Hot Buns, Cold Day

Looking back at my last few posts I came to realize that they all have the word "Spring" in the title. Being as it is only April in The North, I had been hoping but not really expecting actual spring for awhile, but then, all of a sudden, it started to appear.

The weather got warmer and the snow began to melt. Quickly. The back roads were completely cleared, while the streets in town were becoming a muddled, pot-holed and flooded mess. Driving from one end of our small town to another was akin to driving over a speed-bump studded street and took about 15 minutes.

In other areas, new growth was peeping out to greet the sunshine. Walks with the dogs required a sweatshirt and a pair of shades. No toques, no coats, no mitts.

The last ice fishing derby of the season was had and the participants were forced to trudge through the top layer of the thick ice covering the bay that had been reduced to slush. The winning fish was a beautiful 28-inch Northern Pike (or Jackfish, as they call them here), only topping my greatest (and only) catch ever by one inch.

The backyard became a bit of a riverbed, with the current flowing directly toward...our basement. This is a problem because our basement couldn't handle such a barrage and we've had some flooding.

Excess water hasn't been a problem for our little puppies, specifically the one with the white fur. He had been enjoying himself fully in the dips and valleys of our lawn. He was in heaven. We were enjoying the weather (even if the basement kinda sucked and our house was full of muddy dog prints). The promise of summer was in the air.

Imagine our surprise when we woke up to this:

Well, it wasn't surprise, really. I saw it on the forecast. But it still hit hard. A snowy, blustery day is not what I generally imagine when thinking of Easter, but this isn't the first time that I've had to re-evaluate my preconceived notions Up Here, and it won't be the last. Instead of tulips and warm breezes we've got snowflakes and wintry gusts. Sounds like it's time for a warm treat...

Hot Cross Buns

3-4 cups flour

1 1/2 cups milk

2/3 cup dried currants

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

2 heaped teaspoons loose leaf Earl Grey tea

1 large egg, beaten

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup caster sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup caster sugar

3 Tablespoons water
2 ounces cream cheese (1/4 of a brick)
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Icing sugar

The day before you want to bake the buns (or about 8 hours), heat the milk to simmering and add the tea leaves. I had some nice Earl Grey Lavender tea that I tried, so feel free to experiment a little if the flavours seem like they will match. Steep until the milk has cooled, then strain out the leaves and whisk in 2 cups of flour and all of the yeast. Stir in the currants and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

The day of baking, mix the sugar, egg, butter, salt, cinnamon and cloves into the milk mixture. Caster sugar is just finely ground white sugar, so simply pulse normal sugar in a blender or food processor (although I suspect if you want to skip the grinding step the buns will come out just fine). Add the remaining 2 cups of flour and, using a scraper or hands, bring it to a rough dough in the bowl. Tip it on to an unfloured surface and knead for 30 seconds. Leave covered for 15 minutes, then knead again for 30 seconds. Repeat this once more in 15 minutes, then leave the dough to rest covered in the bowl in a warm place for two hours or until double in size.
Tip the dough out on to a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll them into tight balls under your palm and place on a large baking tray covered with baking parchment. Cut crosses in the top of each bun. In a warm place, leave covered for about one hour or until the buns are just starting to touch each other.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place buns in the preheated oven and bake for 15-20min until evenly browned and firm to the touch.
Make the glaze by heating the sugar and water in a pan to boiling, stir to dissolve and remove from heat to cool. Brush the baked buns with the glaze soon after they come out of the oven for a great sticky bun topping.
To make the icing combine the cream cheese and lemon juice and add enough icing sugar to create a nice consistency. Pipe in a cross onto the buns once they have mostly cooled.

I found the great recipe quite by accident on this British site which I knew would be good because firstly, the British invented the tasty buns; secondly, the guy's name is Tom Baker; and thirdly, the recipe calls for milk steeped with Earl Grey Tea. I love tea. It all seemed to fit nicely. I adapted the recipe to North American measurements and tweaked a couple of things. I used less currants and added ground cloves, although I suspect the latter might have overpowered my tea flavours, so use it sparingly or not at all if you really want to taste the tea. I also used cream cheese icing for the crosses instead of the flour mixture that Tom Baker suggests, because really, isn't everything better with cheese? Otherwise the recipe is the same and I do not take credit for it in any way. Enjoy with a nice cup of tea (maybe the same one you used in the recipe? Or perhaps a contrasting yet complimenting flavour? I used the same this morning for breakfast and it was quite nice).

 

Lastly today, on this beautiful spring holiday, I offer you this little gem that I discovered while dining at a friend's place. I had heard of partnering strawberry and balsamic but had never gotten around to trying it. My lovely friend served it for dessert after a beautiful main course of homemade pizza (beets on pizza! I never would have thought! She put them with figs and goat cheese. Divine). The best thing about this dessert is that it's so sophisticated and innovative, yet darn simple! Pour some balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan and lightly boil until reduced by about half. You don't want it to thicken because then it will clump up when it hits the cold ice cream (this kind of happened here, so I know to reduce less next time). Let the reduction cool and pour over vanilla ice cream and cut up strawberries. Top with pine nuts. See how easy that was? You can even reduce a whole lot of vinegar and store it in the fridge for the next time, then its an instant "grown-up" sundae. So good.

Happy Easter to all from the Blustery North!

Chasing Spring

They say that its been a mild winter this year. They say it will be an early spring. What they don’t have to say (because it is more than apparent to me) is that there’s going to be a whole lot of slush and mud before one season finally gives way to the other.

The place where we walk the dogs is either a quagmire of muck or a slick lane of ice, depending on the day. The result is a jagged frozen mosaic where the ice sheets fragment and then freeze back together again in a pleasing array. The melting has persisted since my last post, but so has the snow. Combine into the mix a little freezing rain and some misty gray clouds and voila…instant misery! At least this kind of weather is good for relaxing inside.

 

Of course mud and melting snow are not purely Northern phenomena. Up Here where the streets have no proper names, or pavement, the transition from one season to the other is particularly painful, especially when one constantly hears of those in one’s hometown wearing t-shirts and flip flops already! My spring-time delights include wiping the dogs' paws before they enter the house and greeting bits of Canadian Shield as they cautiously stretch out from a long hibernation.

 

 

And the dogs…oh the dogs! Nanuq’s seems to be planning a full assault on the backyard, starting with the area near the dryer vent that has thoughtfully exposed itself early due in part to the sun but also the warm air expelled by our laundry. I cling to the hope that there will be a nice patch of grass remaining by the end of the summer. At least he can jump the fence, which means that his digging isn’t completely relegated to our backyard and he can succumb to this need in other peoples’ yards too. Does that make me a bad person? Maybe. A bad neighbour? Certainly.

 

Reina seems a trifle more ambivalent about the coming spring, although she does enjoy romping through puddles on our walks and then ceremoniously sullying the truck with her muddied and matted fur. She also enjoys the plethora of bones that Nanuq finds on his wanderings through the immediate neighbourhood and brings back to share. Sadly for the Queen, her poor hips won’t allow her to make the kind of leap required to clear the fence, but she seems content enough with the results of Nanuq’s quests.

What Reina is not thrilled about are the times when he brings dogs back into the yard to play. She’s chased more than one neighbourhood pooch back over the fence with its tail between its legs, making it quite clear which of our dogs is the guard dog. Nanuq is all play and she's all suspicion.

Of course she has her scaredy-cat moments as well. But hey, don't we all? If only the sun would embolden itself to finish the job it has started we can get rid of that pesky old snow. Well...for six months, at least.

Irish Spring

St. Paddy's Day has come to the Great White North...well, a North that is looking a little less white these days and more beige, brown and gray. The sun is shining vigorously and the snow is melting away faster than it came. We didn't Spring Forward, as Saskatchewan changes its clocks for no one, but forward into Spring we have gone nonetheless!

Drip, drip, drip. These are the day of our lives. The snow remains, and will for a few weeks yet I imagine, but the promise of Spring is very much alive and well Up North.

It seems like the entire town has been out enjoying the warmer weather lately, including a chance to revel in the glorious rays during a recent fishing derby. 

Winter drips away slowly before our eyes. The sun is so incredibly warm and it makes its presence known on a daily basis these days. The clouds don't seem to stand a chance, although I'm certain that they're regrouping somewhere waiting to strike. And they will. But the sun has given its promise that it will conquer in the end, and that is all I need to celebrate.

And celebrate I will! Melting snow and fishing fun can be overshadowed by the fact that it's St. Patrick's Day! A saint back on an Island in Europe has initiated a Day of Revelry (or something like that, there may be more to it) and I will answer the call. This drink is not a traditional Irish one, but delicious nonetheless. It's a drink I've posted about before that I first had at a restaurant back home in Ontario called Borealis. The Lemon Ice Wine Martini is a beautifully refreshing drink that can be made an instant Irish dalliance with a hint of green food colouring. Otherwise it's all fresh lemon juice, vodka and vidal ice wine. I found that this combo seems to work fine, although tweak it to your own liking:

1 and 1/2 ounce Vidal ice wine

1 ounce vodka

1 quarter lemon, squeezed 

It's a nice aperitif or a sweet-but-not-too-sweet cocktail to sip on a warm Spring afternoon. Check, and check.

After you've downed your citrus concoction, grab a Guinness (or in my case a nice glass of red wine, which is nowhere near Irish but a damn good substitute so drink what you like because life is too short) and have a bite of Irish Soda Bread along with an Irish Stout Cheese. The cheese was purchased (I was surprised to find it in The North, but life is nothing but full of surprises) but the bread was homemade with the help of this tasty recipe. It really is as easy as the recipe claims, and super duper good!

Dinner was served, a lovely Shepherd's Pie, but sadly dinner didn't get photographed. Dessert, on the other hand, made it to the reel (or iPhone album, as it were), but just barely. What could be more Irish than a Chocolate-Guinness Cupcake with Baileys Frosting? Well, if we'd followed the Irish Car Bomb Cupcake recipe and added the Irish Whiskey Ganache, but one can only be so ambitious during the course of a day and mine just didn't have a panache for ganache. Not being a fan of super-sweet desserts, I think that the ganache would have been over the top anyway, as the cupcakes were as rich and sweet as I like them to be already. Truly a perfect end to a lovely day of warmth and celebration with friends.

March on to Spring

March. A time when Spring starts to make itself known, but still a month that brings prospects of bitter winds, chilly mornings and snowfall with gusto. We've had a mild winter Up Here in Northern Saskatchewan, with temperatures staying mostly between -10 and-20 during the day. Some days have been cooler, some much warmer, but I would guess that to be the average temperature range.

Happily for me I've got my Canada Goose parka to keep me warm no matter what the weather. Here I've got it zipped up completely and although I have severe tunnel vision, it does keep the wind out of my face on those coldest of forays out into the Great White North. I've not had to go out like this because it simply hasn't been cold enough this year, but I will do so if I must.

I'm much more likely to wear the hood comme ça. Regardless, the coat is so warm that I've stopped using it on days that go higher than -10 because I get too hot in it! I'm sure I won't say this after having experienced a real Northern Winter, but I've been kinda disappointed at the lack of -40 and -50 degree weather. I wanted to really know what that feels like, but I suppose I'll have to wait until next winter now.

 

Another thing about this time of year is that although the weather is getting warmer and the lovely, fresh food of a new season springs to mind, the fridge (if you mostly try to buy in season like me) is still stocked with hearty winter fare. I found a recipe for this lovely Raw Beet Salad on the Vegan website Oh She Glows. I'm not a raw foodie, and I love cheese way to much to ever consider Veganism, but I can appreciate eating clean so I check out the blog every so often for inspiration. This one is great, especially since it proves that cooking in season (or not cooking, in this case) doesn't have to be bland or without colour. This vibrant dish is improved upon by goat cheese, in my opinion, so I opted to replace the almonds with it, but other than that I haven't changed the recipe on the site. Enjoy!

 

Raw Beet Salad

1 beet

1-2 carrots

1 apple

1/3 clove garlic

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon maple syrup

1 pinch red pepper flakes

salt and pepper

sprinkling toasted sesame seeds

crumbled goat cheese

Peel and shred the beet and carrot, mince the garlic and chop the apple into small pieces and combine in a bowl. Mix together oil, vinegar, lemon juice, maple syrup, pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste, and add to the beet mixture to toss. At this point, you'll want to put the salad in the fridge for at least half an hour so that the flavours can really sink in. If you taste the beets now and then later, I'm sure you'll agree that they're much better once the dressing has been able to leach in a bit and soften them up. After a rest, top with sesame seeds and goat cheese. If you like the intensity of raw garlic then by all means add as much as you want. I like the flavour well enough, but I found myself hesitating to eat the salad the next day because I didn't want to be tasting it for the rest of my life. I also drastically reduced the amount of dressing because I found that there was just too much. I don't want my greens (or in this case, my purples) drowning so I tend to go lightly. Less can be more. I accompanied the salad with some leftover homemade rolls. I've already mentioned this recipe in an earlier post, but I'll include it again here because they're so good!

Whole Wheat Rolls

3 c. all-purpose flour

3 c. whole wheat flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon salt

1.5 Tablespoons yeast

2 cups warm water

1/2 cup olive oil

2 eggs

2-3 Tablespoons chopped herbs (optional) such as rosemary, thyme and sage

The recipe is adapted from one of my favourite food blogs, Once Upon a Plate. It's great with chopped fresh herbs, but is just as good without. The directions are my own, as I use my KitchenAid stand mixer instead of my hands to mix and knead the dough. I also omitted the oat bran because I find that without the rolls are more pleasantly lighter.

Heat water to around 125-130 degrees and combine with olive oil in the mixer bowl. In a separate bowl, combine flours, sugar and salt. Set the mixer to level 2 with the dough hook attachment and add about 2 cups of the flour mixture along with the yeast to the liquid, then eggs. Gradually add the rest of the flour mixture and keep "kneading" on level 2 for a few minutes. Add herbs. Rosemary, sage and thyme work really well. You may have to add a bit more flour if the dough is still sticking to the sides. Once dough is ready, cover and let rise until doubled, or about an hour. (If using quick-rise yeast, just let the dough sit in the bowl for about 10 minutes). Bring the dough to a floured surface. This recipe will make about 16-24 rolls, depending on the size. Cut the dough into smaller balls and place in a greased baking pan. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, or about 45 minutes. I find that sometimes they don't rise very much, but once I place them in the oven they always seem to puff up. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes, until golden brown on top.

All in all a satisfying winter dish, and one colourful enough to make me think of Spring even on a blustery day in March.

Pupdate

It's been awhile since I devoted an entire post to the dogs in my life. My last note concerning the little furballs was just after their "fixings" over a month ago, and I'm happy to report that they have both recovered just fine from that episode. No lingering effects as far as we can tell and they're just as active as ever. 

You may remember Reina, our Spanish Queen. She's a purebred German Shepherd who enjoys chewing sticks, barking and long walks to the beach. She's a Gemini, which means she can be prone to mood swings but she's always the life of the party! The above pic was taken in September.

Given the stick-to-dog ration in this pic you may think that Reina is actually shrinking, but her attempts to play fetch with this branch just show how ambitious she can be. Sadly, at only 8 months she's developing some serious hip problems. Hopefully things will not progress quickly and she will be able to run about with ease for the years to come.

This used to be Nanuq's favourite haunt, but now Reina will curl up here just as often, putting Nanuq out onto the...gasp...floor! She's become the hands-down dominant dog in our home and she lords it over her little brother by taking all of the bones to her area and denying him access.

On one of our latest walks the pups decided to run down this steep incline. Nanuq came back up using the path they had created in descending, but Reina was determined to blaze a new trail. It took her awhile and she was panting fiercely but she eventually made it back to the road.

And then there's Nanuq. Part Shepherd, part Husky, all Rez dog, he's a rescued mutt with a stomach of steel. Born in early August, he's a Leo, which means that he is warm of spirit, eager for action and driven by a desire to be loved. You may remember this little guy from such episodes as: Fence Scaling 101 with your Host Nanuq, That Time Nanuq Ate an Entire Can of Grease, and finally, Why Wait for Summer to Eat the Fruit when you can Devour the Entire Raspberry Bush Right Now!

Sometimes I find it a wonder that he's still with us at all. Between escaping from the yard and having scraps with the neighbourhood dogs and eating anything and everything that he meets (really Nanuq, my crossword book? Or those Advil LiquiGels you stole from my purse?) I'm surprised that he is still intact.

He loves going for walks as well, and he particularly enjoys taking the front seat if there is no one accompanying me. Here he's taking full advantage of the heated seats in our F150 after a chilly romp in the snow.

The pups have been getting along better; that is unless Nanuq challenges Reina by trying to get a bone from her lair. Lately a lot of their little tussles have been over the right to our affection. It's flattering for me so I don't break it up like I maybe should. What girl doesn't want to be the object of such devotion?

I mentioned awhile back that I started making my own doggie treats from time to time. I'll share this recipe with you that I made, although I must warn you that it is not for a cook who is afraid of getting her hands dirty, or one with a sensitive disposition.

Liver & Flax Dog Biscuits

1 pound liver
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups white flour
1 cup oat bran
1 cup ground flax seed
3 eggs
4 Tablespoons flax oil
2/3 cup reserved liver water

Light several scented candles. Put the liver in a pot and cover with water; bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes. In the meantime, combine flours, bran and flax seed in a large bowl. In a blender or food processor, combine liver with eggs, oil and water. The resulting sludge will be disgusting, so try not to inhale too deeply. Add wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir until a dough has been formed. Roll out on a floured surface and cut with cookie cutters or just use a knife or pizza cutter to cut dough into little squares or rectangles if you don't have cookie cutters. Place on a baking tray and bake in a 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes. Light an incense stick and waft it around your kitchen. If you want the biscuits to be crunchier, lower the heat to 200 and then continue baking for as long as you desire.

It's a melancholic exercise to remember when the little ones were just puppies. They were so adorable and everything they did was cute. Well, almost everything. I don't miss the accidents on the floor or their razor sharp puppy teeth. Still, I sometimes wish to return to the time when they could both so easily fit on the cushions together.

Through the fall and into winter they've continued growing. Here still they could snuggle together comfortably, although a little less so.

Today there's no chance of a reunion on the pillow. One of them can fit, but definitely not both. It's satisfying to know that they still try. Now that they're bigger I'm really looking forward to spring when we can get them back into the water at the beach and go for longer hikes. Puppies are cute, but I'm glad my dogs are growing up.

Leap of Faith

A day like today is a gift, and I'm sure you all know why. Every four years we get an extra day with which to make what we will. Some will take no notice of that 24 hour bonus and others will do something special. Today I decided to take a walk in a different part of the woods at a different time of the day. The morning was dazzling and cheery. Small branches twinkled with frost and be-jeweled snowflakes winked without caution. This was a road more trodden, although thankfully we didn't see a single vehicle during our walk. All was calm, all was bright.

This part of the road is host to a quiet sanctuary tucked into the cascading Canadian Shield. It's a place I'd been meaning to go for awhile, although the heavy snow had kept me away. Today, on this most "extra"-ordinary day, I decided to wade through the knee deep stuff and see what the place feels like close up.

 

Birch pillars lend this cathedral a stately feeling; their shadows stripe a floor that has been repeatedly whitewashed since November. Only a very few parishioners happen upon this place during the cold months, and those who do are rewarded with a unique feeling of reverence.

This is a religious place; a Catholic place more specifically, but for its birch tree pillars and snow-white banners it is also a spiritual place in a more natural sense. Worship is not reserved merely for a Virgin Mother and her saintly offspring; here too we can revel in the sun, the snow and the sky.

A pulpit or a communion table? Difficult to say, but either way there is a ceremony observed here. Up Here in Northern Saskatchewan the world is largely Cree and Metis. It's inhabitants are spiritual naturalists by ancestry, although some have parted with that heritage in favour of a God-centred faith. Many would criticize this and give it terminology. Christianization. Despite Christianity's dark history in The North, a fair number of those Native to This Land have embraced it as their defining creed.

 

The cross is a symbol rife with pain and sacrifice whether or not you consider yourself part of The Flock. All related to this most simple emblem: crucifixion, a crown of thorns, documented abuse and residential schools. All with the intent to purify through punishment...surely misguided attempts, but part of Our Human History nonetheless.

Funny how a few beads make this coniferous tree seem more divine. The string seems clutched around the small trunk as though as a sapling it had to say a few prayers during its ascent towards the sky.

This pew has been subjected to everything the weather has to throw at it Up Here in The North. Stoically it persists, waiting until the moment that it may be called to use. It'll have to wait awhile before that much snow can melt from its wooden seat.

Could DaVinci himself have painted a more beautiful ceiling than the natural sky? No clouds today, just the most pristine colour of blue to outline the spindly, heaven-reaching fingers of the birch and the spruce, also children of God.

 

An extra day to be alive. 

Not really, of course, but what better reason to seize the day! 

And O, was it a beautiful day!

Northern Scenes and Winter Greens

Going for a walk the other day I was once again blown away by the beauty of this rustic Northern Landscape. I don't know if it's just me, but I am in awe of the trees, the shrubs, the snow and the sky every time that I venture out of the house. The vast expanses of snow-covered lakes thrill me in their barrenness although I know from the local ice fisherman that there is life under the heavy sheet of ice. I am dazzled by my Northern Playground. It may just be because I'm New Up North, but I hope this feeling never fades.

I decided to trudge through some of the bush while walking the dogs because it is like a Elven Wonderland. The snow is so thick in these parts that I let the dogs run ahead of me so that I could have a partial trail to follow. It was still difficult to make any quick progress, but my efforts were rewarded by this most striking likeness of a snowy-white boa constrictor lounging on a fallen trunk.

I'm not sure what's happened here exactly, but a delightful mixture of snow, wind and sun have created this slinky, perfectly draped albino. Maybe he's waiting for a blast of sunlight to warm his dormant state so that he can slither away, invisible in the pristine snow. Even with the dogs paving the way through the knee-to-waist-deep snow, it was an aerobic workout for me to get back to the partially plowed back-road that is our normal walking route.

Back to the kitchen after my hearty walk to deal with a different kind of heartiness. In the New Year I've been cooking with some new vegetables for the first time. I have sauteed swiss chard and roasted fennel, so I decided to continue my leafy green cooking experimentation by dehydrating kale. I've had kale once or twice in salads, but never prepared it myself, and I've never dehydrated anything. I found a Vegan/Raw Food recipe that has gotten rave reviews all over the internet. The most common claim is that the kale chips taste exactly like real sour cream and onion chips despite the fact that the "sour cream" is made of a cashew mixture. I wasn't sure about that, so I decided to give them a try to see for myself. I used sunflower seeds instead of the cashews because that's the closest thing I had and I wasn't about to drive for 5 hours total just to make this recipe authentic. I mixed the dressing in my Magic Bullet, which was super quick and easy, although the texture maintained a certain level of graininess that I couldn't seem to get rid of.

I made only half of the recipe because I didn't have a lot of kale, and even so I think I should have made even less because I put too much goop on the kale, resulting in a bit of a clumpy mess with some parts being super crisp and others still a little mushy. I also don't have a dehydrator and the lowest setting on my oven is 170 degrees Fahrenheit (left them in for 4-5 hours) so they are technically cooked as opposed to dehydrated. One of the principles of raw food is that nothing is heated to over 140 degrees, so my chips aren't considered raw by purists, but I would be extremely shocked to come in contact with a Raw Foodie Up Here in Northern Saskatchewan anyway. The chips were interesting in flavour, and I wouldn't say they tasted like sour cream and onion. Maybe the cashews make a big difference so I might try them again if I have the proper nuts around, but otherwise I think that the next time I make kale chips I'll just season them with a bit of olive oil and salt and call it a day.

 

Speaking of the end of day, what could be a better way to say goodnight than a cheery wave from the Aurora Borealis. They were splendid one night last week as I came home from a gathering at a friend's house. I stopped and watched for awhile as the Northern Lights danced above me. This was the first time I was able to capture a streak (although, sadly, nowhere near their true essence) on my iPhone, and I was even in town amongst the street lights. Truly an amazing experience and one that I know I will never get completely used to, no matter how long I live Up North.