Eulalia!!!

Okay, random I know. But if you (like Andrew and I) are a fan of Brian Jaques' Redwall series, you'll get the whole significance of the title. If you aren't... well, I can't help you there! I'm still in the midst of reading Triss after Andrew began reading it to me during our nights apart at the beginning of my university career (and yes, I know it's kind of childish being read to, and a book about talking animals at that, but hey, I still sleep with music playing!), and it's a great book even though it's taken me several years to get through it! Between cooking, chauffeuring, blogging, cookbook reviewing and my latest project - a knitted blanket for my best friend Heather - there aren't enough hours in the day! In the Fall, when we add school to the list... well, we'll see how far down the list reading falls!

I bring up the Redwall series because what I have today (my version of the British pasty) is favourite of the mice and hares of Redwall Abbey in the books. While Andrew was eating the one I made for him today at lunch (with gusto, I might add) I told him the name of the pies, and he said "just like in Redwall!". As he finished his pasty (and provided some excellent hints that I incorporated into this recipe) I decided that that was exactly the perfect name for this dish - the Redwall Pasty. It is certainly a wholesome and filling meal, and a vegan one at that! TVP crumbles get paired with lots of delicious veggies before being all wrapped up in a savoury olive oil crust (which is surprisingly simple to make).
Redwall Pasties
Serves 4
1 cups flour
1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tbsp olive oil
1/4 - 1/3 cup water
3/4 cup dry TVP granules
1/2 cup hot vegetable broth
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red pepper, diced
12 oz cremini or portabello mushrooms, chopped
1 rib celery, minced
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp cold vegetable juice or water

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Mix flours and salt together.
3. Pour oil and water all at once to flour.
4. Stir to mix into a dough.
5. Shape into 2 flat balls.
6. Wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
7. Combine TVP and hot broth and let stand 10 minutes.
8. Heat a saucepan over medium fire, spray with canola or olive oil spray.
9. Add the onion and cook (stirring) until golden, about 7-8 minutes.
10. Add red pepper, mushrooms and celery.
11. Cook (stirring) until mushrooms are beginning to colour, about 5 minutes.
12. Add the parsley, pepper and garlic and stir to combine.
13. Stir in the re-hydrated TVP.
14. Combine cornstarch and vegetable juice, stir into cooked mixture and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
15. Remove from heat and set aside.
16. Roll 1 round of dough out on lightly floured surface and cut in half.
17. Place 1/4 of the TVP mixture in the centre of each half of dough and bring up sides of pastry to enclose the filling.
18. Pinch the seams to seal completely, place pockets on a baking sheet, and dock with a fork for the steam to escape.
19. Repeat with remaining dough.
20. Freeze pockets at this point for later if required.
21. If baking immediately, place trays into oven and bake 25 minutes, rotating sheets at 15 minutes.
22. Serve and enjoy!

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 341.5
Total Fat: 11.0 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 133.8 mg
Total Carbs: 45.2 g
Dietary Fiber: 7.1 g
Protein: 16.6 g

These would be delicious warm or cold, and leftovers can be warmed (tented with foil) for 15-20 minutes in a 400F oven, though I don't recommend microwaving them. You can also freeze these (unbaked) for later, if you like, just bake them about 1 hour in the 375F oven and enjoy good, wholesome British fare.

These parcels, and all their yummy goodness, are making their way over to Cate's ARF / 5-A-Day roundup for next week! I missed this week's go-around, but check out her wonderful summary of the healthy dishes made this week here! Even with a head cold, she doesn't let her Sweetnick's readers down!

Adventures with Oatmeal

I'm on a quest, fellow readers... a quest for the perfect oatmeal cookie formula for my bakery. You see, I never really developed a foolproof recipe for these particular baked goods, and I need to get a good one down pat (especially since I want to re-enter this year's cookie contest at the Markham Fair!). I'm looking for something fairly specific:

• Chewy
• Fairly flat (i.e. not cakey/poofy)
• Travels well
• Doesn't use a ton of butter / shortening
• No eggs

I don't even know if something like that exists, but I'm willing to look and try! At the very least, the family (and the Exxon crew) will be eating some more whole grains than they're used to, and hopefully enjoying it along the way!

These first ones were definitely interesting ones to make, and I can't really say I was disappointed with the results either. The molasses and cinnamon perfumed the house while they baked, and they were flat like I was looking for. My only complaint was that when I was bagging one for Andrew this morning (I baked them yesterday afternoon), I discovered it was hard as a rock. They may be more suited to ice-cream sandwich cookies (ooh, with a rum-raisin or a sticky toffee pudding flavour, or maybe this exotic one... divine!), though, since they'd soften a bit.

Rich Oatmeal - Molasses Raisin Cookies
Makes 12
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup raisins

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray, and set it aside.
2. Mix the flour, rolled oats baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a small mixing bowl.
3. Stir the molasses, brown sugar, canola oil, water, and vanilla extract well.
4. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients along with the raisins. Mix thoroughly.
5. Drop the dough by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet.
6. Flatten each cookie lightly with the back of a wet spoon.
7. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until they are lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 109.6
Total Fat: 2.6 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 38.9 mg
Total Carbs: 21.1 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.8 g
Protein: 1.3 g

Not overworking this particular cookie dough seems to be the trick with these next ones, but they hardly spread at all, leaving some fairly ugly cookie balls on the sheet. I definitely reccomend soaking the raisins though - I keep forgetting to, and always regret it. I gave the measurements in both volume and weight... weight is always more accurate (and I always use it for the bakery).

Chewy Bakery Cookies
Makes 48
1 1/2 cups flour (149g)
1 teaspoon baking soda (5g)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (5g)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening (220g)
1 cup packed brown sugar (201g)
1/2 cup sugar (95.82g)
2 tsp cornstarch egg replacers (10g)
1 teaspoon vanilla (5mL)
3 cups quick oats (241.3g)
3/4 cup raisins (113.6g)

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl, set aside.
3. Beat together the shortening and sugars until creamy.
4. Beat in the egg replacers and vanilla until smooth.
5. Beat in the dry ingredients.
6. Stir in the oats and raisins, stirring just until mixed.
7. Drop onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
8. Bake 12 minutes per batch.
9. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 110.3
Total Fat: 5.4 g
Cholesterol: 2.4 mg
Sodium: 52.5 mg
Total Carbs: 14.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.8 g
Protein: 1.3 g

I still have one more recipe to test out (thanks, Tippy!), but I got frustrated with cookies and decided to whip out a batch of muffins instead. These used up some of the leftover peaches from Sunday's fruit flan, and some of the almonds that are always kicking around our house (the family loves nuts). The shot of these (I'm actually getting quite proud of my foodie photos now, though I know they are nowhere near the ranks of most of you!) is being sent off to GreedyGourmet's event SnackShots #3: Muffin, to join the ranks of the others out there!

Peach - Oat Almond Muffins
Makes 12
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
½ cup low-fat plain soy milk
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 tbsp canola oil
3 tbsp honey
2 medium peaches, peeled and diced
1/4 cup slivered almonds

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Grease 12 muffin cups.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, ginger and oats in a bowl.
3. Separately, mix soy milk, applesauce, oil and honey.
4. Stir wet ingredients into the dry mix until just moistened.
5. Fold in peach bits and almonds gently.
6. Bake 20-25 minutes, until tests done.
7. Remove from cups immediately and cool on wire racks.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 133.3
Total Fat: 5.3 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 72.5 mg
Total Carbs: 19.4 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.7 g
Protein: 2.9 g

Something Mommy Made

Well today was another social gathering here at the house. We had my mom's aunt and uncle over, and my mom had planned out an elaborate (and for once, not Italian!) menu for their lunch. In fact, the whole meal (with the exception of my dessert, which in all my research I can only find Canadian references to... anyone know?) was French in origin, and started with a different style of the classic Vichyssoise in the fact that the rich, creamy potato and leek soup was served piping hot, not cold as is tradition! Technically, the name for this type of soup is Potage Parmentier, which was described aptly by none other than Julia Child as a dish that "smells good, tastes good, and is simplicity itself to make".

Well, I was asleep when my mom toiled away in the kitchen this morning to make it (and the kitchen was even clean when I came in... the joys of having company!) so I'm not too sure how much effort it did in fact take. I do know that she had to do it (as well as the rest of the meal) single handedly since the stepfather.... well let's not go there... so it can't be a major production like the Potage a la Tortue and Caille en Sarcophage from the fabulous movie Babette's Feast. I do, however, know that it smells fantastic while cooking, and it is well worth the monetary expense of a good wine and the caloric expense of good, 18% table cream and rich butter when you make this - it isn't every day that you get this indulgence, and your guests will fall in love with you, I promise!

Mom's Winter Vichyssoise
Serves 8 as a starter
1/4 cup butter
4 large leeks (white parts only, diced)
1 small white onion, minced
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced
5 cups vegetable stock
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 cup table cream (18%)
2 fl. oz white wine
Fresh chives, for garnish

1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat.
2. Add leeks and onion and cook until soft, about 15 minutes.
3. Add potatoes and stock and cook 30 minutes.
4. Puree in a blender until smooth and season with the pepper to taste.
5. Return soup to pot, stir in cream and wine.
6. Heat without boiling until ready to serve.
7. Sprinkle individual bowls with chives.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 225.4
Total Fat: 11.8 g
Cholesterol: 35.1 mg
Sodium: 655.9 mg
Total Carbs: 26.2 g
Dietary Fiber: 3.0 g
Protein: 3.5 g

As for my addition to the party? Well, I can't claim putting together an elaborate French meal, but I did make a rather pretty (and from what I'm told, delicious) fruit flan for dessert! If you happen to be in the neighbourhood, you can order one from my little bakery enterprise, since I can't be sharing the recipe with all those secret recipe spies around!!

Biscuits for Beginners

I'm not really in a talkative mood today, been feeling very tired recently due to being ill and creating a delicious (but multi-stepped) dessert for some house guests that my mom and stepfather are having over this Sunday, and I'm in a mopey mood now that Andrew's off in Ottawa for a long-weekend grad party (though I am glad you went, honey!). So, I figure that I'll just pass along this pre-typed, nicely formatted lesson-style recipe that I have had tucked in my back pocket for a while after writing it to help out a fellow baker who was slightly nervous about biscuit making and baking in general. It's written for children, which I did on purpose, because I intend to pass it on to the Home Ec class at my old elementary school and keep the delicious tradition that is the buttermilk biscuit alive. Enjoy!

Beginner's Biscuits
Makes 20
Don't sell yourself short on your cooking abilities, even if you’ve never made Tea Biscuits before... if you have access to a few ingredients as a base (and I mean literally 5 ingredients), a working oven, a bowl and a cookie sheet these biscuits will be fine. I learned these when I was young, straight from the book, without my mom's help (only my dad was home, and he doesn't bake all that much!), and they're hard to destroy unless you forget one of the 5 ingredients. You don't even have to grease the sheets! They even freeze well, which is good because this recipe makes about 20 biscuits. Just remember that the measurements are important (including the oven temperature), so do make sure they are correct. Also, give yourself lots of time and relax! This should be enjoyable... and you will get your hands dirty. No getting around that!

OK so first things first - your equipment. You will need:

• 1 big mixing bowl
• 1 half-cup measuring cup
• 1 full-cup measuring cup
• 1 teaspoon
• 1 tablespoon
• 1 mixing spoon
• 1 rolling pin
• 1 large-mouthed drinking glass or round cookie cutter
• 2 cookie sheets
• 1 oven
• oven mitts
• 1 wire cooling rack
• hungry people!

Get all this out first. Make sure you have everything!
Now, preheat your oven by turning it on to 425 degrees Fahrenheit or 220 degrees Celsius.
Get out all your ingredients now (if you like, measure them all into separate bowls, but that means more dishes). They are:

• 4 cups of plain, white flour (not self rising)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda (bi carb)
• 1/2 cup of vegetable shortening (AKA Crisco)
• 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk

1. Using your mixing spoon, blend the flour, the baking powder, and the baking soda together in the big bowl.
2. Dump in the shortening.
3. Now, using your fingers, work the shortening into the dry ingredients. The goal is to get the shortening into about the size of small green peas, and to have all those bits covered in the flour blend. It will look like a fine gravel, but don't work it to a paste. Good photos are here.
4. Wash your hands.
5. Pour the buttermilk right into the shortening and flour mixture.
6. Now, using your mixing spoon, stir the buttermilk into the mixture, but just until a soft dough comes together. Don't beat it, you just want everything to come together.
7. Take some extra flour and sprinkle it on your countertop.
8. Dump out the biscuit dough and make sure everything is in one lump (you can knead it a bit to work in the last of the flour from the bowl).
9. Using your rolling pin, roll out the dough so that it's about 1" (2 cm) high, and even all the way through (make sure you're not squishing down the edges).
10. Take the glass or the cookie cutter and cut out as many circles from the dough as you can at one time.
11. Move the dough circles to the cookie sheets, about a finger space between them.
12. Squish the dough bits together back into one piece and roll it out again like you did before.
13. Depending on how much dough is left, either cut out more circles or divide it in 2-3 equal pieces about the size of the circles you cut before.
14. Put those on the cookie sheets too.
15. Put the sheets in the hot oven. Set your timer for 12 minutes.
16. When the timer rings, take the sheets out of the oven and carefully move all the hot biscuits to the wire rack.
17. Let them cool about 10 minutes before taking a bite of your handiwork!
18. If you need to freeze them for later, make sure they are cooled completely (at least 2 hours). Place them all into a Ziploc bag and freeze them. They will reheat in about 30 seconds in the microwave.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 142.4
Total Fat: 5.2 g
Cholesterol: 0.7 mg
Sodium: 19.8 mg
Total Carbs: 20.0 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.7 g
Protein: 3.2 g

They're Growing!

I know, I know, I've been very absent off and on these days. What can I say? It's only the last full week of April, and already our thermometer has climbed past 20C! Needless to say we've all been out enjoying the sunny, warm weather - I've even been able to drive around with my windows down, which is a big deal considering at the beginning of the month I was hard-pressed to turn down my heater! Unfortunately, we can't be too sure about being frost-free for the rest of the year, so we can't plant our mini-greenhouse worth of seedlings just yet (though I have some very strong tomatoes clamouring to escape their pots!).

So I decided to kick-start this year's gardening extravaganza with a slightly easier-to-accomodate planting measure for indoors: sprouting! I used this guide to get me started, and I'm in no hurry to stop! So far, I've finished growing (and with Andrew's help, eating) a batch of lentil sprouts, and my jar of mung bean sprouts finished today and is resting in the fridge for me to devour later on. Now I've got some mustard seeds on the go and I bought 1 kg. of alfalfa seeds too, which are far and away my favourite sprouts on the whole planet.

In fact, those sprouts have formed an integral part of my lunch for the past few days, with an incredibly delicious, flavourful "sour creme" tofu spread I concocted and some delicious tortilla wraps. With so many nutrients in such a small package (including saponins which lower the bad cholesterol and fat but not the good, and plant estrogens that promote bone health), I've been feeling quite the virtous luncher lately!

Herby Tofu Spread
Serves 2
1/2 pkg Mori-Nu Lite Firm Silken Tofu (or your favourite)
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp dried dill weed

1. Blend all ingredients until very smooth in a food processor.
2. Chill thoroughly before serving, and stir well before use.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 35.5
Total Fat: 0.7 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 71.9 mg
Total Carbs: 1.9 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.1 g
Protein: 5.5 g