Perennial Favorite

I received this plant as a thankyou gift ten years ago and every year it comes back to life, despite being frozen in the winters and dried out to dust in the summers. I can't tell you how much it cheers me to see these sweet blossoms pop open in the spring. Inspired me to bake a tasty pineapple cake ( not that I need a whole lot of prodding to do so!)



Pineapple Cinnamon Coffee Cake


Cinnamon Topping:
2/3 cup (175 mL) brown sugar
¾ cup (175 mL) chopped walnuts
1/4 cup (75 mL) all purpose flour
1 tsp (7 mL) ground cinnamon
¼ cup (50 mL) butter or margarine
Cake:
1 (1) 14-oz (398 mL) can crushed pineapple
2 ¼ cups (550 mL) all purpose flour
1 tbsp (15 mL) grated lemon or orange rind
1 ½ tsp (7 mL) baking powder
¾ tsp (3 mL) baking soda
½ tsp (2 mL) salt
½ cup (125 mL) butter or margarine
1 cup (250 mL) sugar
3 (3) eggs
3/4 cup (250 mL) sour cream
¼ cup light cream
1 tsp vanilla

To make cinnamon topping: In small bowl combine brown sugar, walnuts, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter or margarine until crumbly. Drain pineapple in a sieve, pressing with a spoon on top of fruit to drain excess juice; set pineapple aside. Reserve pineapple juice for another use.
On waxed paper, combine flour, lemon rind, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In medium bowl, cream butter or margarine with sugar until well mixed. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in dry ingredients alternately with sour cream. Spread half the batter in a greased and floured 10-inch (25 cm) square baking pan or 13 x 9-inch (34 x 22 cm) baking pan. Sprinkle half the cinnamon topping over batter. Spread remaining batter on top. Spoon pineapple evenly over batter. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon topping.
Bake in a 350º F (180º C) oven until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Serve warm.
Makes about 12 servings

More treats for the grey days

Cream Cheese Coffeecake

Cake batter:

2 1/2 cups Flour
3/4 cup Sugar
½ cup butter
3/4 cup Sour cream
1/2 teaspoons Baking powder
1 Egg
1/2 teaspoons Baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Vanilla

Cream filling:

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon Lemon juice
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla

Fruit topping:
1 cup Sliced apples
1/4 cups Sugar
1/4 cups Raisins
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tablespoon Lemon juice
1 cup Reserved crumbs
1/2 cups Chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 F.In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar; cut
in butter using a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Remove 1 cup for topping. To the remaining crumb mixture, add baking
powder, soda, salt, sour cream, egg and vanilla; blend well. Spread batter
over the bottom and 2" up the side of a greased and floured 9" springform
pan (batter should be 1/4" thick on sides).
For cream filling, in a small
bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and egg; blend well and pour
over the batter in the pan. To make apple filling, mix all apple
ingredients together and carefully spoon over the cream cheese filling. In
a small bowl, combine reserved crumb mixture with the nuts and sprinkle
over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes or until cream cheese
filling is set and crust is a deep golden brown. Cool 15 minutes then
remove sides of pan. Refrigerate when cool. Sigh. My jeans are shrinking.

Cures for the February Blahs

On the advice of a writing friend I recently subscribed to a Canadian literary mag called The New Quarterly, and I'm glad I did!The current issue is a treasure box of poetry ( I know! me reading poetry!) stories ( damn good ones) and even articles about the mysteries of story structure. Very enjoyable. If you can't find this mag in your neck of the woods just let me know and I'll send you mine when I'm done with it :)

And that's not all! I'll even include a recipe, this time for eggless scones to have with your cup of tea while reading-



Dreamy Cream Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Use an ungreased baking sheet.
Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a bowl, stirring with a fork to mix well. Still using a fork, stir in the cream and vanilla and mix until the dough holds together in a rough mass (the dough will be quite sticky).If the dough seems very dry, add a bit more cream.

Lightly flour a board and transfer the dough to it. Knead the dough 8 or 9 times. Pat into a rectangle about 7 by 9 inches and cut into about ten scones. Brush tops with a bit of cream and sprinkle with a little sugar.
Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. These are excellent with jam or as shortcakes with fruit and whipped cream.

Birthday Pie

Happy Birthday dear Lyle, happy birthday to yooooo!

Instead of cake, Lyle requested this for dessert. Man, these Scots and their sweet-tooths! If you're in the mood for sugar overload, this is the pie for you!

Crispy Apple Pie

9 inch single pastry crust, unbaked
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup butter
6 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup whipping cream

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Combine brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in medium bowl and cut in butter til crumbly. Place one third of this mixture in the pie shell. Arrange apple slices evenly over it then sprinkle the remaining sugar-butter mix on top. Press it down a bit with the palm of your hand then carefully pour the whipping cream over it so that it runs in little rivulets into the apples. Bake pie at 425 for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 350 and bake for about another 25 minutes. I like a small scoop of French Vanilla ice cream with my little slice of this pie.

Today's listening pleasure, Led Zeppelin, Houses of the Holy, four and a half stars.

Melange a trois

I really should write this down before I forget...sometimes I think I'm the prize vegetable in my kitchen! This is what happened...I was feeling hermitlike but wanted to make soup...the carrots and leeks were just hangin' in the crisper so thought they might like to get together, then who shows up but the yam, who had never gotten over a previous relationship with the carrots (but that's another soup).
The result was...

Curried Carrot and Leek Soup

4 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 leeks, white and light green part only, well rinsed and chopped
1 yam, peeled and chopped
bit of butter (or light olive oil)
1 tablespoon curry paste or to taste
3 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
salt and pepper to taste
touch of light cream or milk, optional

Saute the veg in the butter or oil til slightly soft, stir in curry, broth and thyme. Simmer about 30 minutes then puree to desired smoothness. Salt and pepper if you wish. Swirl in a bit of milk or cream. Ridiculouly simple but to me, simply delish. Hope you enjoy it too!

Today's listening pleasure-
Una voce poco fa: A Portrait of Teresa Berganza , four stars

One for me and one for you

Speaking of chocolate (of course we were!) the other day I finally found some of my favorite dark chocolate treats, Baci. When I was little we had these at Christmas time and loved them, even though they were horribly stale and dusty tasting after being tucked away on a back shelf of our local Italian grocery from one year to the next. But they were Italian and therefore special and I used to love being able to read the words of wisdom on the little waxed paper inserts in two of the languages there :)

Just a few years ago I tasted for the first time a fresh Bacio. What a revelation! Please have one or two, I insist!

So far, so good

I've designated 2008 as my year of living wisely and well. I've successfully left a lot of stuff behind me and am movin' on up :)
In the food department, I've been making lots of wonderful winter soups. The latest one , Curried Carrot and Leek, was so simple and soooo good I'm almost embarassed to mention it. I didn't even take a pic! But I'm sure I'll be making it again very soon and will remedy that oversight.
My story writing is going pretty well and you can read me online at
Conte,
http://www.conteonline.net/issue0302/splash.html
and A Fly in Amber, http://aflyinamber.net/?p=57
And some of my very simple but kinda pretty jewellery designs are actually selling locally at a gift shop called LadyBugs. Incredible.I have a little online showcase at Etsy, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5530432
And the sun even came out today! Glorious! I spent most of the afternoon out in the crisp cold air, doing a bit of yard work. Does it get much better than this?

What Day is it?

My family did the time warp this Christmas and had it on the 23rd. Dinner, gifts, the whole shebang on that nothing day, December 23rd.And it turned out to be sweeter than I ever expected, because today, while the rest of the world tore off wrappings and tried to pry apart the legs of a massive frozen turkey to insert stuffing, I did...nothing. Yep. Nothing. I watched hours of Christmas programming while Lyle slept between night shifts ( no annoying male moaning about my taste in music) and read many chapters of a mindless page-turner while the storm raged outside. No worries here. If the power went out we still have lots of leftovers that I would happily consume cold. I can honestly say I have never had a more pleasant 25th of December. Very Merry Two Days after the 23rd to one and all!

LIve from New York

This morning I dragged my cold-wracked body out of bed early and made my way to the opera. Not my usual couple of hundred mile trek to the city opera, but a mere half hour drive to our new and lovely local theatre, where, with the finagling of some devoted opera buffs, the live telecasts from the Met are being broadcast right here in little old River City.
It was fabulous. Riveting. Soaring. Gounod's "Romeo et Juliette", featuring the gorgeous presences of Anna Netrebko and Roberto Alagna in the title roles.
If you have the slightest interest or affection for opera and you have live telecasts happening in your town or city, go. Just go.

Seriously, Santa...

...disregard anything those freaky elves say,I have been nice this year. Here, look, I baked you a cake! (weezie, does anything look familiar in this pic?)
I'm very fond of any foods with spirals or swirls or marbling of any sort...I think there is some kind of metaphysical reason for that but anyway, here's a great recipe for a tasty and pretty cake.


Marbled Banana Cake

1/2 cup butter or margarine, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 ripe, medium bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
½ cup sour cream, ½ cup light cream
1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted
Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease a 12-cup bundt pan (12-inch diameter).
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in the eggs one by one, waiting until each has been incorporated to add the next. Beat in vanilla extract and mashed bananas.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mix and stir to combine. Add in the sour cream and light cream, followed by the remaining flour mixture.
Remove 1 1/2 cups of batter into a small bowl and stir in cocoa powder.
Pour 2/3 of the plain batter into the prepared bundt pan, top with cocoa batter and spoon the rest of the plain batter on top. Run a knife through the batter gently to swirl.
Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly pressed.
Turn cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Carols by Candlelight

This is the weekend of the traditional carols concert in my town. My son performed in this event for 13 years, working his way through the apprentice, boys, academy singers and youth choirs. This year he is 600 miles away in the frozen north of BC so I'll be caroling on my own.

I made a delicious spinach dish today. I won't post a photo since it's not the most attractive dish ( no comment please, Mel LOL), but here's the recipe-

Spinach Leek Gratin

One ten ounce package of fresh spinach
1 small leek, white part only
1 cup fine sourdough bread crumbs
3T butter, divided
1 T Dijon mustard with horseradish
1/4 cup light cream
1 cup grated sharp white cheddar
1 tsp plain Dijon
Salt and pepper if you wish

Wilt the spinach in a large pot. Place spinach in a sieve and squeeze out remaining water.
Rinse and chop leek.
In skillet, melt 2T butter, stir in 1 T mustard, then breadcrumbs and heat til golden. Stir in cheese and set aside.
In another pan, saute leek in remaining 1 T butter til tender, then stir in spinach, plain Dijon and cream and cook till thick. Season with salt and pepper if desired.
Turn into a lightly buttered pie plate, sprinkle with crumb mixture and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven about 20 minutes.
An excellent side dish for the carnivores and delicious main dish for all others.

Today's listening pleasure- "The Best of Nina Simone" five stars.

A Possibility of Snow

I really expected it to rain today. Sigh. A good day for soup.




Curried Broccoli Soup

3 tablespoons butter
1 large leek, white part only
1 clove garlic
1 small onion
1 large potato
1 tablespoon mild curry paste
3 cups broccoli florets and peeled stalks, coarsely chopped
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
¼ cup milk or cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute chopped leek, garlic and onion in butter til soft. Add diced potato and curry paste, then stir in broccoli and broth. Simmer about 20 minutes, cool slightly and puree with hand blender. Stir in milk or cream , reheat but do not boil. Add salt and pepper if desired.

Makes 4 generous servings.

Music and Magic

Recently a couple of my culture buddies and I took a little trip to Vancouver to take in the traditional double scoop of operatic goodness, Cavalleria Rusticana and I Pagliacci, as performed by the Vancouver Opera in the big old Queen Elizabeth Theatre. We were downright giddly(think giddy plus giggly, not a pretty sight in women of a certain age) with anticipation, having fallen in love with a recording of "Cav" I had discovered online. Mascagni's music is richly melodic and overwhelmingly beautiful and we were looking forward to being swept away by the added dimension of stage and flesh and blood. Never happened. The leads were capable enough singers, but poor actors and the staging was (literally in parts) empty and boring. It's very difficult to succeed on the many levels required to produce great live opera. We grumbled through the intermission, especially about the tenor :) What was to follow made up for it, in spades.



The familiarity of Pagliacci had dulled our expectations. How wrong we were! This was a fine production, not only in the singing. Dramatically, a compelling reality was created onstage because of the acting ability and chemistry of the players. The great aria, Vesti la Giubba was sung with dignity and pathos as befitting its context. A scene of illicit, dangerous passion between Nedda and Silvio was one of the most sensuous and transcendent moments I've even seen and heard onstage. Magic.

Pre-opera we dined at a nearby restaurant, Da Gino, which I would describe as real Italian, good, simply prepared and perfectly dressed and seasoned food in moderate portions. In the early hours of the next morning, I was sung Happy Birthday by my two buddies ( who just happen to be accomplished singers themselves). What a lovely way to get older!

A quick thanks to all my dear friends who have helped me mark yet another birthday and especially to my many November born pals, past and present. I carry you with me in my heart,always.

Happy Birthday Scorpios

Here's a tasty treat sure to appeal...to me, anyway

Cocodependent Banana Bread

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
3 bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup lite sour cream
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips



DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 9x5 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, cream together margarine, sugar and eggs. Stir in bananas and vanilla. Sift in flour, baking soda and cocoa; mix well. Blend in sour cream and chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of a loaf comes out clean.

Today's listening pleasure- Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, "Raising Sand", my absolute fave cd of the year, 5 stars!

Thankgiving: the Aftermath

Canadian Thanksgiving comes early and this year our household was reduced by one third, leaving just the two of us to deal with the Big Bird.

This year’s favorite leftover meal was my adaptation of Mulligatawny Soup, which turned out fabulously well!

Mulligaturkey

2 to 3 cups chopped turkey
6 to 8 cups turkey broth
1 onion, chopped
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced diagonally
2 T butter
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 T mild curry paste (I like Sharwoods)
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup uncooked white rice
Cream or plain yogurt (optional)

Saute the veg in a large soup pot, add curry paste, broth and tomatoes, simmer for 1 hour. Add turkey , salt and pepper and rice and simmer 30 min. Swirl with cream or yogurt if desired.

Today's listening pleasure- Amanda Stoloff Quartet. "Still Life" 4 stars

Spider Season

This spider's sense is telling her that lean times are coming, despite a strangely summerlike September here on the coast. My yard is festooned with the evidence of her industry, in fact, after a half hour of sitting in the back yard, I discovered that strands of spider silk were attached to my toes.

I think it's safe to say that my respect and admiration for the eight-legged artisan is a one way street! So if you come calling and I don't answer the door, come out back and rescue me. I'll be the large silk wrapped mummy hanging from Miss Spider's web...

Freedom Road

For me and for my university bound son, the road to freedom is a two lane highway north.

On the first of September there is already a nip in the air that sweeps away the stupor of summer. He is ready for this and I am more ready than I expected to be to let him go. My mantra for motherhood, that the ultimate goal in parenting is an independent child, has somehow done the trick. The anticpated rush of tears and despair never happens. I am truly thrilled for him, deeply proud of his achievements and successes and convinced that he has made wise choices for this next phase of his young life.

For both of us, a new phase of independence lies ahead like an open, sunlit field.

My Kind of Blackberry

Every summer I can remember is punctuated by blackberries- first the anticipation, then collection, then...my most favorite food ever, blackberry pie.
I am not a religious or particularly spiritual person but while I'm picking blackberries I feel as if the earth is blessing me with a glorious gift, thorns, spider webs and all.

Since U Been Scone

Sigh. I think I have been home alone a little too long! Now I know why little old ladies bring baskets of muffins to the local banks, etc. They are filling up the empty nest with baking!

But I do love my scones. This is a good basic dependable recipe.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, 3 T. sugar, 1 T baking powder and a half teaspoon salt. Cut in 5 T butter and stir in about a half cup raisins. Beat together a half cup light cream and one egg. Add some vanilla if you like and stir the liquid quickly into the dry ingredients. Knead lightly, turn onto board and cut into 8 scones. Bake about 17 minutes. Check at 15 if your oven runs hot. I love these with blueberry jam!

Pie Princess

Man, I make a lot of pies in the summertime. Lyle dubbed me Pie Princess a quarter century ago so in this season I try to live up to my royal responsibilites.

This here is a plain ol' blueberry pie, four and a half cups fresh berries, three quarters cup sugar, half teaspoon cinnamon, quarter cup flour, juice of half a lemon.Let that mixture stand while preparing your favorite pastry. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes, then 350 for 35 minutes.

Today's listening pleasure, Nina Simone, The Blues, five stars...I LOVE this music!