Mrs. Helmkay's Baking Powder Biscuits

This may not come as a surprise to any of you but my favourite subject in high school was Foods and Nutrition.  I took a Foods class for every year that I was in high school - I got good grades but more importantly, I got to cook almost every day.  I learned a great deal from our amazing cooking teacher, Mrs. Helmkay.  She was a warm and wonderful woman with a slight accent and a heart of gold.  She taught us about making meals on a budget, balancing our plates nutritionally, all while developing my love for being in the kitchen.  

We didn't get to cook every day so on those non-cooking days, we would harass Mrs. Helmkay into letting us make baking powder biscuits.  We would have contests to see who could get their biscuits in the oven the quickest.  Our reward was warm, fluffy biscuits, swimming in butter.  A recent craving for Mo's Biscuits from my favorite breakfast restaurant in Victoria led me to pull out this recipe and whip up a batch for breakfast. I'm pleased to say that it only took me 10 minutes to get these babies into the oven - and YUM, they were worth the little bit of effort on a Sunday morning!  They go equally great with scrambled eggs or on the side of a bowl of soup.  Try some today - I promise that you won't be disappointed.  P.S. Serve them hot from the oven so that the butter soaks in nicely.  

Tea Biscuits (adapted from my Life Skills 8 class)

500 ml flour

20 ml baking powder

5 ml salt

75 ml butter or shortening

250 ml milk

1. Sift all dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

2. Cut butter/shortening into flour mixture until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

3. Make a well in the centre.

4. Pour in the milk, all at once.  With a fork, stir quickly around the bowl until the dough is just moist enough to leave the sides.

5. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead gently for 10-12 times.  Form into a ball.

6. Roll out to about 1/2-3/4 inch.  

7. With a floured biscuit cutter, cut straight into the dough.  Place biscuits on ungreased cookie sheet.  

8. Brush tops of biscuits with milk.

9. Bake at 425F for 10-12 minutes (or until a light golden brown). Serve with butter and honey, jam, or jelly.  

Final report - My 30/90 challenge

Way back in February, I set out a little challenge for myself.  I was having a tough time with a few things in my life and needed a goal to keep my mind focused.  I decided that I would commit to 30 minutes of exercise, 90 days in a row.  Well, those 90 days are up and I wanted to share how I did.

Of the 90 days, I exercised for 30 minutes on 79 of  the 90 days.  I only counted dedicated exercise time and I'm pleased to say that I often got more than 30 minutes of exercise per day.  I went four weeks in a row without a slip-up, then fell off the wagon while we were on holidays in April.  I got back into my routine for the rest of April/early May, but struggled to maintain my goals through the remaining two weeks of the challenge.  I'm not perfect so I realize that my slip-ups are understandable but I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't disappointed that I didn't complete the challenge as outlined.  On a positive note, I did learn to appreciate the value of a quick 30 minute walk around the block after supper and I made greater efforts to get out for a walk at lunchtime.  All in all, I'm happy with the goal that I set and would like to try again in the future.

If you need any motivation to get out for 30 minutes of daily exercise, check out this video below.  I posted it previously but I strongly believe that it's worth repeating.  I know that the video is a bit long but it is worth the time that you'll invest to watch it.

Pork Carnitas

I've decided that I have three different types of recipes in my cooking repertoire - weeknight dishes, weekend dishes, and dishes to be made for friends/family/potlucks.  Pork carnitas falls into the latter category.  They aren't particularly complicated to make but they do require a few hours of cooking on the stove.  Also, they taste AMAZING and are best served to friends & family so that they can appreciate all your fine efforts in the kitchen! (unlike your husband who may or may not take your cooking skills for granted sometimes...)


I've never eaten pork carnitas before I came across this recipe on one of my favorite food blogs so I don't know how authentic these taste.  I have made a few changes to the recipe but in all honestly, you can follow the original as outlined and still enjoy a fabulous supper with family and friends.  As suggested by Deb, I have been serving the carnitas with a crisp coleslaw, using a blend of this recipe and this recipe along with avocado, sour cream, and fresh lime slices.  If you want to use corn tortillas, I'd highly recommend sourcing out authentic ones from either the Calgary Farmer's Market or Nutter's (in Canmore).

Pork Carnitas (adapted from The Homesick Texan Cookbook and the Smitten Kitchen website) 

3 pounds boneless pork shoulder or pork butt, cut into 2-inch cubes and mostly trimmed of fat
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lime juice (from about 2 to 3 limes)
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste

Corn tortillas, for serving plus

Avocado slices, chopped cilantro and fixings of your choice (we love pickled jalapenos or onions, lime wedges and a bit of slaw)

1. (Completely optional step) Cover the cubed meat with orange juice, lime juice, garlic, and seasonings.  Leave to marinate in the fridge for 2-4 hours. I've found that this adds significantly to the flavour of the cooked meat but it's not necessary if you are a bit pressed for time.  

2. Place the pork in a large Dutch oven or cast-iron pot. If you did the optional step one, place meat, juices, and spices in the dutch oven and add just enough water to cover the meat.  If you skipped step one, add the orange juice, lime juice, garlic, cumin, salt and enough water to just barely cover the meat. 

3. Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce the heat to a low-medium simmer. Simmer uncovered for two hours. Don’t touch the meat.

4. After two hours, increase the heat to medium-high and while occasionally stirring and turning the pieces, continue to cook for about 45 minutes, or until all of the liquid has evaporated, leaving only the rendered pork fat. 

5. Let it sizzle in this fat long enough to brown at the edges, turning pieces gently (they’ll be eager to fall apart), only as needed.

6. When pork has browned on both sides, it’s ready. Serve on warm corn tortillas with fixings. Don't be afraid to dig down to the bottom of the dutch oven to scrape out all of the crispy fried pork bits!


Cooking tip - I did attempt this recipe in the crockpot.  I simmered the meat in the crockpot and removed it to be fried in a separate frying pan.  It was ok but the taste was not nearly as good as when the meat is cooked as directed above.  Feel free to try a crockpot variation on your own and do let me know if you have success.  

Montreal Bagels (in Calgary)

I've spent the past two days stuck at training in Calgary.  Driving through rush hour traffic (versus my usual quiet 20 minute drive to Banff) and sitting for 8 hours of training is not something that I look forward to.  However, my friend Lisa was at training with me and she was super keen to go check out a bagel place that her mom told her about.  So, off we raced to Montreal Bagels during one of our coffee breaks.

Lisa has spent quite a bit of time in Montreal and considers herself to be knowledgable about this style of bagel.  I, on the other hand, know little about bagel styles despite working at the Rocky Mountain Bagel Co. for many of my earlier years in Canmore.  What I do know is that I love bagels and that I'm always happy to check out a hidden gem.

Montreal Bagel is on the corner of Elbow Dr. and Heritage Dr. in SW Calgary.  It is in a small and unassuming strip mall.  They advertise baking the bagels in a wood-fired oven (which we noticed as soon as we went inside).  They were only selling 5 varieties of bagels when we went today but they were HOT from the oven!  I believe that a half dozen cost less than $5 and individual bagels were .70/each.  I think that they sold a couple of types of sandwiches along with cream cheese and montreal smoked meat.  I tried the sesame bagel and loved the mild sweetness of the dough.  The bagel was fabulous when it was fresh out of the oven but the toasted one I ate tonight was almost as delicious.  The decor leaves alot to be desired but this is clearly a place that just specializes in making bagels taste great.

Go check it out!

Calgary treats

As I mentioned in my last post, my sister Angie was visiting for the week and I was busy trying to show her some of the great food options available to her here in the Bow Valley and in Calgary.  We hit up the Little Lebanon cafe and yet again, it did not disappoint.  We shared a cheese pie along with an amazing chicken shawarma.  I can't speak highly enough of this place - go check it out!

Another tasty stop was Jelly Modern Donuts.  It's been well reviewed in numerous food publications but it still seems as though many are missing out on this yummy bakery because lots of folks have never heard of it.  Donuts seem to be the new cupcakes - a change that I'm quite happy with because I never really liked all the icing on those Crave cupcakes.  Jelly is worth the trip, even if you only sample the Maple Bacon doughnut.  My sister was completely skeptical about this doughnut but she was a convert after one bite! Jelly is a few blocks up from MEC and makes a nice stop on your way back to the Bow Valley (after hitting up Bumpy's for one of the best coffees in Calgary, of course!)

Busy

Sorry about the lack of posts this week.  My sister is visiting and I just haven't had much spare time.  We've made a few yummy things - turned the Paleo Pork Balls into fabulous BBQ pork burgers and whipped up some Caprese Rice Salad as a side dish.  I promise to post some new recipes soon!

Super fast chocolate mousse

I recently invited some friends over for supper on a whim (ran into them while biking the G8 trail here in Canmore) and I wanted to whip up a quick, easy, and gluten-free dessert. As often happens, my thoughts turned to chocolate.  Luckily, I remembered that I'd once made a fabulous chocolate mousse for a friend's 'meat only' potluck.  I was a bit of a smart ass when I decided to bring two soy based dishes to that potluck - one of them being this mousse.  The mousse is made with tofu but it's tasty and none of your guests would ever guess, even if they think they don't like tofu.  I've done almost nothing to change the recipe so you can find the original here or see my slightly adapted version below.

Ingredients: 
1 package silken tofu, room temperature
8 - 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon vanilla extract


Directions:
1. Melt chocolate in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water.
2. Puree the tofu in a food processor or blender until smooth.
3. Add the melted chocolate and vanilla and puree again until the mixture is very smooth.
4. Pour into 4-6 serving dishes and chill until ready to serve. Alternatively, you can pour into one large serving bowl and chill.  
5. Top with fresh raspberries and whip cream (optional)


Cooking tip - This mousse is incredibly rich so you do not need a very large portion.  Promise! Also, if you had some almond or hazelnut extract on hand, I imagine that it would go nicely in addition to the vanilla.