For the Brave: Tarte Tatin

 

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. 

When I was asked to create a recipe using Organic Washington apples, I immediately said yes. I have a soft spot for these apples, and this part of the world, after all. Way, way back when this blog was just a baby, I was invited to go visit some organic fruit orchards in the Wenatchee area, and I had the absolute best time. The United States is the leading organic apple producer in the world, with Washington State growing more than 90% of U.S. certified organic apples. Washington state is known for being one of the premier apple-growing regions in the world, thanks to advantageous growing conditions. The apple trees grow in nutrient-rich, volcanic soil, perfect for growing fruit. The dry climate and ideal temperatures reduce the number of diseases and pest issues that can wreak havoc on the fruit. Plus, plentiful water and advanced growing practices provide the right ingredients for growing top-quality fruit. I still remember seeing orchards hugging the Washington hillsides, as far as the eye can see. It’s a beautiful thing to witness, and one day I hope to visit the area again.  

Brighter Days: Caramelized Banana Cream Pie

Hello friends, I am just popping in here for a quick hello, and to tell you about this luscious pie I concocted recently. Dixon and I devoured slices while watching Meghan and Harry spill all of the tea during their interview with Oprah. Holy cow! There is so much to unpack there, but two things stuck with me: 1) I am so glad they got out and 2) Oprah is the queen when it comes to interviewing. Her questions were spot-on, and their answers more than a little shocking. So much drama there! While there is no drama over, there most certainly is pie. I wonder if Meghan and Harry bake pies?

Burnt Caramel Custards

"I have a lot of faith.  But I am also afraid a lot, and have no certainty about anything. 

Certainty is missing the point entirely.  Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns."  ~ Anne Lamott

I love that last bit...letting it be there until some light returns.  How hard is it though, to just let it be.  Sometimes we push and pull for answers, getting nowhere in return.  If you too are finding yourself in a place where you need to just let it be, rest assured that the light (and Spring!) will find us soon enough.  Diehard optimist, am I.  

Apricot Upside-Down Cake

Let me be weird for a sec and tell you about my fruit situation.  I know this is the riveting stuff you live to read about on your summer holidays.  Does this sound familiar to you?  Bowls of apricots and peaches, slowly ripening to their juicy glory on the kitchen counter.  Inside the fridge are small pails packed full of cherries - the sweet ones from the farmers market and sour ones - from the tree of a sweet friend.  Way out yonder at the rear of the garden are not one but two massive raspberry patches, that need daily pickings otherwise the birds or bugs will get to them before I.  And I hate having birds or bugs beat me to anything.  Then there is the rhubarb, that just. won't.  stop.   It's full on fruitpalooza in my house, but I'm not complaining.  This is the best time of year to be an eater.  This is what I long for in the deep dark depths of a frigid winter, when I can't possibly eat another apple or banana.  I'm a total greedy fruit hoarder right now, stuffing my chubby cheeks with the good stuff; making the most of it while I can.  I suppose you can say the same thing for enjoying all summer produce - it's really about embracing the present.  With so much bounty on our hands, it must be enjoyed and dealt with immediately.  You can't sit idle when you have rows of Swiss chard that need picking (ahem) or pails of cherries that need pitting (double ahem) or bowls of apricots on the verge of over-ripening.  To let it go to waste is just so sad.  These are gifts, here for but the briefest of moments.  I don't know about you, but I love me some presents; especially those I can eat.   

Keep Calm: Chocolate & Maple Caramel Squares

 

Well guys, I'm in the thick of it.  While everyone looks forward to the yuletide season, I heed it with great amounts of hesitation and dread.  I think only if you have ever worked in the food industry, and maybe retail, will you get where I'm coming from.  I loved the Christmas season a lot more before I became a chef.  And that's the truth.  December kicks my ass to the North Pole, and frankly I would rather be there than here.  The hours are long and incredibly busy - catering parties; cooking hundreds of pounds of turkey; up to my armpits in stuffing; and don't even ask me how many pounds of potatoes need to be mashed.  Most days when I get home I'm too tired to do much but stare at the wall for a few minutes, gather the gumption to shower and re-heat something for dinner.  There are no parties or festive functions to attend; no going out for drinks with friends and right now there is a stack of Christmas cards awaiting my message and I don't know when I'll find the time to do it.  Today is my only day off and the week ahead is a real doozy, with at least 50 hours of work ahead of me, and a turkey dinner for 1200 people that will need cooking - by me.  I might be a total grumpasaurus right now, but trust me, come December 21 at 5:00 pm (the last day of work for 11 days!!!!!) there will be lots and lots of merry going around here.  Right now it's that date and that time that is keeping me going.  Well, that and this. Jimmy Fallon + Tracy Morgan = Best bad mood killer ever.  Plus a hot-toddy-a-day doesn't hurt, either.

Road Trippin': Pecan Caramel Fudge Pie

I feel like I've been gone from these pages for eons!  Okay, it's only been 10 days but feels like forever. I've missed you guys!  In case you missed it earlier, last weekend I was hired by Tourism Saskatchewan to be the chef for a group of travel writers and Tourism Sask staff, while we explored the Grasslands National Park area of southern Saskatchewan.  Two RVs were to be our home base for the four days while we were trippin the roads down south.  I knew it was going to be an adventure, because seven women traversing the prairie is always an adventure, but I had no idea it would be as adventurous as it was.  So let me get the dirty deets out of the way first.  The rental RVs we were travelling in were completely dilapidated and pieces of crap from the good old days of 1986.  I'm still in awe that we actually didn't break down on the side of the road somewhere.  One of them, we found out the first morning, did not have a working refrigerator, so most of my dairy and some meat was ruined. Boo to that.  But the biggest, baddest let down was having no running water the whole entire trip.  I'm not a camping girl, nor do I have any experience with RVs but I just assumed they came jam packed with water.  Not ours.  So we had to haul it and boil it for food prep.  I felt a little like Laura Ingalls Wilder, minus the petticoat and bonnet.  Needless to say, this threw a huge wrench into food prep, making cooking for seven take much much longer than it normally does.  But in the end, the food was made and was very warmly received and no one got sick (my biggest concern the whole trip) and I have an arsenal of stories I can whip out during a lull at dinner parties.  We all need those, don't we?

Caramelized Banana & Bourbon Upside-Down Tart

 

Bananas aren't my favourite fruit.  In fact, I mostly buy them for the sole purpose of banana bread, of which I'm a huge fan (especially if it contains chocolate and pecans!).  There's the off chance I might grab a few bites if it fits into my banana window.  What?  You don't know about the banana window?  For me, I'll only eat a banana if it's got the faintest bit of green, but not so under-ripe that the peel won't come off cleanly.  The texture must be firm.  If it goes any longer and I detect mush, then forget about it.  Don't even get me started on bananas that have already turned spotty - I'll leave the room if someone eats one of those in front of me.  They make fine baking bananas though so into the freezer they go to turn black; at the ready for any impromptu banana bread baking.  You're probably thinking I have massive issues a thing about textures and you're not wrong.

Warm & Fuzzy: Sticky Toffee Pudding with Molasses Sauce

 

Is it too soon?  Is it too soon to think about making something so decidedly decadent like this sticky toffee pudding?  Most of us probably spent the week removing the clothes from our treadmills and banishing butter from the diet.  Heck I only ate bacon once this week, which is really saying something.  Ah yes, January.  The time to put diet and fitness goals into focus.  Does it count if I ate big, yummy salads everyday, if only to combat the fact that I was also consuming sticky toffee pudding for dessert and sometimes breakfast?  I should feel guilty, but I don't.  Instead, this dessert makes me all warm and fuzzy, like my favourite sweater I reach for on cold Winter mornings.

This was my family's dessert on New Year's Day.  My sister was visiting with her girls, so we had a quiet dinner of Thai take-out after rousing sessions of finger painting and play-dough-plaooza.  I'm not sure who was having more fun - the two and three year-olds, or someone somewhat (okay, considerably) older...I think I need more play dough in my life.  That is all.  My sweet niece Olivia was very excited about assembling the puddings - she was the one that sauced them up for us that night.  I didn't think the kids would go crazy for the pudding and molasses sauce, but hells yeah, they tucked right into it.  Proud Aunty, I was.  But really, I think it was all about the whipped cream on top. 

Sticky toffee pudding is really a moist date cake, (built with a little butter, sugar, flour, an egg and loads of dates) and an incredible toffee sauce.   While considered a modern British classic dessert, you'll find it on  menus everywhere these days.  And I'm not complaining, because I loooove it so.  The cake is a great one - moist and flavourful, and easy to assemble - but the real shining star in this dessert is the toffee sauce, of course. Using molasses rather than golden syrup creates an exquisite, earthy, creamy sauce I now want to pour over everything.

If you don't like dates, don't give up on this recipe - you won't even really notice them.  Promise.  You'll be too busy cooing over the sauce.  Yeah, that's me, still in my flannel jams.  I was on holidays, y'all.

 Butter 8 250 ml (8oz)  ramekins, or butter an 8-inch square baking dish.

Spoon in the batter.

Bake them for about 50 minutes.  Done.

When they are cool enough to remove, plate them up with heaps of sauce and whipped cream. Yum and yum.

In a month when reality looms large, with a mailbox full of bills, and an inbox that requires replies, this may be exactly what you need.  There's always salad tomorrow.

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Molasses Sauce

1/2 cup (125ml) butter (I like salted)
1 cup (250ml) brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp (5ml) pure vanilla extract
1 cup (250ml) all purpose flour
1 tsp (5ml) baking soda
1 tsp (5ml) baking powder
2 cups (500ml) pitted dates, finely minced
1 1/4 cups (300ml) boiling water
1/4 cup (50ml) blackstrap molasses

Sauce
1 cup (250ml) brown sugar
1/4 cup (50ml) molasses, or treacle
1/2 cup (125ml) cold butter, cubed
2 cups (500ml) whipping cream

Whipped cream for garnish.

To make puddings, in a medium bowl, pour boiling water over chopped dates and 1/4 cup molasses.  Let stand until cool.  Meanwhile, butter 8 oven-proof 250ml (8oz) ramekins or an 8 inch square baking dish.

Cream butter until fluffy.  Add brown sugar and beat until well combined.  In another bowl, whisk together egg, vanilla.  In another bowl, combine flour with baking soda and baking powder.  To the butter mixture, alternately add flour mixture and egg mixture, beating well after each addition.  Stir the cool dates into batter.  Scrape bowl well.  Divide batter evenly into your ramekins, about 2/3 full, or into your baking dish.  Bake in a preheated 350*F oven for 20 minutes.  Reduce heat to 300*F and bake another 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make sauce, combine brown sugar and molasses or treacle in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.  Boil 1 minute, then whisk in butter, a few cubes a time.  Add cream and boil until sauce is reduced and thickened, about 7-8 minutes.  You should have 2 cups (500 ml) of sauce.

Remove puddings from oven and cool slightly on a rack.  Run a knife around the edge of each ramekin to loosen pudding and invert onto plates.  Serve warm, with the toffee sauce and sweetened whipped cream.  Serves 8.  Adapted from Cinda Chavich's book High Plains.

NOTE:  The sauce make a lot, like almost twice as much as I needed.  So feel free to cut the sauce recipe in half and you should have enough for your puddings.  Or just keep it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.  I'm sure you'll think of something to pour it over - like waffles or pancakes or gingerbread cake.  Yum!

For the Movies: Caramel Popcorn with Roasted Nuts

I see it.  The light at the end of the tunnel.  Just two days left of work then I'm home free.  I cannot tell you how much I'm looking forward to my holiday vacay.  The past few months have roared on by and I need me some down time.  Big time.  Not that I'm planning anything wild and crazy.  No tropical vacations or skiing holidays (I've only been downhill skiing once and nearly died, so I've vowed never to do that again.  Okay, I didn't nearly die, but when you are 13 and roaring down a bunny hill mountain and can't stop and end up crashing into a snow bank while your cute instructor stands by, it does feel like you are dying.)  Given my lack of coordination at any sporty, and fear of sharp things on my feet propelling me forward - you should see me skate - the only calorie burning activity I'll be up to is a long hike through the beautiful river valley here in Saskatoon.  But lookout!  I may strap on a snow shoe or two and really do it up.  Lord knows after eating this ridiculously delicious caramel popcorn, something will have to be done.

No, I'm not going too far at all over the holidays.  And I like it like that.  For so many years I'd pack up the car and the evil fur beasts cats (if you've ever traveled a great distance with 2 cats in a car, you know of which sweet hell I speak) and drive the 600km to come home for Christmas, then leave after a few days and make the long drive back to Edmonton.  It was what it was, but I'm so happy that these days I just have to go a few blocks to my Mom's house and everyone is there.  My brothers and sisters and all of the little ones running around with rosy cheeks and runny noses.  We eat until it's slightly uncomfortable, because everything is just so. good.  This year the main attraction will be Prime Rib with Yorkshire Pudding - because after cooking roughly 350 pounds of turkey in December, it's pretty much the last thing I want to eat right now.  So we are switching up the menu and I'm super stoked; if only because I'm already envisioning the gravy soaking into the Yorkshires.  Can't wait.

 

When I'm not hiking, or eating too much or colouring with the kiddies, I will be watching movies.  You know how much I love movies right? The is the prime season for all of the great ones.  Oscar contenders are being released weekly, and I'm super excited to plant my behind in a comfy seat and watch The Descendants, and Young Adult and The Iron Lady, and My Week With Marilyn.  How fabulous does Michelle Williams look as Marilyn?  Oh yes.  There will be movie watching.  On the small screen too, because what is Christmas without watching my boyfriend Colin Firth in Love Actually?  Or watching the March sisters in Little Women?  Or Mr. Bean stick his head up the turkey? All classics, which require curling up on the couch with a blankie and a hot beverage and a bowl of popcorn.  But just not any popcorn.  And now I get to the really good part.

For years and years my Mom would make this caramel popcorn.  Package it up in pretty tins for her kids, she did.  Hell, it was worth the car ride of wailing of cats, it was.  And then she stopped.  Not sure why.  We kind of don't talk about it in my family.  So this year I was like "Mom do you still have that recipe for that caramel popcorn you USED to make and we all loved and then stopped making it for some reason?"  And she said yes, I still have it.  Hooray!  This is the best popcorn to munch on while Colin Firth dives into the water to fetch his manuscript.  It's buttery, oh god, it is buttery and caramely and laden with roasted nuts.  But so. damn. good.

You think popping popcorn is fool proof, right?  But clearly not Renee proof.  I don't have a popcorn maker, so I just made it on the stove top.  But my favourite pot for doing so is without a lid because I threw it over the small fire back when there was that kitchen incident.  So I had to use this other crappy pot and burnt the popcorn.  So then I had to use a smaller pot, and make two batches of popcorn.  All in all it took much longer than it should have.  My dear friend Stacy says I need the STIR CRAZY by West Bend, which apparently makes the best popcorn in the world.  If Santa hasn't packed his sleigh yet, Renee would like very much.   Making the caramel goo is a bit of a science project, hence no photos of that because I was quite transfixed with all of the bubbling sugar action, and I've never been that great at science so this required all of my attention.  It's crazy, all of that bubbling, but I let it go for about 5 minutes, like Ma said, and it was fine.  Even dropped a little of the caramel in a glass of water to see if it formed a ball.  It did and it was done.  Adding the baking soda and booze in the end makes it go wild again, but don't be afraid.  Just carefully pour it over the roasted nuts and popcorn and stir stir stir.  Press it into a greased bake sheet, let it cool, then break it off into pieces to eat right away or package it up in airtight containers and freeze for later.  Just let it thaw for an hour before breaking it apart and munching.  Don't want any of you to lose a tooth over the holidays! Whether you are sneaking this contraband popcorn into the theatre like me (shhhhhh! don't tell!) or munching on it while you are all curled up with your favourite peeps and furry friends, this popcorn will make your movie watching all that more enjoyable.  Just go on a little hike afterwards okay?  Or if you dare, don the skates.  You just won't see me at a rink near you anytime soon.

Caramel Popcorn with Roasted Nuts

3 cups nuts (I used whole pecans and almonds)
2 cups of butter (I used salted)
18 cups popped popcorn
2 2/3 cups brown sugar, lightly packed
1 cup of Rogers Golden Syrup or corn syrup if you can't find Rogers
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp rum

Heat oven to 300*F.  Spread nuts on cookie sheet and roast for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally and keeping an eyeball on them.  Let them cool and mix with your popped corn in a VERY large bowl, or two not so large bowls.

Combine sugar, butter, syrup and cream of tartar in a sauce pan.  Cook until it forms a ball when dropped into a glass of water, or for about 5 minutes.  It's tricky, I know, but trust me, it will be okay.  Just stir, stir, stir.  Remove from heat, stir in the baking soda and rum.  Bubbles!  Then pour over the nuts and popcorn.  Stir really well, and divide it amongst two greased cookie sheets (I used butter, of course) and press it into the pans.  Let it cool, then tear it into pieces to devour immediately, or pack it into airtight containers.  If you want to freeze it, go ahead, just let it thaw for an hour before digging in.  Makes a rather large batch.

Spiced Apple Cake with Salted Caramel Sauce

 

How many of you were lucky enough to trek to a nearby orchard and go apple picking?  The only picking I did was off the ground beneath my crabapple tree.  Gorgeous tree.  Love it.  But the apples are so tiny, and once you core them, there's really not that much apple left.  If I was not so lazy more industrious I guess I could have boiled a huge mess up and made applesauce or something.  But I said the same thing last year - that I'll do it this year - and my intentions are well meaning.  It's the follow-through that's a little lacking.

If only I had four more hours in the day. Two hours would go towards sleep, that's a given.  6:15 comes way too soon, and is highly unwelcome, and frankly makes me cranky.  One hour would go towards reading. There's a small stack of beautiful books on the bedside table, sadly collecting dust.  And the final hour would go towards all the stuff I say I'm going to do, but never get around to - like painting that spot in my bathroom, or refinishing that mirror, or knitting that rug I started a year ago.  Stuff like that. Yes, I need four more hours in my day.  Who do I talk to about that?

So the apples fell, and fell.  There was a two week stretch where my entire backyard smelled like some sort of rank apple liqueur.  Ah, rotting fruit.  I gathered up the fallen lot and dumped them into my vegetable garden, where I'm sure they are rotting away in all of their happy glory.  In the Spring they'll be churned up along with other compost material and their rotten glory will be mine!  (Insert evil cackle here.)

While I didn't pick the apples for this cake, I did buy them from the farmer's market, where the very kind vendor has an organic orchard not too far from here.  These are heirloom apples, and while I did write down the varieties, wouldn't you know I lost that slip of paper?  I'll have to get back to you on that one.  Delicious apples, these.  Not too sweet, with a perfect crispness that tastes like Fall as soon as you bite into one.

I'm all crazy for anything baked in cast iron. Plus the cake is simple and crazy delicious.  And really, it had me way back at salted caramel sauce.  That's probably why you've been reading this post, isn't it?  It's all about the salted caramel.  Two perfect words.

 

Whether you're planning a fancy dinner party, or having old friends over for tea, this cake is simple, straightforward and can easily be whipped up in 15 minutes.  The hardest part is peeling and chopping the apples, if that's any indicator of the skill level required.  Moist, and not too sweet, with lovely chunks of apple and the heavenly aromatics of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, this cake is delicious warm, with ice cream, and of course the salted caramel. (I should also say that it's almost better cold, after some of the caramel has soaked into it overnight.  That was a happy discovery!)  Don't be afraid of making the caramel - there's nothing to it, and the rewards are so, so good.  So good that you'll want to lick out the saucepan when no one is looking, and heck, even if anyone sees you they'll understand.  It's salted caramel after all.  It casts a spell; one I happily and willingly fall under. 

Spiced Apple Cake

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter, cubed at room temp
2 eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups chopped, peeled apples, cut a few for slices for top of cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Grease a 9 inch square cake pan, or go all rustic like I did and grease a cast iron skillet. Baked like a dream.
In a large bowl, beat together the sugar and butter until light.  Beat in the eggs, until all fluffy.  In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients.  Stir this into the batter along with chopped apples.  Spread into prepared pan.  Top cake with a few apples slices in centre.  Bake for 25-35 minutes, until cake springs back when lightly touched or when toothpick comes out clean.  Serve warm with salted caramel sauce, and ice cream, or whipped cream, if you like.  Serves 6.

Salted Caramel Sauce

1/4 cup butter, unsalted
1/2 cup  brown sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp kosher salt (if using salted butter, decrease this amount a smidge)
1/2 cup 35% cream

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat.  Add sugar. Bring to a boil, whisking occasionally.  Cook 3 min.  Stir in vanilla and salt until dissolved.  Remove from heat, let stand 1 min, then whisk in cream until smooth.  Makes one cup.  Adapted from Chatelaine, October 2011.

for Peter G. 

Cooking On The Farm, Part Two: The Desserts!

It's been well documented here that I love love love my sweets, so it's no surprise that the best part of the cooking cousins weekend was the desserts.  Yeah, everything we made here was super super awesome, but the desserts were the standouts.  Oooooohed and awwwwed over.  Eyes-rolled-back-in-the-head they were that good.  Some even cooed.  Ok, I cooed, but couldn't help it.  I was eating a strawberry chocolate springroll.  You would coo too!!!

When Leanne and I were texting back and forth over the menu, as soon as she said, "I'm going to make chocolate springrolls", I thought, holy smoke, this is going to be one helluva weekend!  I COULD NOT WAIT to see how these were made.  Leanne and Brian, like many of you I'm sure, religiously watch The Food Network (I don't have cable, so I almost never see it.  If I did have The Food Network I'm not sure I would ever leave my house.) and some dude was making these springrolls, and well, they were hooked.  Simple process really, make a chocolate and strawberry filling, add some nuts, if you like, freeze it.  Then chop the frozen filling into bar shapes, wrap in egg roll wrappers, and deep fry.  Heavens, yes.  We served them with Leanne's homemade chocolate sauce, and if you like caramel, try this amazing sauce to go with the springrolls too.  Delicious. 

Leanne's Strawberry Chocolate Springrolls

Melt:  3 100g Dark Chocolate Bars (Lindt 85% Cocoa was used in the recipe) plus
          4   1 oz. semi-sweet baking squares.

To this melted chocolate, add 2 cups sliced strawberries and a handful of nuts.  Leanne used peanuts, but use whatever you like.  Press in a parchment lined 9x13 baking dish, and freeze.  Great to make a day or two ahead.  While it's frozen, chop into bar-shaped chunks. 
Using egg roll wrappers, (Leanne used 1.5 packages), place one chunk in the middle of the wrapper. Dampen the edges, and fold corners in around the chocolate.  Set aside.  When all are wrapped, heat vegetable oil in a large pot on stove.  I'm not very scientific about deep frying, so I'm just going to tell you that when the oil is hot, start deep frying a few at a time, until golden.  Set aside, and keep frying until all are done.  Serve with chocolate and caramel sauces, and why not add some whipped cream too?  But I say that about almost all the desserts! 


Lately I'm all about the rhubarb.  There are so many great recipes abounding, I have to try them all!  Well not quite, but I'm trying.  I made this cake here, and I'm brainstorming another incredible rhubarb dessert to serve this weekend, but you have to hang onto your hat for that one.  This Rhubarb Tart with Brown Butter Streusel was no slouch either.  The Epicurious people described it as "a country tart meets city topping..."  and me being a city girl heading to the country for the weekend, well it seemed somehow apropos.  I'm a farm girl at heart, after all. 

When you make the streusel with brown butter, you'll wonder why you haven't done it sooner!  It adds a lovely nutty flavour to an already buttery, crumbly almond topping.  The crust is one of those straightforward shortbread types you press into your tart pan, and par bake.  (Can I just give a shout out to IKEA, and how much I loved baking this tart in their $6.95 tart pan?  Deal of the day!) And the fresh rhubarb shines through all of the butter and sugar, more and more delicious with every bite.  Again, a side of whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream would put this over the edge.  There were leftovers in the fridge and I almost snuck down from my attic guest room to have a slice in the middle of the night. But I didn't want to be rude because I'm hoping for another invitation to their wonderful farm. Maybe I'll even get a chance to drive a tractor!

Rhubarb Tart With Brown Butter Streusel

Crust:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large egg yolk
4 tbsp chilled whipping cream

Streusel:
9 tbsp (135g) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup golden brown sugar, packed
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup all purpose flour

Filling:
5 cups fresh rhubarb, sliced into 1/2 inch thick slices
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp grated lemon peel

To make the crust:  In a food processor, or with a pastry blender, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, and cut in the butter until coarse meal forms.  Add egg yolk, and 3 tbsp of cream.  Blend until moist clumps form, adding more cream if dough is dry.  Gather dough into a ball, and press it into a 10 inch tart pan with removable bottom, to make 1/4 inch crust.  Pierce crust all over with fork, and chill for at least 2 hours. 
To make streusel:  Cook butter in large skillet over medium heat, until golden, stirring often, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, add nuts, sugar and cinnamon.   Add flour and stir until moist clumps form.  Cool completely.  (Crust and streusel can be made one day ahead.)
For filling:  Preheat oven to 375*F.  Toss all filling ingredients in a bowl, let stand until filling looks moist, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.  Bake cold crust until golden, pressing with back of fork if crust bubbles, about 20 minutes.  Remove from oven, reduce oven temp to 350*F.
Spoon filling into warm crust.  Crumble streusel over filling.  Bake until filling is bubbling and streusel is crisp and brown, about 1 hour.  Cool tart on rack for 30 minutes.  Serve warm, or room temp.  Serves 8-10.  Adapted from Bon Appetit.

I slept like a baby in the cozy attic, not even banging my head once!

Celebrating Mom with Salted Caramel and Vanilla Ice Cream Sundaes

If you've been following my blog for awhile you've probably figured out a thing or two about me, such as 1) I have a hearty affection for all things bacon and chocolate.  2) I absolutely abhor raisins.  3) I really like movies and books and tea.  4) I NEED to visit France.  5) I have a really good Mom.  When my sister was visiting a couple of weeks ago, we were sitting around and saying how much we are turning into Mom more and more every day.  We looked at our hands and saw Mom's hands.  Peeled off our socks, and yup, Mom's feet.  I hear my Mom's voice when my sister sings to her little girls, just like she did to us.  My dad passed away a month before my seventh birthday, leaving my Mom to raise 4 little ones under the age of 9.  So my Mom is kind of my hero, see?

 
Throughout the years, my Mom has truly been my rock, selfless in all ways.  And just very cool.  I'll never forget, when I was 18 she let me go with my friends into Edmonton through unpredictable March weather, to see my very first concert - INXS.  On a school night. Turned out to be one of the best days of my life.  And all of those years when I was living away, she never once broke down and cried when we had to say good-bye in airports and bus depots and drive ways.  I was a big mess, usually doing the whole Oprah ugly cry thing, but she kept it together.  And when I was moving back to Saskatoon three years ago, she spent her week's summer vacation painting all of the walls inside of my little house for me, so I could move in with ease when I arrived.  The green in my little kitchen was painted by a really wonderful woman.

Now that we live just a few blocks apart, Sunday dinners are shared together, and we talk everyday.  I borrow all of Mom's gardening equipment and she gives me advice on where to move my raspberry bushes.  We trade baked goods and fill each other in if we missed "Coronation Street".  Mom has taught me to be independent and strong, encouraging me to always follow my bliss and to never settle, be it for a crappy job or for a crappy boyfriend.  With her massive wealth of knowledge and strength and love,  I don't know what I would do without my Mom or how to thank her.  Somehow my bouquet of hydrangeas doesn't seem like enough. 

So this Mother's day weekend we gathered with my bro and his family.  I made some vanilla sundaes with salted caramel sauce.  I kind of love caramel so I was in a little bit of heaven.  Mixed with the creaminess of good vanilla ice cream and bits of waffle cone, we were all on a bit of sugar rush afterwards,  and thankful no one is diabetic.  Caramel has a mind of it's own, but don't be scared, it's really very straight forward to make.  Adding the bits of coarse salt adds another layer of flavour I kind of love.  Salt and sweet?
Yes and yes.  

Salted Caramel Sauce

1 cup of granulated sugar
6 tbsp butter
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp coarse sea salt
 
In a heavy sauce pan, melt the sugar on high.  Stir often.  Boil until it is an amber colour.  Add the butter and stir lots.  It's going to bubble really high.   When it dissipates, add the whipping cream and stir stir stir with a whisk until creamy smooth.  Add the salt.  Stir some more.  Let cool.  Drizzle over good vanilla ice cream, and break up some waffle cones or waffle bowl pieces if you like.  The caramel sauce will keep in the refrigerator for a week, but if you love caramel like I do, it won't last that long!

Taking Chances: Rustic Apple Tart with Dulce de Leche and Lavender

Sometimes you know within the first five minutes of meeting someone that you are going to be friends for life.  Such is the case with my friend Mindy.  We met two years ago this month, at a dinner meeting for women new to the city.  We all know how hard it can be to make new friends as we get older.  Add moving to a new city into the mix, and it can be downright daunting.  At first I wasn't going to go to the dinner (because I'm a little bit shy), but then I thought "what the hell!".  Nothing to lose.  So I went, and ended up sitting beside Mindy, where we bonded over cats and karaoke, gin and geraniums. And we've been friends ever since.  I wasn't even scared off as she dragged me to a NKOTB concert!  Mindy is the kind of friend you want in your corner.  She was with me in that small, sad room, as I put my beloved cat to sleep, handing me Kleenex and letting me sob uncontrollably on her shoulder.  She's tagged along as I stalked, er, "investigated" potential mates.  Mindy has pretty much made it her mission to find me a boyfriend, and I think she tries harder at it than I do.  Some days I think what would have happened if I hadn't gone to that dinner.  I would have missed out on a kindred spirit, and you never want to miss out on those. 

Mindy has pretty much declared herself the official "sweetsugarbean" taste tester, which is fantastic because there's no way I can eat all of this food!  She was popping by on a Friday afternoon, so I looked in the fridge, assessed the contents, and decided to make this apple tart.  I had a bag of apples, a little on the tired side, a sheet of puff pastry, and a jar of the glorious Dulce de Leche. Not really having a recipe to go by, I knew I wanted a tart, not too dry, thinking that the Dulce would add some caramel goodness to it.  The lavender was a last minute addition, but one I thought would be amazing.  I've made cookies before with dried lavender.  Even adding it to roast chicken, along with rosemary and thyme and sage.  I LOVE the lavender in this tart.  It's subtle, but combined with the cinnamon and apples, it adds another flavour dimension.  This recipe is quick, and simple.  I'm looking forward to slices of it with my coffee for tomorrow's  breakfast.

Maybe it's adding lavender to an apple tart, or putting up an online dating profile, but everyday it seems there's an opportunity for us to take chances.  So.  Are there any chances you need to take?

Rustic Apple Tart with Dulce de Leche and Lavender

one sheet of puff pastry, rolled out to approx. 9"x13" (the size doesn't have to be perfect.  It's rustic after all!)
3-4 medium apples.  I used gala, but you could granny smith or golden delicious too.
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. melted butter
2 Tsp. dried lavender.  Check any specialty grocery, or health food store. 
1/3 Cup of Dulce de Leche (I used the PC brand)

Peel, core and thinly slice your apples. Put into a bowl with the sugar, cinnamon and lavender. Stir well.  Add the  melted butter.  Stir again.  Roll out your puff pastry, and place on a parchment lined bake sheet.  I rolled the edges up a little to make a border. Prick the sides and centre of the puff pastry with a fork.   Spread a thin layer of the Dulde de Leche over the centre. If you need more, than add a little more.  Layer your apples, overlapping, over the caramel goodness.  Looks pretty, hey?  Bake in the lower third of your oven at 375*F, for about 35-40 minutes.  You want a golden crust.  Let cool before cutting into wedges.  You could serve with whipped cream, or ice cream, but I liked mine straight up, with some organic strawberries.  Oh yeah, Mindy loved it too, and lucky girl got to take some home.  Her job as official taste tester done for the day!