Shortbread & QuickJams

We made shortbread the other day. My gran was famous for her shortbread, and instilled in me a love of the stuff. 

Gran never shared her recipe though; she was of a generation whose women guarded their recipes jealously as the trade secrets of their personal and social success. So when I'm in the mood for shortbread, I look at the recipes in Joy of Cooking, Bittman's How to Cook Everything, the Bon Appetit Cookbook, and Regan Daley's In the Sweet Kitchen, which has several good ones.

I love experimenting, so I usually make a hybrid of several recipes plus whatever substitutions or additions take my fancy. Shortbread is a recipe with latitude—it bears additions and substitutions well—which is a bonus for those of us who like to get creative, and a blessing if you're missing an ingredient. Although shortbread relies on ingredients that are common in my house—flour, butter, sugar and salt—on the odd occasion we're out of something, so it's convenient that each ingredient has a couple of substitution options. Because of its flexibility, shortbread is a good option for spontaneous baking.

Shortbread also has latitude in difficulty and fussiness. You can get perfectionist with it, but you don't have to. It's pretty kid-friendly too—you can let the kids measure and mix, hoping they don't eat all the dough, but not worried if they eat some. 

Each person can take a portion of the dough once it's mixed and create their own work of art. They might like to:

• Add a flavouring such as a salt, herb, spice, essence or nuts.
• Etch the top of the dough. Use a pointy object to create art or to make "cut here" lines.
• Decorate the dough using food coloring or cake decorations.

I had made apple butter and a plum quickjam earlier that day, so I jazzed up the shortbread with little dollops. The combination was amazing. And maybe healthy, or am I just kidding myself?

Watch your plate; this dessert disappears quickly.

 

Recipes
You can make both recipes quickly* and with almost any amount of fruit. It's a good way to:

• Use up older fruit that's still good but no longer pretty
• Deal with "little kid leftovers"; residuals of smaller children, who typically can't eat an entire fruit at once
• Quickly add home-cooked deliciousness to any meal, snack or dessert. I've added these butters and quickjams to salads, vegetables, yogurt, ice cream, toast, stews and meat dishes. 

* (2-3 minutes for cutting; 10-20 minutes on the stove. You can instead push it to the back of the stove and cook it on low for a longer time, if that suits you better. Just be careful not to forget it because once the water's cooked off, everything burns very quickly. Set a timer!)

Apple Butter
Cut apples into chunks, remove seeds.
Place in saucepan, cover with water.
Simmer until liquid is absorbed, occasionally stirring and mashing the fruit.
(You can add sugar, salt, honey, other fruits, herbs, or essences as it cooks. Flavours added earlier in the cooking process will intensify and blend with the fruit.)

Plum QuickJam
Remove pits from plums.
Place plums in saucepan, cover with water.
Add 2 T sugar.
Simmer gently until liquid is absorbed, occasionally stirring and mashing fruit. If you want thicker jam, add more sugar (to taste) gradually during cooking time.
(You can add sugar, honey, other fruits, herbs, essences, etc to taste).

:::

Too-Much-Zucchini Bread

Man this was good! I made it Sunday, thinking the kids could take some for school lunch. Sadly, it didn't last until Monday. Even sadder is that they're not the ones who ate most of it...

I used a simple spice-zucchini bread recipe (I think it was Bittman's; I use tons of his recipes and customize them as necessary). When I realised I had too much zucchini I said what the heck and tossed it in anyway. That was the moistest zucchini bread I've ever had. Everyone in the family liked it; even the zucchini-hater.

The crust kept it from being just a damp mess. The crust is, well, crusty, which makes it hard to cut without crushing the extremely moist insides, but adds a lovely textural contrast.

Stupidly Easy Chicken Recipe

Like pretty much every family, ours is busy and full of competing schedules. I like to cook prophylactically, and not only because it's a fun word. It means preventively; in other words, I cook so that there's always something in the fridge that's good, nutritious and easy to grab 'n go. Chicken fits the bill nicely. I have a great recipe:

1. Buy chicken legs, thighs, wings or whatever.
2. Arrange skin-side-up in baking pan.
3. Cover with Hy's Seasoning Salt.
4. Bake on 350F til internal temperature is 165F. (Always use a thermometer when cooking meat.)
5. (Optional) Broil for a couple of minutes until skin is as crispy as you like it. (Keep an eye on it—broiling goes wrong quickly!)
6. Feast.

I make mine in the toaster oven, which warms up more quickly, uses less electricity and toasts the skin better. If you cook it on a higher temperature (400-450F) the skin is usually crispy enough that you don't have to broil it.

Kids can help with this recipe. You probably don't want them handling raw chicken, but even little kids can sprinkle the seasoning salt. Older ones can use the thermometer to check for doneness. I mention this because it's important that we teach our children how to cook and eat, so they don't fall for misleading marketing or labelling claims, or buy into the cultural norm of eating crap.

Feast on This!

It’s getting close to Thanksgiving (2^nd Monday in October) which means it's time to talk about gratitude. Even in a year that held mixed blessings, there's lots to be thankful for. Along with great health and a loving family, I give thanks for things in my life that are simple yet profound.

Something that's easy to take for granted in my part of the world is an abundance of clean drinking water. In Vancouver we have some of the best-tasting water in the world. It’s my favourite drink; in fact our family rarely buys juice, soda or other beverages. Water is a healthier approach to hydration, saves a ton of money and I don’t have to schlepp heavy things home from the store. As access to fresh drinking water becomes politicized and people spend more and more on water they want to drink, I appreciate how lucky I am to have the luxury of inexpensive access to clean drinking water.

I give thanks for fresh fruit. It’s amazing stuff; healthy, gorgeous and flavourful. I’m always amazed by how ready for the day I feel after a breakfast of fruit, yogurt and eggs.

As you know, I love love love soup. Rainy days here can be bone-chilling. Whether it’s congee, stew, or clear broth soup, hot savoury liquids warm from the inside out. Soup warms my body and soul. (Plus it's fast and really easy to make!)

And baking, of course. It's a favourite activity on rainy winter days. I enjoy baking with my family; whether we pore over recipes or grab the first one off the internet (cookies, and hurry!). It may sound corny, but when my kids take something I've baked in their lunch, it feels like I’m able to give them an extra hug while they're at school. It satisfies my mommy-ing needs without embarrassing them in public.

I invite you consider what makes you wealthy—love, friendship, fresh fruit, a healthy appetite—and give thanks, today and every day.

Baking on a rainy sunday: Food for the Gods and Banana Bread

Food for the Gods

Food for the Gods is a Filipino treat. If you're not familiar with Filipino cooking, let me tell you they are sweet baking experts. If there's a Goldilocks near you, check it out. Really. Go now. (Brazo de Mercedes and Sans Rival will change your life.)

One of my favourite indulgences is Food for the Gods, a date square that leaves all others in the dust. It's a popular, time-tested dish—every lola has her family's recipe—and easy to make. The recipes I've seen all include dates and walnuts (I make mine without walnuts to appease Youngest Daughter) and a variety of sweeteners, including sugar, molasses, honey and corn syrup.

Recipes abound online—just be sure to search "food for the gods" (not of the gods). It's easy to make, uses very little flour (a plus for me, the gluten-free-ish gal) and popular. In the Phillipines you see it around christmastime, but at our house anytime is FFTG time. Only problem is that it disappears so quickly...

Banana Bread with Coconut

My favourite banana bread recipe is still Bittman's, from his How to Cook Everything. I usually add more sugar than he calls for, and a touch more fat. (Everything's better with butter.) We eat a lot of bananas in my house, but often lose a few to over-ripeness. The ones with black spots are usually fine but the kids won't eat them because they're ugly, so I just toss them in the freezer without peeling them (the bananas, not the kids). When I want to make banana bread, I thaw three frozen bananas. The quickest and easiest way is in a steamer basket over a pot of boiling water; takes less than 10 minutes. Don't let the kids see the bananas at this point—they look gross, practically liquid—but they're super easy to work with. I add shredded coconut but not walnuts, due to certain people's nut prejudices. DH and the kids love this bread, and it packs well for school lunches. It's also amazing toasted with peanut butter.