Books of 2011

Happy new year!

I did a fair bit of cooking over the holidays and will post some of the results in the coming days. But first, I wanted to look back on 2011 with some of the reading I enjoyed. In no particular order, here are a few highlights.

Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and the Marriage of a Century – Sam Kashner
A great, gossipy telling of a Hollywood romance in the pre-TMZ days. I didn’t know much about these two before I read this, but it was utterly fascinating, and well written too.

Bossy Pants – Tina Fey
Disconnected stories from Fey’s youth and early career on SNL. Very funny and quick to read.

To Be Sung Underwater – Tom McNeal
Twenty years after they parted, a man and a woman re-connect in Nebraska to re-live and remember their young love.

So Much for That – Lionel Shriver
A man who has worked his whole life so he can retire to an island off the coast of Tanzania, has a wrench thrown into his plans when his wife becomes ill, forcing the nest egg to be used for health-care treatments rather than a hut on the beach.

The Help – Kathryn Stockett
A snapshot of life in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960s, with a focus on the divide between the black maids who work for, and raise the children of, white wealthy families. An okay, but not life-changing, read.

Your Voice in My Head – Emma Forrest
A memoir of a young British journalist (and former girlfriend of Colin Farrell) who is set adrift when her trusted psychiatrist suddenly dies.

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand – Helen Simonson
A retired, widowed British major takes up with the local Pakistani shopkeeper, much to the shock and distain of their families and fellow townsfolk.

Paris Wife – Paula McLain
The story of the life of Ernest Hemmingway’s first wife, and their life together in 1920s Paris. Interesting, but a pale comparison to Loving Frank.

Mince pie cookies

It's that time of year, and once again, my resolve to bake up a holiday storm turned to nothing. Well, almost nothing. I did manage these mince pie cookies that I saw in Jamie Oliver's Christmas magazine. I am not a fan of mincemeat pies generally, but something about this incarnation appealed. These cookies are easy to make and they taste like Christmas! Ho Ho Ho!

Mince pie cookies
From Jamie Magazine, Christmas edition

250g unsalted butter, at room temperature
140g sugar
1 egg yolk
Grated zest of one clementine/satsuma/mandarin/whatever you prefer
300g flour
One 411g jar of fruit mincemeat (I had to buy a larger bottle of PC mincemeat and measure out 400g or so)


1 Preheat your oven to 180C/gas 4 and put greaseproof baking parchment on a couple of baking trays.

2 Beat butter and sugar together until creamy. Add the egg yolk and your citrus zest and beat to combine.

3 Sift in the flour and then fold through MOST of the mince meat (you want to hold some of it back to put on top of your cookies before they go in the oven). Stir until it all starts to come together. I used my hands here – easier.

4 Pull biscuit-sized lumps from the dough, put them evenly across the trays and then press down on each one to shape into cookies. Don’t put them too close to each other – they will run out a little while in the oven.

4 Dot some of your saved mincemeat on top of each cookie, and then put them in the oven for about ten minutes. You want them to be golden, but still a bit doughy and chewy in the middle. I found that my oven needed about 15 minutes for this, but hey, ovens are famously different.

The mince pie cookies are lovely warm – with mulled wine – but the ones you don’t eat straight away can be stored in an airtight container, or frozen.

*I bought suet-free mincemeat, because, suet? Gross!
** I didn't bother topping my cookies with extra mincemeat, but you're perfectly welcome to.

Felt food

This Christmas I'm endeavoring to make my young niece and nephew into teeny tiny foodies with some felted fruits, veggies and sweets. Here's hoping they're a hit.

Berry studded baked oatmeal

Oooh, this one's a goodie.

I start most mornings -- at least when the weather is cool -- with a bowl of oatmeal (or eatmeal, as my father calls it). My standard is steel cut oats, with some sliced banana on top, and a bit of brown sugar. It's good, but sometimes standard oatmeal just doesn't it -- especially on a dark, rainy morning, the kind of which we've experienced lately.

This oatmeal dish is so inviting and yummy that it makes you want to get out of bed -- on the aforementioned cold and rainy morning, or even a bright and sunny one -- just so you can eat it in a big bowl, alongside a steaming mug of coffee. It's an easy thing to make on a weekend, and you'll have lots of leftovers to get you through the week.

So let's get started.....

Mix up the milk, eggs and vanilla. It's kinda like you're making a breakfast bread pudding! (Note the glass milk bottle for old timey goodness.)

Get your dish ready with your sliced bananas and frozen fruit. These form a tasty layer for the oatmeal.

More fruit goes on top, along with some walnuts for some crunch.

Then you're forced to wait about 45 minutes until you can dig in. People, it smells SO good while it's baking, and it's so worth the wait.

This crappy picture is testament to the fact that I was so eager to dig in, I couldn't even be bothered to frame a good photo. Make this and your morning will be better. I guarantee it.

Berry Studded Baked Oatmeal
From Shutterbean and Super Natural Every Day Cookbook
Recipe serves 6

(recipe adapted slightly from the Super Natural Every Day Cookbook)

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
1/3 cup cane sugar or maple syrup (plus more for serving)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 cups whole milk, plus more for serving
2 large eggs (original recipe calls for 1)
3 tablespoons salted butter, melted & cooled slightly
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/2 cups mixed berries (I used 1 cup frozen blueberries & 1/2 cup frozen raspberries)
Preheat oven to 375 F. Generously butter the inside of an 8 inch baking dish. (I used a 9x13 dish)

In a bowl, mix together the oats, half of the walnuts, the sugar, baking powder & cinnamon.

In another bowl mix the milk, eggs, half of the butter and vanilla. Whisk until well combined.

Arrange the bananas in a single layer at the bottom of your baking dish. Sprinkle 2/3 of the berry mixture on top. Pour the oat mixture on top and then slowly drizzle the milk mixture on top of that. Give the baking dish a few thwacks (love that word!) on the kitchen counter to make sure the milk moves all around the oats. Scatter the remaining berries and walnuts on top.

Bake in the oven for 35 to 45 minutes, until the top is nicely golden and the oat mixture has set. Remove from the oven and let cool. Drizzle the remaining butter on top and serve. Drizzle maple syrup on top and top with a little bit of milk. Enjoy!

*I used slightly less than 1/3 cup of maple syrup and it was the perfect sweetness: not too cloying, but also not requiring further sugar when you eat it

**The frozen fruit was a President's Choice mix of cherries, blackberries and blueberries. I think it's an organics power mix or omega mix or something new agey and healthy.

*I didn't bother to toast the walnuts beforehand, or add the remaining melted butter before serving. Because I'm a rebel.

Nut-stuffed squash

Now that it's (somewhat) colder, this is a great, filling and warm supper. The stuffing here is hearty and tastes almost like sausage, even though there's no meat in sight. It makes a great week-night dinner, but it does take some time to bake, especially if you use a butternut squash as I did here. If I make it again, I'll put the squash in the microwave for few minutes to give it a head start before it goes in the oven.


Here they are, ready for baking.

And here's the finished product, just waiting for you to dig in.

Nut-Stuffed Delicata Squash
(recipe from Shutterbean)

3 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 medium onions finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
pepper
2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped
1/3 cup almonds, chopped
1/3 cup pecans, chopped
1/3 cup cashews, chopped
1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 delicata squash, halved lengthwise (about 2 lbs.) *I couldn't find a delicata, so I substituted butternutsplash olive oil (optional topping)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt butter in a medium fry pan on medium high. Add the onions & garlic and cook until softened. Add the sage and cook for 1 minute. Set aside, and add nuts to the pan. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs and combine them with the cheese and yogurt. Stir in 1 teaspoon of salt & sprinkle with pepper. Add the nuts to the mixture and fill each of the halves of squash. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes. The squash should be soft when tested with a knife. Top with some sprinkles of cheese and a splash of olive oil.

Shakespeare n' stuff

What a horrible headline! It's all I could come up with to introduce this piece I wrote. Back with more food n' stuff soon.

Black grape focaccia

This is probably one of the most beautiful recipes I've ever made. It's by no means light on labour, but the resulting loaf of grape-studded goodness is worth the effort. Believe me.

First you start by choosing your grapes. I selected Coronation grapes (speaking of Corrie, have you been watching? CBC is now airing one hour a night so we can catch up with the episodes in the UK. That's a lot of street talk, let me tell you. Thank goodness for fast forward buttons on the PVR). While not seedless, they contain small, edible seeds that don't require removing. They're also not the super sweet variety that gets turned into kiddie juice.

But, they do require de-stemming, which is a crazy making activity. Notice the pile of stems to the right of my scale? It probably took me 15 minutes to get my 400g of fruit stem free. Loco!

And don't those grapes look much happier nestled into all that warm dough? If only they knew their future involved a hot oven.

The recipe doesn't call for rosemary, but I thought it would make a nice addition. I was after a more savoury product than a sweet treat. Plus, I happen to have lots of rosemary growing in my backyard, so it was a good opportunity to use some up.

Ta-da! Okay, so this is a bit dark, I admit, but it's still pretty, non? Definitely more unique than anything you could buy at the store, and much, much better. The grapes burst and run during cooking, creating almost jam that ribbons through the bread. And the crust was crisp, and topped with a trace of crunchy sugar and some sea salt, while the inside was moist and chewy. Dare I say it was grape combination?

Black grape focaccia
From Tender Vol. 2, by Nigel Slater

This is excellent with a fresh, mild cheese. Serves 8.


450g strong white bread flour

1 sachet of easy bake yeast (7g, 2 tsp)

1 tsp sea salt

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp caster sugar

350ml warm water


For the topping:

400g sweet, black grapes

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp caster sugar

a little icing sugar


Put the flour into a large bowl, add the yeast, the sea salt (if you are using coarse salt, crush it finely first), then the oil, sugar and warm water. Mix with a wooden spoon then turn the dough out on to a generously floured board. Knead the dough lightly for 5 minutes or so. You need not be too enthusiastic. A gentle pummelling will suffice.

Once the dough feels elastic and "alive" put it into a floured bowl, cover with a clean cloth or clingfilm, then put it somewhere warm to rise. It will take approximately an hour to double in size. Once it has, then punch it down again, knocking some of the air out. Tip it into a suitable baking tin or sheet, about 28cm in diameter. Gently knead half of the grapes into the dough, scattering the remaining ones on top. Set the oven at 220C/gas mark 7.

Cover the dough once more and return it to a warm place to rise. Once it has expanded to almost twice its size, drizzle over the olive oil, scatter with the caster sugar and bake for 35-40 minutes till well-risen, golden brown and crisp on top. It should feel springy when pressed. Leave to cool slightly before dusting with icing sugar. Cut into thick wedges and eat while warm. It will not keep for more than a few hours. (*actually I found it kept for two days, well wrapped)