Pear, Pistachio and Ginger Blondies

Meet my grandpa (or in Cantonese, my yeye). He passed away more than five years ago, I didn’t even go to the funeral, I was in school and the ceremony was in Hong Kong. My dad went alone instead. This photo was taken at Centre Island, when I was four and attached to neon green objects (note: polka dot capris and tennis balls) and also very close to my grandpa (who breathes coolness with his shades and coke). 

Yeye was a quiet, kind-hearted man. You would have liked him, maybe even spent an afternoon watching cartoons like Bugs Bunny and Tom and Jerry while splayed out on the carpet. He’s the kind of grandpa that would pick you up from school at 3pm every weekday and walk the thirty minutes back home. No matter what the weather conditions were, be it sunny or thick snow that piled to knee height, he still walked with you because that’s what families do (and when both parents are working). He took you home despite how you purposely delayed the walk to play in the snow, or you ‘accidently’ have to tighten your boots or you spotted 'something' in the snow.

But once, he told on me. He ratted out to my mom that I ate snow, and not just any snow, but snow straight from the sidewalk (hey, I was curious!). So much for being my best friend. My mom threw a fit, yelled at me for not knowing the difference between clean and dirty and punished me by forcing me to write Chinese poems 50 times over. Yuck.

When he wasn’t being a snitch, he would give in to my pleas for candy. My parents rarely gave in to my desires for fancy packaged candy since they had zero nutrients save for sugar and corn syrup. When I pointed at fruit gushers, I got a pink gumball that lost its flavour within a minute of chewing. I even tried to trade my seaweed at snacktime for a teeny piece of Fruit Roll-Ups from the blond girl in pigtails. I lived a sad candy-deprived childhood.

So, with no sweets at home, my yeye gave me a bowl and filled it with three spoonfuls of sugar. I crushed the sugar into white powder, smashing a spoon against the table, then dabbed my fingers before licking them clean, anything to prolong my treat. 

If he was here today, I think he would be proud that I moved on from eating snow to making my own treats, like these blondies. Sitting in the cakey, soft cookie-like batter are chewy bits of dried pear along with crunchy nuts, not to mention the spicy kick of crystallized ginger (which I lurve), a combination that would make any grandparent happy.

This recipe is from Martha Stewart and also where these treasures were born. I made these blondies last week for a friend’s birthday and gave some away to other friends too. One friend in particular sneaked a bite for breakfast, mumbled how yummy it was because it wasn’t too cloying, returned it to its foil packaging, went on to eat two bowls of cereal and milk for a real breakfast and then without missing a beat, reached for the blondies again for what I can only assume was dessert for breakfast. I approve.  

By the way, happy Chinese new year! May the new year bring you and your family happiness and prosperity. I just got home from a very filling dinner of roast chicken and steamed fish marinated in a ridiculously scrumptious tomato and coconut broth. In other words, may the new year bring you lots of good food too.

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Recipe here!

Cranberry and Pistachio Biscotti plus Other Adventures

I’ve wanted to share this recipe for a while, it’s very dear to me because it was one of my first loves when I was in Montreal. I had browsed through recipes on Epicurious and baked my first of many batches at my cousin’s apartment, wrapped in layers of cotton and wool since the kitchen lacked heat and the best way to stay warm was bake with the oven on at full force. 

 

 

But lately, there hasn’t been much need for that. If you’re like me, live in Toronto, you will know that the winter has been unusually warm. We got a day of furious snowfall right after Christmas, but it’s already starting to melt into little rivers on the streets and given the remarkably good weather, I’ve been doing some exploring.

I couldn’t stop staring at the ROM. It’s a beautiful building that sits on Bloor and Queen's Park, with crystal like structures spilling on the street, its design inspired by the museum's collection of gemstones. I’ve passed by many times but never really took it in till this last week. 

 

 

On the same day, exhausted from hours of walking up and down Bloor street, my friend and I stumbled into Carole’s Cheesecake Café tucked in a little nook on Cumberland street. Their cheesecake has been named the best cheesecake in the city and boy, does it live up to that title. 

I ordered a Taffy Apple cheesecake and oh lordy lord, the filling was fluffier than clouds and as light as whipped cream, but the best part was the topping. There was crunchy toffee and crystallized apples to contrast against the soft filling and then just when your tongue can’t handle the sensory overload, there are slivers of soft cooked apples with a hint of cinnamon. I polished it off my slice in record time. This is serious cheesecake people. 

Later in the week, I discovered a shop that sells imported Dutch products including Speculoos (!!!!). If you remember my love letter, you would know about my mad love for all things Speculoos.  A very kind blogger from across the border also sent me Trader Joe’s version of Speculoos aka Cookie Butter (I love that name) for Christmas. I’ve been scooping it out of the jar with my finger spoon everyday...whoops! So much for making ice cream out of it. 

 

There’s also been a lot of lobster. Lobster bisque, lobster soup, lobster hot pot, and lobster cooked in soy sauce. You should see my parents attack lobster, it's as if it was the end of the world, in other words, hilarious. My mom has the biggest grin and my dad turns into a kid in a toy store.

 

In between meals and finding little gems in what is now my hometown, I’ve been nibbling on these dynamite biscotti. They are insanely addictive, crunchy, crumbly in all the right places, and intoxicate your mouth with the sweet smell of baked eggs and butter. They are undoubtedly festive cookies and would make wonderful treats to ring in the new years say at a potluck. I bet you will have people fighting to get the recipe from you. I certainly would. 

Happy new year and thanks for reading, drooling, commenting and stopping by. May 2012 bring us more luscious and saliva-inducing sweets!

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Recipe here!