Simple Pumpkin Cake with Brown Butter Glaze

Lately all I've been wanting to eat is cake.  I daydream about cupcakes piled high with frosting, layers of chocolate and cream, caramel sauce, raspberries. lemon curd.  I've been firing up my oven at bedtime to make a quick batch of brownies and almost bought a box of crunch donuts from the grocery store last week.  I am pregnant.

Since I've been rather absent here for the last few weeks, it should come as no surprise that I really haven't been doing much cooking.  Nothing I really want to share with you, or even admit to.  But now I'm feeling better and more energetic every day, and I've even started stocking my fridge with vegetables again! 

Pregnant or not, most of us could stand to eat a little healthier.  I'm not saying that the following recipe is actually good for you, but it certainly is better for you than some of the alternatives.  The pumpkin makes the cake very moist and rich-tasting, despite the fact that there is less fat and sugar in there than in other cakes.  The glaze adds a sugary, buttery flavour without being piled half an inch thick.  The recipe makes enough batter for 1 cake and a dozen muffins to freeze and dole out in lunchbags.

If you're energetic, try roasting your own pumpkin or buttercup squash, it will make the very best cake.  You will note that this recipe uses a whole large can of pure pumpkin, rather than leaving you with leftovers. 

This time last year: Roasted Moroccan Carrot Salad

Simple Pumpkin Cake with Brown Butter Glaze
makes 1 cake and 12 muffins

2 C. Sugar (I use Just Us!)
1 C. Canola Oil
6 Eggs
1 T. Vanilla
3 C. cooked and mashed Pumpkin  (or 1 large can)
4 C. Flour (try 2 C. white and 2 C. whole wheat)

4 t. Baking Soda
2 t. Baking Powder
2 t. Cinnamon
1 t. Ginger
1/4 t. Cloves
1/2 t. Salt

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Butter a bundt or other large cake pan, and a 12 cup muffin tin (or use paper liners).  In a large bowl, beat the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla.  Add the pumpkin and whisk to combine well.  In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt.  Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture, and whisk just until combined.  Fill the muffin cups 2/3 full, then scrape the remaining batter into the cake pan.  Bake the muffins for 15-18 minutes and the cake for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes clean.  Let cool on a rack in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan.  Make the glaze, then drizzle it over the cake and muffins.

for the Brown Butter Glaze

2 T. Butter
1/4 C. Brown Sugar
1/4 C. Milk
1 1/2 C. Icing Sugar

Place the butter in a small saucepan over medium high heat.  Watch as it melts, bubbles, and begins to brown.  Whisk in the brown sugar, cook another 30 seconds, than remove from the heat and beat in the milk and icing sugar.

Strawberry Rhubarb Shortpancakes

 Here's a quick idea for you: instead of time-consuming, heat-up-the-whole-kitchen biscuit baking, thrill your family with strawberry shortpancakes for breakfast! Just make up your favourite pancakes and top with lightly sweetened strawberries and whipped cream.  Or, if you still have rhubarb, make this simple and delicious strawberry-rhubarb sauce!

 

Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce

1/2 C. water
1/4 C. Sugar
1 C. chopped Rhubarb
2 C. Strawberries, quartered



 Heat water and sugar in a medium saucepan over high heat until mixture boils.  Add rhubarb and cook for 2-3 minutes, until tender.  Remove from the heat and stir in the strawberries. 

I wish I had a picture, but we celebrated my cousin Melyssa's birthday with Strawberry-Rhubarb Sangria.  Just pour 1/4 cup of the strawberry rhubarb sauce over ice in a wine glass and carefully add equal parts club soda and Prosecco (or any sparkling wine) to fill.

Easiest Hot Cross Buns Ever!

Well, it's Easter: another food holiday!  I thought I would share this amazingly simple recipe for Hot Cross Buns.  There's no kneading or shaping, and they taste heavenly.  These are best the first day, but can be successfully frozen: if you haven't iced them already, you can refresh them in a 350°oven for about 15 minutes.

Hot Cross Buns

2 C. Warm Water
1 T. Yeast
1/3 C. Sugar
1 t. Salt
Zest and juice of 1 Lemon
3/4 C. Raisins
4 C. Flour
1 t. Cinnamon

Frosting

1/4 C. Softened Butter
2 C. Icing Sugar
1/2 t. Vanilla
Enough Milk to make a smooth frosting


Combine the water and yeast in a large bowl.  Let sit a minute, then stir in the sugar, salt, zest, juice, raisins and flour to make a sticky dough. I use a large wooden spoon to start and then switch to my hands to make sure all the flour is evenly incorporated.  Sprinkle the cinnamon over the top and give another quick stir (it looks pretty just swirled in there).  Leave the dough to rise in a warm place for about an hour, until it has doubled in size.  Butter a 9x13 pan and scoop in the dough.  Using buttered hands, gently push the dough to evenly cover the pan using your fingertips.  If it resists, let it rest for five minutes and try again.  Next, cut the dough so that it will pull apart into buns after baking: using a sharp knife, carefully cut the dough as if you were cutting brownies in a pan.  You can cut them to any size you like, I suggest 4 down and 6 across to make 24 buns.   Preheat the oven to 350° and let the dough rise again until it has doubled in height.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned.  Place the pan on a rack and let cool.  Combine the butter, icing sugar, and vanilla.  Add milk by teaspoonfuls until the frosting is smooth and spreadable.  Use a piping bag or sandwich bag with the corner snipped off to pipe a cross on each bun.

Making Natural Food Dyes for Easter Eggs

Having a Snack while we Make our Eggs!

The Gorgeous Results

Back to School Pancakes

I love Christmas. The planning, the preparations, the parties, the shopping, the cooking. The eating, the drinking, the excitement. The last minute wrapping, the pleasant fuzzy haze that is the result of too many late nights. The promising pile of presents under the tree. Irish Cream in your coffee. Believing.

However, by the time New Year's Day rolls around, I am thankful that it's all over. It's January, season of relaxation for a restaurant. We'll have time for all the things that we missed over a busy December, including our own Christmas party. The kids will go back to school, we will slowly un-decorate, and life will go back to normal. Around here, the bus pulls up pretty early: about twenty after seven. Molly and Rowan love a hot breakfast, and that can be challenging. Our solution has been to make up a breakfast menu and mostly stick to it. On Tuesdays, I drive them to school so we have a little extra time, and that means pancakes! This pancake mix was my Christmas present this year to my friends and family, along with a basket of eggs, some peach-ginger syrup, and a good chunk of scrapple, a Pennsylvania Dutch specialty that is a cross between polenta and sausage.  You can make up this mix, store it in a cool place, and have pancakes on the table in no time flat!

Four Grain Pancake Mix

Pancake Mix all ready for giving

4 C. Whole Wheat Flour

1 C. Ground Flax Seed

1 ½ C. Oatmeal

1 C. Cornmeal

½ C. Baking Powder

½ C. Sugar

4 t. Salt

Combine in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Scoop into a resealable bag or jar and refrigerate. When you're ready for pancakes, add to each cup of mix:

1 Egg, lightly beaten

3/4 C. Milk

1 t. Oil

1 t. Vanilla

Maple Syrup or Honey, for serving

Stir gently until combined. Heat a large, heavy frying pan over medium heat for a few minutes before adding a teaspoon of butter or oil and tilting the pan in all directions to coat. Spoon in pancake batter and let cook until the edges look dry and bubbles have formed on top. Flip, cook another minute or so, then turn onto a plate and eat with maple syrup or honey. Add more butter or oil to the pan for subsequent batches.

You can also add 1 C. fresh or defrosted berries to the batter, or 1 C. diced apple or banana. Or really any fruit.

Corn (and Tomato) Time!

Oh Corn. You are so tasty when good, yet so bad when not. I think it best to avoid any early corn offerings at your local market, and get really tired of broccoli and zucchini and early summer vegetables while you wait for Perfect Corn. Then, right about mid August, when the price drops and the ears fatten, get yourself a dozen and have at 'er. This morning I had the pleasure of helping myself to beautiful corn for only $3 a dozen, at the same honour system stand that had provided me with most of the strawberries I ate this summer. Then I took the corn to the restaurant, shucked it, cut off all the kernels and made a beautiful and simple Corn Chowder, which I served at lunch. Courtney, my trusted salad gal, made Peach, Fresh Tomato and Corn Salad. For a couple of food geeks, this is what it's all about.
Steaming is the easiest and fastest method of cooking corn, requiring only an inch of water. Shuck and de-silk the corn, pile into a large pot with an inch of water at the bottom and set it over high heat. When steam starts billowing out, set the timer for two minutes, no more. Today's sweet corn really only needs to be heated through, then it's ready to eat. Try combining equal parts of butter and maple syrup with a pinch of cayenne or maybe a small spoonful of sriracha sauce, then brushing this on the corn after it's cooked.
The Corn Fritters have been part of my family's cooking repertoire since I can remember. They are almost as simple as corn on the cob and really delicious. The flour has gradually been reduced over the years, now just barely holding the sweet kernels together. Together with the emergence of Fried Green Tomatoes on the table, they are a sure sign that it is the end of August.

Peach, Fresh Tomato and Corn Salad

2 ears of Corn, shucked and kernels cut off
1 T. Olive Oil
2 ripe Peaches, cut in 1” chunks
enough assorted Tomatoes, cut in 1”chunks, to measure 3-4 cups
1 T. Balsamic Vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 T. Fresh Basil, cut into ribbons

Heat a small frying pan over medium high heat. Swirl in the oil, then add the corn kernels. Cook briefly, a minute at most, until heated through. Scrape into a bowl, making sure to include the oil. Add the remaining ingredients and toss gently.

Corn Fritters

I've been cooking half the batter plain for the kids and then adding the cumin and green onion to the bowl to cook for the grownups! These fritters are lovely as is, but you can't go wrong with a little maple syrup and even a pat of butter on the plain ones.

3 ears Corn (about 3 Cups)
2 Eggs
½ t. Salt
¼ t. Pepper
2 T. Flour
Canola Oil for frying
¼ C. Sliced Green Onion (optional)
½ t. Ground toasted Cumin (optional)

Stand the cob on end on your cutting board, then cut the corn from the cob. Scrape the cob clean with the edge of the knife. Put all the bits of corn in a large bowl and add the eggs, salt, pepper, flour and optional green onion and cumin. Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat and add 1-2 tablespoons of oil. Use a soup spoon to dole out the batter, spacing them for easy turning. Fry on one side for 2-3 minutes, until golden brown, then flip and cook a minute on the other side. Serve right away or keep the fritters warm in a low oven. They are also great at room temperature!

Fresh off the Cob Corn Chowder

6 fresh ears of Corn

2 large Onions, diced
1/4 C. Butter
 8 C. cubed Potatoes
1/2 C. Flour
2 C. Milk or Cream
2 T. Parsley
1 T. Salt

Stand the cob on end on your cutting board, then cut the corn from the cob. Scrape the cob clean with the edge of the knife into a bowl.  Place the scraped cobs in a pot and add 16 cups of water.  Bring to a boil while you get on with the recipe.  Heat the butter in a pan over medium heat and add the onion.  Stir and cook for ten minutes or so, until the onion is softened and starting to brown.  Add the flour to the onions and butter and cook another minute, then whisk in the cream or milk.  Continue cooking, stirring the whole time, until the mixture bubbles and thickens.  Turn off the heat. 
After the cobs have boiled for 20 minutes or so, add the cubed potatoes.  Cook for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.  Reduce the heat to low.  Pull the cobs out with a pair of tongs and discard, then stir in the onion and milk mixture.  Add the corn and parsley to the pot and simmer for another ten minutes, then serve!

You Can't Trust a Skinny Chef

I own a restaurant. So that makes me a professional food lover, which gives me the right, no, the obligation, to eat whatever I want. I'm always testing, tasting, and re-tasting, thinking I've skipped meals when really I've already eaten plenty while working my way through an eight to twelve hour shift surrounded by food. Great food. Our Cafe serves mainly healthy fare, but that doesn't mean calorie free. Three years after the birth of my second child, I didn't like what I saw in the mirror. No justification could fix the fact that I thought about being overweight way too much. My low came when I found myself at a dear friend's birthday party, stealing her camera and deleting all the photos of myself I didn't find flattering.
Eating is a funny thing to be addicted to. Other substances must be shunned forever, but we have to eat to live. Food was a big part of my life growing up. Nearly every activity had accompanying side dishes, and I looked forward so much to dinner that I would cry if it was something I didn't like (hello fish). I loved cooking from a young age, and would make treats (and enormous kitchen messes) for my family. I ate for comfort, and I ate out of great love for the flavours I was discovering. I ate for a living, getting my first cooking job in a Saltspring Island kitchen at age 18. So there was a real love and passion for food (positive) coupled with a tendency to overeat, especially when I was stressed out (negative). And I hated the idea of dieting, and how annoying people on diets could be to committed overeaters, especially when their diet worked.
Because I'm a big ol' food nerd who reads cookbooks in bed, I have a favourite cookbook author. As a cooking obsessed vegetarian teenager, my mom had given me “Still Life with Menu” by Mollie Katzen. I had already read cover to cover my neighbour's copy of the Moosewood Cookbook, also by Mollie, and loved her writing style, her recipes and food guidance. So I was stunned one day while searching online to discover that she had Co-Authored a Diet Book! I thought, “if this woman who has shaped how I cook and feel about food has something to teach me about losing weight, then I want to learn!” I bought it.
I realized I knew lots about food, but so little about how to really eat for health and well-being. The book, titled Eat, Drink and Weigh Less was co-written with Walter Willett, head of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard. It cleared up a lot of my confusion about calories and metabolism, as well as providing a blueprint for long term health. Among Mollie's contributions to the book were many wonderfully simple and tasty recipes. It worked. I lost forty pounds over six months.
Of course, the authors insisted I exercise, and I did. I went to fitness classes a few days a week at our Town Hall (I've never been self motivated, so paying in advance for those classes really got me there). I met inspirational instructor Maggie Travis and joined my amazing cousin Melyssa Hutchinson's fitness Boot Camp. I was just ready, so ready, to shed the old tired me and get moving! So now I'm strong and lean, too. And so grateful for having made the change.
My friend and co-worker, Annette, reminds me constantly to try to be happy with what I have. Like she says, a negative body image can't truly be overcome simply by changing the body. She attends classes, too, and we have a great time trying to outdo each other. It really helps to have that kind of support.

Part of this journey has been rediscovering breakfast. Here are two of my favourite ways to get things cranking in the morning:

Maple Almond Bowl (serves two people who are resolved to make this day a great one)
If you are eating solo, wrap up the second bowl for tomorrow....or the next day.
½ C. 12 Grain Cereal
1 ¼ C. Water
pinch of salt
2 T. toasted and chopped Almonds
2 Medjool Dates or 6 regular dates, diced (I wet the knife so they don't stick)
1 small Apple, diced (I like Boates, VanMeekeren Farms, and Suprima Apples)
2 t. Ground Flax Seed
2 T. Maple Syrup

Combine the cereal, water and salt in a small pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes, until nicely thickened. Pour into two bowls. Sprinkle each with the almonds, dates, apple, and flax seed and drizzle with the maple syrup.

Spanakopita Eggs for two (multiplies easily, but use a larger pan)

2 t. Olive Oil
½ small Onion, diced
1 clove Garlic, minced
pinch each Salt and Oregano
two big handfuls or more Spinach, chopped
4 good Eggs
2 T. Feta, crumbled (I love Holmestead)

Heat the oil in small pan over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic, along with the salt and oregano. Cook 2-3 minutes, until the onion has softened. Add the spinach, then toss and stir until it wilts. Transfer to a plate, and return the pan to the stove. Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper. Pour them into the hot pan. Now stir gently for a few minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan (I use a silicon spatula). When the eggs are mostly set but still wet, shut off the heat and fold in the spinach mixture and the feta. Allow to sit on the heat another minute if you like them cooked more.
Divide between two plates and serve, with toasted pita bread or on its own.