Classic Greek Salad

I use the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes to make a vinaigrette. The acidity from the tomatoes, the pungent heat from the onion, and the saltiness from the cheese and olives supply the other flavours to make up the vinaigrette. Simple and quick and refreshing and, most importantly, delicious.

3 cucumbers
1½ cup crumbled feta cheese
1 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
3 cups diced roma tomatoes
⅓ cup diced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
2 Tbsps. oil from sun-dried tomatoes (or to taste)
½ red onion, sliced

1. In a large bowl toss together all the ingredients and toss well so that the oil covers the ingredients evenly.
2. Chill until serving.

Chocolate Soda

From Fran Bigelow's book Pure Chocolate, this is a lovely drink, reminiscent of soda fountains.

3 Tbsps Chocolate Sauce
3 scoops vanilla gelato
Sparkling or carbonated water

1. In a tall glass mix 2 Tbsp chocolate sauce with 1 scoop gelato and mix to make a paste.
2. Carefully and slowly pour in sparkling water until the glass is half full - the water will react and foam up. Dilute chocolate ice paste in the sparkling water until uniform.
3. Add the rest of the gelato as balls, then drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of chocolate sauce.
4. Continue adding sparkling water until water is 3" from the edge, to leave room for the soda-fountain bubble.

Chocolate Sauce

Generally speaking I try to avoid using corn syrup. However, I haven't yet found a substitute for a chocolate sauce that remains liquid at room temperature. I wonder what the sweetness difference is between honey or maple syrup is, and how much of their flavour comes through when mixed in the the chocolate? Corn syrup is sweet but has no other flavour. Maybe agave syrup? I believe in the edict "Avoid, don't eliminate". This is from Fran Bigelow's book Pure Chocolate.
Dutch-processed cocoa powder is recommended here because it is de-bittered therefore is milder.

1 cup heavy cream
¾ cup sugar
½ cup corn syrup (try substituting with Golden Syrup)
¾ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted into a mixing bowl

1. In a saucepan stir together cream and sugar; heat gently 'til sugar dissolves. Stir in the corn syrup and bring just to a boil.
2. Remove from heat and pour in ½ of the mixture into the sifted cocoa; whisk until smooth, then add the remaining sweet cream and whisk again until smooth.
3. To make sure there are no lumps, pass through a fine-meshed sieve back into the saucepan. Put over low heat and slowly cook until there are large bubbles that begin to break the surface and the chocolate is glossy, about 5 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and allow to cool a bit. Serve warm or store in the refrigerator for as long as two weeks.

Asparagus Ementhal Quiche with Tarragon

1 blind baked pie crust
12 asparagus
6 eggs, beaten
1 cup crème fraîche
½ cup grated emmenthal cheese

1 tsp (0.02oz/4.7gr) butter
½ cup sliced mushrooms

1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp fresh tarragon
1 small red pepper, julienned
salt and pepper

1. You will need a need deep pie dish for this since the egg and cream mixture is quite plentiful.
2. Heat oven to 350°F
3. Blanch asparagus about 90 seconds in boiling water. Cool in ice bath and cut into ½" pieces.
4. Fry mushrooms in a little butter, and add minced garlic for the last minute.
5. Whisk eggs and cream, then add the grated cheese, mushrooms and garlic, and tarragon. Add asparagus and salt and pepper.
6. Pour the mix into the blind baked pie crust.
7. Bake for 20 minutes. Take out of the oven and add the julienned red pepper in a pleasing pattern on top. Return to the hot oven and bake an additional 30 to 40 minutes, or until the custard has set and the top has started to brown.

Asparagus and Brie Quiche

How many delicious ways can one make egg pie? Yes, egg pie. This is essentially what quiche is. I've heard tell a wife who had (or has?) a husband who wouldn't eat quiche (because real men don't), told him one night that she made egg pie. Of course, he ate it and loved it.

1 batch blind-baked pie crust
3 eggs
3 to 4 spring onions
2 Tbsps (1oz/28gr) butter
5 to 8 oz brie cheese
½ cup (4 fl oz) milk
½ cup (4 fl oz) heavy cream
3 to 4 oz blanched asparagus
1 tsp English mustard powder
1 pinch nutmeg
salt and pepper

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Blind bake the crust. Put water on to boil (to cook the asparagus).
2. Fry onions in the butter until tender, set aside.
3. Remove the rind from the brie and cut into small cubes.
4. Beat eggs, add cream, milk and cheese and mix together. Add mustard, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
5. Scatter the onions on the bottom of the shell; pour in the egg mix; pattern asparagus as you like on top. (I'll often measure the asparagus spears and cut the bottoms to create a wheel effect, which means I put the cooked and cut ends in first and submerge them in the egg mix, then arrange the asparagus tips on top)
6. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until the custard sets and is slightly brown.

Cucumber Mojito

This is how lucky I am - Ben makes these wonderful drinks, and I am such a sucker for gin. A happy combination. From The Cocktail Guru.

2 oz gin, Preferably Hendrick's Gin
2 tsps (or Tbsps?) of sugar
5 lime wedges
6 to 8 fresh mint leaves
3 slices of cucumber

1. Peel the cucumber. Muddle the mint, limes, cucumber, and sugar.
2. Add the gin.
3. Fill the glass with crushed ice, over what you've muddled.
4. Stir the crushed ice with the mix for few seconds.
5. Garnish with cucumber peel and mint leaf 
6. You can also use: a splash of club soda if you want to make this a fizzy drink, it's a great twist

Toasted Sesame Seed Cookies

Mmmm, chewy, sweet sesame cookies. I love the texture and the little pop of seeds.

Makes about 30 cookies

4 oz toasted sesame seeds

¼ cup (2oz/58gr) butter at room temperature

½ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1  tsp vanilla extract

½ cup whole wheat flour

¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup all purpose flour

1. Toast the sesame seeds by placing them in a small saucepan (don't use a fry pan - the seeds will pop and jump out of the pot and onto your floor and counters). Turn on the heat to medium and keep an ear out - you will hear a crackling, popping noise from the seeds when they start to get hot enough; stir a bit, listen for the cracking noise, stir again and do this for about 30 seconds. This technique is particularly useful if using black sesame seeds, where you can't see the browning.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy (whitish). Beat in the sugar, then beat in the egg and the vanilla. Add sesame seeds and mix well.
3. To add the dry ingredients, start with the whole wheat flour, followed by the baking soda and salt, and ending with the white flour. Mix well to combine.
4. Wrap and put in the refrigerator to rest for 1 hour and up to 72 hours.
5. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 
6. Use a tablespoon to scoop balls of dough onto the lined baking sheets - press the balls into 2" rounds and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden. Let cool 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Scalloped Potatoes

4  potatoes (1lb 8oz to 2 lbs), sliced thinly
1 small (4oz) onion, sliced
3  Tbsps (42gr) butter
3  Tbsps flour
1½  cups milk
1  tsp salt
1  dash cayenne pepper
1½  cups (105gr) cheddar cheese, sharp, grated
1  dash paprika

1. Place oven rack in the middle position. Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
2. In a small sauce pan, melt butter and blend in flour. Let sit for a minute. Add all the cold milk, stirring with a whisk and season with salt and cayenne. Cook at a low temperature until smooth and boiling, stirring occasionally with the whisk. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese.
3. Place a quarter of the sliced potatoes in a lightly greased one quart casserole dish. Layer with half the onion. Top with another quarter of potatoes, then pour in half of cheese sauce as evenly as possible.
4. Repeat with a third layer of potatoes, the rest of the onion, and the final portion of potato, topped with the rest of the cheese sauce.
5. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top, colour with a dash of paprika.
6. Bake uncovered for about 1 hour or until the potatoes are soft.

Chicken and Barley Stew

This has all the markings of comfort food for me - the creaminess of the broth and the chewiness of the barley, the brightness of the dill and the warm bursts of the chicken. But be forewarned, this is best served immediately. Since it contains barley, the stuff will just keep absorbing liquid and expanding, so if you refrigerate the stew for later, it will have become a mass that you'll need to break apart, and the flavours will be muted. Since the recipe makes a lot, I usually halve it, which is easily done (just eyeball the barley measurement, it'll be fine).

¼ cup flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts
¼ cup grape seed oil
2 carrots, sliced in half-moons
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 leek, sliced in half moons
1 garlic clove
1¾ cups pearled barley
6 cups chicken stock
1 cup water
½ tsp salt (yes, again)
¼ tsp pepper (ditto)
1 bunch fresh dill
1 Tbsp lemon juice
fresh tarragon
grated parmigiano

1. Cut chicken into 1.5" cubes. Combine flour, salt, pepper in shallow plate and dredge chicken, shaking off excess.
2. In cast-iron casserole or pot, heat 2 Tbsp oil and cook chicken in batches until golden, 2 minutes per side, adding 2 Tbsp oil each time you put in fresh chicken. Set chicken aside.
3. Add 1 Tbsp oil and cook carrots for 3 minutes, then add celery, leek and garlic and cook until softened, 2 minutes. Add barley, salt and pepper. Cook until barley starts to toast, a few minutes; you'll notice that the barley will take up the oil and moisture, this is a good thing. Browning and toasting all add flavour. Add stock and water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until barley is almost tender.
4. Return chicken to pot, cover and simmer until cooked through, 10 minutes. Stir in dill and lemon juice and adjust seasoning. Sprinkle with tarragon and cheese to serve.

Chicken Stew with Dumplings

This one if from my momma. The best dumplings I think I've ever made.

2 Tbsps (1oz/28gr) salted butter
2 leeks, white parts only, sliced ¼" (10oz/300gr)
4 carrots, diced (8oz/228g)
24 oz/228g skinless chicken breast, cubed
½ tsp salt
1 Tbsp flour
1½ cups chicken broth (12oz/354g)
2 tsp fresh thyme
1 cup fresh green peas (5oz/145g)

Dumplings
1¼  cups flour (6.6oz/188g)
3½  tsps baking powder
½  tsps salt
½  cup Milk (4oz/177g)
1 egg

1. Pick a large saucepan with lots of head room. You'll need enough space for the stew and then for the dumplings to cook on top.
2. Melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the leeks and carrots; sauté until the leeks are translucent. 
3. Season the chicken cubes with salt and add to the cooking veg in the pot.
4. Stir over medium-high heat until the chicken is just cooked. Add the Tbsp of flour and mix well to cover and fry a couple more minutes, enough to toast the flour a bit to cook out the raw flour taste. 
5. Add the broth stirring constantly to make sure the flour doesn't clump. Cook over medium heat until the liquid thickens, about 5 to 10 minutes. 
6. Add peas and thyme. 
7. Turn down heat and simmer.

FOR THE DUMPLINGS

1. Mix together the dry ingredients. 
2. In a separate bowl, mix milk and egg together. Dump wet over dry and, to avoid tough dumplings, mix only just until blended. 
3. Divide the dough into four portions and gently plop on to the stew in the pot. Cover and cook 14 minutes NOTE: Do not lift lid until done since the dumplings need the steam to cook properly.

Shakshuksha

This lovely brunch-type meal, which is, actually, good at any time. With all the peppers and spices, you'd think it would be unbearably hot but, actually, it is just right. I have a recipe for the spice mix harissa somewhere...

2  Tbsp olive oil
½  cup (26gr) onion, minced
1  cup fennel bulb, minced
2 serrano chillies, minced
1 jalapeno, minced
½  cup green bell pepper, minced
½ tsp salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1  Tbsp harissa
1  tsp sweet spanish smoked paprika
28  fl oz diced canned tomatoes
½  cup water
6 eggs
2  Tbsps parsley, chopped
½  cup feta

1. Cook onion and fennel in oil in large skillet until soft, 3 minutes. Add chiles, pepper and salt, cook, stirring 8 minutes or until softened. Add garlic and spices and cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes and water, simmer until thickened, 10 minutes.
2. Crack eggs into the sauce gently, to poach. Cover and cook in low heat until whites are firm and yolk is runny, 5 minutes.
3. To serve, sprinkle each portion with parsley and feta.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've been looking for a good plain-old chocolate chip cookie recipe, and I think I've found it... well, it's chocolate chip oatmeal, but I like the folkloric texture oatmeal gives. And it's good for you... as chocolate is.

MAKES : 32 x 1oz

⅔ cup (5.33 oz/151gr) butter, room temperature 
1 cup (164g) brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsps vanilla
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1½  cup (150g) rolled oats
1½ cup (260g) chocolate chips

1 cup flour
(optional) ½ cup (56g) walnut pieces
(optional) pinch of cinnamon

1. In a large mixing bowl beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Whip in the egg and vanilla, then the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the rolled oats and chocolate chips and mix until well combined. If using the Optional walnuts and cinnamon, add them with the chocolate chips.
2. Finally, add the flour, mixing only until combined.
3. Wrap and put in the refrigerator to rest for 1 hour and up to 72 hours.
4. Pre-heat oven to 375°F.
5. Drop a Tablespoon of dough (1oz) per cookie on a parchment-paper lined cookie sheet. Flatten with your hand and bake 10 to 12 minutes.
6. Transfer to racks to cool.

Turkey Burgers (the secret is Cheese)

Ground turkey tends to be sort of bland, and I've searched for a good turkey burger recipe. I think I'm in pretty good form here, and have Frankensteined a number of recipes including ideas from plain old regular burger patty recipes.

1 lb ground turkey
¼ cup bread crumbs or quick cook oatmeal
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 green onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 to 2 tsps fresh sage, minced (optional)
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp ground pepper
1 to 2 Tbsps cheese (whatever you have bits of, cheddar, mozzarella, gruyere, parmesan, blue, doesn't matter except to your taste)

1. I like to cook the garlic in a little oil first, and I save the oil to cook the patties in.
2. Mix all ingredients together and form into 4 patties.
3. Cook the patties in a medium skillet over medium heat, turning once, to an internal temperature of 165°F.

Chłodnik - Polish Cold Yoghurt Beet Soup

This makes an unusual, violent pink soup that is beautiful and delicious. It's great for a lunch on early fall days, with the warm, buttered potatoes and the cool, colourful soup.

Serves 8

One bunch of young beets with leaves (about 6)
1 tsp lemon juice, to taste
1 garlic clove, minced
5 cups of boiling water
1 English cucumber, quartered and finely diced
about 10 radishes, halved and sliced
4 spring onion tops or chives, chopped
A small bunch of dill, minced
4 cups natural yogurt or cultured buttermilk
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
golden caster sugar to taste - optional
4 to 6 hard boiled eggs to serve
1 to 1½ kg cooked baby potatoes to serve
1 Tbsp (½ oz/14gr) butter for potatoes

1. Wash beet leaves, stems and roots. Peel roots and dice them, chop leaves and stems (if there are lots of leaves use only half).
2. Boil water, add beet material along with garlic and lemon juice. Cook covered until beets are soft but still crunchy.
3. Remove from heat, add cucumber, radishes, half of the dill (reserve the rest to sprinkle over potatoes), spring onions and set aside to cool down a bit. Add yogurt (or buttermilk), season to taste with salt, pepper (and sugar if using, but good young beets should be plenty sweet already) and place in the fridge for at least an hour.
4. Serve chilled with freshly cooked baby potatoes topped with butter and dill and hard boiled eggs on the side.
5. Add more boiled water if the soup is too thick or too intense in flavour.
6. If you have too many beetroot leaves, wash and chop them and freeze to use later in different soups.

Stuffed Baked Figs

Fresh figs are a fruit I associate with wonderful frivolousness. They're expensive and rare but so very delicious, stange, seedy watery soft sweet fruit. This is a quick way to elevate them to a light dessert.

8 to 12 fresh figs

2 Tbsps (1oz/28gr) butter, softened

2 Tbsps sugar

¼ cup pistachio or almond flour (or briefly run through a blender)

2 Tbsps flour

1. Heat the oven to broil. 
2. Cut a cross from the top about three-quarters of the way down into the figs. 
3. Mash together the butter, sugar, ground pistachios and flour and chill for 1 hour.
4. Divide chilled filling into as may balls as you have figs, and wedge into cross-cut of each. Broil a few minutes, until the nut mixture is golden and the figs are hot. 
5. Serve with whipped cream or crème fraîche.

Tartine briarde gratinée - Baked Pear and Brie Sandwiches

I often feel at a loss when it comes to making vegetarian meals for my niece when she comes for dinner. Tofu is bland (and please, don't even mention tofurkey!) and pasta, while delicious, gets repetitive. This Saturday I met a friend for lunch and then thought I wanted to shop, but soon discovered my heart wasn't into it. And yet, I also didn't want to go home right away. So I wandered, and ended up at Chapters bookstore on Robson street. I like to pick out a bunch of books and just settle down and flip through them. Maybe one of these days I'll actually buy one. Anyway, in one of the books was a bunch of recipes for 'tartine'; essentially, these are open-faced sandwiches. This one is spinach and pear topped with brie. The salt at the end is important to bring out all the flavours.

1 bunch spinach

2 very ripe pears

1 Tbsp (½ oz/14gr) butter

250g ripe brie

4 slices of my home-made Commons Bread or similar peasant-type bread 

A pinch of salt per sandwich

Fresh-ground pepper

1. Pre-heat oven to 450°F.
2. Peel pears and cut into matchsticks. Heat butter in sauté pan and cook pears until browned.
3. Prepare ice bath for spinach - wash the leaves and blanch in salted water - quickly draining and dumping them into the ice bath. Dry leaves on paper towels.
4. Arrange bread slices on a cookie sheet. Combine pear and spinach, and divide equally among bread slices, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
5. Pop in the hot oven for a few minutes (2 to 4), or until the cheese has obtained the desired amount of runniness, and serve immediately.

Lollipops

Last Christmas my gift to my family was home-made candy. I think I got the most out of the experience, to tell you the truth. Making candy is incredibly fascinating and fun! Or at least for a research geek like myself. I haven't mastered the art of flavoring yet, but I'm willing to keep trying! This recipe is for lollipops - I just poured out rough, globby circles onto parchment paper and popped in some sticks before it cooled, and haven't explored other methods... yet! I found this amazing science-cooking site that explains how the different steps and ingredients work to make candy, called the Exploratorium.

Makes about 8 to 10 lollipops per batch

1 cup sugar
⅓ cup corn syrup
½ cup water
¼ tsp cream of tartar
¼ to 1 tsp flavouring
liquid food colouring
1 to 2 tsp(s) citric acid (optional)

1. Prepare either a marble slab or an upside-down cookie sheet (air underneath the sheet will help the candy to cool faster), by covering it with parchment paper and spraying it with oil. If you're using molds, prepare the molds with lollipop sticks, spray with oil, and place them on a cookie sheet or marble slab.
2. In your pan, over medium heat, stir together the sugar, corn syrup, water, and cream of tartar with a wooden spoon until the sugar crystals dissolve.
3. Continue to stir, using a pastry brush dampened with warm water to dissolve any sugar crystals clinging to the sides of the pan, then stop stirring as soon as the syrup starts to boil.
4. Place the candy thermometer in the pan, being careful not to let it touch the bottom or sides, and let the syrup boil without stirring until the thermometer just reaches 300°F (hard-crack stage). If you don't have a thermometer, you can test Drop a little of the molten syrup in cold water and it will form hard, brittle threads that break when bent.
5. Remove the pan from the heat immediately and let the syrup cool to about 275°F before adding flavor, color, and citric acid (adding it sooner causes most of the flavor to cook away).
6. Working quickly, pour the syrup into the prepared molds and let cool for about 10 minutes. If you're not using molds, pour small (2") circles onto the prepared marble slab or cookie sheet and place a lollipop stick in each one, twisting the stick to be sure it's covered with candy. (It helps to have a friend do this since you need to work quickly.)
7. Let the lollipops cool for at least 10 minutes, until they are hard. Wrap individually in plastic wrap or cellophane and seal with tape or twist ties. Store in a cool, dry place.

NOTE: You can use flavoring extracts that are available in the baking supplies section of your local supermarket, such as vanilla, almond, anise, maple, and lemon. Approximately 1 teaspoon of this kind of flavoring should be enough for a batch of lollipops.
There are also highly-concentrated flavorings specifically for candy making, available online or in specialty stores. The flavor choices are almost endless. These usually come in tiny 1-dram (1 teaspoon) bottles, and ¼ teaspoon should be sufficient to flavor a batch of lollipops.
It’s a good idea to have the flavors and colors that you will add to your candy measured out and ready beforehand. You will need to work quickly once the syrup reaches the hard-crack stage because it will harden quickly!
When using stronger flavors such as cinnamon, mint, and cherry, you can use a small amount (about ¼ teaspoon). Subtler flavors such as lemon, strawberry, orange, and peach require more (½ to 1 tsp). You can add about ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract with these flavors to accent them and add a "creamy" flavor.
If you're making several batches, save the stronger flavors for last or they may contaminate the other batches. Be sure to wash all measuring and mixing spoons in between batches as well.