Fruit Butter Spice Cake

It really is no surprise to me that our fridge has a constant supply of fruit puree. We tend to buy slews of produce in spurts (especially if my stepdad makes a Costco trip alone) and although we are a family of fruit and veggie lovers, we can only go through so much of it before it starts to turn. By cooking down the softer apples, pears, nectarines, berries and even some of the sweeter or blander veggies (like carrots, baked winter squash, and zucchini) we keep their shelf life a little longer - and in the case of the veggies, being pureed with the sweet fruit is a great "extender" of both volume and calories. 

Whenever we have too much puree on our hands (which doesn't happen often, but it does happen), I turn to the oven for inspiration. Applesauce is almost completely commonplace in baking these days, having the ability to partially replace the oil in things like quickbreads and cake. I simply take that a step further by taking one of my multi-ingredient mixtures in place of plain-jane apples. One of my favourite uses for any thick puree of fruit (or fruit and vegetables!) is as the base of a spicy snacking cake. Without the distractions of excess sugar, chocolate, frosting or chunks, the flavours of the sweet masala stand out along with the fruit, becoming a pan of fragrant, light, moist cake perfect for morning snacktime. In fact, the only adornment I bothered with was a "cheater" streusel of crumbled graham crackers - adding the merest hint of crunch and honey-sweetness and bringing the whole medley into perfect balance.

Chocolate Almond Prune Bread - A Mother's Day #SundaySupper

I know I talk about my mom a lot on this blog. The fact is, she's one of my best friends, worst (yet most constructive) critics, a psychologist, a nurse, a punching bag, a maid, an accountant, a sous chef, a taste-tester, a student, a teacher and even a classroom assistant. It's my mom that helps me study for my exams and spends hours helping stuff sheets into page protectors or colouring worksheets. It's my mom that (until she retired) would re-arrange her work schedule to be able to come with me to doctor's appointments when I didn't feel comfortable going alone. She helps us clip the cat's nails, makes me tea when I'm feeling down, and listens with never-ending patience to my rants and raves about the day at school. In short, I wouldn't be where I am today without her, in every sense of the word.

One of the things my mom has really become in the past few years (partially thanks to this blog and my cookbook reviews) is a foodie. She was always a fantastic cook, but a simple, practical one more focused on feeding two kids and a husband than branching into haute cuisine. These days she's more or less out of the "kid food" genre, but still has to contend with my equally picky stepfather who is perfectly content to just eat pasta and meat all day, every day... especially if he's not cooking it. The saving grace (and the window of opportunity we have to bond culinarily) is her weekday lunches. For the last few years, they were her work lunchbox staples - a soup, stew, pasta or stirfry over rice, a couple pieces of bread or a bagel and some homemade jam - and today she still asks if I have anything coming down the pipe to make for her lunches even though she's retired. We've traveled the world with those meals, and thankfully she's an adventurous eater (with a spice-tolerant palate!) so I really can run the gamut when it comes to ingredients.

For this Mother's Day, though, I wanted to bring it home by making something that embodied a host of my mom's favourite things. Firstly, it's my mom's favourite food in general - bread. Secondly, it's packed with whole grain "bits". Third, it's sweet and nutty thanks to almond butter and an almond/dairy "milk blend". The last two are the most obvious - the filling ingredients. Mom's been a long, long-time fan of prunes, and I've yet to find a woman who is as in love with dark chocolate as she is. I wasn't overly conscious of the fact that I incorporated all these favourites while putting the recipe together, since I basically took my inspiration recipe and tweaked it here and there to answer the questions "what do we have in the house?" and "what does mom really like?". In the end, it turned out that a slice of this loaf really is a taste of everything my mom seems to be, palate-wise and as a person: sweet, with a grown up "edge", wholesome, a little "fruit & nutty", healthy and with the capacity to get you moving when you need a push (insert prune joke here).

This week's #SundaySupper is, appropriately, all about our moms and what brings Mother's Day home for us. Whether our mothers are with us at the table tonight or always by our side in spirit, it's a special day for us all and I invite you to take a look at what we have to share as well as to join in our Twitter chat tonight (details below). That is, if your kids / parents will let you!

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Mother’s Day Breakfast:

• Bacon,Egg and Cheddar Scones from Kudos Kitchen By Renee
• Chai Berry Muffins from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Chocolate Almond Prune Bread from What Smells So Good?
• Greek Breakfast Strata from Curious Cuisiniere
• Maple Almond Butter from girlichef
• Orange Julius from Neighborfood
• Rum Rolls from Daily Dish Recipes
• Slow Cooker Eggs with an Asian Accent from NinjaBaking.com

Mother’s Day Appetizers, Soups and Salads:

• Asparagus and Prosciutto Crostini from Hip Foodie Mom
• Carrot Ginger Soup from Confessions of a Culinary Diva
• Chilled Spring Pea Soup from An Appealing Plan
• I Love You Mom Melon Salad from Hot Momma’s Kitchen Chaos
• Limoncello and Raspberry Prosecco Cocktail from La Bella Vita Cucina
• Strawberry Salad with Asparagus Mousse from Delaware Girl Eats
• Truffled Sea Salt Shrimp Arugula Salad from Family Foodie
• Vegetable Shu Mai from My Healthy Eating Habits

Mother’s Day Main Dishes:

• Betty’s Salad from Jelly Toast
• Brussels Sprouts Kofta from Soni’s Food
• Cajun Shrimp Eggplant Casserole from Food Lust People Love
• Crepes Lorraine from Noshing With The Nolands
• Greek Chicken Pizza from Casa de Crews
• Ham and Spinach Quiche from Try Anything Once Culinary
• Lightened-Up Penne & Tomato Cream Sauce with Peas & Prosciutto from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
•  Mac & Cheese Dressed Up for Mother’s Day from Cooking Chat
• Mini Pot Pies from Jane’s Adventures in Cooking
• Paprika Shrimp from Nosh My Way
• Spears in a Blanket from The Not So Cheesy Kitchen

Mother’s Day Desserts:

• Banana Cream Pie from Take A Bite Out of Boca
• Black-Eyed Susan from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Cannoncini alla Crema from Manu’s Menu
• Chocolate Babka from Run DMT
• Chocolate Caramel Tart from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Chocolate Creme Brûlée  from Desserts Required
• Frozen Strawberry Cheesecake from Serena Bakes Simply From Scratch
• Gluten Free Lemon Curd Pie from Gluten Free Crumbley
• Lemon Cookies from Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Limoncello Lemon Pound Cake from Killer Bunnies, Inc
• Mom’s Glazed Blueberry Tarts from The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Mom’s Coconut Macaroons from MealDiva
• Mango Sorbet from Pescetarian Journal
• PB&J Macaron from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Peach Cobbler from Cookin’ Mimi
• Pina Colada Cake from The Foodie Army Wife
• Pineapple Empanadas from La Cocina de Leslie
• Scotch Tea Cookies from Shockingly Delicious
• Strawberry Shortcake Whipped Cream Cupcakes from Seduction in the Kitchen
• White Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies from Pies and Plots

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. Check out our#SundaySupper Pinterest board for more fabulous recipes and food photos. 
Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here—>Sunday Supper Movement.

Baked Rosé Bowties with Turkey and Peas

Does your family have any "cult favourite" dinners? You know them - the ones that came out of sheer desperation and the ends of too many leftovers (none of which make a full meal) one night, that tasted so good that they're given "craveable" status. For some families I know, it's "spaghetti pizza", for others, the go-to is fried rice, casseroles or fritattas.

In our family, we always had leftover Kraft Dinner, tomato sauce or salsa, and usually some sort of roasted meat. Now, pretty much everyone knows that reheated mac & cheese is not the tastiest thing in the world - it never really un-congeals - and leftover roasted or broiled chicken breasts are no treat either. However, when my mom took that brick of neon-orange pasta, dumped in the dregs of a jar of pasta sauce, whatever meat was left in the fridge and a couple handfuls of peas, dinner became something out of this world. We didn't care that it wasn't whipped up a la minute, or that when she was really pressed for time the concoction was microwaved, not baked or stovetop-cooked. It only tasted "right" with leftovers too - especially post-Thanksgiving turkey - making the "problem" of a too-big holiday feast more of a delight.

The problem with relying on leftovers for that dish meant that as the years went on and the fridge stores dwindled with our growing appetites, that slap-dash cacophony of flavour became less and less common. Eventually it stopped altogether, due in large part to my sister's resistance to eating it and the fact my mom and I were trying to lose weight. It's been years now since I've had one of those "mom's macaroni" meals, but I've never forgotten them - which is why I decided to pay homage to my childhood and my mom's creativity by making my own version of the dish. While I still used leftover bits and pieces from my kitchen, I cooked up the dregs of a few boxes of whole wheat pasta and mixed up a rosé sauce with the last of my herb and garlic Ever - Variable Cooking Creme, tomato paste, milk and Parmesan rather than boiling a box of mac & cheese. Frozen turkey meat from Easter dinner went in along with the prerequisite frozen peas, and for a touch of extra texture I topped the pan with Panko and baked it just until crispy on top.

True, my pasta mashup is not the one from my early years, but it is darn tasty regardless - not only does it help use up leftovers, but you can make a lot of it and freeze a pan for later without loss of texture. If that doesn't sell you, maybe the fact that it's got less of a day-glo hue than the "original" will!

"Loaded Stupid" Brownies

When you have as many die-hard chocolate fans in the household as we do, we tend to be picky about the bars and candy we keep around. My mom and I are almost exclusively bittersweet chocolate devotees, but my sister and dad will choose milk over dark any day. Regardless of the cacao content, we do our best to find brands that are eco-friendly and fairly produced, while still economical. Not that we eat a bar a day or anything, but swallowing the cost of a $5 bar can keep us from actually enjoying it.

Recently, Nestlé contacted me with a gift of some of our classic childhood favourites - Aero, Coffee Crisp, Smarties and Kit Kat - and an information package regarding their newest initiative: The Nestlé Cocoa Plan. According to their website, their attention to the wellbeing of others and the environment is simply business as usual at  Nestlé - the difference is that it now has a name: Creating Shared Value. Firstly, the company supplies quality cacao saplings to farmers, each helping to produce 20+ years of high-yield, high-quality cocoa beans. Then, Nestlé provides training to those farmers, including how to adopt better farming practices (like properly pruning trees, controlling pests with both responsible pesticide and natural deterrent methods and harvesting while caring for the environment). One of the most prevalent examples of their training initiative their investment in a farmer field schools in West Africa, where 20-30 farmers meet at a local cocoa farm for their training every two to three weeks.

By keeping the supply chain short, Nestlé helps ensure farmers are paid fairly and can continue to farm sustainably, building partnerships with organizations like UTZ Certified and Fairtrade. In fact, the Canadian-based Cocoa Plan co-ops and farmer groups are producing enough cocoa to cover 100% of the cocoa needs to produce Aero, Coffee Crisp, Smarties, and Kit Kat bars in Canada, and at present 30% is UTZ Certified (their goal is to be 100% UTZ Certified in 2014).

One of the most important aspects of the Cocoa Plan to me as a teacher is that Nestlé is a strong participant in the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI), which is dedicated to ending child and forced labour in the world of cocoa farming by eliminating child trafficking and abusive labour conditions. As a coalition between the public and the cocoa industry, they work to prevent children from being exposed to unsafe tasks and exploitation, at the same time providing assistance to those who have been abused in the past. The ICI also helps to increase access to education, which I believe is a huge leap forward in the fight to become a more cooperative and overall peaceful society.

So, when I opened up my box from Nestlé to reveal a treasure trove of their Cocoa Plan-certified bars, I knew I had to make something with them that shone. I know I could have just noshed away on them au naturale (and I'll admit the Aero met it's fate that way), but I wanted to share the chocolate love - not to mention rid myself of a few other chocolate goodies that were sitting within temptation's grasp. To me, the unequivocal chocolate dessert has got to be brownies. Cakes, muffins, cookies, cheesecakes and puddings, I love you all, but the fact remains that biting into a fudgy, dense brownie square has no equal - especially if you take that simple, cocoa base and load it with as much extra chocolate as you can!

I wound up using my relatively standard cocoa-powder brownie recipe as a jumping-off point, reducing the sugar a fair deal to account for the almost 300g of assorted milk chocolate candy I chucked in! The bars baked up dense and fudgy (the way I love them), with a perfect balance between bitter and sweet, crispy bits and smooth chocolate. In short, bars of awesome. 

Of course, I highly recommend you search out a few types of fair, sustainable chocolate or candy to use in your (rather smart) "Loaded Stupid" Brownies, but really the best part about them is that you can use anything, and everything in your candy stash that you feel tastes good with chocolate!  

Many thanks to Nestlé for their kind gift - it was definitely appreciated!

Baked Lemon Pasta with Broccoli and Shrimp - #holidayfoodparty

I think we can all agree that no matter how many years we've spent in the kitchen, how many stars attached to our name or followers attached to our blogs and instagram accounts we have, none of us will ever be able to match our mom's homemade cooking. I've waxed poetic about my mom's culinary skills before, and it's only fitting that I credit her for giving me the love of cooking too. Granted, I may not have always liked the meals she made us eat growing up, and today she concedes that a few of my recipes are better than her classics, but the fact remains that when she's in the kitchen, much more is being made than food. 

For Mother's Day, it's always hard for me to figure out what to do for my mom, since she's not one who enjoys going or eating out all that much (and she loathes shopping). I'm ashamed to say the past few years have garnered her only a card and an apology, and unless I'm struck by an epiphany soon this one will be no different. However, I do know a few edible ways through to my mom's heart (that aren't chocolate - shocking!). She's an indiscriminate carb-lover at heart, who would probably murder any dietitian who told her to adopt an Atkins-style diet. She's also a major veggie-holic (like her daughter!) and recently re-discovered a love of yoghurt, as a snack, a condiment and in main dishes. 

So, while I can't make meals just like mom's, I can make her something that she'll enjoy on "her" day - comforting, indulgent-tasting (but surprisingly healthy), and packed with veggies, carbs and yoghurt - not to mention enough leftovers for good "take to work" meals too! I'll even do the dishes. 

This #holidayfoodparty is celebrating moms far and wide, with 13 recipes that are perfect for the special day. Check out all the offerings below and say hi - after you call your mother!

1. Coconut Cupcakes from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
2. German Apple Cake from Magnolia Days
3. Baked Lemon Pasta with Broccoli and Shrimp from What Smells So Good
4. Cinnamon Pear Cake from Roxana's Home Baking
5. Strawberry Whiskey Sour from Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
6. Huevos Rancheros from Crumb Blog
7. Triple Lemon Cake from Created by Diane
8. Banana Chocolate Chip Bread from Chocolate Moosey
9. Lemon Thyme Shortbread from Jen's Favorite Cookies
10. Pineapple Coconut Sweet Rolls from Pineapple and Coconut
11. Caramilk Stuffed No-Knead Brioche from Gotta Get Baked
12. Mom's World Famous Sponge Cake from Hungry Couple NYC
13. Brown Butter Pecan Fudge Ripple No-Churn Ice Cream from Cupcakes and Kale Chips