February, 2012

Salted caramels make great gifts. You can churn them out fairly easily and they travel well. It was my recipe of choice for Christmas gifts last year as hundreds of cookies are a no go when you live so far away.

Doing a test run I learned that caramels are sticky and will stick to everything. Everything.

Leaving caramel on a cutting board without greasing it made a big sticky mess. Putting caramel aside on an unlined ungreased baking dish for just a few moments? Stuck like glue.

When you finally remember that this golden substance will glue itself to everything in sight, the process isn’t that bad.

The most time consuming task is wrapping. You’ll want to cut your pieces of wax paper all at once so you can streamline the process.

There is an addictive quality about these, only a slight amount of chewing is necessary before they melt away in your mouth.

I used the Fleur de Sel recipe from the Sugar Baby cook book. Have you been to Gesine’s Facebook page? When I was having trouble with the recipe, she was quick at responding with some trouble shooting tips.

Notes:

- I took it off the heat a bit earlier (245F) for a softer chew. I found that 257F makes the caramels harder, especially when the temperature continues to rise. An accurate thermometer is a must because it means the difference between “soft” and “syrup”
- I added the salt in with the caramel instead of reserving it for sprinkling on top. I think you can use regular sea salt for the cooking stage and then if you want a little extra, go all out and use the fleur de sel.

Lola’s was our brunch spot when R and I went to Seattle. I have never been a fan of side dishes, they’re pushed aside so I can focus on the main.

When I had to restrain myself from eating all of the smashed potatoes in order to finish my eggs benedict, I knew I had to re-create these at home. I was reeled in by the crisp potato skins which contrasted the soft insides. And the spices! There was nothing bland about it.

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Feeling the time crunch, I’ve needed to re-evaluate my meal strategies. Before I could spend a few hours in the kitchen on a weeknight, but I just don’t have the time and energy for that. I save my elaborate meals for the weekend when I can play in the kitchen all day.

People think that because I have a food blog and have an inclination to make elaborate meals, that daily dinners are a gourmet affair. The truth? When people ask what I had for dinner I feel slight shame and embarrassment when I respond with my usual stand-by meals: toast, crackers or cereal.

This spinach and chickpea dinner is for those who just don’t have enough time or effort in their day to cook something up. It relies on pantry staples like canned chickpeas and frozen spinach.

I was given a voucher for Cookin’ Greens to test out their flash frozen veggie products. I have never been a veggie person. I will buy fresh vegetables with good intentions of eating them and they end up rotting in my fridge. Having frozen veggies in my freezer offers me the convenience of using it when I can. They try to keep the product as fresh as possible by freezing it after 6 hours of harvesting it.

I threw the spinach in and it cooked up easily. You can use it straight from the freezer without thawing and I like how it doesn’t all come out in a big clump. I can’t really comment on the taste because it tastes like spinach (and it should).

I was able to cook this and still have time to go to my yoga class. To bump up the flavour a bit I would add a couple of more spices (maybe mustard seed?) and some diced tomatoes.

Recipe over at Real Simple here.

R is usually the one that makes breakfast in the household. It usually involves eggs, potatoes and whatever random spices/ingredients he wants to use that day. My breakfasts are always a little bit more structured and often never the same recipe.

These eggs from Madhur Jaffrey’s book Quick and Easy Indian Cooking have so much flavour to them. There is minimal prep work involved with big results. If you’re cautious about the heat, I would start off with half of a chile and adjust accordingly next time you make it. Make sure to do prep everything beforehand as you’ll need all the ingredients on hand right away.

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