Recipes

Long weekends here bring a full house home with all the usual expectations of family dishing around the table. Muffin mornings are a good place to start. I think everyone’s over the One Direction defection so we can stay away from conspiracy theories and get down to serious business like Senate cheese scandals.

Whether the Easter bunny delivers is unconfirmed at this moment. I know where to look.

Smoothies, oatmeal, eggs? Yes, yes, and yes again. Now for that warm rhubarb muffin…

 Rhubarb Muffins

What you need:

• 1½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1¼ cups dark brown sugar
• ½ cup canola oil
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1½ cups diced rhubarb
• 1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1½ teaspoon cinnamon

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line muffin tins with paper liners.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In mixer, beat together brown sugar,oil, egg, vanilla and buttermilk.
4. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the wet ingredients.
5. Fold carefully with spatula until just blended.
6. Add diced rhubarb.
7. Spoon into muffin tins.
8. Sprinkle topping on each: blend together melted butter, sugar and cinnamon for topping.
9. Bake 25 minutes.

Serve warm. Guaranteed to wake up sleepy teenagers, yes those once up at dawn to see if the bucket was filled.

Now for the rest of your weekend…

Here’s some good distraction:

I read Wolf Hall this winter and now can’t wait for the six part miniseries about 16th century power machinations. It starts Easter Sunday on Masterpiece Theatre.

I’m also a big fan of Michelle Obama so I will forgive her (and my boy Fallon)  for thinking she knows how I move on the dance floor.

And don’t forget what is really holy this Sunday: the nap.

If you’re with family, consider yourself lucky.

Happy Easter. Happy Passover. Happy Spring.

Hate me if you want but I had a head start on spring green.

Still, I’m as woeful as the rest with the sleet and sorry mess of March thus far. Our winter ice ghost doesn’t look to be leaving anytime soon.

Relief comes in marking a cherished date. Before my oldest was born on Pi Day, March was just March, the big tease. We all know the real thaw doesn’t show up until May in this country. Since 1995, March in this house belongs to my Kate, who has inherited from her mother a love of fanfare.

Because of her birthday, I get to pull out her favourite purple and whip up some spring tones.

For those without cake and candles meet Jazzbo.

Jazzbo is a one man band, or maybe the answer to the meh in your day. Watch his movie, released this week from Brigade Visual Support. If he doesn’t put a spring in your step, you’re a lost cause.

Still searching for a sliver of the warm stuff?
Try looking for the green in your house.

Lime Pie

Tangy lime filling, buttery graham crust, white fluff on top a whole sweeter than the stuff you shovel.
Feeling springy yet?

What you need:

For crust:

• 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons sugar

For lime filling:

• ½ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• ½ cup sugar
• pinch kosher salt
• 2 large egg yolks
• 3 large eggs
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• grated zest of 2 limes

For the marshmallow:

• 1 envelope unflavoured gelatin
• ¼ cup cold water then another 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
•  ½ cup sugar
• 3 large egg whites

What you do:

1. Grease 9 inch pie plate. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Mix melted butter and sugar with graham crumbs and pat into greased pie plate.
3. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool.
4. Make filling by whisking all ingredients together over medium heat, stirring constantly until it thickens. Don’t let it boil. You just want the edges to begin to bubble.
5. Pour filling through sieve onto crust.  Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until the filling is just set.
6. Increase the oven temperature to 450 F and move a rack to upper third of the oven.
7. Make topping first by sprinkling gelatin evenly over the ¼ cup water and allow it to soften for 5 minutes.
8. Mix 1/3 cup water with the corn syrup and ½ cup sugar over medium high heat in a pot fitted with candy thermometer. Put the egg whites in mixer and begin to whip. When the syrup reaches 245 F, increase the mixer speed and being to slowly (and carefully)  dribble the hot syrup into the egg whites, avoiding the beaters as you do.
9. Add softened gelatin to the warm pot (use the same one you did for the sugar syrup) and heat just until melted. With the mixer running, drizzle the gelatin into the egg whites. Then add the vanilla and continue to beat until the mixture is cooled, about 8 minutes.
10. Using a spatula, spread topping over the lime filling and bake until the topping just begins to brown, about 3 minutes.
11. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
12. Think happy thoughts of green!

Market shopping is a regular outing here at Wit’s End. I love the bustle and breadth of produce. No surprise then to find me digging up treats in the St. Lucian capital. Read More

I’m hoping February smartens up soon and delivers more than a corrupted file, one that ate away my afternoon productivity as I sat fuming quietly on the phone with Apple Support.

Woe is the spinning disc, that dreaded little sign of impending dysfunction. The snow dumped and I whined. Eventually, my Mac got fixed, I got over myself, ready to shovel, if not get any further on my book.

Into the kitchen I fled, the sanctuary of sanity, where I could pound some sense into scone dough. Is there a support group for angry bakers?

The scones are all packed up now to take to the neighbour who brought his snowblower over and cleared my driveway. Heroes are everywhere.

I really do love winter and admit to a few envious pangs after hearing of my kid’s outdoor education trip highlights.

They slept in a snow cave after digging it out themselves.

Now there’s a place to go to cool off!

Was it as quiet there as it is on my street today?  One of the thrills of winter is the ability of snow to absorb sound waves. 

Another thrill of winter is exploring city bakeries.  If baking up a batch of your own scones sounds daunting, here is one list you might want to savour.

Top Ten Scones in Toronto

It’s a decent list but missing my pick, or at least one introduced to me by a savvy niece, well versed in such important things as Toronto’s best teahouses.
The Windsor Arms scone is perfection. It will cost you but then, you get what you pay for here.

For those who do want to try baking their own, here’s my recipe for an easy first batch.

Now, using that basic recipe, add some chocolate chips and Skor bar bits and you’re ready to tackle whatever winter blasts next.

Happy Baking!

You call that snow? Pfft. I’m waiting for the trees to tell me it snowed.

Walking and driving in Toronto this winter has been easier but I miss the big white mess. (I know, I know. Bring on the hate mail.) This modest snowfall is how I feel about making dinner the fourth night of the week. Meh.

One quick stop at the cheese store and I’m cured of the weekday dinner curse. Eggs for dinner is fine when it’s fluffed up with gooey good stuff, just like your favourite family TV show.

Baked Cheesy Eggs

This is a forgiving recipe. You can substitute any of your favourite cheeses except for the ricotta which you’ll want to keep. I’ve made it with cheddar but my favourite by far is the combo I’ve included here. Throw in any veggies you like-I prefer roasted red peppers but that’s because I usually have a jar of the stuff in my pantry.

What you need:

A 12 oz jar roasted red peppers, chopped

⅓  cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

¾ teaspoon baking powder

9 large eggs

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

I ½ cup grated Gruyère cheese

3 scallions, chopped

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Grease a 10 inch baking dish (glass or ceramic, any shape).
3. Sift together flour, salt and baking powder.
4. Beat eggs in mixer at medium high speed for 3 minutes, until doubled in size.
5. Add melted butter, flour mixture and the 3 cheeses. Mix well at low speed.
6. With spatula, fold in red peppers, scallions and red pepper flakes.
7. Pour into baking dish and bake 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Top should be golden brown.
8. Leave it to cool a few minutes before serving.  Chop up an extra scallion for garnish.  Serves 6 regular appetites, or 4,  if you’ve got hungry teens.

Steam up some broccoli, whip up a green salad and dinner is done with time left to watch the Parenthood Series Finale. Yes, the scripts have been getting weaker and there’s a ton of better things on TV right now but I’ve come to think of the Bravermans as a family much like my own. I’m not alone-this show has serious fans. I’ll miss this family. I dedicate tonight’s supper to them. Full of cheese but still satisfying.

Need more recipes? Join my circle and subscribe. This week’s buzz sheet was all about these.

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A friend and former colleague, noting my many cookie pictures online, recently remarked that I’m doing “Christmas on steroids.”  GUILTY.

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Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends.

This one’s for you!

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Did you wear your seatbelt this week? I’m still reeling: melancholy following a tragic shooting, an uplifting cheer for the victory for our new Toronto mayor John Tory, a truly disheartening slump upon hearing the unfolding of the dark tale of Jian Ghomeshi…

I want to reinstate my mom’s habit when we five kids sat around the supper table.

What was the best thing about your day?  She meant to teach us gratitude. Today, it is our survival mode.

How about a terrific film? I saw Birdman over the weekend and am still raving about the oh so very cool cinematography. Movie buffs, this one’s for you.

I’ll have more on this and the full slate of fantastic fall films next week.

How about an awesome opera? Falstaff is the best thing I’ve seen from the Canadian Opera Company in a long time.  A masterpiece for everyone in the family, this production has one more show left this weekend. Run if you can to see this one. The sets alone are worth the price of your ticket. Witty and wonderful… I wish I could see it again.

How about a joyous victory party? Newly elected Toronto Mayor John Tory did the expected and thanked his rivals running for mayor. Did the crowd boo or hiss? No. Only applause.  Over at the Ford camp, disappointed Ford voters were hardly as charitable.  Then, on our way out, we were handed a miniature tree. Classy. Fantastic.

How about the gorgeous colours dotting our urban landscape this week? I’m partial to the reds that are the last glorious shade to come before the branches are empty. Hate to be predictable but red is best.

How about a simple and sumptuous cake, full of fall’s two best flavours-maple and apple?

Let’s call it a Flipped Cake because I’m still flipping over speed bumps.

Flipped Apple Cake

I’ve adapted this slightly from a Food and Wine magazine version. I’m betting your grandmothers have a similar recipe tucked away somewhere.

The better your maple syrup, the better the taste. This cake is fantastic right out of the oven, but equally perfect the next day, if kept under a cake dome. It tastes like a slice of Canada. About right for this week, wouldn’t you say?

What you need:

• I cup good quality maple syrup.
• 3 Granny Smith or Spy apples
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 large eggs
• ¾ cups buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 ¹⁄³ cups granulated sugar

Garnish: Vanilla bean ice cream or even better, crème fraîche

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.
3. Bring maple syrup to boil in medium pot.
4. Reduce heat to simmer and allow syrup to thicken, about 20 minutes.
5. While syrup is simmering, peel and core each apple, then cut in half. Cut each half into four. Yes, math wizards, that makes 8 pieces from each apple.
6. Pour syrup (it should now be reduced to about ¾ cup) in bottom of cake pan.
7. Arrange the apple slices in circles around the pan.
8. Whisk dry ingredients together.
9. Whisk eggs, buttermilk. and vanilla together.
10. Beat butter and sugar in mixer for 3 minutes, until fluffy.
11. Add flour mixture and egg mixture in 3 batches, alternating, and ending with flour.
12. Mix only until batter is smooth.
13. Add batter to cake pan over the apples and spread to even it out.
14. Bake for approximately 1 hour then check with a toothpick to check—it should come out clean.
15. Let cook on a rack for an hour.
16. Place a serving platter on the cake and invert. Tap the bottom to release the cake. Let it cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Let me know if you like it. Let me know if you too felt the bumps this week. Maybe you have a good method for dealing with a bad horrible news week.

Tomorrow is pumpkin day. Must. Get. Candy.