80 Things We Love About Arta: 1 - 5

Hello Extended Family,

It has been a while since I have written on this blog. I am going to start a new topic on this blog and would like others to join me. It is going to parallel the posts Arta completed last year as part of her 80th birthday, and will focus on 80 events, experiences, and qualities we love about Arta Johnson. As one of the matriarchs of the Pilling family, it is time to share our love with her. 

I am going to begin with the first 5 of 80, and feel free to add your connections with Arta counting up from there.

1. New Recipes

Caprese salad with a new flare

Arta has taught me to try new recipes. From the Indian food nights at her house in the early 2000's, to large Thanksgiving feasts, to stories of her making bread for her family for years. Arta has taught me to try new food with wild abandon....well maybe not all the abandon.

My New Year's goal this year is to make a new international recipe every month.  Here are the two I have created so far this year.

Shakshuka, a Middle Eastern and North African vegetarian recipe that I will be making again:

https://downshiftology.com/recipes/shakshuka/

Salatet Malfouf, a Lebanese white cabbage salad with a new spice for me, za' atar:

https://theeleganteconomist.com/2019/08/20/salatet-malfouf-lebanese-white-cabbage-salad/

2. CRIAW-ICREF Conference and Feminism

Long before people began talking about being feminists in public spaces such as the news, online, and in conversation, being a feminist was not as revered. I was during this time in 1991 that I was attending University of Alberta, Arta said she had registered me, Marcia, Mary and her for a feminist conference in Edmonton. 

It was amazing! Women of all sorts sharing research, I learned about NGO's (non-government organizations), and she told us to go and see the presentations by the lesbians. I remember her telling us not to be afraid of the lesbians. Sound advice since I came out as gay many years later. 

It was my feminist awakening and the organization continues to do it's great work today:

https://www.criaw-icref.ca/en/ 

Delicious rainbow treat I made for
Calgary Pride in 2019.

3. Shuswap Lake

In the early 2000's, the Pilling family began to be more active in taking care of our inheritance, our slice of Annis Bay along Shuswap Lake. Arta told me she had been taking care of the business side of the property by herself for 20 years. Her father, Doral Pilling, had groomed her to become the matriarch of the property and she had stepped into the role. She took business classes, kept detailed records, and repeatedly asked other relatives to take a role in the organization. Along with several siblings and family members, she has preserved and cared for our inheritance for several decades. It is one of my favourite places on earth and I love her for caring for the land in a good way. 

Arta, Wyona and Greg returning from a boat ride.

Shady Beach celebration of 2019.

So many mouths to feed!

The fourth generation to enjoy this land.

 4. Enjoy the Finer Things in Life

While in London in 2009 Arta and I walked the streets and she taught me to go into all the spaces, museums, buildings, retail shops and purchase things in my head that I could not afford in real life. She grabbed my hand at one point and dragged me into Liberty's, saying at the end that she had spent $15,000 in her mind but all her money was still in her bank account, the best way to shop.

Along with my parents, Arta has taught me to enjoy the SAIT buffet as one of those finer things in life. Here we are around the most delicious food in 2018 enjoying each other's company:

Tonia and Arta

Wyona and Greg

Arta, Tonia and Lurene

5. Be Confident in Your Skills

Always try new things, identify what you are good at and infuse these things into your life. It began with a question from Arta. 'what would you need in your life to make it a happy one?' The only part of the answer I remember is to include ceramics. Through this brief exchange, Arta has taught me to include what I love to do in my life, as part of my life, in order to create a happy life. I ceramic on!

Black and White agateware bowl.

This larger bowl took me 3 hours to glaze.

Loved this larger bowl as it emerged from the kiln.

My new ceramic planters for succulants.

Only 74 more amazing things about Arta to go!!!

- Tonia

A Longing for a Taste from the Past

I am going to post a link to where a person can find the recipe for these buns, a creation of Moiya Wood, today.

She was longing for a taste of the Hot Cross Buns from Save-On Foods.

If Moiya is making buns,they will be much better than the ones from Save-On.

She has added a touch I rarely do.

That is, the final hot cross on the buns.

That is a lot of work, making the icing, creating a a cone to put it in,then going from top to bottom and then side to side to make the marks.

Looks to me like Dave already tested the buns out before she got the final mark on.

Arta

Velvet Torte

4 C chocolate cookie crumbs (Oreo-type but not with icing in them)
5 T unsalted butter, melted
10 oz (280 g) semi-sweet chocolate, preferably Callebaut, finely chopped
1 ¼ C (300ml) whipping cream
1 large egg
1 egg yolk

... decorate with whipping cream or fresh raspberries ...

Combine crumbs with the melted butter and press into a tart pan with a removable bottom.

Cover sides and bottom of the pan.

Bake at 350 for 5 min.

Let cool.

Makes one 11 in. tart shell. Place chocolate in a heat proof bowl. Heat cream in a pot until almost boiling (look for bubbles on the edge of the pot). Immediately pour cream over the chocolate and let sit two minutes, then whisk gently to mix and to ensure that all the chocolate has melted. Lightly beat the egg and egg yolk then stir into the chocolate. Add to cooled tart shell. Bake at 350 for 15 min. Remove from oven – at this point the tart will not appear set or firm. It will set as it cools. Refrigerate to store, serve at room temperature.

NB: a 400 g box or Oreo cookie crumbs = 3 ½ C – this is enough for the shell. Still use 5 T of butter.

A tart pan with a removable bottom (NOT a spring form pan) is needed for this. But BEWARE how you handle the pan – the bottom is not secure. I use a small wooden board to transfer the pan to and from the oven. To serve the tart push the bottom of the pan up and place the tart still on the bottom on a nice plate.

I usually beat the left over whipping cream with a little vanilla and wee bit of sugar to dab on the top.

Superstore sells the Callebaut chocolate in nice small nuggets in the bulk section.

This tart will serve 10 – 12 people. It is very rich- serve very small wedges!

(Note from Arta.  I lost track of this recipe.  Ria reminded me that I had shared it with her and that she continued to use it for pot lucks with many a rave.  Mother's Day seemed like the right time to at least put the recipe back in circulation.)

Orange Rolls

Recipe Book from the Edmonton Relief Society

I asked everyone in the family for ideas about what I could do that they really want.

I am getting suggestions for cinnamon buns but those didn't really work out last night.

No one remembered to take the pan out of the oven until it was two hours too late.

Will I get them done?  Maybe.  All I am missing right now is one large orange to flavour the sugar that will be in the middle.  Oh yum to these.  An excellent choice from Eric, if I am making what it is that he remembers.

ORANGE ROLLS

1 cup milk (scalded)
4 tbsp sugar
1 tsp. salt
5 tbsp. Crisco
2 eggs (beaten)
1 yeast cake
3-4 cups flour

While the milk is hot, add 4 tbsp sugar, salt and Crisco and leet cool.  When luke-warm, add 2 beaten eggs and yeast cake dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water.  Add flour and leet rise 1 1/2 hours.  Roll out as for cinnamon rolls and spread with a paste made of 1 cup sugar, 6 tbsp. butter and grated rind of one orange.  Cut in slices and put in muffin tins and let rise 1 1/2 hours.  Bake at 375, 15 to 20 minutes.

*Reprint from the 1953 Cook Book

FAYE PITCHER

The Itinerant Grandmother

Recipes for the Itinerant Grandmother
Chickpea and Potato Currry on the left
Basic Pizza Sauce on the right

When I was in Montreal I kept hearing about the wonderful lemon squares that Grandma Kathy Jarvis would make.

I finally said to Catherine one day, I am going to try to match those, for whatever I make, it always seems to be measured against the lemon squares which come in at a 10/10.

"Fine," said Catherine, "I will even give you her recipe."  So I tried the squares. Mine came in at an 11/10 for the kids, though I told them that would be impossible since it was the same recipe as she used.

However, I did write the recipe down on an empty page of my day timer in case I needed to make it again when I wasn’t in Montreal.

Fast forward to being at the lake in April and Doral was making guacamole, the best I have ever tasted. “How do you do this,” I asked. “Oh, mine is always so good for it is made with love,” he answered.

I don't believe in cooking with love. Still I took down the recipe and put it in the early part of my day timer, since now I was into June and it didn’t really matter what went onto the January pages. And so the days went on, me making a recipe or two and then putting it in the day timer in case I wanted to do it again. My day timer is my only constant anymore in my travels. That and my fitbit.

Index to Recipes

I have collected so many recipe that today I had to make an Index in the foremost pages of my day timer, so that I can easily find the recipes, which accumulate as I move from house to house.

At Rebecca’s I have been doing all kinds of breads: Russian Black Bread, Country Seed Bread, Cracked Wheat Bread.

And some of her law students wanted to know how to make bread, so they came to the house and we did a Basic White Bread and then turned it into cinnamon buns. I found myself cutting the recipe off of the back of the Roger’s 10 kilogram bag of flour and pasting it in my book, along with their almond orange muffins – not because I want to make the latter, but I might as well have it on one of the empty January pages of my book.

If I come your way to stay for a couple of weeks (or months) I will be ready to make lemon squares. I do go to the Larchkitchens.blogspot.ca for many recipes. Thank you Laynie Hicks for setting that up.

Arta

Larch Kitchens

... my first loaf of country seed bread ...

Laynie has started a new blog.

Larch Kitchens

You can read her at larchkitchens.blogspot.com

While she is on maternity leave (between feeding a new baby and changing diapers for two children) she is finding the recipes from the past that she has loved, as well as publishing new recipes, adding them to the old ones.

Check her out.

Already Wyona's zucchini cake is up there, along with all of the tips that will help you produce a perfect cake, even if it wasn't possible for them to make that happen.

You can find a link to Laynie's blog on the side banner of this blog or bookmark it at larchkitchens.blogspot.com

If you are willing to be a contributor to the blog, please email her at layniehicks@gmail.com and she will give you access so that  you can put up recipes of your choosing.  And if not that, just talk about food to your heart's content.

Join the followers if that is of your choosing.

If not happy cooking, at the very least, happy recipe-reading at Larch Kitchens.

Arta

Crepe Batter with Soya Milk

Crepe Batter with Soy Milk
testing its viscosity

Alex has been asking me for crepes for a number of days.  On each occasion I explain my reticence to make them, for he wants them created out of eggs and soya milk.  No flour.  I ask him why the soya milk and he says it is because it is good for you.  But he is not interested in crepes made with flour.

Two days ago I told him to go out to the internet, find a recipe for crepes that take eggs and soya milk and will do the work.  He thinks that just doing it is easier than going to find a recipe, so I obliged today – an egg crepe.  The recipe was 3 eggs, 1 tablespoon of soya milk, and pour the batter into a pan that has about ¼ of an inch of oil in it.  I do this for eggs strips that go into deluxe fried rice – why not for him.  After sprinkling freshly grated cheese on the crepe, I rolled it and offered it to him.

Whoops!  That is not what he was wanting and he would show me how to make it himself.

Rebecca and I have discussed her kids in the kitchen.  We decided that it is better to experiment with eggs, maybe make a few mistakes, than to trouble ourselves about having them turn out a perfect project.

So I stood back.  Alex put one cup of soya milk in the 12 inch skillet (no oil, for that was part of what I did wrong – too much oil).  He let it boil.  Then cracked an egg in and added a lot of cheese.  Then, stir, stir, stir.  Then try to flip the product over – which was a couple of inches high – the cheese stretching out as he stirred.  He went to the strainer, trying to correct something – though he did not know what.

Finally he put it into a bowl saying it didn’t really work out as he had planned.

I tasted some.  “Mmm.  Good,"  I said.  Who wouldn’t like all of that cheese melted and soft .  What he had created was a delicious sharp cheese fondue.

... Alex rescuing the crepe batter by
putting it through a strainer...

“Do you want to finish it off,” he asked.

“Too much fat for me.  I would gain weight and weight is too hard to walk it off,” I sorrowfully replied.

Thus ends the tale of crepes made from a cup of milk, 2 cups of cheese and one egg.

Arta

Apple Cutters

Mary has declared she is going to buy an apple cutter for Xavier. He likes an apple for an afternoon snack. I admit it. I was suspicious of Anita Johnson’s apple cutter a few years ago when she put it on the counter at the lake. That contraption looked like more trouble than it was worth Now I have 3 of them. Well, really only two of them. One at the lake, one in Calgary and one is broken although I just can’t bring myself to throw it out.

To give praise, the apples taste better to kids when the slices are uniformly perfect.

 I can only say one bad thing about my apple cutter. Using the cutter has lowered me to the task of selecting only perfect apples at the grocery store. I buy them so that they will sit on the kitchen counter securely – no tilting to the left or the right. A less than perfect apple, and I press on the disk which then slices diagonally instead of vertically through the core, rendering a few apple seeds embedded in each of the eight apple pieces. Now that really doesn’t work.

Still, yes. I have a testimony of apple cutters.

I also believe in teaching children to cut their own apples for snacks.

 I recommend starting them with a very dull paring knife.

Arta

What to do? What to do with all that deer meat?

Last year I bought a bunch of local and or organic meat from a shop in our neighbourhood that was going under. Sad for them that my neighbourhood didn't work out, but great for me that I got such a great deal. To be honest, I hadn't even noticed them until a friend told me they were going out of business.I bought a ton of buffalo sausage off them and found this great recipe.

I think it would work out equally well with deer sausage.

Bison Sausage Bread

(Excerpted from Damn Good Food: 157 Recipes from Hell's Kitchen, page 58)

Makes 1 (3-pound) loaf

10 ounces Maple-Glazed Bison Sausage (see recipe below)

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2/3 cup brewed dark coffee

2 cups all-purpose flour2/3 cup dried currants (or cranberries)

2/3 cup walnut pieces (or peacans)

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Place sausage, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, and coffee into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle. Mix on low speed until ingredients are just incorporated, about 1 minute.

Turn speed to medium, and mix 1 minute more.

Add remaining ingredients, and again on low speed, mix until just incorporated. Turn mixer off. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Mix on medium speed another 2 minutes.

Brush an 8 x 4 x 2-inch bread pan with melted butter, and dust with flour. Scrape batter into the bread pan, and place on the center rack of the oven. Bake 1-1/2 hours, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Remove bread from the oven and let cool to room temperature in the pan. Remove loaf and wrap securely in plastic wrap. Will keep in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks and in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Maple-Glazed Bison Sausage

(Excerpted from Damn Good Food, page 73
Makes approximately 8 patties

1 pound ground bison chuck

2/3 cup dried onion

6 tablespoons pure maple syrup

3 medium cloves garlic, minced (1 tablespoon)

2 teaspoons fennel seed

2 teaspoons fresh thyme

2 teaspoons dried sage

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper

1 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 teaspoon curing salt (see note)

Place all ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, and mix on low speed until just mixed, about 3 minutes. Do not to overmix the ingredients as this will compact the sausage and make for a tougher, dryer product.

Moisten your hands and pat sausage mixture into 3-ounce portions, about the size of a golf ball.

Bison meat is so low in fat that it should be cooked no longer than 4 minutes per side. If broiling, cook patties on a rack set 4 inches from the heat. For stovetop cooking, use a lightly oiled skillet, preferably cast iron, and cook over high heat. Never press down with a spatula on sausages while they cook as this pushes the flavorful juices out of the patties.

Note: Curing salt is a combination of salt and sodium nitrite. It assists in the preserving and curing of meats and sausages, and helps preserve the natural color of the meats. If you don't have access to curing salts, just substitute sea salt.

Creme Brulee-- with cream, from Catherine

I have been enjoying the blog posts about creme brulee. Try this one on for size.

Recipe: Berry patch crème brûlée

This dessert is packed with flavour from blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries.

A medley of berries gives a juicy flavor-packed taste to every biteful of this creamy dessert. A touch of framboise lends a delicious uplift.

INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups mixed fresh blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries
6 large egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar, plus 6 tablespoons or 12 teaspoons for topping
1/3 cup mascarpone or sour cream
1 2/3 cups heavy (whipping) cream
2 tablespoons framboise liqueur

PREPARATION
1 Preheat the oven to 275°F. Reserve 1/2 cup of the berries. Place six 5-inch-diameter flan dishes or 6-ounce ovenproof ramekins in a baking pan. Divide the remaining berries among the dishes.

2 In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until pale in color. Whisk in the 1/3 cup sugar until dissolved. Whisk in the mascarpone or sour cream, then gradually whisk in the cream. Stir in the framboise.

3 Divide the custard mixture among the dishes. Pour warm water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the dishes. Bake in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the center of each custard still jiggles slightly. Remove from the oven and lift the dishes from the hot water. Let cool briefly, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 1 day

4 When ready to serve, place the dishes on a baking sheet and evenly sprinkle about 1 tablespoon sugar evenly over each flan-sized custard, or 2 teaspoons sugar over each ramekin-sized custard. Using a hand-held blowtorch, caramelize the sugar by holding the torch about 4 inches from the surface of each custard and moving the torch to brown the sugar evenly. Or, preheat the broiler and place the pan about 4 inches from the heat source; watching carefully, broil until the sugar turns golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. If the custards have been caramelized by the broiler, refrigerate them for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish the top of the caramelized sugar with the reserved berries.

Makes 6 servings

From the following book: Creme Brulee by Lou Seibert Pappas



Catherine

Christmas - New Recipes

Christmas – New Recipes
November 27, 2009

Hello from Arta.

Here is something new for Christmas, seen first at the Highwood Dining Room last Thursday. The Highwood (a Southern Alberta Institute of Technology run restaurant), train their students in the restaurant business. By some miracle, Wyona booked their Christmas buffet. The room was decorated with German nutcrackers on every table and seasonal music was piped into the room – a good starter for the Christmas season for us. One of the charms of the event is that the salad bar, the dessert bar and the entrée counter are all serviced with students who are experts, having created the very food they are serving for that day. I was interested in an artichoke stuffed with salmon-flavoured cream cheese that was sitting on a mirrored tray. Wyona loved the sauce on the pork, a reduction of beautifully mixed flavours.

The first order of the day was the waiter offering drinks from the bar. Water, we say, water for all of us, but we like to listen to what the bar is serving for the day and they like to practice offering their selections. Thursday the drink sounded so interesting, Wyona ordered the mocktail. We asked the server for its ingredients:

I. SAIT Mocktail

Equal parts cranberry juice, orange juice and pineapple juice
One splash of ginger ale
One squeeze of lemon juice

To be served in a beautiful glass with a seasonal straw and 3 floating cranberries.

Having most of the juices at home, I stopped by the Coop to pick up fresh cranberries. I am on my third round of days serving that drink at home – warning people that I prefer the floating cranberries in the drink to be decorative. I have also been floating cranberries in glasses of water. Why not? ‘Tis the season to be festive.

An orange-flavored, chocolate-dipped cheesecake lollipop was the piece de resistance at the buffet table. When I find a dessert that I want to imitate at home, I usually check with the student at the dessert bar who will tell me how to make the item I am asking about.

Last year I discovered that the raspberry coulis on the chocolate mousse was a flavor combination made in heaven. In the summertime of 2009, whenever I was picking raspberries, I was thinking about how to make them into a raspberry coulis to serve at Christmas on a Belgium chocolate mousse. I was usually eating the raspberries as I fast as I was picking them, and did not get enough of them frozen to get my coulis plan into action. But I think I am going to bring the lollipop to life this Christmas season.

II. Orange-flavored, Chocolate-dipped Cheesecake Lollipop

Method:

• Create the filling for an orange flavoured cheesecake. The SAIT cook used the essence of orange as the flavoring. I was thinking she might have used an orange liqueur but she assured me that the brilliant flavor was oil of orange.


• Freeze the filling.


• When frozen, scoop the filling into a circle using a melon baller.


• Insert a popsicle stick.


• Dip the centre in melted chocolate to which has been added some butter. (I wouldn’t have thought of that addition, but the chocolate coating did not crack when I bit into it as a chocolate covered ice-cream from the Dairy Queen might. I haven’t figured out how much butter to add yet. The smoothness of the chocolate has to be something like a truffle, but a little firmer. )
  

Last night, when shopping at Winners, I found myself buying a melon baller that might be the right size for the orange-flavored, chocolate-dipped cheesecake lollipop that has been on my mind. Wyona said that she is going to create the cheesecake filling this week, before she goes to London on the 6th of December. I hope we aren’t both just dreaming.

I have been thinking about the method of coating the lollipop, fearing that the centre will slip off of the stick when I put it in the chocolate. I have concluded that I should place the product on a fork, immerse it in the chocolate/butter solution, slip the dipped lollipop off of the fork onto a wax-paper lined tray and refreeze it.

III. White Chocolate Lollipop with a burst of Salted Pistachios

Doral told me that his trip to Las Vegas involved food that was four times saltier than his regular fare at home. He wondered if all of that salt isn’t adding to the U.S. national weight problem. His talk of the saltiness of the food reminded me of another confection they have been serving at SAIT: a free-form lollipop which I find too salty.

Method:

With a spatula, make a dash of chocolate on wax paper and lay a stick into the chocolate. At the base of the free form (which looks something like a tulip petal, though probably 4 inches high), embed some crushed, salted pistachios.

I didn’t like the taste of the salty pistachios in the chocolate, but when shopping at Winners again last night, I came across some chocolate dipped pretzels and was reminded that mixing the saltiness of some food with chocolate is also an old and honoured Christmas confection.

Have fun in the kitchen.

Arta