Archive for April 2010

Wrote by Maki

Asparagus, Red Pepper and Red Onion Pizza with Gouda & Parmeson Cheese

When I make pizza, it usually ends up being either ham or pineappple, a meat lover's or just cheese for my son who doesn't like toppings on his pizza.

No one ever requests or wants a vegetarian pizza. But I do! So I made the decision to do so.

I had some fresh asparagus and a big block of gouda cheese so I tried something different and it was awesome.

The kids wouldn't eat it ("I hate onions", "Why did you put those red things on it", " 'pargus on pissa??")

They just don't know what they are missing. Too bad for them.

More for me!!!

...

Asparagus, Red Pepper and Red Onion Pizza with Gouda and Parmeson Cheese
makes 2 pizzas

Vegetable Toppings:

olive oil
~20 asparagus spears, ends trimmed
2 red peppers, thinly sliced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
grated gouda cheese
grated parmeson cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

Dough:

2 pkg active dry yeast
2-1/4 cup warm water
2 tsp sugar
1/4 cup oil
5 cups bread flour, plus extra if needed (you may substitute 1/2 tsp or up to 1 tsp for EACH cup of all purpose flour instead of bread flour).
1 tbsp salt

Vegetable Toppings:

In a nonstick pan, fry up the asparagus, red peppers and red onion with some oil, until almost wilted. Sprinkle enough salt and pepper, to your taste. Remove from heat to cool.

Dough:

In a mixer, dissolve yeast in warm water and let stand until foamy (about 5 minutes).

Add sugar, oil, flour and salt and knead with dough hook until soft and smooth, about 8-10 minutes. Add up to one cup of flour while kneading so cough will pull away from sides.

Form dough into ball and tranfer to lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let rise until doubles, about 1.5-2 hours.

Punch down and take dough out onto lightly oiled surface and divide into two. Let rest for 10 minutes. Dust with all purpose flour and roll out to fit pan. Pizza pan should be oiled and dusted with cornmeal.

Assembly:

Rub olive oil on the pizza and spread out the asparagus, peppers and onion. Drizzle any leftover oil and salt, pepper in the pan.

Sprinkle a light amount of gouda and parmeson atop the pizza.

Bake until brown 10-15 mintues at 500F. Serve hot.

Crust adapted from: Pizza margherita, Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking

Wrote by Maki

I feel like there has been a lot of cake around lately. If I'm not making them, I'm going to parties that have them. But, I'm not going to complain because I love celebrations and get-togethers.

This year for my daughter's birthday, she wanted a princess cake again. I have been wanting to try fondant for a very long time. I was nervous about fondant and avoided it for as long as I could.

There was a time I bought fondant at the store and just couldn't work with it. This put me off for a while. But I knew that fondant and I would meet again. Somewhere, in a dark kitchen corner, I would be ready with my rolling pin. I would prevail this time.

And did I ever.

This is a marshmallow fondant recipe. Easy to make and work with. I have to say, I will never, ever worry about using fondant again. I don't even think I will bother with icing cakes with icing sugar either. This was much easier.

For the top tier, instead of smoothing the fondant back in, I folded it over so that it looked like ruffles of a dress.

My friends all liked the look of it and they also liked the taste of it. They didn't find it overly sweet, like I find icing usually to be. It was a hit.

And my princess was happy.

Happy rolling!

...

Marshmallow Fondant
enough to cover a large 2-tiered cake

1 lb (16 oz /454 grams) bag of small plain marshmallows
2 Tbsp water
1-2 tsp flavoring of your choice, optional
2 lb (32 oz/908 grams) icing sugar, divided
pinch of salt

Vegetable oil or shortening for greasing bowls and utensils

food coloring paste, optional

Grease a microwave-safe bowl, a spoon, the dough hook, and the bowl of your stand mixer with vegetable oil or shortening.

Microwave the marshmallows and water in the greased microwave-safe bowl for 60 seconds. Stir with the greased spoon. Microwave for another 30 seconds, if all the marshmallows have not melted. Stir in flavoring.

Mix together the icing sugar and salt in the stand mixer bowl, reserving 1 cup. Make a well in the center and pour in the marshmallow mix. Mix on to the lowest setting and increase the speed up one setting, when it starts to sound strained and stop mixing once all sugar has been incorporated. If the fondant is sticky, add the reserved confectioner’s sugar 1/4 cup at a time.

Spoon the fondant out onto plastic wrap. Rub a bit of shortening or oil on the outside of the ball. Wrap in plastic wrap, place in a ziploc bag, and let rest for at least 2-3 hours. Keep unused portions covered when not using. If the fondant becomes stiff, place in microwave for 20 seconds at a time until pliable.

Add coloring of your choice to the fondant and knead onto greased surface. Roll out to the desired thickness and cover your cake.

Recipe adapted from: Marshmallow Fondant Recipe

Wrote by Maki

There is a photo that comes to mind every so often. When I saw it, many, many years ago, it left an impression on me. It was a picture of me in kindergarten, on my birthday. I'm surrounded by my classmates, holding a cake, with my mom and sister next to me.

My parents were immigrants and came to Canada when I was one years old. My mother's english-language skills were not very good but I'm guessing that the teacher asked my mother if she would bring cake or something to celebrate my birthday with the class.

I can't even imagine how much effort it was to bring that cake that day to school. It's not something I would have realized back then but something I understand now. It was likely a cold and wintry day, since my birthday is the beginning of March. My mother did not have a car, so she had to walk to school, which was a good 20 minutes. She also was about 8 months pregnant and probably carried my 3 year old sister and this cake all the way to my school. I remember feeling so happy and surprised to see my mom, sister and the cake at kindergarten that day.

Fast forward to the present day. My daughter is in kindergarten and her birthday is here. That photo of me in kindergarten comes to my mind and I want to do something special for her too. Though I don't have the same struggles that my mother had, I want to have my daughter feel the same joy with her classmates, as I did on my 6th birthday.

I asked the teacher if I could bring cupcakes to class and she agreed. But, today is a different time than it was when I was a child...

"Remember, absolutely no nuts. We also have an egg allergy. There is also another child that has many allergies so he probably won't be able to have one."

I remember leaving a bit disappointed. Many children have allergies nowadays but I really wanted to bring cupcakes but could I? Egg-free, dairy-free, nut-free, everything but the kitchen sink-free cupcakes? Is there such a thing and what would it taste like?

But, don't you worry. When there is a challenge, Maki will prevail. Especially with making this memory. And I'm happy to say, I have found the recipe for you moms who want to make dessert but don't know what to make in this allergy-full world. AND it tastes good.

I didn't get a picture of my daughter with her kindergarten class and the cupcakes but I have the memory of my daughter's beaming smile when we dropped off the cupcakes that morning. She was filled with excitement to share her birthday and these cupcakes with all her classmates.

And that, my friends, is why us moms do what we do. Whether it be walking 20 minutes in the cold, pregnant, with a 3 year old and cake or sifting through recipes to find that perfect set of ingredients to accomodate all friends and their allergies.

Creating memories and seeing a smiling child's face is priceless.

...

Chocolate Cupcakes - Vegan
Makes 16

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon vinegar

Mix all ingredients together until moist and well blended.

Put in cupcake cups and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Recipe found here: Mom's Chocolate Cupcakes

Wrote by Maki

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