Oven Chips

The first time I had these was when my brother-in-law, Manish came to visit over Christmas. He helped us prepare christmas dinner and made these wonderful oven chips.

Ingredients:

• thinly sliced potatoes
• a few tablespoons of cornstarch
• pinch of salt, pepper
• pinch of chilli powder
• few tablespoons of rosemary

Mix all the ingredients, place on a baking tray and splash with some olive oil. Bake for about 20min.

Imagine oven potatoes sizzling along side some rosemary...Smells delicious. Serve this dish hot and cripy alongisde some sour cream (optional).

Quiche

A slice of Quiche celebrates brunch at its best. You can transform your left-over ingredients into a new dish by mixing them with some eggs, cream and cheese. Some of my favourite combinations are brocoli and cheese, tomatoes and goat cheese, leeks, peppers and cheese or mushroom and cheese or bacon and cheese. All you need is cheese, right? : )

For the crust:
Mix together in a food processor:

• 250g all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 200g cold butter (cut in small cubes)
• 1/2 cup cold water (Add gradually as you may require more or less)
  

For the filling:
Mix together in a bowl:

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup of whipping cream or whole milk
• 1/4 cup grated cheese
• pinch of salt and pepper
• a big handful of the meat / vegetables of your choice
  

Roll the dough onto a pie dish, add the filling and bake at 375 F for about 30 min.

Most of the time, I use cheddar cheese in my filling. You can experiment with whatever you like. Also, if you usually use herbs in our omelettes, go ahead and add that also.

In this last one I made, I used leeks, a mix of colourful peppers and cheddar cheese. Serve alongside a hot tea on a cold day or fresh orange spritzer on a warm day.

Enjoy!

Mango Salad

Mango has got to be one of favourite fruits. I can have mangoes any time, any day. I'll even eat them when I don't have an appetite!

Growing up, we had mango trees in our backyard. I can’t tell you when exactly I learned how to peel one but I definitely remember helping myself to delicious mangoes after school as a young teenager. When I first moved to Canada, I probably didn't buy mangoes for a long time as I couldn't bring myself to spend more than a dollar on each! Anyhow as with everything, the shock dissipates after some time. It's not easy to get good mangoes in Canada. Forget about sweet ripe ones...These are like winning the lottery. If you're lucky that day, you might get a good one : ) If you buy the mangoes while they're semi-ripe and wait for it to ripen on your counter, it doesn't always taste great. So my favourite way to eat mangoes here is in salads, Thai style. That way, you can enjoy them semi-ripe and it doesn't really matter whether it's a little on the green or ripe side...

I use very few ingredients when I make mango salad but every time I make it, I also add other "salad" ingredients I have on hand.

The basic ingredients are:

• mangoes (semi-ripe)
• lemon/lime juice
• herb of choice (mint, coriander, green onion)

I can eat the salad with just the above ingredients. I'll add a splash of olive oil and dash of salt if I'm serving it to others : ) Other ingredients that I also like in mango salad are:

• avocados
  
• red peppers
• red onion
• green chillies (to taste)
• mix salad leaves
• bean sprouts
• crushed nuts

As simple as this. Delicious mangoes.

Pita Bread

I once watched Chef Michael Smith's trip to Istanbul on TV. It was everything you'd expect from a food adventure; visits to local markets, bakeries and pastry shops. Everything looked wonderful and made with so much passion. What a privilege it would be to experience all that.

A few weeks later, by coincidence, a friend mentioned a shop in Toronto that sells all kinds of middle eastern breads. What an interesting shopping experience that was. I had never seen pita bread as thin as crepes and some longer than an arm's length! If you want to see what I mean, check out Arz Bakery in Toronto. If you live in Montreal, try Marché Adonis.

Well, true to my style, I just had to look for a home baker's recipe for pita bread to see if I could get some of that fresh taste from my kitchen : ) And I found it in a book called "Pain" which you can buy from a Premiere Moisson bakery in Montreal.

Here are the ingredients:

• 2 tsp yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups white flour
• 2 cups whole wheat flour

My take on making bread is don't think and don't fuss about it too much. Mix, shape, bake and see how it turns out. I really liked what Tarek says to Walter in the movie The Visitor when he's teaching him to play the African drum. "Don't think" he says. Just play. Is it ridiculous to take that approach with bread making? Perhaps. Some people think of it of an exact science right? Do whatever works for you. After all, why do something if you're not going to enjoy it.

So here's a general guideline to the recipe.

Mix everything and let rise until doubled in size. Then, divide into 8 balls. Use a dusting of extra flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Leave to rest for 30 min. My favourite technique to shape dough into balls is to pull the sides, gathering the ends at the bottom. Pinch the bottom and you'll have perfect round shapes each time. Even my husband can do this and he's ready to lend a hand too!

After you've given the dough time to relax, flatten each ball to a flat bread shape. Thin crust or thick crust? It's up to you. Leave the dough to rest for another 30 min and bake in the oven at 450F for about 10 min. You'll be amazed at the lovely tasty pockets that come out of your oven!

Tada! a keeper.

Try it with some humus or baba ganoush or fill with your favourite sandwich toppings like shredded cheese and lettuce. Excellent.

Not-so-Montreal Bagels

Guy, St Catherine, St Mathieu, Atwater, Rene Levesque...this was my neighbourhood when I was a student in Montreal. That was quite the location. Everything was at my doorstep. I shared an appartment with my sister, Nathalie, and she taught me where to get good eats. From time to time, we would get hazelnut coffee from Java U and head to Rene Levesque for wonderful breads. We got croissants from a small bakery on St Mathieu, groceries from the Faubourg, where we would also buy fancy cheeses, cold cuts, the best pad thai in the country and also wonderful bagels. ahhhh...the list is long...

The neighbourhood has changed a lot since then and some of our favourite spots have unfortunately closed. The bagel guy still operates, although not as much as before.

I am pretty sure Nathalie helped refine my taste buds. When she was still in high school, she used to make wonderful things like Crêpe with bechamel sauce, chocolate mousse, Bavarois à l'ananas...mmm mmm mmm. We don't get to spent too much time together anymore. We're separated by oceans. So I'm dedicating this one to her as good bagels remind me of good times in Montreal.

Here's the recipe.

In a food processor, pulse:

• one medium onion

Remove the onion from the bowl and reserve for later use.

Without washing the bowl, add to the food processor:

• 4 cups bread flour
• 1 tsp yeast
• 2 tsp salt

Turn the food processor on and while the motor is running, add:

• 1 3/4 cups water (room temperature)

Process the dough for 2-3 minutes, until it becomes soft and heats up a little bit. Transfer the dough to a board and knead briefly. Place the dough back in the food processor. Process for a minute and knead again on a board. Repeat this process a 3-4 times to work the dough so it becomes very smooth and strong.

Allow the dough to rest (2 hrs) until it doubles in volume. When the dough has doubled in size, cut it into 12 round pieces and allow to rest for 1 hr.

To prepare the onion, in a low heat pan:

• Fry the onion with some olive oil and stir until the onion caramelizes into a paste

Stretch each dough ball out slightly, making a hole in the middle for the bagel shape. Spread a little bit (1/4 tsp) of the onion paste on top. Bake in a 450 F oven for about 15 min.

Smell the aroma in the house... It's quite wonderful.

These aren't quite the Montreal bagels from my old neighbourhood but they're very satisfying and till the next time you can get the authentic Montreal bagels... Yummy.

Date and Walnut Buns

Ever gone to a dim sum restaurant and ordered sweet buns? Well these are similar but I am using dates and walnuts as stuffing instead and I'm also adding the traditional spices you find in hot cross buns.

In a sauce pan, warm up the following until the butter melts:

• 150 ml milk
• 50g butter
  
• crushed cardamom seeds (2 pods)
• 1 clove

Let the mixture to infuse off the heat. Strain the spices out when the liquid cools down. Then add:

• 1 egg

In a stand mixer, add:

• 400g whole wheat flour (or bread flour or a mixture if you prefer)
• 1 1/2 tsp yeast
• zest of an orange
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• all of the egg mixture

Knead and let the dough rest until doubled in size.

Prepare the dates by placing:

• 2 cups dates, just enough boiling water to cover

Leave the dates to soften for a few minutes, then strain, dry excess water, and chop into pieces. Prepare the walnuts by chopping:

• 1/2 cups of walnuts (reserve about 2 tbsp for the topping)
  

When the dough is ready, cut off a small piece, stretch it out a little. Sprinkle with some date and walnut pieces and roll up into a small bun. Repeat until you've used up all the dough and let it rest for about 40 min. Sprinkle the top with a few walnut pieces and bake at 400 F for 15-20 min.

Prepare a glaze for the buns by mixing:

• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp boiling water

When the buns are ready, spoon over some of the glaze. Step back and admire your hard work; whole wheat buns stuffed with sweet dates and walnut crunch.

Coconut Macaroons

Coconut macaroons, coconut rocks, coconut pyramids, gato coco (in creole) are many names I've come across for this recipe. This one comes from a cooking class from when I was about 13 years old. It's made with condensed milk, grated coconut and egg whites. You can flavour this any way you like. I added cocoa once (although, next time I'd rather use dark chocolate chunks) and I also tried it with roasted almonds. A friend of mine has suggested cardamom which I have yet to try. My favourite, though, is a classic basic recipe with a dash of vanilla.

Mix together:

• a can of condensed milk (300 ml)
  
• 3-4 cups of grated coconut (If using fresh, squeeze some of the water out)
  
• dash of vanilla

Fold in:

• 2 egg whites beaten to stiff peaks

Fold the egg whites in the coconut mixture. Spoon the batter on a lined tray and bake at 400 F for about 15-20 min.

The challenge will be to not eat a handful of these : )