Celebrations and blessings

It was a weekend of celebrations.

My oldest daughter’s high school commencement was on Friday night. It’s probably the latest commencement of any school in the city, but it gave her and her friends the chance to see each other and share stories from university.  And if I may be permitted to boast a little, she won a General Proficiency award (third-highest average in her graduating class of 260), as well as an award for School Leadership and Citizenship, and highest marks in her English, Writer’s Craft, Philosophy and Chemistry courses.  I was so happy for her; she worked very hard in high school and it was wonderful to see that effort pay off.

We also celebrated my birthday on Saturday, as neither she nor my mother will be here on my actual birthday.  I thought about how lucky I was to be surrounded by my loved ones as I prepare to turn a year older.  I truly couldn’t be more blessed.

Today in church, we marked All Saints’ Sunday by remembering loved ones who have died.  I couldn’t help but think how proud my father, Paul Baker, and Andrew’s parents, Gwyneth and Roy Pollock, would have been – not only of her academic achievements, but of what kind and caring girls both of our daughters are.

There isn’t really a link between that story and this week’s recipe, other than to say that my daughter has asked for a loaf of this whole wheat bread to take back to university the next time she’s home.  I’ll be happy to do that, especially if it brings her home again soon!  This bread was surprisingly easy and delicious, and I’ll be happy to bake two loaves next time, one for her and one for us.  The recipe says to wait until the loaf is completely cool before slicing, but try to enjoy at least one slice while it’s warm – it’s absolutely amazing.  Make this loaf of bread for your family, and you too may be reminded of your blessings.

All-Purpose Whole Wheat Bread

(from Kneadlessly Simple, by Nancy Baggett)

2 cups unbleached all-purpose white flour

2 cups whole wheat flour (first amount)

4 Tbsp granulated sugar

Generous 1 3/4 tsp salt

3/4 tsp instant, fast-rising or bread machine yeast

3 Tbsp canola oil or corn oil (plus extra for coating dough top and baking pan)

2 cups plus 1 Tbsp ice water, plus more if needed

1 Tbsp whole wheat flour (second amount)

First rise: In a large bowl, thoroughly stir together the white flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, salt and yeast.  In another bowl or measuring cup, whisk the oil into the water.  Then vigorously stir the mixture into the bowl with the flour, scraping down the sides and mixing until thoroughly blended.  If too dry to mix together, add just enough additional water to facilitate mixing but don’t over-moisten, as the dough should be stiff.  If necessary, stir in enough additional flour to stiffen it.  Brush or spray the top with oil.  Tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap.  If desired, for best flavour or for convenience, refrigerate the dough for 3 to 10 hours.  Then let rise at cool room temperature for 12 to 18 hours; if convenient, vigorously stir once during the rise.

Second rise:  Vigorously stir the dough.  If it is not stiff, stir in enough additional white flour to yield a hard-to-stir dough.  Using an oiled rubber spatula, gently lift and fold the dough in towards the centre all the way around.  (This organizes the gluten for shaping the dough into a loaf.)  Invert it into a very well-greased 9” x 5” loaf pan.  Using an oiled rubber spatula or fingertips, smooth out the top and press the dough out into the pan.  Brush or pray the dough top with oil.  Evenly sprinkle the top with 1 Tbsp whole wheat flour.  Using a well-oiled serrated knife or kitchen shears, make 3 to 4 evenly spaced diagonal ½-inch-deep slashes down the loaf.  Cover the pan with nonstick spray-coated plastic wrap.

Let rise:  For a 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hour regular rise, let stand at warm room temperature.  (Alternately, for a 1 to 1 1/2 hour accelerated rise, let stand in a turned-off microwave along with 1 cup of boiling hot water.)  When the dough nears the plastic, remove it and continue the rise until the dough extends 1/8 inch above the pan rim or doubles from its deflated size.

Baking: 15 minutes before baking time, preheat oven to 375 degrees.  When oven is heated, bake loaf for 50 to 60 minutes; as necessary cover with foil to prevent over-browning.  Bake for 10 to 20 minutes more, until a skewer inserted in the thickest part comes out with just a few particles on the end.  Then bake for 5 minutes longer to make sure the centre is done.  Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Turn the loaf onto a rack and cool thoroughly.

Serving and storing: Serve warm, cool or toasted; the bread slices best when cool.  Cool thoroughly before storing in plastic or foil.  Keeps at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.  May be frozen, airtight for up to 2 months.

Thursday's Child: The High Line, New York City

One of our favourite ways to explore when we’re on holidays is by going for a walk.  Walking slows everything down, and helps us see what we might miss if we were in a cab, subway or car.  This month I’ll be reminiscing about some of the beautiful walks we’ve taken around the world.

One of my favourites was on New York City’s High Line.  The High Line was originally an elevated railroad track, built to keep freight trains safely away from ground level.  After being closed in 1980, various interest groups sparred over its possible demolition.  The decision was made to turn it into an urban park and, now that I’ve seen it, I can’t imagine it ever being anything else.  This pastoral haven in the middle of a busy city is both a true respite and a gorgeous walk. 

We climbed up to the High Line just outside of Chelsea Market, and continued the walk north to 30^th Street.  It was a beautiful summer day, and we were happy to stroll its length, enjoying the flowers, the view and the serenity.

Recipes Inspired by Musicals: My Fair Lady

We live about a two-hour drive from Stratford, Ontario, which hosts the Stratford Theatre Festival every year from May to November.  They put on some terrific shows, and my girlfriends and I go once a year to take in a Shakespearean play.  I often go with my family, too, starting the year my youngest daughter was six.  And our family tradition has been to see a musical.

The first show we took the girls to was My Fair Lady.  I’ve been fond of My Fair Lady since my grade five class performed some of the songs in a massed choir performance called “Maytime Melodies”.  I’m not sure why they thought it would be a good idea to have a bunch of ten-year-olds singing lyrics like this:

“The Lord above gave man an arm of iron

So he could do his job and never shirk.

The Lord above gave man an arm of iron, but

With a little bit of luck

With a little bit of luck

Someone else’ll do the blinkin’ work.”

So why did Andrew and I decide to take the girls to this show as their first musical?  The music, as written by the talented team of Lerner and Loewe, really is wonderful.  If you prefer romantic songs, you’ll love “I Could Have Danced All Night” and (sigh) “On the Street Where you Live”.  If you like livelier music, there’s “You Did It” and “Get me to the Church on Time”.  And the aforementioned “With a Little Bit of Luck”.

The other reason we had to see the show was the cast.  Playing Eliza Doolittle was Cynthia Dale, stage performer and erstwhile star of Street Legal.  (Only my Canadian friends will know that reference, but it’s a good one.)  And playing Henry Higgins was Colm Feore, one of the great Canadian actors.  His performance completely defined the misogynistic Higgins for me.

Late in the show, Eliza thinks about life without Higgins and realizes she can live on her own.  She sings,

“There’ll be spring every year without you.

England still will be here without you.

There’ll be fruit on the tree

And a shore by the sea

There’ll be crumpets and tea without you.”

I can’t think of a more traditionally British meal than crumpets and tea.  I found this recipe on the King Arthur Flour website, and we loved these delicious crumpets for breakfast.  I halved the recipe, because I couldn’t imagine the need for 20 crumpets, but you can find the entire recipe on the link below.  Mine didn’t develop as many air holes as theirs, and they were slightly thicker because I used a 3” ring mold rather than a 3 3/4” English muffin ring.  Regardless, they were great.  Try these, and you too will be wondering if the Rain in Spain stays mainly in the Plain.

Crumpets

(adapted from the King Arthur Flour website)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup lukewarm water

1/2 cup lukewarm milk

1 Tbsp melted butter

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp instant yeast

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and beat vigorously for 2 minutes.

Cover the bowl, and let the batter rest at room temperature for 1 hour.  It will expand and become bubbly.  Toward the end of the rest, preheat a frying pan or griddle to medium heat.

Lightly grease the frying pan, and place well-greased 3” ring mold (or 3 3/4” English muffin mold) in the pan.  Pour sticky batter by the scant 1/4-cupful into each ring.

After about 4 minutes, use a pair of tongs to slip the rings off.  Cook the crumpets for an additional 6 minutes on the first side, until their tops are riddled with small bubbles/holes.  They should be starting to look a bit dry around the edges.

Turn over and cook for an additional 5 minutes, to finish cooking the insides and to brown the tops gently.

Remove from the pan, and repeat with the remaining batter, until all the crumpets are cooked.  Serve warm, with butter, or butter and jam.  If you prefer, cool completely, wrap in plastic and store at room temperature.  To enjoy, warm in the toaster.

Yield: about 10 crumpets.

Thursday's Child: A Miscellany of Museums

I’ve been writing about some of my favourite museum experiences this month.  This week, I’ll mention three others that I’ve visited.  None of them merit a whole post, but they each stand out for one reason:

- The least likely museum we’ve ever seen was the Marzipan Museum in Talinn, Estonia.  Did you know that Talinn was the birthplace of marzipan?  Or that there was a whole (if tiny) museum devoted to it?  Before this trip I didn’t, but one look at the fabulous creations in this tiny basement museum made me realize what I’d been missing.   I'll never look at Shrek in the same way again.

- The Alte Pinakothek in Munich was the only museum we’ve visited where we set off an alarm by being too close to a painting.  A security guard was on top of us immediately, but the sight of eleven-year old tears convinced him that it was an innocent accident.  He issued a very kind warning, and in the seven years since then, we have never set off another alarm.

- Visiting the Prado museum in Madrid marked my height of organizational and parenting skills.  I couldn’t visit Madrid without seeing the Prado, but I knew it would be a tough sell for the girls.  So I told them they’d each be an expert on a Spanish painter of their choice.  My youngest daughter bought into this when I told her she could do her research on-line, especially when I agreed that she could design a brochure too.  She took her expert designation seriously; I’m not exaggerating when I say that we didn’t leave the Prado until we had seen every single Goya on display.  (And every Father's Day, the girls give Andrew a copy of Goya's masterpiece, "Saturno Devouring his Children", with great amusement.)

Recipes Inspired by Musicals: Chess

When I travelled in Europe in 1987, my trip ended with ten days in London. I had met my friend Ruth on a Contiki tour at the beginning of my journey, and soon found out she was a fan of live theatre, too.  She’d already been to London, and couldn’t say enough about Chess, the musical that was taking London by storm.

I wasn’t sure – there were so many great musicals playing, and I’d never even heard of Chess – but I went with her recommendation, bought a same-day half-price ticket and found myself in the theatre.  Three hours later, I came out, having been blown away by one of the most moving, clever and brilliant musicals I’ve ever seen.

The story is of an American chess master battling a Russian opponent, and the woman who is caught between them. The lyrics are very funny, the music is catchy, and the story is unforgettable.  But Chess remained a West End phenomenon.  A completely rewritten version ran for just two months on Broadway; it has never really found any success outside of London.

The music is unlike nearly any other musical I’ve seen – brilliant and brash, profound and profane.  None of the characters are standard good guys, as they all come to the tournament with some kind of emotional baggage and leave even more damaged.  And all these years later, the music is as vivid as when I walked out of the theatre in 1987.

Chess pie is a traditional southern U.S. dessert, and I hadn’t even heard about it until recently.  It’s very simple; once you’ve made the pie crust, everything else is simply stirred together and poured in.  I loved the pie almost as much as I loved the musical, and you can be sure I’ll make it again.  The best strategy to make sure you get your fair share?  Just prepare a good opening gambit, and don’t forget to protect your pieces (of pie).

Chocolate Chess Pie

(from Ezra Pound Cake)

1 unbaked 9” pie shell (preferably homemade)

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 heaping Tbsp cocoa powder

pinch of salt

5 ounces evaporated milk

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa and salt.  Add the evaporated milk, melted butter, eggs and vanilla.  Stir together until everything is completely combined.

Pour the filing into your pie shell and bake for 45 to 50 minutes.  If necessary, cover it with aluminum foil partway through to avoid getting too dark.  When the pie is finished, it will be set but still a little jiggly in the centre.

Cool the pie on a wire rack.  Serve it warm or chill for a few hours before slicing.

Thursday's Child: Istanbul Archaeology Museums

The Lycian Sarcophagus

The Istanbul Archaeology Museums are a collection of three buildings, situated next to the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.  Between them, they house nearly a million archaeological pieces.  We visited two of the buildings, and were staggered by the breathtaking collection that we saw.

The first, and largest, building that we visited is simply known as Archaeological Museum, and it holds pieces from a number of ancient civilizations, including Greece, Turkey and the Roman Empire.  The Alexander Sarcophagus is probably the best-known artifact.  A carving along one of the sides depicts Alexander the Great at war against the Persians and, despite its name, the sarcophagus actually belonged to the king of the Persians.  Carvings along the other sides depict animal hunts.  This sarcophagus is considered one of the most artistic and best-preserved anywhere in the world.

The Sarcophagus of Tabnit

Mummy of King Tabnit

The Sarcophagus of Tabnit is also a renowned part of the collection.  King Tabnit was one of the rulers of Sidon, in modern-day Lebanon.  The coffin was built in the shape of a human, and is beautifully carved. The king’s mummy was removed from the sarcophagus and lies in display under glass beside it.  This was done in defiance of the inscription on the tomb, which warns potential grave robbers that they’ll be cursed if they disturb his body. Inscriptions are in both Egyptian hieroglyphics and the Phoenician alphabet.

Statue of Alexander the Great

We were fortunate to visit in early 2010, when The Discus Thrower was on loan from the British Museum.  Note that when this statue was sold to an English collector in the late eighteenth century, while it was being restored the head was placed incorrectly on the statue.  It should face toward the discus, not the ground.

Having been awed by the Archaeological Museum, we went next door to see The Museum of Islamic Art in the Tiled Kiosk.  Last week I wrote about how I love small museums and this was no exception.  Just a couple of rooms, it was full of light and colour, and we fell in love with the collection immediately. 

The kiosk was built in the late fifteenth century, and was originally part of the Topkapi Palace before being annexed by the museum.

The Mihrab from the Ibrahim Bey Mosque.  A mihrab is a niche in the wall of a mosque
 that indicates the direction of Mecca, and thus the direction that should be faced in prayer.

This tiled peacock fountain was one of the most beautiful items in the collection.

Recipes Inspired by Musicals: Mary Poppins

Most of you likely know the story of Mary Poppins, the magical nanny who appears out of nowhere to bring happiness to the Banks family.  Although I don’t remember much about the movie, I have vivid memories of the soundtrack.  My sister Gwen and I listened to the record many times when we were kids, and some of our favourite songs were on that album.  We giggled along with “I Love to Laugh”, when Uncle Albert, Bert and the children floated to the ceiling with laughter.  “A Spoonful of Sugar” was almost powerful enough to convince me that cleaning could be fun.  I must admit that the charms of “Sister Suffragette” were lost on us, but we spent many hours singing, dancing and acting with the rest of the songs.

In one scene, Mary (played by Julie Andrews in the movie) and Bert (Dick Van Dyke) are on an outing in the countryside when Bert describes a perfect day in “Jolly Holiday”:

“Ain’t it a glorious day?

Right as a mornin’ in May

I feel like I could fly

‘Ave you ever seen the grass so green

Or a bluer sky?

“Oh, it’s a jolly holiday with Mary

Mary makes your ‘eart so light

When the day is gray and ordinary

Mary makes the sun shine bright.”

Mary with her parasol, and Bert with his cane, stroll through an animated land, and are serenaded by barnyard animals.  Finally, they arrive at a restaurant where they’re served by penguin waiters, and Mary describes the ultimate meal for this perfect day:

“Now then, what’d be nice

We’ll start with raspberry ice

And then some cakes and tea.”

Mary Poppins was always right, and this time was no exception.  Whether you're a banker or a chimney sweep, a nanny or a penguin, raspberry ice cream makes every day a little more jolly.

Raspberry Ice Cream

(from The Perfect Scoop, by David Lebovitz)

1 1/2 cups half-and-half

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

4 large egg yolks

1 1/2 cups strained raspberry puree (from 5 – 6 cups of fresh or frozen raspberries, pureed in a food processor then pressed through a mesh strainer to get rid of the seeds)

1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Warm the half-and-half and sugar in a medium saucepan.  Pour the cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the top.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.  Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.  Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream.  Mix in the raspberry puree and lemon juice, then stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill thoroughly in the fridge, but to preserve the fresh raspberry taste, churn the ice cream within four hours after making the mixture.

If you don’t have an ice cream machine, you can still make this recipe, using Lebovitz’s directions as follows:  Pour the cooled mixture into a baking dish or bowl and put it in the freezer for about 45 minutes.  Then stir it very thoroughly, so that any bits that are beginning to harden are completely mixed through.  Repeat these steps every half hour until the ice cream is thick and creamy, about 2 to 3 hours.