Slowly I’m tackling baking projects that I once passed off as ‘too _______’ to do myself – whether that was too complicated, time consuming, fussy, whatever. It’s easy to assume that just because you don’t often (or ever) make a certain something it’s because you can’t! Bagels were one of those things for me. Surely everyone buys them because they’re complex or finicky little critters…alas, this is totally not the case.

My guy eats a boatload of bagels. I buy them at the grocery store or market without batting an eyelash, until I stumbled upon a food blog post claiming that bagels ain’t no big thang to do. I was intrigued, actually took a moment to read the friggin recipe, and immediately felt kind of dumb.

WHY HAVE I BEEN BUYING BAGELS?

They are drop-dead simple. They take a little while to rise (only twice) but other than that, the bang you get for your effort buck on these is humongous.  It was damn near impossible not to gobble them all up straight out of the oven. We put a pretty good dent in the batch of 8 within an hour of them being done, and gave  a few away with a few cheers from receiving friends.

Tomorrow I’m going to experiment with fresh herbs in this recipe, it’s mega versatile and can be just about anything you want it to be!

Everything Bagels

adapted from King Arthur Flour

Dough
1 tablespoon instant yeast
4 cups Unbleached Bread Flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 cups water, lukewarm

Glaze and Everything Bagel Topping
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
2 teaspoons black sesame seeds
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
1 tablespoon dried onions
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 egg white

Water Bath
2 quarts water
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Combine all of the dough ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment OR mix dry ingredients in a large bowl, make a well, and add wet ingredients. Set on medium-low speed for about 10 minutes OR mix (with a spoon/hands) your little heart out! The dough will be quite stiff. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, and set it aside to rise til it’s puffed up, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Mix together all of the everything bagel topping ingredients, except for the egg white and set aside.

When your dough has risen, transfer it to a lightly floured work surface, and divide it into eight blobs, roll each into a nice little ball. Cover them with plastic wrap, and let rest for another 30 minutes.

While the dough balls are resting, prepare the water bath by heating the water, sugar to a very gentle boil in a large, wide-diameter pan. I used my dutch oven and it worked great! Preheat your oven to 425°F.

When the dough balls are finished rising, poke a hole through the center of each, then twirl the dough on your finger to stretch the hole till it’s about 2 inches in diameter (the entire bagel will be about 4 inches across). Beware of flying dough balls at this point! It’s easy to launch one across the kitchen during this step if you’re not careful! Place each bagel on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, and repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.

Transfer the bagels, four at a time if possible, into the simmering water bath. Increase the heat under the pan to bring the water back up to a gently simmering boil. Cook the bagels for 2 minutes, flip them over, and cook 1 minute more. Using a skimmer or strainer, remove the bagels from the water and place them back on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining bagels.

Just before baking, with the glaze made of 1 egg white beaten till frothy with 1 tablespoon of water; glaze each bagel, and sprinkle heavily with everything bagel topping. This is the step where you can really customize the flavour, or just keep ‘em plain if that’s your thing.

Bake the bagels for 20 minutes or so, or until they’re golden brown to your liking. Remove the bagels from the oven, and cool completely on a wire rack, if you can!

Hot damn I love me some Nova Scotia maple syrup. I’ll admit, it wasn’t until I was in my 20s that it made its way into my fridge; we were an Aunt Jemima family back in the day. I had no idea what I was missing out on! Now, maple syrup is a staple sweetener in my house, not just for our weekend pancake feasts, but drizzled over morning oatmeal, even stirred into coffee or tea for a sweet-tooth-quashing evening treat.

My friend’s family started a maple tapping operation not quite 10 years ago, in the beautiful Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia. Hutchinson Acres farm grew gradually, from just a small parcel of land, to now over 25,000 taps over 1,500 acres of land. So awesome! They are super nice people with a product that I am just a massive fan of.

I had a jug of their Hutchinson Acres amber maple syrup that I was just begging to incorporate into a dinner party dessert this past Saturday. I went on the hunt for a recipe that didn’t require a trip to the grocery store. Ha! Only the best, for my guests, right? Um, yes. That is right! Because this amazingly simple, yet decadent treat was a complete home-run.

Real life quote: “Quite possibly the best dessert I’ve ever had.” – Andrew Russell, 2013.

We had 9 people sitting around the dinner table last night, every one of them was left scraping the plate, ooh-ing and ahhh-ing. It made up for the brutally overcooked roast beef I did. There won’t be blog post on that one, folks!

Do feel free to switch the nuts up, and top with a generous dollop of unsweetened or lightly sweetened fresh whipped cream. It’ll counterbalance the sweetness of the square and really balance it out. Plus it looks a little fancier!

Having this perfectly sweet ending to dinner made me look really forward to next weekend, when a bunch of friends and I are heading to the second-last installment of the Feisty Chef Acadian Maple Brunches in Tantallon, NS. It’s a full-blown maple bonanza with baked beans, pancakes, scrambled egg and meats. All you can eat too. Check it out, here!

Now, on to the recipe! Do your best to find locally-sourced maple to make this an extra special treat that will become a favourite in your dessert repertoire.Ingredients:

Maple Nut Squares

From Food.com

Serves 9

Crust
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter (melted)
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed firmly
Topping
1 cup pure maple syrup
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 dash salt
3/4 cup chopped nuts, like walnuts or pecans
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons flour

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F degrees. Stir together 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup melted butter, and 1/4 cup brown sugar until mixed well. Press into 8-inch square baking pan and compact onto the bottom with fingers.

Bake for 5 minutes, then remove and set aside.

Turn oven up to 400°F degrees.

Combine maple syrup and 2/3 cup brown sugar in saucepan, bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes.

Cool to lukewarm and stir in butter until melted. Stir in eggs. Stir in pecans, vanilla, and flour until mixed well.

Pour mixture over partially baked crust.

Bake at 400°F for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 350°F and continue baking another 20 minutes until the top bubbles.

Let cool, set in fridge if necessary to firm up.

Serve with a big ol’ dollop of whipped cream!

Being an East-Coast girl, I never have any shortage of beautiful, fresh fish available at the market near my house. Being able to talk to the fisherman who pulled my to-be-supper from the sea is only one of the many awesome things about calling the Maritimes home.

But you know where else is awesome?

ITALY!

And I’m going there in just 7 weeks. It’ll be my second time there and I’m just beyond stoked. Hitting the road with my man for a romantic vacay, which will revolve around absolutely sickening quantities of gelato and cheese and sightseeing and wine and gelato. Mark my words…some day I may be at the helm of a gelato empire…or simply the 1# supporting customer of someone’s else’s. I have a deep admiration for the stuff and pledged to eat it every single day last time I visited Italy. And just in case there was any doubt in your mind…I did accomplish that feat. Some days I doubled up. NBD.

In anticipation for my Italian romp, I have been hitting the burpees and laying off the butter. 2012 has been a bonkers year for me, and yep, I’m a little rounder than I’d like to be. So the gym’s back on my daily agenda and the corkscrew has been shelved for a few weeks. It feels good to be working on a squeaky clean diet again and getting creative in the kitchen!

I had a couple of buds over for supper the other night and really wanted to make something special and interesting, yet light. Often when I’m at an Italian restaurant I’ll order the seafood soup as a starter or a light main, and it’s never steered me wrong. Firm chunks of white fish, shellfish, and veggies in a herbed broth; perfect for dunking a crusty wedge of buttered baguette. Top with a some torn basil leaves and little shredded parmesan cheese and you’ll wish that your soup bowl went on for days.

Zuppa di Pesce

Serves 4 (very generous portions)

Generous glug of olive oil

1 onion, small chop

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

2 slices bacon, diced

28 oz can diced tomatoes

2/3 cup dry white wine

1 cup clam juice (found usually in the ethnic food aisle at the grocery store)

1 cup water/veg broth

4 basil leaves, torn

1 cup cannellini beans (canned or rehydrated)

2 cups swiss chard, chopped

3 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 lb freshest white fish, like haddock, halibut, cod, monkfish

1 lb cooked, peeled & tailed shrimp

Salt & Pepper to taste

……..

Sautee chopped onions and garlic in large, heavy bottomed pot (I used my Creuset dutch oven) in olive oil on low-med heat until onions are softened. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

Add the bacon and cook, stirring frequently, for another few minutes.

Add tomatoes, wine, clam juice, stock/water and basil, and 1 tbsp parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add beans and swiss chard. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. At this point you can analyze the thickness and adjust it to your liking. Adding broth to thin it out or simmering a little longer to cook off some of the liquid. Soup’s the best for being oh-so-easy to get along with.

Add the fish and cook for 5 minutes, or until it’s opaque. Add the shrimp and heat through gently for 3 minutes.

Just before serving, adjust the seasoning again to your liking. It will vary for everyone depending on what combination of wine/juice/water/broth you’ve used.

Ladle into warmed bowls and garnish with remaining chopped parsley and serve immediately. Best accompanied by a big loaf of crusty Italian bread!

Right now I’m just croaking for fresh, light flavours to brighten up this oh-so-wintery winter. If I wasn’t the absolute worst plant parent, I would still have some fresh herbs at my place to liven up dishes all winter long. Alas, this is not the case. I’m brutal. I’ve killed off every little herb plant I’ve ever been gifted or bought! I have plans to get a little veggie patch in the works next summer so I really need to start doing some research on how not to be world’s most negligent gardener. For now, I leave it to the pros!

Tabbouleh is loaded with fresh herbs that will start up a little middle eastern food party in your mouth! Speaking of parties, this makes a great dish for potlucks, aside some grilled chicken or fish, or just enjoyed as a (vegan!) lunch. It keeps amazingly in the fridge, honestly, it’s best after being left in the fridge over night to get all those flavours a mingling.

Quinoa Tabbouleh

1 cup uncooked quinoa
juice of 2 lemons (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1-ish teaspoons salt
1 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1 cup chopped parsley
2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half or quartered if they ar bigger
1 – 2 T of red wine vinegar
extra lemon juice, salt and pepper for seasoning

Prepare quinoa according to directions (1 part quinoa to 2 parts water, boil in a covered pot for about 15-20 mins). When it’s done, fluff with a fork, dump it into a big bowl and let it cool a bit. Once cooled, add all the other ingredients, toss it well, and refrigerate until it’s time to serve.

Resolution for this kid? Well, they’re few. When it comes to food – getting really in to quality over quantity, learning more about the story behind the meals that grace my plate, and getting back to the basics.

What’s more basic than baking bread? Well – nothing, and lots at the same time. It’s something that we’ve been doing for thousands of years – but any rookie will inform you that crafting the perfect loaf’s no joke. That said, all you need to get your started is some patience and some good tunes to fuel you through the day as you waft in and out of the kitchen, to check, knead, check, knead, bake, and enjoy. I used some of the region’s best local products, Speerville organic oats and Crosby’s molasses from New Brunswick and the gorgeous Hutchinson’s maple syrup from the Annapolis Valley here in Nova Scotia. I didn’t have quite enough molasses, so topped it up with maple, so glad I did. Added an extra little dimension of sweetness.

Butter this bread up. Adorn it with molasses. Sharp cheddar too? Hells yes. Nothing will warm your heart and belly like a slice of this on a snowy January day.

The recipe hails from my most recent cookbook infatuation, ‘Best Recipes of the Maritime Provinces’ by Elizabeth Baird. It was contributed to this amazing recipe compilation by the Blomidon Inn in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. It was so good coming out of my oven for the first time, I can’t imagine how fantastic it must be after (presumably) years and years of production there.

Blomidon Inn Bread

Best Recipes of the Maritime Provinces – Elizabeth Baird

1 cup large-flake rolled oats (I used Speerville NewFound oats from NB)

1/2 cup cornmeal

1.25 cups molasses (I used about 3/4 c molasses and 1/2 c maple syrup)

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups hot water

1/4 cup butter

1 cup warm water

3 tbsp active dry yeast

1/2 tbsp sugar

7 cups all-purpose flour

In one bowl, stir together first 6 ingredients and let cool to lukewarm. In a separate bowl, stir together the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Wait a moment until the yeast gets foamy and stir it around to make sure it is well distributed.

In a stand mixer, combine oat mixture and yeast mixture and mix at lowest speed until blended. Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in one cup of flour at a time. You want the dough to be firm, but not dry or sticky.
Turn the dough on to a work surface and knead it for about 5 minutes, until the dough is stretchy and elastic.
Divide the dough in half and shape it into loaves. Place it into two well-greased/parchment lined loaf pans. Cover the loaves and let them rise in a warm spot until the dough is about 1 inch over the top of the loaf pan, about 60-75 minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 350F, pop them in for between 25-30 minutes. Mine took a solid 30. To test for doneness, tap on the loaves, when they sound hollow inside, they’re done!
Remove from pans and cool on a rack. Enjoy warm, toasted, for sandwiches, or freeze a loaf for later! It is super hearty and will hold up no problem.

Sometimes I wonder if people who are real, knowledgeable cooks/chefs ever see some of my ‘original’ recipes and think ‘She’s doing it wrong’.

I have zero proper instruction on how to cook or bake and often find myself wondering if what I’m doing is the best way to get maximum tastiness out of the dish I’ve got at hand. My love for food revolves around the act of eating, and as much as I do like to spend time in the kitchen, it’s safe to say that I feel pretty freaking clueless sometimes.

Soup’s pretty hard to screw up, but I managed to do just that, a lot last winter. Soup and I lost our mojo and took a little break from each other. Fall 2012 has been a time for us to rekindle our relationship, and so far, things are going pretty well!

I had some tasty root veggies that I picked up at my local farm stand, Noggins Farm. A couple of turnips, carrots, onions, the homely veggies that so many hearty, starchy soups are spawned from. In rummaging around my fridge looking for some butter, I found a pack of gorgeous, thick-cut bacon from a local butcher. Um, yeah. That bacon was going in my soup. No questions.

So here’s when I get a little iffy about my soup-ing method. Obviously I wanted to put the fat off that bacon to good use; my onions were getting browned in it, for sure. So chop bacon, get it all brown and toasty in the bottom of the pot, lots of tasty bacon grease to work with. Now…to leave the bacon in the pot or remove it? I left it in there. The bacon was along for the full soup ride. Not sure if that was the right way to go about this soup but hot damn…the end result is indisputably amazing.

Next post - this gorgeous, oat-y, sweet, soup-dunkable bread!

The smokiness of the bacon, earthiness of the veggies and a generous drizzle of maple syrup makes this soup the lunch equivalent of a heavy home-made afghan. So cozy and warm. This one’s a keeper, peeps!

On this fateful day at the food court I decided to roll the dice and hit up Ray’s Lebanese Cuisine. I love, love, love Lebanese food, and Ray’s had a seriously awesome spread going. What to get? Assorted plate? Absolutely. Aside from the usual suspects of tabbouleh  stuffed grape leaves, and a big ol’ dollop of beautifully creamy hummus, I went for a bit of mujadara – brown rice and lentils with caramelized onions. Sounded substantial and healthy; honestly, I was just expecting it to be a filler that would pack enough fibre and protein to fuel me through a painful afternoon in the classroom. I was SO wrong. That mujadara stole the show, and my hungry little heart.

Spiced perfectly with cinnamon and cumin, and just the right amount of olive oil, maybe even the slightest hint of garlic, holy mother it was crazy good. I was gobsmacked. Bless you little dish of food court happiness. So here I am a year later finally hell-bent on recreating this dish. In true-to-me fashion, I found a recipe online, buggered around with it based on what I had in my cupboard, and am feeling pretty pumped about how close this is to what I remember inhaling that day.

My guy and I had it for supper after only about 35 minutes of prep/cooking time, two hearty suppers with two lunches for tomorrow. *Note, due to the grains absorbing some more liquid overnight in the fridge, it may be smart to add a bit of broth/water if reheating the next day, just to keep it moist!

The bulgur and lentils in this dish are a mega one-two punch of nutrition. I topped mine with a generous blob of greek yogurt while Andrew went for the poached egg approach. We were both very, very happy campers.

Chili rules when you’ve gotta feed a crowd. This past weekend, we had a bunch of buds over prior to a charity wine tasting; I whipped this up because it’s  smart to lay down a good food foundation before the vino starting flowing! It ended up being one of many yummy dishes on the docket, because I’ve got some pals that are mega-talented in the kitchen, especially Miz Kathy of Eat Halifax. Girl brought over a squash risotto that had everyone going for seconds, and thirds!

I’m just realizing now, this post is the first of me coming out of the closet, officially. The carnivore closet, that is. I’m back on the meat, folks. After three years of vege/pescetarianism, I’ve decided to bring some sustainably raised beef, pork and fowl back into the mix! Honestly? I’m loving it. I still find my meals at home revolving around fish, tofu, or legumes; the biggest change has been that I’m no longer that dinner guest who’s constantly reassuring the host that greens and spuds will hit the spot. Don’t get me wrong, as a P-E-Islander I love me some potatoes. However, many a time I’d feel bad that the host would feel bad about me just eating potatoes, y’know? So that’s over with. Sometime soon I’ll put a little post up showcasing some of the farmers who raise some damn fine animals in an ethical, sustainable way in my neck of the woods. For now, we’re going back to this chili.

I posted a recipe a while back to Sweet with Heat Veggie Chili. It is super tasty and easy as pie to whip up. This one, however, really is sweeter, and hotter, and contains a shameless quantity of meat. And not one types of meat, but two. Pig and cow. There’s also beans thrown in there too, lots of ‘em, because I do love the creaminess of beans in a chili.

This recipe is based loosely on one from Allrecipes.com, I’ve buggered around with it so much I think it’s safe to say it’s pretty close to my own. It got loads of compliments from my guests on Saturday night and is enough to feed a crowd of about 12. We buddied it up with some tasty little cornbread muffins and it was a straight up, house-party, tex-mex good time. Enjoy!

I’m currently basking in the midst of a mega-long weekend, and it is pretty rad, not going to lie. The only thing I had on for the whole four days is work at the Halifax Seaport Farmer’s Market, at our Made with Local table, which is a long, but super fun day. Business is going really well, it’s so great that we have customers who come every single week and buy our bars, without fail. I love you guys! One of my fave ‘regulars’? A hungry little 10 month old named Zoe who’s so cute it’s just painful. Gotta love a kid with a great appetite!

Made with Local bars have a staple 4 flavours, each one showcasing different Maritime ingredients like blueberries, cranberries and apples. For a special event in October, we experimented with a pumpkin-based bar, called ‘Totally Autumn!’. It was a huge hit, and for good reason! It had local pumpkin (which we roasted and pureed ourselves), creamy white chocolate, and toasted pecans. They sold like crazy and was a great chance for us to do some recipe experimentation, we’re looking ahead to some fun holiday flavours already…think gingerbread. Yeah buddy.

So we had some beautiful, local pumpkin puree left over. It sat in my fridge for over a week just taunting me. Soup? Casserole? Cupcakes? I couldn’t decide and was really just avoiding it, until I was gifted a freaking GORGEOUS cookbook. Check it out! So many gem recipes from local chefs and foodies!

This pumpkin bread recipe is one of the many gems. It’s absolutely perfect. Super moist with a tight crumb and a nice little crust along the top.

I doubled the recipe and because I didn’t have any eggs, I added some extra pumpkin and subbed in a chia egg (well, two, since I doubled it). A chia egg is just a tablespoon of chia seeds mixed with 3 tbsp warm water. You let it sit for a few minutes and it becomes a gelatinous goo (sounds good, right?) that acts much like an egg in the recipe, binding all the other yummy stuff together. I was really relieved that it turned out so well despite the substitution! I added dried cranberries instead of the raisins the original recipe called for, they’re a nice little tart burst. Chocolate would be the best though, because let’s be real, when does it not make things exponentially better?

Perfect Pumpkin Loaf

Elizabeth Baird – Best Recipes of the Maritime Provinces

One loaf

1.5 cups all purpose flower

1 cup white sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

.5 tsp salt

2 large eggs (or chia/flax egg)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1.25 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup dried fruit or chopped chocolate

Pre-heat oven to 350, and line a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment. Whisk together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and oil, then add pumpkin and your mix-in of choice. Pour wet mixture over dry, and stir until combined.  Pour into lined loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes. I covered mine with tin foil about 25 minutes in because it was browning a little faster than I liked. I had mine in for 50 minutes in total, until a toothpick came out clean. It was perfect!