marble loaf cake

Last week we were a house full of sickness. First Joe, then me, then Maxwell. It was Maxwell's first cold, but he fought it like a champ. By Sunday we were all feeling sort of better. I even whipped up this easy-to-make marble loaf cake as an afternoon snack. Then this morning I woke up with a sore throat! Ugh, how unfair.  Well, at least there's leftover cake.

This cake stays moist for a few days if wrapped tightly, so it's a great make-ahead treat. And it's not too sweet—which means it's perfectly fine to eat a slice for breakfast...at least that's what I told myself.

You can find the recipe here. 

unintentional milk chocolate ice cream

I haven't made homemade ice cream in ages, so I was excited to dust off my ice cream machine and get it running again. I kept things simple and settled on chocolate chip ice cream. For the base vanilla ice cream, I used Jeni's cookbook. I thought that having big chocolate chips throughout the ice cream might be a bit much, so I melted the milk chocolate with a few tablespoons of heavy cream to make it liquid, and drizzled it into the ice cream as it was churning. The result was, well, not what I had planned. Instead of vanilla ice cream speckled with chocolate, I got milk chocolate ice cream.

I realize now that I should have let the ice cream churn until it was almost completely frozen before drizzling in the chocolate. That way it would have been cold enough to freeze the chocolate into little bits. Oh well, this ice cream still hit the spot!

Jeni's recipes never seem to disappoint. You can see a few of my favourite recipes from the book here, here and here.

pickles, three ways

Over the weekend I finally was able to hunker down and do some preserving. I decided to make regular dill pickles and a batch of bread and butter pickles. Pickling cucumbers are in season right now and I found big bags of great looking ones (i.e. firm, small and with no bruises) at the PAT Korean grocery store for only $4 so I grabbed a couple and got down to business.

I started with the dills. I like mine a bit spicy so I made half with garlic and dill and the other half with chili peppers, garlic and dill. To help the pickles stay crunchy I always add grapes leaves to each jar. I read somewhere years ago that grape leaves contain an enzyme that keeps the pickles crisp.  

For the bread and butter pickles, I used the same cukes, but sliced them into rounds. I also added slices of red pepper and onions.

dill pickles

about 20 pickling cucumbers

5 1/2 C water

2 C cider vinegar + 1 C white vinegar + 1/2 C rice vinegar (you can really use 3 1/2 cups of any vinegar)

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

2 1/2 tbsp kosher salt

5 tsp dill seeds

fresh dill

10 garlic cloves

2 red chilis, sliced (optional)

5 grape leaves

1. Trim blossom end of cucumbers (I heard that doing this will help prevent the pickles from turning soft...not sure how/why). I kept the regular dill pickles whole and halved the cucumbers for the spicy batch.

2. Place a teaspoon of dill seed in each sterilized jar (I used  6 x 500 ml canning jars), followed by a grape leave, a sprig or two of fresh dill, 2 garlic cloves and a couple pieces of chili (if using).

3. Arrange cucumbers into jars.

4. Combine water, vinegars, sugar and salt in a pot and bring to a boil. While still hot, ladle brine into each jar. Leave about a 1/4-inch of headspace. Screw on lids. 

5. Process jars for 15 minutes.* Let pickles cure for at least 2 months.

not-too-sweet bread and butter pickles

4 lbs pickling cucumbers, sliced into rounds
1 red pepper, sliced into strips
1 medium sweet onion, sliced into strips
2-3 trays of ice cubes (about 30)
1/3 C pickling salt
3 C sugar
2 1/2 C cider vinegar
2 tbsp whole yellow mustard seeds
1 tbsp celery seeds
1 tsp tumeric

1. Mix cucumbers, peppers and onions in a large bowl. Add salt and ice cubes and mix again. Let the mixture sit for 2 hours. After 2 hours, rinse and drain, then rinse and drain again.

2. Combine the sugar, vinegar, mustard seeds, celery seeds and tumeric in a pot and bring to a boil. Add the drained cucumber mixture and bring back to a boil.

3. Spoon into mason jars (I used 5 x 500 ml canning jars), leaving about 1/4-inch of headspace. Screw on lids and process for 15 minutes.* Let pickles cure for at least 4 weeks.

Next up: pickled carrots, green beans and turnips! Yay, for summer produce...and pickles!

*I process jars by placing them in a pot of boiling water (make sure water reaches about an inch over the jars). Boil for length of time required. 

picnic time

My long weekend was filled with overdue cleaning, errands and catching up on sleep. Not super exciting, but we did make sure to spend one sunny afternoon at the park having a relaxing picnic. Once we laid out the blanket, I brought out the yummy eats: devilled eggs, a fat muffuletta sandwich (influenced from when Seema blogged about the deliciousness that is the muffuletta) and some rice krispie treats.

For the muffuletta, I loosely followed this recipe. What resulted was a mega-flavourful sandwich explosion! 

Layers of meat (sweet soppresata salami, capicola and mortadela), cheese (provolone) and a sweet/salty/spicy mixture made of giardiniera, olives, roasted peppers and capers. It's a serious sandwich that's for sure. I'll definitely be making this bad boy again.

Instead of regular rice krispie treats, I made a white chocolate cake batter version—basically a cake mix infused rice krispie treat. They were a sweet addition to a great summer picnic.

white chocolate cake batter rice krispie treats

5 tbsp butter
6 C rice krispie cereal
5 C marshmallows (more or less depending on how gooey you want them)
1/2 C dry cake mix (I used rainbow chip)
1 1/2 C white chocolate, chopped
rainbow sprinkles

1. Melt the butter and add the marshmallows, stirring constantly until melted. Stir in cake mix.

2. Add in the cereal and stir until evenly coated.

3. Press into a baking pan (8 x 11) and set aside.

4. Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler. Spread over the treats. Scatter sprinkles over the top and let cool.

apricot galette

When I saw these fresh apricots at the farmer's market last week I knew I wanted to transform them into a classic apricot galette.

A galette is so much easier to put together than a pie and tastes just as yummy. Here's mine right before it went into the oven:

And freshly baked:

For the pastry:
1C flour
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
pinch of salt
3 oz. unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
1/4 C cold water

1. Stir flour, sugar and salt together in a mixing bowl. Add in the butter and toss so that it gets coated with the flour. Using your fingers, pinch the butter and flour together so that the butter is evenly distributed with the flour (you can also use a pastry cutter for this).

2. Add in the water and gently mix with a fork until the dough looks ragged. Gather the dough into a loose ball and place on your work surface. Use the heels of your hands to gently knead the dough until it just comes together. There should be pieces of butter throughout the dough. Do NOT overwork it and work fast so the butter doesn't melt. Form into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap.

3. Let the dough rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. After, roll it into a 12-inch circle about 1/4 to 1/8-inch thick. Place on a piece of parchment paper and let rest for another 20 minutes in the fridge.

For the filling:
about 10 small, ripe apricots, sliced
4 tbsp sugar, divided
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp melted butter
1 tbsp demerara sugar (regular sugar works too)

1. Take pastry out of the fridge. Mix 1 tbsp of sugar with the flour and sprinkle evenly over the pastry, leaving about a 1 1/2-inch border.

2. Arrange the apricots on top. Sprinkle with the remaining 3 tbsp of sugar (apricots, no matter how ripe, seem to get a bit more tart when baked).

3. Fold pastry over the edges of the apricots. Brush the pastry with the melted butter and sprinkle with demerara sugar. Chill the galette while the oven heats up.

4. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Back for about 40 minutes or until the crust is golden. Let the galette cool for at least 20 minutes so that the juices settle.

zucchini pizza

Oh hi blog. It's been a long time. I'm not making any promises that I'll be posting on the regular (yet), but for now, here's my favourite recipe so far this summer! I spotted some awesome yellow zucchini at the farmer's market this week and threw together this pizza for a perfect mid-week dinner.

These days, my go-to pizza dough recipe is Jim Lahey's No-Knead dough. I half the recipe and add a tablespoon of honey to the dough. It's great because you mix the dough the night before and just let it sit until the next day.

For the toppings, use pesto for the base. Sprinkle with some grated parmigiano and a thin layer of mozzarella, and top with thinly sliced rounds of yellow zucchini, red onions and small dollops of goat cheese. Bake until golden brown. So good! 

super salad

Even though it's still winter (ugh), I've really been into salads lately. The last of my post-preggo baby weight (double ugh) that's been looming around might be part of the reason. Here's a recent favourite. Start with a gnarly celery root:

And a bulb of fennel:

Cut the celery root into thin matchsticks and slice the fennel thinly (reserve some of the fronds for the dressing). Add in some thin slices of red onion:

Whisk together a quick dressing of freshly-squeezed orange juice, chopped fennel fronds, olive oil, sugar, sea salt and cracked pepper (I did this all to taste):

Toss everything together and let sit for an hour or longer (it's even good the next day). Season again. Other great additions to this salad include: toasted hazelnuts, thinly sliced granny smith apple, and shavings of parmigiano-reggiano cheese.

montreal-style bagels

I've been making these homemade bagels about once a month and absolutely love them, but I decided to try a recipe for Montreal-style bagels and compare the two. I actually prefer Montreal bagels with their crisp exterior and dense, sweet interior.

I used this recipe by Marcy Goldman and, while they tasted (and looked) ok, they just weren't great. Definitely not as flavourful as the Montreal bagels I'm used to and the texture wasn't the same as the ones made in wood-burning ovens. Back to my old reliable recipe I guess.

triple chocolate chunk cookies

These are triple chocolate chunk cookies. And they were just what I needed this past weekend.

1 C flour
1/2 C Dutch process cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 C butter, room temp
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 oz. milk chocolate, chopped
3 oz. white chocolate, chopped

1. Combine all of the dry ingredients. Set aside.

2. Cream butter and sugars in a stand mixer until fluffy. Add vanilla and egg. Mix until combined.

3. Slowly add in dry ingredients until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks by hand.

4. Drop heaping tablespoons onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Slightly flatten the tops of each dough mound. Bake at 350 for 12-13 minutes.

roasted tomato soup

When Ontario tomatoes were in season, I made this roasted tomato soup on the regular. It's really easy to throw together, tastes even better on the second day, and is the best when paired with a gooey grilled cheese. 

5 large plum tomatoes or vine tomatoes, halved
1 package of grape tomatoes
5 cloves of garlic
2 medium sized onions, halved
4 C chicken stock
2 bay leaves
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp fennel seeds
salt & pepper
4-5 fresh basil leaves (optional)

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Place all the tomatoes, garlic and onions on a baking tray and toss with olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes, or until everything starts to blister and caramelize.

2. Place all of the roasted vegetables into a pot and add chicken stock, bay leaves and fennel seeds. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium and cook until liquid reduces by a third. Remove bay leaves.

3. Add basil if using, then puree everything in a blender or by using an immersion blender, until smooth. Return soup to low heat and season to taste. If you find your soup to be too acidic, a tablespoon of honey will balance things out. If your soup is too thick, just add more chicken stock. If you want to get fancy and get rid of any seeds or skin, you can strain the soup through a sieve before serving.

baked brownies

The infamous Baked brownie has made its round all over the interweb these past few years and with the overwhelming success of their peanut butter cookies last week, I decided to give this popular recipe a try.
These rich brownies were definitely decadent. More fudgy than cakey, I recommend cutting them small and having a tall ice-cold glass of milk handy or you may go into chocolate overload. I'm partial to the crackly corner piece, slightly chilled, eaten in silence. 

You can find the recipe here or buy the cookbook, here. 

peanut butter milk chocolate chunk cookies

Peanut butter is one of those things that I rarely crave, but when I was trying to think of a new cookie to make, peanut butter somehow made its way into my head. I decided on these peanut butter milk chocolate chunk cookies from the Baked cookbook that promised to be chewy and full of flavour. I ate three as soon as they had cooled, so that means they were real good.

You can find the recipe here.

banana layer cake

This cake is one the best things that I’ve baked in a long time. Two super moist banana cake layers sandwiched with fluffy cream cheese frosting, then topped with even more of that luscious frosting. 

I’ve been eating this straight outta the fridge. A nice, cold slab to end my day. Perfect.

The recipe is actually so simple that I made this cake on a weeknight (a very, very rare occurrence over here). And you only have to dirty two bowls, one for the cake batter and one for the frosting.

for the cake: makes two 9-inch round cakes
2 C cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 C butter, softened
1 1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
1/2 C buttermilk, divided into two additions
1 tsp vanilla
3 very ripe bananas, mashed

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or by hand), mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until combined. Add in the butter, sugar, half of the buttermilk and the bananas. Mix for one minute.

2. Add in the eggs, remaining buttermilk and vanilla. Mix again for one minute.

3. Line the bottom of two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Grease the pans. Divide the batter evenly into the pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

for the frosting:
1 pkg cream cheese, room temp
1/4 C butter, room temp
1 tsp vanilla
1 C icing sugar, sifted (or more)

1. Using a stand mixer, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add butter and vanilla and beat until combined.

2. Add in sifted icing sugar until the frosting reaches the consistency and sweetness that you like. For me that was about a cup.

pierogis + cabbage rolls

One of the benefits of having my mom around is being able to request some of my favourite meals. I was pretty pumped for this one: homemade pierogis and cabbage rolls. Not sure how and when my mom learned to make cabbage rolls (and I’m sure she doesn’t use a very authentic recipe—I saw a can of tomato soup get thrown in the mix), but they taste delicious and that’s all that matters to me. For the pierogis, we used Veselka's dough recipe and filled them with mashed potatoes mixed with caramelized onions and cheddar. 

ultimate butter tarts

Butter tarts are one of the few sweets that I find really irresistible. Buttery, flaky crust filled with a gooey filling—it could be the hottest day on earth and I could be stuffed to the brim, and I'd still eat one. 

And although mine are never picture perfect, they do taste mighty fine. 

For the pastry: makes 12
2 1/2 C flour
1 tsp salt
1 C cold shortening/lard, cubed
1 egg
1 tsp white vinegar
3 tbsp sugar
ice water, about 1/3 C

1. In a food processor, mix flour salt and sugar. Add in shortening and pulse until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. 

2. Beat the egg and the vinegar in a measuring cup. In the same cup, add in enough ice water to make a total of 1/2 C of liquid. With the food processor running, pour in the egg/water mixture. The dough should form a ball.

3. Form the dough into a disk and chill for an hour. When chilled, roll until 3/8-inch thick. Cut out six-inch circles and form in a muffin tin. Chill until ready to use.

Filling:
1 C unsalted butter, soft
1 C brown sugar
1 C corn syrup
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 C raisins

1. Beat butter until fluffy. Add in sugar and beat until light. Add corn syrup and beat until combined. Add eggs, vanilla and lemon juice and beat until thoroughly mixed.

2. Divide the raisins evenly among the tarts. Spoon in filling. 

3. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 and continue to bake for 22-25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is dark brown and set. Let the tarts cool in the tin for 15 minutes before removing and cooling completely.

going nuts

I made a batch of salty-sweet candied mixed nuts recently for mid-day snacking and tossing into lunchtime salads. Sometimes I only use almonds (I always have them kicking around), but this time combined almonds, cashews and pecans.

1 1/2 C mixed nuts
1/3 C sugar
4 tbsp water
fleur de sel, maldon salt or coarse salt

1. Place nuts, water and sugar in a pan over medium-high heat, stirring often. After about 10 minutes, the water will evaporate and the sugar and nuts will begin to crystalize.

2. Lower the heat and continue to stir. The crystalized sugar will melt and turn golden brown. Continue cooking and coating the nuts with the sticky syrup.

3. When the nuts are coated and a deep amber colour, sprinkle them with salt and tip them onto a plate or parchment paper and let them cool completely. 

caramel cake

This caramel cake recipe comes from an old issue of the now defunct Gourmet magazine. It's easy to make and combines a deliciously moist buttermilk cake with a sticky caramel glaze. If you want to forgo the caramel, the cake itself is a perfect base cake for just about any type of frosting or filling—think sliced peaches and fresh whipped cream or a fluffy vanilla buttercream.

After letting the cake cool, you pour the glossy caramel glaze over the top.

I love this cake. It's so simple, but so good.

just wingin' it

A mad craving for buffalo wings made this dinner happen. For some reason I feel like as long as everything is homemade, an indulgent pub-style meal is ok every once in a while—at least that's what I tell myself so that I don't feel so guilty.

For the buffalo wing sauce (enough for about 3 lbs of wings):

4 tbsp butter

1/2 C Frank's Red Hot sauce

2 tbsp hot sauce (I use Cholula)

1 tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp cayenne

Melt butter in a pot then whisk in remaining ingredients. Keep warm while you fry your wings (I deep fry my wings until crispy before dumping them in the sauce. I'm sure you could also bake your wings, but they probably won't be as crispy.)

For the  blue cheese dip (makes about a cup):

1/2 C crumbled blue cheese
3 tbsp buttermilk
6 tbsp sour cream
4 tbsp mayonnaise
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp red wine vinegar
salt & pepper to taste

Mix blue cheese and buttermilk until it resembles cottage cheese. Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Let chill for half an hour.

back in the day

A few months back I impulsively (as always) picked up The Back in the Day Cookbook. It was during a time when I was dreaming about a vacation to the deep south. Visions of peach cobbler, fried chicken and sweet tea were floating through my mind on a daily basis. Well, that vacation hasn't happened (yet), but I'm still hopeful that one day it will. And when it does the Back in the Day Bakery in Savannah, Georgia will definitely be on my must stop list. 

Recently I tried out their chocolate chip cookie recipe. It's actually similar to the NYT cookies in that they are finished with a good sprinkle of fleur de sel, but these were more up my alley in terms of texture: crisp, chewy and buttery good!