Dessert By Candy

Gingery Creamed Kale & Cabbage

I never really understand the appeal of creamed spinach. My very limited exposure involves dark steakhouses, sizzling slabs of juicy steak, and garlicky mushrooms. No wonder the creamed spinach doesn’t stand a chance among such stiff competition. If I want to eat spinach, I can think of so many different ways that don’t mute the mineral tang with copious amount of butter and cream. Why oh why?

But of course, not everyone’s a fan of leafy greens. I understand that. When I came across Marcus Samuelsson’s recipe for Gingery Creamed Kale & Cabbage, my curiosity was piqued. He took the creamed spinach idea and used hearty lucinato kale and green cabbage. Instead of one dimensional richness of cream, he boosted flavour with turmeric and ginger. I wanted to taste the result so badly…until I saw 2 cups of cream and 1 cup of buttermilk at the bottom of the ingredient list. I decided to give this recipe a vegan makeover.

All-About-The-Dip Shrimp Cocktail

Dips are awesome, so says my inner child who never grows out of the fun part of eating. The interactive part is obviously the draw. Line up a selection of dips and a selection of dip-delivery-options, the exponential taste combinations make me smile with glee. As much as I try to focus on food that are anti-inflammatory, I feel the restriction of avoiding bread, cracker, flatbread, cream cheese, sour cream, yogurt, tofu, and beans. How would I bind the dip? What am I going to dip with?!

I revisited some of my old recipes and it dawned on me how muhammara perfectly fits into my current preference for eating. This spicy sweet dip is packed with roasted red pepper, walnuts, Aleppo pepper flakes, smoked paprika, and garlic. The touch of pomegranate molasses adds a signature sweet tart taste to complement the heat. I reworked my previous version to make it gluten free and adjusted the ingredients slightly to make it more anti-inflammatory friendly.

Herb & Ginger Roasted Sweet Potato

Gingerroot is a key player in anti-inflammatory diet. Save for adding a chunk to the blender or juicer, how do I include it as part of a dish? Curry is my default choice but I would much rather eat it raw to preserve as much nutrients as possible. Yesterday I came across Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipe for Roasted Sweet Potato with Pecans & Maple in his first cookbook. His use of minced gingerroot in the vinaigrette inspired me to create my own version. I rejigged the proportion to feature a lot more ginger, a lot more herbs, a lot less sweet, a lot less oily, and a little bit more spicy. The result? I absolutely love my Herb & Ginger Roasted Sweet Potato!

Sweet Potato Fish Curry

The culinary challenge that comes with being on any specific diet is figuring out delicious menus while adhering to rules and limitations. For me, I try to focus my attention on making better use of ingredients I should eat plenty, rather than bemoaning about all the food I should avoid. Over the weekend, I filled my shopping basket with sweet potatoes, gingerroot, red peppers, leafy greens, avocados, frozen pearl onions, canned sardines, kippered kippers, pickled herrings, and of course fresh fish. Why the variety of preserved oily fish? Let’s face it, when I get home late, all I want is a quick lazy dinner. Eating a can of sardines in olive oil is quite possibly the easiest solution while still getting a super dose of omega-3 fatty acid. Besides, I happen to really like canned fish, especially hot smoked ones.

Weekend is also a great time to experiment. I came up with a dish heavily loaded with anti-inflammatory ingredients. My Sweet Potato Fish Curry is mildly spicy but decidedly healthy. The flavour is built upon cumin seeds, fennel seeds, gingerroot, garlic, turmeric, garam masala, and tomato puree. Rather than relying on any dairy, a bit of chickpea flour and sweet potato lend body to the sauce. You can make it with any firm flesh fish. I used plaice but salmon would be an even better choice.

I served the curry with kale salad and quinoa. I obviously avoided the quinoa but the boys enjoyed it with the saucy main course. Looks like this anti-inflammatory powerhouse will be on regular rotation at my home for the next little while.

Chocolate For Breakfast

I forget things and it unsettles me. Everyone is forgetful occasionally so what is the big fuss? My memory may not be photographic but I tend to remember random pieces of information effortlessly. Plenty of convenience come along with this benefit. I rarely need to write shopping list and planning for complicated menus in my head comes easily. The last couple of weeks, I notice that I am more forgetful. I would walk into a store with a short mental list of things to pick up and totally blank out on one item a few steps later. I would find myself in the middle of a conversation, the topic changed, and I could not recall what I was discussing before. These are very subtle signs that can be so easily dismissed but I know they are the insidious effect of concussion. I only hope that it is temporary and I will recover completely.

Human brain works in mysterious manner and we adapt quickly. What bothers me on a deeper level is the significant things that I forget.

I forget the voices of loved ones long gone.

I forget the importance of a supportive friend and believe I can handle it alone.

I forget when was the last time I smiled.

I forget what it feels like to be healthy and carefree.

You can say things are not quite rosy here for the time being.

Vegan Coconut Lime Caramel

Lately I rediscovered the joy of homemade candies. The therapeutic quality of bread baking convinced me that I will also find peace in cooking caramel in my concussed state of mind. I only wish. As I found out, hovering my hands inches above a molten pot of lava is anything but calming. My heartbeat galloped away with the rising mercury of my candy thermometer. That’s right, cooking caramel is not the best activity for concussion recovery.

Eating homemade caramel, on the other hand, induces joy and satisfaction that few things can compare. So I guess it all evens out. Every piece of these vegan coconut lime soft caramel mellows from chewy to melty with a lingering richness of creamy coconut and lilting lime. If my head is completely right, I would probably go on longer about how much I love my stash of caramels. But since I much rather let my mind wander in this land of healing, here is the recipe without further ado.

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

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.

Improvise

Encounters with inferior chocolate chip cookies in the last few days left me wanting the real thing. They were all made from scratch so it wasn’t for the lack of effort. Quite simply put, the baker’s touch was not up to par. I feel a little sad just thinking of all the ingredients and time that went into baking those cookies.

I do not claim to be an expert but I learned from years of baking experience exactly how I prefer my chocolate chip cookies. When I do not feel like breaking out the stand mixer, Cook’s Illustrated Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie (check out Brown Eyed Baker’s adaptation) is my reliable choice. For all intents and purposes, I thought I would enjoy a late night snack of milk and chocolate chip cookies yesterday but it was not to be.

I ran out of chocolate chips.

Use That Apple Butter

Any avid jam maker can tell you it is all too easy to overstock the larder. I try to keep mine in manageable supply which explains why I am down to my last jar of apple butter. That beloved batch was made with lots of apple cider vinegar. At first, the apple butter tasted too sharp to my liking. But a few months in, the flavour mellowed and I grew to really like it. I wanted to use it for something special.

It is now maple season in eastern Canada and saps are flowing. Maple baked goods are everywhere I look. Last weekend I stopped at Cora’s for brunch. On my way out, I picked up a recipe card that caught my attention. It was a recipe for Apple and Maple Muffins, “the ideal lunchbox recipe”. I generally don’t get distracted by randomly distributed recipes but something about the ingredients spoke to me. Three things were aplenty: diced apples, maple syrup, oats. The recipe actually sounds healthy!