Moonbeams, Zombies, Chocolate

Man! I don't know about your town/city/village/space station but in Winnipeg, Canada the winter blues have hit a new level of freakishness - I did a little people watching while I was stopped in traffic this afternoon and I swear they looked like Dawn of the Dead extras; SERIOUSLY! My girlfriend asked me, "Is the moon full?" like she was reading my mind ((which she seems to have an uncanny ability to do, btw!)) - sadly, no, the moon is waning and it's just this wimpy yellow finger nail clipping; no magical power to transform regular peeps into monsters. So the full moon/wild thang factor can't explain the local weirdo surge...

Savings, Schmavings!

I wasn't planning on taking any vacation time until the summer months, but man the travel bargains are beckoning, given my situation. Our flat-as-a-pancake city has been transformed by grubby mountains of ice, snow and road salt, piled 6-8 feet high along the streets, creating strange marble runs for the zombie drivers to blitz carelessly through ((hey, they're zombies, can't kill what's already dead!)). This dreary, eerie ((did I mention, frickin' freezin'?)) environment, combined with the gloom-and-doomer predictions that the world will end in 2012 ((Mayan Calendar hype)) has this Momma thinking, "Savings schmavings... I want outta here; let's go for broke with a side dish of sun and sand!"

Recipe for Escape
Even my usual food therapy tactics seem unappealing, particularly since the near-catastrophic, painfully recent Paula Dean Arnold Palmer cupcake baking session! One promising culinary diversion is the collection of gourmet pastas I received recently from work: exotic pumpkin spice, chipotle pepper and cocoa chili linguine are waiting in the cupboard for their moment in the kitchen limelight - oh thank heaven!

I have been scouring my recipe books and online sources inspiration -- looking for sauces to pair with these fantastically flavoured pastas. I want to enjoy the cocoa chili linguine with something savory; for a main course - don't want to serve those chocolaty noodles as a dessert with fruit and whipped cream ((ugh!)). So I am thinking of a variation on a Mole ((not the critter, the burrowing mole - mole-ay, as in latin-american savory goodness)). I am thinking the mole, freshened up with some zucchini and bell peppers and maybe a bit of mango, would be just the ticket to alleviate my current state. Suggestions? C'mon - I am surrounded by zombies in a desolate deep-freeze called Canada. Won't/can't you please throw me a life line?

Have it your way...here is my recipe for Coco-Mole Linguine. For the cocoa chili pasta, try ordering online from Nature's Farm:

http://www.naturesfarm.ca/index.html

Cocoa-Mole Linguine

Mole Ingredients:

1 tsp. toasted cumin seeds, cooled

1 tsp. crushed, dried oregano
1/8 - 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Dried, crushed chilies to taste, or chipotle paste
2 medium onions, chopped

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1-2 cloves minced garlic

3 medium zucchini cut into bite-size chunks

1 bunch kale, coarsely chopped

1 red or orange bell pepper, chopped

1 tsp. orange zest
1/4 tsp. sugar
Sea salt, to taste (approx. 1 tsp).
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

1-14.5 ounce tin of diced plum tomatoes

1-1/4 cups water

1-15 ounce tin of rinsed pinto beans

Garnish:
1 ripe mango, finely chopped

1/8 tsp. dutch cocoa powder
Sour cream

Pasta:
Nature's Farm Cocoa Chili Linguine; or your favourite chocolate pasta.

METHOD:
Pulse toasted cumin seeds and chilies (or just cumin seeds, if using chipolte paste) in a coffee mill or small processor until finely ground. Mix together with cinnamon, oregano, salt and sugar in a small bowl.

Measure the olive oil into a heavy skillet and saute the onions until tender over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat slightly and add in the minced garlic, cooking until tender and taking care not to scorch it. Stir in the spice mixture, stirring constantly for 1 -2 minutes. Quickly add in the zucchini, kale and bell peppers; cover and cook for 5 minutes.

Add in the tomatoes, zest, chocolate pieces, beans and water and bring mixture to a simmer - cover and stir occasionally, cooking an additional 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook your pasta to al dente. Serve the pasta topped with the mole and garnished with fresh mango, a small dollop of sour cream and a light sprinkle of cocoa. Enjoy xo!

Lead Belly Cupcakes :(

Sometimes more of something you love mutates into just TOO much! This was the case with the Paula Dean recipe for Arnold Palmer cupcakes. My baker's antennae were vibrating when I saw the amount of butter and sugar in both the cupcake batter and frosting, but I love Paula Dean and thought - "What the heck do I know?" Well I guess tastes are as diverse as our individual personalities, and although the batter tasted great, the baked end-result was waaaay too heavy and too fatty for this Momma.

Elephants in Tutus!
I baked the cupcakes the evening before the birthday, and frosted them the next day, so maybe if we could have eaten them freshly cooled from the oven the result would have been more pleasing. The flavour of lemon and tea was lovely, but it was overpowered by the butter and bulky texture. The dry heft of these cupcakes reminded me (and not in a good way...) of some day-old Hovis bread I bought in my university days when I was trying to eat healthy on less than $40 a week! How could something infused with so much fat be dry?

Canadian Content?
I am wondering if some of the challenge was in my technique (whipped all by hand, not with electric mixer), and also with our local ingredients. I know my Uncle Chuck in Florida has purchased flour and butter when he is in Canada -- he loves to cook and swears that the butter and flour in the Southern USA are different (???).Different variety of wheat? What are the cows eating? Anyway - no disrespect to the fabulous Paula, but I am wiping this lil' ole recipe right offa my memory banks! Thankfully I have another birthday coming later this month and can redeem myself :)

Love-in, Lovin', Le Vin?

Fab Feb is here! The sun tells me winter is waning, but with the frigid temps we're experiencing it can't happen fast enough. Thankfully, 'tis the season for love, lovers and all things romantic and lovely - that helps to warm my heart, as I scheme elaborate dreams involving rose petals, strawberries, chocolate, and other fanciful things. If only I could host a body paint event with different shades of chocolate, like some living sepia photograph composed of luscious mocha tones -- even if the art had a brief "shelf life", think of how fun the clean up would be! I've been to spas where they do chocolate beauty treatments (mani-pedis, body wraps etc.) and I've witnessed toddlers finger painting with chocolate pudding, so surely art and beauty could meet somewhere in the middle this Valentine's Day? Hmmmm....

Birthdays, Birthdays, Birthdays...

Two of my children are February babies -- so this adds to the Feb love-fest and helps to banish the winter blahs, blues; what-have-you... I never tire of finding ways to make their special days memorable. To this end, like a lesser star in deep space with plans for supernova greatness, I am attracting some interesting edibles in my pantry orbit: chocolate chili and pumpkin spice flavoured pastas are two especially inspiring recent additions. Now I am sleuthing to find interesting ways to prepare these exotic items and pair them with some lovely vino - pure, joyful fun :)

A lot of the recipes I am finding are for chocolate dessert pasta, and I was considering a more savory approach, so I may just have to "wing it"! Nothing like experimenting on the taste buds of one's friends and family...will keep you posted on the outcomes!

Oh Cupcake - Come to Mama!

For B-Day One, I am considering an Arnold Palmer cupcake experience - there's something about the mingling of lemon and black tea flavours that intrigues me. Here is the recipe, courtesy of the fabulous Paula Dean - I love her no-fuss, no-fear approach with simple, everyday ingredients; she always manages to find a new twist with old favourites:

Arnold Palmer Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup milk

5 black tea bags

1 cup unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 tsp. lemon zest

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

2-1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 Tbsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

Arnold Palmer Frosting - recipe follows

METHOD:

Heat milk in a saucepan and steep the tea for 15-20 minutes - do not boil. Remove the tea bags, squeezing to release the tea essence and allow the milk to cool to room temp. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Beat sugar and butter together in large bowl until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each additions. Gradually add the tea-milk mixture, along with the lemon juice and zest - reserve 1/2 cup of the tea-milk for the Frosting recipe.

In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients; then add gradually to the wet mixture, stirring just to combine. Spoon batter into muffin cups and bake 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from tins and allow to cool on a baking rack. When completely cool, pipe or spread on Arnold Palmer Frosting.

Arnold Palmer Frosting

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 cups confectioners sugar

1/2 cup tea-milk mixture (reserved)

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

METHOD:

In a large bowl beat the butter, gradually mixing in the sugar alternately with the tea-milk mixture. Stir in the lemon juice and mix to form a smooth, creamy consistency. Ice the cupcakes and serve.

OSOW!!!

OSOW??? Yes, dear friends.... I am Officially Sick Of Winter!!! Despite the beautiful hoar frost, fluffy mounds of glistening snow and the reprieve from pesky insects, winter takes its toll on the human psyche. I dearly wish I could escape the deep freeze! Another 6-8 weeks to tough out... OMG! I am hallucinating about sandy beaches and palm trees...help!

Energy Drain - Endurance Test

Consider all of the extra effort it takes to bundle up to survive the cold each day, dig out your car, shovel walkways, etc. For the first few weeks it is invigorating: "I am this hardy, vigorous Canadian woman!" But after a while it just becomes a hurdle to getting to where you need to go and a robber of energy - energy you need to make a living and to do the things you enjoy!

ROCK Star

For example, on Friday my car got stuck just leaving the work parking lot at lunch hour - I was able to "rock" the car and get out. (For those of you unfamiliar with this technique, you go from forward to reverse rapidly and repeatedly until your car gently bounces out of its entrenched position.)

So, after lunch, I parked on the street, worried that I would have trouble driving out of the big lot after work - I am at the back of the lot, so there is about half a city block to go to reach the exit. There is a 2-hour limit on parking in front of our office building, but I knew we were closing early because of the heavy snow fall. Well, guess who had to get pushed out at quitting time? The snow had filled my wheel wells on the passenger side, and without extra manpower pushing my car (three co-workers!) I would've been there a very long time, digging out with my gloved hands, as my small shovel has "gone missing" from my trunk.

Needless to say - the main roads were like bombardier trails and the side streets were impassable. I had to forgo my Friday workout because I couldn't get there! Crazy & frustrating! Bears have it right - accept the miserable weather, fatten up and sleep 'til April.

Heaven on Earth!

My Dude xo

More Toscana... my little guy just had a blast! He now compares everything to the Italian experience, having had "the best of the best"!

I Dream in Colour!

Had some time today to go through my photos, in between errands and loads of laundry - felt so wonderful to dive into the Tuscan landscape; I could feel the sun and smell the air. I was wishing I had the time to go to my studio and paint today, but that was not the case - the yellows, greens, and coral colours were all calling to me.

Surreal Beauty

When you land in Firenze you are struck by the velvety green folds of the landscape - personally, my breath caught in my throat, it was so amazingly lovely, and a rich loden green unlike anything I have other seen - that is Toscana!

Driving north to Pisa, and then to the coastal city of Livorno, peaches, pinks and brighter yellows used in the buildings brighten the landscape. Here are a few of my favourite photos from my March 2010 trip to that glorious place - hope you will enjoy and feel the Italian sunshine xo!