We had an interesting conversation around the dinner table today, Kid #1 and I.
It was one of those existential things.  Kid #1was telling me about what she thinks about when she's bored in class.  On one hand I'm alarmed that my kid is bored in class often enough to know what she thinks about when she's bored.  On the other hand, I'm glad that she's not just thinking about what jeans she wants to buy or who she's going to text as soon as school is done.
So apparently Kid #1ponders mysteries like:
 - I can't believe that I am a person on this planet.  I exist in this space.
 - How did I get here?
 - What if I wake up one day and remember a past life?
 - What if I don't?
 - What if religion has the afterlife wrong?
 - What if it has it right?  Ack.
 So all of this kind of conversation reminded me of my own crazy/awesome thoughts when I was younger (I think as you get older the conversation still happens you start brooding over it more - it gets darker).  I remember staring at myself in a mirror and wondering at the person staring back at me.  That was me.  That was the 'me' that people understood when they heard my name.  I would stare at the skin on my hand and think about how weird limbs are as extensions of our brains - our thoughts.  I was totally overwhelmed by the question of how differently I would understand myself if I had never seen myself in a mirror or in pictures (that is actually a pretty cool thing to think about for a while).  I became fascinated with the idea of waking up someday and finding that I am my baby self in my bed.  I would discover that I had dreamt my life and now had the chance to live it over again.  The coolest thing is how you feel when you have these thoughts.  It feels like you must be the deepest thinker ever.  You're pretty sure that nobody has ever asked those particular questions before.  It takes a while (and probably a couple of undergrad philosophy courses) to realize that you are not alone.  We all wonder these things.  It is, in fact, one of the things that connects us all.  How we connect to our 'self', how we feel about the length of our life and our desire to extend that life.


It was a pretty cool conversation.
We ate Lamb Meatballs while we had the conversation.  Novel first off because I wasn't eating salad and secondly because the meatballs were delicious.  Absolutely delicious.  I wish I could eat them all over again.  I wish that I could wake up and realize that I dreamed the whole thing and then enjoy them all over again.  The reality is that I'll have to just find my way back to the farmers market and get some more ground lamb and make them again.  Damn reality.

Lamb Meatballs in spicy Eggplant and Tomato Sauce adapted from Bon Appetit
serves

Meatballs:
1 1/2 lbs ground lamb
1 egg
2/3 cup bread crumbs
1/3 cup onion, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp salt
dash of pepper
1 tbsp each parsley, oregano and basil
1 tbsp honey

Sauce:
4 - 5 cups fresh tomato, chopped
3 cups eggplant, diced
1/2 an onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 lg red pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1/3 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper sauce
1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar or honey
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
a little parmesan for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicon (non-stick) mat.  Toss the eggplant in some oil (a generous amount that I brushed onto the eggplant so that it wouldn't just soak in a be gone), sprinkle with salt and spread out on the baking sheet.  Bake for about 12 - 15 minutes.  Add the red pepper and toss with the eggplant.  Bake for another 12 - 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and remove from the baking sheet.  Set aside.
Meanwhile, combine all of the ingredients for the meatballs in a bowl and mix it all together (give your hands a good wash and then dig in).  Once everything is well incorporated form the meatballs into 1 1/2 inch balls (or so) and place on the same baking sheet.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until they're looking a little bubbly and maybe just slightly turning brown.  Remove from oven and set aside.  Keep the oven on.
In a large, heavy bottomed saucepan heat a little olive oil over medium heat.  Add in the onion once the oil has heated.  Cook for about two or three minutes.  Turn the heat down to med/low and add in the tomato.  Cook together for about 5.  If the tomatoes are bubbling too much you can turn the heat down a little more.  Cook for about 10 minutes altogether and then add in the eggplant, peppers and garlic.  Cook together for a few more minutes.  Add in the herbs, salt, pepper sauce, honey and Worcestershire.   Check the tastes and adjust if necessary.
Combine the sauce and the meatballs in a baking dish.  Cover and bake for about 20 minutes.
Cool for about 15 minutes before serving and sprinkle with a little parmesan if that strikes your fancy.

It's Thanksgiving weekend in Canada.  It's the perfect kind of fall weekend.  It's kind of grey but the trees are the brightest shades of crazy.  The breeze is blowing just the way you would expect a fall breeze to blow with the just the right amount of bite to it.  It gets dark at precisely the right time now, about 7p.m. 'ish'.
With everything that has been going on lately we all don't feel terribly celebratory but still managed to fit in a lovely dinner with my parents.  I realized that when it comes to these kinds of holiday weekend things I have two terrible habits:
1.  I don't post things here in enough time for you to make them should you desire to do so.  That sucks.  It also explains why desserts from my last two years of Thanksgiving posts have gotten so many hits lately.
2.  I choose to make a dessert that I have never tried before.  That renders the whole thing an experiment.  I'm not sure that it's fair to my family to experiment on them all of the time.  It's pretty much all that D and kid #1 and #2 get these days so they're pretty used to it.


As far as bad habits go this is a pretty tame list I suppose.  As far as experiments go this one was mostly successful.   As far as you making this in time for any Thanksgiving celebration... well, if you live in the U.S. then it will be no problem.


Cardamom and I don't have a happy history but I can't resist how it smells.  The thought of that smell along with some coffee flavour hooked me in.  The cake itself is quite dense and once it cooled from the oven I realized that it was pretty thin.  So thin in fact that I decided to cut the cake in half and pile it on top of itself instead of lengthwise (thereby making two VERY thin layers).  The result was a cake that 6 could devour quite easily - so you won't be looking at a whole lot of leftovers.  Down side: people might think that you've left half of the cake somewhere else or you just got hungry before you served it.
I would spice this a little more.  Hit it with a little more cardamom in the cake and make sure that the coffee is very strong.  I would also add a little vanilla to the cake.
All around though if you want something that isn't disgustingly sweet and has a nice hit of spice to it then this might be worth a go for you.  If you want a 'whole' round cake then I might suggest doubling the batter and making two cakes.
If you are celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend then I wish you all the best bounty of the season.  If you are celebrating next month then you can sit back and relax for a bit still.  If you don't celebrate at all then enjoy the time you have until the next big holiday to organise and prepare.  If you are already sick of dry turkey then feel free to come over... I'm making lamb stew.


Cardamom and Coffee Sponge adapted from BBC Food 
makes 1 round cake
serves 8

3/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
3 tbsp strong coffee (I used instant espresso)
8 cardamom pods, broken, seeds removed and finely ground
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Cream Filling:

1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp icing sugar
1 tsp strong coffee
3 cardamom pods, broken, seeds removed and finely ground

Glaze:

1/2 cup icing sugar
2 - 3 tbsp strong coffee

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter and flour a 23cm round cake pan (I used one that's a springform) and set aside
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  Mix and set aside.
Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add in the eggs and continue to beat until almost frothy.  Add in the coffee and the freshly ground cardamom seeds.  Beat together briefly.
Whisk the flour mixture into the liquid until the flour is all mixed in.
Pour into the prepared baking pan and bake for about 25 - 30 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
I did a little drop of the baked cake onto the counter top a couple of times just to try and remove as much air as possible... the cake will sink less.
Once the cake has completely cooled remove the cake from the pan and with a sharp knife cut sideways through the cake until it has a top and a bottom.
Filling:
Whip the cream until it's fluffy and getting firm.  Add in the icing sugar and continue to whip until it's quite firm.  Stir in the ground cardamom seeds.  Plop the whipped cream on the top of the bottom layer of the cake.  Make sure that the cream is evenly spread.  Place the top layer of the cake over the cream.
Glaze:
Combine the icing sugar and coffee and whisk until it forms a pourable mixture.  Pour over the top of the assembled cake.
Serve.

It's been a big week in our house, in our family and in the community at large.
We have lost someone and the loss has left a vacuum.
I knew, 10 years ago when D's Mom re-married, that this new guy was something special.  When we first met he was warm, inviting, open and deeply connected to himself and his roots.  I had no idea just who this man was.  Charlie came to Canada at 14 from Trinidad and Tobago.  He didn't get into law right away but decided instead to study for the priesthood.  There are 2 reasons that he didn't stay with the church.  I can't remember them both at the moment but 'science' was the first reason.  He instead went into law.  I don't know if he was born for law or not.  I'm sure that he was a brilliant lawyer.  But the thing that made him stand out was his incredible passion for people and for representing those who couldn't represent themselves... for whatever reason.  That injustice was intolerable for him and as a result he began making his mark in the city of Toronto as a civil rights activist in the seventies when a series of shootings by police of black men were creating an uproar.  Charlie was at the helm of that both legally and socially.
You might have heard of Caribana.  It's this festival held in August here in Toronto which was born out of the Trinidad 'Carnival' tradition but has come to celebrate black and west-indian culture in all of it's forms.  Charlie was one of the founders of Caribana.  For a long time I didn't know.  He remained active in Caribana even up to this past August when he had to be driven through the parade route (he was so happy for that though).
Charlie died as a permanent resident of Canada and not a citizen.  He declined citizenship because he refused to take an oath to the Queen.  Right up to the end.  He fought it hard too.  There are many still working on that case and they will carry it on for him, of that I'm confident.  I heard a lawyer being interviewed yesterday and that lawyer got into law because of Charlie's mentorship.  It was during the interview when the lawyer said that Charlie's contribution to civil rights puts him at the table with the likes of Martin Luther King Jr. that it hit me just what this man was who came to our summer BBQ's.


Many many people love him.  Everyone feels that they know him and that's what he would have wanted.  For us... well he was just 'Babu'.  He played with my kids.  He encouraged them to be the best that they are and I think he saw things in them that no one else might have seen.  They debated with him and they drew protest pictures of the G8 summit and they went to the ROM.  At the end of the day, I'm thankful that we knew him not just as the public figure but as Babu... as Charlie.  He'll be missed by us all for the public contributions that he made but for us, we'll be missing 'Babu'.


As we've been juggling life and loss this week I've been craving some good food that makes me feel warm, loved and nourished.  This has helped a lot.


Broccoli and Lemon Pasta adapted from 'Bon Appetit'
Serves 4 - 6

5 slices of bacon cut into coarse pieces
1 cup leek, thinly sliced
1 cup green beans (ends cut off and then cut into bite sized lengths) or green peas
2 1/2 - 3 cups of broccoli, cut into bite sized chunks
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
1/4 cup fresh herbs (a mixture of parsley,basil, oregano)
11/2 tbsp honey
11/2 tsp salt
11/2 tsp pepper sauce or a dash of cayenne
1 tbsp lemon zest.       
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup goat cheese
1 cup freshly grated parmesan
4 cups spaghetti cooked to al dente (reserve a little of the pasta water)

Heat a large pot and add in the bacon chunks.  Brown for a few minutes and then turn the heat down to med/low.  Add in the sliced leeks and cook together for about 3 minutes.  Add in the beans, broccoli and garlic.  Cook for another 5-7 minutes.  Add in the herbs, honey, salt, pepper sauce, lemon zest and lemon juice. Mix well and cook together for about 2 minutes.  Add in the goat cheese and stir to melt in slightly.  Add in the cream and milk.  Mix well and turn the heat down to low.  Add in the parmesan cheese and continue to cook until the cheese begins to melt into the cream.  Toss with the pasta and a little of the reserved pasta water.  Serve with a little more fresh parmesan on top.

I kicked things off well by declaring that I was on a mission to cut down on sugar.  There are lots of reasons but health, energy and vitality are right at the top of the list.  But it seems that in the midst of my sugar cut down a lot of other things have been going on and it feels like I haven't really been cooking at all.
A close family member is terminally ill and we are all... waiting.  It's a very very sad time.  We are all feeling it.  How can you not.  We are each dealing with it in our own ways.  My daughter likes to just sit beside his bed and hold his hand.  She cries.  It's a beautiful, sad picture.  So many things occur to you when you are in that place - that space in your head.  Here are some of the things that have been rolling around:
The moments feel so large and long.  Like they last forever... yet it's only been an hour.
Here, at the end of it all, it's still hard to imagine that we will soon be without this person.  Through illness, pain and however dreadful things are at the moment it's still damn near impossible to think of the world without them.
It doesn't matter how perfectly I can rationalize the beauty of the circle of life or what my religious beliefs might be regarding the afterlife.  There is still the sadness of loss.  No matter what happens later on the fact remains that for now they are no longer here with us.
Even watching someone else slowly pass from life to death doesn't make it any easier to comprehend your own mortality.  Nope.  Not at all.

Kid #1 and I had a beautiful conversation about the trees and how beautiful they are looking.  We were noting what a beautiful, blow out ending the leaves give before they go.  It's like their swan song - those beautiful colours....

Kid #1... and then they drop and die.
Me... Well, not die really.  They change.  They become something other than a leaf but they still have an existence and in becoming that compost they feed new life.


I've made chicken pot pie.  There is something in the tradition and simplicity of it that appeals to me at the moment.  If you are wondering what to do with a leftover chicken carcass take my word for it and boil it down with some peppercorns, a bay leaf, a dash of Worcestershire, salt... boil it down for a good long time - an hour like.  Remove the bones but make sure that you take all the little pieces of chicken off first.  I got enough meat off of that (including the neck, liver, kidney and all of that) to make a fully decent pot pie once the veggies were added.  It's comfort food that reminds you of your Granny or Great Granny.  You feel all loved and warm inside... and possibly a little lonesome.


Red Fife Pie Crust adapted only slightly from 'Simply in Season'
makes enough for about 2 - 3 pies (depending on the size of your baking dish)

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup red fife or whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 egg
1/4 cup cold water
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Combine the egg, water and apple cider vinegar together in a small bowl and set aside in the fridge to keep it cold.
Combine the flours and salt.  Drop in the butter and cut the butter into the flour (use a pastry cutter or two knives or even your fingers  - squish the butter pieces, don't use your fingers for long though because it will warm the butter which is not what you want to have happen) and continue until it looks like crumbly, pea sized pieces.
Add the egg and water mixture until it forms a ball (I used all of mine).  If you need a little more than add more cold water.  Cover the dough ball in plastic and rest it in the fridge for about 20 - 30 minutes.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface - I divided mine in half here, you could make 3 pieces if it suites your sizes better.  Or you can freeze some for a later date.
Roll out with a rolling pin until it's between 1/4 and 1/8 of an inch thick.
Gently fold the pie crust in half and then once again so that it's easier to place on the pie...

Chicken Pot Pie

2 cups potato, cut into chunks
1 1/2 cups carrot, cut into chunks
1 leek, thinly sliced
1 cup green beans
1 cup mushrooms, quartered
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tbsp butter or oil
3 - 4 cups leftover chicken (diced) in it's broth or gravy
1 boullion cube
1 tsp salt
1 tsp honey
1 tsp pepper sauce
1/4 cup all purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Get a large baking dish (I used a large 9x13'ish' oval one) out and set aside.
Heat a heavy bottomed pot (big enough to fit everything) over medium heat.  Add in the butter and then the veggies.  Cook the veggies together for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes begin to soften.  Add in the chicken with liquid, bouillon cube, salt, honey and pepper sauce.  Cook together for another 10 minutes.  Add in the flour and stir to mix.  If it's not thick enough then feel free to add in a little more flour.
Pour into the baking dish.
Cover with the pie crust.  Press down gently and let the crust run up the sides of the pot a bit.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until the crust is turning golden brown on the edges.
Cool for a good 15 minutes before cutting into it and serving.

I'm sure that there are many reasons that someone might decide to make a food blog.  I can think of a few:
1.  Sister lives far away and wanted recipes on a regular basis.  A food blog is a great way to make that happen easily.
2.  You really want a cooking show ('cause you think you're hilarious) but since that's never going to happen a food blog seemed like the next best thing.
3.  You take great pictures and you got sick of nobody noticing how awesome your pictures are so you thought if you threw some great pictures in with some of your stupid thoughts and a recipe that more people might care.
4.  You're a good cook.  Let's get out there and get it recognized.
5.  You write well and food blogs get more traffic than writing blogs do.
6.  You're looking for a way to add a part-time job to your week... with no pay.
7.  You're looking for a way to escape from the chaos that is your life.  When you are blogging nobody bothers you.
8.  You are tired of hauling your ass off to some job in a big building somewhere and would love to create work for yourself that you could do at home and that would still include a 'community' feel.
8.  You are somebody who loves cooking and taking pictures and you totally plan ahead.  You've got recipes planned into the next month and a grocery list to boot.  You've thought of all kinds of witty-awesome things to say and your pictures are thoughtful and beautiful.  Congrats,  You are Perfect.


The possibilities are endless.  I'm not going to tell you which ones of the above are me and which ones aren't.  I probably don't need to.  I'm sure that you've already guessed and that your guesses are mostly right.  The honest truth is that I plan almost nothing.  That's probably why I don't have thousands of people checking me out and/or offering me tv show and cookbook opportunities.  That's ok with me.  I cook for my fam and friends and rarely do I think beyond the necessity in front of me.  I hope that I get good light for pictures but I don't always.  Sometimes I don't get to cooking anything at all.  Those are the weeks where you get my garden pictures or some adventure we went on.  Sometimes I forget to take a picture at the right time.  I really should plan more.  I know that.  Sometimes I don't even plan what I'm going to write (ahem...) and just sit down at the keyboard and will my fingers into action.  Mostly, we need to eat and I want to eat good, interesting food.  That's my planning in a nutshell.


This recipe was not planned.  I literally looked at what had just come in with the food box and from the garden (my eggplant - !), typed those ingredients in and looked at what recipes came up.  This epicurious one popped up and within minutes I got it started.  It happened fast.  And it was good.  It's a little fuss - some pots and putting together and all - but it's not difficult at all.  In fact it was pretty easy and it made a lot.

Random Silly Shot - If you are looking for something to do with all of  those fennel fronds...

Late Summer Veggie Torte adapted from Epicurious
serves 6 - 8

2 medium (fat preferably) eggplants
2 lg red pepper, thickly sliced
2 lg zucchini, thickly sliced lengthwise
olive oil
salt
1 cup soft goat cheese

Tomato Sauce
1 lg leek, thinly sliced
3 med garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
3 - 1/2 cups fresh tomato, chopped
1 veggie boullion cube
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp italian seasoning
dash of pepper sauce

Bechamel:
2 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp all purpose flour
1 cup milk, warmed
1 cup heavy cream, warmed
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups parmesan freshly grated
1 tbsp Worcestershire
sprinkle of lemon zest
dash of pepper sauce

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicon liner.
Place the eggplant slices on the parchment and then brush the eggplant with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt.
Roast for about 20 - 25 minutes or until the eggplant looks just browned and is soft.
Remove the eggplant and replace with the zucchini and red pepper.  Brush those with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Roast for about 25 minutes or until the red pepper looks soft and just browned.  Remove and set aside.

Meanwhile for the sauce:
In a heavy bottomed sauce pan heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add in the leeks and the garlic and cook together just until the leek is just beginning to brown.
Add in the chopped tomatoes.  Turn down the heat to med/low but keep the tomatoes just simmering.  Add in the boullion cube, salt and italian seasoning (a mix of parsley, basil, oregano and rosemary which you could just as easily add in individually).  Stir and let simmer for another 20 - 30 minutes.

Meanwhile for the Bechamel:
Heat a heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium heat.  Add in the butter until melted.  Add in the flour and mix together until it forms a paste.  Turn the heat down to low and slowly add the milk and cream, whisking steadily throughout.  Once all of the liquid is added then continue whisking slowly until the mixture begins to thicken.  You should feel a noticeable thickening.
Add the parmesan, Worcestershire and lemon zest and set aside to cool slightly.
After a few minutes, once the mixture has cooled a bit, whisk in each egg slowly.  Add the pepper sauce if you opt for that.

Line a lg 9x13 baking dish with the eggplant (I made mine squish into one bottom layer).  Sprinkle half of the goat cheese over that in spoonfuls.  Pour half of the tomato sauce over that.
Layer the zucchini and red pepper over that.  Sprinkle the rest of the goat cheese over that.  Pour the rest of the tomato sauce over that.
Pour the béchamel/egg sauce over everything.  Sprinkle with a little extra parmesan.
Bake for about 30 - 35 minutes or until everything is bubbly and golden on top.
Cool for about 20 minutes before serving (I'm not kidding - it's gets so much better)

You might have noticed that I haven't been posting a lot of baked goods around here lately.  This is a relatively new thing.  In the past I've done my best to keep things as balanced as possible between the sweet and savoury.  The thing is that I'm kind of experimenting.  I'm trying to use less sugar.  I think that you all deserve an explanation and it involves some true confessions.  Have a seat, grab a carrot stick and a beer and settle in for the story.


Last school year (and maybe a bit longer than that) I would frequent a well known coffee chain.  I wouldn't order coffee.  I don't drink coffee and don't plan on starting back full time at any point in the near future.  I wouldn't order tea because it seems to me and abomination to pay that much $$ for hot water and a tea bag.  I would order hot chocolate.  It was an awesome treat.  I would have my 'treat' almost every day I'm embarrassed to admit.  Thanks to KT my order was perfected to 'half sweet/no whip'.  Honestly even the half sweet was a little on the sweet side for me.  Thing is though that sometimes when you are in these places you walk out with other things too.  A cookie, a piece of lemon-raspberry loaf with some kind of chemical ridden addictive substance on top called 'icing' (god... yum).  You know how it is.  I know you do.  I got so many hot chocolates from this place that I would get free drinks all the time.  Unfortunately, I started noticing that my brain felt fuzzy all the time.  I had to work harder to focus (it could be age, who am I kidding) and to stay focussed.  In other words, my energy levels were... weird.
Derek decided in about January or February to cut way back on his sugar intake (which I honestly thought was hardly worth cutting back on all things considered) because of some reading that he was doing around sugar and it's effects on the brain and body.  Hmmmm.  I wasn't convinced.  We've been eating refined sugar for a long long time.  Wait really?  How long really have we been eating it like this.  So often and so heavily.  I read some things too.  It was compelling.  The real clincher for me was summer.  I have no 'well-known coffee chain' in my hood.  Dear me, no.  I would need to make an effort to get that hot chocolate.  Plus it was summer... hot chocolate?  Not really.  I stopped.  Cold turkey done.  I started noticing a few things.  I did feel more energized.  I didn't crave the sweets after a few days.  Then school started again.  This time I bought some tea bags and boiled my own damn water.  No sugar in my drink and no temptation to come back to work with a cookie or cake in my hand.  Yup.  For sure a difference.  Even with my sinus cold brain last week my focus and my energy was better and it was easier to stay focussed than it had been before.  At the moment, I don't even care about the longer term effects on my body.  I'll take the short term energy and focus and pass GO for $200.  That's fine with me.  I could pass all this off as seasonal, or sleep related or stress.  Sure.  The fact is though that less sugar is better for me.  It's undeniable so I'm not going to fight it.
Does this mean that I'm never baking cookies or making a cake again?  NO.  I still think that a celebrations deserves to be celebrated with a dessert.  My kids will still have homemade goodies at home sometimes.  And sometimes you just need a chocolate snacking cake (my favourite) or a red velvet cupcake to make it to the next day.  What I will do though is use honey and maple syrup a lot more often because, let's face it, we've been using those as sweeteners a hell of a lot longer than sugar.  In fact, I've been searching for recipes using honey or maple syrup a lot more.  There are plenty.  Please note though that both honey and maple syrup are not sugar.  They don't act like sugar and can't be treated like sugar.  They sure as hell don't taste like sugar either.  They do have traces of good stuff in them.  They don't seem to drain me of all sense and I don't want to find my bed an hour after ingesting them either.  But if you're looking for a bona fide treat then you won't exactly get the same punch if you use honey or maple syrup in your baking.


This bread is a great example of my new replacement strategy.  I used a pinch of sugar to feed the yeast and that was it.  These look like an artisanal kind of thing which is boosting my ego big time and the crumb is fantastic.  The buns were made because both kids requested buns for school lunches this week.  I have listed every option in the recipe below.  And BTW - I managed to get everything done with a Ninja in my house.  It was quite a day.  Just for the record, this is a 'REAL' Ninja outfit - it's what they really wear.


Red Fife, Oat and Honey Buns adapted from Canadian Living
makes 1 small loaf and 4 buns OR 12 buns OR 2 small loaves

1 1/2 cups Red Fife (or whole wheat) flour
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup boiling water
1 cup oats (not quick)
1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup warm milk (I used 2% but you could use Homogenized - not skim)
pinch of sugar
2 1/4 tsp (one package) dry yeast

In a bowl combine the boiling water and oats together.  Stir just to mix and set aside for about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the warm milk and the pinch of sugar together.  Sprinkle with the yeast and stir just to get the yeast moist.  Cover with a clean cloth and set aside in a draft free spot to proof for about 10 minutes - it should get frothy and smell 'yeasty'.
Combine the Red Fife flour with 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour.  Add in the salt and stir to mix.
Once the oats have soaked add in the honey and butter.  Mix well and add to the flour.  Add the yeast mixture to the flour.  Mix everything until it forms a sticky dough.
Turn onto a lightly flour surface and knead - adding as much of the left back all purpose flour as needed - until the dough is silky, smooth and elastic.
Place the dough in a buttered bowl (I turn my dough in the bowl so that it's buttered on all sides), cover with a clean cloth and place in a warm, draft free spot to rise until doubled (1 - 1 1/2 hrs)
Remove the dough from the bowl and punch down.  Knead just a little and form into your choice of 1 small loaf and 4 buns (the size of a small fist) OR 12 buns OR 2 small loaves.  For loaves: place into a greased loaf pan.  Cover with a clean cloth.  For Buns:  Place buns on a cookie sheet covered in parchment and then greased.  Cover with a clean cloth.
Place everything in a draft free spot and leave to rise for another hour.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Bake the buns for 20 - 25 minutes.
Bake the bread for about 40 minutes or until it sounds hollow when you knock on it.
Cool before slicing.

By some stroke of luck (or creepy global warming phenomenon) we are still eating corn.  It's almost the end of September and there are still fresh corn cobs in my kitchen.
I spoke to the farmer I buy my corn from at the market - yeah, like we're so tight.  We 'talk' and everything - vacations, sky, weather - and he told me that we might (and that's a big MIGHT) get another week but it's hard to say.  So I decided to take what might well be the last of my fresh corn and get all creamy with it.  It's going in my freezer.  I'll super appreciate this in February when I'm making Shepherd's Pie or something... it's going to be amazing.
We've had a good run with corn this year.  I've put it in everything.  We've been consistently going through about 1 1/2 dozen cobs of fresh corn a week.  Sometimes that's all we have for a meal - mostly because nobody cooked anything and the fridge is empty and the corn is pretty easy to get ready in about, Oh, say 5 minutes or so.  This kind of overkill has happened before.  I tend to get these obsessions.  Last year I was obsessed with Green Beans.  I grew them (still do) and bought them as well.  I curried them.  I make them salad.  I almost pickled them (some people put their foot down at that one).  They went into pasta, potatoes and rice.  They got parboiled and tossed in butter then sprinkled with salt.  They got served with Sausage and Tomato with parmesan on top.  Green beans and bacon is a combination created by the gods.  I think you get the idea.  Everything I made seemed to inspire the addition of green beans.


This year it's Corn... and eggplant.  Never in combination however.  I've now successfully grown my own eggplant.  One Eggplant.  One baby that I've saved from the raccoons and squirrels.  They found every other eggplant except for this one and I think that by the time it was discovered it was too big and heavy for them to get... or whatever... I don't know if there is anything too big and heavy for raccoons.  Either way, it's still hanging to the plant for all it's worth.  It's so sacred to me right now that I've afraid to pick it.  I've done lots of other things with eggplant over the last couple of months it's still a distant second when compared with my corn obsession.


This is probably the last hurrah.  And what a hurrah it is.  This was so easy.  Too easy almost.  It's so easy that you wonder why you didn't try this before.  You wonder why you ever bought canned creamed corn - which D used to be obsessed with BTW.  This might just inspire him too - It gets you thinking about all of the things that would go well alongside.  I bought a chicken just because the thought of a well roasted chicken, dripping with juice and caramelized, crispy skin sounded like just the thing to have with creamed corn.  The truth is that there are about 3 freezer bags of creamed corn in my freezer now.  The new 'creme de la creme' of my freezer hoard.  If creamed corn inspires this kind of eloquence from me now, in September (!), just imagine what my reaction will be come February.


Creamed Corn adapted from Alton Brown@FoodNetwork
yield: about 3 - 3 1/2 cups or about 4 cans worth

8 ears of fresh corn
1/2 onion, diced small
3 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp honey
1 1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 cup fresh herbs, finely chopped
2 tbsp cornmeal
1 cup cream
dash of pepper sauce or cayenne (optional)
pinch or two of parmesan cheese (optional)

De-Kernel each cob of corn: I usually use an angel food cake tin.  Place the top of the cob in the hole of the baking tin.  Hold the stem of the cob and cut down each side.  Use a sharp knife and the kernels will come away easily.  Run the blunt edge of the knife back down over each cob scraping off any left back flesh or juice.
Set the corn aside.
Heat a large sauce pan over medium heat.
Add in the butter, salt and the onion.  Cook just until the onion begins to get transparent.  Add in the corn (if you need to add a little more butter here don't sweat it) and stir well.  Heat for about 5 - 8 minutes or so, turning down the heat a little if needed.  The corn should be well coated with butter and the colour will be a little brighter.
Add in the honey, turmeric, herbs and cornmeal and mix well.  Cook for another 4 minutes.
Add in the Cream and turn the heat down to low.
Add in some pepper sauce and a pinch of parmesan if you wish.
Check the taste and adjust if necessary.
Cook on very low heat for another 15 - 20 minutes.
Cool slightly and serve.  (or cool completely and pour into freezer bags - smallish portions in each bag - to save for a very lucky winter day)