Sheperdless Pie

Sheperdless pie is the vegetarian version of the classic lamb dish.  It takes a while to make from scratch, but it's worth is.

Start with a mix of veg: sauteed peppers, mushrooms and onions; green beans, peas and carrots; tofu or soy crumbles.

Mix in a gravy.  If you're in a hurry, you can use premix.

Make a smooth mash.  Again, if you're in a hurry, you can use instant mash.

Fill the baking dish, leaving space for adding the mash.  If you're going for a rich dish, top it with gruyère.  Since everything's already cooked, simply place the pies in a cold oven and preheat to 350F.  If the top isn't brown, simply broil until the top is golden brown.

It works alright to spread the mash atop the dish, but I like to pipe the mash - it since it allows steam to escape without boiling the contents over the edge of the baking dish.  It's also perfectly delicious vegan!

Thai Lettuce Wraps

So many of my favourite textures and flavours in one dish.

Start with base flavours: onions, sweet peppers, carrots and celery.  Saute until lightly caramelized.  Allow to cool.

Prepare the lettuce.  Romaine works well:  it's crunchy and its shape holds the filling well.

Fill the lettuce leaves with the sauteed vegetables, tofu and fresh veg. Julienned fresh carrots, tomatoes, bean sprouts and Thai basil complete the flavour and texture palette.  Served with a peanut dipping sauce:

Chopping the lettuce and mixing all the ingredients makes for a perfect spicy salad.  Add cashews for extra protein.

Baklava

Baklava!  Sweet, savoury, crisp tops and chewy filling.

First, I like to make sure the nuts are dehydrated, so I warm raw almonds, pecans, walnuts and pistachios at 200F for 20 minutes.

While they're warming, alternately layer butter and sheets of phyllo dough - 10 layers of dough in total.

Coarsely grind the nuts and add them on top of the phyllo dough.  Although it's common to add another layer of dough and nuts, I prefer just the single layer.  An additional layer can get extra soggy.

Top with a dozen layers of buttered dough.  Cut in squares *before* baking - and be sure to trim up the sides (don't leave the sloppy edges like I did).  Bake at 350F for ~30 minutes.

While it's in the oven, prepare the syrup.  There are two options.  Both are tasty, but distinct: rose water, very floral and strong; orange blossom water, much lighter but still floral. Star Kay White Orange Blossom Water, 2.0 Ounce Star Kay White Rose Water, 2.0 Ounce

Boil sugar, water, cinnamon, cloves and a flavouring.

When the baklava is done baking, allow it to cool for a minute or so.  Pour over the syrup until it's saturated - but not sloppy.

Let sit for at least an hour.  I let it sit overnight.  Not much better than fresh baklava with the morning coffee.

Sugar overload! ... but nuts are healthy, right?

Yellow Salsa (Grilled Peach)

This summer I was inspired by friends to make salsa.  As the summer winds down, here's a perfect dish to enjoy with the lasts of the summer produce.

Select yellow salsa ingredients, yellow tomatoes, peaches, corn, yellow onions and peppers.

Coat the peaches and corn in olive oil and add some colour and char on the grill.

You don't want to cook the peaches to a mush, just sear them well.

Mince the ingredients and stir together with a bit of salt, cumin and chipotle (for that nice kick and extra smokyness).  Garnish with parsley or cilantro and serve with your favourite tortilla chips.

Grilled Courgette with Spaghetti and Vegan Cream Sauce

Fresh from the garden grilled zucchini snuggling a nest of spaghetti.

First, cut strips of, and grill, the zucchini.  Not too long on the grill - just hot and fast.  Be sure to take the nice even strips from the middle of the zucchini.

Hack up the remainder of the zucchini and add whatever else you've got: a few green beans, tomatoes, onions, peppers.  Caramelize over medium-high heat with a bit of olive oil and salt.

Deglaze the pan with water and allow the mixture to cool slightly.  Then add soaked walnuts and the veg mixture to the blender and puree until creamy.  Season to taste.

Arrange the plate with the cream sauce as a base, followed by spaghetti (seasoned with salt and olive oil) and wrap with the grilled courgettes.

Grilled Aubergine with Rice and Tomatoes

Fresh from the garden and grilled until tender.  Served with seasoned rice, diced tomatoes and a balsamic reduction.

First, slice and soak the eggplant in heavily salted water while the grill preheats.

Drain and rinse the eggplant.  Coat with olive oil and grill until tender.

Make sure to get some good grill lines.

Season jasmine rice with salt, smoked paprika and olive oil.

Plate by layering rice and eggplant.  Garnish with diced tomatoes and a balsamic reduction with shallots.  And basil, always gotta have basil.

Chocolate Brownie Avalanche

Cut into the brownie and watch the hot ganache overwhelm the plate!

It's easiest to make this with a special tarte cake pan:  Norpro Nonstick 8.5 Inch Fluted Round Tart Cake Pan  It creates a well in the centre of the brownie to hold the lake of chocolate.

Simply prepare a pack-mix brownie recipe as directed.

Bake as directed, but keep an eye on the progress.  With the unique pan shape, it may get done sooner or later than the box indicates.

While it's in the oven, prepare the ganache.  Ganache is basically a chocolate sauce that has a paste-like consistency when cooled.  It's made by heating chocolate, a splash of cream and a dollop of glucose.  I used semisweet chips, almond milk and corn syrup.

When the brownie cools slightly, fill the indentation with the scalding chocolate mix.

I garnished it with a bit of melted white baking chocolate.  Drag a knife or toothpick through the top to create the swirly design.

CHOCOLANCHE!!!

Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

Warm and pecan cinnamon rolls.  They're the perfect weekend food and they keep for a few days.  Monday morning isn't so bad with these as leftovers.

Start with a basic bread dough, adding a bit more sugar and a whisper of cinnamon.  Once the dough is ready, prepare the pan first by giving it a spray of olive oil (or other non-stick cooking spray), then arrange pecan halves on the bottom.

Prepare the filling: a mixture of butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and a dash of salt.  I also like to use coconut oil to reduce the amount of cholesterol.  The mix should be slightly pasty, but spreadable.

Roll out the dough, spread the filling and sprinkle with chopped pecans.

Roll, score evenly and cut with unflavoured dental floss.

Arrange in the pan and allow to raise.  Bake at 175C or 350F until the tops are golden brown.

Remove from the oven and immediately invert on a hear safe surface.

The perfect weekend food to serve with hot coffee.

Tarte aux Fraises with Greek Youghurt

This one's not quite the classic strawberry tarte.  It has a graham cracker crust, but the filling is made of Greek youghurt, coconut oil, sugar and vanilla.  It's egg free, much lighter and more tangy than the traditional crème pâtissière - a nice alternative for those with egg intolerances.

Making the design isn't complicated at all.  Escargot it! - just make a slight overlapping cicrular pattern.

C'est délicieux!

Baked Summer Squash

A delicious, fresh from the garden and vegan dish; baked and stuffed summer squash.  Many squashes, scallop, patty pan, rond-de-nice, don't slice well.  Rather than chunking them in a stew, this preparation provides an elegant presentation.

Select the chunky and round squash.

Slice the bottom to flatten it, scoop out the insides with a melon-baller and save them for the filling.  Then coat each of them with olive oil and bake at 35oF.  To keep them from moving, ramekins or muffin tins can be used.  Thirty minutes is usually long enough - just make sure they're tender.

While they're baking, saute a mirepoix (carrots, celery, onions), adding tomatoes, peppers and the scooped out parts of the squash.

When it's reduced, it should nice and thick.

Spoon the filling into the squash and garnish with fresh herbs.

Oat Bread

Give any wholegrain bread a classy look and a full flavour with oatmeal.

Simply dip the dough in water and roll in oats.  Don't try with quick oats - it just doesn't work well.

Classic Tiramisu

The sequence of preparation is like the Nectarine Tiramisu.  However, instead of pouring the flavouring over the ladyfingers, simply dip them in cooled and sweetened espresso.

I use these pastry bags with great success: Regular size: DayMark 115435 12" Hand-E-Grip Pastry Bag with Dispenser (Roll of 100)

Large: DayMark 115436 18" Hand-E-Grip Pastry Bag with Dispenser (Roll of 100)

Pasta and Vegan Cream Sauce

Made from scratch pasta and a vegan cream sauce that doesn't taste like puke!

Start making the pasta with equal parts of semolina and spelt flour.  Add in water, olive oil and a bit of salt and knead until it forms a ball.

Let is rest for a while; wrapped in cling film or under an inverted bowl.

Puree soaked walnuts, sauteed onions, peppers and celery along with stewed tomatoes.  I used cashews in this recipe and was slightly disappointed.  It just made the sauce too sweet.  Since the vegetables have already been cooked (sauteed and stewed) the sauce is ready at this point.  Simply warm it if needed.

Shape the dough into the desired shapes.  I'm a fan of fettuccine.

Serve with the sauce - a tasty and authentic vegan dish.  It's simple and, although it's a "cream sauce," it stands on it's own rather than merely imitating a dairy version.

Book Review: Bouchon Bakery

I just received a gift from a fellow cooking enthusiast!  The Bouchon Bakery arrived at my place this week.  It's well thought out, artistically photographed and clearly written. If you're looking for a welcoming dessert pastry book, this is it.

As I write this, I have the Olive Oil Cake (p. 110) baking in the oven.  Buy this book - seriously, even if it's just for the photos, even if you just want extra insight into pastry technique - even if you're an expert baker.  This book is inspiring.

Egg and Cress Sandwich

Trying to find vegetarian food then traveling isn't always the easiest.  When in London I found Egg and Cress sandwiches.  They're the perfect thing to grab on the run.

You can make your own - basically an egg salad with watercress.  Start with fresh and flavourful watercress.  It's fairly easy to grow.  This is from my garden.

Boil up a few eggs.

To get nice eggs like this, add eggs to cold water, bring to a boil and let sit covered for 10 minutes.  Then chill in ice water before peeling.

Rather then tedious chopping, I simply smash them through a German potato grater.  Available from Amazon: Kuchenprofi Potato Grater/Shredder in 18/10 Stainless Steel

Season and add mayo as you like.  Personally, I hate mayo so I use Ranch salad dressing.  It's got all the seasonings mixed in.  It may need a bit more salt, depending on your tastes.

Lastly, stir in the cress:

I spread it on made-from-scratch flat ciabatta bread, but the Britts serve it on something lighter.

Everything is Math

λ ≃ 400nm-700nm (with a few gaps)Art, meet gardening, meet science.

Fresh picked from the jLAmode garden.

Concept: Munich

I sketched this last year while on the train from München to Berlin.  It's fitted with a covered placket, french cuffs and a short spread-collar.

Squash Blossom Fritters

Mmmm... fried food.

Prepare mashed potatoes with a nice savoury spice: onion powder, dill, green onion, parsley, smoked paprika and salt.

Pick full and large flowers that open easily.  This has to be done early in the morning as the flowers tend to wilt in the sun.  Be sure to pick the "male" flowers as they are the easiest to work with.  It's easy to tell the difference - the female flowers have small squashes attached.

Pipe in the potato mix:

Coat with a flour-water batter.  I used buckwheat so that it's gluten free.

Fry ~375F until golden brown.  Buckwheat is a darker grain, so these are fairly brown.

Drain on kitchen roll (paper towels):

Serve while still hot - otherwise they go soggy.

Red White and Blue Chocolate Mousse

Happy Fourth!

Not the traditional eggy mousse, rather a whipped cream and melted white chocolate.  As the chocolate cools, it sets the mousse.  Check out Byron Talbot's youtube channel for inspiration:  http://youtu.be/j3OrIr1WrhE

Tiramisu aux Nectarines

It's got a peaches and cream flavour.

Hack up some nectarines.  They have to be nice, ripe and flavourful.

Make a puree of nectarine with a splash of orange juice and a drop of vanilla extract.

Lay a base of ladyfingers and soak with the puree.  Top that with a mixture of sweetened mascarpone and whipped cream.  I don't use eggs in my tiramisu.

I like two layers.  Once it's done, resist the urge to dig in!  It's gotta chill for at least two hours.

I topped mine with vanilla bean seed.

Mmmm... yes.

*tiramisù is Italian.  I used the French name... because I can.