A farro story

Every once in a while I post a recipe that I've been waiting to try for ages, and this is one of those. I first bookmarked it in late 2014, and I've kept it on my must-try list since. I'm not sure why it took me so long to make it, except I'd never cooked with farro before.  (For the record, it's super-easy.)

I finally made the salad this week, and it was more than worth the wait. The original recipe called for brie, which would also be nice, but I loved the way the gruyere stood up to the other strong flavours. If you don't have farro in your cupboard, barley would be a nice substitute. And feel free to use whatever combination of roasted vegetables you like best. In other words, this is a really easy recipe to play around with - but next time I make it, I won't change a thing.

Farro Salad with Butternut Squash, Red Onion and Gruyere
(adapted from Eats Well With Others)

Ingredients

3 cups water
1 cup farro, rinsed (note: barley would also be nice)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 medium red onion, diced
6 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 Tbsp minced fresh sage
3/4 cup diced gruyere
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, toss together the olive oil, butternut squash, red onion and carrots. Season to taste with salt. Spread onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, or until tender.

In the meantime, bring water and farro to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook, covered, for 25 - 30 minutes or until farro is cooked. Drain excess water.

When the vegetables are roasted, toss them with the farro, sage and gruyere. Season to taste with salt and fresh pepper.

Pears

A pride of lions, a herd of cattle, a flock of sheep. Is there a word for a large number of pears?

Whatever the word is, I recently had one on my counter, and it made me very happy. Once I'd made the usual muffins and crisps, though, I still had a couple left over. I needed another recipe before they over-ripened.

I found this scone recipe in the deep recesses of my bookmarks. Adding pears to scones wasn't intuitive, but I loved the way they were partnered with almonds. And scone recipes are so quick and easy, I knew they'd be ready in no time.

The flavours worked as well as I hoped. With the sweetness of the glaze, they make a perfect teatime treat - maybe even breakfast, if you're in the mood for something sweet. I think they'd be lovely even without the glaze.

And I'll make them again, the next time I'm the owner of ... an abundance of pears.

Pear Almond Scones with Honey Almond Glaze
(adapted from Good Life Eats)

For the scones:

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, sliced
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
1 large egg
1/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 Tbsp honey
1 pear, peeled and diced (approximately 1 scant cup)

For the glaze:

1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp honey
a couple of drops of almond extract
about 1 Tbsp milk (to reach desired consistency)
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Cut the mascarpone cheese and butter into the flour mixture until you have coarse crumbs. Mix well and set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together egg, milk, almond extract and honey.

Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture. Pour in the egg mixture and the diced pear. Gently stir until the dough forms together, then turn it out on a piece of parchment paper placed on a flat surface. Knead it a few times, being gentle to avoid squishing the pears. Flatten into an 8-inch round and transfer dough and parchment paper to a baking sheet. Score into eight equal triangles.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

For the glaze, combine powdered sugar, honey, and almond extract. Add milk until desired consistency is reached. When scones have cooled completely, drizzle with glaze and sprinkle with sliced almonds.

Simplicity

This recipe, and its photos, have been sitting in my files forever, waiting to be posted. I'm not sure why, other than it never seemed like much of a recipe. There are 7 ingredients and two sentences, which basically amount to, "Mix everything together and serve."

That's just part of what makes it so perfect. It doesn't hurt that two of the three salad components are taken from the freezer, and the dressing is made from pantry staples. It also doesn't hurt that the flavour is surprisingly complex, and a great side dish for grilled meat.

I think I just talked myself into posting it.

Edamame, Red Pepper and Corn Salad

(from Canadian Living)

Ingredients:

2 tsp sodium-reduced soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp liquid honey

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup frozen edamame, thawed, drained and patted dry

1/2 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed, drained and patted dry

1 cup diced sweet red pepper

In bowl, whisk together soy sauce, sesame oil, honey and garlic until blended. Stir in edamame, red pepper and corn.

Half birthdays

When the girls were young, we celebrated half-birthdays. Half birthdays happened on the six-month anniversary of the actual birthday, and we celebrated them with half a cake. Literally, since we cut a one-tier cake in two and placed the halves on top of each other. The other rule of half-birthdays is that you do something nice for someone else (instead of receiving something as you would on your regular birthday).

We haven't celebrated half-birthdays in years, but did so recently when both girls were at home and my youngest daughter reminded me it was hers. I'm always happy to recreate childhood memories, and it was fun baking our traditional half-birthday white cake with caramel frosting.

What are your favourite family food traditions?

Half-birthday White Cake with Caramel Icing

(Note: if you want to make the whole cake, it was inspired by this recipe. The icing recipe is adapted from a recipe in Company's Coming Cakes, a cookbook I received at one of my wedding showers.)

For the cake:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 egg white
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
1/4 cup milk, room temperature
1/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter one 9" round cake pan on sides and line with parchment paper on the bottom.

Using a stand mixer, cream together butter and shortening until light and fluffy. Slowly add sugar, continuing to beat. Add eggs and egg white one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Continue to beat, scraping down the sides as necessary, for 2 - 3 minutes until very fluffy.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Combine milk, buttermilk and vanilla in a measuring cup. Add to butter mixture alternately, starting and ending with dry ingredients, stirring until smooth.

Pour cake batter into pan and bake 36 - 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cool slightly in cake pan for 5 minutes, then remove and cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

1 cup brown sugar, packed
6 Tbsp cream or milk
1/2 cup butter
3 cups icing sugar
8 - 12 pecans, toasted

Heat brown sugar, cream, and butter in medium saucepan until it boils. Boil for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and cool completely.

Add icing sugar and beat until smooth. (You may need to add more cream to make it spreading consistency.)

Frost the cake and top with pecans.

Repetition

If you read my blog carefully, you'll have seen that a few weeks ago I did something I hadn't done before: double-post a recipe.

For some reason, I had no memory of posting Gingery Sweet Potato and Apple Saute in March 2015, and didn't even realize the duplication until a week after posting it again in January. At least, one might argue, they were nearly two years apart.

I'll admit life is busy now - in addition to my full-time (plus overtime) contract position, I'm juggling a few freelance projects. And maybe that's making me absent-minded. Because when I went to post a recipe today, I hovered over the cauliflower-kale gratin photos on my computer before realizing I'd posted that one six weeks ago.

After that near-miss, I triple-checked that I hadn't already posted my recipe for Garam Masala cookies. And I'm happy to say this is a brand-new recipe for my blog! I've made so many cookies in my life that it's rare to come across one that's completely different, but this one truly is. I wouldn't have imagined how great an impact garam masala would have on a batch of cookies. And I promise you this - if you make these cookies, you'll never forget them.

Garam Masala Kitchen Sink Cookies

Adapted from Third Thursday Community Potluck Cookbook by Nancy Vienneau

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp fresh orange zest

1/4 tsp orange extract

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoons garam masala

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup dried cherries 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a stand mixer, beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add egg, orange zest, and orange extract and beat well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and garam masala. Stir the flour mixture into the creamed sugar mixture a little at a time until combined. Fold in oats, toasted pecans, chocolate chips and dried cherries, and stir until just mixed.

Drop rounded tablespoons full onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper and bake for 12 minutes, or until golden brown.

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Fog

Fog

The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

- Carl Sandburg, "Fog"

It was a foggy drive today as I went to visit my youngest at university. She and I cooked together, making food for a friend whose brother died this week.

"I don't know what to say when somebody dies, Mom."
"Neither do I, honey."

We take food, and say how sorry we are, and hope they know how much we care.

Pasta and Chicken with Mascarpone

Inspired by Italian Food Forever 

1 cup mascarpone cheese at room temperature

zest and juice of 1/2 lemon

a few grinds of black pepper

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut into 1/2” dice

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

3 cups baby spinach

2 cups dry penne

salt (for pasta water)

1/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds

Combine the mascarpone, zest, lemon juice and pepper in a bowl, and whisk to combine. Bring a pasta pot of salted water to boil.

While waiting for the water, heat the oil in a skillet, and cook the chicken until it is cooked through and just beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and spinach, and cook another minute or two, until spinach is wilted. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

Return the pasta to the pot, and set over medium heat. Stir in the mascarpone and lemon mixture, the chicken mixture,  and sun-dried tomatoes. Loosen the sauce with 1/4 cup of the water and toss the ingredients together until everything is combined, adding a little additional pasta water if needed.

Serve immediately, topped with toasted sliced almonds.

A new year

Sintra, Portugal - May 2016

We're a week into the New Year, but I want to write about one of my favourite year-end traditions. Andrew, the girls and I always go out to dinner between Christmas and New Year's, and spend the meal taking turns talking about our favourite memories of the past year.

2016 was a year many people were glad to see the end of, so we really appreciated remembering the wonderful experiences we had, either individually or as a family. While some of them were big (a family trip to Portugal, and a 25th wedding anniversary trip to Argentina), most of the things we remembered were smaller: a picnic lunch by Lake Ontario, a Thanksgiving weekend hike with my mom, going to church together on Christmas day. We had so much to be grateful for, we were still sharing memories when it was time to go.

Evora, Portugal - May 2016

Iguazu Falls, Argentina - September 2016

As always, it was a great way to end a year. And a good way to start this year is to prepare food that's both delicious and healthy. Susie Middleton is my cookbook hero - her recipes make vegetables the star, and I can always count on them being full of flavour. If this is a taste of what 2017 will be like, it's going to be an awesome year.

Gingery Sweet Potato and Apple Saute

(adapted slightly from Fast, Fresh and Green by Susie Middleton)

1 tsp cider vinegar

2 tsp chicken broth

1 Tbsp unsalted butter (first amount)

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (first amount)

2 3/4 cups sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2" dice (about 1 1/2 medium sweet potatoes)

1 small yellow onion cut into 1/2" dice

1 tsp kosher salt

1 Tbsp olive oil (second amount)

1 Golden Delicious apple cut into 1/2" dice

2 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger

1/2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp roughly chopped toasted sliced almonds

Combine the cider vinegar and broth in a small bowl and set aside.

In a 10" saute pan or skillet, melt 1 Tbsp butter with 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add sweet potatoes, onion, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and lightly browned, and the sweet potatoes have turned bright orange and are starting to brown, 10 to 12 minutes.

Add 1 Tbsp olive oil and the diced apple. Turn the heat down to medium low, and stir frequently until sweet potatoes are tender, and the apple and onion are browned, 8 to 12 minutes.

Add ginger and stir for about 30 seconds to incorporate. Remove the pan from the heat, clear a small spot in the pan, and add the vinegar-broth mixture and remaining 1/2 Tbsp butter. Stir well immediately to incorporate the butter. Transfer to plates and garnish with toasted almonds.