FFWD – Buckwheat Blini with Smoked Salmon and Crème Fraîche

October 14, 2011October 17, 2011 ~ Teresa ~ 17 Comments

Blini are small, yeasted, buckwheat pancakes that provide a platform for sumptuous toppings. Think Russian caviar and thick sour cream. This week’s recipe is a French take on this Eastern European classic. I made this for my parents, as I wanted to try the standard version before attempting a gluten-free version that I can serve at home. They have a gas fireplace in the family room and it made the room the perfect place to leave the batter to rise. We’ve has some wet, chilly weather lately and I’m not sure it would have risen anywhere else in the house.

Regular pancakes rely on baking powder for a little lift, but puffy, airy blini batter relies on yeast. The smell is reminiscent of bread, but the buckwheat adds adds a nuttiness to the aroma. In the pan, though, the batter looks and acts like standard pancake batter. I used a wide frying pan, but I’d love to have a stovetop grill for these. It would be nice for party appetizers if they were all done at once, so that they could be quickly topped and served hot, without resorting to reheating.

I served about a third of them as an appetizer, with smoked salmon on a dollop of crème fraîche. Another third went into the fridge, and the last of the blini were reheated, topped with more crème fraîche (this time with brown sugar whipped in) and apples that I’d sautéed in butter and cinnamon. It was a perfect dessert.

You can find many other blogged descriptions of this week’s FFWD recipe here: Buckwheat Blini with Smoked Salmon and Crème Fraîche

Patio’s Progress

October 11, 2011October 8, 2011 ~ Teresa ~ 3 Comments

Literature students will have to forgive me the alliteration stolen from John Bunyan. I just couldn’t help it. As you may have guessed, last week we had a patio put in our backyard and I used its progress for a little photo practice. Here are the results.

FFWD – Olive-Olive Cornish Hens

October 7, 2011October 23, 2011 ~ Teresa ~ 19 Comments

I’ve always agreed with Linus – happiness really is a warm blanket. In fact, when we were teenagers, if my sister wanted something of me, she’d often put a blanket in the dryer and then bring it to me. If she really wanted something, she’d bring me a cup of tea, too.

Spatchcocking in action. — Photo by Jeannine McCarthy

I’ve recently revised this opinion, though – happiness can also be someone else’s kitchen equipment. This week’s French Fridays recipe would have been a lot more difficult if I hadn’t had the use of my mother’s kitchen shears. Her mini food processor came in handy, too. The Cornish hens in this recipe are spatchcocked, which entails removing the backbone and flattening or removing the breast bone, so that the bird will lie flat and cook more quickly. Though Dorie’s instructions were good, I also watched a video, just to make sure that I was doing it correctly. (I love that there are videos available online for cooking techniques, home improvement skills, dance steps, or almost anything else you might want to learn.)

Once the birds are spatchcocked (you could also say that they were butterflied, but spatchcock is a much better word, don’t you think?), black olive tapenade is worked under the skin. The outer skin is rubbed with olive oil and seasoned with salt, pepper, and a little lemon juice. Now you can see why the double olive is not a typo. I used Dorie’s tapenade recipe, which is lemony, salty and lovely.

The birds cook quickly at high heat, but the half-an-hour in the oven allows the flavour of the tapenade to permeate the meat. I served the hens with steamed vegetables, which needed no more dressing than the juicy birds provided. This dish would be perfect for a dinner party. It’s easy, but very impressive.

You can find many other blogged descriptions of this week’s FFWD recipe here: Olive-Olive Cornish Hens

The Land Where We Stand

October 4, 2011October 4, 2011 ~ Teresa ~ 8 Comments

I try to keep the land in mind. It’s easy to get distracted by asphalt and concrete, by cars and people, and by the ideas we impose upon the places that we live. It’s why I get upset when I read about politicians in the Fraser Valley trying to rezone land in the Agricultural Land Reserve for more housing developments. It’s also why I’m trying my hand at square foot gardening in my own back yard. Cycling infrastructure, wilderness protection, and development downsizing are all examples of keeping the land (specifically its health) in mind.

But keeping the land in mind goes beyond protecting its physical reality. It’s also about keeping its history in mind. There has always been settlement in the region that’s now called Vancouver. The land I live on is Coast Salish Territory and it has a history beyond its colonial one. I keep this in mind, too, whether I’m thinking about political actions or community celebrations.

The photo at the top of this post is of some graffiti on a road not far from where I live. It reminds me of lost salmon streams and of the peoples who lived here before the pavement. They’re still here and the land I’m standing on is part of their still unceded territories.

FFWD – Deconstructed BLT and Eggs

September 30, 2011September 30, 2011 ~ Teresa ~ 40 Comments

Your perfect greasy spoon may be someone else’s idea of the eighth circle of hell. Opinions on the best breakfast spot can cause nearly friendship-rifting arguments. For some reason, the short-order grill menu evokes loyalty to an ideal that is broadly agreed upon, though the details are fiercely contested. Think about your favourite lunch counter sandwich – you know exactly how your grilled cheese (or maybe it’s a tuna melt, Monte Cristo, clubhouse, or Reuben) should be made. So, deconstructing the BLT – the ultimate greasy spoon sandwich – is a daring undertaking.

This week’s French Fridays recipe turns the sandwich into a salad, adding oeufs mayonnaise for some extra protein. Nothing about the recipe is difficult, but it’s a multi-step process that can take some time to complete. Hard-boiled eggs, crisp chunks of bacon, cubes of country bread browned in bacon fat, halved cherry tomatoes and chopped sun-dried tomatoes – once these ingredients are prepared, it’s almost meal time. Once the greens and tomatoes have been tossed in vinaigrette (I used Dorie’s Everyday Vinaigrette recipe, as suggested), the rest of the ingredients are scattered on top and the dish is complete.

I followed the recipe almost exactly, only straying when I found myself adding dried parsley, ground rosemary and garlic powder to the bread cubes as they cooked. It was a nice addition. The salad divided nicely into three generous dinner portions and was a surprising hit. I enjoyed it more than I’ve ever liked an authentic BLT. (Feel free to start vilifying me now, Team BLT.)

So tell me, what is the most important thing that makes a greasy spoon great? What changes would make your favourite dish there inauthentic or disappointing? What would make you take a road trip to find out if a breakfast joint was as good as advertised? And lastly, what was the name of your long-lost favourite cheap eats spot? I know there is one; so many have disappeared over the last few decades.

You can find many other blogged descriptions of this week’s FFWD recipe here: Deconstructed BLT and Eggs

Some Autumnal Distraction

September 27, 2011May 4, 2014 ~ Teresa ~ 2 Comments

September’s nearly over and I’ve started to do a fall cleanup of my backyard and garden beds. (You can guess at the state of my yard right now, since I’ve tried to distract you with a nice ocean view, instead of sharing a photo of my garden.) I’ve got an extra incentive to get that clean up done, as we’re having a patio put in starting Friday and the contractor’s also going to build me a raised bed along the fence. I think my days of fighting with blackberry cane and morning glory will soon be done. There’s still a little life in my vegetable garden, with beets and swiss chard going strong. I even found a few more cucumbers today. I’ve brought the dill in to dry, but should have several more weeks of the other herbs. The warm, sunny days aren’t quite over, but the nights are cool and damp. I like to think I embrace the changing of the seasons, but sometimes I need a little distraction from winter’s approach. Luckily, it’s going to be a busy autumn.

This weekend’s particularly busy, starting with Knit Social‘s yarn sale and swap. It’s also Culture Days weekend, a cross-Canada celebration of arts and culture. The CBC is kicking it off on Friday, with a day-long outdoor festival. The Vancouver International Film Festival starts on the 29th, which is so good that some folks plan their annual vacations around it. Saturday’s Faeries’ Ball looks like a lovely way to recapture youthful fantasies and will be just a taste of what we can expect at their House of Faerie Bad Things later this month. I think that haunted house might give the Secret Souls Walk a run for its money. Sunday mixes cycling with art appreciation for BIKENNALE, a free tour of the Vancouver Biennale sculptures.

Perhaps after the weekend’s over, I’ll be too tired to notice the turning of the seasons.

FFWD – Honey-Spiced Madeleines

September 23, 2011September 23, 2011 ~ Teresa ~ 31 Comments

My Madeleines aren’t Madeleines at all, since they lack the distinctive scalloped shape of the storied little cakes. I don’t have a Madeleine pan and I (surprisingly) didn’t run out and buy one in anticipation of this week’s French Fridays recipe. I tried to lend my version a little of the original’s lustre, though, baking them in silver foil miniature muffin cups. Literary lustre replaced with literal lustre.

Dorie’s version is also a variation in flavour from the traditional lemon-zested cake, so perhaps it’s fitting that they have their own shape. These tiny domes are flavoured with orange zest, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. They also have a surprising, mild bite from the pinch of pepper added to the batter. I chilled the batter for three hours before using it, but it continues to improve if you rest it in the fridge for even longer.

The cakes have a little give in the centre and a little crispness around the edges. The sponge is infused with orange flavour and it’s as though the spices are suspended throughout. They’re lovely with tea and can, if you’re not careful, give you pretensions of literary greatness.

You can find many other blogged descriptions of this week’s FFWD recipe here: Honey-Spiced Madeleines

The First Year

September 20, 2011May 4, 2014 ~ Teresa ~ 9 Comments

It’s been a year since I started this blog. My intention was to write mostly about community, in all its forms (well, the ones that occurred to me, anyway). Around the time I was setting up the blog, I learned that French Fridays With Dorie was beginning that October and I joined. I have a mild food blog obsession and had run across some Tuesdays With Dorie posts. I liked the idea of cooking through a whole cookbook and the comments sections of TWD posts were very lively. French Fridays sounded like it would be fun and challenging, so I couldn’t resist.

I worried that having two separate post streams might be annoying or confusing for people who were interested in one subject or the other. What I found, though, is that my French Fridays posts have become community-building in action. Participants read each other’s French Fridays posts, but often read and comment on the rest of one another’s blogs, too. We’ve even gotten to know each other a little. Somehow, what I thought would be an entirely different stream has come to be an exemplar of what I’ve been trying to explore here.

I knew this anniversary was coming up and I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about. Then, Elaine of California Living tagged me in the Seven Links Game. It sounded like a perfect structure for a little retrospective.

So, here goes:

FFWD – (Not) Cinnamon-Crunch Chicken

September 17, 2011May 4, 2014 ~ Teresa ~ 13 Comments

Sometimes the stars don’t align when I’m planning to make a recipe. It’s not surprising that this might happen occasionally while participating in a weekly cooking group. This week’s French Fridays recipe, Cinnamon-Crunch Chicken, sounds like a quick, interesting, weeknight dinner choice. Crumbled speculoos coating slices of chicken breast, with crème fraiche for richness – fifteen minutes from preparation to table. Sounds good, except for one thing – I wasn’t able to get any suitable gluten-free cookies and my usual gluten-eating ~~victims~~ taste-testers just weren’t available.

No matter. As Doristas like to say, French Fridays recipes are as much jumping off points as they are road maps. The cinnamon put me in mind of Moroccan flavours, so I marinated slices of chicken breast in safflower oil, lemon juice, cinnamon, sugar, cumin, paprika, and garlic. I left the chicken in the marinade for a couple of hours, then sautéed it in a little chicken stock. Meanwhile, I softened some brown rice vermicelli in hot water. When the chicken was done, I added a little more lemon juice to the pan and gave it a good stir. Then, I fried the vermicelli in the pan juices. Quinoa would have been a closer match for the traditional (and gluten-y) couscous, but I fancied the vermicelli tonight.

As you can see, I’m not much of a recipe writer. I love the term au pif, which Dorie describes as cooking by instinct. It’s an everyday way of making a meal – using what’s on hand and changing the ingredients according to taste. Tonight’s chicken could easily be turned into a stew with the addition of lentils or chickpeas, vegetables and a bit more liquid. It could also be served over any number of starches or some lightly dressed greens. So, not a recipe at all, really.

Sometimes, that’s what cookbooks are for – inspiration, not instruction. I learn a lot by following recipes exactly, using techniques and ingredients that are new to me, but the digressions are where creativity lies. I’m looking forward to reading about everyone’s experience with this week’s recipe proper and I’m quite sure I’ll find some other instances where things took a different turn.

You can find many blogged descriptions of this week’s FFWD recipe here: Cinnamon-Crunch Chicken.

You’ve still got a couple of days to check out my 100th post, too – I’ve got a little giveaway happening. The winners will be announced on Tuesday, September 20th.

The Family You Choose

September 13, 2011May 4, 2014 ~ Teresa ~ 5 Comments

Who are the people you call when you’re in need, elated, or down? Chances are, not everyone you’d name would be family. For some people, there wouldn’t be a single family member on that list.

I’m lucky. I’ve got a relationship with my family of origin. No matter the challenges, we’re there for each other. It’s not true for everyone, especially for people whose families refuse to acknowledge their identities. Though estrangement can happen for many reasons, queer and trans folks are more likely to have families that don’t accept them. It’s from these communities that the concept of chosen family arose.

A chosen family is one that you create, made up of people who love you through everything – difference, distance, and disagreement. The members of my own chosen family have subtly imprinted themselves onto the DNA of my soul. I’ll be celebrating those folks at the Chosen Family Picnic later this month. There are so many days of the year given over to celebrating our families of origin, it seems fitting to dedicate one to this less visible expression of family.

I’ll never understand how someone can look at a child, sibling, or parent and reject them for their sexual orientation or gender identity. (Maybe that’s because my own coming out processes passed almost unremarked by my family. As I said, I’ve been lucky.) Humans are resilient and connection surpasses biology, so people can forge new bonds with people whose love shows them no limit. It’s a matter of finding those folks when you need them.

If you’d like to see a really beautiful expression of Chosen Family, there’s still time to see the Chosen Family Portraits project at the Museum of Vancouver – the exhibit closes September 30th.

Check out my 100th post, too – I’ve got a little giveaway happening.