Adopt A Blogger #4 and Sugar Bush

Kristen from Dine and Dish started an annual event called Adopt A Blogger. We're now in our 4th year (time flies doesn't it) and Psychgrad and I are happy to participate in this event again.

Psychgrad already introduced you to our adoptive blogger, Ed, and his tasty chili recipe here. Now, I'd like to take my turn to formally introduce you to our adoptive blogger. Ed of Detroit Eats is an accomplished chef so I'm already gathering that we'll have more to learn than to mentor. If you haven't yet visited his blog, please do so; you'll find it both educational and inviting. I guess the name Detroit Eats gives away where Ed's from. It's nice to have a blogger friend whose location is reasonably close to me - about a 4 hour drive and we both live around the Great Lakes.

Ed and I wanted to collaborate on something we have in common as well as something that one might consider unique. Given the time of year, sugar bush was not only timely, but fun. You may have seen our previous posts about sugar bush from both Quebec and Ontario As far as I know, maple syrup production is only found in Canada and the U.S. around the Great Lakes. We've both decided to write similar posts about maple syrup, where it comes from and some ways to use it.

While at Sugar Bush my friend "S" snapped this shot and I loved it so begged to include it in this post. (well...didn't really have to beg too much).


This year we went back to the same farm we previously visited (i.e. the one from Ontario). Can you imagine the smell of a wood burning fire coupled with the sweet smell of maple sugar. It's pretty hard to resist.

I had to get a light amber and a darker amber. The difference is in the boiling. Although the sweet factor is the same, the depth of maple flavour is more pronounced in the darker amber.

Either one is especially delicious when someone is making pancakes for you and adding a cup of maple coffee to the mix.

I had some Canadian salmon at home and what better way to celebrate sugar bush than to make a maple glazed salmon dish. The recipe is for approximately 1 lb (.5k) of fish - I halved mine.

1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup light soya sauce
1/4 cup dark rum
3-4 Tbsp Maple Syrup (some use 1 1/2 - I like more)
3 Tbsp Lemon Juice
salt and pepper to taste (I eliminate the salt)

1. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil
2. Marinate the fish for 2 hours.


3. Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes


For those interested in seeing some of what it takes to bottle maple syrup - enjoy.

Oatmeal Raisin Chews

I think Katharine from Girl About O-Town may be single-handedly responsible for turning me into a lucky person. A couple of months ago, I won free tickets to a premier showing of Creation. Then, just last week, I won another set of tickets from a contest she was running on her blog to go see Greenberg. When does luck turn into greed?

Here's the preview for the movie:



The movie stars Ben Stiller, who plays an emotionally unstable, self-centred guy, with little direction, empathy for others and social skills. The film was directed by Noah Baumbach, who also directed The Squid and the Whale (a movie I really enjoyed).

Despite finding Ben Stiller mildly annoying in a lot of movies, I actually thought he played his part pretty well. In the end, though, I think this movie would be just as interesting as a rental or torrent download. The plot is pretty flat (perhaps intentionally so) and I found myself feeling pretty depressed about the interactions in the movie (not a negative critique of the movie -- but perhaps a deterrent for those looking for a light-hearted film). The preview gives you a good sense of the tone of the movie.

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I realized, just last week, that I had not posted one of my favourite cookie recipes. Well, let me remedy that. I made this a batch of Oatmeal Raisin cookies for some colleagues at work. Based on their reactions, I think they either really liked the recipe and/or really liked that someone brought in homemade cookies.

Oatmeal Raisin Chews
Mrs. Fields


2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup quick oats (not instant)
1 cup (packed) dark brownn sugar (I use light brown)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, softened
2 tbsp honey
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
8 ounces raisins (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 ounced walnuts, chopped (about 1/2 cup) -- optional

Yield: About 2 1/2 dozen without walnut

Preheat oven to 300 F.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, soda, salt and oats. Mix well with wire whisk and set aside.

In a large bowl, blend sugars with an electric mixer set at medium speed. Add butter and mix to form a grainy paste. Scrape down sides of bowl, then add honey, vanilla, and eggs. Mix at medium speed until light and fluffy.

Add the four mixture, raisins, and walnuts, if desired, and blend at low speed just until combined. Do not overmix.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets, 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or ntil cookies are light golden and brown. Immediately transfer cookes with a spatula to a cool, flat surface.

Passover Cake and Kugel

Here it is, the evening before the first night of Passover which will begin at sundown March 29th and I couldn't have said it more aptly than Happily Losin It of Words & Weigh . I think it went something like "somehow Jewish housewives were left out of the freedom from slavery part when it came to Passover".

We've blogged about Passover in previous years here and here and both of these previous posts have been extremely popular consistently.

Today I'm preparing for tomorrow night's dinner and finished a couple of recipes that I think will be equally as popular. I happened to find a recipe on the King Arthur Flour site that looked pretty interesting. The important thing to note with this recipe is that if you use the glaze there is cream in it and wouldn't be appropriate with a meat meal.

Flourless Chocolate Nut Cake

10 large eggs, room temperature, separated
3 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
1/2 cup chocolate chips
heaping 1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar, to mix with the egg yolks
2 cups diced pecans, finely ground; OR 2 cups pecan meal
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup granulated sugar, to mix with the egg whites

Glaze
1 cup chocolate chips
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp espresso powder
3 Tbsp heavy cream

1. Lightly grease a 10" tube pan or angel food pan. For best results, cut a piece of parchment or wax paper to fit the bottom of the pan and grease the paper. (I did this and it worked like a charm) Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Separate the room-temperature eggs, putting the whites and yolks in separate large bowls.
3. Melt the two chocolates together, stirring till smooth and set aside. (note: best to do this over simmering water in a bowl to avoid burning the chocolate)
4. Beat the egg yolks till smooth and lemon-yellow. Add the salt and 2/3 cup sugar and beat again till thickened and lightened in colour.
5. Stir in the melted chocolate.
6. Stir in the nuts. They should be processed as fine as possible; they'll probably be a bit pasty.
7. Beat the egg whites and vanilla till foamy.
8. With the beater going, sprinkle in the 1/4 cup sugar, beating till soft peaks form.
9. With the mixer at low speed, gradually fold the whites into the yolk mixture, mixing gently till no streaks show.
10. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan.
11. Bake the cake for 35-40 minutes (mine took 45 minutes) till a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove it from the oven and set it on a rack. Loosen the edges and let it cool in the pan for 1 hour. Loosen the edges again.
12. Invert the cake onto the rack and prepare the glaze
13. To make the glaze, combine all of the ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl or saucepan and heat till the chips are very soft. Stir till smooth.
14. If the glaze isn't pourable, add more cream to thin it out. (I probably could have added more cream but as it's cooling and setting I can see it's smoothing out). Pour over the cake. It's OK if the cake is still warm when you glaze it.

Yield: 10" cake, about 16 servings.

My second find came from All Recipes . It's very quick and based on the reviews it should be a hit.

Matzo Apple Kugel

This dish can be served with either meat or dairy dinners. Can also be made ahead and cooked later.

4 matzo crackers, crushed
3 eggs beaten
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/3 cup applesauce (preferably unsweetened)
3 Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries

For the topping:
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
(I used half of this amount)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C). Place the crumbled matzos in a medium bowl and add enough water to cover. Let stand for 2 minutes, then drain off excess water. Do not squeeze.
2. To the bowl of matzo, add eggs, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, lemon juice and applesauce. Stir to combine. Mix in the apples and dried cranberries. Spread the mixture evenly into a greased 2 quart casserole dish. Mix together the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the top.
3. Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden and the apples are soft.

Enjoy!
To all our friends who celebrate this holiday - Chag Sameach!!! Next year in Jerusalem!