Tomato goodnessSlice some fresh and ripe tomatoes, bread them in egg and bread crumbs, fry in a fry pan until the tomato is soft-ish (or to the softness that you like) and then top with sour cream, chives and parma ham/prosciutto -this is the Quinny Snr. recipe. Chives were from the garden.

Yum!

After months of toil After months of toil and care and water and sun and extra soil and love and attention - this is what resulted from my chili plant! Maybe next year!

Sugar cookie fun!So the cookie making continues and during my visit to Jane-Asher's shop I found a few cookie cut outs that I tried out on a simple sugar cookie recipe. Some of these cookies will be sold at Alimentari in Queen's Park to all the little kiddies and yummy mummies that go in their for their daily cuppa.



Here is the recipe for your baking pleasure.

Sugar cookies

• 200g unsalted butter at room temp
• 280g sugar
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract - I have some yummy stuff from Mexico
• 1 egg
• 400g plain flour
• salt - just a pinch!

Mix butter, sugar and vanilla together until it is light and fluffy, add the egg and once fully mixed together, add the flour and salt. Onc it is all mixed together - lay it on a floured surface and knead into a doughy ball. Roll the ball out flat and cut out your cookies. Place on baking paper and bake in a pre-heated oven for approx. 10min. They should only be golden brown around the edges (my pics have a few burnt ones so ignore that!)

• Icing - 1 egg white, 1/2 tsp lemon juice (fresh is best), 300g icing sugar sifted - and any food coloring to make diff colors - beat egg white and lemon juice together and then slowly add the icing sugar a little bit at a time. Whisk until you get stiff peaks and add coloring to get your desired color.
  

A few tips:

• Keep a close eye on these when they are in the oven as they can immediately turn very brown (and burn!)
• Mix them only briefly with the mixer then use your hands to ply into a big ball of dough - the recipe I had didn't tell me that so I kept mixing them hoping the crumbly mixture would turn into dough -which it didn't

Share and enjoy!

Turkey day!

Yesterday was Canadian Thanksgiving and to celebrate here in Blighty I defrosted a big bird and cooked up some traditional grub for my favourite people. A few of my favourites were in Australia/Canada so it wasn't the usual gang tucking into the turkey. J-Lo said she would come early to learn how to cook a little more (she just mastered the boiled egg- and is having a child so needs a few more lessons!) but she turned up after her 'nap' just in time for the meal to be served; I think she knows my sister as they have the same impeccable timing. The Burger and Mr. F came along with cake in hand. It was a yummy cheesecake that although I shouldn't eat cheese, I did anyway as it was that delicious. Mr. F took some of these great photos and he is the designated cupcake photographer from now on. I am hoping to use some of his photos on the new site.
The Parisian sickies came and were not eating as much as usual just in case the gastric flu hit them again but they brought some French Madelines from Paris, some lovely garlic-infused olive oil from Siciliy and their lovely warmth and grace (yes, they have been traveling for weeks!).
There was the usual turkey, stuffing and lots of root vegetables roasted (potato, sweet potato and carrots) and some lovely vino to accompany it all and some OJ for Miss Prego!
We did the traditional - round the table - what are you thankful for question and the usuals came up - thankful for great food, friends, famliy our health and happiness. Very corny and someone shed a tear (we won't name names) but it is just what thanksgiving is all about; being thankful for all of the luck and fortune that you have been given. All of us around the table have been truly lucky and blessed in our lives. Ok, enough sap! It was a lovely evening and I love hosting the annual turkey day - gobble, gobble! Hugs and love to my family in Canada - from what I heard, I think they were stuffed turkeys too yesterday!
The oh so yummy cheesecake.
The turkey heart-which no one ate!

New biz-ness cards
Step right up and place your orders people. I have a few orders for this Friday so will be a busy baker on Thursday. My lovely Kitchen-Aid mixer arrived which will make this batch much easier than the last one. For Dee's wedding cake (200 cupcakes) I did it all by hand! Thanks to il Paolo di Milano from PMMB Design for making the cards.

So pass this link on to anyone you think may need a little sweetness in their life!

Coffee poison[On learning that coffee was considered a slow poison]
I think it must be so, for I have been drinking it for sixty-five years and I am not dead yet.

Voltaire (1694-1778)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING - my big bird is currently cooking!

Frosting funHow to keep kids entertained for hours you ask? Make a large batch of vanilla frosting, let them loose with some food coloring and have them make different shades for your cupcakes. The boys loved the frosting afternoon we had, Momma Dolce not so much, she is a Virgo and didn't like the mess.

We ran out of butter and had to use margarine which made everything a bit runnier but it still tasted good, although not just right. I was stubborn and pretended it was fine when my sister turned her nose up at it, but she was right (I hate when that happens!).

Well at least we had fun but no one wanted to eat the green cupcakes, note to self for Christmas cupcake making.
PM and his stained finger tips and favourite blue frosting.

Turkey Day, two more sleepsMy frozen bird is going to be removed from the tiny freezer tomorrow afternoon to be defrosted for the big roasting on Sunday. It is Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend - I hope the sun shines on us for a nice autumnal feast.

World's largest cupcakeI've got two orders for cupcakes! But none will be as big as this one I'm afraid. This one was made to beat the last Guiness world record. It is a whopping 1,316 pound sweetie!
It was made in Boca Raton, Florida and was made for Think Pink Rocks - a breast cancer fundraiser. Mmmm....I wonder if it tastes any good and how they actually put it together?

How to woo a man? Well apparently this is how the Burger does it.

Or as someone on television said last night - What the fork is it?
She made this romantic dinner for her boyfriend the Big F. He was a bit shocked so took a picture to send to me to ask me to decipher what it was? I thought it was mashed potato with ketchup and some re-fried Mexican beans with two sorry cherry tomatoes. But in fact, it is fish and baked beans!

I think there should be a rule that you cannot eat baked beans after lunch time. They can be eaten as beans on toast in the morning and then maybe as at lunch with a jacket potato (baked potato) but then the can stays in the cupboard! They are not meant to be on any dish to impress a man.

Burger we expect a better showing next time my dear!

The famous Orange Cookies

My Zia Chuza makes these and they are a hit, they are so lovely, I have been having one a day since I left the sunny shores of Toronto. Yum!

1 1/2 cups of sugar

1 cup of milk

3 eggs

1/2 cup orange juice

1 cup Crisco shortening (made with vegetable oil)

5 Tsp. baking powder

3 1/2 - 4 cups all purpose flour

Mix Crisco and sugar together with a fork

Add 1 egg at a time and continue beating

Add milk, orange juice and baking powder

Blend until smooth

Take one teaspoon of dough and roll into icing sugar. Press 1/2 a piece almond or colour candied sugar (green or red) on each cookie

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes

Broil for a few minutes until golden brown

Makes about 36 cookies.

Matt Groening quote:Groundskeeper Willie: Get yer haggis right here! Chopped heart and lungs, boiled in a wee sheep's stomach! Tastes as good as it sounds!

The Simpsons, TV cartoon series.

Filo pizza base - a must trySimple tomato pizza using a filo pasty crust takes a twist on regular pizza and makes it super light and delicious. Tami the teacher came up with this and it was a hit at little M's bday party. The tomatoes were fresh from the garden and all they had on them was salt, pepper, oregano and a drizzling of oil. It was a lovely snack before lunch and the freshness of the tomatoes and the light filo pastry were divine.
The birthday boy in his jumpy castle!

Recipe of the day -Sanguinaccio Dolce (sweet blood -hmm...sound familiar?)

I was looking through my Sicilian cookbooks and found this chestnut! I loved the title of the recipe but the main ingredient is not too appealing, but hey I guess someone in Sicily eats this as it is in a cookbook.

• 1 Litro di sangue di maiale (1 litre of pig's blood)
• 200 grammi di granella di mandorle tostate (200 grams of ground up almonds)
• 500 grammi di zucchero (500 grams of sugar)
• 200 grammi di cioccolato fondente (200 grams of chocolate)
• 100 grammi di zuccata a pezzettini (100 grams of candied pumpkin)

Mix the fresh blood energetically and then pass it through a sieve, add sugar and simmer it over a low flame, when it gets creamy, add the pumpkin, turn the heat off and let it sit to cool.

Once cool add the almonds, sugar and chocolate and serve it cold .......yum, yum.

I actually feel a bit queasy, luckily this book doesn't have a photograph. Please email me if you have ever had this delicacy.

The pearls & the family businessThe annual tomato sauce factory was set up this year again at Zia's abode. My nephew, sporting his green pearly beads again, this time in green, assisted; last year he was whisked away to the park to not interfere with serious Sicilian business.

He was very meticulous at his tasks and was very well behaved, well done PJ. At one point I was in charge of the home made grinding contraption which is about 25 years old, is most likely unsafe to use electrically and felt like it would explode at any moment (there are strange noises and pieces that look like bathroom plumbing sticking out of it) but who cares about health and safety when Uncle Frank guarantees that it is sound!

Luckily it made it through but I was hesitant along with the other workers on the day to comment as I may not get to eat any of the delicious results or worse I could be written out of the will, and I would love to get my hands on that machine when the Lord takes the tomato chiefs! It is a work of art.

After a few hours of jokes, mean looks from 'the boss' and lots of tomato splatter, five families have their delicious supplies for a year. If anyone would like a jar I am selling them for £10 a piece -cheaper than Carluccios'. I haven't tasted this year's batch but am hoping for a special delivery soon.

Laura's £5 lunchEvidence of how expensive London is? It was from Whole Foods and it tasted great but the portion of fish was so teeny that I couldn't even have a taste!

$1 cookie for charity
I love this idea as it is simple and attracts all audiences in Timmies target market. It increases brand awareness of Tim Hortons being socially responsible and having a philanthropic side and it is easy for those latte activists who want to do good and donate to charity but don't actively seek out the donation of money. Therefore, buying a cookie is an easy way to get pleasure from the chocolatey goodness while doing good at the same time. Much better than a fatty boom boom doughnut.

The only downside is it is run for a short time -6 days which is a little burst of goodness. It should've been a month or at least two weeks as am sure all the prep, collateral print and logistics of this might have costed a lot for such a short campaign. In short, I think it is a great campaign for Tim Hortons, who have also in the last few weeks re-located their head office back to Canada. They went to the US for tax breaks but are now back (what is the Canadian government doing to businesses if they have to move to the US for tax breaks?!)

Anyhow, v. simple: customers buying their daily coffee pick up a coffee and a cookie (for a dollar) you can't buy much for a dollar these days unless you go to these crazy places like Dollarama and then you can buy a tea set from China for $1 (?!), and proceeds go to the local charity. When I purchased my cookie the local children's hospital in Hamilton would benefit, I wonder what the proceeds per cookie actually are?

The munchkins loved the Smile cookie, I felt better for it, it averted a doughnut purchase (which I think is fattier) and all were pleased. And who doesn't love a soft and chocolatey cookie? Job done!

The 'roll up' craze

You can buy turkey with ranch dressing roll ups at Tim Hortons, you can buy pre-made cream cheese roll ups at the grocery store and you see roll up ads on TV. Not a new concept but I guess some marketing peeps are breathing new life into the craze of a a few years ago wraps (!) or pita or crepe concept. In keeping with the theme of the month, I made fajita and Nutella roll ups for my nephews. I think we can call the fajita ones 'soft tacos' but let's stick to roll-ups as there is a theme here going people.

So JJ and PM enjoyed their roll ups immensely. JJ played with his in his mouth til his gobber rolled down the middle of the roll up, 'awwh how cute' you are saying; well everything is cute to me except the gobber! And notice the glam Mardi Gras beads he sports with every outfit. He has them in several colors but some days he accessorizes with one strand and other days he is more Coco Chanel and wears several strands together, oh so fashionable at such a young age, must take after his devil wearing Prada Aunty.

Back to the RUs - heat your pita or fajita in the microwave for 10seconds and the wrap becomes nice and warm so the chocolate melts a little, yum. That might be my breakfast for today if I can source some fajitas at the Tesco in the petrol station??!

Graze - delivered to your door

more to follow...

A lunch spot in Moscow - the Academy of Sciences Building
Spectacular views, an amazing building and great food! A must go when you are in Moscow. I can't tell you the price of anything as the meal was expensed for business and menus are in Russian so you are a bit in the dark most of the time there - tourist signs are not even in English (go with a security guard, driver or a guided tour!). Since it is such a great spot with fantastic ambiance am sure you need to save a few Roubles to go here.

Like my friend Diana said her $36CDN/£20 mojito at the Ritz overlooking the Kremlin was worth every penny. Maybe she was a little drunk? I recommended it there for the great views and people watching. I am curious to know what our expenses came out to that week?

We were testing out restaurants for our high net worth customers so we only went to the top spots around town and tested out lots of champagne, lobster and desserts. Lucky E and I love to sample the finer things in life so we had a great time, minus the maniac boss acting like a complete arse, but it wouldn't be normal if he wasn't a complete slimy and stupid twat!
Anyhow, get to the Academy of Sciences Building to impress your boss, date, lover or Russian Oligarch. And then pay the bill in your local currency a month later when you get your Amex statement. Spasiba!
360 degree views

Mr McGregor's House...

...has now re-opened under new ownership. For those of you who were disappointed when its doors were shut you can enjoy some tea and puddings in the garden or in the old tea house again.

I haven't been since the new owner rescued the lovely business but we found out the news from a friendly neighbour in Kleinburg. Rexi, Povi and I were having some 'limone' (gelato) across the road after our walk in the McMichael Art Gallery's grounds (it's a lovely spot for a nature walk along a beautiful little stream with a mini forest around you). I think many locals will be pleased to have this food institution continue continue to delight patrons.

My only wish is that it remains old fashioned and that you still pay via the honours system when you are done and that there is still that lovely round table in the centre with all of the pies and cakes for sale. Check it out and report back foodies!

Mr. McGregor's House Tea & Bake Shop

10503 Islington, Kleinburg, Ontario L0J 1C0
Canada
(905) 893-2508

Wonder Years menu(Dolce Snr's vegetable medley- stick all your veggies chopped up in a dish and bake with mozzarella, Parmesan, salt and pepper)

My sister lives in the Wonder Years movie, all her neighbours say hello, know each other, have street parties, are so nice and are invite each other for potlucks. The above dish was made for a party at one of these such events. I am not a fan of the vegetable medley she made as it was a little soggy and cheesy for my liking but I did like my brother-in-laws tomato salad with fresh basil, mozzarella and lovely olive oil (below).
I think the reason for the soggy vegetable dish was that she left the oven on (!) for a few hours while we were at the beach; it was set to a low temperature so the vegetables cooked but they didn't really roast. Leaving the oven on is not a good idea in my books but it did cook the concoction in time for the party. I think at the end it needed a bit of a broil so it crisped everything up! After a few vinos the neighbours ate everything and the rest the dogs and bees had a go at, so well done for another creative cooking experiment big Sis!

My brother in law is the very adept chef in the family. We all strive to be naturals like Momma Dolce but that may take many years still...

Cottage life
At the cottage the world slows down, there's time to read the whole paper, stroll along and say hello to your neighbours, cycle around on a crickety old bike, swim out to the pier (my sister did that and left me with the kids for an hour-nice trick!) and also time to make French toast with fresh fruit and real Canadian maple syrup. It is definitely the simple things in life; let's ignore the fact that the kids put syrup and French toast all over the floor and furniture, they make up for it when they are sleeping and look incredibly cute and angelic!

OmyI wish I was at this festival to witness the 'womanly skills' being performed. I need to get practicing for next year, I would love to try the cow milking! And what do you think a typical hog call is??? Bunsy, can you shed some light on this?

What's on for foodies in TO -this weekend

Vegetarian Food Fair
Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay West
Fri: 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM - Sat: 12:00 noon to 9:00 PM - Sun: 12:00 noon to 7:00 PM
free admission
The Toronto Vegetarian Association and Harbourfront Centre present the largest event of its kind in North America. This year marks the 25th Anniversary of this special event which gives visitors an unparalleled opportunity to enjoy a diverse cross-section of vegetarian cuisine. Discover new products and ideas from more than 100 exhibitors and enjoy a wide variety of presentations, workshops, cooking demos, the World Café's vegetarian cuisine. (Continues to September 13th.)
[more info]

Cabbagetown Festival
various locations in Cabbagetown
various times
free
Now in its 33rd year, the Cabbagetown BIA is proud to host the annual Cabbagetown Festival, featuring a parade, street entertainers, fabulous food, wine tasting, corn roasts, pancake breakfasts, square dancing, arts and crafts street vendors, running side-by-side with sophisticated house tours, an independent film festival, fun runs, theatre and much more. (Continues to September 13th.)

Thanks to Greg at Taste TO for the info

Grappa faces
Bron's fake one (she is a marvelous actress)

Chadwick's real one


The grappa
At least it wasn't the home made stuff my uncle used to make that would curl your toes.

Chew to help Olympic athletesAm glad my gum consumption is helping Olympic Athletes prepare for the winter games in Vancouver next year. The 2010 Olympic game fever is everywhere! I especially like the little maple leaf stamped on each piece of gum.

No such thing as a free meal

After eating bbq and fresh and yummy food all weekend at the cottage I offered (well I was told by my sister!) to help tidy up. I went to the closet, grabbed the Hoover and proceeded to Hoover/vacuum, which I did with some delight as it had been a long while, god bless cleaning ladies!

When I was Hoovering within sight of my sister I emphasised how I was quite enjoying a little manual labour, to which she keeled over with laughter until she could scream over the noise that I was using the steam cleaner!

I did think it was extremely large and that it wasn't doing a very efficient job of colleting crumbs, but didn't want to bring it to her attention as that may have meant that I would have to change a bag or empty something. I had to start again - indeed, there's no such thing as a free meal!