Richer Ricotta

Way back in February, I made my first foray into the world of cheesemaking when I made Buttermilk Ricotta - something that was so surprisingly easy and was loved so much by my family (except my sister who doesn't like ricotta at all) that my mom won't stop talking about it! I knew making the Italian-esque cheese would become a common occurrence around here, but it's rare that we actually have buttermilk hanging around and really, who keeps it on hand at all times? I began to scout around for another recipe I could do with regular milk, since though I knew ricotta was just a combination of milk, salt and acid, I had no proportions to go by. I also had a small bottle of citric acid left over from a semi-failed jam attempt last year, and I wanted to see if I could use that instead of the more common lemon juice or vinegar.

The great thing about making ricotta, any ricotta, is that it's 100% customizable simply by changing up the milk and/or adding flavouring agents like spices, citrus zests and even cocoa or instant coffee. Other additions you can mix into the finished cheese could be fresh herbs or even edible flowers! Since I had a voucher for a free litre of half and half cream to use (thanks to buying one earlier in the year that was curdled beyond recognition), I went for that plus a few cups of the stepdad's favourite homogenized milk to pump up the decadence of the finished product. Thanks to the extra fat and the more precise acidity of the citric acid powder, the curd was super-fine, almost like I had pureed cottage cheese, and the taste was "cleaner" than when I made it with lemon juice at school (since vinegar and lemon juice can both taste bitter with cooking). I let it drain in a tea towel-lined colander and probably left it a bit too long, but luckily a splash of milk could loosen things to a more spreadable texture if you're not cooking with it.

Thai Inspired Beef and Noodle Stir-fry

Over the years, my Mom has done a lot (and I mean a lot) of world travelling for work. While these days her flights are headed to either Fairfax or Moncton, in the past 5 or 6 years she's been to Texas, Florida, Calgary, Budapest, South America and Thailand! Luckily, she's a big fan of all sorts of worldly flavours, especially the unforgettable combination of sweet, sour, and pungent elements in Thai food.

While I can't send her off to Thailand on vacation, nor bring the beauty of the country and it's people here, I did get the opportunity from a fellow blogger and good friend of mine via the wonderful people at Thomas Allen and Storey Publishing to approximate the flavours of the exotic land in my own kitchen! Back in 2008, Carla from Chocolate Moosey was published thrice in The Healthy College Cookbook (which I coincidentally reviewed a few days ago). I had the pleasure of trying all three of her inclusions (Peanut Butter Oatmeal, Chicken Curry and today's Thai Beef) and I must say they were gems! For more info on the book and my experiences with it click on over to Reading, Writing and Cooking - and stay tuned for my version of the curry on here! 

Admittedly, this is not Carla's recipe as it was written, either on her blog originally or in the cookbook. A combination of our fridge's overburdened vegetable crisper and a lack of the pasta called for turned a relatively basic beef, onion and pepper stir fry into a sautee pan packed full of carrots, green onions, mushrooms, peppers, snow peas and brown rice stick noodles. The goat feta added a piquant and unusual, yet completely complementary accent at the end and Mom gave it her seal of approval both right out of the pan and a few days later after reheating it for lunch!

Port and Sesame Biscuits

It's a fairly well known fact that I don't drink. I was never big on the taste of alcohol, despite my early introduction to it (in sips!) by my parents. It held no allure, and in most cases just bordered on plain nasty. Wine, champagne, spirits, or any beer besides Guinness? I'd take a pass (and even in the case of Guinness I had to be in the mood to drink it). Wine and champagne were the worst to my tastebuds, and discovering that I was hyper-sensitive to alcohol was almost a blessing because it meant I had an acceptable excuse for avoiding it at social events.

But just because I can't drink any alcohol doesn't mean I won't cook with it! I'm fully aware of the flavour profile a good glug of red wine can add to a beef stew, and how a glass of white can transform a chicken, broth and rice combination to Hen and Chick[pea] Paella Soup. I'm not above baking with it either, as numerous cakes, pie crusts, a peach tart and even a cookie I've posted show. Why not add to the boozy cookie arsenal with an unusual offering that is meant to be served with the liquor it contains?

When my grandparents came back from a trip to Portugal and Spain with a renewed taste for the sweet, fortified wine of the Portuguese Douro region, they also brought back a few bottles of varying kinds. After a few "try this one!" tastings of different bottles (I know one was a white port, which I had never heard of before), a tawny barrel-aged concoction, was gifted to us. Then it just sat in our liquor cabinet, more or less forgotten. Until now, that is.

A few months ago, I was reading through a copy of Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar that I had taken out of the library and stumbled onto Isa's recipe for Sweet Wine Biscuits with Sesame. I was intrigued by the fact that the cookies were not overly sugary in design, more or less riding on the port for a little "oomph" (or in Portuguese, eu não sei o que!). I made some modifications to the recipe along the way, finding the dough too finicky as written, but the overall spirit (pardon the pun) stayed the same. I agree that these would be great to put on a cheese tray with fruit and crackers after dinner with a glass of the good (?) stuff.                     

Gianduja Cookies

I've been in a bit of a funk this past week - physically, emotionally and mentally. No matter what I tried, I just couldn't find the "get up and go" to do the things I normally clamour to, which was (to put it mildly) frustrating!

Finally, it seems, I've got my groove back on track. Between hitting the gym, having great conversations with pals on Twitter, a dinner out with my sister and dad, getting super excited about a friend's new baby boy and hearing about Carla's Award-Winning Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes, I've been too busy to be mopey (although I did take a few naps along the way)! The other thing that I love to do when I have a fresh burst of energy (or a ball of stress) is - surprise! - bake! Chocolate is such a great comfort food to me, and Nutella used to be a weakness that I could eat right from the jar.

The rich chocolate-hazelnut combination is also nothing new on this blog or in the food world in general. To me, the sudden craze for the spread was somewhat belated - by the time the rest of the world caught on to it, my sister and I had been eating it for almost 20 years. From what I can gather, it was the company's lack of cross-America availability until recently that's to blame, but now that it's here, it's here to stay. Unless somebody else decides to sue Ferrero, that is. Seriously - what posesses someone to believe that a chocolate spread is an overly healthy item? Even if the marketing did portray it as such (and I'm not saying it does or doesn't), can we not read labels anymore and see the 11 grams of sugar, 100 calories and 6 grams of fat per TABLESPOON?

But I digress.

These cookies actually don't contain Nutella - at least not the spreadable variety. Instead, I took the flavour elements of Nutella on toasty whole wheat bread and formed them into a sweet, snackable and much less messy form!

Lemon and Herb Scented Spring Vegetables - Recipe ReDux

Sometimes it's the little things that just make your day. For me, it was driving home from an appointment earlier this week, when I noticed that our local produce shop was once again open for business after a winter that seemed far too long (even if it was mild). Our family's been shopping there for years and within the past few seasons they've also opened a community vegetable garden next door, so those who can't afford to buy organic or fresh produce have the opportunity to grow a row for their tables. What I love most about this little shop was open again is the fact that it often heralds the arrival of Ontario-grown asparagus, fiddleheads, radishes and greenery. Ultimately, the beginning of local harvest season means tomato season is just around the corner.

I'm honoured to now be part of a healthy cooking and blogging event series called The Recipe Redux. This event series is founded by registered dietitians (though any health-conscious blogger can participate) and each month centres on a different theme ingredient or concept that we embrace in a healthy way. For April, the theme (chosen by Katie of HealthyBites) is “The First Shoots of Spring” - the tender, baby plants beginning to crop up around us. While a lot of the more commonly accepted "spring" veggies aren't available here yet, the few that are are packed with vitamins, minerals and the innate energy that comes from reviving after a long winter dormancy. Think of the common winter crops out there - mostly plants that are storing all their goodness in their roots, forming starchy or sweet vegetables like beets, potatoes, turnips and carrots. Come the thaw, the energy comes back to the stems and leaves, fueling the plant growth and giving us the treats like spinach, rhubarb and asparagus.

Given that we actually do have some local asparagus now, I chose to focus on it's fresh, green flavour when it came time to find an Easter dinner side. The recipe is a variation on my award winning (and recently published) Sautéed Asparagus and Mushrooms in a Lemon – Thyme Butter, where I swapped out the mushrooms for blanched carrot coins (since we were also serving a mushroomy dish). I also opted to add a touch of rosemary to the thyme butter to pair well with that night's roasted turkey. The flavourful but light medley was, to quote my mom, "a reminder of why I loved the original".