“People who love to eat are always the best people.”
― Julia Child
A Flour By Any Other Name
tales from a gluten-free kitchen
Author Archives: judishka
Butter Tarts for Breakfast
Apparently, June is Butter Tart month in Ontario. I don’t know many details about this. For instance, is this the inaugural Butter Tart Month? Will every June from now on be Butter Tart Month? Or is this simply a one-off promotion? However, I am lucky enough to live in a house where there are lots of gluten-free butter tarts. I have managed to eat butter tarts, in some form, every day of June so far (yes, I know it has only been three days). I don’t know how long I can actually keep it up, but I am willing to try. Today, I had two butter tarts for breakfast. Delicious.
Update, June 5, 2014: I have heard back from the Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance. It has dubbed June Butter Tart Month in Ontario in an effort to promote the various butter tart experiences available in the province—such as Wellington County’s Butter Tart Trail. OCTA is working on making June officially Butter Tart Month in the future. I can’t help but applaud its efforts.
You can read more about various ways you can celebrate the butter tart here, but the site only has last year’s information.
Going with Your Gut
“Cookery is not chemistry. It is an art. It requires instinct and taste rather than exact measurements.”
― Marcel Boulestin
Sharing a Meal
“Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.”
― M.F.K. Fisher
A Delicious Disaster
I had a craving for carrot cake recently. One of my sisters created a delicious carrot cake recipe years ago. Her version uses soured milk along with vegetable oil, which gets rid of the oiliness that some carrot cakes suffer from. Her recipe also features raisins and orange rind and is topped with cream cheese icing. It is by far my favourite carrot cake.
But this post is not about that recipe, exactly. This post is about what happens when you bake when you are tired…
Fruitcake in February
I love fruitcake. It is another treat that is not universally loved in my family. A few years ago, my mother and I decided not to bake it at Christmas and to focus instead on more popular desserts. Then, later, after all the Christmas baking is long forgotten, we can make and really enjoy this treat.
Scallops and Bacon and Garlic! Oh My!
My niece is brilliant. She came up with an incredibly delicious idea this week. As part of a meal, we had bacon-wrapped scallops. But they were scallops with double plus bacon, really. First, she fried a slice of bacon for each scallop. Then, she cooked the scallops gently in bacon fat. Next, I fried chopped garlic in bacon fat—I chopped five large cloves for 10 scallops. She assembled them, wrapping each scallop in bacon and carefully distributing the garlic over the scallops. This photo does not do them justice at all.* The result was pure bliss.
*(I guess that means we will be forced to make them again so I can get a better photo…)
The Mark of a Real Chef
“Anybody can make you enjoy the first bite of a dish, but only a real chef can make you enjoy the last.”
― François Minot
Poutine: Yes, I Am Canadian!
Poutine is a staple of French-Canadian cuisine. It’s simple but extremely tasty.
A few years ago, I went with my sister and my niece to a concert put on by Ron Cahute and Jane Lapko, the creators of these educational French songs. They performed their Poutine song, which goes like this:
Poutine, let’s start with the french fries,
Poutine, add the cheese and the gravy!
Poutine is my favourite thing,
It’s fries with an attitude!
A Flour By Any Other Name 