Dessert By Candy

Suitcase Full Of…

After five weeks away in sunny Florida, I’m home! I’m home! I’m home! Traveling for a food lover often means bringing home edible goodies. Florida may not come to mind as a gourmet mecca but I still made plenty of worthwhile purchases. Nestled between all the dirty and clean laundry, I packed jars after jars of preserves I made from local Florida fruit. There is also a nice bottle of Estrella Damm Inedit which was introduced to me by friends in Austin last year. Of course, who can forget to buy some Biscoff speculoo spread in both original smooth and chunky?

I also brought back various baking ingredients which may be deemed as waste of luggage space. My pantry in Florida left me with half used bottles of Nielson Massey vanilla extract, instant espresso powder, Droste cocoa powder, Pomona universal pectin, rapid rise yeast, and desiccated coconut chips. I’d be the first to tell you these are all ingredients I can source back home but they are also quality items I use on a regular basis. It would be a huge waste to throw them away so I packed them anyway.

A Time To Grieve

I am not unfamiliar with death and grief but the passing of a wonderful friend last weekend brought me face to face with the reality of grieving through social media. Friends from past and present all came out of the woodwork to post remembrance and condolence messages on his profile. There were poignant sentiments expressed by friends he made from different stages in life. He touched the lives of many of us as mentor and friend. It was unanimous that his smile and upbeat attitude changed us for the better and he will be sorely missed.

I posted a message as well. I read every message on his wall and was deeply touched by how my friend made the world a better place. Just learning the positive impact he made upon all of us lessened the sadness of his passing a tiny bit. I knew my friend as colleague, softball teammate, fellow food lover, travel buddy, and gingerbread house architect extraordinaire. But he was so much more. He was mentor to countless fresh graduates breaking into the corporate world. He was father to two very young daughters. He was devoted husband to loving wife.

Source For Inspiration

Aside from regular reading of recipes posted in magazines, cookbooks, and blogs, my favourite reason to play recipe sleuth comes from friendly requests. I’m known within my circle of friends as the girl who loves to cook and bake. It comes as no coincidence that friends would approach me from time to time with questions like “I’m looking for a great recipe for [insert an occasion] but I don’t want [insert constraints]. What do you recommend?”. Sounds familiar?

Strangely enough, I don’t have a recommendation off the top of my head in most cases. Part of the reason comes from depth of experience. As much as I love the subject, I only have at most ten years of home cooking experience under my belt. The other more important factor is that the constraints from the challenge rarely apply in my own kitchen or personal preference. I don’t have food allergies, intolerance, nor religious/lifestyle preference. Over the years, I stock my kitchen with all the equipment I need to accomplish what I like to do most. The search for a no-bake cheesecake was a good example in recent memory. When a friend asked me last week for a great recipe for bake sale that does not use mixers and is nut-free, I was scratching my head. Oh, and she needs to make 150 pieces!

One Thousand

This post marks the 1000th entry I wrote on Dessert By Candy since this blog started in 2005. I took time recently to read some of my older writings and it brought up all kinds of emotions. There were fun moments like my annual holiday baking and homemade gifts. There were memories of triumph when I mastered new cooking and baking skills or hosted great parties. There were flashes of silliness like the time I created a fantasy in-flight meal or the cake that waves back at you. I experienced challenges and growth, some more difficult to overcome than others. I went through phases which I could not look past my own navel and generally not too pleasant to be around. I also let this blog collect dust for long stretches of time simply because I lost the motivation to write about things that make me smile. Only since the last 12 months have I find a new focus of what Dessert By Candy is all about.

Writing used to be my least favourite activity. I would stare at a blank page for hours yet nothing came out of my twirling pen. But of course everyone’s been right all along. This is a skill that takes practice. The more I write, the easier it became to put my thoughts in words. Nowadays, I have more things to write about than time and energy allow. I discover interesting stories from the mundane daily life and have something to say about them.

Tumble

I haven’t been blogging nor tweeting much for the last week with good reasons. Life has taken over with the passing of boyfriend’s long-time furry friend, racing the most important inline skating race which I had been preparing for since 2007, a busy time at the day job, and of course being on the road from one race to another. In short, I rarely have time to sit down quietly to even collect my thoughts much less doing any quality cooking in the kitchen. I really miss those quiet yet productive evenings when my hands were occupied with chopping vegetable, weighing butter, stirring sauces, ladling jam, and washing dishes.

Despite all that chaos swirling around, I’ve done a lot of thinking regarding my future as an amateur athlete. I always thought after achieving a goal I held dear for the last five years, I would be too exhausted to continue this lifestyle. It was not the case but for very unexpected reasons. Rather than feeling joy and satisfied of my achievement, I am filled with relief and a mix bag of negative emotions. I am definitely relieved that I delivered what I promised so many years ago. However, the race also made me see my sport a little different and clarified my perspective of what role I play. In short, I will continue to compete for another season and that means another year of very hard work.

Life is punctuated with episodes of loss. It was close to a decade ago when I experienced the greatest loss I could imagine. When I see boyfriend’s sadness, it triggers so many memories I careful hide away. The passing of a loved one always hurt so so much.

This weekend I’m revisiting Brooklyn for my annual New York City trip. The purpose of this trip is an endurance race of 100km in Prospect Park but it is also my best excuse to eat a large amount of really great food in one of my favourite cities. I have a whole list of old favourites and new places to explore. I can’t wait to share my travel experience with you soon (if I don’t disintegrate in the rain)!

It’s Hard To Say Goodbye

Last week had been an emotional rollercoaster of numerous farewells. No matter how often I have been dealing with partings since I was a teenager, every fresh one continues to wrench my heart. We began the week with the passing of a well-loved political figure whose last message to Canadians inspires us to be more generous and inclusive. It is rare that leader of political party appeals to so many different demographic whether or not we agree with his party’s ideals. His early death is a great loss to Canada and I am worry about the uncertain future of the political landscape for the time to come.

On a more personal level, last week also saw the last day of a team member at work as he prepares for an exciting career move. Coworkers come and go so what was the big deal? Well, every once in a while, you come across the rare opportunity to work with a closely knit group of people who are smart and truly enjoy each other’s company. Our team had been intact for one full decade building something we are very proud of. Within the last few months, we have lost half of our team. And now with the departure of the creative force behind our work, I am doubtful of our team’s future. What saddens me the most is the end of an era in all of our lives.

Exquisite Luxury

I’m slowly savouring Gabrielle Hamilton’s memoir Blood, Bones & Butter. I came across a passage just now that really strike a chord with me and set my own thoughts racing.

He did the difficult work of driving through that relentless, excruciating hot afternoon on the shimmering asphalt of the autostrada while I sat on the back, lost in the cushion of my helmet, enjoying that exquisite feeling of being totally surrendered, relinquished from all of my responsibilities, even for taking care of my own heartbeat.

This feeling of being totally taken care of by another person is a luxury that I have not experienced in years. Ever since my family immigrated to Canada when I was 12, I’ve been shouldering responsibilities of all sorts starting from being the family English liaison to head of the household when my Mom passed away. There are always bills to pay, documents to file, food to put on the table, chores to do, and the list goes on. I must remain on my toes at all times for fear that one misstep and my world would come crashing down. I know exactly how overly dramatic I sound. It quite simply comes down to the mundane duties for being a grown up in charge of my own life. It is an experience I share with all responsible adults in the society. Honestly, a small price to pay for all the freedom I enjoy and the privilege to indulge in things that make me happy.

However, there are times when the daily grind becomes too much and  I just want to lay my head down on a pillow. What an exquisite luxury to have someone say to me “don’t worry, I’ll take care of this.” I can count on one hand the number of people who uttered this magic phrase to me. More importantly, they said it with such conviction that I absolutely believed in their capability to deliver on the promise. Oh, how I fell head over heel for those guys!

Excited For Vegetable

Vegetarian dishes are major part of my daily diet. Of course I enjoy most of them, otherwise it would be rather sad. Yet, when I encounter preparations that make me excited about the dish, it can be a real treat. The two excellent cookbooks by Ottolenghi are packed with such exciting vegetarian dishes. I bought both books before the avalanche of awards made them one of the top sellers in North America. So now that I look at the much reduced price, I secretly wish I waited. However, the joy they’ve given me in the kitchen and on my dinner table is undeniable. Honestly, I’ve been using both books since day one anyway so I can’t really complain much about the price.

I’m making good progress on reducing that pile of carrots in my fridge. After yesterday’s Itty Bitty Carrot Cake Cookies, I want something savoury and spicy. The Spicy Moroccan Carrot Salad in Ottolenghi’s Plenty was exactly what I was looking for. Exactly how exciting can blanched carrots be? Well, once you toss it with caramelized onion, green onion, garlic, red chili pepper, cilantro, cumin, allspice, cinnamon, ginger, coriander, paprika, and white wine vinegar, blending in the background is simply unthinkable. The flavour from the complex mix of spices filled my kitchen with exotic smell of a land far away. This salad is wonderful either warm or cold but the dollop of Greek yogurt is essential. It tames the heat from the spiciness of the dish and adds a nice creamy counterpoint to the toothsome carrots. Vegetarian dishes like this makes me want to march up to my friends with a tasting spoon in hand so that they can share my excitement too.

My oven had not been its usual reliable self lately. The sound of gas sputtering when the oven slowly heated up was particularly disturbing. Seeing the important role my oven plays in my cooking and baking, I finally stop my procrastination. For a brief minute, I was looking longingly at the shiny gas range from the Viking catalogue. Obviously purchasing a new major appliance is out of my budget for the time being but a girl can dream, right? I even got an open invitation from a friend to cook at his kitchen so I can test drive a Viking range. It almost pains me to think that his range is not being used to its full potential (yes, the oven is a popular storage space for many Asian households). This morning, a visit from the Maytag repairman made my world just a little better. He quickly diagnosed the problem with the ignition part of the oven and informed me that the average lifespan of this part is typically 4-7 years. It would seem mine of over 12 years of service fared better than average. The cost of repair is a bit expensive but it is still significantly cheaper than purchasing a new (however shiny and pretty) cooking range. Besides, now that my oven returns to smooth working order, I have no qualms about baking bread or pizza anymore. My monthly pizza night awaits.

Want to see other stuff I made from the Ottolenghi cookbooks? I highly recommend each and every one of them!

The World Does Not Need Another Recipe...

Can you complete the phrase above? I can think of quite a few. As a home cook, of course I have my favourite recipes for chili, chocolate chips cookies, banana bread, beef stew, mashed potato, well, you get the idea. These dishes are mainstays in many people’s repertoire and obviously I add my personal touches to make them mine. However, I’m pretty certain that my twists are not fantastic nor unique enough to warrant a recipe. If you browse my Recipe Collection, I can assure you that I’m guilty of contributing my share of plain-jane recipes too. As a food blogger, I suppose there is a time and place for publishing a recipe but today is not one of them. This post is not a recipe review either. One of my pet peeves is reading feedbacks on recipes prefaced with “oh, I changed this and omitted that and replaced this and added that…but oh it’s so delicious!”. I understand the collaborative nature of feedback but when I read a review, I expect a close approximation of the recipe as published to help me gauge the success of the original content.

Enough with being grumpy!

What I really want to tell you is that I realized last night turkey chili made with spice blend can be quite a satisfying weeknight dinner. No beef? No problem!

 

By Her Side

I’ve been thinking about my Mom a lot lately. This year marks the tenth anniversary since she passed away and it continues to be difficult for me to grasp that she’s no longer with us. Among the many things that she taught me, some essential cooking skills serve me in very practical ways. I often say that I am better at following recipes than cooking intuitively. I’m referring to food that we encounter often in mainstream North America food media. The majority of these food are of French, American, Latin, or Italian background. What I neglect to acknowledge even to myself is that the food I grow up with, I can cook without thinking. The understanding of these Cantonese home cook dishes and the skills to make them are so much a part of me, a part that my Mom instilled in me, that I do not give them enough recognition.

In Cantonese cooking, there are a few key techniques including steaming, stir frying, braising, and deep frying. I learned these skills the old fashioned way, by watching and helping my Mom preparing dinner day in and day out. When she returned from grocery shopping, there would be much slicing and marinating of various meats. A bit of oil, a bit of cornstarch, pinch of salt, sprinkle of sugar, splash of soy sauce, and some cooking wine form the basis of much of her cooking. She would pack everything in single meal portions to streamline meal time preparation. A typical dinner at our home would involve a soup (slow cooked or quick boil), a steamed dish cooked in the electric rice cooker, and a stir fried dish. Not only does the meal offered variety, it was a good strategy to ensure all dishes would cook simultaneously and were served piping hot. I haven’t learned to appreciate these little practical details until I become the chef of my own home kitchen.