Plum Crumble & Blueberry Crumble

Mama strikes again!!! I was at rehearsal last night and Mama forced a bag of plums on me that she'd picked earlier in the day. I thought I would make a crumble for my coworker, who's last day is tomorrow... and a small blueberry crumble for my roommie and I to share(with the vanilla ice cream from the other day).


Recipe

1 1/4 C Flour
3/4 C Oats
1/3 C + 1/2 C Sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 C Butter
2 Lbs Plums
1 tbsp Brandy


*Mix Flour, Oats, 1/3C Sugar, and Cinnamon
*Add in Butter
*Mix quartered Plums with 1/2 C Sugar and Brandy
*Put plums in pan and top with Crumble
*Bake for 60 min at 350

Chocolate Black Pepper Candied Ginger Cookies

I've made these many times, however it wasn't' until yesterday that I thought of putting ginger in them.... I have to say they really explode in your mouth. Chocolate with anything spicy is pretty terrific, I think!


Recipe


1 1/2 C Flour
3/4 C Cocoa Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
3/4 C Butter
1 C Sugar
1 L Egg
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 C Candied Ginger
Black Pepper


*Combine Flour, Cocoa, Salt, and Cinnamon
*Mix Butter and Sugar, then add Egg and Vanilla
*Mix in Flour mixture
*Make 2 logs and freeze for one hour
*Cut and sprinkle with Fresh Cracked Pepper
*Bake for 10 min at 350

Vanilla Ice Cream and Okanagan Peaches

Vanilla has to be my absolute favorite flavor of ice cream. I made this version with a fresh vanilla bean rather than extract, WOW what a beautiful flavor. My friend had some fresh peaches his family picked in the okanagan, so I paired them with the ice cream. This recipe is super fantastic.... give it a try.


Recipe

9oz Sugar
8 Egg Yolks
3C Half & Half
1 Vanilla Bean
1C Heavy Cream

Use 1.5 oz of coco powder for chocolate ice cream
if using extracts, add them before cooling (2tsp)
you can also add nuts or choc chunks (3oz)

*Scald Half & Half, Cream, and Vanilla
*Mix Egg and Sugar slowly until ribbons form
*Temper two mixtures
*Bring to 170 deg slowly
*Cool for 6 hours
*Churn then freeze

Lemon Madeleines

I've been wanting to make Madeleines for some time now, and I've finally found a recipe that I feel is quite good. I Found a recipe book for Le Gavroche in London, and these are from its extensive menu. The recipes are the creation of Albert and Michel Roux, and are created today by Michel Roux Jr. His "modern french" cooking is classical french with a lighter and less rich approach.


Recipe

2 Eggs
1/4 C Sugar
1/2 C Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
4 tbsp Melted Butter
1 Lemon, juice and zest

*Lightly beat Eggs and Sugar, add Lemon juice and zest
*Fold in sifted Baking Powder and Flour, then Melted Butter
*Rest for one hour
*Bake small molds for 5 min, and large for 10 at 425.

Strawberry and Cherry Frangipane Tarts

I found these cute little 1" tart molds the other day, so today I went out and picked up some cherries and organic strawberries to make these fantastic tarts. I'm going to take the small ones to Mama's tomorrow for the band to enjoy with coffee.


Recipe


Pate Sucree

2 1/2 C Flour
3 tbsp Sugar
1 C Butter, chilled
2 L Egg Yolks
1/4 C Ice Water

*Combine Flour, Sugar, and Butter
*Mix Egg and Water, then add to Flour mixture
*Chill for 1 hour
*roll and fill tart molds


Frangipane

100g Butter
100g Ground Almonds
100g Sugar
100g Egg Yolk
1/2 tsp Almond Extract (Can use vanilla instead)

*Combine Butter, Almonds, and Extract
*Mix Sugar and Egg Yolks, and add to Butter mixture


*Fill each mold with Frangipane using a pastry bag
*Place Cherries and Strawberries on top
*Bake for approx. 30-40 min @ 350

Pistachio Gelato

Yesterday I made some yummy Pistachio Gelato.... the recipe called for 1tsp of almond extract... that seemed like alot to me so I put half in.... it was still too much. I like my Pistachio to taste just like that... Pistachio! However the end result was very tasty.




Recipe

3/4 C Pistachios
3/4 C Sugar
2 C Whole Milk
1 tsp Almond Extract
5 L Egg Yolks

* Finely grind pistachios and 1/4 C sugar, place in sauce pan with milk and extract. Bring to a boil.
*Blend 1/2 C sugar and yolks
*Temper mixtures together
*Stir over low heat until thick... aprox. 8min. do not boil
*Chill 3 hours
*Strain and process in gelato machine. Freeze.

Woof!

One of my clients just got a 4 month old boxer puppy named Marko.... he looked hungry, so I made some biscuits for him.

Recipe

1 1/4 C Flour
1 1/4 C whole wheat flour
1 1/4 C Corn meal
1 1/4 C Rolled oats
1/2 C Toasted wheat germ
1/2 C Packed brown sugar
1 tbsp Baking powder
1 1/2tsp Salt
3/4 C Butter
1C + 1tbsp Water
1/2 C Flat leaf Parsley
1/2 C Fresh mint
1 Egg


*preheat to 350
*mix dry ingredients with butter
*add mint and parsley(finely chopped)
*add 1C water
*Halve dough, roll and cut out
*mix egg and 1tbsp water
*coat each biscuit with egg wash
*bake 35 min.

Almond-Chai spice cookies

My friends Paul and Dana have invited me to their home tomorrow for and Indian curry night. Paul set me the challenge to create a yummy Indian inspired treat for after dinner... and these are what I came up with. They are very yummy!!





Recipe


1/2 C Butter
1 1/3 C Confectioners sugar
2 tsp Vanilla extract
1 tsp Almond extract
3/4 tsp Allspice
3/4 tsp Cardamom
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Salt
1 C Flour
3/4 C Toasted Almonds

*Preheat 350
*Combine 1/3 C Sugar, Butter, Extracts, Spices, and Salt.
*Add Flour then Almonds
*Form tbsp size balls
*Bake 25 min
*Coat in Confectioners sugar

Fresh Fig and Mint Sorbet

I'm in a Croatian folk band called Gradec. On Sunday I went to visit Mama (the 72 year old matriarch of the band) at her home to help her pick figs from her trees. Mama promptly tried to feed me everything in sight and sent me home with a generous amount of fresh figs. On the drive home I decided to make this fresh fig and mint sorbet.... it it very light and refreshing, though not as yummy as the blueberry basil sorbet that I made a few weeks ago!

Recipe


1C Sugar
1/2C Water
1/2tsp Salt
2lbs or 6C Fruit
1/4C Lemon Juice

*Dissolve Sugar, Water, and Salt on med. heat and cool for 15 min.
*Puree Fruit, Lemon Juice, and Sugar syrup
*Strain and chill for 4 hours
*Churn and Freeze

You can add a Tbsp of vodka to this recipe to make it smoother.

Triple Berry-Almond Biscotti

I work at Eveline Charles Salons and Spas on South Granville in the massage dept. Each week I like to create a different treat to put in the cookie jar we keep in the spa lounge for our guests to enjoy.... This week I made a triple berry-almond biscotti. For this recipe I used slivered almonds and a mix of raspberry, blueberry, and cranberries. Biscotti is a simple and quick treat... you can premake the dough and keep it in the freezer. Just pop it in the oven when you need a quick snack, or a yummy gift to bring to a friend. (these always go fast in the spa)

Recipe


1/2 C Dried Berries
1/2 C Boiling water
3 C Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
4 tbsp Butter
1 C Sugar
3 L Eggs plus One
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 C Nuts

*Reconstitute Berries in boiling water
*Mix Flour, Salt, and Baking Powder
*Mix Butter and Sugar, then add Eggs, then Vanilla
*Add Flour mixture, then Berries and Nuts
*Form three to four separate balls
*Make each ball into a log, and press flat
*Brush with beaten egg then dust with sugar
*Bake at 375 for 25 min
*Cut each log into pieces
*Bake at 350 for 10 min, flip and bake 10 more min.

I use this basic recipe for many different flavours... You can substitute the berries with cranberries, currants, or anything you like... same goes for the nuts, just get creative.

Choc.Brownies w/ White Choc. Chunks

I'm really not much of a sweets fan, but really enjoy making them... and in honour of my friend Elliot (a true chocoholic) I made these brownies.

They are very moist and dense, yet not too sweet.....

Recipe

4oz unsweetened choc
6tbsp butter
2/3c flour
1/2tsp baking powder
1/4tsp salt
1c sugar
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla
5oz white choc

* preheat oven 325 and butter an 8" pan
* melt choc and butter, cool
* mix flour, baking powder, and salt
* whisk eggs, sugar, and vanilla
* add melted chocolate, then dry mixture
* mix in white chocolate chunks
* bake for approx 30 min
* cool in the pan

Happy Birthday!

It was my roommate's birthday in June and I got it in my head that I would create the best cake ever..... after learning about icings, and different cakes I decided on a butter cake with fondant icing on top.
I thought, since my roomy has nice tattoos, that I'd copy one of them in fondant and food dye and place it on top. I then added the banner and title to reflect her state during and after the party! (ok, she didn't get that bad, but i was hopeful)
The fondant swallow was first cut out using a template I made, then, using the food dye like paint, I carefully filled in the design.