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.

Milestone Treat

There are milestone birthdays and milestone events like graduations and first recitals and all that jazz. I've had a few and I've shared a few, namely our 30th birthdays this year. But this milestone is like an ultimate. My best friend is the proud co-editor of a book, an actual book. I can hold it in my hands and flip through the pages. Her name is printed on the cover. Important people have read and reviewed it. It's the milestone of milestones.



I'm so very proud of her, and she knows. But I want to give her a little something to make sure she knows good and well. And this is the perfect milestone gift. Homemade Nutella. We had been talking a few weeks ago about our Nutella cravings, and she even ordered a Nutella latte! So this is the perfect little homemade treat to let her know just how great she is.

So how does it taste? Like heaven. It's like a crunchy hazelnut butter with bittersweet chocolate -- much better than the commercial version. I'd totally put it in a latte, sandwich, cracker ... or just a spoon. And it's not totally sinful either, made with almond milk, organic cane sugar and a lot more than 56 roasted hazelnuts. Yeah, I know for sure. I rubbed the skins off all of them! A LOT more than 56!


Anywhos, go make this homemade Nutella -- keep a jar in the fridge, and give one to someone special, even if there's no milestone event, because friendship is a milestone in itself.

Crunchy Chocolate Hazelnut Butter
adapted from Fueling Endurance Performance
makes about 2 cups

2 cups of hazelnuts
3 tablespoons of organic cane sugar
1/4 cup of cocoa powder
1/2 cup of unsweetened chocolate almond milk
50g (half a bar) of bittersweet chocolate
1 tablespoon of coconut milk

1. Roast the hazelnuts in a 300 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until they start to get fragrant. In batches, put rub the hazelnuts so their skins come off.

2. Place the hazelnuts, sugar and cocoa powder in a food processor and grind until you get a coarse meal.

3. Melt the chocolate with the coconut milk in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly.

4. Add the chocolate mixture and almond milk into the nuts. Grind until you reach the texture you like. You can add more almond milk to your liking. Just taste often.

5. Spoon the hazelnut butter into jars and store in the fridge. Don't forget to share.

Happy Milestone Day Mia!

Some Nice Spice

Sometimes mellow and comforting and what you need on an icy cold, cloudy day, and sometimes you need a kick from spice. I've had both moments -- when a bowl of oats can soothe the soul, and when some tangy lemon is in order to shake things up. Lately, it's been the latter. The mix of chilly and balmy, wet and damp and overcast and sunny is making my mood and taste buds do flips and twirls. The other day, we wanted some serious spice and flavour to jazz up our dinner, and the first thing that always comes to my mind is a nice spicy curry.

I love curry. It's one of the flavours I grew up with and still cherish to this day. No one makes better curry than my Dad, so I've stopped trying to compare. I've also stopped trying to mimic the flavour of his curries and started to experiment with stuff he never did. My Dad's curry is usually chicken-based, with lots of ginger, onions and coconut milk. I tend to do veggie curries and mix my Malaysian curry spice with other yummies like cumin, coriander, and lately cinnamon and cardamom. I was inspired by this beautiful, creamy black lentil dish, and thought I'd do a little experimenting.




There were no black lentils to be found at my grocery store, so I settled for green ones, which worked fine. I added crushed fennel seeds and dried chili to my spice mix of Malaysian curry powder, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, coriander and smoked paprika. The added yogurt made all the difference, as did the 45 minutes that the dish spent getting creamy and yummy in the oven. I served this beautiful dish up alongside a rice pilaf inspired by this one -- the zatar spice really makes a difference! I think it's the addition of sesame seeds in the spice mix that makes it so delicious, so if you can't get a hold of this beautiful mix, use a combination of cumin, cardamom, coriander and toasted sesame seeds.

The ingredient list for this meal is pretty big, and that may be a turn off, but don't be alarmed. Both rice and lentil dishes are super easy to prepare once you have all the spices down, and you'll be rewarded with a wonderfully flavourful and comforting supper. It's pretty chilly out today, and although the sun is shining a little, an evening spend stirring spices doesn't sound too bad at all.




Creamy Baked Lentils with Rice Pilaf
serves lots!
inspired by Food, Football and a Baby, and KitchenLab

For the lentils:

1 cup of green lentils, rinsed thoroughly,
2.5 cups of water
1 bay leaf
5 cardamom pods, crushed


1/2 teaspoon of fennel seeds
1 dried chilli
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of Malaysian curry powder
1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon of smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon of ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1 medium carrot, diced
1 small onion, diced
1/2 inch bit of ginger, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup of water
1/2 small can of tomato paste
1/2 cup of plain yogurt (I used 2% -- skim yogurt tends to get water when you bake it)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Crush of the cardamom pods and place them in a pot with the water, bay leaf and lentils. Bring to a boil, and then simmer, covered until the lentils are tender. Drain and set aside.

2. Using a mortar and pestle, crush up the dried chilli and fennel seeds. Mix them with the rest of the spices and set aside. Alternately, you could use whole spices and grind everything in a coffee grinder. Your call.

3. In an oven safe pot or dutch oven, saute the carrot and onion in some olive oil for about 5 minutes, or until things start to get soft and fragrant. Season with salt and pepper. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute.

4. Add in all your spices and stir so they toast. When things start to stick to the bottom, add the tomato paste and water and stir well, making sure to scrape the bottom. Add the lentils and give it a nice big mix.

5. Add in the yogurt and stir well. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes.



Now make the rice!

For the rice pilaf:

1 small onion,
1/4 inch bit of ginger
1/2 cup of basmati rice, rinsed
1/4 cup of yellow split peas rinsed
1 teaspoon of zatar spice mix
4 cardamom pods, crushed
1 1/4 cup of vegetable stock or water
1/2 bunch of spinach, washed and chopped
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a pot, saute the onion in olive oil for about 3-4 minutes. Add the ginger and season with salt and pepper. Add the zatar spice mix and stir so it gets toasty.

2. Add in the rice and split peas and mix well so that everything gets coated with the spicyness. Add in the water or stock, and the cardamom pods and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat, and cook, covered for 15-20 minutes, or until the rice and peas are tender and all the water is absorbed.

3. Stir in the spinach, turn off the heat and let it stand, covered for about 5 minutes.

4. Yum! We're done! Serve the rice with the lentils and pat yourself on the back. Oh! And careful of the cardamom pods!

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.

Power Hungry

What do you eat when you're power hungry? Like, I mean totally-exhausted-and-needing-fuel-or -you'll-pass-out-within-the-next-five-minutes hungry? My body must be going through some sort of repair stage because I've felt this hungry twice in the past week. One of those times I was in my classroom getting ready to read a story to 25 little pre-teen monsters during the last period of the day -- a challenge in itself, much less when you're super hungry. I had to settle for cereal, soy milk and another cup of tea.




What I really wanted was this tofu chickpea scramble that I made the other night, when my first power-hunger hit. It has a triple -- yes triple -- dose of protein provided by tofu, chickpeas and a nice drizzle of tahini. It's a simple dish, flavoured with ginger, soy, a little dash of curry powder and a big splash of lime juice. Paired with whole grain red rice and kale, it totally sucker punched my hunger right in the gut. A satisfying, tasty and nutrient-packed meal -- plus it's easy enough for a stressful weeknight: what are you waiting for?

Tofu Chickpea Scramble
adapted from Choosing Raw
serves 2 power hungry people

1/2 cup of your favourite grain (I used red rice. Quinoa or millet would also be fantastic)
1 cup of water or broth
1 bunch of greens -- kale, spinach, chard, collards, even broccoli florettes

1/2 inch bit of ginger
1 teaspoon of curry powder
1 cup of cooked chickpeas (canned is fine as well -- just rinse and drain first!)
1 6oz package of firm tofu
1 little drizzle of toasted sesame seed oil
1 tablespoon of tahini
1 big splash of soy
the juice of a lime

1. Rinse your grain out well and place in a pot. Add your water or broth and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and then cook, covered. Times will vary depending on your grain. My red rice take a little bit longer than regular rice. When it's almost done, add in your greens. Cover, and let them steam for about 5ish minutes.

2. In a skillet, sweat the ginger in some olive oil for about 3-4 minutes, until it gets nice and fragrant. Add the curry powder and let it toast for about 1 minute.

3. Crumble in the tofu and give it a good mix. Let the tofu brown for a couple of minutes. If you're using a non-stick pan, you should be fine. If not, you might need to add a touch more oil to make sure things don't get too dry.

4. When the tofu is browned, add the chickpeas, tahini, sesame oil, soy and lime juice. Stir well and let it cook for another few minutes.

5. Divide your rice and greens into two bowls. Add your tofu scramble and dig in.

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).

Yummy Falafelness

I love falafel. I love the cuminyness and the heartyness, but I hate the deep fry. A little pan sear I can handle, but not the deep fry. These veggie patties remind me of falafel -- they would probably taste more like falafel if there was a nice hit of fresh parsley and lemon in it, but they still taste great. They're even better with your favourite burger toppings and sided with baked french fries (which we didn't have, but hey, that would've been good).




I've had veggie burgers before -- some really meaty-tasting, some really chewy and tasteless. These patties are tender and flavourful and don't hold together very well, but the taste makes up for it. They're made of chickpeas, broccoli, and quinoa, so they're packed with protein and all kinds of other good stuff. There's a sprinkling of breadcrumbs to hold it together, and I think adding a bit more would have helped it bind more, but I didn't mind the tenderness one bit. They were the perfect light supper, and totally easy to make. Just remember to use a non-stick frying pan, or you could try baking them like the original recipe calls for. Next time, I think I'll try it with black beans and chipotle powder for a little something different. I don't crave burgers often, but I did yesterday, and this really hit the spot; and they're vegan. Bonus!





I might even be brave enough soon to try this meat-y looking beet burger ...

Falafely Veggie Patties
adapted from The Tolerant Vegan

1/3 cup of quinoa, rinsed
1/3 cup of vegetable stock
1/3 cup of water

1.5 cups of cooked chickpeas (or use one can)
1 small head or broccoli florets
1 small onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 tablespoon of tahini
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of water or stock
2 tablespoons of bread crumbs

1. First, cook the quinoa in the water and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, stir, and then turn down to a simmer. Cook, covered, for 15-20 minutes, or until the quinoa has puffed and the liquid is all soaked up. Set aside.

2. Saute the onions in a bit of olive oil until soft and translucent. Add the cumin and cook for another minute or so. Let cool and then put them in a food processor.

3. Blanch your broccoli, and add it to the food processor. Add the quinoa, chickpeas, and tahini. Pulse a few times and then add the stock, a little at a time until the mixture comes together. Don't over blend or you'll get mush.

4. Remove the mixture to a bowl and add the bread crumbs (maybe add another 2 tablespoons if you want a firmer patty), salt and pepper. Give it all a good mix, and then taste. Adjust your seasonings. Let the mixture stand for about 10 minutes.

5. Shape the mixture into patties -- any size you like! We made a few big ones and lots of tiny baby ones. Brown them in a non-stick frying pan with a bit of olive oil for about 3 minutes on each side.

6. Serve .. however you like! On buns with burger toppings, in a wrap with lettuce and tahini dressing ..