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Lemon Olive Oil Cake

Lemon Olive Oil Cake

This lemon olive oil cake is adapted from Yumna Jawad’s (Feel Good Foodie) Olive Oil Cake. I used self-raising flour and added some ground almonds for texture and upped the lemon juice. Ingredients 1 ¼ cup self-raising flour ⅔ cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup ground 

Halibut with caper, anchovy and miso sauce

Halibut with caper, anchovy and miso sauce

It’s halibut season (yay). This recipe is delicious and quick to prepare, just make sure you have all your ingredients ready to go. It’s based on the NYT recipe for Seared Halibut with Anchovies, Capers and Garlic with a hit of miso for an extra 

Peach Cobbler

Peach Cobbler

Nothing beats peaches in season but if you have a hankering for that peachy goodness during the winter, this recipe is for you. It’s easy and hits that sweet spot.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 C butter
  • 2 cans sliced peaches in syrup
  • 1 C peach syrup (from the canned peaches)
  • 1/3 C sugar
  • ½ tsp ground nutmeg
  • Zest and juice of half a lemon (optional but it cuts the sweetness of the syrup)
  • 1 C all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder

Method

  • Preheat oven to 350 F.
  • Melt butter in a 9×13 glass baking dish.
  • Drain peaches and reserve  1 C of the syrup.
  • Whisk the remaining ingredients with the 1 C of peach syrup to make a smooth batter and pour into the baking dish.
  • Press the sliced peaches into the batter evenly around the baking dish.
  • Bake 30-40 minutes until the top is golden.
  • Let stand at least 10 minutes before serving warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Serves 8

Serve warm with Bourbon sauce:  Epicurious recipe and vanilla ice cream

Bourbon sauce (makes about 1/2 cup)

  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons bourbon
  • 3 tablespoons whipping cream
  • Pinch of salt

Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in remaining ingredients in the order given. The sugar will be a bit gloopy until it melts, adding the Bourbon will help (incorporate it well before you add the whipping cream).

Simmer until thickened, whisking often, about 3 minutes. Cool slightly. You can make it ahead and pop it in the fridge but you’ll need to reheat it as the butter will solidify.

 

 

 

Broccoli and Zucchini Pasta

Broccoli and Zucchini Pasta

This is a variation on Cheesy Broccoli-Zucchini Pasta from Marley Spoon. My version was adjusted for what I had on hand and I added a bit of extra luxury by putting some Mascarpone cheese into the sauce. Next time I think I’ll add some chili 

Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup

Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup

This is a riff on the Butternut Squash soup from Love and Lemons, but without the pain in the butt of peeling and chopping the squash – it’s easier (and safer) to just to roast the thing whole in the oven like I did for 

Christmas Eve Tortière (Chatelaine Plus)

Christmas Eve Tortière (Chatelaine Plus)

This recipe is a rif on Chatelaine’s Holiday Tortière recipe. I couldn’t leave out the sage, cinnamon, and allspice (my Mom would have disowned me).

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup cold lard , cubed
  • 1/4 cup cold unsalted butter , cubed
  • 1/4 cup ice water

Filling

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 slices double-smoked bacon , chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 2 tsp dried leaves of summer savoury
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp celery salt (you can make celery salt by grinding 1 tsp of celery seed with 1/2 salt)
  • 3/4 tsp pepper
  • dash white pepper
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground sage
  • 1/4 tsp allspice
  • 454 g medium ground beef (1 lb)
  • 225 g medium ground pork (1/2 lb)
  • 1/2 cup peeled, grated russet potato
  • 1/2 cup no-salt beef broth
  • 1 cup chopped parsley
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 egg yolk , mixed with 1 tsp water, for egg wash

Instructions

  • Pastry: Whirl flour and salt in a food processor until combined. Add lard and pulse 12 times until fine. Add butter and, while pulsing 7 or 8 times, quickly add ice water through the feed tube until dough just comes together. Divide dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap. Flatten into discs and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hr. Note, I found this dough super finicky so make whatever pastry you like and find easy.
  • Meat filling: Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high. Add bacon, garlic, onion and spices and cook for 5 min. Add beef, pork, potato and broth. Use a potato masher to mash meat until crumbly. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until liquid is almost absorbed, about 15 min. Add parsley and maple syrup and cook until most of the liquid is evaporated, about 5 min. Cool filling completely. You can make the filling the day before and pop it in the fridge.
  • To Bake:  Place rack in bottom of oven, then preheat to 400F.
  • Roll out 1 dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-in. thickness. Transfer to a 9-in. glass pie plate, letting excess hang over edge. Refrigerate for 20 min. Roll remaining dough to ¼-in. thickness, then refrigerate.
  • ADD: meat filling to pie and smooth top. Place dough over filling. Trim both doughs to 1/2 in. beyond edge of pie plate. Fold top edge underneath and crimp. Cut vent in the middle using a cookie cutter or paring knife. If you want, roll out dough scraps and cut out additional shapes (I chose stars). Brush with egg wash, stick on your additional dough shapes is using and brush them with egg wash as well.
  • Bake on a rimmed baking sheet (you need a rimmed pan – just trust me) on bottom rack of oven until pastry is golden brown and filling is hot, check at 50 min. You may need to cook it longer to make sure the bottom crust is browned (that’s why a glass pie plate is handy. Cover with foil during the last 10 to 15 min, if browning too quickly. Let stand for 20 min before serving.

Service 8.

Pappa’s Healthy Oatmeal Porridge

Pappa’s Healthy Oatmeal Porridge

My Dad makes healthy (excellent) oatmeal porridge. For this recipe use 1 portion oats  to 2 portions of water. Ingredients To make four portions: 2 cups large flake oats (or steel cut oats) 4 cups water 1 tsp salt in water 1 cup frozen blueberries 

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins (no eggs)

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins (no eggs)

These chocolate pumpkin muffins use aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas) instead of eggs and the are light and delicious. I had pumpkin left over from a loaf I baked up but no eggs. It got the base recipe from Cookiemadness.net (Easy Aquafaba 

Porchetta, Porchettaaaaah for “Turkey Day”

Porchetta, Porchettaaaaah for “Turkey Day”

My kids and I rarely make turkey for Thanksgiving. We normally have meatloaf (recipe here if you are so inclined: ” We don’t need no stinkin’ turkey” meatloaf). This year I decided I’d do something a little different and thought I’d try my hand a making porchetta, because…well porchetta!  This recipe is a combination of the “All-Belly Porchetta” recipe from Serious Eats and anecdotal advice from the folks at Market Meats who had just finished making 3 of them when I went to pick up the pork belly. They both sounded good so why not double the good.

Ingredients

  • 1 whole boneless, rind on pork belly 5.4 lbs
  • 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp fennel seeds roasted
  • 4 tsps whole black pepper corns
  • 1 tsp crushed red pepper
  • 1/2 larg sweet onion, finely diced
  • 1 fresh fennel bulb, diced (optional)
  • Whole clove of garlic, crushed
  • zest of one whole lemon
  • 1 Tbsp Kosher salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 cup white wine

Method

  1. Place pork belly rind side down and using a sharp knife, score it in a 1″x1″ cross hatch pattern.
  2. Toast the pepper corns and fennel seeds in a cast iron skilled over medium-high until aromatic. Cool and then grind with a mortar and pestle or in a spice grinder.
  3. Season the meat side of the pork belly liberally with salt (I forgot to do this and added the salt after, oops), sprinkle with ground pepper and fennel mixture, chopped rosemary, garlic, onion. Rub the mixture into the cross-hatched pattern.
  4. Roll the pork belly into a tight log and place seam side down, secure every 1″ with kitchen twine (see here for how to do that:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZkLKVYG3WYl). I found this veerrrry fiddly, a second pair of hands would help.
  5. Combine the Kosher salt and baking powder and rub the mixture over the entire surface of the rind.
  6. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate at least overnight.
  7. Take the marinated porchetta out of the fridge about 1 hour before you want to start roasting it.
  8. Place oven rack onto the lower middle position and preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
  9. Place pork on a rack in a rimmed roasting pan, pour over the white wine, and roast until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F (you’ll need an oven-safe thermometer), about 2 hours, basting with pan drippings every half hour. Continue roasting until a knife or skewer inserted into the roast shows little resistance aside from outer rind, about another 2 hours.
  10. Remove from the oven and let rest. Then increase the temperature to 500 degrees F, return the roast to the oven and roast until completely crisp and blistered, about 20-30 minutes. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.
  11. Remove from oven and tent with foil and allow to rest at least 15 minutes.
  12. Slice with serrated knife into 1″ disks and serve with mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, roasted brussel sprouts and stuffing.

 

Sauerkraut with Juniper Berries

Sauerkraut with Juniper Berries

It’s fall and cabbage is in season. I LOVE sauerkraut so I thought I’d have a go at making my own. It’s surprisingly easy. Slice cabbage fine, salt it, let it rest for a bit, add seasonings (if you want them), and squish the bejeesus