been long!

new post comsing soon! as long as i get ingredients!

Sweet Sweet Pumpkin!

So here I am, finally back from a long break of not updating this thing, which should be done more often... right Panda? (clears throat) ;)

Panda and I have been cooking quite often the past few months, but we haven’t been adventurous as much as we have in the past, with the unconventional recipes and extravagant dinner date night. We’ve been making pretty much our cheap favs, since saving money is our primary focus at the moment. yeah not cool! so there will be no pictures of fancy dinners or awesome nights to expensive restaurants. (single tear down cheek)

On the other hand, I did prepare an awesome cake for thanksgiving and I am proud to say that it was a big success with my family. My mom told me to cut her a tiny sliver, but changed her mind and went back for a bigger portioned second. What I had made was a “Spiced Pumpkin cake with citrus frosting”. Yummy!
I had decided to use up the small pumpkin I had bought at the Mount-Royal Kiosk a week prior to my sister inviting us to a potluck Thanksgiving with the fam. I did have a hard time deciding if I wanted to make a pie or cake... One thing was for sure, I was making dessert! Of course.
So here it is... this moist cake recipe I altered from a vegan recipe. I would have preferred making it vegan, but I had to make do with what I had in stock.

Spiced Pumpkin Cake with Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting

3/4 cup vegetable margarine softened, plus additional for greasing pan
2 1/4 cups flour plus additional for dusting pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups pureed pumpkin (prepared in advance and cooled)
3/4 cup 35% cream
3 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sugar
Replacer for 3 eggs

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together pumpkin and vanilla in another bowl. Combine the vinegar and cream and let sit 7 minutes then add to the pumpkin.
Beat margarine and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes, then add egg replacer and beat 1 minute. Reduce speed to low and add flour and pumpkin mixtures alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and mixing until batter is just smooth.
Spoon batter into pan, smoothing top, then bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 40 minutes or so. I used a rectangular cake pan. I forgot which recipe I used for the icing. Although, it was a traditional cream cheese frosting and all i did was add orange juice and orange zest to it. After the cake is cooled, cut it in half horizontally and spread frosting onto the inside layer. Put top layer back and spread rest of frosting on the whole cake. I had a whole bag full of oranges, so I decide to garnish it with orange peel.

It wasn't my all time favourite cake, but it had the best texture and wasn't too sweet. I liked it :)
Recipe altered from here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/veganfeast/4217811982

Lost Track of Time

...So its been a really long time since I have written here! Like a ridonculously long time! We got married this summer and so that was a pretty hectic time. We cooked all the food for the reception and baked a wonderful rainbow cake.


We also got kinda lazy (or I did ha) and the holidays were a hectic time but do not despair! Just because we haven't been posting doesn't mean that we haven't been slaving away in the kitchen. Here are some of the many dishes and desserts we've made since the last post.


Pic 1: Breaded scallops on a bed of alfalfa sprouts drizzled with balsamic vinegar
Pic 2: Baked figs stuffed with blue cheese topped with smoked salmon with a touch of honey
Pic 3: Sesame seed crusted tuna with smashed sweet potatoes and fried plantains
Pic 4: Seared scallops with blue cheese polenta and sauteed mushrooms, spinach and onions
Pic 5: Cornbread muffin with whole corn and hot peppers
Pic 6: Black olive tapenade Salmon with peas and sundried tomato risotto
Pic 7: Salmon and spinach pie with caramalized onions
Pic 8: Lemon and herb salmon with orzo salad
Pic 9: Leek, spinach and mushroom soup
Pic 10-11: Salmon burger with spicy sweet potato fries
Pic 12: Chocolate mousse drizzled with white chocolate
Pic 13: Pumpkin pecan cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting
Pic 14: Bread pudding topped with butterscotch syrup
Pic 15: Carrot and pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting


And o lordy I got so many new kitchen toys for christmas that I almost died of happiness like an ice cream machine that I have been using like mad. I made green tea, saffron pistachio and chocolate with crushed reeces pieces in it and I have so many more ideas for ice cream flavors. Pizza and I even went on a bit of a foodie adventure a couple weeks ago and deliciousness was had by all. We tried macarons for the first time ever from two places here in mtl, la maison du macarons and point G, and I have to say that they were just divine! I am convinced I must try making some of my own. We also tried chocolates from a place called suite 88 chocolatier and I gotz to say that their jalapeno chocolate bar really packs a punch! Ca-razy hot yet super duper amazing.


This past weekend was pizza's sisters birthday and I wanted to do something special for her for her birthday. I mean anyone can buy a present but I didn't want to give her just a dinky store bought thing. I decided I would bake her a present. So this is where another one of my christmas gifts came into play. For christmas pizza got me a wilton cookie cutter set and I was looking for a reason to use them, this seemed like the perfect occasion. I just thought how awesome it would be to give her cookies that literally said happy birthday! I decided to make sugar cookies frosted with royal icing. I used the letters to spell out her name and happy birthday as well as the number 28 a bunch of times (ahhhh ur 28!) And some hearts stars and circles.
Now I used a recipe I found on the inter-web but when I made it it turned out to be too dry so I added a little bit more extract and some water (one tablespoon at a time till it came together). I also subbed half the vanilla extract for almond extract. Happily though they turned out great! Everyone loved them. Seems they were somewhat addictive as they were still being munched on the day after her party! (I'd made a lot). People even seemed to like them more then the cupcakes someone had brought from a bakery. Happy! :)

By the way... HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

Round Two

So while my vanilla ice cream didn’t really turn out like I had expected I refused to give up. There was no question in my mind that I was going to try again the only problem was that if I wanted the ice cream to turn out somewhat more like actually ice cream then I would need something of an ice cream maker. I am kinda poor so I couldn’t afford a “real”, nice one but I was determined so I went on eBay and found myself something similar to an ice cream maker… another new toy!! I’m sure you have all heard of this thing, it’s called the Play and Freeze ice cream maker and I know it’s nothing fancy or anything but hey, it was cheap and its pretty fun to make ice cream with. Essentially all you have to do with this thing is put ice cubes and rock salt in one end and your ingredients in the other and shake, shake, shake it… shake it like a Polaroid picture! It is that easy and a bit of a workout to offset all the ice cream you will be eating for the next week.

I have been itching to make something with rhubarb for a long time and knowing that it is seasonal I was worried I would miss out on my chance to do so if I didn’t get to it. I love the pairing of strawberries and rhubarb, in fact one of my favorite desserts as a kid was strawberry rhubarb pies, so I knew without hesitation that this was the direction I was going to take. I scoured the internet to see if there were any recipes for this kind of thing since this was only my second time making ice cream and I had never cooked with rhubarb before. As fate would have it I stumbled upon a recipe on Superspark to use as a starting point (http://superspark.wordpress.com/2007/06/27/strawberry-rhubarb-ginger-ice-cream/). I am not really a huge fan of ginger so I knew I would be leaving that out and I felt like it needed another dimension thus my idea for adding dark chocolate chunks to the mix was born. Especially since my favorite way to eat a chocolate bar is frozen ha. So here goes the recipe that I used after the modifications that I made to the original recipe:

Strawberry Rhubarb Dark Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup skim milk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups strawberries, stemmed and coarsely chopped
3 stalks rhubarb, cut into small pieces (1/2 inch or so)
200 g of 70% dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
3/4 cup water

Directions:
1. Put rhubarb and water in small pot and simmer over medium-low heat until it reaches a thick applesauce-like consistency. Using the back of a wooden spoon, push through a sieve and set aside.
2. In a bowl, combine the milk and cream. Add the sugar and salt and whisk until the sugar begins to dissolve. Stir in the vanilla. Set aside, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Then cover and refrigerate the mixture for 3-8 hours. Once the rhubarb mixture has cooled, stir it into the milk mixture.
3. In a bowl, using a fork, mash half of the chopped strawberries. Add the remaining coarsely chopped strawberries to the bowl. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour.
4. Put the milk-rhubarb mixture into an ice-cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. When nearly frozen, like soft serve , add the chocolate and the strawberries. Churn or stir until just blended. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours.

Three words: OH MY GOD! This ice cream is sooooo good and highly addictive. I warn you that if you are going to try making this you will have a hard time keeping yourself from eating the whole thing in one sitting, I know I do. The tartness of the rhubarb and the sweetness of the strawberry go so well together and the dark chocolate compliments it, bringing out the flavors of the strawberry and rhubarb. This stuff is so tasty that I know I will be making this again .

Panda

Kouign Amann

I recently purchased a new camera. I'm excited! So, I decided to show off all the delicious food we make at my work. It's a small bakery on Mont-Royal that is quite popular. This place has existed for a long time and is named after the Breton cake made of dough, sugar and butter, which transforms into buttery layers of goodness covered by a crunchy caramel exterior. Good for the heart ;)



We also try making the best croissant possible. This is the most popular I would say, since on weekends, we barely have time to take them out of the oven. We sell them all before they're out. And we always give the freshest ones. Hot and crispy.



One of the things I am proud of showing off is the brownies. Rich Chocolate with lots of pecans! In the pic It hasn't been cut into squares yet.



Raspberry Danish:



Pain au chocolat:



Pain au Lait with Chocolat:



Farz Breton 'Prunes n Rum' and 'Raspberry n Apple'



Sugar Tartlets with pecan and maple syrup. Not really a breton desert, but one of the bakers specialties. These are to die for!



Coconut Macaroons 'Rocher coco':



These are not the only desserts and pastries we have, we also have 'creme caramel' custard, apple turnovers, fresh lemon cakes...

We also sell some beautiful quiches, croque-monsieurs, panninis, pizzas and soups.



Et Voilà! I think that sums it up. :P
Come visit Au Kouign Amann if you're tempted by any of these.
322 avenue du Mont-Royal Est.
Make a reservation for our Kouign Amann 514-845-8813

Pizza

Ice Cream Disaster!

I haven't had much time to cook lately because of my terrible schedule at work and let me tell you it is really depressing. I think im going through withdrawal. Its gotten so bad that it is the only thing I think about. I been thinking about all the different things i can make and when i can make the time to actually make them. Unfortunately the making time part hasnt really been possible because I haven't even had the time to go shopping for the groceries i need to make them. :(

I've been thinking about making ice cream for a while now but there was only one problem, I don't have an ice cream maker... How hard can it be to make it without an ice cream maker? I thought. Haha I was definetly optimistic but as I said... withdrawal; blame it on that. I needed to make something. I was working late every night and staying up until four in the morning because of it. I wouldn't be tired when i got home and had nothing to do, so that was the last straw, I was gonna make ice cream. I found a recipe that seemed easy enough on allrecipes.com, had pizza get some ingredient for me and went for it making a couple of substitutions of course.

Vanilla Ice Cream-ish Stuff

1/2 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 can evaporated milk
1 vanilla bean,split lengthwise and seeds scraped
1 pinch of salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 cups whole milk

Directions:

1. Combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, salt, sugar and vanilla bean in a bowl. Heat somewhat in microwave to disolve sugar.
2. Pour into freezer safe container (I used plastic), add milk. Let cool.
3. Freeze for about 2 hours, mix with whisk or spatula to break up the ice crystals, return to freezer.
4. Check mixture periodically, every 30-45 mins, stirring while it freezes.

Wow... well all i can say is that this didn't turn out like I expected. Dont get me wrong, this stuff taste slendid but i SoOoOoOo NEED an ice cream maker. When I saw the recipe I switched out the white sugar for brown sugar because I like the flavor of it more and thought it would give the ice cream a richer, deeper flavor. I was right. I also decided that instead of vanilla extract I would use real vanilla bean so you could see those wonderfirous little black specks all throughout it. Another amazing choice on behalf of le me. When I took out the whole vanilla bean it made my entire apartment smell of heavenly vanilla. The experience was to die for. Its really too bad too that it didnt turn out but no matter how much i mixed (and believe me I did it alot... it took a long time to freeze) there was still a lot of ice crystals in it.

And that is why, even though Im dirt poor, I had to buy a cheapy little ice cream maker off eBay. I should be receiving it soon and believe you me, I will trying this again but with a more interesting flavour. I had to start off with something easy since it was my first time making ice cream. Ooo I can't wait to get it ^_^

Wine and Cheese in the Park

Monday Pizza and I had nothing to do but we couldn't stay home, we had already spent all of Sunday doing just that, we needed to think of something to do. We thought about it for a while then Pizza suggested we go to Jean Talon Market and get a bunch of different cheeses and some baguette ( and browse, see if there was anything else of interest since it would be my first time going there), and then head down to Parc Lafontaine and sit by the water and sample the cheese. That was a good idea, I said, but throw in some wine and it would be perfect; little wine and cheese in the park. It sounded so relaxing and fun so we packed up a bag with a blanket, a small knife (for the cheese), couple of plastic cups and a bottle opener, hopped on the metro at berri and headed up to Jean-Talon.
Since Pizza had been there only once before, we had quite a special time trying to find the place. lol We felt pretty dumb cuz it's not right there when you get out of the metro, it's a couple of blocks away and south about a block.
I have to say though, once we actually found the place, we were thoroughly impressed with it and it's really too bad I didn't bring my camera because you have to see it. It's like an endless ocean of fruits and veg. So much selection and so fresh. I tell ya, I coulda lost myself in there. The tomatoes, sweet potatoes + asparagus were huge! You would never see this stuff at a chain grocery store. Even the cashews and macadamia nuts were bigger than I had ever seen at IGA before. It was like being a kid in a candy store. There was so much we wanted to buy but we were on wine and cheese'y mission and didn't want to carry too much so the next time we will ransack the place. They even had live lobsters for sale, huge motherf'ers, and it was so funny, two of them turned around at the same time and looked right at me and Pizza. I would love to cook me some lobster; It's on my list of culinary projects along with lots of other things!
So we browsed around for a while and got a nice fresh baguette )oh boy do I ever love the smell of fresh baguette). Then we headed over to a cheese place and picked out a few different kinds; we chose a strong brie, a medium Gouda and a smoked Gouda. Next we moved on to purchasing some wine... My favorite part. We chose a white wine (2006 Pacific Rim) and a rose (2008 Voga Italia); two new ones, didn't want to take the same ones we always take. After this was done we had one last little pit-stop (Pizza wanted to get some jam, she got strawberry) and we were off to the park.
We sampled all the cheeses with the baguette and with the jam. The brie was alright; it had a very mushroom'y taste, not necessarily one we would buy again, but the Goudas, now that's a different story. Both of them were very good, delicious, and the jam was really good with them. Hands down, the best out of the three was the smoked Gouda. It tastes like bacon and that paired with the jam was like eating candy hihi! So good! The wine was also agreeable; nice flavors.
It was such a nice day: mild, sunny weather and sitting in the shade next to the water sipping wine and sampling the cheeses was absolutely romantic. Even though drinking in public is not really kosher in Montreal as long as no one notices it's all good. It felt like we were celebrating our engagement.
Panda