I didn’t plan on making yet another recipe for chocolate chip cookies (or rather, chocolate chunk cookies), but I was really craving them this past weekend and I figured that I should take advantage of the cool weather now while I’m still able to turn on my oven without it becoming an ordeal, heat-wise, in our apartment. I originally purchased these chocolate yummies (google ’em) for some cupcakes I was designing in my head, but that idea never happened and I’ve been hiding these morsels in my freezer ever since.
I had every intention to bake something this week, but then, as they say, life took over. Between dealing with car issues, meeting with real estate agents and researching our summer vacation (Paris, anyone?), it was a miracle that we were able to feed ourselves. So naturally, no recipe this week. Instead I bring to you five new foods that I’ve been enjoying the last few weeks and especially during this particular busy week. When compiling this list, I realized that all of these foods lean towards the healthy side of things, which makes it an unusual for a baking blog. But I thought it would be a good way to show that, as much as we want to, we don’t completely live off of cakes, cookies and scones.
1. Kale
This leafy green was already a pretty consistent staple in our fridge after last summer when I figured out how to marinate it ahead of time to make a delicious kale salad. I had tried my hand at making kale chips, but it was always touch and go because more often than not, I would end up with so many burnt, bitter pieces that a lot of it would go to waste. After reading the Oh She Glows cookbook, I tried Angela’s tips of reducing both the olive oil and the oven temperature. The end result is a crisp, crunchy and less oily batch of kale chips that are so addictive, it’s hard to stop at just one bowl. I’ve made these chips so often in the last month that I’ve found myself buying a bunch of kale twice a week. This busy week alone I managed to make kale chips a total of four times. Even Trevor loves eating them, so as a husband approved snack, you know that they are that good.
When I was younger, I was always willing to bake cookies upon request, muffins for morning road-trip breakfast and the odd family meal when my mother was pregnant with my sister and couldn’t stomach the sight and smell of raw meat. Being in the kitchen at a young age was a learning experience for me and there were a lot of trial and error periods. Such as learning the difference between teaspoons and tablespoons when it came to measuring salt in chocolate chip cookies. Or figuring out the right pan size so that our lasagna would come out in four layers instead of two (resulting in a delicious, but very flat lasagna). The biggest learning experience though, and one that I still struggle with today, is learning about what flavours work together.
I can remember one time where I almost used olive oil in a boxed brownie recipe. My mom caught me mid-measurement and taught me a lesson I’ve never forgotten: “olive oil is not for baking.” This is something I’ve carried with me still to this day, and may explain why I currently own three (yes, three) bottles of extra virgin olive oil in my kitchen pantry. Although I love pairing a good olive oil with a loaf of fresh bread (which may also explain my collection of balsamic vinegars too), I was always a little bummed out that I couldn’t use any of it for baking. That is, until I recently started doing a little research and realized that it was not so much avoiding the use of olive oil in baking, but finding the best flavour pairing that goes with it.
As an early (not by choice) riser, I’m a big believer in having a good breakfast to start my day. As much as I would love to have a proper sit down breakfast each morning, I’m usually strapped for time. Once I get up, shower, get dressed, pack my lunch and make sure I have everything ready for the day (such as my gym bag for days I hit the gym after work), I usually only have about 10 minutes to make/eat my breakfast and enjoy a cup of coffee before I catch my 7:03am bus (ugh) to the subway station.
Since my morning time is so limited, I’m also a big believer in getting as much ready as I can the night before. I usually get my lunch ready while I’m making supper and I try to pack my gym bag while I’m brushing my teeth. Now that the weather is starting to warm up, I’ve started to re-introduce yogurt overnight oats into my breakfast routine. This saves even more time because all the prep happens the night before and I get to wake up to ready-made, cold and creamy oats that I can decorate with different nuts, fruit and spices. The great thing is that overnight oats are super portable and on days where I’m really running late, they can be made in a mason jar or portable Tupperware container and thrown in my bag with a spoon. A nice, healthy, and cheaper alternative to waiting in line at Tim Horton’s every morning!
It’s amazing how the weather can affect one’s mood. The off-and-on winter/spring weather has been frustrating enough, but nothing dampens my spirits more than waking up in the morning, looking out the window and seeing nothing but grey skies. No sun, no rain, just bleak, somber skies. Even though it’s Good Friday and we have no intentions of doing a lot today, it’s sort of off putting.
So naturally, after I was greeted by grey skies this morning, I knew I had to bake something special for breakfast and these skor toffee scones were just the answer. I splurged and used cake flour in place of some of the flour and butter in place of my usual margarine. Instead of sugar, I substituted pure maple syrup. Right before I baked the scones though, I brushed them with a bit of milk and sprinkled a little brown sugar. I’m pretty sure that last part is the secret to all scone-making because the result was flaky, savoury scones with a delicious crunchy sugar top. Sometimes I can’t believe that in the three years I’ve been blogging, I only have six scone recipes. Note to self – make scones more often.
Canadian food blogger, baking and eating her way through life. Musical theatre fanatic. Personal finance nerd. Sometimes runner/yogi. Green smoothies are pretty amazing.
