Cream of celery soup

Last week my mom and I went to visit the new McNally Robinson bookstore. On the top floor is a restaurant called "Prairie Ink" that looked inviting so we decided to eat lunch there. Each week the chef features food from a Canadian cookbook. That week it was "In the Kitchen with Anna" by Anna Olson. One standout item was the Cream of Celery Soup with Blue Cheese - it was delicious.

So I tried to make the recipe at home because I had the "bendy" celery in the fridge that would be perfect for this soup. Interestingly, even though the soup is "cream soup", there is no actual cream in it, just milk. I didn't have any blue cheese in the fridge and although it made the restaurant soup great, the soup didn't need it to be yummy. It was so delicious, even the children tried it and said it was good.

Cream of Celery Soup (based on a recipe from "In the Kitchen with Anna" (2008) by Anna Olson

3 tablespoons butter (I used half butter and half olive oil so the butter would not burn)

1 cup diced onion (I used one medium onion and 4 shallots)

3 cups of diced celery (I used the bunch I had, a full bunch minus 3 stalks that I had used before)

3 tablespoons flour

3 cups 2% milk

2 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (I used 1/2 teaspoon crushed, dried thyme)

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons dry vermouth (I did not use this because I don't have any)

3 oz (90 g) blue cheese (optional)

2 tablespoons chopped chives (optional)

* Melt the butter in a large pot and add the oil. Saute the onions and celery for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and cook stirring constantly for about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of milk and cook, stirring well for about 5 minutes. Whisk in the remaining milk, then the stock. Add the thyme and bay leaf. Simmer, partially covered, for about 10 minutes. If you wish to add the vermouth, blue cheese and chives, do so just before serving (don't forget to remove the bay leaf).

Gluten free cookies

These almond cookies have the taste and texture of shortbread cookies. They are dairy-free, egg-free and gluten-free. They are not vegan as they contain honey.

I am fascinated by healthy baked goods. After doing a lot of conventional baking in my life, I am intrigued how "healthy" baking can be accomplished. I've had my share of disasters over the years, trying to make wholesome treats for my family. Two examples are my whole-wheat pastry for pie (my mom even said this was "not your best effort"!) and spelt biscuits (that were so dense and rock-like even the squirrels would not eat them!)

Recently, I visited a local organic bakery that specializes in gluten-free baked goods. I had a lemon-cranberry muffin with a cup of organic coffee. I was surprised at how delicious the muffin was. It wasn't oily or heavy at all.

My friend Dorothy, must eat a gluten-free diet as she is sensitive to products containing gluten. When we meet for coffee, she will bring her own gluten-free treats to eat. So when I saw the recipe for these cookies, I had to try them and the result was a very good and healthy treat. So this one's for you Dorothy!

Balance Cookies (from In the Kitchen with Anna (2008) by Anna Olson)

2 cups brown rice flour (I found this in Loblaws as "Bob's Red Mill Stone Ground Brown Rice Flour")

1 cup ground almonds (I used an entire 100 g package)

3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted (put seeds in a dry frying pan and cook until lightly golden)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used sunflower oil -the original recipe calls for 1/4 cup oil but I needed to add more oil to the batter to make it stick together)

1/3 cup liquid honey (use the same measuring cup as for the oil and the honey won't stick)

24 - 30 whole almonds with skins

* Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, mix together the brown rice flour, ground almonds, toasted sesame seeds, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the oil and honey. Add this mixture to the dry mix and stir together. Try squeezing the dough together...if it does not stick together, add a bit more oil. Form small mounds about the size of a walnut on lined cookie sheet (I use a Silpat non-stick mat). Press a whole almond down on top of each cookie, paying attention to the sides as they will crumble and will need to be pushed back together. Bake for 12-15 minutes but watch to make sure they do not burn on the bottom.

Watermelon friend

Last week, I was looking after my 3 year old friend Kiley for a few hours, while her mom was working. She brought along her Bambi toy and she and I spend some time taking photos of Bambi, in various places, while we were downtown. We managed to get this picture after Kiley, very patiently, put Bambi on the watermelon for the fifth time (it kept sliding off...).

Quick fancy cake

This cake was inspired by the classic Black Forest Cake. I made it for my mother's birthday last week. A recipe for the traditional Black Forest Cake was difficult to find among my collection of cookbooks. I did manage to find one, by accident, as it wasn't listed under cakes but under "tortes".

One of the ingredients was a can of pitted, tart cherries. Now, I looked in several stores and I could not find canned, pitted, tart cherries (only cherry pie filling and cherry jam). The recipe also uses the cherry-flavoured liqueur, Kirsch, and I didn't want to invest in a whole bottle of that just to use a small amount. So I decided to forgo the classic version and make my own.

First, I made a two layer chocolate cake using a mix (it's okay to do that sometimes...). Then I made a chocolate whipped cream frosting, and added chocolate shavings and maraschino cherries. The result was a delicious, moist cake that, as my dad likes to say, "tastes like more!"

Easy Fancy Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting

2 layer chocolate cake, made from a cake mix (I used Dr. Oetker)

100 g bar of semi-sweet chocolate, cut into shavings (I used a vegetable peeler)

12 maraschino cherries, drained

500 ml organic whipping cream (organic really does make a difference in the taste)

1/3 cup icing sugar

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

* Make the cake according to package directions. Let cool. Whip the cream until thick and mix in the sugar and cocoa powder. On the bottom layer, spread about one third of the frosting. Sprinkle about one half of the chocolate shavings on the frosting. Put the second layer on top. Spread the rest of the frosting on the top and sides of the cake. On top, sprinkle the remaining chocolate shavings and place the cherries evenly around the edge.

Easy homemade bread

I found this recipe in an old British Good Food magazine. It caught my eye because, not only to I like to make bread, but the recipe promised that it was a yeast bread that requires no kneading (?!?) I always thought that yeast bread had to be kneaded to activate the gluten in the flour so that it can trap the air bubbles of carbon dioxide that the yeast produces. Needless to say, I had to try to make that bread.

The result was a very good bread with a moist, dense crumb. I know it will make good toast in the morning spread with strawberry jam made a few weeks ago by my friend Bonnie.

It really was very simple to make and the second loaf can be frozen.

Sheila Dillon's Grant Loaf (based on a recipe in BBC Good Food magazine, February 2009)

1 lb, 9 oz (700 g) wholewheat flour (I used unbleached bread flour)

8 oz (200 g) oatmeal (spelt flour, white flour or corn meal - I used polenta corn flour)

3 teaspoons kosher salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 X 8 g package quick-rise yeast

850 ml warm water

* Grease two large loaf pans. Preheat the oven to 400F. Mix the flours, salt and yeast together in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre of the bowl and stir in the water and oil. The dough will be like very thick porridge. Divide the mixture between the two loaf pans. Cover the pans with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 30-40 minutes or until the dough is just over the edge of the pan (about double the size). Bake the bread for about 40 minutes until the loaf is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped. Remove loaves from pan and let cool on a wire rack.

Cold summer soup

This is a lovely cold summer soup. It uses a nice mix of fresh ingredients and cupboard staples and, unlike many cold vegetable soups, it is cooked and chilled overnight. I made it recently to bring to my friend Sheri's house. I offered to come over and help her paint her porch and to bring some soup. We had a relaxing day "working". It was a very civilized way to do a house project: arrive and have coffee and homemade blueberry-cornmeal muffins; paint; lunch of cold veggie soup, homemade herb bread and cherries; paint; tea and homemade oatmeal cookies (you can guess that Sheri likes to bake...).

This recipe is based on the recent issue of Everyday by Rachel Ray. I bought the magazine because one of the feature recipes was "the best ribs you'll ever eat". Well upon further inspection, the recipe requires you to make three different sauces and needs almost 4 1/2 hours of cooking time! Although, I am sure this would make delicious ribs, I don't have the time or inclination in the summer to make 3 different sauces for just a meat dish. I made the main sauce (which required the purchase of a box of peach gelatin powder?!) for ribs to serve at dinner for my family and my mom and dad. The result was that the ribs were okay, but overly sweet.

However, the happy accident is that I stumbled upon this soup recipe. I had to change the recipe a bit because of ingredient availability and ease of preparation (for example, I didn't bother to puree it). It is really, really good.

Cold Summer Soup (based on "Summer-strone" in Everyday by Rachel Ray, August 2009)

1/2 cup Israeli cousous

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 small cucumbers, peeled and diced

1 can (14 oz or 398 ml) diced tomatoes

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1 900 ml tetrapak of vegetable broth

1 medium zucchini, shredded (I used a box grater)

handful of fresh basil, chopped

grated peel of one lemon

* Cook the couscous in a pot of boiling salted water for about 8 minutes. Then drain and rinse with cold water. In a large pot, add the olive oil and cucumbers and cook until the cucumbers get a bit brown (about 10 minutes). Mix in the tomatoes, paprika, broth, cooked couscous and zucchini. Cook together for another 10 minutes. Take off the heat and stir in the basil and lemon peel. Chill overnight.