Post midnight

I like to do my cooking late at night, which is why it is 1 am on Saturday and I am waiting for my cassava cake and oatmeal muffins to cool before I can join H, who is currently sleeping peacefully (with the occasional snortle!) and resting up before the weekend...

I think this week has been pretty productive. I turned in one freelance assignment, did a half day of volunteer work, read a lot. Most importantly, after much hemming and hawing I finally restarted my yoga practice, in the sense of actually attending a class again after a hiatus of about four months. I heard about the yoga studio just a stone's throw from where I do volunteer work on Thursdays, and so right after work on Thursday I went in and paid for a session before I could chicken out.

It was a lovely workout. The old bones are creaky but they didn't shame me too much at class. It was a mixed level class and while I have lost quite a bit of my flexibility muscle memory kicked in and made it possible for me to keep up with the instructions. Also, Bonsor Recreation Centre in Burnaby is so central as it's near Metrotown mall (which gets most of the shopping traffic in this part of town), and it's popular; the place was jammed with people -- I'd say about 70 percent of Asian descent -- that day H and I visited. But the yoga/Pilates studio is in the back of the building and completely quiet and peaceful, with huge windows affording glimpses of tree lined alleys.

As I lay quietly in the final few minutes of the Hatha session the sun started streaming in and warmed my limbs. It was like a benediction. I remembered the views of the Fraser River as H and I were driving past earlier in the day. Clouds, skies, mountains, water. My husband beside me. What a beautiful new life.

Double chocolate muffins with walnuts

Joy of Cooking has been my go-to cookbook since 2004. It has truly been a joy. I remember I bought it when I was in Manila on a one-and-a half year posting from my then-job in Hong Kong. (And it is sweet to be "posted" back home). I rented a little apartment near my workplace and with it came a compact range oven. So, of course, having wanted a proper oven of my own for so long, I started cooking up a storm, and I haven't stopped.

I think I've maybe tried around 50 of the recipes in the book, and the other day I found my thoughts turning to the chocolate muffin recipe. I made it once or twice before and wanted to revisit it, this time adding some walnuts.

And, as before, Joy delivered. These muffins were chocolaty, sweet without being too sweet, and having 2 large walnuts embedded in each piece added just the right counterpoint of crunch to offset the chocolate.

Double chocolate muffins
Recipe adapted from The Joy of Cooking

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 12-muffin pan with muffin cups.

Melt and let cool 2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate.

Whisk together 1 3/4 cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt.

Combine in another bowl 1 cup buttermilk (or yogurt) and 1 tsp vanilla.

In large bowl, beat until creamy 8 tablespoons unsalted butter. Gradually add 1 cup packed light brown sugar and beat on high speed, around 5 minutes.

Beat in 1 large egg.

Beat in melted chocolate just until blended. Add flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with milk mixture in 2 parts, beating on low speed until smooth.

Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips.

Divide batter among muffin cups. Insert two whole walnuts in each cup. Bake until toothpick inserted into muffin comes out clean, or 25-30 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before serving.

Baked salmon with walnut pesto sauce

I love salmon because of all the good stuff in it -- it is packed with Omgea-3 fatty acids, it's high in protein and a single serving delivers your daily requirement of Vit. D. But the flavour can be quite, err, assertive. In this recipe, I called in the pesto troops to temper that "salmon-ness."

Why walnut pesto? I didn't happen to have pine nuts handy. But it turned out well, even if I do say so myself :-)

Baked salmon with walnut pesto
Serves two.

Make the pesto. Throw in a handful of walnuts, 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil and four cloves of chopped garlic into a food processor and pulse until it is blended but still chunky. Add two cups of fresh, washed basil leaves in batches until the mixture is smooth and thick. Blend in one-fourth cup grated Parmesan cheese. Add a little brown sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice -- the sugar balances the flavours and the lemon juice keeps the basil from turning brown upon exposure to air.

Meanwhile, wash one large salmon fillet and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper. Grease your baking dish (I used a shallow, oven-safe ceramic fish plate) with some olive oil. Lay the fish on top and pour the pesto over. Bake in a preheated 350 F oven around 20 minutes.