If the world were to need a picnic champion, I could easily be that champion. I am the picnic proponent in my circle and am quick to point out that there is virtually no situation where a picnic isn’t appropriate. For example, it is sunny out after 6 days of rain… sounds like the perfect time for a picnic. It’s your birthday… we should go on a picnic to celebrate. The work week is complete… picnic. Just want to relax a little… picnic. Wanna hang out with your friends but haven’t cleaned your house lately… picnic. See what I’m saying? You probably want to have a picnic right now don’t you? What about a winter picnic? That sounds like marvelous fun to me too and yes, I have thrown the “p” word around a few times already this year.

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I am sure that it isn’t a big surprise to you that picnics can be great fun. But, you might find yourself thinking “If picnics really are so wonderful, why do I have them so infrequently?”. I’ll tell you why, because you haven’t embraced the pocket picnic yet. When it comes to picnics it is easy to over complicate them, preparing 7 different salads, packing the BBQ, bring 4 coolers of drinks, 17 blankets, a volley ball net… and the list goes on. Not every picnics should be that complicated. Picnics can also be easy, relaxing and spontaneous.

A few years ago while Ginger and I were vacationing in Paris (yeah vacationing, we are fancy that way) all of my preconceived notions about picnics being complicated affairs changed. Some of my best memories are of the outdoor lunches that Ginger and I enjoyed together. We arrived in Paris in late september. Paris has the most beautiful falls, the weather is crisp and fresh in the morning, but warms by early afternoon. There were many an afternoon where Ginger and I found ourselves in the middle of some city square, famished after a morning spent in a museum. In those moments nothing was more inviting than the warmth of the afternoon sun and a park bench.  This is how the Parisian pocket picnic came to be. Every Parisian street is not complete without a lovely bakery and the majority of those bakeries made wonderful baguette sandwiches and pastries (in my case I always went for the flan, big surprise). A sandwich and a small treat were easily stowed away in our pockets or perhaps even an oversized Longchamps tote while we headed off down the street in search of a patch of sun to enjoy a simple, yet tasty lunch in.

With a pocket picnic there are no excuses. A beautiful sandwich comes together quickly or is easily picked up at the local deli and before you know it, you are enjoying a sunny park bench. Some of my favourite sandwiches are the simple ones, filled with a nicely curated selection of vegetables, a hard boiled egg, maybe some beets, something pickled and of course Dijon mustard. Next time you see the sun peeking out from behind the clouds, pack up a quick pocket picnic and afterwards try to tell me that a quick hour spent in the fresh air didn’t just make your day.

We made these sandwiches two ways, one was vegetarian and the other had a spattering of French salami. Another fun way to customize your sandwich is with the mustard and the olive oil. We used a tarragon mustard and a good quality olive oil but, I imagine dijon and a nice lemony vinaigrette would also be a delightful addition.

Boiled Egg, Seared Asparagus & Pickled Onion Sandwiches
Adapted from The Kitchn | Serves 2

1/2 a bunch of thin asparagus spears (about 15-20 spears)
2 demi baguette
4 slices of cheese (go with something full fat like havarti, brie or chèvre)
2 eggs, hard boiled
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons diced raw onion
2 tablespoons French tarragon mustard
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
salt and pepper

Hard boil eggs and set aside to cool. Prepare the asparagus by trimming off the tough ends, if you couldn’t manage to find thin spears cut them in half length-wise. Now for the quick pickle, dice the red onion and place it in a small bowl topping with red wine vinegar, set aside allowing the pickling magic to happen.

Bring a large skillet to high heat and add a splash of olive oil. Carefully add the asparagus to the pan searing for about 3-4 minutes per side. Only turn the asparagus once or twice as you want to spears to char a little.

Cut the baguettes in half and smear one side of the bread with mustard and the other with a little olive oil. Top each sandwich with two slices of cheese, half of the asparagus, a sliced egg, pickled onions and salt and pepper to taste.

 

Part 2, you might wondered? What is there to follow up on after Tina’s post of the Magic Rose Custard Cake. Well, it started a few months back with an order of new cookbooks. I think I’ve mentioned here before that I tend to be a little behind the times on the newest releases, but only because I’m still cooking through something else! But amongst this particular batch was the amazing book by Aran Goyoaga, of the inspirational food blog Cannelle et vanille. There is a lot I could say about this book and how Aran’s way of gluten free cooking has influenced my kitchen over the past few months. But I am going to cut that story short for now and just tell you that now I have a better selection of flours in my cupboard. And there is nothing dull about variety…

Baking with a new range of flours has been a quite a process for me. While I typically charge headlong into most any new recipe, now I take a step back and wonder if I could make this same dish with different flours. Baking without gluten is a whole new learning curve, blending flavors and textures of various flours to achieve new results. It has added a new level of experimentation to my cooking and a great appreciation of my kitchen scale. So when Tina shared the Magic Custard Cake recipe that appeared on White On Rice Couple’s blog, you can probably guess what I was thinking.

Some careful consideration was given to the recipe before I made my tweaks. First off, this custardy cake has no intention of being a mile-high event. The comfort of this cake is its crepe-y texture, topped with a silky layer of custard and dusted with a snowy finish of powdered sugar. And since ensuring the batter would rise didn’t seem to be an issue, I was off to improvise. Rice flour, coconut flour—what was it going to be?

My first attempt was the chocolate version and it was delicious, so I decided to keep playing with flours and flavors. As you can see, the magic in this cake is the seperation of the three layers of cake, right in the pan while it bakes. A few cakes were made and I may have shared pieces with anyone who would come over with their own plate! What I finally settled on was the coconut custard cake. The slightest hint of coconut flavor in the cake creates a delicious note for me. And while I haven’t tried to make this cake with regular wheat flour, I would wager that most anyone who tastes this cake won’t even miss the wheat flour.

Magic custard cake with coconut
Adapted from White On Rice Couple

½ cup unsalted butter
2 cups milk
4 eggs, separated
1/8 teaspoon white vinegar
1 ¼ cups (150 g) confectioner’s sugar
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½ teaspoon coconut flavoring
1 cup (115 g) super fine brown rice flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Generous pinch of salt

Extra confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line an 8″x8″ baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a little paper to hang over the edge of the pan.

Gently warm the milk until just warm and set aside. Melt the butter and let it cool a little.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat egg whites until they form stiff peaks, adding the vinegar at the halfway point. Set the egg whites aside.

In a second bowl, beat the egg yolks and confectioner’s sugar until the mixture is a pale yellow. Add the melted butter, water and coconut flavoring and continue to mix until well incorporated.

Mix in the flour and salt. Slowly add milk and vanilla extract; continue mixing until the batter is smooth. Divide the egg whites into thirds and fold in one portion at a time, gently mixing until all of the egg whites are folded in and there are no large clumps of egg white in the mixture.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake until the top of the cake is golden, about 50 to 60 minutes. The cake will still jiggle a bit at this point. Allow to fully cool in the pan, maybe even in the fridge, if you are a bit anxious. Once cool, carefully lift out the parchment paper and cake, cut into squares and dust with confectioner’s sugar just before serving.

One thing is certain, I like eggy dishes. Savory, sweet, breakfast or dessert, I love them all. There is nothing like a cherry clafouti, a flan, popovers and Dutch babies. Love them. Last week while perusing through some of my usual food blogs in search of dinner ideas, I encountered White on Rice Couple’s Magic Custard Cake. A custard cake is my dream, the soft custard middle, a thin cake layer, awwwwww.

It took me all of about 5 minutes to decide that I was going to make this magic custard cake, and I was going to make it as soon as the last bite of dinner was down.

I have made the cake a few times now. Yes, a few times in the last week. Here are a few tips to keep in mind. Temperature is important, make sure that your butter and milk are not too hot. Adding a splash of vinegar to the egg whites will help them hold their shape and leave you with a fluffier cake layer. Finally when you are folding the white into the batter, you want to achieve a fairly even consistency. Under mixing the whites will give you a two layer cake without the soft custardy centre and over mixing with give you a very thin cake layer.

Magic Rose Custard Cake
Adapted from White on Rice Couple

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 cups milk
4 eggs, separated
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1 1/4 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoon food-grade pure rose extract (not rose water);
extra confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Preparation
Pre-warm your oven to 325°F. Butter a 8″x8″ baking pan.

Warm the milk to about lukewarm and set aside. Then melt the butter and let it cool down a little. In a medium size mixing bowl beat egg whites to a stiff peak, adding the vinegar at the halfway point. Set the eggs aside.

In a second mixing bowl mix together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture is a pale yellow. Continue mixing while adding the melted butter and the tablespoon of water. Mix until incorporated.

Beat in the flour, once smooth slowly add the milk, vanilla and rose extract, continue mixing until the batter is smooth. Divide the egg whites into thirds and fold in one portion at a time until all of the eggs are folded in.

Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake until the top of the cake is golden, about 45-60 minutes. Allow to fully cool, dust with confectioner’s sugar and cut into squares.

The winter months aren’t often thought of as big preserving months. Maybe preserving your own sanity through the cold and grey months is enough! And when it comes to saving the season, I don’t have much to save. Except for this year when I couldn’t quite seem to get enough of the Meyer lemon. I’ve been using them in cocktails, zesting and juicing them into salad dressings and pretty much any other dish that could use a bit of bright flavor. Not to mention that a pretty bowl of them on the kitchen counter couldn’t look more sunny if they tried!

But Meyer lemons definitely have a season around here, unless you are one of those lucky people with a tree in the greenhouse or a shrub at your front door step, ahem. So when I found a short video posted on Food 52 with a quick glance at how they were preserving lemons, I was hooked. I headed down to the grocery store and picked up a bursting bag of Meyer lemons. I think the check out girl may have looked at me a little funny. Then it was off to the kitchen supply store for another oversize jar. I like the old school ones with wire bale closures. I do have a few, but as it turns out, they are full of kimchi!

My favorite taste of preserved lemon came at the Marché des Enfants Rouges in Paris. The late autumn afternoon was filled with a strong, cold wind. The clouds hung dark with rain and off in the distance, I heard the rumble of thunder. As we entered the market, the downpour began. We huddled by the glass display counter, filled with platters piled high with delicious offerings—tagines, salads, couscous and breads. On the counter just behind stood shining stacks of ornate tea glasses. Nearby, a grey-haired man poured glasses of fragrant mint tea. We ordered and the waiter hurried our food off to a sheltered table just under the eaves of the building. All around, the rain rushed and splashed. But the vegetable tagine, enjoyed from a rough earthenware bowl, sparkled with the bright flavors of lemon and green olive. Fingers curled around the burning hot glass of tea, a downpour couldn’t have come at a better moment.

Thinking back, I don’t know why I didn’t rush home to try some preserved lemon in my own cooking. Maybe that memory was enough to last me for a little while. Or maybe it was the mint tea binge that ensued when I returned home and completely captured my attention for months. But now that I’ve returned to that lemony flavor, I can’t wait for all of that salt and some time to work their magic on those lemons. In the meantime, I’ve been dreaming of pairing that deep lemon essence with spring-fresh asparagus when it finally arrives in from the fields, or maybe even brightening up a potato salad or deviled egg filling.

As I read through the comments following up on the Food 52 post, I found suggestions of using the lemony brine to flavor martinis and salad dressing. Genius, I’m guessing! I can’t wait to try a little dash with some sautéed spring peas or to season a simple sauce for pasta. I also found reference to a Paula Wolfert recipe for preserved lemons, which includes a handful of spices in with the brine—cinnamon, cloves, pepper and bay leaves. And I can attest that hanging my head over a jar filled with lemons and topped with those spices was intoxicating.

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This is not so much a recipe as an idea to get started you started. It also doesn’t matter so much what size jar you use. The biggest one you have, or just plain old mason jars should do the trick. The main matter is how many lemons you want to get you through until next season. I made two jars…

Preserved Meyer lemons

Meyer lemons, organic, if possible, scrubbed
Kosher salt
Spices, 3 to 4 pieces black peppercorn, pink peppercorn and cloves; 1 cinnamon stick and 2 fresh bay leaves, if desired
Sterilized jar

Cover the bottom of the jar with a layer of kosher salt. Working one at a time, trim the top off the lemon, cutting into quarters length-wise. Don’t cut all the way through the lemon so the quarters remain attached. Carefully pull apart the quarters and generously sprinkle with kosher salt. Press the lemon back together and place in the jar. As the lemons accumulate, gently press them down with your hand to release the juice and allow for more room in the jar. Continue until the jar is almost full. I got about 14 lemons in my 1½ liter jar. Top the lemons with spices, if using. If there is not enough juice to cover the lemons, squeeze another lemon or two to fill the jar.

Cover and let sit in a cool, dark spot. Within the first couple of days, open the jar once or twice during the day to release pressure from the fermenting process. Sealed tightly, turn the jar over once a day or so to allow the salt to mix well.

Let the lemons ferment at room temperature for three to four weeks, then place in the refrigerator, where they can keep for months. Before storing, remove the spices, as they may get bitter with time. Just be sure to use clean utensils when retrieving the fruit from the jar.

After 45 min of sitting in front of the computer, editing photos for a totally unrelated project, it became clear that I was just procrastinating and I had no clue how to make a lasagna. This realization came as a bit of a shock to me. I have most certainly been involved in the making of these baked delights before, it seemed like a no brainer. But the truth of the matter is that I have never made a lasagne on my own.

While in the produce department of the grocery over the weekend, I found myself staring at the brussels sprouts and thinking of the lady down the aisle dishing up tiny samples of lasagna. In that moment I knew that I was going to have to make a brussles sprout lasagna. After all, I had made a pact with myself to use more brussels sprouts this season.

I wanted this dish to pull inspiration from some of the lovely winter dishes that have made me fall in love with brussels sprouts. I have sliced the sprouts thinly, mixed a little meyer lemon into the ricotta and topped the whole dish with a creamy béchamel sauce.

With spring just around the corner, and the evening becoming longer and brighter, make sure to enjoy this cozy meal sooner rather than later.

Brussels sprout + fennel lasagna

Ingredients
9 lasagna noodles
1/2 onion chopped
1 clove minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried italian herb mix
9 ounces extra-lean ground beef
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups brussels sprouts thinly sliced
1/2 cup fennel bulb thinly sliced
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1/2 teaspoon meyer lemon zest
2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley chopped
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon (scant) ground nutmeg
1/2 cup grates mozzarella cheese

Directions
Pre-heat over to 375°.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add noodles and follow cooking directions on the package. Drain cooked noodles and spread flat on a clean tea towel.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, herbs and beef to the pan, cook for about 14 minutes or until the beef has browned. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

In a sauce pan heated to medium heat, melt butter. Stir in flour and mix until smooth, slowly stir in the milk and add the bay leaf, salt and nutmeg. Turn pan to medium-low heat stirring occasionally until sauce thickens.

In a bowl mix together ricotta, lemon zest and parsley. Season with fresh ground pepper to taste.

Scoop enough béchamel sauce into a 8×8 baking dish to cover the bottom of the pan. Add a layer of noodles. Spread half of the ricotta mixture onto the noodles and top with half of the brussels sprouts and fennel. Add a second layer of noodles and more béchamel sauce. Next layer on all of the meat mixture and top with another layer of noodles pouring on additional béchamel sauce. Spread on the remaining ricotta, fennel and brussels sprouts and add the final layer of noodles. Pour on the remaining béchamel sauce and place in the oven.

Bake at 375° for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with mozzarella; bake for an additional 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes before serving.

A new month is upon us. March is here and there isn’t any time to look back. The days of February went flying by in a greyish blur—how did that happen? One thing I really appreciated at the beginning of February was Tina’s post on pausing for a moment. It reminded me to take stock of where I was and where I wanted to be. I have this good-intentioned list of things I want to make a priority in my day. Some days it is harder than others to focus on those things. But taking the time to acknowledge that I may have slipped on some of those items is an act of faith that I can right that wrong. And that if those things are still a priority, I can bring them back into focus. I’m kind of loving that idea of restarting with each month.

Cooking gives me a similar opportunity to restart with any meal. There is always room to keep learning and reworking ideas with my next meal no more than a few hours off. Things don’t have to stay the same. Which brings me to the cauliflower…

I’ve been stuck in a bit of a cauliflower rut. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been a tasty place to be and I’ve been quite happy here! For me, cauliflower has been a surprise vegetable. For many years, I just ignored it, thinking I had no real interest in it. But all of that changed when I figured out that tossing the florets in a little olive oil and salt, plus a hot oven, created something entirely different. Given over to the high heat, the cauliflower sizzles and spits and in short order develops a golden crunch that is like nothing that ever came out of the steamer. Prepared this way, I think I could eat cauliflower for days.

But back to the preparation of the cauliflower, I was reading a recipe for a salad—a hearty dish that seemed like it would be a perfect one-dish meal—when the listed method stopped me in my tracks. Cauliflower, in a skillet—no more need for a roasting pan or high heat oven. I couldn’t wait to try it out. And just like that, I was starting fresh. There is still hope…

This salad’s bright lemony dressing revives my taste buds while I await the arrival of some fresh spring produce. It sits amazingly well, so packing it up for a little al fresco lunch is a great idea. And leftovers are still delicious the next day. I’m big on the idea of a one-bowl lunch, so the addition of a fried or poached eggs really fills out the meal for me.

Warm cauliflower salad

Adapted from Bon Appétit’s recipe here

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¼ cup Pardina lentils, sorted and rinsed
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
½ head cauliflower, divided into florets
7 oz. gigante or butter beans, about ½ can, rinsed and drained
¹⁄3 cup flat Italian parsley leaves, washed
1 tablespoon French tarragon, finely chopped
2 eggs, cooked to your preference

Place lentils in a small pot and cover generously with water. Season with salt. Bring water to a boil, then turn the heat to medium. Let lentils simmer until just tender, about 20 minutes. Drain lentils and rinse in cold water. Set aside.

To make dressing, combine mayonnaise, lemon zest and juice, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard and 3 tablespoons olive oil. Whisk to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Heat remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add cauliflower florets and cook until they begin to brown, about 6 minutes. Add a tablespoon or two of water to the pan, cover with a lid and allow to steam for 2 minutes.

Place cauliflower, beans, lentils, parsley and tarragon in a bowl. Toss gently with dressing to coat and add more salt and pepper, if needed. Garnish with a little parsley and top with a warm egg, if desired.

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The deluge started this afternoon, settling itself in for the weekend like an unwanted house guest. Can you tell that I am pretty much over the rain this season? In my mind there is only one cure for such unsavoury situations like the arrive of the pineapple express. Gin.

Gin has long been a favourite of mine, but not because I often have unwanted house guests. I love its botanical flavours, its simplicity and at the same time its complexity. It was much to my delight when I learned that 2 and a half blocks for my house, a small batch distillery had opened up. Joy of joys, gin was one item on their fresh sheet. So after work one day I meandered on down to their store front to check out the situation.

Long Table Distillery is Vancouver’s first small batch distillery. Charles, one of the owners showed us around, introduced us to their products and shared some of the exciting things we have to look forward to from Long Table. Then Charles pulled out a 10 gallon bucket of foraged juniper berries. Long Table’s London Dry style gin lets their hand-picked, west coast juniper berries be the star, with just a lovely hint of lemon. All and all the gin is a real star. One that is equally exceptional, whether enjoyed shaken over ice or in a cocktail. Did I mention their distillery is just one block off my daily running route. I think I need to adjust my route!

 

Lemongrass, Gin & Soda

2 oz gin
1 oz lemongrass syrup (recipe below)
Dash of fresh lime juice
Soda water

Fill a highball glass half full of ice, pour in gin, lemongrass syrup and the juice of one wedge of lime. Stir and top with soda water. Garnish with a lime. I found experimenting with different types of citrus can give you really lovely results. You could switch out the lime for a little blood orange and lemon or perhaps even a meyer lemon.

Lemongrass Syrup

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 stalks lemongrass (core only) grated or sliced

In a small sauce pan bring to a light boil water, sugar and lemongrass. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Gently boil for 10 to 15 minutes, then set aside to cool. Using a sieve or cheese cloth strain the lemongrass from the syrup, pour into a jar and store in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

The idea of fermenting anything I was planning to eat took me by surprise. For some reason, it sounded a little risky to prep any food and leave it sitting around, waiting for some miraculous transformation to occur. Truth be told, you can’t just offer up any food to the process of fermentation, only some things will respond gracefully to this process. But as it turns out, this idea had been sitting with me for quite some time.

A few years back, I was reminded of my grandfather’s recipe for sauerkraut. Every autumn, Grandpa would make a big bucket of sauerkraut in the quickly cooling evenings. My favorite memory from those evenings were of the little pinches of salty shredded cabbage that he would pass me out of the bucket as he worked the cabbage. I can’t quite remember what brought that memory back to me. Maybe it was a guy who started bringing homemade sauerkraut, kimchi and pickles to the farmer’s market, but when I saw him there with his fermented jars, I figured I’d better give it a go. Things progressed—I bought jars, I shredded pounds of cabbage. My pantry was lined with slowly bubbling jars. What came next delighted all of us. Crisp, sharp and sour, we couldn’t stop eating the sauerkraut. I couldn’t keep up with the demand. A fermenting time of at least four weeks turned out the best flavor. But in the time it took to eat the first batch, the second was nowhere near ready. A few seasons later, I’ve got the timing figured out, but I’m also eager to try out some other fermented foods.

Long: This herbal ingredient with its botanical name is caryophyllus aromaticus is commonly called as clove and this ingredient was tested on male rats to find that these will not purchase cheap levitra work for them. Psychotherapy can discount levitra frankkrauseautomotive.com be helpful in ameliorating psychic pain, anxiety, depression or sexual dysfunction. It slows down your aging http://frankkrauseautomotive.com/testimonial/honest-friendly-very-easy-purchase/ cialis buy online process. Usually they get erection issues due to obesity, lack of physical activity, smoking, drinking alcohol or http://frankkrauseautomotive.com/?buy=8760 viagra 25 mg eating too much salt to even stress or genetics. A month or so back, Sarah Britton, of My New Roots, posted a little feature that she called Fabulous Fermentation Week. She shared a recipe for kimchi that piqued my interest and since then, I’ve been carrying around a mental shopping list of the ingredients. Finally, this weekend I accumulated everything save the daikon radish. But, it seemed a critical mass had been reached and the kimchi was happening, daikon or no. Chopping and shredding ensued until a large bowl was filled with vegetable goodness. Topping that off was a big scoop of tongue tingling ginger-chile paste and salt that was massaged into the cabbage. Resting for a few hours, the veggies started to lose their water and shrink down in the bowl. Stuffed into jars, this mixture now sits on a quiet corner of the kitchen, awaiting the miracle of fermentation. And good news, the kimchi only takes a few days to ferment, then it is off to the fridge, where it can sit for months.

Since my kimchi is still in progress, I’m going to send you straight to the source. You can find Sarah’s recipe for kimchi here. Go on, try it out. I’ll be back with a kimchi recipe in a few weeks if all goes as planned on the countertop!

Is tea the new coffee? I stumbled upon this question in an article or some such business earlier this week. My immediate reaction was, “Yes! Tea is totally the new coffee.” But upon reflection I realized “no”, both hold such distinctly different roles in my daily routine that I couldn’t do with only one or the other. Coffee is peppy, social and bright, it is the drink that drags me out of bed in the morning and shoves me out the front door. Tea is a whole other story. It is cozy, relaxing and lulls me into bed at the end of the day. Simply put, coffee is an extrovert and tea is an introvert. And life wouldn’t have any balance without both.

I’ll admit it, I have a nightly tea tradition. The tradition varies a little, sometimes I have a cookie with my tea and if I’m really, really lucky, I get to have a Tim Tam. But most often I just have tea. Vanilla SleepyTime is the tea du jour. If I happen to have a Tim Tam on hand, the Tim Tam slam is the only way to go. Are you are sitting in front of your computer thinking “what the heck is a Tim Tam slam?” this guy will show you how it is done and if you don’t believe him Jennifer Love Hewitt will show you too. It is legit.

Sadly, I’m currently out of Tim Tams and my evening tea has been cookie-less for quite sometime now. As I was digesting the whole tea vs. coffee thing, I was inspired to do a little baking, and my inspiration point was a certain coffee flavoured cookie that we often had around the house at Christmas. If tea really is the new coffee, then I should make a tea flavoured cookie to celebrate. Earl Grey is my tea flavour of black tea, so naturally it is only fitting that I use it in my cookies. To give them a little twist, I decided to dip them in chocolate to mimic our Christmas coffee cookies.

I know that I have been talking about chocolate dipped cookies but I have yet to show you any proof that they were ever made. Keep scrolling down and you will see one. Here is the deal. I dipped half of the cookies and then did a taste test. I know what you are thinking, “Chocolate and Earl Grey, sounds like a match made in heaven.” I know right! That is exactly what I thought. I don’t what to sell the chocolate dipped version short but they weren’t mind-blowing. They were fine, perhaps even good, but not better. So, unless you are a chocolate fiend, I would suggest that you just keep these cookies as is. Crisp, delicately favoured with tea and delicious.

Earl Grey Tea Cookies
makes 2 dozen | adapted from The Kitchn

1 cup all purpose flour
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1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon Russian Earl Grey tea leaves
1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon water
1/2 cup unsalted butter (cut into cubes)

Using a spice grinder or mortar and pestle grind the tea into a fairly fine powder. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Add the vanilla, water and butter into the flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter, work the butter into the flour until it forms a dough. Form the dough into a ball and place it onto a sheet of parchment paper. Roll the dough into a smooth log shape, wrap with the parchment paper and freeze for 30 minutes.

Pre-heat your oven to 375. Remove dough from the freezer and slice into 1/3″ slices. Evenly space cookies on a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and transfer the cookies onto a cooling rack.

Enjoy with a piping hot cup of tea!

For me, the best gatherings happen in the kitchen—food preparation in full swing, maybe a little snack or something to sip on, all the while chatting with friends or family. The meal comes together at a leisurely place, but the time spent preparing and enjoying it together is the event itself. These are the cooking moments that I hang some of my best food memories around.

One of my favorite “cooking as the event” moments happened in Paris with my sister. Since when does an evening cooking dinner in a tiny rented kitchen upstage an afternoon wandering the avenues of Paris, right? It was years ago, but I still remember the deep pleasure of shopping for our dinner items at the market, deciding what suited our mood for the evening, then negotiating with the market vendor on the exact specimens, according to our estimated meal time. Hauling our supplies up flights and flights of stairs to our apartment, deciding to while away the chilly evening hours in the kitchen. At some point, the hot steam coming from the pots bubbling on the stove fills up the tiny space forces us to throw open the window to the narrow courtyard that our building wraps around. Outside we hear the clatter and bustle of dinner coming together for everyone else in our building and we feel at ease.

Of course, not every meal is a magical Parisian memory. Most often, I enjoy the company of friends and family in my own kitchen where we partake in the age-old ritual of preparing and sharing a meal. It’s likely not a fancy meal, but nourishing and prepared with care—the very acts of chopping and dicing friendship at its best. And in these dark days of winter, it is something to look forward to. So in that celebratory spirit, I created this cocktail to share.

Meyer lemons are a seasonal favorite of mine—but hording fresh fruit is only advisable when there is a good use for it in sight. This cocktail proves to be a delicious way to highlight the sweet and pronounced flavor of the lemon.

Meyer’s Refresher

Serves 2
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3 oz. Meyer lemon juice
3 oz. gin
4 dashes grapefruit bitters
Scant 2 teaspoons rosemary simple syrup, recipe follows
Sparkling wine or cava, to finish

Combine all ingredients and shake over ice. Pour into two small glasses, add ice and top with sparkling wine. Garnish with a slice of Meyer lemon.

Rosemary Syrup

Makes 1 cup

1 cup white sugar
1 cup water
1 cup fresh rosemary sprigs
peel of one Meyer lemon

Combine water and sugar in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Allow to boil for about 5 minutes, until all of the sugar is dissolved. Add in the rosemary and lemon peel and stir to incorporate. Remove from heat and let steep for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour. Remove peel and rosemary and store in the fridge.