. :)

*I am sure stores sell this, however, I just made my own using pecans and putting them in the coffee grinder (which is specifically for grinding nuts, seeds and spices).
**37 is totally a random number :) Just stir enough so that it's well blended but no need to over do it.

Goat Cheese and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Have you ever chopped the top off a yellow pepper and looked into it? It's like a work of art created by mother nature and hidden, like a treasure, for you to discover.
Chopping the top off peppers to stuff them was something I had never done. Sure, I've sliced, diced and halved peppers but never cut the top off it. When I make stuffed peppers, I usually halve them and that's good enough. A little boat, filled with deliciousness. Having seen how pretty a stuffed roasted pepper was when served whole, I thought I would give it a try.
This recipe is simple and through the simplicity, a beautiful dinner is created. Though one pepper seems like quite a bit for a serving, it was just right. Then again that may have been due to the 2 hours of intense cardio I did prior to making these peppers.

Goat Cheese and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Serves 1
(Tonight, I made 3. The recipe is easy to double or triple. Just adjust cooking times accordingly.)

1/4 cup dry quinoa
1 large bell pepper
1 tablespoon EVOO*
1/4 cup minced red onion
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup baby spinach
1/4 cup sliced white button mushrooms
1/2 teaspoon salt-free Italian herb seasoning
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese

• Preheat oven to 350F. Rinse quinoa and place with 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until all water is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Set aside and keep covered.
• While quinoa cooks, use a sharp knife to cut the top off the peppers and remove the seeds and membranes; keep the pepper whole. Set aside.
• Heat a medium skillet on medium high; add olive oil. Add onion and saute until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add garlic, carrots, spinach, mushrooms and seasoning and saute until vegetables are slightly tender, about 4 minutes.
• Transfer sauteed vegetables to a bowl. Mix in cooked quinoa, and gently fold in goat cheese.
• Fill pepper with the mixture. Place in a baking dish and bake uncovered for 15 minutes or until pepper is slightly charred. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sea Monster Nori Wrap

I love wraps. They're the ideal 'to go' food. They're compact enough that you can eat and run while still having your hands relatively free to do other things. Now I am in no way a fan of eating on the go but lets be realistic here. Eating on the run is better than not eating at all. While tortilla type wraps are delicious, they can get boring pretty quickly. Here's a recipe I've come up with that blows the traditional wrap out of the water.

Sea Monster Nori Wrap

3 sheets of Nori
1 can tuna in water, drained
1 tbsp mayonnaise
black pepper to taste
1/2 green onion finely chopped
sprouts
1 avocado sliced

• In a bowl, mix tuna, mayonnaise, pepper and green onion.
• Place nori sheets on a clean, dry surface, shiny side on the counter (matte side up).
• Spread 1/3 of the tuna mix over the 1/3 of the nori closest to you (do not spread in the middle, this makes wrapping difficult) leave some nori uncovered on either side of the tuna.
• Top tuna with 3 slices of avocado and some sprouts.
• Roll as you would a burrito.
• Enjoy! These can easily be packed for lunch just make sure to place them in a container and not wrapped in saran wrap (otherwise it'll stick and be messy).

A Beautiful Disaster

Dinner had the potential to either be a train wreck or a phenomenal experiment. It fell somewhere in between. This sprouted from a craving for pasta I had while I was doing my hour of cardio today. I'm pretty sure I've been lacking carbohydrates because my mind goes at the speed of a turtle and my attention span is that of a gnat (yes, I've upped my fish oils. But that hasn't helped).

Now how to have pasta when you can't have wheat? Well there's rice pasta which I usually eat anyways but brown rice pasta? Isn't that a whole grain? I can't have whole grains. Does it count as a whole grain if it's ground up into a flour and made into pasta? Yeah. Complicated. So I compromised. White rice pasta. But white rice pasta is pretty boring and it sure as heck wouldn't satisfy a monstrous carbohydrate craving. So what else to put in there. Enter crimini mushrooms, kale, red snapper and coconut milk. Now my dinner has potential. The potential to either be a train wreck or a phenomenal experiment.

The result? A beautiful disaster! My pasta clumped together. So what? The rest. Phenomenal!

Pasta with crimini mushroom,
kale and red snapper coconut sauce

1/3 package of white rice pasta (or if you're not on this darn cleanse, use what ever you please)
2 tbsp coconut oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped, divided
1 piece of red snapper, bones removed
1 can coconut milk
1 container of crimini mushrooms
a pinch of provencal herbs
5 kale leaves, washed, center removed and roughly chopped

• Cook pasta (I won't tell you how I did it because clearly that's the wrong way haha)
• While pasta cooks, saute mushrooms in 1 tbsp coconut oil. When the mushrooms are half sauted, add the pinch of provencal herbs.
• While mushrooms saute, add 1/2 tbsp coconut oil to a small pan, fry half the garlic and add fish (medium low heat) to the pan. Cover. Forget about it. Don't uncover it for at least 5 minutes.
• Once mushrooms are cooked, set aside in a bowl. Take mushroom pan and add the remaining 1/2 tsbp coconut oil and the remainder of the garlic. Lightly cook garlic.
• Once garlic is sauted, add can of coconut milk. Let simmer until fish and pasta has finished cooking.
• Roughly chop cooked fish (remove the skin before chopping).
• Place drained pasta back into pasta pot, add coconut garlic sauce, kale, sauted mushrooms and fish. Warm throughout and serve immediately.

Cleanse or no cleanse. Enjoy :) This is pretty darn delicious! I'm already looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Just say NO! to wheat, dairy, soy, corn, nuts, seeds, whole grains...

...and the list goes on!

I've been dealing with certain health issues since I've been 18 (this is pre Australia trip... which was a LONG time ago!). They've been persistent and at times so frustrating and painful that I've cried myself to sleep. So last week I put my foot down and told the naturopath that he could do ANYTHING he wanted to make these damn symptoms go away. I've been seeing the same naturopath for 3 years now and he's been great. He's helped me with many aspects of my health but this certain issue has been stubborn and has stuck around despite our efforts. Last year the symptoms decreased and things were actually manageable for a while. Three months ago everything came crawling back and I'm back at square one.

So, step one to feeling better is to heal my small and large intestine. This means I'm not allowed to eat the following for the next three weeks.

Wheat
Dairy
Soy (or any soy products) - bye bye tofu :( and Braggs
Corn (or any corn products)
Seeds
Nuts
Whole Grains
Roughage (think celery, cucumbers - they also have seeds so they're definitely out, tomatoes, bell peppers cabbage, carrots, lettuce)
Berries
Caffeine
Alcohol
Carbonated beverages
Chocolate - OH NO!!!!
Popcorn
Spicy foods (such as chili powder, salsa, black and cayenne pepper, paprika, cloves, cinnamon...)

Now when I saw the list I was like what the heck CAN I eat! I think that would be a better list to be given. Along with diet plan so I don't have to think about what I should eat (though not eating seemed like the easiest option at this point). Basically he said that leafy greens are ok as is meat. Oh and avocados too! Yay!

So I've come up with a couple delicious recipes. Those I'll post. But otherwise my dinners have been comprised of a mountain of greens and a slab of fish. I've replaced my chocolate intake (usually I pack a square of chocolate in my lunch. It does the trick) with gummy bears.

As for the health issues... two days into this whole mess my symptoms are all but gone. They resurfaced a little but went away a day later. I'm on day 5 now. Almost 1/3 done :) Yay! Looks like this should be worth it in the long run.

Waking from my gulttonous coma

The untouched tin of home made cookies and chocolate box are proof that I probably over did it this year. Of course just because I've over done it, does not mean that I will now starve myself. No way. I just plan on eating lighter, healthier again. When breakfast seems too heavy I usually go for a freshly juiced drink or a protein smoothie. This Veggie Detox drink I found in the latest issue of Bon Apetit. It's a wonderful way to start or end the day.

Veggie Detox

2 firm bosc pears, stemmed, cut into wedges
1 3/4 piece fresh ginger
5 medium carrots, cut into 2 to 3 inch pieces
2 celery stalks, cut into 2 to 3 inch pieces
1 baby beet, scrubbed, cut into wedges
1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley (stems and leaves)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Working in batches, push the above ingredients into juicer. Stir in lemon juice at the end. Serves 2.

Passion Imprinted

Two days ago I was rushing around, trying to get ready for work as quickly and quietly as possible. As usual when Sean stays over, I'm late. I have trouble peeling myself away from my bed because I'd rather spend a lazy morning with him than go to work (even though I really enjoy what I do... which is what makes this such a problem). So there I was, fresh out of the shower, about to start straigthening my hair and at the same time cooking rice, steaming kale and frying tofu. I started heating the oil for frying and then went to straighten a layer of hair. I went back to the hot pan and threw the tofu in the pan. By the time I realized I was tossing it in at the wrong angle, it was too late. Hot oil splashed my tummy, the front of my hip and my thigh. It hurt. I swore. Tears stung my eyes. Damn it! I really didn't have time to nurse an injury now too! Out came the ice pack and I continued to cook and get ready while icing my burns. I spent the rest of the morning wishing I could not wear underwear or pants because the feeling of the material rubbing against my burn was excruciating. I spent the day with ice packs stuffed down my pants. Most clients didn't notice. They're face down, asleep or looking up at the ceiling. Had they noticed, I would have explained. But I felt that 'you're therapist was cooking naked and burnt herself with oil' was on a need to know basis.
Last night I was laying in bed and I wondered: what if these (or the top one at least which is kind of an ugly purple colour) burns turned into permanent scars? How would I feel? I observed the contrast of the largest purple burn against my skin. The edge a shocking contrast against my white tummy. The smaller pinkish splatters look like they will fade. The bottom streak has blistered, I know those will heal with time. But the most obvious one, what if that was permanent? I realized I would be ok with that. I already have two tattoos representing who I am. This would be just like that. Representing my passion for cooking and my appreciation for the naked human form.
So now I wait for things to heal. Regardless of the outcome, I'm ok with it.

When all else fails. Make desert.

Alright, so dinner wasn't a failure. It's just a work in progress.

There's nothing I enjoy more than cooking for people I love. So when I found out that Mom, Dad, Stéphane and Dasha were coming over for dinner, I put my thinking cap on and tried to whip something up that would be gluten free, vegetarian, low in fiber, include some form of protein, no chocolate and not too expensive. Ummmm right. That's a tough one. So I settled on a beet salad and Zucchini Corn Pancakes.

My zucchini corn pancakes were originally supposed to be vegan friendly and had gluten in it. I nixed regular flour and used buckwheat flour instead. I am sure I could/should have used a mixture of other flours that would be lighter than buckwheat but it's what I had on hand. I also added chopped shrimp to the pancakes. The finished product was really delicious but the texture is a work in progress. The outside took a while to brown and the inside still remained doughy. Dasha and I played with different temperatures and tried butter vs. olive oil. Olive oil in the best we've found but it still left the inside a little too doughy for my liking. The recipe definitely has potential so I'll keep playing around with it.

The beet salad was something I wanted to try because Sean had a beet salad with yellow beets that he really enjoyed. He's mentioned it a couple times that we should try to make the salad again. I have never had a beet salad. Beets being recently introduced into my kitchen as they weren't something I really enjoyed before. I could see the potential with this salad but it wasn't quite what I was hoping for. I think I'll have to try a couple before I try to make my own.

Feeling quite discouraged, I set to make desert. When it comes to sweets I feel like a have a better handle on the flavors. I feel more confidant so I play with ingredients a little more. The dish was inspired by the tropics. Think mangoes, papaya and bananas with the comforting taste of vanilla and cardamom. It was like sunshine in a bowl. Which was a welcome change considering the cold wet Vancouver weather.



3/4 cup turbinado sugar (I prefer to use turbinado sugar because it's flavor is earthy which lends itself well to this recipe)
1 cup water
6 cardamom pods - seeds removed*
1 ripe papaya
1 ripe mango
1 banana
1 container of Vanilla Liberte Mediterranée Yogurt

• In a small pot, add sugar, water and cardamom seeds. Boil on medium high heat until it becomes thick but not quite caramel consistency.
• While the sauce is cooking, dice papaya, mango and banana and place in a medium bowl. Place 2 scoops of yogurt in each serving bowl (if you have small bowls, use them. I forgot to and used a big bowl... the desert ends up looking lost.)
• Once the sauce is ready, pass through a sieve to remove cardamom seeds. Sieve directly over diced fruit. Stir until fruit are well coated.
• Scoop fruit over yogurt and enjoy!

Leftover fruit mix is delicious on oatmeal in the morning.


* To remove the seeds from the cardamom pods, set one cardamom pod on your counter, take a large knife and lay it flat on top of the cardamom pod, crush the pod (usually one good whack with your fist will do. But be careful!). Pick out the seeds from the crushed cardamom mess. Repeat with 5 other pods.

Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree

Yesterday I bought my first ever Christmas tree! I was brimming with pride when I carried it home. I cuddled it closed to me because I knew this little green shrub was the first in my very own tradition. What is different from this little green shrub is that it isn't a coniferous tree but a perennial herb. My Christmas Tree is a Rosemary plant.

Now how did I go from a traditional Christmas tree to a not so traditional tree? Well, it started a couple of years ago when I read an article about alternate tree type decorations for Christmas (or Solstice). The idea was the Christmas trees aren't environmentally friendly and their artificial counterpart isn't any better. So what to do? I wasn't ready to nix the whole Christmas tree idea all together. Afterall, a Christmas without a Christmas tree is like a Birthday without a Birthday cake! While some may be there, I just wasn't ready to accept the idea.

This year I got a letter from the building that I live in saying that we aren't allowed to have any live Christmas trees in our apartments. Apparently this is a fire hazard (I could see their point if we were still putting candles in our Christmas tree but thanks to technology, we have these wonderful little electric lights). If anything, I think it would just be a bigger mess for the cleaning people to clean up when we take out our dehydrated, shriveled up, needle dropping Chritstmas trees. But I digress.

Last week, Mom called to tell me the news; this year we will not have a Christmas tree. WWHHHHAAATTTT!!!! No Christmas tree?! So what are we going to decorate?! And what will I sleep under Christmas morning?! Oh right, I haven't slept under the Christmas tree for probably 15 years. This was a tradition that my brother and I enjoyed when we were little. It was always such a treat to camp out in the living room, surrounded by presents and twinkling lights. Eventually we outgrew the tradition but I definitely haven't outgrown the memories.

So now I was faced with the reality. No Christmas tree allowed in my apartment (unless it's a fake one, but I don't want a fake one, I want a real one. It smells nicer and somehow I think it's more environmentally friendly) and now, no Christmas tree at Mom and Dads. It was hard for my overly traditional brain to wrap around. What to do? I toyed with the idea of getting a potted pine tree or something of the sort that I could decorate and then plant in the forest come spring time but then I remembered the little tree that my brother and I grew when we were little. I think it stayed in our yard for 5 years before getting too big. We dug it up and with Mom and Dads help, we set out to plant it in Queen Elizabeth Park. We found it a new home and promised it we'd come visit (which seemed like a reasonable thing to tell a tree when you're 10). When we went back to visit, it was gone. Apparently the parks keeps track of which tree is where and if a tree is planted where it shouldn't be, it gets removed. So, Christmas tree in pot idea was thrown out the window.

If I was going to get something live, I wanted it to be used after the Holiday season was over. I'm absolutely terrible at keeping any plant (having recently thrown out my plumeria 'tree' - more like stick - it died because it was too cold in my apartment. I was proud of this little plant! I brought a teenie nub home from Hawaii and tried to grow it here - knowing full well that our climate is VERY different. It worked for 3 years and it would make pretty leaves during the spring and summer, in the fall they would drop and it would hibernate and then take on the spring again. It never made flowers but it was pretty and I was semi successful at growing a tropical plant in a not so tropical environment). What resemble a Christmas tree, is useful after Christmas and easy to take care of? A rosemary plant!

So there we have it. A non traditional Christmas tree. I even went to Michaels where they have an entire section of really tiny ornaments for really tiny Christmas trees! Now it's almost perfect. It just needs to grow a little because the star on top is a little bit too big but if I keep up with watering (it needs a cup of water a day) it should look great.

Dried-Cranberry Shortbread Hearts

These cookies are a side effect of being struck by Cupid. Love makes you do silly things, this includes making heart shaped cookies.

Dried-Cranberry Shortbread Hearts

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sifted confectioners sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups sifted flour
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/2 cup finely chopped dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 325 with rack in the center. Put butter, sugar, vanilla, flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir together with a wooden spoon* until combined but not too creamy. Stir in dried cranberries.
Press dough evenly into a 8-inch square (or 10' round works as well) baking pan. Bake until firm and pale golden, about 30 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack, about 20 minutes.
Run a knife around edges; remove shortbread (be careful, it's fragile. This is where having two people in the kitchen came in handy) and transfer, right side up, to work surface.
Cut out hearts with a 2-inch heart shaped cookie cutter. Trim any stray bits of cranberry from edges with a paring knife. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days.

*I personally use my hands. I like to feel my food. Plus, you get to lick your fingers after your finished mixing. Yes, I wash my hands afterwards.

'Naughty' Chocolate Cookies

To kick off December, Chera came over and we made some delicious cookies. There's nothing better than a warm apartment filled with the wonderful smell of baking cookies. One of the cookies we made were the 'Naughty' Chocolate Cookies that I spoke about in my previous blog post. The only thing we didn't add to these was orange rind. We didn't have any oranges. Oops. They are yummy cookies none the less!

'Naughty' Chocolate Cookies

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 tsp coarse salt
1/4 tsp finely ground pepper, plus more for sprinkling
1 tbsp and 1 tsp of good quality instant espresso powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Orange rind, grated finely to taste.
Coarse sanding sugar, for rolling (I used regular sugar because I forgot that I could use turbinado sugar)

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, salt, pepper, espresso powder, and cinnamon into a large bowl; set aside.
Put butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment*; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in egg, vanilla and orange rind. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, mix until just combined.
Turn out dough onto a piece of parchment paper, and roll into a 2 inch diameter log**. Roll log in the parchment paper. Refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350. Remove log from parchment paper. Let soften slightly at room temperature, about 5 minutes. Roll log in sanding sugar, gently pressing down to adhere sugar to dough. Transfer log to a cutting board and slice into 1/4 inch thick rounds. Place rounds on baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Sprinkle each round with freshly ground pepper.
Bake cookies until there is slight resistance when you lightly touch centers, about 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in air-tight containers at room temperature up to 2 days.

* I used a hand held mixer. But before I got my hand held mixer for my birthday (Thanks Mom & Dad) I used a whisk and it works just fine.

** A problem I always have with these cookies is that they end up looking like D's because one of the sides get flattened when I cut them. This time, I made a rectangle and made square cookies. Problem solved :)

Chocolate Dutch Apple Cake

Oh my! This cake is pretty darn delicious! Mom and I made this cake the same night we made the Tom Kha soup. After my first bite I knew I had to have the recipe. She's made it before but I think we were missing the secret ingredient.
Chera was over on Friday and I decided to make this cake at home. The one I made was pretty yummy but it was missing something. What takes this cake to a different level is fresh, ground nutmeg. When the cake has aged (give it a day or so...) the nuttiness of the fresh, ground nutmeg blossoms and it takes this cake to a whole new level. After leaving my regular nutmeg cake be for a day, it was just as yummy as the day it came out of the oven but it didn't have that hint of nutmeg that Mom's cake had. So Santa, if you're reading this, I'd like a nutmeg grinder for Christmas. :)
Now Chera wasn't able to have some cake on Friday so I promised her that I would keep some. I think this will be a promise that will be hard to keep. I gave Sean a piece on Saturday when he went snowboarding with the guys. He (who has tried Mom's recipe) said it was just as delicious as Mom's but mine had more apples (which is true, it did, I added 3 cups instead of 2 and kept the peel on, which I think Mom removed). When I spoke to him today, I told him I forgot to give him a piece of chocolate apple cake for work today. I think his response to that was 'Yeah you did!". Which made me laugh. What can I say, I am not thinking straight at 6am when he leaves for work. Actually I barely even hear him leave most of the time. I am pretty sure that between the two of us, the entire cake will be gone by Wednesday (which is when Chera comes over again and we'll be making Dried Cranberry Shortbread Hearts and my favorite Naughty Chocolate Espresso Peppered Orange Cookies*) and all that will be left of the cake is something like this...

Chocolate Dutch Apple Cake

2 Eggs
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup melted butter
2 cups flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg (freshly ground if you can)
1/2 cup milk
2 cups diced apples
1 cup chopped walnuts

In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar, then add 3/4 cup melted butter.
Blend together flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Add to egg mixture alternating with milk, stirring until just moistened.
Blend in apples and chopped walnuts.
Pour into a greased and floured 8-cup pan (like a bundt pan, or a large loaf pan). Bake at 350 for 40-45 mins.

*These Naughty Chocolate Espresso Peppered Orange Cookies were a hit two years ago when I made them in a combination Naughty & Nice cookie tin (the 'Nice' cookies were Organic Spelt Ginger Snaps... as delicious as they were, they didn't hold a candle to the 'Naughty' cookies). The recipe is a fusion of two recipes. I'm still playing around with the flavors so that it can become my staple Christmas Cookie.

Cold Weather Requires Warm & Comforting Soup

Last week Mom and I had a girls night while Dad was out with a friend of his and my brother and his wife, Dasha, were on their way back from their 3 month trip around Eastern Europe. When Mom asked me if I had any particular craving I thought of soup... but what kind of soup? One of my all time favorite soup is Tom Kha. It's so delicious that I'll order it any time we go to a Thai restaurant and I've even requested it as a birthday dinner two years ago. I was so impressed with our homemade version that I am now almost certain that we might be part Thai! It definitely stands up next to the Tom Kha soup at Khai Thai Restaurant (the best place I've been for Thai food in Vancouver so far).
Cooking with Mom is great :) Without knowing it, she and Dad raised my brother and I with a strong connection to food. Now that we're older, my brother and I are taking that love for food that we were raised with and we're passing it on to our friends and one day we'll pass it along to our own family.

Tom Kha Soup

Serves 8 (Not full meals

• 3 (13 1/2 ounce) cans low-sodium low-fat chicken broth or veggie broth
• 1 (13 1/2 ounce) can coconut milk (regular, not lite)
• 2 stalks lemongrass, sliced in large pieces
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon shrimp paste (use anchovy paste as a substitute)
• 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 3 limes, zest of
• 3 limes, juice of
• 3 serrano chili peppers, chopped
• 2 tablespoons ginger, julienned in fine,short 1/4 inch strips
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 block of Firm Tofu diced and fried
• 8 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
• 1 bunch bok choy, chopped (we used chard because we had some from the garden but I think this can be omitted all together because I've never seen bok choy or chard in a Tom Kha soup)
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (leave the stems in!)
• 1 -2 tablespoon lime juice, to taste (probably)

1. In 4qt or larger, heavy-bottomed pot, begin heating chicken/veggie broth and coconut milk on low-medium heat.
2. Add the other ingredients for the broth, down through the brown sugar, as you prepare them.
3. Bring broth to a slow simmer; never allow it to reach a rolling boil, and do not cover it at any time during cooking.
4. When broth is simmering, start stir frying your tofu cubes. Make sure to turn often so they are cooked on all sides.
5. Continue down the list of ingredients, adding them to the soup while the tofu cooks, stirring regularly.
6. Once the tofu is fully cooked, add it into the soup then add the cilantro.
7. About a minute after adding the cilantro, taste the soup and add some additional lime juice as desired to punch up the flavor (maybe 1-2 T--don't overdo it!)
8. Serve immediately.

*Some ingredients in the soup made me wrinkle my nose. Fish sauce on its own smells pretty gross! Anchovy paste too! I didn't even want to touch the stuff. When you mix it all together the smell of the fish sauce or the anchovy paste blend really nicely. I'd be afraid to try the recipe without these possible key ingredients.

The original recipe can be found here.

Feeding the critters

If you would have told me that little humming birds would fly to the 18th floor, I would have looked at you funny. If you would have told me that I would buy a humming bird feeder to feed said humming birds I would consider it but decide not to because... humming birds don't make it to the 18th floor. If you would have told me that humming birds would fly to the 18th floor in the middle of a storm or -5 weather I probably would have chuckled. If you would have told me that I'd be standing in -5 weather with my hair dryer unthawing my humming bird feeder I would have thought you were crazy.
Also, I would have seriously misjudged myself! At the sight of my first little humming bird friend in October, I bought a feeder (the very same day). I looked up how to make food for something with such a basic diet (no hash browns here) and made my new found friend dinner (and breakfast and lunch and dinner... they don't eat a lot, so one recipe will keep them fed for a while). He didn't come back. One day went by then two then three then a couple weeks! Then he came back, ate and left for a couple more. Just as I was complaining to Sean that my humming bird friends were gone, they came back! That very morning, Sean and Tugger sat on my living room floor waiting for the birds as they came and went (this was definitely a Kodak moment).
Since then I've been finding ways to keep their food from freezing. I was using my hairdryer to thaw the ice but that took too long (I kept looking around to make sure no one was watching, luckily no one in their right mind is on their balcony in -5). I MacGyvered a quick release for the feeder so that it could stay safely attached during the high winds (bird feeder falling 18 floors doesn't seem very safe) but I could also remove it during the night so it doesn't freeze and reattach it around 6am for the birds to feed. With the cold weather we've been having now, I have to take it in every 4 hours, soak it upside down in hot water otherwise their little tongues will get stuck to the giant popsickle. It's something that may seem like a lot of work but I don't mind doing it. They're really cool to watch and Tugger is really cute when he sees them (video to come).
So far it looks like there's two. A ballsy guy bird who usually comes earlier on in the morning. He will also come up to the window and go beak to nose with Tugger and chirp at him. He'll also keep me company when I am changing his feed or warming it, usually flying around my head, we've looked each other in the eyes before and I was kind of intimidated. Haha! The second one is a little fatter and paler, I think these are the females, either that or it's my morning bird with a little frost on him. She's shy and I have to move REALLY slowly when I get close to the window to watch it feed otherwise she'll fly off. There could be more than two but judging by their colours and characters, I think there's only the two.

Humming Bird Feed

1/4 cup sugar
1 cup boiling water

• Pour 1 cup boiling water in a measuring cup, add sugar and stir until all sugar is dissolved.
• Measuring the water after it's been boiled makes it so that the solution is more accurate.
• Regular refined sugar is best. Colouring, honey or any other fancy stuff (which of course I looked up because the original recipe seemed too basic) can be bad for them.
• The sugar water mix needs to be changed every week to every two weeks otherwise it gets moldy.

So don't be shy, put up a humming bird feeder. Those little guys don't have a whole lot to eat this time of year and they really appreciate it. If none come by initially, maybe put some red leaves or something around it. It was my fall leaves on my balcony that initially attracted them.

Hash browns & Avocados

A week ago, my cousin Nadine posted on facebook 'its a hashbrown + avocado breakfast combo kinda day'. This sparked an OMG I want hash browns craving. It's strange. I don't like hash browns. I don't like potatoes. Ok. It's not so much that I don't like them it's just I don't have potato cravings or a desire to eat potatoes. My brother on the other hand, LOVES potatoes!
So on November 19th, my brothers 22nd birthday, I celebrated him in style and made a hash browns and avocado breakfast. My brother has been traveling Eastern Europe with Dasha for the past two and a half months so this was as close as I could get to celebrating with him.
The recipe is a dum dee dum* I created so feel free to use your own creativity.

Hash browns & Avocado

1/2 a tsp butter
a little more than a pan full of hash browns
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp butter
a pinch of oregano
a pinch of an other green herb (this is the mystery herb in my herb collection... I have no idea what it is. Chances are you have it too)
a fair good sprinkling of paprika
1 tsp butter
1/2 avocado

• Heat the butter in the pan, it should be enough to cover the bottom of your pan, if not, add more.
• Add enough hash browns to cover the bottom of the pan (a little more as they'll shrink). You won't want to over do it here, otherwise they'll be mushy (I think mushrooms and hash browns have this in common, which is why Julia Child said 'Don't crowd the mushrooms! Otherwise they'll steam instead of fry.').
• Fry your hash browns until they're just about ready. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• While the hash browns are cooking, dice the avocado.
• Add a little bit more butter, oregano, other green herb (you can omit this), then sprinkle all of the hash browns with paprika (not too thick, just enough to cover them). Toss everything together.
• Serve hash browns (makes about 1 serving), add diced avocado, mix, enjoy!

*term Dad uses for a recipe made up as he goes along. Usually it's impossible to duplicate the original but you can come close.

Oh so yammy!

I like yams. I also like corny jokes. You can blame my Dad for that. :)

I've made this recipe before and I liked it so much that I made it so many times that I got bored of it. I think that's about to happen all over again. I was hoping to have enough patties for dinner, for a post soccer snack for Sean and for lunch tomorrow. Looks like Sean's snack is going to be a teenie one and so is my lunch. These things are phenomenal! The photo doesn't look overly appetizing but it is! Enjoy.

chickpea, squash and yam patties

• 1 1/2 cups mashed chickpeas (16 oz can or you can use dried that have been soaked over night and then boiled for an hour)
• 1 cup of squash grated (Erin and I use acorn but you can use any variety: banana, butternut, pumpkin spaghetti)
• 1 cup potato grated yam (or sweet potato)
• 2 tbsp fresh diced green onion
• 2 tbsp fresh diced parsley (this time I used cilantro because I grabbed cilantro instead of parsley)
• 1/2 tbsp dried dill (optional, I didn't put any in because I don't have any... plus dill is one of those things I don't like...)
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes (more if you like it hot or less if you don’t)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp whole wheat flour
• Safflower oil for frying

Mix all ingredients together in large bowl.

Add flour and use clean hands to work mixture together. Don’t over work it or it will not keep together.

Form patties in a size of your liking and fry in medium heat pan until browned on each side.

Thanks Erin for an other great recipe!

Getting ready for hibernation?

This morning I woke up to a foggy, wet and windy day. Being my first client isn't until 4:30, I decided to take today to finish what I started yesterday.
While doing the Grouse Grind this summer, I overheard two moms talking about how they prepare dried garbanzo beans. One of them was talking about how it took a lot of prep time. Soak overnight, boil for an hour then they're ready to use. It's so much easier to grab a can from the cupboard, open it and you're ready to rock. The Mom #2 said that what she did was that she put a whole bag of dried beans to soak, then she'd boil them, let them dry out on a towel for 30 minutes or so then bag them and freeze them. I thought her idea was brilliant so I did just that this morning. I put my beans to soak before yoga last night, boiled and bagged them this afternoon.
I also took the odds and ends of breads that had accumulated in my freezer (I tend to abandon the crust ends), dried them in the oven and made bread crumbs with them. I froze 5 lunches from last nights lasagna too. During my venture in my freezer I found 3 fossilized black bananas. Now I knew they weren't that colour when I put them in there so I knew they were good. I had yogurt that needed using up too so I decided to make my banana bread recipe. My apartment now smells so delicious! I don't know what I like more, the smell of baking banana bread or the banana bread itself.
Once that's baked, I'll probably freeze a loaf into lunch size slices. Yeah, I think it's official, I am getting ready to hibernate and eat well this winter.

Beautiful Banana Bread

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I mix all-purpose flour and whole wheat, sometimes I throw in spelt, sometimes I throw in buckwheat... it all depends on my mood).

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs at room temperature for 30 minutes

2 1/3 cups sugar (I used brown sugar and used only a cup)

1 cup vegetable oil (I mix veg oil and EVOO*)

3 cups coarsely mashed very ripe bananas (6 large)

1/4 cup crème fraîche (yogurt works too)

2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 2 (9- by 5- by 3-inch) metal loaf pans, then dust with flour, knocking out excess.

Sift together 3 1/4 cups flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a bowl.

Beat together eggs and sugar in bowl of electric mixer at medium-high speed until very thick and pale and mixture forms a ribbon when beater is lifted, about 10 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add oil in a slow stream, mixing, then mix in bananas, crème fraîche, and vanilla. Remove bowl from mixer and fold in flour mixture and walnuts gently but thoroughly.

Divide batter between loaf pans, spreading evenly, and bake in middle of oven until golden brown and a wooden pick or skewer comes out clean, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

Cool loaves in pans on a rack 10 minutes, then turn out onto rack. Turn loaves right side up and cool completely.

YUMMMM! Enjoy!

*Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Photo - the 'a table...' decal is part of my new kitchen decor. I love that it was available in French :)