Tiger Salad

When we were in Vancouver, we hit up a lot of coffee places. but we didn't always have time to eat at all those raved-about restaurants. We did make a list, but sometimes, stuff got in the way. Lunch was more often than not, peanut butter and banana sandwiches eaten during a long out-of-city hike or biking trip, and breakfast was usually cereal with a healthy helping of local berries purchased at a farmer's market. Dinner, well, that was where we got to experiment a little. But sometimes, we were just too exhausted. We sometimes ate take-out or walked a couple blocks and ate at a little Asian-style cafe, and once, we were so tired that we *gasp* ordered pizza.

Buuuuuuuuut, we did get to go out a bit and when we did, it was usually quite awesome. One of my favourite places that we ate at in Vancouver, was from a food truck called Le Tigre. We sampled almost all of the menu, including a pulled pork bao, popcorn chicken, crispy, lemony-parmesany brussels sprouts and cauliflower, amazingly addictive roasted beet fries and the most refreshing, filling, flavourful quinoa salad ever.

This quinoa salad was amazing. First, not only did it have quinoa, but there was brown and wild rice thrown into the mix, along with sweet roasted carrots and parsnips, crunchy cabbage, lots of fresh mint and a rich, tangy miso dressing. Since discovering the joys of miso not so long ago, I had to try making this salad at home.

My version is summered up a bit. I used roasted yellow zucchini and eggplant, some thinly sliced celery for a big crunch, and some left over blanched green beans, just because. I threw in lots of fresh mint and also a big hit of purple basil. And the dressing .. oh the dressing. Just a few teaspoons of white miso and big juicy lemon, but oh, the flavour was so big and bold. Because the miso is so intense there's no salt added to the rest of the salad, just a few big grinds of black pepper. And don't worry if the dressing tastes a little too zippy and salty when you try it -- all that lovely rice and quinoa soaks it all up. And while this salad isn't an exact replica of the one we ate from the truck, sitting by the Lonsdale quay and enjoying a perfect evening after hiking all day, it's pretty darn satisfying in it's own right.

Quinoa Rice Salad with Roasted Summer Veggies
inspired by Le Tigre
makes 3-4 servings

For the roasted veggies:
1 large, yellow zucchini, diced
1 small eggplant, diced
1 tablespoon or so of olive oil

a few grinds of black pepper

1. In a large bowl, toss the veggies with the olive oil and black pepper. Spread them out on a making sheet.
2. Roast (oven on broil), tossing occasionally for about 15-20 minutes, until the veggies get nicely golden brown and tender.

While the veggies are roasting, make the rest of the salad:

1/4 cup of brown rice + 1/4 cup of wild rice + 1 cup of water
1/3 cup of quinoa + 2/3 cup of water
1 large stalk of celery, sliced thinly
a small handful of green beans, trimmed
2 teaspoons of white miso
juice of a lemon
lots of freshly ground black pepper
a big handful each of fresh mint and basil, chopped roughly

1. First, cook your grains. Mix together the brown and wild rice with 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, then cover and turn down the heat. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. Same for the quinoa -- 1/3 cup of quinoa and 2/3 cup of water.

2. Blanch the green beans in water for about 2 minutes, or until they're tender. Cut them in half and put them in large bowl.

3. To the bowl, add in your cooked grains, roasted veggies, sliced celery and black pepper. Toss well.

4. Make your dressing! Carefully whisk together the miso and lemon juice until you get a creamy yummy sauce. Pour it over your salad and add the fresh herbs. Toss well and serve!

Blueberry Crisp for Grandma

I love making treats for my Grandma.  She's usually not a sweet dessert kind of person, but she enjoys treats and today was the perfect day to make something in her honour.  Every year on mother's day, my Mom is usually away on vacation, so we celebrate mother's day and father's day together when she gets back.  But on mother's day, we also take the time to chill out with our Grandma -- a very special person indeed.  She raised us when we were little and our Dad was working the night shift and our Mom had to go back to work. She picked us up from school, made us breakfast and lunch, and played silly games with us during our summer vacation.

My Grandma has been feeling sick lately, so she didn't feel like going to a restaurant for mother's day brunch.  We brought brunch to her this year, and this fresh blueberry crisp was the perfect way to end it. Truth be told, I really wanted to bake something with rhubarb, but our local markets didn't have any, so I settled for nice pints of sweet, floral blueberries.  I wanted to maintain the freshness of the fruit -- I've tried too many crisps and crumbles where the fruit is jammy and super sweet, not something my Grandma would appreciate.  So I kept everything simple -- no cornstarch or thickeners, just fresh fruit, lemon juice and zest and a sprinkling of sweetness.  The crisp topping baked up in nice lovely crumble chunks with an added nuttiness from the use of spelt flour.  It was a lemony, fresh, just sweet enough crisp, perfect to end mother's day brunch.  It we had a bit of fresh thyme, I'd throw some in for sure, and it were Ontario peach season, I'd definitely consider a peach and blueberry crisp.  But it's perfect as it is, and Grandma loved it, which was the most important part.

Happy Mother's Day!

Lemony Blueberry Crisp
serves 4-6

1 pint of fresh blueberries, washed
juice and zest of 1 lemon, divided
1 tablespoon of natural cane sugar
1/2 cup of spelt flour
3/4 cup of rolled oats
3 tablespoons of honey
2 tablespoons of canola oil

1.  In a baking dish, combine the blueberries, sugar and half the lemon juice and zest.  Toss lightly.  Set aside.

2.  In a bowl, stir together the flour, oats and the other half of the lemon zest.  Add the lemon juice, oil and honey and mix well.

3.  Crumble the oat mixture over the fruit and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the fruit just starts to bubble and the topping gets nice and golden.

4.  The dessert begs for ice cream or whipped cream, but if you eat it on it's own, you could definitely call it breakfast!

Lemon Picnic Loaf

It's May!  Almost time for rhubarb and strawberries, fiddle heads and asparagus, long bike rides and picnics.  Do you like picnics?  I confess that I've probably never planned a perfect picnic with little containers or mayo-free salads and glass jars filled with lemonade.  But we've had lovely coffee + scone breaks in the park, PBJs from plastic lunch containers pulled from our bike packs, and lots of ice cream (cones and cups) and icy drinkings while strolling or lounging on grassy, hilly areas of the park.

I love the idea of picnics and one day this summer, perhaps I'll plan the perfect picnic with a perfect picnic menu, one that includes the perfect picnic dessert -- a dessert that's fuss-free, not to sticky or melty and one that definitely won't get squished on the way to the park.  A dessert like this lovely lemon loaf.  It's refreshing and lemony and just sweet enough to be called dessert.  Add a little glaze on it, and it would definitely be a great contender next to those chocolatey treats that we sometimes need a break from.

This loaf is sturdy, but not stodgy.  It has a nice, tender crumb, and even though it's vegan (meaning no eggs to keep it together), it does not fall apart when you bite it.  The flavour is lemony and zingy with just a little bit of nutty from the spelt flour.  I know this is not sounding like dessert, but trust me, one bite -- maybe two-- and you'll be addicted.  It's the kind of dessert that packs well and is great at finishing off a meal on the road, but if you had it at home, it would beg for blueberry sauce, ice cream or a sweet sticky glaze. 

It's delicious straight up, but added fresh berries would be an awesome treat, as would some lemon curd (I found an awesome recipe for vegan lemon curd that I'm dying to try) layered in the middle, or even dried fruits.  I had it plain the first time, and then the next, I added dried blueberries.  Totally awesome. 


Vegan Lemon Spelt Loaf
makes one small loaf
adapted from Liz Lemon Nights

juice and zest of 2 medium-sized lemons
3/4 cup of almond milk
1/2 cup of natural cane sugar
splash of vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of canola oil
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
2 teaspoons of cornstarch
1.5 cups of spelt flour

1.  In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and zest, almond milk, sugar, vanilla and canola oil and whisk to combine.  Set aside.

2.  In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and soda, and cornstarch.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients slowly, mixing gently during the process.  The mixture will be quite runny.  Let it sit for about 5 minutes or so while the oven preheats.

3.  Pour the batter into a prepared loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes, or until the loaf gets a lovely golden brown colour, and a cake tester inserted comes out clean. 

4.  Enjoy!  Happy picnicing!

Sweet Rolls for the Long Weekend

It seems that every time I have a little bit of time off, I make bread. I made cranberry buns last March break, fruit and nut swirl rolls and New Year's day and this Easter weekend, I made these lovely citrus sweet rolls with dried cherries and cardamom.

But .. but .. I have so many other exciting things to share with you. More yummy Asian treats, a comforting classic made vegan and low-fat, and a crispy crunchy addictive cracker that's the perfect vehicle for peanut butter and homemade Nutella ...




Alas, I shall be festive and proper for once in the my life and give you these sweet rolls as an alternative to the hot cross bun that's so traditional this time of the year. If you're not feeling the icing cross or the Catholic undertones that go with it, or if you're just looking for something sweet and different to play with for Easter brunch, these are the rolls for you. They're light and sticky sweet from the simple glaze that goes one top the second you pull them out of the oven, and they go perfectly with a strong cup of coffee in the morning. The lemon zest and juice really wake up the spices in these rolls, and give them an extra specialness that every holiday needs. The dried cherries are a real treat, but in a pinch, dried cranberries would be great too. I'm also betting that if you're so inclined, some shredded coconut and almond flakes wouldn't hurt at all.




Are you off again tomorrow? If you're as lucky as I am, make these sweet rolls and relax on your last day of this long weekend. If you're back to the grind, tuck this recipe away and wait for a rainy spring weekend when you're itching to turn your oven on and give you taste buds a kick out of bed.

Cherry Lemon Sweet Rolls
adapted from Crumb
makes 16 little rolls

3/4 cup of almond milk
2 tablespoons of butter (I used Earth Balance)
1.5 teaspoons of quick rising yeast
1/4 cup of natural cane sugar
2 tablespoons of yogurt (if you're keeping this vegan, just add two extra tablespoons of almond milk)
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
zest of two lemons, divided
1 1/4 cup of spelt flour
1 cup of all purpose flour (plus more for dusting)
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of cardamom
1/2 cup of dried cherries, chopped

juice of half a lemon
2 teaspoons of natural cane sugar

1. In a saucepan, place the almond milk and butter. Heat slowly until the butter melts and the milk becomes warm. Pour into a large bowl.

2. Add sugar and yeast to the bowl and mix well. Let it sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture becomes frothy. Add the yogurt, vanilla extract and half the lemon zest and mix until well combined.

3. Add the flours, cinnamon and cardamom, and mix until a sticky dough forms. On a floured surface, dump out the dough and knead, adding sprinklings of flour as needed. Knead for 5-7 minutes, or until your get a smooth elastic dough that's just a little bit sticky.

5. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with a tea towel. Allow the dough to rise for 45 minutes. If you're using regular instant yeast (and not the quick rise), you'll have to double the rising times.

6. In the meantime, prepare your fruit filling and glaze. For the filling, simply combine the rest of the lemon zest with the chopped cherries. Mix it with your fingers really well, so that the zest is evenly distributed. If you're planning to add any extra goodies, now is the time! For the glaze, dissolve the sugar in the lemon juice. Taste the mixture and make sure it's to your liking. Add more sugar or lemon juice as needed.

7. Once the dough as rise, punch it down and give it a couple good kneads. Divide your dough in half. Working with half the dough ball, roll the dough out into a 10'6 inch rectangle. Sprinkle half the cherry filling over the surface of the rectangle. Roll it up nice and tight and cut them into 8 equal parts. Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat for the other half.

8. Cover your rolls again with a tea towel and let them rest for about 25 minutes. Bake them in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until the bottoms of the rolls get a nice golden brown colour. Pull them out of the oven and brush with the glaze.

9. Enjoy with your coffee and don't forget to share!

Super Citrus

March break is here! Sorry to all of you that aren't working in the public school system .. but .. March break is here! It's totally exciting, especially since March break this year brought along with it some warmer temperatures and spring-like conditions. Spring-like also means lots of nourishing rain -- totally necessary if we want beautiful stalks of rhubarb, tender asparagus, fiddleheads and early strawberries in just a couple of months. Yesterday was warm and rainy -- a perfect day for an early morning walk before the clouds rolled in, a mug of fragrant and almost decadent Cream of Avalon tea at a local cafe, and a sprint indoors just as the rain started coming down.



Rainy cozy weather is perfect for two things: curling up and relaxing, or engaging in a cooking project. Yesterday, I opted for the latter. Last year during March break, I posted a series of slow food recipes to remind myself that cooking isn't always all about convenience. It can be more about the process of getting the result that leads to relaxation and a wonderful sense of accomplishment. I kept that in mind as I set about making a mixed citrus marmalade. I thought it was the perfect way to say good-bye to winter and hello to spring.



I had never made marmalade before, but I've always loved eating it, especially after I recently discovered that it's delicious as a base for coleslaw dressing. There's also a muffin recipe that I'd love to make with homemade marmalade, and when I saw things like cara cara oranges and meyer lemons at the market, I knew I had to make some. I followed this recipe and method from this cute blog called Apt. 2B Baking Co. It's a bit of work -- not going to lie. You first have to cut off the zests if your fruit (without pith!), cut it up and poach it. Then, you have to supreme your citrus -- that's remove just the flesh and leave the pulpy skins behind. Then, it's genius -- you save the seeds and pulp, tie it up in a cheesecloth bag, and that's your source of natural pectin. Brilliant! And you can use whatever citrus you like! I used meyer lemons, blood oranges and the beautiful pink grapefruit-like cara cara orange. All mixed up, it was like a tart, tangy, floral citrus soup. Nothing like marmalade from the grocery store.



That being said, I don't think my marmalade turned out perfectly. It smells and tastes beautiful -- sweet and tart and bitter, just like marmalade is supposed to taste. But my marmalade didn't gel up like it's supposed to. Maybe I didn't cook it long enough? Maybe I didn't add enough sugar? I did take out about half the sugar (3 cups seems like A LOT for 2.5 pounds of fruit). When I put my marmalade into jars, it was still quite liquidy. It did firm up a bit when cooled, but it's definitely not jelly consistency. But anyway, I think the taste makes up for it. I had never used blood oranges and cara cara oranges before, and had only once played with a meyer lemon, so this was definitely an experiment for me. I'm also excited to open up a beautiful, homemade citrus marmalade in the middle of July .. just like opening my blueberry preserves in December.




Back to the recipe: I used 2 cara oranges, 3 small meyer lemons, and 3 small blood oranges. I used slightly less than 1.5 cups of raw sugar. Those were the only changes I made to the original recipe. But I'd love next time to use just clementines -- those little sweet tangy California cuties .. there WILL be a next time.

Light and Fresh, Hearty and Nutty

So I realize that the last few things I've made have been beautiful shades of tan, beige and brown. And today is no better. Let me explain.

Yesterday, I woke up cold. I hate waking up cold. It was also grey outside. A typical February. I also had a baking bug, even though I had just made this beautiful chocolate cherry cake (did I mention that it's vegan and delicious?) for my grandma's 96th birthday. I thought about another chocolate treat, or maybe oatmeal crackers or banana bread, but I wanted something fresh and tangy to shake myself about of these February blues. I also wanted something hearty and toasty to warm the chill that had settled in my bones. Usually tangy and toasty don't go together.



But they did yesterday morning! I made mini-muffins -- a perfect weekend morning treat. I made them with lemon juice and zest, and the goodness of whole wheat flour, toasted almonds and rolled oats. Substantial enough to warm me up and bright enough to wake up my taste buds. They're also vegan (soaked oats make a great binder -- no egg replacers needed!) with only 1 tablespoon of heart healthy olive oil. They have a lovely light and chewy crumb and the toasted chopped almonds give it some nice texture.



So it's brown and beige. So what? It was just the thing I needed to set my weekend straight. No guilt added, to top it off. Go try them. You're welcome.

Vegan Lemon Almond Muffins
makes 24 mini muffins

1/2 cup of rolled oats
1/2 cup of soy or almond milk
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup of natural cane sugar
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
3 tablespoons of apple butter (or 2 tablespoons of apple sauce)
1 cup of whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 cup of toasted almonds, chopped

1. Put the lemon zest and juice, oats and soy milk in large bowl. Let it stand for 15 minutes. This would be an ideal time to toast and chop your almonds.

2. Mix in the sugar, olive oil, apple butter or sauce and almond extract.

3. Sift in the flour and baking soda. Mix until just combined. Stir in the almonds.

4. Spoon of the batter into prepared muffin tins and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until lightly golden on the top and sides.

5. Enjoy! Best served warm with a cup of coffee.

An Easy Little "I Love You" Treat

I'm not a huge fan of Valentine's Day. Sure, it's lovely to see the kids at school exchanging Hershey kisses and little pink and red cards, and getting all hyped up on those irresistible-even-to-adults cinnamon heart candies. It's nice. But this year, report cards come out on Valentine's Day, which puts a damper on things, and to make matters worse, where we would have had the Valentine's dance, we have to get ready for parent-teacher interviews instead. Yup, the new reporting schedule kind of bums out Valentine's Day at school, but I'm sure the children will get over, and plus, who needs the drama of 13 years olds "dancing" on Valentine's Day anyway?



That being said, I always take Valentine's Day as an excuse to bake treats for the people I love. I remember one year when I was in university, I woke up early and baked this fudgey chocolate cake from the Canadian Living Cooks show and made a mixed CD for my "valentine" at the time. We ended up arguing about the impending war on terror and I swear I almost called it quits right then and there (my leftist tendencies were obviously unappreciated in that relationship!). Clearly, we weren't meant for each other. And I don't think I've ever baked that cake again.




Now that I've found my real Valentine, I admit that we haven't really celebrated the day in awhile, but baking treats to show love always seems to be on the agenda. And these little polenta madeleines fit the bill perfectly. They're lemony and fruity from the olive oil, and oh so tart and easy to pop into your mouth. You definitely don't need Valentine's day as an excuse to make them, though they are a nice change from the usual rich chocolately things that make their way onto Valentine's day menus. The recipe is simpler and lighter than a traditional madeleine, though I'm sure Marcel Proust would have approved (ok.. I take that back.. I'm not sure.. but Nathalie Sarraute would have for sure!). Don't sweat it if you don't have a special madeleine pan -- a mini-muffin pan will work just fine. If you serve it up with macerated strawberries, it might just pass off as elegant, although I much prefer them with cup of afternoon weekend coffee.

Lemon Polenta Madeleines
from Hot from my Oven
makes 10 baby madeleines and 2 big muffins

1 egg
1/2 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of good olive oil
3 tablespoons of yogurt
zest and juice of one lemon
3/4 cup of polenta
1/4 cup of whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1. In a large bowl, beat the sugar, egg, olive oil, yogurt, lemon juice and zest until thick and ribbony (about 5ish minutes by hand).

3. Add the polenta, sift in the flour and baking soda and mix until just combined. Let the mixture sit for 10-15 minutes.

4. Spoon the batter into a prepared pan of your choice and bake in 350 degree oven until light golden brown and a cake tester inserted comes out clean (for the madeleine pan, it only took about 15 minutes).

Everyone is Making Lentils!

Yes, everyone is making lentils. It's awesome! Lentils are one of my favourite foods, perfect in soups and stews, stuffings and casseroles. One of the first things that I remember wanting to cook, was lentil soup with lemon and parsley. I had tried it at a local restaurant, and wanted to re-make it at home. I've made that soup several times since then, sometimes sticking to the original version, other times adding spinach, or tomatoes or using lime instead of lemon. Good ol' lentils -- always a good palate for kitchen experiments.



Last week, when everyone was trucking it back to work and I was enjoying another week of winter holiday bliss, I noticed that lentil recipes were popping up all over the blog world. Curries, baked like baked beans, stuffed into collard rolls .. so many different things! But I found myself wanting to make dinner with no lentils to be found. Oh well. When looking for an alternative, I came across a list of things that I had wanted to make -- this list was made way back in March when I was trying to slow down my cooking. I had checked off quite a bit of things: vegan chocolate brownies, Jamie Oliver's humble home-cooked beans, semolina cardamom cookies. But one of the things still left unchecked was the braised barely with lemon from A Cook's Guide to Grains.




It sounded perfect -- healthy and hearty and bright with lemon. I used a combination of pearled barely and yellow split peas (after seeing this recipe!), and added some veggies -- kale and purple cabbage. If you had some fresh herbs -- thai basil, parsely, cilantro -- I bet it would make this dish even better. If you're not into kale or cabbage, maybe you'd like spinach, or broccoli? It's totally up to you. It makes a perfect side dish, but I ate mine over buckwheat noodles because I was craving the extra yummy carbs. The lemon really makes your taste buds pop in this dish, and the chewy barley and bitey split peas provide lots of nice texture. And you get your veggies too. Totally January good. Go for it!

Barely and Split Peas with Lemon
inspired by a recipe in A Cook's Guide to Grains by Jenni Muir and Kayln's Kitchen

1/4 cup pearled barely, rinsed
1/2 cup of yellow split peas, rinsed
2 teaspoon of minced ginger
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 a white onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
1 cup of chopped red cabbage
1 cup of chopped kale leaves
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon of ground coriander
zest and juice of a small lemon
2 cups of water or vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large pot, saute the onions, carrot and celery in olive oil for about 5 minutes, or until things start to get soft and fragrant. Add the garlic and ginger, and cook for about another minute of so.

2. Add the cumin, coriander, salt, pepper and lemon zest. Mix well. Add in the red cabbage, barely and split peas. Give it a good stir. Add the water or stock, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the barely and split peas are to your desired texture. Check occasionally to make sure there's enough liquid.

3. Stir in the kale and add seasoning if needed. Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice. Give it one final good mix.

4. Serve with ... whatever you like! Over noodles, as a side to some roasted chicken or fish, on it's own or with some pita bread. Happy January!

It can't be over yet!

There are still mountains and juicy peaches and baskets overflowing with blueberries spilling over everything in the market. We had a humidex advisory warning yesterday. Summer can't be over yet ... can it? I know, I just baked autumnal cookies and put on a sweater when I got up one morning, but I can change my mind, can't I?



Yup, I just did. Even though I'm fully going back to work on Tuesday, I'm going to hang on to summer for as long as I can, even if it's just for the fruit. Two weeks ago, I went to a local farmer's market and bought my third yellow watermelon of the season. I swore it would be my last watermelon of the summer. I was walking through Kensington market on Friday, and what did I see on sale? Watermelons. Yup, it's cut up in my fridge as we speak. And yesterday when we biked past another little market with baskets upon baskets of BC blueberries on sale, how could I resist?


It was humid, and sticky and smoggy yesterday, and so we stayed inside for much of the day. We made blueberry preserves with some of our findings, and froze a little bag to surprise ourselves in the dead of winter when summer berries are but a fading memory. And we also sacrificed a few, just a few, to make this beautiful peach and blueberry breakfast bake. It's lemony and summery and very light. If you're looking for a traditional crisp or crumble, you may be disappointed. There are no buttery clumps of crumble goodness -- I save that for the apple crumble later when fall really rolls around. But this, no. This is the perfect breakfast treat. The fruit is heated just until it softens up and starts oozing those lovely summery fruit juices. There's no flour or corn starch like in traditional pies or crumbles; those fruit juices and set free. Everything is kissed with lemon, and topped with a wholesome crispy topping sweetened with pure maple syrup. With a big spoon of yogurt and nice strong coffee, this is the perfect way to celebrate summer .. summer that's NOT over just yet.

Peach and Blueberry Breakfast Bake
serves 4

1 cup of blueberries, rinsed
2 peaches, pitted and chopped
2 teaspoons of sugar
zest and juice and half a lemon
1/2 cup of old fashioned oats
1/2 cup of ground almonds
3 tablespoons of maple syrup


1. Toss the fruit in sugar, zest and half the lemon juice. Pour into a pie pan or baking dish.

2. Mix together the ground almonds and oats. Add the rest of the lemon juice and maple syrup. With a fork, gentle mix until everything gets sticky and moistened.

3. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit and bake in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until the top of brown and crispy and the fruit juices have just started the bubble. Enjoy warm with summer's arm around your shoulder.

A Series in Thyme

I'm over-run with thyme. This happened last year too. We go nuts with the herbs on the balcony ledge, and they grow faster than we can eat them. But I'm not complaining. I love looking at those big fat basil leaves, almost begging to be plucked and placed on top of tomato slices, and my new friend, Thai basil, seems to grow overnight in large quantities. And the thyme. Oh the thyme. Their tender springs are starting to lean away from their box and it seems like every time I cut a sprig, it grows back the next day.

I love thyme. There's something about it that just says "fresh." And it's taste lends well to both savoury and sweet things, a total plus in my book. Last year, we were content to add sprigs of thyme into our veggie broths and chicken dishes, use tons of it in summer salads and throw it in a biscuit or two. This year, I wanted to branch out and experiment more with it. I wanted to bake with it. Sweet treats with thyme?! Oh yes please!


Before I got any further, I'd like to give a big shout out to Lisa over at Sweet as Sugar Cookies. She has this wonderful thing going on at her blog: a sweet treats link party. People share their sweet treats recipes via a link on Lisa's blog. There are so .. many.. yummy..treats! I just linked my rhubarb orange madeleines, but I'm sure Lisa would also love these lemon thyme shortbread crisps.

I say shortbread crisps because they aren't like traditional shortbread that's thick and almost cake-like. They're still crumbly and buttery, but are thinner and crispier. I made them this way mostly because I wanted to roll out the dough and cut out little hearts, but it worked out perfectly. I used a modified recipe from epicurious via sevenspoons, which called for honey and rosemary added to a traditional shortbread recipe. I used thyme instead, and added a little grating of lemon zest that made all the difference. If you had lemon-thyme, that would be perfect as well, but regular thyme works very nicely. The flavour of the herb stands up well to all that buttery goodness and pairs nicely with the freshness of the lemon zest. They are a perfect treat to give to someone special (like a sister!) or just to have with a cup of coffee. They'll even fancy up a store-bought ice cream that you can serve as dessert to guests.


Baking with thyme? Totally awesome, totally summery and totally fun. I've got more coming!
And don't forget to visit Lisa for more sweet treats inspiration!

Lemon Thyme Shortbread Crisps
makes about 20 little heart-shaped crisps
adapted from epicurious

1 cup of all purpose flour
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1 tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves
6 tablespoons of unsalted butter, at room temperature
zest of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 cup of sifted confectioners sugar
2 tablespoon of honey

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and lemon zest until smooth. Add the thyme and stir well. Sift in the flour, salt and baking powder. Mix to form a loose dough.

2. On a floured surface, turn out the dough and give it a few little kneads. Flour up your rolling pin and roll out to about 1/4 inch. Use your favourite cookie cutter and go nuts! Place the cut cookies on a cookie sheet.

3. Gather up the remaining dough, roll out and repeat until all the dough is used up. Bake your cookies in a 300 degree oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges get lightly brown. Remove and cool.

Hey .. speaking of experimenting with shortbread .. remember last summer? Blackcurrent, where have you gone?

Romance in the Everyday

I'm a romantic. Not the flowers, candy and candle-lit dinners kind of romantic, but the kind that yearns to enjoy little things like sunlight on my skin, people-watching, multi-tasking to old favourite CDs and working in cafes. I used to love working cafes -- way before everyone got wifi and you'd like annoying people with one cup of coffee occupying a table for four with their eyes glued to their laptops. I didn't even have a laptop. There was just something so comforting and exciting and fulfilling about sitting alone in a calm, quiet place and working in between thinking, day-dreaming, watching people and soaking up the world.



But cafe culture has really changed, in Toronto anyway, and I'm hard-pressed to find a calm coffee shop on sunny day, much less get a seat by the window, or be able to tune out the loud conversations around me. Thankfully, since moving out, I've realized that I can re-make that working-in-the-cafe feeling right here at home. My huge floor-to-ceiling balcony windows help. So does my trusty Bodum coffee press and largeish Ikea work table. I realized during this March break, that I'm lucky enough to re-make that romantic, cafe feeling in my cozy home. And you know the best part? I can do so many other things in between watching the sun stream onto my balcony, planning my next unit for school, drinking coffee, listening to Alanis Morissette and Jean LeLoup and watching the construction folks on ladders in the building across from me .. like make bread.




Yes, I made cinnamon bread. Twice. Monika tempted me. So did Kickpleat. So did Joy. But ultimately, I went with a recipe from Robin over at A Chow Life. It was easy, wholesome and easy to play with. The first time, I pretty much followed the recipe exactly, but the next time, I switched it up by adding lemon juice and zest, reducing the cinnamon, and replacing the raisins with dried cranberries (that was inspired my these gorgeous-looking rolls). If you've never made bread before, and are afraid because you don't have a fancy, kitchen aid mixer with a dough hook, please get over it! I have no such equipment, and my bread came out beautifully. And the kneading is so much fun! Really relaxing and calming. And when you get that that 7 minute mark, after you've sung along to three songs on your favourite CD, that sticky, stringy ball of dough suddenly becomes a beautiful, smooth, elastic ball of happiness.












Ultimate slow-food ... Go do it. Unleash that romantic side of yourself and take a little time to soak up some happiness.


Lemon Cranberry Buns
adapted from A Chow Life, inspired by Everybody Likes Sandwiches

1/2 cup of warm water
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 package of quick-rising yeast

1.5 cups of all purpose flour
1.5 cups of whole wheat pastry flour (yes, pastry .. it was all I had, but it worked!)
1 pinch of salt
3 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
zest of 1 lemon, juice of half
1/4 cup of water
1 cup of dried cranberries
1/4 cup of melted margarine (or butter)

1. In a large bowl, combine the yeast, warm water and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Mix to combine. Let stand for about 10 minutes, or until it yes frothy.

2. Dump in the flours, salt, sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and zest, water, cranberries and margarine. Mix to combine.

3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 7-10 minutes, adding additional flour if the dough gets too sticky. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.

4. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with a kitchen towel. Let the dough rise for 45 minutes, or until it was doubled in size.

5. Punch down the dough and give it a few kneads. Divide it into 12 equal portions (or as equal as you can get them!) and place them into oiled muffin tins. Cover and let it rise again for another 45 minutes.

6. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until the tops get nice and brown, and the rolls sound hollow when you tap the bottom.

7. Enjoy with a cup of coffee, seated by the window with our favourite CD playing the background.

Favourite Fruits and Rainy Labour Day Baking

Labour day is always a funny kind of day. I always wake up with a funny feeling, the feeling of something ending and something beginning, wanting to have an adventure, but knowing that obligations follow the next day. And I never ever have a good night's sleep on labour day. My most vivid memory of labour day was when I was about 11 years old, and it had turned cold all of a sudden. Instead of bounding downstairs in shorts and t-shirts, ready to tackle the weekend, I dug around until I found my flannel night gown. I spent the day curled up on the couch and going back and forth from being excited and dreading the first day of school.

This year, was not too much different. The funny feeling came over me the minute I woke up, but this year, I wanted to make it disappear, or at least fade to the back of my mind for the first couple hours of the day. The rainyness didn't help and the chill that sneaked up over the whole loft reminded my of that labour day way back when I was 11. To help ease my anxiety over summer leaving and autumn arriving, my holidays ending and work beginning, I decided to do a little bit of baking with what I have just recently discovered, is my favourite fruit.

If you had asked me even a few months ago what my favourite fruit was, I would have probably said apples. They're reliable, wholesome, very Ontario and who doesn't like apples? But, as much as I like my empires, and macintoshes, idareds, granny smiths and cortlands, I've recently discovered that there's another fruit that I pretty much add to everything: the lemon. From iced teas to curries, muffins to coleslaw and everything in between, it's the lemon that adds brightness, fruitiness, tang and that unmistakable finishing touch.


But, this labour day, I made lemon the star of the show. Don't gasp, people. Those lovely pictures of the perfectly cut, sugar dusted lemon bars above are, sadly, not mine. They were made by my best friend and closeted cooking blogger for a barbeque party this past summer. Not only do they look lovely enough to serve to royalty, but the boys at the party couldn't keep their hands off of them... and my boy even asked for the recipe. We didn't get to baking it this summer-- mostly because we were afraid that we'd be disappointed that they wouldn't turn out to be the exact luscious, lemony, tangy, crumbly, buttery goodness of the originals from the party. But I thought it would be the perfect little baking project to chase away those labour day blues. And it definitely was. The smell coming from the oven instantly brought sunshine and summer back into my mind, and kept back the back-to-school anxiety, if only for a couple of hours.

I'm going to leave you with the original recipe, but as usual, I made a few little tweeks which I mention below. Happy lemon-baking!

Coconut Lemon Squares
via "Mia the baker" adapted from Betty Crocker's Entertaining Basics

Coconut Crust

1 cup of all purpose flour
6 tablespoons of butter or margarine at room temperature
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix everything except the coconut in the large bowl using a pastry blender, fork, or cold hands, until a soft dough forms.
3. Stir in the coconut
4. Press into an ungreased pan (Mia used an 8x8" square pan)
5. Bake for 20-25 mins until golden. While the crust is baking, prepare the lemonyness.

Lemony Filling

1 cup of granulated sugar
2 teaspoons of grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons of lemon juice (about 1 small lemon)
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 eggs

1. Beat everything in a medium bowl until light and fluffy. (Mia used an electric mixer on high speed. It took about 3 minutes).
2. Pour the lemony filling over the hot crust.
3. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until there is no indent when you lightly touch the centre.
4. Cool on a wire rack for about 1 hour.
5. Dust with icing sugar if you want to be fancy.


As usual, I made a few changes, the most drastic because it was raining outside and I didn't want to go to the store ...

1. Instead of 6 tablespoons of butter, I used 4 tablespoons of canola oil and 2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter. I didn't need a fork or pastry blender -- a spatula worked fine. The peanut + coconut combo was so good that we didn't miss the butter at all.

2. For the flour, I used 1/2 cup of whole wheat pastry flour, 1/4 cup of ground almonds and 1/4 cup of all purpose flour .. just to be interesting. :)

3. I used about 3 tablespoons of lemon juice because my lemon was large and I wanted to finish juicing it. :) My mixture never went light and fluffy .. it kinda stayed liquidy and I was worried, but all was mended under the heat of the oven -- it only took about 20 minutes for it to set.

4. Last but not least, I baked it in a 9 inch round pie-shaped dish, so I couldn't cut them out into beautiful little bars, but now that I'm thinking about it, it would make a great substitute for a birthday cake ...

Oh, I almost forgot! If you're in Toronto and you love coffee, you should totally buy an Indie Coffee Passport. $20 gets you a card where you can get a drink of up to $5 in 24 different independent coffee shops. It's a coffee adventure! We've already started ..

Green Grind: We had a cappuccino and a skim latte.
Red Rocket (Welleslely location): We had a cappuccino and a "Red Rocket" (a shot of espresso, chocolate syrup and brewed coffee).

A year ago, blogging woes, and getting over it ...

Last summer, something very special happened. Ok .. not so special, but something very relevant to "Leslie Caradmom" happened. I was sitting at home, bored and surfing the internet. I was looking for a project to do, something to make to while away the long dusty hours in late July. I stumbled across this post about buttermilk cherry sherbet at this blog: Everybody Likes Sandwiches. I thought to myself as I read the post: wow .. I never thought making anything ice cream-like would sound so easy. I was intrigued, and glued to that website for about an hour, looking through previous posts, drooling over the gorgeous photos and pretending that I had my own kitchen so that I could re-create some of the healthy and delicious looking recipes.

Then I remembered something: I had bought a whole bag of cherries and they were sitting inside my partner's fridge in his apartment. OMG, I was going to make ice cream. An hour later, I was staring at a beautiful, deep magenta pool of deliciousness. It was the most delicious ice cream I had ever tasted and I didn't even need all those calories from from heavy cream, OR an ice cream maker. I was totally hooked, and I went on to make another sherbet with lemons and limes, and yet another one with peaches and strawberries. Kickpleat's blog not only inspired me to cook, but also to write. I remembered making her carrot spice loaf but not having any eggs. Instead, I used a vegan trick I had learned in university: a handful of oatmeal, a teaspoon of cornstarch and a squeeze of lemon. The loaf turned out so perfectly that I wanted to take a picture of it and write about it.


Fast forward to March break of 2010 when I made my very first post. I was hesitant because I didn't want to be judged or made of fun of, so picked a handle, stayed fairly anonymous and wrote and cooked my way through to the summer. This summer, I tried a recipe that I've wanted to try since I read the post: tomato and corn biscuit pie. It's everything brunch should be: tangy, filling, hearty and healthy. I never thought I'd ever make any sort of pie, but there I was, rolling our biscuit dough and decobbing corn and zesting lemon. I made on a Saturday morning when I was having my best friend over for brunch, and it was definitely a hit. I followed it with this delicious, thick, creamy orange yogurt served on top of citrus fruits and the first cherries of the season.


It was like a milestone. I left so free to cook and write .. I hadn't written anything in ages, and hadn't shown my writing to anyone since university. I loved the privacy of anonymity; it gave me the freedom I needed to just relax and share my ideas with whoever was reading, without people around me knowing what I was doing. Apart from a few people, I told no one that I had started a blog. I wanted it to be a different part of my life, a little secret that I only shared with a few others. I loved that people actually read my writing, and was thrilled when other bloggers started commenting. It was free from the judgments and mockery of daily life.


Mais, récemment, j’ai perdu cette intimité. C’était comme une sévère invasion dans ma vie privée, comme j’étais exposée, forcée de partager une partie de ma vie que j’ai essayé si fort à tenir et cacher. J’ai pensé quitter à blogger, mais enfin je continue et j’en suis bien contente. Je continue à cuisiner et écrire, et partager mes histoires avec ceux qui veulent prendre le temps de le lire; c’est en fait ce que j’ai admiré de plus chez les autres blogs que je lis : le fait qu’il y a des personnes ordinaires qui tiennent le courage d’expérimenter et de partager leurs résultats, qu’ils soient des succès ou des échecs, avec le monde. Peut-être pour moi, c’est comme un petit signal inconscient: je dois écrire en français plus souvent pour maintenir de temps en temps la liberté et l’intimité dont j’ai désespérément envie. Alors, c’est un assez longue poste, mais ça me fait du bien: merci pour votre patience. Je vous laisse avec une petite recette pour la crème glacée – modifiée bien sur de ce poste original de kickpleat. J’ai utilisé des mûres au lieu des cerises, et j’ai ajouté le jus de lime et de citron. C’est bien rafraichissant, pas très sucrée, bien acidulée et parfaite pour savourer quand le monde vous fait du mal. Essayez-la, je vous en prie. Ça vaut la peine.


Blackberry Yogurt Ice Cream
adapted from Everybody Likes Sandwiches

1 cup of blackberries
3 tablespoons of water
3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon of sugar
juice and zest of 1 lemon and 1 lime
1 tablespoon of creme de cassis or a liquor of your choice
1/2 cup of skim milk yogurt

1. Put the blackberries, citrus zest, water and 1 teaspoon of sugar in a small pot. Bring to boil, then turn down the heat and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes, until the berries have broken down and the liquid has reduced and become slightly syrupy.

2. Let the mixture cool a bit. Add the rest of the sugar and let it cool completely. Add the citrus juice, alcohol and yogurt stir until combined.

3. Pour into the glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Put it in the freezer and whisk the mixture every 30-40 minutes until the mixture has set (about 4 hours). Remove and store in an airtight container in the fridge.

***I found that no matter what I did, the mixture still froze solid come morning time. Oh well. It takes about 15 minutes at room temperature to become scoopable. Worth the wait, I would say!