pear & ginger vegan scone

I make scones quite often on the weekends. It's a nice diversion from oatmeal or granola and it makes the house smell like a bakery which is as close the the heavenly ideal as I can get. This Saturday morning, I had scones on the brain and a few Asian pears from our CSA that I needed to use up. Now pears and me have a long history and to put it mildly, I hate them. Growing up we had 2 large and bountiful pear trees and either everyone in our family (but me) was snacking on them out of hand or my mom was in the kitchen baking up pear crisps like they were going out of style. We even had such an overflow of the fruit, that my dad suggested that my brother and I went around to the neighbours selling pears door to door. It was a humiliating experience.

I don't look to kindly to pears and I wasn't happy about receiving them in my CSA. But I hate ignoring something until it goes bad, so I decided that I could dice them up (nixing their mealy texture) and their inherent (gag-inducing) sweetness would bring only goodness to a scone, right? Indeed.

To put it gently, these scones rocked. I was a bit worried that not only was using pears, but that that I didn't have any eggs. But I plowed through and tweaked my usual recipe with pretty spectacular results. They didn't puff up like my usual scones, but otherwise, I couldn't tell a difference. And the pear? It worked beautifully with the ginger and cardamom. And just my luck, we received even more Asian pears in this week's CSA. Looks like there's going to be another Saturday morning scone in our future!

pear & ginger vegan scone
2 c flour
3 t baking powder
1 T sugar
1/4 t ground cardamom
1/4 c Earth Balance margarine*
2 asian pears, diced
3 T diced candied ginger
1 T vanilla extract
3/4 c non-dairy milk (I used almond) + 1 T for topping
2 T raw or demerara sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 400F. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and sugar. Cut in the margarine and blend it into the flour so that it resembles oats. Stir in pears and ginger. Add the vanilla to the milk and pour into flour mixture. Use a wooden spoon to combine and then knead the mixture 4 or 5 times with your hands until it comes together.

Place dough onto parchment paper and pat into a round shape. Cut into 8 triangles, like a pie and place parchment paper and scones onto a cookie sheet. Brush with remaining tablespoon of milk and sprinkle with the demerara sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops of the scones are golden. Serve warm with your favorite jam or a smear of buttery spread.

*Please note that if you do choose to make these with unsalted butter instead of Earth Balance, please throw in 1/4 teaspoon of salt. I find most vegan margarines too salty and got rid of the salt for this version.

like a velvet glove cast in iron: espresso ice-cream cups

Some days require advance planning, much organization and a roadmap to see you through. This weekend we had a house guest and while it was fun checking out our city through the eyes of a tourist and sharing our home with a new friend, it still required work. Work to search out recipes, work to grocery shop, work to prepare brunches and dinners. On Sunday evening, when all the hustle and bustle was over, Cornelius and I poured ourselves into flannel coziness and put on a tv-on-dvd guilty pleasure. We also put our new Bialetti stovetop espresso maker to work and made the simplest, most decadent dessert imaginable: espresso ice-cream cups. Believe me, there is no roadmap or recipe needed here.

A few years ago on a visit to my favorite city, Portland, OR, I stumbled into the Pied Cow Coffeehouse and had something called a "black velvet" or a "velvet glove". The name never stuck, but the memory of that dessert always did. When I'd tell my friends about how glorious it was, I had already re-named the dish into the title of my favorite Daniel Clowes graphic novel, "Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron". I would enjoy every spoonful and slurp and once the experience was over, I wanted to repeat it again and again. It was simplicity at it's best. A study in contrast. A scoop or two of vanilla ice-cream in your favorite pint glass or mug and a shot or two of hot espresso poured over top. That's it, there you have it. It's the perfect stress-free way to end a fancy dinner party with friends or the best way to unwind with your loved one afterwards.

pantry raid

I'm definitely in holiday mode, not cooking mode. Truth be told, there's not a lot of baking or cooking going on when there's itineraries to think about, travel forums to peruse, and how to pack 35 days of clothing & toiletries into one small and light carry-on pack. We were lucky to find a super cheap flight to Frankfurt, so unfortunately we won't be flying or heading into London or the UK at all. But there's lots of other great countries to explore. Our super flexible and very rough journey will take us to: Frankfurt > Koblenz > Cologne > Luxembourg > Ghent > Bruges > Brussels > Antwerp > Amsterdam > cycling around Holland > Berlin > Vilnius > Kaunas before we fly back into Frankfurt and back home to Vancouver. Any more tips and suggestions about what to see/do/eat while in Europe are more than welcome!

We leave for Frankfurt on Sunday and I'm trying to only buy groceries one day at a time so that nothing goes to waste while we're on holiday. It's a sad day when my fridge holds only yogurt, coffee cream, beer, mustard, pickles, almond butter, maple syrup and miso paste. So when I wanted to make something for breakfast, I had to raid the cupboard for inspiration. I've made granola many times before using variations on the same recipe, but I decided to forgo the healthy-ish granola of my past and try for something a bit more treat-like this time around. While the results were sweeter than my regular granola, I'm sure this is still much better than the store-bought granolas found on the shelves of your local supermarket. It not only makes a good breakfast tossed with some yogurt and fresh fruit or turned into cereal in a bowl of skim milk, but it tastes good just eating it out of hand as a mid-afternoon snack. I think the next time I make this, I'll sub in just regular ol' peanut butter for the almond butter since peanut butter makes more of a flavour impact. Regardless of changes, this recipe is a keeper and a great start to a busy day.

vanilla almond granola
4 c old-fashioned oats
1 c sliced almonds
2 T flax seed
3 T brown sugar
1/4 t salt
1/8 t cinnamon
1/3 c vegetable oil
1/4 c honey
1 T almond butter
1 packet of vanilla sugar (or just 2 T of white sugar)
4 t vanilla extract

1. Preheat to 300°F. Mix the first 6 ingredients in large bowl. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine oil, honey, and sugar. Stir honey mixture until it just begins to bubble. Remove from heat and stir in the almond butter and vanilla. Once the almond butter melts, pour the hot liquid over the oats and stir well until throughly mixed.

2. Spread granola on a large rectangular baking sheet or pan. Bake until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely. Break apart and store in an airtight container.

snow day

Vancouver is in the midst of a winter wonderland and I'm certainly not complaining. Snow is a rarity here in winter and although I'm favorable to the warmer temperatures we get here on the wet coast, I'm not missing all the rain. I love snow! I like how it makes everything sparkle! I like wearing mittens and sporting rosy cheeks! It's also wonderful to wear boots as something other than a fashion statement. And because Vancouverites aren't used to snow, snow days (ie. days off work/school/etc.) are just part and parcel of a little snowfall. So even though I work from home, many of my clients don't, so it's been a little quiet here in my home office, which means it's catching up time for all of my other little self-directed projects. So when nature dumps snow on my doorstep, I find that it's the perfect time to treat myself to an extended morning. Yesterday I made yogurt waffles with walnuts and caramelized bananas (the bananas were for Cornelius) and today I made scones. Mmmmm, fragrant with a heady aroma of ginger and vanilla, they were the perfect way to stretch my morning into something special. Delicious.

ginger & vanilla scones
1/2 c milk
1 egg
2 c flour
2 t baking powder
½ t salt
1/4 c cold butter, cubed
3 T white sugar
2 T crystallized ginger, diced finely
2 T chopped walnuts
2 t vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Mix the milk and the egg together until frothy and then set aside. In a large bowl, blend the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the cubes of butter and crumble the mixture through with your hands until it's blended through and you have no lumps larger than a pea. Add the sugar, walnuts and ginger and encorporate into the flour. Add in the vanilla and milk mixture, reserving about a tablespoon of the milk as a glaze for later. Mix gently with a fork.

3. Turn dough out onto a clean counter and knead it no more than 12 times. Pat dough into a round approximately 1/2 an inch thick, and cut into 8 wedges. Place on an ungreased baking sheet or a Silpat. Using a pastry brush, glaze wedges with remaining egg/milk mixture. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

peachy keen

The photo was taken on top of Anarchist Mountain overlooking the Okanagan desert....and all the brown forest fire smoke coming across the Washington border.

Our week-long camping trip was wonderful! We canoed on Slocan Lake, wandered around historic Greenwood, and dreamily made plans for the future. Ahhhh, I love summer roadtrips and get-aways! The food was amazing as well. The vegetarian cashew chili I prepared the first night was delicious and the left-overs made an amazing burrito dinner the second evening. Over the course of the week, we had amazing barbequed corn on the cob, roasted potatoes, delicious nectarines, and the best sandwiches from the Frog Mountain Cafe in Cresent Valley. Yum!

Back in Vancouver, I made sure to start our return to civilization on the right foot with a freshly baked batch of peach and vanilla scones for breakfast. The turned out deliciously and were great served with cold butter and a bit of cinnamon honey from the Okanagan. To carry on with the peach theme, dinner was a super-tender pork tenderloin roasted with peaches and ginger. As much as I love travelling, I sure do enjoy the comforts of home!

peach & vanilla yogurt scones
1 c white flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1 T baking powder
1/4 t salt
2 T sugar
1/3 c chilled butter, diced
2 t vanilla extract
1/2 c vanilla yogurt
2 T milk
1 peach, diced

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add the butter. With your hands, combine the flour and butter together until mixture is crumbly and the butter pieces are no larger than peas.

3. Add the vanilla extract, yogurt, milk and peaches and stir into the flour mixture with a wooden spoon. When the mixture comes together, knead the dough a few times, and then flatten dough into a disc about half an inch thick. Cut into 8 pieces, place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

pork tenderloin with peaches & ginger
1 pork tenderloin
salt & pepper
1 t olive oil
2 peaches, diced
1 red onion, diced
2 T chopped ginger
1 T chopped garlic
1 t molasses
1 T soy sauce
1 t hot sauce
juice of half a lemon

1. Heat oven to 450 F.

2. Sprinkle salt & pepper over the pork tenderloin. The secret to a tender roast is to sear the meat, so this step is very important! In a heavy cast iron pot, heat the olive oil and sear the meat on all sides. Turn off heat.

3. Add the peaches and onion to the pot. Pour the remaining ingredients over top and mix with a wooden spoon. Cover the pot and place into hot oven for about 30 minutes or so. Remove lid and continue cooking for another 15 minutes before removing from oven. Slice and serve.