Mushroom Turnovers & a Busy Weekend

I truly can't believe how quickly this past weekend flew by. I look forward to being able to just relax and veg for a bit and unfortunately this was not one of those weekends. However, it was full of adventures all around that made it all worth it.

Friday night was spent with my baby brother, Jordan, who will very politely and proudly tell you that he is "5 and three quarter years old". We had a sibling sleepover which was full of mac'n'cheese (Mrs. K's recipe) and movies and snuggles all around. Honestly, how cute is he!!??!?

Then, on Saturday morning we headed to Andrew's Scenic Acres to pick out some pumpkins. I learned the hard way that when going to get pumpkins at the patch, bring more than on adult because almost 6 year old children do NOT like to help carry pumpkins. That being said, we did have quite the adventure :)

After our patch adventure, there was some serious pumpkin carving (photos to follow) and then I headed off to the Delicious Food Show at the Better Living Centre in Toronto. I promise there will be an entire post about it within the next few days.

On Sunday, our family got together to remember my Grandfather (my Dido) since it's been a year since he passed away.

Baba, Dido and I in early 1989

We had a lovely lunch together and I whipped up some mushroom turnovers to bring over to Baba's house. I'm sorry to say that I didn't take any process pictures but the end result was delightful.

Here's the quick rundown of how I made them.

• Bring your puff pastry to room temperature (frozen puff pastry makes this RIDICULOUSLY hard to say the least). 
• Slice 1 pint of mushrooms
• Melt 1 tbsp of oil and 1 tbsp of butter in a saute pan and add 1 small onion and 1 clove of finely chopped garlic. Cook on medium heat until softened. Add 1 tsp of fresh thyme leaves. 
• Stir in 3 tbsp of marsala wine and 1 tsp of maple syrup. 
• Add the sliced mushrooms and 1/4 tsp of salt. Saute until the mushrooms are soft and cooked through. 
• Stir in 3 tbsp of heavy (35%) cream and cook until a thick sauce is made. 
• Roll out your puff pastry into a 9 x 13 rectangle. Cut the rectangle into 12 square-ish rectangles. 
• Add one spoonful of filling to the middle and fold the square in half and pinch the edges. 
• Place on a baking sheet and brush with a beaten egg. 
• Bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. 

Ta-Da!

 

Look at the delicious layers of pastry!

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend and that it was slightly more relaxed than mine.

Happy cooking!

t

Foodie Find - Progressing towards Pistachio Macarons

I just came across this fantastically easy recipe for making pistachio cream which is the fundamental component of the pistachio cream in my new favourite macarons.

Photo Credit - Cooking-ez.com

 Check out their recipe at http://www.cooking-ez.com/recette.php?id=325.

Happy Baking!

t

Lambs & Grass Cupcakes

My cake and cupcake orders have calmed down over the last few months and needless to say that when I was approached for an order recently I couldn't say no! Even more so, the order was for the 1st birthday party of one of the little girls that I babysit, Ellie!

Ellie's Mum, Claire, sent me an e-mail with a few photos of what she was looking for and a few specifications of what she wanted. The request list was for cupcakes that looked like little pink lambs, some with some grass and a few mini cupcakes with some pink frosting for the little birthday girl! I later learned that Miss Ellie is notorious for taking her pink lamb everywhere with her hence the pink lamb cupcakes.

The mission was on and I have to say I am so delighted with how they turned out! Half of the cupcakes were carrot and the other half were vanilla.

For any cupcake/cake orders or inquiries, please contact novicegoddess@hotmail.com.

t

Foodie Find - Halloween Cake

You guys know without a doubt how much I love the "My Cake School" blog. Not only are their posts informative, but sometimes they're just so darn cute, it makes you want to go and bake up a storm! Well, their Cute Ghost Topper & Pumpkin Border cake is no different! I think this may have to make an appearance at work for our Halloween party! It's boo-tiful! (I couldn't resist... I apologize!)

Photo credit: My Cake School

Happy almost Halloween!

tamara

Canada's Baking & Sweets Show

On October 1st, 2011, I attended the first ever Canada's Baking & Sweets Show! As per the show's website:

'Welcome to Canada’s Baking and Sweets Show – the first consumer show of its kind in North America dedicated to those who crave to experience everything that’s decadent and delicious.  It’s a one-of-a-kind event catering to baking enthusiasts and everybody with a “sweet tooth”.
Expect to see, smell, taste and savour the best offerings of Canada’s baking and sweets universe.'

This show was so much fun! The darling Jessica K (aka The Wedding Girl), her lovely sister, Olivia and I were there bright and early on the 1st just in time for the show's opening. We had a great time taking pictures and seeing not only the delicious things you could buy, but the cake competition as well as all of the different baking and cooking tools that you could buy!

This was the show's first time running, and I do think I speak for both myself and the Wedding Girl when I say that I hope that this show happens again next year and that it continues to grow in size and in the number of exhibitors. I think the show was especially exciting for Jess and I because it combined our absolute love of baking with our educational background in Special Events Planning.

The show really had quite a nice mix of vendors selling baked goods (especially for those with allergies and sensitivities), tools and services. I felt that there was a great balance and that the set-up of the show really allowed you to interact with the exhibitors without feeling too crowded.

I personally was drawn to the Golda's Kitchen booth as well as the Bonnie Gordon College of Confectionary Arts' booth! I have always loved going to Golda's and now I'm trying to find a way to save enough money to take a few classes at the Bonnie Gordon school!

Here are some photos of the delicious cakes that were found throughout the show.

 

Happy weekend! 

t

Foodie Find - Baby Garlic

I really had intended on posting this when I found it just over a month ago but I completely spaced out on doing it. Here's the story!

My mum is an avid gardener - and I do mean AVID! When we moved into our current house there was very little garden to speak of. In our few years here Mum has transformed our backyard into an absolute jungle oasis! This summer, while she was weeding, Mum pulled out what she thought was a weed, but it turned out to be garlic in miniature form. I'm assuming it was just really young garlic but it truly was the cutest thing ever. The little bulbs were all perfectly formed and it smelled like a slightly less pungent version of the standard garlic that you find at the grocery store.

And with that I give you baby garlic! How can you not be in love!?!?!