Tingling Tastebuds

Cinnamon Raisin Nut Bread

2012-02-08T18:11:00.000-08:00

I haven't had one of these lazy days in a while. Last night we waited up for my dad to come from his flight (3 connecting flights, just to get from Ottawa back to B.C.!). The poor man, he was so starving and happily wolfed down the won ton and noodles my mom made for him. So today I slept in, and really didn't do anything extremely productive. I wanted to try making a baguette recipe from The Bread Baker's Apprentice, to accompany Nic's coconut lentil soup for dinner, but all of the hearth bread recipes require two days of prep work. I settled for Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread. I didn't have walnuts so used pecans instead, and added a cinnamon swirl (not as pronounced as I would have liked it to be). After removing the bread loaves from the oven, I brushed the tops with melted butter and then sprinkled with cinnamon sugar for a sweet crunch.

Peter Reinhart really has mastered the art of bread baking. Like all of his recipes, it's a labour of love, but not too complicated, and so worth it. I cannot wait to bring a few slices to work this week (early morning shifts will be much easier with a few bites of buttery, cinnamon-y goodness).

The most difficult part in making the bread is waiting a minimum of 1hr before devouring :)

Dragons and Egg Tarts

2012-01-22T21:00:00.000-08:00

Hey it's me! No, not really.

Gung Hay Fat Choi! This Monday marks Chinese New Year - 2012 happens to be my year, the Year of the Dragon. Last year felt a lot like a really extended holiday; this year will instead include more work and less lazying around, yet promises to be one of many exciting opportunities and hopefully decent adventures along the way.

I like this holiday because it reminds me of my background, where my family comes from, etc. I remember traditions that my grandparents brought with them from China, and are trying to pass on to us, the new generation. The days before New Year, we must clean the house to sweep out all the bad luck, and make room for the good luck. My mom pays particular attention to this tradition, though I personally believe its an excuse to pull out her beloved vacuum and subject the rest of us to dust and spray and wipe the house down. We also have to be careful with what we say - can't mention any words relating to death or illness. Chinese New Year is also fun because it gives a good excuse to pork out :) On Sunday, New Year's Eve, we must eat a chicken (whole, with the head on!), whole fish, and noodles (longevity, long life). On New Year's day, we're vegetarian and wear red for good luck. This is more or less the extent of how we celebrate at home, but the list goes on in many other households. Oh, and money in lucky red envelopes from relatives, how could I forget that ;)

"Dan" means egg, "Tat" means tart

I brought egg tarts (dan tat) for staff at work. Many of them are not familiar with Cantonese cuisine so it was fun to share with them one of our most popular desserts. In Vancouver, you can find these everywhere, in Chinese bakeries and supermarkets. But in the suburbs, I've got to make my own! I used my grandma's "secret" recipe:

Chinese Egg Tarts (Dan Tat)
makes 24 tarts

24 tart shells, baked for 3 minutes at 375 degrees F, and cooled completely
5 eggs
6 oz sugar (measured in a liquid measuring cup)
12 oz water (measured in a liquid measuring cup)
2 tbsp evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp custard powder (optional, for colour)

Mix together the eggs and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Mix in the remaining ingredients. Let the foam settle, and then pour into the cooled tart shells. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

My latest obsession

2012-01-20T19:52:00.000-08:00

Ciabatta yeahhh!

For the past little while, I haven't been doing a whole lot of cooking. Tired and lazy. So, I haven't had many opportunities to spend quality time in the kitchen. Except...

I've caught the bread fever.

Peter Reinhart is America's god of artisan bread. He's an instructor and has written several easy-to-understand, well-reviewed books. His most recent one, The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread, was my Christmas gift this year.

I never knew there was so much potential in flour, water, yeast, and salt. There is a real science and technique behind making different types of breads of various textures and flavours, and Reinhart really explains how to make the perfect crusty, slightly chewy, and almost melt-in-your-mouth bread that you've always been dreaming of. It is truly a book for bread nerds, takes a bit more time and detail than with regular bread recipes, but it pays off.

Tonight I made ciabatta for the third time, and this is definitely the best batch I've made so far. I didn't realize that ciabatta is a very sticky dough, with about 80% hydration - that's how you get the lovely large holes that are so characteristic of this type of bread. There so many other aspects of the bread making process that must be considered, from making the pre-ferment, to prepping the oven to create a warm steam environment for the bread to bake inside, to adequately cooling the finished bread to allow for proper gelatinization of the starches (not good when you want so badly to tear into it the moment it comes out of the oven).

Pinch My Salt writes up a good posting on the ciabatta, so give it a try! Or if you're serious, I recommend picking it up. It's incredibly informative, and it's a real sense of accomplishment when you take that first bite of what was an inedible lump just hours before. I'm really looking forward to getting through a few more of the recipes, including baguette, cinnamon buns, and challah.

A Very Gingy Holiday

2012-01-01T11:58:00.000-08:00

Can you spot our favourite Disney stories?

'Tis the Season...

2011-12-16T09:20:00.000-08:00

Little Tomte keeps an eye out for us

...to stay cozy by the fireplace watching your favourite holiday movie (did I hear Love Actually?), to keep warm by taking too many sips of mulled wine (+ rum), to light candles in wake of the darkness, to find the perfect fuzzy yarn for a new hat pattern, to spend many happy hours in the kitchen, sleeves rolled up and hands dusted with flour, making batches upon batches of your favourite treats. To listen to Boney M (never gets old) and Nana Mouskouri while putting up the tree in the living room. It's a nice time of the year, no?

Going back home is literally a breath of fresh air. Clean, clear mountain air, the smell of trees, the sounds of sheep baa'ing in our neighbour's backyard, and the sights of miniature horses and goats happily grazing together at my other neighbour's yard. I enjoy taking morning walks and seeing the frost that lightly coats the railings, the tree branches, and fallen leaves - everything is natural and relaxing.

Along with enjoying the mountain life, I like to take full advantage of the gadgets (and gizmos of plenty..) and equipment that my parents have that I, jealously, don't have the luxury of having most of them time. Although, when I think of it, most of these items were bought for or because of me: food processor, stand mixer, pasta roller, mandoline, microplane (love this little guy) - oh, and all the wonderful aluminum and silicone pans and molds, for making mini muffins, small loaves, tarts, souffles...

Before I get all emotional, I'll get on with the post. At home, we've got a huge canning pot. I didn't get around to canning this summer - a shame - but the other day, I did get to canning a batch of holiday jam as gifts for some friends and family.

This tastes similar to the previous hot pepper jelly that I made a few years ago, but this time there's a fruity note from the lovely cranberries, that balances well with the zing from the hot jalapenos. Served with crackers and cream cheese, it's a nice appetizer for a little holiday cheer.

Topped on a Triscuit!

Cranberry Jalapeno Jam (adapted from Better Homes and Gardens)

makes 6 (250 mL) jars

3 cups fresh cranberries

1 cup water

3 jalapenos, seeded and minced

1 cup apple cider vinegar

5 cups sugar

1 package of liquid fruit pectin

6 (250 mL) sterilized jars

Combine the cranberries and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer until the cranberries have softened and popped. Add more water if the sauce becomes too thick.

Add the jalapenos, the apple cider vinegar, and the sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil (stirring constantly), then stir in the liquid pectin. Continue to boil for 1 minute, then remove from the heat. Skim off the foam, then ladle the jam into the sterilized jars. Leave a 1/4 inch headspace, wipe the jars clean, place the lids on top, then the rings, until resistance is just met. Process in the boiling water canner for 10 minutes.

Galettes de sarrasin

2011-12-06T17:36:00.000-08:00

With one of my family members battling some mystery allergies, we are finding ourselves moving further away from common wheat and rice, and experimenting with other grains and minimally-processed foods. There's a possibility that my mom could be gluten-intolerant, so we are now looking at alternate flours to use when cooking and baking, which isn't always easy. Luckily, there are a number of classic dishes that are already based on using alternate flours, such as Galettes de sarrasin.

Galettes de sarrasin are buckwheat crepes - but using its French name sounds just a bit more ooh- la-la, don't you think? I used the very dependable David Lebovitz's version of the galette, but substituted organic spelt for the majority of the all-purpose flour. Any extra crepes can be frozen, or else you've got something for making a quick dessert.

Galettes de sarrasin (based on David Lebovitz's recipe)
makes ~18 crepes

Galettes

2 cups milk
1 tbsp sugar
pinch of salt
3 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup spelt flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs

Savoury Filling

grated cheese
sauteed spinach and garlic (recipe below)
cooked chicken and mushrooms
hollondaise or bernaise sauce, optional

Whisk together all of the ingredients in a bowl. Let chill and rest for at least an hour, or overnight.

Remove the crepe batter from the refrigerator about an hour before frying. Lightly butter a frying pan and heat over medium-high heat. Whisk the batter again, and then ladle about 1/4 cup of the batter and swirl to coat the pan. When the edges become dry, gently lift the crepe (a heat-resistant spatula works well) and flip over. Let cook for a few seconds and then remove from the pan. Continue the process until all of the batter is finished (takes a while so give yourself a good hour or so!).

To fill the crepes, place one crepe back on the pan over medium heat. Sprinkle half of the crepe with the cheese, spinach, and chicken and mushroom fillings. Don't overfill or else the crepe will be difficult to fold. Fold in half (can also fold again to form a triangle). Transfer to a plate, spoon over the sauce, and dig in.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake

2011-11-01T00:31:00.000-07:00

Autumn in full swing at Britannia

The leaves have quickly created a rainbow of colours lining the neighbourhood paths. For the past few weeks, the air has been unabashedly crisp and cool, a sign that it's finally time to pull out the warm scarves and toques that have stayed tucked away in my suitcase since April. Can you believe we're already headed into the last two months of 2011?

Bottom right: probably the happiest sushi you'll ever find!

Shie celebrated her birthday with us this weekend. It's hard to believe, but it's been nearly five years since we all first met in our dorm rooms. She brought us to a Japanese restaurant located in the the most random location: Shaughnessey "Hotel." A bit of a strange hotel, but within is a true hidden gem. Excellent sushi and perfect miso saba (mackerel). The waitresses, after finding out it was Shie's birthday, lit a candle and brought out lovely sesame ice cream for us, as well as very spontaneous (but "kawaii") pumpkin-shaped sushi pieces for the birthday girl to take home. Afterwards, we headed back to my place for a second surprise dessert: caramel apple cheesecake.

The birthday girl

Simple, indulging, and an ode to fall and everything lovely that accompanies it (yes, even a drizzle of rain receives a warm welcome, so long as it's not a daily occurrence). This cheesecake can be made ahead of time; in fact, I think the flavour improves overnight. The caramel recipe is courtesy of Michael Smith, and makes much more than is needed. Freeze or refrigerate if you have extra. One note is that my caramel ended up being runnier than I was hoping for - I'm not sure what went wrong, so hopefully you'll have better luck than I did. Regardless of any imperfections, lights dimmed down, lit candles, and a little song create the perfect finishing touch.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake (adapted from Kraft Canada)
makes 8-10 servings

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp sugar
1/3 cup melted butter

Mix everything together, and press into a pie pan and 1 inch up the edge. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before baking at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes, until slightly brown on the edges.

For the caramel:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup whipping cream

Pour the sugar into a thick-bottomed pot, and pour the water around the sugar, away from the centre. Over medium heat and without stirring, let the sugar melted, and simmer until the syrup becomes a light golden brown colour. Immediately pour in the vanilla and cream, and stir quickly. Continue to stir and heat until the caramel thickens. Remove from the heat.

For the filling:

2 packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature, and lightly beaten
2 tbsp flour
2 apples
2 tsp cinnamon

Beat the cream cheese until smooth, then stir in the sugar and mix again until smooth. Stir in the beaten eggs and 1 tbsp flour and mix well.

Dice 1 1/2 apples into small pieces, toss with 1 tbsp flour and the cinnamon, and stir into the cream cheese mixture. Slice the remaining half of the apple and save for later use.

Pour the 1/4 cup of the caramel sauce into the baked graham cracker crust, then pour in the cream cheese batter. Decorate the top with the apple slices.

Bake at 325 degree F, with a water bath or a pan full of water on the bottom rack. The centre of the cheesecake should still be jiggly. Turn off the oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool at room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Before serving, drizzle with more caramel sauce. Grab a spoon and dig on in.

Mums Filibabba: It's Cinnamon Bun Day

2011-10-04T00:51:00.000-07:00

October 4th - marked on my calendar

Exactly one year ago, I was introduced to kanelbuullar, a brilliant Swedish twist on the cinnamon bun.

October 4th marks Kanelbullar Dag, or Cinnamon Day. That's right. Sweden loooooves its food days (I can think of four food days off the top of my head). It's a day where supermarkets and bakeries are overflowing with this sweet treat, and as you walk past open windows, the sweet smell of cinnamon spice and everything nice lures you inside.

In the land of Vikings, cinnamon buns are probably more popular than cookies. On the back of the flour packages, you will always see a recipe for cinnamon buns, just as you see a recipe for oatmeal cookes on the back of Quaker or Toll House cookies on the back of Nestle chocolate chips. Ikea even carries them in the freezer section (which aren't bad, but pale in comparison to homemade baked buns).

How are kanelbullar different from regular old cinnamon buns? The dough is spiced with cardamom, a spice that is often used in baking. As well, there is no rich cream cheese icing or icing of any sort slathered on top. Nope. A gentle sprinkle of pearl sugar, and you're set. Sometimes they'll also fill the buns with a delicious almond paste which I haven't found in Van yet. Yes, the Swedes do know their sweets!

Unfortunately, this year, I won't have time to make cinnamon buns on the actual day. However, a few weeks ago, I showed Nic how to make them. Staying true to the recipe, I got fresh yeast from the Whole Foods bakery (something like $3 for a large brick, and you can freeze any unused yeast) and found the package of pearl sugar that managed to make it back to Van with barely a dent. The buns were absolutely perfect - though I would have used more butter had Nic not stopped me from doing so - and I think the fresh yeast had something to do with it, as well as a new kneading technique that I learned from my friends overseas. I will describe it in more detail in the recipe, but basically they don't add all the flour at once, so that you reduce the risk of forming a tough bread. You use a wooden spoon and with a whipping motion, mix and work the gluten in the dough that is still in the bowl. Then you can add a bit more flour, knead again, and allow the very very soft dough to rise, before adding the final amount of flour needed to form a non-sticky dough.

These guys bake up quickly in a very hot oven, and once cooled, can be packed into the freezer for future munching. On a side note, when you insert the kanelbullar recipe into google translate, you get a pretty interesting recipe:

Issues dough according to recipe Kardemummabullar:

Melt the fat in a saucepan. Add the milk. Warm until everything is warm, about 37. Dissolve the yeast in degbunken in a bit of dough-broth (haha what!). Added the rest of the broth and then salt, sugar, nystott, or ground cardamom and about 2/3 flour. Work the dough to make it shine and smooth. Added more flour but saving 1-2 dl to utbakningen. The dough is ready-worked when placing degunkens edges. Sprinkle a little flour on the surface so that it does not dry. Thanks to a kitchen towel. Stable dough draft-free. Jas it to double size...

Right. And here's a more accurate set of instructions if you're set on making this (and yes yous should). Note that I've written in decilitres (dl) instead of regular ml, simply because this is the typical measurement in Sweden. I'm sure you can do the math to figure out how many cups you need.

Typical jelly roll shape or a more elegant twist form - yum either way

Kanelbullar (Swedish Cinnamon Buns)
makes 40-45 buns

Cardamom bun dough

150 g butter
5 dl milk
50 g fresh yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1-1 1/2 dl sugar
2 tsp ground cardamom
1.3 litre flour (I used all-purpose)

Melt the fat in a pot, then at in the milk. Warm until it reaches 37 degrees.
In a large bowl, crumble the yeast and stir in about 1/3 of the milk and melted butter mixture. Add the rest of the liquid and then stir in the salt, sugar, and cardamom.
Gradually (about 1 cup at a time) add the flour until about 1/2 is used. Using a wooden spoon and a bit of muscle, mix the dough quickly and forcefully (dough should still be in the bowl) so that you are starting the kneading process. Continue this for a couple of minutes, until your arm gets sore.
Add more flour until a very soft dough (can still be a bit sticky) and continue to knead with the wooden spoon. Cover with a damp towel and let proof for 1 hour, until doubled in size.

Cinnamon filling

75-100 g butter, softened
1 dl sugar
2 tsp (or more as you like) ground cinnamon

Topping
1 egg
pearl sugar (optional if you can't find any, or slivered almonds or coconut)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and line baking sheets with parchment. Punch down the dough and sprinkle with enough flour so that is not sticky. Divide into two pieces and roll each piece into a large rectangle, as thinly as possible (if the dough breaks don't worry, just patch it up) to create as many layers as possible.
Smear the whole rolled pieces with butter, then sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Roll up the long side into a jelly roll, and then cut into slices and lay on the baking sheets.
Beat the egg in a bowl, and then brush onto the slices. Sprinkle with pearl sugar and bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown. Watch the bottoms to avoid burning. Allow to cool for just a minute before devouring!

If you loved these, you say mums flilbabba! Roughly translate to mmmmmhh yum!

Ricotta-Stuffed Pizza

2011-09-29T20:52:00.000-07:00

Rising, rising, rising.

Last night I was unable to focus on writing my paper. Instead, I kept scurrying into the kitchen to peer into the oven in anticipation of my newest favourite pizza: spinach and sun-dried tomato with a ricotta-stuffed crust.

While visiting Angie in Naples, we talked about how pizza is such an important food for the Italians. Apparently, the government even encourages people to eat pizza often, citing it as a perfect and complete nutritional meal. Funny, because in most other parts of the globe, we see pizza as a diet no-no, carb-loaded and grease-laden. But when you get it made right with fewer greasy and heavy toppings, you'll understand why Italy is telling us to go ahead and dig right in.

I rarely use any other pizza dough recipe than this one by Sara Moulton. You know sometimes you have one of those recipes that you wouldn't dare to change, because it's just that great, and it would be like an insult to the creator of the recipe by deviating from its original instructions? This is one of those recipes. It's already perfect. Though I'll admit; I did make a minor change, and that was adding some dried herbs into the dough before kneading and allowing to rise.

Ricotta isn't an ingredient that I commonly, use, but I had leftover from a ricotta pasta primavera recipe that I tried out last week. Ricotta's a nice treat, sweetened with honey and eaten for breakfast, or used in pasta to make a lower-calorie cream sauce. Now that I'm beginning to use it as an everyday ingredient more often, I think I'm going to try making it on my own sometime. Anyway, with the leftover ricotta that I had, I added a bit of twang by squeezing in some fresh lemon juice. No added salt or other seasonings to the ricotta - it's got a nice light and fresh taste just like that. I stuffed the crust, just as how my calzone in Naples was stuffed with ricotta, and ohhhhh baby, from now on, my pizzas (and belly) are going to be stuffed!

A cross between thin-crust and calzone, this is good eats.

Ricotta-Stuffed Pizza
makes two large pizzas (4 servings)

pizza dough with dried herbs, already risen twice and ready to roll out
pesto or tomato sauce
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes packed in oil, drained

1 onion, sliced
4 cups spinach, roughly chopped
1 cup ricotta cheese, mixed with 1/4 cup lemon juice
extra virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
Roll out the dough as thinly as possible, then transfer onto an oiled pan (or even better, a pizza stone). Spread a thin layer of pesto or tomato sauce onto the dough, then scatter with the sundried tomatoes, onion, and spinach.
Spread the ricotta-lemon cheese along the edge of the dough, and then roll the edge to enclose the ricotta. Don't worry about rolling it too tightly or if the ricotta oozes out - this adds a new rustic appeal to the finished product.
Drizzle the pizza with extra virgin olive oil, and then bake for 20 minutes, or until the crust and bottom of the pizza are crispy. Devour immediately.

Summer's best

2011-09-21T23:26:00.000-07:00

Summer squash galore

In an effort to ease my way back into blogging, this post will be a short visual tour of what's been happening around the city. With a sudden surge of sunshine and heat this August, which continued into September, our local food production hasn't been too shabby.

I'm lucky enough to be living just a couple of blocks away from the Kitsilano Farmers Market. I really believe that if every neighbourhood had as gorgeous, colourful, and fun a market as this, people of ages would be eating healthier and more apt to support local food producers.

Mix and Match greens

The "mix and match" greens stall is one of my favourites spots. Various salad greens cost the same price, so it's just a matter of choosing how much of the arugula, mizuna, pea shoots, and other tasty veg you want to give a try. I'm also a sucker for heirloom tomatoes, which burst with intense flavour - something you can't find in the pale, imported ones you find in Safeway.

A nice welcome back treat in Abby

Earlier in August, I spent an afternoon picking organic raspberries with Amanda in Abbotsford. It was close to the end of the season, so u-pick was cheap and totally worth it. Although, I wasn't allowed to make jam or pie out of the berries. Nope, Amanda screamed, "What a waste! Just eat them!"

Bulkhead Urban Agriculture Lab

On my first run back from abroad, I noticed there was something very different, close to the Cambie Bridge. This was the Bulkhead Urban Agriculture Lab, a genius project that is on site of what used to be unused land along False Creek. Now, it's a beautiful public area that you can walk through, and see fun and creative ways of growing food (such as using old coffee sacks for growing plants and herbs).

Urban garden beneath the Burrard Bridge. Pretty cool, eh?

During another day around the seawall, I came across an urban garden beneath the Burrard Bridge. Yet another brilliant way to use unused land. I returned a week later to find corn, broccoli, kale, zucchini, and other squashes growing. Guerrilla gardening at its best!

UBC Farm's apples ripening, taking their sweet time

I've visited the UBC Farm a few times as well. It's more beautiful than ever! There were cows grazing the land during the past year, the chickens are still happily laying their eggs, huge garlic braids are hanging from the harvest hut, and I was really impressed with the apple orchard.

I started an internship with the Environmental Youth Alliance, a non-profit organization that runs a number of workshops, projects, and programs food, environmental, and sustainability-related. I've had the opportunity to visit the EYA's own garden in Strathcona, and it's a lot of fun to walk through as well. And let's not forget that they're growing some cool varieties of veggies, including Dosakai cucumber, a crunch yellow and round variety, and Lacinato kale.

My aunt's garden provided a huge crop of zucchini and green beans, while my grandparents' garden is giving them way more swiss chard than they can handle (not a problem for me). I'm babysitting my sister's tomato plant and even that seems to be doing well. In all, a very good edible summer!

Guaranteed-to-put-a-smile-on-your-face-sandwich

In other news, I made the most delicious sandwich today. I have never been so serious; and I've never said that about a sandwich before. Mayo, mustard, cheese, avocado, turkey, tomato, spinach, cucumber. Make sure to toast the bread so that the cheese melts. Drizzle in a bit of balsamic vinegar for an added depth of flavour.

Peach Blackberry Pie

2011-08-21T18:23:00.000-07:00

I was perusing the Food Network Canada site, and this month's Cooking Club Challenge caught my eye. Peach Blackberry Pie? Yes, please!!

I met up with Anelyse at the UBC Farm one evening this week, for a major catch up session over each of our past year's adventures, while picking blackberries from some abandoned bushes near the forest. After filling a container of these sweet and seedy guys, I hopped over to Save-On, found some Okanagan peaches, and hurried home to get to work.

I like pie, and I love summer fruit. Pie + summer fruit = bliss.

Anna Olson's recipe is very easy to make. The dough can be made in no time, and for the filling, just toss the fruits together with sugar, spices, and flour to thicken the juices. Having returned from Sweden, where the most popular spices include cinnamon (kanel) and cardamom (kardemumma), I was inspired to add a Scandinavian twist to the pie. Instead of the cinnamon and nutmeg that the recipe called for, I used cinnamon and cardamom. Also, I substituted regular white sugar with brown sugar.

After some time in the oven, out came a wonderfully golden brown crust, with the juices from the fruits still bubbling. On the flip side, once again, a soup pie emerged. An ongoing problem that me and pie-lovin' friends have is that we often end up making what we call "soup pies." Our fruit pies, though we have added flour to the filling, end up very liquidy, and there have been a couple of times where we have had to "drain" the pie over the sink. Thankfully, this time, this wasn't necessary, but still...I know I still need to hone my skills (unless, of course, you're a fan of soup pie; in this case, you know who to contact).

Nevertheless, this is a good pie, and even better with a healthy scoop of ice cream. It tastes of B.C. summer, and is reminiscent of my wonderful times (fikabrod!) in Sweden. Just make sure you add sufficient flour, or else drain it a little before consuming ;)

Peach Blackberry Pie (adapted from Anna Olson, with a Swedish twist)
makes 8 servings

2 cups flour
pinch of salt
1 cup butter, cubed and chilled
3-4 tbsp ice water
1 tbsp lemon or lime juice

8 peaches, peeled and sliced
2 cups blackberries
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
1 egg, mixed with 2 tbsp cold water

Combined the flour and salt, and cut in the butter until it resembles coarse meal.
Stir in the lemon or lime juice and ice water, adding more water as needed, until a dough is formed.
Shape the dough into two discs, cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Roll out one disc until the large enough to fit into a pie pan. Allow overhang. Chill.
Combine the fruits, sugar, flour, vanilla, cinnamon, and cardamom together. Pour into the chilled pie pan.
Roll out the other disc and cut into long strips. For a lattice over top, and pinch to seal the edges.
Brush the pie with the egg wash, place on a cookie sheet, and and bake 45 minutes to 1 hour, until golden brown and bubbling. Serve with ice cream!

Back in Van, feel good time

2011-08-11T20:12:00.000-07:00

It feels good to be back! In my kitchen, I mean :)

I have finally returned from my 10-month study abroad exchange in Sweden. I had a wonderful year meeting great friends, taking interesting courses, traveling, and of course, eating amazing food from across Europe! I learned how to make foods I'd never had before until now, and can assure you that I'll be writing a couple of posts on Swedish foods and some pretty amazing sweet treats. If you're interested in what the heck I have been up to all year, feel free to read my other blog. Or else, it's back to more food adventures in and out of the kitchen, in good ol' Vancity.

Though I did manage to cook great meals while abroad, there's really no place like one's own kitchen. You know your way around, you have all the equipment, tools, and ingredients you want. Plus, it's clean (thanks, Mom!).

I decided to make a light dish for tonight's dinner, inspired from two of the best culinary countries, Italy and France. Seeing as how it's been nearly a year since I've been home, I was happy to find that nothing had been thrown away. Within the lower cupboard, behind a cluster of empty mason jars, a selection of unopened wines (we don't drink a lot in this household), was a much-neglected pasta machine. Today is its lucky day.

It felt so great to make homemade pasta, as this isn't something that I did this past year, and honestly isn't something that I do on a normal basis even when I'm home. But today, while stirring the eggs and flour together into a simple dough, feeling the liquid from the egg oozing between my fingers, and the flour softly solidifying the mix, reminded me of the simplicity and fun involved in making pasta from scratch.

For a healthy and colourful twist, I added cooked, pureed spinach to the dough. In the meantime, I roasted a couple chicken thighs with vine-ripened tomatoes, garlic, and lemon slices. I sprinkled over a healthy pinch of my Herbes de Provence that I purchased in Nice, for a bit of French flair. If you are unsure as to how to make fresh pasta and how to roll, I recommend reading a basic recipe for fresh pasta by Jamie Oliver, which is what I always refer to.

This is a feel-good meal that is filling enough to be served as a main dish, but has light ingredients and flavours, perfect for a summer evening.

Feelin' Good Spinach Fettuccine with Roasted Provençal Chicken

makes 4 servings

4 eggs

1/4 cup cooked and pureed spinach, drained of its liquid

pinch of salt

4 cups flour

3 chicken thighs

4 large tomatoes (or a bunch of cherry tomatoes), cut into chunks

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 lemon, sliced

2 tbsp Herbes de Provence

salt and pepper

extra virgin olive oil

For the spinach fettuccine:
In a large bowl, mix the flour with the salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the eggs and spinach. Beat the eggs and spinach together.
Gradually incorporate the flour into the eggs and spinach, until most of the flour is mixed in and a soft dough is formed.
Knead the dough until it becomes smooth, about 5 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Roll out in the pasta machine until approximately the thickness of a playing card (setting number 3 on my machine). The feed through a fettuccine roller, or use a knife to cut into long strips.
Toss the strips of pasta in flour, and let dry on a cookie sheet or dry kitchen towel.

For the roasted chicken:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Scatter the tomato chunks on the bottom of an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet, then place the chicken thighs over top.
Place the lemon slices on top of the chicken.
Sprinkle with the garlic, herbes, salt and pepper, and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Bake for 45 minutes, until the chicken is cooked and no longer pink inside.

Pour contents of the roasted chicken into a large pan, and cook and reduce the liquid to a sauce.
Cook the pasta over salted, boiling water, for 3 minutes, until al dente. Drain the pasta and toss with the chicken and sauce. Serve immediately and impress your guests.

Temporary Home

2010-09-13T08:48:00.000-07:00

Food is a focal point in my Swedish life :)

So here it goes: I have decided that for the next year, while I am abroad on exchange, it makes the most sense to update just one blog. Although Life in Yellow and Blue is centered around my life living away from home and my travels in and out of Sweden, I'm constantly discovering new foods to taste, and want to share these experiences with my family and friends who read my new blog on a regular basis.

So I haven't left you! I'm just moving to a temporary home, where you'll still read about my latest (and perhaps oldies but goodies) recipes and gastronomical experiences in Europe. Please follow the blog as I regularly update it.

Tack så mycket!!

Katina

Don't leave me!

2010-08-29T00:07:00.000-07:00

My first meal in Sweden - no, I am not a cannibal! This is Ikea meatlballs with spaghetti and a beet-tomato sauce

I haven't abandoned this blog, I promise! It's been forever since I wrote, but I hope you understand my excuse. I have been in Sweden for the past week, settling in, going to orientation, and to make things slightly more inconvenient, I do not have internet connection in my house yet.

Besides, you don't really want to know what kinds of dinners I have been cooking most recently...it's been so hard for me to makes tasty food, with so few ingredients and kitchenware. But, in the past few days, I have been slowly stocking up my pantry with the essentials - canned tomatoes, spaghetti, spices...so don't leave me. I will be back soon!

To read about my non-foodie adventures in Sweden for the next year or so, visit my new travel blog at http://lifeinyellowandblue.blogspot.com/.

Make-It-Yourself: Japadog

2010-08-06T20:39:00.000-07:00

Terimayo (with edamame). Note that the fork is not a required element for successfully consuming a Japadog.

I have the good fortune of having friends who have fairly open minds when it comes to food. Really, though, if you live in such a multicultural city as Vancouver, you kind of have to be ready to try different kinds of foods...or starve. Ok, that's maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but, with the number of ethnic communities in the area, the city offers tasty treats from all over the world. Often, you'll find places that serve fusion foods. Like Japadog.

Oh, yes, the infamous Japadog. They came to UBC a number of times this year, resulting in ridiculous lineups near the SUB throughout the day. Japadog has even opened its "restaurant" on Robson street.

Don't know what Japadog is? This is basically a hot dog stand (in fact, several stands that are now dispersed throughout downtown) that serves Japanese-style hot dogs. That's right, grill up a bratwurst, slather on the teriyaki sauce and Japanese mayonnaise, and sprinkle on dried seaweed. That's the Terimayo, one of the most popular Japadogs that is sold. If you go to yelp, you'll understand just how famous this hot dog stand is.

Though this may be considered a "cheap" meal ranging from $4.25 to $6.25, still, it's just a hot dog. In the past few months, I've been dreaming up of setting up my own bbq, and consuming as many Termiayos and Okonomis as I want, for a fraction of the price. And this month, I jumped at the opportunity to do just that.

What's better than having a birthday at the beach, firing up the bbq, and staying to watch the Celebration of Lights? Well, having a birthday at the beach, firing up the bbq to make Japadogs, and staying to watch the Celebration of Lights!

Teddy approves.

This is so simple to do. Drop by T & T and pick up your Japaense mayo, seaweed (I bought a spicy packet by accident, which ended up being really good), and edamame, get some bratwursts and hot dog buns (whole-wheat so I feel slightly less guilty), and don't forget the teriyaki sauce.

Grill the hot dogs and the buns, and pile on the toppings. Consume immediately. Relax, sigh, then sit up again for a second dog. Repeat.

Congratulations! Go ahead, brag to your friends that you had your own, homestyle Terimayo. Or better yet, share the Japadog love!

And..she's back!

2010-07-29T09:47:00.000-07:00

At the Bund in Shanghai with U21ers

I feel like it's been ages since I wrote, and yes, it has. So what have I been up to that has caused such terrible neglect?

I left during the first week of July to attend a food security summer school organized by the Universitas 21 network. Twelve days in China went by so quickly, and I wish I could have stayed just a bit longer to tour around this amazing country.

I wanted to update everyone on my trip, but (surprise, surprise) Blogger is censored and I was unable to access it. And the minute I stepped off the plane in Vancouver, to my shock and frustration, my computer died; so instead of uploading my pictures, I had to begin shopping for a new laptop. I'm not gonna lie, I am loving my brand spanking new laptop!

University of Nottingham Ningbo, China. A beautiful, green campus.

The summer school took place at the University of Nottingham Ningbo, China. Ningbo is located approximately three hours south of Shanghai, and I was told by the locals that this is a rural city. Sure, if rural means 5 million people!

The first difference that I noticed the minute I stepped off the airplane at the Shanghai Pudong Airport is the difference in climate. It's so humid over there! For the first couple of days, I felt that I was being slowly smothered by a blanket every time I left the air-conditioned buildings. It's something that one must definitely be acclimatized to, and it was difficult at first to adjust to this 30+ degree weather + humidity.

Downtown Ningbo

The next thing that struck me was the modernity of China. Considering the fact that this is considered a third-world country, there are several parts of China that are much more developed and modern than Vancouver and the rest of Canada. At the same time, there are many other parts that are very rural. There is a more obvious gap between the rich and the poor.

Bella, one of the several amazing buddies from UNNC

The UNNC "buddies," mostly international studies students who participated in the conference and were there to show us foreigners around were, without a doubt, some of the most genuine, kind, and hospitable people I have met in a long time. Even after a long day of running around to make sure the conference was running smoothly, our buddies always accompanied us to town if we wanted to go out and not get lost (because if you don't know Mandarin, you're kind of screwed!). They brought us to their favourite dumpling eateries and shopping malls, helped us bargain with market vendors, treated us to a night of karaoke...the list goes on. They were just amazing people who expected nothing in return from us. The buddies watched over us through the entire two weeks, asking us if we needed anything, and always (at least in my experience) advising us to "be careful!" particularly when crossing the streets in town.

Ah, yes, traffic. My dad warned me before I left that the drivers would be more aggressive than they are in Australia - and yes, Aussie drivers are scarier than Canadian drivers (just saying). But in China, it's a whole different ballgame. Those of you who have been to China are probably laughing at me for being so naive, but the driving really did shock me. Why bother having traffic lights and parking spaces if they're not being used? That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but take, for instance, the taxi drivers in Ningbo. No seatbelts, driving at 100 km/hr on the city roads, running through several red lights, chuckling at us foreigners crammed in the backseat for screaming..you get the idea. Crossing the street is like suicide. As one of my buddies told me, "You just have to go. Don't hesitate or wait for them to stop, or else you'll never get to the other side. Just go!" There is no concept of the pedestrian having the right of way. You will walk in front of a car, and it will keep ploughing forward.

And the food! Here is a sample of photos of my food adventures...

Yang Mei

Yang Mei is a delicious berry-like fruit that has a growing season of just 2 weeks in the Ningbo region. Luckily for us, we arrived during its season, and had handfuls of this sweet fruit at every lunch.

Xiao Long Bao

Xiao Long Bao. Very disappointed. I didn't have time to scope out a good xlb joint in Shanghai, so ate at the first place I saw. I think I will go out for some xlb this weekend in Richmond, haha.

Fried Green Onion Pancake

Fried Green Onion Pancake. A Shanghai specialty, and one of the best street food items I had while I was away. There was a couple with a small cart - the woman rolling out the dough, and the man frying the pancake right beside her.

Stinky Tofu

Stinky Tofu. My parents were so pleased to hear that I tried this. You can smell it miles away from you, and it really does smell of old socks. The taste isn't all too bad, though.

Bei Lei and Yoon with the Da Niang dumplings

Da Niang Dumplings. A dumpling chain in Asia, and some of the best meat and veg dumplings I've had in a while.

Duck Tongue

Duck Tongue, marinated in a soy mixture. It was a bit chewy in texture, but the flavour was good.

Fried Seaweed and Cashews

Fried seaweed with cashews. It sounds weird, but the flavours really work well together.

Fried Fish with Chilis

Fried fish with chilis. Too spicy for me, but was a beautiful dish.

So what did I do other than study food security and pork out at fancy restaurants?

Rural village near Ningbo

We visited a rural village near Ningbo. This village in particular is famous for its honey peaches. 98 percent of the village depends on the peach economy as their source of income. The villagers were so excited to meet us and welcomed us with open arms and many peaches ready to eat. Apparently, they spent a week preparing for our arrival. They fed us peaches, took pictures and videotaped us, and even let us pick our own peaches (which was a bit risky for them, because if an unripe peach is picked, it may ruin the entire tree!). In the end, they send each of us home with a basket of 5 delicious honey peaches.

Eco-friendly farm

We toured an "eco-friendly" farm. Beautiful and sustainable as it was, with its on-site tofu maker and mixed crops of corn, rice, melons, and more, it had a few flaws. Take, for instance the circus act, where we witnessed small dogs being whipped and forced to jump through small hoops. Or the bear that was on a leash and trained to walk on just its hindlegs on rollerblades. There was also the acrobat show, which ended up being mainly composed of young children, under the age of ten. It broke my heart having to see these small kids do pretty terrifying gymnastics acts with little safety and security, knowing that this was most likely not a job that they willingly applied for.

West Lake

We went to Hangzhou, the capital of the province of Zhejiang. It's a very famous city, and we went to one of its most famous destinations, West Lake. It's basically a lake with some pretty views and very historical landmarks. Unfortunately, there is so much pollution in the water, which is brown, as well as in the air that it's hard to appreciate the beauty of the lake. However, West Lake is one of those "must-sees" when you're in Hangzhou.

Dragon Well tea farm in Hangzhou

We also went to a gorgeous tea farm. The Hangzhou region is famous for its Dragon Well tea (Longjing, a type of green tea). We learned how the leaves are hand dried in a wok at 180 degrees F (you've gotta have thick hands to do this job!) and got to taste the tea. I bought some for home. It tastes so much more fresh than the Lipton's green tea bags you find in Safeway, and you can even eat the tea leaves. The woman at the tea farm told us that your stomach will get smaller if you drink green tea everyday...

And of course, I did a little bit of bargaining. You can't go to China and not have a turn at bargaining. It's a whole lot of fun and kind of ridiculous, seeing as how the prices are generally already cheap. But who doesn't like getting an even better price?

O Canada...not really worth waiting in a 5-hour lineup, unless you've got a passport on hand..

If you don't like crowds, you're better off skipping the Expo!

Finally, Shanghai Expo. Approximately 400,000 to 500,000 people attend everday. The population of Abbotsford, my hometown, is half of that. Insanity. Nevertheless, it was cool to walk through and see all of the pavilions, and even cooler to show my passport to the security guard at the Canadian pavilion and bypass the 5-hour lineup. It's too bad, though, that Canada's pavilion happened to be pretty lame and looked like a crumpled brown paper bag from the outside. I don't know if I would go had I not been provided with a ticket from the summer school, as it is very hot walking all day outside, and very crowded.

View of downtown Shanghai from the Bund

We were only in Shanghai for one full day, so didn't get to see much of the city apart from the famous Bund. Still, it was a beautiful city from what I got to see.

And yes! I did go over the famous trans-oceanic bridge, the Hangzhou bridge, on the way to Shanghai. Can you believe there's even a hotel located on the bridge?

I witnessed the ups and downs of China, and that's what I really got out of my short trip to the motherland. I was able to reflect a bit on my life and how different it must be to grow up in a country where information on the outside world is censored in school and online (I even suffered facebook withdrawal!), where cities are developing at an exponential rate, so fast that the poor can't keep up, and where there are people everywhere and not a breath of fresh air or blue sky even at 35 degrees C. I realized what it really means to be hospitable, that it's cool to sing karaoke (mic included) on a bus, found kindness from those who may not be as fortunate as myself, and have returned home with a fresh outlook on life.

Some pretty cool people

This was a fantastic experience, and I'm so glad that I went. I met amazing people from all parts of the world, got a taste of the culture in China, and am eager to go back in the near future.

This was a bit of a ramble, but that's what happens after a full month's worth of no blogging! In the next few weeks I will be busy preparing for my 8-month exchange to Sweden. I leave mid-August, so now's the time that everything starting to come together - rather - everything is supposed to be coming together. In other words, it's chaos/go crazy time, which you'll be hearing about for the next little while :)

Off to the Motherland!

2010-06-30T14:43:00.000-07:00

Hangzhou Bridge, which connects Shanghai to Ningbo. It's the longest trans-oceanic bridge in the world, spanning about 36 km. A little bit insane, eh? And I get to cross it!

I just wanted to let you all know that this Saturday I will be flying to China for the Universitas 21 Summer School in Ningbo. This is an amazing opportunity for me to meet like-minded individuals and discuss topics on food security, which is what I have been focusing my studies on for the past couple of years. I won't have time to travel, as I sadly enough have to come back to UBC for my work, but will be spending over a week in the motherland for the very first time. I really hope that I will get to sample some local dishes while I'm there (wouldn't it be a shame if we were fed Western food?). And guess what? The summer school is bringing us to Shanghai for the last couple of days to attend the Expo!

Actually, what I am really dying to try is the famous xiao long bao, which my friends insist I can just try in Vancouver. But wouldn't it be more fun (and authentic) to try it from the region where they were invented?

Hopefully I will find a way to get past the Great Firewall so that I can update you once or twice while I'm there; if not, please don't be surprised if I don't have any postings for the next little while and don't think that I've fallen off of the face of the earth!

If anyone has tips on foods that I absolutely must try while in the Shanghai/Ningbo area, please leave a comment.

I know I'm in nutrition...

2010-06-25T22:13:00.000-07:00

But I can't get over this tiramisu!

This has got to be one of the most calorie-rich, high-fat desserts on the planet. As my mother worriedly told me, "You know, you really shouldn't be eating so much of this. Be careful, you really need to watch your weight!" Thanks, Mom. But you know what? Just do it. Eat a slice (or two). It's worth it. Totally, absolutely worth it.

The victims? My dad, mom, grandpa, grandma, aunt, and uncle - one of whom is on a diet - but one slice can't kill you, right? Right??

This has got to be one of the best desserts I have ever made, thanks to this tried, tested and true recipe that I found.. No skimping on the cream, mascarpone, and all of the rich goodness that creates a fantastic tiramisu. It's shockingly simple - the only issue that I find, which prevents me from making this all the time (thank god!) is the pricey-ness of the ingredients. The mascarpone is pretty expensive, at least in the grocery stores in Vancouver, in addition to the egg yolks for the zabaglione (custard). Still, the money and time it takes you to make this is so, so, worth it.

Tiramisu

makes 10-12 servings

6 egg yolks
3/4 cup white sugar
2/3 cup milk
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup strong brewed coffee, room temperature
2 tablespoons rum or Kahlua (optional)
2 (3 ounce) packages ladyfinger cookies (plus an extra 3 oz package if you want to line the sides with ladyfingers)
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder.
For the zabaglione (custard), in a double boiler, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until well blended. Whisk in milk and cook and stir constantly, until the mixture thickens to coat the back of a spoon. Cover tightly and chill in refrigerator 1 hour, or the freezer for 20 minutes.
Remove the chilled zabaglione and stir in the mascarpone. Stir until well combined.
In a medium bowl, beat cream with vanilla until stiff peaks form. .
In a small bowl, combine coffee and rum. Gently soak each ladyfinger into the coffee mixture, just until moistened, and then lay on the bottom of a 9 by 11 inch dish or 9-10 inch springform pan (that has been lined with plastic wrap).
Spread half of mascarpone mixture over ladyfingers, then half of whipped cream over that. Repeat layers and dust with cocoa powder.
Cover and refrigerate for 48 hours.

My Advice

Very very important: plan this recipe well ahead of time, and be sure to make this at least one day (two is better) before serving. You cannot make this the day of, as the flavours will not meld together and the dessert will taste very bland.

If you plan on arranging the tiramisu into a round cake form and want to line the sides with ladyfingers, you will need more than the two 3-oz packages of ladyfingers - purchase one more package.

If you aren't using the extra egg whites right away, freeze them and use them for baking or even cooking (egg drop soup??).

Don't eat this every day, unless you plan on blimping out! Trust me on that.

Redemption

2010-06-15T22:07:00.000-07:00

Failed Curry (upper left), mushy spiced peas, and pretty good Naan bread!

Yesterday's dinner was a disaster. Basically, I attempted to replicate my friend's amazing curry that she made this past week.

Flashback to that night: my friend was making an Indian curry (she grew up making and eating it at home). She had the basic spices: garam masala fenugreek, turmeric, cumin, coriander, chili powder, mango powder, and cinnamon. I was shocked to see how simple the curry appeared to be - Fry up blended onions, add the spices, add crushed tomatoes, simmer, and stir in some cream. "I can do that," I confidently told her. She warned me that she was still working on perfecting it to the standard of curry that her mother makes. "It's all about having the correct ratio and proportion of specific spices," she advised me. And boy, was she correct.

Flash forward to the curry attempt night: I tend to not measure ingredients when I cook, relying instead on the smells and tastes of the food during the cooking process. It turns out that this method of cooking only works if you are somewhat familiar with all of the ingredients you are using!

So I sprinkled in a generous amount of garam masala and fenugreek, added a few pinches of cumin and coriander, added a few scoops of turmeric, etc. After about 15 minutes of simmering, I went to taste what I hoped to be curry, only to jump back in shock with a bitter taste in my mouth. It turns out that if you add too much fenugreek and turmeric, you will taste a bitter curry, which is exactly what I made the mistake of doing. A quick google online advised me to add some sugar and mango powder, and ground almonds (which is part of the curry, anyway) to balance the flavour. This worked surprisingly well, although the bitterness was still lingering in the background of the end result.

In an effort to redeem my Failed Curry, I went with a simple dinner the following day. I made panko, almond, and parmesan-crusted chicken breasts with a spicy mayonnaise dip.

What makes panko breadcrumbs popular substitutes for regular breadcrumbs are their unique and irregular shapes, which help create an insanely crispy texture, even when simple baked in the oven with little oil. The prep time is very quick, and the cooking time is even faster. The chicken can be cooked in two ways: baked or pan fried. I baked half of the chicken and pan fried the other half, to see if my company cook taste the difference or had preferences. The verdict? A tie! The baked chicken may be a bit less crispy, but the pan fried chicken is easier to overcook. Your choice. Either way, you will finish your meal feeling thoroughly satisfied and not like a complete failure!

Panko-Crusted Chicken Breasts
makes six servings

6 chicken breasts
1 cup flour
1 egg
1-2 cups panko breadcrumbs (as needed)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup ground almonds, or other nuts
chili powder
dried oregano
salt and pepper
olive oil

In a dish, stir together the flour, a teaspoon of chili powder and oregano, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir together.
In another dish, break in the egg and beat well. Season with a pinch salt and pepper.
In a large dish, stir together the panko, parmesan, almonds, a teaspoon of chili powder and oregano, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Dredge the chicken breasts in the flour, then the egg, and finally, into the panko mixture.
If baking, place the chicken breasts on a tray lined with aluminum foil, and drizzle the chicken with olive oil. Bake at 375 degrees F for about 20 minutes, turning the chicken over halfway, until the center is no longer pink when cut through.
If pan frying, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, and fry until both sides are golden brown and crispy, about 10 minutes.

Chili Mayonnaise Dip

1/4 cup mayonnaise
lemon juice
chili powder

Sprinkle chili powder the mayonnaise, to taste. Add a squeeze of lemon juice. Mix well and serve with the chicken.

Potato Series III: Frittata

2010-06-07T21:08:00.000-07:00

My last recipe in this potato series is a simple frittata.

A frittata is a Spanish omelette. The frittata is by no means a gourmet meal like gnocchi, but it's filling, satisfying, and quick to make on a weeknight.

It struck me the other day that almost every nation or culture has some kind of omelette, wherein leftovers and scraps from the past week are mixed and bound together by a few hearty eggs. Take, for instance, the Chinese - we make egg foo yung. We don't put cheese in the mix, but throw in whatever veggies and meats we need to use up. The Japanese enjoy tamagoyaki, which is made of layers of cooked eggs. The Dutch even have their own way of cooking their eggs. So I guess we're really not all that different. I wonder who came up with the idea first?

So here are some guidelines on how to make a spinach frittata. It's a really flexible dish to make, so I don't feel that complete recipe is needed.

In an oven-proof skillet, saute minced onions, a tablespoon of paprika, and a couple cloves of minced garlic in some extra virgin olive oil. Toss in a couple handfuls of sliced potatoes, cover with a lid, and cook until the potato slices are softened. Add a bit of water if the potato slices start to stick to the pan, and season with salt and pepper to taste. In a bowl, beat together 3-4 eggs and pour into the pan. Next, drop in a couple handfuls of fresh spinach leaves and chopped green onions. Finish cooking the frittata in a hot oven (350 degrees F), about 10 minutes. Sprinkle over shredded cheese if you like in the last minute of cooking. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

Potato Series II: Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Walnuts

2010-05-28T20:41:00.000-07:00

I'm down to three potatoes. I'm so potatoed-out. They've even started sprouting and sporting a vivid green tinge. Maybe it's time to chuck them out?

In any case, last week they were not yet green (although they were starting too sprout a little) and I used up a few to treat myself to a restaurant-style dinner: Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Walnuts.

Gnocchi is not a food that I grew up eating, rather a dish that I have only recently begun to take a liking into. It's a sort of dumpling that seems to pop up in just about every Italian cooking show and cookbook, and it has every right in doing so. It's just that good.

You start with eggs and flour, just as if you are about to make pasta, but then comes the key ingredient: mashed potatoes. A soft dough is formed, rolled and cut into small pieces, boiled for just a few minutes, and fried with your favourite sauce. Personally, if I am going to go through the trouble of making gnocchi from scratch, I'm going to go all the way; and with that I mean I'm going to choose my favourite sauce to accompany it: brown butter.

Butter is my best friend, and my worst enemy. We're in a bit of love-hate relationship, you see (and I think many of you out there can relate to this). Browned to release its rich nutty flavour as a sauce, softened and spread on pancakes, used to create a cookie dough or any baked good - the list goes on - you can easily understand why butter is such a magical ingredient. But used too much and too often, before you know it you'll become a butterball. If I had brown butter sauce with my pasta every day, I'd be in heaven, or maybe headed there earlier than others! Focus on moderation and only what's needed to satisfy you're craving.

Homemade gnocchi is less labour-intensive than homemade pasta, so consider making this if you are short on time. Also, the dough freezes well, so once you have cut them into small pieces, they can be frozen for future use. Here's how to make your own gnocchi for a gourmet treat:

Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Walnuts
makes 5-6 servings

Gnocchi

3 medium potatoes, peeled and halved
2 eggs
salt and pepper
2-3 cups all-purpose flour

Boil the potatoes in salted water for 30 minutes, until softened. Drain and mash well until there are no lumps.
Mix together the potatoes and eggs, season with salt and pepper, and gradually stir in the flour, until a soft dough is formed.
Knead the dough lightly, adding enough flour to ensure that the dough is not sticky.
Roll the dough like a worm, then cut into small pieces (about 1 inch long). Dust the pieces with flour so that they do not stick. At this point, the gnocchi may be frozen.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a few pinches of salt, and drop in the gnocchi. Cook over high heat until the pieces float to the top and are no longer raw. Drain and add to the brown butter sauce.

Brown Butter and Walnuts

3/4 cup butter
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
salt and pepper
herbs (optional)

Melt the butter with the walnuts in a frying pan over medium-high heat.
Once the butter starts to sizzle and turn brown, turn down the heat until the gnocchi are finished cooking.
Fry the gnocchi with the brown butter and walnuts, season with salt and pepper, and add the herbs at the last minute. Serve immediately. Don't forget to eat your veggies!

Potato Series 1: Potato Bread

2010-05-16T11:57:00.000-07:00

For some reason, I had a random craving for potatoes when I went home last week. So, I ended up getting a sack of probably twenty huge potatoes...and have no idea what I was thinking, because I only ended up using three or four of them. My parents made me bring the potatoes back with me to Vancouver (luckily they drove me so I didn't have to lug the huge sack around the city on transit!).

And thus begins my three-part series of potato recipes. Because potatoes are cheap, taste good, are versatile, and...I've been going through a helluva lot of them these past few days!

A few days ago, I started to get back into my homemade bread-making. As I blogged a while back, I have a basic bread recipe that has been fool-proof and it's the only bread recipe that I consistently refer to when making sandwich bread. Until, in pure desperation to get rid of all of these potatoes before they could grow spores and turn green and toxic, I decided to give a popular potato bread recipe a try. Potato bread for the win.

The reason why potato is a preferred ingredient by some bakers when making yeast breads is because the potato replaces some of the flour in the dough, and helps create a soft, fluffy texture, perfect for slicing to make sandwiches or toast. You can also shape the bread into small rolls if you don't want a huge loaf, or what I did was braid the bread, like this one here.

I left the bread out on the counter for three days after baking, and as long as it is well-wrapped, it will keep its texture. In this weather, though, it may be best to freeze the bread once it's baked so as to prevent the growth of molds. I did use bread flour, although all-purpose flour would work as well. I also used about a cup of whole-wheat bread flour, and 3-4 cups of white bread flour. Next time, I think I'll add grated cheese or chives to give the bread a bit of punch. Or how using mashed sweet potato or yam to create a sweeter loaf of bread?

In other news, the weather in Vancouver is beautiful. Summer is finally here!

Potato Bread
makes two medium-sized loaves

2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

1 cup warm water

1 package active dry yeast

3 tbsp granulated sugar

pinch of salt

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or canola oil
4-5 cups bread flour
1 egg, beaten (optional)

Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender, about 10-15 minutes. Drain and mash well.
In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of warm water with the yeast and sugar. Allow the yeast to proof for 5 minutes.
Stir in the salt, the oil, and the mashed potatoes.
Stir in the bread flour, one cup at a time. Add enough flour to form a soft dough, then knead for 10 minutes, until the dough is soft and elastic.
Place the dough into a large greased bowl, and let proof for about 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in size.
Punch down the dough, divide in half, and knead each piece gently for 2 minutes. Place each ball into a greased loaf pan or baking tray, and let proof for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. If desired, mix the egg with a bit of water or milk, and brush over the bread just before baking, and brush again about five minutes before the bread is finished baking for a nice golden colour. Bake the bread for 30-40 minutes, until it is golden brown, crusty, and sounds hollow when tapped.

School's OUT! Now what do I do with my life...

2010-05-02T18:30:00.000-07:00

Post-Exam Apple Pie (with chocolate-covered berry eyes). Call it creepy, but it was really tasty! *laughs evilly*

It's always such a strange feeling, right after you've finished your exams. What do you I do? Where do I go? You're so used to waking up early to study, eating while studying, and staying up late at night to study. I know, I have such an awesome life.

My last exam finished Thursday at 9:30 p.m. (that's right, baby - UBC takes great pleasure in giving us late night exams, and even exams on Saturdays). Immediately after I left the exam room, I literally didn't know what do to with myself. Well, that's not 100 percent true - I knew that I was super hungry and needed to eat something. And so when I dropped by my friend's place that night, we made apple pie. The perfect post-exam food, right?

I have my summer figured out (for the most part). I'll be working with my professor, doing research on soil aggregate stability, which is super nerdy, but I'm really looking forward to doing some soils sampling on working farms. I'll also be continuing my other part-time job at UBC; I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but I'm planning to go to Sweden next on exchange at an agricultural university as the final year of my undergraduate degree. As you can probably guess, I'll be looking to make a bit of extra cash this summer ;)

In the next couple of weeks I'm going to spend some quality time with the garden and try to grow a few things this year. The days are getting warmer and it's time to pull out the garden tools!

And of course, cooking experiments! I just went home and will be picking up some essential ingredients that I don't have in stock, like flour, spices, my pasta machine. In fact, I will be (sort of) catering my sister's upcoming fundraiser for the Conquer the Cure bike ride to Seattle. She's having a swing dancing night, and she's letting me take care of the appetizers. I've already started coming up with my shopping list for it (yeah, that's what I do when I'm taking a study break). If you have any suggestions on tasty nibbles, let me know!

So that's a quick summary of what's to come in the next few months. Hopefully I'll be able to update my blog more often - at the least, I'll have more stuff to talk about that are less school-related and lots of new recipes to try out in the summer sun!

Jamie Oliver: 2010 TED Prize Winner!

2010-04-22T20:49:00.000-07:00

"I wish for everyone to help create a sustainable movement to educate every child about food, to inspire families to cook again, to empower people everywhere to fight obesity." - Jamie Oliver, TED 2010

Congrats to JO for his winning TED Prize wish: to teach every child about food.

Nice one!

Spring has sprung, along with a mystery grain

2010-04-12T00:25:00.000-07:00

Spring is here, and the plants are lovin' it! To start off today's post, I thought I've give a preview of what will hopefully become edible garlic and snow peas in a few months. The outdoor garden hasn't been prepared and tilled yet, so I've started an experiment inside the house, planting seeds in pots of soil and keeping them indoors by the balcony window. It's fun watching them grow; they're getting bigger everyday, branching out into leaves and more stalks...I'm starting to sound oddly similar to a mother watching her babies grow, aren't I?

It's nearing the end of the school year, and I wanted to do a bit of an overhaul of my current cupboard stock, throwing old and outdated stuff, creating to-buy lists, and as always, discovering those "mystery cupboard items." You know, the ones where they look edible, but are of course not labeled and you have no idea what they are and when they were purchased. And every time I find those bulk food items that just have the useless bin number, I instantly flashback to the moment where I bought the item, telling myself, "No need to worry about labeling, there's no way you'll forget what it is." Karma.

Anyway, while rummaging through my non-perishables, I pulled out a plastic bag with, yes, a trusty bin number, not to mention a small hole in the bottom of the bag where the mystery grains were slowly filtering out and onto the kitchen floor. Hello, this week's lunch.

The above picture is the Mystery Grain after being cooked, for those out that who might take a shot a guessing what it could be (I am very curious!). After boiling them in a large pot of water, incorrectly assuming the grain is a cousin of kamut or even wheatberry, I soon discovered that is has a similar texture to that of quinoa; it absorbs the water (*proceed to pour out excess water into the sink without burning myself*), cooks impressively quickly, and can be fluffed into individuals kernels with a fork when cooled slightly - looking alright so far! Potential for some sort of a grain salad? I was inspired by this Omnivore's Dilemma Lentil Salad by Cake On The Brain, so grabbed a few veggies sitting in the crisper, roasted them, and tossed them with the Mystery Grain, sundried tomatoes, fresh chives, corn kernels, and a squeeze of lime juice.

Mystery Grain Salad (is there anyone who can tell me what it is?)
makes 4 servings

4 cups of cooked grain (brown rice, quinoa, wheatberry)
2 carrots, finely diced
2 fresh tomatoes, chopped
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 cup of corn kernels (thawed or fresh)
extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
1/2 cup oil-packed sundried tomatoes
a few sprigs of fresh chives, green onions, or parsley, choped
1/2 lime, lemon, or balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large bowl, toss the carrots, fresh tomatoes, onion, and corn together with the oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Spread evenly on a cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes, until the vegetables have softened. Remove from the oven and let cool down.
Once the rice and roasted vegetables have cooled down, toss them together in a large bowl, along with the sundried tomatoes, chives, a squeeze of lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste.
Let sit for a couple of hours to allow the flavours to meld together. This stores well for 4 days in the refrigerator.

Easter Eats

2010-04-03T15:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter! It's that time of the year again - carrot cake fest! Because who doesn't love a cake moistened with crushed pineapple, speckled with golden raisins, grated coconut, walnut pieces, and of course, sweet shredded carrots? Remember, it ain't carrot cake without the cream cheese icing :)

Apple Pie Bars

2010-03-22T22:03:00.000-07:00

When I first learned to bake, I was obsessed with sticking to the recipe, to a tee. I had to have every single ingredient (what, substitute - are you crazy?) listed on the recipe, and had to measure everything perfectly. For instance, if the recipe said to "sift 1 cup of flour," I'd carefully scoop the flour with my 1-cup measuring cup, level it off with a knife, and then use my sifter...every time. I remember after taking my very first cooking class in grade 9, I slapped my mom's wrist when I caught her not leveling off a teaspoon of baking powder: "Geez, Mom, your cake is not going to turn out if you keep screwing up the recipe like that!" No wonder she rolled her eyes at the time and told me to go away. After years of baking, I have learned that one extra tablespoon of sugar in the mix isn't the end of the world - although I do highly recommend measure your salt and baking soda somewhat precisely, unless you care for salty cookies or bitter muffins (I speak from experience). And yes, it turns out that pecans can replace walnuts!

I don't waste time. This is thanks to the fact that when you go to school, you soon discover that there are only 24 hours in a day; for us, that's really not a whole lot of time to get what you want done in a single day. If I want to bake, the majority time I've got to make it fast - especially if it's on a weeknight. This is probably why I don't sift flour anymore, I eyeball-measure baking powder, and often only use one bowl and one utensil when mixing ingredients (because who wants to waste precious time washing more dishes than necessary?).

The following recipe pretty much models what I have discussed above. It's quick to prepare, it uses ingredients that you should have on hand already, and best of all, it is reminiscent of a freshly baked apple pie (I threw in some walnuts for good measure :)

Apple Pie Bars

makes 16 servings

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 apple, chopped

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a pie pan or a cake pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the melted butter and sugar. Stir in the egg and vanilla, and mix well.

Pour in the flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix the dry ingredients lightly overtop the wet mixture. Gently mix everything together just until the flour is well incorporated (it will be a stiff batter).

Fold in the chopped apple and most of the walnuts (leave some to sprinkle overtop the bars).

Spread the batter into the pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the bars are dry on the top and are golden brown. Let cool slightly before slicing into squares or bars.

3.14 calls for pie

2010-03-14T23:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Pi Day!

(Banoffee Pie, recipe courtesy of Paula Deen)

Sucre a la creme

2010-03-05T21:22:00.000-08:00

The rest of the Olympics were just amazing. I know I overuse the word "amazing," but that's the only word that I can think of that describes the spirit, excitement, and plain old happiness experienced at the games. I'm normally a crowd-hater - I'm the kind of person who gets claustrophobic when there are too many people around me.

These past two weeks, though, have changed my perception on crowds. Every person I'd see in the streets was in a such a good mood. Lining up to visit Sochi, Live City Vancouver, and the Olympic Store went by so much faster with people in front and behind us, striking up conversation and being in such a great mood. The spontaneous O Canada chants on the bus, skytrain, and in the streets were just awesome. It also really helps that we won the gold medal for hockey ;)

I had a chance to watch the medal ceremony of Jennifer Heil and Maelle Ricker while volunteering, and caught the sites of the games. The Olympic Cauldron down by Waterfront was huge, and such a treat to see up close. I also caught a couple of concerts. One concert was put on at Place de la Francophonie on Granville Island - none other than Garou! What a fantastic concert to see live, and I am currently (unsuccessfully) looking for his cd in Vancouver.

Garou is a Quebecois singer, known for his raspy voice and sexy demeanor. When I was in grade 8, my French teacher wanted to expose us to French music. The very first song that I learned was "Seul," by Garou. In high school, we'd have "quiz musicales," where we would listen to a song twice, and fill in the blanks to the lyrics. One of my all-time favourite songs that we'd listen to and request our teacher to play when we sang in class is "Sous le vent," a duet between Celine Dion and Garou. Even if you don't understand the language, you've got to listen to it. It's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.

After the concert, I recalled one other memory that I have from Frenchie days: sucre a la creme. Sucre a la creme is a fudge-like candy, popular in Quebec, that my French teacher would make for us a couple of times a year. We'd all get so excited when she would slowly open her tupperware container filled with small squares of this sweet treat, and silently serve us each a square ("Merci!"). My teacher did give us the recipe at one point, but it's long gone now, and I remember unsuccessfully making it. This time, however, I found a recipe online, and it tasted just as it should: sweet, creamy, and delicieux!

Sucre a la creme

1 cup heavy cream
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
butter
1 tsp vanilla

Line a small cake or loaf pan with wax paper and butter well.
Take a small glass and pour in some cold water.
In a small pan, heat the cream and sugars, and bring to a boil. Let boil until a drop of the mixture into the glass of cold water forms a soft ball that can be rolled between your fingers and does not disintegrate.
Remove the pan from the heat and still in a pat of butter and vanilla.
Stir the mixture continuously to cool it down, and continue until the mixture has thickened into a thick gravy-like consistency.
Pour the mixture into the butter pan and let cool completely (you may refrigerate it) before slicing into very small squares. A little square goes a long way (too large of square will be sickeningly sweet!).

Comfort Foods: Blueberry Muffin

2010-02-22T21:31:00.000-08:00

The average homemaker has a select number of recipes that are well-used - they have been perfected over time, and are made so often that the handwritten or typed list of ingredients and directions is left in the drawer and completely unnecessary.

Looking through my recipes that I have collected over the years, I have several pasta, salad, cookie, pie, and cake recipes that I know for sure will garner positive reviews from taste-testers (ie my family and friends), and are, in the end, comfort foods.

One such recipes is the basic muffin. It's one of the very first muffins recipes that I found online on a Jamie Oliver forum. I searched for it today, but unfortunately, it was posted so long ago (6-7 years) that I think it may now be lost in the sea of thousands of current muffin recipes contributed by new JO forum users. Nevertheless, I remember that the person who posted it said that he had his own bakery, and this is the recipe that he used. Over time, as with all of my other recipes, it has been altered and revised. It's buttery yet not greasy, has a perfect crumb, and can be made into a score of muffin flavours, all depending on the filling that you use. Here I kept to my favourite blueberry muffin, but add in grated carrot plus cinnamon and ginger, and you've got a carrot cake muffin. Or, make it savoury by adding some grated cheese and chopped ham. It's all up to you...

Basic Muffin
makes 18 muffins

1/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1/4 cup applesauce
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup skim milk
2 cups filling

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line muffin tins and spray with non-stick spray.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Mix in the applesauce, then eggs, one at a time. Stir in the vanilla.
In another bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, and salt.
Mix in the flour and milk (alternating), starting and ending with the flour mixture. Gently stir in the filling.
Fill the muffin tins, sprinkle with sugar if desired, and bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack.

Olympic Fever

2010-02-16T19:17:00.000-08:00

It's been a whirlwind kind of a week. Vancouver is buzzing with locals, visitors, and athletes here to celebrate the Olympics. I've been having a blast. Aside from watching the games from home (no way I'm ready to cough up $200 dollars for a seat at GM Place!), I've been volunteering at BC Place, visiting the cool sites in the downtown core, and attending free concerts.

Jennifer Heil, Canada's first 2010 Olympics medalist

Nelly Furtado performing at the Victory Ceremonies (BC night)

Volunteering has been fun. Ok, some of it is not so cool - standing for hours on end outside, eating "complimentary" dinners that might be even worse than KD and Sidekicks, and missing out on some of the night concerts. But the positives outweigh the negatives by far.

The Opening Ceremonies

Opening ceremonies were pretty amazing, except for the glitch that, uh, had Wayne and Steve pretty worried about, and my second shift was checking accreditation for vip guests (the Olympic Family) upon entry into the stadium for the victory ceremony. I shook hands with John Furlong (CEO of VANOC) and met the prince of Jordan (who later that night presented the silver medal to Jennifer Heil). The best part of volunteering is that I get to see the shows for free :)

Not much to report from the kitchen, but I promise I'll have something up soon!

Greens Beans with a Nicoise Vinaigrette

2010-02-06T18:53:00.001-08:00

Salad, salad, salad. I've been eating this all week and I'm so sick of it. Yup, it looks like I'm in a vegetable rut. It's tough, trying to incorporate veggies into my lunches that I really enjoy eating. Don't get me wrong, I love veggies. Give me a plate of roasted zucchini and squash, or a bowl curry lentil and carrot soup, and I'll be returning a completely empty, licked-clean dish in no time. The tricky part is preparing a veggie dish (apart from raw salad leafs) that can be made ahead of time for a couple of weekdays and that will taste good, even without a microwave on hand to warm it up.

I've re-discovered blanching as my newest way of preparing my veg for the week. What I love most about blanching is that it's fast, the veg store well, maintain their colour and flavour, and retain more nutrients than if you had boiled them to death.

The vegetable that I cooked tonight was the Green Bean. Fresh or frozen from last summer's harvest, it is an excellent choice for the blanching technique. After just a couple of minutes in boiling water, the bean's chlorophyll jumps out and flashes its brilliant green hue. As long as you plunge it in ice water after cooking, the bean will maintain its colour and texture. Drizzle on a simple vinaigrette reminiscent of a Salad Nicoise, and your tastebuds will be tingling in no time.

Sorry lettuce, looks like I'll be putting you on hold for this week.

Greens Beans with a Nicoise Vinaigrette
makes four servings

1 lb fresh or frozen green beans, rinsed and trimmed

Blanch the green beans in salted boiling water, and cook to your liking (I like them to have a bit of crunch to them). Slow the cooking by dropping the beans into a bowl of cold water. Once cooled, drain and pat dry with a towel.

Nicoise Vinaigrette
makes 3/4 cup

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Whisk together the vinegar, salt and pepper, mustard, and garlic, then slowly drizzle in the olive.

Plate the green beans and drizzle with the vinaigrette. Serve warm or cold.

Vegan Brownies

2010-01-23T10:59:00.000-08:00

I lied - sort of. If you picture these brownies without the marshmallows, chocolate, and caramel drizzled overtop, yes, these are 100% vegan! I made these for a couple of meetings in early January, and decided to make a rocky road version as seen in the picture. Still, without the topping, they are delicious and you certainly don't have to be a vegan to enjoy the taste of these dense and fudgy treats.

Vegan Brownies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup coffee
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 9 inch cake pan.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Pour in, all at once, the rest of the ingredients and store to just mix well.

Pour the batter into the cake pan, and bake for 20-25 minutes, until just cooked. The centre of the brownies may be slightly fudgy, and this is fine.

Let cool completely in the pan, then cut into squares. If you can't resist the long wait, then you may dig in right away - just don't burn your mouth ;)

Got Milk?

2010-01-16T14:13:00.000-08:00

It's the new year. We all know what that means: better eating habits!

I'm a bit of a hypocrite, not practicing what I've been preaching to my family and friends. But this year, I've been putting a lot more effort into ensuring that my body is better hydrated. In the morning, I start off with one cup of water. One down, seven to go. I bring my water bottle and travel mug to class and rely on water as my main source of fluids throughout the day - goodbye, juice and sweet drinks! And as I study late into the night, I drink at least 3-4 cups of tea.

Now let's talk about milk, specifically calcium. We have all heard from our doctors, nurses, friends, moms, and grandparents about how important calcium is for our health, especially for women. Calcium is essential in ensuring proper bone density and structure, keeping our joints strong throughout the years, and is critical in reducing the risk of osteoporosis, which is essentially bone loss (occurring mainly in women). Sufficient physical activity, along with vitamin d, are necessary for calcium to carry out its role. Yet how many of us actually consume enough calcium? According to Canada's Food Guide, adult women require 2 servings of dairy per day, and adult men 3 servings per day. One cup of milk (skim, 1% or 2%) is equivalent to one serving of dairy. Milk is one of the easiest, quickest, and most direct method of achieving appropriate servings of dairy in one sitting. And according to the USDA, up to 75% of people do not consume sufficient calcium during their lifetime.

Last term, I was relying heavily on my pb and banana sandwiches to go as I commuted to class in the morning. But now, I'm making sure that I eat cereal more often so that I have at least one cup of skim milk as part of my breakfast (I'm not a huge fan of the taste of milk). I pack some pro-biotic yogurt and slice some cheese into my sandwich for lunch, to boost up my calcium intake. When I come home, I have a glass of cold milk as part of my after-school snack.

If you don't like the taste of plain, skim milk, try something else! I remember in my second year in my agricultural sciences class, we were learning about the dairy system. After our field trip to a local dairy farm, we blind taste-tested 17 different kind of milk - so you can't argue that there isn't a type of milk that doesn't suit your needs: there's 2% milk (my personal favourite), goat's milk, and if you're lactose-intolerant or vegan, try fortified almond milk (yum!), soy milk, hemp milk,or rice milk. And remember, calcium is not dairy. It's just that dairy products carry a lot of calcium, and so it's easiest to get lots of calcium from these food products. But other foods, such as almonds, and broccoli, contain a significant amount of calcium.

In addition to simply drinking more milk, I've also been attempting to incorporate more dairy into my meals. I grew up in a culture that does not consume many dairy items. Asians don't eat cheese, generally don't drink milk (unless you include soy milk), and don't eat yogurt. And my grandparents would never dream of adding milk or cream to their beloved soups! But luckily, I'm an adventurous foodie, and in general, enjoy preparing (and eating!) foods from different cultures and ethnicities. So here's one that contains a generous amount of dairy, and I just made it a couple of weeks ago: Butter Chicken. Whenever I test a recipe, I don't like tweaking it too much on my first try, as I want to know how it really should taste. So I kept in the full-fat, heavy cream. That being said, I used white meat instead of dark meat, used fat-free yogurt, and completely omitted the butter that was initially written in the book. Next time, I may try substituting evaporated milk for some of the cream, which according to my sister, works really well.

Butter Chicken
makes 6 servings

3 lb chicken breasts
1 tbsp garam masala
2 tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp cayenne pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2 tsp kosher salt
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup fat-free yogurt
1 large onion, minced
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup crushed tomato (puree)
1 cup heavy cream
a bunch of fresh parsley, chopped

Combine the garam masala, 1 tbsp ground cumin, coriander, cayenne, 2 minced garlic cloves, salt, lemon juice, and yogurt in a bowl. Marinate with the chicken breasts overnight.

In a large non-stick pan, saute the onions until soft, then stir in the remaining garlic, cumin, and red pepper flakes. Saute for a minute or two, and then stir in the crushed tomato and heavy cream. Simmer for 20 minutes. At the last minute, stir in the parsley.

Serve over fresh rice.

Gingy '09

2010-01-05T22:42:00.000-08:00

You may recall from last year our pretty awesome gingerbread Coliseum. This year, we decided to change things up and make...our house!

Boring as it may sound, our house is quite tricky, with various parts jutting out awkwardly and a lack of symmetry, we called once again up our father and sister as the engineers and architects, and myself and my mom as the decorators extraordinaire. Two days, 3 batches of gingerbread, 2 batches or Royal Icing, much "Watch your sleeve, Kat, you're going to knock over the roof!!!!" and general stressed looks on my sister's face, our home, sweet home, was completed. Think we came close the real thing?

...oh, and if you're hungry, let me know, because I have a freezer full of gingerbread pieces!

Dessert-Off '09

2010-01-01T12:11:00.000-08:00

Dessert-Off '09:

Exhibit A: Nicola's Christmas Tree Candy Cane Meringue

Exhibit B: Katina's Eggnog Panettone Bread Pudding

Exhibit C: Dad's Glutinous Rice Ball with Peanut Filling Snowman Over Jello

Exhibit D: Mom's Cranberry Mousse Snowball

Whose cuisine reigned supreme??

Congrats to my mom. She was smart in choosing the right dessert. You really can't go wrong with mousse and whipped cream. Fyi, the Cook-Offs are marked according to creativity, taste, presentation, and health. My mom's dessert was fairly original, it tasted great, it was pretty to look at the different colours of layers (sorry for the blurry photo), and she reduced the fat in the recipe by using whipped toppings instead of heavy cream. On the other hand, my dad's glutinous rice balls were marked down for originality (every Chinese bakery carries one of these), my sister's for taste (my mom claimed it was too sweet...but meringue is sugar!), and mine for being too beige on colour (c'mon!).

Once again, I placed third. Third! Yes, I'm bitter. In all honesty, though, the bread pudding did not turn out as well as I thought it would, and the cranberry-lemon panettone that I made did not absorb the custard as well as I had hoped. It looked much better than it tasted. Better luck next time.

That sums up this year's Cooking-Offs. To my sister and my disgrace, the parents ruled the kitchen this year. Props to them, they worked hard (well, at least my mom did! Dad, on the other hand...) and the trophy will reside in their room for 2010. Next year's competition, though, I am determined...;)

Appetizer-Off '09

2009-12-29T14:04:00.000-08:00

December 24th, 2009. Annual Appetizer-Off. A day where family means competition, where verbal abuse flows through the kitchen, and where only one person walks away with the trophy and glory of winning the competition...

Can you guess who won?

Exhibit A: Nicola's Mashed Potato Snowman

Exhibit B: Katina's Crisps with Goat Cheese, Fig Spread, and Hot Pepper Jelly

Exhibit C: Dad's Wonton Christmas Tree with Agar Agar Gift

Exhibit D: Mom's Crab Dip with Assorted Crackers

Drum roll please...

I still can't believe it. My dad, the only member of the family who never plans ahead of time, skulks around the kitchen in the last hour before plating and presentation, steals our scraps of leftover ingredients, won. Not that I'm bitter that I placed a shameful 3rd...

Raincoast Crisps

2009-12-28T16:01:00.000-08:00

Familiar with Vancouver's famous Raincoast Crisps? They are popular crackers sold throughout the city, excellent when served with cheeses, dips, and spreads. Until recently, I never thought of making them myself (and they're quick pricey little crackers!), and upon reading a recipe for the crisps, realized how easy they are to make. The basic recipe is very versatile, and different combinations of ingredients can be created to create a variety of flavours and tastes. The standard rosemary-pecan-cranberry is my personal favourite and proved to be the most popular crisps at the Appetizer-Off, but go ahead and try other flavours, such as fig and olive, and sundried tomato and pumpkin seed.

The baking method is similar to that of a biscotti. The crisps are twice baked; once to produce a bread loaf, then the loaf is sliced ever so thinly. The slices are laid on a baking sheet and baked until crisp. The loaves freeze very well - I suggest freezing them to allow for easier slicing, and the crisps themselves last a very long time. Unlike biscotti, the crisps are virtually fat-free, which is always a bonus when consuming these over the holidays...

Serve these crisps with crumbled goat cheese, a fig spread, or my personal favourite, hot pepper jelly.

Rosemary Pecan Cranberry Crisps
makes 6 dozen crisps

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 cup dried cranberries or raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup flax seed, ground
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease small loaf pans.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the buttermilk, brown sugar and honey and stir a few strokes. Add the dried cranberries, pecans, sesame seeds, flax seed and rosemary and stir just until blended.

Pour the batter into the pans and bake for about 25 minutes, until golden and springy to the touch. Remove from the pans and cool on a wire rack.

Freeze the loaves for at least 1 hour, and then slice very thinly and lay the slices on an uncreased cookie sheet. Bake at 300 degrees F for 10 minutes, turn over the slices, and bake for another 10 minutes, until crispy.

Cranberry White Chocolate Shortbread

2009-12-24T00:28:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays everyone! This year's Christmas certainly has crept fast upon me. With the Christmas tree finally up tonight, presents wrapped and placed under the tree, stockings up by the fireplace, Boney M. and other holiday music favourites playing in the background, apple cider on the stovetop, and Love Actually in the dvd player, though, I'm almost all set and ready.

On thing I'm not completely set and ready for is my family's annual "appetizer-off" and "dessert-off." Every year, we have an Iron Chef-style competition, just between my mom, dad, sister and I. The criteria? Based on presentation, originality, health, and taste. The lucky winner from each category gets his or her name engrave on a trophy. We're that hardcore and competitive. Except for my dad, who never plans ahead of time ("REAL chefs don't need to plan ahead of time"), and never fails to scramble in the last hour before serving, scrounging up any scraps of food that we are not using, and usually conjuring something with Kahlua and jello...

Last year, I tied with my sister for the dessert category: my gingerbread crepes vs. her cranberry baklava. But this year, I'm determined to win in both categories and to restore justice :) The only trouble is, I'm not entirely sure what I'm making...so I'll do a bit of late-night cramming on recipe ideas because we're doing our massive grocery shopping day tomorrow. So wish me luck! I'm up against some tough competition...

My family is also going to be making our annual gingerbread house. This is our fifth year making a gingerbread house. In previous years, we've made a gingerbread pyramid, igloo, Canucks rink, and last year, made a gingerbread coliseum. This time, we're going to give a go at the Hogwarts Express along with all of our favourite wizards and witches. Tricky, yes, but a challenge that we are prepared to face! And I mean, who doesn't love the idea of being able to bite off the head of Draco Malfoy?

So that's the plan for the next few days along with, as always, holiday baking. Today's recipe is brought to you by Food Network Canada's December Cooking Challenge: Anna Olson's Shortbread Cookies.

In high school, I used to watch Anna Olson's show, Sugar, religiously every weekday morning before driving to my 8 am class, and having met and talked to her a few years ago at Eat! Vancouver, I am a huge fan of her and her shows. She's genuine, her recipes are not too complicated, and you can always be sure that they will turn out. So when this month's cooking challenge featured her shortbread recipe, it couldn't pass on this holiday favourite. I made these last week for a Secret Santa night; it's pretty difficult to resist rich, buttery, melt-in-your mouth treats, so I figured these would be a safe gift for my Secret Santa.

I added grated lemon zest and dried cranberries to add a festive twist to the cookies, and then, I spread melted white chocolate onto the baked cookies and finished them with a sprinkling of chopped dried cranberries. Place them in tin lined with tissue paper, and you've got a quick, homemade gift to send to your friends and family. They keep very well, up to one week, although I'm not entirely sure if these guys will last very long in the kitchen...

For more holiday recipes, check out my postings from last year. And have a very Merry Christmas!

Cranberry White Chocolate Shortbread

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup 2 Tbsp icing sugar
grated zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup cornstarch or rice flour
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup white chocolate, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or silipat.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and icing sugar until fluffy. Beat in the lemon zest, and the beat in the cornstarch, flour, and vanilla, until a soft dough forms. Fold in 1/2 cup dried cranberries.

With floured hands, spread the dough onto the cookie sheet, forming a square or rectangle, about 1/2 inch thick.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned and dry. Remove from the oven, let cool for 5 minutes, then cut into small squares or rectangles. Let cool completely, then spread with white chocolate and sprinkle with the remaining chopped dried cranberries.

Feel Good Food

2009-12-16T20:51:00.000-08:00

Make food that you can feel good about. Making meals where I am somewhat confident of where the food originated and how it was grown and produced, that I have made it without the help from processed items (whose ingredients you can barely pronounce), and that it is healthy.

I am no vegetarian. That being said, as I have been living on my own for the past couple of years, I find myself eating less meat. Part of the reason is easy to explain: cost. You never really realize until you have to start buying your own food how expensive meat can be, and how many more vegetables you can purchase instead of a tiny bit of meat! The other reason is because I am trying to be more environmentally conscious, having completed a case study on cattle production this term. Did you know that it takes up to 435 gallons of water to produce 1 measly pound of beef? The reason for this is because we often do not take into account pollution and water externalities (uses of resources not directly used for producing the meat). Now that you think of it...you need water to grow the forage and grain that cattle consume, water required to keep the cattle hydrated, water to clean their living space, and of course all the water that is required in the beef production stage (slaughterhouse) - it all adds up to a helluva lot of water! And this is just water. How about energy and fuel? Most cattle in BC receive grain that is imported from Alberta. And later on, we import the cattle to Alberta for the finishing stage and slaughterhouse. Talk about a waste of energy and resources.

Alright, you say, I get it. Stop making me depressed and grossed out about meat production. For the reasons mentioned, I have cut my meat intake in the recent years, but I have not completely eliminated it from my diet. Meat is an excellent source of iron, vitamin B12, and of course, protein. Iron is important for keeping our red blood cells healthy, B12 is needed to regulate our DNA as well as cell metabolism and energy production, and absolutely cannot be obtained through vegetables. Protein is so important for providing those essential amino acids for our body as well as maintaining our muscle mass and providing energy for us. Plus, it just plain tastes good! In the words of our good friend Michael Pollan, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

Every now and I then, I have a craving for pork. It's not something that I eat everyday, but sometimes it's just nice to switch from my regular repertoire of chicken or tofu to something a little more exciting. Enter creamy brown butter mashed potatoes, a tender slice (or two) of peppercorn and rosemary-crusted pork (thanks, Giada), and a fig-balsamic glaze to finish it off...worth the effort, I promise.

Rosemary Roast Pork Loin with Fig-Balsamic Glaze
makes 8 servings

1 boneless pork loin (4 pounds)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp kosher salt
2 tbsp peppercorns, crushed
1 tbsp dried rosemary (or 2 tbsp fresh)
1 cup chicken broth

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Mix together the oil, salt, peppercorns, and rosemary. Rub all over the pork loin, and then place in a roasting pan. Roast (uncovered) for 45 minutes, until a meat thermometer register 145 degrees F, turning the loin every 15 minutes.
Remove the loin from the pan, cover with foil, and let rest for 15 minutes. Slice into thin pieces.
For the jus, add the broth to the pan and scrape the brown bits off of the bottom. Pour into a pot and simmer.

Fig-Balsamic Glaze

8 dried figs, halved
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup honey
1 cinnamon stick

Combine all of the ingredients into a small pot and bring to a boil. Simmer and let reduce until slightly thickened.

Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes

6 large red or white potatoes
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup skim milk, warmed
1/2 tsp fresh nutmeg
salt
pepper

Cut the potatoes in half and boil in salted water until tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, drain and return the potatoes to the pot.
Heat the butter over medium heat in a small pan until it starts to foam. Keep heating until the butter turns brown, then remove from heat.
Add the brown butter to the potatoes, along with the warm milk, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Mash well.

To serve, place the brown butter mashed potatoes on the bottom of the dish, then place the slices of pork loin on top, drizzle with the jus, and then drizzle with the fig-balsamic glaze.

*I'll admit, the brown butter mashed potatoes doesn't exactly sing "healthy"...

Take a seat, relax, and breathe

2009-12-11T16:59:00.000-08:00

Exams are over! Why not reward yourself with a sweet treat?

I found this recipe on Baking Bites and just had to make them. Bailey's in a cupcake? How can I pass up the opportunity? On top of that, it uses the Mint Bailey's that I received as a gift a while back. I made a batch of these for my sister's birthday last week - I really should have made more for myself - and they sure hit the sweet spot.

Bailey's Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
makes 12 regular-sized cupcakes or 20 mini-cupcakes

Cupcakes

1 1 /3 cups cake flour (all-purpose is fine)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup Mint Bailey's
1/4 cup skim milk
1/2 cup mint chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line regular muffin tins or mini tins with cupcake liners.

In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients.

In a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugar, then beat in the eggs til fluffy. Stir in 1/3 of the flour mixture, then 1/2 of the Bailey's and milk, and alternate so that you finish with the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Spoon into the muffin tins (2/3 full) and bake for 10-15 minutes (depending on the size), until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from the muffin tins and let cool completely.

Icing

1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups icing sugar
1 tsp peppermint extract
skim milk

Mix the butter, icing sugar, and extract together in a small bowl. Stir in the milk, by tablespoon, until you reach the desired, spreadable consistency.

Chocolate Glaze

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2 tbsp butter

Melt the chocolate and butter (microwave).

Once the cupcakes are cooled, spread with the icing, and then drizzle on the warm glaze.

Curry with Turmeric-Scented Rice

2009-11-25T21:19:00.000-08:00

Paper, paper, papers. That's literally all that I've been doing. I find my eyes glazing over more frequently as I stare the computer screen for hours on end, trying to read through online research articles. Not that I'm complaining or anything. Because who doesn't love sitting at their desk, writing a 10-page essay on the principles behind conceptual population modeling in relation to mites that thrive on raspberry plants?

Lately, I've been finding it so difficult to find the time to cook on a daily basis. And thus I started up again my big-batch, one-pot-lunches-that-last-for-the-entire-week kind of meals. This week, drawing inspiration from my friend's lunch this week, I cooked up a quick veggie curry to serve alongside turmeric-flavoured rice that looked so delicious in her lunch box the other day.

Turmeric, if you're not entirely familiar with it, is plant in the ginger family, native to South Asia. It must then not surprise you that it is a primary ingredient, in its ground spice form, in curry. It carries a vibrant yellow colour that livens up foods, and is added to mustard because of its colour. Turmeric has even been proclaimed as Indian Saffron - a cheaper alternative to regular saffron. I didn't realize that turmeric can be used in not only savoury foods, but in sweet foods, including cake icings and cookies, and even orange juice. My friend also pointed out that turmeric is very good for you. Its active ingredient, cucurmin, provides antioxidants. Studies has shown that turmeric may help to protect against liver damage, as well as protect against heart attacks and strokes. Bring on the mustard and curry!

This is a special "cross-cultural" curry as I combine an Indian-style curry with a Japanese-style curry (you may have an idea as to where I going). The curry is as simple as throwing a bunch of vegetables and beans into a large pot, boiling in a bit of water, adding the spices and seasonings, simmering - voila - easy peasy curry! The trick is to boil the vegetables in a minimal amount of water (I usually use less and add more water if necessary) instead of boiling the veg, then fishing them out and leaving all of the nutrients behind in the water. The garam masala that I use if homemade, from Vikram Vij's cookbook. Store-bought is also fine. Also, understand that the measurements provided for the spices are ballpark estimates - I don't (ever) measure when I use spices - so go ahead and use a little bit less at first, and adjust according to your tastes.

Curry and Turmeric-Scented Rice
makes a big batch!

1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
6 medium potatoes, cubed
4 large carrots, cubed
1 large onion, diced
1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked in water overnight
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp ground turmerics salt
1 package of Glico

Boil the vegetables and dried chickpeas in large pot filled with enough water just to cover the vegetables, ensuring that the chickpeas are well-covered by the water (they take the longest to cook). Let simmer for about 45 minutes, until the chickpeas are soft.

Stir in the spices and season with salt, and keep at a simmer.

Now, here's where I cheat:

To thicken the curry, take a couple of squares of Glico, and pop them into the pot.

Turmeric-Scented Rice
makes a big batch!

Sprinkle in a couple pinches of ground turmeric in to your pot of rice prior to cooking. Cook as usual.

My Advice

Come to think of it, adding in some cubes of paneer (Indian cheese) would make this curry even better.

Glico is completely optional; I just happen to love it. Simply omit if preferred.

Stir in a can of tomatoes to add some extra nutrition and garden-fresh flavour into the mix.

What are YOU doing?

2009-11-20T21:55:00.000-08:00

At the summer school in Australia, we put together a video to motivate others to take action against climate change. Although these tips may appear simplistic, if every individual in the world is more conscious of his or her daily lifestyles, altogether this will have an significant impact on reducing the threat of climate change in the future. Enjoy!

Smashing Success

2009-11-16T14:03:00.000-08:00

I've been rather negligent of my blog, haven't I? I do have recipes to share, but just haven't taken the time to tell you all about them, in addition to the cool projects I've been getting involved with lately. Yes, my blog has been rather unexciting lately.

I have an excuse.

You see, my sister and I finally had our parent's 25th anniversary surprise party on the weekend. Basically, we've been planning this for over a year - I think we came up with the guest list before their 24th anniversary. The past couple of months have been rather hectic. Scrambling to get make sure all preparations are ready: the dvd video we made for them, pictures developed, flower arrangements, invitations made and rsvps, cookies baked and iced, sparkling wine delivered - the list goes on. I am proud to say, however, that the party went practically perfectly. My parent's had absolutely no clue about the party until the arrived and saw the faces of their friends - old and new.

My dad thought he was surprising my mom with a weekend getaway, just for the two of them. An hour before they were supposed to arrive for the "candlelight dinner," my dad told my mom, "Take a shower and dress up - we're leaving in half an hour!" My poor mom chose to get sick, have an eye infection, and put out her back just days before. And when they arrived and saw their 60 family members and friends, they were completely shocked (maybe my dad even more so!).

The buffet turned out to be decent - not blow-me-away amazing, but it was good. Baron of beef, Fraser Valley chicken, veggies, salads, etc. But the item that ended the night with a bang was the 3-tiered cake that my aunt and uncle made - all from scratch. It was a lemon-orange cake with a lemon curd filling, frosted with buttercream and then covered in the freshest fondant that I've ever tasted. I tried giving them a hand...let me just say that it was an epic fail. It turns out that making tiered cakes is much harder than it looks!

But now, life's finally (semi) back to normal. I'm playing major catch up with my assignments and projects, but really - this weekend was 100% worth it.

Eggs, Butter, and Cream make the world go round

2009-11-04T22:13:00.000-08:00

Have you ever thought about how essential these three ingredients are for making fantastic meals and desserts? More importantly, how when eggs, butter, and cream work together, they create impressive masterpieces. Just think about it. Pasta Carbonara, eclairs, strawberry shortcake, you name it.

This quiche recipe is brought to you by Paula Deen. Hence the cream, eggs, bacon...after all, it's Paula who is famous for loving her butter, butter, and, yes, butter. Take, for instance, her infamous doughnut burger. Nevertheless, you've got to make this quiche. It's practically fool-proof, relatively easy to put together, and can be made well ahead of time and frozen for last-minute potlucks or company. Next time I would try to lighten it up by using half-and-half instead of heavy cream, substitute some egg whites for eggs, and use a little less bacon. Or make it a vegetarian quiche, without any bacon and lots of veg (kale would be amazing). Sprinkle on some goat's cheese. It's perfect for picnics, potlucks, and even cold, eaten like a slice of pizza.

I'm rather proud of this dish in particular, as almost 100% of the ingredients are locally-sourced. Apart from the flour, everything is local. Fraser Valley butter, bacon, Abbotsford free-range and organic eggs, spinach, and even the cheese that I used. Lesson learned: it's not that hard to find amazing foods grown and produced right in front of your eyes!

Quiche
makes 8-10 servings

6 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
salt and pepper
2 cups cooked baby spinach
1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 1/2 cups shredded strong Cheddar cheese (or Swiss)
1 (9-inch) refrigerated pie crust, fitted to a 9-inch glass pie plate

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Blind-bake the pie crust for 10 minutes to just cook the dough, and remove from the oven.

In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, cream, salt, and pepper. Mix in the spinach, bacon, and shredded cheese.

Pour the mixture into the pie crust, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top, and bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the egg mixture is set. Remove from the oven, and let cool slightly for 5 minutes.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bread

2009-10-27T21:22:00.001-07:00

You know that feeling when you haven't done something that you love in a really long time, and when you finally get to do it, you feel on top of the world?

That's how I felt tonight, as I, at long last, turned on the oven and caught up on some much-needed baking. It's been many weeks since I have had time to bake. This year, I've been caught up in lots of work, both school related and extra-curricular stuff. I had a midterm and a couple of nasty reports and assignments this past week, and I got very little sleep...but today, I finally handed in my papers and breathed a huge sigh of relief. I feel as if a huge weight has been pulled off of my shoulders.

Because of my long days, by the time I get home and eat dinner, I do work, it's time to go to bed. Fun life, right? But today, I rolled up my sleeves, pulled out my measuring cups, and underwent some stress-relief therapy. Some girls call it retail therapy, I call it kitchen therapy!

This bread has a very special place in my heart. It's simple recipe with few ingredients (and a bit of cheater's recipe with the packages of instant oatmeal), but the apple cinnamon oatmeal bread is one of the very first recipes that I made seven-odd years ago, around the same time that I became obsessed with watching Christine Cushing, Anna Olson, Jamie Oliver, and Iron Chef. I remember being so proud of myself as I removed the bread from the oven and the smell of winter filled the kitchen.

The recipe can easily be modified - add chopped apples in the mix, sprinkle in some raisins, or add ground flax to boost the nutrition in the recipe. It's simple, takes literally minutes to make, and is perfect for this time of the year.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bread (courtesy of allrecipes.com)
makes 12 servings

1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup chunky applesauce
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 packets instant apple cinnamon oatmeal (single serving size)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in applesauce, cinnamon and the packets of oatmeal. Stir in the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition. Mix in the baking soda and flour. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.

Beds Are Burning

2009-10-14T23:50:00.001-07:00

Today is the International Day of Climate Action...

"Today, the 24 October, people in 181 countries came together for the most widespread day of environmental action in the planet's history. At over 5200 events around the world, people gathered to call for strong action and bold leadership on the climate crisis."

This is well worth watching:

Turkey Weekend

2009-10-12T00:29:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving this year: can't complain a whole lot. We had the usual - mashed yams, roasted veggies, homemade cranberry sauce...oh, right - cannot forget the local turkey and all of its delicious carvings (plus the gravy!). There's something very comforting about this holiday. Maybe it's because I know for sure that I can count on my dad making his perfect roasted turkey, my mom taking care of the rest - comfort food at its best. Now if only every day could be Turkey Day...on second thought, my fat pants might have to increase in size!

I've recently discovered the amazing-ness of crystallized ginger. It has a very different flavour from fresh ginger, dried, or other forms of the ginger that most people are accustomed to. Easily considered a candy, it has a outer coating of sugar and inside is a sink-your-teeth-into piece of heaven (alright, maybe that's a bit of exaggeration- but it's still pretty good!). If you're not careful, you may end up snacking on more of these sweet and spicy morsels than you may have intended to.

I picked up a small bag of this new-found treat and included it in this Thanksgiving's pumpkin pie. Around this time last year, I made a pumpkin cheesecake that was outstanding. But this pumpkin pie with the twist of added crystallized ginger is really good; a lighter twist on a potentially dangerous dessert, and my dad, who hates pie and has never really been a fan of pumpkin, went back for seconds, then thirds (and then more the next day) of the pie. Your waistband doesn't feel as if it's bursting at the seams while you're enjoying the dessert, and the zing from the ginger makes the pie a bit more special. Trust me, it's well worth the time and effort :)

Crystallized Ginger and Pumpkin Pie
makes 8 servings

1 cup ginger cookie crumbs
2 tbsp butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups pumpkin puree
3/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together the ginger crumbs and butter, then press into a pie pan. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the crust has hardened a bit. Remove from the oven.

Mix together the rest of the ingredients together and pour into the pie crust. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the filling is just set and is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool. Serve with or without whipped cream, either way is delicious.

Weekend Getaway: Merritt

2009-10-03T21:03:00.000-07:00

This is my classroom:
Two cattle ranches in the Nicola Valley
Beautiful scenery, escape from hustle and bustle to a rural setting
Grass-fed, fresh-from-the-ranch beef burgers
Nervous colts, unsure of what is happening
A puppy, fully of energy, who prides himself for finding a cow skull
A lonely pet sheep
Cactus plants
Cattle herd, suspicious of group of twenty students trudging awkwardly in the pasture, trying not to step on cow dung, and carrying clipboards and pens

Weekends

2009-09-19T08:21:00.000-07:00

When you begin university, you really start to appreciate weekends. I think back to elementary school; recess, lunch, games in class - life was good! As a kid, I didn't always look forward to Saturdays and Sundays if it meant not going to school, seeing my friends, having fun...oh, how times have changed. Now, weekends do not seem to come fast enough, and when they do arrive, how they pass by so quickly!

I have some bad and good news from school. The bad news is that I'm finding my Soils 401 course a bit too advanced for my liking, and have been having trouble keeping up with the course material. The problem is that when I registered for classes this year, I must have been off in some other world when I registered for Soils 401 in first term, and Soils 200 in second term. Although Soils 200 is not listed as a prerequisite, the majority of students in 401 have already taken 200 and have a background in basic soils material. The good news is that I heard back from the UBC Farm academic coordinators who offered me a directed studies project. Directed studies is a self-directed project that can be worth credits. Students choose what they want to research and work on, come up with a proposal, and work with a supervisor (usually a professor) to devise a research plan. At the end of the year, a report on the project is presented to the supervisor and it is marked accordingly. I am able to replace my Soils 401 course with directed studies and not lose any credits.

I also think this directed studies project will be a fantastic opportunity to actually get hands-on experience, outside of the classroom. I may end up working on the farm, in community centres, in the streets of Vancouver...who knows? What I am certain of is that fact that I will learn how to do independent research and think even more critically than before. What am I interested in researching? Some themes that I have been looking at are climate change, climate change refugees, agriculture, and community education. It's so difficult to come up with a clear-cut project idea! In addition to brainstorming, I have spoken with my former Agro 260 prof who has agreed to be a supervisor, although I also heard back from the UBC Sustainability Office, and I will be meeting with a couple of the coordinators (one former GRSer whose focus is climate change!) soon to discuss potential projects with relation to climate change. So any ideas on project topics are more than welcome!

I've got a bit on my plate this weekend, so I figured why not welcome it with a plate of amazing blueberry and flax pancakes? Blueberries, with plenty of antioxidants, and flax, a major source of omega-3 fatty acids, give this pancake recipe extra points!

Blueberry Flax Pancakes (adapted from allrecipes.com)
makes 4 servings (2 pancakes each)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1/4 cup group flax
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1 egg
1 tbsp butter, melted
a handful or two of fresh or frozen blueberries

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, flax, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk, egg, and melted butter. Stir just until combined (lumps are fine!). Fold in the blueberries.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the pancakes, 1-2 minutes per side, until golden brown. Keep the pancakes warm in the oven (200 degrees F) or even covered by a plate while the rest of the batter is being cooked. Serve with desired toppings - maple syrup is a must!!

My Advice

To check that the skillet is hot enough but won't burn the pancakes, pour a small bit of water - if it bubbles and sizzles without splashing out of the pan, it's good to go.

Grate some lemon zest into the batter, and add let the flavours mingle beautifully with the blueberries.

My favourite topping? Peanut butter along with a drizzle of maple syrup. Better yet, give the pancakes a try plain before dousing them with syrup!

Back to Business

2009-09-12T18:26:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe after only one week of class, work is starting to pile up. You would think that professors would give their students just a bit of a break before rolling into coursework and assignments, but no, apparently not. It has certainly been a very busy week. I moved back to Vancouver, reunited with friends whom I haven't seen in a while, got back to my job giving tours on campus as a student ambassador, and finally, Tuesday kicked off with Imagine UBC, the largest orientations program (mainly for first year students) in Canada, which I was involved in. Note in the picture above, that all of the orientations groups in my faculty of Land and Food Systems, incidentally, were named after herbs or spices: Rosemary, Thyme, Cilantro...ha ha.

Wednesday was our first official day of class, which ironically, is the first day in a while to rain... I'm happy to say that despite how quickly (and happily!) my profs have given us work to do, I'm looking forward to this term and all of my classes seem very promising, and my professors seem to be pretty good. I am taking a geography course that looks at environment and resources. We will have guest lectures, and the course is co-taught by a social scientist as well as a physical scientist, which should provide us with insight on both ends of the spectrum. Topics discussed in the course include the controversy of human rights to water, the depletion of Pacific salmon, and the threat of the mountain pine beetle. I am also taking a small business in agriculture management course, a soil processes course, and an agreocology course (continuation of last year) which includes Problem-Based Learning and many case studies of local farms. We are currently looking at the case of a cattle farm in Merritt - we need to provide input on how the farmer can develop a sustainable range use management plan based on the amount of land is available for the grazing cattle. We will soon go on a class field trip to a number of ranches in Merritt over the weekend. Although this is my fourth year in university, it seems as if this is finally the first time where I have chosen all of my courses - in other years, I have had to settle with the dreaded science prerequisites for my nutrition courses (which I take next term), but at long last, I have the freedom to take all of the courses that I have been longing to take.
Last night, I treated myself with some sausage from the local deli shop and used cherry tomatoes and zucchini, fresh from the garden, to make a quick and easy pasta meal. With the fresh ingredients, it practically sings summertime, which in reality is slowly starting to disappear. Add in some rapini for a boost calcium and extra nutritive value, and you've got a meal that will keep your mind healthy and your stomach happy.

Roasted Vegetable and Sausage Penne

1 zucchini, chopped
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
4 large handfuls of dried penne (or enough for four people)
3-4 sausages (your favourite)
1 bunch of rapini
1 cup Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Lay the zucchini and cherry tomatoes in a single layer in a couple of baking pans. Toss in a bit of oil to coat and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt, then stir in the penne.
While the pasta is cooking, saute the sausages in a pan over medium heat. Stir in the the roasted vegetables then the rapini and cook just until the rapini wilts.
Drain the pasta (reserve a bit of pasta water) and toss the pasta with the vegetables. Remove from heat, stir in the Parmesan cheese, and add any pasta water to loosen up the sauce. Serve immediately.

My advice

Instead of rapini, try any other green leafy vegetable, such as swiss chard or spinach.

Black Forest Cake

2009-09-01T12:13:00.000-07:00

My dad's favourite cake. Here's to you, my dear papa, and happy birthday to you!

Black Forest Cake

1 recipe for ch ocolate cake (2 cake rounds)
4o oz canned sour cherries, drained, and 1 cup of liquid reserved
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup icing sugar

Combine the cherries, 1/2 cup liquid, sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until thickened. Remove from heat and cool completely.
Beat the whipping cream and icing sugar until stiff peaks are formed.
Take each cake round and split in half so you have four layers.
On the first layer, brush on the liqueur. Then dollop on 1/3 of the cherry mixture (add more reserved liquid if the mixture is too thick), then spread 1/4 of the whipped cream.
Place the next layer on top, and repeat.
Finally, place the third cake layer on top. Ice the entire cake with most of the whipped cream (leave a little for garnishing the top of the cake).
Take the fourth cake layer and break into small crumbs. Cover the side of the cake with the crumbs.
Pour the rest of the cherries in the center of the cake, the garnish with the remaining whipped cream. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Something along the lines of Boeuf Bourguignon (with a bit of help from Julia, of course)...

2009-08-24T08:58:00.000-07:00

I've jumped on the Julia Child bandwagon, yes, I'm just going to come right out and say it. After seeing Julie and Julia this week, my inner foodie was reawakened and inspired. Julia Child was never one of those chefs that I "grew up watching," as others may say. I only started to be interested in cooking in the past few years, so my idols are mostly the modern day chefs: Jamie Oliver, Christine Cushing, Anna Olson, Ricardo. But my respect for Julia is nonetheless huge. From what I've read, and now, based on the movie, seen about her, she was a true pioneer in French cooking in America, and was really a fearless chef - unafraid of just being herself, of making mistakes, of challenging the food world...

So I decided to attempt this infamous Boeuf Bourguignon a la Julia Child (or as she says, "Boof Bourguignon!"). In the past couple of weeks, I think just about hundreds of others home cooks all over the world have been cooking up this very haute cuisine French stew - so why shouldn't I join everyone else?

I found a wonderful site where Julia's original recipe has been scanned and posted up, which I printed and, something that is very unusual for me, I actually followed her recipe almost to the T (can't upset Julia, of course!).

Although this is not a difficult meal to prepare, it is quite labour-intensive; be sure to give yourself at least half a day to cook the entire dish. There is lots of prep work, and the procedure for making boeuf bourguignon involves many steps. You must brown mushrooms separately (as Julia says, "If you saute too many at once they steam rather than fry; their juices escape and they do not brown."). You also have to brown and braise the onions separately. Too high high burns the ingredients; too low heat doesn't brown them. If you overcrowd your vegetables or beef cubes, they will not brown either. And as with any typical French recipe, there's quite a bit of butter and oil, although I cut down the amount for the sake of my sanity!

As always, Julia says that boiled potatoes are traditionally served alongside boeuf bourguignon, and lo and behold, there are gorgeous red-skinned and purple potatoes growing left and right in my dad's garden, which were quite happy to be boiled then sauteed with a bit of butter, salt and pepper, and some of my favourite fresh herbs from the garden.

The final product is a rich, comforting dish that you can proudly make at your next dinner party or as a prepare-the-day-before, heat-and-serve meal for your family. Give it a go, it's worth it!

Boeuf Bourguignon
makes 6-8 servings

6 oz chunk of bacon
butter
extra virin olive oil
1 lb white button mushrooms, quartered
2 large white onions, peeled and chopped
4 c beef stock
salt
pepper
4 parsley sprigs
2 bay leaves
1 tsp fresh thyme
3 lb lean stewing beef (I used top round), cut into 2 inch chunks, and dried thoroughly.
3 carrots, sliced
2 tbsp flour
1 bottle of red wine
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 cloves crushed garlic

Remove the rind from the bacon, dice the bacon, and simmer everything in a large pot of water for 10 minutes. Remove and let dry.

Heat a frying pan over high heat - I used non-stick - and add enough butter and oil to just cover the surface of the pan. Saute the mushrooms for 5 minutes, until browned lightly. Remove from the pan and set the browned mushrooms aside.

Wrap the parsley sprigs, 1 bay leaf, and 1/4 tsp thyme in cheesecloth or a bouquet garni.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Heat the frying pan again over medium heat and add enough butter and oil to just cover the surface of the pan. Saute the onions for 7-10 minutes, until browned lightly. Pour in 1/2 cup beef stock and the bouquet garni, season with salt and pepper, cover, and let simmer for 30 minutes.

In large casserole or pot, over medium heat, saute the bacon in 2 tsp oil until the bacon is lightly browned. Remove the bacon from the pot, then saute the stewing beef until browned on all sides. Remove the beef from the pot. Saute the carrots, then add the bacon and beef back into the pot.

Toss the beef mixture with the flour, then bake, uncovered, for 4 minutes. Toss the meat, then bake for another 4 minutes. Remove from the oven and reduce temperature to 325 degrees F.

Stir in the wine and enough beef stock to just cover the beef in the pot. Add the tomato paste, garlic, 1/2 tsp thyme, bay leaf, and the blanched bacon rind. Bring to a simmer, then bake, maintaining the simmer (you may need to adjust the temperature of the oven) for 3 hours until the beef is very tender. Remove from the oven.

To finish the dish, strain out the liquid from the casserole into a small pot and bring this to a boil. Boil until thickened slightly, then pour back into the casserole. Scatter with the mushrooms and onions, and serve with potatoes, pasta, or rice. Garnish with fresh herbs. Que c'est delicieux!

My Advice

When browning the mushrooms, onions, and beef, do not overcrowd the pan! Julia was completely correct - if necessary, brown in two batches

You may need to adjust the temperature of the oven when maintaining a simmer in the bourguignon as it is cooking for 3 hours. I ended up reducing the heat to 250 degrees F.

There's No Place Quite Like Home

2009-08-18T21:01:00.000-07:00

I've been home for a couple of days, and despite life not being quite as exciting as it has been for the past month, I'm glad to be home. I have had a lot of email to read and reply to, school to prepare for (coming soon in less than a month!), and just general catching up on people's lives and stuff happening in town.

But we cannot forget my last stop in Australia - Melbourne! Melbourne - the only thing that came to mind was Australian Open (which isn't even happening this time of the year) and Fifteen Melbourne. Sorry, but I really had no idea what else was in the city to see! With Sydney, it's so obvious: Opera House, Harbour Bridge... but with Melbourne, I wasn't exactly sure what there was to do. And how wrong I was. My only "regret" is that we didn't spend enough time in the city; I've come to see that Melbourne is the type of city, like Vancouver, that has lots of things to do if you live there. And just like Van, it was a bit rainy and chilly and everyone in downtown was carrying coffee cups.

We took the 12-hour daytime train from Sydney to Melbourne, that was surprisingly pleasant, and even a bit scenic with the many sheep farms that we passed by. We arrived at night, so our first "day" was a bit of write-off. We stayed at the Alto Hotel (we were a bit tired from hosteling and decided to end our trip splurging just a bit on a nice place to stay) on Bourke Street, conveniently located right across the Southern Cross train station that we arrived at. It's a Green Star hotel, and had some cool "sustainable" features - local ingredients, shampoo/soap dispensers instead of individually wrapped items, etc.

So the next day, we took a free trolley bus that takes you to various touristy stops. So we visited the Docklands, Ethads (Telstra) Stadium, which is the home of Aussie Rules Footy, University of Melbourne, Queen Victoria Market, and my personal favourite stop, Rod Laver Stadium - which is home of Australian Open. How sad I was that I wouldn't be able to see Federer or Nadal or even Serena, but we lucked out and found an open door to the arena and sneaked inside to check it out :)

Best of all, Tim Tams were on sale for $1.99 at a nearby grocery store...and I returned to the hotel with 10 packs with me - couldn't resist!

We also took in full day tour of the Great Ocean Road. This is a 400m km long road that goes along the coast (beaches!) and has some great scenery and famous stops along the way. There were some lovely beaches, and we stopped at Torquay, Bells Beach, a few lookout points to see a whales that was very close to the shore, and a random spot where there are some adorable parrots and a couple of sleepy koalas.

We also stopped to see the 12 Apostles (which are completely unrelated to the actual Twelve Apostles), a bunch of rock formations, the London Arch, which actually split in half in the 90's, Lock Arch Gorge, the site of a famous shipwreck, and a random spot in the middle of nowhere that was home to a whole lot of friendly and hungry parrots, and sleepy koalas. By the time we got back, it was past dinner time, so I had a quick coffee date at Max Brenner with Edwina, my housemate whom I haven't seen since second year back at UBC.

My final day in Melbourne included my first time traveling in a tram (Australia has its transportation system figured out way better than us!), some souvenir shopping at the Queen Victoria Market, which is a bit like the Richmond Night Market, but less asian and open all day. We ended buying four boomerangs (not all for me, I swear!) and a few other nifty gifts to bring back with us for the family. At night, I met up with the Melbourne crew for dinner, then Clare and Anthony brought me to the Melbourne Cricket Grounds (MCG) to see my very first Aussie Rules Footy (AFL) game! It's a completely different game from CFL or NFL, and I'm not going to lie, it's so much more fun to watch and quite possibly better than rugby (don't tell the people from New Zealand, Brisbane, or Sydney). AFL is so big in Melbourne, that 12 of the 18 teams are in the Melbourne area alone!

So my stop here was short but sweet, and I know I have to come back again, because there is so much to see and do here.

The plane ride back was ridiculously long, stopping in Auckland and LA (where they took away my jar of honey and broke into my suitcase lock to empty out my contact lens solution). It took us about 24 hours to get back home. So now, things are back to normal, I'm slowly getting back to my regular eating schedule - certainly less snacking than back in Brisbane - as well as doing some of my own research on global climate change. My experience at the conference was unforgettable, and I want to continue to learn and engage in global warming issues here in my own country.

So my blog will soon be returning to its usual recipes, food news, and agriculture, but I will also address climate change issues that may be of interest to fellow bloggers in the community. After all, food is a product of agriculture, which affects and is affected by climate change.

Harbour City

2009-08-11T04:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I've managed to get just two pictures up before getting impatient giving up. Maybe blogger's just slower at uploading photos in Australia? I've left Sydney having spent a few short but great days visiting the city.

First of all, Sydney's big and BUSY. The streets are bustling, and downtown's larger than Vancouver. Dad and I checked into the biggest hostel I've been to so far in this trip: Sydney Central YHA, which is right across the street from Central Station, where we took the train from Katoomba back to Sydney. The hostel is run almost like a hotel, and even has its own restaurant, convenience store, and bar. The day we arrived, we walked over to Darling Harbour, which is a park and is probably a nice place to walk around and have a picnic or lunch with friends. Apart from that, there's not much else - there is an aquarium and a ferris wheel (not a cool as Brisbane's, though). So after that and stop at Paddy's Market, which is similar to Richmond Night Market, we ran into, to Dad's delight, Chinatown. But this ain't no Brisbane-style Chinatown. This is like Vancouver Chinatown. HUGE, and...a dim sum restaurant. So we enjoyed all those foods that we've missed since we've been here, although Dad swears the har gows are not as good as home (whatever).

There's a free bus (555) that runs around the CBD, so we took advantage of the free ride to get to the Sydney Harbour on our first day. During our stay in Sydney, we took pictures of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge from pretty much every possible angle. The Opera House is gorgeous, yet smaller than it looks on tv. It's still pretty cool to see, and the architecture is really amazing. The Harbour Bridge is the largest steel bridge in the world, I think, and we walked across it to get some nice views of the city. From the Observatory, you can get yet another view of the Bridge...

On our second day in town, we visited The Rocks, which is a bit like a combination of Granville Island and Gastown (but bigger) and did a bit of souvenir shopping at the weekend market. A quick visit to the Rock Discovery Museum taught us that this area is where the Brits used to send their convicts and eventually it formed into a small town! The weather's been treating us really well so far; the sun's been out and it's not cold, so no complaints! At night, I was able to meet with Indie, and she brought me to Surry Hills, an area close to downtown, and we had dinner at a fantastic and authentic Italian pizza restaurant. Surry Hills is a Kits-type area with a ton of restaurants, cafes, and shops. It's also where Kylie Kwong's famed restaurant is located...

The third day, Ben acted as my personal tour guide and brought me around town. We met at the ferry wharf at the Circular Quay and we took a 30 minute, very scenic, ferry ride to Manly Beach, which is on an island and sort of reminded me of the streets of Cairns - more shopping and eateries around. The beach itself is really nice (at this point, all Australian beaches are fantastic), and there were a few brave souls who were out surfing. Afterward lunch and arrival back to the city, we went to Max Brenner, an Aussie chocolate cafe chain, where I had a mocha frappe (which apparently, with my Canadian accent, caused a slight confusion when I ordered the drink).

Last night, Dad brought me to Billy Kwong, which is Australian- chef Kylie Kwong's famous restaurant. It's without a doubt a fine dining restaurant, and is supposed to be one of the best Chinese restaurants in town. Unfortunately, she wasn't in that night, but we still ate; and unfortunately, what we thought was cooked "beef fillet" turned out to be carpaccio, so we ended up having raw beef for dinner, as well as a plate of mussels in black bean sauce. So maybe we'd need to go back and order some cooked meat to know if this restaurant is as fantastic as everyone says it is, but based on what we had last night, it was good. I'm also a fan of the fact that she sources out all local products, including her biodynamic beef :)

I really enjoyed my time here in Sydney, and wish I had a bit more time to get to know it better. But I'm more than happy to start the last bit of my travels, which is exploring Melbourne! I just arrived at our hotel after a 12-hour train ride to the city, and will be here for a few days before going home this Saturday. Plans in Melbourne include a tour (Great Ocean Road), a visit to Australian Open courts, Fifteen Melbourne (Jamie Oliver!), markets, and if possible, an Aussie Rules Football game.

In the City of Shining Falling Water

2009-08-07T03:33:00.000-07:00

Sorry, blogger's being an idiot and not uploading pictures at all. So here's to a nice long read...

I'm literally turning blue in the Blue Mountains. Not kidding. This Canadian is f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g. Perhaps it's because I underestimated Australian winters in terms of choice of clothing, and partly because the hostel that I'm staying at, the Flying Fox, is saving on heat and only turns on the heater between 5:30 pm and 2 am...

Don't get me wrong, I'm having a grand old time. Dad and I took an overnight bus from Byron Bay to Sydney, which was horribly long and I didn't get any sleep, resulting in a bit of a cranky Katina the next morning. A quick two-hour train to Katoomba brought us to our hostel. Apart from the heat, it's a great little place to stay for travellers. It's actually a children's house converted to a hostel, and is family-owned. Breakfast is included, and, at long last, free Internet! This means I get to have my favourite Aussie muesli (I've been deprived of it since Women's College) and email everyone in the comfort of my bed.

Katoomba is an Aboriginal for "tumble-down water," or "shining falling water." It's the most popular tourist destination in the Blue Mountains, and offers lots of tours. The Blue Mountains are a bunch of mountains, that are literally blue. To be honest, I don't really understand what makes them so amazing, seeing as how when I reflect on our own mountains at home, they're blue as well...anyway, these mountains are blue because there's such a high density of eucalyptus (the plants that koalas eat) that the oil or water from the leaves reflect in the sunlight, giving the mountains a bright blue effect.

Like I said, it's so cold here! Luckily, Mom packed my winter coat, scarf, and toque with Dad, so I've got a few extra layers of clothing, but I'm really missing my favourite leg-warmers and mittens. It's definitely not anything like our Canadian winters, but it feels a bit like November. Windy and chilly - hopefully, Sydney will be a bit warmer. Despite it being a bit cold for our liking, we went on the Hop On, Hop Off trolley tour that brings us to 29 popular destinations in Katoomba. We spent quite a bit of time at Echo Point, a spot where you catch beautiful scenery of the mountains and of the Three Sisters. The Three Sisters are three rocks - legend has it that three sisters from tribe fell in love with three men from a different tribe, and marriage was forbidden. A battle for the sisters started, and with the sisters in danger, a witchdoctor turned them into stone to protect them. Unfortunately, the witchdoctor was killed, and no one could turn the sisters back...

We also walked right up and close to the Three Sisters, and went down the Giant Stairway, which is made of 900 steps!

It's really too bad that I didn't have proper footwear (my runners got worn out and I had to get rid of them back in Byron Bay) so I couldn't do a lot of hiking. But next time I'm here, I'm definitely going to do some hiking, because there are some amazing trails here.

Also included in our pass was tickets for the Scenic Railway and Cablecar. The Railway was a really short railway that wasn't anything too exciting and was like a mini roller coaster that went down a very steep trail, and the Cablecar was pretty much a gondola that took us up a ways. We also visited, very briefly, Leura Village, Leura Cascades, and Gordon Falls. And at night, Dad tried his very first kangaroo steak (medium rare) - and liked it!

Today, we signed up for the Jenolan Caves tour. Jenolan is about 1 hour and 20 minutes from Katoomba, and is very famous for its caves. We took a tour of Lucas Cave, which was discovered in 1860. It was pretty cool to walk through and see the crystals and calcium carbonate formations. The pictures really don't do the caves any justice; you really have to be there to appreciate them.

So next up is Sydney! I can't believe I'm only in Australia for another week - I've fallen love with the country, the people, everything (except perhaps the creepy crawlers). But actually, I think I'm ready for home. The more I meet people and they ask about Vancouver, the more I realize how much it means to me: Grouse. Stanley Park. Fireworks. Pride. La Casa. The Naam. Tim's Grocery Store. 99 B-Line. Richmond. So for anyone who's stuck in Vancity, it's really not such a bad thing after all..

Down by the bay (do watermelons grow in Byron?)

2009-08-04T18:24:00.000-07:00

I've had a pretty awesome week. In my last posting, I talked about scuba diving in Cairns. Since then, I've done some other pretty cool things. For some reason, blogger hasn't been uploading my pictures, so sorry for the lack of images...

In Cairns, I celebrated my 21st birthday sailing in the inlet - I was a little bit sad at first that I wouldn't be with my family and friends on my birthday, but in the end, it ended up being a pretty fun day. I signed up with my hostel for the "No experience required" sailing trip. A fellow backpacker and I hopped onto a boat and joined the sailing crew of three - Richard (skipper), John, and Alex (a rookie sailor). Our sailboat ended up winning the race between 9 boats, and afterwards, we got to mingle with the yacht club members over hors-d'oeuvres...

That night, I met up with a fellow U21er from Korea University, GD! It was a quick reunion, as I was leaving the following morning for Brisbane. GD, you'd better be coming to Vancouver as promised!

So it was back to Brisbane after that. Nicole, a friend from UQ who was a fellow floormate back at UBC in first year, was kind enough to pick me up and let me stay at her place for a couple of days. She showed me around the suburbs of Brisbane, which was nice, as so far I've only been to the city and campus. I went Whynum, which has a beautiful beach and park, Carindale, and Kangaroo Point. I went back to Queen Street Mall for some souvenir shopping, and at night, reunited with the U21ers from UQ who were obviously still in town - Vic organized this amazing picnic, and it was great to see Michael, Vic, Tom, Laura, and Zi Wei again. Miss you guys already!

A couple of days later, guess who arrived? Dad! I met up with him at my hostel, which is located in the suburb of Fortitude Valley. I brought him around town, doing a bit of sightseeing. Too bad that the first day, we didn't realize that there was a railway station in Fortitude Valley that could bring us straight to Roma Street Station in downtown, and so we ended up walking a whole lot...my poor feet!

The next day, we took the train (rail, whatever the Aussies call it) and went to downtown, then took the City Cat Ferry (which Dad insists Vancouver should have as well along the Burrard Inlet) that travels along the Brisbane River and we stopped at UQ so I could show him around campus. I was expecting campus to be really quiet, as it was a Sunday, but to our surprise, it turned out to be open house day, with tons of events and FREE stuff a happenin'. I got to show him into some of the buildings that I had my conference lectures in, and we even walked into a demonstration in the bio building and tried some tasty chocolate covered crickets. Not bad, actually - tasted a bit nutty...

So where are we now? We're in Byron Bay at the moment. We checked into the Nomads Hostel, and are quite enjoying our time here. Byron Bay is pretty much a beach town, it seems a bit bigger than Cairns and less touristy. Lots of little shops and cafes (free internet!) so I've been doing a bit of shopping while visiting the beach - the beach is pretty incredible, and this was the very first Australian beach for Dad to see, so he was so impressed with the sand and the water. Some activities that we've done include walking up to the the famous lighthouse at Cape Byron - it's the oldest lighthouse in all of Australia, and is the most Eastern point of Australia. Pretty cool! We took a nice trail in the rainforest to get there, and although it was a bit of hike, it was so worth it. We could see whale (splashes) and dolphins from the top, and the view was absolutely gorgeous. Dad was so excited every time we saw a whale in the distance, and we could probably have spent hours there.

Yesterday, we signed up for Go Sea Kayaking, a kayaking tour that brings us close to whales, sea turtles, and dolphins in the bay. Dad and I kayaked together, and during our three hours in the water, we got so close to whales and dolphins - literally metres away from them!

So now, we're waiting to catch the overnight bus to Sydney, where we plan on hopping on a train at Central Station for Katoomba, which is located in the Blue Mountains. We'll stay there til the 8th, and then come back to Sydney and stay until the 11th. Will update you soon!

The Reef

2009-07-27T15:30:00.000-07:00

I flew into Cairns with a few of my fellow U of Virginia delegates Saturday morning and have been having an amazing time here. Cairns is the ultimate destination for travellers wishing to visit the Great Barrier Reef; this small, touristy town is surrounded by the Great Barrier Reef and so attracts people like me who want to get close to the only living thing that can be seen from the moon!

Cairns, as I mentioned, is a small town, that I am already very familiar with, and it's only been a couple of days. Lots of souvenir shops, diving stores (scuba diving), tourist info centres at every corner, restaurants, hostels, etc. I'm staying at the Northern Greenhouse, and it's a fantastic hostel - free breakfast and coffee/tea every day, pancake Saturdays, bbq Sundays, and cheap activities available for backpackers. It's really clean as well, so I have no complaints, especially for only $28 a night.

The highlight so far of this trip has been snorkeling and diving in the Great Barrier! The Americans and I joined the Reef Experience tour, which brought us on a 1 1/2 hour boat ride to the best sites of the Reef for that day. At our first stop, I took the 20 minute intro to diving! I was strapped into my oxygen tank vest, mask, wetsuit, and fins, and followed our diving guide into the depths of the Reef.

I saw so many fish, corals, and could practically touch them! We only went 7 m deep, but that was ok for me - the pressure change caused my ears to hurt on the way down. Breathing through the mouth only was a bit difficult to get used to at first, but I soon became more comfortable with this and swam with the other three newbies and our instructor, checking out the giant clams, Nemos (clown fish), corals...and other fish and sea creatures. I'm really happy I tried it out.

At our second stop at Broken Patches reef, I went to do some more snorkeling. I think I actually prefer this to diving since it's so much easier and my ears didn't hurt. You surprisingly get pretty close to the corals with just snorkeling. And you don't need to know how to swim, really, since your fins and wetsuit allow you to float. Although the conditions that day were a bit cold with aggressive water, I got to see tons of sea creatures, including sea cucumber, more fish, etc. Unfortunately, although it's sea turtle season, we didn't come across any, but still, we got lots of pictures with the underwater camera.

Yesterday, I went to the Cairns botanical garden, which has some beautiful trees and plants and flowers. We also did a short hike, then stopped at the nearby beach - we were the only ones there, so we just hung out and soaked up the sun before heading back to the city and having an awesome bbq dinner - the Esplanade (like a boardwalk) has free bbqs for use, so we just picked up meat and buns and veggies and had an awesome, meal, which in the end, only ended up being $3.

I'll be here for another day to do some sailing, then packing up my things to go back to Brisbane and meet up with my dad. Can't wait to see what Australia has in store for me next!

Koalas, Kangaroos, and Dolphins

2009-07-18T00:50:00.001-07:00

I'm having an absolutely fantastic time over here. Sure the mornings and evenings get considerably colder than I have been accustomed to in Vancouver, and the timetable is so compressed with many lectures on aspects of climate change, but I wouldn't trade this trip for anything.

One thing that I have learned so far is that the Aussies are huge on rugby. Actually, it's the Queensland and New South Wales Aussies who are rugby fans, and down in Victoria, Aussie Rules Football (AHL) is the number one popular sport. Since I am in Queensland, I figured it was time to learn about the game that so many of these people are crazy for...

A bunch of us headed to this very popular bar in the city called The Fox. It's four levels and houses many, many crazy rugby fans (think of the Shark Club on a Canucks playoff night). The game that I saw on the "telly" was Brisbane versus Sydney - Brisbane won! This was a HUGE match because these teams don't play against each other very often and if Brisbane won tonight, it would have swept the series...and a couple of days later, I got $15 dollar tickets with Jed and Sarah, a couple of die-hard rugby fans, to the Suncorp Stadium in the city. Apparently, it was good timing for me to come, because it's not often that you can get cheap tickets and watch 3 back-to-back games. Seriously - the first game (which I missed) was a juniors game, the second was Brisbane vs. Sydney (a different league from the other night), and the last game was Gold Coast vs Sydney (different team). The second game was EPIC. I was told by Sarah that I had just witnessed a historic game, as not only did the underdogs Sydney trample Brisbane 42-12, but near the end of the game, the official on the field was knee'd (by accident) by a player, and when he tried to get up from the field, he was trampled by another. Probably not so much fun for the ref, who ended up being carried out of the stadium by stretcher, but it was definitely not a scene that you'd see everyday!

Last week we went to the Gold Coast, where I experienced (for 15 minutes only, a short trip to the beach!) my very first real beach at Surfer's Paradise, a touristy area with a really nice beach. Despite it being "winter," it was so warm, and the water was a whole lot warmer than it ever gets in Vancity in the summer! Our stop at the beach was cut short because this was an educational trip so we had to see other places to learn about sustainable building and management.

We also went to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary the other day, in Brisbane. It's the world's largest and first koala sanctuary, and also houses kangaroos, wombats, parrots - all of those cool Aussie animals that you'd never see in the Great White North. So I got to cuddle a koala (its fur feels like a stuffy!) and played with kangaroos who were in a very large, enclosed field - probably 30 or more of the 'roos hopping about, some with little joeys hiding in the pouches.

I just got back from a two-day trip to Tangalooma Resort on Moreton Island, a couple hours away from Brisbane. I didn't have high expectations for the resort, since I figured that no one in his or her right mind would pay for 100 students to stay at such a GORGEOUS place! The beach was the best part, because, let's be honest, Vancouver has pretty sad beaches compared to Australia. The sand could easily be confused with light brown sugar - it was so perfect, although the water was quite cold (I swam in anyway). We didn't have too much discussions, and spent most of the time just relaxing. We swam, played a bit of beach volleyball and soccer, "sun-baked," as the Australians call it, and best of all, fed dolphins! This resort is famous for its dolphin-feeding. At 6 pm, the dolphins come up shore and we got to hand feed them little fishies; pretty cool.

I also went on a desert safari tour with some other delegates and went sand-tobogganing. Honestly, it wasn't my favourite thing, but how many times can I say that I slid head first down a huge hill and got a head full of sand afterwards??

This resort was beautiful. And at nighttime, you can see the stars so clearly, nothing like back at home. I could see the wisps of the milky way galaxy, Orion's Belt (Men in Black, haha), and the Southern Cross.

I only have a few days left in the city, and am really going to miss everyone that I've met. I'm going to be following the University of Virginia group up to Cairns, home of the Great Barrier Reef! I'll do my best to keep the blog up to date, but as you can see with my lack of postings, it's proven to be a bit difficult...

Finally, here's a list of "Aussie Lingo" that I've learned thus far:

toque = beanie

sweater = jumper

hockey = ice hockey

field hockey = hockey

ps - all of these pictures are courtesy of Judy - I can't upload my memory card pictures to the school's computers, thus no rugby photos, sand-tobogganing, etc. And hence the pictures of the random girl and the kangaroo.

In The Land of Oz

2009-07-14T05:01:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning, I touched down with my fellow 3 UBCers to the Brisbane Airport from an 18-hour flight from YVR. I am attending the Universitas 21 global climate change conference at the University of Queensland.

Some of the sights of campus:

Union Building - UQ's sub

Courtyard/Arts building - isn't this gorgeous? It wraps around in a huge circle - reminds me of the Colisseum!

Women's College - residence where I'm staying

Summer School is absolutely packed. We start at 9:00 am and end at around 6:00 pm. I'm super tired (thus my entries are short), but I'm learning so much about climate change. We have lectures from renowned profs at the university, have open panel sessions, group discussion, and every day is a different theme. This week we've been put into groups to create a form of media on a simple piece of poster paper depicting the impacts of a climate change topic - my group got "Sea level rise," so we're doing a satire of the National "Oceanographic."

What about the people? Aussie's are so awesome! I don't know how else to say it - but they're ALL so nice. In total, there are 17 universities participating, about 100 or so delegates. Lots of Australian students - about 6 students each from UQ, University of New South Wales (Sydney), and University of Melbourne. I've also met some awesome people from the University of Auckland, University of Hong Kong, Singapore, Fudan, Glasgow, Lund, Virgina...the list goes on. Everyone here is so incredibly nice, and even after 2 days it feels like we've all known one another for weeks.

Unfortunately, like I said before, there isn't much time to explore the city. It's dark in the morning, and get dark at night - around 6 or 7 pm. Since we don't finish til late, we're usually really pooped and just want to chill on campus, but I have had a chance to explore the city. We took the ferry from campus straight to the West End part of the city. From what I can tell (in the dark), Brisbane is very similar to Vancouver, but really nice. The most confusing part for me is that everyone walks and drives on the left side - but I haven't been run over yet!
People seriously eat a lot. Or at least treat us really well here the college. Breakfast includes eggs, cereal, yogurt, LOCAL fruit (hooray for local citrus, watermelon, pineapple, bananas..), ham, spaghetti (apparently that's normal). The we have "morning tea" which is more sweets and coffee and tee. Then lunch, followed by "afternoon tea" and then dinner. I think I've gained 10 pounds in the past couple of days. Oh, and here's a picture of tasty bbq kangaroo meat! Not bad, served rare! And it's sustainable, as there are too many kangroos apparently destroying the land and so they become our dinner...

The top picture is my only one with me in it - but I'll hopefully get the rest from my friends later on. But what else have I learned here in Australia?

Aussie and NZ accents are NOT the same.

Rugby and Australia Football - never get the two mixed up, or say that they're the same!

Large, poisonous spiders lurk here - even in the winter - even in dorm rooms (like mine this morning).

Tearoom = a hippie tea room. Seriously hippie. Like music playing and people bouncing up and down - kind of cool, but not really my thing.

Birds outside the window are your free alarm clock. Some cheerful, cool-sounding birds, and one lone sqacking, sick-sounding one. Good 6 o' clock wake up call.

Wild turkeys roam around. No thanksgiving, too bad!

Farewell Summer

2009-07-07T17:07:00.001-07:00

This Friday, I will be heading to YVR. Destination: The Land Down Under. I'll be attending a global climate change conference in Brisbane for two weeks, then traveling throughout Australia for a month. I'll be blogging my adventures here, most likely with fewer recipes to be dished out. Stay tuned! I'll be arriving smack in the middle of the Oz's winter, so in tribute to my "last days of summer," I've posted my new favourite maple walnut ice cream recipe, thanks (once again!) to Anna Olson.

My dad's favourite ice cream, without a question, is maple walnut ice cream. I'm actually not sure why, as he's not much of a "sweets" kind of guy, but when it comes to ice cream, he's all for the maple. We usually just drop by the supermarket to get a tub of Breyers, but recently I've opted to making our own frozen desserts, especially with our cool Cuisinart ice cream machine - in addition to a Henkel knife - that my dad bought with his Airmiles a few years ago (yeah, we don't travel a whole lot...)

Ok, so this is not fat-free or even close, but I cut out a lot of calories and fat and cholesterol from the original recipe. This is the real thing, mind you - ice cream is traditionally made out of custard. So we've got to have the cream and eggs, but I did cut down on both of these ingredients. In other words, you may have an extra scoop (or two)...
Maple Walnut Ice Cream
makes 8-10 servings

3 cups milk (skim is fine)
1 cup maple syrup
3 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups walnuts, chopped

In a large pot, heat the milk and 3/4 cup maple syrup just below boiling.
In the meantime, whisk together the eggs and salt in a large bowl.
Remove the scalded milk from the heat and very gradually pour the milk into the egg mixture, whisking continually. Pour the mixture back into the pot and heat over low heat, stirring, until the custard thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon.
Remove the custard from the heat, strain, and allow to cool to room temperature.
Stir in the heavy cream, the cover and chill completely.
In a large pan, toast the walnuts over medium heat. Pour in 1/4 cup maple syrup and cook until maple syrup has evaporated and no more liquid is left on the pan.
Churn the custard in an ice cream maker and in the last minute or so, pour in the caramelized walnuts.
Freeze the ice cream for 4-5 hours.

My Advice

If you don't have a whole cup of maple syrup, then using 1/2 cup of maple syrup and 1/2 sugar works fine, as well. The maple flavour will not be as pronounced, but it will still taste great.

Keep heating and thickening the custard, slowly, at low heat. I made the mistake of being impatient and turning up the heat - resulting in a curdled mix. If this happens, no worries, just strain the custard a couple of times.

The custard alone is perfect for serving alongside stewed fruit, crumbles, and even pies.