Starting Early

Last year around December, I remember being totally overwhelmed. The holidays snuck up on me at the very last second, and I barely had time to enjoy my holiday baking and relax before all the hustle and bustle began. This year, I don't want that to happen, so I've started early.

My favourite part of the holidays (besides getting time off work!) is the baking. I've baked many holiday treats over the years, and this year I have bunch of new recipes I'd like to use. But while in the past, I've baked edible presents for those I love with tried and tested recipes, this year, I'm branching out. But you can't bake a present with a recipe you haven't tried yet .. am I right?

So I'm taking the next three weeks to test all the new recipes I plan on baking for family and friends. I know ... hard job, but it's gotta get done! ;)

I've started with these little cut-out gingerbread cookies. And let me tell you, the dough is a dream. I usually save roll-out cookies for the holidays specifically because they take a lot of time to make. The dusting, the chilling, the rolling, the chilling again .. It's a labour of love. With these cookies, you still have to dust and chill and all the jazz, but the dough is so easy to use that it takes half the work out of it. It doesn't crack, you don't have to take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before rolling and it doesn't even stick that much to counter, provided you give it just a small dusting of flour when rolling out. They also don't need to be chilled right before baking in order to keep their shape, which makes them perfect for using your cute holiday cookie cutters.

And the dough is delicious -- spicy and deep but not too sweet (making them perfect for decorating with icing and sprinkles!) and since it's vegan, you can snack on it without worrying about eating raw egg. It's also perfect if you have left over pumpkin puree that you're dying to use up.

Bake up a batch and don't forget to share. 'Tis the season!

Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
adapted from That's So Vegan
makes about 3 dozen smallish cookies

1/3 cup of Earth Balance
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup of pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon of ground flax
3 tablespoons of molasses
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 cup of spelt flour
1.5 cups of all purpose flour
2-3 tablespoons of soy milk as needed

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream the earth balance and sugar until well combined. Add the flax, pumpkin puree and molasses and mix well.

2. Add the baking powder, spices and flour and stir gently. Add soy milk one tablespoon at a time, stirring gently in between, until you get a nice firm dough.

3. Chill your dough for at least an hour, or over night.

4. On a lightly floured surface, working in batches (I divided my dough into 4 batches), roll out the dough to your desired thickness, dusting with flour as needed. Cut out using your favourite cookie cutters and place on a non-stick or parchment-lined baking tray. If you're using sprinkles, press them into the cookies.

5. Bake at 350 for about 10-12 minutes (depending on the thickness). Let them cool completely before adorning with icing.

Hearty Smoked Tofu and Chard Casserole with Millet Topping

It's snowed yesterday. A wonderful, blowy, billowing snow that didn't last too long, but just long enough to me me feel like winter is saying hello. The sky is clear and the air is frosty and chilly and it's the perfect day for a winter adventure, even if it's just a small one. We have somewhat of a winter tradition of warming up during our winter walks with Tim Horton's hot chocolate. I love summer and fall, but I also love winter and everything that comes with it.

I'm all for snuggly, pj days spent watching movies and drinking endless cups of hot drinks, but winter adventures get my blood flowing and bring all the cool, crisp oxygen to my brain -- something that helps me stay focused at work and happy at home. But after winter adventures, it's always nice to warm up to something hearty and comforting when supper time rolls around. This nice casserole fits the bill perfectly. It's filled with hearty winter greens, red lentils, smoked tofu (although you could use any firm tofu) and a unique, creamy and crunchy millet topping. It's kind of like a vegan shepherd's pie -- the kind of stick-to-your-ribs meal that reminds you of all the good things winter has to offer.  It's also the kind of relaxing meal that you can make while the wind howls at your balcony door and you sing along with your favourite album -- lots of chopping and stirring, nothing too complicated.

If you've never cooked millet before, it's pretty easy. I used a 1-2 millet-water ratio, but for a real flavour kick, use some veggie stock instead. Some people like to toast their millet in a dry pan before adding the water, which is totally cool as well. Once the millet is made, the rest of the recipe comes together in a snap. It's made even easier if you have a dutch oven that can go directly from the stove-top to the oven. But if you don't, it's no sweat. Just transfer your beautiful stew to a casserole dish, top with the millet crust and pop under the broiler. And if you can't find smoked tofu, just use regular firm tofu and add a nice sprinkling of sweet smoked paprika. It's a meal that you can make on Sunday and enjoy all snowy week long.

Smoked Tofu and Chard Casserole with Millet Topping
adapted from Project Foodie
serves 4-5, generously

1/2 cup of millet
1 cup of water or stock
1 teaspoon of olive oil

3 small carrots, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small bunch of swiss chard, stems diced, leaves cut into ribbons
1/3 cup of red lentils, rinsed well
4-6 ounces of smoked of regular tofu, cut into cubes
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 teaspoon of herbes de Provence
1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce
2 cups of vegetable stock

1. In small pot, bring water and millet to boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for about 15 minutes or until the millet has absorbed all the liquid. Set aside.

2. In a large pot of dutch oven, sweat the onions and garlic in olive oil for about 5 minutes, or until they start to soften and become fragrant. Add the carrots, celery, red bell pepper, chard stems and stir well. Add salt, pepper and herbes to provence. Cook for another 3-4 minutes.

3. Add the lentils, and vegetable stock and stir well. Cover, and reduce the heat to a simmer. Let the stew cook for about 10-15 minutes, or until the lentils start to break down and the vegetables start to soften.

4. Add the chard leaves and tofu. Stir well. Cook for another 5-7 minutes, uncovered to let the liquid reduce a little more. Stir in the soy sauce and taste. Adjust seasoning as desired.

5. Turn off the heat. If you're not using a dutch oven, pour your stew out into a large casserole dish (try to choose one that's more deep and not too wide). Spoon the cooked millet on top of the stew. Drizzle with olive oil.

6. Put your casserole under the broiler for about 5-6 minutes, or until you see a nice brown crust. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Pumpkin Everything!

It's that time again when the blog world is flooded with pumpkin posts, and I'm not going to try to be different. Let's go with the flow. Pumpkin everything! Well... I actually used golden hubbard squash for these muffins.  Golden Hubbard Squash everything! No. That doesn't have the same ring to it. Pumpkin everything!

I first came across the golden hubbard squash at the advice of a friend and colleague, whose mom used to make pumpkin pie with hubbard squash because it simply was sweeter and more flavourful than a regular pumpkin. And I can't disagree. Regular pumpkin is perfect for soups and stews, but when I'm baking, the golden hubbard or golden nugget squash is hard to beat.

These muffins are very quick to make, provided that you already have your squash roasted and pureed. In pinch, go ahead and used canned pumpkin puree, but I urge you to give the golden hubbard squash a try, just once this season. You won't be disappointed. A large handful of dried cranberries add a nice burst of tangy flavour. I used fresh Ontario cranberries from the farmer's market when I made these the first time, and they were also lovely. Chopped fresh apple would be a great addition as well. But what makes these muffins special is the pumpkin seed butter. It lends a rich, nutty, hearty flavour to the muffins and combined with the spelt flour and ground flax seeds, you have a protein-packed, energy-filled snack to look forward to in the middle of your day.

The original recipe called for peanut butter which I'm sure is delicious as well, but while I'm a definite peanut butter addict, I would strongly recommend making that trip to the health food store to pick up pumpkin seed butter. The flavour is just too unique to substitute. And despite being vegan, these muffins baked up light and fluffy and held together perfectly.

It's a chilly day out there today which is making me believe all the rumors about winter arriving early. Bake up a batch of these muffins and they will definitely warm up your day.

Vegan Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins
adapted from Crazy for Crust
makes 12 medium-sized muffins

2/3 cup of pureed squash

1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of ground flax + 3 tablespoons of water
1/4 cup of pumpkin seed butter
2 tablespoons of soy milk + 1/2 teaspoon of cider vinegar
1 cup of spelt flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 cup of dried cranberries

1. In a large bowl, combine the squash, sugar, flax, water, pumpkin seed butter, soy milk and vinegar. Stir well to combined.

2. Sift in the flour, baking soda and cinnamon. Gently mix until just combined. Stir in the dried cranberries.

3. Spoon the mixture (it will be very thick) into lined muffin tins and bake in at 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted comes out clean.

I've been ...

I've been doing things the same, but just a bit differently lately.
I've been enjoying this beautiful autumn in Toronto: cool, chilly mornings and warm, fragrant afternoons.
I've been going outside for recess, even when I don't have to.
I've been kicking up leaves when no one is looking and even when someone is.

Instead of folding my arms, leaning my head against the cool glass and restlessly napping, I've been opening the window on the streetcar on my way to work at 6:30 in the morning, and breathing in the fresh, fall air.

I've been getting up before the sun, even on Saturday, and spending time waking up with the city.
I've been ordering eggs instead of salad, and enjoying mid-week chocolate and early morning coffee.
I've been putting millet in my granola, mint in my green tea and spinach in my smoothies.

I've been learning how to enjoy today, and trying not to apologize for tomorrow.
I've been reading ...

This blog in particular.

I've made this soup, this granola, and this bread and jam.

I've been wanting to make this shake and this salad and this stew.

I've been thinking less about smiling, and actually doing it more often.

On This Last Day of Summer ...

On this last, cool, rainy day of summer, I'm bringing you something comforting to cook while the rain trickles down outside, but will still help you get through the bounty of late summer veggies that you couldn't resist buying at the market this morning.

It's nothing fancy, nothing celebratory, just some stew. But it's not rich, with a heavy gravy and loaded down with the starchy potatoes and and dried legumes of the winter. It's flavourful and summery, with just a hint of spice, perfect to pop into the oven and forget about for an hour while you curl up on the couch with a book, or have a quiet coffee in the late afternoon. It has the beautiful late summer harvest of beef steak tomatoes, so ripe and juicy that didn't need to add a drop of water or stock to this stew, some yellow summer squash, the last of the season, a juicy yellow pepper and some fresh, borloti beans that went wonderfully soft and creamy. Fresh herbs from my balcony garden, that won't last many more weeks, were both cooked into the stew and sprinkled on top, and the whole thing has just a whisper of middle eastern spice -- namely zaatar, cumin and tumeric. I happily ate bowls of this for dinner a few nights in a row, accompanied by tumeric scented brown rice and barley pilaf, but you don't to get that involved. Simple brown rice or white rice would be perfect, as would a chunk of crusty bread, or even some short pasta.

This stew was inspired by a dish I had at a restaurant called Nuba in Vancouver. It was called simply the vegan stew, and was described as a stew of seasonal vegetables with tomatoes, onions and chickpeasm served over brown rice. It had creamy roasted eggplant and zucchini and a delicious, rich spice blend. Nuba was the first place we ate out at in Vancouver, and it was a beautiful treat -- delicious food, relaxed atmosphere, and the excitement that our vacation had just begun.

Our Vancouver trip is long gone, and I've gotten into the groove of teaching again, but every once in a while, I'll indulge in a little daydreaming of times past. This stew is beautiful, rainy day indulgence and the perfect way to good-bye to summer.

Last Day of Summer Stew
inspired by Nuba and Everybody Likes Sandwiches

1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 large cloves of garlic
2 large, beefsteak tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 yellow summer squash, cut into half-moons
1 large yellow pepper, cut into thick strips
1 quart of fresh borloti beans, shelled and rinsed
1 teaspoon of zaatar spice blend
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon of ground tumeric
2 large sprigs of fresh thyme
5-6 basil leaves, cut into a chiffonade
1 small handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
salt and pepper to taste

1. In an oven-proof pot, or dutch oven, gently heat the olive oil over low heat. Add the onions and garlic and some salt and pepper. Let them sweat for about 5 minutes, while you chop the rest of your vegetables.

2. When the onions are soft, add in the zaatar, tumeric and cumin and let the spices toast for about a minutes. Add in your tomatoes and give it a big stir.

3. After about 4 minutes or so, the tomatoes should have released their wonderful juices.  Add the squash, peppers, beans and thyme sprigs.  Pop the lid on and put the whole thing a 375 degree oven for about an hour (but check at the 45 minute mark to see if your beans are tender, or if you need to add liquid).

4. When you're about to serve, sprinkle with the basil and parsley.

Snacking back to Vancouver

Where did the weekend go? In the summer when I'm off, all the days meld into each other. It's only when school starts up again that I really treasure the weekend. Chatty, giggly Friday night dinners, early Saturday morning market walks or lazy afternoon brunches, and quiet, studious Sunday coffees, because tomorrow, it's back to the grind. Does that sound like your weekend too?

If it does, why not take a little break from the Sunday night sensible dinners and snack on these incredibly addictive roasted beet fries. We had these from a take-out carton in Vancouver, sitting on a bench near the water and feeling like summer would never end. They're a specialty from one of our most exciting food finds in Vancouver -- a food truck called "Le Tigre."

I know you've probably had roasted beets before, but these are special. They're roasted skin on, and sprinkled with plum powder -- a salty, sweet, tangy powder that comes in colourful packets. You can get in the candy section of Asian supermarkets next to the dried plums. If that's too much of a stretch, I'd suggest a sprinkling of brown sugar and dried sumach, which is probably easier to find.

In Vancouver, these beet fries were served with a special seven-spiced mayo which was awesome. When we made these at home, we kept our mayo plain, but if you wanted to kick it up a notch, add some hot smoked paprika to your mayo, or maybe a squeeze of lemon and a good grinding of black pepper.

Go ahead and snack your Sunday night away and try to forget, even if it's just for an hour, that we have to go back to work tomorrow.

Roasted Beet Fries
inspired by Le Tigre

a quart of beets (about 5-6 medium sized ones)
a good glug of olive oil
a big sprinkling of salt
a big grinding of black pepper
1 teaspoon of dried plum powder

1. Trim and scrub your beets well. Cut them into wedges and blanch them in boiling water for about 5 minutes to start the cooking process. Drain and pat dry with a towel.

2. Put your beets in a large bowl and toss with the olive oil, salt, pepper and plum powder. Lay them on a roasting tray and roast (on broil) for about 15-20 minutes, tossing twice, or until the the beets are tender.

3. Serve with mayo.

Labour Day Again

Labour day snuck up on me this year. I usually see it coming at least a month in advance, and then begin the slow lament of summer's end. But not this year. This year was sunny skies and patio brunches and early morning farmers' markets, and tree ripened peaches and juicy, impossibly sweet watermelons all the way up until this weekend. And then all of the sudden.  Ouf. It's Labour day.

It's in my small tradition on this blog to bake a little something on Labour day to help me ease back into the routine of getting up early, teaching, marking, planning, going to bed at an insanely early hour, and then doing it all over again. Not that it's particularly painful -- I like routines, and I love my job. But after 2 months of adventures and unstructured days, of coffee breaks whenever I felt like it and spending whole days reading in pyjamas, it's kind of hard to let go.

So today, I've made us a chocolately zucchini bread to help smooth over the Labour day jitters and make us feel happy about returning to work or school tomorrow. This bread is dark and deep, but with a very light and fluffy crumb. It's packed with good things like shredded coconut, summer zucchini, cocoa nibs and spelt and just a whisper of those pumpkin pie spices -- nutmeg and cinnamon. It was a great way to use up two zucchinis that I kind of forgot about at the bottom on my crisper, and that quarter cup of coconut milk I was dying to use up. The crunchy topping of flaked almonds and raw sugar make this loaf feel like something really special... and it is! It's a Labour day treat and will last all through the work week.

I'm still sad summer is over for me, but I still look forward to a few more weeks of warm temperatures and fair skies.. and just a few more posts about Vancouver!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread
adapted from Everybody Likes Sandwiches

2 small zucchinis, grated
1 egg
2 tablespoons of safflower oil
2 tablespoons of plain yogurt
1/4 cup of coconut milk
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup of cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups of spelt flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
a pinch each of cinnamon and nutmeg
a small handful each of shredded coconut and cocoa nibs (chocolate chips if you haven't got nibs)
a small handful each of flaked almonds and raw sugar

1. Put your shredded zucchini in the middle of a large tea towel. Gather the towel up around the zucchini pile and then squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze! Try to get as much liquid out of the zucchini as possible. Don't skip this step, otherwise your bread will be gummy.

2. Put the squeezed zucchini, egg, oil, yogurt, coconut milk and brown sugar in a large bowl and mix very well. Sift in the cocoa powder, spelt flour, baking powder and soda, and spices. Mix gently, until just combined.

3. Add in the coconut and cocoa nibs and give it one final stir. Pour the batter in a loaf pan and sprinkle with flaked almonds and raw sugar.

4. Bake the loaf in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes, or until the almonds get slightly golden, and a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.