WFD? Shrimp and Asparagus Summer Rolls with Avocado Puree

Last weekend the air was filled with the sounds of revving engines as it was Grand Prix weekend and all the Formula 1 cars were blowing smoke around Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Even though we live a good 20 kilometers from the racetrack, I can hear the cars from my own backyard. As Noah and I got dirty in the garden under the warm sun, I tried to think of another sound that signaled the start of summer in Montreal, but the F1 cars seemed pretty significant.
Every year around here we ask each other "It's Grand Prix all ready??" as if we can't believe the spring rains are finally over and the summer is here for a while.
For those hot days where you don't want to turn the oven on or even stand over a barbeque, there are spring rolls- or summer rolls as some of us call them. (I've even been known to call them 'clean-out-the-fridge-rolls' when they end up being way to use up scrap vegetables). They are refreshing, enjoyable to make and usually disappear as fast as I can roll them around here!

Quebec asparagus is cheaper than many other green veggies right now and I had a fat bunch sitting in my fridge. I found some frozen shrimp I had forgotten about, pinched a mango from Noah's stash of fruit, and the filling for these rolls just came together.
If you've always had spring rolls just with peanut sauce, you must try this avocado puree for something different. It's rich and feels almost decadent, but is simple to make. Make sure the avocado flesh is void of any brown parts.

Summer Rolls

12 medium shrimp, (about 6 ounces), peeled and deveined
3 ounces rice vermicelli
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Salt to taste
16 round 8-inch rice-paper wrappers
1 medium carrot, peeled and julienned
1/4 cup packed fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh basil leaves, preferably Thai,
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves,
1 mango, peeled, seeded, and julienned
Juice of 1 lime
6 ounces (about 16 spears) pencil asparagus, blanched and trimmed to about 4 inches
micro chives, for garnish

1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Add shrimp; cook until pink and cooked through, about 2 minutes. Slice cooked shrimp in half lengthwise. Cool, then toss with lime juice and a few pinches of salt. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cover rice vermicelli with hot water by 2 inches; let soak for 10 minutes. Drain, and rinse under cold water. Toss with basil, cilantro, rice vinegar and sesame oil. Set aside.
3. Have all ingredients ready for rolling the spring rolls: carrot, mango, seasoned rice noodles, shrimp, asparagus and mint leaves.
4. Fill a dish or your kitchen sink with warm water. Working with 1 rice-paper wrapper at a time, soak in water for 30 seconds; immediately lay flat on a damp towel. Smooth to remove wrinkles, than fold up the bottom quarter toward the top. Working with your hands, place about two tablespoons of the rice noodles on the folded up part of the wrapper. Place a few asparagus spears, carrot, mango and shrimp on top of the noodles. Add a mint leaf slightly above the rest of the filling.
5. Fold sides of the wrapper in toward the middle and roll the summer roll up, keeping the filling tightly pressed together. Tuck a few mini chives in to the side before you roll it all the way. Place roll on a plate and cover with a damp towel
6. Repeat with remaining rice-paper sheets and filling. Chill summer rolls until ready to serve. Slice summer rolls in half to show the vibrant colors inside and serve with avocado puree or peanut sauce.
   

Avocado Puree

1 ripe avocado
2 Tablespoons whole milk
salt to taste

Divide avocado in half and remove seed. With a spoon, scoop out flesh in to a glass measuring cup. Add milk and using a hand held blender, blend until smooth. Try to keep the blades submerged at all times so as to incorporate as little air as possible. Season with salt, cover top with plastic wrap and refrigerate until used. May keep up to six hours before starting to discolor.

Take Me to Tapeo

When we stepped off the quite Villeray street and up the few steps into Restaurant Tapeo, the buzz and the energy inside almost swept us back out the door again. The intimate space seemed somewhere between cozy and crowded, with low lights illuminating rich paintings of Spanish matadores on the walls. A quick glance around showed every table in the room was full- as it should be for nine-o-clock on a Saturday. From the door, we could see into the open kitchen where a handful of cooks zipped around efficiently. From behind the bar, harried waiters exchanged low words and threw a few glances our way. Shortly after, one of them approached Danny and I, confirmed our reservation, and assured us our table would be ready soon. While we waited at the bar, we munched on some pommes frite and studied the tapas menu chalked up on a board on the opposite wall.

Calamar Frites, Champignons Sauvage, Rapini a l’ail, Manchego et Serrano, Crab Cakes Romanesco, Agneau braise, Croquettes de Morue.....

The menu boasted a tantalizing selection of about twenty-five hot and cold tapas, each sounding better than the one before. I scanned the room for a glimpse of what other diners were eating, but we had arrived just as the first booking of the night was winding down and people had moved on to dessert.
Contented gentlemen leaned back in their chairs, swirling the last dreg of wine in their glass, while the ladies made one last trip to the bathroom or check their messages on their blackberry. Love-bitten couples leaned in close over the table, sharing a ramekin of mini churros between them that they dipped in melted chocolate and few to each other. Everyone seemed immensely satisfied and in no hurry to leave.
But eventually, a couple tipped their hats to the hostess and left, and our table was ready.
As we were seated, I though to myself that right now has got to be the best part of an evening out. There is the anticipation of what is to come, nothing has gone wrong yet, and you’ve got the whole evening stretching out before you. Your feet haven't started to ache from the silly shoes you are wearing and you haven't had a chance to wonder if the baby back home is asleep yet.
Usually, this excitement last until just after I order and then I start to second guess myself, wonder if I ordered the right thing, and the initial buzz of a night out starts to wear off.
But by the end of our evening, I could safely say that at Tapeo, there is probably no wrong thing to order.

The menu is an impressive line up of cold and hot tapas ranging from $4 to $15. While most of them have a definite Spanish influence, there are those, such as fried calamari, that would fit in on just about any tapas menu. We couldn’t pass those calamari up either and they started our evening off with a bang! Light, tender, piping hot and crispy, they were absolutely divine and helped assure us that we were in for a very fine evening. We followed the calamari with a bowl of sautéed rapini with garlic, and chorizo with a smoked paprika white bean puree and young corn. The rapini was just as good as I had hoped, perfectly cooked, well seasoned and simply delicious. The chorizo was outstanding, and I noted that it was nice not to have to pick pieces of unidentifiable objects out of my teeth after eating it! The white bean puree was a satisfying accompaniment and we made sure none went to waste, using our bread to mop the plate.

Crab Cake Romanesco

After a brief pause, we decided we could go for a few more dishes and so in keeping with our seafood theme, ordered shrimp with garlic and crab cakes.
Both were superb, although the four shrimp that came in the bowl disappeared way too fast. I would have like to see a few more! The crab cakes were rather one apple-sized ball, beautifully crusted and served with a romanesco sauce ( kind of like a Spanish pesto, if you will, with ground almonds, paprika, and roasted peppers). I wasn’t crazy about the consistency and the middle seemed a bit cold, but the flavors packed a punch and I still really enjoyed it. Also, by this time I was getting a quite full!

The room had thinned out a lot and the staff seemed to now have time to breath. When our waitress brought us our coffee and churros, I asked a question about the romanesco sauce with the crab cake. She thought for a second about an explanation, but then left with a promise to ask the chef, and the next thing I knew, the chef was pulling up a chair next to me.
I turned—
“AAAGHH! …..Hello!!!!”
Immediately I recognized her ear-to-ear grin.
Marie-Fleur.
We had worked together a few years back at Toque Restaurant. She had left before I did and we lost touch. How great to see her.
Danny stirred his coffee and smiled at us as we talked a mile a minute, catching up on life, jobs, babies and such. She has been the head chef at this fine establishment for two years now and I had no idea. No wonder everything was so amazing!

I left Restaurant Tapeo delighted, for I had not only reacquainted myself with a old friend that evening, but had also formed a new association with a superb tapas bar tucked away in a not-so-popular Montreal neighborhood.
And I would certainly be keeping in touch.

Tapeo; 511 Villeray St.; 514-495-1999

Ed Note: My apologies for the lack of mouth-watering photos. The tables were so close together, that I would have been disturbing other diners if I started snapping away. Plus, a girl deserves a night off! :)

Only for the Die-Hard Sugar Addicts: Pouding Chomeur

Pouding Chomeur or "Poor Man's Pudding" with Maple Walnut Ice Cream

Pouding chomeur could quite possibly be the best dish I have discovered since moving to Quebec from BC eight years ago. It certainly is not a dessert that I would have been exposed to growing up, as it probably contains more sugar that I was ever allowed in a month; but that's probably why I like it so much. Yep, I had to grow up and move away from home before I could subject my body to lethal amounts of pure sweetness--paired with ice cream too!


In case you have no idea what I am talking about, I will clarify that pouding chomeur is simply a spongy white cake baked in a lake of maple syrup and cream. The result is an ultra moist golden cake nestled in a lave-hot maple sauce; sticky, satisfying, and oh, did I mention sweet? One of the good things that came out of the Depression, Poor Man's Pudding is made several different ways, the most common being with brown sugar and butter. I prefer to make it with maple syrup as it seems to better represent the province. Think: Quebec-in-a-bowl.

Of course, with the price of maple syrup these days they might want to think about changing the name.

I live to serve pouding chomeur warm from the oven with a bowl of ice cream to compliment it. And while you are at it, why not make it maple ice cream?

Pouding Chomeur or Poor Man’s Pudding

1/3 cup butter
½ cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 ½ cup pure maple syrup
1 ½ cup whole cream

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in egg. Fold in flour and baking powder and mix until just smooth. Refrigerate 24 hours.
Preheat oven to 400F and prepare 8 ovenproof ramekins. Combine syrup and cream in a small pot and bring to a boil.
Dribble a few tablespoons syrup into the bottom of the ramekins and top with a few tablespoons of cake batter. Pour remained of syrup over cake until ramekins are at least 2/3 full. It will seem like very little cake to syrup ratio, but if you put too much cake batter it will be too dry.
Place ramekins on a baking sheet or pizza pan as they may boil over and this prevents a mess in the bottom of your oven!
Bake until cake is lightly golden and syruphas thinkened, about 15 minutes. Serve warm.

This recipe is adapted from Chef Martin Picard who credits Restaurant Soup Soup for the recipe.

Maple Walnut Ice Cream

1 cup shelled walnuts, roughly chopped
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 ¼ cups milk
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 ¼ cups whipping cream

Spread walnuts out on a baking sheet and grill them under moderate heat for 2-3 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Place the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch into a bowl and whisk until think and foamy. Pour the milk into a heavy-based saucepan, bring to a boil, then gradually whisk it into the yolk mixture. Return the mixture to the pan and cook over gentle heat, stirring constantly until the custard thickens and is smooth. Pour the custard back into the bowl, and stir in the maple syrup. Leave to cool, then chill. Stir the whipping cream into the custard and churn in an ice cream machine until the mixture is thick. Scrape into an airtight container. Fold in nuts and freeze until firm.

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.

Honorable Mentions: Food that didn't make the cut

I often get asked if the dishes and baking featured on Under the High Chair are really what we eat from day to day, and this surprises me. As if I would have time for extra projects on the side with a toddler running around keeping my life exciting and busy! What you see is what we eat, and I never cook specifically for the blog. Of course there are many, many everyday things that are not featured, such as our simple pasta dishes, the frequent bean-and-tortilla-variations (Danny’s favorite) and quick stir-fries (Noah’s favorite), but this isn't a daily food diary.

And yes, there are the flops, the experiments, the disasters….and occasional fires in my kitchen. (Boy, I’m really ‘fessing up here) I love trying new things and getting out of my cooking comfort zone and things don’t always go as they should. Unless there is a particularly good story behind the failed dish or lesson to be learned, I won’t take the time to blog about it.

But there are some items that fall between the cracks, and I call these the Honorable Mentions. While they are not complete failures, I am not 100% happy with them and hence, they don’t get featured with a recipe on UtHC. They may be recipes that need a little re-working; dishes that are lacking something, or some baking that just isn't good enough.
Here are some of those items. They may not be winners, but they still deserve a honorable mention and their fifteen minutes of fame!

(pictured above: Marble Cake. What used to be one of my favorite cakes when I was growing up, I found dry and barely palatable. Anyone have a great recipe to share?)

Lemon Polenta Cake. Love the combination, but again, it was just too dry.

Brown Sugar Roasted Pineapple with Ginger Whipped Cream
Muh. Not caramelized enough and the pineapple was stringy.

Citrus Cheesecake. Almost perfect, but a little too grainy for my liking.

A fresh fruit display I did for a party. It was tons of fun to do, but still falls in the cracks.

Melon Tray. Fun photo, but there's no recipe for this.

Chocolate Shortbread. Such a simple thing, but I don't think I baked them long enough. They needed to be more sandy.

Over and Out.

Milk Chocolate Pudding with Long Pepper or UtHC doesn't go to New York City

Last weekend was the momentous occasion of Danny’s and my fifth wedding anniversary, but our grand plans of a weekend getaway alone to New York City were squashed like a bug when Noah fell sick, really sick. How ironic that the last 90-something weekends of his life he has been well, but this particular one he had us convinced that there was no way we could leave him, even with the very best of care.

It wasn’t looking good at the beginning of the week as he refused food, yet continued to lose body fluids from both ends (I’ll spare you the details). In hopes of a fast turnaround of his health, I continued on with my preparation: making some meals ahead for him, studying the Manhattan transportation system, and keeping an eye on the NY weather.

Then Thursday morning he woke up with spots all over and we said goodbye to our hopes. While I wanted desperately to wake up in a city that never sleeps, just like the song says, it wasn’t going to be this anniversary. (Oh I'd be waking up, that's for sure, and with a sick baby in the house, 'never sleeps' would take on a whole new meaning.)

Friday evening, after the feverish little darling was in bed, I glanced at the clock and couldn’t help but inform myself that this was about the time we should be getting on our way if we were going to make our bus to New York. A dark cloud settled over my head and I knew I could either ruin what was left of my anniversary by wallowing in self pity, or get cooking and make the most of it.
Trying to swallow my disappointment, I foraged restlessly in the cupboard for some chocolate. I needed the comforting therapy of cooking something and the uplifting familiarity of eating warm pudding straight from the pot.
Fortunately, I did managed to relax in the kitchen a bit and my dark cloud disappeared thanks to these little pots of milk chocolate pudding flavored with the sensual spiciness of long pepper.

We did manage to slip out for a late night meal of tapas on our anniversary, so it wasn't all bad! Kudos to M for babysitting after a long day of work.

Pictured here is long pepper, also known as 'cubeb', from Bali. Available at Olive et Epices at Marche Jean Talon, these exotic spices from the pepper family look like little corn on the cobs and are much sweeter than black pepper. I first had them paired with chocolate in a dark truffle and loved the combination. Definitely adding a freshly ground pinch to the milk chocolate pudding adds a hint of excitement worthy of a wedding anniversary.

Milk Chocolate Pudding with Balinese Long Pepper
(adapted from Gourmet, February 07)

2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 oz fine-quality milk chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground long pepper
lightly sweetened whipped cream

Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, long pepper and a pinch of salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, then gradually whisk in milk and cream. Bring to a boil over moderately high heat, whisking constantly, then boil, whisking, 2 minutes.
Remove from heat. Whisk in chocolate and vanilla until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and chill pudding, it's surface covered with wax paper (to prevent skin from forming), until cold, at least 2 hours. Or just enjoy it warm like we did!
Make about enough for four.
Recipe may be made without the long pepper. Enjoy.

Ho Hum for Hummus

Fresh pita with grilled chicken, cucumber and hummus.

The very first time I ever had hummus I was probably crazy about it, but then came the whole hummus-dipped 90’s where EVery SINgle party you went to there was enough hummus around to stucco a ceiling. My sister and I still laugh about a pot luck/wine tasting we did where 8 of the 9 couples brought hummus and pita. Try paring that with wine.

But seriously, don’t people go a little overboard with the whole hummus thing? Is it some kind of unspoken entertaining lore that if you serve a mountain of hummus, you hold the key to a great party? I mean, people really devote themselves to this chick-pea puree: I’ve seen the hummus blog (where people are called hummus brothers), recipes for hummus lasagna, and there’s even a restaurant called the Hummus Place in New York City. Are there that many unemployed pitas out there that we need all this hummus??

It also bugs me that everyone has the BEST hummus recipe and they, only they, hold the key to great hummus. These people think they are saving the world one carrot stick at a time. Of course having tasted store bought hummus, anyone can throw some chickpeas, lemon juice and olive oil in a blender and it’s going to taste a heck of a lot better. One could even add the shrivelled up scrapings from the bottom of the vegetable drawer and it would still probably taste better. Just go nuts with the lemon juice.

But all that said, I found myself with a nice basket of fresh pitas last week and decided to whip up a batch of hummus!( I never said I disliked it, I just don’t consider it a necessary condiment for day to day life.) I like the recipe from the Silver Palate Cookbook, but am puzzled as to why it is listed in the ‘Basics” chapter among such recipes as ‘Chicken Stock’ and ‘Pie Crust’. Since when is hummus is a basic? A staple? Are they teaching hummus making in Home-Ec class now?
I guess that proves my point that people take their hummus a little too seriously.

Toast and grind your own cumin seed for this hummus and I guarantee you will have a dip to rival the other 1.3 million recipes. Who’s to say?

Hummus Bi Tahini

4 cups (about 2 ½ cans) chick-peas, drained
½ cup tahini
1/3 cup warm water
1/3 cup olive oil
Juice of 3 lemons
4 or more garlic cloves, peeled and germ removed
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground cumin seed
freshly ground pepper, to taste

Combine chick-peas, tahini, warm water, olive oil, and juice of 1 lemon in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process until smooth and creamy.

Add garlic, salt, cumin, and pepper to taste, and process to blend. Taste and correct seasoning if necessary. Add more lemon juice to taste. Scrape into storage container and refrigerate until ready to use.

Foodie Facebook: Mati

Name: Mati
Place: Montreal, Quebec
Occupation: Financial Analyst

1) What is your earliest childhood food memory?

I am ambivalent. It is either Dairy Queen in Cyprus or fried calamari, also in Cyprus

2) What did you eat today?

I am ashamed, but I ate a club sandwich.

3) What will your kids never be allowed to eat?

Never ever any kraft dinner in my house!!!!

4) What do you always have on hand in your fridge?

Fruit juice. It enlightens my day at the first sun rays of the morning

5) What is your beverage of choice?

A good espresso with a beautiful milk foam and some sugar into it. It is a morning delight.

6) If you could have dinner with anyone in the history of man, who would it be?

That one is a tough one. I would like to eat with somebody that appreciates eating, lounging through a meal, a good talk, good laughs, food elements that make the meal, the décor, …If it was a one to one, it has to be with the one I love. If I get to be in a group of people, it would the knights in the middle age, Churchill, Baden Powel (he must have some great stories), … It is really difficult to pinpoint one in particular. I guess If I had the possibility, I would aim for an historical trip through ages, tribes/groups/… and cultures. It would be a fantastic opportunity.

7)Ok, it’s your last meal ever, what do you have?

Above it must be a full course multiple dishes meal.
There’s got to be some tartare, even possibly fish tartare, in entrée.
In a second entrée, I would go for a grilled fish with coarse sea salt and dill. The skin must be on it still. White fish would be great.
Des pommes de terre risolés is a must with a juicy, tender and flavourful piece of meat medium rare. Add in some green peas or asparagus and I have reached the 3^rd sky.
For cheese part, I would aim for a simple baguette and a creamy cheese, a goat cheese and a reblochon. I would love to see the face of the people accompanying me when I unwrap the Reblochon. By the way, the cheeses should be wrapped ;)
For desert, the only thing that would matter would be a tiramisu. Just a fantastic tiramisu. The best ever done in the entire world. If it has to be shipped overnight from Italy, so be it ;)
As you can see, nothing is really set cause the one thing I should add is that my last meal should involve a great chef that would surprise me all along with great dishes and presentations.

Ed Note: Merci, Mati!! Foodie Facebook is a regular feature on UtHC. Stay tuned, it could be you!

Making Mother's Day Memories

Fun in the orchard treehouse

Today was a gorgeous sunny day and Danny whisked Noah and I out to the beautiful Quebec countryside where we hiked Mount Saint-Gregoire, had a picnic in a blossoming apple orchard, and did a cider tasting at Cidrerie Verger Leo Boutin.

After playing in their tree house and a 'ride' on the tractor for Noah, we left with four bottles of cider including a bottle of Prunelle, an aperitive cider made from plums as well as the usual apples. I am looking forward to incorporating it in a dessert somehow!

After growing up in the Canadian Rockies, I still struggle with the use of the word 'mountain' in Quebec, but we did manage to have a nice view from this...well...we'll call it a lookout.

A big Happy Mother's Day to all the mama's out there!!

March to a Marché

Fiddleheads, firm and green, are a sure sign of spring.

Montreal's open air markets are bursting with Springs finest produce right now and I suggest you take as stroll and get inspired, or at the very least, buy a bundle of cheery tulips and bring a little spring indoors.

Miranda and I took Noah and Tulip for a walk along the Lachine Canal and got lured in to Marché Atwater to check out the colorful stalls. Such delights! I must soon return to indulge with some cash in my pocket and a method for getting precious produce home other than the bottom of the diaper bag.

Noah and Tulip checking out the lively market

Atwater Market from across the Lachine canal; a great picnic spot.
And more market pleasures...