Taste Buddies

A Christmas Morning Feast

This year we decided to forgo cooking a large and time-consuming Christmas lunch. Instead, we headed to Kirin Restaurant for a dizzying ten course Chinese banquet but more on that next time.

To tide us over until the lunchtime feast, we opted for a light Christmas breakfast of freshly baked mini croissants served with either raspberry jam or smoked salmon and crème fraiche and a platter of fresh fruit.

Now let me tell you about the croissants. They were incredible...impossibly light, flaky and organic! We bought twenty of the little dough crescents from Vancouver Croissant. Actually, we had intended to buy them but the kind manager, Maged Sedky, wouldn't hear of it and, even though we'd never met before, he gave them to us free as a Christmas present!

Breakfast for one: Eggs (salmon) benedict

Syrie had to go out early this morning. So I woke up today alone and with the kitchen to myself. I love cooking breakfast for myself. Syrie prefers the simplicity of a dippy egg or the wholesomeness of bircher. This morning, though, I cooked myself my favourite breakfast: Salmon Benny!

After almost three years of living in Vancouver, I have yet to find a place whose Benny I love. In Sydney, I loved Le Petit Crème's on Darlinghurst Rd (although it was so rich, you often developed slight feelings of regret for the following half hour). Most of the Benny's I've sampled recently, however, have no tang. They taste like a cheesy butter sauce. I think the difference is that I learnt to make Hollandaise with lemon juice and vinegar. I'm not sure vinegar is widely used to make Hollandaise around here.

There are lots of variations on Eggs Benedict. My favourite replaces the ham or bacon with smoked salmon.

Maui Pancakes in Vancouver

This time last year we were sunning ourselves on a beach in Maui - life was idyllic.

We'd wake up around 10am, make Maui pancakes and wash them down with Pina Coladas. Not your usual breakfast drink but we were on holidays and I think this is what people do on holidays. If they don't, they should.

Yesterday, some friends of ours got married in Maui. Sadly, we were unable to attend the festivities so to celebrate in some way, we made Maui pancakes in honour of the lucky couple.

So here's to Kim and Derek...Maui Banana Buttermilk Pancakes topped with fresh coconut, macadamia nuts and of course, dark maple syrup for a Canadian touch.

Enjoy! While you two were tying the knot on a pristine beach, we were sitting here stuffing ourselves in your honour.

Banana Buttermilk Pancakes with Fresh Coconut and Macadamia Nuts
(serves 2)

Dry ingredients:
1 1/8 cup of unbleached flour
1/2 tsp of sea salt
1 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp of baking powder

Other ingredients:
1.5 cups of buttermilk
1 large egg
3/4 cup of sour cream
1/3 cup of butter
1/4 cup of freshly grated young coconut
A handful of macadamia nuts, roughly chopped
Dark maple syrup for topping

Method:

1. In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients together well.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the buttermilk, egg and sour cream. Add the dry mixture to this bowl and stir gently with a wooden spoon until the batter comes together.
3. Heat up a pan or griddle on a medium heat and add about 1 tsp of butter to the pan. Swirl the pan around to coat the base with butter.
4. Pour in about 1/2 a cup of the batter mixture into the pan and then gently push several pieces of banana into the batter.
5. Once bubbles start to appear on the surface of the pancake, flip it over gently with a spatula and cook the other side until golden brown.
6. Remove the pancake and repeat the process with the remaining batter.
7. To keep the pancakes warm while cooking the rest of the batter put them on a plate and cover them with a sauce plan lid.
8. Once all the pancakes are ready, serve with a sprinkling of young coconut and macadamia nuts.

`ono! (Hawaiian for 'delicious')

Grizzly Pancakes with wild berries: Bears love them

Grizzly Pancakes with wild berries - they really do attract bears, hence the name we gave them. Grizzly Pancakes were one of the more exciting recipes we made during the camping trip, because they attracted some very large guests of the Ursine kind. 

We were camped in the middle of a lush wild blueberry and raspberry field at Tyaughton Lake, in the the Southern Chilcotin, British Columbia. You could basically reach out of the tent and snack on a sea of wild berries (we wouldn't normally camp in the equivalent of a fruit shop for bears but we had no choice as this was the designated site). We decided to use the berries in our buttermilk pancakes to liven them up a little.

When we made this recipe, a Grizzly sow and her two cubs decended on us as they couldn't resist the enticing smell of the pancakes.

The bear family ventured down about 20 metres away from our camp and sniffed the heady air for a few seconds but decided that perhaps it was better just to stick to plain berries for now. We were quite relieved.

** PLEASE NOTE:
Please be assured that we practice bear awareness whenever we are camping. We love bears, but have a very healthy respect for them.

We always cook away from our campsite, keep our site meticulously clean and keep all our food in designated bear caches.

We were camped at Tyax Lake Resort and these bears had been in the area for a couple of days before our arrival.

Sometimes it is impossible to avoid interaction with bears when you are in their territory. the important thing to do is to do everything you can to minimize such interactions and do not do anything to invite them.

It was merely a coincidence that they appeared when we were cooking brekkie that morning. They were there for the abundance of berries, not our pancakes.

We don't mean to be flippant about attracting bears into a campsite...it was just a coincidence that made a good story!       

Wild Berry Grizzly Pancake Recipe

Dry ingredients:
1 cup of unbleached flour
1/2 tsp of sea salt
1 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp of baking powder

Other ingredients:
1.5 cups of buttermilk
1 large egg
3/4 cup of sour cream
1/3 cup of butter
1 cup of wild bluberries
1 cup of wild raspberries
Raspberry sauce or maple syrup for topping

Method:

1. In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients together well.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the buttermilk, egg and sour cream. Add the dry mixture to this bowl and stir gently with a wooden spoon until the batter comes together.
3. Heat up a pan or griddle on a medium heat and add about 1 tsp of butter to the pan. Swirl the pan around to coat the base with butter.
4. Pour in about 1/2 a cup of the batter mixture into the pan and then gently push several blueberries and raspberries into the batter mixture.
5. Once bubbles start to appear on the surface of the pancake, flip it over gently with a spatula and cook the other side until golden brown.
6. Remove the pancake and repeat the process with the remaining batter.
7. To keep the pancakes warm, while cooking the rest of the batter put them on a plate and cover them with a lid or another plate.
8. Once ready, serve with a dollop of butter, raspberry sauce or maple syrup.

Enjoy...but keep an eye out for grizzlies.

Bircher Muesli

There are many delicious variations of the Swiss invention of Bircher muesli. Named after Physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner, Bircher Muesli is lauded for its health benefits and creamy deliciousness. Muesli was first promoted By Dr. Benner in the 1900s for patients in his diet clinic. The cereal, high in fibre, antioxidants and essential fatty acids, was a key part of a strict diet that consisted of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Bircher purists tend to use water to soak the oats overnight in however I use milk and raw honey.

Bircher Muesli Recipe

2 cups of Organic Slow Oats
1.5 Cups of Organic 2% Milk
1/3 Cup of Organic Peach Yoghurt
1 tbs of Raw Honey
2 tbs of Pumpkin Seeds
1 tbs of Flax Seeds
1 handful of Blueberries
A pinch of Cinnamon
A Pinch of Nutmeg

Method:

1. In a large bowl, mix the oats with milk, yoghurt and honey.
2. Add the pumkin seeds, flax seeds, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix Well.
3. Cover the bowl tightly with glad wrap and refrigerate overnight.
4. When ready, mix with blueberries or berries of choice and serve.

My favourite breakfast

I am not one for fancy breakfasts. The most indulgent thing I have ever eaten in the mornings are scrambled eggs from Bills in Sydney. Bills is a popular breakfast and lunch establishment owned by Bill Granger, otherwise known as 'the Eggmaster'. And rightly so. His eggs are famous for being terribly rich and fattening - a combination that I can't cope with in the morning.

That's why I love a dippy egg and vegemite soldiers...I usually have this for brekkie every weekend. Sometimes Nic manages to coerce me into having French toast with smoked bacon or crepes but not today. It's dippy egg time! Yes, I am almost 30 and I still love dipping my soldiers into my egg! It can't be too runny though. It has to be hardening on the outside with a little golden liquid in the centre. Delicious.