Pour on the Sweetness

These tasty squares have been adapted from a number of recipes, sometimes called Southern Bars. Or you may have seen them on cans of condensed milk.

One year, our kids dubbed them “Cavity Squares“, because they are so incredibly sweet. We know they have too many calories (we could also call them calorie squares). But they never fail to please, and someone always asks for the recipe. Your teeth may not thank you, but you’ll definitely keep your dentist in business!

War Cake

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There is nothing quite like an old family recipe for the holidays. They may not quite conform to our modern dietary habits ( we rarely use lard in our house any more). But our grandmothers knew a thing or two about frugal eating that we would do well to take on board. This tremendous, versatile cake was the result of wartime rationing, when butter, milk, and eggs were rare commodities. The good new is that it tastes so delicious those things will never be missed.

Since we’re not big on fruitcake, we like to add some red and green cherries to this, during the festive season.

Classic Christmas Shortbread

20111222-191321.jpg Even if we only have time to bake one Christmas cookie, this is the one. it’s practically foolproof, the recipe can be doubled, kids can help, and it lends itself to a variety of shapes.

1/2 c / 125ml cornstarch
1/2 c / 125ml icing sugar
1 c / 250ml flour
3/4 c / 175ml butter

Sift the dry ingredients together. Blend in the butter with a wooden spoon if you must, but clean hands are more fun! You can also use a food processor. As soon as it forms a dough that stays together, it’s done. If it’s too pliable, chill for half an hour.

Roll out with a floured rolling pin to 1/4″ or 1/2cm, and cut with cookie cutters, or roll into balls and flatten with something textured, like a butter press or the bottom of a fancy glass, dipped in flour. You can also shape it in a log, roll in colored sugar or nuts, chill for half an hour, and slice. Decorate with sugar, cherries (or not).

Bake on an ungreased pan (parchment is good for cleanup but not necessary) at 300F for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden. Remove to racks immediately to cool. Break at least one so as to force a taste test. Smile.

Turkey Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow…it's Thanksgiving in Canada!

Thanksgiving around our house means two kinds of pie (pumpkin and apple), cranberry sauce (homemade, of course), squash, mashed potatoes, green beans, carrots, gravy, and of course, turkey with dressing. Whether it’s held on Sunday or Monday, it’s all about family. (Psst: Happy Birthday, Kathryn!)

Here’s a picture of this year’s succulent bird, before dinner. We’d like to share more photos, but we were too busy cooking, carving, chatting, and eating.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Canada Day Barbecue

What would you eat on Canada Day? At our place, it’s nearly always barbecue. We usually have our friends and family here, but this year Brother Rob is the cook and the host. We don’t know his plan yet, but it’ll be something just as good as these veal-and-lamb burgers from the Belanger Brothers, dressed with some home-made chili sauce from last summer, and Kozlik’s mustard.

Put a fresh salad on the side, follow it up with some strawberry shortcake (made with biscuits, the maritime way).

Oh, Canada!

Barbecued Lamb for a Celebration

I had thought I’d get burgers on the grill or take-out for my Mother’s Day dinner, but Steve surprised me. Walking about in the neighbourhood while I was at French class, he popped into Royal Beef, where they had some awesome lamb roasts.

He cooked this one one the barbecue with a marinade of Dijon mustard, olive oil, 5-spice powder, salt, and pepper. He served it with some new potatoes and spring asparagus.

Consider me spoiled.

Easter Bunny Cake

Bunny CakeFor our family, it wouldn’t be Easter dinner if there weren’t a bunny cake.  Long after kids aren’t really kids any more, they aren’t willing to dispense with this cake, in all its ’50’s style glory.

It starts as two round cakes (8 or 9 inches in diameter). Make a carrot cake (traditional) or use a mix – any flavour will do.

One cake is cut into sections, with two ears, leaving the centre of the circle to make the bow tie.

The whole thing is iced with Italian Meringue Frosting, tinted appropriately. Each year there’s an argument about whether the bow tie should be pink, or mauve, or green, or yellow. Mauve or pink are easiest, since the pink frosting for the ears can be prepared, and then a little blue food colouring added as necessary.

The candies are Smarties(TM) but other small round candies such as M&Ms (TM) would work as well. The whiskers are made of shoelace-style red licorice. The fur is coconut, preferably the long-shredded variety.

Hot Cross Buns for Easter

Hot Cross BunsSome say it is traditional to eat Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday, but in our family they have been Easter breakfast for as long as we can remember. The cross traditionally symbolizes the crucifiction, and they serve as a reminder to us that Easter is not all about bunnies and candy (although we indulge in our share of those, as well).

Good Friday Fish: Poached Salmon

Salmon Salad and Boiled PotatoFor some folks, Good Friday is just another day off work. But for us, it’s a busy day, filled with opportunities to come together with our community at St. Brigid’s.

Fortunately fresh ingredients are easy to find in our neighbourhood. Red peppers, cucumbers, and lettuce from Ontario hothouses are available at Kelly’s, or Plank Road, or Jerry’s Supermarket now. We had the salmon in our freezer, but we can usually get a great selection of fish at the supermarkets on our walking route, like Sobey’s or Valu-Mart.

This dinner starts with boiling the potatoes. While they’re cooking, we’ll bring the water up to a boil for the salmon, and then turn it down to a low simmer, flavouring it with a little citrus pepper and a few slices of lemon. (On another day, white wine would also work nicely). Then we’ll pop in the fish and keep it just gently simmering along while we make the salad.

All that’s left is to give thanks for good food and the latest steps in our Lenten journey, and eat.

Friday Fish Chowder

Whether you’re abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent, or just looking for an easy fish recipe for a busy night, this chowder is simple to make. Whenever we cook a large whole fish we use the bones to make a batch of fish broth, but if you don’t have fish broth on hand, use vegetable broth, it’ll still taste great.

This soup is a family staple for us – it’s great on a cold night, and it’s a go-to recipe made from ingredients that we always have around the house.