Remain Calm & Have a Coconut Bar

Originally this week's post was going to be about turning on your oven in the summer. (ie. Who wants to do that?) But the day I made these gooey bars, Toronto experienced an "earthquake." It originated about a five hours drive from here so what we felt was less intense, but for those who never experienced one before, it sends you off kilter abit.

To comfort myself, I decided to calm my nerves by trying out a dessert I had on my "to do" list.

The inspiration for this recipe came from my Martha Stewart Cookie of the Day email. It was called Gooey Coconut Dream Bars. Wow. How can you resist that? It had me at gooey. I read the recipe and thought it was similar to alot of the bar cookie recipes I like. Pretty quick and easy. It's also a bit of a kitchen sink recipe. Have a small handful of dried cranberries? Throw them in. How about these nuts? Get them in, too!

It occurred to me that the cookie recipe turned out more squares than I wanted. Besides, I didn't have 2 cans of sugary, thick condensed milk, only the one. With some changes here and there, I present to you a bar that is reminiscent of some of my favourite desserts: butter tarts, caramel and macaroons.

Oh yes, all three flavours in one bite. Think creamy, chewy, sticky and certainly, gooey. You don't need an earthquake to make these bars, any old reason will do.

Coconut Bars

Crust:
1 c graham cracker crumbs
1/4c melted butter, unsalted
1/8 tsp salt

Filling:
1 c sweetened coconut flakes
1/2c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2c Thompson raisins
300ml sweetened condensed milk (1 can)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 8 x 8 square pan by lining it with parchment paper. Leave at least a 2 inch overhang on two adjacent sides to ease of removal.
2. Mix crumbs, butter & salt together. Press evenly into the square pan, bringing at least 1/2" up the sides.
3. Bake for 12 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.
4. Meanwhile, mix together condensed milk, coconut shreds, raisins and chocolate chips.
5. Pour mixture into the prepared pan. Smooth out filling ensure that corners are filled.
6. Bake for 20-26 minutes. When the filling starts to caramelize and bubble along the edges, remove from oven. Cool.
7. With a sharp knife, cut squares. (Clean off the knife after each cut for a neat look.)

...Read more

Smoked Salmon With Fennel Salad

Some time during the month of June, I lost track of time. As I sat down to write this recipe, I had thought June had just begun but now it looks like we're on the last lap of the month. How did that happen? Well, at least, we finally have our weather. This morning, I went to look at my tomatoes & tomatillos and it's like they have grown overnight. Nice thick stems, beautiful verdant leaves and elegant little flower buds. (I especially love the smell spritzed into the air as I squeeze the suckers off my tomato plants. It is intoxicating like catnip for gardeners.) While the forecast for this summer is hot, I still cross my fingers for good weather and hopefully it will yield a bounty of highly rewarding, home-grown heirloom vegetables for summer eating.

Which brings me to this week's recipe... Outside of maybe barbeque, there is nothing that symbolizes summer eating more than a refreshing cool, crunchy salad. In our household, this week's salad is our current favourite. (Who can say no to smoked salmon?) It pairs feathery-thin fresh fennel with rich, smooth unctuous smoked salmon. It's a beautiful salad that can be piled high in a large bowl and gobbled up or it may be served elegantly on a long platter for dinner guests. Either way, it is delicious and does not require much effort.*

*Perhaps after you read this recipe, you will disagree, but I will disclose upfront that this recipe calls for shaved fennel. Therefore, it requires the use of some sort of kitchen gadget, I know. Although, shaving fennel may seem daunting and hardly worth it, believe me, it is worth it (and probably not as bad as you think once you get into it.) The papery slices of fennel stay crisp and crunchy but allows the vinaigrette to permeate creating a kind of "quick" pickle. It's an anise and citrus flavour explosion. Perfect for a hot day. Perfect paired with smoked salmon. Trust me. Worth the effort.


Shaved Fennel Salad With Smoked Salmon
Serves 4 as a starter (or 2 as a light lunch)

1/2 large fennel bulb (reserve some fennel fronds)
150 grams smoked salmon, sliced

1 tbsp grainy Dijon mustard
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt & pepper

1. In a large bowl, shave fennel into wispy thin slices. I use a benriner (or mandolin) but if you don't have one, slice fennel into thin pieces with a sharp knife.
2. On a large plate, lay out smoked salmon in a single layer.
3. In a medium sized jar, add Dijon, olive oil & lemon juice. Place lid on tightly and shake. Pour over fennel and toss. Add salt & pepper. Taste. Adjust seasonings as necessary then allow to fennel to marinate for at least ten minutes.
4. To serve, pile fennel high over smoked salmon. Sprinkle some of the reserved fennel fronds on top.

...Read more

Oh Happy Day!

I spent most of the weekend, in the backyard tending to my humble vegetable garden... finally. The heirloom tomatoes & tomatillos are now in and my peas, radishes, and beets now have their early leaves. Yes, I know it's already June and it is a little bit late, but I have a decent excuse. Our backyard renovations have just been completed. It was a total gut job. Unfortunately, it was not a renovation we had planned, but nevertheless had to be taken care of. In the end, we have a space at the back of our house we can claim as our home.

If that was not already enough to contribute to my joyful mood, my husband and I drove across the city to pick up this



It's an alpine strawberry. Perfect for container gardening and apparently superior in taste to the mass-cultivated sort. (I know it may be a little late - it's practically strawberry season around here. But I am an optimist.) While I love all my plants, my strawberry plant is my most precious. She is my pride and joy.

Oh happy day, indeed.

Onto this week's recipe...

For dinner this evening, my husband put steaks on the grill. I went into the fridge to rummage around for something else to go with dinner. Then an unusual guest made it to dinner last night. The previous day, I had summoned the courage to try Belgian Endive again after watching a review of a local restaurant on tv. I don't normally like bitter vegetables but, I thought I would give it a go.

Roasting vegetables seems to be such a natural way to eat them when it's warm out and the bbq is already on. The hot hot heat softens crisp vegetables, intensifies their inherent sweetness and exudes a wonderfully smokey aroma. There is nothing like the summer's bounty roasted on a hot barbie and why should endive be any different? The result is bittersweet, slightly crunchy and perfectly complemented for an unctuous bbq'd steak.


Grilled Belgian Endive




Serves 4

2 Belgian Endives
olive oil
salt & pepper

1. Heat BBQ on high heat (this can be prepared with a hot grill pan on a stove)
2. Clean & quarter Belgian Endives
3. Toss with olive oil & salt & pepper
4. Place on hot grill until grill marks appear & slightly caramelized. Flip and repeat on all three sides.
5. Serve immediately. ...Read more

Warm Bok Choy & Mushroom Salad with Crispy Garlic

I'm back!

It was a splendid retreat to Barbados. The three of us splashed in the ocean, walked along the beach and filled our bellies with flying fish.



While on holiday, our hotel room had a small stack of high quality glossy magazines which really were adverts for duty free shopping, sport facilities (golf, polo!), and restaurants on the island. I never opened the duty free shopping or the sports magazine... There was only one magazine that was of particular interest to me. Not only did they have shiny photos of seared scallops, grilled tenderloin and glistening sashimi, they published feature menus from these establishments. I was obsessed with this little magazine. Night after night, I flipped through its pages dreaming of the culinary extravaganzas being prepared for the guests of this island.

This week's recipe was inspired by a menu item I found in the magazine.

It uses my favourite Asian green, Shanghai bok choy. It's very mild in flavour and holds shape fairly well. If you don't like bok choy or it's not available, you can also use other types of greens....baby spinach springs to my mind.

What I enjoy the most about this dish is the variety of textures... crunchy bok choy, meltingly tender mushrooms, crispy crunchy garlic bits.

This would be a wonderful accompaniment to grilled steak or seafood.


Warm Baby Bok Choy & Mushroom Salad With Crispy Garlic



2 garlic cloves roughly chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb baby Shanghai bok choy, washed & separated
1 lb assorted mushrooms (eg. oyster, shitake, etc.)
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce

approximately 1 tsp lemon juice (about 1 wedge of a fresh lemon)
s&p to taste
sesame seeds

1. Heat a large frypan on high-medium, add 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Swirl around pan. When it shimmers, add garlic & turn down heat. Cook garlic until golden and caramel in colour. Do not allow it to burn. Set aside.
2. Roughly chop baby bok choy into bite-sized pieces.
3. Heat remaining vegetable oil on high heat. Add mushrooms, saute on medium heat until mushrooms lose their firmness. Add bok choy until wilted. Stir in mustard powder, ginger, soy sauce and oyster sauce. (Taking care not to leave the vegetables in the pan in too long.)
4. Add lemon juice. Taste, then adjust salt & pepper to your liking.
5. Return the crispy garlic to the dish. Add sesame seeds. Toss before serving warm.
...Read more

Press Pause

I had planned to post before my vacation this week. But as it turned out, the days leading up to a holiday are chaotic and a tiny bit stressful. So I will see you in a couple of weeks with lots to say.

Looking forward to rum punch and happy hour....

See you in a few.

Fried Rice Club

I never met a fried rice I didn't like. While there are some I definitely like more than others, it is one of those foods I love to eat, especially on a lazy Saturday afternoon.

Fried rice originated as a way to use up leftovers. A simple and frugal idea: toss last night's rice with small bits of vegetable and meat, throw in a couple of lashings of salty umami-laden soy sauce and lunch is served.

Who would have guessed something so simple and humble could have turned out so horribly wrong. I like to think of myself who has some skill in the kitchen but the first time I made fried rice it was an utter disaster. Instead of the comforting, glorious fried rice dotted with bits of egg, peas and onions I had envisioned, the reality was something else altogether. My fried rice was a heap of steaming, gluey rice. Not even a distant cousin of the real thing, it was a science experiment gone terribly wrong.

Since then, I have learned there are rules to Fried Rice Club. If you follow the rules, you too, can have moist, fluffy, flavourful fried rice.

1. You must use cold rice.
2. You must use cold rice.
3. When your wok is hot and the oil is shimmering, and only when your wok (or fry pan) is hot, do you add rice.
4. Leftover ingredients are a must.
5. Meat and vegetables should be bite-sized pieces.
6. Most ingredients must be cooked before adding them to rice.
7. Keep everything moving.
8. If this is your first time at Fried Rice Club, you must use cold rice.

As I have mentioned many times before, my kitchen goddess, Kylie Kwong, often makes use of malt vinegar in mnay of her recipes, including her fried rice. (I have a cookbook of hers that devotes practically an entire chaper to fried rice!) While I am not sure if this is an authentic flavour, I use it quite abit in my fried rices and stir frys. Malt vinegar imparts a great deal of rich flavour and colour( like soy sauce) without the sodium and doesn't have a sharp acidic vinegary taste.

If you don't like bacon (what?), you can substitute other types of meats such as thinly sliced chicken, pork, beef. Flash fry them first before adding them in. (Or you could use cubed pieces of Chinese sausage, kolbasa, etc. Still need to fry them before adding to the rice to render some of the fat & to crisp up the meat.)

Bacon Fried Rice

4 strips extra thick bacon
2 tbsp + 2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 eggs
4 c cold white rice
2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp malt vinegar
1/4 tsp chili flakes
1 c pineapple tidbits, drained well

salt & pepper to taste
3 green onions, thinly sliced or a small bunch of chives, snipped into 1 inch pieces
optional: 1 tsp toasted sesame oil


1. Slice bacon into small strips and fry until crisp. Drain on paper towels and set aside.
2. Heat a large fry pan or wok. Add vegetable oil and swirl oil around until it shimmers. Crack the eggs over the oil and stir quickly. Breaking up the egg with a wooden spoon or spatula. Remove from pan when soft curds form and set aside.
2. Add vegetable oil and heat again until the oil is hot and shimmers. Add cold rice, breaking up pieces with a wooden spoon or wok spatula (if you have one). Cook for at least 2 minutes, moving the rice around the pan.
3. Add soy sauce, malt vinegar & chili flakes. Stir to coat rice.
4. Add in the drained pineapple and stir well to incorporate.
5. Return bacon and egg to rice mixture and stir again.
6. Taste for seasoning. Add salt, pepper and green onions and sesame oil, if using. If you like your fried rice a bit darker, experiment with a touch more soy sauce or malt vinegar. (Start with small increments such as a teaspoon and taste before adding again.)
7. Serve immediately.

If you are adding adding vegetables or uncooked meat, you will need to cook them slightly first. You can cook them in your fry pan first and set them aside until ready to use.
...Read more