Summer, a Stir-Fry, and Stanley Park

Being the fair-skinned redhead that I am, I tend to shy away from long periods outdoors in the summer sun. That whole lobster look really doesn't do it for me. Today, though, was just so beautiful that I couldn't resist noshing outside with my current read: Stanley Park by (Canadian!) Timothy Taylor.

I must say how much I really do like this book: it combines my love of cooking with a good mystery story, adding touches of romance, family struggles and the battle of a small-time chef to stay afloat in the sea of corporate menus. The book was a nominee for the Giller Prize as well as a nominee for the BC Book Prize's Ethel Wilson Award for Fiction. It definitely helps that this wonderful novel is set in Vancouver, a place I have come to adore through my travels to visit my aunt and uncle (who live in Langley, a suburb). The descriptions of the different locales alone bring back fond memories of picnics and walks along the shore.

Even in the hot hot weather, I was craving a stir-fry. A quick dig through the fridge produced a plethora of veggies and some of my home-made teriyaki sauce, and a snoop in the pantry gave me some bulgur wheat. Half an hour later a huge steaming bowl of goodness was steaming in front of me, and I was able to settle down and read a few chapters of my book before getting the familiar feeling of overheating.

Stir-fries are a variety of clean-out-the-fridge recipe and by no means do you have to (or should) stick to a recipe. I figured though that for food blogging's sake, I would tell you how I did mine today.

Sarah's Summer Stir-Fry
Serves One
3/4 cup salted water
1/3 cup dry bulgur wheat
Black pepper
1 cup shredded Savoy cabbage
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3-4 florets each broccoli and cauliflower, chopped
1 1-cm slice Vidalia onion, diced
3 white mushrooms, sliced fairly thin
Good pinch of red pepper flakes
about 2 tsp garlic powder
1 plum tomato, chopped
1/4 cup or so low-sodium Teriyaki Sauce
Few dashes vegan Worcestershire sauce

1. Bring salted water to boil in a small pot. Add bulgur wheat and a few cracks of black pepper.
2. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Cover pot, remove from heat and let stand 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, steam cabbage, garlic, broccoli and cauliflower 6 minutes.
4. Heat a large frying pan over high heat, spray with cooking spray.
5. Add onion and saute until golden.
6. Add mushrooms, red pepper flakes and garlic powder and cook, stirring, until everything begins to brown and become very fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.
7. Add tomato and cook another 1-2 minutes.
8. Add steamed veggies and toss together.
9. Pour in teriyaki sauce and Worcestershire, toss through to coat veggies.
10. Add cooked bulgur and stir to combine everything and slightly reduce sauce, 3-4 minutes.
11. Serve immediately.

Happy summer days, everyone!

Dense, Fudgy Vegan Brownies

Picture dense, chocolatey, delicately spiced, fat-free confections. Is this what immediately springs to mind?

Didn't think so.

However, pure, canned pumpkin is the secret ingredient in my brownies. I love this recipe, and have been making it for over a year. The batter itself is pretty tasty, and is sugar-free and chock-full of fibre. I have one every night as a bedtime snack, heated at 375 F for 20 minutes then spread with sweetened and vanilla-flavoured cream cheese. A large can of pumpkin from Stokeley's will make 3 batches of brownies in 8x8 inch square pans, and I often make all 3 batches at once. One pan I'll put in the fridge, and the other two I'll wrap in tin foil and freeze for later. Definitely a time-saver if you eat them every day like me!

Dense, Fudgy Vegan Brownies (my own recipe)

1 cup unsweetened packed pumpkin
1/2 cup Splenda Granular (or sugar)
2 teaspoons vanilla (or any flavouring of your choice)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp cinnamon, cloves, chili powder, cayenne, or ginger (optional, my favourite is cloves)
Boiling water (or hot coffee)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and lightly spray an 8 x 8 baking pan.
2. Mix pumpkin, Splenda, and vanilla in a medium bowl.
3. In another bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spice (if using) together.
4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the pumpkin mixture.
5. Mix until just combined, adding boiling water as required.
6. Spread in prepared pan and bake 28min, until center is firm.**
7. Cool completely in the fridge before slicing and eating.

**If you're like me and make 3 batches at once, increase the baking time to 33 minutes.

Scott Kessman from Associated Content had this to say about pumpkin:

"First and foremost, the main healthful qualities of pumpkin nutrition are the large amounts of antioxidants and beta-carotene present within the pumpkin. Antioxidants, as most of us know by know due to increased awareness of the importance of healthy living, help strengthen our immune system. Beta-carotene converts to Vitamin A and helps reduce the risk of cancer and other dangerous diseases. Pumpkins by themselves are also very low in fat and calories, and high in potassium. They also possess a fair amount of Vitamin C and other nutrients, such as Niacin, Vitamin E, Calcium and Iron."

I figured that with all that good stuff inside, I'd submit this for Sweetnick's ARF / 5-A-Day roundup!

Chocolate Guinness Cake

One word that almost every guy I know perks his ears to is beer. Images proceed of the stereotypical "alpha males" in the pub on Friday nights, watching the latest game (whatever season it happens to be) and downing a few pints after work. It's more than a mere beverage, it's a social binder.

On the other hand, the magic word for most of us women out there is simple: Chocolate. Creamy or dark (I won't even dream of calling the bitingly sweet white slabs out there chocolate, even though I did in a previous post), chocolate is the cure all for everything in my household of three ladies. From headaches to cramps to a bad day at work, a luscious square of cocoa heaven smoothly glides over the bad and makes the world seem at peace.

So now the task: combine the female "chocolate" and the male "beer". What do you get? In this case, you get an astoundingly rich and decadent dessert that demands no icing or decoration whatsoever (although that won't stop certain people from insisting on it) and no other name but this: Chocolate Guinness Cake.

The preparation of this cake is awesomely simple, and the base recipe and method was gratefully obtained from The Domestic Goddess' website. No need to dirty bowls, the entire thing is mixed on the stovetop before being poured into a 9" spring-form pan and baked. If you haven't already, please do check out her gorgeous site! Her recipes are to die for, and she also hosts the blogging event Sugar High Fridays, which I definitely intend to take part in next time! Her pictures are also a heck of a lot better than mine, but I blame my inability to remember to take photos while cooking. I guess I get into my fun (lol).


Chocolate Guinness Cake (adapted from The Domestic Goddess)
1 cup Guinness
1/2 cup butter, sliced
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup cocoa
1 3/4 cups caster sugar
3/4 cup vanilla or cherry yogurt
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups plain flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking soda

1. Preheat the oven to 350F, and grease a 9 inch springform pan.
2. Pour the Guinness into a large saucepan, and add the sliced butter.
3. Heat until the butter is melted, stir in applesauce, then remove the saucepan from the heat.
4. Whisk in the cocoa and sugar.
5. Beat the yogurt with the eggs and vanilla, then pour into the saucepan, stirring well.
6. Beat in the flour and baking soda.
7. Pour the batter into the tin, and bake for an hour. Leave to completely cool in the tin.

White Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake

This is a special 20th birthday / 2 1/2 year anniversary cake I made for my wonderful fiance, Andrew. He's been both my angel and my demon, my teacher and my best pupil. A white chocolate cheesecake was something the two of us shared for our (belated) one-year anniversary lunch at Milestones in Ottawa, where both of us were going to school. This year's anniversary was a total bust, thanks to my health taking a sudden downturn that led to my dropping out of school, so I'm hoping to make it up to him at the halfway point by going with him to lunch, seeing a Jays game (go Jays!! I'll even let you put a baseball cap on me!) and presenting him with this treasure from our memories.

This recipe is from the Kraft Kitchens website, and I modified it slightly as per my mom's suggestions and my own inability to adhere to any sort of direct recipe. It was incredibly simple to put together despite my own apprehensions (this was my first time EVER baking a cheesecake, and I wanted it to work desperately because it was a special occasion for us!). I even managed to remember to take pictures too, so go me! I almost didn't manage to make this sucker, either... just as the cake finished baking and it was sitting in the oven the meanest rainstorm we've had since moving in January unleashed. So with my puppy Shaggy by my side (actually in my lap because he's scared of thunder) I've settled down to give you the recipe, at long last!

Philadelphia's White Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake (a la moi)

Serves 14-16

1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs

4 tbsp unsalted butter or margarine, melted
500g Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
3 oz good-quality white chocolate (Lindor, etc), melted
6 Tbsp. raspberry preserves, divided

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan.
3. Put the cookie crumbs in a large bowl. Add the melted butter and stir the mixture until the crumbs are evenly moistened with the butter. Transfer the crumbs to the buttered pan.
4. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom of the pan, and slightly up the sides.
5. Bake the crust for 6 minutes. Let cool completely.
6. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.


7. Add eggs; mix just until blended.
8. Stir in white chocolate.
9. Spread 3 tbsp of the preserves on the baked and cooled crust.
10. Pour cheesecake mixture into crust.

11. 11. Dot top of cheesecake with small spoonfuls of preserves. Cut through batter with knife several times for a marble effect, or leave as is.
12. Bang the cake on the countertop to settle batter.
13. Bake 45 minutes at 325F or until center is almost set.
14. Turn oven off, leave cheesecake to cool 30 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a rack.
15. Refrigerate overnight.

Blog or Bust #1: Party Food!!

The newest (at least to me) blogging event out there seems to be the Clumsy Cook's Blog or Bust. This event focuses on the preparation of "healthy" dishes - not necessarily low-fat, low-carb, etc. but dishes focused on general wellness. Being the type of person I am, I just had to take part lol.

The theme for the first of what I hope are many roundups is Party Food. I haven't hosted a "real" party in ages but I did know of a few good recipes that are easy enough to make for a crowd. Even better, I had one in mind that's perfect for a summer party: Minty Lemon Tea! I have one of these almost every morning, and I drink it hot, but it is equally good iced (hence, good for summer parties). I cannot stress enough the importance of using fresh ingredients here though. Apart from far superior taste, the nutrients and vitamins are more readily available in the fresh lemon juice and mint.

The lemon is a wonderful kickstarter for your entire system early in the morning, as well as lowering the Glycemic Index of other foods you serve it with. The mint cools down your body and calms digestion. If you don't add any sugar or honey (I don't) this drink has no calories, fat, cholesterol or carbs!

So, without further ado, I present Minty Lemon Tea to the party:

Minty Lemon Tea

serves one

1 sprig fresh mint (4-5 leaves)

juice of 1/2 a lemon

1 cup water

1. Bring water and mint leaves to a boil in a small saucepan.
2. Reduce heat and simmer 5-10 minutes, to however strong you prefer the flavour.
3. Remove from heat and stir in fresh lemon juice.
4. Serve immediately or chill and serve iced.