The cold grip continues in Manitoba and when we say that we are colder than Mars we are not just using a figure of speech. Overnight temperatures (with the wind chill) have been in the -50 range. Because I work from home I am one of the fortunate ones. It is simply treacherous for our eldest who uses a motorized wheelchair to go outside. My beautiful grand-babies can’t get to school because of frozen vehicles (their Daddy, our son has been walking to work). Our 2nd son (son in law) works on the front lines at Siloam Mission and I can only imagine what they are trying to cope in this weather crisis.

Anyhoo…I was trying to decide on a stew or soup that would keep us warm tonight and I came upon a top ten list of foods that, for various reasons, will keep you warm: cinnamon, dried fruits, eggs, ginger, honey, pepper, saffron, sesame seeds, turmeric and hot soups. The latter being an obvious. This didn’t sound like a soup concoction but it did sound like a spice cookie recipe! I started with a recipe from the Middle East and modified it to incorporate more of the list. It already covered off cinnamon, dried fruits, eggs and ginger. I added honey, pepper and sesame seeds and I swapped  whole what flour for white flour, vanilla whiskey for brandy and raisins for currants.I couldn’t find a way to incorporate turmeric or saffron. Drat.

The result?

An unusual tasting but satisfying cookie.

So now you can go off of your January diet and have a really good excuse to eat cookies!

Love never fails.

One last recipe to clean out the provisions and pack for our trip.

Kath’s quote: “I am still convinced that a good, simple, homemade cookie is preferable to all the store-bought cookies one can find.”
-James Beard

Love-that is all.

Huh? I was recently asked to create a cupcake recipe for the Be Well Blog that would match my personality.  This is harder to do than you might imagine.  At first I put forth the idea that I was a tomato soup cupcake because:

• I am very practical and there is always affordable and convenient tomato soup in every bodies’ cupboard.
• I prefer “savoury” over “sweet” and the spicy tastes of this recipe suit me just fine.
• I prefer hearty cream cheese icings over light and sweet ones, loving the pungency of the cream cheese.
• I am old school.
• The recipe has been passed down from my Mom (with modifications).
• Tomatoes, raisins, cloves and cinnamon are all super foods with many known health benefits. I love to provide foods for my family that are a tasty treat and nutritional at the same time.

Turns out that there was another cupcake that suited me much better.  Do you think that I would be?:

The Peacekeeper: You are straightforward, honest, and give the best advice. You would rather avoid conflict, but are always there to referee and keep the peace. You like the simple things in life, but that doesn’t mean that you are boring. Sometimes you go crazy and choose chocolate. (It’s ok. We won’t tell.)

or

The Archivist: You are down-to-earth, welcoming, and grateful for every single day. You love celebrating with your extended family and friends and are just a little on the nostalgic side. You save everything and are considered the unofficial family archivist.

I think that both sound like me, which means that I would be a cross between a Classic Yellow Buttermilk cupcake and a Pumpkin one with Spicy Cream Cheese icing.

In the end, it was a no-brainer:

The Lover: You are a classic romantic and a lover of love itself. For those that are on the receiving end of your affection, every day is Valentine’s. Your passion for life is as big as your heart, which, it just so happens, you wear on your sleeve. You are surprising, but dependable, and infinitely lovable. You give the best hugs.

The challenge to develop the perfect Red Velvet Cupcake was a lengthy one and I tested a batch a day for about a week.  Some were a luxurious red but tasted too much like beets and others were absolutely delicious but were to chocolaty to qualify as red velvet.  But good things come with perseverance and I am sure that you will find my recipe on the Bell Well blog site absolutely scrumpdillyicious (if I do say so myself).

Kath’s quote: “There is no love sincerer than the love of food.”-George Bernard Shaw

Love-that is all.

 

You know the saying: “a watched pot, never boils”?  I think that is true of the way people grow and mature too.  The daughter on Sister #2 is more than my niece.  She is my Goddaughter but even more than that, our two families are intricately knit together.  Our unique connections go back to the time when she and her brother and our three offspring were all babies and toddlers.  The bond has been cemented over time with our two families sharing our little (500 square foot) beach house on Lake Winnipeg.  Close proximity, hormones, humidity, mosquitoes and heartache will do that.  Now, an exciting new time has begun for our families.  Sister #2’s family have moved to a new home that they are in the midst of building just a few doors away from us at the lake.  My niece has moved as well and not just out of their home, or across the province but to the other side of the world-Australia.  Were she to have stayed, I do not believe that I would have seen the osmosis in her.  She was always exquisitely beautiful and a talented artist and dancer.  But while she was away she also became this amazingly mature, knowledgeable, engaged, self-aware person.

This new person has brought knowledge to our family. She is exploring the complex wold of food science and raising provocative ideas amongst us. She has been with us for a wonderful summer and now she has gone back to her new home “down under”.  But not before we enjoyed one last Sunday meal together.

Mom and daughter planned the menu together.

Cedar Plank Salmon in a honey mustard sauce.

Brown and wild rice pilaf with celery and mushrooms.

Asparagus tossed in pesto.

Parsnips, carrots and parsley root with fresh dill.

Beets with walnuts and chevre.

I contributed this rustic caprese salad with heirloom tomatoes.

All these good things created a gorgeous palate of colour on our plates.

The piece de résistance was this amazing cake that crowned our time together. The recipe was not original so I cannot post it, but here is the link: http://nutritionstripped.com/chocolate-coconut-flour-cake-with-chocolate-mousse-frosting/#.UjfWOuDFVdg.

The surprizing cake recipe was made with dates for sweetness and the frosting was concocted from avocado!  You just have to try it for yourself to believe the tasty results.

My Mom with my Grandbaby. 

In addition to wishing my niece well before her departure, we all took the opportunity to snuggle with the Wee One and marvel at her growth and changes.

Kath’s quote: “Life is no brief candle to me.  It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it onto future generations.”- George Bernard Shaw

Love-that is all.

 

 

I am writing this as part of the Canadian Food Experience Project which began June 7 2013.  As we the participants, share our collective stories across the vastness of our Canadian landscape through our regional food experiences, we hope to bring global clarity to our Canadian culinary identity through the cadence of our concerted Canadian voice.

My Dad was a first generation Canadian.  He was born in Poland and raised in what is now called the Czech Republic.  He arrived in southern Saskatchewan (approximately 75 miles south of Moose Jaw) with his Mom Felicia and his little brother.  His Dad had settled a couple of years before, undoubtedly because of having seen the notice below:

Every person who is the sole head of a family and every male who has attained the age of 18 years and is a British subject or declares his intention of becoming and British subject, is entitled to apply for entry to a homestead. A quarter-section may be obtained as a homestead on payment of an entry fee of $10 and fulfillment of certain conditions of residence and cultivation. To qualify for the issuing of the patent, the settler must have resided upon his homestead for at least six months of each of three years, must have erected a habitable house thereon, and must have at least 30 acres of his holding broken, of which 20 acres must be cropped. A reduction may be made in the area of breaking where the land is difficult to cultivate on account of scrub or stone.

They settled in the community known as Limerick.  My Grandma cleaned the homes of other families while Grandpa continued to work their land and build their little farmhouse.  At the same time, my Dad and Uncle attended a one room school house where the most difficult task was learning to speak English.  When the Second World War was declared, the brothers enlisted in the air-force, eager to defend their new country.  My Dad survived the crash of his aircraft in Europe.  My Uncle never did make it overseas, haven been killed when his training plane crashed into a hill not far from Moose Jaw.

Her stove looked a great deal like this but is less ornate.

As time went on, my Grandma moved into a house in “town” where she grew geraniums on every window sill and white lace curtains floated in the breeze.  She had a big old stove that took up most of her kitchen.  It would be filled with coal in the morning and then sticks of wood would be added as the day went by.  The beautiful appliance included a cistern where water could be heated and held.  A pot of soup or stew could be placed on top and brought to a rapid bowl and then moved to a cooler area of the cook-top to simmer the morning away.  I can distinctly remember the amazing tastes of Grandma’s potato soup, prune dumplings served with melted butter and cinnamon sugar and freshly killed chickens fried in boiling lard- producing the crispest and juiciest chicken I have ever tasted.

Baking was more problematic as the oven had one temperature and could not be adjusted or moderated.  But she stilled managed to produce the most delectable bread, buns, apple pie, poppy seed roll, thimble cookies and this, her prized cake that we simply callPoli sh Cake.  When Sister #3 was researching the origin of the recipe for a cookbook that she is writing, she found that similar cakes had Jewish origins, so she has surmised that Grandma must have obtained the recipe from a Jewish neighbour in Poland.

Acquiring this recipe was a task in itself as Grandma did not write any of her recipes down.  My sister-in-law observed Grandma making this cake on one visit and took notes while trying to get Grandma to be as specific as possible.  Years later, Sister #3 took those notes and started recipe writing and testing.  Here are the results:

My Grandma Felicia lived in her sparkling little house until she was in her 90s.  She picked peas in her garden a few days before she passed away.

Kath’s quote: “Throughout history, the Poles have defended Europe. They would fight, and – between battles – they would eat and drink.”-E. de Pomiand

Love-that is all.