D and I met when he was a 14 year old bus boy and I was a hostess/cocktail server (read: older).  But in the years in between our initial friendship and eventual courtship, D moved away a couple of times.  We became reacquainted between his first and second year of studies in Hospitality at Ryerson University in TO.  In those days long distance telephone calls were expensive and emailing, texting and skype did not exist at all and so snail mail became our significant link.  D and I still write each other letters to this day-we slip them under pillows and into carry on bags to surprize each other when we are apart.

I have always had a fondness for literature that adapted letter collections as their literary format.  I am especially enthralled by the inferences that fill in the gaps between the arrival of a letter from one correspondent to the reply by the other.  Last evening I finished a novel entitled The Recipe Club by Andrea Israel and Nancy Garfinkel.  They had me at the dedication: “To our mothers and fathers, who taught us how to cook and how to love.” 

In the end I would say that there was less about cooking than I would have liked but the rules of their “club” (of two) was that they sent a recipe in each of their posted letters.  The recipes were traditional ones that were already in my repertoire so it meant that I could skip the recipe pages and complete the book in half the time.  But here is one the particularly struck me-not so much for the ingredients themselves but this explanation: “I’m giving up on hearing from you, but I can’t, I won’t let you go.  To send you more words feels meaningless and hollow.  So I’m sending you a recipe instead.  It’s something I know you’ll love.  It uses olives-an ancient symbol of faithfulness, patience, and peace.”

Forgiveness Tapenade

I c pitted olives, finely chopped

3 T olive oil

1 T capers

freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 a lemon

3 garlic gloves, finely chopped

5 anchovy fillets

black pepper

Combine all of the tapenade ingredients in a blender and whir until smooth.

Kath’s quote: “The whole Mediterranean … the wine, the ideas … seems to ride in the sour pungent taste of those black olives … A taste older than meat, older than wine. A taste as old as cold water.”-Lawrence Durrell

love so amazing

I do not particularly like to bake.  Cakes are my worst nightmare-breads and crisps are more my style.  But if I have to bake, I love to in the early morning. Perhaps this is a throwback to the summers that I spent with my Grandma who did her baking before the kitchen got too hot (she had a wood stove in the kitchen and an electric stove in the porch).  And so here it is at 7:25 am and two loaves of banana bread are already in the oven.

My early morning baking companion…

For some comfort foods, “old  school” is best.  I’ve been making this recipe since the kids were little.  I have “gussied” the recipe up with pecans or blueberries but in the end it is this basic version that my gang loves.  We are planning a family road trip soon and this is always the first request when I pack the lunches. 

Best-Ever Banana Bread (from Grand Slam- Best of Bridge)

2 c sugar

1 c butter

6 overly ripe bananas-mashed (3 c)

4 eggs, well beaten

2 1/2 c flour

2 t baking soda

1 t salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  With electric beater, cream butter & sugar until light and fluffy,  Add bananas, eggs, and beat until well mixed.  Blend dry ingredients together in a large separate bowl.  Pour in banana mixture and mix just enough to blend-do not over-mix.  Pour into 2 lightly greased loaf pans.  Bake 45 minutes to one hour.  Test for doneness.  Cook on rack for 10 minutes before removing from pans.  These freeze beautifully.  We like them best a day later when they have been stored at room temp.

Kath’s quote: “Happiness is when you see your husband’s old girlfriend and she’s fatter than you!” -author unknown

love, love, love

Jamie Oliver is my kind of guy-his recipes use affordable ingredients, he is an ambassador of “real” food, he loves his kids and his wife, his success has apparently not changed his wardrobe and he writes his recipes as if he were standing in the kitchen next to you:  “don’t worry about technique, just chop away until fine”, “if you’re ready to tuck in,  just drape the warm slices over the lettuce and serve” , “it would be lovely if everyone had a go at making things like tarts, tortes or pastries at home…..”

My prized “Food Revolution” Cookbook was a gift from my son and daughter (in law) #3.  This past Sunday dinner (mandatory) I prepared a big batch of spaghetti and then sent everybody home with left overs.  I added a couple of my own modifications and the kids had their own improvement as well.  Here is the result:

2 slices of bacon, chopped

2 medium onions, peeled and chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

olive oil

2 heaped t of dried oregano

1 lb good quality beef pork or (even better) a mixture of the two

28 oz. can of diced tomatoes

s&p

a small bunch of fresh basil

4 oz. Parmesan cheese

1 lb. dried spaghetti

I doubled the recipe and used a lb. of ground pork and a thinly sliced flank steak from the freezer.  I soaked both in milk before cooking (a technique I had seen in another Bolognese recipe) and then finely chopped up the flank steak.

Saute bacon with oregano and cook until golden.  Add veggies and stir every frequently until softened and lightly coloured.  Stir in the meat (drained if soaked in milk) and tomatoes.  Now Jamie adds a can of water but the kids think that this makes the sauce too soupy, so go by your own preference.  Let simmer until veggies or to your desired firmness (approx. 20 minutes).  Add S&P to taste.  Add freshly torn basil leaves.  Cook pasta to your liking and when it is el dente, drain and stir into the sauce.    Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Kath’s quote: “The strands of spaghetti were vital, almost alive in my mouth, and the olive oil was singing with flavor. It was hard to imagine that four simple ingredients [olive oil, pasta, garlic and cheese] could marry so perfectly.”-Ruth Reichl

Let love be multiplied.

And so it is that I finally get to the topic of yesterday’s musings…..our Pecan Sweet Potato recipe.  Of all the dishes that I make, this recipe is most requested.  It is an adaption of  Jean Pare’s from her “Company’s Coming for Christmas” book.

The recipe calls for 2 large sweet potatoes but it is very easy to modify for larger crowds.  This weekend I’m using 6 huge potatoes.

Cut unpeeled sweet potatoes into large pieces and cook in boiling salted water until just tender.  Drain and cool.  They will now be very easy to peel.  Re cut into pieces of a desired size.  Toss with  a 1/2 c of brown sugar and place into a casserole dish, pouring a smidgen of water into the bottom of the dish.  Dot with dabs of butter. 

For the pecan topping: Combine 1/4 c butter, 1/4 c flour, 1/2 c brown sugar and 1/2 c chopped pecans.  Mix with your hands to form a crumb style topping.  Sprinkle over all.  Bake, uncovered for approx. 30 mins at 375 degrees or until desired tenderness is reached.

Baby marshmallows can be substitute if there are nut allergies in your family.  Simply skip the crumb mixture and after 30 minutes in the oven, place miniatures (quantity to your liking) on top and broil until brown and bubbly (watch carefully-this would NOT be a good time to make the turkey gravy).

I am thankful for all my readers and the friends in my world who make my life so worthy of celebration…with food. 

Kath’s quote: “I yam what’s I yam and that’s all that I yam.”-Popeye

Did you see when Jamie Oliver demonstrated to the elementary school kids how a chicken nugget is made on his Food Revolution TV show?  Even though I knew that they were not made from an in tact piece of chicken,  Omgoodness-it was so gross. One of the reasons that I love Jamie Oliver is that he doesn’t take away without giving back.  In this case, with an alternate chicken recipe that kids (and their parents) would love.  From Jamie’s Food Revolution:

“This crumbing technique is so versatile-you can cook pork or even cod in exactly the same way.  As there is butter in the crumb mixture, you can grill fry, roast or bake the meat dry in the oven and it will go lovely and golden.

serves 2

1 clove garlic

1 lemon

6 cream or plain crackers, such as Jacob’s (I would suggest salt-less soda biscuits)

2 T butter

4 springs of Italian parsley

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

2 heaped T flour

1 large egg

2 skinless chicken breast fillets

olive oil

Peel the garlic and zest the lemon.  Put the crackers in a food processor with the butter garlic, parsley sprigs, lemon zest and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Whiz until the mixture is very fine, then pour these crumbs on a plate.  Crack the egg into a small bowl and beat with a fork.  Lightly score the underside of the chicken breasts.  Put a square of plastic wrap over each one and bash a few times with the bottom of a pan until the breasts flatten out a bit.  Dip the chicken into the flour until both sides are completely coated, then dip into the egg and finally into the flavoured crumbs.  Push the crumbs onto the chicken so they stick-you want the meat to be totally coated.

You can either bake or fry the chicken.  If baking, preheat your oven to its highest temperature (475 degrees), place your chicken on a sheet pan and cook for 15 minutes.  If frying, put a frying pan on medium heat, add a few glugs of oil and cook the chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until cooked through, golden and crisp.

Either serve the chicken breasts whole or cut them into strips and pile them on a plate.  Beautiful and simple served with a lemon wedge for squeezing over and a tiny sprinkling of salt.  Great with a lovely fresh salad or simply dressed veggies.”

Kath’s quote (even though I would beg to differ):  “All in all, I think the British actually hate food, otherwise they couldn’t possibly abuse it so badly. Americans, on the other hand, love food but seldom care what it tastes like.”-Bill Marsano