31

Thirty one. She may think that's a lot of years but not I. Those years seem so short. Is it possible that it was thirty one years ago I first saw her sweet face and fell in love with her? Because that's exactly how it was - thunk. Hard. But so sweet. As I write this evening I remember laying in the bed after she was born and all was quiet. Only new Eden and I in the room. I looked at her face as I held her close and felt overwhelmed with joy to have this daughter, to feel the power and gentle warmth that is Eden. She had a presence even then - so distinct that both David and I felt it clearly - and it has never wavered. What a privilege to be her mother, to have the joy of learning with her, to see her grow into a most amazing woman. She is one of the very best things in my life - and so today I "share" her, a little bit.

She is beautiful in every way. Most often behind rather than in front of the camera, she sees and captures the beauty in others. I am so proud of her talent. She is fun, sensitive, warm, strong, firm, spiritual, faithful, loyal, loving, witty, stylish, clever, thoughtful, careful, .... I know I am her mother but I am also her friend . I know her well and see her clearly - she is all of those things and more. If you are blessed to know her, you know that too.

Happy Birthday Sweetie. I love you....so much!!

Plum Torte

A week ago or so I was thumbing through my wonderful New York Times Essential Cookbook and noticed the enticing information that a particular recipe was the most requested recipe in their entire archive. Does that not intrigue you?! It certainly did me and I was seized with the ambition to give that recipe a spin as soon as possible.  And then I read  "it's nearly a perfect recipe" - better yet. Finally, the story about the woman who made 24 tortes, stored them in a friend's freezer (and had to pay the friend 2 tortes for the privilege). The friend went away for two weeks, left her mother with her children and came back to find that fully half of the tortes were gone. Wow! good enough to eat a full dozen in two weeks! What possibilities..... what could be so amazing that it would make a recipe the most requested and most often published? The only way to know was to make it. So the 'bear went over the mountain' - and it was well worth the easy walk. It is a simple recipe with few ingredients. Probably all you need to buy are plums. I bought some and went to work. The verdict? It was simply....absolutely delicious. I get it now. 


Purple Plum Torte 
(from The New York Times Essential Cookbook)


1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
large pinch sea salt
1 cup sugar, plus 1 Tbsp
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 large eggs
12 purple plums*
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp ground cinnamon


Heat the oven to 350 F. Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt.


Cream the butter with the sugar until light in color. Add the dry ingredients and then the eggs.


Spoon the batter into an ungreased 9" springform pan. Cover the top of the batter with the plum halves, skin side up. Sprinkle with the lemon juice and remaining tablespoon of sugar. Sprinkle with the cinnamon.


Bake until the cake is golden and the plums are bubbly - 45-50 minutes. Cool on a rack, then unmold.


* Purple plums are not to be found this time of year so I used the nice big plump black plums - super yummy! I only used 6 plums. Apparently other fruit can be substituted (apples and cranberries being one suggestion, or blueberries) but the plums were so fantastic I think I will stick with plums.


The torte is not only delicious but very pretty when cut. The rich colors of the plums shine like jewels nestled in the dough, or maybe stained-glass....something lovely anyway.

Wonders

Back in the mists of time, when we lived in Osaka, I had some (ahem) adventures in the grocery store - that lead to even greater adventures in the kitchen. Ahhhhhh, the mystery foods I bought. (Actually it was more often ugggggg than ahhhhh but time kindly softens pretty much everything.) Once we bought adzuki bean ice cream bars for the kids as a treat. That turned out to be one of the greatest disappointments of their young lives, they thought they were getting chocolate because that's what the picture on the package looked like.... Five sticks of ice cream ended up melting in the sink and five sad kids looked at me accusingly. Oh well, I believe we have all moved on and hope they scarcely remember the tragedy. Another time I bought what I hoped was chili powder to make one of their favorite comfort food dinners, only to find out that it was, in fact, chili pepper. And we all know that a tablespoon of chili pepper in a recipe is a world away from the same amount of chili powder. More accusing glares.


Fortunately, there were some delightful discoveries. Like Wonders* - as in I wonder what they call these (because I can't read the Japanese on the package). Essentially sandwich cookies made of crackers and icing, they are addictive. The touch of salt combined with sweet icing and the buttery crunch of the crackers....divine. 


So this 'recipe' is really more of a suggestion and follows my philosophy that it is a shame (bordering on sin) to waste any speck of cream cheese icing. In case you have any cream cheese icing left after making the Snap Baby Cookies (and licking the beaters) this is an excellent suggestion. 


Wonders


-an even number of Ritz crackers (or reasonable facsimile of Ritz but personally I am a purist)
-cream cheese icing


Spread a generous amount of icing on one cracker and top with another cracker. Press lightly. Enjoy thoroughly.


Variation: (for when you have mastered the basic version)
- substitute graham wafers for the Ritz crackers

If you want to be really nice to a friend in need or... anyone really, you can make up a stack of these. Wrap them in parchment paper or wax paper, tie with cute twine or ribbon, add a little tag or note and you are a star.

*My name for the cracker/cookies because I never did find out what they are really called.

Snap Baby Cookies

Meinhardt's in Vancouver is one of my favorite stores anywhere. I know some women would rather eat worms than go to the grocery store (or almost rather at any rate) but I have always enjoyed shopping for food. Some food stores really raise the bar. Entering them is a total sensory feast - the rows of perfect produce gleaming and seducing with their bright colors, the smells from the deli and bakery, the racks of dry goods and spices from exotic locales, ahhhh...... Well, yes - Meinhardt's is one of those stores. I want to buy every beautifully packaged item (total sucker here for great packaging) and have a taste of every enticing offering. Jonathon lives close to a Meinhardt's  (lucky guy) and stopped in the other day. He bought a cookie and immediately called me - mid-treat - with this wonderful revelation, "If Homemade Oreos and  Cry Babies had a baby this would be it!" Now that may not make you drool but it sure got me wiping my chin. Homemade Oreos x Cry Babies!!!!! My word!! Got right on that and realized success right off the bat - but really, how could I lose? 


Absolutely delicious. Promise. Trust me.

The cookie part is not exactly the same as the Cry Baby Cookie recipe - more inspired by.We decided to call them Snap Babies. 

Snap Baby Cookies

2 - 2 1/4 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp ginger

2 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp sea salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter

1 1/2 Tbsp molasses

2 1/2 Tbsp liquid honey

Combine butter and sugar, beat. Add the egg, molasses and honey and beat well. Sift dry ingredients together (using only 2 cups of the flour) and mix into wet ingredients. If the dough is really wet and sticky, add more flour to make a fairly stiff dough - one that can be easily rolled into a ball. Form 1" balls and bake on a parchment paper lined baking sheet for 12 minutes at 350 F.

(I used a small 'ice cream' scoop to make my dough balls. Not as messy as hand rolling, and the size is uniform which is nice when making sandwich cookies - no hunting for matching size cookies.)

Cool on wire racks.

When the cookies are cool. Spread a generous tablespoon of icing on a cookie and top with another cookie. Press together. Let them set for a while....if you can! Then lean back and soak up the raves. Or lick  your fingers. Either or both.

Cream Cheese Icing

1 package cream cheese

3 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Beat the cream cheese until softened and creamy. Add the sugar 1 cup at a time - unless you want to see it puff up and sift gently down over the floor and counter. In that case, go ahead and add all 3 cups at the same time (as you may suspect I did - and you would be right). Either way, beat until the icing has a smooth consistency. Lick the beaters (because wasting cream cheese icing is a shame) and fill the cookies.

mmmmmmmmmm...... Yum! All of us (Eden, Hannah, and the smaller people including toddlers - but not real babies - that were here when these debuted) agreed one or two was not enough.

More Tea Party Fun

Mothers, daughters, sisters. Pretty cups and saucers. Sweet treats. Flowers. Tea (herbal), 0f course. And a most ridiculous puppy named "Bear" who likes to 'scratch his tongue' on little girl feet.  My sister Shan and  and her daughter Gabby hosted the tea party fun this time. Loved it!

Gabby made the adorable and delicious little gluten-free tea cakes in the shapes of radishes, lettuce, carrots, and peas in the pod - complete with faces. Perfect for an early spring tea party. 

Poppy Seed-Orange Pound Cake

(from 1000 Gluten-Free Recipes by Carol Fenster)

1/2 cup unsalted butter (or 1/3 cup canola oil)

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

3 cups Sorghum Blend*

1 1/2 tsp xantham gum

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2  cups soured milk**

2 Tbsp grated orange zest

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup poppy seed

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Generously grease the cake molds (or a 10" Bundt pan).

Beat the butter on medium speed in a large bowl until smooth. Add sugar and continue beating until well blended. Mix in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a medium bowl, sift together the sorghum blend, xantham gum, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. In a measuring cup, combine the soured milk, orange zest, and vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, beat the sorghum mixture into the egg mixture, alternating with the soured milk and ending with the 'flour' mixture. Mix in the poppy seed. Spread the batter in the prepared molds/pan.

If baking the tea cakes (in the molds) bake for 11 minutes. If baking in Bundt pan bake 1 hour or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove cake from pan and cool completely on rack.

* Sorghum Blend

1 1/2 cups sorghum flour

1 1/2 cups potato starch/cornstarch

1 cup tapioca four

Whisk the ingredients together until well blended. Store tightly covered. Makes 4 cups.

** Soured Milk (homemade buttermilk)

1 Tbsp cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice

2% milk (cow's, rice, soy, potato, or nut) to equal 1 cup

Let stand 10 minutes to thicken slightly.

For the glaze, Gabby says she just made a very thin icing and colored it before washing the cakes with it.

(The very cute vegetable mold pan is from Williams-Sonoma. Just in case you wanted to know.)

Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut-Curry Broth

A girl from the Prairies, I did not grow up eating (or liking to eat) fish. It has taken a lot of travel to places where the fish is fresh and well-prepared to convince me that it is not only good for me but just plain good. Since eating fish regularly is a smart thing to do, I keep my eyes open for recipes that look promising - even here in land-locked Calgary. (Fortunately we can now get fresh fish, imagine!) The other night I tried this one from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger, a cookbook I am currently loving - not one single recipe that I have auditioned from it has been less than fantastic. Another really nice thing about the cookbook is the great nutritional information with each recipe (calories, fat breakdown, protein, fibre - all that, plus a list of "excellent source of..." and "good source of...").

I am not sure about the absolute authenticity of the Thai-ness but having been to Thailand a couple of times (and loving the food there) I can attest to the tribute this recipe gives to the tastes of Thailand. Plus it is super easy and comes together very quickly - on the table in less than half an hour ..... if you don't count the time it takes to cook the brown rice ;)

Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut-Curry Broth

(adapted very slightly from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger)

2 teaspoons coconut oil

2 large shallots

2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk

3/4 tsp sea salt

4 (5 oz) halibut fillets*

6 cups lightly packed baby spinach leaves

2 cups cooked brown jasmine rice

3/4 cups coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

2 green onions, thinly sliced

2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring a few times, until they begin to brown (3 minutes or so.) Add the curry paste and cook stirring for 30 seconds. Add the broth, coconut milk, 1/2 tsp of the salt and simmer until reduced to 2 cups (about 5 minutes).

Season the halibut with the remaining 1/4 tsp salt. Lay in the pan with the sauce and shake pan gently to coat the fish. Cover and cook until fish flakes easily with a fork - about 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the spinach in a microwave safe bowl, cover tightly and microwave for 2 minutes.

Place 1/2 cup of the rice and a pile of cooked spinach in the bottom of 4 soup plates. Top with the fish fillets. Stir the cilantro, scallion and lime juice into the sauce left in the pan and season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle all of the sauce over the fish and serve.

I am definitely not a food stylist and this does not look nearly as good as it tastes - or smells - even so, it looks (pretty) good...better in 'real life'. It is a for sure make-again at our house.

*I made this with halibut but would try it with any white fish - couldn't be bad.


(Small note on serving/eating - in Thailand most dishes are eaten with a large-ish spoon. Definitely what I would use here.)

Chasing Cotttons

I would like to "introduce" a sweet relative of mine - Rebecca Johnson. I have never met Rebecca. She is my cousin's daughter. The cousin moved to Australia when I was 10 and sadly, I have not been to Australia (yet) so I don't know his children - or any of the children of his siblings. I think I would really like to though. The cousin is visiting in Canada currently and Rebecca came to my notice. Her story touched me. I am impressed with her courage and the choice she has made to approach tragedy with faith and hope. To be active and strong. I am reminded that it is not what 'happens' to us that really counts but the way we respond to what happens.

Rebecca's grandmother (my Aunt Maxine) was a wonderfully strong and courageous woman. I have turned to her example often in the last months and been inspired.  Aunt Macky lost a son in his early teenage years to cancer. She was one of 5 close sisters - and lost them one by one to cancer, far too early. And she personally fought a very long and valiant battle with cancer. After and through all this she remained composed, vibrant and strong. She was creative - painting, sewing, among other talents - and dressed with a particular flair. Her grand-daughter has discovered that she has inherited some of that creativity as she has tried to deal with her own grief in a positive manner. 

I was excited to find Rebecca's blog and see the beautiful quilts she designs. To feel (despite distance) a kinship. And I so want to make this quilt.