Some Kinda Wonderful!

Well Diane, you asked for it... here is the recipe for the Banana-Coconut Rum Bread Pudding; hope you will try and enjoy! I had a day-old multigrain baguette and this is where the story began! The result was this wonderful hot dessert - a twist on the traditional bread pudding with a nod to one of my all-time favourite desserts: Bananas Foster! All I can say is mmmm... this worth making and eating! Banana Coconut Rum Bread Pudding Ingredients: 12 ounces day-old bread, cut in 1" cubes 2 cups cream 3 cups milk 4 eggs, plus one egg yolk 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1/2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. nutmeg 3 Tbsp. coconut rum 1 cup granulated sugar 3 Tbsp. butter, divided use 2 Tbsp. brown sugar 3/4 cup sweetened, long-shred coconut 2 bananas, sliced 1/2 cup raisins Boiling water Method: Butter a large baking dish or small roaster and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place cubed bread in a large mixing bowl. Heat milk and cream in medium pot over med-high heat to a simmer - remove from heat. Meanwhile beat the eggs, spices, salt, rum and granulated sugar together; set aside. Boil water and pour boiling water over the raisins in a small bowl - allow to sit for 10 minutes and then drain. Mix the raisins into the bread cubes. Pour the milk mixture in a steady, thin stream into the egg mixture, mixing all the while. Pour this combined mixture over the bread cubes/raisins and allow to sit for 30 minutes. In a small skillet, melt 2 Tbsp. of the butter and stir in the 2 Tbsp. brown sugar, cooking 2-3 minutes over medium heat to form a caramel syrup. Stir in the sliced bananas and cook another minute or two. Stir the banana mixture into the bread pudding along with the coconut. Fold the pudding into the prepared baking dish, dot with remaining 1 Tbsp. of butter, and bake approximately 50 minutes. To bake, place baking dish in a larger pan filled with boiling water. When pudding is done, a knife inserted in the middle will come out clean -finished pudding will be golden brown on top, but moist inside. Great with vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt. This recipe is very large and would be ideal for family gatherings - easily serves twelve - fourteen. Leftovers can be frozen. Enjoy xo!

Strawberry Fettucine?

Yes, strawberry fettucine! I received this treat from my girlfriend this week - a product made by one of our clients.

I don't cook a lot of meals during the week - usually some kind of lean protein and veg; with some rice, pasta or bread for the kids (they can burn off all of those carbs!).

But this weekend, it was mostly grey, rainy and cool and I felt like cooking! Thus far, I have made Crackerjack Cookies, cinnamon buns, and tonight I made some strawberry fettucine with vodka sauce, and savoury meatballs with marinara-vermouth sauce. (...and lots of fresh veggies, of course!!!) The pasta was a hit with my kids - my son found the chili after-bite a bit much, but he put a nice dent in his dinner plate, nonetheless :)

Here is the recipe for the vodka sauce - like much Italian cuisine, it is very simple and relies on the quality of the ingredients; I received the recipe at a local fundraiser hosted by De Luca (store and restaurant) and De Luca Fine Wines. I hope you will try and enjoy some evening when you are ready for some comfort food.

Vodka Sauce - For Pasta

Ingredients: 1/4 lb. butter 2 cups heavy cream 1/2 cup vodka 1/4 lb. back bacon (or regular bacon, it is okay) 4 Tbsp. coarsely chopped Italian flatleaf parsley Salt, to your taste Dried crushed chilies, to your taste 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese 1 lb. pasta of your choice (I used Nature's Farm brand Strawberry Fettucine) Method: Salt a large pot of water and place over high heat to cook your pasta. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large saucepan over med-high heat. Chop the bacon and add it to the butter, cooking for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the vodka and cook an additional 1-2 minutes. Add in the cream, salt, half of the parsley, the chilies and the cream. Bring to a boil, stirring regularly. Reduce heat and keep warm until the pasta is cooked and drained. Toss the pasta with the parmesan and half of the vodka sauce. Place pasta on a large serving platter and pour remaining sauce over top, garnishing with the reserved parsley. Absolutely divine - buon appettito!

Going Bananas

The Winter That Will Not End is driving me to BAKE! On Saturday I made cookies AND banana bread - and my kids don't even eat banana bread -- at least they liked the cookies. And I am eating low carb in the hope of fitting my summer clothes, so what the....????

Raining Slush Balls I just wanted the comfort, and a warm oven emitting fabulous baking aromas was the ticket! I am way beyond tired of the damp, cold, bleak and barren landscape - not to mention dirty roads, dirty boots and a dirty car with smudgy windows.

I described going out in the freezing rain feeling like "a million miniature drunks pelting me with margaritas"! In short, NOT fun, and bad hair to boot! If only they really were margaritas, I would've opened my mouth up and waited for the brain stone to hit.

Pam's Bleak Day Banana Bread

Ingredients: 2 cups mashed, ripe bananas (about 4 bananas 1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup canola oil 2 large eggs 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 1/2 tsp. salt 2 tsp. vanilla extract 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1 - 1/2 cups all purpose flour 2 tsp. butter

Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix together mashed bananas, eggs, oil, salt and vanilla; beating until frothy. Stir in the sugar. Dump in the chocolate chips, flour, soda and baking powder and stir just to combine. Grease a glass loaf pan with the butter, and spoon the batter into the pan. Bake for approximately one hour. If the loaf begins to brown too quickly and the center is still not set, reduce heat to 300 degrees and bake an additional 15-20 minutes -- the variation in time depends on the amount and moistness of the bananas used. Allow loaf to sit for 10 minutes after removing it from the oven; invert the pan to release the loaf. Delicious warm with a bit of butter - diets be damned!

Coffee Luvr

It's one thing to say you love your coffee, but how many of you can say your coffee loves you back? Check out the grounds in my coffee basket! Actually, this photo was taken at the office back in the fall - there it was - a glistening, coffee-brown heart xo... have not replicated that moment again, but definitely feel the love every a.m. with my hot java :) More recently, on the home front... I had to purchase a new coffee maker and decided to splurge on the Bunn brand coffee maker sold by Tim Horton's. It is a brewer designed for home use, but has some features of the commercial version - in particular the reservoir that preheats the water for your next cuppa! Apparently it is the hotter temp that makes the better brew, and I must say I am enjoying the use of it. It also brews very quickly - a full pot in about two minutes. Satisfies my caffeine addiction, and my impatience too -- LOL! My Mom and Dad were both coffee lovers, but in particular my Mom was the brew master. Ever hospitable, she always makes amazing coffee and usually has some kind of home baking to tempt her visitors too. I am passing on the baking these days (aside from the occasional sugar-free peanut butter cookie) - got to fit my summer duds, after all, and I have been training hard at the gym, so I don't want to blow it. But, I wanted to share a favourite recipe of my Dad's - it is a crumb cake recipe that Dad's sister (my dynamic Auntie Helen!) used to make, and she kindly shared the recipe with my Mom. My Dad passed away in March, twelve years ago, so Dad, this is for you! It is a delicious cake - not too sweet or too rich and it pairs so beautifully with a great cup of coffee. Hope you will try it some time when you want to treat yourself with something home-baked and extra-special. Auntie Helen's Crumb Cake Ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour 1 cup granulated sugar (brown is also okay) 3/4 cup margarine or shortening 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. cinnamon Blend the above ingredients with a fork or pastry blender to form a coarse crumb mixture. Reserve 1 cup for topping. To the remainder add: 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. ground cloves 1/2 cup raisins (any type, I like Thompson!) 1/2 cup dried currants (or walnuts) 1 beaten egg 1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk plus 1 Tbsp. white vinegar) Mix well and pour batter into a buttered 8" x 8" or 9" x 12" cake pan (use sometimes use a 10" round springform pan). Sprinkle reserved crumbs over the top and press down slightly with a wooden spoon or spatula. Bake at 350 degree Fahrenheit for 30-45 minutes, depending on pan size. Delicious right out of the oven with... you guessed it... COFFEE xo!

Spudnuts!

Yes... SPUDNUTS!
My Mom makes homemade donuts for Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras) - this was a tradition in her home as a child. She uses a recipe that is made with mashed potatoes - so we call them spudnuts - crazy stuff.

Mmm...
This is the first time I have helped Mom with the production of her famous donuts - I was designated "The Glazer". My job was to lightly coat each donut with a glaze made from sugar, milk, vanilla and butter: "Don't drop them in; just use your hands and lightly skim the surface!" (That oil is over 200 degrees Fahrenheit - so, sorry, Mom, I needed to use a fork to manage those little devils --need to preserve my mouse hand!)

Recipe?
Who me, deep-fry? Not likely to happen, so I have never asked Mom for this recipe. The rare time I have something fried, it is in a restaurant - the occasional order of tempura or yam fries. For the donut lovers out there, try searching the web - I saw a recipe on the All Recipes site that contains Mom's secretweapon: NUTMEG! xo!

March = Meatballs!

Ah, comfort food!
Sundays in March scream out for the stick-to-your-ribs variety of sustenance - it has to be savory and nostalgic to balance the raw cold that just cuts to the bone. So, who am I to fight it? Comfort food it is...

Rolling Right Along...
I was really hoping to get to my studio to paint today, but laundry, errands and a few must-do (but mundane!) tasks around the house have eaten up the best part of the day. I like to paint at midday, when the light is ideal - although it is still daylight until 6 p.m. now, our daylight hours are still short, so it makes the window of opportunity even more precious -- and, at times, elusive!

And so it goes for me all through the winter -- I am on rations of light and starving for more. Unable to paint this aft, and thinking of my own dear Mom and how she always cooked these amazing, balanced, sit-down meals for her family, I decided that I could pour a little love and creativity into my time in the kitchen if not at my easel.

The Decision
After a bit of thought as to what to prepare, I settled on Porcupine Meatballs - not something my Mom made, but a recipe I prepared in my early teens at school, and one that my kids love: Foods and Nutrition class wasn't a total loss, I suppose!

And "NO" - these are NOT made with wild porcupine meat (LOL) in case you are wondering just how wild we Canucks are! These meatballs are made with beef and uncooked rice -- as the rice swells during the cooking process, it sticks out of the meatballs a bit; hence the "porcupine" name!

I have made a few adjustments to the recipe over the years, tailoring the recipe to our tastes; hope you will enjoy the combination of flavours too. We had our Porcupines tonight with a side of homemade Garlic Mashed Potatoes and mixed veg, it was a hit with the fam, and I enjoyed the silence as they all chowed down:) My son had his very LOUD friend over all day and I was quite pleased that Mr. Megaphone Mouth had to go home for din-din...

Satisfying and homey, but not difficult or too labour intensive -- here is the recipe for you to try. Something to warm your heart a little while you wait for signs of spring...

Pam's Porcupine Meatballs

Ingredients:
2 lb. lean ground beef
2/3 cup long great white rice (I use Jasmine or Basmati)
2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/2 cup finely grated cooking onion
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. freshly milled black pepper
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 cup all purpose flour, for dusting
3 tins of tomato soup
2 tsp. brown sugar
2 cups water
1-2 Tbsp. canola or olive oil for browning

METHOD:
Combine beef, egg, rice, onion, Worcestershire, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and mix thoroughly until evenly combined. Pre-heat a deep skillet with a tight-fitting lid, adding in the oil.

Place the flour in a small bowl and begin rolling the meat by tablespoonfuls. Dust each ball lightly in the flour, patting off the excess and then placing the meatballs in the skillet to brown.

When all meatballs are browned, add in the soup, water, brown sugar, and chili powder, and stir gently to combine ingredients and coat all of the meatballs. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes to one hour - until rice is tender and sauce thickens slightly. Serve with mashed potatoes and veg. Makes about 3 dozen large meatballs.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:
3 lb. russet potatoes
1- 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
5 cloves garlic

METHOD:
Cut the tips and ends off each garlic clove, but do not peel completely. Wrap in foil and place in an oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 1- 1/2 hours. Remove from oven and set aside.

Peel and chop all potatoes, covering with water in a large pot, and adding the salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 15-20 minutes, until tender. Drain the potatoes, add the butter, milk and roasted garlic -- the garlic will easily slip our of the skins and will be just like soft cheese. Mash well until creamy in consistency - serve.

Love is Thicker Than Blood

Revelations

I come from a big family - seven kids, and I am "number five" in that long line up! Not quite enough for a baseball team, but I know, you don't hear of many families my size any more! In the 1970's most families had four kids, so it wasn't quite as crazy as it seems today. We were happy and other than some minor scuffles and teasing, there was never any big friction between any of us.

Sister + Sister + Sister!

I love my sisters unconditionally - they are a smart + chatty bunch! Gotta admit that it is hard to get a word in, but most of the time the conversation is interesting - so not so bad to have to sit and listen ;) The topics for our recent girls' weekend: incest, anti-lesbian smack talk, and extended rants about all of the losers in the workplace! Really - I am not kidding on this - maybe the full moon doesn't bring out the best in everyone...

I spoke up on all counts to try and shut this down: "I am not comfortable with all of this talk about abused children", "I have a lot of gay friends and I don't think those women being unprofessional has anything to do with their sexual preference"; "I have never worked with people like that -- I guess I work in a pretty good environment!" -- all for naught, I was talking to myself. Whatever happened to asking about each other's kids, hobbies, doing nails, singing songs etc.? I really feel like someone stole the love outta the air last weekend!

Four Years of Waiting

Know what really bites? It has been over four years since we all were together, and I was so excited for our weekend getaway. I ran around and looked for the perfect keepsake for each of them. Finally, I found these little hand-blown glass pendants that you can place a few drops of essential oil in -- I bought a small vial of Rose Otto because it smelled like the wild roses that grow in the country, a reminder of our childhood years. No two pendants are alike - just like we girls, I thought - PERFECT!

Two of the girls had no interest in even trying the fragrance, none of them said thank you and one lost her pendant somewhere in the cottage (not sure if she ever found it). What can I say? Not the end of the world, it's just stuff... I know, but I guess sometimes reality doesn't match our expectations, and although we are siblings I guess we are all just coming from very different places. That's not always bad, but... hell, let's blame it on the full moon!

What's Cooking This Week?

So, what's the recipe to comfort this kind of emotional train wreck? Man I just can't even think to create anything wonderful with food right now; I am coasting in survival mode - I was going to share my one sister's Satay recipe, but somehow it doesn't seem as special anymore -- bad karma!

The verdict... this week I am just eating whatever I please in moderation and reminding myself that their choices are not mine, that their words are not mine and that we all can have "less than stellar" moments. I can be loving and tolerant, I can delight in the unique characteristics of others and enjoy their company -- I am not defined by family dysfunction and I don't have to feel badly for my choices. At least I took a few nice photos while out in the country -- so that was a high point!

Wow! I feel like parts of the sister weekend were a weird dream. I just need a few days to re-group xo!