In Season: Ramps

In this part of the country when the snow recedes, foodies and foragers anxiously exchange messages on the food boards about when ramps will be ready for the season. When? When? When? they ask growing more and more impatient as Spring creeps forward. Of course, once ramps (also known as wild leeks or green garlic) are ready to be picked, these foodies and foragers go delirious descending upon their secret outdoor locations and farmer's markets to get their fix.

I am a bandwagon jumper when it comes to these things. People have loved them for many years yet I only discovered these little gems last year after reading an article about them. When I realized that they were making their rounds in professional and home kitchens everywhere, I had to find out what the fuss was about.

Ramps are part of the onion family, its stem is long and slender (slightly leaner than a scallion) imbued with a plum-pinkish hue and long broad verdant leaves. To the uninitiated, the pungent smell of ramps may be off-putting, but for those who love garlic, the smell is irresistible. When we brought them home from the market, we kept them in a separate bag lest they transfer their fragrance to an unsuspecting block of cheddar or an cherry strudel from the pie lady. (Also consider the same when storing them in your fridge.) But oh the taste, its slightly onion, slightly garlic, and just a little bit earthy. If you ever see it in the market, I encourage you to try them, just at least once.

They grow widely and freely in wooded areas from the mid-eastern United States all the way up to southern part of Canada. For those who are unable to forage for them (or grow them), they can be purchased at the farmer's market for a prince's ransom. (Last year, my CSA sold them for $18/lb and this year, I bought two small bunches weighting 50 grams for $4.) A small price to pay for this fleeting treasure.




This year, we tried ramps in two different ways. We pickled the stems using Tom Colicchio's pickled ramp recipe and with the leaves we made a delicious spring vegetable frittata.


Spring Vegetable Frittata


10 small morels (or 5 large ones) - sliced in into thin strips
2 plum tomatoes - diced
1 c ramp leaves - loosely packed - julienned
1 c baby spinach - loosely packed - julienned
4 stalks asparagus - cleaned and cut into 1 inch pieces
6 eggs

salt & pepper
olive oil

1 c shredded part-skim mozzarella (more or less to taste)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Light oil 1.4l baking dish.
2. Arrange tomatoes, morels, asparagus, ramps & spinach in the baking dish.
3. Crack the eggs into a bowl, add salt & pepper and beat until incorporated. Carefully pour into baking dish.
4. Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Check around the 18 minute mark to make sure the eggs are not cooking too quickly. Do not overcook. (The eggs will have body but will still look wet and glossy.)
5. Remove from the oven and turn on your broiler. Sprinkle mozzarella over top of frittata and return to oven until the cheese melts, and starts to bubble & turn golden.

Grilled Potatoes with Bajan Inspired Dipping Sauce

Last week we spent five blissful days in beautiful Barbados. It was a quick trip but a great way to see old friends, meet new ones and enjoy a little time under the Caribbean sun.



Our snorkeling trip was a rare treat for me. We spent a wonderful morning snorkeling with majestic Hawksbill sea turtles. These marvellous creatures sailed past us so closely that they just grazed our fingertips. With all of the regular boat tours and foreign interlopers flailing about in the water, I suspect the sea turtles have come to recognize the sound of the boats engines as a Pavlovian conditioned response: Boat engines = food.

But we spent the balance of our time in Barbados primarily out of the water. We explored the island, ate the local cuisine and enjoyed the night life. On one such night, our friends boasted a Rihanna sighting at one of the local bars across from our hotel. (All the things you miss when you don't stay out until 3am!)

Nevertheless, I still love the adventure of travelling. My favourite aspect of being away from home is enjoying an experience that I have never had before, meeting new and interesting people and of course, discovering the local cuisine. Like most Caribbean cuisines, Bajan food is known for spicy flavours (though not necessarily the most fiery), and the freshest fish (including my new favourite, flying fish) cooked on the hottest grills.

Most people who spend time in Barbados make their way to Oistins for the Fish Fry. The weekly event takes place on Friday and Saturday nights and draws in both tourists and locals on a steamy night for a little music, some handicrafts and alot of delicious food.

As much as I was looking forward to our friend's wedding, I was also quite eager to experience the famous Oistins Fish Fry. When Friday night arrived, we packed ourselves in a taxi with a camera in hand and a healthy appetite. We followed the crowds down to Oistins. The parking lot heaved with taxis and buses lining up to unload hungry folk intent on experiencing the famous Oistins Fish Fry.

One side of the market is what I would call the fresh side. This is where fish comes off the boats caught that day to be brought up to stations where masters with expert hands deftly scale and gut fresh fish for sale. By the evening, there is little for sale as stand owners prepare for the next day's business.




As we moved over towards the crowds, we found the Fish Net Stand, the recommended dinner spot from the locals we polled. It turned out we weren't the only ones who knew about this gem. We lined up for ten minutes to order dinner. The line moved quickly and the staff hustled to move the line along. By far, the most popular choice was Dolphin-fish. (Don't worry - we didn't eat Flipper, it's another name for Mahi Mahi.) The dinner comes with a generous serving of the fish of our choice (Marlin, Dolphin, Tuna, and Swordfish), a small green salad, two potato halves grilled to perfection. But best of all, was the slightly spicy tartar sauce. This tartar sauce was creamy and smooth, studded with little bits of sweet relish and finished with a smooth touch of heat. We thought this tartar sauce was excellent with the fish, but it was even better with the grilled potatoes.



I think the base of this sauce was a combination of mayonnaise and sour cream but I decided to lighten it a little bit with a little low fat sour cream and skipped the mayonnaise.

These grilled potatoes would be a great addition to your next BBQ dinner. Also, this is simple enough to a great side to a weekday dinner.

Grilled Potatoes with Bajan Inspired Sauce


Quantity of potatoes
Olive oil

Dipping Sauce
1 c sour cream (low-fat is okay)
1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp dill
1/4 tsp dry mustard
6 sweet gherkins (minced finely - use a food processor) or 2 tbsp sweet relish
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp lime juice

Boil the desired quantity of potatoes until mostly cooked. Cool slightly and slice lengthwise. Brush lightly with olive oil and grill on the BBQ or a grill pan.

To make the dipping sauce, mix ingredients together and adjust seasoning to taste. Set aside. If possible, make the dip in advance to allow the flavours to meld.

Serve sauce alongside grilled potatoes. (This is fantastic with raw vegetables as well.)

While in Barbados, I recommend:

Cuzz's Fish Stand (the most fantastic flying fish sandwich I had on the island)Located beside the Dive Shop Ltd in St Michael by near the Hilton

Fish Net Stand for the grilled "Dolphin-fish" dinner at Oistins Fish Fry
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Apple and Blackberry Galette

Short post this week. We spent the last five days in Barbados attending a friend's wedding... The short trip was wonderfully warm and provided a much needed respite from the drudgery of work.

Barbados is a beautiful country - if you ever have the chance to go, I highly recommend it.



I will write about our trip and our food adventures in Barbados at a later date when I recreate some of the delicious Bajan foods we tried. We arrived home late last night and I could only muster enough energy to make this simple apple and blackberry galette.


Apple & Blackberry Galette


This recipe makes a slightly sweet, slightly tart galette. If you prefer a sweeter dessert, I would add another 1-2tbsp of sugar.

397 grams of puff pastry (defrosted)*
4 Granny Smith apples - peeled & cored
1/4 c walnut pieces
1/4 pint blackberries
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
3 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Roll out puff pastry thinly. Place a large dinner plate (approximately 12 inches) wrong side down to create an impression on the dough.
3. Place on a baking sheet and refrigerate.
4. Meanwhile, slice apples into thin slices and place in water with a little lemon juice.
5. Remove puff pastry from fridge. Arrange apples in a concentric pattern (or if you like a more rustic look, scatter within the circle.
6. Scatter blackberries and walnut pieces.
7. Sprinkle brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg over the fruit.
8. Bake for 60 minutes. Remove from oven when the puff pastry is puffed, golden and crisp.
9. Cool slightly and serve with a dusting of icing sugar and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

*You can make puff pastry and I am quite sure the quality is much better, but this buying prepared puff pastry is a quick and easy solution for this dessert.
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The Best (and Easiest) Chocolate Cake I've Ever Had!

I baked you a cake. What's the special occasion?, you ask.

I received my 15,000th hit sometime last week (I started tracking around November 2008) and I wanted to so say THANK YOU to all of you who have loyally visited my site, signed up for updates and dropped the occasional comment. It's all of your support that has made one of my photos number one on Tastespotting, and amongst one of the most viewed photos ever! (And that's no easy feat...)

So from me to you, please accept my most heartfelt Thank You!

To celebrate, (and of course, I don't really need a special occasion to do so...) I thought I would bake us a cake. This is one of my most tried and true recipes that I have honed and tweaked over time and I want to share it with you.

For some reason, my semi-regular feature on desserts has resonated with many readers. Maybe because it's a universal dilemma - you've been invited over for dinner and your host asks you to bring dessert. "Sure, no problem." You say. Then your thoughts run to, "So, what do I bring for dessert?" You could run out to the bakery and buy a lovely cheesecake or something, or you could just make something...

Amongst the other things I have offered up as suggestions in the past, such as lemon bars, raspberry & pear crumble, and most recently, key lime squares, I think this is easiest recipe of them all. This is what I like to bring when I am invited over for dinner and I most definitely make this cake when I have guests over for dinner.

It's such a simple recipe, almost foolproof. The ingredients are simple and the taste is out of the world. The cake is moist and dense and just buckles under your fork. When you make this cake, use good quality dark chocolate. The result is a buttery, smooth, rich and flavourful chocolate cake. Use the good stuff, and your tastebuds will thank you.

I make this cake the day before I need it. It allows the flavours to meld and reduces "day of" stress if you are hosting a dinner party. Leave the cake in the tin, covered with cling film and stored in the fridge. About thirty minutes before you intend to serve it, remove and plate.


Flourless Chocolate Cake

200 grams dark chocolate - broken into small pieces
200 grams unsalted butter - cut into small pieces
1 c sugar
5 eggs

optional: 150 grams sour cherries (roughly chopped)
(I use jarred sour cherries macerated in a light syrup. But I think you can also use fresh ones too... But note the addition of fruit shortens the shelf-life of the cake.)

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 inch round cake pan and cut a parchment paper to fit the round. Butter the parchment as well.
2. In a double-boiler*, slowly melt the chocolate & butter until smooth. Don't allow the water in the double boiled to touch the bottom of the bowl. Once melted, add sugar and stir well until smooth. Remove from heat and cool for about two minutes.
3. One by one, crack an egg into the batter. Stir until smooth and glossy before adding the next egg. The batter will become thick and viscous. If using, stir in the sour cherries.
4. Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake for about twenty minutes. At twenty minutes, if the cake seems really wet in the center, then set the timer for another two minutes and check again. The cake will slightly puff on the edges with a dense thick center. (I have made this cake maybe ten or twelve times, and the baking time is about twenty four minutes.)
5. Cool cake on a wire rack.
6. Once completely cool, refrigerate.
7. About twenty minutes before serving, flip the cake onto a plate upside down. Remove the parchment paper. And carefully, lay your serving plate on top of the cake. Then flip the cake over onto its right side and remove the original plate.
8. Slice into eight wedges and sprinkle with icing sugar and serve with vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cram.

*I don't have a double boiler. To melt the chocolate, I fill a medium sized pot 1/3 of the way with water, once it comes to a boil, I turn it down and place a medium sized metal bowl on top. Ensure that it is not tight-fitting so that the steam can escape. (But having said that, be careful. Hot steam can cause serious burns.)

I have made an extra cake without the cherries and wrapped it well in cling wrap, then again in a freezer bag and stored it in the freezer. It keeps for up to three months and to serve, defrost on your counter for about 45 minutes and slice into wedges. Although my husband thinks it tastes just fine unthawed
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What To Bring for Dessert: Key Lime Squares

Last week, my younger brother asked me to make lemons squares for our family's Easter dinner. It is not everyday this man asks me for something, so I was happy to oblige. Truth be told, I have some residual guilt issues from when we were kids. He is six years younger than me, which is a lifetime when you're under the age of fifteen. Of course, like any little brother, we thought of him as a bit of a pest and a baby. He was always several steps behind following my sister and I around on his bike. Of course, my parents expected that we "watch" him and my dad threatened that we better be nice to our brother because one day he would take care of us. Ha! As if. Of course, we highly doubted that the little ankle biter could one day be in a position to help us outside of the times we conscripted him for spa mud mask nights and to do our household chores.

These days, my brother and I get along quite well. There are no more mud masks but he still does do the occasion household chore. (He shovelled the snow off our driveway during the winter when we were out of town. Yeah, he's a pretty good brother.)

I came across a bag of key limes and decided to modify the recipe a little. Key limes are tiny, tart limes made famous by that fluffy, cloud-like pie of the same name. Key limes are not the easiest to juice especially if you have large, clumsy hands, but a reamer with a pointed end and some patience will help. Of course, my intentions were good but as I juiced lime after tiny lime, I cursed my brother underneath my breath. It took about half an hour to juice enough limes for these squares, but based on the rave reviews I had last night, they were worth it. These key lime bars are smooth, tangy, sweet and crumbly. A perfect ending to a great meal.

Key Lime Squares

Crust:
1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
4 tbsp butter, melted
1/4c icing sugar
1 tsp lime zest

Filling:
1/2c + 2 tbsp key lime juice
1 can condensed milk
2 egg yolks

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 8" square baking pan. Place a sheet of parchment paper on the bottom of the pan allowing for a two inch over hang on both sides. (This will facilitate removing the squares from the pan for serving later.)
2. Mix the cookie crumbs, icing sugar, lime zest & melted butter. Mix well and pour mixture (bit by bit) into the prepared pan. Press down firmly and evenly including about half an inch to an inch on the sides. (I have found that I don't use all the crumbs and I prefer less crust to more.)
3. Bake for approximately fifteen minutes until golden. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for at least half an hour or entirely cool.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To make the filling, whisk the egg yolks and condensed milk together until fully incorporated. Add key lime juice and mix well.
5. Carefully pour mixture onto cooled crust, smooth surface with an offset spatula and bake for 20-25 minutes until the filling is set.
6. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. When completely cool, refrigerate until ready to serve.
7. To serve, lift both side of parchment and carefully pull the dessert away from the baking dish. Set on a sturdy cutting board and cut into squares and serve.
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Bachelorette Supper: Spaghettini with Tomatoes & Goat Cheese

My husband decided to spend Saturday night watching the hockey game with the boys. I had a long week at work this week and the only thing I wanted to do was to kick my feet up and maybe watch the re-airing of the series finale of ER.

The prospect of having dinner on my own got my wheels spinning to create something delicious but also relatively simple. Then I remembered something I used to eat all the time in my bachelorette days. I guess this dish fell to the way side because my husband is a vowed meat eater and despite my earnest attempts to prepare the occasional vegetarian meal for him, he simply doesn't see a meal without meat is a meal.

When he decided to do a boy's night out, I decided to treat myself to this long lost friend. This is a simple pasta with clean flavours that's a snap to make but feels like a treat. Fresh juicy tomatoes on top of silky noodles with a generous dollop of velvety tangy goat cheese. It is easily my favourite dinner for one.*(No doubt this is even better when tomtatoes are at their peak in late summer.)

*You can definitely increase the quantities if you are serving more than just yourself. I think it makes a really nice main dish in the warm, sticky summer nights. It's a really beautiful but simple dinner. Bon Appetit.

Spaghettini with Tomatoes & Goat Cheese

1 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium sized tomatoes, diced
1 tbsp butter

handful of baby arugula (rocket) or a couple of basil leaves
dollop of goat cheese

quantity of a fine noodle pasta like cappellini or spaghettini

1. Boil water and add pasta.
2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large saucepan, add garlic and cook until the garlic sizzles. Add tomatoes and simmer. Let the tomatotes simmer down into a sauce.
3. Add the arugula until it wilts.
4. To finish, add a pat of butter to create a sauce.
5. When pasta is al dente, drain pasta reserving a cupful.
6. Add a small amount of the pasta water to the tomato sauce if you want the sauce to be a little thinner.
7. Plate pasta and scoop tomatoes and arugula on top.
8. Dollop with goat cheese and serve.

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