Blueberry Shortcake Cookies

Um, déjà vu much?

I know what you’re thinkin’ right about now… I bet you’re thinking that you’ve already seen this post, that green gingham plate, these shortcake cookies.

Well, you have! Kinda. Sorta.

I mean — do you ever make something — anything — and think to yourself, “Yeah, this is good… but I have an even better idea!” after it’s done?

That’s totally where I was at with those strawberry shortcake cookies that I posted a couple days ago!

As delicious and addictive as that first batch of cookies was, my brain was buzzing with inspiration about 10 seconds after biting into the first one.

Blueberries! With maple! Oh oh oh and cinnamon! So Canadian!

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

I read an article in one of Vancouver’s local junk-papers the other day.

It said that new research has shown that eating just a few strawberries a day is even better for you than eating an apple a day.

Now, I’m a little on the cynical side, and so I’d usually write the article off — the timing of it is just too contrived: strawberries are coming into season, lots of berries in the supermarkets, they run an article in the paper, and people are racing to buy these super berries that are just so conveniently available!

The world works like that. It really does.

But then I remembered a practice session from one of my past Japanese classes…

Our teacher was having the class talk about what we do for the sake of our health, and she told us that she eats five strawberries a day, without fail.

Then she told us that it’s been five years and she hasn’t been sick once since she started doing it.

Whole Wheat Molasses Loaf

Often, when eating quick breads, I can’t quite shake that guilty feeling that what I’m eating isn’t cake.

Especially since quick breads and cakes do have a lot in common: they’re leavened with chemicals (baking soda, baking powder, cream of tartar) instead of yeast, they go into the oven as a batter before they bake, and they’re often sweet.

But quick breads have good points, too: they’re particularly good for people who need want bread and need it to be, y’know, quick!

Would it be faster for a hard-pressed-for-time student to pop on over to the supermarket and pick up a loaf of Wonderbread?

Sure, it could be — but then I’d probably get distracted along the way and not come back for hours and hours.

Quick bread is 20% prep time and 80% bake time — which leaves me an extra hour to spend on writing papers… hooray?

Focaccia Bread

Focaccia bread with Italian herbs is so delicious and easy to make!

Unlike supermarket loaves, which are bland and floppy, it’s got a crisp crust on the outside while still being tender and scrumptious on the inside. It’s perfect dipped in a smooth, rich olive oil and sweet, tangy balsamic vinegar.

Okay, so you can’t slice it and make a sandwich with it, but focaccia is so good that you just don’t need all that extra stuff — no condiments, veggies, cheese, meat, what have you — just pure, bready bliss.

There are just a couple things you need to know before you bake your own bread.

First, make sure you’ve got a good oven that runs true-to-temperature and gets really hot. If you suspect your oven runs cool, add another 5 or 10 degrees (in Fahrenheit).

Second, know how to knead.

If you’re at all curious about bread science and kneading, definitely watch the video I’ve linked to. It’s my favourite kneading video (you know you’re a baker when you have a favourite kneading video, durr…) and it does a great job explaining how to do it and why it’s important.

Bitter-Sweet Cocoa Hazelnut Bites

Sometimes I wonder how some types of baking get so damned popular.

For example: cupcakes (they even have a cupcake competition show on Food Network now — how weird is that?) are super trendy, and so is organic baking (and organic everything), “low-carb” baking (how does that even work?), and vegan baking.

Ugh, vegan baking — don’t even get me started.

It seems really weird that people go vegan “for their health” and then eat dairy and meat replacement foods that are heavily processed and full of strange chemical binders and created through wholly unnatural means of production.

Hey, people can do what they want — but that doesn’t mean I get it, y’know?

Anyways, as a vegetarian, I can do the vegan thing — when there’s a good reason.

In this case, I’d definitely say that while vegan nature of these cookies is kinda coincidental, it’s also got some kinda awesome purpose.

Creamy Potato Leek Soup with Honey and Thyme

It’s almost the end of January, and I’m still chugging away at that box of potatoes I received in December.

I’ve been trying to think of things to make with potatoes… y’know, other than mashed potatoes and baked potatoes and hashbrowns, which are all very tasty — but not particularly good to eat day after day!

Why is it that potatoes seem to go best with stuff like butter and sour cream and cheese and more butter?

I like you, potatoes, but I think this relationship might be bad for me!

This is where leeks come in — they’re like a fatty potato intervention. They’re full of vitamin A, insoluble fibre, and even a little iron.