To Enter August "En Français"

Well, we made it through July mostly unscathed! With the long weekend on the horizon, it's only fitting that something that's versatile enough to adapt to any occasion - from a simple backyard BBQ to a bridal shower or even taking up to the cottage or trailer - be on the baking rotation around here! In fact, this recipe is the kind of chameleon that is both simple and infinitely complex - an eggy, custard-like batter spiked with just a hint of nutmeg can be baked into a single-layer slab and left unadorned (like I did for our family BBQ a few weeks ago), or made into a two-layer, delicately frosted round cake for a special birthday - something that I would most certainly have done for my French vanilla-loving dad if I had found my inspiration from Vanilla Garlic's blog back in March!

I'm actually very tempted to make a half- or third-recipe of this cake, using it as a base for an ice cream torte, but I'm a little leery of the poportion changes. Instead, I may just make the whole thing, and with the batter not going into the frozen treat make cupcakes instead!

This is the kind of cake that really needs no extra introduction - If you are a fan of French vanilla ice cream, I dare you to try making this without licking the spoon.

French Vanilla Slab Cake
Serves 24
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch of salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup "thick cream" (Nestle Carnation makes a canned version, you can also use whipping cream)

1. Preheat oven to 350F with the rack on the lowest level of the oven, grease a 9x13" pan.
2. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs and yolks, one at a time, follwed by the vanilla.
4. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt.
5. Separately combine the whole milk and thickened cream.
6. Starting and ending with the dry ingredients, alternately add the flour and milk mixtures to the creamed mixture, folding in each addition thoroughly. Batter will be very thick.
7. Spread into the prepared pan.
8. Bake 35 minutes on the lowest oven rack.
9. Cool completely in pan before slicing.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 201.5
Total Fat: 10.2 g
Cholesterol: 55.6 mg
Sodium: 62.7 mg
Total Carbs: 25.0 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.4 g
Protein: 2.8 g

Bad Timing, Good Ice Cream

Ever since "going foodie" and starting this blog up two years ago, I have coveted a host of gadgets and appliances - a standing mixer, a mandoline, a food processor and even a digital scale. But nothing has topped my list longer than the ubiquitous ice cream maker. I finally got the chance (via my super-generous mom!) to indulge this "last thing" on my list when she told me to put an order in with Sears! Though she did make a few references as to whether or not an "upgrade" for my stand mixer would be appropriate, I'm totally satisfied with this as a cap-off to my kitcheny indulgences for now - I do have my eye on a single induction burner plate to use with the new pots and pans I bought at Christmas, but I won't get to use it here!

However, I picked the coldest, rainiest, dreariest summer in Ontario ever to indulge my ice-cream making whims! But no matter - with the help of my two fellow partners in ice cream loving crime (Joel and Bonita) I've been dreaming up a host of flavour combinations to try out!

The first thing I made was a sorbet combination I had been dying to try out for some time - sweet black cherries laced with tangy lime juice and zest, with a touch of honey in the background. I used the same sugar-free (and all-natural) sweetener that I used in my birthday cake - Just Like Sugar - to see if it would work in a frozen application, and it did, quite nicely! However I failed to take into account rule #1 of making anything with fruit: taste the fruit for sweetness before adding any! Even with the lime, the combination of the sweetener syrup, honey and cherries was just too cloying for my palate, but I pared it down in a later version that I made and it was perfect - definitely more of the balanced cherry / lime flavour profile I was going for! It was basically the following recipe that I made the next day, minus the chocolate but with the addition of 2 tbsp more lime juice as well as the zest of 2 limes. If I had managed to get my hands on some little key limes, though, I definitely would have tried those babies out!

Cherry Chip Sorbet
Serves 6
2 tbsp honey
1/3 cup Just Like Sugar (or regular sugar)
1 1/2 cups water
25.5 oz (about 5 cups) pitted cherries
3 tbsp lime juice
1 egg white
1/2 cup dark miniature chocolate chips

1. Combine honey, JLS and water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the honey melts and the mixture is dissolved. Cool.
2. Purée cherries and lime juice, then add the cooled syrup, mixing well.
3. Pour into an ice cream maker and freeze following manufacturer’s instructions.
4. Once sorbet has thickened slightly, whisk egg white lightly and pour into ice cream maker, followed by the chocolate chips.
5. Transfer sorbet to a container and freeze until firm, about 6 hours.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 152.7
Total Fat: 4.7 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 14.6 mg
Total Carbs: 39.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 12.9 g
Protein: 2.5 g

The too-sweet sorbet didn't go to waste, though... never fear! I found an almost instant fix in the back of my fridge with an almost-expired carton of yogurt my mom had bought, had once and subsequently forgotten about. I simply emptied out the rest of the contents (12.5oz in all) to the thawed out sorbet base, whisked it in well, and re-churned it into a creamy but still guilt-free treat for my mom to enjoy. I added chocolate chips to hers, because like any good woman she needs her chocolate pick me up!

Cherry Chip Sherbet
Serves 6
To the above recipe, add 1 1/2 cups (12.5 oz by weight) fat-free vanilla yogurt (I used Source by Yoplait) in with the remaining base mixture and beat in well. Continue with the remaining instructions.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 189.4
Total Fat: 4.7 g
Cholesterol: 0.3 mg
Sodium: 44.6 mg
Total Carbs: 46.2 g
Dietary Fiber: 12.9 g
Protein: 4.5 g

Since I know there are a gazillion others out there that are actually having a summer and could use something to cool off, I'd be honoured if the kind bloggers ScottySnacks, SavortheThyme and Tangled Noodle would take this post into consideration during their Ice Cream Social event!

Going Out With a Bang

Our Summer growing season this year has, in no uncertain terms, sucked the big one. We got off to a crawling start - if you could even call it that with the frigid temperatures and heavy rain - in early July when the first tiny, quick to spoil strawberries peeked out, and we've just moved into the cherry season, without much of a blueberry or raspberry crop to speak of. The perfectly ripe peaches, with so much juice in them you got a bath in each bite, are still nowhere to be found around me! Even the veggies in our backyard are feeling the blow, our once-lush tomato bushes and bean stalks are now only bearing one or two immature fruits each, while our zucchini and corn plants look like we just planted them! We're crossing our fingers for a nice, warm and sunny August, because I can't take much more of this faux Summer!

We did give in to "the man" and the hiked prices of berries at the market, though - weather or no, it just isn't Summer without a handful of the sweet gems! Unfortunately I was pretty unimpressed with the out of hand quality this year - the blueberries were a bit too sour, the blackberries completely blnd and the raspberries were delicious but way too mushy. The rest of the household seemed to be silently echoing my thoughts, as the baskets of fruit proceeded to sit in the fridge untouched save for an occasional sneak of a berry or two. I knew they were nearing their "time", though, and disappointing or not I did not want to be throwing out the local (and expensive) berries. So I did the next best thing - I hauled out a block of pie dough and a bagful of mixed berries from last year that I had stashed in my freezer and made pie with the suckers!

The crust turned out to be one of the most tender and fragile ones I had made, using no all-purpose flour but instead a mixture of whole wheat, Kamut and buckwheat. The low gluten content in the resulting crust made it awfully sticky to roll out in the beginning - until a light went on and I began rolling it between sheets of waxed paper. This also had the double effect of preventing excess flour getting worked into the dough, and a tough cardboardy baked product. The frozen berries I added to the fresh ones definitely amped up the complexity of the flavours along with a dash of almond extract to bring out the nuttiness of the dough. I didn't want to add too much sugar (no one in my family likes sweet pies, and our apple pies are always unsweetened!) so I cut down the amount listed in my favourite church cookbook (1 cup!) to a paltry third and added tapioca flour instead of cornstarch to prevent any filling separation issues.

The resulting pie was smelling heavenly as it baked away, and it didn't look half bad either once it came out! I sent it off with my dad to enjoy at his trailer on the weekend and was given the thumbs up from the tastebuds there!

This is going to be the last pie of the season for us, I think - without any real produce bounty to speak of, anything good that we get is for enjoying out of hand!

Triple-Play Pie
Serves 12
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup Kamut flour
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup shortening
4 - 5 tbsp cold water
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1/3 cup superfine sugar
16 oz sliced strawberries
6 oz fresh blueberries
11 oz fresh blackberries
15 oz frozen mixed berries
1/2 tsp almond extract

1. In a bowl, whisk together flours and salt.
2. Cut the shortening in until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. 1 tbsp at a time, gradually add water until a dough forms (you may not need it all).
4. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead 1-2 times to bring the mixture together, then wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour.
5. Preheat oven to 425F with the rack in the bottom position.
6. Roll out pastry, fitting half into a deep 9" pie pan.
7. Combine the tapioca flour and sugar.
8. Combine all the fruit and the extract in a large bowl and sprinkle the tapioca mixture overtop. Toss well and allow to sit 10 minutes.
9. Pour the berry mixture over the bottom crust.
10. Roll out remaining pastry and drape over the filling, crimp the edges with a fork to seal.
11. Place pie on a baking sheet and cut 3-4 slits in the top crust for steam.
12. Bake pie on the bottom rack of the oven for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350F and cook for another 45 minutes, until browned and bubbling.
13. Allow to cool thoroughly - at least 6 hours - before slicing.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 234.2
Total Fat: 11.9 g
Cholesterol: 6.3 mg
Sodium: 5.1 mg
Total Carbs: 31.2 g
Dietary Fiber: 5.4 g
Protein: 2.7 g

A Simple Supper

Some days I get so lost in whatever I'm doing that before you know it 7PM's rolled around and I have not a whit of a clue what I want or feel up to making myself for dinner. It's not a question of cooking for one or dining alone (that's my life every day!) but rather, "what should my stomach not reject immediately after it's eaten?". These days, as you'll know if you've been following me on Twitter, the answer is sadly "not much". Things that used to taste a certain way to me, for example, now are either totally devoid of flavour or are "tainted" with an odd aftertaste (thought not the metallic one associated with pine nuts). As someone who lives off of a spice heavy-handed life it's almost like being thrown into a foreign country!

I do get some randomly strange cravings occasionally, and my mom keeps joking that my condition that we've nicknamed "Bob" is really a baby alien that's taken up residence in my abdomen. These days, I'm willing to bet he's dancing a jig with stilettos on! The usual suspects keep cropping up for me, like Kraft Dinner (or even better, the white Cheddar mac from President's Choice), a big bowl of pasta (though strangely only the whole wheat kind) with nothing at all on it, even a full can of Habitant Pea Soup! Of course, the mac, pasta and soup are out with the dairy/wheat/meat product deal, so I cope.

This pasta meal was a result of one such craving - which I could actually dispatch since it was a) the beginning of the week and we had produce, not to mention our herb garden, and b) our pantry is pretty well stocked. A can of clams, some random spinach-rice pasta and a bunch of ground black pepper fell into place with some fresh tomato, a lemon and a couple leaves of basil that I ran out in the rain to pick from our little rock garden. It was a decent meal, not gourmet by any standards, but I really liked the tang and lemony-ness playing off the sweet tomatoes and the slightly salty clams.

So here's my nameless "guessipe", which I'm also going to pass along to Ruth's event Presto Pasta Nights care of Pam from Sidewalk Shoes.

Nameless Pasta
2 oz rice fettuccine, cooked + kept hot
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 plum tomato, chopped
5-oz can whole baby clams, undrained
zest of 1/2 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
fresh ground black pepper
3 large leaves fresh basil, torn

1. Heat a small amount of water in a saucepan.
2. Add garlic and cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute.
3. Stir in tomato and cook until tomato softens.
4. Pour in clams and half the broth, stirring well to deglaze the pot. Raise heat to a simmer.
5. Stir in lemon zest and lemon juice, remove from heat and add cooked pasta.
6. Toss well to combine, pour into a bowl and top with pepper and basil.

"Bread That is too Nourishing”

“Bread that must be sliced with an axe is bread that is too nourishing” - Fran Lebowitz

You gotta love Fran's wit, but I have to say I'm not agreeing with her on the boulengerie front. When I ate "store" bread (after growing out of the Wonder Bread years and moving to university), I sought out the bag with the densest, grainiest, darkest loaf inside. I loved the crunch of the different bits in each slice, and even if I had no clue in the world what millet or quinoa was, I knew that they tasted good in my toast and jam before Economics 101. My mother is very much in the same camp - the only time white bread passes her lips is if she has no other viable option - in our house, that means whenever a stew or chili gets made, since my two step-household members refuse to touch anything with a fleck of "whole" in it - excepting whole milk (of course) - and will leave their warm, freshly made dinners on the table while they drive to the grocery for a loaf of crusty "Italian" bread. When we first began sharing a household, I couldn't believe the lack of nutrition they were giving themselves - several fights and wasted loaves of mine later I've given up trying to convince them that a few changes could equal a whole world of difference. As my grandma told me, "they'll realize it on their deathbeds but never admit to it".

So I just sigh, then come on here and bitch. Haha.

Now that I'm baking my mom's regular stash of breads, buns and bagels, the only store-bought bread is the Italian sliced sandwich loaves for *them* and an occasional purchase of cinnamon-raisin Texas toast for my sister's snack attacks. Mom's bagged multigrain breads are gone, in favour of my concoctions. She described my creativity in the kitchen, as she put it, quite well at last weekend's BBQ: "People ask me what kind [the bread] is, saying that it looked so good, and all I can say is 'Sarah made it, I don't know what's in it but it's yummy' and finish it before they can beg for a piece".

Well, mom, I don't know if you'd have time to listen to me list the awesome things I chucked into my interpretation of Reinhart's (you know, the Bread Baker’s Apprentice guy) Multigrain Extraordinaire, but as long as it's all good with you, I'll keep tossing you curve balls (of dough)!

I'm also lobbing these rolls over to YeastSpotting, hosted by Susan of Wild Yeast!

Multigrain Bread Extraordinaire
Makes 10 "sandwich-sized" buns
---Soaker---
1 oz millet
1 oz buckwheat groats
.5 oz quinoa (or amaranth)
2 fl oz hot water

---Dough---
6 oz refreshed whole wheat sourdough starter
1 oz (by weight) honey
1.5 oz whole wheat flour
1 oz skim milk powder
10 oz bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp cooked brown rice or polenta
1.5 oz hulled sunflower seeds
1 oz hulled pumpkin seeds
4 fl oz warm buttermilk
Poppy seeds for topping

1. The night before you want to bake, combine all the "soaker" ingredients in a small bowl. Allow to stand at room temperature for 12 hours.
2. Combine the sourdough starter, honey, whole wheat flour and skim milk powder in the bowl of a stand mixer, mixing well. Cover and let stand 3-4 hours.
3. Combine the bread flour and salt in a separate bowl. Set aside.
4. Mix the brown rice, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds into the soaker mixture. Add the buttermilk.
5. With the mixer running, add half the flour to the starter blend, followed by all the buttermilk mixture.
6. Add the remaining flour and increase the speed to medium. Knead for 9-12 minutes, until smooth.
7. Place into an oiled bowl, turning to grease the top.
8. Cover and allow to rise until doubled, 3-4 hours.
9. Deflate dough gently and shape into a loaf or individual buns.
10. Place into a lightly greased 9x5" loaf pan or two lined baking sheets. Cover and allow to rise until almost doubled, 1 1/2-2 hours.
11. Preheat oven to 350F.
12. Lightly mist dough with water and sprinkle with seeds.
13. Bake loaf for 45-50 minutes (buns 20-25 minutes), until hollow-sounding when tapped on the bottom.
14. Cool completely before slicing.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 224.4
Total Fat: 3.6 g
Cholesterol: 1.1 mg
Sodium: 101.6 mg
Total Carbs: 41.8 g
Dietary Fiber: 3.1 g
Protein: 8.1 g