Dessert By Candy

Sunday Taco Night

Sunday night family dinner is now nicknamed Taco Night since we enjoyed tacos for two consecutive Sundays. If I continue for another week, we can practically call it a family tradition, ha! Last Sunday was Cinco de Mayo and it didn’t receive much attention from mainstream media in Canada. In Toronto, we do not have a very large Mexican population (2.6% of the population in Toronto are Latin American). Only in the last couple of years have we begun to see more taquerias in the city.

My anticipation for the celebration mainly stemmed from excitement of food blogs I regularly visit. All week long, I was bookmarking recipes and taking notes of which dishes I would like to eat. After much consideration, three items stood out: carnitas, horchata, and tres leches cake. In case you are unfamiliar with Mexican cuisine, that would be crispy pulled pork, rice almond milk, and sponge cake saturated with three different kinds of milk.  Seeing that I am a beginner with Mexican cuisine, I turned to the always reliable America’s Test Kitchen for help.

Cinco de Mayo Feast for Six Hungry Eaters

Carnitas

Guacamole

Pineapple Salsa

Cabbage Slaw

Whole Wheat Tortilla

Horchata

Tres Leches Cake

Market Picnic at Sunnybrook Park

Free time comes with my forced break from training and last Saturday I went to The Stop’s Farmers Market. Spring is no longer a hint with the arrival of tender greens, ramps, and all kinds of different eggs. My shopping bag was stuffed with enough goodies for an impromptu picnic. My friend and I packed a picnic lunch, grabbed the blanket, and went over to Sunnybrook Park for a relaxing afternoon. First, let’s take a look at my shopping finds:

From left to right:

• black olive sourdough from St John’s Bakery
• sorrel from Vicki’s Veggies (check out this delightful piece from Yotam Ottolenghi on sorrel)
• chocolate macaroon
• crunchy mixed sprouts
• Figaro, a creamy oozy cow’s milk cheese from Glencarry Fine Cheese
• guinea fowl eggs and silkie eggs from Weber’s Farm
• celeriac from Highmark Farm
• smoked trout from Akiwenzie’s Fish

I was excited by all the cooking possibilities! With a portable meal in mind, I put together this simple picnic meal for two using my market finds and ingredients at home.

Easy Picnic For Two

Smoked Trout Salad Sandwich with Sorrel & Black Olive Sourdough

Figaro Cheese with Seedy Crackers

Pineapples

Almond Cherry Danish

Ginger Beer

And The Knead Goes On

Sweet yeast bread and other yeast-leaven treats are therapeutic in my concussion recovery plan. I love the leisurely schedule that alternates between mixing, kneading, fermenting, shaping, and baking. I can temporarily halt the process by storing everything in the fridge and continue whenever I’m feeling well (or bored) enough to spend time in the kitchen. I am checking recipes off my to-bake list at a brisk pace.

This danish twist caught my attention back in the holiday season. Amanda Hesser posted her mother’s Cherry Almond Danish recipe at food52 and I could not get it out of my mind. The photo accompanying the recipe showed big fat strands of bread dusted with icing sugar and sliced almonds. It did not reveal the luscious filling of rum-soaked dried cherries and almond cream but the description was enough to get my imagination racing. Of course I wanted the danish to materialize in my home.

Banana Blondies Face Off

I had a bunch of spotty bananas at home last week and came up with the idea to put them through a recipe face off. I always love the fudgy butterscotch taste of blondies and the thought of pairing blondies with bananas was excitement in bite-size form. Dan Lepard’s Banana White Chocolate Blondies with Brazil Nut Toffee has occupied a place on my to-bake list for months. Sourcing the ingredients proved to be tricky because good quality white chocolate and fresh brazil nuts are not just a hop and a skip to the grocery store next door.

The idea of banana blondies may not be ground breaking but certainly not run of the mill either. Coincidentally, Melissa Clark recently published her version of Chocolate-Crusted Banana Blondies. It was the perfect opportunity for a recipe face off.

A Quick Update

It’s a little ironic that over the next few weeks I will be cooking and baking a lot but not be able to write much about it. On Sunday, I had a bike-to-bike collision while making a right turn at slow speed. I returned to my sports doctors today and it is my second confirmed case of concussion. Just like last summer, rest will be of utmost importance to my recovery and it means computer time will be kept to a minimum. There will be no training, no television, no music, no reading once more. Luckily I have tons of recipes bookmarked and so cooking will help me pass the time.

Recipe That Inspired A Party

Last weekend I hosted my second party for our Monthly Supper Club. If you think I am an over-zealous hostess who wouldn’t let my friends have their turn hosting, well, I certainly am not. A few days after Pi(e) Day, we were reminiscing over YC’s candied bacon.  Of course that led to a search for other interesting bacon recipes which landed me at King Arthur Flour’s Maple Bacon Biscuit Bake. I fell in love fast and furious. I needed an excuse to bake that recipe and there was no better occasion than throwing a brunch party.

Race season and outdoor practices have begun and my free time is quickly diminishing before my eyes. I wasted no time in setting a date but hosting a large group requires a bit of planning. Fortunately, hosting brunch can be easy with plenty of made-ahead options. I scoured my list of to-cook dishes and came up with this ambitious yet unfussy menu.

Spring Brunch Party For Ten

Pimento Cheese Stuffed Tomato

Maple Candied Bacon with Dark Chocolate

Shakshuka

Sausage Portobello Breakfast Bake

Mixed Berries Grain Salad

Spiced Pear Fruit Salad with Dried Figs & Apricots

Cuban Avocado Arugula Pineapple Salad

Maple Bacon Biscuit Bake

Meyer Lemon Focaccia

Braided Lemon Bread with Homemade Meyer Lemon Curd

Cold Brew Iced Coffee with Homemade Goat Milk Cajeta

Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

Healthy Dinner For Athletes

In recent months, I’ve been getting lots of practice cooking dinner for two to three people. As athletes, we’re mindful of what we eat and regular dinners are no occasions to indulge. As a result, I am exploring complete menus with strong focus on healthy eating, not just a standalone dish. Pinterest has been a great tool for brainstorming and organization. I can see at a glance how all the dishes fit together as a whole. I’m starting to fill my profile with numerous mini boards for every meal that I planned.  Like most pinners, I keep a to-cook board with links to interesting recipes I come across everyday. When I plan my dinner, it is often the first place I look and build a whole menu around the selected dish. An example is my Healthy Dinner for Athletes menu.

Healthy Dinner For Athletes

Rosemary & Lemon White Bean Dip with Rosemary Crackers

Crispy Lentils with Ground Lamb on Barbari Bread with Labneh, Pinenuts, Mint, Cilantro

Roasted Portobello stuffed with Lucinato Kale & Shallot

Alchemy Pickle Company Spicy Carrots

Chia Coconut Water with Mango

Airport Picnic

I cannot refuse an opportunity to picnic even if the occasion only involves packing a brown bag lunch to enjoy on a plane or at an airport. Last weekend I traveled to Austin, TX for my first race of the season. Had I splurge for a direct flight from Toronto, I would still spend over four hours in the air not counting the extra time for checking bags, clearing customs, and security inspection. I opted for a cheaper itinerary and ended up spending the majority of Thursday on travels. What would have been a miserable day of eating turned into a fun diversion with my full to the brim brown bag lunch.

Air Travel Picnic

Smokey Tempeh Sundried Tomato Pesto on Barbari Bread with Kale

Antipasto Brochette with Chianti Salami, Stuffed Olives, Marinated Portobello, Roasted Red Pepper, Cherry Tomato, Marinated Artichoke, and Cumin Gouda

Garlic Grissini

Fruit Salad Summer Roll with Papaya, Mango, Strawberry, Mint

Raw Brownies with Almond & Cacao Nibs

Feed Me Back To Health

I lucked out this flu season but it doesn’t mean I escaped unscathed.  I came down with a cold last Friday and the faucet that is my nose finally shut off this morning. Even though runny stuffy nose and fatigue are merely minor inconveniences, I dread getting sick. As an athlete on a demanding training program, I walk a fine line between training hard and training too hard. When the immune system is compromised, I’m more vulnerable to come down with minor illness. This is an early warning signal to adjust my training program accordingly.

Normally I would seek help from my favourite over-the-counter medication to alleviate cold symptoms. Unfortunately, we’re currently experiencing a shortage on NeoCitran (aka Theraflu) in Canada. I haven’t been able to locate a box for months. I fell back on comfort food to feed myself back to health instead. Nutritious food can do no harm.

Potent. Refreshing. Good For Me.

I don’t normally jump on any superfood bandwagon that comes along. Every few months an obscure food would enjoy its 15 minutes in the spotlight and allegedly we would be fools not to load up. I strongly believe in a balanced diet as my path to healthy eating. Unless there are compelling reasons in terms of taste and nutritional value, I rarely splurge on the latest fad. Coconut water and chia seeds are two superfood that made the cut in my kitchen.

Coconut water is well-known among athletes as a natural source electrolyte hydration. Chia seeds are valuable as source of omega 3, antioxidants, and fibre. Combining the two into a potent sports drink makes perfect sense. Last Friday I took advantage of a one-day sale on Ataulfo mangoes at Whole Foods Market and brought home ten perfectly ripened fruit. With just a little planning ahead, I treated myself to a slurp-worthy cooler that was also good for my body. Chia Coconut Water with Mango is now my favourite post-workout beverage.