Mushroom Cabbage Galette

I have had Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cookbook on my shelves for a number of years but barely cooked anything from it. It's considered a bible for vegetarians, but somehow very little actually appealed to me. I already know about lentils and risottos, legumes and pastas, and the recipes seemed too basic. The one bread recipe I tried had very odd proportions so I had to make a lot of adjustments to get it to a kneadable state.

But I recently decided to make the effort to try more recipes from this book, no matter how simple sounding,  and I have now struck gold.

This is essentially a vegetable pie, but instead of the familiar quiche, it uses a combination of mushrooms, cabbage, and herbs that meld together really well. A hard-boiled egg adds some protein and texture, a bit of quark and vinegar some tang. It's a new favourite in my house, and it is actually very easy to make, especially if you have a dough or pastry already available.

Galettes are wonderfully flexible and especially well suited for those of use who cook meals for one or two because you can make them into individual portions. Or you could turn them into a turnover or calzone.

I made a yeast dough, but if you're short of time, use a commercial pizza crust, pie crust, or savory tart dough from the deep-freeze.

Mushroom Cabbage Galette

Serves 3-4. (I turned it into a 2-serving galette and a 1-serving calzone, but they were generously filled.)

Adapted from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

Dough:
This is a double recipe.

2 teaspoons active dry yeast
.5 teaspoon sugar
.5 cup warm water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
.5 teaspoon salt
1.25 cup flour
.5 cup whole wheat flour

Filling:
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloved garlic, minced
250 grams mushrooms, sliced
500 grams Chinese cabbage, shredded
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 teaspoon dried dill
1 teaspoon salt
50 ml water
80 ml quark (or yogurt)
80 ml chopped parsley
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon oil or melted butter

Make the dough:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer equipped with a dough hook, combine the warm water, sugar, and yeast and let stand for 5-10 minutes until the yeast bubbles.
2. Stir in the beaten egg, then the salt and flours. Mix at medium low speed for about 4 minutes. (If you don't have a mixer, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 4 minutes.)
3. Lightly oil the dough in the bowl, cover with a clean tea towel, and let rise until doubled in bulk (50-60 minutes).

While the dough rises, prepare the filling:

1. In large skillet or pot, melt the butter over medium heat.
2. Add the onion, mushrooms, and herbs and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. 
3. Add the cabbage, salt, and water, then cover and cook slowly until the cabbage is tender, about 10  minutes, stirring occasionally and checking that there is enough liquid. Add a bit more if needed. (If you use a less tender cabbage, cook for 15-20 minutes). When the cabbage is done, uncover and raise the heat to evaporate any excess moisture so that the mixture is relatively dry. 
4. Stir in the parsley, egg, and quark. Season with vinegar and taste for salt and pepper.

Pull it together:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Grease a baking sheet or cover it with silicone sheets or parchment paper.
2. After the dough has risen, split the dough into 2 portions, using one portion now and freezing the other portion for future use. (Sprinkle it with flour, wrap it in plastic, and put it in the freezer. The next time you want to make a pizza or galette, let it thaw at room temperature for a couple of hours.)
3. Roll the other portion out on a floured surface until it is quite thin. Or divide it into 3 or 4 pieces for individual servings. Place the rolled circle(s) on the baking sheet. If you're making one galette, the circle will be too large and hang over the edges.
4. Spoon the filling into the middle of each dough circle, heaping it fairly high and leaving an edge that can be folded over. Fold the edge towards the center but leaving the middle open. For calzones, heap the filling on one half and fold the other half over, crimping the the edges to close. Cut one or two holes to let the steam out.
5. Brush the edges with some olive oil or melted butter.
6. Bake until browned, about 25 minutes.

Slide the galette onto a plate, and serve with whatever salad or vegetables appeal to you.
This recipe also freezes and reheats well.

Glut of Plums? Cake!

The purple Italian prune plums are available in abundance right now, at least at the Middle Eastern groceries in my neighbourhood. Last weekend I bought a huge bag for €1.50 a kilo, which I think is incredibly well priced.

Coincidentally, the blogosphere is awash with recipes  for German yeasted plum cake (Pflaumkuchen). Who am I to resist?

I've tried several recipes, all good, although not equally successful. I've had trouble with getting the dough to rise, which I first attributed to old yeast, but have now concluded is due to using the wrong kind of flour. I only had cake flour (patent bloem, in Dutch) and it's low gluten content just doesn't work with yeast. When I used ordinary flour, success!

This cake is an amalgam of several recipes, producing a fresh, not-too-sweet cake that goes well with the morning coffee. I think you could serve it for brunch or as part of luxurious breakfast. It also freezes reasonably well.

Yeasted Plum Cake

The recipe is large! It makes one sheet cake, baked in a rimmed cookie sheet, which will feed a good crowd (ca. 20). You can half the recipe and bake it in a square or round cake form. In this case, you can make it as an upside-down cake instead of a streusel cake.

I am providing alternatives for making a vegan version (soy milk, margarine, egg replacer), which is the version I made for my colleagues. It was excellent. I (and some but not all of my testers) thought adding a bit of salt would lift the flavour, so I've added that to the recipe. Consider it optional.

Cake
250 ml (1 cup) lukewarm milk or soy milk, divided
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
85 grams (6 tablespoons) sugar
500 grams  (ca. 3 cups) all purpose flour
90 ml (6 tablespoons) melted butter or margarine, cooled to lukewarm
2 eggs , at room temperature (or slightly warmed by sitting in a bowl of warm water  for 5 minutes)
    (or 2 teaspoons egg replacer powder mixed with 4 teaspoons of water)
1 large pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 teaspoons grated lemon zest (zest of 2 lemons)
1.4 kilos (3 pounds) plums, pitted and sliced

Streusel
Note: don't make the streusel if you half the recipe and make the upside down cake.
40 grams almonds, pecans, or walnuts
50 grams light brown sugar
50 grams flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
45 grams butter or margarine

1. Heat the (soy)milk to lukewarm and pour  half of it into a small bowl. Add the yeast and sugar and let stand for 10 minutes until the yeast foams.
2. Put the flour in a large bowl (of a stand mixer with dough hook, if you've got it), make a well in it,  and add the yeast mixture. Add the rest of the (soy)milk, the eggs, melted butter or margarine, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and salt. Mix thoroughly.
3. Beat the dough on medium slow speed for 8 minutes until it is shiny and elastic. If you haven't got a mixer that can do this, turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. You can add a little four to prevent sticking but don't add to much, otherwise the cake will be quite dry.
4. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking sheet.
   Spread the the dough evenly over the pan, right out to the edges. You can use a rolling pin to do this, or just use your fingers. Cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm, draught-free place for 1 hour until it has approximately doubled in height. I put it in the oven with just the light on. While the dough rises, prepare the plums and make the streusel. 
5. To prepare the plums, cut them in half and remove the stone. Cut the halves into quarters and cut the quarters into halves or thirds. 
6. To make the streusel, put the nuts and other dry ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the nuts are chopped (not too finely). Add the butter or margarine and pulse until the mixture is more finely ground and starts to clump together. 
7. When the dough has risen, gently press it down. Starting on the outside and working inward, lay the plum segments on the dough, gently pressing them in and creating an attractive pattern. (I had one plum that had deep red flesh instead of yellow flesh, so I used it to create a flower pattern in the center.) Sprinkle the streusel over the top.
8. Let the cake rise for another 20-30 minutes while you preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F), then bake for 30-35 minutes until the cake has turned a golden brown and the plums have softened and cooked.

Note: For an upside down cake (using half the recipe!), let the dough rise in a ball instead of spreading it. Liberally butter a 9 or 10 inch round or square pan, and sprinkle it with 3 tablespoons of sugar. (I use a fluted quiche dish.) Lay the plum segments into a pretty pattern in the bottom of the dish and after the dough has risen for an hour, carefully spread it on top of the plums, making sure you don't disturb the pattern. Let rise for another half hour before baking. When it's done, let rest for 5 or 10 minutes. If the sides are sticking, loosen them with a knife. Place a serving plate upside down on top of the pan, hold them together and quickly flip over. The cake should come out easily, with the lovely plums in a jelly-like glaze made from the sugar and their own juices.

Waldkorn Crispbread

When I was in Denmark recently with my sister and brother-in-law we stayed at a wonderful B&B (Dalsgaard B&B) on a small farm 20 minutes from Århus. The accommodation was in a separate building, with separate living room (including fireplace), and two bedrooms. There was no kitchenette or WiFi  but these inconveniences were completely compensated by the fabulous breakfasts featuring homemade bread rolls and preserves, lovely cheeses and sliced meats, and what our hostess Karin called Swedish crispbread (also homemade). These were seed-filled, nutty, crunchy and utterly satisfying.

She very generously gave me the recipe, and I made it almost as soon as we got home to Amsterdam.

I was surprised by the amount of oil the recipe called for, and because I don't have a forced air oven, I had to bake them much longer than Karin's recipe called for. Even then, toasting the crispbreads  afterwards is what gave them their lovely golden brown color. They have kept for a month (while I went on another holiday!) and they still taste great. I often eat one for breakfast with some cheese or accompanying some soup for lunch.

When I made another batch, I decided to make some adaptations—cutting the oil by half and increasing the water, raising the oven temperature. Even at the higher temperature, I baked them for double the amount of time (40 minutes) and eventually lost patience and once again toasted the crispbreads to get them golden brown. And they still taste great!

Waldkorn Crispbreads 

Adapted from Karin Dalsgaard
Yield: 24 flatbreads, aprox. 9cm square
Note: This recipe has been adjusted from my original post, so it now produces the correct results--delicious, brown crispbreads!

American	Metric	Ingredient
1.75 cup	245 grams	whole wheat flour
.5 cup	55 grams	quick rolled oats
.5 cup	75 grams	flax seed
.5 cup	70 grams	sesame seeds
.5 cup	65 grams	sunflower seeds
.5 cup	65 grams	pumpkin seeds
1 teaspoon	5 ml	baking powder
.5 cup	120 ml	oil
1 cup	250 ml	water

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients and then mix in the oil and water. The mixture should be quite soft a spreadable, so add a bit more water if it seems too dry (although I've not found this necessary). 
3. Spread half the dough on a lined baking sheet, cover it with another piece of parchment paper and roll it out to the edges. Repeat for the second sheet.
4. Remove the top parchment paper (it just makes rolling out easier) and cut the dough into squares so the crispbreads  will break neatly when baked. 
5. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the crispbreads are brown and barely yield to pressure when pressed. Karin suggests that if the outer crispbreads are done and the inner ones are not, you can remove the outer ones before returning the rest to the oven. 
6. If they are not golden brown, toast each piece in a toaster. 
7. Store in a tin for up to a month.

Note: Karin's recipe calls for baking them at 180C for 20 minutes in a forced air oven. Since ovens can vary a lot, consider this as your starting point and experiment with the temperature and length of time that works for you. I'll do the same, and when I find the ideal combination, I'll update this post.

On Poached Eggs and Shakshuka

Have I ever mentioned how much I love eggs? I love eggs—poached, soft-boiled, hard-boiled, fried, in omelettes, egg salad, as accents in other salads, not to mention their essential use in baking.

I think my favourite egg dish is eggs benedict, but I always have trouble with the poaching. The egg white just drifts off and I can't get it to go around the yolk in that lovely oval nestling way that proper poached eggs should have. I have tried all kinds of techniques: creating a gentle vortex, adding vinegar in the water, precooking the egg in the shell fo 30 seconds first.

I think the biggest problem is that supermarket eggs are just not fresh enough. In Europe they believe that eggs should not be chilled, so that they are sold at room temperature, which does not help in keeping them fresh. They should read Harold McGee.

In my recent visit back home I picked up some silicon egg poachers that I hope will help me in my quest for better poached eggs. I have tried them once and they were OK, but I needed to peel the eggs out of them. Next time, I'll try a bit of oil spray.

But another variation on a poached egg is to simmer it in a sauce. So today I tried that Middle-eastern favourite, shakshuka, which are eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce.

This is a basic recipe, but I suspect it is infinitely variable depending on what you have on hand. Potatoes or aubergine can be substituted for the sweet red pepper, or you could add some spinach. One thing that I think is missing is an onion. Some feta sprinkled over it would also be yummy.

Shakshuka

Adapted from Jerusalem,
by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi
(Halved the recipe, used different hot paste, omitted extra egg yolks and salt, omitted laban or yoghurt)
Serves 1-2
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 sweet red pepper, diced in .5 cm pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon chili paste, such as harissa or sambal (I used sambal badjak)
.5 teaspoon freshly ground cumin
1 can (400 gram) skinned tomatoes
2 eggs
pita bread

1. In a medium skillet, sauté the diced red pepper, minced garlic, chili paste, tomato paste, and ground cumin for about 8 minutes, until the red pepper is softened.
2. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce is fairly thick. Before adding the eggs, taste it and adjust the seasoning. I omitted the salt because I find canned tomatoes, tomato paste and chili paste generally have more than enough salt, and this proved to be the case.
3. Break the eggs into the sauce and gently simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs. (The author says to create a well for each egg in the sauce, but this means the egg makes contact with the frying pan and the yolk will cook from the bottom and be harder than I like.) I like the whites solid and the yolks runny, which poses a bit of a challenge, so I mixed the egg whites into the tomato sauce a bit and after 5 minutes partially covered the skillet to get the top whites to cook, while stilling keeping the egg yolks sunny yellow. 
4. Serve with some pita bread or turkish bread to sop up the sauce.

I ate this all on my own for supper, but it could easily serve 2 for lunch (especially if you add an extra egg and serve with a side salad).

Charred Eggplant Soup

I have acquired new cookbooks! Both are by the London-based Israeli chef Yottam Ottolenghi, who is famous for his restaurants and catering shops in London. I've never been to one, but he's also well-known for his eclectic and original recipes, often featuring vegetables in the starring role.

So my first recipe to try was using one of my favourite vegies—eggplant. He has a number of recipes that call for burnt aubergine, which means cooking them over a gas flame until they are charred  on the outside and soft and smoky-tasting on the inside. One of them is this soup.

This recipe is a bit labour-intensive but it a delivers a rib-sticking soup with a smoky, earthy, sweet and sour flavour that is really unusual. I liked it a lot, but the immediate hit of charred eggplant flavour might not be to everyone's taste.

The recipe also calls for a type of giant couscous that is difficult to obtain. None of the stores in my neighbourhood carried it under the names provided, but I did find some nameless pasta that was shaped  a bit like little balls, so I used that, since couscous is really a form of pasta. The soup would work very well without it, but it adds that extra heft needed for a main course soup.

Charred Eggplant Soup

Adapted from Jerusalem

(I reduced the amount of oil and increased the chicken stock.
I also didn't bother skinning and seeding the tomatoes.)

5 small eggplants (about 1.3 kilos in total)

3-4 tablespoons oil

1 onion

1 tsp freshly-ground cumin

1 tablespoon tomato paste

4-5 medium tomatoes (350 grams), or used canned tomatoes

4 smashed garlic cloves

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons sugar

1.5 teaspoon salt

400 ml chicken stock

400 ml water

1 tsp freshly-ground pepper

100 grams pearl pasta (as I call it)

fresh dill for garnish

1. Line 3 gas burners with tin foil to catch the juices and keep the stove-top clean. Place one eggplant on each burner and set the flame to medium or high (depending on the size of the burner). Cook for about 15 minutes, turning regularly until the outside is charred and the inside is limp and soft. The skin will burst and some juices leak out. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then scoop the flesh out or peel the charred skin off. Place the flesh into a colander, rinse to get the last charred flakes off, and allow to drain.
2. Cut the remaining 2 eggplants into about 1.5 cm cubes.
3. In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium high heat. Add the diced eggplant, stirring thoroughly to distribute the oil over the eggplant. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the eggplant browns and turns soft. At first the eggplant will absorb the oil, but as it cooks, it will release it again. If it is not browning at this point, turn up the heat so that at least some of the cubes get some nice colour on them. If necessary, add a bit more oil.
4. When the diced eggplant is brown and cooked, remove it from the pot and set it aside in a colander to drain, and sprinkle with some salt. Keep any remaining oil in the pot or top up to about 1 tablespoon.
5. Now add the onion and ground cumin and sauté for 5-7 minutes.
6. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for another minute.
7. Add the tomatoes, garlic, lemon juice, sugar, salt, stock, and water. Simmer for 15 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, cook the "pearl" pasta until al dente. Mine took about 10 minutes.
9. Add the charred eggplant into the soup and purée using a hand-held blender. If the soup is too thick, add some more water or stock. Then add most of the cubed eggplant and most of the pearl pasta, reserving some of both for the garnish. Heat through for about 2 minutes and adjust the seasoning (sweet, sour, salt, pepper).
10. Serve the hot soup in bowls garnished with the remaining diced eggplant, pearl pasta and fresh dill.

If you plan to freeze the soup, it might be worth omitting the pasta and only adding it just before serving, since pasta tends to expand and go mushy when left to sit in soup.

I think this soup would also be great with a bit of heat and might consider adding some chilli flakes the next time I make it.

If you don't have gas burners, put the eggplants under the broiler for about an hour, turning regularly. I haven't tried this; it's the author's advice.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Holland has good bakeries, but the Dutch are not home bakers. Flour and sugar are only available in 1 kilo packages, baking powder comes in small envelopes, baking soda is not sold at all, and the rest seems to be box kits. And chocolate chips are unknown. On the plus side, you can buy ready-made  amandelspeis (somewhere between marzipan and frangipane), the almond filling used in a lot of baked goods here.

For chocolate chip cookies you need to either chop a chocolate bar in pieces (we do have good chocolate here!) or rely on visitors from across the pond. So when one of my colleagues emailed me from Vancouver that he could pick something up from the grocery store, I asked for chocolate chips.



I started with the recipe on the back of the President's Choice Milk Chocolate Chips. It calls for cooled melted butter (!?), 1.5 cups of chocolate chips, and a cookie size of 2 tablespoons to produce 24 cookies. I assume they are huge and the dough is just an excuse to hold the chocolate chips together. Because I used 1.25 cups of chocolate chips and a cookie size of 1 tablespoon to produce almost 60 perfectly sized cookies that were abundantly filled.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from President's Choice
Yield: aprox. 60 cookies.

200 grams (3/4 cup)    butter
240 grams (1 1/3 cup) light brown sugar
1                                   egg
1                                   egg yolk
300 grams (2 cups)      flour
1/2 teaspoon                baking powder
1/2 teaspoon                salt
160 grams (1 1/3 cup) chocolate chips
60 grams (1/2 cup)      toasted pecan nuts, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F/ 170 C, placing 1 rack in the top third and one rack in the bottom third of the oven. (I only have one rack, so I used a roasting pan. Next time I'll try the roasting pan in the top third, as the cookies on the top rack get done more quickly.)
2. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
3. Melt the butter and chill to room temperature.
4. Beat the sugar, butter, and eggs together until they form a creamy liquid.
5. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in another bowl, and then add to the liquid ingredients. 
6. Mix the cookie dough until everything is thoroughly combined (I used an electric mixer).
7. Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts.
8. Use a teaspoon (5ml) to measure out the dough and drop onto cookies sheets, spacing them about 5 cm/2 inches apart. I was able to get 15 on each sheet.
9. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Half-way through, switch the cookie sheets, moving the bottom one up and the top one down. Also reverse them, so the front is move to the back. 
10. When lightly browned, remove to a cooling rack. The cookies will still be soft but will harden as they cool.
11. Serve with a glass of cold milk or a cup of tea.

Shortcuts are Good, or The Thrifty Cook

"Shortcuts are good" and "who's got time for that?" These are common expressions adopted from a friend of my sister. She must be a practical, busy woman.  I use it to explain why, despite my cooking hobby, I do not make everything from scratch. I use commercial pasta sauce,  canned beans, bagged salad greens, frozen potato croquettes, bouillon blocks, jarred fond, and lots more convenience foods.

But I also make some of my own convenience foods, usually just trying to be less wasteful. Or I try to prepare things in the weekend ready for lunches and quick suppers in the rest of the week.

• The skin of every lemon that comes into my house is scrubbed and grated before it is squeezed for its juice. The lemon rind goes into a little jar in the freezer, and every time I need some, I just scrape out the amount I need.
• Extra lemon juice is saved in another little jar, or frozen into ice cubes containing a tablespoon each. They defrost in no time, ready for use in salads, sauces, or baking.
• Chicken, beef, and lamb bones are simmered in some water, maybe with some vegetables and parsley stems, before being discarded. I freeze the resulting broth in ice cube bags or small containers for use in soups, salads and sauces. This reduces the need for bouillon cubes.
• If I have a largish bunch of basil, I'll make pesto and freeze it into ice cubes, ready to be defrosted and used on crackers, pasta, or tomato salad.
• I clean and save handy-size glass jars so that I can save extra dressings, sauces, and odds and bobs of dried goods. My favourites are peanut butter jars (for broth and blanched vegetables), Bonne Maman jam jars (for nuts, seeds, rice, sugar, orzo), Conimex sambal jars (for dressings, lemon juice, and lemon zest), and AH fond jars (for everything).
• Canadian milk bags are also a great way to save foods. They are sturdy plastic, in a convenient size, perfect as lunch bags or freezer bags. I never buy plastic lunch or freezer bags. (Thanks Mom, for saving these for me!)

So what are some of your tips and tricks for shortcuts and thrift?

Vegetable Pie

One of the standard recipes in my repertoire is Greek Leek Onion Pie, but I'm always left with half a package of phyllo dough left over. Its long skinny shape doesn't fit into my small freezer, so I've been thinking of ways of using up the remnant. And I have to say, I think I've come up with a winner.

I made it with one of my favourite combinations of vegetables and some aged goat cheese, but I think you could make it with a wide variety of vegetables as long as the moisture level isn't too high.

Vegetable Pie
4-6 servings
Note: I use an oil spritzer to grease the casserole dish and every layer of pastry. This lets me use very little oil for an even coverage. If you don't have one, I suggest brushing every second layer of pastry with olive oil.

1 sweet potato (ca. 285 grams)
1 medium aubergine (ca. 300 grams)
2 medium onions
2 garlic cloves
1/2 red pepper
2 small onions
80 grams aged goat cheese
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon fresh dill
salt and pepper
olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C. Grease a casserole dish, and place a layer of phyllo pastry in the bottom, centered with the overhang on either side. Spray with oil and repeat with four more layers.
2. Slice the sweet potato, eggplant, onion, and tomatoes into 1 cm slices; mince the garlic, and cut the red pepper into side strips.
3. Layer the vegetables, one vegetable at a time, into the pastry-lined casserole, seasoning each layer with some of the basil, dill, salt and pepper. I started with the sweet potato on the bottom, followed, by the onion, eggplant, garlic, red, and tomatoes. 
4. Top the vegetables with sliced cheese.
5. Fold the overhanging pastry over the vegetable filling, and spray (or brush) the top with oil. Sprinke some more herbs and paprika over the top, then cover with aluminum foil.
6. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 30-45 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.
7. Serve with a salad of chopped tomatoes, cucumber, and spring onions.

Strawberry Cake

This is the story of a very forgiving, easy cake, and I have the photos to prove it. I discovered this recipe last summer and made it twice, with different, equally delicious results.

Today I discovered the strawberries I had sitting on the counter had to be used today, with no further delay, and this recipe came to mind again. Only this time, I mis-read the recipe and used 50% more flour than I should have. And it still turned out fine. Denser, but still delicious.

June is the time that local strawberries come on the market, and there is no point in buying them any time that they are not local.  Since this recipe uses fresh strawberries, it is an ideal summer cake.







The first time I made this recipe I followed it exactly, including a mix of all-purpose and barley flour. It turned out perfect, with a soft crumb and delicate flavour. I made it in a cake pan, and the batter ended up buckling around the fruit on top.

The second time I made it in spring-form pan, but the fruit ended up sinking to the bottom, but it tasted great and I just managed to take a picture before the rest of it was consumed.

The third time I made it in a deep dish pie plate, I didn't have any barley flour and it was too early in the morning, so I rushed though the instructions and added 2.25 cups of flour instead of 1.5 cups. I also used buttermilk instead of milk. The cake ended up being denser, perhaps more muffin-like than cake like, or like a cobbler. I can imagine serving it with some warm custard served over it.

Strawberry Cake

Once again, this recipe is adapted from  Smitten Kitchen.

225 grams (1 1/2 cup)   flour (up to 50% barley flour)

1/2 teaspoon                  baking soda

1 teaspoon                     baking powder

1/2 teaspoon                  salt
85 grams                        butter

190 grams (7/8 cup)      sugar

120 ml (1/2 cup)           buttermilk

1                                    egg

1 teaspoon                     vanilla extract

300 grams  (3/4 pound) strawberries

1 tablespoon                 sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350F, and butter a 9-10 inch cake pan, a 9-inch deep dish pie pan, or a spring form pan.
2. In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In the bowl of a mixer, beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
4. Add the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla and mix until just combined.
5. Gradually add the flour and mix until just combined.
6. Pour into the greased pan, then stud the strawberries over the batter. Depending on how many strawberries you have, they may totally cover the batter, or be spaced a bit.
7. Sprinkle a tablespoon og sugar over the top.
8. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes, then turn down the heat to 325F and bake for another 50-60 minutes until the cake is golden brown and a tester comes out clean.
9. Once it cools, you can sprinkle some icing sugar on top. This looks especially nice if the fruit dropped to the bottom and the top is quite smooth.

This is what the batter is supposed to look like

This is what the batter looks like with too much flour (and strawberries!)

Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Bread

The number of over-ripe bananas accumulating in my freezer had reached critical proportions (8!) so I thought it was about time to do some baking.

I have 2 favourite recipes for banana bread, but I've made them so often I decided to look for some new inspiration, and naturally came to think of peanut butter.

Peanut butter and bananas are a great combination. For breakfast or dessert, I've been known to just slice a banana in half length-wise and smear peanut butter between the two layers. And of course toasted peanut butter and banana sandwiches are classic, so I thought a PB riff on banana bread would not be misplaced.

This  turned out to be a vegan banana bread, made with peanut butter and seroendeng. (I have an industrial-size jar of seroendeng that needs to be used up, and the amount of nasi goreng I can consume is limited.) I also made a classic banana cake with eggs and butter.

My testers (aka colleagues) turned out to be very divided on which one they liked better. Half preferred the one and half the other, and the comments were very interesting. One thought the peanut butter flavour was too dominant, another couldn't identify what the extra flavour was; one preferred the banana-y flavour of the cake, another found it too straight and mild.

My personal opinion? Mwah. I find that vegan cakes tend to be slightly drier than normal cakes, and denser. There is just no substitute for eggs. It tastes best smeared with a bit of butter (which of course makes it non-vegan). Ultimately, I think my other regular banana bread recipes have the edge over this one, but for those who like spiced banana bread, this makes a good variation.

Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Bread

I adapted this from here, omitting the chocolate chips, substituting brown sugars for white, and adding cinnamon and seroendeng.

2 tablespoons flax seeds, ground
6 tablespoons warm water

1 1/2 cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/5 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup seroendeng, optional *

1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup yellow sugar, loosely packed
1/2 cup dark brown sugar (demerera), loosely packed
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 over-ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup peanut butter


* Seroendeng kering is an Indonesian condiment of toasted coconut, peanuts, sugar, and salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C.
2. Grease a 9 cup cake form, such as 12x4.5 inch loaf pan, a bundt cake pan, and dust with flour or fine bread crumbs.
3. Combine the ground flax seeds and hot water in a small bowl and set aside. I use a coffee grinder to grind the seeds. (This is a  substitute for 2 eggs,  so if  you are not constrained, feel free to use eggs instead. )
4. Mix the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and seroendeng in a medium large bowl.
5. In a large bowl, mix the oil, brown sugars, vanilla, bananas, peanut butter and flax seed mixture (or 2 eggs). Mix thoroughly (I used a mixer). 
6. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until the dry ingredients are just wet. Do not over-mix.
7. Spoon the batter into the greased pan and (optionally) sprinkle the top with another tablespoon or two of seroendeng. Bake for 50-60 minutes.

Lemon Almond Cantuccini (Biscotti)

In North America, we call them biscotti, in Italy and the rest of Europe they're called cantuccini (or cantucci). There was recently a recipe for them in one of the local papers which inspired me to try my hand at them.

This version uses no butter, which means the cookies become very hard and are best eaten dunked is some sweet wine, coffee or tea. They also keep well (if they last so long!).

Lemon Almond Cantuccini

Adapted from Cees Holtkamp

125 grams flour
125 grams sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
large pinch of salt
1 teaspoon lemon peel
2 medium eggs
100 grams almonds, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 325F/170C and prepare put parchment paper on a baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon peel.
3. Lightly beat the 1 egg and 1 egg yolk, and add it to the dry ingredients. Reserve the remaining egg white as an egg wash.
4. Use your hands to lightly knead the eggs into the flour until it forms a dough.
5. Add and mix in (still with your hands) the chopped almonds. I used blanched almonds, but using unblanched almonds would look pretty.
6. Break the dough into two lumps and roll each lump out to a length of 10-12 inches on a lightly floured surface. A fatter roll will yield bigger cookies. For small cookies, you could break it into 4 skinny rolls.
7. With a brush, apply a wash of egg white to yield shiny cookies.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes until light golden brown. The dough will spread out quite a bit.
9. Turn the oven down to 300F/150C.
10. Remove from the oven and put the baked plaques on a cutting board. While they are still warm and a bit soft on the inside, diagonally cut the plaques into pieces about 1 inch/2 cm wide. Place these pieces on their side on the parchment paper and return to the oven for 5 minutes.
11. Let the cookies cool and then store in a jar or tin, theoretically for a month or so.
12. Serve as dessert with a sweet wine like vin santo or white port for dunking, or with coffee or tea.

Bakewell Tarts

It's a stupid reason to make tarts, but I was looking for a recipe that uses jam in it. I had some mediocre jam that I wanted to find a use for, without having to put it on my toast. So I thought of a Bakewell Tart, which has a layer of jam under a frangipane filling. But there's a reason for that old adage of using the best ingredients you can. In the end, I just couldn't bring myself to ruin a lovely pastry with jam that lacked any kind of decent flavour. Unless I'm struck with a brilliant idea soon, I'm going to throw the stuff out. (Mea culpa, mea culpa!)

I was surprised by the variety of recipes out there for Bakewell tart, especially the number of eggs required. Some of them have so many eggs, it must be more of a custard. I ended up using a recipe from one of my most reliable sources—Deb Perlman of Smitten Kitchen.

Bakewell Tarts 

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen. 

Yield:  five 4-inch tarts or one 9-inch tart.  Serves: 8-10 (I only have four small tart pans, so I had extra tart dough and filling left over—enough for one more tart. I've put it in the freezer, ready for use.)

Be warned, both the filling and the dough spend a few hours in the fridge/freezer, so this is a good candidate for preparing ahead of time and baking when required.

Tart filling:

1 cup blanched almonds, coarsely chopped

1 1/2 tablespoons flour

2/3 cup sugar

110 grams unsalted butter, cool room temperature

1 large egg

1 large egg white

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 1/2 teaspoons orange or lemon zest 

4 tablespoons raspberry conserve

Tart dough:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup bastard sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

110 grams (partially) frozen unsalted butter

1 large egg

Tip: Put the butter for the tart dough in the freezer for a half hour or so before you start.

1. Make the tart dough.
   Butter the tart pans. In the food processor, mix the flour, sugar, and salt.
   Cut the cold butter into small pieces and scatter over the flour mixture. (The butter has to be very cold, but butter that is frozen solid is harder to cut,  so I always use butter that has been frozen for 30-45 minutes.)
   Pulse just until it forms a course meal (the largest pieces should be the size of a pea).
   Using about 1/5 of the dough for each tart, press it into each tart pan and up the sides. Try to press and handle as little as possible, just enough to get the dough stuck together in the form.
   Prick with a fork and put back into the freezer for an hour or two.
2. Make the frangipane.
   In a food processor, finely grind the almonds and flour, then add the sugar. Add the butter, almond extract, and grated lemon rind and mix until smooth.
   Add the eggs, blending thoroughly.
   Transfer to a bowl or container, then cover and chill for 3 hours.
   Clean the food processor, as you'll need it again.
3. Pre-bake the tart shells.
   Preheat the overn to 375F/190C.
   Take some aluminum foil and cut it into squares that roughly pit the tart shells.
   Butter the shiny side of the foil, fit it into a tart shell, buttered side down.
   Place the tart pans on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
   Remove the foil. If the pastry has puffed a lot, press it down a bit with a spoon.
   Return the tart shells to the oven bake for another 5 minutes.
   Remove and let cool.
4. Assemble and bake the tarts.
   Preheat the oven to 350°F/180C, and take the frangipane out of the fridge.
   Spread a generous tablespoon of jam in the bottom of each tart shell.
   Spread the chilled frangipane over the jam. I used by my fingers to break it into little pieces and a knife to carefully spread it out. You don't need to make it too smooth, since it will flatten out while baking.
   Sprinkle the sliced almonds over the top of the tarts.
   Bake them for 30 to 40 minutes until golden. A cake tester inserted into center of filling should come out clean.
   Let cool and then remove the tarts from the pans (this is where removable bottoms really make things easy!).
5. Optionally, sift some icing sugar over the tarts before serving.

Fish Pie

Fish pie is a classic English dish of the comfort food variety—a mashed potato topping over fish in a creamy sauce. As with any classic dish, there are innumerable variations, ranging from the type of fish and type of sauce, the choice of vegetables (if any) and herbs, to the technique (to pre-cook the fish or not).

Most recipes also call for part of the fish to be smoked white fish of some sort, something that is difficult to come by here. You can easily get smoked mackerel, smoked herring, and smoked salmon, but these are oily fish and have such a distinctive flavour (especially smoked salmon) that I don't think they work properly for fish pie.

Fish pie is prone to a number of problems, such as overcooked fish, bland flavour, and colourless appearance, so I've been on a quest for a fish pie that tastes great, uses sustainable and obtainable fish, and retains its character as down-home comfort food.
I decided to use salmon as a strong-tasting fish to use instead of smoked white fish, ignored suggestions for luxury items like shrimp and scallops, and added a layer of spinach to provide color, flavour, and nutrition. I really enjoyed the result!

Fish Pie

500 grams floury potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
25 grams butter
splash of milk
1 tablespoon chopped dill and/or parsley
500 grams spinach
250 ml fish stock
100 ml cup white wine
small bunch of parsley
250 grams white fish fillets (hake, pollock, haddock)
125 grams salmon fillet
25 grams butter
3 shallots, sliced
1 1/2 tablespoon flour
100 ml cream
1 anchovies, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh dill, finely chopped
1 tablespoon breadcrumbs (optional)
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, finely grated (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C.
2. Make the mashed potatoes. Cook the potatoes and smashed garlic in salted water until the potatoes are cooked, through. Drain the potatoes, then mash with some butter and a splash of milk. Mix in the chopped herbs, season to taste, and set aside.
3. Prepare and cook the spinach. While the potatoes cook, clean the spinach, removing any course stems. Using just the water that clings to the leaves, cook it in a large pot until it is all wilted. Drain and squeeze as much water out of it as you can, then chop finely. (Alternatively, you can use frozen spinach.) Set aside.
4. Barely cook the fish. Combine the fish stock (or use a fish bouillon cube in water), wine, and parsley in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the fish fillets and simmer for 3-5 minutes, depending on the size of the fillets. You want the fish to impart some juice and flavour to the broth but to be a little underdone. Remove the fish to a plate and break into large pieces. Remove and discard the parsley. Pour the stock into a measuring cup or bowl so you can reuse the saucepan.
5. Make the sauce. After rinsing out the saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, and sauté the shallots for 3 minutes. Add the flour and cook it, stirring, for a few minutes. Gradually stir in the fish/wine stock and bring it to a boil, then simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Take the sauce off the heat, stir in the cream, dill and anchovy, then season to taste.
6. Assemble and bake the pie. Add the fish to the sauce and mix gently. Put the fish in its sauce in a baking dish. Put the spinach as a layer over the fish, and top with mashed potatoes. Use a fork to draw pretty patterns. Sprinkle some paprika over the top, then bake for 35 minutes. (Optionally, bake for 20 minutes and then top with breadcrumbs and cheese before baking for the final 15 minutes.)

Salmon Croquettes

Say "salmon croquettes" in my family and you see faces lift, eyes light up, and virtual tails wag, like a dog that has scented a rabbit. Salmon croquettes are one of my mother's specialties and a universal favourite on the supper table. They are also a "company's coming" dish—unusual, attractive, comforting, and delicious.

They are easy to make, but require some time in the fridge to stiffen up, so it's ideal to do most of the preparation earlier in the day (or the night before) so that all you have to do is deep fry them for a few minutes just before serving. And they are frugal, stretching one can of sockeye salmon to feed four people.

I've tweaked it a bit, adding onion, celery, and dill to punch up the flavour a bit, but this is essentially my mother's recipe.

Salmon Croquettes

Serves 4 (2 croquettes each)
Note: Please don't substitute pink salmon for the sockeye. The deep red color and rich flavour of sockey are really needed here.

1 cup (aproximately) canned sockeye salmon (I just use a 213gr tin)
1/2  small or medium onion, very finely minced or grated (optional*)
1/2 stalk celery, very finely minced or grated (optional)
1 teaspoon  lemon juice
1 tablespoon  parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons dill, chopped
1 teaspoon  salt
1/2 teaspoon  pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper
3/4 cup  oatmeal
2 tablespoons  butter
4 tablespoons  flour
1 cup  milk
2  eggs, beaten
1 cup  bread crumbs

* The original recipe called for 1/8 teaspoon grated onion(!), so Mom opts to omit it and I add more.

1. Drain the salmon and put it in a medium to large bowl. Flake it, crushing any bones with your fingers. (You can remove the bones and skin if you want, but I never do. It's a waste of good calcium and bulk.)
2. Add the minced onion and celery, the oatmeal, and the parsley, dill, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly, then set aside while you make the white sauce.
3. In a small saucepan or in the microwave, heat the milk until little bubbles begin to form. Don't let it boil. The point is to heat it up to minimize lumps in the sauce.
4. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and then add the flour, stirring for a couple of minutes to cook it and get rid of the ray flour taste.
5. Gradually add the heated milk to the roux of butter and flour, whisking all the time. Continue whisking as the sauce thickens and cooks, for about 5 minutes.
6. Add the white sauce to the salmon and mix thoroughly. Cover with cling film and put into the fridge for an hour or two to let the mix stiffen up so it is easier to handle and shape. The stiffer the mixture, the easier it is to roll, shape, and bread.
7. While the salmon mixture chills, whisk the 2 eggs in a bowl and pour a cup of breadcrumbs onto a plate.
8. After the salmon mixture has stiffened, take it out of the fridge and divide the mixture into 8 (more or less) even balls. Oil your hands with some vegetable oil, and roll each ball into a cylinder. 
9. Roll the cylinder in the bread crumbs, then into the beaten eggs, and then in the bread crumbs again. Be gentle, but make sure everything gets a double coat of bread crumbs, including the ends. 
10. Lay the croquettes on a plate and cover with cling film, then put it in the fridge again. 
11. When you are ready to cook the croquettes, remove them from the fridge. Pour a vegetable oil that can withstand high temperatures, such as peanut oil,  in a deep sauce pan or deep fryer (if you're lucky enough to have one) to a depth of about 3 inches. Heat it to 170C (350F).
12. Adding 2-3 croquettes at a time (depending on the size of your pan), fry them for about 3-4 minutes until they have turned golden brown on the outside and are heated through on the inside.
13. Drain on paper towels and then serve.