Checking in with Cold-Brewed Iced Coffee

Any happy marriage between blogging bliss and family vacation is just wishful thinking as far as I'm concerned. Here I am with several memory cards full of dreamy pictures, a slight wine buzz and a happy, full belly wondering where the heck to begin recounting the adventures. I probably should have kept up with the events a little better but the days are seriously packed from the first motion of eight feet in footie PJ's (my 2 boys plus my brother's daughter and son) in the morning, to the draining of the last gin and tonics at night (by the adults). Even after things have settled down, I'm too dead-tired from the day's activities --OK, like canoeing, walking, swimming, cooking, playing and/or mothering -- to bring you anything worth your time. Even a meagre 140 character Tweet is a stretch for me on the average night when my brain is fried from too much sun and not enough water.



Hey, even if I had managed to recount our disappointing elk burger experience or that super sexy lunch of spot prawns with Mojo sauce, I've been unplugged for most of the trip and henceforth reasonably excused from any blogging responsibilities.

So there!


Yep, we're having a great time.



If I had a sponsor for this trip, it would undoubtedly be a coffee brand, because coffee is the drug fueling me from the five AM wake-ups on the camping trips to the late-night Puerto Rico games. Oddly enough, Smithers and the surrounding areas of British Columbia are experiencing a serious heat wave, and it's crucial to keep a cold drink close at hand at all times. As coffee is essential to keeping up with 2 three-year-olds, 2 one-year-olds, and my hyper brother Josh, these days it is much preferred in it's cold state with a splash of whole milk than it is enjoyed blazing hot with cream.
Fortunately Julie's recent post enlightened me to the beauty of cold brewed coffee and its benefits.



Talk about someone who knows how to marry business with pleasure; Julie managed to blog and work on her vacation despite having the nearby Tofino beaches calling her away. Thank goodness she did, because this version of iced coffee made me a happy camper - literally! We took a jar of it on out two-day camping excursion and lives were saved because of it.

Check out Julie's post for the recipe and the rest of the details, and hey, speaking of Dinner with Julie, I'll be having dinner with her on Friday! The lovely Cheryl of Backseat Gourmet is graciously hosting Julie and I plus our families this weekend in Calgary. I'm SO excited to chew the fat with these fellow mama food bloggers and tickled that this meeting fit in with our return itinerary.


Expect a full report when I return home, plus about a thousand vacation pictures. Oh yeah, I'm going there.

Rhubarb Rosemary Daiquiri

Here's hoping your rhubarb plants are not flowering yet because I've still got a few recipes coming your way this spring that feature this juicy fruit. Rhubarb is one of my favorite fruits and one of the few I can actually grow myself. Bonus!

Sadly my plants haven't produced much this year, however just when I was thinking I was going to have to raid the market and buy my rhubarb, along came an offer from a friend that I couldn't refuse. A few days later I found myself looking into the trunk of her car at some of the largest stalks of rhubarb I had ever seen: as long as my arm and as thick as two fingers. Score!


I've had my eye on this recipe in Bon Appetit since last month and it did not disappoint. Even the rhubarb syrup itself was lovely over crushed ice without the rum, so if alcoholic drinks are not your thing, you can still blend up that rhubarb and enjoy it as a refreshing summer cooler. Try mixing it with iced tea or fresh lemonade for a twist on those classics.


Being the Margarita fan that I am, I also tried this with tequila and it was even better than the rum. Add a squeeze of lime and you're set for a new poolside drink this summer.
Oh, and Jamie Oliver has a recipe for a rhubarb Bellini that I'm dying to try. Rhubarb, the bartender's new BFF. Who knew?

Double R Daiquiri
(from Bon Appetit magazine)
Serves 8

2-1/4 cups water, divided
2 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh rosemary leaves
3 cups 1/4-inch cubes fresh rhubarb
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
1-1/2 cups white rum
Ice cubes
8 fresh rosemary sprigs
8 lemon peel twists

Bring 1 cup water and 2 tablespoons sugar to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring often. Remove from heat; add 1/2 cup rosemary leaves. Let steep 5 minutes. Strain, pressing on rosemary; discard rosemary. Let syrup cool 1 hour.

Place rhubarb, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1-1/4 cups water, and 1/2 cup sugar in blender. Process until coarse puree forms. Strain through fine-mesh sieve into medium bowl. Using hands, squeeze rhubarb pulp to release as much liquid as possible through sieve; discard pulp.

Cover and chill rosemary syrup and rhubarb juice separately at least 4 hours and up to 2 days. Mix rosemary syrup, rhubarb juice, remaining 5 tablespoons lemon juice, and rum in pitcher. Fill 8 highball glasses with ice. Add rhubarb-Daiquiri mixture. Garnish with rosemary sprigs and lemon twists.

Sugaring Off Part I and a Canadian Cocktail

We can smell the maple syrup as soon as we step out of the car. I can see smoke rising up out of the trees and the sun warms my face. I leave my jacket in the car and Danny, Noah, Mateo and I duck inside the family home. Auntie Lynn looks up from the maple pecan pies she is taking out of the oven and greets us. She barely bats an eyelash as we unload our car (about half the entire contents of our home) and trek our belongings to the guest room.

"For the month of March this isn't my home", she says in a resigned matter, "It's a community centre."

We've all come for one thing: sugaring off. During these warm days and cool nights, the sap is running in Lynn and Marc's 25 acre 'sugar bush'. The maple trees are tapped, and the collecting of the precious sap has begun.

On the kitchen counter sits an industrial sized canning pot with at least two gallons of dark maple syrup in it. A ladle hangs on the side and a jar of spoons next to the pot invites tasters.

"Try some", smiles Lynn, "I boiled it last night."

Unprepared for just how good it is going to be, I dip into the pot and spoon out a generous tablespoon. It's like nothing I've ever had before. Now, as a rule, we only use pure maple syrup in our house (there is never any Aunt Jemima hiding in my pantry) but even store-bought pure syrup doesn't come close to this.

"What? What? How...?" I splutter.

I think Lynn gets this reaction often, for she didn't seem surprised by it and explained that the difference is due to the fact that the sap was boiled in the traditional method over an open wood fire in the middle of the forest. I've camped enough in my life to get that; bake a potato at home and bake one in the ashes of a campfire and they are worlds apart. Such is the case here; underneath the sweet and true maple taste of this syrup is another level of flavor so complex it makes you shake your head in wonder. Not surprisingly, though, everything tastes better straight out of the ground--or in this case, the tree--than it does off of a shelf.

I surreptitiously tuck the spoon into my pocket (one wants to always be prepared, doesn't one?) and we exit the house, strike out into the woods, past an ancient outhouse, following the slushy trail and the barking of dogs.

(click on any image to enlarge)

Young saplings are interspersed with strong tall maples on either side of the path and almost every maple has a tin bucket hanging from it. Through the trees I can see a hub of activity. A pile of old wooden pallets towers precariously next to a massive cast iron stove; they are the fuel for the fire that reduces the sap. A couple of quads are parked nearby and the very sight of them causes Noah's footsteps to quicken. He is a boy for sure.


We enter the clearing and greet everyone; someone takes Mateo from my arms and another person offers me some chili. I'm actually not that hungry yet, but when I hear that it is Uncle Marc's homemade venison-maple chili, I accept the offer. It's incredibly flavourful, smoky & sweet--and yes, he harvested the deer himself. Next to a small campfire, I take a seat on a freshly cut section of log, and size up the stove. It's a big mamma and there's a raging fire inside, fueled by the wooden pallets.


On top of the stove is a massive metal box, bigger than most bathtubs, and it's half full with maple sap. Steam rises from the top as the sap boils rapidly, reducing itself to the precious syrup. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup, and out here in the fresh spring air is where the magic happens.

Buzzed from the jolt of maple from the house, and warmed by the chili, I'm raring to go. Noah has disappeared with his grandpa and, childless for the moment, I jump at a chance to tap some trees. A group if us head into the woods, armed with a drill, buckets and taps.

(Yours truly tapping a maple. You can see the smoke rising through the woods behind us)

The ancestral process is surprisingly elementary. Choose the side of the trunk that faces the sun; drill a hole (at a slight upwards angle so the sap can flow down); place a tap firmly in the hole; hang a bucket on the hook below the tap; cover the bucket with a lid. Then you wait. On a warm day like today, the sap is running fast and a bucket can fill within hours.

I hear voices through the woods and recognize Noah's among them. In our wandering we've happened upon a frozen swamp with a group of aunts and uncles on it, just enjoying the day. It's a charming spot, the smooth ice spreading through the trees creating many little frozen islands. Christmas lights encircle the pond and I suddenly wish it was night and I had my skates. Robert Frost's famous poem "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening" comes to mind especially the line...'Between the woods and frozen lake'.


As I step onto the ice to approach the small group, I notice that most of the activity is centered around a small table set up in the middle of the pond. Curious. The table holds a bottle of vodka, a liter of cream, a bottle of fresh maple syrup and a stack of small paper cups. I'm beginning to understand why this is such a popular spot!

I'm not going to pass up this golden opportunity; after all, one doesn't happen upon a minibar in the forest very often, and I accept a drink. It's not just the beautiful natural setting that makes me rate this cocktail among my top ten, it is truly one to be savored; the sheer quality of the pure syrup leaves little to be desired as it plays a bold lead role in the drink.

There's not a car to be heard or a house to be seen; truly, this is roughing it with side benefits.

To be continued....

If anyone knows the official name for this most excellent drink, please let me know!

Recipe for Canadian Maple Cocktail:

Have the following ingredients chilled:

1 oz pure Canadian maple syrup
1 oz coffee cream (10%)
1 oz vodka

Pour maple syrup into a glass. Top with cream, followed by the vodka. Stir with a small tree branch (because what else are you going to use in the forest?) and enjoy. Add ice if desired.

If any bartenders or mixologists out there can recommend a way to keep the vodka and cream separate, please let me know!

Click Here for Sugaring Off Part II!: Making Taffy, Apple Cinnamon Flapjacks, and a recipe for Auntie Lynn's Rustic Maple Pie.

Mulled Cider and Muddled Thoughts

We were off to such a good start around here with our Christmas preparations, but a vicious head cold has rendered the wee ones and I useless. You know you're sick when the everyday motions become huge hurdles, and you congratulate yourself on having two babies fed and dressed by 11:00 AM. Thank goodness the Christmas cards are almost done, the boxes of goodies mailed to loved ones far away, and the shopping taken care of, or I'd really be freaking out. Still, pray that I shake this, because I have a bevy of baking to attend to.

On a happier note, we had the prettiest blanket of snow blow in today. With the wind whipping around the eaves, swirling the fast-falling flakes, I was happy to have a mug of this hot spiced apple cider to keep me warm.


Look at the fragrant ingredients that make this cider so aromatic: cinnamon, cloves, star anise, bay leaves, ginger and lemongrass. Mmm, it's practically a cure for a cold in itself.
My husband likes this cider as sweet as it can be, but if I'm offering it to children, or drinking it while sick as I am now, I prefer to pass on the brown sugar. Feel free to spike it if you like, I won't say I pass on that!


Mulled Cider (makes 5 cups)
(Adapted from In Praise of Apples by Mark Rosenstein)

4 cups fresh apple cider
1/4 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed (optional)
1 cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves
1 star anise
1/2 teaspoon peeled, sliced, fresh ginger
1 stalk lemon grass, bruised (or 1 sliced lemon)
1/2 bay leaf

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan. Place over medium heat, and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Strain and serve.

Toasting with Margaritas

With the birth of my baby comes not only the incredible gift of another son to love, but also the return of some culinary delights to my diet... and my belly is happy.

I can now enjoy runny, raw milk cheeses with a glass of wine, guilt-free lattés and pots of strong tea, honey on my scones, fresh oysters in the half shell, and yes, alcohol.

As my original post-partum plan went out the window when my doctor banned hot tubs for 6 weeks (and I decided sushi was too labor intensive for now), I saw a deal on limes at the market and decided a margarita night was the perfect way to celebrate.

It is not without some reservations that I make tequila the subject of my first post-partum post as I am not a big drinker. However, after nine months of abstinence it was nice to raise my glass with a few friends and toast the new arrival with a classic margarita!

Thanks to my New Mexican brother in law (who inevitably drags out the shot glasses and tequila at every family reunion), I developed a taste for tequila and the humble margarita became my absolute favorite mixed drink. I'm not talking any old tequila 'Bang-Bang' either, but some of the finer imports such as the oh-so-good Corzo.

This is a sipping tequila, not merely a liquid to be tossed back, shot after shot, until you reach that booze-induced state of drunkenness that gives tequila such a bad reputation, but a real classy drink.

So, snow or no snow, winter or summer, this is a drink that can be enjoyed anytime!
Cheers!


A quick note to my blogger friends out there....I am enjoying all of your posts! There is no better time to get caught up on all the incredible dishes you are creating than during those 3 AM feeds with Mateo. As I am not a fan of the one handed 'hunt and peck' typing system, I am not leaving comments, but do know that I am reading!


Classic Margarita

1 shot good-quality tequila
1/2 shot Triple Sec
1 shot freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 shot simple syrup
kosher salt

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously until well chilled. Rub the rim of a margarita glass with lime and dip in kosher salt to rim the glass. Strain contents of shaker into the glass and serve at once.

Salute Summer with Some Sangria

For the most part, engineering students tend to have a wide reputation as beer drinkers. Serious beer drinkers. So I was a little unsure about serving 'girlie' sangria to a group of Danny's old friends from McGill who came for a BBQ yesterday.
I needn't have worried, as it was a hit and we were scraping the bottom of the punch bowl as we quenched our thirst from the fierce game of croquet that we were playing.
This sangria can compete with the best beer and summer drinks out there and if you are looking for an alternative to the standard red wine sangria, this is the recipe you should try. It's loaded with fruit that has soaked overnight in a white wine and citrus mixture and these potent bits are well worth tipping your glass back.

White Sangria
Base:
1 small honey dew melon cut into chunks
1 small pineapple, cut into chunks
4 medium peaches, cut into thin wedges
2 cups additional sliced fruit of your choice (strawberries, star fruit, etc)
1 lemon thinly sliced
1 lime thinly sliced
2 750 ml bottles of dry white wine, chilled
1/2 cup sugar (I like superfine)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

To finish:
1 litre soda water, chilled
1 cup loosely packed small fresh mint leaves
Additional fruit for garnish

In a large bowl combine all fruit and sliced citrus. Add wine, sugar and lime juice. Stir well to dissolve the sugar. Cover and chill overnight.
Just before serving, stir in carbonated water and mint leaves. Serve with additional fresh fruit garnish and ice.