Rach-

Hello! You must be on the home stretch of your teaching contract. I still have to make it to the store in search of buckwheat flour to make your new bread. I have left you some questions that also need to be addressed. Otherwise, I predict an emergency call in the middle of the bread-making process.

Which reminds me, I meant to tell you that my grape jelly actually does have some 'jell' to it. Do you remember last September when I called you frantically for jelly-making advice? Who knew that instruction reading and timing was so critical in the making of jelly? And who knew that 'interpretation' of a jelly recipe isn't a great idea? A few months in the freezer passed before I was able to bring myself to actually open a jar. Angels were singing the hallelujah chorus on my shoulder after I dipped a spoon in and actually met with something slightly jiggly.

Where was I? Oh yes, buckwheat- Going to the store these days is something that happens more infrequently then it used to. My little assistant chef is much better at food production and consumption than resisting the beautiful, shiny packaging at the supermarket. Despite a 'grocery shopping-with-Mommy-ban,' in the kitchen we are a team. Finn's culinary skills are becoming honed. He now asks me about finding recipes, pores over the pages of my cookbooks in search of the prettiest cookies, and has become a top-notch egg cracker. Any breakdown in this team concept he comes by honestly - like his mother he has a penchant for a sweet, buttery dough. Despite promises of bowl licking, delayed gratification is an elusive comment for a two and a half year old, and I frequently catch the little monkey with his finger in the batter.

Notice that while I have devoted a good paragraph to Finn and his foodie ways, I managed to restrain myself from actually posting pics of my children. This was difficult. It's just that they are so sweet. In 2-D photography anyway. In real life the sweetness-level is on a vastly sliding scale- Finn no longer has a light bulb in his room, and has a child-lock on the inside of his door. Coby, however, isn't old enough to be naughty yet - and now that she is starting to realize that sleep is good, it's all I can do not to nibble those cute little ears- she's so delish.

Last week I made your Six Minute Cake. It was fabulous - and while I didn't clock it I felt that the preparation time took pretty close to the promised 6. I also made the No Knead Bread. It was great, but I wasn't sure whether to take insult or pleasure when Mike's review came in- "This bread is awesome - it must be from the store."

My latest offering comes as a result of this store-avoidance and plays upon an effort to make do with my fridge and pantry offerings. A half tub of ricotta sat waiting for some loving. Combined with some neglected stalks of broccoli we had a great meal.

Broccoli-Cheese Crepes

First I took advantage of my sleeping beauties and made the crepes during nap time. You can use your favourite crepe recipe - I did half wheat flour and half white. It's odd, but in crepes I really don't notice the whole wheat- likely because I tend to eat them slathered with something sweet. I used a cup and a half of flour which made 10 crepes. I could only use 9 because for some inexplicable reason Finn put a not-so-fresh wash cloth on one of them.

Next came the filling. I sauteed over a low, long heat a finely chopped red onion and 1 clove of garlic. I chopped up, again fairly fine, the equivalent of about 2 cups of broccoli. I steamed this in the microwave, drained and let this cool before combining the broccoli with the onion/garlic combo and the half tub of ricotta (250 g).

Cheese sauce. I made a bechamel sauce (1 T butter, 1 T flour, 2 cups milk, salt & pepper) and added maybe half a cup of old cheddar. I spread just enough to cover the bottom of a 9 by 13 dish and then got to the business of filling my pretties.

I put a little blob of the ricotta-broccoli mixture on each crepe so that I knew that I would have even filling distribution, and then rolled them up, placing them all nice and snug in the dish. I ladled the remainder of the sauce on top, sprinkled with some more cheese and put them into a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

Oh, they tasted fabulous. Combined with a salad this was a great meal. It sounds pretty fiddly, and I guess it was, but because I did it in a few steps it didn't feel like it took that long. Another nice thing is you can make this earlier in the day. I think spinach would be a great replacement for the broccoli.

I will call you soon - I feel like we haven't talked for an age - Mom and Dad gave rave reviews about Caleb's latest show. I'm hoping that it's still up in the first week of February? Can't wait to see his Cathedral Grove Pics!

H

Buckwheat Bread

H-

(Sorry, no picture. My computer hates me)

Classic on your last post, slipping in a picture of Coby beside the salad. Mutually related? Uncertain. Did she partake of the salad? Doubtful. Make the salad? Improbable. But she's dang cute.

This is a new bread recipe I wanted to share with you. Have you been baking bread? I'm quite excited about baking more bread in two weeks when I'm finished my job. I have all kinds of ideas floating around in my brain for different combination of ingredients. I want to make a yeast-risen banana bread, with coconut milk. Stay posted. Anyways, this is a buckwheat recipe I dreamed up. Don't try to up the amount of buckwheat (I well know your habit of jimmying with a recipe). The ratio is just right. Particularly as buckwheat is without gluten and actually inhibits your dough from rising. In this bread, it dominates the flavour, while the bread remains light. Anyhooo, please try it!

Buckwheat Bread a la Reems

1 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup bran or wheat germ
1 package instant yeast (2 and 1/4 tsp)
1 cup warm water (110-120)

2 Tbsp instant coffee dissolved in a little water
2 Tbsp melted butter
3 Tbsp honey
1/2 cup yogurt
1 egg

3 cups unbleached flour
2 Tbsp flax seed
1 Tbsp salt
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

Combine: buckwheat, 1/2 cup flour, bran, yeast, and water

Add: wet ingredients and mix

Add: 1/2 cup flour, salt, flax, pumpkin seeds and mix

Add remaining flour 1/2 a cup at a time, beating smooth after each addition.

Knead 5-8 minutes. Dough will be tacky. Add flour by the tablespoon if necessary.

First Rise: 1 and a half to 2 hours (until doubled).

Shape into two rounds (I used clay bakeware but next best is rounds on a cookie sheet). Place on a greased cookie sheet and let rise, covered, for 1 hour (or until doubled).

Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

Salad Awesomeness

Rach-

I'm still in that post-holiday, nibbling away at my chocolate letter mode. Even me, of the sweetest tooth, can get sugar-overload. So to start the New Year off right I needed to open the crisper and pull out the veggies!

Ever since we shared the Rebar salad with basil vinaigrette, I have been itching to make the dressing. I'm often reluctant to go beyond a side-salad at a restaurant, but oh, with your learned guidance I was in salad nirvana. I thought that I was going to have to do some experimenting to get my take on the vinaigrette perfected, but happily, the Rebar folk have provided the recipe in their cookbook.

I know that you have the book, but here is the recipe-

Rebar's Basil Vinaigrette

Combine in a food processor-

2 cloves minced garlic
1 1/2 T dijon mustard
2T honey
1 T balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 bunch basil (45 grams - I used a 30 gram bunch)
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

Add slowly to processor- 1 cup olive oil.

Voila. Store in fridge for up to a week.

Happy new year, say hi to C for me!

P.S. You have the sweetest niece.

Dearest H.,

I come with humblest apologies for my seemingly MIA in blog land. While I have strayed, my heart has remained true to Reems Eats. Let it be known that in my absence, not once did I peruse another Food Blog; not once did I fail to sigh after creating a delicious bit of food and think, what a wonderful post this would be; and not once did I forget the times we've had here, together, in this strange cyber meeting place.

I don't ask you to understand why I left, why I had to go. I only ask for you to take me back, along with this amazing ground-breaking recipe for a skillet eggplant lasagna. All this could be yours...

Skillet Eggplant Lasagna

I made this in a truly Reems-fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants moment. A dinner date at friends, for Caleb's birthday, was cancelled at the last minute and my fridge was a desolate landscape, inhabited by a mere couple cheeses, some lettuce, an eggplant and half a bag of mushrooms (plus the other usual odds and sods). But we had a birthday to celebrate, so with a slap and a dash this new, veggie-heavy noodle-light lasagna was born. You can customize the following recipe to suit whatever is in your fridge.

The Ingredients:

2 pieces of bread (preferably whole wheat)

2Tbsp to 1/4 cup (aprox) walnuts (sub almonds or pecans)

1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese (optional)

A medium-sized eggplant, cut into rectangular pieces, about one inch long

a couple handfuls of mushrooms (I think the more mushrooms the better), sliced

two garlic cloves, minced

tomato sauce (a sauce ready for pasta- I use my own canned sauce. Use a pre-made pasta sauce, or make one using canned tomatoes-- saute garlic and onions, add tomatoes, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar and simmer for 30-60 mins)

Dried or fresh lasagna noodles

1/4-1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup cheddar or mozzarella cheese

basil (optional)

The Work:

Roast or saute the vegetables. If sauteing, start with the garlic and add the eggplant, then as it softens, throw in the mushrooms and cook until they've released their juices and softened.

Mulch bread, nuts, and Parmesan cheese in the food processor. Taste and add salt and pepper or additional nuts if necessary.

Assemble your creation in a 10-12 inch skillet or a corning ware (any oven-proof dish will do). Cover the bottom of the dish with tomato sauce.

Spread a layer of vegetables on top (use half the veggies). Shake half of the bread/nut mixture on top of the veggie layer. Dot with ricotta cheese. It doesn't need to be covered with the ricotta, just as long as you've got blobs spread out evenly on top of the veggies.

Top with one layer of pasta noodles. This will be your only pasta layer. Top with a generous layer of sauce. If you are using dried noodles, or fresh, for that matter, you don't need to precook them if you use a generous portion of sauce. The noodles will cook in the sauce in the oven.

Top with remaining vegetables. Top with remaining bread/nut mixture. Cover with a sparing layer of mozzarella cheese. If you like, artfully dot any remaining ricotta on the top of the lasagna and sprinkle it with chopped basil.

Bake at 375 for 45 min or until the lasagna is hot and bubbling.

Biscotti Bake-a-thon Begins-

R-

sorry about the lower case type. i'm becoming adept at typing one-handed. babe snuggled up close in one arm, laptop literally atop my lap. anyway, i hope that all is well. i'm glad to have verified that you are alive in person, only missing in the blogosphere. after my jaunt to victoria i have some culinary highlights to reflect on-

1- the rebar. best food ever. i need to recreate that basil salad dressing. and the vegetarian fajitas. and the coconut cream pie. and the mousse cake. and the peanut butter cheesecake.. is there a reason why the baby-weight is coming off so slowly?

2-your french press coffee. given my chronically sleep-deprived state coffee is an important part of my day, and yours was top notch.

3-Joan's after-church tuna melts. mike has our house under a tuna ban so I love a clandestine tuna engagement.

OK, babe is in bed and I'm back to the world of two-handed typing. So today began my festive season of biscotti-baking. Now as you know, December is reserved for cranberry-almond-white chocolate-dipped biscotti. I haven't done the ceremonial chocolate-dipping yet, but that will come. I need to reserve that portion of the biscotti production line for when my greedy sous-chef is out with daddy.

I know that I shouldn't bother giving you this recipe, since you will be perfectly content waiting until Christmas for your batch. You can't say that I'm not concerned of the happiness of a most-beloved sister (just finished my annual re-reading of Pride and Prejudice)-

Cranberry-Almond Biscotti - as adapted from the One Smart Cookie

Cream:
2 T soft butter
2/3 cup sugar
Add:
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Stir in pre-sifted dry ingredients:
2 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt
and stir in 2/3 cup dried cranberries and 1/2 cup chopped or slivered almonds

The dough will be very stiff, I usually finish off with a hand-mixing to get everything combined.

Now for the shaping and baking portion of your biscotti-bake off-

1) Shape your dough into a flat log - - maybe 14" long by about 4" wide. If you like smaller biscotti go longer and skinnier.

2) Bake for 30 min at 350 degrees.

3) Remove from oven. After a few minutes remove carefully - today I used two dutch cheese cutters as my spatulas. Let cool on a rack for about 15 min or so.

4) Transfer your log to a cutting board, and on the diagonal, cut your cookie "loaf" into 1/2" slices.

5)Important!! Do not skip this step!! Next, as the baker eat the leftover loaf ends (Rach, our Reems terminology would dictate this as the "cuppy.." As I typed this I became curious if this had a legitimate source or was a Reems-original, A la google I discovered that the Dutch term for the end of a loaf of bread is the "kapje, leading to our usage of the word cuppy")

5) Bake these biscotti beauties again at 275 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove. If you like them really crisp bake on each side for 15 minutes each. I like them not rock-solid and stand them on their base (see the way the biscotti is standing in the pic) for one 15 min stint.

For everyday biscotti you can leave it at that. To kick it up a notch you can dip one end in melted white chocolate. I melt white chocolate in the microwave.

There you have it.

I'll see you again Wednesday! Give C a birthday hug for me tomorrow.

Sending out an S-O-S

So Rach- WHERE ARE YOU? Seriously, everyday I log onto my laptop, hoping to see a delicious recipe for yet another inspiring creation, but alas, nothing. I do realize that you are a busy high-school English teacher, with classrooms of young adolescent crushes to fend off, while my days lately are fairly routine. You know how it is, time spent sitting on the bathroom floor next to the potty, or having impromptu dance-parties with a two-year old. Another sizable portion of my days is devoted to food production - whether baking with Finn, preparing nutritious meals for myself and the busy toddler, or sustaining a two-month old with "mommy milk" (sorry if this is too graphic). So every now and then it's nice to take a break from the usual breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack routine and venture into the fun and exciting world of grown-up food - appetizers!

We had some friends over on Saturday night and I was excited to pull out an old faithful sweet appy concoction. It's my firm belief that between the hot spinach dip and the crock of mini meatballs there needs to be something sweet and definitely over-the-top. This apple dip tastes amazing, looks fabulous and is ready in minutes. Only assembly is required.

On a round platter or plate assemble your layers-

Layer 1- Spread 1 package of softened cream cheese in a round circle (I use light). You can use spreadable cream cheese or a block for this.

Layer 2- Top with caramel spread. This is different than caramel sauce or syrup and is found next to the peanut butter in your grocery store.

Layer 3- Sprinkle with chopped-up chocolate bars. I was introduced to this with broken-up Skor bars, but mix it up sometimes. On Saturday I used up leftover mini-Snickers from the Halloween stash.

Finally, slice up apples for dipping I wait to do this until right before the party, and still toss the apples in a bit of lemon juice to prevent browning. I insist that you put the apple slices in a circle around your dip.

It's that easy. Take this to a Christmas party and everyone will love you.

OK, please let me know that you're alive. I might have to come to Victoria to find you. On Wednesday. On the 5:00 ferry. Good times!

Roasted Veggies and Feta

Hey Rach-

It's been a busy week- first a trip to Calgary, and then off to the Okanogan with the Cobster for a girls weekend. I have to say, traveling with a 2 year-old and a 7-week babe isn't for the faint of heart. Your darling nephew staged quite a wailing protest as we dragged him from the play area at the Calgary airport. However, we had great visits with friends, and I had a confirmation that Chilliwack now feels like home. My next trip is to Victoria in only 10 days - Donna's birthday weekend coincides with her favourite Grandmother activity - the Sidney Santa Clause parade. So we're hopping the ferry and coming to see you. I'm hoping for some sister hang-outs; I was actually thinking that another girls' night to the Rebar would be fun. Which reminds me, I finally tried the Rebar cookbook's peanut butter-chocolate chunk squares that we have been speculating about. They were good, but I wouldn't quite elevate them to the super category.

Heather, our faithful reader, has requested some seasonal recipes. My old Crazy Plates standby came to mind. Have I made you the Garden of Eaten' before? It's a medley of roasted veggies tossed with balsamic vinegar and feta cheese. I use the recipe pretty loosely, using up the veg in my crisper and adding herbs as I am inspired. I play up the seasonal veggies; in the fall I add squash, or even halved brussel sprouts. I'm going to list the vegetables that I used last week when I made this, I also like to use zucchini, mushrooms, yams, other coloured peppers.. anything that would taste good roasted.

Roasted Veggies with Feta (adapted from Crazy Plates)

Dice veggies (these are suggestions only)-
4 yukon gold potatoes
1/2 acorn (or other) squash
2 carrots
1 red onion
1 red pepper (yellow or orange)
2 cloves minced garlic

Toss with 1 T olive (or canola) oil, salt, pepper & 1 tsp oregano

Roast at 400 degrees for aprox 40 min or until potatoes are tender.

Toss with 2 T balsamic vinegar& 1/2 c crumbled feta.

Voila!

OK, I have a book to finish. We'll talk soon!