I've recuperated.
I'm fully back in the proverbial saddle.
It's amazing how just a couple of days can totally drain your mind of all things work.  Never fear though, we haven't suffered because of it.  I've been busy making some roasted butternut squash soup (do you all really need another soup recipe from me just now??? Goopy, orange coloured soup?... didn't think so), turnip, red chard and goat cheese frittata (sound Gross but it tasted good) and some kind of rice/tofu/beet green concoction that didn't entirely work out but I'm faithfully and laboriously eating it for lunch everyday cause I'll be damned if I'm gonna chuck it just because it isn't perfect.
I had an interesting conversation with a friend recently.  She may or may not read my blog but either way I don't think that she'll mind.  We're close and we can handle this kind of stuff - or I'll soon find out if we can't.
I had the good fortune to stumble upon a lovely farmers market on the weekend (check my last post) where I got totally caught up and carried away with the beauty.  So much to look at and taste and appreciate.  Even though I was in a different country I just could not resist purchasing some apples.  They looked gorgeous and they were a kind of apple that I've never heard of... 'Jonathan'.  I asked the farmer about them, he gave me one to taste and I walked away with a small bag of them to enjoy for the next 24 hours.  Totally worth it.  Jonathan's are lovely, spicy, tangy and smooth all at the same time.  Later, my friend was looking for a snack and picked one of the apples up.  It had a black spot on the core area at the bottom.  It was the core and the apple was beautiful otherwise.  She wouldn't eat it because it was defective.  I ate the apple later and I'm still here just for the record but it tasted just a perfect as the rest of them (is there anything better than a fresh apple all juicy and crunchy when you need a snack?)  I told my friend that it was funny that she looked at the apple and called it defective and therefor unfit for a human mouth.  I thought it was also funny that she would them stuff a strawberry into her mouth in the middle of November.  I figure that if you are picky about fruit then you should be looking for the most seasonal, fresh and tasty food going... not necessarily the prettiest.
We all know about pretty.  Pretty can be awesome but shallow.  Pretty gets all the boys but you have all the character.  Pretty can't get dirty.  Pretty might look good (strawberry in November) but taste awful.  What's considered pretty is in the eye of the beholder.  Ok I'm ranting and I need to stop.  In short, I thought that the black bottomed apple was pretty and my friend didn't.


I think that this banana bread is pretty.  It's dark and moist but not goopy.  It has whole wheat flour to give it some weight and some chocolate chips to please my kids (just a little though and you can leave them out - in fact, please do).  It's gotten a bum deal because it's dark so early now that I can't take good pictures but if you tasted it then you'd know that the stuff you can get at that big chain coffee shop that sells 'banana bread' might look better but this stuff's the real deal.  Pretty or no.


Banana Bread... adapted from I can't remember what cookbook... ack!
makes one large loaf

1/2 cup oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas (I used 4 but they were on the small side)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Grease and flour a large loaf pan (you could use parchment paper as well) and set aside.
Combine the oil, sugar, eggs and bananas together and mix until they're all combined and fluffy.
Combine the cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking soda, baking powder, flour and whole wheat flour together in another bowl.  Mix to combine.
Throw the chocolate chips into the flour mixture and coat the chips thoroughly.
Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine.  Once thoroughly combined pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for about 65 - 75 minutes (I think I took about 69 minutes all together) or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Cool for a few minutes in the pan and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Sorry... I know that you've been waiting with baited breath (or 'bated' if you're so inclined).
I've been... busy. Away.  Occupied.  Unavailable.  Because I was off making some new discoveries.


Here's a list of things that I've discovered over the last 56 (or so) hours:

1.  I now have a new travelling companion.  My BFF KT and I think very similarly when it comes to being in a place other than home together.  Now I have two awesome travelling companions.
2.  Shopping is wayyyyyy over-rated.
3.  Sometimes critical thoughts and comments are needed and even helpful... other times... just piss off.
4.  Sunshine can make a really cold, windy day suck a whole lot less.

This is a shot by KT... I didn't have the stomach for it... just needed to get out.

5.  When you've been holed up in some store that you find overwhelming (see above) then there is nothing like finding a farmer's market bustling with farmers, locally make food and flowers.  If you're lucky enough to find it then just stay for a really long time.


6.  Not having to think about where to find breakfast in a new city is a gift from the gods.
7.  There are some places on earth where car horns never stop.
8.  Sometimes even the ungirliest of girls can be just a little girlie.

This shot was taken of me by KT - she was in shock I think.

9.  Sometimes, like when you are tired and your feet are sore, there is nothing that hits the spot quite like beer, greasy pizza and red wine.  In that order.

Here are some more things that I discovered...




I promise that I'm going to make something... I just have to finish the cupcakes that I bought from here.  Just give me a few hours.

This shot is totally KT's - I can take no credit.

So at work today one of the teachers asked me to stop with all the sweets.  She's too tempted.  I'm sorry.  I felt bad.  I did offer some advice (make the stuff and share) but I'm not sure it helped.  I'm not setting out to have a baking blog here.  Not at all.  In fact, I really want to make sure that I'm balanced in my postings... or at least varied.  And yet here I am posting another cake.
Thing is, I despise bought treats.  I can't tell you how much they make me crazy.  The bought cookies, candies, cakes... they're not tasty, they're full of god-knows-what and we eat too much of them when they're around.  (I've decided - unilaterally - to donate some of our hallowe'en treats BTW)  It seems that when I make homemade treats we don't gorge.  We appreciate.  They taste better and somehow they're more filling... and special.  My kids love homemade treats way more than other stuff.  I'm not trying to be snobby in the least.  This is a conscious decision that we've made in our house.  No bought sweets, no sugar cereal, no pre-made food.
It's a pain in the neck sometimes.
I can't just open the cupboard and grab.  OH.  True confessions here... I do buy treats sometimes... chips.  Not often but sometimes.  Almost forgot and it's good to make sure that it gets off my chest.  What if you came to my house and found my chips.  For the most part though... I make my own ice cream, my own cookies, cupcakes, muffins, dips... and if I can't make it them we pretty much don't eat it.  As a consolation prize, your house is probably way cleaner and tidier than mine.  Trust me... I'm no hero.


When we make it ourselves, we think about it more.  We use up what we have in the house.  We use oats... in our cake.  Who uses oats in a cake?  Actually the best cake I've ever had was an oatmeal/date cake that I made for this elderly rich couple in Montreal.  I was in University and they hired me to come in multiple days a week and serve them afternoon tea on their silver (with homemade ginger cookies of course) and then dinner in their dining room... from their silver.  Yup, just the two of them.  The oatmeal/date cake was from the Chicago Symphony cookbook... or maybe the Philadelphia Symphony cookbook... jeez I can't remember which flippin' symphony but the cake was outta this world and I've lost it forever.  If anyone has it PLEASE send it to me and I'll post it.  So, I make cake with oats.  And it's awesome.  It should've been quick oats but I just used the regular stuff and it's just as good.


I'm sorry for posting yet another sweet.  I'm sorry that it's so tempting.  It's my awesome-ass photography skills that make it look so good.  For chocolate lovers, I'm sorry that it doesn't have chocolate in it but damn - like haven't you had enough chocolate from me lately.  For oatmeal lovers:  I'm sorry that I didn't' get a chance to share with you.  For me:  I'm not sorry that I took a little bit of it to work everyday.


Oatmeal Cake adapted from 'More With Less'
makes 1 9x13 inch cake

1 cup oatmeal
1 1/4 cup boiling water
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease and flour a 9x13 inch cake pan.
Combine the oatmeal and boiling water.  Set aside for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile:
Cream together the brown sugar, sugar and butter until fluffy.  Add in the eggs and vanilla and beat until incorporated.
Add the oatmeal mixture and mix well.
Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg together.
Add the flour to the liquid mixture.  Mix until well incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Bake for about 30 - 35 minutes or until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan and a cake tester comes out clean.
Cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan.  Or you can cool it in the pan and just cut it out from there.

Icing:
1 1/4 cup icing sugar
1 tbsp butter
1/4 cup cream
1 tbsp vanilla
1 - 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Combine all the ingredients and pour onto the cooled cake.

So I've been thinking a lot about my perceptions lately.  Mostly because D is reading this book and he keeps talking about it so much that I feel like now I don't really need to read it only I have to read because I've committed to doing it already and once I've done that then I just have to see it through.  That's just me.
So with perception.  Yeah.  You know first impressions and all that.  It partly makes me sad that we believe  that we've summed up another human being so quickly.  It makes me realize that we are sometimes the shallow creatures that we complain about.  It also makes me think that I need to clean up my own act.  I think that the reality is that 'first impressions' become lasting impressions and that the world kinda functions around that a whole lot more than it doesn't.  Part of me just has to get past the 'this is so shallow' and move on.
I always thought that 'politics' at work or anywhere else was really really bad.  I thought that my work would be my merit badge and that would stand out all by itself.  I thought that manipulation was a terrible, no good, very bad thing.  But the more I move through this life I've been given the more I realize that politics exits everywhere... from the bedroom to the boardroom.  Manipulation in some form or other is just a part of things functioning in life.  God help you if you try to parent or teach anybody anything without using some kind of manipulation (hopefully not the  'If you don't do this now I'll...' kind.  I certainly never have).  I guess that right now in my life I'm kind of ok with it.  Most of the time I can see the 'impressions' happening.  I can eye the politics going on in front of me and I can make a decision about whether or not I want to play along with the manipulation.  I get it.
Of course there's the really bad stuff that is totally destructive and should never be tolerated.  Seen.  I'm not talking about that stuff though.  I mean when you really think about it how many times a day do you try to get someone to see your side of things or wonder how you should handle a situation.  It's called making it work... right?  (see I gotya there)
Anyway... I'm just thinkin'.  It's cool.  It's probably not coherent yet but it's fun having stuff lolling around in my head for a while.


So this bread.  Yeah.  What can I say about bread right?  You should try making bread though, Yo.  It's fun.  I like the kneading part.  It's soothing for my soul.  And when I smell it starting to get all yeasty and rising and crap it feels awesome.
To be honest this stuff is like a cross between corn bread and challah.  Yum.  I don't know for sure if I would split this into two loaves.  If I try it again I might just do one big one.  If you try it before I do then definitely let me know.
p.s.  I downloaded this a few days ago and it's just stupid fluffy fun.  I'm embarrassed but there it is.  I downloaded other stuff too that's much more 'proper'.


Cornmeal Yeast Bread from 'More With Less'
makes 2 loaves

Take 2 pkg dry yeast
dissolve in 1/2 cup lukewarm water
Set aside.
Combine:
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup scalded milk (milk that's brought to a boil them removed from the stove)
Cool to lukewarm.

Combine:
1 egg
the milk mixture
the yeast mixture
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup cornmeal

Mix until it forms a soft dough.
turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes adding more flour as needed (up to another 1 cup)
The dough should feel pretty smooth.
Place in a greased bowl.  Cover with a clean cloth and place in a warm spot to rise until doubled - about an hour.
Punch down.  Divide in half.
Place in 2 greased loaf pans.  Cover and let rise until almost doubled - about 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Bake the bread anywhere from 30 - 45 minutes.  The top should be golden brown.

It seems odd to me that in the same week - in fact the very next day - my kids are collecting bags of treats which include at least a ton of chocolate that I'm making brownies.  And what's with the brownies?  Why my obsession?  Haven't I given you enough brownie recipes?  I don't even understand it myself.  Truly.  Here's the real kicker, I've still got more brownie recipes that I want to try out.  Damn.  Even as I'm writing it sounds like sheer lunacy.
All I can offer as explanation is that sometimes the search for the gooiest, chocolatiest, moistest brownie never ends AND other times only a brownie will satisfy the craving.  In all honesty, when it comes to satisfying cravings this brownie was pretty exceptional.


I went through this thing in the spring and summer where I was baking with fruit.  It's so wonderful.  Fresh fruit.  It starts with Rhubarb and just goes on from there.  Yeah.  I know that I could be baking with pears (already done that) and apples (yeah... that too) and pumpkin (I gotta get on that one) but if I'm completely honest chocolate is what I'm craving at the moment.  The pears and the apples will still be one the menu don't worry.  I'll be making some apple cake or other just now.  In the right here and the right now... it's all chocolate all the time.
Maybe it's a lament.  Like when you were dumped by your first boyfriend... remember that?  What did you want to do.  Go out and eat... a whole crap load of chocolate and/or chocolate ice cream.  My flavour of choice was Haagen dazs peanut butter ice cream with chocolate and other crap in it.  They don't even make it anymore.  Probably 'cause I was the only one who bought it and I never had enough boyfriends to keep the flavour in production.  I never had a favourite chocolate bar.  It always changed.  I could never decide.  Is it Twix?  Is it Reese?  Is it Snickers?  Anyway, I'm figuring that my chocolate craving is my way of throwing a pity party for myself now that summer has gone and dumped me.  Just like a two month boyfriend that runs off and disappears.  Never calls again.  No explantation even.  I'm sore about it and I'm not gonna let it go for a while.  I can feel it.  Not even Christmas is gonna make up for it.
The day after hallowe'en I was probably the only person in Toronto firing up the oven to bake.  I had this recipe earmarked and I needed brownies in my life.  Sometimes nature calls and no matter what you've gotta just go with it.  This recipe caught my eye because it is supposed to be under baked and then cooled in an ice bath.  Normally ice baths are torturous but in this case they're heavenly.


Steve's Ritual Brownies adapted slightly from Alice Medrich 'Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy'
makes 1 8inch square pan

8 tbsp (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
good pinch of salt
2 lg eggs
1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp instant espresso powder

Line an 8 inch square baking pan with foil.  Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Combine the butter and chocolate together in a heat proof bowl over a barely simmering pot of water.  Stir until the mixture is melted and smooth.
Remove the bowl from the heat and the pot.
Add in the sugar, vanilla, salt and espresso powder.  Mix.
Add in 1 egg and mix.
Add in the next egg and mix.
Add in the flour.  Mix vigorously by hand for about a minute.  The batter should pull away from the bowl.
Pour the batter into the foil lined baking pan.
Bake for 18 - 20 minutes.  The brownies should just barely pull away from the sides of the pan.
Remove from the heat and place in an ice bath 3/4 of an inch deep.
Cool completely in the ice bath.
Remove from the pan and slice up.  Store in an airtight container - they won't last long but will keep well for about 3 days if necessary.

It's November.
November.
I know what you're thinking.  It's the same thing that I'm thinking.  Where did this year go?  I've done stuff and talked about stuff and thought stuff that hadn't ever crossed my mind.  I don't think that I need to give you a year in review or anything but I feel kinda surprised and proud (just a little) all at the same time.
The sucky part though is that I'm still broke.  I've got a hell of a lot of debt paid off this year... but I'm still broke.  Broke's not always a bad thing though.  It can make you creative.  It can make you sympathetic.  It can make you realistic.  For example, I'm not about to say that the world owes me anything but I'm also not saying that I'm broke because I don't work hard enough and that if I just worked harder that the money gods would reward me with cash.  I'm also not under the impression that someone with more money than me works harder than I do and is therefor entitled to all the money that they earn.  It also bugs the hell outta me that all the money people earn seems to give them carte blanche to do whatever the hell they want with the planet.  (Hmmmm - I knew that a rant was in there somewhere.  Remember when I said in my last post that we walked through the Occupy Toronto Camp... Yup - I knew a rant was in there somewhere).
Let me be completely honest though.  I'm not flat broke.  I still have a job.  A good job.  It doesn't pay big bucks but it's kept us afloat.  D works many jobs - as many as he can get his hands on.  I work at home after my school job is done.  I've got benefits and all that crap at my job.  I'm lucky and I don't want to take it for granted.  There are many many many many people wayyyyyy less fortunate I am.



When it comes to food, even though we don't have a lot of money to throw around I want to make sure that we are putting our money in good places and stretching it as far as possible in those places.  So we don't have meat regularly.  We don't have a lot of sauces or store bought treats around.  I make whatever I can because it's cheaper (and just happens to be healthier and better for the world around me).  I take my lunch to work and my kids take fruit or homemade snacks to school... and they don't go out for lunch either.  We throw out as little food as possible.  We try to make sure that we use up what we make, freeze what we can't finish and use as much of a vegetable as possible.  That brings me to this dinner.  Think pastured ground beef, organic and local veggies, locally made (or homemade even better) yogurt... And you've got cheap and healthy dinner on the table.  It's a hearty meal and it's tasty... and even kid #2 will eat it if it contains noodles.  Win/Win.



Poor Man's Beef Stronganof adapted from Kitchen Simplicity
serves about 6 - 8

4 - 5 cups cooked pasta (al dente - I used penne noodles) reserve the pasta water
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 med onion, diced
1 clove garlic minced
1 green pepper diced
3 cups chard or kale chopped
3 cups mushrooms (I used button) sliced thin
1 cup plain yogurt
1 bouillion cube
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp each: parsley, oregano, basil, marjoram
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup cheese (I used medium cheddar because that's what was in my fridge - feel free to get fancy), shredded

In a large pot or dutch oven heat some oil over medium heat.
Add in the onion, garlic and pepper.  Cook for about 5 minutes.  Add in the mushrooms and greens (chard or kale - even spinach would be fine).  Cook for another 4 minutes.  Add in the ground meat and cook just until the meat begins to brown.
Add the bouillion cube, Worcestershire Sauce and soy sauce.  Cook for another 4 minutes.
Add the herbs, salt and sugar.
Check the taste and add something hot if you like (I like).
Add in the yogurt and the cheese.  Mix until the cheese is melted.
If you would like more liquid for the sauce add in a little cream.
Check the tastes again and adjust if necessary.
Toss in the mixed pasta.
Sprinkle a little more cheese on the top if you desire.
Serve.

I don't have many photos for this stuff.  How many pictures do we all want to see of green tomato chutney in a jar? 
The reason I made tomato chutney is because I already had way too many jars of green tomato salsa.  There is only so much salsa you can eat.  Really.
Talking about green tomatoes is kinda boring though.  I think it should be enough to say that all my green tomatoes are gone from my tomato plants and from my fridge.  Sunday morning was spend seeing to that.  Done.
Now on to more interesting things.  Well, more like random things.

I can't believe that it's Wednesday already.  I'm having trouble keeping up with how quickly weeks are flying by.

All of a sudden I woke up with a pretty nasty case of Plantar Fasciitis yesterday.  Looks like I'm cycling and doing yoga for the next few days.  Jeez.  What's totally weird is that I have no clue what I did.

I walked through the 'Occupy Toronto' camp with my kids the other day.

I'm going to start reading this book - D is reading it at the moment and keeps saying things like 'Ok, listen to this' or 'You've got to read this book' ... So I'm gonna.

Kid #1 got a lightsaber when he was out for Hallowe'en.  So he became Spider Man with a lightsaber.  Cool.  He hasn't turned it off since.  It's Wednesday.  Here they are Kid #1 as a zombie and #2 as a very muscular spider man.



A couple of weeks ago Kid #1 got to tape a tv special with her choir for Russell Peters.  Coolest part:  she got to meet Michael Buble and they all got their picture taken with him.  Awesome.

I feel like I haven't seen my friends in forever and I'm trying not to let it bum me out.  I'm going with my BFF  KT to NYC soon though so that's gonna help a lot.  I'm broke so we're totally going to find cheap fun stuff to do and if you have any cool ideas PLEASE let me know.

...
So yeah, if you have green tomatoes that have been sitting around for a bit, looking for some lovin'  Well, give this a try.  It sounds good to me.  If I taste it and it bites I'll let you know but how wrong can some tomatoes and sugar go, right?



Green Tomato Chutney adapted from 'Food in Jars' and 'Lara Ferroni'
makes about 2 (scant) 500 ml jars

10 cups (or so) green tomatoes (any variety) coarsely chopped
1 med onion (red or cipolini) finely diced
1 jalepeno pepper finely chopped (deseeded)
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 1/2 tbsp salt
3 tbsp freshly ground ginger
4 cloves
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
3 dashes of nutmeg
1 dash of allspice

1/2 cup (medium handful) of raisins or currants

Throw everything except the raisins into a non-reactive pot (I used a ceramic covered caste iron pot) and simmer for at least 1 1/2 hrs on low heat.
Add in the currants and simmer for another 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, sterilise 2 clean 500 ml jars (put them in the oven at 300 degrees for about 10 minutes) and prepare the water canner.
Once the chutney has cooked down (should be about 1/2 of the volume as when it started) carefully ladle the chutney into the jars leaving at least a 1/2 inch at the top of each.  Seal with the lids and place in the water canner.  Boil for 10 - 12 minutes.
Remove from the canner and cover with a clean cloth.  Let it rest for about 24 hrs.
Enjoy with meats, cheeses or crackers or sandwiches or... whatever.