Author: Hilary

Last-minute Thanksgiving dessert: Apple galette

~ Hilary ~ 3 Comments

Okay, so I didn’t technically make this for Thanksgiving dinner, but it is definitely worthy of such an occasion.

And lets be honest, if it’s Sunday afternoon and you’re still not sure what you’re making for Thanksgiving dessert, well this is probably as easy as it gets. So read on. Or just skip to the bottom in case you’re cutting it close for time and just need to see how to get this baby made as fast as possible.

Thus far I’ve made two versions of this apple galette, one of which we will label the first, the other which will hereon in be called version two (creative, huh?). Also, for those of you who don’t know, a galette is basically a freeform cake of sorts, a dessert whose shape relies not on some fancy pie dish. Even better for last minute bakers.

The first galette was made in Toronto last weekend when I went to visit Matt. Since we were going to one of his friend’s house for a food party on Friday night (for the record, Matt’s friend is Brian, and he has a really awesome blog which you should all read and love), I needed to think of something that could be made using Matt’s limited baking supplies (really, no parchment paper?). The answer was this apple galette. I had been planning on making it earlier in the week, but had completely run out of time. And so, I brought the apples to Toronto in hopes of making the dessert there. Backstory with the fruit: I accidentally bought two kilograms instead of two pounds of apples. This was a tragic mistake.

Version two apple galette was made this past Friday night. It was better in every way: the crust was flakier (I actually followed the instructions) and the apples were more cinnamon-y and tossed in a light coating of lemon juice. The addition of some coarse sugar for decorative purposes didn’t hurt either.

Despite one galette being better than the former, both would definitely be passable in the great chaotic mess they call Thanksgiving dinner. This was a baby dessert (it made four medium-sized servings), so plan appropriately. And please god, be thankful for dessert. I sure as hell am.

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A wonderful day: Jane’s wedding

~ Hilary ~ 1 Comment

I can, with 100 per cent certainty, say that this was the most adorable wedding that I will ever attend. I know that I’m young and will likely be attending my fair share of well-decorated, impeccably planned weddings over the next few decades, but none will ever top this one.

No, it wasn’t organized by a wedding planner nor was it an overly-swanky affair, yet Jane and Jake’s wedding a few weekends ago had more romance and love than a glitter-filled, overdone wedding could ever contain.

I first met Jane in the summer after my second year, when I worked as a Summer Orientation leader in Carleton’s Student Experience Office. Over the summer I was lucky enough to share dozens of lunches with her, and quickly found out about her passion for bees, Denmark and mason jars. I also heard about Jake, the man that she had been dating ever since they met working at Black’s Photography when she was in her late teens. I was over the moon when I finally found out they were engaged.

The wedding took place at Jane and Jake’s house, a beautiful cottage hidden away in the Gatineaus. Their ceremony took place beneath the end-of-September fall colours. It was adorable.

They both wore Birkenstocks. This, I love.

Jane, of course, was a very low-key bride and was in no way as demanding as the bridezillas I’ve seen on popular TLC shows. Maybe I have a skewered perception of how a bride-to-be should behave. Regardless, I was pleased to have that stereotype delicately shattered by Jane’s relaxed wedding nature.

Jane and her famous smile, pre-wedding

I think it was the simplicity of everything that made the ceremony so powerful. I thought everything was perfect, from Jane’s beautiful dress to the petite jars of wedding favour honey to the fact that Jane’s bouquet was a stunning collection of golden sunflowers.

Food was also an integral part of the day, and I’m horrified/excited to admit that I witnessed, for the very first time, a giant pig roasting over a crackling fire. There was a Lord of the Flies raw-ness to the scene. Other than the pig roast, there was cumin-flavoured cheese from Holland, a canoe filled with beer and more hamburgers and hotdogs than I’ve ever seen in my life.

There were also my cupcakes that Jane asked me to make. I was honoured when Jane asked me to bake for her, and of course agreed to make as many cupcakes as I could. That turned out to be six dozen, including a dozen mini GF cupcakes for Jane.

Cupcakes: psychedlic, banana with a milk chocolate frosting, chocolate zucchini with a strawberry yogurt icing
This is when I harassed people into letting me take their picture with the cupcakes

Thank heavens my friend (and Jane’s maid-of-honour) Kristina drove me.

What you can't see is that there is ANOTHER tray on the other side of me

I am happy to say there was only one cupcake casualty throughout the entire, 45 minute drive to Jane’s house. It was in the last 100 metres of our journey, and happened when a banana cupcake decided to pull a tumbleweed and roll down onto my lap. Thank heavens the seat belt and my iPhone braced the fall. Hilary: 0, icing on iPhone: 3.

Congratulations again to Jane and Jake. Your wedding was beautiful and I wish you two all the happiness in the world.

Here are some more sights from the afternoon wedding…

Maid-of-honour and good friend Kristina, looking gorgeous
Just when the wedding couldn't get any better, we were told there were s'mores. This one had a Reese's Cup in it.
Another old co-worker, Natalie, and her boyfriend Tyler
This is three seconds from Jane's house. On her property. Woah.

The breakfast-for-dinner, three egg (wannabe) skillet

~ Hilary ~ 6 Comments

As a student, I feel obliged to claim breakfast-for-dinner as one of my favourite things. Living with two roommates who make delicious-looking, healthy pancakes for nearly every meal, I’m frequently reminded of how much I’m craving early-morning food. Late last week, this craving was uncontrollable. I had no choice but to search page upon page of Tastespotting until I found some new fangled breakfast recipe.

Success was achieved in the form of this fantastic chickpea, tomato and roasted red pepper breakfast skillet. Utilizing the exact ingredients I had lying around (including a two-month-old [but still good] jar of roasted red peppers), this meal came together in a flash.

A few lessons learned:
– Parchment paper cannot be broiled. I think I almost lit it on fire.
– Like parchment paper, glass corningware is also not content with being broiled. I ended up cooking this in a wannabe skillet (hence the name), aka a metal pie pan with aluminum foil lining the base.

In other news, broiled eggs are the best thing in the universe. Maybe it’s just me, but eggs that are a little solid on the outside and soft and runny on the inside are just perfect. In fact, I wish I had covered this entire skillet with egg. I will know for next time.

This simple dinner dish ended with sliced avocado and twelve grain toast. A culmination of my favourite things.

And now, a sad excuse…
I’m lacking superb pictures for this meal simply because Mother Nature was conspiring against me. I made this meal one night when the clouds were as dark and ominous and the sun was running off for its early, 6:30 p.m. retreat. To counter this, I brought my skillet out onto the sidewalk to take advantage of the fleeting moments of light.

About two seconds and many awkward passers-by stares later and the sky opened up and the downpour began.

I bolted up the stairs and onto the porch, enjoying my breakfast as the day faded into night.

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A wonderfully perfect, manic Monday meal: Red quinoa with salmon and spinach

~ Hilary ~ 10 Comments

Subtitle: Rekindling my love of quinoa. 

With every blogging slump, there must be a delicious and inspiring dish to get me out of it.

So here we are. A delicious meal. And a simple one too. As in beyond simple. So simple that I felt like I was cheating, in fact. Maybe I was. I used canned salmon. SHHH. Can snobs have no place here – not on a student food blog. I wasn’t even breaking any rules of the Food Bible, since the recipe that I adapted this salad-like meal from requested that very canned delicacy.

Also, it used quinoa. And not only that, but quinoa of the coloured variety. Totally rad.

I still consider myself a sheltered food lover, and had never actually tried canned salmon before tonight. As is, I only tried canned tuna a few weeks ago when I was inspired by some other-worldly forces to try my hand at making a tuna fish sandwich. Yes, I know, you’re rolling your eyes at me like I missed out on some integral part of childhood school lunch making. I couldn’t help it, okay? My mom’s a dietician and I was picky, choosing the standard peanut butter and jam as my sandwich topping of choice between grades one and 12.

Anyways… turns out canned salmon is not disastrously disgusting and is, in fact, really quite good. Cracking open a can rather than using the fresh stuff also meant that I cut at least half an hour off of dinner preparation time. That meant this meal was ready in – get this – 10 MINUTES. A dinner revelation. It was delicious.

I’m going to compliment myself furiously for a moment (so bear with me): I really, really like these pictures. I’ve been inspired by my roommate Brittany’s photography style (which is stunning), and want to start setting a scene in my photos. Beautiful food + beautiful setting (i.e. an IKEA table, bowl of spinach and dishtowel) = beautiful photos. I hope.

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(Peanut butter) Banana pancakes

~ Hilary ~ Leave a comment

Jack Johnson ain’t got nothing on these.

Peanut butter has always been an essential part of my morning routine.

Whether it be a lightly sugared piece of peanut butter toast (my mom got me addicted to this strange combination long ag0) or peanut butter, crackers and apple sauce (my all-time favourite snack food breakfast), peanut butter makes me feel like I’m ready for the day.

Last week, I decided it was time for me to graduate from the realms of my pre-school peanut butter stylings and try something new. Hence the creation of these peanut butter banana pancakes.

Inspiration was also drawn from my roommate Brittany, who makes the best damn pancakes all the time. The girl is a healthy, pancake making machine. Check these out.

Making pancakes also allowed me to use my fantastic, new non-stick pan. It’s seriously gorgeous and I’m already having a passionate love affair with it. It sleeps in my room (but not actually). The pancakes slip-slided off the pan easily and came out perfectly. Well, as perfectly as they can be when the girl making them has a phobia of flipping food in pans. Really, I’m crippled by my fear. Omelettes and pancakes are my arch nemeses.

Even after these were cooked, they still had a great, peanut buttery goodness to them, which I loved. I ate three and took several nibbles out of the remaining few. Make these. I promise your day will be better because of it.

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