Irish Brown Soda Bread

Last year I started baking my own bread. I'd had a couple of books on the subject, but never made good use of them because I assumed that homemade bread was rather tricky and time-consuming. After I made a couple of loaves, my mind changed on the matter. I just wanted to make more and more. It's key not to get discouraged after the first couple of loaves you bake. Like any other craft, trial and error  lead to improved results. Rising times, folding, knowledge of your oven (all ovens cook differently) are all things you'll have to learn and practice.

Most of the breads I make are yeast-based, but I also like the Irish classic: soda bread. Soda breads are easier to make and can be prepared in less time - an hour if you're in full throttle. If you've never made bread, soda bread is a good starting point; and if you are really interested in baking your own bread, the most useful bread book I have is Bread.

Instead of buttermilk you can sour some milk by combining the milk (1 1/2 cups) with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, and letting it stand for 5-10 minutes.

This recipe makes 1 medium loaf. Use stone ground wheat flour if possible.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour • 3/4 cup all-purpose white flour • 2 teaspoons baking soda • 1 teaspoon salt • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Mix together both types of flour, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of mixture and pour in the buttermilk. Stir everything until smooth. I use my hands but you can use a wooden spoon. If the dough is too dry, add some buttermilk. Make a flat round disk of about 1" thick and put on a floured baking sheet. Cut a "X" in the middle. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Let it cool on a rack.

Smoky Days: Okra and Corn Chili + Smoked Trout

Our roof almost came off the other night. The wind here makes the walls shake and it screams through cracks we didn't ever know were there. I guess it's because the house sits atop a mountain... But wherever you live, wintertime definitely calls for comfort foods, and chili is a good contender. Here is a recipe I wrote for down-home Okra and Corn Chili. You'll also find a recipe for Maple Smoked Trout. If you don't have a smoker you can always use the barbecue. They sell little smoking boxes for them.

For the chili it's very important to use high quality smoked hot paprika (imported from Spain), it gives the smoky flavor to the dish, and cheap paprika just won't do.

You will need time for the chili to simmer, so plan ahead.

Smoky Okra and Corn Chili

2 onions, chopped 2 green bell peppers, chopped 1 hot pepper, finely chopped 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped 20 pieces okra, stem end removed and cut in half 1 can (28oz) tomatoes, crushed 1 can (16oz) black beans 1 can (16oz)red beans Corn from 2 cobs or 1 can (12oz) 2 cups vegetable stock 1 teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon smoked hot paprika salt + black pepper sour cream + hot sauce

optional: 1 lb ground beef

Pour 4-5 tablespoons of oil in a large pot. On medium heat cook the onions, green peppers, hot pepper and garlic for 10 minutes. Add all the other ingredients and simmer for 4-5 hours. Serve with garlic bread, a dash of sour cream and hot sauce.

Serves 6-8

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Maple Smoked Trout

A couple of weeks back we went trout fishing, caught a number, and maple smoked them. It's easy to smoke your own stuff, and once you acquire a smoker (or build one) the possibilities are endless; fish, shellfish (mussels), cheese (think smoked cheddar) or meat (we made moose jerky!). This recipe is for about 8-12 medium sized trout and is made in a two-day span because you need to brine your fish.

I included variations for spicier or saltier brine. You can split the recipe in half if you have fewer fish.

Day 1

Sweet Brine 6 cups water 1 cup maple syrup 1 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup coarse sea salt 2 tablespoons soy sauce 2 oz whisky ground black pepper

Variations:

Spicy add 2-3 tablespoons sambal oelek

Salty instead of 1/4 cup salt, use 1/2 cup instead of 1 cup brown sugar, use 1/2 cup

In a large bowl mix your brine ingredients together. Put your washed, cleaned and prepared trout into the brine and refrigerate overnight.

Day 2

Clean and rinse your trout. Dry them with paper towels. Hot smoke for about 1 hour at 150F with maple or apple wood. If using a barbecue it will proably take less time, more like 30 minutes.

Serve as is, with lemon quarters. I went an extra step and made a pâté by mixing some trout with mayo, sour cream, lemon and herbs. On the side; croutons and horseradish sauce.

Guinness and Molasses Cake

I never knew what to answer when asked: "what's your favorite dessert?". Now I do - it's this cake. I've taken my grandmother's original Molasses Cake recipe, swapped the coffee for Guinness and added a vanilla cream cheese frosting. Eat it hot or chilled.

Guinness and Molasses Cake 2 cups white flour 1 cup Guinness 1 cup molasses 1/2 cup sugar 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened 1 egg 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon baking soda a pinch of salt

Preheat the oven at 350F. Mix the baking soda in the Guinness. Let rest for 5 minutes. Whisk together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the Guinness, molasses, egg, cinnamon and salt. Stiff in the flour a bit at a time, whisking constantly. Butter a 8x8 mold and pour in the mixture. Cook for 35-40 minutes. Leave to cool at least 15 minutes before digging in.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting 1 package (8oz) cream cheese 1 cup sugar 1/3 cup of melted butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix everything together.

Three Easy Sides

For some reason, the side is often treated like some kind of random bonus or extra on a plate. Something to help ensure that when you finish everything there, you are full. In restaurants I prefer it when each main course has its own accompaniment. Usually, though, whatever you order comes with the same thing - steamed veg, baked potato or rice; boring. It's all about combining ingredients that go well together and taking advantage of different flavors and textures to create a dish. A lemony fish benefits from a garlicky side, a spicy chicken from a sweet sauce and a tender steak from crunchy french fries. I highly recommend the book The Flavor Bible, it'll get your brains going on the subject.

I came up with these three easy side dishes without making a trip to the food store.

Each serves 4-6

Sweet Potato Wedges, Herbed Sour Cream These works with a steak or a burger and are also a great appetizer.

-3 medium-sized sweet potatoes -4 tablespoons sunflower oil -1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional) -salt + black pepper

Preheat the oven at 425F. Cut the potatoes in wedges, fairly thin. In a large bowl mix them with the oil and seasoning. Put on a baking sheet. Throw a few sprigs of thyme on top. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes.

Herbed Sour Cream -1 cup sour cream -small handful of chives -small handful of parsley -juice of 1/2 lemon

Mix all ingredients together.

Asparagus Amandine This is great with fish and a roasted tomato sauce.

-1 bunch of asparagus -1/2 cup sliced almonds -3 tablespoons butter -juice of 1/2 lemon -salt

Bring a pot of water to boil. Cook the asparagus in water for about 2-3 minutes. Don't overcook, they must stay crunchy. Remove and put them in ice-cold water. Put the butter in a sautée pan and heat until it's sizzling. Sauté the asparagus for 1 minute then add the almonds and cook for another minute. Remove from the heat, squeeze in the lemon juice and season with salt.

Garlicky Squash Purée

I'd serve this with braised meats. You can pretty much use any type of winter squash. I used a sweet lightning squash and a spaghetti squash.

-2 medium-sized or 1 large squash -2 cloves garlic, finely chopped -2 tablespoons of butter -1 tablespoon cream -salt + black pepper

Cut each squash in half, empty them, and trim off the skin with a knife. Cut the flesh in 1" cubes and put it in a large pot. Fill the pot with water until the cubes are completely covered. Cook on medium heat for 25-30 minutes or until you can cut through them easily with a knife. Drain with a colander. Then return the squash to the pot. Add the garlic, butter and cream. Mix with a hand mixer until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Cajun Partridge Casserole

Cajun cuisine from down South is closely related to Acadian cuisine from Acadia and uses most of the same ingredients and techniques. "Cajun" became the term for "Acadian" after the deportation of the French people from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia down to Lousiana in 1755. For generations Acadians depended on their hunting skills to survive. When snow and ice covered the land during a Canadian winter, what they could find to eat was rather limited. However, there were (and there still are), a lot of hare (lièvre) and wild fowl, like partridge (perdrix), to feed one's needs. These animals, though smaller than deer or moose, are more abundant and can be eaten the same day as the hunt. Acadians used meats mostly in stews (fricots as they called it).

Traditional Acadian dishes are straightfoward and are often prepared using a single pot. You can find out more in the cookbook A Taste of Acadie.

Here's a picture of some deer running around the cottage yesterday morning.

  Cajun Partridge Casserole

For this recipe I used the breasts only, the legs, being tougher, require a longer cooking time (so use them in a stew). Of course if you can't get a hold of partridge you can substitute with chicken. Serve on a mix of brown and wild rice.

You'll need: 6-8 partridge breasts cut in half (if using chicken; 3-4 breasts each cut in 5) 1 chopped onion 1 chopped green bell pepper 2 chopped celery stalks 2 cups of chopped tomatoes (fresh or tin) 2 garlic cloves, chopped 1 teaspoon paprika 1 bay leaf a handful of chopped parlsey a pinch of cayenne salt + ground black pepper

Season the meat with salt. Optional: Marinate overnight in red wine, thyme, salt, pepper and oil. In a sauté pan, heat some oil and brown the partridge for about 2 minutes on each side. Set aside. In a pot, on medium heat, cook the onion, pepper and celery in 2 tablespoons of butter. Once they're soft, add all the other ingredients and the partridge. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Use this time to prepare the rice. Season the casserole with salt and be generous with the black pepper.

Serves 4

Ployes and Maple Syrup Baked Beans

Ployes are buckwheat flour pancakes that you do not flip; they cook on one side only. No one really knows, as with a lot of traditional foods, exactly what or who occasioned the first ploye, but the Brayons (people living in northwest of New-Brunswick) have been eating them for years and years - most often with brown sugar and cretons, a pork spread with onions and spices. The possibilities for ploye are endless, however; you can butter them and pour syrup on top; you can roll them up with eggs; or you can serve them instead of bread at a corn boil.

To my tastes, the best accompaniment for ployes are baked beans, cooked all day long in molasses and maple syrup. So here I have my family's baked beans recipe and the recipe for ployes that's on La Brayonne Buckwheat Flour package. Enjoy!

You can order some good buckwheat flour here.

Note: The beans need to be soaked overnight prior to cooking.

Ployes 2 cups buckwheat flour 1 cup white flour 2 cups cold water 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups hot water 2 teaspoons baking powder

Mix the flours together. Whisk the cold water in. Add the salt then the hot water. Mix well, you don't want any clumps. Add the baking powder.

In a hot pan, on medium-high heat, pour the mixture to the desired size, as you would a pancake. Once the top is dry, it's ready. It takes about 2 minutes.

Maple Syrup Baked Beans

1 bag (900g, 2lb) of haricot (white pea) beans 3 chopped onions 1 cup ketchup 1/2 cup maple syrup 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup molasses 1/4 cup chili sauce 2 tablespoons mustard 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Soak the beans in cold water overnight. Mix all the other ingredients together. Drain the beans and add with the sauce. Put everything in a big pot or slow cooker, then add enough water to cover the beans. Cook 6 to 8 hours at 275°F covered or in slow cooker on low or medium for 6-8 hours, depending if you like them firm or soft. Once cooked, add salt to taste.

Mushroom Pot Pie

A Chicken Pot Pie is one of the most comforting meals around, but you rarely find it listed on a menu and I don't think I've ever been to a dinner at which one was served. Perhaps it's considered old fashioned or too laborious to prepare; or maybe - which is what I think - few people have ever tasted a really good one. During the Holidays we went to the Ram's Head Inn in New Jersey and my future mother-in-law ordered the Chicken Pot Pie. I was surprised to see it on the menu but it turned out to be not only the best-looking pot pie ever, but man, was it ever good! (I was allowed a couple of bites.) So I decided it was time to bring back the pot pie. To get that old-fashioned look, I made a crispy golden puff pastry to top it off. I also decided to switch the chicken for mushrooms because I could eat platefuls of them.

If you want to save time on the day you plan to make a pot pie, you can make the mixture the night before and just pop the pastry on top the day after. You can even skip the pastry, pour more stock in and you have an awesome Mushroom Chowder.

Puff Pastry

• 200 g flour • 200 g unsalted butter • pinch of salt • 100 ml cold water

In a large bowl mix the flour with the salt and rub in the butter with your hands, not to much - you still want clumps of butter. Add the water and work until you have a smooth dough. Add more water if it's too stiff. Chill for 30 minutes.

Flour your work surface. Now the trick is to have nice layers of pastry. To do that you just have to roll the dough into a rectangle, about half an inch thick. Fold the left end towards the middle and then fold the right end on top of it. Rotate the dough a quarter turn, roll again and repeat the folding. Do that 4-5 times. Then chill the dough for another 30 minutes.

Ingredients

• 2 medium onions, chopped • 3 medium carrots, chopped • 2 garlic cloves, chopped • 1 cup green peas • 450 g mixed chopped mushrooms (I used button, portobello and oyster) • 1 cup mushroom stock (or veg or chicken) • 2 sprigs thyme • a small handful of chopped parsley • 2 tablespoons butter • 2 tablespoons flour • 1 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 375F.

In a large pot on low heat, sweat the onions, carrots and garlic. Once soft, after about 10 minutes, crank up the heat and add the mushrooms, thyme and parsley. Stir for 5 minutes and add the stock. Simmer on medium heat for another 5 minutes.

In a small saucepan, on low heat, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Whisk the milk into the roux (the mix of butter and flour) making sure not to leave any clumps. Mix the bechamel you just made with the mushrooms and add the peas. You should have a thick mixture. Pour into a mold of any size, it can be individual portions or larger.

Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick and put on top of your molds. Brush the top with a beaten egg, cut a hole in the middle and cook at 375F for 30 minutes, or until the crust is crispy and golden.

Serves 4-6

Peanut Slaw

Here's another simple salad. Works great with fish. Over and out.

• 1/2 red cabbage • 1/2 green cabbage • 1 bunch chopped cilantro • 1 cup ground peanuts • 1/2 cup rice vinegar • 3 tablespoons peanut oil • 3 tablespoons sugar • a dash of sesame oil

Finely slice the cabbages either with a knife or mandolin. Mix everything together and let sit for an hour. Serve.

Garlic Red Potatoes, Chives and Parmesan

Who doesn't like potatoes? They're inexpensive, very tasty, and they fill you up nicely. In this recipe I pan-fried and then oven-roasted small red potatoes and mixed them with garlic butter, some chives and parmesan. Breakfast, lunch or dinner - I could eat them anytime! You could also cool them completely and make an awesome potato salad just by adding some mayo and sour cream.

Ingredients

• 3 lbs small red potatoes • 3 tablespoons olive or sunflower oil • 3 tablespoons butter • 3 garlic cloves finely chopped • 1/2 bunch of chives • 1/2 cup quality parmesan • salt + pepper

Preheat the oven to 375F. Wash and cut the potatoes in half. Put the oil in a saute pan and heat up at medium-high heat. Add the potatoes, face down, and cook for 6-7 minutes, until they're golden. Do it in 2 batches. Transfer them face up in a oven pan. Salt and pepper and in the oven for 30 minutes. In a small saucepan melt the butter and add the garlic. Cook on low heat for 2 minutes. Once the potatoes are done, get them out and transfer them to a large bowl. Add the parmesan, chives and garlic butter. Stir gently with a wooden spoon. Drop in pinch of salt. Serve and eat!

5 ways to simplify your cooking

...and enjoy it more!

1. Use sharp knives

Dull knives are dangerous and a waste of your time. It matters more to use a sharp one than it does to use the "right" one. Have your knives sharpened regularly, or buy yourself a sharpener like this one, which will get your knife slicing tomatoes again in no time. If you're really into it, you might even learn to use a whetstone.

2. Take it easy

Take your time, unless you're really in a jam. The best way to avoid cooking-related stress, which always makes both the process and results less enjoyable, is to prepare in advance; mise en place, meaning: do the basics beforehand. Soups, sauces, marinades, desserts, slow-cooked meats and cut veggies can all be done hours or even days in advance, some will even benefit from it . All I'm saying is, take it easy and plan out what you're going to cook a few days in advance. It will give you more room to enjoy yourself in the kitchen.

3. Choose recipes with less ingredients

Some recipes are loaded with a multitude (a whole shopping list) of ingredients, and the thing is, you don't need a lot. For your cooking to be tasteful, you should focus on one or two key items and build the dish around them. Adding unecessary ingredients just because they're "fancy," usually only confuses the palate. I normally keep my item count under twelve; and butter, oil, salt, and pepper all count as ingredients.

4. Make use of your senses

Temperatures vary from oven to oven; so you should always keep an eye out... you may find yourself saving your turkey from drying up. You can trust your ears to know when the butter is hot enough and you can trust your nose to tell you when it's too hot. Also, don't be afraid to touch food! It's one of the best way to know if your food is any good. Watch, listen, smell, and touch. Oh yeah, and taste.

5. Clean as you go

Everytime I have a minute to kill in the kitchen, I clean my workspace and wash up what's in the sink. Firstly, it keeps you organized so that you know where you're going. Secondly, you won't look like a pig. Thirdly, you won't have a mess weighing on your mind while you eat.

Winter Carrot Soup

It's winter and you have carrots? Here's a simple soup to enjoy while the temperature is dropping.

Winter Carrot Soup

• 3 medium onions, chopped • 6 medium carrots, chopped • 3 cloves garlic, chopped • 5-6 cups vegetable or chicken stock • 2 sprigs of thyme, leaves only • 1 teaspoon ginger powder • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon • 1/4 cup heavy cream

In a pot, gently cook the onions and carrots in butter for 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 5 minutes. Stir in the thyme, ginger and cinnamon. Add enough stock to cover the vegs. Simmer for at least 30 minutes. Blend, add salt and pepper to taste and finish with cream.

Spinach and Quinoa Salad

Salad Dressings, Vinaigrettes - sure, you can buy them; Ranch, Italian, what have you. But then the total number of ingredients in your salad bowl will jump from, say, ten to well over forty and include a bunch of long, scary ones you'd never want to pronounce. Making your own salad dressing is easy and it will beat the store-bought kind. (Ranch dressing is basically mayonnaise with sour cream, a couple of herbs, garlic, salt+pepper and thinned with a bit of water or milk.) I won't bore you with vinaigrette mixology; this is all to say that you should check for recipes for your favorite dressing before just going out and buying a bottle. You'll be amazed at how simple it is to make at home.

The vinaigrette for one of my favorite salads has only 3 ingredients; oil, lemon juice and soy sauce. The salad part also has 3 ingredients; baby spinach, quinoa and sesame seeds.

It's so easy, but trust me, it's all good. I usualy make this for lunch, but it could also go very well with any meat or fish.

Lemon-Soy Vinaigrette • 1/2 cup sunflower oil • 2 tablespoons soy sauce • 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice

Mix all ingredients.

Salad • 6 good handfuls of baby spinach • 3 cups cooked quinoa (that's about 1 cup uncooked, cook in stock for more flavor) • 1/4 cup roasted sesame seeds (roast them in a pan or in the oven)

Mix all ingredients.

Stir in the vinaigrette with the salad only a couple of minutes before serving, to keep the spinach crispy.

Lentils and Roasted Squash

  For many days, a whole butternut squash stood around on our table. Then I decided to eat it. The rest is a recipe

:

Serves 4

1 butternut squash 2 onions 2 cloves garlic 1 1/2 cup lentils 1/2 cup white wine 4-5 cups vegetable stock 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon dijon mustard salt + pepper flat leaf parsley

Roasted Squash Pre-heat the oven at 425F. Cut the squash in half, empty it and cut each piece again lengthwise. Put the pieces in a pan with the skin facing down and pour some oil over them. Add salt and ground pepper. Roast in the oven for about 40-45 minutes or until thoroughly cooked. Leave to cool and remove the skin with a knife. Cut into 1 inch cubes.

Lentils Finely chop the onions and garlic. In a big pot sweat them in butter over a low heat. You don't want them brown. Add the lentils and wine. Once the wine has been absorbed, add the stock. Start with 4 cups and add more if necessary. Simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until the lentils are cooked. If they are too dry, add a bit of water. Stir in the balsamic and mustard. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix in the squash cubes.

Top with some chopped parsley and the white wine-mustard sauce.

White Wine-Mustard Sauce 1 cup white wine 1/2 cup heavy cream 2 tablespoons dijon mustard pinch of salt

Bring the wine to a low boil and reduce by half. Add the cream, mustard and salt. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Blueberry Banana Bread

I've been eating this bread since I was a kid. I got the recipe from my Mom only last summer and never tried it until recently. My mother could open up a bakery and make a fortune because when it comes to cookies and desserts, she knows what she's doing. There's never a crumb left. What makes this banana bread so moist is the yogurt and the addition of blueberries. It's a very simple recipe that you could complete with 15 minutes of prep, plus 20 minutes to bake. This blueberry banana bread recipe will make 8 small or 4 large loaves. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 cups white flour • 1 cup ripe bananas (2) • 1 cup blueberries • 1 cup sugar • 1/2 cup oil • 1/2 cup plain yogurt • 1 teaspoon vanilla • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 2 eggs • 1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven at 350F. Grease your loaf pans. In a stand mixer or a bowl, beat together the sugar, oil, bananas, yogurt, vanilla, eggs and salt. A little at a time add the flour. Mix thoroughly. Once incorporated, add the baking soda. Gently fold in the blueberries. Pour into molds. Cook for 20-25 minutes (35-40 larger), you want them still moist inside.

Serve for breakfast or as a dessert with ice cream.

Cinnamon Moose Burger

With goat cheddar, onion-pepper melt and scallion sauce, this is one of my favorite burgers.

When moose hunting season arrives, my father is always in charge of the cooking duties at Randy's camp. For a couple of years now Dad prefers to prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner rather than going out hunting (I would do the same). He's really into planning what's going to be on the table for these couple of days, prepping some recipes in advance, and printing out the menu. I wish he could do it more often because he's a great cook. His hard work earns him a share of the meat and I benefit from it too because I get some whenever I visit. It's a special treat.

Moose has a slightly different taste from beef. Like most wild animals it feeds on the forest floor, which gives it a woody, unique flavor. It has a very low fat content compared to most meats and is quite tender.

Since we are in New-Jersey for the holiday season, I used a mix of local grass-fed beef and bison instead of moose.

Makes 6 burgers

Scallion Mayo

• 1 cup mayonnaise • 1 small bunch chopped scallions • 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard • juice of half a lemon • red pepper flakes to taste

Use homemade mayo or store bought. Mix all the ingredients.

Onion-Pepper Melt

• 2 thinly sliced onions • 2 thinly sliced red bell peppers

Simply cook the onions and peppers in your favorite oil (be generous) on very low heat for about 20-25 minutes.

Meat

• 1 1/2 pound ground moose (or beef, deer, bison) • 1 teaspoon cinnamon • 2 tablespoons brown sugar • 1 bunch chopped scallions • salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Form 6 patties and cook as you would your normal burger. Barbecueing is always the best.

Garnish

• Goat Cheddar Cheese • Arugula

Serve on grilled buns or rolls.

Backwoods Pie

Back in the Maritimes there's a dessert called Backwoods Pie. It's a cross between the traditional Canadian dessert, sugar pie, and a standard maple syrup pie.  I found a recipe for  Backwoods Pie in the cookbook Out of Nova Scotia Kitchens.  I tested it and then tweaked the ingredients.  This pie is very sweet, obviously, but if you have some spare quality maple syrup,  it's a good way to use it and a good way to make people happy too.

Dough

• 1 cup flour • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter • 1 tablespoon sugar • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix together the flour, sugar and salt. Rub the flour with the butter until you get a sandy texture. Then add just enough cold water to make a smooth dough, about 2 - 3 tablespoons. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough and line a 9" pie pan.

Filling

• 1 cup brown sugar • 1 cup maple syrup • 1/2 cup heavy cream • 1/4 cup flour • 2 eggs • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together except the flour. Sift in the flour a little at a time. Pour the mixture into the pie crust. Cook for at least 45 minutes. You want it dry but it must still tremble in the middle. Leave to cool on a rack.

Serve it with a loose whipped cream.

Cooking in a Cabin

A couple of months ago we moved from a city with a population of 3 million to a village on Cape Breton Island of 900 people. We now live in a 400 square foot cabin on the top of a mountain overlooking the Bras d'Or Lake, an inland sea. I manage cooking in a 20 square foot kitchen, equipped only with a countertop double burner and small Breville convection oven. My counter space is just big enough to fit a cutting board and a couple of bowls, which is a change from my last kitchen about 5 times that size. But I believe in downsizing.

I do have another useful tool to play around with: the woodstove. So far we've used it to make tea, soups, and other slow cooked dishes, and it couldn't be easier. In the old days, they threw whatever leftovers there were (veg or meat) into a pot, put it on the woodstove, lit a fire, and went on with their duties. Coming back they would find the house filled with aromas of the herbs, meat, and vegetables that had been slowly cooking for hours. We're trying to go back a bit toward that old(e) simple way of living. So far the experience has been a delight and we have not seen the quality of our meals decrease.

But not to worry, I'm lucky enough to have good friends and family with full stoves and lots of counter space who encourage me to play around in the kitchen whenever they invite us over. So now the conveniences are a special treat!

We wanted country living, now we have it.

 

Artichoke and Feta Fillo with Two Sauces

This is my version of spanakopita, a traditional greek pastry. It can seem hard to get it to look nice, but if you take your time and follow the steps you'll do it again, often. You can always prepare them in advance and cook them later. I like serving this as a first course, and with these two easy sauces you get a nice blend of hot and sour flavors. You could also add some seafood in the filling and serve it as a main course with a salad, or your favorite side dish.

Yield 15 pastries. Filling 1 finely chopped onion 1 chopped garlic clove A good handful of chopped spinach 3/4 cup of crumbled feta cheese 1 cup of artichoke hearts roughly chopped 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley

Sweat the onion in oil, then add the garlic. Add all the other ingredients and simmer on low heat for about 5 minutes.

Putting it together First of all, melt about 4 tablespoons of butter. Lay a sheet of fillo on your working space. Brush the surface of it with butter, then put another sheet on top, pressing a bit to make the two layers stick together. Brush again with butter. Cut into 6 strips, lengthwise. At the top of each strip put a good tablespoon of the filling mixture. Then make the triangles, by folding the pastry this way: You can also save time by making rolls instead of triangles. (You would do this by rolling the fillo!)

Place parchment on a baking tray, gently lay each pastry on it and brush the top with more melted butter. Cook at 350F for about 20 minutes or until they're golden and crisp.

Roasted Hot Pepper Sauce Roast your favorite hot peppers (or bell peppers if you can't tolerate heat) in an oven with oil at 425F. Leave to cool a bit, cut open the peppers and empty the insides. Make a purée in a food processor with a dash of oil and a pinch of salt. Pass through a sieve to get a smooth sauce.

Lemon-Garlic Sauce You can use raw or roasted garlic. Mix 1/2 cup mayonnaise with 1/2 cup greek yogurt. Stir in the juice of half a lemon and 2 crushed garlic cloves. Add ground pepper to taste.

Top with fresh cilantro!