Making my first pie

I’ve been thinking about trying to make pie for a while. Even though I’ve been baking since I was a kid, I never learned how to make it. I think I was intimidated by the degree of difficulty involved, and scared that my pie crust would fall apart and the whole thing would be a disaster.

Well, I read a lot of food blogs, and recently on one of them, readers were asked to write in with their food phobias. Many, many people said they were afraid to make pie crust, so I guess I’m not alone. After reading so many pie crust and other pastry recipes on all those blogs, I realized it didn’t sound that hard after all.

So, a few weeks ago, I made my very first pie, with fresh fruit from the wonderful outdoor market (see previous post). The pie was a blackberry and apple pie from a Nigella Lawson cookbook we have. I was excited and nervous as I weighed the fruit and gathered the ingredients. Nervous because we were having some of J’s new friends over to share the pie with us, and also because Nigella has let me down in the past.

I love Nigella Lawson, I love her cookbooks, and for the most part, I love her recipes. But I’ve made a few that have turned out less than fabulous, so I was hoping this wouldn’t be one of them.

Well, thank God Nigella came through. Even though the pie crust was a bit stiff and kept breaking in places, and even though I was using a 9-inch pie plate instead of an 8-inch one liked she called for, it worked out splendidly.

J’s friends loved it and so did we. It was juicy and the cornmeal in the crust added a nice crunch to the butteryness. The combination of blackberries and apples is delicious. The rosewater adds a nice subtle flavour, but I don’t think it’s really necessary if you don’t have any.

This pie has a lot of filling and when you pour it in, it seems like it’s going to spill out, but it doesn’t. But I can’t even imagine it all fitting in an 8-inch pan.

One more thing: this pie crust doesn’t last very well. We ate most of the pie the day I baked it, but when we had the last slices the next day it had turned slightly soggy, so beware.

So don’t be afraid of pie! If this crust is too finicky for you, just look for another recipe, since there are millions out there. Now that I’ve made my first one, there’s no turning back.

Blackberry and Apple Pie

From How to Be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson

For the pastry:

4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced

4 tablespoons vegetable shortening, teaspooned out

1 1/3 cups self-rising cake flour

Scant ¼ cup fine cornmeal

2-4 tablespoons salted ice water or enough to bind

Squeeze of lemon juice as needed

For the filling:

About 1 ½ pounds Golden Delicious or other cooking apples (2 medium) I had to use

4 apples to get 1 ½ pounds so I’m not sure where she gets her mammoth apples…

¼ cup unsalted butter

7 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon rosewater

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 scant tablespoons cornstarch

12 ounces (3/4 lb.) blackberries

For the glaze/topping:

1-2 tablespoons milk

1-2 tablespoons sugar

8-inch shallow pie plate

Mix the flour and cornmeal together in a shallow bowl, add the cold butter and shortening and stir gently to coat. Put in the deep freeze – no need to cover – for 10 minutes. As you do so, put your water in a bowl or cup with a pinch of salt and transfer to the fridge. Either in a processor or – for choice – in a free-standing mixer with flat paddle, blend the fats and flour until you have a mixture that resembles sandy porridge (You can also use a pastry cutter or two butter knives to mix).

Then, gradually process or paddle (or mix) in the liquid until the pastry is almost coming together. Use your hands now to form it into two discs, one slightly smaller than the other. Cover with plastic wrap and rest the pastry in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 375˚F, remembering to put a baking sheet in at the same time. Peel, core and slice the apples. In a saucepan, melt the butter and add the sugar, rosewater and cinnamon, then cook the apples in the pan for about three minutes; remove them to a dish with a spatula. Pour the caramelly juices into a measuring cup and whisk in the cornstarch to form a paste.

Line the bottom and sides of the pie dish with the bigger disc of pastry (I had to roll it out first), and put the apples and blackberries into the pie. Pour over the cornstarch-butter mixture, stirring gingerly to cover all of the fruit without tearing the pastry. Roll out the smaller disc of pastry, dampen the edges of the pie with water, and put the pie lid on top. Crimp the edges, either by hand or using a fork, to seal. (Since my pie crust was a bit skimpy there wasn’t enough to reach all the way to the edge, so I had a lot of fruit poking through.) Decorate the top with any pastry scraps, made artistically into leaves, or stamped out into miniature apple shapes with cutters, or whatever takes your fancy.

Glaze with milk (I used soy) and cook for 30 minutes, by which time the still slightly knobbly top should be golden (My pie took almost twice as long to get golden). Sprinkle with sugar when it comes out of the oven, and leave for about 15 minutes before cutting into it.

Serves 6.

The Farmers' Market

The Charlottetown Farmers’ Market is one of my favourite places in the city. It’s airy and beautiful on a warm summer’s day, and cozy and homey in the middle of winter. Whenever I go there on Saturday morning, I usually end up bumping into at least a few people I know. It’s a great place to buy fresh produce or delicious baked goods, or get a coffee or breakfast and sit and chat with friends and strangers alike at the picnic-style tables.

But this post isn’t about the Charlottetown Farmers’ Market. I’m saving that for later. No, this post is about the new market that I’ve discovered right here in Edmonton: the Downtown Edmonton Farmers’ Market.

I am already in love with this market, and I’ve only been there once. But it’s been on my mind all week, and every day that goes by I think, “Yes! One day closer to Saturday when we can go back to the market!”

This market is four blocks from our apartment, on 104^th Street. Two blocks of the street are closed to traffic and open for vendors to set up their tents and stalls. People stroll along the street with cloth shopping bags, babies and dogs. Just like at every market I’ve been to, this market has a very community feel.

The amount and variety of produce are intense. J and I couldn’t believe it, having come from the tiny (but wonderful!) market back home. I’ve also been to the Halifax market, which is big and bountiful, but I think this one has even more produce.

Lots of farmers with greenhouses come to the market, so even this time of year we saw tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce and eggplant, which in an outdoor garden would be harvested earlier in the summer. There is also corn, carrots, potatoes, beets, zucchini, squash, chard, onions, garlic, herbs, peaches, nectarines, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, grapes, plums, apples and pears.

All of the fruit we saw was from B.C. – hence the summer variety. We talked to one woman who has a farm there. She and her husband spend part of every week going to several farmers’ markets in Alberta. They don’t sell fruit in B.C. at all.

There are also a lot of artisans at the market, and a lot of prepared food. J and I started off our trip with a stop at a stand selling Mexican food. He got a breakfast burrito and I got a quesadilla. They made their own salsa and guacamole and both were delicious. But this week I might have to sample from somewhere else, since there is so much on offer.

One of Jacques’ go-to stands at the Charlottetown market is the perogy stand. He loves them, and they are everywhere here in Alberta where there is a lot of Ukrainian heritage. We bought a bag of frozen perogies to enjoy later in the week.

Bison is everywhere.

We also discovered a stand selling the most succulent lime tarts in the world. We had to try one. This couple makes several kinds of tarts – lemon, lime, chocolate hazelnut, and some others I can’t remember. They also make quiches. The man was very nice and gave us samples of the lemon and lime curd that he makes himself. They were both heaven on a spoon – he doesn’t add too much sugar so they have a lot of tartness that makes the fruit sing, and the custard is velvety smooth. The shortbread crust was also perfect. This is an indulgence, and after about three bites I had had enough, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to resist temptation when we go back.

The Queen of Tarts stand.

Lime curd...yum...

We came back from the market laden with peaches, blueberries, tomatoes, corn, zucchini, adorable “Thumbelina” carrots, potatoes, an onion, garlic, herbs and a cucumber. We turned all that beautiful produce into some beautiful meals that I will share with you soon.

The Sugar Bowl

I first stepped into the Sugar Bowl restaurant on a warm day in late August.

I knew right away that this was a place I could enjoy. The walls were brick and hung with local art, the tables and chairs were made of wood, and the feel was homey, laid-back and funky all at once.

J and I settled into a table by the wall and opened our menus. With a name like the Sugar Bowl I expected an extensive coffee bar or at least a lot of desserts. Wrong on both counts. The specialty is wines and beers, with dozens of types of each available.

J chose the three-cheese Panini, and I ordered the veggie wrap stuffed with rice and beans with a side of hummus. The service was quick and soon our food was in front of us. The wrap was delicious, full or flavourful rice, beans and sautéed bell peppers, and the hummus was full of cilantro which tasted great. J said his sandwich was basically a “gourmet grilled cheese”, and it came nestled on a bed of greens with a balsamic reduction that he said was one of the best parts of the meal.

As usual, we decided to split a dessert. There are only a few choices on the menu and I hope to try them all eventually. We got the strawberry nutella Panini, which sounded awesome and didn’t disappoint. Two slices of sweet brioche stuffed with strawberries and nutella and grilled in a Panini machine. The result: messy, divine goodness.

I left the Sugar Bowl that day with the feeling that I would be back pretty soon. The food was good, but even more than that, it was the kind of place where I would love to just hang out, lingering over a beer or a cup of tea, reading the paper or writing. It’s like a cross between a cozy neighbourhood diner and a trendy bistro.

We were back two days later.

It was a chilly Saturday night and the Sugar Bowl was more crowded than it had been for lunch. This was an impromptu stop – we had been on our way to a choir concert but we were running late because the subway was shut down and we knew we would only make it to the concert quite late. So instead of just heading back to J’s brother’s place, we decided to head to our new favourite restaurant.

We sat at almost the same table as before and ordered beers. J got a Stella and I tried the Belgian cherry beer. I’m not really a beer drinker so I was hoping the fruit flavour might dilute the beer taste. And it did! In fact, the beer was made with fresh cherry juice and tasted like cherry popsicles, or as J put it, melted lollipops. It sounds unpleasant, I know, but after a few sips it kind of grew on me.

We also ordered the steamed soy bean appetizer, and later, the chocolate soufflé. I found that a disappointment. It wasn’t really a soufflé, it was like a molten cake, crispy on the outside and runny in the middle. I’m not a huge fan of those, especially when I’m expecting a lighter-than-air soufflé. The flavour was also nothing special. (J heartily disagrees.)

It was fun to be at the Sugar Bowl at night. In the dark, it felt more like a friendly, familiar bar. And to be back there already felt like we were getting to know Edmonton, almost like we were locals, almost like this was our hangout.

So when a few of J’s new friends suggested we meet up at the Sugar Bowl for supper a few nights later, I was all for it.

The dinner menu looked inviting – in fact I’d love to try all of the appetizers alone, especially an intriguing one called simply Nuts and Berries. It’s one of the strangest things I’ve seen on a menu in a while, but it sounds delicious. Is it like trail mix, I wonder, or more gourmet?

Then there are Greens, Bowls, Grills, Sautes and Entrees. I ordered the Autumn Harvest Burger, because the waitress said it was made with mushrooms (yum!) and I was in a burger mood. It was meaty and flavourful, and tasted like fall. It came served with homemade potatoes, always a favourite of mine, and spicy, homemade ketchup.

It’s now been over a week since we’ve been to the Sugar Bowl, and I think it’s time to go back.

Giulio's Not Here - Trip Restaurants

The Manitobah Dining Room, cozy and wood-paneled.

We spent a night in Sudbury on our trip across Canada. Our motel was right on the edge of the city, next to a strip mall with an A & P grocery store. There were more strip malls across the road. In fact, we seemed to be surrounded by strip malls.

We decided to venture out in search of some supper. (As you already know, the salads weren’t really cutting it.) We weren’t too sure about the quality of food at the restaurant next door, Buzzy Brown’s. The hotel provided their menu, and they serve 32 appetizers. We didn’t even start counting the entrees.

There was also a list of nearby restaurants in our motel room, and we picked the one that sounded the best under the circumstances: Giulio’s. It said the restaurant made its own pasta, so we figured it couldn’t be too bad.

We started walking up the road, which was basically a highway, toward the restaurant. We had the address, and were keeping our eyes out for a sign. But after about 15 minutes of walking, we had passed a Harley Davidson show room, the Maple Leaf masonry supply store, and the Sudbury legion with a sign proclaiming “Elvis is Coming.” The look and feel of the neighbourhood was getting more and more industrial, and we realized that Giulio’s probably wasn’t up ahead.

We turned around and walked back to the hotel intersection, asking a few people along the way if they had ever heard of the elusive Giulio’s. They hadn’t. Finally, we spotted another restaurant, called Tommy’s Not Here, tucked away in a motel basement. I know the location doesn’t bode well, but the sign and the exterior looked pretty high-class, so in we went.

It was a great decision. Supper at Tommy’s Not Here was definitely the best meal of the trip (besides the wonderful breakfast in Ottawa that I already described). Though the restaurant was in a basement, it had a cozy atmosphere, and felt more like a pub than the high-end restaurant it is. There were hanging lamps, the kind with glass grapes on them, and the chairs were old-fashioned, covered in red leather with studs on the back.

We decided to order pasta (I guess we were still at Giulio’s at heart). J had bow-tie pasta with smoked duck breast in a cream sauce with shiitake mushrooms. I chose ravioli stuffed with Portobello mushrooms and ricotta, also in a cream sauce with prosciutto and grilled asparagus.

Mine was delicious. It had a very subtle flavour (maybe a bit too subtle – I couldn’t really taste the Portobello) and was nice and creamy. Jacques also enjoyed his dish, but I found the duck too salty when I tasted it.

We shared the ginger crème brulee for dessert which was excellent. It’s one of my favourite things to order in a restaurant – smooth custard topped with crispy sugar. How could you go wrong? And the ginger flavour was amazing.

What are the chances of finding a high-end restaurant in a motel basement on the outskirts of Sudbury? Discovering spots like this is one of the best things about visiting new places.

We stopped in at a few other culinary gems along the way as well. Our motel in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba boasted the Manitobah (make sure you’re pronouncing it with lots of emphasis on the h) Dining Room. We missed out on supper there but had eggs and toast for breakfast the next morning.

While crossing the prairies we decided to buy lunch at the place where we stopped for gas. Choy’s Restaurant, inside an Esso station, was a medium-sized square room with about 12 tables. What looked like an entire Chinese family, all generations, was milling around, sitting at the tables, and walking back and forth from the kitchen to the front bar. In spite of this the service was not exactly attentive. We ordered some tried-and-true combos and fried wontons.

Vegetables add a touch of class at Choy's.

The food was actually better than in many Chinese restaurants I’ve been too. The wontons had pieces of meat in them, instead of simply being wrappers of fried dough like they are in Charlottetown. And both combos came with a serving of steamed vegetables, which was a nice touch. The meal definitely provided enough grease to fuel us all the way into Saskatchewan.

So all in all, the restaurants along the way were interesting, if not always delicious. And if anyone has heard what happened to Giulio’s, let me know.