Chocolate And Friendship Day

We've never been huge Valentine's Day fans in this house.  Well, that's not 100% true.  I adored Valentine's Day when I was single and wistfully dreaming of a lover to buy me flowers and spoil me with treats. But when I met my husband and the reality of a relationship and my man's opinion of V-Day hit me I realized that I would be lucky if he even remembered the day. I also realized that I am damn lucky to have him, every day of the year.

After a hellish month, however, I'm looking for any small amount of comfort and love. Today that came in the form of a quiet afternoon writing and visiting with a friend while we sipped garam masala hot cocoa and she gave me a reflexology treatment. It was simply so nice to be spoiled. And to enjoy some company with my friend.

I'd been waiting to try this hot cocoa until she came to visit. Although she is originally a farm girl with a Metis background, she has surrounded herself with East Indian friends and boyfriends. I knew she would appreciate the spice of this cocoa better than Hubby.  I was right. It was rich and warming, with hints of spice and the Indian coast. It doesn't seem like the flavours should go well together, but if you think of Mexican hot chocolate with its chili heat, this isn't far off. But there is something exotic about it and so comforting.

Sitting with her this afternoon I felt my spirits lift, old friends have the power to do that. So does chocolate and a foot rub, but not as well as friends can do it. If only I could ask her to move in, or at least to this city.

I made this with the Garam Masala mix from Silk Road Spice Merchants, ground in my brand new grinder. Keep in mind that you will want a fine grind with this.

Garam Masala Hot Cocoa

Adapted from Arvinda's recipe

1 cup milk

1 tbsp cocoa

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp fresh ground Garam Masala

1. Heat milk.

2. Combine cocoa, brown sugar, and garam masala in a small bowl. Stir in a few tablespoons of milk until you have a runny paste. Whisk cocoa paste into milk. Serve hot.

Thanks to Mary Luz Mejia for sending this recipe my way.

Soup Kind of Days

Nothing particularly bad has happened in our little house lately - unless you count completely forgetting to give my mother-in-law her Christmas present. Thankfully she's forgiven us and we've promised her a CSA membership. And just in time because she offered us a weekend sans kids for skiing and relaxing as our Christmas present. Hubby and I are escaping to Banff this weekend while Grandma and her girls have some serious bonding time.

Sadly, she won't be serving soup. Well, she can grab some but good luck trying to get the girls to eat it. No Borscht, no Chicken Noodle, not even Mama's Tomato Soup. I have no idea what their issue is with soup. From 9 months on they've insisted on feeding themselves and even The Monster hasn't mastered her knife or spoon skills. That might be it, but heaven forbid you try to feed them!

Soup is my go-to meal for a bad day, for providing a meal to a sad friend or new mom, for bread day from Aviv, and for the days that I feel fat or cold. Maybe because toddlers and preschoolers don't have days like those that's why they don't like soup.

Tomato, Bacon, and Blue Soup

Makes 7-8 cups

4 slices bacon (not maple flavoured)

1 small onion

1 garlic clove

2 28 ounce cans whole tomatoes (preferably San Marzano)

2 cups water or stock

1 bay leaf

3 ounces blue cheese

1/4 cup heavy cream or whole milk

1. Chop bacon cross-wise. Saute in pan on medium-high heat until just starting to crisp up. Remove 2 tablespoons cooked bacon and reserve for garnish. Pour off almost all the grease left in the pan.

2. While bacon is cooking finely chop onion and garlic. When bacon is cooked add the onion and garlic to the pan. Saute until the onions are soft.

3. Add tomatoes with liquid. Stir in water or stock and bay leaf. Turn heat down to medium and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

4. Puree with an immersion blender, food processor, or in a blender. Be careful when blending hot liquids.

5. Stir in blue cheese and cream/milk. Season well.

6. Garnish with reserved bacon and crumbled blue cheese, if desired.

Death By Food - Not Quite

The first time I invited Hubby over for Christmas Eve dinner he fully expected to die from food poisoning of the Ukrainian variety. That is, too much starchy, heavy food that includes grains that were either sickly sweet or mushy. And don't get me started on the pickled fish or sauerkraut and peas.  Death by Food, that's what Hubby called it.

Then he ate the meal, all 12 courses.  Ate would be an understatement.  Devoured is more like it. And he lived to tell the tale. Rather, he lived to tell me that I was crazy and that Christmas Eve dinner was a fantastically delicious meal.

Christmas Eve dinner always starts with Borscht - that classic red beet soup. The next few dishes are, well, something I can't stand (Kutia and Kasha), but the borscht always made me happy.  Except when we ate my Baba's soup and she put peas in it. In honour of Ukrainian Christmas on the 6th I wanted to share this recipe.

This recipe does not include peas.  Thank goodness for that.  Borscht is essentially a beet based vegetable soup.  You can add in other veggies, but I stick to adding beets and a few carrots to onions, celery, and garlic. A browse through any Ukrainian church cookbook will turn up a variety of recipes claiming to be Russian style or Dukhobor style.  I can't speak to them, but potatoes do not belong in borscht as far as my family is concerned. My Baba also often made hers with a ham bone, but to this is easily kept vegetarian by keeping the bone out.

Then there is the issue of exactly how to prepare your beets.  Pre-cooked versus raw in the soup? Chopped, grated, shredded, or sliced? I've settled on roasting, then peeling my beets. And I am firmly in the camp of slicing my beets into matchsticks. It provides a bit of toothiness to the soup, but not as much as you would get if you diced the beets. Yes, it takes longer, but it is a perfect Sunday morning activity with a three year old and a butter knife by your side.

Borscht (Just like my Baba's, minus the peas)

(8-10 cups)

3 pounds beets (6-8 medium)

1 medium onion

2 celery ribs

1 tbsp vegetable oil

4 medium carrots

8 cloves garlic, minced.

19 ounce can diced tomatoes

6 cups water/stock

ham bone (optional)

leaves from one bunch celery

1 tbsp chopped fresh dill

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Trim ends from beets, toss with a little bit of vegetable oil, salt, and pepper.  Roast in oven for 1 and 1/2 hours. Let cool completely.

2. Peel the beets. Julienne into 1/8 inch sticks, about 1-1.5 inches long. Do the same to the carrots. Set aside.

3. Finely dice the onion and celery ribs.  Saute with vegetable oil until soft.  Add in garlic and saute an additional 30 seconds. Stir in beets, carrots, tomatoes and their juice, and 6 cups water.  If using the ham bone add it now. Let simmer over low heat for about 2 hours, covered.

4. Turn off the heat, stir in the celery leaves and dill. Season well with salt and pepper. You can serve it immediately, but borscht benefits from sitting a day or two.

5.  To serve, garnish with a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche.  Alternatively, drizzle with some heavy cream.

Blizzards, Banana Cake and Builder Men

December 4th and we're finally getting a good snowfall.  Indeed, it is a full on blizzard of white out there.  The weather folks might call it a winter storm, but we all know that the wicked wind, sandy snow, and a cold that makes you never, ever want to leave your house means that it is a blizzard.  If you're me that means you bake.

Today's recipe comes to you courtesy of The Monster.  When I suggested we bake she informed me that we must bake a birthday cake.  Today, however, is not the birthday of anyone on this house.  That perfect three year old mind remembered that it was her cousin's birthday a few days ago and therefore we must make him a birthday cake.

Now, I have no idea what kind of cake my nephew would have liked, but The Monster decided he wanted a peanut butter cake.  I talked her into a banana cake with peanut butter icing. So we dug through the cookbook shelf and found a recipe for banana cake in the Favorite Family Recipes of Holy Cross Parish cookbook. It's one of those cookbooks where everyone submits the pride and joy of their kitchens. That means it is really hit or miss depending on the recipe instructions. We got ourselves a hit here!

The girls got aproned up, we turned on the Toopy and Binoo Christmas album (oh, thank-you Grandma), and we set ourselves up for a messy old time.  We mashed bananas, creamed butter and sugar, sifted flour, and licked, licked, licked everything. You know, I'm convinced that if I put liverwurst in the Kitchen Aid they would devour it.

This is your basic cake recipe.  There isn't anything fancy about it except for the fact that it calls for the baking soda to be added to the wet ingredients. It bakes in a classic 9 by 13 pan.  In reality it is a simple weeknight dessert.  It isn't overly sweet and it is wonderfully moist, with a good crumb as they say.

While the girls napped I set to making the icing. I'll be honest, it was a bit of a challenge because it turns out I need a few groceries. Did I mention there was a blizzard going on? So I hoped for the best with the bit of peanut butter and icing sugar I had.  I had my fears, but damn, it is good icing! Not at all sweet and as creamy as it can be when you only have natural peanut butter in the house. And just the right amount for a sheet cake.

This is the kind of cake you want after trudging home from a day at school (or work).  It is a cake that makes you feel loved.  It is a cake that mom can feel pretty good serving and also enjoy with a cup of tea.  Ahem, let me refresh my cup.

And tonight it will also be our dessert as we treat our builder men, as The Monster calls them, who've been helping Hubby out with digging, pouring concrete, and framing in the basement. Sunday dinner on Friday night.  Mayhem, new friends, and cold weather comfort at the table.

Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Icing

Makes 1 9x13 pan

Banana Cake

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 large, ripe bananas

3/4 cup milk

1 tsp baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and butter and flour a 9x13 pan. 

2. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy.

3. Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla, mixing well after each addition.  Scrape down sides.

4. In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

5. Mash bananas well.  Combine with milk and baking soda.

6. Add 1/3 of the banana mixture of the butter/sugar/eggs.  Add 1/2 flour mixture.  Continue alternating wet and dry ingredients, ending with wet. Mix until smooth.

7. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes. Let cool completely.

Peanut Butter Icing

1/4 cup softened butter

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 cups icing sugar

5-6 tbsp milk

1. Cream together butter and peanut butter.

2. Add the icing sugar, 1/2 cup at a time.  Alternate with a tbsp of milk until all the sugar is incorporated.  Mix well until light and fluffy.  If you want a softer icing add a touch more milk.

3.  Frost cake and enjoy.