This weekend I went to the market and innocently bought the larger size of peach basket thinking “Hey! We can totally use that up! No problem! Easy peasy!” Yeah, I’m so naive sometimes.

By the time I was walking away from the stall, I already knew I’d have to get creative to make sure that none go to waste. But, I like a challenge, and these peaches are pretty tasty, so I thought I’d use some up by making a pie. I’ve made pastry before, and I’ve made tarts, but I’ve never made a pie, so this was going to be something new — not necessarily impossible, but new. No worries though, ’cause I knew Fanny Farmer had my back.

I’ve also had an awful lot of candied ginger on hand for a while, and since peaches an ginger are pretty tasty together, I thought I’d adapt the recipe for ‘Fresh Peach Pie’ and make it my own.

Oh. My. God. It smelled so good coming out of the oven that the BF & I couldn’t wait to try it. Little did I know that pies don’t set until they are cooled, and cutting into it too soon meant the filling pooled in the pan. That’s why the photo above has flat pastry and fruit all over the plate.

Please don’t base your decision to try this pie on my badly styled photo — make this pie ’cause it’s totally worth it :-)

The Recipe:

Makes one 9-inch pie

Pastry
2 1/2 cup / 350g / 625mL flour
1/2 tsp / 2mL salt
3/4 cup / 185mL butter
6-7 tbsp / 90-105mL cold water

Filling
4 cups / 1L peeled & sliced fresh peaches (approximately 10)
1 tbsp / 15mL lemon juice
1 cup / 200g / 250mL sugar
4 tbsp / 60mL flour

milk for brushing (optional)
sugar for sprinkling (optional)

vanilla ice cream for topping (optional)

How-To:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees (F) / 220 degrees (C)

Begin by making the pastry: mix the flour and salt together. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives. Continue to cut and mix until the butter is about the size of peas. (It will have an uneven texture, but go for averages.) Sprinkle the water onto the mixture one tablespoon at a time and mix in. Do not use all the water if you don’t have to — you only want to use enough for it to hold itself together when pressed into a ball.

Divide the dough in two, and chill one half. With the other half, roll out flat enough to fit a 9 inch pie pan with a little folding over the edges. Place in the fridge if hot in your work area.

Make the filling: Mix the peaches and lemon juice together. Cover with the sugar and flour, and stir to combine.

Pour the peach filling into the pie crust. Roll out the other half of the pie dough flat enough to cover the pie. Place on top of the filling. Crimp the edges with a fork or with your fingers and slice vents in the top to allow the steam to release when baking. Optional: brush with milk and sprinkle the top with sugar.

Bake at 425 degrees (F) / 220 degrees (C) for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 degrees (F) / 180 degrees (C) and continue to bake until golden brown on top — approximately 30 – 40 minutes.

Enjoy!

You know how Gollum is always talking about and scheming over his ‘precious’? Well that’s kinda how I feel about this nectar. I first made it last year and rationed it out over the winter so that we wouldn’t drink it all in a day (we certainly could have!) — it’s that good. This year, I’m making a lot more of it than I did last year so that I won’t have to hoard it too much for special occasions only. I’ve been watching like a hawk for the first apricots to make sure I don’t miss making this this year. Halleluia! it’s apricot season again!

When I was little, apricot nectar was *such* a treat. We didn’t get it very often because it was in a tetra pack and we usually got frozen juice, so when we did it was a *really* *big* *deal*. I remember it being sweet and apricoty and unlike any other juice. It was so good (this was 30 years ago when juices came in three flavours: orange, apple and grapefruit.)

I think that SunRype (that was the brand we got when I was little) stopped making it sometime in the nineties, but I think you can still find it made by other brands. In all honesty though, I hadn’t any of it in decades… until I found this recipe last year, and it did not disappoint.

To serve this, mix with water or sparkling water (Proseco might be nice too) at a ratio of 1:1. We’ve also served this as a palate cleanser in-between courses without diluting it at all.

The Recipe:

From The Joy of Jams, Jellies and Other Sweet Preserves by Linda Ziedric
Makes 4 pint jars

4 lbs ripe apricots, pitted
3 cups water
2/3 cup sugar (or more/less to taste)
6 tbsp fresh lemon juice (or more/less to taste)

How-To:

Put the pitted apricots and the water in a pot, and bring to a boil. Simmer, covered, for 10-15 minutes, until the apricots are very soft.

Pour into a blender or food processor and puree, then press the liquid through a sieve. When this is through, the texture will be thick — almost like a cream soup, but lump free.

Return to stove, and mix the apricot puree, sugar and lemon juice together. Bring again to a simmer.

Pour into sterilized jars, and process for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Not sure about the intricacies of canning? It’s not difficult even if you’re intimidated at first. Local Kitchen has a great post that lays out all the steps to do it right. (She’s a little more thorough than I am, but learning good habits is never a bad thing.)

I’ve made this cake a couple of times now, and each time I’ve been impressed. The biggest reasons being that it stays moist and fresh tasting for days and it tastes good. Surprisingly good — I mean, it doesn’t look like much, and reading the list of ingredients, it doesn’t sound so exciting. But the almond flavour is strong without being over powering, and the brown butter flavour adds a deep richness. Yum.

Not only does it taste good, it also goes so nicely with fresh fruit in the summer. I’ve also made it with the caramel and roasted pears that the original recipe recommends, and loved it with that too, which makes this a very versatile all-seasons cake.

Another reason why you should like this cake? It uses up 9 (!) egg whites — and as someone who always uses up way more yolks than whites, this is a very good thing.

Oh! and don’t let the multiple steps and seemingly convoluted process intimidate you — when you follow the instructions through, it’s actually a pretty easy cake to make.

The Recipe

Originally found in Fine Cooking magazine
Makes one 10-inch cake

1 cup / 250mL whole almonds
10 tbsp / 150mL unsalted butter
3/4 cup / 185mL sugar
1 cup / 250mL cake flour
2 tsp / 10mL baking powder
pinch salt
2 tbsp / 30mL dark rum
1 tsp / 5mL vanilla extract
1/4 cup / 60mL full-fat sour cream
9 egg whites
3/4 cup / 185mL sugar
1/4 cup / 60mL sliced almonds

How-To

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F) / 180 degrees (C). Grease a 10 inch springform pan and line bottom with parchment paper.

Spread the whole almonds on a baking sheet and roast in oven until toasted, approximately 7-8 minutes. The almonds will be fragrant and not too brown. Shake the pan every couple of minutes to ensure you don’t over cook the nuts and that they toast evenly. Allow to cool.

In a small saucepan on medium heat, melt the butter. Continue to cook until you see brown flecks on the bottom — this will take 7-8 minutes. Immediately remove from heat and pour into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Scrape all the brown flecks from the saucepan and set aside to cool.

Pulse the whole almonds with the first amount of sugar in a food processor until finely ground. Pour into a second medium-sized mixing bowl and mix in the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir to combine.

Add the rum, vanilla and sour cream into the butter and stir to combine well.

In a third bowl, that is very well cleaned of any oil or grease and is very dry, beat the egg whites. Begin with your mixer’s slowest speed, and slowly increase the speed after they start to foam, until you’ve reached medium-high speed. Once the egg whites barely hold a shape, slowly add the second amount of sugar. Continue beating at medium-high speed until the egg whites hold soft peaks.

Spoon a large dallop of the egg white mixture into the butter mixture and combine well.

Carefully fold half of the almond mixture into the rest of the egg whites, then fold in half of the butter mixture. Again, fold in the remaining almond mixture and finish by folding in the last of the butter mixture.

Pour the batter into the springform pan, make the top pretty and even, and decorate the top with the sliced almonds.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. The cake will be risen and a deep golden colour. The top will spring back when pressed lightly.

Allow to cool until warm to touch (20-30 minutes), then run a knife around the outside of the pan. Remove the outside ring of the pan, then flip the cake onto a rack. Remove the bottom of the pan and the parchment paper, then gently flip to right-side-up onto your serving pate.

Shown above with fresh cherries and dusted with icing sugar.

Enjoy!

In the past I haven’t been too keen on Raspberry Jam — mostly because of all the seeds. (Ironically, I come from a family where everyone has a raspberry patch in their back yard.) I’ve avoided the berries since moving far away from all the raspberry patches (“Why do people pay so much for something that comes from the backyard?”) and I didn’t think I was missing them much.

Over this past winter, though, I kept spotting recipes that called for raspberry jam. I knew I had to make some, not to eat, but so I’d have it ready for all those recipes! (“Why buy jam when you can make it yourself?”)

My not liking raspberry jam might have changed now, because without the seeds, I actually like this stuff! It’s tangy and just a little bit sweet and full of raspberry flavour and is *seed**free*. I’m now looking forward to the holidays not just because there will no longer be any Humidex warnings, but because I’ll be able to use this jam!

I based this recipe on my grandmother’s ratio for regular raspberry jam: 1 cup of fruit to 1 cup of sugar. Because I planned on removing the seeds, I tweeked the ratio to 5:4, but if you like it a bit sweeter, do the 1:1 ratio. I’ve seen some recipes that add in a bit of lemon juice (either for extra tang and/or to help set it) but I didn’t find that it was necessary.

The Recipe

Makes four 1 cup / 250mL jars

5 cups / 1250mL (aproximately 1 1/2 lbs) raspberries
4 cups / 1L sugar

How-To

Puree the berries in a food processor or blender, then press through a sieve with a fine screen to separate the seeds from the pulp (look at that incredible colour!)

Pour the berry pulp into a large saucepan and heat to a boil. Add the sugar and continue to simmer until it passes a gel test — this should take 10-15 minutes.

Skim off any foam and pour into sterilized jars (mine filled exactly four). Either refrigerate once cool or preserve using a hot water bath.

Enjoy!

Not sure about the intricacies of canning? It’s not difficult even if you’re intimidated at first. Local Kitchen has a great post that lays out all the steps to do it right. (She’s a little more thorough than I am, but learning good habits is never a bad thing.)

Notes

Mix the left over seeds and any of the foam skimmed from the jam with twice the amount of white vinegar in a jar and let sit for a few weeks away from the light. Strain and you’ll have raspberry vinegar to enjoy!

This cookie goes by many names but I did realise it until I went away to university and found out that everyone I’d met called it something different — “Chocolate Haystacks” and “Cow Pies” were two of the most memorable and obvious names encountered.

I remember asking my mom why they were called “Eskimo Cookies” and she said that it was because you didn’ t bake them so they stayed cold like Eskimos. (Of course my impressions of said Eskimos looked something more like this than what life in the arctic is actually like.)

Nowadays, whenever I think of these cookies I consider the political correctness (or lack thereof) of the name. It’s been many years since I’ve heard Inuits referred to as “Eskimos” but somehow the name “Inuit Cookies” just doesn’t have the same ring. With that said, the name my grandmother referred to Brazil Nuts with I found astounding and I would never dream of using but in spite of the other names used to refer to these cookies, I always think of them with the name I grew up with. I’m sure there’s a socio-linguistic study to be found there.

This is getting far more complicated than I anticipated. Consider these to be yummy comfort food cookies (no matter what you call them or why!)

The Recipe:

1 cup / 250mL coconut
3 cups / 750mL rolled oats (not quick oats)
6 tbsp / 90mL cocoa
1/2 cup / 125mL butter (my mom used solid margarine and it worked fine)
2 cups / 500mL sugar
1/2 cup / 125mL milk
1 tsp / 5mL vanilla

How-To:

Spread out waxed or parchment paper on a dry, flat surface.

In a bowl, mix together the coconut, rolled oats and cocoa and set aside.

In a large sauce pan, bring the butter, sugar, milk and vanilla to a rolling boil and boil for 1 minute. Mix in the dry ingredients and stir to combine.

Drop by spoonfuls onto the waxed paper and allow to cool. Peel from the paper and place in a sealed container. If in a humid environment, these are best kept in the fridge so that they stay solid.

Enjoy!

A few weeks ago, I decided I wanted to make a strawberry tart/pie. Believe it or not, in spite of strawberries being one of my favourite fruits, I’ve only eaten strawberry pie once or twice in my life and this seemed like the perfect time to remedy that.

I looked up examples online, and quickly saw that there were as many versions of Strawberry Pie as there are people making them. (A lot.)

My first idea was to make one with a custard filling… but that would mean using egg yolks… which would leave me with more egg whites. (Eep!) So I started rethinking this project. What about a strawberry tart with both chocolate on the inside and on the outside? Still beautiful to look at, and maybe even a little bit more yummy.

The first time I tried making a crust, I figured I’d use a regular pastry, reduce the amount of flour and replace it with cocoa. Technically it was fine — it didn’t spread in weird ways or do anything strange or unexpected — but flavour-wise, well, it just wasn’t all that spectacular — you couldn’t taste enough of the chocolate to make it worth the trouble (and when it’s hot and/or humid, pastry can be a bit of a trouble!) I guess there’s a reason why you don’t see these things around much.

It then dawned on me to make a cookie crust — a chocolate shortbread that’s yummy, and good at holding its shape would be perfect.

And you know what? It was a success! What’s great about these is that they look really impressive, but in fact are really easy.

So without further ado, here’s how to recreate the  chocolate & strawberry yumminess:

The Recipe:

makes six 3 inch / 7.5cm tarts or one 9 inch / 23cm pie

For the crust (based on a cookie found on Epicurious)
1/2 cup / 125mL unsalted butter
1/4 cup / 60mL sugar
3/4 cup + 2tbsp / 120mL flour
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 tbsp / 30mL cornstarch
1/8 tsp / 0.5mL salt

For the filling
4 oz / 130g dark chocolate
2 tbsp / 30mL heavy (35%) cream

For the topping
sliced strawberries
aproximately 2-3 tbsp / 30-45mL balsamic vinegar or Grand Marnier

dark chocolate to drizzle (optional)
whipped cream (optional)

How-To:

For the crust:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F / 175 degrees C

Whip the butter until creamy, then add the sugar and continue whipping until combined. Measure on top of the butter, the flour, cocoa, cornstarch and salt. Mix with the butter and sugar mixture until well combined.

The texture will be crumbly and dry so make sure it’s of uniform colour and that there’s no dry ingredients left at the bottom of the bowl.

If using a pie plate: spoon all dough into the plate and chill (in fridge or freezer) until very cold

If using tart tins: divide dough equally between tins and chill in fridge or freezer until cold.

When chilled, use a chilled spoon or your hands and press the dough evenly into the plate or tins — return to freezer as necessary (I did this on a hot day, it might not otherwise be necessary). It’s easier to spread the dough when it’s very cold.

Bake until dry to touch and edges are beginning to brown. Approximately 18 minutes for the tarts, longer for a pie crust.

To fill the crust:

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler and add the cream. Stir to combine.

Pour  chocolate mixture into baked crust(s). (If making tarts, divide evenly).

Place strawberries in a bowl, and toss with balsamic vinegar or Grand Marnier. Immediately begin arranging the slices on the chocolate — start at the outside and work towards the centre.

Optional: melt more chocolate and drizzle on top (this is your chance to get in touch with your inner Jackson Pollack).

Also optional: top with a dollop of whipped cream prepared to your liking.

Enjoy!

Notes:

You can make the tarts crusts and freeze them unbaked for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to use, simply let them defrost at room temperature for about 10 minutes, then cook as above. Fill with whatever you want!

I only started making jam last year. It all got started when I was flipping through the BF’s copy of Fanny Farmer’s and stopped at the Jam, Jellies & Preserves section and realised how easy it was to make.

Suddenly it was like the lightbulb went on over my head and holiday gifting suddenly got a whole lot easier. (In my humble opinion,) jam is something that almost everyone enjoys, and uses — it doesn’t get tucked away and forgotten after a polite thank you and thoughts of “what am I going to do with this?”

After tasting my first batch, I was hooked — it only had three ingredients and I didn’t have to worry about any mysterious packages of pectin. It was delicious! and popular with other folks! and easy — have I mentioned yet how easy it is to make? Let me tell ya:

The Recipe

makes approximately three 1/2 pint / 250mL jars

(The great thing about this recipe is that it’s a ratio that works with most fruits, so if you’d like to switch it up a bit and add it something else, just make sure the ratio stays the same.)

4 cups chopped strawberries
3 cups sugar
juice of 1/2 a lemon — approximately 2 tbsp / 10mL

How-To

Place the strawberries and lemon juice in a large pot (bigger is better — the fruit will foam, so you want some extra room.)  and cook over medium heat until the fruit is tender.

Mash the strawberries (it’s okay to leave a few chunks of fruit if you like some whole fruit in your jam), then add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Bring to a boil and boil rapidly, stirring occasionally, until jam is thick and passes a gel test (this usually takes 10 – 15 minutes, but can vary).

Pour into jars and either refrigerate once cool or preserve using a hot water bath.

Enjoy!

Not sure about the intricacies of canning? It’s not difficult even if you’re intimidated at first. Local Kitchen has a great post that lays out all the steps to do it right. (She’s a little more thorough than I am, but learning good habits is never a bad thing.)

I’ll just come right out and say it: slice and bake cookies are awesome. You make the dough and it’s ready for when you need it. It might be now, it might be later, but it’s ready. What’s even better, is that at that later point, there’s next to no clean-up involved and you still get fresh baked cookies.

Like I said, slice and bake cookies are *awesome*.

This particular recipe is essentially a shortbread with some tea added for flavour. The original used Earl Grey tea (yummy) but really, you can use whatever you want. Make sure you like whatever tea you use though, because the taste of the tea is the focal point of the cookie.

The Recipe

A variation of the original from Martha Stewart Cookies,
found via Recipe Zaar

1 cup / 250mL butter
1/2 cup / 125mL icing sugar
1 tbsp / 15mL grated dried apricots or citrus zest
2 cups / 500mL flour
2 tbsp / 30mL finely ground tea (I used Apricot-Peach Black Tea, but your favourite will do)
1/2 tsp / 2mL coarse salt

How-To

Beat butter until fluffy, then add sugar and dried fruit or zest and mix thoroughly.

Combine flour, ground tea leaves and salt, then mix into the butter-sugar mixture until integrated. Divide dough in half, and roll into a log shape that is 1 1/4 inch / 3cm in diameter.  (Great trick: use a paper towel tube to shape the log. Roll the dough into nearly the right diametre, then press through the length of a paper towel tube — the results will come out the other end nice and round!)

Freeze for 1 hour or up to 3 months.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F) / 180 degrees (C). Slice into 1/4 inch / 0.5cm thick disks and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. They will not spread a lot, but there needs to be some room for the air to circulate — aproximately 1inch / 2.5cms.

Place in oven and bake for 11-13 minutes or until lightly browned at the edges. Remove from sheets and cool on racks.

Enjoy!

Last weekend I went to the farmer’s market and brought home the last two baskets of strawberries. The last two at the entire market! Unfortunately, they were a little bit softer than I would have liked. Too soft for an attempt at Strawberry Pie, or at more Strawberry Jam. Disappointing? You bet. Inspiring? Absolutely!

Last year I’d spotted a recipe for Slow Roasted Strawberries, and now that I was faced with berries that were a little ripper than I’d hoped, I realized this was my chance to try it out. A quick read through the instructions and I had to face facts: I didn’t have the time or the patience to slow roast berries for four hours — I had too many other things I needed that oven for!

Luckily, I’d just finished making some Roasted Rhubarb Jam that knocked my socks off. It was similar enough in theory (roasting fruits/plants not normally roasted) but it took a fraction of the time.

With nothing to loose, (the fruit was getting juicy) I decided to experiment. Holey bjeezus I’m so glad I did — this stuff is fantastic! It’s great with breads or pastries (how you’d normally use jam or other preserves) but has an intensity to its flavour that makes it great with savoury dishes too: try it with gamey meats like elk, bison or even lamb for a fun condiment

The Recipe

inspired by Roasted Rhubarb Jam from In Jennie’s Kitchen
makes approximately 3/4 cup / 185mL

12 oz. / 340g roughly chopped strawberries (big chunks are fine)
3/8 cup / 90mL sugar
1/8 tsp / 0.5mL ground ginger

How-To

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees (F) / 200 degrees (C).

Very lightly grease a 9×9 inch glass dish or use a non-stick version and do not prep the pan.

Put all three ingredients in the dish and stir to combine. Place in the oven and roast for 50 minutes — until the juice is bubbling and syrupy and the berries look roasted (before this point, the juice will look juicy and the berries will just look like they’ve warmed up.)

Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Roasted Strawberries should keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks in a closed jar or container.

If you’d like to keep the Roasted Strawberries longer, and have used the non-stick pan option (with no oil) you can preserve them using a boiling water bath for a minimum of 10 minutes. (If you’ve used oil, it can affect the preserving process, and I can’t guarantee that they will preserve properly.)

Enjoy!

I have been really enjoying eating the homemade instant oatmeal that I figured out a while back — it’s easy, delicious, healthy and portable (just what I like!) but truth be told, after a month and a half, I’m ready for something a little different (at least for a while — then I’ll go back!)

I pulled out my trusty muffin book, and found a recipe for Apricot Muffins. Yum! Usually I make the recipes in that book without any changes (they don’t really need them) but lately I’ve been taking Shirley O’Corriher’s advice over leavening agents to heart, and decided to see what would happen if I didn’t put in all the leaveners called for in the original recipe.

She suggests that more than 1/4 tsp / 1mL baking soda per cup of flour or 1 – 1 1/4 tsp / 5-6mL baking powder per cup of flour is over doing it with the leavening agents. With too much leaveners, you risk having flat results. I’ve never had that problem with the muffins in this book, but if I can get the same results with less, why not, right?

The original recipe calls for 2tsp / 10mL of baking powder and 1/2 tsp / 2mL of baking soda, which I’ve adapted down to 1 tsp / 5mL of powder and 1/4 tsp / 1mL of soda. Both rise well in my experience. The original recipe gives a slightly taller, smoother top, but with the adapted version, I found the cake to be moister (that might also have to do with general humidity and/or the time in the oven.)

Another change I made was that the original recipe calls for ground dried apricots, whereas I prefer diced for extra texture. Either way you do it, it’s a tasty muffin. These muffins are very sweet & apricot-y and are nice with a cup of tea.

Oh! and the baby food? Use it. It adds to both the flavour and the moistness of the muffin, and no matter how weird it sounds, it helps to make them taste great!

The Recipe

A variation of Apricot Muffins from Company’s Coming’s Muffins and More
makes 6 jumbo or 18 regular muffins

1 egg
1/4 cup / 50mL vegetable oil
7 1/2 oz / 213mL jar of apricot baby food (I used Heinz’s Apricot Dessert)
1 3/4 cup / 425mL flour
1/2 cup / 125mL sugar
1 tsp / 5mL baking powder
1/4 tsp / 1mL baking soda
1/2 tsp / 2mL salt
2/3 cup / 180mL diced dried apricots

How-To

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees (F) / 200 degrees (C).

Combine the egg, oil, baby food in a bowl and stir well.

Measure out the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt on top of the wet ingredients. Top off with the dried apricots, then stir just to combine. Try not to over stir as it will make the muffins tough! The dough will be a little lumpy.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Check them regularly and remove them from the oven as soon as the crumbs on your tester look dry.

Enjoy!