Date and Nut Loaf

I've been told many times about my obsession with food.  I am one of 4 siblings and we all have this same "condition".  It's not gluttony but more an obsession of buying food, having it in the house and making sure the cupboards are full.  When the family gets together we will often laugh at each other and ourselves.  We also know that we've inherited this craziness from my mother (aka baba).  She went without for a very long time and as we were growing up, mom always made sure we had the freshest and best quality food she could afford and the fridge was always full.

I also have this love/hate relationship with Costco.  It's like going into a fantasy world of big volumes and bigger is better, right?  Not so much.  How many times have you gone into a Costco store, bought something in large quantity and then realized it might last you a lifetime.  This was my dilema when I decided I needed a 2 kg (2.2 lb) bag of pitted dates.  Every time I open my baking cupboard I look at that bag and shake my head at my own impulsiveness.  I went to my old standby recipe for date and nut loaf at Cooks.com and began the bakefest.

2 c. chopped dates
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 c. boiling water
3/4 c. sugar
2 tbsp. shortening
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 c. sifted all purpose flour
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp. salt

Combine dates and baking soda; cover with boiling water and let stand
until cool.
Cream sugar and shortening together, add egg and vanilla and
beat until combined.
Add cooled date mixture, flour, walnuts, and salt; stir until just combined. Do not beat. Scrape mixture into greased 9 x 5 x 3
inch loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes. Makes one loaf.

This recipe doubles and triples well so if you happen to have alot of dates, this is the way to go.

Eating Out in San Francisco

My favourite trips are ones where we have access to kitchen facilities.  That's a big part of the reason why we often opt to stay in hostels.  

There's part of me that feels that, as a food blogger (and someone that enjoys food, in general), I should be exploring as many restaurants as possible while travelling.  But, the truth is that I generally prefer cooking my own food.  Without fail, my most memorable meals are ones that use simple, fresh ingredients.

Case in point.  Let me start with my favourite meal while travelling in San Francisco.

This meal was actually from a small cafe in Sausalito.  We took a day trip to Muir Woods, to see some massive Redwoods.  On the way back, we had about an hour in Sausalito to explore.  We didn't know where to go to eat, but took our chances on the Sausalito Bakery & Cafe.

Fresh fruit, fresh Greek salad and a blueberry bread pudding that is to die for!  I think I need to add bread pudding to my list of recipes to try.   

This is the stuff that long-lasting cravings are made of.

I also really enjoyed San Francisco Fish Company's fish and chips at the Ferry Building.  Maybe I'm easily impressed, but I've never been served take out fish and chips with both tartar and fish sauce.  Not to mention that the fish was really fresh.  I'll vote this meal as my 2nd favourite.     

Continuing on, my third favourite meal came from The Grove on Mission Street.  We went for an early breakfast and both liked our food and the energy in the tree-filled space.

I enjoyed my meal at the Sears Fine Food, a San Francisco institution.  It was about as enjoyable as the meal at the Grove.  But, a bill for breakfast that was somewhere in the neighbourhood of $45.00 somehow affects the taste left my mouth.

I don't think they're hurting for customers, though.  This is the lineup out the door as we were leaving the restaurant:

I had the french toast, which was pretty standard.  I wish it included more strawberries on the side.  I think I had 2-3 little bits of strawberry/slice.  

I thought it was pretty funny that when I asked about the extra cost for syrup, the waitress explained that that's just for maple syrup.  She explained that syrup comes with the french toast and that it tastes totally fine and that it's not necessary to get the maple syrup, unless your from Canada.  I didn't know we were so particular about our syrup.     

R got Sears' World Famous 18 Swedish pancakes.    

I was a bit worried that these pancakes might, each, end up being the size of the plate.  But, the proportions turned out to be reasonable, given the number. 

Boudin is a prominent fixture in Fisherman's Wharf.  They have quite the operation going there.  Between a takeaway counter, specialty food shop area, bakery and full service restaurant, it's the kind of place you have to visit at least once.

They're known for their sourdough bread.  I thought it was quite cool to watch the baskets of bread travel around the store.

You can also spend some time watching the bakers making various shaped bread creations.

We also went for dinner at Bistro Boudin, a full service restaurant.  The service was very good, but the meal was mixed.  I order Angel Hair Pasta with Grilled Shrimp.  The menu indicated that it included vine-ripened tomato arrabiatta and garlic.  I liked the tomato sauce.  But it lacked the spiciness you would expect of an arrabiatta sauce.  I also wasn't keen on the spice on the shrimp.  It tasted like a cajun seasoning, which didn't really work with a simple tomato sauce.  After donating my shrimp to R and adding chilli peppers to the tomato sauce, I was content.

R ordered the Sourdough Gnocchi Al Pesto with Lobster.  I didn't really see the appeal in what appears to be a fried chive topping.  R enjoyed his meal, but was quite happy to be given half of my meal because he was still hungry after finishing his.

Near the end of our trip, we were getting tired.  It was raining for two days straight and I really didn't want to figure out three meals a day anymore.  We decided to just go out and find a place to eat, which was a mistake because we ended up getting soaked while walking to the Ferry Building.  We ended up going to Gott's Roadside

I got a grilled cheese sandwich, which is something I've never ordered at a restaurant before.  R is an expert grilled-cheese sandwich maker, so I haven't felt the need to order it elsewhere.  In general, the food was okay.  But, combined with being tired and wet, I just wanted to get back to the hotel, take a warm shower and go to bed.

I had the highest hopes for what turned out to be my least favourite restaurant experience.  Our friends raved about Fang Restaurant before we left for San Francisco.  So, we were eager to the try the place.  We made a reservation for 7:15 and showed up at that time.  We waited for 40 minutes for a table to become available.  I felt like I was in combination of Seinfeld episodes.  What is the point of taking reservations if you can't keep the reservation?

We also knew to expect the owner to come by and inquire about whether we had been at the restaurant before.  Since we hadn't, we knew there was a good chance that the owner would just say "ok, I'll take care of you."  I was pretty leery about this because I had a couple of dishes in mind, but Mr. Fang was gone before I could say anything.

The first dish, which was a pork sandwich, was decent.  But, not something I would have ordered.

The other dishes, a crunchy rice, creamy lobster soup and white fish were dishes that I would never order and didn't enjoy.  But, I guess what annoyed me more than anything is that I had to ask for a glass of water 5 times before someone actually brought one.  The last request was more of a minor freak out where I basically said, "what does a person need to do to get water in here?"  I know, not the best version of me...but I was hungry, disappointed with the food, still adjusting to a time difference (and hence eating at what seemed like 11:30pm) and very thirsty.

I would not go back to this restaurant.

Aside from eating out, we generally picked up food at grocery stores.  We quickly learned that having store membership cards can make a big difference in the price of the products.  This led to kind of an awkward, "we are the worst liars ever" situation.

Basically, we overheard a customer telling other tourists was his Safeway card number was.  When we went to check out, we said we have a membership, but didn't have our card.  So, the cashier said, "just enter your phone number into the typepad."

WHAT?  A phone number?  This was not part of our deception plan.  We explained that we just want to give our Safeway number.  She repeated that we should just enter our phone number.  I'm thinking "LOOK --- I don't know this guy's phone number, I just know his Safeway number."  She could tell we were utterly confused, so she explained that our phone number IS our Safeway number.

Oh...yes...of course.  What was I thinking.

The best part is when the cashier starting calling R this other guy's name: Thor.

Stay tuned for another San Francisco post sharing some of the sites we visited.

Pumpkin, Cranberry, Walnut and Currant Bread

I love pumpkin. I haven't met a pumpkin dish that I didn't like. My very favourite recipes using pumpkin are pies and breads. Moist and flavourful, appropriate for so many different occasions, breads always seems to draw positive comments often related to memories of home.

There are so many recipes available for pumpkin bread but this one, because it's loaded with so many different textures is really my very favourite.

3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 cups pumpkin (I used fresh)

1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cloves

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1 cup chopped fresh or frozen cranberries

1/2 cup currants

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin and orange zest; mix well (mixture will appear curdled). Combine the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and baking powder; add to pumpkin mixture, beating on low speed just until moistened. Fold in nuts, cranberries and currants.. Pour into two greased 8-in. x 4-in. x 2-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 65-75 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Enjoy! No disappointments, I promise.

Blueberry Oat Loaf

When I have company over for dinner, I usually start my menu planning with an ingredient or recipe that I've been thinking about lately.  In this case, the meal I made for my friend and her mother (who was visiting Ottawa for the week) started with wanted to make something with blueberries.

I love blueberries and when I find food that I crave that is actually healthy, it goes on heavy rotation in the menu repertoire.



In Canada, we're fortunate to grow two different types of blueberries, lowbush (aka wild) blueberries and highbush blueberries.  The majority of our highbush blueberries are grown in British Columbia (BC), by around 700 blueberry growers.  You can read all about BC blueberries and find great blueberry recipes here.


Most wild blueberries, in Canada, are grown in Nova Scotia.  Since they don't tend to be as available in the grocery store, we keep a large bag of frozen wild berries to add to recipe throughout the year and use wild blueberry syrup, a product you'll find all over the place when visiting Nova Scotia.  For more information about and recipes with wild blueberries, visit this link.


According to this link, highbush blueberries begin ripening in June and continue to produce through July for a long harvest season, while lowbush blueberries become ripe in July and are harvested only at that time. The highbush will produce berries in abundance, with plumper and larger fruit than lowbush blueberries. Though smaller and less plentiful, lowbush blueberries have more flavour than the highbush blueberry.  


This blueberry recipe comes from The Kitchn.

Blueberry Oat Quick Bread

Makes 1 loaf, 10-12 slices

1 cup blueberries, washed and dried

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used 3/4 cup whole wheat and 1 cup of all-purpose flour)

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking or steel-cut)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pre-heat the oven to 325°. Grease one loaf pan.

Toss the berries with 1/4 cup of flour. This will help keep them from sinking in the batter.

In a large bowl, combine the remaining flour, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl. In separate bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and stir gently until you see no more dry flour. Fold the blueberries into the batter.

Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan and bake for 50 - 60 minutes, rotating the pan partway through. The loaf is done when the top is puffed and dry, and when a toothpick inserted into the 

centre of the cake comes out clean.

Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes before unmolding. I dusted the top with icing sugar.  Allow it to cool completely before slicing.

Everyone enjoyed the loaf.

Since I knew that I was making this dessert, I wanted to keep the meal laid back and light.  So, I went with a caprese salad and vegetarian quiche.

My friend's dog, Dolly, approves!

Zucchini Banana Bread with Walnuts and Raisins

During a recent stumble browse I came upon a beautiful sounding recipe from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice for a healthy version of Zucchini Banana Bread. I've used zucchini for baking before in a Zucchini Pumpkin Cake and loved the texture and flavour and really wondered if changing up the fat contents would make a huge difference in the final product. I was really so pleased with the results.



(adapted from King Arthur Flour)

2 eggs
1/4 cup honey
1 cup banana
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat pastry or white whole wheat flour (like King Arthur)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 heaping cup zucchini (1 small to medium), shredded
3/4 cup raisins (I like golden)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350°F; lightly grease a standard sized loaf pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl beat eggs, banana, honey, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl whisk the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, then stir in the zucchini, raisins and walnuts.
5. Pour batter into pan. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean from center. Cool pan on wire rack for 20 minutes then turn out from pan and cool completely on wire rack.



Another wonderful easy recipe with guaranteed good results.

Taco Soup

I get so stressed about cooking for guests. Preparations usually involve scouring the internet, revisiting my starred recipes in my Google Reader and multiple calls to Giz. I finally had to stop the madness, stop calling my mother, stop stressing and just pick something. An anxiety-filled decision making process isn't a prerequisite to making a good meal. In fact, it's often the simple dishes that are the best tasting.

This certainly is the case in this situation. This Taco Soup made for a delicious and filling lunch. The recipe come from Pam at For the Love of Cooking. One of my "go to" blogs for great recipes, I've blogged about Pam's dishes before here, here and here.

Taco Soup
source


Taco Seasoning:
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of oregano
1 tsp of chili powder
1 tsp of paprika
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp of onion powder
1 tsp of coriander
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Soup:
1 lb of lean ground beef
1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 can of pinto beans, rinsed and drained (I used navy beans)
1 can of kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup of frozen corn (I used canned corn)
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 4.5 oz can of diced green chilies
1/2 oz of package of ranch salad dressing mix (half a packet) (I couldn't find this, so excluded it)

Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat then add the ground beef. Add all the taco seasonings and mix into the ground beef, making sure to break it up into crumbles. Add the diced onion and garlic then mix thoroughly and cook for 4-5 minutes.

Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chilies and ranch dressing packet, mix well then cover and simmer on low for 2 hours, stir occasionally. Taste and re-season with sea salt or pepper if needed.



Toppings:
Corn tortilla strips (directions below)
Sour cream
Sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Green onions, diced

While the soup is simmering. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut a few corn tortillas into strips. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray then place the tortilla strips on it and spray them with cooking spray and season with sea salt. Bake in the oven for 5-7 minutes or until golden brown.

Ladle the soup into bowls then top with corn tortilla strips, soup cream, cheddar cheese and green onions.

I took the opportunity to use some new plates that R brought home from Mexico for this meal.




The bread come from Art-is-in Bakery, some of the best bread in Ottawa.




My guest brought dessert and I also served strawberries. I was just looking for an excuse to use my strawberry bowl (yes, it's an actual bowl for strawberries). You can wash and serve them in the one dish.