A deceptively easy, yet elegant dessert with so many possible variations! I explain the different methods between using gelatin and agar-agar* (suitable for vegan/vegetarian/non-pork diets).

*Agar-agar is known as "kanten" in Japanese and is a natural gelling agent made from seaweed; available in many health/natural food stores, it's an ideal replacement for animal gelatin and is tasteless, odourless and colourless.

Once you go homemade grano, you never go back!

These are chewy and moist, and contain much less sugar than your typical store-bought bars. They are also infinitely adaptable to whatever nuts, dried fruit, grains and flours and oils happen to be on hand - test out different versions and see which you prefer.

These are some of the yummiest, most moist brownies ever! And the best part - you only need to dirty one bowl, which I will happily come over and lick clean.

The recipe comes from one of my favourite bloggers - www.smittenkitchen.com. That's also where you will find the salted caramel version of these brownies - I have decreased the sugar in both recipes.


Yield: one 8x8-inch pan of brownies, cut into whatever size suits your fancy.

Ingredients:
3 ounces (85 grams) unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped (*I like the Camino organic for these)
1 stick (4 ounces or 115 grams) unsalted butter, plus extra for pan
3/4 cup (175 grams) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
Heaped 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt
2/3 cup (85 grams) all-purpose flour

Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment, extending it up two sides. Butter the parchment.
2. In a medium heatproof bowl over gently simmering water, melt chocolate and butter together until only a couple of un-melted bits remain. Off the heat, stir until smooth and fully melted.
3. Whisk in sugar, then eggs, one at a time, then vanilla and salt. Stir in flour with a spoon or flexible spatula.
4. Transfer to pan, smooth out top with spatula and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.
5. Let cool for 10-15 minutes (if you can wait that long!) and cut into desired pieces.

Le cake salé est simple à réaliser, et peut se décliner en une multitude de saveurs - excellent pour utiliser des petits restes de légumes, fromages et de viandes.

Délicieux servi au goûter, à l'apéro ou pour un petit déjeuner rapide !




Ingrédients (pour un moule standard carré de 8 pouces) :
3 œufs
150 g de farine
10 g de poudre à pâte
80 ml d'huile végétale (ou remplacer un 20ml par de l'huile d'olive pour agrémenter certaines saveurs)
125 ml de lait
sel et poivre au goût (mais attention au sel, car il faut doser avec la teneur en sel des condiments)

Condiments au choix : exemple, zucchini-oignons caramélisés-cheddar blanc, ou lardons-poireaux-gruyère, ou champignons-tomates séchées-chèvre. Quantité : à peu près un tiers de tasse de chaque ou selon votre préférence.

Méthode :
1. Chemiser le moule (beurre & farine) et préchauffer le four à 350F.
2. Faire cuire les condiments qui le nécessitent (ex. lardons, champignons, oignons caramélisés, la plupart des légumes, etc.) et les laisser refroidir.
3. Dans un grand bol, mélanger la farine, la poudre à pâte et le poivre/sel.
4. Incorporer les œufs un à la fois et ensuite l'huile.
5. Incorporer le lait et bien mélanger le tout.
6. Ajouter les condiments voulus, ainsi que le fromage râpé s'il y a lieu, et ajuster le sel/poivre/épices.
7. Couler dans votre moule et faire cuire environ 25-30 minutes, ou jusqu'à ce que la croûte soit bien dorée et que la pointe d'un cure-dents ressorte propre du centre du cake.
8. Laisser tiédir 15 minutes avant de démouler et de trancher le cake.

This is a recipe adapted from the Bob's Red Mill semolina flour package. Durum semolina is made from hard wheat and aside from being used in pasta, it can also be used in bread (gives a crunchy crust) as well as to coat the underside of pizza dough. You may vary the proportion of flours once you have tested this recipe a few times (the Bob's recipe uses only semolina flour) and some people omit the olive oil, but I like the taste.

Yield: 4 servings
Tools: pasta machine (or rolling pin & knife), hangers

Ingredients:
1 cup semolina flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs (or 3 egg whites)
2 tbsp. water
2 tbsp. olive oil
sea salt, to taste

Method:
1. Combine flours and salt in a bowl (some recipes will tell you to do the mixing on your counter, but I don't recommend this unless you have a lot of space and are less clumsy than I am!)
2. Lightly beat eggs in a separate bowl.
3. Make a well in your flour and incorporate eggs, olive oil and water. Start with a fork, then use your fingers.
4. Gently knead for about 10 minutes or until dough is elastic and firm.
5. IMPORTANT: cover the dough and let rest in the fridge for at least 20 minutes - the gluten needs time to develop!
6. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface and roll to desired thinness (this is where the machine comes in very handy!) and then cut into strips. For good tips, check out Antonio Carluccio's site - everything looks so good!
7. Let the pasta strips dry another 10-15 minutes; yes, I use cleaned plastic coat hangers for this! Works as well as a "pasta-drying rack" in my opinion...
8. Cook pasta in boiling salted water for 3 -5 minutes depending on the shape and size of your pasta .
9. Drain and return to saucepan, mixing in your preferred sauce. Do not rinse! Rinsing removes all the starch and will make the sauce slide right off the pasta :-(
10. Serve with grated cheese or fresh herbs.

There is absolutely no comparison to be made between handmade and commercial mayonnaise, and not a week goes by that there isn't some new experimental version of it in my fridge. Contrary to my mayo-is-splitting-blender experiences growing up, I've discovered it's quite simple to make mayo by hand as long as you have a few key tools and ingredients, and just a little paaaatience...

Yield: varies on size of egg yolk to oil ratio, but about 3/4 cup.
Tools: a whisk (I use a silicone covered one which I love for this), and a stainless steel bowl

Ingredients: (should all be room temperature for the best emulsification results)
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1-2 tsp. white wine vinegar (and/or lemon juice)
pinch salt, pinch white pepper
175-200ml good quality vegetable-based oil, include 10-15ml olive oil in total amount if desired
(A medium-sized yolk has the capacity to emulsify about 180ml of oil, hence the variance above)
Optional: herbs, spices, sun-dried tomatoes, lime zest, etc.

Method:
1. Whisk egg yolk in a bowl, with dijon, vinegar, salt, pepper and a bit of lemon juice, if using, until well blended and frothy. If using powdered spice (curry, mustard powder), also add them now.
2. Place your bowl on a non-slip surface (a moist towel), or better yet, use the cook's trick: place your bowl in the rim of a slightly smaller saucepan or pot, with a kitchen towel in between. You want to have both hands free to be able to simultaneously whisk and pour the oil without having to stop to grab onto your whizzing bowl.
3. Pour the oil in a thin stream (almost a dribble) while constantly whisking; keep doing so until your mixture starts to thicken and take on that mayo consistency. Once your ingredients are well-emulsified, you may start to pour the oil a little faster until the desired consistency is achieved.
4. Add finely chopped fresh ingredients as desired (basil leaves and sun-dried tomatoes, capers and olives, etc.) and season to taste (add lemon juice, pepper, salt).

Notes on the oil:
Be sure to use the best possible oil as it makes a huge difference in the taste; peanut oil tastes the most neutral, but is more expensive than canola or sunflower, although there's not a huge difference in price if you buy organic/first-press types. Mayo made with 100% olive oil is too strong for my taste, so I generally just use a bit to enhance the overall flavour.