"Jenny's cookbook is full of heart and soul" Chef Michael Smith

Monday, April 25, 2011

Easiest Hot Cross Buns Ever!

Well, it's Easter: another food holiday!  I thought I would share this amazingly simple recipe for Hot Cross Buns.  There's no kneading or shaping, and they taste heavenly.  These are best the first day, but can be successfully frozen: if you haven't iced them already, you can refresh them in a 350°oven for about 15 minutes.

Hot Cross Buns

2 C. Warm Water
1 T. Yeast
1/3 C. Sugar
1 t. Salt
Zest and juice of 1 Lemon
3/4 C. Raisins
4 C. Flour
1 t. Cinnamon

Frosting

1/4 C. Softened Butter
2 C. Icing Sugar
1/2 t. Vanilla
Enough Milk to make a smooth frosting


Combine the water and yeast in a large bowl.  Let sit a minute, then stir in the sugar, salt, zest, juice, raisins and flour to make a sticky dough. I use a large wooden spoon to start and then switch to my hands to make sure all the flour is evenly incorporated.  Sprinkle the cinnamon over the top and give another quick stir (it looks pretty just swirled in there).  Leave the dough to rise in a warm place for about an hour, until it has doubled in size.  Butter a 9x13 pan and scoop in the dough.  Using buttered hands, gently push the dough to evenly cover the pan using your fingertips.  If it resists, let it rest for five minutes and try again.  Next, cut the dough so that it will pull apart into buns after baking: using a sharp knife, carefully cut the dough as if you were cutting brownies in a pan.  You can cut them to any size you like, I suggest 4 down and 6 across to make 24 buns.   Preheat the oven to 350° and let the dough rise again until it has doubled in height.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned.  Place the pan on a rack and let cool.  Combine the butter, icing sugar, and vanilla.  Add milk by teaspoonfuls until the frosting is smooth and spreadable.  Use a piping bag or sandwich bag with the corner snipped off to pipe a cross on each bun.



Making Natural Food Dyes for Easter Eggs


Having a Snack while we Make our Eggs!

The Gorgeous Results

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Longing for Spring Soup

Around these parts, spring doesn't feel too spring-y.  Although I've bundled up to dig around in my garden and all signs point to longer and warmer days, I'm still making roaring fires and pots of hearty soup.  This is one of my very favourite recipes, both at home and at the Cafe.  It has a very comforting, rustic, yet somehow exotic taste, as if the recipe had been passed down by my Italian grandmother (I don't have an Italian grandmother, but I like to pretend).  Obviously, this is a soup that wants the company of some crusty bread and a good grating of Parmesan cheese. 

Jacob's Cattle Bean and Vegetable Soup

You can substitute just about any dried bean for the Jacob's Cattle beans in this recipe.  

2 C. Dried Beans (we use Webster's Jacob's Cattle Beans)
16 C. Water
3 T. Olive Oil
1 large Onion, diced
3 stalks Celery, diced
2 medium Carrots, diced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 small Cabbage, shredded or diced
2 t. Salt
1 t. freshly ground Pepper
1/2 bunch Parsley, minced

Optional: 1-2 C. chopped cooked Ham, Sausage or Smoked Tofu


Bring beans and water to a boil in a large pot. Reduce heat to simmer and
cook for two hours, until beans are tender and falling apart. Add the
cabbage to the pot with the beans and continue to simmer until tender, about
20 minutes longer. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute
the onions, carrot, celery and garlic until softened and beginning to brown.
Add the sautéed vegetables to the beans, along with the salt, pepper, parsley and
optional meat or tofu. Taste for seasoning, and let simmer another 20 minutes
before serving.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Funky Little Sugar Shack



Nova Scotian Sugar Maple




Ahhhhh, maple syrup.  So sweet, so delicious, so luxurious!  Having a jar of it in my fridge makes me feel rich.  I dole it out in little spoonfuls on the kid's pancakes, stir it into my coffee, and add a good slurp to my salad dressings.  Maple syrup is incredibly expensive as far as sugar goes, which is a good thing.  Just imagining how much work goes into its production heightens my enjoyment of it immensely.








Inside the Sugar Shack
Every year, my dad taps the sugar maples in front of my parent's house.  He collects the sap in buckets, then transfers those to a large barrel, which he pools with sap from our neighbours.  It all ends up at Eric and Noreen Clem's sugar shack, where long but pleasant hours are spent boiling the sap in open pans over an ancient wood stove. It's mostly the men sitting into the wee hours of the morning waiting for the syrup to hit just the right consistency before pulling it off the fire and divvying it up.  You've probably heard that it takes 40 litres of sap to make just 1 litre of syrup, but that's not an exact science.  Making maple syrup is an art, a passion, and a commitment.



Sap at a Rolling Boil!





What if all the food we ate was like maple syrup?  What if the price we paid truly reflected the effort of its production?  Would we enjoy more and consume less if just feeding ourselves cost 55% of our income, like it does for the average East Indian household?  North Americans on average spend less than 10% of our salaries on food, leaving us with more money for bigger houses, leisure activities, and stuff.  We also have the highest rates of mental illness and obesity.  I don't think it is much of a leap to believe that if we were more connected to the food on our plate, we would feel more whole and satisfied.  A little time spent with our neighbours wouldn't hurt, either. 

If you don't have a shack of your own, you can still have great Nova Scotian maple syrup.  Nova Scotian maple producers made 128,000 litres of pure maple syrup last year, and it can be found at farmer's markets, specialty shops and sometimes, your local grocery store.  Buy a big jug, it's cheaper and lasts a long time if you refrigerate it.  And you're gonna need it if you like the following recipe as much as I do!


Maple Syrup Dumplings

I did not invent this recipe.  It is straight from March's issue of Saveur, and when I saw the picture, I had to make it, even though it uses a ridiculous amount of maple syrup.  We had ours with vanilla ice cream, and I suggest you do the same.



SERVES 6


1 3/4 cups Maple Syrup
1 1/2 cups Flour
4 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt
4 tbsp. unsalted Butter, frozen
3/4 cup Milk

Bring syrup and 1 1/4 cups water to a boil in a 6-qt. Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; set aside. Grate butter on large holes of a box grater into flour and toss to coat; add milk and stir with a fork until dough forms. When syrup mixture reaches a boil, use a spoon to drop large clumps of dough into syrup. Cover pot; simmer until dumplings are cooked through, 10–15 minutes. Spoon dumplings and sauce into 6 bowls and serve.



Maple Balsamic Dressing 
This dressing, made in quantity, lasts a long time in your fridge.  I guarantee it will increase your salad consumption.  It can be as simple as buying bagged greens from the market, and tossing them with enough dressing to coat.  You might find that the olive oil solidifies in your fridge.  Either remember to take it out half an hour before you use it, or warm it for about 30 seconds in a microwave.

1/4 C. Maple Syrup
1/4 C. Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 C. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 C. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or substitute vegetable oil)
1 Clove Garlic, minced
1 t. Salt

Combine all the ingredients in a jar and shake.  Taste, you might find it a bit sharp (I like vinegary dressings).  If it is too puckery, add a little more olive oil.



Shack and Sugar Maple photos courtesy of Mom and Dad (thanks!)