nib·ble (nbl)
v. nib·bled, nib·bling, nib·bles
v.tr.
1. To bite at gently and repeatedly.
2. To eat with small, quick bites or in small morsels: nibble a cracker.
3. To wear away or diminish bit by bit: "If you start compromising too early . . . they nibble you to death" (People).

FooD tALes

SALIVATE /starve.



 









The Squash and the Quail

So I recently moved into my latest Toronto apartment. This time I found a hidden gem, and a space ripe for entertaining in. I have had a few long standing intentions for hosting dinner parties, and when I moved in and discovered my roommate was going out of town, I thought I should throw a couple of them straight away.

Dinner I: COMFORT

My first dinner was set for mid-week with my best friend. Two eccentric ladies and copious amounts of wine begs for some hearty fare to soak up the inevitable mess. I tossed around several ideas for a menu as the day drew near, the only consistent threads were rich and comforting, and something...poultry. Aleks is a carnivore. At first I thought of doing a roast chicken with oranges, carrots and onions, served up with a celeriac puree and some sort of salad starter. That meal idea was mostly inspired by my brother-in-law. I am frequently invited over to my sister's place for Sunday roast, something her husband has perfected and does up every week (he's British, so I won't hold it against him). But the more I mused on that idea, the less I was excited by it. I wanted jus, or gravy...something...sexy.

I settled on a reinvented comfort meal. I went in with the prayer that it would all somehow meld into harmony.

I made a light and flavorful starter.




It was a veritable rainbow on a plate to contrast the dreary whiteout of the street that night.  A green salad with onions and carrots roasted in the juice of a clementine, topped off with wee fried quail's eggs and shaved parmeggiano in a dijon vinaigrette. The quail's eggs were very cute perched on top of the greens and veg. Aleks simply described the salad as "so fresh."



Next up, the comforting main. I decided to make very rich turkey meatballs in a deep red wine ragu. This turned out better than expected. The meatballs came out not distinctly poultry, but instead meaty and moist. My sauce was TOTALLY from scratch. I used olive oil, red and orange bell peppers, carrots, celery, white onions and sweet onions, and garlic as the base. I deglazed the sauteed veg with a nice Pinot Noir. Then tomato Passata was added instead of a pre-made tomato sauce. The sauce was sweetened with some organic dark brown sugar to add a nice sweet and sour dimension. I finished it with some dried basil and parsley. I let the ragu simmer for about an hour to really develop the flavors. The sauce would make a nice vegetarian ragu for pasta if you leave out the meatballs.



When I was satisfied with the deep flavor,  I incorporated the meatballs, which I had prepared and fried separately (ground dark and white meat with caramelized onions, egg, and sauteed red and orange pepper pieces), so that they really soaked up the sauce's flavors, imparting some of their own while breaking down slightly. Aleks approved.




My twist on the classic meatball main came with the accompaniment. Rather than a heavy pasta,  I chose a side I rarely use -- spaghetti squash. I have cooked with it but have been moderately unsatisfied by it as a pasta substitute. This time I managed to cook it properly, following the recommended instructions on its label, I baked the squash split open, skin on, flesh down, skin rubbed with olive oil, until tender in a 350 degree oven. It came out perfectly...all four full serving dishes of it -- I greatly overestimated how much I needed, but was pleasantly surprised that it reheats incredibly well. For anyone unfamiliar with it, this bright yellow oval squash is low in carbohydrates and calories and interestingly cooks in a way that allows its insides to be scraped out in spaghetti like strands. It is much more flavorful (sweet but not too sweet and a little nutty) than I remembered. It worked perfectly alongside the sauce.



With my buckets of leftovers I created a go to vegetarian pasta alternative for my busy week. I simply re-baked the squash at a high temperature in a shallow dish drizzled in a little olive oil, salt and pepper. In a saucepan I sauteed some red onion and garlic finely chopped, tossed in a large chopped tomato and let it come to a low boil. Then I added a little white wine and let the alcohol cook off for a few minutes. Then I enriched the sauce with a little milk and some dollops of soft goat's cheese and let it just amalgamate into a smooth sauce. Next I grated some fresh parmeggiano (cow's milk) and pecorino romano (sheep's milk) cheese in, stirring to incorporate them. Lastly, I tossed in a little fresh arugula. My third time around I decided to leave the nearly complete sauce over the low heat, without stirring it in, I then piled on the spaghetti squash fresh from the hot oven, drizzled it with a little more olive oil, and cracked pepper, then a little more of the grated cheese. I let it sit in the pan just long enough to let the cheese on top of the squash melt. I then gave the whole thing one swift light stir and emptied it out into a deep bowl to eat. Wonderful. It was so nice and comforting on a cold night after a long day. And by not fully stirring the two components, I created a nice duo of flavors so that each bite was a little unique. I normally don't eat a lot of pasta because I find it heavy, so the squash was a nice alternative.

Dinner II: WHIMSY

My next meal involved two of my best pals, Ilana and Sara. I have known these girls since highschool. Ilana is a vegetarian so I catered to that entirely. Since I had thoroughly enjoyed the spaghetti squash the other night and had several quail's eggs leftover, I created a new dish to feature the two ingredients. I started the meal with a similar salad to what I had made for Aleks, only this one had roasted candy cane beets, blueberries, goat's cheese and avocado instead of quail's eggs on top.

SALAD STARTER: ROASTED CANDY CANE BEETS WITH AVOCADO, GOAT'S CHEESE, GREENS AND BERRIES






For my main I ended up with something truly mad but delicious. I put a lot of thought into the meal. As a rule of thumb, when faced with an obstacle in a meal plan (such as no meat) I overcompensate for the loss with presentation, color and bold flavor. I started thinking about how to highlight the star ingredients, and how to create a meal full of contrasting flavors. I decided to construct a tower of tastes that were all bold but complimentary. I presented this tower as a nest,  the star quail's eggs cradled by the straw like squash strands.

THE MAIN: BIRD'S NEST


I started by roasting the squash the same way I had for my meal with Alex. Next I roasted some vegetables for a sauce -- zucchini and orange bell peppers. I roasted the veg drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper, on tinfoil on baking sheets in a fairly hot oven. When they were tender I reserved the peppers, peeling and discarding their blistered skins. I took the zucchini which I chopped down a bit and tossed it into a blender, juices and all. I pureed it down with some e.v.o.o., freshly grated lemon zest, raw garlic, red onion and fresh basil. I then added some milk to the mix. Then in a large stir fry pan I sauteed some chopped garlic and red onion in olive oil. Once they went translucent I raised the heat a little and threw in some zucchini slices and colored them. Next I added a splash of a nice Pinot Grigio and let the alcohol burn off via a low boil. Then I emptied the mix into a saucepan, gently heating it over medium high heat.  I finished the sauce with some soft goat's cheese, letting it incorporate smoothly over the heat, then a lot of cracked black pepper, more olive oil, and some freshly grated parmeggiano and pecorino romano cheese. I then took a medium sized mixing bowl, added some nice olive oil, cracked black pepper, a little chopped garlic, a squeeze of lemon, a touch of coarse sea salt and mixed it all thoroughly with a few handfuls of fresh baby arugula. To finish the dish I fried three quail's eggs per person sunny side up in olive oil with a little salt and fresh pepper. I plated the dish in layers. I started with large white plates. Onto my blank canvas I ladled a generous amount of the green sauce. Next I made a nest out of the spaghetti squash in the middle, with a dollop of sauce at its centre. Then a little nest of arugula on top of the nest of squash. Then a large roasted orange pepper strip, and finally the fried eggs were placed on top, finished simply with a drizzle of olive oil, shaved pecorino and some fresh pepper.




It worked far better as a combination than I anticipated. The sweetness of the peppers and squash paired well with the bitter arugula, and the slightly bitter and  creamy zucchini sauce.

BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF SPECTACULAR BIRD'S NEST

Ilana also dislikes chocolate for desert so I decided to make one of my favorite deserts -- crumble. I have recently fallen in love with a frozen fruit brand, Stalbush Organic. The organic fruit is very high quality and comes in uncommon varieties like black raspberries, boysenberries and marion blackberries. I made a black raspberry, wild blueberry, and marion blackberry crumble, sweetened with 1/4 cup of organic dark brown sugar, a little natural vanilla and some lemon zest. The crumble combined organic flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, butter, cinammon, and lemon zest. I served the piping hot florescent red dessert in deep bowls with a little scoop of Kawartha's French Vanilla ice cream.

DESSERT: BLACK RASPBERRY, WILD BLUEBERRY AND MARION BLACKBERRY CRUMBLE


The perfect vibrant finish.



Dinner III: FAMILY AFFAIR


ROAST CHICKEN

THE MAIN: ROAST CHICKEN AND VEG


My last dinner was pulled off with a lot less charm. I had invited my sister Anna, her husband Tim, and my coworker and family friend, Gail. Tim and Gail really like their meat. I have been mostly vegetarian for years now so sometimes accommodating this is a little foreign to me. I decided to get the best bang for my buck and roast my first whole chicken. I picked one up from Rowe Farms who label themselves as purveyors of ethically raised meat. A bit more expensive but worth the investment for someone like me.

I started by confusing myself altogether by asking too many different people for advice, resulting in countless conflicting suggestions. As a result, I cooked the chicken with a combination of them, ending up with guests in my apartment and one large, undercooked bird. I won't give my exact techniques here, even though the end result was perfect, because it was a very illogical last hour of cooking, involving random blasts of heat and uncovering and covering the bird...What I will share is how I prepped the bird. It was a clementine and lemon-roasted chicken. I started by rubbing olive oil and butter all over it. Then salt and pepper. I mixed up onions, garlic and clementines and stuffed the chicken's cavity with them. I pierced the bird all over stuffing lemon and butter under its skin to make it extra crispy and delicious. I baked it in a roasting tray on top of wedges of kabocha squash, rainbow carrots, onions, garlic, lemon and clementines.




I also prepared some vegetables separately -- roasted rainbow carrots, sweet potatoes and onions.



THE MAIN: ROAST CHICKEN AND VEG


While it was in the oven, I gave my guests grapes, a baguette, some butter and a Quebec favorite cheese of mine -- Grey Owl ash-rind goat's cheese, to nibble on. In the meantime I made my appetizer in a harried rush. I wanted to use the quail's eggs in a way that really highlighted their cuteness. I located some very tiny fresh bagels and decided to make a mini brunch. I wanted a meat like element but no meat. Inspiration struck...carrot "BACON"! I made this meat-lover's atrocity in advance. I bought some deep purple carrots, sliced them thinly, and cut the slices into shorter pieces. I caramelized them in the oven in a dressing made with olive oil, white wine vinegar, a little clementine juice, maple syrup, sea salt and fresh pepper. You could use smoked salt and paprika if you want to highlight a bacon-esque flavor. I served these little babies family-style in a mini le creuset pot. You can find the recipe on Amanda Hesser's new site Food52.com, where it made Editor's pick for a carrot recipe contest. The rest of the brunch involved greens in a nice vinaigrette, quail's eggs scrambled with cream and chives, and the mini-bagels toasted with a good quality cream cheese I made a spread out of. I made the cream cheese spread a few hours before with pepper, dill, chives and lemon juice.

MINI BRUNCH APPETIZER: MINI BAGELS WITH HERB CREAM CHEESE, SALAD, SCRAMBLED QUAIL'S EGGS, CARROT "BACON"


The meal took forever, I believe the carved chicken hit the table by 11pm.  The flavor and moistness of the bird was well worth it, and I had a lot of vegetables and meat for leftovers.

Next time I will make pasta. 
 
 
 

POSTED BY: THE NIBBLER




 

 

An Incandescent Evening

A PERFECT FINISH: PEACH CRUMBLE

For a while now I have reserved my Sundays for lazy and leisurely behavior. I'm fairly happy to have a 'nothing' day in my week because most days are fairly busy for me. So, every Sunday, I try to do as little as humanly possible, if possible. That includes: no formal workout; no work (if I can afford to abstain); no events and as little cooking as possible. Needless to say, life frequently spoils my grand plans for Sundays. This weekend, however, was a near flawless success with one major hitch in the plan -- my boyfriend and I made an elaborate meal on Sunday night. It was delicious and was executed perfectly -- if perfectly entails: his second degree burn; my being too hot to eat the meal for twenty minutes after it was prepared; a mysterious water stain on my roommate's fancy dining room table; and feeling so full that neither of us could eat the following morning. Perfection.

It all began with a beautiful pipe dream. A picnic.The meal was meant to involve potato salad, a park, roasted peppers stuffed with avocado cream and/or a vegetable terrine, and a green salad (we are vegetarians). Little did we know that this simple and delightful plan would foster a series of small catastrophes and misunderstandings.

The picnic was set for this past weekend, no day or time was ever discussed beforehand. So come Friday we began to text-plan it in better detail..."I'd like this...oooh that sounds great!". It was really coming together. Then the fateful impeding question-- "what time are we doing this?" Let me preface this by saying that I am unabashedly a NIGHT person. I will almost invariably do everything at night rather than by day if I can -- this includes eating big breakfasts, taking large walks, sightseeing...and most definitely applies to preparing large meals. I will always opt for a dinner over a lunch or brunch and as a result rarely schedule the latter if I can avoid it. The trouble began when we quickly realized we had envisioned very different meals. I thought we were cooking in the afternoon and eating in the evening. He thought we would have a late lunch picnic in the sunshine. I won't get into it, but a text battle quickly ensued.

Text messaging is a remarkable thing, little issues are blown outrageously out of proportion and tone is often misread. We eventually resolved our woes in person by going through the series of offending messages and misunderstood suggestions, agreeing never to negotiate in that medium again.

In the end there was no picnic. We left the remnants of our plan to Sunday, which wasn't much of a nice day to eat outside, so we made an indoor meal. This required revamping our entire menu so as not to make a future picnic seem redundant -- that and my boyfriend preached, "potato salad just doesn't belong indoors". So, after a nice brunch out, we began to contemplate what we might want to eat in several hours. We dreamed up an odd vegetarian take on involtini. Involtini usually involves thin slices of meat rolled around a filling (often a cheese filling) served on top of a sauce or broth. I have had excellent eggplant versions at Italian restaurants, usually stuffed with a nice soft cheese like ricotta, on top of a tomato sauce. My boyfriend doesn't eat a lot of cheese, certainly not a dish stuffed with it, so we used a little goat's cheese sparingly, incorporating it into a butternut squash and sweet potato puree that I insisted we add a little black peppercorn-pecorino cheese (sheep's milk similar to Parmesan) to for a more rich flavor. We were also too lazy to wrap the filling with the sliced vegetables (we used zucchini), and instead made it free-form by resting the zucchini slices on top of the puree and a tomato sauce I threw together on the side. To round out the meal we made a wild rice medley that ended up filling us up too much for comfort.
DINNER: MY BOYFRIEND'S PREFERRED PLATING
The main dish was quite attractive and flavorful in the end. But it took forever to complete! We began cooking before 7pm and didn't eat till after 10:30pm! Albeit, it was worth the wait but still a little ridiculous. I blame my small kitchen where it is very difficult to prepare multiple elements of a meal simultaneously, there is simply not enough counter space. And each component of the dish was cooked in stages -- roasting, then mashing, then seasoning, then reheating etc.

If  I ever remake this dish I think I will make it Indian style instead of Italian, substituting yogurt for the cheese in the sauce and puree, and cardamom, ginger, garlic, cumin and mustard for the Italian seasonings we used in this rendition. I will probably leave out the sweet potato all together from the squash puree (it was all I could taste), and will mix in wilted spinach and peas to the tomato sauce. I will serve it all with raita and possibly some kind of chutney, and use basmati rice instead of wild.

All that aside, I was quite pleased that the first meal we cooked together turned out as interesting, colorful and delicious as this one. Its mildly remarkable, seeing as we both had somewhat embarrassing accidents and awkward moments throughout the night. I would say these started out when he tried to transfer the squash puree to the plates, grazing the bottom of the bowl (the bowl that was boiling hot on the bottom from gently simmering on the stove for forty minutes) with his hand. The mishap resulted in a small second degree burn.

Shortly after we got him an ice pack, I insisted he sit down at the table, while I plated all the food by myself in the kitchen. I brought his plate to the table, but as I went back for mine I suddenly realized that I was absolutely boiling.

My face and body were totally flush. I am very sensitive to heat most of the time and had been cooking over a hot stove in my already too hot apartment for hours, raising my body temperature to new heights I hadn't experienced since the 45 degree summer trip I took in the South of Spain four years ago. I excused myself to splash some cold water on my face in the washroom. This quickly steamed away. After a semi-sink shower (drizzling icy water down my back and arms), I realized the best option for me was to head to my small fire escape for some fresh air. I came in and out every few minutes, trying to bear the heat, but couldn't handle it. So, I spent about twenty minutes on that balcony while he ate alone at the table. I finally got the courage to eat my steaming plate of food, and returned to do so while he watched me, occasionally making jokes that sent wild rice spewing from my mouth. Perfect.
DINNER: MY PREFERRED PLATING, WILD RICE ON THE SIDE

The rice did a number on both our stomachs. I could barely eat mine, too full from the squash and potato mash. So he finished mine off for me. He had eaten too much bread while I was on the balcony, so by the time we stood up to clear, neither of us was moving with ease. We cleaned the entire table and kitchen of dishes while my peach crumble heated up in the oven. He went back to the table to remove the place setting that was already there when I set the table for us.

"Fuck". 

A huge placemat-shaped water mark was left behind on the table.

"How did that happen?!" I asked.

"My ice pack was leaking a little, but I never expected this!" 

We tried to wipe it away but it was there to stay, it seemed. I carefully placed another mat in its place, mumbling, "it might have been there already, my roommate has these mats right here every day, perhaps that's why?".

In disbelief I requested that we take a short walk to walk off the meal, where I asked a series of "how is that even possible?" type questions, and he simply replied, "if I did it, I did it. I will simply have to pay for the repair". This really worried me because my roommate has a nice eye for furniture-- older seventies wooden pieces mainly -- and I was really worried that repairing it could be quite costly. We decided to wait and see if it would be an issue.

We returned to the apartment, somewhat disenchanted. It was nearly midnight, we hadn't touched our desserts, there was a large stain on someone else's property, I was still too hot, we were uncomfortably full (and somehow growing fuller by the minute) and his burn had blistered. I went to the table to check the stain, perhaps it wasn't as bad as we had thought.

"It's gone!", I almost shouted.

Totally vanished as if it had never occurred. I nearly jumped for joy (I am not a jumper).

After we breathed a significant sigh of relief, we returned to the kitchen with revised appetites, ready for more. 

PEACH CRUMBLE, HOT OUT OF THE OVEN
The peach crumble was just the ticket. It was sweet, a little messy, hot and delicious. Perfect.


our magnificent midnight meal:

Squash Puree

-1 LARGE ORGANIC BUTTERNUT SQUASH, SEEDED
-3 BABY RED ONIONS
-1 HEAD OF ORGANIC GARLIC, PEELED
-1 LARGE ORGANIC SWEET POTATO
-EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
-1/4 LEMON, JUICE OF
-SEA SALT
-FRESH BLACK PEPPER
-1/2 PACKAGE SOFT GOAT'S CHEESE
-50G PECORINO CHEESE (WITH BLACK PEPPER IF AVAILABLE), GRATED
-1 TBSP ORGANIC BUTTER

We roasted the squash in a 350 degree oven, seeded and split open, its skin and flesh rubbed with salt, pepper and olive oil. We roasted the sweet potato in its skin. Both were roasted until tender. We packed up the garlic and onions in their own aluminum foil pouches, drizzled with a little oil and salt and roasted them in the same oven while the squash cooked.
When everything was ready (fairly tender) we scooped out the mushy interiors of both the potato and the squash halves and mashed them together in a mixing bowl. We seasoned the mash with the remaining ingredients, including the garlic and onions, in a pot on the stove over low heat. I opted to thin the mixture with a it of water because I thought it was to thick at first. We kept it on low heat wile we made the rest of the meal.

Wild Rice

-1 CUP WILD RICE MEDLEY, THOROUGHLY RINSED IN A SIEVE,WE USED LUNDBERG ORGANIC
-2 CUPS WATER
-1 TBSP OLIVE OIL
-1 TSP SEA SALT

Bring the water and salt to a boil in a pot with a tight fitting lid. Add the rinsed rice. Bring to a boil. Add the oil. Reduce heat to simmer and cover with tight fitting lid. Simmer until ready, each rice will have its own time frame.
We seasoned the rice after it was cooked with olive oil, more salt, roasted garlic, black pepper, lemon juice and fresh basil finely minced.


Zucchini Slices

-4 ORGANIC GREEN ZUCCHINI
-EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
-SEA SALT
-BLACK PEPPER

We thinly sliced the zucchini lengthwise, placed it in baking pans drizzled with oil and the spices and roasted it at 350 until flexible and slightly browned. We kept it in the oven until ready to serve on a lower temperature.

Tomato Sauce

-4 ORGANIC TOMATOES
-2 CLOVES ORGANIC GARLIC, CHOPPED
-2 LARGE LEAVES FRESH BASIL, MINCED
-1/2 RED ONION, CHOPPED
-1/4 CUP WHITE WINE
-1/4 LEMON, JUICE OF
-OLIVE OIL
-SEA SALT
-BLACK PEPPER
-SOFT GOAT'S CHEESE, 2 TBSP
-50G PECORINO, GRATED

In a frying pan over medium high heat, saute the onions in the oil and a pinch of salt. After a minute, add the garlic and continue to saute until all are translucent. Add the tomatoes, season with pepper to your taste and saute until they bleed out and their liquid simmers to half its volume. Add the lemon and wine. Let simmer for a few minutes. Adjust seasonings to your taste. YOU SHOULD ALWAYS TASTE YOUR FOOD AS YOU PREPARE IT!

Lower the heat to medium low. Add the cheese and stir to incorporate into a rose sauce. Stir in the basil.

YOU CAN ARRANGE THIS MEAL ANY WAY THAT YOU LIKE. ALL OF THE DISHES MAKE NICE SIDE DISHES ON THEIR OWN AND CAN BE INCORPORATED INTO OTHER MEALS EASILY. WE ATE THEM BY PILING THE MASH IN THE CENTER OF LARGE PLATES, TOPPING IT WITH THE ZUCCHINI SLICES, WITH THE TOMATO SAUCE POURED AROUND THE MOUND OF SQUASH. MY BOYFRIEND HAD HIS RICE WITH THE MAIN MEAL, I ATE MINE IN A BOWL ON THE SIDE.


WE SERVED IT ALL WITH A SMALL ARUGULA, AVOCADO AND CUCUMBER SALAD WITH A MUSTARD-MAPLE BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE I MADE AT THE LAST MINUTE.


A FINE FINISH TO A TUMULTUOUS MEAL:

A LITTLE RED POT OF PEACH CRUMBLE


PEACH CRUMBLE

CRUMBLE TOPPING
-4 tablespoons organic butter 
-1/2 cup organic rolled oats 
-1/2 cup pastry flour 
-1 pinch fine sea salt 
-1 dash black pepper 
-2 teaspoons ground cinammon 
-1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract 
-1/2 lemon, zest of 
-1/2 cup brown sugar 
-1 tablespoon good quality extra virgin olive oil 

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl to desired crumbly consistency. Top prepared filling. Bake.

PEACH FILLING

-5 LARGE ORGANIC PEACHES, PITTED AND SLICED
-1 1/2 TBSP ORGANIC MAPLE SYRUP
-1/3 ORGANIC LEMON, JUICE OF
-1/3 CUP ORGANIC DARK BROWN SUGAR
-3 TBSP ORGANIC BUTTER
-2 TBSP EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
-3 TSP GROUND CINAMMON
-1 TSP ORGANIC VANILLA EXTRACT
-PINCH SEA SALT
-A FEW TURNS OF A FRESH BLACK PEPPER MILL

PREPARE CRUMBLE TOPPING IN A MIXING BOWL. COVER, REFRIGERATE UNTIL READY TO BAKE.

PREHEAT OVEN TO 370 DEGREES.

IN A SMALL CAKE TIN, COMBINE PEACHES AND REMAINING INGREDIENTS. COVER WITH CRUMBLE TOPPING. BAKE UNTIL GOLDEN AND BUBBLY, ABOUT 30 MINUTES.

SERVE IN SMALL DISHES IMMEDIATELY WITH SMALL SCOOPS OF GOOD QUALITY VANILLA ICE CREAM ON TOP.



POSTED BY: THE NIBBLER





Hot time in the Summer

My boyfriend works in organics and occasionally arrives with nearly overripe fruit to make use of. This time he  brought me a ton of very ripe organic strawberries to bake with. I planned to make a strawberry pie but didn't have quite enough free time to do it. He suggested I make a strawberry crumble instead. It was damn good. 


Strawberries and I have an odd relationship. I've been trained to avoid them for most of my life due to my sister's severe allergy to them. She breaks out in hives. So, they were never in the house and I really only ate them at friends' homes and restaurants. Of course they naturally became my favorite fruit by the time I was in highschool. 

As I grew older I was able to buy them for myself, and I really overdid that for awhile. I had strawberries in everything from my salads to my sandwiches. Now I seem to be sensitive to them. This is not surprising because many people with mold allergies (like me) are sensitive to fruits like strawberries and melon because of their high water content. They easily develop mold spores that can nauseate people like myself to no end.

You may notice that my recipe requires that you freeze the fresh berries before baking them. I know that this may seem odd, but I think its an essential step. I have baked many fruit pies and crumbles, and berry pies are always better texturally when baked from frozen. I made the crumble and left it out for 20 minutes before baking it in the oven to allow the fruit to thaw a little. I think it works because it slows the cooking time on the fruit to something closer to the crumble top's cooking time, synchronizing them. The result is a firmer fruit crumble with a more intense fresh fruit flavor. 


 I also had some avocados that were very ripe, so I made a batch of my guacamole to eat with a nice multi-grain ciabatta loaf from ACE bakery. I have been making guacamole for years and have been told that my version is excellent. If you don't want to use the sour cream, you don't need to, in which case the recipe is raw, gluten free and vegan. It should be eaten fairly soon after preparing, but it is thrown together in a few minutes so this isn't troublesome. 

Together these dishes would make a great light summer lunch when paired with a salad. They could also make for a nice afternoon tea or picnic. Both dishes ooze summer in color and flavor. I hope you like them!

NB: Do yourselves a favor and don't bake anything on a hot and humid day. I looked like a beet by the time dinner hit the table.


Guacamole

Guacamole served with a multi-grain ciabatta loaf, hot out of the oven
 Serves 4
  1. Scoop out the flesh of the avocados and place in a medium sized mixing bowl. Mash up with the salt and garlic.
  2. Stir in the juice and zest of the citrus.
  3. Stir in the chopped vegetables.
  4. Stir in the spices. Then incorporate the olive oil, vinegar and sour cream. Drop a pit in the bowl and wrap with saran if storing in the fridge before serving to prevent dip from oxidizing.
  5. Serve with whatever you fancy, I like blue tortilla chips. Also nice with pita or spread on toast with tomato slices on top with a touch of evoo and sea salt.
  6. ENJOY!

 
STRAWBERRY CRUMBLE
Strawberry crumble, hot out of the oven
 

Serves 4, or one glutton
  1. Prepare one batch of "my crumble topping" recipe with the following additions: Add another tablespoon of oil to the original recipe, add another teaspoon of fresh black pepper, and 1/2 a teaspoon more vanilla extract. Refrigerate it in a mixing bowl.
  2. Cut off the tops of the strawberries and cut the fruit in half. Bag in ziplock bags, freeze overnight.
  3. Remove the frozen fruit from the freezer. Empty into a loaf pan. Top with the butter, lemon, vanilla, olive oil, scotch, sweeteners (sugar and syrup) and spices. Use a large spoon to evenly incorporate.
  4. Top with the crumble topping. Bake at 375 to 400 degrees until golden brown on top and bubbling pink/red around the edges. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
     
     


POSTED BY: THE NIBBLER

 

 

 


My New Pie Crust




A new crust made rich with good quality olive oil and butter


It was my brother in law's 35th birthday this weekend, so I baked him a pie on request. Pie and I have a history. A big one. There was even a time when I would not attend a party in highschool without bringing  a hot whiskey-apple pie in tow. After years of homemade pies, I got myself a job at a well known, and cherished, patisserie in Toronto; Clafouti. It was there that I learned to make tarts with the best of them, pumping out hundreds a day by hand. I honestly believe I've made enough pie in my day that I could make one in my sleep -- which shouldn't be too hard since I already walk and talk in my sleep! No, really, I do.

Making the same thing over and over has its advantages. You get a profound 'feel' for it. I can grasp dough and tell you exactly what it lacks to be perfect. I can also make a near perfect pie in half the time of a normal baker. It also has a major disadvantage -- you can grow incredibly tired of it. I almost never look forward to baking pie. Regardless of the filling, it always seems like the same old story. But this past weekend, inspiration struck -- why just change the filling? Why not change the crust? If anything truly defines pie, its the crust. There are so many variations and I've made nearly all of them countless times. But this time I thought -- if I know what types of dough yield certain results why not invent a dough? A super dough! And so I did. And it was quite possibly the greatest crust I've ever made, not to mention the most forgiving.

This dough is easily repaired, and makes the exact amount for one pie crust. It is rich like shortbread, and fragrant. It holds together through two rounds in the oven (blind baking and baking). It flakes on contact delicately, and it bakes into a beautiful golden brown. It pairs well in savory or sweet pies. It is unique but also comfortably familiar.

The pie is enhanced by good quality olive oil and organic butter. It is not a sweet dough (no sugar in the mix) so it can handle savory fillings. It benefits from pastry flour but could be made with alternative flours, and I intend to experiment with these as well (eg. spelt, rice, kamut flour etc). I hope you like it!


My New Pie Crust
the new forgiving dough, ready to be blind baked in the oven

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour and salt. Cut up the butter into small cubes. Toss into the flour. Using a fork, mash the butter into the flour until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal.
  3. Drizzle in the oil, Incorporate into the flour mixture evenly. Slowly mix in the water. Scrape the contents of the bowl together to form a ball. It may feel slightly wet for a pie dough. I simply rolled it around in the bowl with a touch more flour.
  4. Lightly flour the pastry board/marble slab, counter top. ***I put a couple of sheets of clingfilm down on top of the board first***Roll the pie dough out with a lightly floured rolling pin. Roll out in all directions until the circle of dough is approximately two inches wider than the pie plate.
  5. Grease and lightly dust the pie plate with flour. If you used the cling film on your pastry board the best thing to do is roll your dough up around the rolling pin, clingfilm and all. Take the rolling pin to the edge of your pie plate and unravel over it, removing the clingfilm from the dough. I then pressed the dough into the pie plate and trimmed the edges. When i said this was a forgiving dough it was because the dough was easily ripped and mended back together with no averse effect. I attribute this to the wetness (but not too wet!) of the dough.
  6. I blind baked the dough after stabbing it all over with a fork. I baked it until the edges were golden, about 12 minutes. I then let it cool before baking it again with its filling



And here is the filling recipe for Tim's odd birthday pie. He requested "apple-blackberry". He's British, so I forgave his sacrilege.

So I made him a: whiskey-apple-pear-black raspberry-Marion blackberry-wild blueberry pie with an olive oil crust and a crumble top


the finished pie

Serves 6
  1. Peel core and chop the apples and the pears. Heat a skillet over medium high heat (not non-stick!!!!) Add the butter and let it melt and sizzle.
  2. Add the apples and pear pieces. Saute 1 minute. Add the lemon juice and zest. Add the sugar and let it bubble and reduce a little. Add the cinnamon, salt and pepper, vanilla and the whiskey. Saute another minute. Make a slurry out of the water and flour. Add to pan and stir in.
  3. Add contents of the pan to prepared pie crust. Top with the frozen berries, arranging evenly over the top. Top with crumble topping. Bake at 375 in a preheated oven until crumble top is brown and pie is fragrant (about 20-30 minutes depending on your oven. 
pie fixings

caramelizing the apples and pears

caramelized apples and pears hit the blind baked crust

...and get topped with frozen berries



My sister, Anna, who doesn't even like pie, had two helpings.

My Crumble Topping

Excellent on pie, can be even better on crumble/crisp. Does well with the addition of shredded coconut. I also like to top it with a couple dashes of cinnamon for punch at the end.



Serves 1 pie

Combine all ingredient in a mixing bowl to desired crumbly consistency. Top prepared pie crust and filling. Bake.

crumble topped and ready for the oven
 For my next pie I am going to use the new crust to make a savory dinner pie. Possibly a savory sweet potato or butternut squash pie topped with caramelized red onions. I may also make a greens pie with ricotta. The myriad possibilities are worth dreaming up!




POSTED BY: THE NIBBLER

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