summary: Hand-kneading slack dough is easy and fun too – so fun that we made another video (with sound!!);

We were bemoaning the fact that our camera doesn’t have a recording device and suddenly realized that our MP3 player does! …thank goodness for the internet and the several people who posted tutorials on how to edit movies in Windows Movie Maker. It’s not perfect syncing but it’s close.

Hand-kneading – with the help of a dough-scraper, using ‘lift, flip, slap’ and/or ‘hand-wringing’ ways – is easy and satisfying. It’s even easy when someone forgot to add all the flour. I love the sound of the dough slapping down on Richard Bertinet’s ‘lift, flip, slap’ method that I learned from watching a video on gourmet.com. The slapping part isn’t particularly loud. There is just a nice satisfying *Plop* as the dough hits the board.

The sound of the dough scraper on the board is equally satisfying – like listening to ice-skating. Outdoor ice-skating on a canal on a beautiful crisp sunny day. Please, turn on your speakers and take a listen so you can hear what I hear.

(If you cannot view the video, please try going directly to YouTube: hand-kneading slack dough (with sound!!) May2013)

Please read more about hand-kneading slack dough (»»»)

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summary: recipe for Whipped Spelt Bread; a Bread Baking Babes project; submission for YeastSpotting; (click on images to see larger views and more photos)

Bread Baking Babes (BBB) May 2013

Are machines really saving us that much labour? (As usual, I have gone overboard with my BBB post. You might want to get a cup of tea before reading on.)

This month, Ilva (Lucullian Delights) chose the BBBabes’ challenge, cracking the whip and calling the BBBabes back into line. She decreed that there would be no more stuffing or filling.

It was back to basics for us. With just flour, water, salt and yeast. But not just any kind of flour – we were instructed to go back to basics there too, by using spelt flour, milled from the ancient grain Triticum spelta related to wheat (Triticum aestivum).

But then Ilva added that we would need to use our electric mixers. What? Back to basics with an electric mixer?? Not to mention: what electric mixer? (continue reading…)

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summary: recipe for aloo anardana (potato masala with pomegranate seeds); information about anardana and Weekend Herb Blogging; (click on images for larger views and more photos)

Weekend Herb Blogging (WHB)#383
Anardana: Pomegranate (Punica granatum) seeds

The other day, we rode to Indiatown to stock up on spices. And T announced that we needed anardana.

We needed what?!

He repeated, “Anardana. It was in the SAVEUR100. It sounds good. Don’t you remember?”

I know that I’ve claimed that I read SAVEUR cover to cover. But nope. I had no recollection of anardana.

So, when we got home, I riffled through the magazine and there it was:

In northern India and Pakistan, burgundy-colored anardana — ground sundried pomegranate seed — is stirred into stewed chickpeas, incorporated into meat rubs, and sprinkled atop myriad dishes for a burst of mouthwatering piquancy.

-Anardana, SAVEUR100, page 46, Issue #153, January 2013

And as I was reading about anardana, T looked through our several cookbooks to see if we had any recipes that called for anardana for a vegetarian dish that would go with lentils and flatbread for lunch. (continue reading…)

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summary: recipe for Half-Apple Tarts, based on Jason Barato’s recipe for Giancarlo Trattoria’s Apple Crostatas; served with blue cheese; (click on image(s) to see larger view and more photos)

I love the Chef’s Showcase page in the Toronto Star’s weekly TV guide!

When you make apple pie, do you usually slice the apples after coring and peeling them? You do? Well, so did we. Until we tried Jason Barato’s recipe for apple crostata, published in the Toronto Star’s Chef’s Showcase.

For reasons known only to themselves, the Star has neglected to include this recipes in their archives. Silly them. It makes one of the best apple tarts we’ve ever had. And we’ve had a lot of apple tarts….

(continue reading…)

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summary: comparing 3 blue cheeses – two Canadian and one French; Creme Fraiche Market Cafe; Bicycling in Toronto; (click on images to see larger views and more photos)

The other night, we had the most amazing apple tart with blue cheese (Back Forty Highland Blue) and I suddenly realized that I had not yet raved about Crème Fraîche Market Cafe on Annette Street.

Just before Easter, on a beautiful sunny day when there was the barest hint of spring in the air, we went for a lovely bike ride, winding our way through the neighbourhoods. I was absolutely thrilled to look down and see the following number on my odometer:

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Yes, that’s 48000 km that I’ve ridden on my bike! (continue reading…)