To cook before it's too late...

At a friend's birthday part the other night, I was asked what I would like to do before I die. One thing and one thing only. So there, with wine in one hand and a sharpie in another I made my choice quickly and soundly. Make crème brûlée from scratch. This is not a difficult dish and I do have the required cooking accessories (including a mini-blow torch). It's cream, sugar, vanilla and all things delicious and simple. So what is it about this dish that has illuded me? I have no idea. I had said a while ago that it was my cooking Mount Everest. Since then I've put it off and put it off.

So here I am, realizing it's something I want to do and have all the ability in the world to do. I just need an occasion, right. Because after all this talk, I can't just make this for a regular Tuesday night or something. So I resolve to make this dish for my housewarming party...whenever I do find a suitable and affordable house to buy. I'm in the process of house searching now and resolve that once I move in and have friends over, crème brûlée is the first thing I'm making!

Then I'll have to get another "thing to do before I die"...challenge accepted.

Birthday happiness

My birthday party table with candy buffet, watermelon shark and huge themed birthday cake courtesy of my wonderful boyfriend. We ate and ate and ate ourselves into a birthday tropical paradise!

Whew it's been a while since I uploaded anything or did a blog entry. I haven't even told you how my birthday party went! It was a few weeks ago and the luau theme was smashing! The weather cooperated and, though extremely windy, it was a hot and lovely night.

My luau-themed food went over well too. I started with the idea to roast a pig but that didn't fly. Then I dumbed the idea down to pulled pork sandwiches. That would have been more work and messiness than it was worth though. So in the end I did a bunch of finger foods, some on sticks, that guests could pick up and eat while mingling with a drink in one hand. For that drink, I made huge batches of sangria. One batch was my regular birthday (or any special occasion) alcoholic sangria. The other was a non-alcoholic sangria punch for anyone who wanted something refreshing but didn't want the buzz. The recipe is from Kraft Foods and it's served me well for a few parties. Seriously, it tastes just like the real thing!

For the food I made:
- fruit kabobs (self-explanatory enough)
- pigs in a blanket (get it??)
- candy buffet with tropical-themed candy like Swedish fish, gummy sharks, sour fruit, etc.
- Hawaiian pizza on a stick (this was a kabob of ham, pineapple and cheese with pizza dipping sauce)






And finally the main event:

My watermelon shark! I saw a picture of this online and knew I had to make it as the centerpiece of my party. I got directions here and enlisted my sister to help carve the shape of the shark mouth and teeth. Using blueberries for eyes and more Swedish fish as the shark's food, the whole thing was a big hit!

Add in some twinkle lights on the patio, a few leis for guests to wear, some beach balls and you've got yourself a party. So there it is, a long-awaited update and a recount of my birthday luau party. With a little imagination, Internet researching and some food I was able to create a tropical paradise birthday party.

And I whopped it up a bit with some sparklers at midnight!

Spaghetti rules

Simple spaghetti with a tomato meat sauce.

when I'm feeling sooky or sad or just tired there's nothing better than a plain old fashioned meal of spaghetti. I don't really have a recipe for this dish because I've been making it as long as I can remember cooking.

I vary it a little each time depending on what I have on hand. But there are some characteristics that HAVE to stay the same each time:
1) The dish must have a lot of garlic
2) The sauce must be made from scratch. By that I mean that the tomato sauce should start as actual tomatoes. Canned or fresh...it doesn't matter but they have to be real tomatoes that I can cook down, simmer, and turn into a sauce.
3) The pasta has to be cooked al dente (or "to the tooth"). I'm not one to make pasta from scratch (though I'd love to have some if you're offering) but I will not compromise on the "doneness" of my pasta. I like it to have a little bite and it cannot be mushy.
4) Sorry veggies but for a truly comforting spaghetti dish, I need some kind of meat for me to really enjoy it. I'll blame my upbringing for this one. I grew up eating lots of meat-based dishes and, though I really love veggies and a lot of meat-substitute products, there's no substitute for the heartiness or texture ground beef, turkey, chicken or pork gives to a dish of homemade spaghetti.
5) Give it time. The sauce should be simmered for a little while to let all the flavours mingle and marry. Ever notice how lots of chilis or pasta dishes taste better as leftovers the next day? That's because the sauce has had time to develop and settle. I'm not one of those people who will say you should simmer your spaghetti sauce all day. But you will notice a huge difference if you let it simmer for about an hour before digging in.

So if you need some comfort food put on a pot of pasta and start throwing some fresh ingredients into a pan for simmering. Before you know it you'll have a warming dish that's good for your belly and soul.

Artificially fake

Photo: Samantha

I've been enamoured lately by artificial food. Well, it's not really food. It's colours and sugar and salt and chemicals. I was always in the "make it yourself" camp. If I wanted a cookie I would whip up a batch. Have some browned and smooshy bananas? Banana bread! Craving pizza? In about an hour I could make a pie or two, crust and all, from scratch. Lately, however, I don't know what it is...maybe I'm too busy, or lazy, or disinterested. Whatever it is, I'm just not into making food this week. Now I know from documentation my food experiments and moods here that I tend to go in and out of food-loving phases. So in all likelihood this is just one of those low-production troughs. So don't panic.

I just am getting tired of the hoop-la. It's lovely every now and then to embark on a culinary adventure, experiment with new ingredients, and attempt to prepare something new and exciting. And it's downright euphoric to present dinner guests with a homemade meal for which they rave and sing your praises. It's just that lately I'm more in a me-mode. The other week I made mac and cheese. Like Kraft Dinner from a box. And I have been going through poached eggs and toast like they're going out of style. I went out this weekend to a restaurant and ordered a hamburger and fries for christsakes. I'm craving the simple things. Low production value. High comfort quality.

I recently read an article about a columnist who tried to make Turkish delight and failed miserablyy. I can relate. It is discouraging to have something you put time and effort into come out horribly wrong. Maybe that's my problem. With everything else going on in my life it's difficult to put the time into something that threatens to be a disaster. It's depressing. Then again maybe I'm a little manic-depressive in the food department.

I found a book this weekend I'd been searching after for a while. The Year of Eating Dangerously might just be the thing to inspire me to get back in there and try something new. In it, author Tom Parker Bowles (I know, great name right?) attempts to reach new heights of food consumption without a gastronomical safety net. He tries so-called dangerous food from different cultures around the world. At the very least I hope reading it will inspire me to ward off the temptation to buy frozen TV dinners for a while.

In the meantime, I plan on cozying up with my book, some Tootsie Pops, Doritos and Diet Coke to enjoy a good read. So what if I'm living on non-food items lately. I know soon my inspiration will return (it always does) so I might as well enjoy the chemicals while I still can. Inspiration is just a moment away after all.

Snow Day Pizza

So it's a snow day here where I live. Blizzard conditions outside with blowing snow and cold temps. I'm off work for the day and had little else to do but conjure up something in the kitchen. I also don't have much in my fridge. But I seem to always have the necessities for baking: flour, yeast, salt, sugar, etc. So after scouring my pantry I decided to make pizza. From scratch.

It's not that difficult and here's my go-to pizza dough recipe:

1 1/2 tsb dry yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

Mix these together gently and let sit 10 mins until it starts to bubble.

Then, in a large bowl, mix together
3 1/2 cups flour (all purpose)
1 1/2 tsp salt

Pour the yeast mixture into the centre of the flour mixture. Start pulling in flour into the centre with a fork gently mixing as you go. Then add 1 egg, beaten, and continue to combine the mixture into a loose dough.
Once the mixture starts to just come together, dump it out onto a floured surface and knead it.

Kneading is simple enough and the best way is to press the dough, pull one side towards you and then double that onto the middle mass of dough. Turn the whole thing a 1/4 turn and repeat. Keep doing this for a couple minutes until the dough becomes smooth and can form a ball.

Put the ball of dough into a lightly oiled bowl and turn it around until it is lightly coated with oil. Cover with a dish towel or plastic wrap. You need to let this rise for about 45 minutes in a warm place. Once that's done, unwrap it, punch the dough down, knead it once more for a few minutes and it's ready to go.

You can stretch this dough with your hands or knuckles, flavour it with herbs, shape it into bread sticks or whatever you'd like. On this snowy day, I opted for one basic tomato sauce/peperoni/cheese pizza and one smaller basil pesto and tomato flat bread.

Making your own pizza dough is a little time consuming but you can take pride in it. It's relaxing and helps you take out your frustrations. Plus you can experiment with it: use whole wheat flour, flavour it, make it into different shapes, choose whatever toppings you like or have on hand, etc.

Not a bad way to spend time, or eat, on a snowy day.

Lazy weekend junk food

Ah, the joys of junk food.

I had an incredibly lazy but truly satisfying weekend. And I didn't cook once. Well, I pieced together a salad yesterday to make myself feel better about all the junk I had and was about to consume. Yes, this weekend was full of eating out at other people's places. Restaurants, take-out, the lovely bakery in my neighbourhood, and the the corner store.

As I write this, I am having one last hurrah of a snack: Cheetos. Aside from it being the weekend, I am rewarding myself for a couple feats and was dealing with a couple stresses. Though I love to cook, sometimes it's just nice to be treated to someone else's work - and let them clean the dishes too while they're at it. And it's ok to eat when you're stressed as long as you don't go overboard. Food should be comfort in (and hey - I did my time at the gym this weekend too).

You've got to let go and stop over-thinking every calorie and every morsel of food every now and then. And as for the Cheetos...I'm not feeling one bit guilty.

Eating out of the apartment

This past weekend has been just lovely. Filled with drinks and food and good company...so much so I've barely cooked a thing myself. What's more, I haven't had much inclination to cook because the temptations just outside my door and down the street have been so strong. Instead I've gone out a fair bit and enjoyed every moment (however wallet-draining) while indulging in a bit too much good food prepared by others more skilled than I.

This week, though, I will be returning to the kitchen. It's been much anticipated - even if just by me - and somewhat spurred on by the lack of funds in my bank account. I have also been inspired by indulging in a new kitchen with new purpose. Stay tuned, kids, because this week's gonna be interesting!

Cultural inspiration

I finally have a moment to tell you about my newest inspiration: my friend's Polish-Canadian wedding. Aside from the bride and groom, the wedding weekend's main feature was the culture and food. Family took me in with great hospitality and kept me full all weekend-long. First there was veal stew with broad noodles, a cod dish in tomato sauce, homemade donuts, kielbasa and Polish sausage, excetera.

The wedding meal was just lovely. Red and rose wine on the tables, along with a bottle of vodka for toasting, and a four course meal followed by a midnight buffet. We had two kinds of marinated herring, prune stuffed pork loin roast, cabbage rolls, and even pierogi. It was all heavy food, and filling, but not overwhelming like you might think because it was homemade and not greasy. The next day we did it all again with an after-party reception with so much food it hurt. I was even given a doggie bag to take on the airplane with me in case I got hungry. When I arrived home, I had sausage, sandwiches, and even wedding cake!

Though I was immersed in this for just the weekend, Irealized the food and hospitality wasn't so different from my own culture back home. And it inspired me to be more creative in looking to other cultures for food and entertaining ideas. I've never cooked veal in my life and there's no reason I can't! It is so easy to get stuck in a rut and make the same old same old for dinner or parties. Why not live a little? Na zdrowie!

Couch potato

A friend of mine once commented that she didn't understand why people watch cooking shows on TV. You can't smell it and you certainly can't taste it so what's the point? If you're like me, though, watching a good cooking show is right up there with finding out who got kicked off the island this week. Cooking shows have colour, heat, wisdom. Above all else, they have the possibility to transfer some tid bit of knowledge, some technique or way of looking at things that could help you transform an everyday task into something extraordinary. Now that's good TV!

Modern technology and hungry audiences have made it possible for tons of this stuff to come into our homes (sometimes in HD) and show us new parts of the cooking word. They cook, bake, entertain and compete, and we cannot help but watch (even I have fallen prey every now and then to the addiction of Hell's Kitchen). How could anyone watch an old Julia Child program (even the old black and white ones) and not be inspired by her enthusiasm for the creation of good food? And I'm constantly baffled by Heston Blumenthal's molecular gastronomy experiments. Not that I could ever bring myself to cook a duck confit like Child or recreate Blumenthal's culinary chemistry - but it's all lovely to watch and damn entertaining.

Now, not all cooking shows are created equal. Like any good show, there needs to be the right balance of charismatic host, conflict building and resolution, showmanship and camera work. You just can't paint them all with the same pastry brush! America's Test Kitchen is no Nigella Lawson Forever Summer. Christopher Kimball can never compare to that Nigella sexy charm. And I have found, through years of observation, that my cooking show needs have changed as my abilities and interests evolve.

For example, to this day I still love watching episodes of the Urban Peasant for endearing purposes, but fully understand that James Barbour's "dash of this" and "just throw that in" approach will get me no where in the baking word. I also love watching the rich colours and sounds of Rick Bayless' Mexico One Plate at a Time, but I can't find half the products he uses where I live. And no matter how interested in food and cooking I become, I will probably never figure out a Martin Yan recipe in my life.

But you just try to watch any of these shows and not become fascinated with what you see on the TV before you. It's inspiration and the possibility to turn an the everyday occurrence of making food and eating into something wonderful. It's passion, chemistry, charisma and - most importantly - food.

Desert island lunch

I've been thinking about things I love to eat. Like if I had to eat just one thing for the rest of my life, what would it be? Or if I had to request my last supper? Odd thoughts but I think it really tells a lot about a person. For example, do you dream in recipes or complete menus? Or, like me, do you piece together random foodstuffs?

Things I love include late night pepperoni pizza, ice cream cake, meaty chili, sour cream and onion chips, clear cream soda, brie, chickpea curry, and well-made Caesar salad. But, as good as all those things are, none of them quite made the list.

So here it is - my top five desert island list of food:
1) Avocado (in guacamole or just scooped right out of the skin)
2) Fresh homemade bread (white, and with butter please)
3) Soda water. Seriously, fizzy water is my love.
4) Family food favorite toss up - either dad's pea soup (with dumplings) or mom's mac and cheese. I'm not fussy.
5) Vanilla ice cream with Magic Shell chocolate sauce (the kind that hardens when it hits the cold ice cream.)

So if I'm ever sent to the gallows you'll know what to serve me the night before. And if anyone knows a good recipe for that hardening chocolate sauce or how it could be used in an ice cream cake, bring it on!