It’s a mere 30 paces from our deck to the beachfront, which is really what these weekends are really all about.  Long lazy days are spent swimming, fishing and kayaking. Evenings are spent around a roaring fire, laughing, discussing and generally enjoying being together as a family .

What is most enjoyable to me about these weekends is that we choose to cook over an open firepit. Most Saturday mornings, after drinking a pot of campfire coffee, we drive to the Combermere Farmers Market and source out the ingredients for that nights dinner.

The market is not yet in full swing and the variety of vegetables is lean (growing season is slightly behind Ottawa’s). Nonetheless, we have been able to piece together some memorable meals.

Recently, our Saturday night ‘Farmer’s Market’ feast consisted of delicious ‘Schulist Family Farm’ grassfed beef T-Bone steaks.  We also purchased a pound of organic shiitake mushrooms from Henry at the ‘Aldergrove Mushroom Farm’ booth. After adding local organic asparagus to our basket and some of the world’s best butter-tarts, we were ready to head back.  A quick detour into Killaloe for a bottle of Bonneterra Organic Cabernet Sauvignon and we were set.

Escaping for the weekend always rejuvenates and prepares me for the busy work week that follows. This is truly our little piece of paradise!

It’s so easy and oh so delicious! Make sure to carefully wash and dry the herbs!

1 3/4 c. organic basil (from Roots and Shoots)
1/4 c. parsley
1/3 c. hemp seeds (Stone Farm)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed (from Jambican)
3/4 c. Sheep’s Milk Nettle Pecorino cheese (Canreg Station)
1/2 tsp. Salty Don’s smoked maple salt
1/2 c. hemp seed oil (Stone Farm)

Pulse everything EXCEPT THE OIL together in your food processor until they are finely minced but not a paste.

Put in a bowl and mix in the oil.

You can freeze it in ice cube trays if you have leftovers, serve it with a pasta salad, grill it on chicken or fish, make potato salad, eat it from the spoon or use your imagination.

Last Thursday’s meal contained the most spectacular dessert – a Decadent Chocolate Cupcake.  We made these cupcakes using an old recipe that contains an unusual ingredient that became a popular baking ingredient about 30 years ago – mayonnaise.  I am sure that it was Kraft or Hellmans that first thought this one up, but it make sense when you think about it.  Real mayonnaise is essentially an emulsion of eggs, oil and a bit of vinegar. I am sure this recipe was born out of necessity, when some creative cook ran out of eggs for her chocolate cake.

Mayonnaise Chocolate Cake

2 cups flour
1 1/3 cup of sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup chocolate chips (we only use organic fair trade Cocoa Camino chocolate)

Whisk the wet ingredients in a bowl.  In a separate bowl sift the dry ingredients.  Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix well until combined.  Add chocolate chips.  Pour into 9″ round cake pan (well oiled) or in 24 lined muffin tins.  Bake cake in a 350 degree pre-heated oven for 25 minutes.  Test for doneness.

The dough recipe is quite simple – just flour & water.  After it has rested for some time, the dough was cut into small, uniform pieces and rolled into a ball, then flattened.  Two pieces of dough were placed one on top of each other with a generous layer of sesame oil in between.  These two pieces of dough were then rolled out in flour to form a ‘pancake’

The pancakes were fried on a dry griddle for about 1 minute each side until they puffed up in the middle.  When they were removed from the pan, it was possible to separate the one pancake into two because the oiled layer in the middle.  It was all quite fascinating!

Here is the recipe:

Makes 12

1 3/4 cups (8 ounces) unbleached flour
3/4 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon salt

In a bowl, mix the flour and the boiling water. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board, gather it into a heap, and knead it until smooth, about 3 minutes. Cover with a towel and let it rest for about 1/2 hour.

With your hands, shape the dough into an even cylinder about 12 inches long. With a sharp knife, preferably serrated, cut the roll into 1-inch pieces.

Lightly flour your palms and use them to flatten the pieces into 2-inch rounds. Brush the top of each round generously with sesame oil. Lay one round on top of another, oiled sides together. Flatten the pair together with the heel of your hand. Continue until you have 6 pairs.

With a floured rolling pin, roll each pair into a thin pancake about 7 inches in diameter, flipping the pancake over now and again to roll evenly on both sides. Stack the pancakes as you finish rolling them.

In an ungreased cast-iron skillet or nonstick pan over medium-high heat, cook the pancakes one at a time. Heat one side until it becomes less opaque and starts to bubble slightly, and just a few brown spots appear, about 1 min. Flip it over and cook it until a few light brown spots appear on the other side, about 30 seconds.

While the pancake is still hot, pick it up, look for a seam to grab, and separate it into two very thin pancakes. Stack them on a plate as you go and wrap them in foil to keep them warm and prevent drying. If not using right away, refrigerate until ready to use.

Here is the recipe!

Jo-Ann’s ‘Best Ever’ Banana Cake

1 1/4  c     Butter
3 c             Sugar
6                Large Eggs
1 tbs         Vanilla Extract

4.5 c          Flour
2 tsp         Baking Powder
1 tsp         Salt

1.5 c         Sour Cream
4 c            Mashed Bananas
2 tsp        Baking Soda

Cream butter and sugar together in a mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add eggs & vanilla and mix until incorporated.  Sift together dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  Combind sour cream, bananas and baking soda in a separate bowl.  Alternate adding banana mixture and dry ingredients to creamed butter, sugar & egg mixture until just combined.  Do not overmix.

Spoon into lined muffin tins, about 2/3 full.  Bake in a 350 degree pre-heated oven for 10-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Alternately pour into a two 9 inch cake pans and bake for 30-45 minutes.  Test for doneness.

Ice with your favourite frosting!

Jacqueline Cooks Soup!

This past weekend Jacqueline from the Red Apron was the featured Chef at the Ottawa Eco Fair.  This event celebrates green living ideas, products and services.  While there Jacqueline prepared an Heirloom Tomato Soup using heirloom tomatoes that we purchased from Bryson Farms.  This simple soup is a taste of summer, and we will be preparing a similar soup next week at Bonappetit!

Many people asked Jacqueline for the recipe, so by popular demand!

Roasted Garlic and Heirloom Tomato Soup

1 large or two small head garlic
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, sliced
8 cups tomatoes, fresh or frozen, skins removed.  You can also use canned tomatoes, but the quality is very important!
1/2 cup red wine
salt
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream or cashew cream – See note (optional, but scrumptious)
fresh basil, parsley and chives, finely chopped

Roast garlic by wrapping it in foil and baking it a 350 oven for 35-40 minutes, until very soft.  Cut off the top and squeeze the garlic out into a bowl.  Heat the olive oil at med high, and when shimmery, add onions and 1/2 tsp of salt.  Saute onions, stirring every minute or so, until they are brown and very soft. Add minced garlic and cook another two minutes on medium, stirring constantly. Add wine and stir to scrape up the caramel from the onions.  Cook one more minute.

Add tomatoes,balsamic and sugar and a bit more salt, and heat through. Use the hand blender to blend until smooth or put it in the food processor. If it’s thick,  add a little stock or water.  Adjust seasoning. Add cream or cashew cream, and heat through to serving temperature.  Serve garnished with a generous portion of minced herbs.

Note:  To make cashew cream, blend raw cashews with the same quantity of  water in blender until it resembles cream.

Many childcare centres operate with little budget allotted – or consideration made – for the food the children are eating.  Joanne’s desire to provide the children with a rich understanding of the importance of quality, nourishing ingredients, and also to educate them on the relationships between their personal health and the health of the environment and their communities, made this a project we had to be part of.

Each day the children eat the same types of food we prepare for our regular clients.  They enjoy a variety of organic whole grains (pastas, rice, couscous and barley).  They devour a healthy vegetable soup once a week, the type of soup changing from one week to the next – they have tried everything from gazpacho (not their favourite) to sweet potato & curried coconut (a big hit!).  They celebrated Chinese New Year this year with a feast of Long Life Noodles with Lucky Chicken and Greens. Each Friday throughout the warmer months, they receive a picnic-type lunch, which they take to the park to enjoy.

Many of the parents from Acorn visit our store, searching out their child’s favourite soup or muffin, but since all of the food is custom-made for the Centre, we rarely have the exact same item in our retail store.  So, to satisfy the needs of those hungry kids, we are sharing the recipe for the muffins we provide each day.  The recipe was created so that we could provide a moist and tasty, dairy-free and egg-free (Vegan) muffin.

So, by popular demand, here is the recipe.  This recipe makes a large batch (40-50 muffins).

3 cups        organic whole wheat flour
¾ cup        organic cane sugar
1/3 cup       oat bran
¼ tsp          salt
½ tsp          cinnamon
½ Tbsp      baking soda
½ Tbsp      baking powder

Mix all the dry ingredients together

3 cups         water
1 cup           oil
4 cups         fruit (frozen berries, chopped apples, etc.)

Note:  we have made a wide variety of combinations using this base recipe.  For banana muffins, we mash in 4 ripe bananas, and still add the chopped fruit.  We have made them as well with date puree.  They were fantastic!  You can also mix up the dry ingredients and keep the mixture in an airtight container, so when you want a small batch of muffins, you can just scoop out 1/4 of the dry ingredients, quarter the wet ingredients, mix, scoop into greased muffin tins and bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Test for doneness. Enjoy!

Today's Very Berry Muffins

We were concerned that our parking lot would be jammed with people trying to get to their dinner and to the bakery next door.  However, it seems that all of our customers consulted each other in advance and agreed to space out their visits every two minutes, and it all went off without a hitch.

We were greeted on Monday morning to numerous emails and voice mail messages from people telling us how much they enjoyed their meal.  Our favourite was from Erica who said:

Thank you so much for a wonderful Valentine’s Day meal. It probably goes without saying that the food was great – the veggies were perfectly tender-crisp, the risotto heated beautifully (I’d had my doubts!), and every last item was delicious.

I was so pleased to receive the little extras you included that contributed to the meal’s  presentation – the chive pesto to add to the bisque (I swirled it into a heart), the loose tea that perfectly complemented the meal, the candle you included to add to the ‘mood’…

Finally, my husband was tickled pink at the brownie you gave him when he went to pick up our meal. You’ve obviously found the perfect recipe for success – wonderful food, great customer service, and all the little touches that make a casual customer a raving fan. I’ve already recommended you to my friends, and I look forward to the next opportunity to use your service. Thanks again for your help in making a memorable Valentine’s Day.

We were thrilled!

We had one request for the recipe for the cheesecake and we promised to provide it.  Here it is:

White Chocolate Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce

Chocolate Crumb Base

3 c. graham crumbs
½ c. sugar
½ c. cocoa powder
¾ c. melted butter

Cheesecake

500 Gr. Cream cheese (cubed and at room temperature)
½ c. sugar
¼ c. flour
¼ c. sour cream
1 egg
½ c. melted white chocolate

Raspberry Sauce

6 c. fresh or frozen raspberries
2/3 c. sugar

Preheat oven to 300°F

For Base:

Sift dry ingredients until well mixed. Add melted butter and stir to combine. Place the crumb into a 10 in. springform pan and press firmly to cover the bottom of the pan.  Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

For Batter:

In a mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar on medium speed, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. Mix until well blended. Add flour, sour cream and egg mixing on low speed after each addition. Add melted white chocolate and mix until well combined.

Pour the cheesecake batter into the pan and bake for 25 to 35 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow the cheesecake to cool completely before refrigerating.  Allow the cake to set in the fridge for 4 to 6 hours before attempting to remove the springform. Tip: run a sharp paring knife between the edge of the cake and side of the pan before removing the springform from the base.

Slice and plate the cheesecake, spoon the raspberry sauce on top to garnish.

For Raspberry Sauce

Simmer the raspberries and the sugar on the stove top over medium heat for approximately 10 minutes. Stir constantly to avoid any scorching.  Allow to cool before topping the cheesecake.

These events can sometimes be compared to sale day at Filenes Basement, with participants kicking, punching, and elbowing their way to the best goods.  But ours was quite civilized, although it did include mulled wine and spiked apple cider!

Who knows where this tradition started.  Many cultures share a history of community baking. The ruins of Pompeii show evidence of public ovens where people brought their bread to be baked and through the ages communities all over the world often shared public ovens which would be fired up daily, or weekly.  These ovens became a community gathering place, where stories were told, problems were solved, and women found companionship and support.   I like to think that this is the root of the Cookie Exchange.

Our staff work hard to put great food on the table for our clients and this time of year is especially busy.  It doesn’t always leave us a lot of time to do our own preparations for the holiday season. So last Saturday we closed our shop at 2pm and baked our tooshies off!

Many pounds of butter, chocolate and flour later – we went home to stuff our cupboards and freezers with a selection of tasty treats.  The favourites of the day were Justine’s Millionaire Shortbread cookies which took top prize for the most intricate and exciting cookie with layers of shortbread, chocolate and dulce la leche…mmmmm…  Jo-Ann’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Balls were the easiest no-bake kid friendly.   Jacqui’s Ginger Snaps took top honours for the spiciest cookie we have ever tried!  Christopher took home the ‘ how to impress your mother’ prize’. Our 18 year old dishwasher, cook in training, and in-house photographer took 12 dozen cookies home to share with his Mom.  We all enjoyed his Peanut Butter Oatmeal cookies too!

Season’s Greetings!

The process, I must tell you, is quite labour intensive.  First, we start with premium Ontario Duck Legs – which are slowly braised in a mixture of figs, white wine and aromatics for 2 hours.

When they are cool enough to handle, the meat is carefully stripped from the bones and set aside, while the bone and juices are dumped into a large stock pot and simmered for a day – to reduce to a rich, flavourful sauce.

For our first batch we started with 70 Kilos of duck!

Meanwhile, batches and batches of Pie Crust dough was made – using butter, lard, organic flour and local eggs.

Many cultures have a traditional food that resembles a meat pie in some way but the Oxford English Dictionary traces the first use of the word “pie” as it relates to food to 1303. In the Middle Ages, pies were the specialty of patissiers.