panpepato

I've read that this is a Roman Christmas favourite. It's filled with nuts and fruit, sweetened with honey and wine, and dark with chocolate.

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp each pepper and ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 2-1/2 cups each whole unblanched almonds and hazelnuts
• 2-1/2 cups chopped walnuts
• 1-1/2 cups golden raisins
• 1-1/4 cup candied fruit
• 2/3 cup minced orange rind
• 1 cup liquid honey
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 3 oz semisweet chocolate, melted
• icing sugar

In a small bowl, blend flour, cocoa, pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon; set aside. In separate bowl, combine almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, raisins, candied fruit and orange rind; set asid.

In large saucepan, bring honey, sugar, and wine to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in chocolate. Blend in flour mixture, then nut mixture.

Divide into 3 portions; place each on on waxed paper. With wet hands, shape into 10 x 4 inch logs, pressing to break air bubbles and pushing in any exposed nuts. (you wouldn't want yor nuts showing, afterall). Peel off paper; place on greased baking sheet.

Place in cold oven; turn to 350 F and bake for 40 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool for 10 minutes; let cool completely on racks. Wrap in plastic and foil; let stand for 24 hours

To serve, sift icing sugar over top.

So...try it yourself, or show up to tapas on Friday. I'll be serving it with the coffee at about 9 or 10.

yummy goodness

polenta

We just got our last portion of the year from our share in a local garden Co-op. It's been quite a challenge some of the weeks to come up with dishes to make that the entire family will not turn their noses up at. Like, really...what are you supposed to do with an enviro bag full of kale?

Today, while everyone was at church, I was sitting at the dining room table looking through some of my Moosewood cookbooks and came across something I'd seen before, this recipe for a polenta dome. I've never made polenta, but always was intrigued by the thought of it.
It turned out great and everything was so fresh that, I'm thinking, this would only be this great at this time of year.

Polenta is to the Italians as what potatoes are to the North Americans and the Irish, and what rice is to the Orient. The most basic recipe of polenta is boiled cornmeal with a little salt. This polenta dome has caramelized onions and garlic, shredded summer squash, and grated cheddar and parmigiano-reggiano cheeses. It is served with marinated roasted vegetables. Almost any vegetables will do...the more colour, the better the photo opp.

holy!

2 to the power of 1 = 2

"Mr. H.? My sister said that you said that you believe in gays...is that true?"

"If by 'belief' you mean do I think that everyone has the right to love anyone they want to love and that everyone's sex life is their own business, then , yes, I do believe in gays."

Honestly...just because I stop believing in Santa Claus, doesn't mean that I stop believing in EVERYTHING!

tongue in cheek

These things just seem to go too fast. The tapas Fridays, I mean. You know, you've got all these amazing people show up with fantastic food which they've prepared or finish preparing at our home, and then during the evening several tempting conversations are calling from all corners of the room, and then there's the fire and the homemade music coming from the boys outside...and, before you have a chance to take it all in, everyone is saying goodnight. All we're left with are feelings of warmth and wonderful mental (and digital) images of time well spent. Poor us. Boo hoo hoo.

gochisosamadeshita

Translation from Japanese: it was an honourable feast.

_______________________________________

Tapas this week was smaller than usual in attendance, but not small on presentation and gastronomy. Here are some of the food highlights:

makizuchi - wrapped sushi [ Luci's sushi ]

Curried scallops and zucchini by Cheri

Cucumber cups with three different fillings by Brian.

• Curry chicken
• Mediterranean
• Asian chicken

• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Spinach frittata by Cheri

"the best tapas...so far"

Blue Cheese Potato Tarts

Sweet Pepper Salad and Lebanese Tabbouleh in Pita Bread


Marinated Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Apple Chutney


"You'd better sit down before trying that."









And the thing that put the bomp in the bomp-she-bomp-she-bomp, was the seemless transition from eating to opening instrument cases. There was the sound of music...people were putting a part of themselves "out there"...something that we have been hoping would happen for some time.

My only issue was that people left at 10:30. What's up with THAT? When it was just the food and drink, people used to stay well past midnight and sometimes till 2:00am. Now that the music has started, we'll have to keep that going AND get people to stay late.













If only we could get Cheri to stop yawning so early in the evening.

happy easter

Resurrection Buns

Combine:

• 2 Tbsp yeast
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 cup warm water

Let mixture rise. (indeed)

Combine in large mixing bowl:

• 3 cups warm water
• 1 cup oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup sugar

Add the yeast mixture and then add 10 cups of white flour and mix together until no longer sticky. You will probably need to add more flour as you adjust the texture. Kneed until smooth and elastic. (Approx. 8-10 minutes) Let rise in a greased bowl until double.

To form buns, cut off egg size pieces from the dough and pop a large marshmallow into the centre of your dough piece and pinch securely around the marshmallow. Roll on the the table to smooth the ball of dough into a nice bun shape. Dip top of ball into melted butter and roll in a mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon. Place on greased baking sheet and let rise for 90 minutes. Bake at 390 degrees for 16-18 minutes.

Makes 40-50 buns.

hope floats

Speaking of GROANING...

I got invited to do the swim portion of the Morden Triathlon last year and fared quite well, but had an interesting experience, which lead me to believe that I'm perhaps not invincible.
The race organizer announced in the pre-race meeting that the water temperature fell within the range to allow wetsuits, to every one's relief. I, on the other hand, had never practiced swimming with mine, although I came equipped with it. Many people like the suits because of the warmth and the added buoyancy.

The race began and we all politely made our way into the water without fighting for positions. I was swimming along...swim...swim...swim...when suddenly I felt the long large zipper at the back of my suit open, and my suit begin to fill with cold, cold lake water. I began to panic. What happens when a suit gets completely filled? Will I sink? Should I call out for help and get pulled from the water and therefore disqualify myself? What would my relay team members think?
The suit didn't continue to fill and so some of the panic left me. I managed to redo the zipper and compose myself. Just a moment or so later I was back into active stroke, stroke, stroke, breathe mode. After the 2 kilometers of self speak, I came out of the water ahead of perhaps 50% of the pack, and feeling quite pleased with myself for pressing on when panic came, and for finishing well.

It wasn't until some time alone during the 90 minute drive home that I suddenly began to feel fragile. I remembered the feelings of panic I had in the water when I thought I was going to go down. The feelings were foreign. I felt out of control. I thought of my wife and kids. I thought that perhaps my recent decision to rethink my concept of God was ill-timed. I remembered someone once telling me that dying by drowning is a horrible thing but that the moment just before death, there is an experience of euphoria or ecstasy, or some crazy thing like that. Then I thought, well, if that's true, how do they know that's true? Who's the guy they get to do the experiment?

This year I heard rumblings that I will be asked again, which would suit me fine. I just hope that I can remain bouyant after losing all of this winter baggage. Hopefully the day will be another cold one and we can use the wet suits once again.

you say fah-ZHWAY-dah, I say fay-ZHWA-dah

Moosewood Vegetarian Feijoada

tapas

I've had tapas on the brain lately. So I made some...again...and will continue to do so every other Friday until my restaurant opens. If I get around to it, I'll eventually invite everyone who is interested in joining the crew who have passed through my Friday back door. Be prepared for much more than great tapas, but you'll have to be here to find out what you're missing.

lunar

leaning into the winter wind

steadied by a pair of legs

a flash through hibernating limbs

an ensnared orb captured

new title

I have changed to title of the blog to perhaps marry it with the intent of this space. The old title I Wonder no longer seemed appropriate as I have made the focus here to be more about food.

I have been thinking a little further about what I hope to accomplish here, and a title having to do with food would not be entirely fitting. Therefore I have chosen The Groaning Board to perhaps give a broader focus than simply food; although a groaning board has almost everything to do with food, and abundance, and plenty.

Simply put, a groaning board refers to how the cupboards on which the food was served in colonial times groaned under the weight of so much delicious food. It is a bountiful spread of delicious and nutricious food.

I'm not one to go around quoting bible verses, but something that comes to mind when I think of the word groaning, is a verse in Romans where the author says that when there is something in us that needs to get out, but we are unable to form the words, the spirit says them for us with groans that words cannot express. That is a lovely picture of what I hope the groaning board will do.

As I thought of this description, I immediately felt that it would be an appropriate name for the collective. It would not only be a fitting description of what I hope the restaurant will become, but leaves room for the much broader intent of the collective; which is to provide opportunities for an abundance of food, music, art, culture, discussion, understanding, and personal growth. To provide a place where people will share their lives in ways beyond simple language. To express their life passions with language that crosses many boundries.

So, here's another step towards the goal. Remember, though, I have 14 years to get this all together. Who knows what it will become. And you're not allowed to hold me to anything.

Mushroom Bisque

I didn't think that I would quickly find a soup that I liked better than carrot, but it has happened; and on p. 21, seven pages before carrot in the Moosewood cookbook. Here it is:

• 6 Tbsp butter
• 1 stalk celery
• 3 fist-sized potatoes
• 1.5 cups chopped onion
• 1.5 cups stock or water
• approx. 2 tsp. salt
• 1.5 lbs. fresh mushrooms
• 1/4 tsp. thyme
• 3 cups milk, scalded
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2-3 Tbsp dry sherry (I used 3)
• 1-2 Tbsp. Tamari (which is a deluxe soy sauce; I used reg. soy)
• fresh black pepper
• freshly-chopped chives or scallions

Slice potatoes thinly. Chop celery and mushrooms coarsely. Begin cooking the onion in butter, adding 1 tsp. salt. When the onion becomes translucent add the potatoes and the celery. Continue to cook over fairly low heat, mixing well, so the butter coats everything. After several minutes add the mushrooms, water, and remaining salt. Cover and cook over medium heat 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Puree the entire mushroom mixture in a blender until absolutely smooth. Return it to a soup kattle (if possible, use a double boiler or a "waffle" heat-absorbing pad) and heat very slowly, with utmost care, as you whisk in the scalded milk, cream, sherry, and tamari. Heat only until hot enough to serve! If cooked or boiled, this soup will easily curdle and loose its texture.

Serve immediately, topped with freshly-chopped chives and freshly-grated black pepper. This soup goes well with garlic croutons.

carrot soup

45 minutes to prepare. 4-5 servings.

Bring to a boil:

• 2 lbs. carrots, peeled or scrubbed, and chopped



• 4 cups stock or water (I used stock)



• 1 &1/2 tsp. salt



• optional: 1 medium potato, chopped (for heartier soup) (I didn't use)

Cover and simmer 12-15 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.

Saute:

• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1-2 small cloves crushed garlic
• 1/3 cup chopped cashews or almonds ( I used almonds because Arianna loves almonds)in butter with a little salt, until onions are clear.

Puree everything together in a blender until smooth. Return the puree to a kettle or double-boiler and whisk in one of the following:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup yogurt or buttermilk plus a little honey
• 1/2 pint heavy cream
• 3/4 cup sour cream (I used this option, but next time I'm trying the buttermilk option)

Heat very slowly.

Seasoning combinations to choose from:

1. 2 pinches nutmeg, 1/2 tsp. dried mint, dash of cinnamon (I used this combination)

2. 1/2 to 1 tsp each of thyme, margoram, and basil

3. 1 tsp. fresh grated ginger root, sauted in butter plus a dash of sherry, (add just before serving)

Garnish with grated apple or toasted nuts or yogurt or sour cream. (I used sour cream because that's what was on hand).

In the beginning

Have you ever had a deep desire for something, but were never able to describe it or give it a name?

Have you ever wondered about the possibilities of doing several things as a career other than what you are doing right now?

Ever been puzzled with why it is that you are competent or even really quite good at many skills but not really outstanding at any one?

I've had all of these questions for as long as I can remember. I've often thought that at any given moment, quite outside of my planning or actions, that one special opportunity or moment or meaningful..."thing"...will appear; as if guided by God as a part of some ordained plan.

It's a bit paralyzing when people tell you, in the context of faith, that they expect that one day great things will come from you. The tendency is to wait for God to do something rather than doing something with what you already know you are skilled in. You plod along as always; never trying to reach the next level of achievement because you are waiting for "it" to happen, because others are believing it will happen. Or so they said. It ends up being more of a curse than anything else. Or at least it was for me until I grew into some self confidence. Then some form of regret sets in because of all the wasted time. More time is wasted being remorseful.

A few months ago, very dear friends of ours had us over for dinner where a wonderful soup was served as one of the courses. Carrot soup. I asked for the recipe and was told that I already had it. In fact, it was something I possessed for more than two years. It was part of a cookbook which the hostess had given me one of the first times we met.

The first thing I did when I returned home was rifle through the cookbook shelf to find my copy. Sure enough...there it was. M00sew00d C00kb00k, and on p.28 was the recipe for the most amazing soup I had ever tasted. I instantly knew that I wanted to be a part of something larger than one recipe. I wanted a community. I saw a building that was filled with people, food, music, theatre, wood, stone, warmth. What the hell was in those carrots?

The idea is a collective. A collection of people who enjoy getting together to cook and eat, and who want to engage in a community project. This project could be a collection of many things, but the core of it will be a restaurant that provides meals which are nutritionally balanced and aesthetically pleasing. And at this stage I'm thinking that it will largely be vegetarian.

The plan is to grow this project over the next 14 years or so and watch what it becomes. I do not plan on doing it alone. I will not do it alone...that would defeat the purpose. I will wait for others to be assimilated...into the BORG. Brian's Organic Rice-eating Groupies.

First on the list is simply to cook, and to do it in community with others. We've started having happy hour every Friday at 5:00 where we will have various people over for something to drink, as is custom in a happy hour. But what I plan to do is to try several new recipes each week and come up with a tested list of things which I feel will work well in "the collective". I've bought nearly all the M00sew00d cookbooks now, and there are quite a few of them. My goal is to work through most of the recipes and share them with as many people as I can. The recipes are not only nutritious, but are well thought through and delicious. You'd never really think of them as vegetarian.

Next in the plan, and this will go on as the initial part is going on, is to keep my eyes opened for a plot of land and a building. My dream is a place in town where I can move a building onto. The building will be an old community centre, schoolhouse, church, firehall, etc., from another community where it is no longer appreciated...and for a real bargain. I'll buy it for a song and move it onto a new foundation on the plot of land which I will have also bought for a similar tune.

So, I guess for a while, this will turn into somewhat of a food blog where I will share some of the great food I will be experiencing. It will also be a place for you to share with me something that you wish for me to experience; food-related or otherwise.

I never thought that I could be so easily enticed by a dangling carrot.

Next post: Carrot Soup

new focus

I'm a long ways away from early retirement.

14 years, in fact. 24 years from regular retirement.

That makes me feel good because I like what I do and I think I'll keep liking it for at least that long. But when it comes time to make those kinds of decisions, I don't want to make them in a panic.

Joyce and I have been to see the financial planners who tell us what we need to do from now until then, but it's all about money. He asked me what I did for a living and, after I told him I was a teacher, he said I guess your pretty much set then. I wasn't sure what to think about that. Was that good, was that bad? I later discovered that all he meant was that between now and my retirement, my income, aside from new contracts and Bill Gates sending me a tonne of cash for forwarding those emails, would stay pretty much the same. So we had to come up with a financial plan with what I could count on.

But, again, that's all about money. I hate it.

It's been about a year now since seeing the planner, and, well, things are pretty much the same...just like he said they'd be.

One thing has changed. I've begun to think about the time in my life when I won't be teaching. I've had visions of me standing and staring out the window just like I do with the first week of summer holidays. No plan for the day, just relax. Well before too long I'm driving Joyce crazy with the pacing and the staring. I'm sure I'll end up with a freshly sharpened #2HB pencil jabbed into the base of my neck before enjoying too much time at the window.

A couple of summers ago I realized that I had this tendancy, so I came up a plan for the entire summer long before the summer actually arrived. The plan took into account many of my passions and the things that I always wished that I had time for while school was in session. The transition was seamless. The plan actually went into effect a fews days before the summer started. Effortless motion from work to "rest".

So now, thinking about time on a much larger graphic organizer, I wish to plan, over the next 14 or so years, for a transition from work to a "whatever" and chronicling the evolution here. There is a definite direction. Like an idea with it's arms opened wide to embrace other ideas along the way. I'll do the forward motion and as you enter into my community we'll dine together on the present and the future.

The direction: A Philosophy.

Next post: In the beginning.

a change of direction

Coming soon. Keep watching.

popular opinion

"Mr. Hildebrand, we should take the Coke machines out of our school, because I heard that Coke supports the gays."

And still...we have to fight to get religious instruction out of the Public School system.