Rev Up Your Morning with a Quickie for Breakfast

I don't have time for anything long and lingering during the week. But I do need to clear the cobwebs from my brain and rev up my metabolism first thing in the morning.

Since this blog is intended for family consumption, let's focus on the food.

My typical breakfast looks like this: a triple espresso on the right, a bowl of yogurt with honey and Energy Crunch on the left. In the cyclone in the middle, I check homework and lunches, hunt for lost mittens, referee an argument, and yell out the countdown to the bus. Not much time for a slow sit-down.

This week, my coffee has a new mate. It's a perfectly portable fast fix. An ideal breakfast for me and my gang during the morning mad scramble.

A mouthful packs a wallop of energy and nutrients. Chia seeds help sweep out the gastrointestinal tract. Sesame seeds add manganese, copper, calcium, iron and fibre. Raw cacao is high in magnesium and iron. Flax seeds add Omega3 fatty acids. All glued together with almond meal, shredded coconut, egg and honey.

The kids and I made a double batch this weekend to stock up for breakfast and snacks for the week ahead.

Mighty Macaroons
1/2 cup almond meal
2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
1 teaspoon crushed raw cacao 
1 teaspoon chia seeds
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon ground flax seeds
2 eggs
1/4 cup honey


Combine everything in a small bowl.
Using two teaspoons, form small mounds and place on lightly greased baking sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes and 350 degrees.
Yields 12 small,  Mighty Macaroons. Great for breakfast or for dunking in melted chocolate.

From Italy with Love

Food can convey such powerful memories and emotions. My Italian friend Isa sent memories of home via an old family recipe. For her son, it conjures up memories of birthday parties and cosy family time.

Filippo is far from home but never strays far from her thoughts. She recently thought about how he giggles whenever she makes this recipe.

As I mentioned a couple posts back, we've adopted Filippo into our family as he attends high school here in Ottawa. Filippo is spending Christmas here. Isa and her husband, Lorenzo, will join us a few days later.

Isa sent me the recipe for Filippo's favourite dessert, tenerina al cioccolato. Perhaps a way for me to transport his loved ones in Bologna into my kitchen.

Tenerina al ciccolato

I surprised Filippo the other day and made the recipe, with some slight alternations for a gluten and dairy free version.

I tried to Christmas-ize it by using my gingerbread cookie cutters. I brushed a thin layer of raspberry jam, some coconut sprinkles and sunflower seeds to hide the cracks. As you can see, I need to finesse the technique.

Still, the chocolate treat delivered the flavours of love from back home. Filippo ate every last crumb. This torte will be on my holiday menu, dressed up with cranberries and walnuts.

The recipe is easy to remember: equal portions of eggs, butter, sugar, chocolate.  I used coconut oil instead of butter. (I'll try lighter grapeseed oil next time.) Instead of wheat flour, I used rice flour.

Filippo said the only difference was that my version was slightly more dense, but equally delicious as his mom's. Spoken like a true gourmand.

Tenerina al cioccolato di Isa (Isa's chocolate torte)
3 eggs, separated
300 grams butter
300 grams dark chocolate/ cocoa powder
300 grams sugar
2 tablespoons potato flour
1 tablespoon wheat flour


(300 grams = roughly 1 1/2 cups)


Line an 8-inch round dish with parchement paper. 
In a large bowl, beat the egg whites to form moist peaks. Set aside. 
Melt the butter and dark chocolate. Let cool.
Add egg yolks, sugar and flour to chocolate mixture. 
Fold the chocolate mixture into egg whites. 
Pour into prepared dish.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Friday Night Dessert Project

The Friday night ritual in AK's Kitchen usually involves something baked, something sweet, something chocolate, or all of the above. (I don't get out much.)

This particular Friday, my gang expected their regular sweet fix. They invited three of their friends to join the indulgence. Imagine, six angelic little faces smiling up at me in my kitchen. All pleading with me to get their hands gooey with batter so they could stuff their faces with dessert.

Before I could induge them, my body ran out of steam. I didn't have the energy to stand in front of a stove, tempering chocolate. But I couldn't let down the kids. I needed a no-cook, kid-friendly dessert. Better yet, something they could make themselves, with little energy out-put from me.

I pulled out my sure-fire kid-pleaser. It is the most inelegant hunk of metal in my kitchen. It resembles a crude medieval torture device.

All six pairs of eyes widened like saucers. I gave them a quick demonstration of how it works. I secured an apple on the long metal bar, cranked the handle a few times and in seconds, the peel unravelled like a ribbon. The apple was cored and sliced into symmetrical rings in seconds.

I don't know the technical name for the apple gizmo. I picked it up years ago at a kitchen store in the States. I once saw a similar device in the Lee Valley Tools catalogue. I think every family kitchen needs one, not just for the functionality but for the amusement factor.

After my apple gizmo demo, our five-year-old friend screeched in amazement.  Her older brother was slack-jawed, as though he had just witnessed the most incredible magic trick.

I had to harness (read exploit) this curiosity. So I put them to work on The Great Apple Dessert Project. My daughter and 9-year-old best friend were in charge of cranking out the apples. The youngest slurped up the long "apple worms," the ribbon-like peels.

The boys prepared the sweet sprinkles of cinnamon and coconut sugar.

Within a few minutes, the gang presented their perfect plate of apple rings. They were all so proud of  their creation.

I set aside a couple of rings and topped them with cinnamon and garam masala for myself. I read somewhere that the scent of cinnamon is beneficial for cognitive function and memory. (Anything to help the brain.)  

The kids now have a low-tech, no-fuss dessert/ snack to add to their repertoire. Best of all, I won't have to lift a finger.

The apple gizmo is at the ready for the next gang of kids, and maybe a few adults.

Sliced & Diced in AK's Kitchen: A Lesson in Kheer

In my last post, I shared a recipe for a traditional India dessert. Kheer is typically a very sweet rice pudding. Here is a gluten and dairy free version, courtesy of chef Tara Rajan.

You can also view this video on YouTube.

This dessert is quick and foolproof. I make a similar version with dark chocolate, nutmeg and cinnamon. My kids devour it. I'm sure this will become a family favourite in your kitchen.

Do you have a family favourite you'd like to share?

Indian Fusion and Wonderful Women

Namaste! 


I first heard the salutation at a yoga class after I unhinged my legs from the lotus pose. (I'm as flexible as an old suitcase.) Namaste is a traditional Indian greeting which is far more profound than our western "Hello. How's it going?" Or "Bye. See ya later." 


Namaste means "I greet the light within you. I greet the sacred space which we share."


I shared the physical space of AK's Kitchen with a group of wonderful women. This weekend, 
we came together to enjoy some Indian fusion cuisine and to support a cause that is dear to my heart, the tiruchi seva sangam school for underprivileged and orphaned children in Tamil Nadu.


The women came from different cultural backgrounds (including Lebanese, Indian, Spanish, Scottish, French Canadian, Syrian), different generations and a diversity of interests. We all share an appreciation for good food. On a blustery autumn night, we craved comfort food.    

Spicy tomato soup with yogurt and coriander leaf, courtesy Paul Wing. 

Our Indian Fusion menu featured the best local ingredients from the fall harvest. We had carrots pickled in a sharp, sour brine. The tomatoes were the base of a light, yet complex peppery soup. The squash was slow roasted and tossed in coconut oil and aromatic spices. The apples were baked and stuffed with a fragrant kheer, or pudding.

Baked apple stuffed with kheer, garnished with toasted coconut, saffron syrup. 

My friend Chef Tara Rajan created the Indian-inspired menu. It was a huge hit with my 20 food aficionados. I have never seen a chef get a standing ovation by the diners. 

Pickled carrots, spiced squash, chickpea cumin flatbread with chicken tikka masala. 

Tara's Chicken Tikka with Masala Cream
Serves 4-6

1 ½ - 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken 

1 ½ cups yogourt

1 ½ teaspoons crushed garlic

1 teaspoon minced ginger

2 teaspoons minced green chili or hot chili sauce (e.g. Sriracha)

1 ½ tablespoons canola oil

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 recipe masala cream (recipe below)

Strain yogourt in cheesecloth for 2 hours and put aside the whey, retaining the milk solids.  Mix the strained yogourt with the seasonings.  Pour into a plastic bag and add the chicken pieces, covering completely with the marinade.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours.  Remove chicken from marinade and grill until fully cooked.  Let rest, then cut into slices and serve with warm masala cream.

Tara's Masala Cream

1 tablespoon canola oil

¾ teaspoon black mustard seeds

½ teaspoon nigella seeds (kalonji)

1 sprig of fresh or frozen curry leaves (8-10 leaves)

Pinch of asafoetida powder

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

¾ teaspoon minced ginger

¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne

4 medium-sized ripe tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

2 teaspoons jaggery, raw sugar or brown sugar

4 tablespoons 18% or 35% cream 

Salt to taste

Heat oil over medium heat in a medium saucepan.  Add mustard seeds, nigella seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida.  When the spices crackle, add the garlic, ginger, and cayenne and sauté for about two minutes.  Add the tomatoes and simmer for 20 minute or until tomatoes turn pulpy.  Add remaining ingredients and heat thoroughly.  Serve warm over chicken tikka.

Kheer

Serves 8

1/3 cup tapioca

1 cup water

2 cups coconut milk

2-3 green cardamom pods, bruised

2-3 saffron threads, soaked in a little hot water

1-inch cinnamon stick

3-4 tablespoons sugar or maple syrup

Put the tapioca, water and coconut milk in a medium saucepan.  Add the cardamom, cinnamon and saffron, bring to a boil and reduce to a gentle simmer.  Cover and cook until tapioca is softened, about 15 minutes.  Add the coconut cream and sugar and cook another 3-4 minutes.  Serve chilled or at room temperature with desired garnishes.

Enjoy!