Recipe - Strawberry-Rhubarb Syrup

It is Canada Day long weekend (eh?)! I thought it would be perfect to put together something sweet, refreshing, summery, and red for the occasion. I actually adapted a recent recipe of Chef John's from Food Wishes.He's a San Francisco based chef who is nothing less than a culinary wizard. While I was in England a few weeks ago he posted a pure strawberry syrup recipe. I adapted it by using half strawberries, half rhubarb and a splash of orange blossom water. It was incredibly easy and produced the most sensational aromas. There's a little fruit and vegetable market that I frequent on my street and they've had incredibly vibrant rhubarb recently. I needed an excuse to use them. They were calling for me! In the house that my family lived in when I was born we had rhubarb growing in our garden. It always takes me back to my childhood. 

I feel inclined to warn you that the large leaves of the rhubarb plant are poisonous and if consumed will make you very sick. So if you are going to try this recipe (and I recommend that you do), discard any leafy part of the rhubarb if it appears. Only use the reddish-green stalk of the rhubarb (the part that kind of resembles celery). This recipe is fun because it begins beautiful, gets really ugly in the middle, and becomes beautiful again. You'll see what I mean.

Ingredients

1.5 pounds of fresh strawberries

4 stalks of fresh rhubarb

3 cups of white granulated sugar

6 cups of cold water

A splash of orange blossom water (optional)

Method

Wash all your fruit in cold water. Slice the strawberries into quarters and chop the rhubarb into pieces. The size of the rhubarb pieces doesn't have to be exact because they break down a lot under heat. I roughly chopped mine to about one-inch pieces. It should look something like this when you're done. 

Isn't that beautiful?

Place your slices of fruit in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Pour six cups of cold water over them and bring to the boil on high heat.

When the fruit and water comes to the boil, stir and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Let the mixture simmer on a low setting for fifteen minutes.

After fifteen minutes, the fruit will look pretty nasty. Don't worry, it's supposed to. We want all of the beautiful colour and flavour out of the fruit and into the liquid. Remove from the heat. Place a mesh strainer over another saucepan and ladle in the fruit pulp. All the flavourful liquid should fall through the strainer and into the other saucepan. You can press the pulp with your ladle to release more of the liquid but doing so will result in a  cloudy, less presentable product. I didn't, but it's up to you. It should look something like this when you're done (I told you it gets ugly).

Gross!

Discard the fruit pulp into your compost or "green bin" (you have one of those, right?). Afterwards you will be left with garnet-red aromatic nectar. Add all of the sugar to the liquid and give it a good stir. Bring this to the boil again. Once it's at the boil, reduce the heat to medium and let cook for 5 minutes. During this time, remove any foam that may appear on top.

After 5 minutes the sugar will all have dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool. This is a completely optional step, but after it stops steaming you can add a little splash of orange blossom water and stir. A little goes a long way and you don't want it to overpower the insatiable flavour of the strawberries and rhubarb. So keep it to a little splash. Once the liquid is cool, pour into the container of your choice. Guess what, now you have strawberry-rhubarb syrup!

"Thanks Bram, now what do I do with this?"

Like all recipes that you will see on this blog I encourage you to get creative! But here are a few ideas to get you started. 

- Add to lemonade

- Add to iced tea

- Place 1/3 to 1/2 in a glass and top with club soda for a refreshing summery drink (a shot of vodka or Amaretto will also play well with this mixture if you're of age and enjoy responsibly)

- Mix with plain yogurt, fresh fruit, and granola 

- Spoon over vanilla ice cream

- Use it to make popsicles

- Whatever your heart desires

June 27, 2012 - Banoffee Success! I hope I made you proud, England!

There are two kinds of food blog visitors; those who read and those who primarily look at the pictures. If you're one of the readers, then you'd know that I had my annual heritage potluck lunch today at the office. There are a few different nations that make up my traceable heritage and one of them is England. I decided to bring an English delicacy called Banoffee pie (or at least my version of it). I'd never made it before! So I used all of my coworkers as guinea pigs. Before long there were only crumbs of it left. I got many appreciated compliments. That's got to be one of the biggest rewards of being a foodie - positive feedback when you take a risk!

For any of you who aren't familiar, "Banoffee Pie" is banana and toffee pie. The flavour profile when combined with either a crumbly biscuit or pastry foundation, light whipped cream, and a note of chocolate is decadence amplified. There are many different ways that you can play with those combinations. Not only is it a delicious treat, but very simple to execute. Mine turned out quite a bit shallower than what you might consider the height of an average pie (maybe more of a dessert pizza than a pie). Personally, considering the amount of sweet richness concentrated in it, I found it to be just right. It also allowed the crust to have a larger playing role in the whole experience. Originally I had planned on putting the banana slices over the whipped cream, but the more I thought about it the more I feared that it would get messy and collapse under its own weight. At the last minute I decided to put the bananas on the toffee first, then top with the whipped cream and chocolate syrup. I'm glad I did. That way it stayed together as long as it needed to (and took to slicing quite well). Although I did leave about an inch or so along the perimeter uncovered to expose the banana and toffee underneath.

Traditionally, the way you go about making the toffee bit is by removing the label from a can of sweetened condensed milk and leaving it submerged in boiling water for about three hours. The sugars in the condensed milk slowly caramelize and you're left with sweet, gooey caramel right out of the can. I didn't quite have the luxury of that kind of time so I used a different method. I brought butter and brown sugar to the boil and incorporated condensed milk while stirring constantly. The good part about that is not only do you save time but you end up with a bit more of the finished product than just the contents of one can. The downside is that you substantially increase the amount of sugar and fat. So that call is entirely up to you.

So again, if you're one of the readers, please check out the recipe and the picture of my Banoffee pie below. If you're one of the photo voyeurs... why do I bother... you're there already.

Be happy and stay fed.

B

Banoffee Pie

After World War II international trade opened up like never before to the western world. Supermarkets across Europe and North America were supplied with tropical and exotic fruits like mangoes, pineapples, and bananas. This little number was first documented in England in the early 1970s. Pie, meet your two new best friends: banana and toffee.

Please forgive the tacky newspaper background. This was my contribution to a potluck at the office, lol

Ingredients

300 grams of Digestive Biscuits

1 can of sweetened condensed milk (400 grams)

225 grams of butter total (125 for the toffee and 100 for the biscuit base) 

2/3 cup of brown sugar

4 bananas

whipping cream (from a spray can)

1 pinch of ground cinnamon

1/2 pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

2 ounces of chocolate syrup 

Method

In a medium saucepan, melt 125 grams of butter. When the butter melts and begins to sizzle (or sing as the Italians say), add the brown sugar and mix to combine. Bring the butter and sugar to a boil. Add the condensed milk and stir to combine. When the mixture returns to the boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and stir constantly for 5 minutes to thicken it up. Set aside to cool.

Place the biscuits in a sealed bag and crush into crumbs with a rolling pin or flat, heavy object (a rolling pin will produce a fine, even crust and a flat object like the bottom of a pot or pan will produce a variety of crumbly textures). Empty the crumbs into a bowl and add the cinnamon, nutmeg, and 100 grams of melted butter. With clean hands, mix to combine until thoroughly incorporated.

Evenly disperse the biscuit mixture in the bottom of a 12-inch springform pan. With the back of your hand, gently press into a firm, even base. Place in the freezer for 30-45 minutes to set completely. Remove from freezer and scoop the cooled toffee evenly onto the biscuit base. The toffee will be very thick and sticky. Turn the pan sideways and rotate slowly to allow gravity to even out the toffee for you. Even out any areas that need touching up with the back of a spoon that's been dipped in very hot water.

Slice the bananas and arrange them on the toffee. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour to set. Remove from fridge and place on paper or cloth. Remove the sides of the pan. Top with whipped cream. Dip the head of a spoon in the chocolate syrup and move it rapidly in a zig-zag motion while alternating directions to create a design. Repeat until the desired look is achieved (only a little bit of the chocolate syrup will actually end up on the pie but you'll need enough of it to dip the head of the spoon). This part can be messy, that's what the paper or cloth beneath the pie is for.

Slice, serve, and enjoy!

June 25, 2012 - Banana-Toffee Aspirations

Once a year the entire floor of my office building has a heritage day potluck lunch. The idea is you bring a dish that somehow reflects your heritage to share with the group. There are roughly 120 other people on my floor who come from all corners of Canada and the world. Every year it's a gluttonous feast.

I'm part English, and I recently returned from a trip to London. So I've decided to make banoffee pie. This may also have been inspired by the banoffee pie I sampled at Kateh restaurant in London, noted a few entries ago. The potluck is not until Wednesday so tomorrow I'm going to make the biscuit base and the toffee layer. Then before serving I'll load it with whipped cream, sliced bananas, and a little chocolate syrup. I reckon if I do the cream and bananas ahead then the bananas might go brown and sink into the cream.

I'm taking a risk here because though I've had a banoffee pie or two in my day, this is my first time making it.

Wish me luck!

I'll post pictures and the recipe (if it's a success), and if it turns out to be an epic failure it will make for a funny blog entry. 

Be sure to stay tuned for that. In the meantime, stay happy and well fed.

B

 June 24, 2012 - Work Week Lunches

Just pulled this bad boy out of the oven.

Picked up some chicken breasts at my neighbourhood butcher shop yesterday. They make marinades in house and these particular breasts were vaguely labeled as "Asian" but from what I could see and smell there is some chili, ginger, scallion, and sesame oil in there. I baked them with slices of peeled ginger, crushed garlic cloves, onion, celery, and carrot. Then some coarsely ground sea salt and pepper with a sprinkling of cayenne topped the whole lot.

I also made a fresh salad with baby spinach, broccoli, cucumber, tomato, shallots, fig-goat cheese, and chopped almonds.

Lunches for the week.. done!

Have a great week, everyone! Please let me know if there's anything in particular you'd like to see on this blog.  This is for all of you, not necessarily for me. 

Be well and stay fed.

B

Thirsty? 

A quintessential partner of eating is (what else?) drinking! I do enjoy the odd drink here and there, myself... referring to the types of drinks only responsible adults should enjoy. Food is really my forté, but if you fancy a read on something more in the drink category, may I recommend a blog by my good friend Japhet? He is one of Toronto's finest bartenders and takes pride in his knowledge of beers, wines, and spirits.

Check it out http://jollyinebriate.com/

London Restaurant Highlight - Incanto

During my stay in London I got to experience exquisite Italian dining at a fantastic spot in London's prestigious Harrow on the Hill neighbourhood. The restaurant is sophisticated but still maintains a welcoming atmosphere. Offering authentic southern Italian fare, the food was tremendous. I took a few pictures of both mine and my cohorts dishes. We had antipasti, primi, secondi, and dolce courses. The food was fresh, well prepared, and spoke volumes of the standards they have on dining. Each course was light but by the time we left we were all satiated. Please check out their web-site at http://www.incanto.co.uk

MapleWood Smoked Quail Eggs and Sundried Tomato Gnocchi with Jersey Royal Potatoes, English Peas and Wild Mushrooms

Rack and Breast of Elwy Valley Lamb, Crispy Pecorino Potato, Caponata and Smoked Olives

Paprika and Herb Linguini Pasta with Roasted Vine Cherry Tomatoes, Ricotta and English Peas; Pea Shoot Salad

Warm Chocolate Fondant, White Chocolate Mousse, Milk Chocolate Foam

Textures of Strawberry, Meringue, Balsamic and Caramel Glaze

London Restaurant Highlight- Hi Sushi Salsa

On my second last night in London I wanted to thank my hosts for letting me stay with a sushi dinner. Sushi, oddly enough, is one of my absolute favourite foods but I've never tried to make it. So, of course, this meant an excursion to a restaurant instead. It was suggested that we try a place near Camden Market called 'Hi Sushi Salsa'. I don't quite understand the name of the place since salsa did not seem to appear anywhere on the menu and they played soft clarinet jazz... but in its own way I suppose it's kind of endearing. Whether or not the origin of the restaurant name was certain, the quality of the food was!

They have some seriously creative and talented kitchen staff. Every dish that came to our table was not only delicious but remarkable in appearance. I took the liberty of taking a few pictures so you can get the idea. We ordered a prawn starter, a selection of fresh sashimi, three specialty rolls, and a couple of standard makimono. Scroll down and feast your eyes. If you're in London and you get the chance, you might just want to check it out for yourselves! Here's the web-site, http://www.hisushi.net

From left: me, my cousin's boyfriend Stephen, my spectacular cousin Meg, and our charming friend Luke.

Sunken Table Motif

Creamy Wasabi Prawns

Hip Hop Roll (crab meat, avocado wrapped with Tataki salmon and fried garlic)

Sashimi Matsu (chef's selection of daily market fish)

Cha Cha Roll (crispy duck with salad and cucumber)

Crispy Salmon Skin and Spicy Tuna Makimono

Dragon Roll (jumbo prawn, asparagus, avocado)

Highlights of Borough Market in London, England

Borough Market

A typical Saturday afternoon

Borough Market has been a bustling part of the London epicurean culture for centuries. It is the only fully independent market you can find in the city. Today it boasts over 100 stalls of produce farmers, fish mongers, butchers, bakers, cheese purveyors, and food & drink experts specializing in the best Britain, Europe, and the world at large has to offer. It's not only a place to buy and learn all about food, but also a place to eat to your heart's content. Whether it be noshing away at samples or enjoying a good meal at many of the ready-to-eat options in the market. There is something here for everyone. If you live in London or are planning a trip, this stop is a must for all your foodie needs.

Fine hand-painted china

Dried fruit, nuts, and candy

The market is all made possible by a board of volunteer trustees. According to the formal objectives laid out in their Charity Commission registration, the members' commitments are to provide a market as a public amenity. On an annual basis any surplus is given to the London Borough of Southwark for the benefit of residents in the parish of St Saviour’s. They're an exceptional contributor to the community.

Variety of Gourmet Olives

Selection of Exotic Spices

Any good market needs a group of hard-working, friendly, and knowledgeable individuals who have a real passion for what they do. The people behind Borough Market are no exception.

The displays at the market that the purveyors have put together are exquisite. One in particular that stands out in my mind is a fish market that we visited to pick up some fresh halibut for a ceviche. In a smorgasbord of fish over piles of crushed ice, and decorated with fresh herbs, was a live lobster resting on the back of a monkfish. In the mouth of the monkfish was an whole langoustine. It was quite the display of creativity.

Fish Market Display

At one of the stalls in the Jubilee Market area I had the pleasure of speaking with a fantastic lady at D'issa, an award-winning purveyor of Croatian delicacies such as sheep milk cheese, jams, oils, wine, and one of my favourites, ajvar (a roasted red pepper dip/spread that goes with just about anything savoury). My cousin and I couldn't pass up the purchase of a flavourful pumpkin seed oil they offer. Check out their web-site at http://www.dissa.co.uk

D'issa

Please do yourself an enormous favour and pay the market a visit if you get the opportunity. It was one of the biggest highlights of my visit to England and I'm sure you will feel the same way.

This little independent blog entry could not possibly encapsulate all that the market has to offer. Please check them our for yourself online to learn more:
http://http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/

Eat well and stay fed!

B

Yours truly @ Borough Market in London, England

Fresh Veg

Gourmet Samples

Butcher Shop

Exotic Meat Burgers

Additional Borough Market Photos

Skilled butchers slicing prosciutto from a leg of pork

English Cheeses

Biltong - African style beef jerky

Fresh baked bread

Cakes and other desserts

Wines and Spirits

Farm fresh eggs

Ornamental Boar

Dried Chillies

Fresh cut flowers

Recipe: Halibut Ceviche

Ceviche is one of my all-time favourite things to make. It's delicious, healthy, easy, fresh, summery, and always a crowd pleaser. Last night I arrived back home from a trip to London, England to visit my cousin and a couple of locals. We went to Borough Market and the idea struck me to put together some ceviche for the group. It was a big hit. Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 boneless fillet of fresh halibut

5 vine tomatoes

1/2 a medium sized red onion

2 red chilies 

2 cloves of garlic

1 small handful of fresh cilantro

1 lime

1 lemon

Salt & Pepper (to taste) 

Method:

If your halibut fillet has skin, carefully slice it off and discard. Dice into small pieces (about one centimetre squares). Place your fish pieces into a bowl or casserole dish and douse with the fresh squeezed juice of the lemon and the lime. The zest of both can also be used if you desire. Toss the pieces of fish in the lemon and lime juice until thoroughly coated and reserve in the fridge. Let sit for at least 30 minutes for the acid to denature the fish.

Remove the seeds from the tomatoes and dice along with the onion, chilies, garlic, and cilantro. Combine in a large bowl.

Once the fish is denatured, combine with the other diced ingredients and toss thoroughly until the mixture is well combined. Add Salt and Pepper.

Your ceviche at this point is good to eat but personally I think it's best when left in the fridge for at least 3 hours before serving. The flavours are much better when left to mingle and get to know each other for a while. Serve with corn tortilla chips, toasty bread, plantain chips, or as a topping for thick slices of cucumber.

This recipe will feed 4 as an appetizer or 2 as a meal. Enjoy!

Optional Steps:

You can also incorporate either a few chopped, spicy marinated green olives (pitted) or 1/4 of fresh pineapple (diced) into the ingredient list. Olives will produce a brinier, more savoury dish and pineapple will produce a sweeter, tropical dish.

June 11, 2012 - London Sweet London


It's Monday night here in London. Tomorrow is my last full day in England and then Wednesday morning I fly back home to Toronto. I cannot express my gratitude to all those who made my visit here a tremendous experience. We have had some seriously good eats here. 


Since my last entry I've had the privilege of sampling some local fares such as the standard fish and chips with mashed peas. I've also had some international cuisine that London's multicultural community has to offer. Yesterday we walked around the shops in Camden Market and sampled fried falafel, Thai spicy chicken, Turkish wrap hors d'oeuvres, among other tasty treats. I got to meet the parents of my cousin's boyfriend with whom we enjoyed a fantastic Italian meal at a restaurant called Incanto in Harrow on the Hill. I enjoyed a fresh salmon nicoise salad at a great little cafe in Little Venice called Baker & Spice for brunch. Just across the street and a few doors down in Little Venice I also had a delicious spinach and feta frittata at Raoul's for breakfast. Last Saturday night we were lucky to score a table at the bustling Aladin restaurant on Brick Lane for some spicy and exotic late night Indian food. Just tonight we returned to Camden Lock for sushi at the peculiarly named Hi Sushi Salsa but were simply blown away by the quality of the dishes they served. These are only some examples that come to mind of all the great dining experiences here.


For those of you thinking, 'I thought this was a cooking blog not an eating out blog', may I remind you that I am on vacation! Not to fret, we did cook up a storm during my stay as well. Saturday morning we made our way down to Borough Market and had the time of our lives. We've been enjoying cheese and bread platters with our purchases at the market along with a mouth watering variety of olives and biltong (an African style of beef jerky). One of my hosts prepared ground turkey and ground beef hamburger patties, impregnated with the fire of Scotch Bonnet peppers, dusted with flour, fried on each side until crisp and then baked until just cooked through but juicy and moist. My hosts seemed to be quite pleased with a fresh and summery ceviche I prepared this passed weekend with a fillet of fresh halibut that I bought at Borough Market (the recipe I will share in an upcoming post).


In about 48 hours or so my plane is scheduled to be arriving back in Canada. Once settled I have so many pictures and stories to share on this blog. Trust me, you do not want to miss them. I can't wait to upload those pictures on my computer at home to show you all.


Until then, keep living your lives to the fullest and above all be happy, bold, daring, and well fed.


Much love... and eat all your vegetables.


B

June 5, 2012 - London Calling


I am in London, England right now and things couldn't be more fantastic (well, except maybe the weather). I've been here for a few days visiting my cousin and her boyfriend. Today was the last day of the Diamond Jubilee, a four day national celebration of the Queen Elizabeth's 60 years as monarch. On Sunday we headed down to the River Thames and found a spot across from the Eye of London for the boat parade where I got to see not only the queen but the entire royal family. This is such a beautiful and vibrant city. The quality of the Cadbury chocolate here is so much more impressive than back home. I have been to a few fantastic pubs as well. I have had such a great visit. I have a whole week left before I have to fly back home to Canada. 


Yesterday was my cousin's birthday. Among an entire day of fun plans we had dinner at a great Persian restaurant in her neighbourhood in Little Venice called Kateh (pronounced "Kah-tuh"). We ate grilled lamb, charred tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and beet root salad, sesame seed lavash with a variety of creamy and herbaceous spreads, fragrant rice, lamb stew, chicken kebabs, followed by dessert wine, banoffee pie, sticky caramel profiteroles, warm cinnamon biscuits and ice cream. What a feast! Most of the savoury dishes were garnished with pomegranate arils, edible flowers, herbs, and crushed walnuts. I'd say it was the best meal I've had since I made it here. 


After dinner the birthday celebrations continued on back at my cousin's flat and we stayed up late and had more than just a few drinks. As a result we were all rather useless today and the rainy weather didn't help. We ate butter croissants and eggy bread for breakfast and later snacked on potato chips (or 'crisps' as they're referred to here) while we watched zombie movies. For dinner we did manage to put together some peppery salmon fillets, a fresh salad, and some roasted vegetables with a cheesy white sauce drizzled over top. The sauce began as a simple roux (flour and butter) with milk, mature cheddar, salt, pepper, and a dash of ground cumin. A healthy meal was definitely in order after a night of drinking and a lazy day of snacking on carbs essentially. 


Ladies and gents, this concludes my first blog entry in London. It's late and tomorrow we have lots planned. This Saturday we're heading to Borough Market (I cannot wait). It's one of the most renowned food markets in all of Europe. There will be heaps to report from that venture!


Take good care of yourselves. Eat well,


B