Just Another Manic Monday...Mash-up!

No need to mope over your coffee listening to ancient Bangles tracks mourning the weekend (but just for fun listen to this gem if you do! Maybe grab your black eyeliner and a crimper first. Tie on a bandanna if you are really feeling sassy).

I'm not sure that every Monday post will feature a mash-up of two good things rolled into one, but today's post just happens to be again and it IS Monday.

If ever you should need inspiration to cook something delicious or doodle something wildly creative or cook deliciousness while you draw, pick up this book!  A collection of beautifully illustrated recipes from artists around the world.  Food that tells a story, shares a memory, comes to life in the pages of this book.  I purchased this cookbook several years ago and it has been as much a piece of artwork open to any given page in our kitchen as it is a source of recipes to try.  This post from the TDAC website is a great starting point. Look at the pictures, search for something good to make, grab your sharpies and submit your own illustrated creation! For more Monday goodness, check out this iTunes preview for a look at, They Draw & Cook for Kids an illustrated iBook of 20 recipe drawings for kids available on your Mac or iOS device.

Moonshadow

Oenothera acaulis var aurea

A serendipitous night to blog about our magical Yellow Moon Flowers as tonight the moon reaches perigee, the nearest point to earth in it's orbit. Also know as dandelion primrose (named for it's similar foliage) and  9 o'clock flowers (opening at approximately 9'oclock under the light of the moon) the Moon Flower unfolds in seconds before your eyes with beauty equally fleeting; unfurled blooms last only until noon of the following day before closing and withering to a pale pink. Do not be fooled by their fragile beauty.  More magical still is their nectar guide, a pollinator's runway if you will; lighting the way for moths, bees and butterflies to the flower's pollen.  These markings are invisible to the human eye without the use of ultra violet light.

Grandpa Floyd's Moon Flowers

  "Who would have thought it possible that a tiny little flower could preoccupy a person so completely that there simply wasn't room for any other thought."  

-  Sophie Scholl

 

August 2015 Moon Flower opening in Gibson Garden

Good Fortune

going outside
plum blossoms dive in...
my lucky tea
                 ~ Issa date unknown ~










This morning I made Spicy Plum Butter with plums picked from a tree growing in our backyard large enough to bear branches heavy with fruit, but somehow undetected until this summer. I have sipped the lucky tea!

Fun Facts (originally published here )

The Chinese believe plums symbolize good fortune.

• More than one hundred varieties of plum stones were found on Henry VIII’s flagship the Mary Rose, which sank in 1545.
• February is the month for plums in Japan; there are plum blossoms everywhere.
• Umeboshi (Japanese pickled plums) were thought by the samurai to combat fatigue.
• Plum trees are grown on every continent except Antarctica.
• There are more than 140 varieties of plum sold in the United States.
• Plums are the second most cultivated fruit in the world.
• At least 2,300 people in the U.S. are listed on whitepages.com with the last name “Plum.”
• Plums can be as large as a baseball or a small as a cherry.
• Plums were on the menu at the first Thanksgiving dinner in 1621.

                                     
There are a number of recipes out there for plum butter.  All you really need are plums, sugar and heat to make a delicious spread.  I washed, dried and removed the pits from about 4 pounds of lovely, deep purple, newly discovered plums roughly chopping and tossing into my slow cooker with a cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup of water.  I turned it on high for a couple of hours and then stirred the plums that by this point had started to break down a bit.  Gave them a quick zip round with an immersion blender, turned the crock down to low and crawled into bed!
When I woke, I gave the pot a stir and turned the crock to high as I was in the kitchen and could keep an eye on it and stir occasionally while it continued to thicken up.  Once it appeared to be near done, I added some vanilla, orange zest, cinnamon and cardamon to taste.  You can add a little more sugar at this point if you would like it sweeter or some lemon if it is too sweet. Some grated fresh ginger or lemon zest would likely work very well too.
To test the butter's thickness drop a spoonful on a plate and leave it sit for a few minutes.  If the plum butter remains thick and water is not separating out around the edges, it is ready to put in your jars.  I washed 5 one cup canning jars with warm soapy water, sterilized my jars, lids and rings on a baking tray in the oven and filled the jars (leaving about a 1/4 inch of room at the top) before putting on my lids and rings (finger tight) and processing them in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.  You can read all about how to sterilize your jars and process your finished product here.
Plum butter is a lovely topping for toast or scones, add to your muffins in place of apple sauce, spoon over vanilla ice-cream or grilled pound cake, add to your homemade salad dressing, glaze chicken or pork or whatever else you can dream up. Share the good fortune of an unexpected bounty for continued good fortune.
                                                                           

Monday Mash-up

I know. You are likely thinking the world does not need another banana bread recipe and you might be right. But you've never met this banana bread.  It's a mash-up of all the banana breads I have ever met and by met I mean eaten, read about, tweaked, donated to a bake sale, bought from a bake sale, duplicated from my mother, sisters, friends, favourite blogs and dog-eared, tried and true cook books. This is my version.  You have one too just waiting to be mashed-up.
Banana bread is pretty forgiving.  It doesn't shy away from additions or omissions. Great opportunity to experiment a bit here.

Quite simply in one bowl I mash up 3 nice brown, speckly bananas-- 4 if your bananas are smaller.  Whisk in a 1/3 cup of sugar, a tablespoon of vanilla and 2 large eggs.  Stir in 1 and 1/2 cups flour (any combo will do), a 1/4 cup ground flax seeds, a teaspoon of baking soda and a pinch of both salt and cardamon. Finally stir in a 1/4 cup melted coconut oil mixing quickly if it's hot so you don't cook your eggs! And that's it. Grease your loaf pan, pour in your mash-up and bake for about 55 minutes at 350 degrees F or until the top is golden brown and a knife inserted comes out clean. Cool, enjoy, repeat or begin again and re-create yet another luscious loaf.

If you want to get fancy, before baking sprinkle the top with chopped nuts, oats, flax or course sugar. Sink a few thinly sliced banana slices down the middle of your loaf.  Add in a handful of nuts, seeds, chocolate or blueberries. Swirl in a spoonful of molasses or maple syrup.
Slice it, toast it, spread it with peanut butter or butter or enjoy it naked.
Got a few slices just before stale? Dip it in egg and make french toast.
Freeze it for a rainy day.
Make muffins: pour batter in a muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Need another excuse to bake some banana bread today?  Click here to watch this movie trailer with a compelling reason to find some over ripe, speckly bananas to put to good use today!

Bikes, Bao and Birds.

Artwork by Chris Piascik

Today's goodness comes in the form of bikes, bao and birds!
We hopped on our bikes and followed the Iron Horse Trail Uptown Waterloo. Some new improvements and markings on the path since we last rode!
We stopped for Dim Sum, enjoyed some bao (steamed buns filled with bbq pork deliciousness!) and a pot of tea and wandered up to Wordsworth Books where I found this book,

The Iridescence of Birds, by Patricia MacLachlan.  A lovely picture book about the early inspiration and influences of Henri Mattise.  Full of love and light; a gentle nod to the powerful forces of love and creativity in the absence of material wealth. Beautifully illustrated by Hadley Hooper.  Read this book!  It will tell you something good!

So good. So simple. Soup.

So good. So simple. Soup. You may observe a bit of a theme here...I might tell you something good about food...often!
I know warm soup on a sunny day is not perhaps the typical summer fare, but It was cool when I woke up,  I had some onions from our garden and some sweet potatoes and carrots from the market on the counter.  Soup seemed like the perfect thing to make.
This is a really simple and forgiving soup that requires a bit of chopping and minimal stirring before you are enjoying a delicious bowl of goodness in your backyard on a beautiful summer day or it packs beautifully in a thermos for a winter picnic or portable lunch anytime.
The orange carrots and sweet potatoes, deep, yellow curry and crimson chili garlic hot sauce produce the most beautifully coloured and heavenly tasting food. This right here is love in a bowl. One of my favourite gifts for anyone in need of some comfort measures.

Adapted from this recipe Curried sweet potato, carrot and red lentil soup with ginger

Chop and saute an onion in your oil of choice. I used coconut oil. Add 3 or 4 cloves of roughly chopped garlic and a large knob of ginger grated. Again if you love garlic add more...not big on ginger, don't grate so much. Adjust to your tastes.  Add a mediumish sweet potato and a couple of carrots peeled and chopped. Toss in a generous dollop of chili garlic hot sauce if you like a bit of mild heat and a rounded teaspoon of curry. Stir everything round and pour in 4 cups of chicken or vegetable stock along with about a 1/2 cup of dry, red lentils. Simmer with your lid partially on for about 1/2 an hour or until the lentils and vegetables are very soft. Blend with an immersion blender and add a splash of cream. Salt and pepper to taste. Today I swirled in a tablespoon of maple syrup. Lovely, but you wouldn't miss it.

If you want a vegetarian version, use vegetable stock and leave out the cream or add a splash of coconut milk, but it is very delicious even without the addition of any cream or milk.

If you want to get fancy, float a few homemade croutons in your bowl or top with a slice of toasted baguette drizzled with a little olive oil and blue cheese that has been lightly broiled.

This soup doubles, triples easily and freezes beautifully, packs well to go and can be sipped from a mug or straw or ladled into the biggest bowl you can find. You are going to love this. Any leftovers should you even have any! can be eaten as is or extended by pouring over a bowl of basmati with a handful of leftover spinach or chard (if you have it or still wonderful without!) for a quick lunch.

Sweet Nothings...

Nith Valley Honey Comb

Something sweet to kick off my first ever blog post.  Today I offer you good eats!  Sticky, sweet goodness from Nith Valley Apiaries that we picked up at Herrle's Market this morning. 

How do you eat honey comb? Cut a chunk from the comb and pop it quickly into your mouth!  Once the honey spills out into your mouth you are left with the soft, waxy comb to chew on; almost like an organic version of the big, red, wax lips of your childhood (remember those?!) but much better of course.

Sadly, the bee population is steadily declining with increased use of pesticides, climate change, more blanket crops and less bee-friendly, flowering native plants in our shrinking green spaces.

Bees are important pollinators that we rely on for almost one third of our food supply! Not to mention these amazing little insects provide us with a delicious food source and help sustain flowering plants that beautify the planet and provide habitats to other creatures.

Love this MahakoBees Infographic!
Truly "Liquid Gold" with the production efforts involved

Pollinator in action
Gibson garden 2014

So go on and Save the Bees! You don't even need to travel 112,000 miles to do it. Plant some colourful, bee-friendly plants in your backyard, support local organically grown crops and farmers, limit your use of chemicals and pesticides. Eat delicious food made by bees to support a beekeeper near you!

Gibson garden August 2015