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Standardby Julie1 Comment

I make falafel all the time, and keep meaning to write up a recipe to share. The truth is, I make them so often I don’t really measure anymore – I add a bit of onion, some garlic, a bunch of cilantro stems, a bit of heat in the form of a jalapeño or pinch of chili flakes, and some baking powder to lighten them. Sometimes I add a spoonful of flour — any kind – which isn’t necessary, but will help them hold together a bit. Some people refrigerate their falafel mix overnight to let the texture and flavours develop, so really this is a great make-ahead kind of thing that you can cook quickly, without even having to preheat the oven. And yes, you could use canned chickpeas, but the falafel will have a softer texture, and there is a chance they will fall apart in the oil… I’ve never had a problem with them falling apart but a few people have in some dinner classes, and I’m not sure if it’s a particular brand they’re using? At any rate, if you use canned chickpeas maybe it’s safest to cook small patties in a skillet instead!

Also! I often plan for a batch of naan at the same time, and ladle some of the hot oil from cooking the falafel into a cast iron skillet to cook it just as fast.
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Standardby Julie34 Comments

Hey friends!!

Wow, what amazing week!!! Thanks for inviting me to join you in your kitchens! You’ve given me a better start to 2022 than I ever could have imagined!

There has been such incredible interest in our zoom cooking classes that OF COURSE we will continue! We’ll cook together some weekends (maybe all weekends?? I’m not sure yet!) and some weeknights we can make dinner together. It will still be free, and we’ll still do it on zoom the way we have been, but we can’t keep doing it every day, since most students are back at school now, whether online or in real life. So we’re going to bake together on weekends (some of them? all of them? I’m not sure yet!) and I think we should make dinner together on some weeknights! Rather than relying on social media, you can sign up for a newsletter and I’ll send the recipes and zoom links out ahead of each class – you can join whenever you like! If you’re interested in hearing about upcoming classes (and getting the recipes!) sign up below!

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Coming Up Next: Bagels!
Saturday, Jan 22, 10:00 AM MT
Click here for a PDF of the recipe + the zoom link!

Here are the recipes and videos from past classes!
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Standardby Julie14 Comments

I think we all need a little more cake these days.

Blending whole oranges into a thick puree to add to cake and muffin batter isn’t new – I have a recipe for a whole orange cake on an old recipe card I’ve had since childhood (yes, I was a kid who wrote and collected recipe cards) and the Sunshine Muffins in the Best of Bridge are made with whole oranges whizzed with everything else in a blender. Food 52 has a recipe for a whole orange bundt from Sunset Magazine in their book, Genius Desserts. W made it awhile ago, and it occurred to me that such a cake would make perfect use of those inevitable squidgy mandarin oranges I always seem to wind up with, whether I buy them by the box or bag. (We talked about other things to do with mandarins on this week’s Eyeopener!)

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Standardby Julie2 Comments

I made a plant-based (vegan) Deep n’ Delicious chocolate cake for a friend’s birthday last spring, and it was pretty fantastic if I do say so myself. Baked in a disposable foil cake pan for easy door dropping and classic Deep n’ Delicious aesthetic, with frosting piped on with a star tip to complete the effect, I’ve baked this several times and it has been devoured each time – it’s wonderful, vegan or not.

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Standardby Julie2 Comments

I had this squashy dal on repeat last fall – it was something I made one day to use the roasted squash I’m in the habit of having in the fridge at this time of year, and I became totally hooked on it. In the fall, when all the giant gourds are in the farmers’ markets, I often poke one with a knife and roast it whole, directly on the oven rack, while something else is baking. It takes about an hour for a large one to soften and start to collapse in on itself – once cool, it’s easy to cut open, scoop out the seeds, and then scoop the soft flesh in spoonfuls into things like soups and stews and curries and dal.
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Standardby Julie4 Comments

I adore flatbreads of all kinds. So many cultures around the world have relied on flatbreads in their many forms as a means of having fresh bread with every meal. I make a kind of soft, chewy naan a lot – I roll it thin and cook it in a hot cast iron skillet until it’s blistered and bulbous, and eat it warm, straight from the pan. Naan is perfect with anything saucy, or with dips and spreads or just pulled apart with your fingers and eaten for breakfast. It’s one of the easiest ways to make fresh bread for any meal, and you can have a lump of dough in the fridge and just pull off as many egg-sized pieces as you need when you need them. I adore it.

I’ve been making this recipe for years, which is completely wonderful but calls for yogurt and an egg… on occasions when I haven’t had one or the other I’ve streamlined things, and often use pizza dough that has had a lot of time on the counter (all day, or preferably 24 hours), but I’ve also started to use this simple baking powder leavened dough when I’m in a hurry, and if you knead it in order to develop the gluten, it’s fantastic too.


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Standardby Julie2 Comments

August is truly tomato season, and I seek out any opportunity to eat them- in sandwiches, on toast, in a pie with corn cut straight from the cob and a biscuit crust, and in tarts, like this one I made for the Globe and Mail two falls ago. Tomatoes are perfect in shallow tarts and galettes, and can be paired with all kinds of things you might rummage from your fridge or pantry – pesto, olive tapenade, ricotta, goat cheese, Boursin… everything goes with a tomato.
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Standardby Julie3 Comments

Seeing as it’s the first week of July, and traditionally the air is filled with the deep-fried smells of Stampede, and half my calories are typically consumed in the form of mini doughnuts, I thought I’d post a recipe here. I did a virtual midway food class yesterday, and people were thrilled to have the ability to turn out actual cinnamon-sugar mini doughnuts in their own kitchens. This is the sort of thing you become known for – I want to be the aunt/grandma/friend who makes mini doughnuts to eat warm when you’re sitting in my kitchen or on my patio.
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