B-b-b-baking: Rappin' Crackerz

It's getting to that point in the term where I have to start using things up. Sadly, this is probably the last of my baking until the summer. I know...tragic, ain't it? I happened to have a package of wonton wrappers in my freezer since the potluck we had about a month ago, but because other types of protein went on sale at Loblaws, I stocked up on all of that rather than ground meat. I mean, I could have made fish dumplings by grounding up my fish, but I thought of this after the fact. I'm not so sure that I would have liked eating 40ish fish dumplings over the span of 3 weeks anyways.

I was trying to look for creative ways to use wonton wrappers, but all of the things I got were just different dumpling fillings and/or different folding methods. Turns out, what I really should have consulted was Pinterest. Believe it or not, but I kind of just got into the Pinterest-y thing last week. It's like Imgur, but for artsy craftsy people! Basically, it's great.

One of the pictures was of "Parmesan Wonton Crackers". I'm not thaaat big on parmesan cheese, nor did I have any, but the cracker idea? Genius. It's around now that I'd be getting the munchies while working on the remaining term papers, and even better, I'd actually have a snack food at my disposal! So, I decided to throw together what I thought would make a cracker out of a wonton wrapper.

What I learned today about wonton wrappers:
- Some people think of wonton wrappers as "pasta" (i.e. Martha Stewart), which I suppose in essence it is, but Asian pasta just sounds weird.
- Pinterest is apparently a good source for creative ideas for anything! Including what to do with a package of wonton wrappers that linger in your freezer.
- Wonton wrappers are commonly used for a lot of different party foods! I wonder what my family would think about putting things like artichokes and cheese or pizza toppings inside wonton wrappers :S

I kept doing batches of 6. Clearly, I could have been more efficient by using more pans, but I was down to my last sheet of parchment paper.

Snacky munchie food for the paper-typing blues :D

Wonton Wrapper Crackers
1 package of wonton wrappers
2-3 Tbsp of olive oil
Sea salt
Sesame seeds

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F, and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Lay out 6-8 wonton wrappers flat in a single layer on the pan.
3. Brush each wrapper with a bit of olive oil, then sprinkle sesame seeds and sea salt to your liking.
4. Pop in the oven and bake for 10 minutes until browned and cracker-like, but not burnt.
5. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Munch away!

I have a tendency to eat an entire bag of chips or popcorn in one sitting (P can attest to that), so I hope these last a bit longer :/

-M

Love for the Locals: Dishington's Tea Room

So, I got a Groupon a while back for Dishington's Tea Room, but didn't realize at the time that I'd have to take 3 bus transfers to get there. That was when I ended up going to The Bag Lady with Cat. I finally got the chance to go when one of my classmates, Heather offered to drive. Heather, myself, and another classmate, Elyse, went to Dishington's Tea Room for a late lunch/afternoon tea, and it was lovely.

Dishington's Tea Room (2485 Main Street, London, ON) is actually in a little area called Lambeth, which is slightly outside of London, but was about a 20ish minute drive from the University of Western Ontario campus, so it wasn't too bad. It looks like a little house, and it's actually a tea room on one side, and a gift shop on the other. Elyse said that it reminded her of her grandmother's house. Sometimes, I wish I had a set of European grandparents so that I could say the same. This type of place is so much more my speed compared to nightclubs and bars and pubs. It's such a relaxed atmosphere, and good food and company makes it even better!

Dishington's seems like a rather small operation, but it's these little local places that have so much character and somehow, the better food. They also serve high tea from 11am-2pm, but must be booked 2 days in advance. It seems like it'd be worth a try at some point! It comes on a three-tiered stand full of sandwiches, desserts, and scones, as well as your choice of coffee or tea!

After an adventure somewhere out on the highway, we made it!

The front waiting area. It was half tea room, and half gift shop, as you can see the racks of shirts on the right.

Waiting to be seated in the tea room! The lady in the pink shirt is the front of house and server. I wish I had gotten her name...

I took this when we were leaving because it was the end of the afternoon tea time, so everyone had cleared out. Good for me though!

Look at how cute the menus are! I love bows and ribbon... *_*

Their tea cozies were like little pouches rather than the ones that go over top and cover the tea pot. So cute!

Elyse and I shared a pot of Earl Grey...theirs is nice! Not too overly fragrant, and not too citrusy and instanty. Some day, I will learn the real terminology of a true tea connoisseur... 

Our table was right next to the fireplace. It's a real fireplace! It was so nice and toasty :) The trimming on the wall was so cute. It had pictures of various fancy tea pots with names of different kinds of teas like Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Darjeeling, etc.

The special of the day was a strata, which the lady described as a quiche without the pastry. I couldn't bare to part with my pastry, so I ordered a salmon-dill quiche. Everything on the menu came with a choice of soup or salad, so I picked the soup of the day - a carrot puree soup with apple and rhubarb, and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. It was sooo delicious...I don't know if cozy is a proper term to describe the texture of soup, but that's what it was. Mmm...

Heather let me take a picture of her food, ha. She also chose the soup of the day, but with the Smoked Turkey and Havarti sandwich. It had cranberry mayo (?), slices of cucumber, and romaine lettuce leaves on what they called "ancient grain bread". It looked delicious... it was going to be my choice if I hadn't gone with the quiche.

They had two dessert specials. One was a fudge brownie served with vanilla icecream, and I chose the other - a piece of carrot-pecan coffee cake with caramel drizzle and Devon cream. Although I won't be able to have any more dairy for today, it was so worth it. The streussel was done just right, and nothing about the sweetness was overpowering. Probably the best coffee cake I've ever had.

I stole a bite from Heather's rhubarb pie too, also served with Devon cream. The crust was not too thick or thin, and the pie filling wasn't too tart or sweet. Heather said it was easily the best rhubarb pie she'd ever had and she would come back for it.

I love finding these local eateries and sharing the experience with company. It just makes the whole package, you know? It would be even better if P was here, but until that happens, I'll have to manage with my London friends! If you have access to a vehicle or to someone with a vehicle, I would encourage you to try Dishington's for lunch or afternoon tea! 

-M

B-b-b-baking: It's not easy being green.

I've been wanting to make use of my matcha green tea powder since I got it during the first week after I moved to London. It was on sale for 50% off at the time at my favourite tea spot here called The Tea Haus, but I'll save that story for another time.

It was St. Patty's Day, so while everyone was out drinking and wearing shamrock antennas, leprechaun hats, and the sort, I was hiding. For one, I was hiding because I don't own any green attire and could have been pinched (gasp!), but I also wanted to hide from the crazy party people out there! Residence party people party pretty hard...

Partly in honour of St. Patty's Day, and my desire to make this for a while, I made a loaf of matcha-red bean swirl bread. Aside from the pictures, this entry will be rather short because it was just a matter of combining two recipes I've used on my blog before.

What I have learned today about St. Patrick's Day:

- While in elementary school, they gave us green food-dyed milk and shamrock cookies for St. Patrick's Day, apparently, the adult version consists of green beer.

- On St. Patrick's Day, eating and drinking restrictions from Lent are lifted, so you can drink and eat to your heart's content, but I already do that on a regular basis, so for me, every day is St. Patrick's Day! :D

- Kermit the Frog would win St. Patrick's Day if it was a contest, because he's pretty darn green.

Green bread dough?

Green bread dough that rose for 2 hours instead of 1 because my dad kept talking to me on Skype.

Koshian! i.e. Japanese sweetened, fine red bean paste. It's quite pliable (notice all my finger intends from patting and spreading it).

Because it rose longer than it was supposed to, I almost couldn't fit the rolled log of dough in the loaf pan. 

The swirl in the middle is rather thick, and not as swirly as I would have liked. It would probably have been better to roll the dough out thinner and tighter. Still tastes good though! :)

Matcha-Anko Bread (adapted from King Arthur Flour and Just One Cookbook)

*Vegan-friendly if you use soymilk or almond milk*

Ingredients for white sandwich bread

2 cups of koshian (i.e. fine, sweetened red bean paste)

1 tsp matcha green tea powder

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F. 

2.Make white sandwich bread dough, but stir matcha powder into dry ingredients. You can knead the matcha powder into the dough, but it just takes a bit longer, and won't be as evenly distributed (that's what I did because I forgot to add it). Let rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

3. After the first rising, flatten the dough, and spread the red bean paste across the surface, leaving at least an inch from the edges.

4. Roll the dough away from you into a log, and seal the edges. Place the log into a lined or nonstick loaf pan, and cover with plastic wrap to rise again for 45 minutes.

*Note: If your first rising was 2 hours long, the second rise probably only has to be about 30 minutes, as opposed to 45.*

5. Remove the plastic wrap, and bake the bread in the oven for approximately 35 minutes.

6. Et voila! Green bread!

I love the combination of matcha green tea and red bean :) I've had it in Asian cake form and icecream form, and now in bread form!

-M

Cardio and Cooking: Poor Student's French Onion Soup

A few days ago, I joined a classmate in a drop-in cardio workout class super early in the morning, and I still feel a bit of the soreness. It's crazy how simple the movements are, and how much of a workout it is! The worst was when I got up the morning after. I was aching everywhere, and I dreaded having to go up or down any stairs throughout the day. But nonetheless, I'm still going to go again every week on Wednesday mornings at 7am! I felt great for the hour following, and then had to take a nap before doing anything else, ha...

(I really feel like I should rename this segment given that I don't always do cardio before cooking, but I'm getting back into it so, nahhh.)

After a long day, my roommate, Kaitlyn and I collaborated in making a poor student's version of French onion soup for dinner. She had gotten this ginormous plank of Black Diamond cheese that was on sale at Loblaws, and I came up with this idea to use some of it (after craving it on the way home).

Things I have learned today about French onion soup:

- Making an easy version of French onion soup doesn't have to cost a lot of time or money! Yay for students!

- Mozzarella cheese is probably the best cheese to use for things where cheese is on top and broiled, such as on French onion soup or pizza.

- According to Wikipedia (i.e. every instructor's dreaded source for students), French onion soup or Soupe a l'oignon is actually French in origin. Apparently, it just became popular in America during the 1960's when French cuisine became the newest dig. 

- Cheese really just makes everything better, but I didn't just learn that today. Mmm...cheeese...

Unmelted cheese...

Melted, gooey, stringy cheese goodness :)

 Poor Student's French Onion Soup

*Makes 2 standard ramekin servings*

Homemade Croutons (Kaitlyn's recipe)

1 slice of bread (we used Stonemill Multigrain Sourdough Rye)

Seasoning spice (we used Clubhouse Italian)

Olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2. Cut up a slice of bread into cubes, and place into a baking pan in a single layer.

3. Sprinkle seasoning over the cubes to your taste, and drizzle a bit of olive oil over them.

4. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they start to dry up, then remove and turn them, and bake for another 10-12 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Be careful not to burn them. Timing will depend on your oven and the type of bread you use.

5. Remove from the oven and set aside until ready for use. Turn on the broiler.

The Soup

4 cups Campbell's bouillon broth 

1/2 Spanish onion

Black pepper

1 tsp margarine

1/3 cup grated marble cheddar cheese (mozzarella is the best, but cheddar is fine)

1. In a small-medium pot, boil bouillon broth, and set aside.

2. While the soup is boiling, slice your onion into thin strips.

3. Add margarine to a medium-sized frying pan over medium-low heat, and swirl the pan until the surface is evenly coated. 

4. Add the strips of onion, and toss until translucent and slightly browned and softened. Add pepper to taste.

5. Remove from heat, and place half of the cooked onion into the bottom of each ramekin, followed by half of the croutons, half of the broth, and top them with half of the grated cheese.

6. Place the ramekins on a baking pan under the broiler for 2 minutes or until the cheese bubbles. 

7. Remove from heat, and enjoy!

Remaining croutons can be used for salad after you realize you have only had onions, cheese, and croutons for dinner like so:

Simple layered single-serving salad with sliced Romaine lettuce, a diced Roma tomato, a drizzle of vegetable oil, a drizzle of Balsamic vinegar, a sprinkle of sliced almonds, and some homemade croutons. Yay for veggies!

Happy eating!

-M