First grown by the Peruvian Incas, potatoes were transported to the Old World in 1570 by the Spanish Conquistadores as part of the cultural appropriation that accompanied invasion. But the new vegetables were reviled by Europeans fearful of their nightshade family tree, with cousins including eggplant and tomatoes, but also deadly mandrake and belladonna, and so were grown initially as animal fodder.

It took advocates like Antoine-August Parmentier to make spuds acceptable. Parmentier was a socially conscious chef and medical officer who also enforced smallpox vaccination among Napoleon’s troops. He became a staunch advocate for potatoes after he survived on them in a Prussian prison camp during the Seven Years War (1756-63). He later planted potatoes on his estates near Paris; to create potato prestige, he posted guards during the day, but removed the guards nightly so Parisians could “steal” the plants to grow in their own gardens. His influence endures in French dishes bearing his name as indicators that they contain potatoes. In an ironic moment of food history, in the aftermath of the French Revolution, the royal gardens, the Tuileries, were converted to potato fields.

Potatoes migrated to North America in the 1770s. American inventor Ben Franklin attended a “potato feast” cooked by Parmentier for the French king, Louis XIV, who wore a potato flower boutonniere. Franklin subsequently carried seed potatoes home. His colleague, Thomas Jefferson, served as American Minister to France, and one of his slaves, James Hemings, studied to be a chef while they were in Paris. Later, at the White House, Hemings served finely cut potato pieces cooked in hot oil and — voila! — french fries.

It’s amazing that the potato is even eaten in Ireland after the Potato Famine of 1845-51. At that point, Irish Catholics could not own or lease land, so were reduced to tenant farmers and poverty, eating one variety of potato, the Lumper; the Corn Laws made wheat unaffordable, and dairy, fish and cattle were exported en masse to England. But an ecological disaster made a bad situation worse. A plant pathogen, Phytophthora infestans, wiped out the Lumper crop, turning tasty taters into rotting slime. A million Irish died of starvation and a million more fled, mostly for the New World. Thus my potato-loving paternal ancestors became settlers in what would be known as Treaty 3 Territory, the Between the Lakes Territory, Upper Canada, or southern Ontario.

In what became known as Alberta, Daniel Harman, agent for the North West Company, mentioned in his journals the harvest of the first potatoes seeded in 1810 near Dunvegan. Forty-three years later, the potato chip was invented in Saratoga Springs, New York. A chef, George Crum, irked when railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt sent back his potatoes for more cooking, thinly sliced the offending potatoes, fried them in oil, and sprinkled the resulting chips with salt. Vanderbilt loved them, triggering our continuing affair with potato chips.

But potatoes have better uses than chips. As my feisty Irish granny was fond of saying, spuds are best served plain, with a few added ingredients — hence latkes, boxty, pommes Anna, or champ. So first we eat, then we’ll swap recipes.

Hedgehog Potatoes

This is one of those deceptive dishes that elevate its few ingredients. It’s also good for practising your knife skills. Choose uniform oval potatoes — yellow fleshed are best — of similar size. Make extra! These reheat well, uncovered, in a medium-hot oven. Serves 6.

• 6 potatoes
• 2 heads of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Chopped chives for garnish
• Sour cream for garnish

Set the oven at 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut off a thin slice of each potato to make a flat surface. Set the potato on its flat side and use a large sharp knife to make parallel cuts across the potato at regular intervals. Do not cut all the way through. Insert a garlic slice into each cut. Repeat with the rest of the potatoes. Transfer the potatoes to the baking sheet. Drizzle with oil, then season with salt and pepper. Bake for an hour, more if needed, basting at intervals. Serve with garnishes.

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I first made pasta at a tiny restaurant where I worked during the 1980s in Calgary. I experimented with adding all kinds of vegetable purées and herbs to the dough, although Calgary diners back then were just not ready for garishly pink beet-stained pasta, but they liked the saffron version, yellow that bled across the dough like paint on a canvas.

A food processor is best for combining the dough. For rolling and cutting, use a machine attachment for your countertop mixer, a hand-crank pasta machine like my Italian beauty (if you are willing to jury-rig it a bit to keep it from wiggling about as you crank the handle), or a purist’s knife and rolling pin (but only if you use super-finely ground doppio, or “double zero” Italian-style flour, in a grade milled specifically for pasta, not bread or cake). I use all-purpose flour when I make pasta and roll it in my stainless steel Imperia, which is easily ordered online.

Judging by the state of the nation’s grocery shelves, we all have flour in our houses, so between bouts of feeding your sourdough starter and shaping loaves, cranking out some noodles is a good use of time. Like bread making, the end result is something that offers comfort as well as sustenance. There’s nothing like a bowl of fresh pasta dressed in butter and Parmesan cheese, or in a Bolognese that spent hours in the oven.

But if you hesitate because of the time outlay, consider: if you amortize the time spent making (an hour-plus, but half that spent letting the dough rest) with the time spent cooking (one to two minutes, depending on thickness), fresh pasta begins to look like an ideal supper for folks confined to home with an appetite and time to put in. So let’s get to it. First we eat, then tell me what’s new with you in your socially distant home.

Handmade Pasta

Weighing pasta’s few ingredients is the best choice for the most consistent texture: flour can be compressed or aerated, and eggs vary in size. The more you make pasta, the sooner you can make it intuitively, by feel. Until then, weigh your ingredients, including the liquid. Makes about 500 g, enough for two to four servings.

• 300 g all-purpose flour
• Salt to taste
• 3 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• Water as needed to bring the egg volume to 185 g

Aerate the flour and salt in the food processor, then add the liquid. Mix into a rough ball. If it is pebbly or sandy, add water, a spoonful at a time. If it sticks to the bowl, add a little more flour. Turn out on the counter and knead in small motions; pinch a bit of the dough at a time, then turn the dough a few degrees and repeat. Knead for eight to 10 minutes, until smooth and supple. Wrap well and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Dust the pasta with flour or ground semolina. Divide into six pieces, wrapping them so they don’t dry out. Flatten one piece with the heel of your hand, then feed it into the pasta maker’s aperture, set at its widest opening. Lay the dough on the counter and fold the two ends to meet in the middle. Turn it 90 degrees. Flatten with the heel of your hand before feeding it into the aperture a second time, still at the widest setting. Repeat the fold-and-roll four times, dusting with flour as needed.

Advance the aperture by one click. Pass the dough through twice without folding, flouring as needed. Advance the aperture and roll through twice. Cut each piece in half when it gets too long to handle. Roll through narrower apertures until the dough is thin, perhaps stopping at the second-last setting.

Let stand uncovered on a floured countertop or floured tea towel for 15 to 30 minutes, until the top surface is leathery. Turn over and dry the other side.

Put a pot of water on to boil and salt it generously.

Move the hand-crank to the cutter mechanism and crank the dough, catching the noodles as they emerge from beneath the cutter. Lay them on a tea towel dusted with flour. Repeat with the other pieces.

Cook for one to two minutes in boiling salted water. Taste to determine when the noodles are just cooked through, or al dente. Remove from the pot using tongs, not by dumping the noodles and water through a strainer. Toss in sauce and serve immediately.

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It’s a tough gig, being a grower on the Canadian Prairies. We make jokes about the harsh weather — “But it’s a dry cold!” — but in reality some of us are pretty chuffed that we manage to grow anything at all.

Of course, we can’t grow everything. If I had my druthers, my little piece of prairie would be blessed with a kinder, gentler, more Mediterranean climate. I’d grow grapes, sweet cherries, olives, dates and figs, eggplant, all kinds of citrus. Lemons, grapefruit, limes and oranges fresh from the tree are an intoxicating thing. Just as intoxicating is the aroma of their blossoms before the tree produces fruit.

Dozens of songs have been written about the lemon, from “Blind Lemon Blues” by Lead Belly to Prince’s “Lemon Crush.” In literature, too, D.H. Lawrence wrote about lemons like innumerable stars in his 1921 travel book, Sea and Sardinia. But nothing compares to strolling outside and twisting a fresh lemon free from the tree.

Citrus is an undeniably Arabic influence. Groves of bitter, or Seville, oranges, and other citrus were planted by Arabs carrying Islam into Europe. Flavours bequeathed by the Arabs to the cuisines of the Mediterranean include saffron, sweet-sour agrodolce sauce, good on grilled fish, and preserved lemons. This is to fresh lemons as powdered and crystallized ginger is to fresh ginger — recognizably the same flavour, but not interchangeable. Fresh lemons are a brightener of flavours without equal — almost always, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice elevates a dish. But preserved lemons are transformed into a condiment, losing their acidic rasp to the mellowing influence of salt.

So here it is — how to preserve lemons, then what to do with them. First we eat, then a glass of wine as we discuss the merits of moving to the Mediterranean.

Preserved Lemons

Preserved lemons are a classic Mediterranean condiment. They are wondrous added to prawns, grilled fish, stews, roasted potatoes, bowls of lentils or chickpeas, grain salad, vinaigrette. Makes 1 pint.

• 6 lemons
• 2 tbsp. kosher or pickling salt
• 4 bay leaves
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds
• 1/4 c. melted honey (optional)

Quarter washed lemons 3/4 of the way down the fruit, leaving the quarters attached at the stem end. Stuff each with 1 tsp. salt. Pack into jar, peel side up, squishing well with a spoon to get the juices flowing. Sprinkle each layer with coriander seed, cinnamon sticks and bay leaves. Add honey, and if needed, extra lemon juice to cover. Cover and age in the fridge for a month before using.

Chicken with Olives and Preserved Lemons

Called a tagine in Morocco, a stew is a stew by any other name. You can swap the chicken for large cubes of lamb shoulder or cross-cut shanks; just extend the cooking time. For added complexity, add a pinch of saffron. Serves 6 to 10.

• 6 chicken thighs and drums, bone in
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped 
• 1 head garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp. chopped ginger (optional)
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 tsp. anise seed, cracked
• 1 tbsp. sweet paprika
• 1 tbsp. ground cumin
• 2 tbsp. ground coriander
• 1/2 c. chopped parsley
• 4 c. chicken stock
• 1 c. sliced green olives
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 2 tbsp. pomegranate molasses or brown sugar
• 1/3 c. finely sliced preserved lemon, zest only
• 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 bunch green onions, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Brown the legs, skin side down, in a heavy pan until most of the fat is rendered out. Set the meat aside. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, red pepper and spices. Sauté until tender. Add the parsley, stock, olives, cinnamon, pomegranate molasses or brown sugar and lemons. Bring to a boil, return the meat to the pan, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked and tender, about 90 minutes, longer as needed. Stir in the vinegar, salt and pepper. If the juices are too thin, bring to a boil uncovered, until sauce consistency. Garnish with green onions. Serve hot with roasted vegetables, couscous, bulgur salad or mashed spuds.

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Many studies show that 25 to 40 per cent of North Americans skip breakfast — mostly to save time, but others simply to cut down on calories, or because like me they have no appetite first thing, or, more grimly, have no food in the house. A recent study by the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology shows that people who have had a heart attack and persist in not only skipping breakfast but in eating dinner late (going straight to bed afterwards), are four or five times more likely to die, have another heart attack or suffer chest pain within a month of leaving hospital.

Those are scary findings, but my own experience was enough to finally convince me: I simply function better in the mornings with fuel. I’ve wandered around the globe a bit in my search for what is appetizing first thing in the day. Admittedly, I would prefer to just have that cuppa joe and a slice of sourdough toast and marmalade, but I am better off without the joe to go anymore. One of my favourite breakfasts is black rice simmered with coconut milk (easy, easy: cook the rice until almost tender, then remove the lid and stir in coconut milk, cinnamon if you like, and a bit of sugar). Eat it warm. I make a potful, and simply warm up a small bowlful each morning, thinning it with a bit of water if needed.

Another fave is Thai-style rice, a savoury concoction of jasmine rice, sweated vegetables and ginger, meat optional, seasoned with ground coriander, fish sauce, sugar, soy and hot chili paste. Oh my goodness, what a breakfast! It’s especially good after a morning spent shovelling snow, splitting birch firewood or running the dog.

Dave’s favourite breakfast remains eggs with bacon and toast. We buy good eggs from the chicken lady who also sells me a bunch of freshly slaughtered whole birds for my freezer each summer, and I get terrific bacon from the local smokehouse. Add homemade sourdough bread and maybe some of my son’s famous hash browns, and Dave is set for the day.

On days when my deadlines are all met, my textbooks are all read and my essays all written, I make waffles. I like them better than pancakes — those indentations in waffles capture all manner of yummy toppings, from berries or maple syrup to bits of ham, onion and corn kernels. When I have two days to spare, I make Liège waffles — caramelized and chewy, made with a double-risen yeasted brioche dough that’s gloriously high in butter, with pearl sugar in the dough, utterly rich and fabulous. It’s hard to go back to “regular” waffles after Liège waffles, but life isn’t all fancy-pants food. Some days ya just gotta eat. I will, I promise, tune up my Liège waffle recipe soon, to share with you. But today, here’s a low-gluten waffle with a gorgeous texture, partly due to the cornmeal I add. So first we eat, then we’ll compare notes on breakfast.

Spelt and Cornmeal Waffles with Blueberries

I use spelt and cornmeal for texture and for low gluten. Experiment with other flours if you like.

Compote:

• 2 c. blueberries
• 1 pear or apple, peeled, cored and finely slice
• 1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 c. orange juice
• 1-1/2 tsp. cornstarch
• Sugar to taste

Combine all the compote ingredients in a small pot. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Simmer until thickened, then keep warm.

Preheat the waffle iron. Separate the eggs, setting the whites aside in a clean glass or metal bowl. Stir the milk into the yolks, mixing well. Whisk the egg whites to a stiff foam. Mix together the dry ingredients, then stir them into the yolk-milk mix. Fold in the egg whites. Spoon the batter onto the griddle and make waffles, keeping extras warm in the oven as needed. Serve with warm berry compote.

Batter:

• 2 large eggs
• 1-1/2 c. milk or milk replacement
• 1-1/2 c. spelt flour
• 1/2 c. cornmeal (I like Purity for its texture)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• A pinch of salt
• Oil for the griddle if needed

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“The three-meal institution is dying,” he said. While he does know that people still buy cookbooks, Charlebois sees no signs that people are cooking.

However, people are paying more attention to what they eat. People are defining themselves as flexitarian (people who are deliberately trying to decrease the red mean they consume), pescatarian (people who don’t eat meat but do eat fish), vegetarians (who don’t eat meat or fish), or vegans (who don’t eat meat, fish, dairy or eggs).

“It’s only going to get more complicated,” Charlebois said.

For now, he said, there are only about 533,000 vegans in Canada. However, when asked in a survey if they’ve tried a plant-based product, such as the meatless burgers available at A&W, 41 per cent of people surveyed said yes. When they were asked if they tried it a second time, 23 per cent said yes. “Not everyone is jumping on the bandwagon,” Charlebois said, “but when you add five or six per cent a year, it grows.”

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Every evening, Dave rummages through the freezer, looking for something sweet. Inevitably, it means that the next time I go looking for something in the freezer I have to reorganize my arrangement, restoring brown beans with brown beans, red tomato sauce with red tomato sauce, chicken breast with chicken thighs.

Scratch cooks depend on freezers. Where would we stash the backup of the things that are too labour intensive to make often, the things we make in triplicate because it’s really not three times the work? You know — the lasagna, the moussaka, the potstickers, the smoked ribs, the second helpings of Moroccan-style braised lamb shanks. So the freezer really is our best labour-saving device. Really. Who is going to make chicken stock every time they roast a bird? Far better to freeze the carcass — and the next, plus the remains of the chicken thighs and drumsticks — and then make one large pot of stock, freezing it in one-litre tubs for convenience in making soups and braises and sauces and risotto. No freezer? No stock. No stock? No… well, you get the picture.

I never quite manage to empty the freezer, but the fact that it’s full means I have a world of possibility when I want to make supper. So let’s go rummage, but first we eat before we reorganize its contents again.

Potstickers

Potstickers are aptly named — beware. Use this filling to make potstickers, but it also makes great burgers. Maybe you want to double the mix and freeze some burgers for another day’s dinner? If your pantry does not contain dried Chinese mushrooms, simply omit them. Makes about 60 potstickers.

Filling:

• 1 onion, finely minced
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1 parsnip, grated
• 1 c. finely shredded cabbage
• 1 tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 tbsp. grated ginger root
• 3 dried black Chinese mushrooms, rehydrated and slivered, stems discarded
• 2 lbs. ground turkey or pork
• 2 tbsp. minced cilantro
• 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. fish sauce
• 2 tbsp. minced green onions
• 1/2 tsp. hot chili paste

Casing:

• 2 packages won ton wrappers
• Oil for sautéing

Dip:

• 2 tbsp. hoisin sauce
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp. minced fresh ginger
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
• Hot chili flakes or paste to taste
• Water to thin to dipping consistency
• 1 egg

Mix the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix well. Trim the corners off the square won ton wrappers to make them round. Cover wrappers with plastic to keep them from drying out. (Fry the corner trimmings for

a terrific salad garnish!) Put one wrapper on the palm of your hand and spoon some filling onto the centre. Set the dumpling on the counter and fold the wrapper up from the bottom in pleats, covering as much of the sides of the dumpling with wrapper. Place flat wrapper side down on a tray dusted with cornstarch. Continue to make dumplings to use all the filling. Freeze in a single layer, and transfer into freezer bags once solid.

To cook, remove potstickers from the freezer and heat a sauté pan on moderately high heat. Add enough oil to lubricate the pan. Add some frozen potstickers in a single layer. Sauté until well browned (check by picking up one and inspecting the underside). Add water to a depth of about 1/2 inch. Cover with a snug lid and cook until the water evaporates and the dumplings are cooked through, about 7 minutes. Remove the lid and cook uncovered if the water takes too long to evaporate. Immediately use a metal spatula to free the potstickers from the pan before they stick. Clean the pan before cooking the next batch. Serve with dip.

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Some people think that baking is alchemy, and that bakers are magicians. It’s true that bakers are born, not made. It has to do with the hands. A baker is born with tender hands, a sweet talker, and stealthy enough to coax cookies into creation, and speedy enough to have biscuits shaped and baking before their baking powder has time to rebel against rising.

Bakers are a rare breed. For many, the memory of a beloved grandmother in a flour-dusted apron is the closest they’ve come to knowing an angel. For the rest, finding a baker amongst us is an event to be celebrated. In this particular instance, it was a Facebook post by my friend Amy Jo Ehman, whose name may be familiar to many Grainews readers as a former columnist and very fine foodie.

AJ had posted a photo of one of her pies. In the photo the pie’s juices are bubbling out of the lattice crust, and that sent me to the kitchen to make two, one for us, one for her. Baking pie for AJ, the best pie maker I know, is a gift I like to give her. No one bakes for bakers. No one cooks for cooks. The intimidation factor looms too large. What could you possibly cook for a chef? Or bake for a baker? Invitations to dinner are rare — “I didn’t know what to make for you that is good enough.” Like AJ, I always reply — “I’m just glad of the invitation to share.”

We have different hands, different styles. AJ’s pie pastry is flaky, made with butter and lard, meant to melt away. Mine, a brisée, made in a classic French style with butter, is crisp, meant to contain, then shatter between the teeth. She uses a pie plate, builds a lattice like a grapevine’s trellis to contain her strawberries and rhubarb. I make a free-form galette on a baking sheet, juices and specks of ginger and nutmeg escaping over the top.

The difference arises from the type of fat used, and the method used to incorporate the fat into the flour. Using lard mixed with butter, and leaving the bits of fat in quite large blobs (the size of fingernails), makes a flaky structure. Using butter, cut into mealiness, followed by a smearing action called fraisage, makes brisée liquid-proof while still tender. Both types have their advantages — and their heroes. So slice the pie. First we eat, then we try our hand at making other types of pastry.

Apple Galette

This is a rustic free-form tart with one crust and lots of fruit. It is baked on a cookie sheet, not in a pie plate. Serves 6 to 8.

• 1 recipe of your favourite pastry 8-10 firm tart apples (Gala, Granny Smith, Jonagold, Fuji)
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• A handful of raisins or dried cranberries (optional)
• 1/4 c. butter, divided
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp. cream
• 2 tbsp. white sugar

Roll out pastry into a 16-inch round. Place the round on a parchment-lined baking sheet with a bit of a lip. Let the pastry rest, lightly covered with plastic wrap, while you proceed with the fruit. Set the oven at 375 F, and position the rack in the centre of the oven. Peel, core and slice the apples. Mix with the brown sugar, spices and dried fruit.

Heat half the butter in a sauté pan. Add the apple mixture and cook over medium-high heat until the apples soften, about 15 minutes. Pour onto a tray and let cool. Tidily heap the fruit in the centre of the pastry, leaving a 1 inch- to 3 inch-border of pastry uncovered by fruit.

Fold and pleat the outer edge of the pastry over the apples, making an enclosing lip of pastry. You should have a small section of apples in the centre that is uncovered. Distribute the butter in small bits on the apples that are exposed. Mix together the egg and cream, and brush the ensuing egg wash onto the pastry. Sprinkle the entire thing sparingly with the white sugar.

Bake until browned, about 35 minutes. Serve warm.

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He was right. Our gift bags to our friends last year included ramekins filled with savoury lamb liver paté, perfect with the sourdough bread, chutney and crackers I’d already made for the project.

But here it is three weeks until Christmas. Yikes! How did that happen? Don’t panic. Instead, spend a bit of time in your kitchen this month, making some simple gifts that will be appreciated.

What matters most in life are not things, but emotions and experiences. Neither can be wrapped in tissue or tied in a ribbon. A handmade present symbolizes our efforts to make tangible those untouchable things and food makes memories. Ask anyone, at any age, about events that matter or people they love, and odds are good that food is an integral part of the story.

Some kitchen gifts are best started now. Others really are last-minute affairs that can be assembled moments before you change into your party clothes and head out the door.

You may have the ingredients for these gifts already on hand. All you need to do is change their state. Cooking is chemistry, and changing states is a simple matter sometimes — water into steam, sugar into caramel. As in a good fairy tale, the time spent in transformations is sometimes what counts most dearly, not the cost of the makings. And that is what gives the most modest of kitchen gifts their value. Just add ribbon.

Vanilla Vinegar

This is best with shellfish, roasted beets, carrots and asparagus. Start with good vinegar – white wine, apple cider, champagne. Split 2 or 3 vanilla beans lengthwise, scrape the seeds from the pods, and add them and the pods to the vinegar. Cover and age for a month.

Mixed Olives with Herbs

These are good anywhere and any time. Buy good Kalamata, oil-cured or green olives and drench them in olive oil, garlic, hot chili flakes, a sprinkle of herbes de Canada,* cracked fennel seeds, lemon zest and pepper.

* For herbes de Canada, mix together dried thyme, lavender, summer savoury, rosemary, parsley, basil, fennel seed, marjoram, sage in any proportion to your taste.

Chocolate-Coated Dried Apricots and Ginger

White and dark (or milk) chocolate are both required. Melt the chocolates separately. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Dip each piece of fruit or ginger halfway into one or the other melted chocolate, then lay it flat on the parchment. Chill. For a frill, dip a fork into the other colour of melted chocolate and wave it over the already-dipped fruit. Chill again.

Rooibos Chai

Delicious South African herbal tea spiked with whole cloves, cardamom and cinnamon. For each cup of leaves, add 2 broken cinnamon sticks, a broken star anise, 12 green cardamom pods, 12 whole cloves and 15 allspice berries. For a traditional black chai, substitute 1 cup Darjeeling tea leaves for the rooibos.

Togarashi

This is a Japanese blend of chili pepper, black pepper, dried orange peel, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, hemp seeds and crumbled nori (dried seaweed). It’s good on scallops, salmon and in wine as a steaming medium for mussels.

Chevre Dip

Buy good chevre, then purée it with olive oil, fennel seed, garlic, black pepper, basil, thyme, parsley, chives, lemon juice and zest, and a bit of whipping cream.

The list of good homemade edible gifts is long: sourdough bread, chocolate and almond caramel bark, brioche or challah, paté, sausage, cookies, crackers, preserves. First we eat, then we’ll rummage through your pantry to see what we can whip up. Happy holidays.

Caramelized Pecans

These nuts are dynamite snacks, pizza topping, salad garnish, or accompaniment to a glass of red wine. Don’t be tempted to sample them straight out of the pan — that melted sugar is hot enough to seriously burn your mouth. Also good on flatbread, salad, grain dishes or with a glass of bubbly. From my first cookbook, Skinny Feasts (Whitecap, 1997). Makes about 2 cups.

• 2 c. pecan halves
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground star anise
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne
• Salt to taste

Put the nuts into a colander or strainer and pour boiling water over them. Drain well, then place nuts and all ingredients in a sauté pan. Cook over medium-high heat for about 7 minutes, stirring well, until the nuts are dark and glossy. Spread them out in a single layer on a tray or plate to cool.

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Bread making has changed from its peasant origins. Between the original flour, water and salt that made the first loaves and modern industrially produced bread lie what Pollan says are as many as 37 additives. Agreed, white bread is cheaper to produce and less perishable, made with mass-produced roller-milled flour instead of stone-ground whole grain flour. But it’s also less nutritious. So the big bakeries fortified breads by adding vitamins, minerals, dough conditioners, stabilizers, amino acids and preservatives. Do those additives upset my gut?

In my own kitchen, I switched to making and eating only sourdough bread made with local organic flours after my own evidence convinced me that somehow, sourdough bread was easier on my belly than store bought. But I had no proof of why. So I looked around for clarification.

In “Air,” Episode 3 of his Netflix series, “Cooked,” Pollan explores the elements of bread making. Air adds gases and other flavours as well as lightening bread’s texture. Gluten is the balloon that contains the bubbles of gas and air in bread.

Why can I eat sourdough? I read studies showing that sourdough bread’s slow fermentation process reduces the amount of FODMAPs (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols), types of carbohydrates that are present in bread but are not well absorbed in the small intestine and cause bloating and flatulence. But Pollan suggests that just as important is the long, slow fermentation inherent to sourdough bread making. Fermentation is key to health; wheat is hard to digest. That long fermentation allows bacteria to fully break down wheat’s carbs and gluten strands and releases its minerals for easier absorption.

Using commercial yeast gives bread a faster lift but overlooks the rest of fermentation’s role. With no breakdown of carbs and gluten, that bread is harder to digest.

I feel vindicated. And I keep baking. Sourdough bread is the most satisfying food in my kitchen.

Ask your artisan baker for a cupful of starter (or make it yourself). Then get out the bread knife and the butter. First we eat, then we talk about bread.

Making sourdough starter

You can buy starter in dried form at specialty food stores, get it online, or you can ask a good baker for some. You can also make your own, which takes from several days to two weeks.

• Chef Paul Bertolli, formerly of San Francisco’s Chez Panisse, suggests making a starter by mixing together 1 cup cool water and 1 cup all-purpose flour with 1/2 tsp. yeast. Stir well, cover with plastic wrap and leave on the counter in a ceramic or glass bowl for three to five days. Stir daily. Feed the starter several times over the next 24 hours: add 1/2 cup each all-purpose flour and milk or water when liquid begins to seep to the surface of the starter. Use half the finished starter in your bread dough and save half in the fridge as your new starter.
• Nancy Silverton, owner of Los Angeles’s La Brea Bakery, makes starter with organic grapes, water and flour. Use 4 cups each of water and unbleached all-purpose flour, and about 2 cups grapes. Mix together, cover and let stand at room temperature for 3 days. On the fourth day, add 1 cup each flour and water. Mix well and let stand, covered, at room temperature, for six more days. On day 10, discard the grapes and all but 2 cups starter. For the next five days, feed the starter three times a day, mixing in about 1 cup each of flour and water, each time discarding all but 2 cups of the starter. Mix well and cover. Now it is ready to use.

Store finished starter in the fridge, mixed into as thick a dough as you can manage to give it lots of food until you bring it out for revival and use.

Sourdough bread

For best flavour, use locally raised flours. (I use Red Fife flour for no more than half my total flour.) Makes 2 loaves.

• Starter
  • Milk or water as needed
  • Flour as needed
• 3-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
• 2 tbsp. kosher salt
• Warm water or milk to form a dough

Put your starter in a clean jar or glass/ceramic bowl. Leave the bowl or jar on the counter for a day, uncovered. For the next three days, add 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup milk or water, morning and evening. Discard half of the mix each time or it will become a monster. Transfer half the starter to a clean jar and refrigerate as your new mother starter.

Put the remaining starter in a mixing bowl. Add flours, salt, and water or milk. Mix to form a dough, by hand or machine.

Knead until soft, smooth and supple. Return to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in the fridge until doubled in bulk. Be patient. This could take two days.

Gently shape into two taut rounds or oval logs. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Dust with flour and cover. Let rise another day.

Preheat oven to 450 F. When you turn on the oven, put an empty pan on the lowest rack and fill it with water.

Slash oval loaves across the top in parallel lines with the tip of a sharp knife. Slash round loaves on the sides in curving Cs. Spray the dough with tepid water. Immediately slide the bread onto the upper racks of the oven. Bake until crusty and baked through, about 15-30 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of the loaves.

The post Making sourdough bread appeared first on Grainews.

I began to bake as a youngster, and in later years, as a chef, restaurateur and caterer, I made many cakes. My small restaurant in Calgary had a name for good desserts, among them one I dubbed “the Queen cake,” a luscious chocolate angel food filled with fruit and chocolate whipped cream. It became the favourite of my youngest son, who requested it each year for his birthday. (This year, he made his first ever for himself and his partner. Still his fave.) My eldest son begged me through a catechism of ever-changing-but-always-chocolate cakes that peaked with a five-layer extravaganza — a cake that took me three days to make and assemble. (“Never again!” I told my son.) So I thought everybody celebrated with cake.

My marriage ended in 2000, and a year later, I took up with a wonderful man. My birthday arrived. My new man brought me books, jewelry, clothing, wine, glorious presents I opened after a home-cooked dinner. But no cake. I was surprised by how deeply disappointed I felt, and my sweetie was appalled at the oversight, and my response. But I hadn’t mentioned it, and he — a diabetic — didn’t have any attachment to cake. So no cake. He hustled out next day, and bought cake, but it wasn’t the same. (The relationship didn’t last. Not the cake’s fault, although sometimes a critical thing’s absence brings home other lacks.)

I learned. Early on in our relationship, I told Dave that I wanted cake on my birthday — even last year, when I marked 60 years on the planet. Fortunately, the cupcake craze has stuck, and my non-baker Dave happily brings home cupcakes when we require cake not made by me.

Over the years, I have acquired a wide cake repertoire, and am happy to make cakes for special occasions, especially when my friends and extended family will consume the leftovers.

Because my sister and I have wheat intolerances, some of my fave cakes are flourless or low flour: angel food cake; flourless chocolate torte; nut torte filled with citrus mousse; cornmeal and nut cake flavoured with lots of lemon and cardamom, and totally outrageous with simmered apples, pears or quince and whipped cream.

When I first met Winnipeg’s favourite dessert, the schmoo cake, it didn’t take me long to realize it too could be flourless or close to flourless. I adapted my angel food and my torte recipes, added a salted butterscotch sauce, and wow, I fed my father and family schmoo cake for this year’s annual wintertime joint birthday party. Here it is. First we eat, then we weigh the merits of other celebratory sweets.

Schmoo Cake with Salted Butterscotch Sauce

Wow Winnipeg! This is a dynamite cake with a murky past. Here’s my version, adapted from a blend of my angel food cake and flourless nut torte. If you wish, eliminate the flour and up the nuts to 4 cups. Makes 2 9-inch springform pans; serves a crowd.

Cake:

• 12 whole eggs, separated
• 1-1/2 c. white sugar, divided in half 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 c. finely chopped toasted pecans

Filling and topping:

• 3 c. whipping cream
• Icing sugar to taste

Butterscotch sauce:

• 1-1/2 c. brown sugar 1 c. whipping cream 2 tbsp. salted butter A pinch of kosher salt

How to bake:

• Set oven to 325 F. For the cake, beat yolks and half the sugar with the cream of tartar until thick, pale yellow and tripled in volume. Add the vanilla. Set aside.
• In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites and the remaining sugar — added slowly — until stiff peaks form.
• Stir together the flour, baking powder and pecans. Fold into the yolks, then fold in the whites. Divide among the two pans. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely.
• Whip the cream and icing sugar to taste. Slice each cake in half. Place one half on a flat plate, add whipped cream, a second layer of cake and cream, then third and fourth layers of each. Cover outside with whipped cream. Chill.

For the butterscotch sauce,

• Combine all ingredients except salt.
• Bring to a boil. Simmer until the sugar is completely dissolved.
• Add a pinch of salt. Transfer to a jar.
• Let cool before using to generously garnish each slice of cake.

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