Shortbread variations

This year, in addition to the lemon zest and fresh ginger shortbread i've come to love, i tried sour cherry cocoa nibs shortbread.



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Inverted pie

Crumble is the new "it" dessert round here. And when i say crumble i mean the traditional French approach to it, which means the topping consists of flour, butter, and sugar.

It reminds me of an inverted pie because i tend to press in my pie crusts, lending to a rather rustic look, instead of rolling it out neatly. The crumble is an upside-down easier version of pie. We've tried it with blueberries and pears as well as bananas, pears and cashews. There's a ton of fruit combinations still to be tried!


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Club Sandwich

In which sundried tomatoes, bacon, chicken and cheddar is rolled up in sourdough and baked.

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Afternoon tea in the yard

Days like these are essential.


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Eily's bucket list from the summer has seven things crossed off.  One of the remaining un-crossed off items was "make a cake" which we saved for his birthday party.  We had drawn a picture of what he had in mind.  Turned out to be really helpful in making the finished product.

Sourdough pancakes

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And finally sourdough bread

This fabulous blog has a whole wheat sourdough take on no-knead bread. I made a loaf and a boule, both had the classic sourdough holes and a not-too-sour taste. All with no yeast!
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Raw candy

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Dairy-free pastry

Berry pie with coconut oil crust:





Empanadas with sunflower oil and coconut oil:





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Hot cross buns

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A good day

It started out with its fair share of whining, already at 9am, but after a morning bike ride to the pool with both boys, a discussion about spring faeries on the way, and an afternoon of baking granola and nanaimo bars with dates, sunflower seeds and homemade roasted nut butter, i was feeling much more whole and even a little bit whole-some.




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Bread

Breadmaking with seven grain cereal, flax, rye and amaranth flours.





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Sour cherry shortbread hearts

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Gabriela's cinnamon buns

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Empanadas

A new addition to my mental collection of good foods to freeze. These were filled with stewing beef, tomato sauce, leek, peas, and a pinch of cheddar, and turned out to be a perfect hand-held snack and not at all too doughy.





Empanada pastry:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup soft flour
Salt
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1/3 cup cold water
1 T vinegar

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Ginger pear cake

Our current potluck favourite.





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Truffles II

Found some ganache in the freezer and decided to make some more truffles. I got the original recipe here but no need to be daunted... It's really about rolling some ganache between your hands, dropping it in a bowl full of bittersweet chocolate (70%) and dousing it in cocoa or coconut. Easy peasy.

Stars and lights, stuffing and ice

Making sesame stars with the boys

I've never liked stuffing...all that soggy bread and dried fruit, i don't get it. So when it came to Christmas, the first chez nous in three years, we decided to skip the big turkey and each picked a dish instead, and i chose stuffing. (Me and it have to do right after all.) The recipe i found had dried ciabatta, sauteed leeks and fennel, artichoke hearts, spicy sausage, chilies, and orange zest.

We had it with spaghetti and drumsticks, and for the first time, it wasn't all that bad.

We finished our Christmas meal with lemon ice, an old food & drink recipe that involved lemon juice, sugar, eggs, whipped cream, and double/triple churning. My favourite way to make ice cream - no need for an ice cream maker...it turns out just as fabulously by hand.

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Truffles

They began in the evening...

(with some cream and a whole lotta bittersweet chocolate)

...and continued the next day.

In the end, we were surrounded by 60 of them. Ganache enrobed in chocolate and rolled in toasted coconut, heartnuts (a local version of walnuts), or cocoa. When I told Eily there was one made of chocolate and whipped cream, dipped in chocolate, and then rolled in chocolate, his eyes grew wide.

For 10 years, I've made a Christmas/Solstice/festive (sometimes New Year's) gift for 9 of my long-time friends. A different one each time: soap, woolen wrist warmers, fridge magnets, etc....sort of a fun way to try out a new craft. This year was truffles. But when I made up a sample pack, and got out the scale and measuring tape (trusty tools for my new favourite way to ship), I was disheartened. $10 to Toronto! It even seemed to get more expensive when I made the package smaller!

So instead I sat back, popped a truffle in my mouth, and wrote an apologetic email to them all to say that this tradition is over. Traditions are great, but you have to allow yourself to break them too. Besides, my friends in town are happy to reap the rewards. Including Joyce, our letter carrier.

(As a side note, I have since learned that Canadian Postal workers get benefits, are unionized, and have good jobs. I can't complain too much.)

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Bedpost

I'm trying to keep up with my little (nightime) nurser with fatty foods and quick snacks. There's also the time factor - i keep forgetting to eat...or i opt to sew instead of a lunch break. Then i tell myself to stock the cupboards with more snacks, but when i'm at the store staring at the ingredient list or price tag on say, a box of granola bars, i just can't quite do it.
So this afternoon, in between Christmas decorating and baking an apple strudel for a dessert potluck, we made spiced almonds.
First, they're coated in olive oil, then pan-roasted and drizzled with honey and spices - cayenne, smoked paprika, cumin, cinnamon, and salt. Finally, they are left to carmelize a bit longer in the oven.




Now i'm using this post to help me fall asleep....

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