I had long-shunned the pucker-ific sour Key lime pies until I made this. Lets just say that I’m now an enthusiastic convert of the Florida state pie. It is absolutely perfect in its balance of flavors, with the well-tempered tartness of the Key limes and a kiss of sweetness from the meringue. You will not regret the time you will spend to make it. I promise.

I’d lost any inclination to eat Key lime pie at any restaurant because I find them murderously sour, as if crushed with ascorbic acid tablets. Not my idea of a good dessert. I really thought that’s just the way it is. No offense to Key limes, but this was the reason I tend to cringe and do a 180° turn whenever I see them at the market.

According to a Flickr friend, Key lime pies in the South are much better than the ones from the West Coast. Is this true? Where do you get your Key lime pies dear Southerners? And if you're from the West Coast like I am, have you found one that you truly love?

To truthfully and finally decide for myself on the matter of Key lime pies, I made it. I wanted to know if it really should taste so repulsive and need to be delegated as a Fear Factor eating challenge where you’re required to have a neutral face. This took me the whole night to make, but it was so worth it. This is what happens when you don’t thoroughly read the instructions and end up having dessert at 11am.

Once again, The Craft of Baking made me overcome another fear: fear of eating key lime pie. The pie from DeMasco’s recipe was DIVINE. The sharp tartness of key limes were perfectly subdued in the silky curd with whipped cream–a beautiful marriage of flavors that simply made the long night of working in the kitchen less painful. The meringue was just a touch sweet, and with every bite of it with the curd and the crust, it’s perfection.

Hi, I'm a Key Lime Pie convert.

KEY LIME MERINGUE PIE

This recipe was adapted from Karen DeMasco and Mindy Fox’s book, “The Craft of Baking: Cakes, Cookies, and Other Sweets with Ideas for Inventing Your Own” (2009).

Ingredients

• Foolproof Pie Dough (You can also use your own pie dough recipe or a readymade 9-inch one

Key Lime Curd

• Finely grated zest from 4 Key limes
• 1/3 cup fresh Key lime juice (from at least 6 Key limes)
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 3 large egg yolks
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 8 tablespoons or 1 stick of unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup heavy cream

Meringue

• eggs whites from 4 large eggs
• 2/3  cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Preparation

1. Pre-bake/blind-bake your pie crust.Pre-heat oven to 375°F.Roll the pie dough on a floured surface to form an 11”-diameter disk. Loosely roll around a rolling pin and transfer into a 9” pie plate. Trim the dough and leave a 1-inch overhang to fold over. Crimp the edges. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes.Prick crust on the bottom and sides with the tines of a fork. Line with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans, making sure to fill to the corner and sides. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the edges begin to turn golden. Remove the parchment and weights, return to the oven and bake for about 10 minutes more until golden all over. Cool plate on a wire rack. Turn off oven.
2. Make the Key lime curd. Boil 2-inch-deep water in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk Key lime zest, Key lime juice, lemon juice, sugar, eggs, egg yoks, and salt in a large heatproof bowl. Once water is boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and heatproof bowl over the saucepan. Whisk the juice and egg mixture constantly until it becomes thick, about 12 to 15 minutes. Thickness test: when you trace your whisk across the bowl, the curd won’t immediately cover the track.Remove from the heat and transfer on a kitchen towel to secure it on the counter. Whisk in butter one piece at a time until it is well combined and smooth. Strain curd through a fine-mesh sieve into another bowl. Line the surface of the curd with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for half an hour.Whip cream to soft peaks in a medium bowl. Fold the whipped cream into the chilled curd. Pour into completely cooled piecrust.Preheat oven to 375°F with the rack positioned about 8 inches from the top of the oven.
3. For the Meringue: Whisk egg whites on low speed using an electric mixer until bubbles begin to form. Increase speed to medium-low and beat for about 5 minutes until it begins to turn opaque and increase in volume. Add granulated and confectioner’s sugar in a slow and steady stream. Add vanilla and salt. Increase the speed to medium and beat for about 10 minutes until meringue becomes very thick.Spread meringue over the curd and cover up to the edges of the curd. Swirl and create peaks using a spatula. To make really nice peaks, grab a small dollop of meringue with the pads of your fingers and touch and swoop it all over the meringue to create the desired effect.Place pie plate on a baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating it halfway through the baking time. Peaks should be darker, and the “valley’s should still be white. Completely cool pie on a wire rack before chilling in the fridge for an hour before serving.

   This pie is best consumed the day it is made. Can be chilled, loosely covered in plastic wrap for up to 2 days. That is, if you have leftovers. ;-)

Happy baking and eating!

There’s nothing as comforting in winter as a good soup, especially a hearty split pea soup. This one is fully vegetarian, with all the goodness of homemade vegetable stock. The original recipe called for a lot of fresh herbs, which I didn’t have because I ran out and there wasn’t time to go out and buy them. What I had instead were dried rosemary, thyme and bay leaves, and fresh mint leaves. The latter was a very nice addition to the soup and if I had to do it all over again, I’d make this soup with the same ingredients.

A few weeks ago, I asked for vegetarian cookbook recommendations on Twitter. One of the top two mentioned by my Twitter pals is Deborah Madison’s “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone“. I didn’t realize it was like The Vegetarian Cooking Tome–the massive amount of recipes overwhelmed me the minute I held it. I haven’t delved that much into vegetarian cooking (there’s always a slight meat component in most of my vegetable dishes), so I didn’t know where to start. That week, we were having an incredibly cold and rainy week, as is typical for Vancouver winter. It was starting to get really old and the only thing that could really lighten the mood up was a good bowl of soup. When I looked through the cookbook, this one jumped at me. This would be the books “first test”.

Friends, do you do that, too, when you have a new cookbook? Do you test out a few recipes to see if the cookbook will be worth its place as a standby in the kitchen? For me, if one recipe succeeds, it stays near the kitchen and I continue to cook from it. If it fails, I’ll give it 2 more tries before I ditch it. What about you? How many recipes do you test before it gets a Yay or a Nay?

This recipe definitely earned a “Yay!” in my book.

I love when everything goes together and the whole experience of making a dish somehow connects you to the author, through the methods, the flavors, and the culmination in the forms of a really good meal and a silent Thank You to the mind that created something so wonderful. A regular dinner turned into something special. Yes, I romanticize about meals, and if this was a date, I’m picking the phone to ask for a second. ;-)

SPLIT PEA SOUP
Adapted from Deborah Madison’s the book, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups slip green peas, sorted and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 2 large garlic cloves, chopped
• ¼ cup chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 sprigs of fresh mint
• 2 quarts vegetable stock or water**
• mushroom soy sauce (optional)
• Greek yogurt (optional)

Preparation

1. Soak peas in water and set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and carrots and sauté for about 10 minutes. Add garlic, parsley, herbs, paprika, fresh ground black pepper and cook for another 3 minutes.
3. Drain split peas. Add peas, 1 ½ teaspoon salt and stock (or water). Stir to keep peas from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Wait for it to boil before lowering the heat to simmer for about an hour. Partially cover until peas have broken down. If soup becomes to thick, add water according to your preference. Remove bay and mint leaves.
4. Season with soy sauce or salt as desired.

Serve hot. Highly recommended topped with a dollop of Greek yogurt.

** You can also use chicken or beef stock, if you do not have preference for vegetarian.

I love biscotti. For the longest time, I sat back in awe, envious of friends (on- and offline) who make it look like it’s a walk in the park to prepare. For me it was intimidating, especially the fact that it has to be baked twice. I don’t know why, but just the thought of that thwart any attempt at it! Enter Karen DeMasco and Mindy Fox’s book, “The Craft of Baking: Cakes, Cookies, and Other Sweets with Ideas for Inventing Your Own“. I pored through the pages, checking the ingredients and processes, and unapologetically drooled over the sweet delights. Then, like cowlick on a well-manicured lawn of a hair, 3 recipes stood out: those of the twice baked cookie variety called the Biscotti. Hello, self-imposed yoke.

It’s crazy to think that some of us have mountains to move when it comes to baking:

• Mt. Cake
• Mt. Macarons
• Mt. Pie
• Mt. Jelly Rolls…I’m still talking about baking here…
• Mt. Cinnamon Rolls
• Mt.Homemade Bread

What else? What’s your baking nemesis?

My friend is leaving to go back to her new home across the border, and I wanted to give her something for their long flight. Biscotti would make a perfect travel snack: light, TSA-friendly, and will survive the journey. And there it was, my work cut out for me and I was ready to face another fear in the kitchen. Luckily, my first try worked like a charm. DeMasco’s recipe is a winner.

Of course I had to try making the chocolate first. Priorities dears.

Chocolate Walnut Biscotti with Coffee. The coffee was just there for props. I haven't had coffee in 13 days. THIRTEEN! Days! And I'm ok. Really. Did I tell you I'm okay?

The dough was sticky and fragile to work with, but incredibly good to eat. I’m a dough/batter-eater. I cannot resist tasting it, unless it is yeasty. It pretty much goes that if the dough tastes good, the baked product will be good, too. So I do intensive testing. With my mouth. Do you? If not, you’re missing out. Well, unless you’re pregnant, then don’t do it if it has raw eggs like this one.

The trick to transferring this dough from the floured counter to the baking sheet is the speedy lift-and-support-entire-length action. It does have the risk of sagging and breaking apart.

Making biscotti and proof that I may have taken Karen DeMasco's"generously floured work surface" too far. It really didn't stick. At all. I mean, how could it?

The hardest part in making these is the baking time. Your kitchen and its surrounding open spaces will be filled with the come-hitherto aroma of brownies baking in the oven, and a hint of something that tickles your nose, trying to let you in on a little secret. You know what it is? Espresso. The book says the cookies will fall flat in taste without it, and I’ll have to agree. No, I don’t even want to try it without!

The Biscotti Council

These biscotti are not too sweet, and would make a perfect companion to coffee or plain milk. Thinking of tea? This is your mate. It’s not too overpowering, even for a light tea.

There are only a few left of this batch, and the generous bag of biscotti I gave my friend for the trip is on the verge of missing the flight, I was told. If that isn’t the best compliment for it, I don’t know what is.

If you’re looking for a biscotti recipe to start you baking, look no further. This newbie approves. And for the seasoned biscotti bakers, this is a worthy addition to consider for your repertoire of old favorites.

For me, honestly, I can’t wait to make more that will last long enough to make it past the front door without being eaten, so I can mail them to friends! I love sending care packages of food, and it almost sounds selfish because I get such sheer pleasure in doing so. :-)

The full recipe can be found online (it’s the 3rd recipe down), and that’s the exact one in the book. I thought I’d just link to it because it’s a long one, plus I didn’t change anything in the recipe.

Happy baking this weekend!

If you asked me years ago if I would consider getting into “raw food”, I would have flat-out said No and give you a weird look. I don’t know what happened, but in the past year, I’ve softened up to the idea of making raw food concoctions. Two weeks ago, I ordered Ani Phyo’s recipe books. When I got them last week, I keep thinking why the heck she looks and sounds so familiar. Then I looked at her bio and of course! She’s the author of one of the most useful web design books I have when I was starting my business many moons ago. That’s crazy! Hah.

Ok, back to the food. Here I am, vowing to get healthier in 2010 and willing to try new things.

Here’s my foray into raw food “cooking”:

They don’t look the the same as your regular oatmeal raisin cookies, and I’m not going to lie to you, they have  a different taste and texture as well. However, I think they are a pretty good substitute; this coming from someone who attached childhood memories to her favorite oatmeal raisin cookies. This raw version is very simple to make and has only 4 ingredients: raw oats (I used quick oats), pitted dates, raisins, and cinnamon. The dates hold the cookie together, so the result is a dense cookie.

I’ve only really tasted “raw food” on a few occasions (I mean, of course I eat veggies and fruits raw as snacks), one of them was at the Foodbuzz Festival in San Francisco. One thing I can say about all the times I have tried it: it’s bursting with flavor. This cookie is packed with the sweetness of dates and the comfort-food (at least for me) taste of oatmeal. It is rich and fudge-like, compared to a regular cookie, so you actually don’t eat much of it– two at most.

I certainly won’t ditch the baked version, but this is a nice alternative. I don’t tend to overeat eat, and it’s just enough to go with tea for a quick snack or dessert.

OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIS (RAW)

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw oats (quick oats or steel cut oats will work, but they are not technically raw)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ cup Medjool dates, pitted, packed
• ½ cup raisins

Preparation

1. Combine oats and cinnamon in food processor and pulse until you get small pieces.
2. Add dates and pulse well. You should have a thick/dense paste.
3. Add raisins and pulse a few times to just blend it.
4. You can shape the dough into flat discs by forming a ball and pressing it. You can also use cookie cutters to shape them by pressing dough in them. A third of an inch, I find, is a good thickness for this cookie. Place on a parchment lined sheet tray.Serve immediately. Can be stored in a sealed container or bag. These will keep at room temperature for a week, or in the refrigerator or freezer for much longer, just be sure to thaw for 15 minutes before serving.Note: The ‘dough’ is very sticky because of the dates.

Unless you live under a rock, you’ve heard of what’s happening to Haiti. A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck their capital and have killed tens of thousands of people. From the photos, the city is basically in shambles. People are fighting to even get some water.

We’re all about good food and living a good life, but we can’t just sit here and do nothing. As we’ve mentioned in our January newsletter, we aren’t having any giveaways this month. Instead we donated $50 to Médecins Sans Frontières Canada (Doctors Without Borders) and the Canadian Red Cross. It’s the fastest and easiest way to help.

This is the time to give. Money is tight, I know, but we have a roof over our heads, can eat when we want, and we can basically swim in potable water. Every dollar will help. Try to give.

Here’s a list of mobile and online ways for you to donate. Included are Canadian and American charities, including links at the very bottom of this post where you can verify your charities.

Anyone can donate through the following outlets, but feel free to find a local charity of your choice.

TEXT-TO-DONATE (money donated will appear in your next wireless bill)

• (Canada) Rogers and Fido customers can text “HELP” to 1291 to donate $5 CDN. They said 100% of the donations will be provided to Haitian relief organizations.

• (Canada) If you text the message “Haiti” to 45678, you will contribute $5 to the Salvation Army’s relief effort.

• (US) Text the word “Haiti” to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross.

• (US) Text “YELE” to 501501 to donate $5 toward to Yéle Haiti organization for food distribution and emergency relief mobilization.

MAKE AN ONLINE DONATION (all links go directly to the donation page)

Canada

The Government of Canada will match the contributions of individual Canadians to eligible Canadian charitable organizations in support of humanitarian and recovery efforts in response to the earthquake in Haiti, up to a total of $50 million. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) will allocate these funds to Canadian and international humanitarian and development organizations.

• Canadian Red Cross
• Doctors Without Borders Canada
• UNICEF Canada
• World Vision Canada
• The Humanitarian Coalition (Canada) accepts donations for emergencies on behalf of Save the Children Canada, CARE Canada, Oxfam Canada and Oxfam Quebec

USA

• Save The Children
• American Red Cross
• Unicef USA
• Salvation Army USA
• United Nations Foundation
• Doctors Wthout Borders USA
• United Nations World Food Programme
• Partners in Health
• CARE
• Mercy Corps

Be an informed donor and check your charity in Canada and USA.

It’s been a busy year so far this year, as you’ve been noticing with the lack of posts here. I’ll remedy that soon. :)

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m joining hundreds of other bloggers out there for Ten in 2010, organized by the awesome Lori, of RecipeGirl.com

My goals for the next 10 weeks are:

1. Eat a more balanced diet, specifically:

• Eat breakfast: this is a big deal for me, as I rarely do eat breakfast.
• Eat more fruits and veggies.
• Eliminate 75% of rice from my daily meals. I’m Asian. I have rice in my blood, but I’m willing to eat less of it but not all.

2. Lose 10 lbs. Oh god, there, I said it here. I need to, no joke.

3. Incorporate regular running schedule. I’ve started doing the C25K running program with Denise and Maris last year, but I haven’t continuously been doing it because of various illnesses that has been plaguing me. I love running outdoors, but my body’s schedule of feeling well and the weather outside don’t sync at all. When I feel well enough to run, it’s raining. Oi. I’m now willing to get on a the (dreaded) treadmill to make up for days when I can’t be out running.

I’m not a fan of deprivation, so I won’t say No to cookies if you offer some — I’ll eat one. What I’m trying to accomplish is basically: BALANCE. Balance in nutrients. Balance in activities. I can be such a workaholic that I will try to think of myself first, especially when it comes to meals. I get so wrapped up with whatever I’m doing that it becomes a “chore” to eat. Not good at all. Hopefully, with this balancing act I’m trying to do, the health issues will go away. :-)

This is one of the healthier meals I’ve been making:

Brussel sprouts, grape tomatoes, feta cheese and quinoa

A day late and a few gifts short, I heard! Hehe. ;-) All in jest, dears. I’ve just received a gift shipped from the US before December 15. So, to my fellow Canadian participants, if you haven’t received your gifts, it just might be the postal system.

So are you ready to find out who’s your Secret Santa (SS)? Just look for your name in bold, and to the right of your name is your Secret Santa’s name, website and Twitter ID. To the Secret Santas — check your “baby’s” name and if it has an asterisk (*), it means they’ve emailed me to confirm receipt of their gifts.

Mardi already posted about the gift her Secret Santa sent her! Yay! Great choice, Ms. Secret Santa! If you’d like to share your post about your own, just leave it in the comments and I’ll link to it. :-)

Adrienne M.* : SS Benedetta J.G. of http://www.labna.it (bennybip)

Amy I.* : SS Dana W. of http://danatreat.com (danatreat)

Amy J.* : SS Megan P. of http://meganscookin.blogspot.com (meganpires)

April K.* : SS Adrienne M. of http://www.celebrationsinternationaltravel.com (CelebrationsInt)

Benedetta J.G. : SS Gaby D. of http://www.whatsgabycooking.com (whatsgabycookin)

Casey B.* : SS Meaghan B. of http://www.iluselu.ca (iluselu)

Chris P. : SS Thomas A. of http://twitter.com/ahnt (ahnt)

Danielle T. : SS Chris P. of http://blogwelldone.com (BlogWellDone)

Dana W. : SS Maris C. of http://ingoodtasteblog.net (mariscalla)

Deseree K.* : SS Wendy B. of http://pinkstripes.wordpress.com (pinkstripes)

Dottie A. : SS Mardi M. of http://www.eatlivetravelwrite.com (eatlivtravwrite)

Elise K.* : SS Nastassia J. of http://theletmeeatcake.blogspot.com (LetMeEatCake)

Emily D. : SS Megan M. of http://www.stetted.com (stetted)

Esi I.* : SS Danielle T. of http://bonvivant.wordpress.com (istelleinad)

Gaby D.* : SS Elise K. of http://www.thefoodieforkful.com (foodieforkful)

Grace Y. : SS Dottie A. of http://www.foodcentsblog.com (foodcents)

Jackie G.* : SS Susan C. of http://www.makebakebehappy.com (makebakebehappy)

Josie T. : SS Kristen L. of http://myblissfulbites.wordpress.com (klink84)

Kate W. : SS Nikki M-K of http://niksnacks.blogspot.com (NikSnacks)

Kathy S.* : SS Deseree K. of http://www.lifesambrosia.com (DesereeK)

Katie G.* : SS Emily D. of http://www.bitesizecakes.com (bitesizecakes)

Kristen L. : SS Maybells M. of http://feedingmaybelle.blogspot.com (feedingmaybelle)

Lindsay C.* : SS Renee J. of http://flamingomusings.com (RJFlamingo)

Lys C. : SS Casey B. of http://tastestopping.com (tastestopping)

Mardi M.* : SS Katie G. of http://www.goodlifeeats.com (goodlifeeats)

Maris C. : SS Sonja P. of http://www.activefoodie.com (ActiveFoodie)

Maybelles M. : SS April K. of http://http//aprilshomecooking.blogspot.com

Meaghan B. : SS Jackie G. of http://www.jackiegordon.com (divathatatenewyork)

Megan M.* : SS Josie T. of http://daydreamerdesserts.blogspot.com (Daydreamerdsrts)

Megan P.* : SS Lindsay C. of http://www.scoopadventures.com (ScoopAdventurer)

Nastassia J. : SS Shelley S. of http://twitter.com/artsyshell (artsyshell)

Nikki M-K. : SS Amy I. of http://www.playinghouseblog.com (amy_i)

Renee J.* : SS Richard K. of http://twitter.com/Niteweng (Niteweng)

Richard K.* : SS Amy J. of http://www.shewearsmanyhats.com (wearsmanyhats)

Shelley S. : SS Kate W. of http://savour-fare.com (Savour)

Sonja P. : SS Esi Impraim of http://dishingupdelights.blogspot.com (dishingdelights)

Susan C.* : SS Kathy S. of http://www.paninihappy.com (paninikathy)

Thomas A.* : SS Lys C. of http://www.cookinginstilettos.org (JustAnothaGal)

Wendy B.* : SS Grace Y. of http://www.gracenotesnyc.com (gracenotesnyc)