I’m embarrassed to see how long it’s been since I’ve posted anything. Last time I posted, I said something about how I was going to start to (slowly) work on some new cookbooks. I did actually keep that promise, but then my world turned topsy-turvy.
Not long after I posted, a family looking for a new location for their business came to look at Desserts Plus and quickly made us an offer on our building. We accepted for many reasons, and starting looking for a new space. We had no idea how long it would take us.
Since moving our of our building 13 (!) months ago, we’ve had a pop-up store for Passover, rented a kitchen to cater a few major events and even had a booth at a farmer’s market for part of the simmer.
All along we worked on finding our space, which we did last summer. Several delays kept construction from starting until early this year (you can see a lot of our updates on our Instagram account).
In fact, we even have a kickstarter campaign going to try to get the final push we need to finish our space.
(You can read more about our campaign on our Facebook page, instagram or kickstarter.)
Meanwhile, while all of that was going on, I was slowly working on my next cookbook.
Last month I published Pam’s Cookie Collection:
This is smaller than my other books with just 40-something recipes, but I’m proud of this one! It’s got lots of recipes that I’ve been baking at Desserts Plus over the years, along with lots of others that I created in my home kitchen.
You can get copies here:
Createspace
amazon. com
amazon. ca
And here’s a wonderful write-up by the equally wonderful Norene Gilletz in the CJN.If you don’t have any of my books but you’ve wanted them, now is a good time to get them! For the next week one of the rewards for our kickstarter campaign is a cookbook collection. You can get one copy of each of my three books – signed if you like! (It’s listed twice – once if you’re able to pick them up at our new café and once if you need them shipped throughout North America.)
I’ll try not to be such a stranger! Thanks for stopping by and reading.
Cookies and Kickstarter
13 Mar
Get it done. .
26 Aug
My first cookbook came out in 2004. Since then I’ve written one more (Passover) plus some new recipes for the second addition of Soup-A Kosher Collection. But in in addition to the books, I’ve developed lots and lots of recipes for newspapers, magazines, my blog and recipes that haven’t been published anywhere but I use all the time at home or at work (Desserts Plus ).
I’ve been talking about the next cookbook for ages, but life keeps delaying things. So the other day I decided that enough was enough. It’s time to just get it done. I opened the program where I store most of my recipes and printed them off, organized and categorized them.
It’s going to take time to get even one done, but I have a lot of great recipes to work from for a number of books.
Between working 10+ hours a day, the holidays fast approaching and trying to sell my condo and hopefully move, there isn’t a lot of extra time to work on recipes, but just know that I am.
So many people have asked me when the next book will be available. I don’t know for sure, but I do know that I’m committing to squeezing out time to test and test and test and get the next one out there. And then the next!
Too busy baking. .
7 AugNo matter how strong my intentions are to post more, I generally fail. I really, really want to put up blog posts, but life gets in the way. I could go on about how my fridge hasn’t been working for a month so I haven’t been able to cook. . but who wants to hear about that?
Instead, I’ll show you some of the things I’ve been cooking and baking at work over the last few months. And if I can find the time and energy, I’ll get more posts up. Really. 🙂
Ps: if you want to see more of my cooking/baking, I post regularly (with my sister) on our instagram account. You can find us at Desserts_Plus.
Simple Side: Corn Pancakes
8 NovMy mom used to make corn pancakes when I was young. She started a catering business when I was in elementary school and became very busy, very quickly. Fast recipes to make at home were a necessity and the ingredients needed for these corn cakes could be kept in the cupboard so they could be put together very quickly.
I realized I hadn’t had one of her corn pancakes in years (10-15 years, probably) and had a hankering. I set out to make my own version, tweaking it a bit and adding frozen corn. If fresh corn is in season, please use it! But the beauty of this recipe is that if you keep a bag of frozen corn and a can of creamed corn on hand, they are a great side to whip up quickly in the winter when it’s so cold you don’t want to leave the house.
14 oz. can creamed corn (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 large egg
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup frozen corn kernels
canola oil for frying
Simply mix all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl with a large spoon.
Pour enough oil in the bottom of a large frying pan so you have approximately 1/4-inch of oil. Heat over medium.
When the oil is hot, carefully spoon batter into the oil (depending on the size of your pan,fry 3 to 5 pancakes at one time). Let the pancake cook 2-3 minutes, until the edges start to brown and little bubbles appear on the surface of the pancakes. Gently flip over with a spatula and cook on the second side another couple of minutes, or until golden brown on the second side.
Remove from the pan and drain on paper towel. Continue with the rest of the batter.
Other Simple Sides for you:
Apple Pecan Baklava
19 SepI love baklava, especially made with pecans (I’m highly allergic to pistachios and not overly fond of walnuts, but you can use either of those or a mixture) and I also love apple strudel made with light, crispy phyllo dough. I realized that combining the two couldn’t be bad and created this Apple Pecan Baklava.
If you don’t follow the tradition of not eating nuts for Rosh Hashana, this would make a lovely dessert for the holiday — if you do, then just save this and make it for another occasion. Enjoy!
Apple Pecan Baklava
- 1 lb. phyllo dough
- 1/2 cup butter or margarine — melted
Apple Layer
- 2 lb. Granny Smith apples — peeled, cored and diced
- 2 Tbsp. honey
- 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp. flour
Nut Layer
- 4 cups pecan halves — approx. 3/4 lb.
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
Syrup
- 2/3 cup honey
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 1/4 cups water
- lemon zest — from 1 lemon
- orange zest — from 1 orange
- 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp. fresh orange juice
Preheat oven to 375ºF.
Apple layer: Place the apples, honey and cinnamon into a non-stick skillet, stirring over medium heat. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until any liquid has evaporated and the apples have softened. Remove from the heat and add flour, stirring until it’s mixed in. Cool.
Nut Layer: Place the pecans, sugar and cinnamon in the food processor. Pulse until the pecans are coarsely ground. If you start with ground pecans (3/4 lb.) just mix them with the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
Assemble: Melt the margarine/butter and use a pastry brush to coat a 3 qt. or 13x9x2″ baking dish. Cut the phyllo sheets in half, then lay one sheet on the bottom of the baking dish. Lightly brush with butter/margarine and repeat with another 5 layers of phyllo. Sprinkle 1/4 of the nut mixture (about 1 cup) over the phyllo, and layer another 5 sheets of phyllo, continuing to brush each sheet with butter/margarine. Repeat the nut mixture and another 5 sheets of phyllo, then add all of the cooked apples, spreading them out in an even layer. Top with another 5 sheets of phyllo, 1 cup of nuts, 5 sheets of phyllo, 1 cup of nuts and then top it off with the final 7 sheets of phyllo.
Use a serrated knife to carefully cut the baklava into pieces. Traditionally, baklava is cut diagonally, so that the pieces form diamonds. Make sure you cut right through to the bottom.
Place in a preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes or until a dark golden brown.
Syrup: As the baklava bakes, prepare the syrup. Place all of the syrup ingredients into a pot over medium-high heat and stir. Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Keep the syrup warm (on a very low element) until the baklava has finished baking. Remove the baklava from the oven and carefully pour the syrup through a strainer, over the baklava. Once the liquid hits the baklava, it may start to boil and splatter, so be very careful.
Let the baklava cool for at least an hour before serving. Can be made a day ahead.
Honey Cake
18 SepTipsy Honey Cake
Rosh Hashana means honey cake. To start the new year off with a sweet bite, traditionally we serve and eat honey itself or items made with honey. In my family, we’ve always made a version of this boozy honey cake. The finished cake doesn’t taste overly alcoholic, but it does add to the overall flavour of the cake.
What a list of ingredients! It’s long, but easy to put together and produces a moist and flavorful honey cake. My favorite honey to use for baking is buckwheat. It has a stronger flavour that holds up to the other flavours in the recipe. Having said that, over the last few years I’ve found it impossible to find buckwheat honey and have made it with several other types (most typically, clover honey) and it’s still delicious.
The cake recipes also calls for what we call ‘rye’ up here, but I’ve been told in the US is often known as “Canadian whiskey” or “rye whisky”. You can use rye, whisky or rum.
2 ¾ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup tea, brewed — strong and hot
1 cup honey
1/2 cup Canadian rye (whiskey)
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup canola oil (or other light flavoured oil)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon orange zest
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice and ginger. I like to use a whisk to combine all of these ingredients.
In another bowl, combine the hot tea, honey, rye and orange juice.
Using either a stand mixer or a hand mixer, cream together the oil and white and brown sugars. Add the eggs, mixing them in one at a time. Add the vanilla and orange zest.
Add one third of the liquid and mix on low speed. Add one third of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Repeat until all of the wet and dry ingredients have been incorporated.
Pour into a bundt pan that has been sprayed with vegetable oil and lightly floured. Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. If the cake starts to brown too quickly, loosely tent a piece of aluminum foil over the cake for the rest of the baking time. Let cool completely and then turn the pan over and carefully unmold the cake onto a serving plate. Typically, the bottom of a bundt becomes the top when you take it out of the pan, but I really like the way the ‘bottom’ of this cake comes out and always keep it on the top when plating.
Wrapped well, the cake can stay on the counter for a couple of days. Freezes beautifully.
Quick and Delicious (and easy!) Apple Strudel
9 SepQuick and Delicious Apple Strudel
I like a crisp, slightly tart apple for baking — a Pink Lady or Granny Smith would be my choice. I love the addition of pecans for the flavour and the texture they add, but they are completely optional. For Rosh Hashana, many people have the minhag (custom) of not eating nuts and the pecans can be left out and the strudel will still be delicious!
I use oil to keep the strudel parve, but if you want to replace it with melted butter, that would work beautifully.
Serves: 12
- 2 lbs. Fuji apples — peeled, cored and grated (about 6 apples)
- 1/3 cup raisins, seedless
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans — *optional
- 5 Tbsp. sugar, divided
- 3 tsp. cinnamon, divided
- 3 Tbsp. flour
- 10 sheets of filo dough
- 3 Tbsp. canola oil
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Prepare the filling by shredding the apples into a mixing bowl. If they are very juicy, squeeze out any excess liquid. Add the raisins, pecans if using, 3 Tbsp. sugar, 2 tsp. cinnamon, flour and nutmeg and mix well. Set aside.
Lay out one sheet of filo dough and lightly brush with oil. Mix together 2 Tbsp. of sugar and 1 tsp. of cinnamon and lightly sprinkle the filo with some of this cinnamon/sugar mix. Repeat with another 4 sheets of filo, oiling and sugaring all but the last sheet.
Arrange half of the apple filling in a row along the longer side of the filo – keeping it about 1″ from each edge. Roll the strudel up, keeping the filling against the edge as tightly as possible. Give the excess dough on each end of the roll a twist and tuck the dough under the roll. Place the strudel on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and brush it with oil. Sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar and use a sharp knife to cut diagonal slits every inch or so – just cut through the dough on the top of the roll, allowing steam to escape while it bakes.
Repeat with the rest of the filo and apple filling.
Bake at 350ºF for 30-35 minutes – until the strudel is golden brown. Allow to cool, slice all the way through and serve.
Buttermilk Cheese Kugel
4 SepThe High Holidays are fast approaching and it seems everybody I know is in menu-planning mode. A good cheese kugel is great for lunch during Rosh Hashana or for breaking the fast on Yom Kippur.
I know a lot of recipes call for some sugar, but I prefer to leave it out of cheese kugels — leave it for the apple or other fruit versions. I like my cheese kugel to have a little tang and will either add sour cream, or in this case, buttermilk to the recipe. The topping is optional, and it is delicious without it, but perhaps just a little more delicious with it.
Serve with extra sour cream on the side or if you must have a little sweetness, some sliced strawberries in syrup.
Buttermilk Cheese Kugel
375 grams egg noodles — wide
5 large eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup melted butter
375 grams dry curd cottage cheese
1 teaspoon salt
Optional Topping
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
pinch salt
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Cook the noodles following the instructions on the package. Drain well and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, salt and cottage cheese. Pour this mixture onto the noodles and stir to thoroughly mix.
Lightly butter a 2 quart (liter) casserole and pour the noodle mixture into the pan.
If you choose to add the optional topping, mix all of the topping ingredients together in a small bowl and sprinkle the mixture on top of the noodles.
Bake the kugel in a preheated 375º oven for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the kugel has set.
Sneak Peek: Tahini Cookies
13 JanThe cookie cookbook is rolling along and I hope to be done soon, so I thought it was time to share a new recipe — a sneak peek, so to speak.
I love sesame seeds, sesame paste (tahini) and sesame oil — basically any form of sesame works for me, but usually in a savory dish. When I was brainstorming ideas for the cookie book, tahini made it to the notepad, though I’ve never baked or even tasted a cookie made with it. I was trying to decide which other flavours I would use with the sesame — maybe cardamom or Chinese five spice? — but I decided the first thing I should do was try baking a cookie that didn’t introduce more flavours and then go from there. When I first tasted these, I was so happy with the results that I decided they didn’t need anything else.
If you like sesame, these cookies are for you. They’re deceptively simple to make, but the double dose of flavour from the tahini and the sesame seeds is delicious. They’re light, yet rich — perfect with a cup of tea.
Once baked, these cookies are delicate, so handle with care. They freeze beautifully in an air-tight container. Keep them parve by substituting a good quality non-dairy margarine for the butter.
6 ounces butter — softened (3/4 cup)
1 cup tahini — well stirred
4 ounces powdered sugar — (1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
10 ounces flour — (2 cups)
1 cup sesame seeds, for rolling
Preheat your oven to 350ºF.
Cream the butter, tahini and powdered sugar together in a stand mixer until smooth. Add the salt and vanilla and mix through.
Scrape the sides of the bowl down, add the flour and mix on low until it’s thoroughly mixed in and forms a dough.
I use a 1 ounce (2 Tbsp.) scoop to portion the dough, then roll them into balls. Roll the balls in the sesame seeds then place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Gently press the balls down until they are approximately 1/2″ thick. Leave an inch between cookies because they will puff up a little as they bake.
Bake one pan of cookies at a time on the middle rack of the oven for 10 minutes. Turn the pan and bake another 10 minutes or until the bottom and edges have lightly browned.
Makes 24-30 cookies.
Cranberry Sauce
13 OctCranberry sauce is one of those things that is really, really easy to make, but i think a lot of people forgo making it and opt for opening a can instead. If you have access to fresh cranberries (or frozen, depending on the season) don’t question it — make a batch yourself and see how easy and delicious it is.
I always make it with orange or mandarin juice because I like the flavor combo. You can use water if you prefer. I also like the addition of some ground, dry ginger. I’ve tried it with fresh ginger, but it was too strong for my taste. You can omit the ginger altogether, or substitute cinnamon, clove, nutmeg or allspice. And if you’d like even more of a citrus kick, add some zest,
Happy Thanksgiving!
- 3 cups (or one 12 oz. package) fresh cranberries
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup fresh orange or mandarin (or tangerine or . .) juice
- 1/2 tsp. dry ginger
Wash and pick through the cranberries. Add everything to the pot and place over medium-high heat. Once the liquid comes to a simmer, reduce heat to medium and let cook for 5-7 minutes, or until the cranberries have all popped and the sauce has thickened. Pour into a dish to cool. Can be served warm or cover and keep refrigerated for up to one week.
Makes 2 cups.
