Moist and Tasty Cornbread

It’s been a couple of weeks since I baked up any bread so I decided to dig into the depth of my fridge for the sourdough starter that I’ve neglected for months. When I took the plastic wrap off the bowl I was blown away by the intense alcohol smell. I considered trying to refresh a small portion of the starter, which I can usually do even if it’s been dormant in the fridge for a while, but from its pungency (yes, I made the mistake of tasting it) and soupy consistency I wasn’t confident that it would come back to life.

So I pitched the whole thing.

I’m contemplating making a new starter this weekend, but I’m uncertain of my abilities to keep it alive. Living things always seem to be at risk on my watch– my sourdough starter, the succulent planter I bought for my desk when I first started my job, the geraniums my mother-in-law planted at my house. Funny how all those things– sourdough, succulents, geraniums– have a reputation for heartiness. They’re not easy to kill. And yet through neglect and mistreatment and disregard I’ve managed to kill them all.

Luckily my dog is still alive; though I probably deserve little credit for this. It’s entirely because of my husband’s care and attention. He notices when she wants food and when she’s scratching too much and when she seems sad and when she needs to take her flea medication while I sit back and watch her thinking that she’s entirely normal. “No Sam,” he’ll disagree, “I think she needs to go to the vet.” And she usually does.

I can’t keep anything alive.

So after pitching my sourdough starter I decided to make a ciabatta bread but realized that I had no yeast. So that idea was scrapped too and since I didn’t have bananas I couldn’t make a banana bread either. So I ended up making cornbread the only other chemically leavened bread that I could think. I didn’t really want it but I was bored and wanted to bake. In the end it turned out so moist and delicious that I couldn’t stop eating it.

This would be really good to make on Super Bowl Sunday with some whisky baked beans.

Moist and Tasty Cornbread

makes one 10″ round loaf

1 cup (6 ounces) coarse cornmeal or polenta
2 cups milk (I used soy)
1 3/4 cups (8 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

Soak the cornmeal in the milk. Cover and leave at room temperature for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugars.

In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs with the molasses and melted butter. Add the egg mixture and soaked cornmeal mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a large spoon or whisk until all the ingredients are evenly distributed and the batter is blended and smooth to the consistency of pancake batter.

Line a 10-inch round cake pan with parchment and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Pour in the cornbread batter. Bake the cornbread for about 35-40 minutes, or until the bread is firm and springy and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The top will be a deep golden brown.

Allow the cornbread to cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before slicing it into squares or wedges.

Guinness Chocolate Cake with Bailey’s Buttercream

Happy Birthday to my awesome husband. To my best friend. To the person who makes me happy every day.

I asked Matt what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday and he replied with chocolate as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. I was kinda hoping to make a white cake, but I obliged.

I’ve had the recipe for Dark Chocolate Guinness Cake with Bailey’s Buttercream bookmarked ever since it was posted on Global Table Adventure and have been waiting for an occasion to make it. I figured since I would be serving cake to Matt and his brother (who’s birthday is tomorrow) on Sunday night during the football game, a cake with beer in it would be an appropriate choice.

I really liked this cake recipe and will keep it on hand to make it again. The cake comes out rich and dense (which I much prefer to a light and fluffy cake). The Guinness enhances the chocolate flavour (the same way that adding espresso to chocolate cake does) but doesn’t make the cake taste like beer at all.

I’ve never made buttercream before and this one turned out really well. Sometimes buttercream can be gritty but this one wasn’t. It was smooth and sweet and had a great Bailey’s flavour. I wish I would have left the cake out at room temperature before serving though because the buttercream really firmed up and I prefer it to be a little creamier.

Instead of baking two 8″ layers, I made one 9″ round cake and used a sharp bread knife to cut the cake in half so I could fill it with buttercream. As a result, and because I ate a bunch of buttercream while the cake was in the oven, I had to double frosting recipe.

This is a perfect celebration cake.

Dark Chocolate Guinness Cake with Bailey’s Buttercream

Makes one 8″ layered cake, or one thinner 9″ layered cake

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa

1 cup Guinness Extra Stout

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 eggs

For the buttercream (double recipe if making a 9″ cake):

3 sticks unsalted butter, softened

3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

4 Tbsp Bailey’s, as needed

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Melt the butter in the microwave then whisk in the Guinness, vanilla, and cocoa. Allow to cool.

Grease and line the bottom of one 9″ cake pan (for a 9″ cake) or two 8″ cake pans with parchment paper.

Stir together the dry cake ingredients. When combined, pour the Guinness mixture onto the dry ingredients, then whisk in the 2 eggs.

When the batter is shiny and smooth, pour evenly into two prepared cake pan(s).

Bake for 30-35 minutes for 8″ cakes or 45-50 minutes for 9″ cake, or until a skewer comes out clean.

While the cake bakes, prepare the buttercream. In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the softened butter and sugar and add in just enough Bailey’s to get it loose and fluffy. Allow to whip for 5-10 minutes until light and fluffy.

Once the cake is done baking, cool completely.

For a 9″ cake, cut the cake in half lenghtwise with a sharp serrated knife. Top the bottom layer with frosting (~1/3 of the buttercream).

Top the frosted bottom with the second layer.

Line them up and then spread a crumb coat of frosting on the entire cake. This is optional but highly recommended, so you don’t get brown crumbs in your white frosting. Coat top and sides with another 1/3 of the frosting mixture. Spread it all over, nice and thin. Refrigerate to set it. At this point, you can refrigerate the cake overnight. Easy, peasy.

Once the crumb coat is firm to the touch, add the final 1/3 of the frosting to the cake — top first, then sides. Spread it around evenly.

Celebrate!

Oatmeal Butter Crackers

This week I’m baking like a mad woman for Christmas. I’m on bread and cracker baking duty so I’ve got a lot of work to do this week to get everything ready.

A week and a half ago I started making a Bavarian style rye bread. It’s a really dense, dark rye bread (a lot like volkornbrot) that is sliced thinly and that I’m planning on serving with homemade lox. This bread is a process. First I had to make a gelatinous mash, then I had to grow some fresh yeast, then I had to make the starters for the final bread and cook up some wheat berries to add into it, and finally 9 days later the dough made it to the oven. Now that it’s baked I have to age it for a day or so before cutting into it, so I’m not even sure what it tastes like. All I have to say is, with all the work it damn well better be good!

Sometimes I think that German bread isn’t really worth the effort. I mean, I love the density and the intensity of flavour but it doesn’t seem to win over the crowd as much as a Ciabatta or baguette or foccaccia. It’s a bit underrated.

So for the purposes of pleasing the masses I also baked up 6 demi-baguettes on Monday night and I plan on making a fluffy rye bread and possibly a garlic and herb pull-apart bread.

I’ve also baked two types of crackers this week: wheat thins, and buttery oat crackers. I like to make crackers that have a rich grain flavour and a slight sweetness so they work with savoury cheeses and dips as well as sweet  jams. Both of these type of crackers fit that profile, but the oatmeal ones I just couldn’t stop eating (but then I had to because I realized that they have to make it to Saturday night)

True to my style, I burned a good number of the wheat thins but most of them turned out alright. They were the first batch I made so I learned my lesson for the oatmeal batch. I really do love these crackers. Did I mention that I couldn’t stop eating them? The oat flavour, the butter, the slight sweetness. They’re pretty damn awesome if you asked me and really really easy to make.

Oatmeal Butter Crackers

makes about 100 1″ crackers

Ingredients

9 oz. whole wheat flour
9 oz. rolled oats
2 t. baking soda
1 t. sea salt
3 T. granulated sugar
6 oz. cold, salted butter (3/4 c.), cut ino cubes
enough milk to bring it all together (~1 c.)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F

In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment stir together the dry ingredients at low speed.

Add the butter cubes and increase the speed of the mixer until you get pea sized clumps, like you’re making a pie dough.

Add in as much milk as necessary to get the dough to come together into a ball without crumbling. If you add too much milk and the dough is sticky, just sprinkle a little more flour on it, no big deal.

On a floured surface, roll out your dough with a rolling pin to about 1/4″ thickness. Cut it into squares or rectangles using a pastry cutter or pizza cutter.

Transfer the crackers to a foil lined baking sheet (or multiple, I needed 3). They can be very close, but try not to let them touch.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. They will not crisp up in the oven, but once you remove them and allow them to cool on a rack they will be nice and crisp.

Kifle with Hazelnut Liqueur

How about some more Christmas Cookies, hmm?

It’s week 12 of the 12 weeks of Christmas cookies and I decided to go with a cookie that I found in my mom’s old recipe folder dated from December 2004.

I remember her coming home one day and talking about these delicious cookies called kifle that one of the other teachers brought in to school one day. (I can’t for the life of me remember whose recipe they were how typical of me to remember more about cookies than people.) I think they are an Eastern European Christmas cookie but I don’t quite know for sure. I do know that my mom raved about how fantastic they were and told us that she was going to make them as soon as she got the recipe from her friend.

I don’t know why I have such a vivid memory of her baking these cookies. Maybe because she hardly baked. Maybe because she talked up these cookies so much that I was more than excited to taste them. Maybe it was the way that she indulged in them and savoured them like each bite was worth a million dollars.

I might go out on a limb and say that these were her favourite cookies. But I can’t be sure. I never got the chance to ask her.

Kifle with Hazelnut Liqueur

The original recipe called for brandy or rye in the filling but I used Frangelico instead to play up the nuttiness of the cookie. Feel free to use brandy or rye if you so desire.

makes about 30

Dough

2 c flour
1/2 lb. butter
1 egg yolk
3/4 c full fat sour cream
icing sugar for finishing

Combine the flour and butter together in a mixer until fluffy. Add the egg yolk and sour cream and mix by hand until it comes together into a soft dough.

Divide dough into 3 parts, sprinkle each part with a bit of flour, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least one hour. Meanwhile, prepare the nut filling.

Nut Filling

1/2 c ground walnuts
1 egg white
1/2 c sugar
1 t vanilla
1 shot of hazelnut liqueur, such as Frangelico (or brandy or rye)

Stir the ingredients together in a small bowl until well combined. Set aside until ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 325F.

Assembly

On a well floured surface, roll out one third of the dough to about 4” wide and whatever length will give you a 1/8” thickness. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into isosceles triangles with a base of about 2”-2.5”. Re-roll any excess dough and repeat.

Just like this cool drawing:

Spread about 1 teaspoon of the nut filling onto each triangle and roll like a croissant.

Place on greased cookie sheet about an inch apart and bake 20?30 minutes or until a very light golden colour.

Roll in or dust generously with icing sugar.

This recipe is part of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies.

Prior Posts:

Week 11: Pumpkin Raisin Muffin Bars
Week 10: Momofuku Chocolate Chocolate Cookies
Week 9: Flaky Butter Tarts
Week 8: Lime Curd Sablés
Week 7: Thomas Keller Chocolate Chip Cookies
Week 6: Macaroons
Week 5: Wildberry Dream Cookies
Week 4: Speculaas: Dutch Spice Cookies
Week 3: Poppy Seed Filling
Week 2: Cinnamon Bun Cookies
Week 1: Soft & Pillowy Coconut Frosted Cookies

Red Thai Curry with Shrimp

Last night, right after writing my blog post, I fell down the stairs, right onto my left knee
The combination of not being able to walk properly after running 18 miles and being distracted by yelling at Bagigis for trying to eat off my plate made me miss a step (or two) and tumble right onto my knee. It’s still hurting today, but hopefully it feels better and doesn’t impact my running.

On Saturday night, Matt and I had a cozy night in making dinner and watching Top Chef Texas and the movie Just Go with It.

I loved the movie. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a good Adam Sandler flick and I was impressed by this one. The comedy was subtle yet hilarious and, though the movie got cliche and cheesy at the end, was worth the watch. Plus the cast was awesome: aside from Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler, I was surprised to see Nicole Kidman and Dave Matthews were in the movie too.

I’m so out of the loop when it comes to movies. Not only have I not seen a lot of movies, I’ve also never even heard of them. I had to imdb this one before we watched it. I get bored just sitting still for 2 hours trying to watch one, so I hardly ever do. So it’s very possible that this movie is pretty old and you’ve all seen it a dozen times already.

For dinner we decided to cook instead of going out to eat. I remembered a quick recipe for green Thai curry that I saw in Everyday Food magazine so I thought we would give it a try.

The grocery store, unfortunately didn’t stock green curry paste and I wasn’t sure how to make my own from scratch, so we settled on red curry paste instead.

Have you cooked with curry paste before?

My thoughts on Curry Paste:

I really liked using the curry paste. All the flavours are already there and concentrated into a little portion so you just have to chop up some veggies and you’re set. It saves time and makes it a little easier than cooking Indian food where you have to grind your own spices and create your own aromatics.
But it’s not cheap. A little bottle of red curry paste cost me $4.49 and I could probably manage to make this recipe only twice with that bottle, and even that may be a stretch. Perhaps I could find it cheaper at an Asian grocer; I’ll have to source out some prices.

This recipe turned out so good that I would make this dish instead of going out to a restuarant for Thai food. Seriously. Also it took no time flat for this dish to come together, which was a good thing since I was starving before we even started cooking.

Red Thai Curry with Shrimp

serves 2

Ingredients

2 T oil
3 T red curry paste
4 baby bok choy, quartered
1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
1 orange bell pepper, sliced into strips
1-1/2 c shitake mushrooms, sliced
1 t fish sauce
1 c. coconut milk
1 t cornstarch
1/2 lb cooked shrimp

Directions

Heat the oil in a wok over medium high heat. Add the red curry paste and stir, heating until fragrant.

Add the vegetables and sautee until softened. About 5-8 minutes.

Add the coconut milk and bring to a soft boil. Stir in the cornstarch (it will thicken the sauce). Add the shrimp and continue to boil until the shrimp is just heated through.

Serve with basmati or jasmine rice.

Pumpkin Raisin Muffin Bar

So let’s talk breakfast!

I eat it daily. End of discussion.

Addendum: On Christmas I follow the ‘no breakfast’ school of breakfast philosophy.

A lot of people have a nice family breakfast on Christmas morning. It sounds like so much fun too. The smell of hot coffee, the family gathered around the breakfast table for an intimate meal of pancakes or waffles discussing their newly acquired presents before the day full of larger family gatherings commences. Or at least that’s what I imagine it would be like.

I know that any nutrition professional or remotely healthy person would probably disagree with this philosophy, but when I wake up on Christmas morning my train goes from:

“Sweet baby Jesus, it’s Christmas!!!!” to
“Presents!” to
“Mmmmm… I’m going to eat so many good desserts today” :- d

Even my thoughts skip breakfast entirely…right to dessert. And once I start thinking about dessert then my appetite for breakfast has gone right out the window.

I think that this recipe strikes a nice balance between breakfast and dessert and would probably make a tasty, quick Christmas breakfast with a cup of warm coffee or tea. Just enough to sweet satisfy my craving until after Christmas dinner.

I made these pumpkin bars loosely based on a recipe for a gooey chocolate chip pumpkin bars. But since I didn’t have chocolate chips I used raisins and, of course, it didn’t turn out gooey. They had the texture of a muffin with a nice pumpkin pie flavour and a sweet chew from the raisins.

If you make them, let me know what you think.

Pumpkin Raisin Muffin Bars

inspired by In Good Taste

Ingredients

2 c all-purpose flour
1 T pumpkin-pie spice
1 t baking powder
1/2 t sea salt
3/4 c butter, softened
3/4 c sugar
1 egg
2 t vanilla extract
1 c canned pumpkin puree
1 c raisins

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Line bottom and sides of a 9×9 baking dish with foil, leaving an overhang on all sides.

Cream the butter and sugar on medium speed of an electric mixer. Once smooth, add the egg, vanilla, and pumpkin puree and mix until combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. Don’t overmix.

Fold in the raisins. Spread batter evenly into the baking dish. Bake until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in pan before cutting.

Prior Posts:

Week 10: Momofuku Chocolate Chocolate Cookies
Week 9: Flaky Butter Tarts
Week 8: Lime Curd Sablés
Week 7: Thomas Keller Chocolate Chip Cookies
Week 6: Macaroons
Week 5: Wildberry Dream Cookies
Week 4: Speculaas: Dutch Spice Cookies
Week 3: Poppy Seed Filling
Week 2: Cinnamon Bun Cookies
Week 1: Soft & Pillowy Coconut Frosted Cookies

Thai Peanut Sauce

Well hello there, Christmas Tree. Thanks for finally gracing me with your presence.

Soon you will also be gracing me with your presents.

Matt and I put up the Christmas tree last night so we’re finally decorated for Christmas. We’re getting closer!

I added the new ornament that we bought from Bronner’s:

I was really excited about it when I saw it and my reaction was something like this:

Oh my God! Look! It’s a little snowman! Look Matt, isn’t it cute? He’s floating in a mug of hot chocolate! He’s a snowman. Floating in a mug of hot chocolate.
I have so many questions.
How did he get into the hot chocolate? Was he murdered? It was it the children, wasn’t it? They stole his magical silk cap and corn-cob pipe and pushed him in there, didn’t they?
But he looks so happy! Why? Why snowman? What have you seen?!
Oh, so many questions.
We have to buy this.

And now he will grace our tree for years to come. I will tell my grandchildren the story of Frosty the Murdered Snowman.

Tonight I did a little bit of Christmas shopping and now I’m exactly halfway done. I felt a bit uncomfortable shopping though because I smelled like a Chinese restaurant from my very delicious dinner tonight: Crispy Fried Tofu with Thai Peanut Sauce.

This sauce is SO good. I made it for the first time a few weeks ago and have been wanting to make it since. It tastes fantastic on absolutely everything. Tofu, rice, spinach, whatever.

Please, please make it.

Thai Peanut Sauce

Adapted from Melissa Clark
Makes ~1 cup

2/3 c. all natural peanut butter
1/4 c. coconut milk
1 clove garlic
1” thick piece of ginger, peeled
juice of 1-1/2 limes
small handful of cilantro
1 T miso paste
1 small hot chili
1/4 T sea salt
~1/4 c. water

Process everything except the water in a food processor until smooth. Add the water slowly until the desired consistency is reached. I like it a little runny so I can drizzle it over everything.

Chocolate Chocolate Cookies

Today’s 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies recipe comes from Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar. I’ve heard lots of good things about her recipes and how they’re really creative but work with the most blue-collar ingredients like her compost cookies, which I had been hoping to make, and crack pie.

I was really excited to bake these cookies but after having done it, to be honest, I don’t think I will make them again. They weren’t as amazing as I hoped. They were too big, too crisp, too chocolaty (if that’s even possible), and too salty.

Or maybe I will try making them again but change things up a bit like cutting back (way, way, waaaaay back) on the salt in the recipe and bake them for a little less time since mine came out crisp rather than chewy. I would also make them smaller; I’m not sure if that would affect their texture but their current size is unreasonably large and it only takes about a quarter of a cookie to be fully satisfied in the chocolate department.

One thing I did like about the cookies was the chocolate crumb. It’s a nice change in texture to have that extra toothsome crunch compared your standard chocolate chip cookie which has lacks that variance of texture. I’d like to try making chocolate chip cookies with this crumb instead of chocolate chips. The crumb recipe is a keeper.

Anyway, if you’re interested in trying them out for yourself, I won’t stop you. If you like a big, crisp, chocolatey cookie with a hefty salt content then these are for you.

Chocolate-Chocolate Cookies

Makes 10 to 15 cookies
From Christina Tosi via Bon Appetit

Ingredients

1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ounces 55% chocolate, melted
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup dark cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1-3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 recipe Chocolate Crumb (below)

Directions

Cream together butter, sugar, and corn syrup with a mixer on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla, and melted chocolate, and beat for 7 to 8 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low speed until the dough comes together, no longer than 1 minute (do not overmix).

Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and add the chocolate crumbs and mix on low speed just until incorporated, about 30 seconds.

Using a 1/3-cup measuring cup, portion out the dough onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, 4” apart. Pat the tops of the cookie dough domes flat. Wrap the sheet pan in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 1 week. Do not bake your cookies from room temperature–they will not bake properly.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Bake for 18 minutes. If after 18 minutes, the cookies still seem doughy in the center, give them another 1 minute in the oven, but not more.

Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pans before transferring to a plate or an airtight container for storage. At room temp, the cookies will keep fresh for 5 days; in the freezer, they will keep for 1 month.

Chocolate Crumb

Makes about 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients

2/3 cup flour
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup dark cocoa powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

Heat the oven to 300F.

Combine the flour, cornstarch, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a bowl. Add the butter and stir until the mixture starts to come together in small clusters.

Spread the clusters on a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The crumbs should still be slightly soft when taken out of the oven and they will crisp up as they cool. Let the crumbs cool completely before using in a recipe or eating. Stored in an airtight container, they will keep fresh for 1 week at room temperature or 1 month in the fridge or freezer.

Prior Posts:

Week 9: Flaky Butter Tarts
Week 8: Lime Curd Sablés
Week 7: Thomas Keller Chocolate Chip Cookies
Week 6: Macaroons
Week 5: Wildberry Dream Cookies
Week 4: Speculaas: Dutch Spice Cookies
Week 3: Poppy Seed Filling
Week 2: Cinnamon Bun Cookies
Week 1: Soft & Pillowy Coconut Frosted Cookies

Banana Raita with Toasted Coconut and Mint

This weekend was so loaded that I could hardly believe that it was Sunday when I woke up this morning. I was convinced it was Monday today.

I had one of those awesome weekends where I got to spend time with friends and family that I don’t see on a regular basis. I went up to Woodstock to visit my cousin and her husband who built a beautiful house up there recently. Also I was able to spend time with my sister and brother-in-law and my friend who goes to school in Minnesota who were all home for US thanksgiving.

Today I did a bit of shopping at the mall and after trying on about 8 different black turtlenecks at 4 different stores I finally found one that I liked (you wouldn’t think finding a basic turtleneck would be so difficult). I only have a few more things that I need for my winter wardrobe and I’ll be done with shopping until spring. Thankfully.

And in the kitchen, this recipe for Banana Raita sort of fell off the radar for a while (especially since I can’t eat too much dairy) but I made it again and remembered just how good it was.

I learned this recipe when I went with Matt, my sister, and my brother-in-law to an Indian cooking class in Chicago (you can read about it here). It was my favourite recipe that we made that night and definitely the easiest to make.

Banana Raita with Toasted Coconut and Mint

Makes 1-1/2 cups

This recipe is savoury and refreshing. It makes a nice side for a spicy Indian dinner but I like it just as much for breakfast.

Ingredients

1/2 c shredded unsweetened coconut
3/4 c plain full fat yoghurt
1 Tbsp milk or soy milk
1/4 tsp sea salt
3 firm, ripe miniature bananas
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh mint

Directions

Heat a small pan over high heat. Add the coconut and dry toast it in the pan until golden brown, tossing often to even the browning. 2-3 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine the yoghurt, milk, and salt.

Peel the bananas, halve them lengthwise, and cut into 1/2” pieces. Add to the yoghurt along with the mint and coconut. Stir gently to combine. Serve cold.

Holiday Health Challenge Update:

This is the third week of my Holiday Health Challenge and I did really shitty. I had so much stuff going on this week, like the concert and travelling up to Woodstock to visit my cousin, that I hardly logged my meals, and I had to miss a few workouts. Not a great week.

1) Keep a food journal – B-

I missed a few days of journalling but I did eat quite a bit more protein this week and tried to plan my meals a little bit better on the days that I was able to journal my food.

2) Eliminate processed sugar – D

Again, I managed to go a couple of days without eating sweets

3) Floss my teeth every day – A-

I only missed a couple of days.

4) Start the day with lemon juice and water – A-

Every day but twice this week.

5) Run 150 miles – A-

I only ran 16 miles though I had planned to do 20. I’m at 78 miles since Nov 6 so I’m more than halfway there and on the right track.

6) Squat 155lbs for 5 reps – B

I missed one of my weightlifting workouts so I didn’t back squat today. On the plus side though, I did 115lb front squats!

7) Make my walks with Bagigis 5 minutes longer – B

I didn’t walk Bagigis as much as I normally do this week. Matt had to cover some of the walking duty because I was really busy this week. That said, she did get a few longer walks from me this week.

8 ) Take all my vitamins – A

I think I missed one day.

Flaky Walnut Butter Tarts

My friend Tina makes the most fantastic rice pudding. It’s what she’s known for (at least, in my opinion). I love that she has her own signature dish.

I want to have a signature dish but I have recipe ADD and I’m off my meds so I can’t seem to make a dish more than once. I guess if I had to force myself to pick one it would be either hazelnut chocolate chip cookies or herbed focaccia because I have made each of these for the same groups of people at least twice (or maybe only twice. I can’t quite remember).

So Tina brought me some rice pudding on Friday (which she added raisins to, just pour moi because she knows how much I like them) when she came over to book our marathon trip to Disney World.

Right before she came I baked up some butter tarts because I didn’t have the ingredients to make anything else on my list of “must make desserts” and I wanted to offer something to snack on. Inevitably, I forgot to give her one.

A butter tart, in case you’re unfamiliar, is a bit like a British treacle tart or American pecan pie without the pecans. The crust is tender and chewy and the filling is gooey and rich. Sometimes the tarts have raisins or nuts added.

At first I thought these butter tarts were a big failure. Instead of the standard butter tart crust I decided to use the perfect pie crust recipe hoping for a lighter, flakier tart. When they came out of the oven a few of them fell apart as I tried to remove them from the muffin pan. Matt claimed they weren’t ‘real’ butter tarts because the crust wasn’t traditional. I was convinced that they were awful.

But when I tried one after they had cooled and settled overnight I thought it was great! Matt was right, they didn’t quite have the same chew as a traditional butter tart so if you’re looking for that traditional recipe then go somewhere else. But personally I really liked the lightness that the pie pastry brought to this version.

I liked them so much that I think I will use this recipe next time I make butter tarts (if my recipe ADD will allow for that). Who know, maybe my signature dish will be flaky walnut butter tarts?

Flaky Walnut Butter Tarts

Adapted from Canadian Living
makes 10-12 butter tarts

These butter tarts have a very gooey* filling and a light and flaky crust.

• Pastry

1/2 recipe for perfect pie crust

• Filling
• 1/2 cup packed  brown sugar
  1/2 cup corn syrup
  1 egg
  2 tbsp butter, softened
  1 tsp vanilla
  1 tsp cider vinegar
  1 pinch salt
  1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450F.

Whisk together all filling ingredients except walnuts.

On lightly floured surface, roll out pastry to 1/8-inch thick. Cut 12 circles using a 4” round cookie cutter. Fit the dough circles into muffin cups. Divide the walnuts among the crust. Spoon in filling on top of the walnuts until three-quarters full.

Bake in the bottom third of the preheated oven until filling is puffed and bubbly and pastry is golden, about 12 minutes. Let cool in the muffin pan for about 1 minute before transferring to a wire rack to cool (be sure to remove them from the muffin pan before they are completely cool so they don’t stick)

*Note: for a not-so-gooey version Canadian Living suggests increasing the amount of brown sugar to 3/4 cup and decreasing corn syrup to 1/4 cup.

Prior Posts:

Week 8: Lime Curd Sablés
Week 7: Thomas Keller Chocolate Chip Cookies
Week 6: Macaroons
Week 5: Wildberry Dream Cookies
Week 4: Speculaas: Dutch Spice Cookies
Week 3: Poppy Seed Filling
Week 2: Cinnamon Bun Cookies
Week 1: Soft & Pillowy Coconut Frosted Cookies