I discovered these delicious apple treats a few months ago and since then, they’ve been a regular occurence! They take a while to make (a 45 min bake time doesn’t help) but they are more than worth the effort. The filling and sauce are really easy to play with so if you don’t have walnuts you can add your other favourites like raisins, peanuts, etc.

Dough:
3 c flour
1 ½ tsp salt
1 c peanut oil
½ c water

6 apples, peeled and cored (smaller ones work better)

filling:
1 tbsp cinnamon
½ c sugar
¾ c walnuts
3 tbsp margarine

caramel sauce:
1 c sugar
1½ – 2 c water
3 tbsp margarine
½ tsp cinnamon
splash vanilla
corn starch/flour (to thicken, if necessary)

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Add peanut oil and water, mix thoroughly. Press dough into a smooth ball and flatten slightly. Divide dough in half, so it’s easier to work with, and roll out to 1/8 inch thick sheets. Cut into 7 inch squares.

Mix sugar, cinnamon and nuts to make filling. Place an apple on each dough square and fill its core with the sugar mixture. Fold the pastry up around the apple, dotting the dough with margarine if it needs help sticking.

Bake in oven for 40-45 minutes, until pastry is golden brown. While dumplings are baking, combine all sauce ingredients except flour in a small pot and bring to a boil. Boil until reduced and thickened; if it needs help add a bit of corn starch or flour by the tsp. Be sure to take a light hand when thickening—too much flour will kill the sauce.

When the dumplings are done, serve in bowls and spoon caramel sauce over them. They can be served with ice cream or whipped cream, but I rarely have that stuff in my house so I eat the dumplings with just the sauce. Really, these things are killer sweet anyway. Pretty sure I don’t need to add the triple threat of ice cream!!

Today I really treated myself to a Mexican-style buffet. Ok, maybe it was a little low on the authenticity meter but it satisfied part of the longing I’ve had for tacos. I was really spoiled by living in San Diego. I miss Roberto’s potato tacos and bean & cheese burritos, potato burritos from Cotixan, Pokez, Rancho’s and tamales, horchata and tonnes of spices at the supermarket. It is probably fortunate for my figure that I now live away from such easy, cheap, lardy takeout.

I have a long list of dishes to try and recreate, but here are the few I made today:
- ground round tacos with avocado, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and bean salsa in a homemade tortilla
- horchata (second try at the recipe, and failed again!)
- sopapillas (deep fried bannocks from New Mexico)
- chocolate rice pudding (from Vegan with a Vengeance)

and with the leftovers from the tacos, plus some refried beans, an egg and sour cream, tomorrow I’ll have huevos rancheros for breakfast!<3<3<3

Tortillas

3 c unbleached flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
4-6 tbsp shortening
1 1/4 ish c warm water

1.) Mix dry ingredients, cut in shortening.
2.) Add warm water slowly, until dough is soft, not sticky. Knead a few minutes. Shape into small balls, let sit 10 minutes or more.
3.) Roll out. Fry on a dry or lightly oiled pan until lightly browned on both sides.

Sopapillas

2 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp shortening
3/4 c warm water/milk (I use half of each)
4 c oil for frying (I use canola or peanut)

1.) Stir together dry ingredients. Cut in shortening. Stir in water, mix until smooth. Cover and let stand 20 minutes.
2.) Knead until stickiness disappears. Roll out to 1/4 – 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 3″ squares and divide in half to make triangles. With a candy thermometer in the pot, heat oil on stove to 375F/190C. Put dough triangles into the hot oil and fry until brown and puffed out on both sides. Drain and serve with honey, jam, butter and sprinkled cinnamon, or as a side to a savoury dish.
3.) Can keep warm in 200F oven for 1 hr. They refrigerate well. Reheat them in 350F oven for 10-15 minutes.

Mexican chocolate rice pudding
1 cup sushi or arborio rice (I used sushi)
1.5 cups water
2 cups soy milk
1/4 c cocoa powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 oz semisweet chocolate
1/3 c maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla

1.) Combine rice, water and 1.5 c soy milk and bring to a boil. Simmer 10 minutes, then add cocoa, cinnamon, chocolate, and 1/2 c soy milk. When combined, add maple syrup and vanilla and stir for five minutes. If it’s too thick, add a bit more soy milk.
2.) Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and cool in fridge for one hour before serving.

These are super easy & a great little morning treat! The recipe makes a 8-12 mini muffins, but I usually end up eating most of them (I can’t help it) so double the recipe if you intend to share with more than one person, or if you want something to nibble on later.

1 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 egg/replacer
2 tbsp maple syrup
2/3 c buttermilk (or milk + 1 tbsp vinegar)
2 tbsp melted butter
1/2 c choc. chips

1.) Preheat oven to 350F.
2.) Combine dry ingredients.
3.) Combine milk, egg, syrup & butter, then add to dry ingredients.
4.) Stir in chocolate chips. Reserve a few to sprinkle on top.
5.) Bake for 8-9 mins. Let cool a moment and serve with maple syrup (if you have a sweet tooth like me) or on their own.

Holiday Baking Whirlwind Status:

- first batch peppermint patties
- pinwheels, plus a second batch if time permits
- german gingerbread dough–will roll out/bake it tomorrow
- pear and cranberry tart dough–will finish it tomorrow
- cranberry sauce
- sugar cookies
- fudge (to send to friends)
- butter tarts
- think up a vegetable side dish to bring to xmas eve dinner
- plus a Tofurky, mashed potatoes + asparagus, but those are easy-peasy

My deadline is Thursday afternoon. Can I do make it, and go see The Road on
Wednesday night?

AHHHHHH

I think it’s about time to take this blog off hold, don’t you? I’ve been in Calgary for a couple months now and it’s going really well. I’ve been doing tonnes of baking and I have some great stuff to share with you. For now, it’s two components to the cookie platters I’m bringing to my family Christmas dinners. My plan is to do butter tarts, peppermint patties, german gingerbread, sugar cookies, chocolate pinwheels, and anything else I can bake up before Friday night. I’m also hoping to fit in a solstice-feast on Tuesday (since G is working till 12 am on Monday) consisting of Tofurky with stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, another side (corn? asparagus?) and a pear-cranberry tart for dessert.

Today I tackled peppermint patties and pinwheels! it’s not quite the feat it seems: I prepared the pinwheel dough yesterday. The recipe is kind of slow, so it’s a good cookie to spread out over a day or two. My camera is kind of going haywire right now, so I will add photos later.

chocolate pinwheels
2 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

1.) In a medium bowl, with a fork, stir the flour with baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter with sugar. Beat in egg, vanilla and juice. Using a wooden spoon, gradually beat in flour mixture just until it can be formed into a ball. Divide dough in half. Place in separate bowls. Sprinkle one with 1/4 c cocoa. Gently ked until dough is an even colour. Divide chocolate and plain doughs in half and wrap the four pieces separately in plastic wrap. Put in the fridge until firm enough to roll out, at least 2 hours.

2.) Place 1 portion of plain dough between 2 pieces of wax paper. Roll into a 6×8 in / 15×20 cm rectangle. Repeat with remaining doughs. Lay one chocolate dough on top of a plain dough. Press down gently. starting at shorter side, tightly roll layers into a log. Repeat with two remaining doughs. Wrap separately in plastic wrap and refridgerate until firm, at least one hour or up to one week.

3.) Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Slice logs into rounds and place on baking sheet 2 in / 5 cm apart. Bake in centre of preheated oven until cookie edges are golden, 8-10 minutes. Remove cookies to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 1 week or freeze up to 1 month.

and now on to some delightful little vegan yummies! These were super easy, so I know you’ll be able to whip up a prettier batch than me very easily. Mine look very…experimental, but they taste great. I know the next batch will look a lot smoother.

peppermint patties
- recipe from new 10th anniversary addition of how it all vegan
centre:
2 c powdered icing sugar
1 tbsp vegan margarine
2 tsp peppermint extract
2 tbsp vegan milk

coating: 1 1/2 tsp vegan marg
4 – 1 oz squares (28 g) unsweetened or semi-sweet chocolate

1.) Line cookie sheet with wax paper. Mix till doughy milk, sugar, marg & peppermint extract.

2.) Spoon out 1 tsp onto sheet or roll onto a surface lightly covered with icing sugar & cut. Freeze on sheet for 15 mins.

3.) Remove from freezer, roll each into a ball shape & gently flatten (if not shaped already). Handle as little as possible to keep from melting. Freeze 15 min more.

4.) While dough is in freezer, over medium heat in a small pot, melt margarine. Add chocolate and melt, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Once melted, set aside to cool a bit. The chocolate mix should have a slightly runny texture so add a bit more margarine if you need to thin it.

5.) Using a dinner fork, lift a patty off the sheet and quickly dip in chocolate until fully covered. Hold over pot for a moment and let excess chocolate drain off through fork tines. Lay on wax paper. Repeat for all.

6.) Let chill one hour in fridge before serving.

(they are going to blow your mind!)

Oh, and before I forget: I made some beautiful pancakes this morning. Eggnog pancakes. For reals. They were so good my eggnog- and pancake-hating husband ate two of them. I even used egg replacer! If you don’t follow the link and make the recipe you are denying yourself a serious treat.

OH MY GOSH.

My life has been an utter whirlwind since I got back to Canada. I started working just a couple days after I got back, and between that, trying to visit with everyone I haven’t seen for years, and having a frustratingly spotty internet connection, I’ve hardly had time to update!

I am so in love with this song–the first one on the video, “something on your mind”

Now I’m living this strange Corner Gas existence–really and truly, some days I feel like I am stuck in that sitcom. It’s been so pleasant to be out of the city, to see the stars at night and to have space for Buzz to run around. It’s not been so pleasant to be stuck in a small town for weeks at a time, though. My mom has been scheduling Greg and I back-to-back so even if one of us isn’t working, the other is. We haven’t been out of town for a couple weeks and it’s so lame. But this weekend is our twenty fifth birthday celebration (mine on Friday, his on Monday) so we’re getting the F out of dodge. We’re headed to Calgary, staying at the swankster Palliser, shopping and looking for a place to live. I can’t wait to get into our own place, as much as I love seeing my mom & other family so often.

It took a few weeks, but finally I feel a little tug on my heart, San Diego pulling me from far away. I always knew I’d be leaving. I moved there knowing it would be temporary (though it lasted two and a half years) and it was very easy to leave. I’d be lying, though, if I said I didn’t miss the sun and the beach and the burritos and the few people I grew to love. Someday I’ll be back in California (it’s in my blood and my heart now) but for now I’m content to be in Canada.

Big fucking surprise: deet is a neurotoxin . Guess I’ll be throwing out that can of super-strength deet jungle juice that I found in the back of the bathroom cabinet yesterday!!

Just add another product to the list of things corporations have sold us that turn out to kill us slowly. Our love of plastics and chemicals is going to be the death of us. No wonder we have a cancer epidemic.

Oh! I think this blog needs a bit more cat-and-dog.

an epic cuddle party

Buzz catching some rays on Fiesta Island last weekend.

Stealing Buzz’s bed to host a cat-themed cuddle party on it.

Pepin’s tentative overtures of friendship. Buzz is trying really hard not to be scared of him.

Oh, scaredy-cat Henry hiding in a towel fort.

I have to get all this stuff done. Memo to myself: stop being so lazy & flopping around everywhere!!

- do the laundry!
- do the dishes!
- Take Buzz for his vaccinations
- make a mini felt turtle
- fashion show @ 6pm!
+ packing & cleaning

AHHHHHHHH

Yesterday was another lovely day. I did a 9 am photoshoot at the ocean (photos to follow), and I think it went really well. I had so much fun doing the shoot and spending a few hours in such a beautiful place lifted my mood. I relaxed with the cats and read in the afternoon, and with my evening I packed a bunch more stuff, baked a couple loaves of bread, and got pad thai takeout for supper.

Today I got up late but I’ve already done a bit of moving-work. All this planning ahead is new for me. I’m usually a procrastination queen so I end up trying to squeeze all the packing/cleaning into the last three or four days before the move. If you have ever done that, you know that it sucks and it’s too stressful and by the end of it you want to kill someone. My move is already going to be stressful, since we are driving 2000 miles over 3 days with our pets and Greg’s parents, and we have to cross a border involving visas and Very Important Paperwork. All of G’s travel documents arrived on Friday, so that is another hurdle passed.

Oh, some cool science news: did you know toucans’ beaks are thermoregulation machines? HELL YES THEY ARE.

Double-cool science news of the day? Humans emit a weak visible light . I love the thought of everything surrounded by a tiny soft glow.