Super Easy Biscotti

Biscotti is a scary thing. It's a cookie, but then it's baked again and then again. It's a tough thing to jump right into; especially when you have kids who are all like, "You're making cookies?!"

If you have never made biscotti before, my advice is this: find two hours where you won't have any interruptions, or at the very least minimal ones. During this time review the recipe once or twice, get all your ingredients ready, and take it one step at a time.

Here is the recipe I use. And I love it!

• 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 Tbsp extract of choice (almond, anise, lemon, etc.)

Preheat oven to 375F, line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Blend all the ingredients in a medium bowl. The dough will become very sticky. Very sticky.

*I keep a small bowl of water on the side to dip my hands in when handling the dough. I have found that it doesn't change the recipe all that much and it makes it far easier to work with.*

Divide the dough into two equal pieces.  Form each piece into a log close to the length of the cookie sheet and flatten to about 1/2 inch thick.

Bake for 18-25 minutes, (22 for those of you in Calgary, AB) until edges become golden brown.

Remove from oven and place to cool on cooling rack.

When cookie log is cool enough to handle safely, cut into 1/2 inch strips; across or diagonally. I set the ends that are too small on the side and let my kids at them later. They are too small to be re-baked.

Put the cookie pieces on their side on the baking sheet and return to the oven for another 5 or 6 minutes, the bottoms will be lightly toasted.

Turn the cookies over and return to the oven for another 5 or 6 minutes.

Allow to cool completely.

It's as easy as that. True story.

Ready for some variations?

• Instead of a Tbsp of extract, add a different spice, to taste. This will colour the cookie a bit and it will reduce the stickiness of the dough in the beginning, but not by much. 
• Melt some chocolate to drizzle over the top, or give the bottoms a little bath.
• Add half a cup of dried berries or chopped nuts for some extra texture. 
• Add 1-1 1/2 Tbsp fresh zest.

I especially love this recipe because the cookies aren't as tooth-breaking as some of the ones I have tried from the store. Even if you don't want to have coffee or tea with these, you can still eat them!

I use chopped up almonds and 1 Tbsp of almond extract. They come out so delicate and full of texture.

That's my taste on it.

A New Spin on Hummus

I'm not a fan of Hummus. I don't like the smell, I don't really like the taste, and the texture ... so awful.

The Man, however, loves it. A lot.

So being the wonderful companion that I am, I made it for him.

We forgot to grab Tahini, so I had to improvise. Which was the best thing that could ever have happened.

Asian Sesame Hummus:

• 2 x 19oz cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed.
• 2/3 cup Kraft Asian Sesame Dressing
• 1/2 cup Lemon Juice
• 4 cloves Garlic, peeled and halved
• 1 1/2 tsp Salt
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Put it all in the blender and beat the tar out of it.

Serve.

The Asian Dressing takes the place of the Tahini which is what I suspect gives hummus the hummus-y texture. You can probably reduce the dressing to half a cup, but I really like it. Your call.

This makes a double batch, so it's great for parties and whatnot. It also freezes beautifully, so you can always squirrel some away for another day.

I was really pleased with how this turned out. It's very smooth, more like a paste than the store-bought stuff. And it's really tasty. Which surprised me.

My sister recommended using dried chickpeas and then soaking them so that you don't get all the preservatives that are in the canned variety. I'll try that next time.

When I remember to get a picture, I'll put one up.

That's my taste on it.

The Steam Buns

I've always wanted to know how they make those tasty little buns at Asian restaurants. All steamy and wonderful. The ones where there may or may not be a little treat hidden inside; plum pudding, BBQ'd meat the possibilities were only limited by my own imagination.

I was watching the Food Network, and what do I see?

Steam Buns!

Yeah, I made those. The bottom one in the right picture is my favourite. I mean, just look at it.

So here it is; the recipe I used*:

• 1 part coconut milk
• 2 parts self rising flour
• pinch of salt

Blend until smooth, super sticky dough.

Spread some flour on your work space and dump the dough out. 

Flour your hands and knead the dough until it becomes firm and waaay less sticky.

Divide into portions depending on the size of bun you want. I did 13.

Put each portion in a doubled up muffin paper.

Arrange in your steamer and steam for about 10-12 minutes. 

It's totally okay to peek. I did. A lot.

Too boring for you? Okay, how about some variations:

• Instead of coconut milk, use a different liquid. 
• Grate some cheese and add it into the dough
• When the dough is workable, add a filling. A piece of meat, some cheese, fresh fruit or vegetables
• Sprinkle the tops with sugar
• Put chocolate inside. 

Think 13 buns might be too much for one meal? You're probably right. Let the leftovers cool a bit, then put them in ziplock bags. They'll last for a couple days, and have the consistency of scones. Terrific with jam.

That's my taste on it, I'd love to know if it worked for you!

Also, don't use decorative muffin papers in your steamer, unless you want the image transferred to the wood. Oops!

*Jamie Oliver's 15 Minute Meals, January 2013

Self Rising Flour

I recently came across a recipe for steam buns and I really wanted to try them. However they called for something called "Self Raising Flour".

I had no idea what that was, so I went to the supermarket to get some. I couldn't actually find a flour that was called "Self Raising". I did, however, find a flour called "Pastry Flour" which claimed it would be best for lighter and fluffier cakes and pastries. 

I'm sure you can see where my logic train went. It must be the same thing.

It wasn't; not even a little bit.

The attempt at steam buns with Pastry Flour sank. Like a brick. Literally.

The buns turned out to be gel-like bricks with a very heavy, chewy consistency. 

Not to be discouraged. I had my mom get the right kind of flour. One that actually said "Self Raising", so we could give it another bash.

And it worked. Beautifully!!!  Just one problem; self raising flour is ridiculously expensive. Without giving actual numbers, I could buy the buns from the Asian market near my house for less than it cost me to make them. Which kinda defeats the purpose.

So I hopped online and found that I could MAKE my own self rising flour. The recipe that I used can be found here.

And it's AWESOME! I cannot even begin to tell you how utterly well this worked. The buns turned out light and fluffy. And because the batch was more than I could handle in one sitting, I simply bagged the remaining buns and they taste just like scones the next day.

Brilliant.

For those of you that don't really feel like clicking the link above, the recipe (which is not mine, just to be clear) is as follows:

Sift together:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt (I use sea salt because table salt doesn't get to come into my house)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Then just use it as the recipe calls for.

My Taste on It. It's Clever when you think about it

As this will become very evident throughout the blog, I'm just going to get this out of the way now. I don't know much about cooking. Moreover, I don't know much about specialty ingredients, specialty cooking terms, or the difference between boiling and poaching.

Anyway, I've developed this huge interest in cooking. It's not a first, it does happen from time to time. I'll become completely obsessed with cooking something; usually Indian food, though I don't know why because I generally have to be in a very specific mood to eat Indian food, and that's rare. Historically, I don't really eat my own cooking. I'll make enough food to feed an army, then I'll just give it all away. I have some lucky, lucky friends.

That all changed after I had my first daughter. After that, aside from baby food, I HATED cooking everything. I made all her baby food, and that was kinda fun, but before you know it she'd just be eating littler portions of what I was eating, so that was pretty short lived.

In the past few years, I'd go through little bursts of cooking frenzies. I don't know what brings them on, and I don't know what makes them go away. I just know when they hit, I can't stop.

My family gets pretty excited when it happens, and needless to say very disappointed when they stop. Generally every six weeks something new will strike my fancy then I'll be off. In my defense, they are usually the same little hobbies set up in a six week rotation. I'll cook, then I'll blog, then I'll make little stuffed animals for the baby, then I'll sketch and draw, then I'll cook again.

This time I'm blogging about cooking, and I'm hoping to figure out how to add pictures, so then I can fold my photography itch in as well, and maybe we can go for 18 weeks straight on the same thing, and give me a chance to either fill my freezer with tasty dinners or to lull my family into a false sense of security. I guess we'll see.

I guess the point of this whole blog is to help me express some of the feelings I have about cooking, share my defeats and triumphs, just give you all my take on the experience. But I'm going to say "taste" on it, because it's about cooking, and I'm clever like that. (As I prove that in my other blog.)

This will be a fun little way for us to grow together.

Though, realistically this will be a way for you to watch me grow as a kitchen dweller.