E.B. has been reading this blog for a very long time. About a week ago, she tweeted me asking advice about cookie pops for an upcoming birthday party. I had never made them, but had always wanted to – for no particular reason except that they’re cookies. On a stick. And so we made some! For research purposes, obviously. I poked around the internet to see what other people were doing, and not being quite up for a full-on icing art project, I decided to just make chocolate chip cookies, stick wooden Popsicle sticks into the dough before they baked, and see what happened. Guess what? Cookies on a stick! Easy. It appears you can bake any cookie on a stick. Drop or other soft-doughed cookies, anyway – I’m not sure how you’d jam a stick into a rolled and cut-out cookie, unless you made the dough thicker than you normally would. To make perfectly round cookies for decorating, I’d roll sugar dough into balls,Continue reading

How can one single cookie be referred to both as a Russian tea cake and a Mexican wedding cake? Can you think of two more opposite social occasions than a Russian tea and a Mexican wedding? Interesting, though, that they’re referred to as cakes in both, when they’re so clearly cookies. Shortbread, even. And one of few cookies that must be had at Christmastime around here. (Also: Hello Dollies.) And so when I was invited to a cookie exchange on Friday night and needed to make 11 dozen of something, these not only had nostalgia on their side, but ease of preparation. Like any cookie recipe, you’ll see them vary slightly in ratio of butter:sugar:flour:nuts – I have one recipe that calls for them to be baked at 325, and another at 400. I played around a bit, and I think this is the best ratio and baking temperature. But that’s just me.

It wasn’t raining when we woke up this morning, but the mist was so heavy it was like the clouds stretched all the way to the earth. W said, as we drove to the beach, that it was just sparkles falling from the sky. At the north end of Chesterman, when the tide is ultra low (there are two low tides per day – the first much lower than the other), caves are revealed around the point whose access is most often obstructed by water. Early in the morning though, at this time of year, the tide backs off enough to let us around the end of the rock and through the caves, even the smooth-walled one that’s just wide enough to fit us walking in single file and cuts straight through barnacle-covered rock (you’ll have to duck toward the end) to the sea anemone-filled tide pools on the other side. Later, we made cookies. There are plenty of BC blueberries around right now, andContinue reading

The mornings are the best part. Invariably tired (there are no early nights in Tofino) there are boys padding around in their PJs, excited to be in Tofino, wanting pancakes or poached eggs on toast. Some mornings we take Lou alone to the beach, but there is also the lure of the boathouse, set on stilts two flights of stairs below the house, just above the rocky inlet. I go down in the cool air with a new cup of coffee and a book to sit in one of the pair of pale green Adirondack chairs (not so comfortable, but well-suited to this particular scene) overlooking the water. Lou follows me down and dozes on the warm wood in scattered sunlight. Crows caw testily at me (or at Lou, for being a dog and snoozing rather than pay attention to their presence a few feet away in the branches?) and wildlife goes about its business of living. Meares island sits quietly across the water asContinue reading

It would have made sense to post this recipe on the weekend, since this is what I made approximately a dozen batches of between Friday night and Sunday. I was on the kitchen stage all weekend, and this year the canola producers asked if I’d do a demo for them. I was happy to, since I tend to extol the virtues of canola oil while up there on my soapbox anyway. It really is great stuff. They ran a recipe contest, and wanted me to make one of the winning recipes – a recipe called Saskatoon Bars. It turned out to be one of those great versatile recipes that come in such handy in summer, when depending on the week you might have rhubarb or apricots or blueberries or blackberries to use up. This makes a big batch of cookie-like bars that with the dough patted on the bottom (sounds like it’s getting a spanking) and then dropped on top, reminded me of a cobbler.Continue reading

I realize this is far from a June weekend sort of a recipe – but remember those bazillion baggies in my cupboard? I’m chipping away at them. Starting with the figs. This weekend is the Food Bloggers’ Bake Sale in support of Calgary Meals on Wheels (at the Market Collective in the old Anthill building in Kensington -148-10 St NW- Saturday 10-6 and Sunday 11-5 – admission is $2 or a food bank donation) – I baked a half dozen Blueberry & Ginger Banana Loaves, Cranberry, White Chocolate & Macadamia Nut Cookies, Brownies for a Crowd, Kettle Corn (that everyone ate while watching the World Cup), some Sponge Toffee (that I burnt all to hell) and these squares. Everyone knows and loves date squares (affectionately known as Matrimonial Slice for their popularity at weddings and showers in the fifties). Turns out they can take on any number of fillings; here cranberries are cooked down with dried figs to a thick jam, then spread in betweenContinue reading