Olive Bread Making Adventures

I should start by saying I’ve never made bread before.  

If you’ve ever had homemade bread, you know that it is damn good and no store bought, abnormally squishy bread could ever compare.  But making bread… wow, what a process.  

It takes commitment to make a loaf of bread in your own kitchen.  Heck, I’m not even talking about good bread.  To make a good loaf of bread takes a whole other level of competence and patience.

As you may know, I am not a patient person. 

However, I was going to be a guest at the house of some friends and I wanted to bring a little thank you present.  What do you bring a group that includes a health-nut, a chocolate allergy, and a cookie-holic?  

The only thing I could think of was bread.  

My father found me this recipe for this Japanese/Chinese style bread that I wanted to try, but for a gift I felt I needed something more special.  More artisan. Then, this food memory hit me on the head: there was this bread I had when I was in the south of France with green olives, topped with sea salt.  It was the absolute tastiest thing you could have especially with that warm, ocean breeze on your back. I remember seeing olives (which I used to hate) in a whole different life after eating that bread.  

So olive bread it was.  

Midnight Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies are so bad ass, they need no introduction.

You’ll need:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs 
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 (12-ounce) bag semisweet chocolate chips, or 12 ounces of semisweet chocolate cut into chunks
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine salt

Evenly position 2 racks in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Put the butter in a microwave safe bowl, cover and microwave on medium power until melted. Cool slightly. Whisk the sugars, eggs, butter and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth.

Stuff-Your-Face Chocolate Cake

Have you ever read my all time favourite book, Matilda?  Or watched the movie? (It’s directed by Danny DeVito – and one of my most un-guilty pleasures.)

Do you remember the scene where one of Matilda’s classmates snuck into the Trunchbull’s office and ate her chocolate cake, and then she made him sit down in front of an assembly and eat the entire cake?  

That moist, gooey, irresistible, makes-me-almost-wish-I-were-Bruce-Bogtrotter death-by-chocolate cake?  

This is that cake.  

Imagine me as Bruce Bogtrotter, with this baby slabbed on my grimey hand.  

I know, it’s not the prettiest cake in the world.  Its rounded top would make any pastry chef shudder – but I couldn’t afford to slice off any bit of deliciousness.  Don’t judge it. Its gooey-ness will certainly make up for its less-than-perfect attributes.

I made it as a birthday cake, took one bite, and holy smokes, I’m eating the Trunch’s cake.  It is that good.  

Lemon Yogurt Mini-Cakes on City Bandit

Once upon a time, I made lemon yogurt mini-cakes.  

It’s been a while, but here’s the recipe. 

This is a spin-off of a classic French everyday cake.  I learned the recipe back when I was an exchange student in France from my host mother.  She made one of these cakes about every week, and I absolutely adored them.  They were so light and fluffy, not too sweet.  You could eat it as a snack, dessert, with cream or chocolate or berries; it didn’t matter, it was so versatile.

I find that making this cake in Canada, it works best in muffin tins.  I don’t know, maybe it is the consistency of the yogurt that we have here or something, but every time I’ve tried to make this cake in a cake pan, it always ends up turning into a tough and chewy mess.  In muffin tins however, they rise beautifully and have the most gorgeous golden colour.  

I Heart Madeleines

“I raised to my lips a spoonful of the [little madeleine] . . . a shudder ran through my whole body and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary changes that were taking place.” – Marcel Proust

Mmm.  Madeleines.  There is just something about these cheery little spongy cookie-cakes that make even Proust get all gooey inside.

I could eat these all day long.

I often like to torture myself by going into kitchen supply stores and wistfully fantasize about all the pretty things I can’t currently get my hands and wallet on.  Like All-Clad measuring cups and spoons.  Or a Le Creuset French oven.  Or the boysenberry KitchenAid stand mixer.

However, one fateful trip to Warshaw (discount kitchen supplies heaven) and ten bucks spent later, and at least one of the items I’d been dying to get into my pantry could be crossed off the list.  A pan to make madeleines. 

Button Sugar Cookies on City Bandit

Here’s a classic sugar cookie recipe, along with my directions on how to  turn your cookies into darling buttons on City Bandit.

It’s really not too difficult. Just roll out your dough…

To-Die-For Lemon Cookies: Packaged for a Birthday

It was two of my friends’ birthdays, so I used that as an excuse to bake and get creative.

I decided to make for them a jar of homemade cookies, and decorate the jar with ribbons and simple, homemade birthday cards.  This is a really great gift idea for anyone.  It is a perfect way to package and transport the cookies, without needing to worry about the cookies breaking or cracking.  In addition, for the days to come the cookies will stay fresh until they are done! And then the gift receiver will have a useful, beautiful jar for them to store anything they want – flour, sugar, pasta, etc.

Firstly, I needed the perfect cookies to put in the jar, and I couldn’t think of anything better for the season or for the occasion than Giada’s lemon ricotta cookies with a lemon glaze.  They are bright, cheery, full of flavour cookies, and they are perfect for packaging up and giving away.

Summer Zucchini Bread Recipe

When the weather is warm, I love zucchini bread.

I love zucchini in general – especially yellow zucchini, because the colour is so fabulous.  Gently sautéed and mixed in with baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, and rotini.  Cooked with chicken stock into a sauce and served with a veal filet. Bright and simple in a red beet and green bean salad with a crack of salt and pepper.  Zucchini can be found everywhere in the summer, when it’s in season, and I just love its clean, earthy flavour.

And zucchini bread is a light, cheery, fun substitute for a side in place of your normal pastas and rice.  At the same time, it’s just savoury enough to stand up to meats and wines.

This recipe is relatively quick and easy, and doesn’t require any fancy equipment or ingredients.