I know we’re still a few months away from tomato season, but I couldn’t resist. Which is odd because I don’t actually like raw tomatoes very much: I really want to, but there’s something about the texture and sometimes watery taste (I think?) that puts me off. However, roasting magically changes both of those things and turns them into super flavourful little tomato bombs….
Daring Bakers: Armenian Treats
The Daring Bakers’ April 2012 challenge, hosted by Jason at Daily Candor, were two Armenian standards: nazook and nutmeg cake. Nazook is a layered yeasted dough pastry with a sweet filling, and nutmeg cake is a fragrant, nutty coffee-style cake.
Armenian baking is not something I had ever contemplated before this challenge, which may ring true to many (have you ever contemplated Armenian baking?). However, Nate’s paternal forebears came from Armenia several generations ago, and he has a very Armenian last name, so it does surprise me just a little bit that, me being me, I never looked into it. That’s totally something I would do….
Homemade Pasta
This is something I’ve been meaning to do for years. I’ve made pasta before, but it was using my Mum’s pasta roller, which means I was still living with my parents, which means it was a loooong time ago. Somehow rolling pasta out by hand just seemed too daunting. But then a while back I read Greg’s post about making pasta by hand and it didn’t seem quite so intimidating….
Strawberry Shortcake Torte
Today is my last day of work before an (unfortunately unpaid) four month summer vacation; an occasion which, I think, merits a cake. This strawberry shortcake torte actually made its appearance as dessert after Easter dinner, and it disappeared pretty darn quickly. Really though, what’s not to like? Lemon-scented sponge cake topped with marshmallowy meringue, layered with whipped cream and fresh strawberries….
Fettuccine Alfredo with Smoked Sockeye Salmon
Some fun things have been happening behind the scenes here on my little piece of the internet, one of which is that I’ve started a stint as a guest blogger for SeaChange Canadian Gifts. SeaChange is a company based on Salt Spring Island, BC, where I grew up, and they are known for their delicious smoked salmon products (among other quintessentially Canadian edibles). I’m really excited to be working with them and using their products to develop recipes, the first of which is this Fettuccine Alfredo with Smoked Sockeye Salmon. Head over to the SeaChange blog for the full post and recipe!
Roasted Mushroom Pesto for Pizza
One of the truly great taste combinations is mushrooms and cheese, so it is a no-brainer to put them together on a pizza. What is not a no-brainer is making mushroom pesto to put on the pizza instead of tomato sauce. That is brilliant. Another brilliant thing is to roast the mushrooms in the oven before making them into pesto. How have I never roasted mushrooms before? The smells coming out of the oven while they were roasting were just incredible….
Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Third post containing chocolate in a row, my goodness! Actually I’m surprised it hasn’t happened sooner…
Have you made those peanut butter cookies that are just peanut butter, egg, and sugar? These almond butter cookies are like that, but better. Chewy, crisp, and buttery (but made without butter or flour), they also have maple syrup, chocolate chips and chunks of toasted almonds. Yum. They were so good and so easy!…
Chocolate Hot Cross Buns
Once again, the start of spring and the approach of Easter mean that it’s hot cross bun season. I had pretty good success last year making hot cross buns, so I gave them another try – but this time I added chocolate, because almost anything is better when you add chocolate. Prior to this, I had never actually had a chocolate hot cross bun, but I have seen them in bakeries and heard wonderful things about them (apparently they are very popular in Australia). There doesn’t seem to be a huge amount of recipes available on the internet, so I decided to come up with my own. I added cocoa powder and chocolate chips (plus dried cherries and apricots) to my existing hot cross bun recipe, along with a healthy dose of cinnamon and cardamom, with which I have recently become enamoured and which happens to go very well with chocolate. And for the cross on top, white chocolate….
The Pioneer Woman’s Chocolate Pots de Crème
Aka, The Easiest Dessert Ever.
When I was at home suffering from the plague last week, I had a major craving for chocolate, specifically something rich and creamy and easy. These chocolate pots de crème satisfy all of those criteria: throw some chocolate chips and eggs in a blender, blend with some steaming hot coffee, chill, and eat. Couldn’t be simpler, or more decadent! I topped them with a little coconut cream (I didn’t have any whipping cream) and they were totally delicious. It’s a good thing I only discovered these recently, or I would have been making them once a week. Very dangerous.
Technically, I don’t think you can call these “true” pots de crème, because they don’t actually contain any cream, nor are they baked in a water bath. However, the flavour and texture are pretty much right on. The hot coffee serves to cook the eggs and imparts a little bit of coffee flavour, but mostly it just intensifies the chocolate flavour. I think you could use hot milk or cream instead of coffee and change up the dark chocolate chips for milk or white chocolate, and add whatever flavours you want (I added a pinch of cinnamon). I intend to do lots of experimenting with this one – it got rave reviews from everyone who tried it, and was waaaay too good not to make again soon! So if you need a quick chocolate fix, here you go: you can thank me later.
Chocolate Pots de Crème
Adapted from the Pioneer Woman. Makes 4 servings.
In a blender jar, combine:
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
a small pinch of salt
1 tbsp or so of liqueur (I used French vanilla Kahlua)
Put the lid on and blend to combine.
Pour in 1/2 cup very hot coffee and blend, blend, blend. You are supposed to pour the coffee in through the hole in the lid while the blender is going, but I’m not very good at reading instructions and just dumped the coffee in all at once, then put the lid back on and blended. It worked fine.
At this point you can also add a pinch of cinnamon or a dash of vanilla if you feel so inclined.
Pour the blended mixture into 4 small vessels of about 1/2 cup capacity.
Chill them in the fridge for a few hours until cold and set. Top with lightly sweetened whipped cream (or coconut cream) and devour.
Crispy Pork and Hot & Sour Rhubarb Sauce with Noodles
I usually think of rhubarb as a really great companion to strawberries in a pie or crisp, but its slightly acidic, slightly sweet flavour lends itself well to applications other than dessert. I have a freezer full of rhubarb from last year, and seeing as rhubarb season is almost upon us once again, I figured I had better use some of it up. Inspired by the rhubarb meatballs in Kate’s weekly meal plan at Venison for Dinner, I did a Google search for a sweet and sour sauce made with rhubarb and came across a recipe by Jamie Oliver for “My Favorite Hot and Sour Rhubarb with Crispy Pork and Noodles”. Being at home sick for a few days last week, I ended up watching a lot of Jamie on the Food Network, which cemented my gigantic crush on him and made me only too happy to try this recipe. Pieces of pork are baked in a sauce of pureed rhubarb, chilis, honey, and Asian flavours, then the pork is shallow-fried until crispy and served with the sauce over noodles, topped with what Jamie calls “interesting cresses”. I think what he means by this is micro greens, however my local grocery store isn’t so posh, so I ended up using bean sprouts and sunflower sprouts.
Look at those interesting cresses!
Jamie uses pork belly in his recipe, but I used pork shoulder instead (pork butt would work too). This was SO GOOD! The rhubarb sauce is tangy and flavourful, the pork is tender yet crisp, and the “interesting cresses” add a good dose of freshness and crunchy texture. It requires a bit of foresight to make because the pork takes at least an hour in the oven, but it’s definitely going on the “make again” list!
Crispy Pork and Hot & Sour Rhubarb Sauce with Noodles
Adapted from Jamie Oliver. Serves 2.
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. In an 8-inch square roasting pan, place:
500 grams boneless pork shoulder or butt, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
Sprinkle the pork with salt and pepper and set aside.
In a food processor, combine:
200 grams chopped rhubarb (fresh or frozen and thawed)
2 tbsp liquid honey
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1/2-inch chunk of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 fresh red chili, de-seeded and chopped, OR 1 tsp chili paste (such as sambal oelek)
heaping 1/2 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder
Process until smooth (or as Jamie says, “wazz it up!”).
Pour the rhubarb mixture over the pork and cover the pan with foil.
Pretty unattractive but delicious anyway!
Bake in a 350˚F oven for 60-90 minutes, until the pork is tender.
Remove the pork from the pan and scrape off as much rhubarb sauce as you can.
Place the rhubarb sauce in a pot and bring to a simmer to thicken if needed. Adjust the seasoning to taste – I added a little more honey and soy sauce and a dab of chili paste.
For the crispy pork, pour enough vegetable oil in the bottom of a wok or large pan to cover it 1/4-inch deep, and heat it over medium. When the oil is hot, add the pork pieces (I did this in two batches so as not to crowd the pan). Fry on both sides until brown and crispy, then set aside on paper towels to drain.
For the noodles, put a large pot of water on to boil while the oil heats. When you fry the pork, place about 175 grams of dry Asian egg noodles in the boiling water and cook until al dente.
To serve, divide the noodles between two bowls and spoon over the rhubarb sauce and crispy pork.
Top each bowl with:
a handful of “interesting cresses” such as bean sprouts and sunflower sprouts
sliced green onions (I forgot these)
seeded and chopped red chili
cilantro leaves
lime wedge
Mix it all up and dig in!
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