Dessert By Candy

Homesick Vegan

Since I arrived in Florida on Tuesday, I’ve been busy settling in. It’s been hectic and not at the same time. Things could get overwhelming when simple trips to the gym or the grocery store were preceded by long walk in the bright Florida sun. But once my daily chores and training were done, there were plenty of down time that I spent in solitude. I did not realize going into the office daily meant I was surrounded by human connection. Now that I work remotely, I miss that interaction.

I’m just a little homesick. Though I’m a seasoned traveler and I’ve gone on extended work trips or vacations before, this time things just feel a bit different. I’m not exactly relaxed in the vacation frame of mind because the responsibility of work and training continues to be the central focus of my life. Yet, I’m removed from the familiarity of daily life. This calls for comfort food that reminds me of home. This means vegan food that makes me feel good inside and out.

Humble Pie

The last time I wrote about pie, I was ridiculously proud of myself for achieving the perfect crust of my dream. I really thought I nailed it at last. Alas, my latest pie excursion was so humbling that I can only say I have a long way to go before calling myself an accomplished pie baker.

In my frenzy to use up perishable ingredients around the house, I called upon those beautiful Northern Spy apples I had in cold storage. Melissa Clark’s Apple Cranberry Crumble Pie is my latest favourite so I industriously whipped up four portions of single crust pie dough. Two handsome apple pies, one decadent Nutella Banoffee Cream Pie, and an Oatmeal Chocolate Pie later, I put a good dent in the perishable ingredients of my kitchen. Despite the delicious filling, I was not happy about my pie crusts. Not a single one earned a passing grade in my books and I was rather disappointed with myself.

My tendency to under-work pie dough was in full display for all four pies. Instead of a beautiful marbling of butter, the fat distributed like little islands in the dough. As soon as the dough went into the oven, the fat simply leaked out and bathed my pie in buttery grease. I did not achieve the sought-after flaky layers.

From Words To Table

I like to keep track of how quickly a recipe transforms from words I read to food I can taste. There are some recipes that remain in my to-cook pile for years. I would re-read them over and over but the motivation to cook from them is never quite strong enough. On the other hand, there are recipes that jump from words to table in the blink of an eye. Last Thursday I experienced it with a recipe that BAKED posted on their newsfeed. It was a recipe for banana chocolate chip cookies made with olive oil which the author cutely named The Booodseees. It inspired me to make cookies with banana, oil, oats, and whole wheat pastry flour but that was pretty much where the similarity ended between my version and The Booodseees. Within 5 minutes of scanning the directions, I was already in my kitchen scaling out ingredients. I was ready to create my own twist of Caramel Banana Peanut Cookies.

These soft chewy cookies tastes of caramelized banana and loads of peanut flavour from using peanut oil, roasted peanuts, and mini Reese’s peanut butter cups. Coincidentally, these cookies are made with 100% whole grain thanks to oat flour, rolled oats, and whole wheat pastry flour. A touch of crunchy toffee pieces studded the cookies to echo the caramel taste. I could not stop at just one. Thank you BAKED for a link to the original recipes! Had I not seen the recipe, I wouldn’t be inspired to create my own version.

Anything For A Good Deal

I was skeptical about cooking Mussels & Chorizo for this week’s French Fridays with Dorie. This is a dish with every ingredient and flavour I love yet my impending training sojourn means I really ought to clear my kitchen of perishables instead of buying more fresh items. That sensibility was torn at the same time by the urge to cook along with the group for just another week before I have no access to my beloved home kitchen. Neither of those two arguments was louder than the other. In the end, it was my inability to refuse a good deal that gave me such a beautiful meal.

Succulent mussels and smoky chunks of chorizo sausages were steamed in a tomato broth fortified with roasted red pepper, fennel, onion, garlic, Pernod, and Aleppo pepper. It was a dish that kept on giving. On day one, I enjoyed a finger-licking feast of plates piled high with mussels in their shells. Every sip of the flavourful broth warmed my body from the inside. On the second day, leftovers turned into a light sauce to toss with tangles of spaghetti. Plump mussels were extracted from the shell and generously studded the pasta dish. It was the most luxurious post-run recovery meal I enjoyed in a long time.

Lovey Dovey In A Hurry

It’s not too late to bake up a batch of Valentine’s Day treat! That was what I said to myself at 2am this morning after I procrastinated through all the late night talk shows. A few days ago, I saw some limited edition heart shape York Mint Patties complete with pale pink filling. They jumped into my shopping basket before I even had a chance to talk myself out of it. I know it’s a cop-out to make Valentine’s Day treat by simply slapping a piece of candy on top of a cookie but these patties were just too cute. They practically begged to top a tender cocoa peppermint shortbread cookie. I granted their wish.

Adorable, no? As if that was not enough cuteness for a day, I took advantage of my right to be kitschy and tacky on Valentine’s Day. A batch of pink royal icing tested my rusty piping skills but I persevered to inscribe messages of love onto each and every one of the cookie. Who needs conversation hearts when you can have chocolate mint cookie!