HIATUS

Some things have recently happened that have me considering a posting hiatus. I’m gonna leave the site as it is but for the time being I will not be posting any new material.

Random Weekly Thoughts

- Definitely enjoying the cool, fall sweater weather days and getting to wear my recently polished cowboy boots

- Starting to save for the future and realizing that its difficult to save a considerable sum of money #biggirlproblems

- Join the Asking Canadians Panel and earn Aeroplan Miles — I get a referral bonus if you do. Hey a girl’s gotta travel somehow, now that I’m saving money.

- I’m using the new Skitch integrated into Evernote and I’m finding that it’s not very intuitive. Have some of the options gone missing or is it just me?

- The season premiere of Grey’s Anatomy was Depressing (capital D intended) R.I.P McSteamy, I’m gonna miss Mark Sloan on the screen every week. But damn that was good Emmy material. I’m glad the new crop of T.V. shows have started for the season.

- Pet peeves: 1) Office politics: Can’t people just go to work, do their jobs and smile? B) People rushing to get on the TTC: at the expense of the elderly and mothers with toddlers and strollers: Can’t you just let them off first without knocking them out of the way? *sigh*

- I really like this sweater from Aritzia. But not the price tag.

- The little kid in me lights up whenever the time for McDonald’s Monopoly rolls around. I don’t eat at McDonald’s enough to ever win anything, but it just makes me think of childhood and makes me nostalgic for the game nights when I would play Monopoly against my grandparents, translating every rule into Portuguese for them (Monopoly is my favourite board game BTW).

- Melissa Benoist’s cover of Adele’s Chasing Pavements on GLEE is kind of amazing.

- Pete Holmes was great at JFL42, really, really funny. See him here on Conan.

Raspberry Lemon Squares

I made this one back at the end of July, when we had a crop of awesome berries. The good thing about these is that the combinations can also be endless. But be warned the pictures for this one aren’t as great. Original recipe posted at Improv Kitchen.

Ingredients:

Crust:

9 T. (1 stick + 1 T.) butter
¼ c. sugar
1 c. flour
1 t. vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Filling:

12 oz (heaping 2 c.) frozen raspberries thawed

¾ c. sugar

⅔ c. lemon juice (about 4 lemons)

2 T. lemon zest (3 lemons worth)

3 egg whites

1 egg

⅔ c. flour

pinch of salt

Powdered sugar for dusting on top (I did not use this)

Preheat oven to 350º F. Line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper so you can easily lift the bars out once they’ve cooled. If you don’t have an 8×8 that’s ok. I did this in a smaller rectangular pan too and they turned out just fine. You may have to adjust the baking times depending on the size.

To make the crust:

Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer, then add in vanilla. Add flour until just incorporated. Dump dough in baking pan and press with your hands until it evenly covers the bottom of the dish. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until slightly golden brown.

To make the filling:

If you, like me didn’t have enough time for the raspberries to thaw on their own, place in microwave for 1 minute to soften them up. Then put in a fine mesh sieve and press the berries through (this removes the seeds) into a large bowl. If you don’t mind seeds, you can add them in whole. Or if you don’t have a sieve, you can blend them up in a food processor or blender. Add sugar, egg whites, egg, lemon juice + zest, flour, and salt to the bowl and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the crust (don’t worry, it’s a very loose mixture, it will thicken) and bake for 25 – 30 minutes depending on your oven and the sized baking dish you use.

Let cool to room temperature and then place in the refrigerator for 4 hours (or until they’ve cooled completely). You can place them in the freezer if you need them sooner but refrigerator is best. If you let them cool overnight, they’re even better!

Warning: these were quite tart (even with the extra sugar I added to the recipe), which I didn’t mind, but if you prefer a sweeter filling, I would suggest you taste test as you keep adding sugar. Also I had trouble cutting these into bars as they were very crumbly.

Garden Fresh

It’s that time of year when the garden is bursting with fresh goodness. So here’s a little fresh salad to tickle the tastebuds. I came up with this one in my search for healthy take to work food, sandwiches just weren’t cutting it anymore.

 

Ingredients:

1 cup of cooked chickpeas

1/2 of a colourful sweet pepper

5-10 cherry tomatoes

1 medium sized new potato (boiled, with skin)

1/2 of a small onion

A sprig of fresh parsley

Olive oil and vinegar to taste

 

Coarsely chop the vegetables and toss them with the chickpeas into a large bowl. Season to taste.

The wonderful thing about this recipe is that you can create many different variations to suit individual tastes, and most ingredients can be sourced fresh (like these were, except chick peas) from your local garden or farmer’s market. Happy eating!

Words Words Words

The one where I should be doing homework instead of updating the website… but lucky for me I write out the thoughts in my head and sometimes they come out as poems, or something resembling poetry. So here is a Mixtape20s original:

 

Butterfly Dreams

filter noise out
silence
electric hum
scratching
pen?
ink?
graphite?
tune out the noise
tune out the pain
numb
but not painkiller
hot
hot
hot
need to cool
journey to the centre of
wool?
blanket
that explains the hot
or ill
that does too

 

There are nights when I just can’t fall asleep, my mind races a mile a minute, like the beating/flapping? of butterfly wings. I’m too hot, or I can’t find the cool side of the pillow, the train noise goes on forever, the red phone light stares at me from across the room. There are so many reasons not to fall asleep, yet often, I just sleep too much.

Look what I made… gnocchi!

And the best part? I made it from scratch. Thanks to a recipe printed in the Toronto Star back in January 2012. I was a little hesitant to use this recipe for Food Friday at first because it calls for 500g of potatoes and I don’t have a cooking scale, so I had to do some clever googling (it’s about 4-5 potatoes if you’re wondering) to figure it out. Secondly I questioned if the potatoes were off would the ratio to other ingredients be as well? Would I end up with soggy gnocchi? However the thing about gnocchi is that the recipe varies throughout Italy (thank you Google!) so the ratio of potatoes to flour to egg varies greatly throughout Italy’s different regions. Turns out I love this recipe, it came out quite well for something I thought would be a total failure.  My only complaint would be that when I froze the extra gnocchi and then defrosted it for use on a different day, the pieces of gnocchi would just stick together forming a large clump and I would then have to re-roll, toss with flour and cut new pieces. Would anyone (with more cooking experience) know how to remedy this?

 

Piola’s Gnocchi

18 oz. (500 g) baking potatoes, peeled, cut into 6 equal pieces (4 or 5 medium-large potatoes)

1 large egg yolk

0.2 oz. (5 g) table or fine sea salt

8 oz. (225 g) all-purpose flour + more for sprinkling

Optional:

Extra-virgin olive oil or butter

Freshly grated parmesan cheese

2 cups (500 g) tomato or cheese sauce (I used vodka sauce again, next on my list… to make tomato sauce from scratch)
In large pot of salted, boiling water over high heat, cook potatoes until al dente, just fork tender but not mushy. Drain well. Mash well with potato masher. Transfer to sealed container; refrigerate until cold, preferably overnight.

Place potatoes in mound on counter. Top with egg yolk. Sprinkle with salt. Mix well by hand. Add 8 oz. (225 g) flour. Knead until smooth dough is formed and flour is fully incorporated, about 5 minutes.

Pat dough into fat round. Cut into 5 equal portions, weighing if needed. By hand, roll each portion into long, thin strip, about 12 inches (31 cm.) long and 1 inch (2.5 cm.) wide. Sprinkle with flour as needed to prevent sticking. With sharp knife, cut each strip into 1-inch (2.5-cm.) gnocchis. (Should make about 60 pieces.)

Transfer gnocchi to baking sheet. Generously toss with flour to prevent sticking.

Cook gnocchi immediately, refrigerate overnight, or freeze (defrost in fridge before cooking).

To cook, put gnocchi in fine-mesh sieve to tap out and discard excess flour. (FYI I didn’t find this necessary)

Bring large, tall, pot of lightly salted water to boil over high heat. Cook gnocchi, preferably in two batches so they don’t clump together. When they float to top (usually in 1 to 2 minutes, this actually does happen so get them out QUICK!), remove immediately with slotted spoon or wire strainer.

To serve, transfer gnocchi to bowl and toss with oil or butter and parmesan. Alternately, if using tomato or cheese sauce, warm 1 cup (250 mL) sauce in large skillet over medium high until bubbling and slightly thickened. Add half gnocchi. Cook, stirring or tossing, until well coated. Using spoon, pile gnocchi on plate or in shallow bowl to create a “mountain.” Drizzle with any remaining sauce from skillet.

Repeat with remaining sauce and gnocchi.

Makes about 4 servings.

Ta Da!

I highly recommend trying out this recipe

A third Wordy Thursday

Today’s selection is particularly strange. Essentially it is a slogan for a small concept store in Lisboa/Lisbon, Portugal. I spent some time in Lisbon two years ago while taking a course at the University of Lisbon and while I never had a chance to enter the store, I would still marvel at the curiosities in the window and remind myself how apt the store slogan is in regards to life itself.

 

In the original Portuguese:

 

Na natureza nada se repete,

não há duas árvores iguais,

dois pássaros iguais,

duas gotas de chuva iguais,

dois beijos iguais.

Neste fabrico infinito

também tudo é único e irrepetível.

Não volta mais.

Aproveitem.

E sejam felizes.

 

__________________________

Translation:
In nature nothing repeats itself, there aren’t two identical trees, two birds alike, two rain drops alike, two kisses alike. In this Fabrico Infinito also everything is unique and doesn’t repeat itself. It doesn’t come back. Enjoy. And be happy.

- José Trabucho

 

_________________________

While “Fabrico Infinito” here lends itself to the name of the store it also means “the infinite fabric” and to me that speaks to life and existence itself.

 

And if you ever want to check out the shop in Lisbon:

Fabrico Infinito | Coffee & tea, Shopping |
Rua D. Pedro V 74 | Príncipe Real | +351212467629
Tue – Sat 11:00 – 19:00

Very Berry Bliss Cheesecake

Oh look a FOOD Friday post! I’ve become comfortable enough with some desserts to begin experimenting with ingredients to create different textures and flavours.  This recipe is really a creation of a mash-up between the Classic Philadelphia Cheesecake of which there are many varieties and the Blackberry Cheesecake over at The Pioneer Woman. I’ve taken the best of both worlds and merged them for your enjoyment.

Prep Time: 10-20 minutes

Total Time: 5 hours – 6 hours

Makes: 12 servings

Crust:

1 1/2 cups of peeled toasted almonds
FYI: pecans also work, as do straight up graham crackers, however I chose almonds because they are a healthier option than ground up cookies but taste just as awesome.

15 graham crackers/ginger snaps

1/4 cup of butter (melted)

1 tsp of sugar (optional)

Cheesecake:

3 pkg. (250 g each) cream cheese (brick format)

3/4 cup of sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

3 eggs

3 tbsp. Greek yogurt OR sour cream (optional)

Topping:

2 cups of blackberries (or any other berries or a mix)

1/2 cup of sugar

2 tbsp. of water

1. Soak the almonds in warm water until the skin easily comes off. Pat to dry. Spread the almonds out on a large oven dish and toast until golden brown.

2. In a food processor, mix the toasted almonds with the cookies and mix until they resemble bread crumbs.

3. Melt the butter and mix with the crumbs.  Press onto the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan.

4. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with a mixer, until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed (it can get messy!) until blended. At this point you may add the Greek yogurt OR sour cream if you prefer a creamier/softer cake. Pour over crust.

5. Bake 45-50 min. or until centre is almost set (this greatly depends on the oven, mine took 1hr, 15 mins).

6. While the cheesecake is baking, heat the berries in a skillet over high heat, with the sugar and water. Cook the berries  until they begin to release juices and become soft (if it is left to cook for too long the berries will turn to complete mush, and will be no good). Turn off the oven and set the skillet with berries aside to cool down.

7. Once the cheesecake is ready set it aside to cool down as well and then gently remove it from the pan and place it on a plate. At this point you may pour the berries over the cheesecake and refrigerate for 4 hours.

And voila!

One post, many ideas…

Sometimes I find myself just thinking about random things during the course of the week. Sometimes I’ll brainstorm topics for a post and while they may be good ideas, they aren’t more than a few lines long. Other times I just have little comments about things I read or hear or feel during the week but that won’t make it past the pages of my journal. Today I’m going to compile some from the past week, and so you have: the good, the bad, the ugly and the utterly ridiculous.

- After a very sub-par Summer season of TV shows (here’s looking at you True Blood), I am very much looking forward to Mad Men, The Good Wife, Grey’s Anatomy, The Amazing Race, Bones and to a lesser extent Hart of Dixie and The Big Bang Theory. As well as Downton Abbey and Sherlock later on in the year. If you don’t know what I’m talking about go here FAST!

- Boy am I glad the last weekend of the Canadian National Exhibition is over, taking with it the horror that is the noise pollution of the Air Show. While it may honour war veterans and be a time honoured Toronto tradition, Joe Fiorito of the Toronto Star hit the nail right on the head last week when he authored the article “Why the CNE air show should not fly“. There are better ways to honour our veterans than through, noise pollution, wasteful consumption of fuel and dangerous flying antics which should be saved for the necessity of a military operation.

- I’m not a fan of the Twilight Saga or it’s stars but Kristen Stewart did look quite amazing at the TIFF premiere of her new movie On The Road. Her Zuhair Murad Couture dress was phenomenal. Although I would much rather see Joseph Gordon-Levitt!

Image Source: ©VINCE TALOTTA/TORONTO STAR

- Having never attended a Shakespeare in High Park production during all of the years that I’ve heard about it, I was extremely lucky to witness an amazing production on the last day! A Midsummer Night’s Dream was hilarious, Canadiana kitsch and all.

Alright, TTFN.

A Midsummer Thursday

Well this didn’t happen on a Thursday, but rather on a Sunday. I went to go see the closing day of Shakespeare in High Park 2012 season. This year for the 30th anniversary they put on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and it was phenomenal, completely blew my expectations out of the water. This is why this weeks’ poetry selection is again from Shakespeare.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Act 5, Scene 1

The lunatic, the lover, and the poet,
Are of imagination all compact:
One sees more devils than vast hell can hold,
That is, the madman; the lover, all as frantic,
Sees Helen’s beauty in a brow of Egypt:
The poet’s eye, in a fine frenzy rolling,
Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven;
And, as imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen
Turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation and a name.
Such tricks hath strong imagination,
That, if it would but apprehend some joy,
It comprehends some bringer of that joy;
Or in the night, imagining some fear,
How easy is a bush supposed a bear!

To me this passage is about perception, the lover is as much a poet as he is a lunatic. Love does weird and wondrous things which the mind cannot comprehend and as such the onlooker may not comprehend them either. The lunatic perceives the impossible like all lovers do and much like the lunatic the poet then transcribes the perception, creating from thin air the wonder in the written word.