On a gray day I made a golden cake

Lemon and olive oil cake from here

Voila, sunburst in my kitchen. It was lemony and light, perfect with coffee or black tea. I also have spicy fries and bright-orange sweet potato wedges turning golden in the oven as I type. Meanwhile this is what's going on outside:



Can you blame me?

Sunny upside-down apple cake

I found this recipe and couldn't resist making it and what do you know it turned out exactly as the writer pictured! Which doesn't always happen to my efforts.

Frog

The story that caused the frog in my throat this morning.

Walkers With The Dawn

Being walkers with the dawn and morning,
Walkers with the sun and morning,
We are not afraid of night,
Nor days of gloom,
Nor darkness--
Being walkers with the sun and morning.

- Langston Hughes

Autumn

And so we come at last to late October. The rain makes a soft
pat-pat-pat on dark garden clay, falling slowly on purple asters
and tickseed unfurling late in the season
(final pennants of bright before the long dark days).
In the backyard a cluster of roses droops, half-hidden
in the gloaming.

Last week, the trees were on fire. Down the street,
up the highway, and into the corners of my mind.
They flew banners of gold and russet and a hundred shades
of red. They quaked and shook with every
errant gust. Intimations of immortality?
I think not. Merely presentiments of night.

Rocky Road cocoa brownies

A treat for my nephew. It's a grey day and he is coming out with his parents for Sunday lunch. I ran out of chocolate chips so I had to scour the Web for a cocoa powder-based brownie recipe. I think I may be making these again, perhaps adding the toppings in the last five minutes so that they would keep their shape more.

Recipe adapted from Alton Brown.

Ingredients
4 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
8 ounces melted butter
1 1/4 cups cocoa
1/2 cup flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Toppings:
2 cups of mini marshmallows
½ cup chopped walnuts
¾ cup chocolate chips


Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs at medium speed until fluffy and light yellow. Add the white and brown sugar and give it a stir. Add remaining ingredients, and mix to combine.

Pour the batter into individual cupcake liners and bake for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with the chocolate chips, marshmallows and nuts. Pop back in and bake for 5 minutes more. Test for doneness using a toothpick. Remove to a rack to cool completely.

Notes
Alton's original recipe specifies an 8-inch pan for baking, but I’ve always liked individual portions. It’s like having a cake all to yourself.

When I made these I sprinkled the toppings before the initial baking period. They came out fabulous, but next time I’ll add the toppings only in the last 5 minutes for a nicer presentation. The photo above shows how they looked before baking; below are the baked goodies:

For H

HBHB

Sand and mirrors

Cannon Beach, Oregon.

Sunset over the farmer's field

Yesterday was a salmon-pink blaze of glory.

The secret garden

The best place to seek God is in a garden. You can dig for him there.
~ George Bernard Shaw

First egg

I'm so proud of the old mother hen that we bought about a month ago. She's not the sprightliest thing but yesterday she proved a real trooper by producing our first ever egg! It's shown in the photos above along with our onions, potatoes, tomatoes and zucchini.

The zucchinis up close...

Chocolate zucchini cake

This year's zucchini harvest is starting to come in. H has been picking the zukes young so that we can eat them while they're still deliciously greeny-tender instead of formidably monster-sized. But, as with last year, the produce is showing signs of running amuck. I spotted a monster one (defined in my books as over nine inches) yesterday and no doubt there will be more tomorrow.

When there's zucchini, there's cake (proper chocolate cakes, baked in a springform and as cupcakes to throw into a lunch bag). That's just a natural law in my household.

Chocolate zucchini cake

2 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs at room temperature
1/2 cup yogurt or buttermilk
2 cups grated unpeeled zucchini (about 2 1/2 medium)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter and flour your pans. You could use a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. I used a 9" springform pan and a 12-cup muffin pan lined with paper liners.

Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl.

Beat sugar, butter and oil in large bowl until well blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk in 3 additions each. Mix in grated zucchini and chocolate chips.

Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake cake until tester inserted into centre comes out clean, about 30 minutes. The muffins will be ready after 15 minutes. Cool cakes and cupcakes completely in pan.

You simply cannot taste the zukes in the final product. I don't know if that's good or bad.

Notes:

Do you know what makes a good chocolate cake better? A smear of good cream cheese on top. No added sugar, no nothing. The tangy-ness of the cream cheese complements the sweetness of the chocolate (cocoa+choco chips). Though I suppose some lemon zest in the cream cheese would just take this over the top.

BC wildflowers

After fruitless searches online I finally identified this flower that`s blooming so lushly in the frontyard. It's catchfly! Scientific name: Silene armeria.

The nasturtiums

I planted them around the potatoes and rows of corn to discourage pests but they're beautiful too. I didn't expect them to look so cheerful and pretty. I've been too lazy to try eat them in a salad, and H and I are not big salad eaters anyway. But I admire them, from afar, sitting out on the deck or looking out the window (and speaking of windows, while I'm a summer girl at heart I also appreciate the soothing coolness of being indoors in a darkened house, drapes drawn, as the noon sun blazes outside), and up close, as you can see in this shot, which I took crouching very, very close to the nasturtiums.

Gardeners love nasturtiums. They're low-maintenance, easy to grow, edible with a sweet, peppery taste, and lovely to look at.

Cassava cake II

I made this for hubby to bring to work. He works with a few Filipinos and thought that a touch of homecooked Pinoy food would be a nice treat.




Ingredients:
1 cup granulated sugar
4 oz melted butter or margarine
3 packs frozen cassava
Around 1.5 kg frozen cassava (I used Buenas brand frozen 454g packs, available from TNT)
3 eggs
2 cans coconut milk
2 cans condensed milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
3 tsp grated lemongrass

This recipe makes a fair amount of cake and will fill up a 9-inch pie plate, an 8x4 pan, and an 8x8 pan.

Preheat oven to 350 F and either grease the baking pans or line them with banana leaves or aluminium foil.

In a large bowl, combine all the sugar, the yolk of 1 egg, melted butter, 2 tsp of the lemongrass and 1 can of coconut milk until smooth. Add the cassava.

Using an electric mixer, beat all 3 egg whites with a pinch of salt (this will help to firm up the proteins) until soft peaks form. Immediately fold this into the cassava mixture.

Pour mixture into greased glass baking pans up to ¾ inch high. Bake in the centre rack of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes until top is firm. Do not overbake as they will go back in the oven a second time.

Meanwhile, on a pan over low heat, combine the remaining lemongrass and can of coconut milk with all the condensed milk, stirring and cooking until thickened. Take it off heat, and add the beaten yolk of two eggs.

Pour topping on top of the cassava cake and continue baking for 15 minutes or until the top is a dark golden brown. (If you’re in a hurry, a pale gold colour is nice too. Like this.)

Add your grated cheese halfway through the bake.

The tenderest

From Green cheese & cherries

These are among the tenderest muffins I have ever made. I made them last night and this morning they were still tender, soft and moist.

Buttermilk makes lots of things better!

Buttermilk banana coconut muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 very ripe bananas, mashed (3/4 cup)
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup buttermilk*
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or coconut flavouring
3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Line muffin cups with liners.

Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

Whisk together bananas, butter, sugar, egg, vanilla or coconut flavouring, buttermilk, and 1/2 cup flaked coconut in a large bowl until combined well, then fold in flour mixture until flour is just moistened.

Divide batter among lined muffin cups and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup coconut. Bake until muffins are puffed and golden, about 25 minutes. Transfer muffins to a rack and cool slightly.

Makes 12 large muffins, or do as I did, I made six large and a dozen mini muffins. They were, one and all, pillowy mouthfuls of tropical goodness.

* Can substitute whole milk with a spoonful of lemon juice.

Midnight ruminations

I think one of the challenges of growing older (not that it's my birthday or anything, not even close) is that you start realising how time is limited. You don't have as much time as you thought you had to write your first book (and I think many people do have a book in them just waiting to be born). To journey to Morocco. To once again eat mussels on the Champs Elysee. To write for lovely magazines, to create lovely magazines. To truly understand the complex connections between what we eat and our health. To make a difference in our communities. To learn so many things: drive a car, sew a seam, swim, snorkel, take great pictures, travel. To finally organise thousands of pictures and the pre-2000 film negatives languishing, almost stuck together and semi-dusty, in a corner of the room. To spend time with family. To listen to the birds. To write. To talk. To breathe the wind.

Heat wave

The mercury is soaring, hemlines are high and the whole population seems to be shod in flipflops and sandals. Helloooooooooo summer! Sunny skies are forecast for a whole week with temps hitting 30 in the Vancouver region.

To celebrate the coming of true summer heat after a wet and protracted spring, I bought myself a new olive green summer hat. I've cleaned out my wardrobe of all traces of winter wear and it's now light and breezy in there with summer colours and fabrics, with dresses and shorts and skirts.

Flax and apple breakfast muffins

These are good and so good for ya.



1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup flaxseeds meal
½ up wheat germ
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups peeled and shredded apples
½ cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup raisins
3/4 cup milk
2 beaten eggs

Optional: 1 cup chopped nuts

Directions
Mix together flour, flaxseed meal, wheat germ, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. Stir in apples, cranberries, raisins and nuts. Combine milk, beaten eggs and vanilla. Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients.

Stir until ingredients are moistened. Do not overmix. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Yield: 15 medium muffins

Adapted from Bob's Red Mill flaxseed meal muffins.

The mischief maker

Maggie is a MinPin which means a miniature doberman pinscher. She's playful and never seems to have moods, unlike Patsy. She's always hungry and always up for a walk or a mock-scrap. Patsy tries to be the boss of the household and tries to grab all the attention and the cuddles for herself, and most times Maggie will concede the point, but this MinPin will fight for her food, make no mistake about it! She's also a great escape artist and always has to be watched or she'll run off when she's let outside to do her #1 or #2. If Patsy is the duchess, Maggie is the court jester.

Strong, brave and open-hearted - that's Maggie in a nutshell. Doesn't she have the nicest, liveliest eyes?

Happy birthday, Canada!

A quiet Canada day. It was wet and damp out, so we stayed in. It's my third Canada Day here, although only the first since I became a permanent resident.

We fed the chickens (or rather H did while I snapped away).



Admired the flowers...





and gave the dogs an airing...



Happy 143rd, Canada!

More pictures here
-----
One year ago

Golden razzies

Picked fresh from the back garden today by H. They were perfection - some still slightly tart, the way I like them.

The little duchess

Half-chihuahua, half-pomeranian, 100% cute.

Majestic and moist honey cake

This was a keeper of a cake: still damp, still soft and moist even after two days. It was beautifully aromatic; the spices came out but weren't too insistent.

As for the majestic part, it was majestic how H and I managed to finish it off very quickly.

Adapted from Marcy Goldman's Treasure of Jewish Holiday Baking.

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey (original recipe called for 1 cup)
2 cups sugar (half cup white, 1 1/2 cup light brown)
2 large eggs at room temperature (originally, 3 eggs)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup warm coffee or strong tea
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup rye or whisky (optional)
1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds (optional)

Fits in three loaf pans, two 9-inch square or round cake pans, one 9 or 10 inch tube or bundt cake pan, or one 9 by 13 inch sheet cake. I made mine in a 10-inch tube pan.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. It's better to use nonstick pans for this recipe. Generously grease the pan(s) with non-stick spray. For tube or angel food pans, cut a piece of parchment paper to fit (cut out a hole for the tube to go through) and line the bottom of the pan. Spray the parchment with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and other spices. Make a well in the centre. Add oil, honey, all the sugars, eggs, vanilla, coffee or tea, orange juice and rye or whiskey, if using.

Stir together well to make a thick, well-blended batter, making sure that no ingredients are stuck to the bottom.

Spoon batter into prepared pan(s). Sprinkle top of cake(s) evenly with almonds, if using.

Important: I placed the cake pan on two stacked baking sheets, which apparently ensured the cake baked properly.

Bake until the cake springs back when you gently touch its centre. For tube and angel cake pans, this will take 60 to 75 minutes. Loaf cakes will need about 45 to 55 minutes; sheet cakes, 40 to 45 minutes.

Let cake stand 15 minutes before removing from pan.

---

When I made a challah a friend wondered if I had Jewish origins. This will get her asking again!

Pink poppy

We woke up this morning to this beauty blooming in the front yard. Interesting how the purplish heart is surrounded by dark smudges -- kind of like a black eye.

10 weekends of discovery

Last April I started a basic photography course in Vancouver, hoping to improve not only my knowledge of my equipment (Sony A100 when I started, then more than halfway into the course I bought a Nikon D90) but also how to take better, more compelling pictures. And, truly, I learned a lot. We took studio portraits of live models, we went to Granville Island to capture some of the sights, we did home projects to test and expand our understanding of focus, exposure, depth of field and the magical white balance. On the final day of the course, which was last Saturday, the instructor reviewed our mini "portfolios" and came up with what she thought was our individual best fives. Below are my five shots that she picked.



For the individual shots click on this link.
And I'm happy to report that I got an A :-)

Chicken wire and buttercups

Out of the corner of my eye I espied this link in a blog I frequent: "broke but gorgeous".

Which launched me off on a search to remember the things that bring beauty and inspire gratitude in a life that has metamorphosed into one of simplicity.

I am grateful for poppies that sparkle like red explosions in the rain.

For a husband who brings my book out of the rain.

For dogs that slumber sweetly and snore melodiously (bar the occasional whiffing and tumbling).

And for buttercups that grow in shade, in sun, and other odd places.

Golden struan

I'm fond of checking out baking books at the local library (which is incidentally a wonderful resource, staffed with helpful people!) and one book I waited for for a long time is Peter Reinhart's series on making bread. The one I'm currently reading is Artisan Breads Every Day: Fast and Easy Recipes for World-Class Breads. Because, even as a mostly stay-at-home wife, my time isn't unlimited, my plan of "attack" for this book is to tackle only "straight doughs" (i.e. recipes that don't require preferments like bigas and sourdoughs) and only recipes that make use of the flours and ingredients I already have on hand.

The first recipe I tried from this book is a struan loaf. The final product looked quite different from the tall, airy loaf pictured in the book, but tasted extraordinary as well, from the first bite to the last. The loaf stayed relatively light and moist, the crumb didn't go rock-hard. H and I liked the golden colour.



The recipe is available here. I didn't stray far from the basic recipe, but did substitute wheat germ for the wheat bran, and yogurt for the buttermilk. Since I had no honey on hand, I added a large spoonful of brown sugar to the mix instead.

Summer seed loaf

Three seeds: poppy, sesame, sunflower. Three flours: rye, bread and all-purpose. Mix, let rise, heat. Sumptuous, summer goodness!

Summer seed loaf
(Another incarnation of this).
This bread uses a sponge or starter, which really does result in improved flavour.

Sponge
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) cool water
1 tsp instant yeast
1 1/2 cups (6 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (2 ounces) rye flour

Dough
2 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups (9 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (2 3/4 ounces) mixed poppy, toasted sesame, and toasted sunflower seeds

Sponge
Mix the sponge ingredients together, and let rest at room temperature, covered, for 3 to 4 hours, or overnight in the fridge.

Dough:
Combine salt, flour and seeds. (By blending in the seeds at this stage, they'll be better integrated into the dough). Stir down the sponge, and add the flour mixture. Mix and knead the dough until it's smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat its surface with oil. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until doubled in size.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased surface, and form it into a ball. Place on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, greased loaf pans, or shape into rolls. You may opt to slash the dough at this point, then spritz it with water. Cover and let rise for about 1 hour.

Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 450°F.

Bake the bread for 30 to 35 minutes, until it's deep golden brown. Remove it from the oven and place it on a rack to cool. Cool completely before slicing.

Yield: one large boule, 2 loaves, or 1 loaf and assorted rolls. Since I actually doubled the recipe, I came out with 3 loaves and 5 small dinner rolls, of which three were eaten straight out of the oven!

Wild blue

This year's discovery: the wildflower, lupine. I never paid it much attention last year. But this year, when the summer is looking like a wet rag and spring is all sodden, its vivid purple is a joy to behold from the back steps.



What do you call this shade of blue?

One space, many faces.

Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again. - Henri Cartier-Bresson







More here.

Two movies

Years separate the releases of Pan's Labyrinth and Children of Men. I watched both and if I had known what I know now -- that Alfonso Cuaron had a hand in both movies (as producer in PL and director/co-writer of CoM) -- I would have had an "Of course!" moment. To this day Pan's Labyrinth terrifies me and stays with me in my mind's recesses as so few movies have done. I'm not really a cinemaphile. I watch the occasional blockbuster and adore the occasional sci-fi-thriller sort of film like Terminator (when Linda Hamilton was in it) and The Matrix trilogy. I went into Pan's with no expectations. I hadn't heard of the minds behind the film. Minutes into the movie, I was...floored. Blown away. The overwhelming surreal terror, the incredible fear and violence that came out of nowhere but was so judiciously used, the note of hope at the end...this movie, my friends, is a masterpiece. As so many people found eons before I did.

Children of Men was another low-key starter for me. It was one of those things you see in late-night cable programming and for lack of anything better to see I looked at the screen every now and then while Net surfing. But I was hooked. It is such a parable of a tale, a gritty glimpse into the future, that snakes its way into your mind. It didn't quite grab my heart like Pan's did. But it stays with me to this day.

Watch them both, if you haven't already. Cuaron is a f****** genius.

Granville Island, one more time

Have uploaded a bunch of pictures from yesterday's field trip to Granville Island. It seems that each time I go to GI the skies open up, but I'm still quite pleased with how the day turned out.

The harlequin roses were spectacular and I enjoyed observing the crazy-busy scene inside the market. It was wet and cold, but the market was full of warmth and life.

I think I could go to GI every month and find something new each time.

Red and purple

The first poppies of the season! Shameless beauties.

Baby radishes

We had the last of the baby radishes a few days ago. They were peppery and refreshing. We treated them like candy, snacking on a few throughout the day.

The first bunch of spinach and chard were beautiful and tender, and we're growing many more. The potatoes have reared their green heads (but expect no harvest till the fall), the carrots and fennel have healthy-looking fronds and of course, the many herbs -- sage, chives, parsley, curry leaf, rosemary and mint -- are flourishing.

Flax and cranberry cookies

Yes, they're healthy, but more important they're super yummy!

Adapted from a Canadian Living recipe:

1/2 cup (125 mL) butter, softened

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup quick cooking rolled oats
2/3 cup ground flaxseed
1 cup dried cranberries
1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda

Preparation:

In bowl, beat together butter and brown and granulated sugars until light; beat in egg and vanilla.

In separate bowl, whisk together flour, oats, ground flaxseed, dried cranberries and baking soda; stir into butter mixture until soft dough forms.

Depending on your preference, you can drop level tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart on your baking sheet, or go big and drop two spoonfuls, patting down a little to flatten them, Bake in top and bottom thirds of 350°F oven, rotating and switching pans halfway through, until golden, 12-15 minutes. Let cool on pan on rack for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to rack; let cool before eating (if you can wait!).

BW series: Memories of winter

Winter stillness carries within it the seeds of a prodigal spring.

BW series: Sun and candlelight

I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
- EB Browning

Springtime blooming

The radish bed is dotted with tiny plants, so fingers crossed we're going to have a bumper crop of radishes soon. On the other raised bed, onions, leeks and kale have sprouted. The pots are dotted with tiny carrots, spinach and chard -- and at last the fennel has put out little shoots.

It's still early spring but the days are finally, finally warm enough to turn the heat off and keep doors open. Lovely days are ahead.