Royal Wedding Scones

"Fit for royalty..."

 

Happy Royal Wedding day, followers! Isn't it all SO exciting?!

Well, I didn't write my blog last week and I feel bad about it! With so much going on the week before Easter, I didn't have the time. But, I am here now and would like to do an update! Good Friday in my family is referred to as 'Perogy Day.' That's right, it's the day that the ladies in my family get together to make my favourite food of all times, homemade perogies. My Grandmother has Ukrainian roots and the recipe that makes it's annual appearance is from her Mother, my Great Grandmother Myslitsky. All in all, we made about 800! Ha! On the same day, my Dad made the escape out to our 10 acres of land in Norfolk County (no men allowed while making perogies, it's our only rule!). He got into the garden put in green arrow peas and snap peas, a definite sign that spring is certainly not going anywhere! I haven't gone up to the land yet, but I cannot wait to don my Wellies and Tilly hat and get down and dirty in the garden! My sweetie and I had three Easter dinners to attend this year and they were all lovely! Roast duck with Kev's family, ham at my Grandparents and roast turkey at my parent's. Yum, yum, yum! Speaking of good eating, Kev and I just celebrated our two year anniversary for the last couple of days in Niagara-on-the-Lake. I love the Niagara region. Oh, the wine! Aren't we all so lucky to live to close to one of Canada's finest wine making regions?! Although our trip was cut short due to strong winds and power outages (we had just ordered brekkie at Escabeche in the Prince of Wales Hotel, when the power went out!!), our night away was lovely and filled with great food and drink! And speaking of the Prince of Wales, we must discuss his Son, William! The royal wedding of William and Kate is on and I am so excited! Wills and Harry just showed up at the Abbey. To celebrate, I am drinking tea and eating a homemade scone. I made them yesterday evening and I used my Mum's recipe. They are delicious!

Simple and Tasty Recipe:

Royal Wedding Scones
(makes 6 large or 12 small)

2 cups all-purpose flour
5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp cold butter, cubed
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup dried fruit (raisins, currants, cranberries, etc.)
1/2 cup milk, approx
1 egg, beaten

.preheat oven to 425 degrees
.sift flour, baking powder and slat into a large bowl
.rub in the butter until crumbly, stir in sugar (and dried fruit, if using...)
.pour in the milk and stir until just mixed into a soft dough (you might need a bit more milk)
.turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead 5 to 6 times
.roll out until 2 cm thick and cut out 5 cm rounds, reshape leftover dough and cut rounds until the dough is used up, brush scones with beaten egg
.place on a parchment lined tray, bake for 10 to 12 mins until golden brown, cool on tray or on rack, enjoy!

Now, as you can see by my photos, I did not cut out the scones, but rather I scooped them with my ice cream scoop. This is the way I used to do them while working at 'All the Best Fine Foods' in Toronto and it is a very quick method to use. Instead of turning the dough out to knead on the counter, simply scoop straight from the bowl onto your lined tray and brush with the egg. If you like, you can also sprinkle sugar on top that this point. Yum! I am enjoying my scones with Kevin's Mum's strawberry preserves. So, so good! I think my next one will be toasted with butter... Why not?! It's a special occasion! Alrighty everyone, I hope you don't mind my crazed blog, I am typing super fast so I don't miss anything! Enjoy the wedding, my loyal followers! I can't wait to see the dress!!! Ahh!

Bacon and Old Cheddar Biscuits

"Mmm... Bacon." Homer Simpson

Hello followers! Hasn't the weather been lovely?!
Ah, spring has sprung and I hope you have all gotten outside to feel the warm sun and fresh air! My fiance (ahh, so happy!), Kevin and I went for a hike the other day out at a place called Limehouse and we had a great time! Birds happily chirping, squirrels running a muck and frogs in the pond peeping up a storm! They were so loud, that from a distance, I thought car alarms were going off! My Dad managed to get up to our 10 acres in Norfolk County to spray our fruit trees with dormant oil. This oil based spray is a great non-toxic treatment that is safe for the environment, which we find very important! Oh man, I can't wait to get up there myself! I've had the windows open all week and am anxiously waiting for the daffodils outside of our living room window to bloom. Come on little dudes, you can do it! Oh and believe it or not, I also did some baking! That's right, my Achilles heel, baking... I have always said that it takes a special person to become a pastry Chef and unfortunately, it's not me. I just don't have the patience, but I am trying to change that! So, on Wednesday afternoon, I got down to business. I knew a simple biscuit recipe would do just fine and I knew we had some bacon in the fridge (have I ever mentioned how much I love bacon?!), but I needed something else... Cheddar cheese and scallions ended up doing the trick! No muss, no fuss and talk about tasty!

Simple and Tasty Recipe:

Bacon and Old Cheddar Biscuits
(makes about 15)

2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup butter, chilled
3 to 4 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
1 cup old Cheddar cheese
1to 2 scallions, finely chopped
1 cup milk

.preheat oven to 425
.in a large bowl combine flour and baking powder
.add in the butter and either cut it in with a pastry cutter, two knives or quickly use your fingers to break up the butter into pea size pieces
.stir in the bacon, cheese and scallions
.make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in the milk, stir with a fork until just mixed
.turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, knead 8 to 10 times, roll out the dough until it is about 2cm thick
.cut out desired shapes and place the pieces on a parchment lined tray
.bake for 12 to 15 minutes until tops and bottoms are browned, serve warm with butter, enjoy!

Yum is a all I can say! These bacon and Cheddar treats are so darn good, I am tempted to make them again on Sunday for brunch! Of course, you don't have to use bacon, Cheddar or scallions. Feel free to mix it up. So, even though it's supposed to rain this weekend (come on, it's a good thing!), let's all get outside and enjoy our new season! I'm not sure what Kev and I are up to yet, but I will make sure to tell you all about it next week! Heck, maybe I'll even do some more baking! Ha! Till then, my happy, spring lovin' followers! Have a great weekend!
 

'Happy 1st Blogoversary!!!' Ontario Asparagus Tart, Roast Chicken with Lemon and Thyme, Upside Down Ontario Rhubarb and Strawberry Cake

Photograph from my first blog, April 3 2010 (taken by me!)

Yes followers, that's right! 'Twas one year ago today I published my first blog! Now, here we are, 128 posts, 107 recipes written, food styled and photographed , over 6500 views and 22 followers later! Yee ha!!! A part of me can't believe that I actually did it! Last spring, when I left my job in Toronto to go freelance in Georgetown and start up my blog, my former coworkers thought I was joking. They didn't think that I was serious about blogging and to tell you the truth, I wasn't sure myself! I had a romantic vision of working the land up at my parents 10 acres in Norfolk County, exploring the local food scene in my new surroundings, making and enjoying wonderful food and spending more time with family and friends. Well, one year later, I am happy to say that I was able to accomplish all this and much more! I am proud of myself for getting the chance to develop my own recipes, food style and photograph them for the 'Sideroads of Halton Hills' magazine (showcased today with 3 recipes, just click on the recipe for it to enlarge!) and I have now become a member of both the 'Canadian Food Bloggers Association' and 'foodblogs' (both badges with links are to the right). My favourite 'gadget' that I've added to my blog is the world map at the bottom of the page that tracks my views internationally! How cool is that?!
This past year has certainly had it's number of ups and downs. The unfortunate losses of Kevin's courageous Mother Sandy Patey and my family's beloved dog Libby were definite the lowest points. We all miss them so very much, every single day. As for the ups, this past year has brought my handsome nephew Evan James Visheau into the world and my recent engagement to my sweetie Kevin! If I have learned anything from these experiences, it's that life is truly bittersweet. I really hope that the year to come will be a great one for all of us...
As for my blog, I can tell you all that my mind is chock full of culinary adventures that I am just itching to begin (trying out cheese making and doing more baking are definitely on my list!). So, my loyal followers, thank you! Thank you for reading my silly little blog and being the reason why I continue! Thank you for your requests and for your comments, and please, please keep em' coming!! I love blogging and I love that you are all along for the ride! So, as I sit here in Georgetown, beef stock simmering on the stove and spring flowers in the garden almost ready to blossom, I look forward to what's yet to come. Good bye for now my followers and make sure to come back next week to find out where our next culinary adventure takes us! Ha!

Ontario Asparagus Tart with Ricotta, Parmesan and Prosciutto

Roast Chicken with Lemon and Thyme

Upside down Ontario Rhubarb and Strawberry Cake

Cornbread

"A job well done!"

Hello followers! Wow, April already... Let's hope the good weather comes along with it!
So, today I am going to talk a bit about the Spring Cottage Life Show that happened last weekend at the International Centre in Mississauga. There, I did cooking demonstrations with cookbook author Jane Rodmell. As usual, we had a great time! All in all, I 'd say there were about 10 different people doing cooking demos over the 3 days, ranging anywhere from mussels to hamburgers to chicken wings! Definitely a great selection of cottage friendly fare. Jane was asked to demo two of her recipes, one from Cottage Life magazine and the other from her latest cookbook 'All the Best Recipes.' She decided that we would do an easy Thai style soup and super easy mini cornbread muffins. Now, I must admit (and I'm sure that some of you remember me saying...), that I really don't bake... Sure, we all learned the basic skills at Chef school and I can do it if need be, but I lack the practise to consider myself an expert. But, let me tell yah, this cornbread recipe is SO easy to make and is so tasty, that I can see myself making this quite often! Yum, yum!!

 Simple and Tasty Recipe:

 Cornbread
(makes 1x 23 cm or 9 inch square pan, or about 6 dozen minis)

1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup butter, melted and cooled

.preheat oven to 400 degrees
.in a bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, set aside
.in a large bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk and melted butter
.add flour mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon until just blended, do not over mix
. spread batter in the greased and lined square pan, bake for 25 to 30 mins
or
.place heaping teaspoons of batter into greased mini muffin tins, bake for about 18 mins until firm and edges are browned, enjoy!

I told you it was easy!! Now, just about anything can be added to the batter to switch it up a bit! Add a cup of grated cheese, chopped scallion, fresh coriander, salsa, jalapeno peppers, corn kernels, black beans, etc.! Toss in a teaspoon or so of chili powder or cumin. Serve it with breakfast, chili or grill up a slice or two when you're having a BBQ. Or, you can add whatever toppin's you want to make the minis into perfect party bites (pictured above)! Turn this recipe into a sweet treat by adding a cup of fruit (we added blueberries during the demo), and sprinkle the top with some sugar before you bake it! Yum, yum, yum!
Alrighty followers, have a great weekend and get outside! Next week is a special event for my blog, so make sure you come back to find out what it is! Yay! Bye for now!

Here's a link to the other recipes that were demonstrated during the show, including Jane's Thai soup:
http://cottagefeast.cottagelife.com/2011/03/29/spring-cottage-life-show-recipes/