Green Onion Grilled Bread

This week, I set about planting my backyard garden. The rule in our climate is to plant during Victoria Day weekend (more popularly known as May two four weekend - a two four is the colloquial name for a case of beer that comes in packs of 24 bottles.) Last year, our garden was modest. I wasn't sure what would grow because we have two very large & shady trees that act as a canopy over yard but found that we had modest success with a container garden. Our lonely tomato plant grew abundantly, our lettuce sprouted up so reliably that we had enough for salads all summer, and our little rhubarb came up scrawny but tasty (rhubarb, so I am told, takes three years to gain maturity so we're still waiting...)

This year, we have boldly decided to plant our tomatoes, lettuce and rhubarb again, but they will now be joined with Chioggia (candy stripe) beets, French breakfast radishes, and perhaps some Nantes carrots.



When I was growing up my mom grew loads and loads of green onions or scallions. They grew abundantly in our backyard and when my mom would prepare dinner, she'd ask us to bring a handful to her while we watched the Brady Bunch re-runs. We ate them all the time but I never grew tired of them. Though they still possessed some of the bite of regular onions (we never ate them raw unlike the snow peas that we would pick off during commercial breaks), they were really sweet when cooked. I loved them stir-fried and finished with a drizzle of sesame oil as well as mixed about with thin slices of tender beef.

When I stumbled upon this recipe on Serious Eats, I thought it was such a simple recipe and we could either grill it on a skillet inside or out on the grill in our backyard. Now, nothing says summer like cooking al fresco.

This recipe results in a flat bread that is reminiscent of Greek-style pita break (versus Middle-Eastern style.)


Green Onion Grilled Bread
Adapted from The Asian Grill by Corinne Trang

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
6 green onions, trimmed and finely sliced (white and light green parts)
1 cup spring or filtered water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil

olive oil

1. Mix 2 cups of the flour, salt, and baking powder together into a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add the water, the sesame and vegetable oils and the green onions. Work the flour in toward the center with a wooden spoon and stir to incorporate both dry and wet ingredients.
2. Turn the soft dough out into a floured work surface and knead, using some the remaining flour. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Wrap in plastic and allow to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
3. Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces. Form into balls, then flatten them and roll out into disks. (You will need the additional flour to help you roll out the dough)
4. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Brush the disks with olive oil and place oil-side down until lightly golden, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Brush on oil on the other side and when the dough appears less gummy flip over and toast until golden. Serve immediately.

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Dessert to End a Bad Day: Raspberry & Blackberry Pudding

Our weekend started with a small disaster. We had the heaviest and hardest rainfall since we bought our house in 2007 and the deluge of rain and hail that pelted our little home resulted in a sheet of water running down one of our walls. All before 10am. No, it was not an auspicious start to our day. However, the damage appears to be minimal and once we got that cleaned up, I was intent on shaking off that memory with something decidedly a little more upbeat. And what is more upbeat than a lemon-based dessert?

I had been craving lemon squares lately but when we saw luscious shiny blackberries and juicy red raspberries at our green grocer, I had to re-think dessert. If anything was going to brighten our mood today, this dessert had to be it. This dessert absolutely fit the bill.... it was gooey, satisfying, and luscious but also fresh and easy on the calories (for once!) since it's not laden down with delicious cream or butter. (I love my high-fat dairy, but sometimes it's nice to take a break from the calories.)

The dessert is a cross between an angel food cake and custard. The egg whites bake nicely into a tall, light as a feather cake and underneath is a molten, clean tasting, lemony custard. The addition of the fresh fruit lightens this dessert and really makes you feel like it's almost summer. It really is a dessert to end a bad day.



This isn't a pudding the way North Americans tend to think of puddings: creamy, smooth, and rich. This pudd is more in the English-style. Slightly cakey, a little bit custardy but just as satisfying as its North American counterpart.


Raspberry & Blackberry Pudding



3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
Pinch salt
1 lemon (zested and juiced)
1 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup milk

1/2 pint raspberries & blackberries, each

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 4 1-cup ramekins. Place a mixture of berries in each ramekin so that the bottom of the ramekin is covered. Save leftover berries for garnish.
2. Beat egg whites in a large bowl until white peaks form.
3. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, mix flour, sugar, and salt. Whisk in lemon zest, lemon juice, melted butter, and milk. Whisk in egg yolks until smooth and creamy. Gently fold whipped whites into lemon mixture. Pour into each ramekin.
4. Place the ramekins in a shallow baking dish. Open oven and pull out bottom rack. Place the dish with the baking tray in the center of the rack. Carefully pour hot water (tap is okay) until the water reaches about 1 inch up the sides of the inner baking dish. Bake until top is lightly browned, approximately 20-25 minutes. (If you decide to use one large baking dish, it should take about 30-40 minutes.)
5. Garnish with leftover berries.

I think this tastes best coming straight out of the oven. If you are serving this to guests, I would not whip the egg whites. I'd keep the egg whites and the prepared batter in the fridge until you're ready to go. Then preheat the oven, and whip the egg whites. Mix with batter and portion into ramekins. Bake per instructions.
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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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