for my mom - carrot cake

i really love cake (i know, shocker given the title of my blog). i love decorating cakes and turning simple yellow butter cakes and rich, dark chocolate cakes into mini-mastepieces, dressing them up with buttercream basket-weaves and sugar-flowers. i love piping elaborate designs onto a flat canvass of icing and i could literally spend hours jst decorating and drawing and creating. fancy cakes are my favourite, and quite frankly, my specialty. but every now and then, i get the urge to make something a bit more rustic, more rough around the edges, less polished, more plain and simple.

well it doesn't get much simpler than Dr. Weil's carrot cake which i made for my beautiful mother on mother's day. a few very basic, very simple, healthy ingredients blend together to create a really great cake that you cannot feel bad about eating because there's really nothing bad in it (unless you consider honey to be bad which i don't, especially because it's natural and rich and because i only use organic, unpasteurized honey).

my mom has been a long-time fan of Dr. Weil. for those of you who have not heard of him, he is an allopathic physician who is also trained in many different complementary medical techniques and practices. he takes a very holistic approach to health care and has been on the natural-health bandwagon for decades, long before the rest of the world joined in on the natural, holistic health care fun. anyway, i'll let you read more about him here if you'd like. his website is great but obviously i'm most interested in the Dr. Weil's Healthy Kitchen section wher he offers up some really nutrient-dense recipes. i first tried his carrot cake recipe about 5 years ago and it was a big hit. i remember getting several requests from friends and acquaintances- in fact, it was the first time i actually made a cake to order, for a fee :o) now, i'm fuzzy on the details, but for some reason i didn't try making this recipe again for years, but when trying to come up with a good mother's day gift this year, i remembered how much my mom loved this cake and thought it would go along well with the orchid and the new book that i bought for her.

this cake is unpretentious. it does not try to be something it is not. it does not try to be one of those cream-cheese frosting laden show-stoppers with marzipan carrots and dense, spicey, sweet layers. this is more of a snacking cake, perfect for breakfast or with some tea. as i said, i made this for my mom but i think it was actually my sister who ate most of it.

i can't blame her, it was pretty irresistable.

Carrot Cake (recipe courtesy of Dr. Weil's Healthy Kitchen)

2 cups firmly packed finely grated carrots
juice of 1 large orange
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup light olive oil
1 cup honey, liquefied in microwave (30 seconds)
1/2 cup crushed or chopped pineapple, drained
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped

preheat oven to 350°F. in a mixing bowl, stir together the carrots, orange juice, vanilla, olive oil, honey, and pineapple until well blended. in another bowl, stir together the flours, baking soda, and spices. mix in the walnuts.

blend the dry ingredients into the carrot mixture, stirring until just mixed. pour the batter into a nonstick 8-inch-square baking pan and bake for 45-60 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. remove from oven, let cool slightly, and remove from pan.

i love this recipe. i'm a huge fan of the use of olive oil, especially since it's such a minimal amount. the walnuts give this cake a real omega-3 kick, and the lack of any dairy and eggs means that the cholesterol count for this one is zero.

also, don't be afraid of the large amount of honey here. in my opinion, honey has a richer flavour than sugar, but it is not as sweet. that means that this cake is really not too sweet at all. in fact, i ended up drizzling a combination of icing sugar and lemon juice over the top of the cake for some extra sweetness. and you're going to get a good 12-16 servings out of this recipe meaning 1-2 tablespoons of honey per serving, max. the honey also helps to keep the cake moist.

ps - it's ok to have a bite with a touch of butter

happy new year!

sri lankan new year that is - actually, it was sri lankan new year over a month ago but i didn't get a chance to write about this because of all the hoopla with my cat. anyway, i'm not entirely sure about the history behind sri lankan new year but i believe it has something to do with the end of the harvest and the movement of the sun from the House of Aries to the House of Pices. monsoon season also begins around this time of year which symbolizes regrowth and renewal.
it's a pretty holiday in sri lanka and i'm sure the towns are decorated with laterns and lights and the people are all eating the numerous new year's treats.

i know that i have spoken of kiribath before. it is a heavenly combination of rice and coconut milk with a touch of salt added for flavour. kiribath translates directly from sinhalese to milk (kiri) rice (bath - pronounced 'buth') and it is made on auspicious occasions such as new year's day and the first day in a new house. we wanted to make this all those weeks ago when we thought Mac would be home from the hospital to celebrate new year's with us. well, that obviously didn't happen, and so we had to wait for the next best occassion to make it - another 'new year' celebration.

Wesak is the Buddhist name given to the full moon day in May. this is the day that the Buddha is believed to have become enlightened. it is a very special day for Buddhists around the world and it is certainly considered to be an auspicious occasion, similar to new year's. Wesak this year fell on Friday, May 8th. Mac returned home a week earlier. the rice was washed, the coconut milk purchased, the stars were aligning - it was finally time, for kiribath.

kiribath is best when made with starchy rice so that it thickens up well. use 1 part of short grain white rice to 2 parts liquid. i use half coconut milk and half water. add a pinch of salt and cook over medium heat until the mixture is thick and the rice is tender. kiribath is really just a very thick rice pudding, so once most of the liquid has been absorbed, remove the pot from the heat and let it stand for a few minutes to cool. after about 10 minutes, spread the mixture onto a plate or a platter. it should be about 1 1/2 inches thick. once it has cooled completely, cut it into squares.
kiribath is typically served with lunu miris and hakuru (palm treacle/syrup that has been formed into a hard ball - think about the best brown sugar you have ever had and then imagine in a million times better!).

it is honestly one my favourite things to eat, in the world. i could live off of this stuff...

lunch time! summer pea and spinach soup

i love martha stewart. i have always loved her. many young women who strive to be domestic godesses seem to reject the structure and poise that embodies martha stewart. they identify more with people like nigella lawson who breaks almost all the rules in the kitchen and rarely follows a strict recipe. she is the anti-martha and young women who feel shackled by the rules and regulations of the martha stewart era embrace nigella with a sense of power and determination that i've never really understood.

the thing is, martha stewart is so many good things - she worked her way to the top on her own, turning what she learned during her undergraduate degree into a multi-billion dollar business. she is a wonderful teacher, an exceptional role model for young women (except for that whole blackmail/stock fraud/jail thing), and a real, true inspiration. in fact, the whole scandal thing has made her all the more endearing to me because she has proven that successful people can make huge mistakes, suffer through months of very public embarrassment and still come out standing on top. people seem to think that she takes herself too seriously and that she follows the rules to the T, but anyone who has ever really stopped to watch martha will realize that she is just a strong woman who finds humour in the silly things that men do, who really honestly wants to make cakes that look like gardens because she thinks they're cute and she has fun doing it, and who love, love, loves her animals. she also really loved her mom, which i love. her little polish mother was always featured on the original Martha Stewart Living show and after her death in 2007, it's so obvious how much martha misses her presence in general, and on the Martha show.

i frequent marthastewart.com often for ideas and recipes. she had some really great easter ideas that i only discovered the day after easter. take these chocolate easter eggs for example. i wish so much that i had seen these earlier so that i could have made them for my sister and impressed the socks off of her. if only. anyway, browsing her website the other day, i came across a recipe for a pea and spinach soup. it was neatly filed under "spring recipes" and the photgraph on the website made me think of the sunny, warm days of spring that lie ahead. i rushed home to make the soup right away; i didn't follow the recipe exactly but i must say that whatever it was i concocted turned out really, really well. and green.

Summer Pea and Spinach Soup (adapted from Martha Stewart Living)

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2-3 cups vegetable stock (depending on how thick you want it)
1 pound frozen summer peas (about 1 cup)
8 ounces spinach (curly or flat leaf), tough stems discarded (about 6 cups packed leaves)

heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. add onion, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper. cook, stirring, 3 minutes. add stock, and bring to a boil.

add peas, and return to a boil. reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until peas are tender and bright green, 2 to 3 minutes. stir in spinach. cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach has wilted, 2 to 3 minutes.


remove a few big spoonfuls of the soup and reserve. with an immersion blender, puree the rest of the soup and until smooth, adding enough water to achieve desired consistency. stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

when i took the soup to work with me for lunch, i added a few tablespoons of cooked brown rice. it was delicious and it really felt like i was eating spring in a bowl.

i'm back!! with brownies!!

i can't believe it's been almost a month since my last blog post. furthermore, i can't believe it's been over a month since mac was taken to hospital. long story short, he was away from home for about 3 weeks and was at home, in isolation, recovering for another week and a half. needless to say, the past 5 weeks of my life are a bit of a blur, filled with endless trips to the vet hospital in guelph and many, many, many, many sleepless nights. two surgeries later, mac is finally home. in fact, his sutures were removed today so for the first time in over a month, he is free to roam around the house like he always used to do. it feels good.

but onto more serious matters - brownies. i have to say, i am thrilled that my cousin is pregnant, not only because we will soon be welcoming a new baby into the family, but because, due to her pregnancy, she is hungry, which means i get to cook for her. a few weeks ago she came to spend the day, but not before announcing that she wanted something freshly baked when she arrived. not one to disappoint, i promptly grabbed Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook off of my shelf and leafed through the pages for something indulgent.

buttery. rich. chocolately. dense. brownies. i made these on a saturday and they were all gone by sunday night. i kept them in the oven longer than what the recipe calls for because each time i tested the center, it was still gooey and a bit runny. after the brownies were cut and cooled, i wished that i had taken them out sooner because they would have been a smidge better if they were softer (not that they weren't amazing just as they were). so i guess the disclaimer here is to take them out in about 45 minutes, even if the center is a bit soft. they will firm up to a nice, fudgey consistency after cooling in the pan for a while longer. also, the minimal amount of flour in this recipe ensures that these decadent delights are heavy and chewy and really dense. it also means that flour substitutions are easy for those who cannot tolerate gluten ;)




Chocolate Brownies (recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt *optional - 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts


preheat oven to 350 degrees. butter an 8-inch square baking pan or heatproof glass dish. line pan with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on 2 sides. set aside. place butter and chocolate in a large heatproof bowl set over (but not touching) simmering water; stir frequently until chocolate and butter are melted, about 7 minutes. remove bowl from heat; let cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.



stir sugar into cooled chocolate mixture until combined. whisk in eggs one at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition. whisk in vanilla. gently fold in flour and salt and nuts, if using. pour batter into prepared pan, and smooth top with an offset spatula. bake until cake tester inserted in the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, 40 to 45 minutes. transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely.



run a knife or offset spatula around the edges of the pan. using parchment, lift brownies out of pan and onto the rack. transfer to a cutting board; cut into 2-inch squares. brownies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

today's the day the bunnies have their picnic

happy easter! how much do i love easter? so much so that i spent this saturday night, by myself, blowing and dying eggs for no other reason than to be festive and eastery and decorate my house. sure, if mike was around i would probably have been out, not being such a homemaker, but i'm sure i would have still managed to work in some easter cheer by way of an easter-themed cocktail or something like that. actually, easter this year was a little subdued in my household. my own easter bunny, also known as my cat, mac, was having some bladder stone issues and was in hospital all weekend. it was sad cause mac is really a bunny who is just disguised as a cat and so, he should have been home for the bunniest of all days.

without mac, my house was almost unbearable and i needed something to distract myself. so i made some cookies for my sister who requested something plain and buttery, but i was still antsy. so i made some rice crispy squares for myself, cause i wanted something sweet and comforting, but i was still on edge. so i decorated some easter eggs and decorated the kitchen, and i couldn't believe how unsettled i was. so i decided to christen the new KitchenAid mixer that i broke down and bought on a whim last weekend when it was on sale on the shopping channel, and i made some easter bread.

now, anyone that knows me as a chef, knows that i hate the idea of stand mixers, KitchenAid in particular. the cumbersome bowl, the monstrous size, the lack of range of motion all add up to an inefficient mixer. additionally, there is so much pleasure to be derived from mixing things with a wooden spoon, or even a hand-held mixer. you can control the way the ingredients are mixed, you can make sure that all of the ingredients are incorporated properly, you can physically feel whatever it is you're making...i just don't get why you would ever use a stand mixer. why would you want to have to turn off the mixer in order to scrape down the sides of the bowl which you inevitably have to do because the whisk and beater don't reach either the bottom or the sides of the bowl? why would you want to awkwardly pour ingredients into the narrow bowl while trying to avoid getting any flour or eggs onto the top of the whisk or beater? i don't understand. and i don't understand why martha stewart loves her KitchenAid so much. sure i see why you would want a heavy-duty mixer when making a really large batch of say, gingerbread, which is formed from a heavy, stiff batter, but why would you want to make anything else in this thing? you have no control over anything!! i honestly believe that there was one person who thought that a KitchenAid mixer was a cool thing and so they told another person and then that person didn't want to look silly so they just agreed that it was good even though they knew it wasn't. and it just grew. and now no one wants to admit that KitchenAids are bad because they don't want to be the odd man out so now everyone just pretends that they love KitchenAid stand mixers. it's all a big conspiracy, and i am speaking out. shari k is saying 'no!'

but the shopping channel had a good deal on and i felt like maybe i should give the KitchenAid stand mixer a chance - i mean, don't knock it till you try it, right? i had already spent the money and set the thing up and so i decided to take the mixer on its maiden voyage, knowing that i could still return it if i hated it. and i hated it. hated it, hated it, hated it. it was one the most uncomfortable experiences i've ever had in the kitchen and i wanted to run away screaming. ingredients were strewn about, there was butter on the walls and flour on the floor. it's a wonder that i survived such an awful ordeal. in fact, the only good that came from the experience was the Portugese Sweet Bread that i made; i jazzed it up by forming it into a braid, making it look (and taste) a lot like challah. the dough was very sticky and wet and i added a lot of extra flour while i was kneading it, but the bread itself turned out to be really soft and sweet, perfect with some butter and a cup of tea. it made my house smell wonderful and it lifted my spirits on a nerve-wracking, mac-less weekend during which i couldn't sit still for the life of me, although it didn't make a KitchenAid stand mixer believer out of me.

Portuguese Sweet Bread (adapted from Good Housekeeping: Great Baking)

3 tablespoons warm water
1 package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon + 6 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup warm milk
6 tablespoons butter, softened
½ teaspoon salt
3 eggs
about 2 ½ cups flour

combine water, yeast and sugar; stir to dissolve. let stand 5 minutes until foamy.

with mixer at low speed, stir in remaining sugar, milk, butter and salt, just until blended. stir in eggs and ¾ cup flour to make a thick batter. beat 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl often. stir in 1 ¼ cups flour to make a very soft dough.

turn dough out onto a well floured surface. knead dough for abour 10 minutes, adding ¼ - ½ cup more flour as you knead to form a smooth, soft dough. place dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel. let rise in a warm place for about an hour, until doubled in size.

punch down dough and separate into 3 equal balls. let rest 15 minutes. form balls into long strands and place on a greased or lined baking sheet. form dough into a braid. cover and let dough rise for another hour.

preheat oven to 350 degrees. brush dough with an eggwash or with milk or cream. bake for 35 minutes until golden brown and loaf sounds hollow. enjoy.

*makes one loaf

i wanted to bake something eastery and as i read through my many cookbooks, this bread seemed like it would work well. a quick google search this morning showed that i was on the right track and that this bread is an easter standard for many people. it was really yummy and one of the best loaves i've made, if i do say so myself! and my mom is convinced that my bad experience with the mixer was just a one-time thing. she is sure that with time, i will come to love the mixer. 'you need to give it a chance,' she said. well, maybe. i do want to try some meringues next weekend, and mac is coming home on tuesday and he should come home to the smell of something freshly baked. i could give the KitchenAid another spin, but the thought of my pink, melamine bowls and my big wooden spoon is so much more appealing...

comfort food

so i've been sick. it started out last wednesday as a little tickle in my chest which i definitely aggravated by going for a run that evening. by the time thursday rolled around i was down for the count and i've been basically dead to the world for about 4 days - meaning no going outside, no internet and (gasp) no eating. well, that's a lie. i've been eating toast. and rice. and i've been drinking lots and lots of gatorade. but today i feel a bit better - despite the relentless and deafening pounding in my head - and my appetite is slowly coming back, thank goodness. as my luck would have it, today was the perfect day for the return of my ability to eat because my mom decided to make some roti with the fresh new coconut she picked up last week!

granted, my appetite for anything that has much flavour has still not returned and i'm only really interested in dry, plain, cracker-like things, but that's why the roti was so perfect. plain flour, fresh coconut, salt and water mixed together to form a soft dough which is then flattened and cooked on a heavy skillet. so simple, so plain, yet so good.

i have no real recipe to give you - just mix equal parts all purpose flour and fresh coconut meat. add enough water to form a soft dough and season with salt to taste. form dough into balls that fit in the palm of your hand. flatten the balls into disks about 1/4 inch thick. cook on a skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes per side. you don't need to worry about greasing the skillet because the coconut has enough fat in it to keep things in check!

you can really eat them with anything - most of the people in my family go for lunu miris...

but i prefer them hot off the grill with butter on the side.

i'm so glad that my appetite returned for this.

real bread

we all know about my ups and downs with bread, but this is actually going to be a bread success story. i first saw this recipe on Chef at Home with Chef Michael Smith. i didn't catch the first part of the show, but i saw him baking a loaf of bread in a covered pot that he had pre-heated in the oven. i was intrigued. weeks later when i was searching for bread recipes online, i remembered the unusual baking method that Michael Smith had used and decided to look up his recipe. i found it on his website, and as i read through it, i was transported to a world that i never knew existed - the world of kneadless bread baking.

the no-knead method of bread baking has been building momentum slowly and steadily over the past few years. the recipe is founded on the principles of time and gentle patience, not the typical rules of precision and good old fashioned elbow grease that plague most bread recipes. using 4 simple ingredients, barely any physical effort and absolutely no babysitting, anyone, even a child, can create a rich, complex, airy and flavourful loaf of bread - all you really need is time.

to be honest, i like the process of kneading bread. that's actually one of the best parts about making bread in my opinion. whether you use it to get rid of the days frustrations or to give your arms a work-out, there is something very enjoyable, purposeful even, about kneading dough. this recipe is touted because it requires no kneading. i mean, look it up on the internet and you will find dozens upon dozens of comments from people ecstatic because they no longer have to spend time kneading. others rejoice bcause they no longer have to worry about buying an expensive KitchenAid mixer or bread machine which would knead the dough for them. after trying this recipe twice, i have to admit that i am a huge fan, but not because of the lack of kneading. this recipe is fool proof. not only is it simple, its results are pure perfection. letting this dough rise twice, first for 12-18 hours, then for another 2-3, really allows the yeast to develop and grow which results in a very distinct and deep flavour. baking the bread in a pre-heated, covered pot creates a thick, crunchy yet chewy crust that is a joy to eat, especially right out of the oven. i encourage you to read Michael Smith's own musings on this bread recipe so that you can really learn the theory behind it. Mark Bittman of the New York Times also provides a good summary of no-kneading in this article.

in the end, this recipe is a very basic one but it is one worth trying, even for those of you who take pleasure in the traditional method of bread-baking, like me. i guarantee that your loaf of bread will look and taste beautiful; also, this recipe is very forgiving, so you can easily make additions/alterations as you please (i added sunflower seeds and flax seeds). seriously. try this recipe. you will impress yourself, and your friends and family will heap praises upon you.

Real Bread (recipe adapted from Chef Michael Smith)

2 cups of all-purpose or bread flour

1 cup of whole wheat flour
1/2 cup of any creative addition of your choice (i added 1 tablespoon of sunflower seeds, 2 tablespoons of flax seeds and 5 tablespoons of rye flakes)
1/4 teaspoon of dry yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons of salt
1 1/2 cups of warm water

whisk the dry ingredients together thoroughly. add the water and stir until a wet dough forms. continue stirring until the dough incorporates all the loose flour in the bowl, about 60 seconds in total. cover the bowl with a towel and rest in a warm place for 12 to 18 hours. it will double in size, bubble and long gluten strands will form. lightly flour your hands and the work surface then remove the dough from the bowl. quickly form it into a ball. thoroughly (VERY thoroughly) flour a cotton towel and rest the dough on it. cover it with another floured cotton towel. you may also rest the dough on a non-stick ‘Silpat’ mat and cover it with just one towel. rest the dough a second time. in 2 to 3 hours it will rise again and double in size once more.

a half an hour or so before the dough is ready preheat your oven to 450 degree with a heavy covered pot in it. you may use cast-iron, steel, enamel or ceramic. when the dough has fully risen slide your hand under the towel and quickly invert the delicate dough into the hot pot. shake the pot a bit to settle it then place the lid on the pot and start baking. bake for 30 minutes with the lid then remove it and bake for 15 minutes more.

when you start to get creative and add heavier ingredients like whole wheat flour and different seeds and nuts, you need to help the dough along a little by giving it a bit more time in the oven. you certainly don't want to dry the dough out, but when i baked this particular loaf, i noticed that it was still a bit dense in the middle and could have benefitted from a few more minutes of baking time. it was still amazing, but don't be afraid to stray from the cooking times that recipes often provide. so many factors, the size of your oven, the humidity, play a role in the exact amount of time it takes for something to cook. you can also make this recipe in a traditional loaf pan. this will yield a thinner, crisper crust but it will still taste great. to get the thick crust without baking it in a covered pot, place a shallow baking dish on the oven rack below the one you are baking the loaf on. throw 3 or 4 ice cubes into the dish. this will create the same steaming effect that occurs in the covered pot.

experiment: coconut flour

one of my favourite places to shop is Bulk Barn (or any bulk food store). i love wandering through the aisles and gazing into the big, clear, plastic bins that are filled with luxurious mountains of chocolates, nuts, grains, cereals, candies. it's so much fun to just be able to see these things as they are with no boxes and no fancy labels, just the innocent little ingredients, dressed down and fully exposed. i love the smell too; somehow it brings back memories from my childhood, and i'm literally like a kid in a candy store there. bulk stores are a baker's dream. they are stocked with all of the hard to find, rare ingredients that pop up from time to time in recipes for fancy pastries and desserts. and honestly, there is something about being able to buy something in any quantity you like that is really appealing to me. see, you don't have to commit to anything at Bulk Barn. i don't like committing to things.

anyway, you are probaby wondering, why the opinion piece about Bulk Barn, right? well, i'm getting to my point. while perusing the aisles like a kid in a candy store one day, i stumbled across a bin filled with coconut flour. i read the label and was immediately intrigued. in Sri Lanka, we love our coconuts and we eat them in just about any form we can, but coconut flour? i had never seen this before. the flour itself looked inconspicuous. it was beige. almost the colour of soft whole wheat flour. i read the ingredients: pure coconut meat. i stared at the dusty, pillowy pile in wonder. if all it is is coconut meat, then surely it should smell just like pure coconut. so i opened the bin and scooped up a bit. the aroma was divine. i knew that i had to buy some. i checked the label and the price was right (77 cents for 100g!) so i put some into a bag and proceeded down the aisles. i rushed home to tell my mom and sister about my amazing find. have you heard of coconut flour? i asked them. they hadn't. i was excited, i was enthusiastic, i was...confused. what does one do with coconut flour? after some research i discovered that coconut flour is a much loved ingredient among celiac disease sufferers and low-carb dieters alike. coconut meat is dried and its oil is extracted. the fibre that remains is then ground into a very fine powder. the flour is (obviously) gluten free and is etremely high in dietary fibre but low in carbohydrates (apparently) and since the coconut meat is defatted before it is dried, the amount of fat that remains in the flour is minimal. and for those of you who care about this sort of thing, the calories in coconut flour are pretty on par with those in regular, all purpose flour.

so, time for the experiment. my sister was not feeling well and needed some TLC, and my aunt, pregnant cousin and niece were scheduled to come and spend the day at our house on the weekend. to be honest, i had started concocting some ideas for recipes when i was still waiting in line to pay for my goods, and while it would have been fun trying to use some of this indulgent flour in a cool bread recipe, i was still just beginning my slow journey back to bread baking after a very traumatic experience. the label at Bulk Barn provided a recipe for some cinnamon sugar cookies, and that seemed like a fantastic first experiment for a sunny, "get well soon," family-filled weekend.

Cinnamon-Sugar Coconut Cookies (recipe courtesy of Bulk Barn)

3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup coconut flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). combine butter, eggs, sugar (reserving 1 tablespoon) and vanilla. mix until well combined. add coconut flour. stir until smooth. let mixture sit for 5 minutes until it becomes thick. comibe cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. form dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and roll in cinnamon-sugar. place cookies on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet about 1 inch apart. flatten cookies slightly with the back of a spoon. bake for about 15 minutes. makes 24 cookies.

i debated only making a half recipe in case people didn't like the cookies, but luckily, i made the whole thing. the cookies were devoured. they are incredibly soft and airy and the coconut flour gives them a unique, nutty flavour. if you look closely at the flour, you can tell that there are little coconut fibres throughout it and it has a distinct, gritty texture. the dough never really becomes hard enough to handle easily. forming the balls and rolling them in the sugar was certainly a messy task, but it was definitely worth it.

i don't think that coconut flour would be a good substitute in any bread recipe, but i would imagine that it would do well in any kind of bar or cookie. it might also work in a cake recipe but i would probably combine it with regular flour if i was going to use it. all in all, coconut flour = awesome new find. i still have some left and i'm already dreaming of what the next experiment will be.

what's for lunch? roasted (your favourite) squash soup with cumin and coriander

i don't think that i could make it through the winter without squash. on those long, cold days when the sun doesn't have the strength to peek through the clouds for even a moment, when the ground is so terribly cold that it starts to develop tiny cracks, when the air is so frigid and piercing that after only a second outside your whole face starts to freeze, there is nothing more comforting then a big pan of roasted squash, orange and vibrant and caramelized.

it is funny that i am writing this on the first day of spring, but in a way, it's very fitting. i honestly don't know how i would have gotten through these past few months without the help from my friends - butternut, hubbard, spaghetti and acorn squash. they have been particularly helpful on those impossible monday mornings when i have to find something to take to the office for lunch.

when my usual big salad with corn, tuna and basil-infused walnut oil just won't cut it, i whip up a big batch of roasted squash soup with cumin and coriander (dried, not fresh - i hate fresh coriander). it lasts for a few days and is a great pick me up in the middle of the day when it's bone-chillingly cold outside. roasting a handful of garlic cloves along with the squash is always a good idea too!

Roasted Squash Soup with Cumin and Coriander

2 cups seeded, peeled and cubed squash (butternut, hubbard and acorn work best)
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
4 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
salt and pepper to taste

2 teaspoons olive oil

pre-heat oven to 425 degrees (F). toss squash with 1 teaspoon of oil; season with salt and pepper. spread evenly on a cookie sheet and bake until squash is golden and tender, about 40 minutes. meanwhile, heat remaining oil over medium-high heat in a large pot. add chopped onion, vegetables and garlic. sautee until tender, about 6 minutes. season with salt and pepper.

add broth. cover with a lid and bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer, covered, another 10 minutes. add roasted squash to the soup and stir in cumin and coriander (my measurements are just estimates - you can add as much or as little as you like). remove soup from heat and let stand for about 5 minutes. puree soup with an immersion blender and blend until smooth. season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

the cure for a rainy day: apricot walnut loaf

sundays are for baking, they really, truly are. rainy sundays are especially suited to tying on an apron and heating up the oven. there is nothing more uplifting than the smell of something yummy and wonderful baking on a damp, cold day. i love being inside and cooking and eating when it's gross outside. i love it. in fact, i have a great fantasy where i'm in Ireland in some really green, cliffy area and it's cold and misty outside and i'm inside in a big, rustic, stone kitchen wearing a big sweater, sitting at a table in front of a fire and eating a thick bowl of stew with a crusty piece of bread on the side. it's a pretty vivid fantasy that i am 110% sure i will live out one day.

this past sunday started out wonderfully. i had a great run by the lake and then went on a nice long drive with my parents. but then the clouds came, followed by the rain and some really lousy weather. it was obvious that i would need to bake something to balance out the drearyness, so i thought, what better way to weather the storm than with an orange, apricot and walnut loaf.

Apricot Walnut Loaf (recipe courtesy of Close-Up on Cakes)

1 1/2 cups dried apricots
1 cup water
2 cups nutri-blend flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
3/4 cup walnut pieces, finely chopped
1/3 cup orange juice
1 egg
1/4 cup butter, melted

preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. butter a 4 1/2 by 9-inch loaf pan and line with parchment or waxed (greaseproof) paper.

place the dried apricots and water in a saucepan. bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, or until the apricots are tender. drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the liquid. cool the apricots and roughly chop. sift the flour and baking soda together into a bowl. add the sugar, orange zest, walnuts, and apricots.

in a separate bowl, beat together the orange juice, egg, melted butter, and reserved apricot liquid. add to the dry ingredients and mix well. spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

weekend baking...sundried tomato, onion and olive foccacia

for many chefs, there is one food, one recipe, one ingredient even, that constantly causes them grief - one thing that they repeatedly attempt to make but that never seems to work out just right. for some, creating a perfect, flaky pie crust is that thing - hours are spent cutting cold butter into white flour, adding a touch of salt or a touch of cornstarch in pursuit of a crust that is forgiving yet durable, tender yet sturdy, but to no avail. for others, the perfect tomato sauce is the ultimate nemesis. chefs experiment with fresh tomatoes, canned whole tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, green tomatoes, forever searching for the right combination of acidity and subtle sweetness, of tang and mellowness. for me, it appears as though that holy grail is a good loaf of bread (hence the title of my first post).

in december i decided that the appropriate thing to do on new year's day was to bake bread. in sri lankan tradition, we always make kiribath, or milk-rice on the first day of the year or the first day of a new endeavour (i.e. a new house, a new job etc). kiribath is one of my favourite things to eat, ever. it's basically a really thick rice pudding made with any kind of short grain rice and coconut milk. you can either eat it as a sweet thing (with hakuru - palm treacle that has been solidified into a really heavy rock of dark, intense sweetness), or as a savory thing (with lunu miris: red onion, lime and chili). anyway, we always make kiribath on new year's day but this year i wanted to add to the fesitivies by baking a loaf (or two) of bread. i followed a basic recipe from Good Housekeeping; both loaves turned out wonderfully and were gone in a matter of days. they were so successful, in fact, that i continued my bread baking adventures by making a black olive focaccia bread after being inspired by an episode of Chef at Home in which one of my favourite chefs, Michael Smith, made the crunchy, airy loaf for his family. my black olive foccacia was a huge success and i was so thrilled with the outcome that i was ready to proclaim myself a master bread baker.

i was invigorated by my string of successful attempts in january. bread, it seemed, was something that was easy for me. i even made brioche, which is one of the most difficult breads to make! surely i wasn't wrong to think that i was approaching pro-bread baker status. i had a gift, a natural gift at bread making. it wouldn't be long until people would hear about my bread baking prowess and comission various loaves from me week after week after week. i decided to prepare for the imminent onslaught of bread demands by expanding my repetoire and trying out some new recipes. i set out to make a really dense, healthy bread one weekend. i had done the simple white loaf; i had made a fancy artisinal foccacia; i had conquered the buttery-sweet and oh-so-French brioche. this was the inevitable next step. i was so excited shopping for ingredients - i bought dark rye flakes, sunflower seeds and hard whole wheat flour, thinking i was going to create a crusty, hearty loaf for my family to enjoy with some home made soup over the weekend. i awoke early on a saturday morning to activate the yeast, dissolving it in lukewarm water and feeding it a teaspoon of sugar. everything was going well. bubbles were forming, the mixture was foamy. i happily added the rye flakes, which i had taken the time to toast slowly in a pan over low heat. i sprinkled in some salt, a few handfuls of sunflower seeds. things were great. and then i dumped in the whole wheat flour. and i knew it was a mistake, i really did. whole wheat flour is fantastic, but it's heavy and hard and it doesn't rise easily. as soon as i added it, the dough became stiff, almost immoveable. i struggled to knead the crumbly, heavy dough in vain, determined not to let the good ingredients go to waste. i placed it in a well-oiled bowl and set it in a warm place to rise, even though i knew it was going to be a disappointment. when i checked on it a few hours later it had gone nowhere fast. it certainly smelled wonderful and it had all of the components of a great loaf, it seemed. i even baked it, but it turned out to be so salty and dense that i decided not to subject my family to it and threw it in the compost.

i was dejected. my confidence as a bread baker deflated, i resigned myself to a lifetime of yeast-free baking, vowing that i just didn't have what it took to make bread. i spent the next few weeks peering longingly into bakeries at the rows and rows of light, airy loaves, happily sitting on the shelves. i read all that i could about bread baking, wondering if i could ever again bring myself to venture back to the world of rising and kneading, of time and patience. i wanted to try again, i really did, but my fear convinced me that i should give up my quest to become a master bread baker, at least temporarily. and then one day, i recalled a recipe from Michael Smith. i remembered an episode of his show in which he baked a loaf of bread in a covered pot in his oven. (side note: i really like Michael Smith because he doesn't just cook; he takes the time to really explain the science behind his recipes and i've learned a great deal from him). i went to his website and found a recipe for a no-knead bread dough. now, soon i will write a separate entry about this recipe, but let me just say that it restored my faith in my bread baking skills. the recipe was effortless and the bread that resulted from my first attempt at making it was honestly one of the best loaves i've ever tasted. this all brings me to the point of this post, really. i am slowly making my way back to the world of bread - i even made a really great homemade pizza crust! and this weekend i had the confidence to make another loaf of foccacia. the bread is still being consumed as we speak and it's been a great treat to devour over the past few cold, rainy days. this recipe is from none other than Michael Smith but i've adapted it a bit (Michael Smith's slogan is "the best recipe is cooking without a recipe" so i've really taken that to heart). enjoy...

Sundried Tomato, Onion and Olive Foccacia (adapted from Chef Michael Smith)

1 cup warm water2 teaspoons yeast
2 cups nutri-blend flour*

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoons olive oil

Coarse sea salt and pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 cup chopped, pitted olives (any kind will do)

1/3 cup chopped, oil-packed sundried tomatoes (drained)

1/2 small yellow onion

finely chop the onion and sautee until tender. add sundried tomatoes and onions and stir to combine. pour the water into a large bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. add 1 cup of the flour and the sugar then stir to combine. let rest for ten minutes or so, until the yeast activates and bubbles appear on surface. add the rest of the flour, salt, olive oil, pepper, thyme and olives and mix well until dough begins to form a ball. continue kneading for a few minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. place in a large, oiled bowl, cover with a towel, and rest in a warm place until the dough doubles, about 1 hour.

lightly oil your hands then knock down the dough, pressing the air out of it. knead a few times and then place dough onto an oiled baking sheet. pull and press dough across pan until if forms a large, flattened circle and vigorously poke dimples into it with your fingertips. drizzle with olive oil, coarse salt and pepper and let rise a second time until it doubles again, about 30 minutes. while you wait preheat your oven to 450 degrees. place in oven and bake until it has formed a golden crust, but is still soft in the centre, about 40 minutes.

as always, the more time you give the dough to rest, the more intense the flavour will be.

*nutri-blend flour by Robin Hood is really great. all it is is all-purpose flour with added wheat bran and you can substitute it cup for cup with virtually any flour. it doesn't alter the taste at all and it really boosts the fibre content. i use it all the time.