Vanilla Glazed Donuts

It's amazing how your eating habits change when you're pregnant. At least, I'm amazed at my reversion back to my 14-17 year old tastes. I was reading somewhere that a lot of women seek out food that remind them of their childhood, which would totally explain why I've had macaroni and cheese every Sunday for lunch for the past month. Today, I even threw hot dogs (albeit organic ones made with ecologically responsibly raised beef) in.

Between my morning cravings for fruit (I went through 3 grapefruit yesterday) and my dinner time cravings for something that includes Frank's Red Hot Sauce (pregnant women must keep them in business), I've found what I'm making in the kitchen to all be the less than healthy stuff.

It's weird putting on this much weight but not having that much of it go to my hips (although, I noted a double chin in action today... commence the high pitch whine now). I'm scared that, as I reached the halfway mark on Friday that July is going to come around and that I'll have put on way more than I ought to have.

Of course, that doesn't stop me from making desserts. Nor does that stop me from eating them.

Yes, they're donuts.

Yes, they're vanilla glazed.

Yes, they're delicious.

And yes, I started making them at 8 pm one night because I HAD to have them.

But, BUT (and I say this before you roll your eyes and start passing judgment), they're

a) baked

and

b) contain 1 tbsp of butter divided between 12 donuts.

So there. Not (as) terrible for me.

At least they wouldn't be if I hadn't already eaten 2 today. I can't even promise you that there's an end in sight.

Click here for the recipe. I suggest using more than a pinch of nutmeg, and adding a teaspoon of vanilla to the dough when you're mixing in the egg. I'm planning on attempting a chocolate mint version of these over March Break (next week! wheee!).

Also on the March Break to make list: Meyer Lemon and Rose Marmalade and about a million DIY things for our guest room/eventual baby room. Who wants to bet I get none of that accomplished?

Preserve Week: Shiro Plum Jam

I cannot express to you how ridiculously excited I am about this recipe. After I'd finished making it, I was sending an email to my Mum while licking the spoon I had used to stir the jam. It's tangy and vibrant, and the vanilla bean seeds just make the whole thing so insanely delicious.

You can tell a jam recipe tastes delicious when you lick the plate rest your spoon was sitting on.

Not that I did that.

Cough. Cough. Ahem.

I'm sorry. Something was stuck in my throat there.

This recipe was very lightly adapted what looks like an abandoned blog: Toast. It's a shame really, because the jam turned out beautifully. Check out that amazing orange colour!


Shiro Plum Jam

makes 3 cups jam

Ingredients

2 lbs shiro plums, stoned, but not peeled
2 cups sugar
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
½ large, plump vanilla bean



Directions

1. Toss plums in a large, non-reactive container with sugar and lemon juice. Let sit for one hour. After, place contents in a dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Boil for one minute then return plum mixture to the container. Place a piece of parchment paper directly on the surface of the plum mixture and place in the fridge overnight.

2. Process canning jars accordingly.

3. Place plum mixture in a large dutch oven. Scrape vanilla bean seeds from pod and stir into mixture. Throw the pods in as well, because a little extra hit of vanilla can never go amiss! Bring mixture to a boil and continue boiling, stirring constantly and skimming off any foam, until jam hits its setting point.

Have we talked about the setting point yet? The setting point is the point at which the jam promises, once cooled, to set to a firmer consistency.

I'm old school and do it the way my mother and I have done it for the better part of 25 years. I like to place a plate in the freezer to chill it. When I think the jam might be ready, I pull the plate out, and put a little dollop of jam on, and put it back in the freezer for 1 minute. You know the jam is ready when it wrinkles when you drag your finger through it.

If you're new school though, pull out your candy thermometer - it'll hit 220ºF.

If the jam is done, proceed to the next step. If not, keep boiling away. I think my jam took a good 20 minutes of boiling... however, I am working on the worst stove known to man (totally inefficient burners), so use your own judgment.

4. Place jam in sterilized jars and process in boiling water for 10 minutes. Remove, let cool and store.

Can I just say, this jam would be killer in thumbprint cookies. Or in cheesecake.

Vanilla Rice Pudding with Raspberry Coulis

My little brother went through a period where he was obsessed with rice pudding. There was constantly a container of Kozy Shack in the fridge.

And when I say container, I mean Costco sized vat.

Basically, the entire fridge consisted of Kozy Shack. The rest of us were forced to live off the land and forage for food. It was a hard existence, but we learned to fend for ourselves in the wilderness of Andrew Haydon Park.

Okay. That might be an total slight exaggeration.

For the record, I think Kozy Shack is gross, but I do love a creamy, well made rice pudding, which this, another French Women Don't Get Fat inspired recipe is.

Use your best risotto rice for this, stir frequently and you'll get something amazing.

Vanilla Rice Pudding with Raspberry Coulis

(adapted from French Women Don't Get Fat)
serves 2

Ingredients

1½ cup raspberries, divided
1/3 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/3 cup short grain rice (2¼ oz)
2 cups 1% or 2% milk (don't use skim)
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp unsalted butter

Directions

1. In a bowl, toss together 1 cup raspberries with 1 tablespoon sugar. Set aside in the fridge to macerate.

2. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add rice and cook for 2 minutes in boiling water. Drain and set aside.

3. Bring milk to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Stir in rice, remaining sugar and vanilla. Reduce heat and cook gently for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Taste the rice to see if it's finished. If it is to your liking, remove pot from heat and stir in egg yolk. This will turn your pudding into a vanilla masterpiece. Add the butter and stir until melted. Set aside to cool.

4. Take berries out of the fridge and stir in a ½ tablespoon water. Toss, then press berries through a fine mesh sieve to create a coulis. You could replace the water with cassis for added oomph!

5. Layer coulis and rice pudding in clear glasses or serving dishes. Top with reserved berries.

You should have this for breakfast this weekend

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Remember, keeping it loved up isn't just for February 14th; nothing says love like long, leisurely weekend breakfast with vanilla and jammy flavours.

We've already established that, as a general rule, pancakes aren't my thing due to severe childhood trauma. Thankfully, this doesn't extend to all pancakesque creations. Like the Dutch Baby Pancake, crepes are still on the table. Maybe it's because my Mum was always in charge of making the crepes. Maybe it's because I don't have 'Nam style flashbacks to equally frozen and burned food. Whatever the reason, I love crepes.

When I was a kid, crepes were always known in our house as Roll-Ups. We always had them rolled up with sugar and lemon juice. They weren't fancy, but they were definitely my favourite breakfast item going.

While my Mum's recipe is my favourite, when I went looking for it this morning, it was buried somewhere in the recesses of my cookbook shelf and otherwise unfindable.

It was too early for me to commit to a thorough search.

So, I opted to try out a new version (one that didn't require chilling overnight) from Martha Stewart.

They were dessert crepes... but really... Dessert. Breakfast. They're all the same thing.

Aren't they? Yeah, you know you're with me.

Hunk o' Smoked goodness

You top that off with some maple smoked Rowe Farms bacon? Well, my friend, you know you're going to have a great day when you start off with the breakfast of champions.

I'll award bonus points to all of you who either:

a) fill the crepes with your Mother-in-Law's amazing jam (a soft-set floral plum here!)

or 

b) fill the crepes with a preserve bought from the amazing Uncanny Preserves (I've saved a jar of Blackcurrant jam for just this occasion)

or

c) fill the crepes with whatever locally produced preserve as tickles your fancy

But, for the record, this recipe is best with soft berry flavours. A raspberry or blackberry preserve would be an excellent choice.

Vanilla Dessert Breakfast Crepes

(adapted from Martha Stewart)

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 1/4 cups milk
1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 tbsp unsalted butter

Directions

In a medium bowl, sift together flour and salt. Whisk in eggs, egg yolk, and about 1 tablespoon milk, forming a smooth batter with a pastelike consistency. Add remaining milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla; mix until no lumps remain. 

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a nonstick skillet, and stir into the batter; leave a film of butter in the skillet. Let the batter rest at room temperature about 30 minutes.

Heat oven to warm. Over medium-low heat, warm the skillet thoroughly. Stir batter, and carefully ladle about 1/4 cup batter into skillet. Rotate skillet so batter spreads out and thinly coats the bottom and edges of the skillet. Return skillet to heat, and cook crepe until edges turn golden brown and lacy, and start to pull away from the skillet, about 2 minutes. 

Using a knife or an offset spatula, carefully turn crepe over; cook other side until just golden, 30 to 40 seconds. Slide the crepe onto a heat-proof plate. Repeat with the remaining batter, stirring it before making another crepe. Stack cooked crepes on top of one another.

Delicious and highly recommended!