Chicken macaroni salad was one of my favorite party side dishes as a child. Back in Manila, it was dotted with raisins, which I’ve grown to dislike through the years. I’ve come to embrace it’s blushing cousin, the dried cranberries, which I simply adore in salads and use as often as I can. I love it with the tuna mac because it adds a touch of sweetness and tartness that complements the tuna and pineapple well.

Tuna is my preferred alternative to chicken in salads for convenience–just drain and voila, you’ll have flavorful protein to add. And thanks to that, you can make this salad in 15 minutes or less, not including the time to wait for the water to boil. To save time, I put the pot of water on maximum heat while I start chopping vegetables to make good on time.

This is a substantial lunch or a good snack to pack for work, but watch out for the tuna smell. The chicken would be less offensive to the olfactory senses for some, for sure. It keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days if you keep it in the coolest corner, so it’s a good make-ahead dish as well.

I’m making slow and steady progress on the eating-healthier-lunch front, and even smaller steps on blog posting, but I’m getting there. I’m almost ready to make this again for lunch, actually.

I’ve included meat and vegan alternatives in the recipe. Hope you enjoy!

Scheduling lunch or coffee with friends during the week is a must for someone who works from home, not only does it save me from cooking and eating leftovers, it also provides my version of water cooler talk minus the awkwardness and abrupt Gotta-go’s. The fact is  here are only so many conversations I could have with the cat at home. We chat about her love of tuna soup, how she can’t wait to rub herself against the bottom of daddy’s pants when he comes back from work, and her deep belief that she really is a queen.

Still, she is not a “co-worker” by any sense of the word. Her furry paws tend to step all over the keyboard and unintentionally sends emails that have not been edited. I can’t deny she is an eye candy when I do stay put to get things done for the day.

When I’m at home during lunch, I can’t possibly share her canned seafood delights and saltine-and-water “meals” can only get me so far in the day. I have been eating my fair share of the latter and it’s shamefully bad, that awful desktop diet. I’ve decided to put a stop to this and commit to cooking real food for myself. For lunch. Because I deserve it.

To motivate (and force) me to continue with this, I will be blogging the recipe of at least one meal I make during the week. Several friends are on the same boat, some subsisting on delivery pizza and Chinese takeout, so this series is for them, too. I hope this will inspire you all to take the plunge and be unafraid of making a little mess in the kitchen to prepare real home-cooked meals for one. It is worth the little time and effort put into them.

Here is last week’s easy lunch meal: Spaghetti Aglio e Olio. It’s a simple pasta recipe made with garlic, salt, olive oil, red pepper flakes and spaghetti noodles.

There’s no excuse not to have all the ingredients at hand.  I made this for a get-together at the request of my best friend from high school and they all loved it. It’s one of the quickest dishes you can make and it’s a great alternative for tomato-based pasta. As you can tell, I’m a bit enthusiastic about this new endeavor that I took step-by-step photos to help even the beginner cook. The recipe was inspired by Lidia Bastianich’s new cookbook, Lidia’s Favorite Recipes: 100 Foolproof Italian Dishes, from Basic Sauces to Irresistible Entrees, which I found to be a great resource for easy Italian recipes.

Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse to make “hearty” food. Last year I made heart-shaped pizzas. This time I tried a heart-embedded loaf:

I was anxious to slice the bread after I took it out of the oven, but was quite relieved after seeing the cross section. For a first attempt, it’s not bad at all. It served its cute purpose for breakfast toast and the girls’ school lunches. Of course, I always have the most fun making it.

I’ll give this loaf design another try and post a tutorial for next time. It was a fun exercise in “clay” shaping and thinking in 3D.

I’m going to try this or this blog will never be updated ever again: tapping away on the iPad (mini, which is perfect for typing with my small hands) at 2am in the morning with what might turn out to be… a post! I already finished drafting the recipe on Evernote earlier, as a gift to myself instead of brownies, after clearing the dining table and cleaning the kitchen. This is the kind of busy I’m in now. I’ve never stopped cooking or baking, but producing content for the site is a different story altogether. And what about photos taken with the DLSR, you ask? I could take one tomorrow IF there’s any left by the time I get around to it. For now, iPhone 4S photos would do. Please bear with me as I return from my writing slumber.

Now these brownies.

Do we need another one of these recipes, really? For Nutella Day, why not? It is, after all, the sweet and equally evil equivalent of bacon. I picked a drier and fluffier brownie from Alice Medrich’s book as the carrier of the gooey fudge “bombs” of Nutella, making sure to decrease the amount of sugar to accommodate the spread’s sweetness.

The resulting brownie has pockets of Nutella in every bite.

While the “Nutella bombs” were just enough for me, my partner still needed an extra kick and he smeared more of it on top before devouring. I could only imagine how sweet that was. But then again, he’s our resident Nutella monster, known to empty a jar if left unsupervised. [Hi, love, I outed you.]

We did agree on one thing the other evening: to top the brownies with amarena cherry and salted caramel gelato from Bella Gelateria (our favorite).

I’ve included instructions for adjusting the Nutella content, as well as baking instructions when using a turbo broiler. The latter is a recent consideration after discovering that some friends in Manila use it.

Nutella Bomb Brownies

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
8 tablespoons / 4 ounces / 1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons / 2.75 ounces unbleached all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3 large eggs
1 cup / 7.5 ounces white granulated sugar **
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 cup / 4 tablespoons Nutella **

** Guide to adjusting the Nutella and sugar content: you can add more Nutella but make sure to decrease the sugar. I suggest subtracting a tablespoon of sugar for every tablespoon of Nutella added. I wouldn’t add more than 7 tablespoons of Nutella to this recipe, though.

Preparation

Line an 8-inch square metal baking pan with aluminum foil on the bottom and sides (a single sheet cut from a regular sized roll would do).

Preheat oven to 350F, position rack in the lower middle section of the oven. [For convection oven or turbo broiler: preheat to 335F]

Melt butter and chocolate in a heatproof glass bowl set over a pan with simmering water. Stir until smooth and free of clumps. Remove bowl from the water and set on the counter to cool at room temperature.

Whisk flour and baking powder together in a separate bowl using a fork or a whisk.

Beat eggs, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer or a regular mixing bowl (if using a handheld mixer) on high for 2 minutes (longer with a handheld mixer), or until the mixture is thick, pale yellow, and double in volume. Fold in the melted chocolate using a rubber spatula until partially incorporated with the egg mixture. Sift the flour mixture over it and fold until the chocolate and flour are blended together.

Save a scant 1/4 cup of the batter and pour the rest over the lined pan, levelling the top with the spatula.

Combine the remaining 1/4 cup batter with Nutella. Notice that the batter will seize up and will look like coarse textured dough (not mushy), firm enough to hold. Using your clean hand, distribute marble-sized Nutella “dough bombs” on top of the batter in the pan. Press lightly into the batter to even out the top.

Bake for 25 to 28 minutes [For convection oven or turbo broiler: baking time would be 20 to 25 minutes and you should start checking the brownie for doneness starting at 20 minutes.], until a toothpick or cake tester come out clean when poked in a non-Nutella area; a few crumbs might cling to it, but it shouldn’t be wet. [The Nutella areas will be gooey.]

Set pan on a rack to cool completely. Carefully lift out the foil with the brownie from the pan and place on a cutting board. Use a long metal spatula to separate the brownie from the foil. A straight plastic dough scraper is the best non-sticky tool to use for cutting into them, but any knife would do. For super clean cuts, cool the unsliced brownie in the fridge for 2 hours and slice with a lightly oiled metal dough scraper.

Storage: Brownies will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days. If sliced, use parchment paper between layers when stacking.

July. Summer. Fruit Season. Blueberries… {swoon} As someone who didn’t grow up with access to fresh ones, I’m grateful that I’ve been able to enjoy them as much as I can want for the past decade, call me a late blue-mer, if you wish. I bought close to three kilos of these plump indigo-colored berries last week: I ate them, baked with them, made smoothie pops with them, and made jam. Nothing says ‘I love you, fruit!‘ than consuming them in different ways every single day.

One thing I haven’t posted on this blog are jam recipes and I have no good explanation for this. Perhaps it’s due to the fact that I make them late at night when food lighting sucks (and I couldn’t be bothered to shoot photos by the stove with its incandescent lighting), or early in the morning right before breakfast and I simply have no time (or brain power) to think about photos. I know, it’s all about the photos for us food bloggers. And Instagram.

Today I have good reason to be talking about jam because I recently received a copy of Mary Tregellas’ new cookbook, Homemade Preserves & Jams: Over 90 Recipes for Luscious Jams, Tangy Marmalades, Crunchy Chutneys, and More. It’s a beautifully designed paperback that’s just the right size and weight for bringing everywhere (I do this with cookbooks) — like grabbing it last-minute before going to the farmer’s market to get some ideas. I’m thinking of packing this on our next island trip to make full use of the fresh fruits we find.

The recipes are very approachable, clear and concise. Each recipe is laid out in a single page, with often short ingredient list on the left and the step-by-step instructions to its right. Most are accompanied by photos. The book contains a primer on equipment, ingredient notes, and preserving tips, which are very helpful. I appreciate that it doesn’t inundate you with too much information, but has enough to get you started. As you can guess from the title, it does have more to offer: pesto, salads, scones, breads (yes, bread), tarts, and infused liqueurs. Recipes are grouped according to: Luscious, Juicy, Crunchy, Tangy, Tropical, Wholesome, Aromatic, Wild, Intoxicating and Daily Bread. That’s the most part if you would like to know what you can make with the produce you have on hand. Thankfully, the index does its job of pointing you in the right direction.

All in all, it’s a well-rounded book that’s best suited for beginners and preserving enthusiasts like me. This is the perfect gift for friends who are interested in making jams and preserves, but are too intimidated by the process and perceived “complicated know-how” — I know, because I used to be one of them. While it is not a comprehensive reference, this is a great Let’s-Make-Something-Now book, which to be honest, is what you want while the summer fruits and vegetables last.

Because I’m all about the blueberry right now, I made half the recipe for Blueberry Jam with a dash of lime. It made enough for us to last for a few weeks, plus a jar or two give away.

toast + butter + jam = Love

The hint of lime becomes more pronounced after a couple of days. Next time I would even add some finely chopped Moroccan mint for the jar that we’ll consume right away. The jam just has that kind of blueberry mojito character.

BC Blueberry Facts: 1. We have a BC Blueberry Council, which sounds like a cool company to work for, just because of the name. 2. British Columbia has over 800 blueberry growers. 3. BC is the number one highbush blueberry-growing region in the world.

For those of you who are still undecided whether jamming is something you’d like, just invest about half an hour of your time to try this out. It really doesn’t require much effort.

Cooking the blueberries until they soften.

Trust me, you’ll be happy you made it. It’s great on pancakes and waffles, PB&J sandwiches, muffins, rolls, biscuits, what have you. I even added it to blueberry smoothie popsicles!

Cooked blueberries with sugar and pectin added.

We had mini rhubarb apple pies for breakfast this morning to start the day right. [Recipe to follow tomorrow. :)]

I keep saying this, but it’s true: it’s been a busy 12 months. So busy that it’s been a year and 2 days later that I’m posting about the Cherry Blossom Festival from 2011. What better time to play catch up on this event than on the day the festival starts again: Today. I couldn’t be more excited, to tell you the truth. Family friends are visiting and I’m bringing one of them later to VanDusen Botanical Garden, amidst high hopes for some sunshine.

Sakura Days Japan Fair, a family-friendly Japanese festival, is happening this weekend at VanDusen to celebrate the start of spring and the blooming of these gorgeous trees that line many of our streets in Vancouver. [You can check here for various locations in bloom.]

And what’s a fair without some good food? Many Japanese restaurants around Vancouver are participating with their own Sakura menus.

There are lots of other things to do during the festival that runs through the 28th of April:

Cherry Jam Downtown (April 5, 11am to 1:30pm) at the Burrard Skytrain Station
Tree Talks & Walks (April 5, 7, 8, 14, 15 & 21)
Plen-Air Blossom Painting (April 7, 14, 21 & 28 11am-2pm) – open for registration
Cherry Blossom Umbrella Dance Flash Mob (April 14)
Bike the Blossoms (April 28)

Visit the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival website for more info.

[There is an egg hunt for the kids at VanDusen tomorrow but it's sold out, and so is the SakuraB Bento Box Lunch today.]

Whatever you decide to do this month, I’m sure you won’t miss the cherry blossoms around the city. Enjoy them while they last. :-)

Last February, Rachel asked via email if I was interested in reviewing Shelley Adams’ third and most recent book in her acclaimed Whitewater Cooks series, Whitewater Cooks with Friends. I have heard very good things about it and I’m eager to support a Canadian author and publisher, so I gladly said yes.

Shelley and her husband used to own the Whitewater Ski Resort in Nelson, BC, where she ran the Fresh Tracks Cafe. [I've never been there, sadly.] The first two cookbooks were born out of guests’ and locals’ requests for their recipes. This third installation came together after the couple retired, when Shelley thought that she’s done writing cookbooks. Her previous book collaborators and friends were more than happy to help her produce this stunning collection of recipes for the home cook.

The book arrived before one weekend and it just so happened that we had already invited a couple of friends with the promise of a home-cooked dinner that Sunday. Luring people with food almost always works and it’s a good excuse to get together. We usually make something we’ve made before and/or are fairly familiar with, but we were feeling quite adventurous and picked 2 dishes from the book with our Italian and Chinese friends in mind: a tomato and red lentil bisque and a seafood pasta with an Asian twist. To make it even extra special, we made some fresh pasta an hour before dinner. There’s something about kneading the dough by hand and rolling it with a hand-cranked machine. And we don’t mind taking the extra effort to make something from scratch for friends and family — they are worth it. [** My stand-by fresh pasta recipe is from Giuliano and Lael Hazan's website, using 00 Flour.]

Whitewater Cooks with Friends by Shelley Adams

Our friends didn’t know they were going to be our test subjects for the cookbook until they arrived, but thankfully, they were willing to try whatever we served them. They helped us out in the kitchen, too. I love it when people get involved with the food, then enjoying the fruits of our labor afterwards in bowl- and platefuls.

We started off with the bisque with notes of cumin, ginger, mustard, turmeric, coriander, bay leaves, and a hint of jalapeño. The soup base of tomato, coconut milk and vegetable stock was hearty, but light enough that going for seconds would be easy to do even for a 3-course meal. Jens usually makes an Indian lentil soup similar to this, but we loved the Asian flavours mixed in here as well.

Tana's Tomato and Red Lentil Bisque

We chatted a bit while the fresh pasta was cooking in a vigorously boiling pot of water, and Jens was quickly sauteing the garlic, onions, preserved black beans, tomatoes, chili flakes, prawns and scallops. There was much anticipation as steam wafted from the thick bubbling tomato sauce, across the kitchen and into the dining room. Before tossing everything together, a vote for how much arugula should be put came up. It turns out we all like it, so we had some slightly wilted with the hot pasta, and crunchy ones added just before serving.

Fettuccine with Prawns, Scallops, Chilis and Preserved Beans

Barely a phrase was said amongst four while we devoured our initial helping. The touch of saltiness and umami from the beans, with the peppery arugula and the touch of acidity from the tomatoes and the sweet fresh seafood melded together just like old friends catching up where they’ve left off. The black beans were similar to capers in pasta dishes, imparting saltiness, so if you’re not into the latter for pastas, it’s a good alternative.

Dinner was finished off with freshly baked pear frangipane brioche tarts and tea. We didn’t get a chance to make dessert from the book because we’ve already pre-made the brioche and frangipane, but there were more than a handful of pages bookmarked for near-future use, such as Lava Cakes with Sour Cherries — oh, yes!

We’re enjoying Whitewater Cooks with Friends so far. In fact, we cooked a miso-glazed black cod from the book a few days after this feast. It will definitely be in continuous rotation in our kitchen, both for family meals and cooking for friends.

What we love about the book so far:

- Most dishes were familiar and approachable, with each recipe having a unique twist. Those we’ve prepared so far introduced us to flavor profiles we would have otherwise overlooked.

- The flavors are spot on and are perfectly balanced.

- Wide variety of recipes, even vegetarians and pescetarians would love.

- Most dishes are quick to make, about 30 minutes to an hour.

- Most ingredients are already things you’ll have in stock, or are easy to find. If not, they can be easily substituted.

- Recipes are clearly laid out (not paragraph style), and it’s hard to miss a step.

- Notes on where to get ingredients in Nelson BC, which I found quite charming. It makes me want to go to there for a visit.

- Small-town feel from the headnotes to the recipe notes (see above) but boasts of big flavors.

- Beautiful photography for each dish.

If you’re looking for another cookbook to add to your collection, this would be a valuable thing to have. Ah, and a bonus: you will find yourself using it more and more, too.

Pi Day. Pie Day. I don’t think there’s a better time to post about this Shaker Lemon Pie that we enjoyed plain and with vanilla ice cream. The pie crust (which I made with a healthy sprinkle of vodka) and the Meyer lemon custard filling were a welcome deviation from our never-ending winter of rain, as it’s always been.

It’s still Meyer lemon season and while my friends in California have had more than enough of it than all their cooking, baking, canning & preserving capacities can use up, here in Vancouver we get them mostly in pre-packaged Dandy-brand bags that remind us it’s the “The Chefs preference for desserts, beverages, main dishes and more!” I treasure every fruit because it’s not local to us. As much as I lean towards supporting local, Meyer lemons are imported treats I give myself permission to enjoy as much as I can.

I’ve made anywhere from lemon curd, lemon rolls, margarita, and putting lemon zest and juice in everything, but this Shaker Lemon Pie is the most special thing I’ve made from it this season. It makes me want winter to stay if only for the Meyer lemons.

The crust is money: flavorful, flaky and leaves you wanting more.

The lemon curd-like custard filling uses up the whole lemon (minus the seeds) and pleases the use-everything Asian in me. This pie is said to have originated from the Shaker community of Ohio, and because their lemons came from far away, they wanted to make sure they didn’t waste any part of it. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Armed with a good mandoline, this shaker lemon pie can be yours, easy peasy. If you don’t have one, a little patience and a sharp knife will pull you through.

What you’ll need for the crust: Foolproof Pie Dough (PDF) from a previous post

• 2 1/2 cups (or 12.5 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening, chilled and cut into 4 pieces
• 1/4 cup vodka, cold (no substitutes)
• 1/4 cup water, cold
• 1 teaspoon sugar (use for double crust pie)
• egg white of 1 large egg, beaten

And the simplest of recipes for filling:

• 2 Meyer lemons, very thinly sliced preferably with a mandoline, seeds removed (you can use regular lemons, but they will be tarter)
• 2 cups granulated white sugar
• pinch of salt
• egg wash from a small amount of beaten whole egg with a few drops of water

Preparation:

1. Mix the thinly slices of Meyer lemons with sugar in a small bowl. Let it sit at room temperature for at least 6 hours. Ideally you’d want to leave it for 24 hours. I did mine for 36 — heavenly.

2. Follow the instructions for the pie dough in the recipe. Preheat oven to 425°F and place a rimmed baking sheet inside. Oven rack should be in the lower third level.

3. Beat the eggs and sugar, combine with the macerated lemons. Pour into the pie plate with crust and place the other crust from the fridge on top. Flute the edges or seal with the tines of a fork. Brush the top with egg wash and don’t forget to cut vent holes with a sharp knife — whatever pattern you like.

4. Bake the pie on the rimmed baking sheet for 20 minutes, then lower the heat to 375°F and bake for another 20-25 minutes (check at 20 minutes for doneness). The pie is ready when an inserted knife comes out clean.

It’s less tart and more custard-y after a day or two and it gets better after a day. Re-heat for a few minutes at 350°F.

Between us two, Jens & I consume a fair amount of chocolate on a daily basis. When they’re not in the form of bars, truffles or chunks, they are in something baked. These brownies have certainly been on rotation to help keep up with our quota, but there’s always room for more.

I had my heart set on this cookie recipe since I got Alice Medrich’s book last year. What’s stopped me from making them was the need to refer to another page in another section of the book for the chocolate wafer recipe. This stresses me so.

One evening a couple of weeks ago, the need to bake something chocolate-y overruled my cookbook pet peeve. I just wish it happened sooner. The original recipe called for pecans and sour cherries, but I stuck to what we had on hand at midnight: cashews and dried bing cherries. J would have preferred hazelnuts, but we were out of them, too.

I debated about making my favorite homemade Oreos instead of trying something new–but this fruit and nut chocolate cookie might have just stolen my comfort cookie spot. Heck, they could even substitute for brownies.

They keep well for 2 weeks, but tend to disappear. Just saying.

Give them a try this weekend. I already saved you the agony of having to go to another page to begin the recipe. [There must be someone else out there who doesn't like this.] I have it all right here. Ha.

This recipe was adapted from Alice Medrich’s “Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-In-Your-Mouth-Cookies“. It’s my go-to cookie baking book.