I saw this cookbook while in Vermont for the weekend and resisted the temptation to buy it ... and then obsessed over it and a recipe that seemed made for me. I had been searching for things to do with buckwheat and seem to be becoming enamored with the flour and of course, strawberry season is here and I seem to be eating them constantly. Despite the wait and the build-up, this cake was worth it. The original calls for more strawberries and whipped cream as a topping, but I skipped that to make it more of a breakfast dish. It would be good with the additional strawberries and cream, but is also wonderful without.
One year ago: Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart
Strawberry Buckwheat Tea Cake (adapted from Farmers' Market Dessert)
Ingredients
115g (1/2 cup) butter
110g (1 cup) all-purpose flour
60g (1/2 cup) buckwheat flour
170g (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup yogurt or sour cream
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter an 8" square or 9" round baking pan.
2. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, swirling the pan once the butter has melted until it turns a deep gold and releases a nutty aroma, 4 - 6 minutes. Pour into a heatproof medium bowl and let cool.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. To the butter, whisk in yogurt/sour cream, eggs, and vanilla.
5. Stir butter mixture into flour mixture until just combined.
6. Using a spatula, gently fold in 1 1/2 cups of the strawberries.
7. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Scatted remaining cup of strawberries on top.
8. Bake until toothpick comes out clean, 40 - 45 minutes. Let cool at least 20 minutes before serving.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Charred Broccoli with Chilies and Garlic
After a trip to Jean-Talon, I ended up with two large heads of broccoli for only $1. The first was turned into broccoli pesto for a pizza and I was left trying to think up ideas for the second. I decided to try a simple side dish. This comes together quickly and packs a surprising amount of flavour. The only downside is it doesn't reheat very well, so scale down if you're cooking for fewer than 4 people.
One year ago: Spaghetti Carbonara (still one of my favourites!)
Charred Broccoli with Chilies and Garlic (from Radically Simple)
Ingredients
2 large head of broccoli
6 tbsp olive oil
3 large garlic cloves
2 red Thai bird chilies
1 tsp Thai fish sauce
1. Preheat the broiler with rimmed pan in the oven.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
3. Cut broccoli into florets with 2 inches of stem. Add broccoli to boiling water and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Drain and refresh under cold running water, pat dry.
5. Toss broccoli with 2 tbsp of oil and arrange on hot pan.
6. Broil 7 minutes, rotating the pan twice, until the broccoli is charred.
7. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 4 tbsp of oil in a small skillet over medium heat.
8. Thinly slice garlic and chilies and add to skillet. Cook until garlic is crispy and golden, 2 minutes.
9. Add the hot oil and fish sauce to the broccoli and toss. Season to taste with salt and pepper if needed.
One year ago: Spaghetti Carbonara (still one of my favourites!)
Charred Broccoli with Chilies and Garlic (from Radically Simple)
Ingredients
2 large head of broccoli
6 tbsp olive oil
3 large garlic cloves
2 red Thai bird chilies
1 tsp Thai fish sauce
1. Preheat the broiler with rimmed pan in the oven.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
3. Cut broccoli into florets with 2 inches of stem. Add broccoli to boiling water and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Drain and refresh under cold running water, pat dry.
5. Toss broccoli with 2 tbsp of oil and arrange on hot pan.
6. Broil 7 minutes, rotating the pan twice, until the broccoli is charred.
7. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 4 tbsp of oil in a small skillet over medium heat.
8. Thinly slice garlic and chilies and add to skillet. Cook until garlic is crispy and golden, 2 minutes.
9. Add the hot oil and fish sauce to the broccoli and toss. Season to taste with salt and pepper if needed.
Pork Vindaloo
While trying to make room in my freezer for entirely too many strawberries, I rediscovered some cubed pork meat lurking inside. Intent on not going to the grocery store this week, I decided to try to make a meal out of what I had on hand. This recipe fit the bill and the sauce was delicious. It does take a bit of time to cook, but for most of it, you don't need to be paying attention to the stove. The original suggests 1/2 - 1 tsp of cayenne pepper with a note that it would be more traditional to add 4 tsp. I ended up doing 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper (the last of my supply) and 1 diced Thai bird's eye chile. I found the sauce to still be a bit mild, so use your judgement.
One year ago: Braided Raspberry Bread
Pork Vindaloo (from Jaffrey's Quick & Easy Indian Cooking)
Ingredients
1 1/2 tbsp grainy mustard
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 - 4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 small onion, peeled and sliced finely
6 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed into pulp
570g pork stew meat (shoulder, cubed)
2/3 cup coconut milk
1 cup water
1. In a cup, combine mustard, cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper, salt and vinegar.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onions. Stir-fry until medium brown.
3. Add garlic. Stir-fry for 30 seconds.
4. Add meat. Stir-fry for 3 minutes or until browned.
5. Add coconut milk and water. Bring to a boil and cover. Reduce heat to low.
6. Cook for 60 - 70 minutes or until meat is tender.
One year ago: Braided Raspberry Bread
Pork Vindaloo (from Jaffrey's Quick & Easy Indian Cooking)
Ingredients
1 1/2 tbsp grainy mustard
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 - 4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 small onion, peeled and sliced finely
6 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed into pulp
570g pork stew meat (shoulder, cubed)
2/3 cup coconut milk
1 cup water
1. In a cup, combine mustard, cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper, salt and vinegar.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onions. Stir-fry until medium brown.
3. Add garlic. Stir-fry for 30 seconds.
4. Add meat. Stir-fry for 3 minutes or until browned.
5. Add coconut milk and water. Bring to a boil and cover. Reduce heat to low.
6. Cook for 60 - 70 minutes or until meat is tender.
Monday, July 25, 2011
General Tso's Chicken
I find myself falling back on Asian food fairly often simply because I generally have most of the ingredients on hand and this is no exception. I stuck with the recipe. The end result was a bit stronger tasting than some of the takeout that I've had, but I think that was a good thing. I doubled the sauce for two extremely large chicken breasts because I was too lazy to weight them. I don't think the deep frying added much to this dish as there's not much of a coating on the chicken so to make it a bit quicker and healthier next time, I'll likely just skip it!
One year ago: Braided Raspberry Bread
General Tso's Chicken (from Rasa Malaysia)
Ingredients
283g boneless skinless chicken meat (thigh or breast), cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup cornstarch
Oil for deep frying
1 1/2 tablespoons oil
3 slices peeled ginger, finely minced
1 clove garlic, finely minced
4-5 dried red chiles, rinsed and deseeded
2 stalks scallion, white-part only, cut into 1-inch lengths
Sauce:
2 1/2 tablespoons Chinese rice vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon Hoisin sauce
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tablespoon Shaoxing Wine
1 scant tablespoon corn starch
1. Marinate the chicken meat with the Shaoxing wine and salt for 15 minutes.
2. Mix all the ingredients for the Sauce in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. Coat the chicken generously with the 1/3 cup cornstarch. Heat up the oil for deep-frying. Deep fry the chicken until they turn light brown. Dish out with a strainer, draining the excess oil by laying the chicken on a dish lined with paper towels.
4. Heat up a wok with 1 1/2 tablespoons oil. Add the minced ginger, garlic, and dried chilies into the wok, stir-fry until you smell the spicy aroma of the chilies.
5. Pour the sauce into the wok. When the sauce boils and thickens, add the chicken, stir to combine well with the sauce.
6. Add the scallion and stir a few times, dish out and serve immediately.
One year ago: Braided Raspberry Bread
General Tso's Chicken (from Rasa Malaysia)
Ingredients
283g boneless skinless chicken meat (thigh or breast), cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup cornstarch
Oil for deep frying
1 1/2 tablespoons oil
3 slices peeled ginger, finely minced
1 clove garlic, finely minced
4-5 dried red chiles, rinsed and deseeded
2 stalks scallion, white-part only, cut into 1-inch lengths
Sauce:
2 1/2 tablespoons Chinese rice vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon Hoisin sauce
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tablespoon Shaoxing Wine
1 scant tablespoon corn starch
1. Marinate the chicken meat with the Shaoxing wine and salt for 15 minutes.
2. Mix all the ingredients for the Sauce in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. Coat the chicken generously with the 1/3 cup cornstarch. Heat up the oil for deep-frying. Deep fry the chicken until they turn light brown. Dish out with a strainer, draining the excess oil by laying the chicken on a dish lined with paper towels.
4. Heat up a wok with 1 1/2 tablespoons oil. Add the minced ginger, garlic, and dried chilies into the wok, stir-fry until you smell the spicy aroma of the chilies.
5. Pour the sauce into the wok. When the sauce boils and thickens, add the chicken, stir to combine well with the sauce.
6. Add the scallion and stir a few times, dish out and serve immediately.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Strawberry Yogurt Scones
I may have done enough substitutions in this recipe for it to be something entirely new. The original called for ricotta, but I had some yogurt in the fridge that was a week from expiring and an aversion to buying ricotta for only one recipe. The raspberries I had bought for the scones ended up being used in another recipe, so I decided to make use of the last bit of the strawberries (how did I go through 1.5L of strawberries so quickly?). Finally, I couldn't resist the urge to use some of my buckwheat flour instead of the whole wheat (although I resisted the urge to substitute for all of the whole wheat). The end result were deliciously moist scones that looked strangely like cookies, but tasted like scones. A bit confusing, but good!
SK warns that the dough for this is wet, but mine was ridiculous despite scaling back on the cream. I might even try going without cream next time, although the final product was tasty, just not the most presentable and a pain to work with! A little bit more strawberry and maybe a dash of lemon might've also been good for this, so feel free to play around with the proportions.
One year ago: Apricot Blueberry Cobbler
Strawberry Yogurt Scones (loosely adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
Ingredients
1/2 cup (60g) whole wheat flour
1/2 cup (60g) buckwheat flour
1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder, preferably aluminum-free
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons (85 grams) cold unsalted butter
1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
3/4 cup yogurt
1/4 cup heavy cream (see notes)
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In the bottom of a large, wide-ish bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, sugar and salt together.
3. With a pastry blender: Add the butter (no need to chop it first) and use the blender to both cut the butter into the flour mixture until the biggest pieces are the size of small peas.
4. Toss in strawberries and use the blender again to break them into chunks.
5. Add the yogurt and heavy cream together and stir them in to form a dough with a flexible spatula.
6. Using your hands, gently knead dough into an even mass, right in the bottom of the bowl.
7. With as few movements as possible, transfer the dough to a well-floured counter, flour the top of the dough and pat it into a 7-inch square about 1-inch tall.
8. With a large knife, divide the dough into 9 even squares. Transfer the scones to prepared baking sheet with a spatula.
9. Bake the scones for about 15 minutes, until lightly golden at the edges. Cool in pan for a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack.
SK warns that the dough for this is wet, but mine was ridiculous despite scaling back on the cream. I might even try going without cream next time, although the final product was tasty, just not the most presentable and a pain to work with! A little bit more strawberry and maybe a dash of lemon might've also been good for this, so feel free to play around with the proportions.
One year ago: Apricot Blueberry Cobbler
Strawberry Yogurt Scones (loosely adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
Ingredients
1/2 cup (60g) whole wheat flour
1/2 cup (60g) buckwheat flour
1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder, preferably aluminum-free
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons (85 grams) cold unsalted butter
1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
3/4 cup yogurt
1/4 cup heavy cream (see notes)
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In the bottom of a large, wide-ish bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, sugar and salt together.
3. With a pastry blender: Add the butter (no need to chop it first) and use the blender to both cut the butter into the flour mixture until the biggest pieces are the size of small peas.
4. Toss in strawberries and use the blender again to break them into chunks.
5. Add the yogurt and heavy cream together and stir them in to form a dough with a flexible spatula.
6. Using your hands, gently knead dough into an even mass, right in the bottom of the bowl.
7. With as few movements as possible, transfer the dough to a well-floured counter, flour the top of the dough and pat it into a 7-inch square about 1-inch tall.
8. With a large knife, divide the dough into 9 even squares. Transfer the scones to prepared baking sheet with a spatula.
9. Bake the scones for about 15 minutes, until lightly golden at the edges. Cool in pan for a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Raspberry Breakfast Bars
It's the start of Quebec raspberry season and I couldn't resist those little baskets of raspberries. Granted, I meant for these to be turned into scones, but that would've required waiting until the weekend to use the raspberries! I remember seeing this recipe last year, but not making it because it required oats and I never seemed to have those on hand. Thankfully, that problem has been remedied. I'm only sorry that I waited so long to make these! I scaled the recipe in half, but the original is included below.
One year ago: Zucchini and Goat Cheese Galette
Raspberry Breakfast Bars (from Smitten Kitchen, originally Baked: New Frontiers in Baking)
Ingredients
For the crust and crumb:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
For the raspberry filling:
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
450g raspberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1. Make the crust and crumb: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch glass or light-colored metal baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up the two short sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter the parchment.
2. Put the flour, brown sugar, oats, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until combined. Add the butter and pulse until loose crumbs form.
3. Reserve 1 1/2 cup of the mixture and set aside. Pour the rest of the mixture into the prepared pan and use your hans or the back of a large wooden spoon to push the crust into an even layer at the bottom of the pan. The crust should touch the sides of the pan. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let the crust cool. Keep the oven on while you make the raspberry filling.
4. Make the raspberry filling: In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon and flour together. Add the raspberries, lemon juice and butter and use your hands to toss gently until the raspberries are evenly coated.
5. Assemble and bake the bars: Spread the raspberry filling evenly on top of the cooled crust. Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture evenly on top of the filling.
6. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, rotating the pan every 15 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the filling starts to bubble around the edges.
7. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then cut into squares and serve.
One year ago: Zucchini and Goat Cheese Galette
Raspberry Breakfast Bars (from Smitten Kitchen, originally Baked: New Frontiers in Baking)
Ingredients
For the crust and crumb:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
For the raspberry filling:
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
450g raspberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1. Make the crust and crumb: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch glass or light-colored metal baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up the two short sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter the parchment.
2. Put the flour, brown sugar, oats, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until combined. Add the butter and pulse until loose crumbs form.
3. Reserve 1 1/2 cup of the mixture and set aside. Pour the rest of the mixture into the prepared pan and use your hans or the back of a large wooden spoon to push the crust into an even layer at the bottom of the pan. The crust should touch the sides of the pan. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let the crust cool. Keep the oven on while you make the raspberry filling.
4. Make the raspberry filling: In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon and flour together. Add the raspberries, lemon juice and butter and use your hands to toss gently until the raspberries are evenly coated.
5. Assemble and bake the bars: Spread the raspberry filling evenly on top of the cooled crust. Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture evenly on top of the filling.
6. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, rotating the pan every 15 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the filling starts to bubble around the edges.
7. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then cut into squares and serve.
Bulgogi (Korean Beef)
While in Ottawa, we stopped at a Korean recipe and had a few amazing dishes. I particularly liked the barbecued beef dish and went on a hunt to see how easy it would be to recreate the flavours at home. This recipe is pretty darn close to the restaurant. The marinade takes a bit of work and it requires planning ahead, but the end result it worth it. I used fondue meat to have the nice thinly sliced beef.
One year ago: Mini Chocolate Pavlovas with Raspberry Curd
Bulgogi: Korean Beef (from Use Real Butter, originally Kitchen Wench)
Ingredients
1 kg thinly sliced beef sirloin, sliced 2-3mm thick
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium yellow onion, peeled
1 nashi/Asian pear, peeled (I used a bartlette)
1 sweet apple, such as fuji, grated
2/3 cup Korean soy sauce (’kanjang’), but you can substitute it with Japanese tamari soy or Chinese light soy sauce in a pinch
2 tbsps toasted sesame seed oil
2-4 tbsps sugar (this will depend on the sweetness of your pear)
2 green onions, finely sliced
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1. If you can’t find the beef already sliced, you can freeze the meat and then thaw it overnight in the refrigerator. Using a sharp and heavy knife, slice the half-thawed beef against the grain.
2. Squeeze juice from the grated apple over the sliced beef and set aside (I was confused by the original instructions and ended up just putting the grated apple on top).
3. Grate the onion and pear into pulp.
4. Mix the pear and onion pulp with the soy sauce and crushed garlic. If it’s not sweet enough for your tastes, add sugar and taste until it meets your liking.
5. Place the meat in a bowl or a ziploc bag and pour in the marinade. Add the sesame seed oil, sliced green onions, and black pepper.
6. Massage the marinade into the meat for about 1-2 minutes, making sure none of the slices of beef are stuck together and that the marinade has been distributed evenly.
7. Cover the bowl with plastic or seal the ziploc bag and refrigerate for at least a few hours, ideally overnight.
8. Cook over a griddle or in an unoiled non-stick frying pan. You can reserve pan juices to serve over your rice (really really good suggestion).
One year ago: Mini Chocolate Pavlovas with Raspberry Curd
Bulgogi: Korean Beef (from Use Real Butter, originally Kitchen Wench)
Ingredients
1 kg thinly sliced beef sirloin, sliced 2-3mm thick
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium yellow onion, peeled
1 nashi/Asian pear, peeled (I used a bartlette)
1 sweet apple, such as fuji, grated
2/3 cup Korean soy sauce (’kanjang’), but you can substitute it with Japanese tamari soy or Chinese light soy sauce in a pinch
2 tbsps toasted sesame seed oil
2-4 tbsps sugar (this will depend on the sweetness of your pear)
2 green onions, finely sliced
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1. If you can’t find the beef already sliced, you can freeze the meat and then thaw it overnight in the refrigerator. Using a sharp and heavy knife, slice the half-thawed beef against the grain.
2. Squeeze juice from the grated apple over the sliced beef and set aside (I was confused by the original instructions and ended up just putting the grated apple on top).
3. Grate the onion and pear into pulp.
4. Mix the pear and onion pulp with the soy sauce and crushed garlic. If it’s not sweet enough for your tastes, add sugar and taste until it meets your liking.
5. Place the meat in a bowl or a ziploc bag and pour in the marinade. Add the sesame seed oil, sliced green onions, and black pepper.
6. Massage the marinade into the meat for about 1-2 minutes, making sure none of the slices of beef are stuck together and that the marinade has been distributed evenly.
7. Cover the bowl with plastic or seal the ziploc bag and refrigerate for at least a few hours, ideally overnight.
8. Cook over a griddle or in an unoiled non-stick frying pan. You can reserve pan juices to serve over your rice (really really good suggestion).
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