Dessert By Candy

Uncharacteristic

Yesterday was Mother’s Day and my Facebook feed overwhelmed with gratitude and love for mothers everywhere. It was a tough day for me. Even though it’s been over a decade since she left, the sadness is only buried deeper but never forgotten. I thought of going to the mausoleum but did not want to face the quiet stillness inside the building. I avoided any places that serve brunch because they were packed with families celebrating mothers of every generation. I went skating first thing in the morning, just like any typical Sunday. I stopped for drinks at a cafe on my way home and went grocery shopping. I spent my whole weekend cleaning the house top to bottom, just the way she liked it. I also cooked a steak dinner for Sunday night. Absolutely uncharacteristic of me but steak was her favourite special occasion splurge. If she is here with me, this is exactly the dinner I would cook to indulge her on this special day.

Mother's Day Steak Dinner

Pan Seared Bison Medallion crusted with Montreal Steak Spice

Crimini Mushroom Shallot Gravy

Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potato

Sautéed Sugar Snap Peas

Chocolate Chips Banana Cake

Close Call

Today I want to tell you the story of a lasagna Bolognese that did not came to be. A few weekends ago, I made a big batch of ragu alla Bolognese on a quiet Saturday afternoon. I loosely followed the recipe on Fine Cooking. It was a simmering haven of comfort from the minute the onion hit the pot to the moment I greedily slurped the last strand of tagliatelle coated with sauce.

The great thing about ragu is leftover. It would be a pity if you’re only making enough for one meal since the time and effort are the same. The meaty taste of grass-fed beef and the sweetness of carrot, onion, celery meld together into something magical after hours of simmering. After a satisfying dinner of fresh tagliatelle tossed in ragu, I packed away three containers of leftover sauce to the freezer. I told Little Brother to help himself to the leftovers in case he wanted to take home some quick meal options for weekdays.

Dinner. 15 Minutes. Go!

Main course salad is a mainstay of my diet especially on warmer days. It was more than a little disappointing that in just one week we enjoyed mild days of 20C before plummeted back to below freezing with added snow. It felt like adding insult to injury after the harsh winter we endured. No matter. I had my heart set on spring and I made it happen on my dinner plate.

Lucky for me, I was in no shortage of great ingredients that evoke memories of sultry evenings. Last Friday I went to Whole Foods with much anticipation. It was their annual one day sale on champagne mangoes. $9 for a case of 16 large juicy mangoes! I bought a case with a mix of both ripe and under-ripe ones, some for eating out of hand and others for green mango salad. An abundance of tropical fruit in April felt like an affordable luxury.

I created a kale green mango salad with toasted tempeh for dinner earlier this week. Without the smidgen of fish sauce I added to the peanut lime dressing, this is a vegan main source salad high on flavour and dense in nutrients. Did I also mention it was made in 15 minutes flat?

Lighten Up

When the temperature climbs, I turn to lighter dishes. While my dinner can lighten up, I wish I can do the same with my mood. This week I’m finally making real progress on clearing those pesky concussion symptoms. Feeling “normal” is very much underrated until you can no longer take it for granted. One thing that I learned from previous concussion recoveries is that getting upset, especially crying, is horrible for healing. Unfortunately, a common symptom for concussion is depression. Put the two together and you can see the vicious cycle that feeds itself. As luck would have it, similar to my experience in 2012, I once again have to deal with break up and concussion recovery at the same time. I spend a ridiculous amount of time trying to detach myself from emotions even though I have endless amount of tears to shed. It’s almost a comical situation if I am not so sad about it all.

Without training nor a significant other, I have a lot of free time on weekends. I keep myself occupied with boring repetitive tasks in the kitchen. Last Saturday, I spent hours cutting up huge amounts of green papaya, cucumbers, carrots, daikons, and Vietnamese sausage into skinny matchsticks. They are the building blocks for summer rolls and green papaya salad. Exactly how much cutting and chopping did I do? Well, I had enough rolls and salads for 6 dinners. Ridiculous. No wonder my hand was sore from holding the knife for so long.

Family Dinner

Let’s take a break from caramel and chocolate for something more earnest. As much as my name would suggest otherwise, I cannot live on candies alone. I had an extraordinarily relaxing weekend and back on my low cognitive stimulation rest regiment. It is a setback but such is the nature of recovery, I suppose. Exercising is temporarily out of the question so I take this opportunity to tackle some cooking projects. Nothing terribly challenging but time-consuming tasks were much welcomed. I wanted to keep my hands busy and my head empty.

Two light yet comforting family dinners were the outcome of my weekend mandate. I have little love for making pie dough, much less by hand. Yet, without any looming deadline, it seemed like an appropriate way to spend the time on Saturday…especially knowing that my effort went towards a flakey Zucchini Ricotta Galette (recipe online at smitten kitchen). It had been a while since I last enjoyed any savoury galettes at home and I looked forward to reacquainting myself.

Kale Salmon Farro Salad

Sunday family dinner can be inspiring as a successful result of pantry diving. Lately I am not motivated to tackle any complicated cooking projects even for the weekends. When Sunday 5pm rolls around, I panic a little trying to figure out what to serve. Luckily I found a new staple that bailed me out of trouble the last few weeks: prewashed chopped rainbow kale! The clamshell box looks similar to most salad greens but it offers so much more. You don’t need me to extol the nutritious virtue of kale. What I can tell you is its versatility.

Eaten straight out of the box, I can’t say I’m a fan. The pieces are too large, too unwieldy for a fork. Mature kale doesn’t have the tenderness of most salad greens I’m used to. Munching on them makes me feel like a grazing cow. The magic happens once I shred them into tiny pieces with my trusty food processor. The shredded dark green leaves hold up well in the fridge even after tossed with salad dressing. In fact, they wilt just enough to be flavourful and easier on the teeth. Similar to cooked grains, they add so much bulk to whatever salad I make too. But unlike grains, shredded kale contribute mega vitamins without mega calories. There is so much to love.

Sausage Fingerling Potato Salad with Peas

For the first time since I started writing at Dessert By Candy, I have a whole week of recipes lined up. I did not spend the whole weekend slaving away in the kitchen. Quite the contrary, in fact. With a water heater repair appointment on Saturday and racing the Chilly Half Marathon on Sunday, I did my best to avoid the kitchen all weekend. Hot water is now flowing from the tap and I notched another sub-1:50 running race in my belt. Can’t say I am dissatisfied with my weekend activities.

I changed my mind a million times about racing the Chilly Half. It is my traditional mid-winter fitness test and the result helps me gauge my current fitness level. Running is one of the toughest cardio activities and there is no faking. After losing two months of off-season training from ankle surgery recovery, I knew that my training is behind schedule. I honestly do not need to pay almost a hundred dollars in registration fee and drive over an hour to a miserable cold race in order to find out that I am not as fit as I normally am. However, I had been running well the last two weeks in training. Racing in Burlington also gave me a valid excuse to skip indoor skating practice on Sunday. I signed up at the eleventh hour as the last online registration entry. I did not realize the ridiculousness of my action until I tell my friends “I am running a half marathon on Sunday at –13C temperature so I will not see my ex at practice. Hurts too much.”. You gotta do what you gotta do, you know? (and that includes a post-race selfie, of course)

On Saturday, I quickly prepared a couple of substantial salads for weekend dinners. I wanted nourishing food for pre-race and post-race dinner. The salads must hold well in the fridge over the weekend. I cannot think of easier alternatives. Seriously, putting dinner on the table took less than one minute. Take salads out of fridge. Set bowls and cutleries on table. Eat.

Snow Day Cooking

Many of us in the Northeast got slammed with more snow on Wednesday. Winter 2014 lives up to its promise of a good old fashioned Canadian winter with frigid temperature and more snow than we care for. I worked from home to avoid messy traffic. It was a bonus that I got to stay close to my kitchen all day long so I took the opportunity to bake bread. It doesn’t take up much time nor attention but I do need to stay close to the rising dough. That was my recess activity on Wednesday.

I surveyed my fridge and pantry. An opened jar of sundried tomato in olive oil, a small handful of black olives, a bit of thyme, and some grated cheddar cheese. I recalled a Dan Lepard recipe for sundried tomato loaf. He called it absolutely delicious but also loathed by artisanal bakers. I had to smile…absolutely true! And often overpriced to boot! Baking from home can be economical and it is the case here.

Double Dipper

Table manner is a big deal at my family. My parents taught us to use cutlery at an early age. I recall lessons on setting dinner table with multiple forks and knives and spoons for each guest  so we would not be clueless at restaurants. Chopsticks are the everyday utensils and heaven forbid if we could not use them properly. Dexterity and accuracy are basic minimums. We must be able to hold them correctly so the two sticks never cross and can move independently of each other. No reaching over at the table. Only pick up the nearest piece of meat or vegetable even if there’s a meatier or better-looking morsel further out. There is a saying that goes a child’s table manner is a reflection on parenting. My Mom definitely took it to heart.

Needless to say, double dipping is frown upon. Cutlery or not, contaminating a dish with saliva is simply unthinkable.

I relax a bit after many years of living on my own and come to appreciate the necessity of double dipping under the right circumstances. That means when I am dining solo and not sharing my food. Last night Little Brother and I got into the spirit of Super Bowl and had nachos for dinner. First, we must get around the issue of double dipping.

A Decade In The Making

Family dinner on Lunar New Year’s Eve holds a special meaning to Chinese. It signifies the unity of family and kicks off days of celebration. Growing up in Hong Kong, the dinner required extensive scheduling effort between all my extended family members but the occasion held such high priority that I don’t recall anyone missing out even once. Unfortunately, it is also a tradition that I neglected in over a decade despite my very small immediate family.

My decision to host the new year’s eve dinner was spontaneous. Last week, I casually mentioned the idea to Dad and Little Brother. To my great surprise, everyone agreed to sit down together for dinner on Sunday. I immediately started planning out my menu. Obviously I could not incorporate all the traditional courses. After all, there would only be three of us. No need to drop by John’s Chinese BBQ for whole chicken. No room in our stomachs for steamed whole fish which symbolizes surplus. Here is my minimalist menu for three.

Minimalist Lunar New Year’s Eve Dinner

Chicken Soup In A Pot with Homemade Wontons and Baby Bokchoi

砂鍋雲吞雞湯

Braised Black Moss with Dried Oysters, Shiitake Mushrooms, Dried Scallops over Gailan

蠔豉髮菜炆冬菇

Soy Sauce Marinated Platter

鹵水拼盆

Glutinous Fried Rice with Cured Meat

生炒糯米飯

Coconut Pudding with Azuki Beans

椰汁紅豆糕