Maple Banana Bread

I once went out with a boy who enjoys food as much as I do, we bonded over plates oozing with burrata cheese, plate brimming with fresh ravioli and pizzas bubbling straight from chimney ovens (if you live in Toronto or plan to visit sometime soon, you ought to go to Gusto and order the Polpette—meatballs on pizza?! Aww yeaaaah). Another added bonus was he had sweet tooth big enough to rival mine: Soma Chocolate, lemon bars, cheesecakes, ice cream, we devoured them all.

Aside from food, we also shared an interest in the digital arts and decided to try our hand at making a baking video. For a week, we exchanged emails sharing the most saliva-inducing videos we found, getting inspiration from other food lovers. I’m unfamiliar with cinematography since I’m used to the control of a camera, so you can imagine my excitement on this project. We chose Heidi’s Lemony Olive Oil Banana Bread which took nearly two hours to make, not because it was difficult, but because we were having so much fun.

When I bake, I move swiftly along, my Ipod is playing and my toes tap in rhythm to the wooden spoon beating against the metal bowl, there’s minimal flour spill and by the time the cake pan slides into the oven, the dirty spatulas and measuring spoons are soaking quietly in a soapy bowl. But for this project, we made a mess. As my friend hummed to Bon Iver playing in the background, I surveyed the specks of salt, flour, sugar, and baking soda littered on the black table plus excess olive oil that sat in a glass jar, marking our unsuccessful attempts in catching drool-worthy footage. There were spoons upon spoons splayed out, a teetering tower of dishes to be washed, and best of all, there was the cake in the oven. 

As we ran hot water to clean up the mess and the familiar waft of warm, sweet bananas perfumed the kitchen, a sense of ease passed through me. For a fleeting moment, I wanted to do this everyday, the ordinary washing of dirty dishes, the way he tickled me, how I squealed like a little girl, and how he redeemed himself by wrapping his arms around me.

Yet the cake wasn't as spectacular as I hoped, I was greedy with the chocolate chunks and the banana bread ended up being far too sweet. Still, my friend gobbled up two slices in less than five minutes and declared it delicious. We split up the cake, I gathered my baking tools and headed home.

Then something happened since that banana bread, I can’t quite put my finger on it, but my gut knew that perhaps this boy didn’t want to have any more banana-bread-movie-making days. I never blogged about that recipe because I had originally intended to give you the video, I guess you have to accept that sometimes your expectations won't be met. However, one thing you can do is bake when the craving strikes. I was fumbling through food blogs and found this Maple Banana Bread, a no-fuss recipe, the batter comes together easily and turns out incredibly moist. There’s no chocolate, no walnuts and I skipped the frosting because I prefer my cakes uncomplicated. I brought this to work the next day, welcomed by cheers from my coworkers, something I can definitely expect every time.

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Recipe here!

The Delicious Project: Pancakes and Pulled Pork

If you’ve got a better idea of starting your day off with a teetering towering of fresh buttermilk pancakes soaked in maple syrup followed by not one, not two, but three kinds of pulled pork on fresh ciabatta buns, well, let me know. I sure haven’t had a yummier Saturday.

From rice puddings, I bring you The Delicious Project Take Two. To kick off the morning, we had three types of pancakes to taste test: frozen, from a box, and pancakes from scratch. To be honest, I was just happy to have pancakes with a generous pool of syrup on the side.

Then there was the pulled pork. Pulled pork. Pulled pork. The words practically beckon. There was frozen (specifically, this pulled pork from this), pulled pork cooked with root beer and bottled BBQ sauce cooked in a slow cooker, and my favourite, pulled pork seasoned with a spice rub, cooked slow and low in the oven for hours and finished with a homemade BBQ sauce. Greedily stuffed between mini buns and a homemade coleslaw, it was pulled pork glory, I had to sit down just to seriously savour my food.The winner? See Lisa’s blog for results. 

 
I took home almost a third of the meat, enough to feed an army. It was deliciously awesome, thank you Lisa and Meghan for feeding me!

The next project is risotto. I can’t freaking wait.

*If you're live in Toronto, I urge you to tweet (or email) your local councillor and demand a change in the street food policy. My tolerance is dwindling over watching people salivate and stuff their mouthes with delicacies as shown on Eat St. I have nothing against hot dogs, but I'd love to see more variety in food carts offered in a big city like Toronto. Wouldn't you like the option of eating...say pulled pork on a fresh bun dripping in sauce right off the street? Do it. Do it now.

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Recipe here!

Ruby Watchco

I've been meaning to tell you all along. There’s a restaurant right here in Toronto that will knock your socks off. For real.

At Ruby Watchco, almost all the ingredients are sourced from Ontario. Every night, there’s one set menu, and each table is given large platters for sharing. There's an unanimous sense of satisfaction among the patrons who try to fit every morsel of dinner into their mouths.


The restaurant is led by the talented Lynn Crawford, if you haven’t seen her on the Food Network, you're missing out on how creative, how amiable and how much zest for life this woman has. On her show, Pitchin’ In, she travels to various towns to rekindle her passion, discovering one ingredient, say turkey, wild boar, crawfish, avocados...you name it, she’s on it.

She befriends farmers, pitches in, learning how they harvest the freshest food. In the second half of the show, she uses that ingredient and prepares a special dinner for her new friends. Audible sighs of pleasure span the table.

Chef Lynn’s ability to transform an ingredient into something extraordinary illuminates into her restaurant, I brought my mom to Ruby Watchco so we could experience something magical too.


Our waiter seated us at a table just metres from the kitchen. Already, I was anxious to be in such close proximity to her (Aren’t chefs intimidating? Not to mention TV chefs!). My mom, on the other hand was mad excited for dinner, she couldn’t sit still. Like me, she admires Chef Lynn’s gusto and originality. My mom had the biggest smile on her face, like a little girl in a candy shop.


To start, I ordered the Apple Sour cocktail; a fusion of apple cider, bourbon and maple syrup (you can never go wrong with maple syrup). One sip made my lips pucker, but then the golden sap mellowed out the tartness and a shot of warmth ran down my spine.


The first dish was truffled white bean and 5 minute hen egg salad, with Sleger’s Living Greens, garden radishes, and A.F.G.’s Seedless cucumbers (I couldn’t figure out who A.F.G. was). The balance of red and green colors, each leaf slicked with vinaigrette, made the salad look like a painting. The egg was perfectly cooked, none of that murky gray tinge when I hard boil eggs. The yolk was a gorgeous yellow, so bright, so round, like someone sliced the sun in half and dropped it on our plate. There were also cheese scones flecked with chives: elegant, flaky pastries served with whipped butter.



The main course was a feast. I rarely go to restaurants that serve too much good food. There was chicken soaked in a beautiful puttanesca sauce, a sauce so rich, so succulent, it bolstered the tenderness of the meat.



There was a flurry of side dishes: delicate Boston lettuce with cucumber mint dressing. Strips of grilled eggplant that was so moist, I had to twirl it around the tines of my fork like spaghetti just to keep it together. And if that wasn’t enough, there was orecchiette with whipped goat cheese.




I was so full, I felt pregnant, or as the Quebecois say, “Je suis plein.” It's a good thing I could take my leftovers home, because why wouldn't you want to carry these adorable boxes?


Before long, the cheese course arrived. Today was Guiness 10 year old Ottawa Valley cheddar by Forfar Dairy served with date and jalapeno relish and biscotti. I usually stay clear from musty, moldy cheeses, but this fromage was nutty and not too strong.


Finally, for dessert was the lemon and elderberry trifle with vanilla sponge, Hewitt’s sweet vanilla cream and a meringue kiss. A spoonful of luscious berries doused in cream was pure bliss. The crunch from the meringue added extra texture to the smooth dessert.


We were just about done with our meal, but my mom really wanted to say hi to Chef Lynn. It took us a while to work up the nerve, but eventually, our waiter Jon introduced us. I was blown away by how gracious and approachable she was. I rambled several compliments to her (I’m not even sure I made sense), she politely said thank you. As Jon snapped a photo of us, Chef Lynn gave a big grin and said, “Smile guys!”



In front of the kitchen, there's a large wooden table where Chef Lynn adds the finishing touches to her dishes before service, you can't help but admire her attention to detail and love for her craft.

I'm curious to see how the menu will change in the summer, in fact, if I do return for dinner, I should prepare a few coherent compliments, so I don't seem like a total idiot when I greet Chef Lynn.

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Recipe here!

Maple Syrup and Cream

I have a friend who dips croissants in maple syrup and cream. I know, I was astounded too, as if the amount of butter wasn’t enough of an indulgence.

He pops the croissant into the oven to give it a crisp-boosting treatment. Meanwhile, we arrange a rainbow of fruit on our plates: slivers of cantaloupe, squishy black mission figs, plus glistening grapes and blueberries. Then, Ding ding! Warm croissants are ready.

As the morning light radiates the room, I watch as glugs of amber syrup are poured into a bowl, followed by a teaspoon of cream. He tears the end of his croissant, leaves a sprinkling of gold flakes on his placemat, and swirls it in the shiny liquid before passing it onto me. I take it in one mouthful and I’m blown away. The cream tames the throat-itching sweetness and bewitches the expected caramel flavour. The croissant is fresh: both crackly on the outside, yet retains a firm chew.


Among the many reasons I adore croissants, is how a trace of pastry always manages to stick on the edge of my lips. But it doesn't matter. When a boy you have a crush on shares breakfast with you, he can't help but tilt his head to the side, grin, and lean over to gently brush it off. So don’t be afraid to try new foods--especially when sweets are involved--sparks always fly.

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Recipe here!