Blackberry & Coconut Tartlets

Tonight I had my dear friend Lesley over for some much needed catching up. As always, our meet-ups revolve around food. We are slowly hopping around Ottawa to all of the foodiest places we can find. Favourites so far include: Moonroom, Oz, Town and Two Six {Ate}. On the list of places yet to be visited: Union, Side Door, Trio, Absinthe. Soon enough!

But when we're feeling a bit more lazy or possibly broke, I just make a dinner for us and we eat in. Tonight the menu included curried cauliflower soup & these beauties of a dessert!... My very own creation of shortbread tartlets with homemade coconut curd, blackberries & lemon zest. Dang.

Alas, the night is not young- not when I have to get up for 5:20 AM... so I'll leave you with some pictures, with the recipes to follow....

Caprese Roll-Up's

Woah, longest period of time I've gone without blogging in years! Sorry guys. I don't know what was wrong with me...

Maybe it was the desire to eat healthier, or the beautiful weather that forced me onto patios instead of into the kitchen- but I'm back. And this one's a doozy. 

Tonight I decided to make simple lasagna roll-up's- caprese style. 

Caprese= Mozzarella, basil, tomatoes. Add in some noodles and a bit of ricotta, and you have the perfect summery meal for a warm night in May. It was very easy, and if you pick your ingredients right- tastes so fresh! (Always opt for the fresh basil and super ripe roma tomatoes and you're set). 

Ingredients

8 lasagna noodles, cooked

about 2 cups shredded mozzarella 

3/4 cup ricotta 

1 egg

black pepper

3 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced

fresh basil, sliced into ribbons

marinara sauce (I admittedly just used store-bought for convenience purposes) 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. 

2. Combine ricotta, egg, and about half the mozzarella. Mix well.

3. Cook your lasagna noodles and drain, do NOT rinse them! Lay them down on parchment.

4. Evenly spread some of the ricotta mixture (about 1/4 cup) over each noodle.

5. Top with tomato slices, basil ribbons & black pepper. Tightly roll up each noodle and lay together (nice and snug) in a large baking dish.

6. Pour a generous amount of marinara sauce over the noodles, ensuring to coat the edges (because they may get too crispy)

7. Sprinkle remainder of shredded mozzarella on top.

8. Bake for approximately 25 minutes.

Enjoy :)

Momofuku Blueberry & Cream Cookies

I know I've said it before. But my baking (or selection of recipes, most likely) must be getting better, because these are the best {homemade} cookies I've ever eaten. I bought the Milk Bar recipe book with birthday money I received in January... and although I had combed through it several...no, dozens of times, I found the recipes somewhat daunting. Especially because I knew how Milk Bar products were supposed  to taste, thanks to my friend Laura in New York who introduced me to their coma-inducing birthday cake truffles.

So I started small. While I was in New York, we stopped by a Milk Bar and I bought a box mix for the blueberry & cream cookies. This week, while I had a night off with no plans, I decided to give it a shot. When you think of a box of cookie mix I'm sure you think "Cool! I'll just add eggs and oil and voila! Amazing cookies!" ...right? Momofuku clearly has higher hopes for their baking fans. The box contained the components- save for the butter and eggs, but you still had to basically go through the same lengthy process as if you had decided to make them from scratch. Four hours later and my night had flown by in as little as a "mix this in" then "bake that" then "melt this" and "stir that". What a process! However, just when I was about to write the cookies off as "too much effort for junk food," I tried a cookie. And then another. And possibly a third. Someone I work with told me they were the best cookies they had ever had...

"That's it!" I thought. "I'm making them from scratch this Saturday and no one can stop me."

Well. I've shopped, I've mixed, melted, coated, cooled, crumbled, mixed again, beat, folded, and baked.

I started this process when I got home from shopping at about 1:00. It is now 4:30 and I have a couple dozen cookies to show for it.

I highly highly highly suggest making these. You will not be disappointed.

Milk Crumb Ingredients
1/2 cup milk powder
1/4 cup flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 stick melted butter
1/4 cup milk powder- (yes, again)
3 ounces white chocolate, melted

1. Heat the oven to 250*F

2. Combine 1/2 cup milk powder, flour, cornstarch, sugar and salt. Toss until mixed well. Add melted butter and toss again, using a spatula until mixture forms small clusters.

3. Spread out clusters on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes (however my oven is very hot- I only needed to bake them for about 12- do NOT let them get any more than a little brown. Please watch them closely-this happens fast). Cool completely.

4. Crumble any large clumps a bit smaller and add to a small bowl. Add the remaining milk powder. Melt the white chocolate and pour onto cooled crumbs in a bowl and coat the crumbs.

5. Place the crumbs back on the baking sheet in a single layer and put in the fridge until hardened, break apart pieces if needed and crumble a bit more.

Blueberry & Cream Cookie Ingredients (makes about 12 to 17 cookies)

2 sticks butter, at room temp
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white corn syrup
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk crumb (previous recipe)
3/4 cup dried blueberries

1. Combine butter, sugars and glucose in bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cream on medium-high for 2-3 minutes. Scrape down sides, add eggs, and beat for 8 minutes on medium-high  (this is important- the mixture should be very pale and fluffy in the end)

2. Reduce speed to low and add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix no longer than 1 minute.

3. Add the milk crumbs and mix for no longer than 30 seconds, then add the blueberries and again-do not mix for more than 30 seconds.

4. Portion out dough onto parchment-lined pan. Milk Bar makes giant cookies (1/3 cup of dough each, spaced 4 inches apart), however feel free to make slightly smaller ones. Refrigerate the unbaked cookies for a minimum of an hour (also extremely important-don't skip this)

5. Preheat the oven to 350*F.

6. Put the cold cookies into the oven, and bake for 18 minutes (again, about 10-12 for me!) or until edges just start to brown but centre still looks pretty uncooked- that's ok! You want that. Remove them and let them cool completely on the cookie sheet.

 CONSUME!... Cookies will keep fresh for up to 5 days in an airtight container, or you can freeze them :)

Salsa Verde

I love salsa. ANY kind of salsa. Traditional salsa, mango salsa, pineapple salsa- but especially green salsa... or salsa verde as it's better known. Green salsa? What the hell goes into green salsa?

Green tomatoes, obviously! No, they are not just regular unripe tomatoes. They are a different type- tomatillos! You're not likely to find them in your average grocery store, but hit up a specialty shop and you shouldn't have too hard of a time- I found mine at Nicastro, as they have just about any type of produce you can think of.

So what else is in salsa verde? Onions, garlic, hot peppers, a bit of salt and a drizzle of olive oil (and some cilantro if it suits your fancy). Simple.

How do you make it?

Well... first you take the husks off the tomatillos- yes, they have a papery-thin outter layer. After, wash them well and slice them in half. Lay them face-down on a foil-covered cookie sheet. There should be about 8-10 of them (roughly a pound).

Then, cut an onion in half (I used a sweet onion)- and take the outside layer off. Lay it face down as well on the sheet.

Peel two garlic cloves and lay on the cookie sheet as well.

Now you have your choice of peppers, but I reccommend something at least mildly spicy for flavour. I used a poblano pepper, which are fairly mild but still have a bit of kick (and added some hot sauce after...), jalapeños are also an excellent addition.

Drizzle it all in olive oil and roast in the oven at 450*F for 10-15 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool for a bit, before placing it all, along with a bit of salt and the optional cilantro into a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth and voila! Amazing salsa verde.

Mine's already gone.

Sugar & Shortbread Cookies

As you all know, I love baking. What's more, I love baking and sharing my baked goods with people. Strangers, even. After all, I can't eat it all.

This Valentines, I decided to make as many cookies as humanly possible in one night, and give them out to people at work the next day :) I am happy to say they were a big hit. Apparently crowds were swarming the plates.

I made classic white sugar cookies, chocolate sugar cookies, and shortbread cookies and invited my friend Tara over to help me decorate them! (AND sample, of course.) We experimented with colours, designs and techniques, and had quite the stack of adorable cookies in the end.

All my recipes (including the royal icing) came from my SprinkleBakes cookbook- which is definitely one of my favourite cookbooks EVER and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys baking. All of these recipes can also be found on her blog, at www.sprinklebakes.com ... check her out!

And enjoy my photos of the whole process! Tara is delightful company, and a great photographer :)

 

KitchenAid Standmixer- Love of my life.

Sometimes I taste-test.

Outline- Then flood the cookies.

Draw lines in another colour while the flooded icing is still wet.

Then drag a toothpick through the lines in the opposite direction and watch beautiful designs form

Double-Decker Carrot Cake

Even though yesterday was only January 30th, and even though my mom's birthday is February 9th, we celebrated yesterday. My [lucky] parents left for Mexico this morning, but before they left they took me out to dinner last night (well, I picked the restaurant. Oz Kafe... great pick.)

After, I invited them over for dessert & coffee and presented my mom with the first birthday cake I've ever made her- carrot cake with cream cheese. The cake was dense, but super moist and sweet. NO RAISINS! As me, and my mom, and dad prefer...

Her age won't be revealed (although you're welcome to guess)...
Not quite a teenager anymore, although her texting habits would beg to differ...

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Saturday night was date night with girlfriend. This night was the night we had designated to discussing and planning our potential plans to take a trip to New York, and it was quite successful- we booked the tickets! In the midst of all this excitement was a dinner I very much enjoyed preparing. Saturdays, as my only days off, are my days. I do what I want. This usually means I'm baking something new. As you know, last weekend, it was les macarons. This weekend, I'm sick of all the sugar I've been consuming lately. I need to back off on this baking crap for a week or two and pull my nutritious-self together again. I have vowed (very casually) to designate my Mondays-Tuesdays-Wednesdays to be my vegan days. Ever heard of meat-free Mondays? This is meat-dairy-eggs-free M-T-W. Aside from my addiction to cheese, I don't think it will be very hard, as long as I can keep my baked-goods fixation to the weekend.

So what did I make tonight? I tried two new things. I have never cooked beets before. I have also never been a huge fan of mushrooms, but I'm warming up to them, and trying new recipes with them. This one was a good one. I made a cream of mushroom soup with sage and tarragon, as well as a mixed greens salad with roasted beets and warm herbed goats cheese. Want the recipes? Check it.

Mushroom Soup

2 tbsp butter (easily replaceable with oil)
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 white onion, diced
1 package of pre-sliced mushrooms
3 cups vegetable broth
~2tbsp chopped tarragon (fresh)
~2tbsp chopped sage (fresh)
1/3 cup heavy cream (easily replaced with an alternative non-dairy milk)

1. Heat butter in saucepan until completely melted. Add garlic and onion and sauté for a few minutes.
2. Add in all the mushrooms and stir well to ensure they are also coated in the butter/oil. Cook for about five minutes, until the mushrooms soften and brown a bit
3. Add the vegetable stock and herbs. Bring to a boil, and then turn the heat down and let simmer for 15-20 minutes.
4. Add cream, and any additional spices you'd like (salt & pepper for me)
5. Using a blender or food processor, puree the mixture and serve :)

Roasted Beet Salad

2 beets
1 tsp olive oil
Salad mix of your choice- arugula/spinach/baby romaine/etc.
1/3 cup diced red onion
Nuts of your choice- I chose walnuts, but almonds, pecans, or pine nuts would all be good.
Firm goats cheese, cut into 4 medallions

To roast beets, gently wash them, rub them in olive oil and wrap tightly in tin foil. Place them in a baking sheet and into the oven preheated to 400*F. Take them out after 45-60 min. You should be able to pierce them easily with a fork.

To remove skins, you can peel them off (they come off easily when beets are soft enough) or slice them off with a paring knife. Note: they will stain your hands. Use gloves or be careful.

For the goats cheese, place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and broil for 3-4 minutes until it starts to melt a bit. Remove from oven, and cut up the medallions (or leave them whole if preferred)

Mix all together and your salad has been assembled. We ate it with a pear-cinnamon flavoured balsamic that I received as a secret santa gift this year. It was a great match.