Carrot Cake: Effortlessly Chic and Elegant. Fruit Flan? B%^&h Alert!

 
Carrot-cake you say? I know,

Yeuuugghhh!

Reminds you of a dessert that used to sit for a week in cafes and cafeterias across the country with the universal carrot (where do they get that anyways) stenciled on the top in orange and green icing? I know! Me too. I really made it haphazardly. I was struggling to think of something to take to my Mother-In-Laws last minute and it was one of the only things I had all the ingredients for on-hand (that old tune again).

I always overlook the carrot cake when I am baking because I think BOOORing or of stale McDonalds muffins. But recently when I was browsing recipes I noticed a carrot cake made with pineapple was rated as one of the top 15 recipes of all time on allrecipes.com which twigged my interest. I love to reinvent the ordinary and I love a challenge and hey I’ll admit it, I love to impress my Mother-In-Law with my baking: “This old thing! Took me five minutes. Made it out of an old sock and a rotten carrot I found in Tristan’s toybox.”

The trick with baking in my mind is like dressing up: you never want to look like you are trying too hard. Always bear in mind that a delicious and perfectly executed banana bread is so much more impressive than say a botched fruit flan

On a sidebar nothing screams pretentious b?%^h like a flan. Be aware of what your baking says about you. Are you sending the right signals? Tiramisu? “She’s really sweet but just doesn’t get it.” Apple Betty? Edgy hipster who doesn’t take themselves too seriously. Chocolate Tuxedo Cake? Minimal character flaws, selfless, generally good person through and through.

Carrot cake? Effortlessly chic and elegant for sure.

In spite of its humble beginnings and questionable relevance to the holiday season, my simple carrot cake became the Trojan horse of Christmas 2012, Le Piece De Resistance, a cake of epic proportions that would not soon be forgotten and that would come to be requested Christmas after Christmas in the vein of The Polar Express or those cookies made out of peanut butter and marshmallows that you loved if you grew up in the 80s.

So without further ado, a recipe that you don’t want to overlook. I know I can’t wait to make it again.

Maybe even this weekend…

Too soon?

I think not.

Classic Carrot Cake

1 and 1/2 cup white flour

¼ cup oat bran

2 cups grated carrot

1 ½ cups pineapple pieces drained

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup honey

1 cup white sugar

½ cup butter

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup milk

2 eggs

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease square 9 inch cake pan.

2) Mix grated carrot with ¼ cup honey

3) Mix flour, oat bran, salt, cinnamon and baking powder together

4) Cream butter and sugar together. Stir in eggs, sour cream, vanilla and carrots.

5) Fold mixture into flour.

6) Add milk. The consistency of the mixture you are striving for should slowly slide off a spoon. Add more or less milk depending.

7) Spoon a thin layer of cake onto the bottom of the cake pan. Layer the pineapple on and top with ¼ cup of drizzled honey. Pour the rest of the cake mixture on top.

8) Bake for approximately 40 mins, until the cake top is a light golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
 

9) Allow cake to cool completely. Flip upside down and remove from pan. Cut cake in half. Top one half with store-bought cream cheese icing (Hey you, the judgmental one. I said “effortlessly” chic and elegant after all). Place other half of cake on top. Ice entire 2 tiered cake.

10) Possibly give cake to the person you ostensibly baked it for.

11) Possibly eat majority of two tiered cake by self.

C.B.C. Would Love My Borscht

What Do You Get When You Cross a Russian with a Polish Person? Damn Good Borscht
My background is Russian. My husband is Polish. Needless to say we both have an opinion when it comes to how a proper borscht should be made. My husband thought it was really strange when I told him I needed a turkey bone to make borscht. He ventured to say that I didn't know what I was talking about.
I silenced him with one cold, hard, Russian stare......
I love how delicious and nutritious borscht is. It is essentially a soup made out of a bunch of vegetables. It really doesn't require that much effort to make, and it freezes so well. I never feel guilty pulling out some frozen borscht for a quick and easy dinner that can easily be accompanied by some store-bought perogies or a quick batch of biscuits.
Call it anxiety of authorship or blame it on my ridiculous Aries behavior, but I never want to make anything exactly the same as someone else made it. So I've made my own borscht borrowing from the traditions of both our families. My Dad makes a really simple borscht with turkey, green cabbage and tomato. My Father-In-Law makes his borscht with a wider array of vegetables, purple cabbage and sausage.What I have created drawing on both our Polish and Russian backgrounds and traditions is a beautiful violet colored borscht with a gentle sweetness enhancing the natural flavours of the vegetables, softly complemented by the flavour of the meat.
I hope you enjoy my cross-bred, multicultural borscht.  I have a feeling C.B.C. Radio would love my borscht, and if not the actual borscht I'm sure at least they would find my "borscht as cultural mosaic theory" fascinating. Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you think anytime Jian (Love Q!).

Russian Polish Borscht

Turkey leg or breast
5 small peeled and sliced beets
3 sliced carrots
1 red pepper diced
2 spears sliced celery
1 turnip diced
1 small head red cabbage (cut like coleslaw)
1 onion
4 cloves of garlic
3 bay leaves
1 can diced tomatos
1 TBSP sugar
1 TBSP dried basil
1 TBSP dried dill
Cubed ham (optional)

1) Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Simmer turkey and bay leaves for two hours to make stock, or until skin begins to gently all of the bone (occasionally skim the fat from the surface).
2) Remove turkey bone. Remove all meat from turkey bone (until it is a stringy texture). Add to soup and continue to simmer.
3) Sautee onion until transluscent. Add pepper, celery and garlic and sautee for 2 more minutes. Add to soup along with 1 can diced tomatoes
4) Add carrots, beets, turnips and cabbage and simmer for 45 minutes.
5) Remove bay leaves. Add sugar, dill and basil, and salt and pepper to taste. Add cubed ham if desired.
6) Refrigerate at least 6 hours before serving, or preferrably overnight.
7) Garnish with sour cream

Rich Man's Moist Ricotta and Sour Cream Banana Bread

When it comes to bang for your buck nutrition-wise, I am a huge fan of bananas. I would say we probably go through at least 20 a week in our household. Feeding a hungry household of four I am always in search of a deal (don't get me started on the wonderful world of eggs). The great thing about bananas is even when they are about to go bad you never have to throw them out. You can do magical things with them like freeze them to be used in a smoothie or protien shake, or bake delicious tasty muffins and loaf with them.
I love the taste of a spotted banana, but a nice ripe bunch on my counter beckons to be baked into delicious banana bread. Now everyone and their sister thinks they have the ultimate recipe for banana bread. That being said if you prefer a moist banana loaf I really do have the ultimate recipe.
This bread turned out delish, or "deeeeeeeeeeeeeee---lish" according to my husband's instant message. Now admittedly he is probably biased to his wife's banana bread, but on the other hand I do bake an awful lot of loaf so he's definetely a seasoned critic.
To achieve that perfectly moist banana bread, you definetely want to use a good quantity of well-ripened bananas. While admittedly it skews the great economy of banana bread, the real secret ingredients in this recipe are ricotta cheese and a little sour cream. Whenever, wherever, whatever I'm baking I always throw in a dab of ricotta, sour cream, balkan yogurt - whatever I have on hand. This adds creaminess, taste, moisture and texture and brings whatever recipe you are using to the next level.
You can find some good deals on ricotta and it does keep well. We love to put it on salads with a sweeter dressing, top turkey spaghetti or a baked apple with it. Without further ado, here it is folks:

Rich Man's Moist Ricotta and Sour Cream Banana Bread

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 cups mushed ripened bananas (or pureed depending on your preference)
2 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sour cream
8-10 whole pecans to decorate with
1/4 cup cinnamon and white sugar (to top with)

1) Grease a loaf pan or muffin tin and preheat your oven to 375 degrees
2) Mix together your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar)
3) Mix together your remaining wet ingredients(without over-stirring), saving the milk for last
4) When you add the milk, make sure that you add enough so that your mixture is moist enough to slowly slide off a spoon when held upside down. If it doesn't move you need to add more milk!
5) Pour mixture into your loaf pan or muffin tin, top with pecans, and sprinkle with a little bit of cinnamon and sugar.
6) Bake approximately 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the top is starting to turn a golden brown.

Enjoy, and try to share. If you're a real scrooge you can always freeze it for later use.

Politically Incorrect, But Magically Delicious Rhubarb Muffins

When I make muffins I am usually fueled by grandiose visions of myself as an amazing muffin baker. As I pull out bowls and begin measuring flour I picture guests biting into my muffins shouting "OMG - these are amazing!!" I crack eggs and daydream about how I will style my booth (Muffin Magic) at the local farmer's market. I fold in the fruit and imagine what outfit I will wear on Steven and Chris when I'm asked on the show as their resident muffin expert.....

You know that really delicious muffin you MUST eat every time you frequent that particular coffee-shop, even though you already ate breakfast that morning? Yeah that's the level of muffin I am striving for. I have had these muffins on exactly two occasions created by the average lay-person: once my 85 year-old neighbor Janice(who rides her lawn-mower like a rodeo-queen but thats a whole other story) and once when my Mother- in-Law made them. Farm girls make the best muffins.

I have tried on many occasions to recreate these muffins without success. After being vague on the numerous occasions I harassed her about it, my Mother-in-Law finally wrote down her recipe for me. And wouldn't you know it as she passed on the recipe she casually mentioned in passing that its a cake recipe. Oh, muffins made out of cake? Duh! Obviously thats the secret to ultra-delicious muffins.

Whats the main difference between muffins and cake you ask?

Sugar, lots an lots of sugar.

When I finally made these muffins, they were magically delicious - definetely that bakery quality I was striving for. However they still weren't quite as good as when my Mother-in-Law makes them. I'm fairly certain this is because she didn't admit to the real amount of sugar she puts in. And I don't blame her because I'm pretty sure in this day and age making these muffins would be considered politically incorrect...

If you browse the internet 3/4 cup of sugar seems to be the norm for most muffin recipes or at least its the amount people admit to. So I find it interesting that every time Donna serves these muffins she calls them her "healthy muffins made with honey." I'm pretty sure she's overcompensating because last time I checked no recipe with 2 cups of sugar in it (even if one cup is honey) is ever healthy for you.

I like how our parents generation think pasteurized honey is somehow classified as health food. It goes hand in hand with an earlier time of innocence in human history before we were all concerned about saturated fat, diabetes, obesity and a general state of health and well-being in general. It hearkens back to a time before we exercised or couldn't sleep at night because we worried about endangered species and using up all of our resources.

And speaking of honey, aren't bees now endangered? Which is why farm girls make the best muffins. They had free reign with ingredients because baking wasn't a politically charged act back in the day. That being said these days when I make my politically incorrect muffins, I reserve them for special occasions like company or celebrations.

After all a girl can't be too careful. I'm told the camera adds ten pounds....

Donna's Politically Incorrect Rhubarb Muffins

2 cups white flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup honey
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
2-3 cups chopped rhubarb (mixed with 2 TBSP of sugar)

Topping:
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Grease muffin tray well
3. Mix 2 cups white flour with baking powder and salt
4. Mix sugar with softened butter. Add eggs and milk
5. Add to flour mixture and stir until well mixed.
6. Fold in rhubarb
7. Spoon into muffin cups, sprinkle with topping and bake aprroximately 35 minutes (until well browned)

Freezing actually enhances the flavour of these muffins.

My Friend Jane is a Good Person and a Great Mother; She Has Two Kids and They Watch Television.

My friend Jane is a good person and a great mother; she has two kids and they watch television.

I have felt like a bad person ever since my husband mentioned that friends of ours only let their 4 year-old daughter watch television for the first time last week. You know that moment all Moms experience, when the mother you are talking to tells her son "No running around with that lollipop in your mouth," and you look and see your own son has been running for half an hour like that and it has somehow escaped your notice, not to mention undermined all of your credibility as a parental figure.

Well lately I've been a real jerk when it comes to television in our household. Ever since we moved for some reason I have had it on way more often - as background noise if anything. Since we haven't yet hooked up the cable I have strayed from classic C.B.C. kids programming (which I think does have some educational value) and have been putting on kid's movies instead. The clincher came when our renter Cory mentioned to my husband how he had watched Ice Age 3 times today.. If we had been having dinner at the time I might have kicked him under the table. Instead, I changed the topic of conversation to when our neighbor was going to fix the taped up window in his truck that he breaks into every morning by untaping. Deflect, Deflect Deflect Deflect!

In the meantime, I pondered how it was that our friend Lily was able to make it through an entire day without her children watching t.v. Did I mention that Lily has a two year-old and a four year-old? Both Breastfed!! Lily was obviously the Mother Theresea of stay-at-home Moms, patron Saint of never-ending patience and endless self-sacrifice. And me? Well I was obviously a jerk.

While I thought that my kids were watching maybe 1 hour to an 1 hour and a half of television a day intermittedly, when I thought deeply about it I realized that I could possibly have the t.v. on as much as 4 hours a day without even realizing it...So I went on a quest to remove television from our home.

And it was Hard, in fact the closest thing I can compare it to is the withdrawl I felt quitting smoking. You know that morning cup of coffee and little bit of tidying you like to do in the morning? That's gone. That little bit of me time, flipping through a magazine or a few minutes or throwing on a quick coat of nail polish? Gone gone gone! I'm not gonna lie to you ladies and gentlemen, in the beginning - sans television - you are full out balls to the wall and on more than one occasion when my husband got home I wanted to jump in the car and make a getaway, or simply run down the street yelling at the top of my lungs.

However gradually after a week I found a new routine which involved reading more, playing more, getting out more, and having way more quality time. Going cold-turkey allowed me to get to know my children better and be able to gauge when was a good time to throw in some laundry and make some beds without having to result to using the television as a baby-sitter. Plus my kids were actually way better behaved.....

Going without television also involved less "me" time, a less tidy house, doing less laundry, getting less done and occasionally forgetting to feed the kitties. Ultimately however, it really did put me way more into the moment with my children and allowed me to experience way more great Mom moments - those magical times when you feel like the luckiest person in the world to be a parent.

We all have those moments when another Mom - hopefully unconsciously - makes us feel like a total jerk. There's that classic Mom adage: "we all have to do what works for us - and blabbedy blabbedy - not judge other Moms"...yes yes I know! I'm just saying' that we are all bound to experience these uncomfortable moments (and sometimes the best thing is to dismiss them), but if there is a lesson to be gleaned from them they can be great.

That being said, I think being a better Mom isn't always about striving for those ultra-high ideals like no television or a  no sugar diet. Sometimes being a bettter Mom is letting go of them. "What, no television?" my friend Jane questioned me when I told her about Lily's rule. I could tell she thought it was really extreme. Jane is the person who reminds me that its okay to let your kids eat breakfast on the couch, make a huge mess with lego all over the living room, or leave a dirty house to go to the lake on a sunny day. I love her for that.

Ultimately  Jane and Lily may appear to have very different parenting styles but they are actually really in tune in terms of what they are both seeking: to be in the moment as often as possible with their children.

I always refer to myself as the impure purist because I have great intentions but am never able to carry them all the way. T.V. has crept back into our life a little. If I am having a major Mom meltdown moment, am desperately trying to cook dinner before my hubby gets home or am starving and haven't eaten all day, I think television can play a valuable role here for 15 or 20 minutes.

The main appearance television makes in our home now is in the form of old Disney videocasettes we will watch together as a family occasionally in the evening. This hearkens back to a former time when television truly was a treat - remember looking forward to watching the Sunday night Disney movie? Or TGIF Fridays? This is the sensibility I want television to have in our home.

If any case if I am feeling guilty I simply remind myself: my friend Jane is a good person and a great mother; she has two kids and they watch television.

Basil Balsamic T-Bone Steak and Blue Cheese Pasta (Alternatively Titled: It's His Birthday and You Be Killing It!)

Oh the pressure of creating the perfect birthday meal! You can execute a total masterpiece of a dinner on a boring old Monday night with a few rotten carrots and odds and ends you found in your refrigerator, but it seems like the pressure of cooking for special occasions so often ruins the meal. I made it really simple for myself but still managed to burn the garlic toast, undercook the steaks, buy the wrong peas for the potato salad, serve the meal cold....
After I sent him off for a relaxing bath, my husband walked into a smoky mess and me flapping my arms like a herniated chicken squawking "Dinner's ready." Luckily my husband reminded me that I had gotten the day wrong. His birthday was tommorow, which made me feel like I was in Groundhog Day. I could look forward to once again trying to execute the perfect birthday meal all over again tommorow....At least I'd had a trial run at it. Obviously I needed it.
What I finally came up with - and what I was aiming for - was a classic manly comfort meal that was still elegant and fresh. These marinated grilled T-Bones, with blue cheese pasta and a simple yet timeless tomato salad really struck the perfect note.

Not to mention the whole blue cheese, steak and tomato flavor combination has really got it going on....
Anyways if you are planning on executing that perfect birthday meal any time soon I recommend you give this a whirl, but also have a back-up plan that involves a take-out menu just in case, because lets face it: you just never know.

Classic Tomato Salad

3 ripe tomatoes cut in "apple slices" (We never put our tomatoes in the refrigerator as it gives them that "mushy" texture)

Dressing:

2 TBSP olive oil
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp dried oregeno
2 tsp dried rosemary (or 1 fresh sprig if you have it)
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix together dressing and add to tomatoes. Refrigerate until serving.

Blue Cheese Pasta

300 g pasta
300 g blue cheese
1/3 cup cream
1 cup chicken stock
2 TBSP butter
2 TBSP olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 small white onion cubed
1/4 cup green onion (to garnish)

1) Boil water for pasta. Add pasta to boiling water.
2) Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add olive oil once butter is dissolved.
3) Add garlic and sautee for a minute
4) Add onion and sautee until starts to caramelize
5) Add chicken stock and let simmer for a moment
6) Add cream and let simmer on low heat until pasta is ready
7) Melt in blue cheese right before serving
8) Toss with pasta and garnish with green onion

T-Bone Steaks in Basil Balsamic Marinade

2 Large T-Bone Steaks

 

Balsamic Basil Marinade:

1/2 cup olive oil
1/8 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup worchestershire sauce
2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
3 TBSP dried basil
2 cloves garlic
Dash of hot sauce
1 tsp ground black pepper

1) Mix together marinade and let steaks marinate at least 8 hours, or preferrably overnight.
2) Set broiler to high
3) Grill steaks for 4 minutes a side for medium rare doneness (5 mins. for medium, 6 for medium well etc.)

Start grilling steaks around the time you start boiling your pasta and you will be killing it!

Mediterranean Prawn Pasta with Kale (so good he'll think it was his idea)

Ohhhh pasta. I love pasta for that quick and easy pick-me up mid-week meal. My husband and I also find it is a great crowd-pleaser for last-minute company. Lately we have been experimenting alot with Mediterranean flavours, but I also have a newfound obsession with kale as of late. I find with anything outright and downright "healthy," I really have to sneak it into my dishes gradually in small doses until eventually the next thing I know I will be sitting having coffee with my husband and in-laws, and he's telling them all about how good kale is for you and how he's been using it alot in his cooking lately and how they should really start adding it into some of their dishes (pip pip). So, without further exeunt, this is probably one of my best pasta recipes to date. I hope you enjoy it. It sounds somewhat healthy, but actually tastes really indulgent. I wouldn't hesitate to serve this to company (after you have already cooked it at least once, to avoid any Bridget Jones-like fiascos).

Mediterranean Prawn Pasta with Kale

40 pre-cooked prawns (tail off if you prefer)
1 cup and a half chopped kale
1/3 cup chopped sundried tomatoes
3/4 cup whole olives
3 cloves finely chopped or pressed garlic
2 TBSP chopped fresh basil
1 TBSP fresh dill (optional)
1/4 cup chopped cashews
1 tomato chopped
2 small scallions chopped
1/2 cup feta
1/4 cup olive oil
1 small box pasta (about 500 g preferrably spaghetti)
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp salt

1) Boil water for your pasta.
2) Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to a saucepan on medium heat. Add your garlic and sautee for a minute
3) Next add your kale, sundried tomatoes (which if they don't already come in oil, I like to pre-soak in olive oil for 20 mins or so), basil and dill. Sautee this for another minute until your kale is wilted.
4) Make sure you have removed all excess moisture from your prawns before you add them in along with your olives. Sautee for another couple of minutes making sure everything is mixed together and set your saucepan to warm while you finish cooking your pasta (I like spaghetti for this meal as I find it the best conduit for grasping all the ingredients, so you don't end up with no pasta and a bunch of toppings at the end of the meal).
5) Once you have cooked and strained your pasta add the remainder of your olive oil and salt and pepper until your noodles are coated.
6) Mix the contents of your saucepan in with your noodles
7) Plate your pasta and garnish with crumbled feta, tomatos, cashews and scallions

Bon Appetit!