Genoise with Strawberry Ice Wine Sauce Made with My KitchenAid

Genoise with Strawberry Ice Wine Sauce

There are few things in this world I need as much as I need my arms and legs. Air… of course. Butter…we have an understanding. Sunshine…on a warm Spring day. A good book…and time to read it. An excellent glass of wine…and a friend to share it with. And my KitchenAid stand mixer. If you have one too, you know exactly what I’m talking about. How else will I achieve my goal of becoming a domestic goddess, Nigella and I joined at the hip, shoulder to shoulder creating masterpieces in the kitchen. You get the picture!

Dreaming of Capri and Torta Caprese with Coffee Whipped Cream

Torta Caprese with Coffee Whipped Cream

In planning a trip to Italy you will be on information overload. Even after being there a month there is so much more I want to explore that a second trip to the same area is in the works.  It was my first time travelling south of Naples and my first time travelling completely solo, so, I wanted to experience all that I could to share with everyone. When travelling to Campania I knew I would be asked if I ventured to the island of Capri, and knew that everyone would ask if I would go back. To answer that question I would go back to Capri in a heartbeat!! The island beckons me, but, for today join me on an armchair journey to the stunning Isle of Capri that arises from the Tyrrhenian Sea and hypnotizes us with its incredible beauty. Fabled to be the home of the seductive sirens that called to Odysseus’ in the poetic Greek myth, Capri haunts me still.

My Quest for the Lemon Almond Torta Holy Grail

Lemon Almond Torta

Sorrento is everything you would expect an Italian town to be with narrow cobbled streets that open out onto quaint squares, with elaborate churches and fragrant lemon, orange and palm trees on every corner. The historical town of Sorrento is nestled between picturesque cliffs and looks across at the stunning Bay of Naples with views of Capri and all the way to Ischia.

As I and countless tourists have discovered there is no better way to soak up the atmosphere and history than on foot. I was staying in an agritourismo in Piano di Sorrento about 8 kilometres from the centre whose cityscape blends seamlessly with its more famous neighbour.

Chocolate Zucchini Olive Oil Cupcakes with Basil Infused Mascarpone icing

Chocolate Zucchini Olive Oil Cupcakes

For those of you who follow these pages you will notice an obvious trend lately. It is not your imagination that zucchini seems to be taking centre stage in almost every dish coming from my kitchen. Why you ask? Well not only do I really enjoy zucchini but my little community garden "runneth over." I had my fill of zucchini flowers picking both male and female lily-shaped blossoms for  Zucchini Flowers Stuffed with Mint and Feta and for Zucchini Blossom Risotto with Prosecco. Even so, these compact plants still produced at least 10 zucchini from each plant, and they are still going strong. So far this season from my kitchen comes Patty Melt with Zucchini Coleslaw, Zucchini Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Crunch Glaze,  Zucchini Ribbon Salad with Feta and Mint, Zucchini Pistou, Zucchini Risotto with Saffron and Shrimp, Zucchini Balls (Kolokythokeftedes), and Crustless Zucchini Pie,  Faced with an abundance of zucchini I still have several recipes in the works but from this list you can see that zucchini has been the star of my kitchen for a month or so now. 

Zucchini Olive Oil Cake for Sneak Some Zucchini on to Your Neighbours Porch Day

 I am sure that by now, if you don't have a garden of your own, your neighbours are stealing into your yard in the wee hours of the morning and leaving care packages of zucchini on your porch. August 8th is a day designated especially for this purpose being "Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbours Porch Day." Or perhaps you are covertly picking the locks of your neighbours cars and leaving them in their baby car seats. This prolific vegetable deserves such special treatment. If this sounds all too true you have hit the mother load!!!People seem to have a love/hate relationship with this prolific summer squash. I am a lover of zucchini so am always looking for new ways to highlight it's delicate flavour.

Donna Hay's Salted Caramel Cheesecake

Donna Hay's Salted Caramel Cheesecake (photo from the magazine due to time constraint and error)

Cheesecake is very 80's, but hey I loved the '80's and would never turn down cheesecake, so how do you make this creamy luscious dessert new again? With a twist on the whole sweet and salty phenomenon. Using brown sugar in the filling gives the cheesecake a deep caramel flavour that cannot be matched. The combination of ricotta and creamed cheese lightens it up for a less dense and filling dessert so you have room for a slice after an incredible meal. Top it with sea salt flakes, a velvety smooth caramel sauce and a silky cream topping and you have a dessert that will keep them talking.

Turn Your Life Upside Down Olive Oil Apple Cake, with Vanilla and Cinnamon

Upside Down Olive Oil Apple Cake, with Vanilla and Cinnamon

The title for this recipe is a little over dramatic for sure, but I did suffer war wounds in the making of this cake when  I was not diligent in the use of the mandolin to slice the apples thinly. Was it worth it? Yes most definitely to taste a piece of this amazingly moist cake.

Those of you who follow More Than Burnt Toast know of my obsession with creating cakes made of olive oil in the Mediterranean tradition. Butter usually takes centre stage in baking when thinking of some of my favourites like butter tarts, buttery cream frosting and shortbread cookies. But there is something that draws me back time and time again to olive oil. After my successes with olive oil cakes made with blood oranges, clementines, Meyer lemon and poppy seed , banana, pumpkin and Ottolenghi's Apple Cake I thought that my next adventure would be apple and walnut. This "not-to-sweet" apple cake made with olive oil instead of butter, is a perfect  seasonal recipe using winter apples.

Winemaker's Coronation Grape Cake for La Cuisine d'Helene

Winemaker's Grape Cake

As seen on Honest Cooking....Recently my good friend Helene asked me to do a guest post over at her blog La Cusine de'Helene. It is always a challenge to make a decision about what to make for another persons blog. You want your recipe to reflect not only your own personality but that of the host blog as well. With the shorter days and impending cooler weather would I make some of my favourite comfort foods? I decided to make a kind of Eastern Canada meets Western Canada cake where the Coronation grape is the star! The Coronation Grape grows in both British Columbia and Ontario where both Helene and I have lived at some point in our lives, so, it seemed the perfect way to unite our blogs and our passion for food. Move over to Helene's blog to read the full post....here.

Recipe can also be found here

You are reading this post on More Than Burnt Toast at http://morethanburnttoast.blogspot.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author and or owner of More Than Burnt Toast. All rights reserved by Valerie Harrison.

Tuscan Lemon Muffins for a Spring Pick Me Up

Tuscan Lemon Muffins

If dreary Spring weather is getting you down, lift your spirits by adding bright, zesty lemons to your every day cooking. Today I've featured this recipe from Cooking Light magazine for some aromatic muffins that include a splash of sunshine with every bite.  A name like Tuscan Lemon Muffins could not be more fitting for a Spring pick me up!

Ottolenghi's Apple and Olive Oil Cake with Maple Icing... an Ode to Spring

Apple and Olive Oil Cake with Maple Icing

When April finally arrives, I’m ready to move into summer food and barbecuing but my mind is still clinging on to the comfort foods of winter. While spring may be in the air, it hasn’t exactly reached our markets yet. Spring is when everything seems to come alive!!!!! The days are longer and the markets begin to burst with the colours of the bountiful fruits and vegetables of the season. This is the time to enjoy fresh rhubarb, sweet garden peas and furled fiddleheads. It is the season for asparagus and escarole and a wide variety of lettuce hand plucked from the garden for green salads. The delightful fragrance of chives, mint, chervil and tarragon fill the air to season your dishes. All of these tastes of Spring are bursting from our gardens, forests, markets and window boxes...but not yet...

Creamy Hot Chocolate Muffins for Taste and Create

Creamy Hot Chocolate Muffins

It has been a while since I have participated in Taste and Create one of the very first events to grace the pages of More Than Burnt Toast. This time honoured event is the brainchild of Nicole (aka Myamii) over at For the Love of Food.  I love to visit her site for all the delicious recipes and tidbits. She is very generous and always helpful whenever I have a question...or two. She has also been a long-lasting competitor in the Foodbuzz quest to find the next Food Blog Star and has made it to the video stage so far. You go girl!!!.  If you haven't had the chance to visit please take the time...you will be glad you did.

Marie-Hélène's Apple Cake for the Ultimate Brunch

Marie-Hélène's Apple Cake

 

Hello dear friends. I hope you are having a safe and happy Hallowe'en. Today I have brought you  a very special dessert that has been making its rounds in the blogosphere. I first heard about this cake from my mom and dad about a month ago after they had watched an episode of a national news show Canada AM. It was something that appealed to them being not too sweet and not too filling. In fact, the texture is more fruity than cakey. I was intrigued by the fact that there seemed to be more fruit per ratio than most cakes that have ever graced the More Than Burnt Toast kitchen; and it was certainly a change from my cream cheese laden specialties. You know me I can't resist an experiment and I assured my parents I would let them know how it turned out. So I made it last Sunday knowing it would be perfect for brunch.

 

Olive Oil Pumpkin Cake with Toasted Pine Nuts for the Pumpkin Challenge

Olive Oil Pumpkin Cake with Toasted Pine Nuts

If you have been following More Than Burnt Toast you will know that I have been creating personal challenges based on a theme to infuse new life into my cooking adventures. Even every day food should be an adventure either with new ideas, or experimenting with a new cuisine. Every day we should be excited about what we are eating even if it just means making use of a wonderful find at our local farmers market for our favourite comfort foods.With these personally imposed challenges my own culinary skills have been rejuvenated and back on track and I am once again inspired. This is the perfect time of year to pump up our kitchens into high gear!

Banana Olive Oil Cake with Chocolate

Olive Oil Banana Cake

I hope you are all enjoying your long weekend. The May Victoria Day long weekend is the official beginning of the good life here in the Okanagan!!! Before I head out for frolic and fun I wanted to share another special treat with you. I have been on a real kick to make olive oil cakes lately. There is something about the slight fruity flavour it imparts to these quick breads and the delicate crumb and mouth feel of an olive oil cake that just has me swooning. I have mixed it with blood oranges, meyer lemon and poppy seeds, tangerines and now..... bananas and chocolate. I say why not! This turned out unlike any other banana cake I have ever had. It is hard to describe the subtle differences but the texture was almost... silky. Stay tuned for my next experiment. Silky, sexy zucchini olive oil cake! But for now on to my banana cake.

Mother's Day, and Do You Want Some Wine (Not Whine) With Your Strawberry Shortcake

Chardonnay Strawberry Shortcake for MOM

To all the Mothers and all the special women in your life I wish you all a Happy Mothers Day!!!!! Today is the day when we thank you all and recognize how you have shaped our lives. It is not just a Hallmark holiday but a time to rejoice in all that we hold dear and truly celebrate how important and significant you really are in our lives. I just got off the phone with my own mom who lives on the other side of the country, with the rest of my family. It always leaves a warm and fuzzy glow whenever I talk to her. I think that Mary over at One Perfect Bite sums it up best when she says, " I have, all my life, had the good fortune to find myself in the company of warm and generous women. Today, my thoughts embrace them all in a haze that glows more golden as it's burnished by time."

Meyer Lemon Poppy Seed Olive Oil Cake

Meyer Lemon Poppy Seed Olive Oil Cake

You can enjoy the benefits of olive oil in everything from dips and dressings to skin care and shampoo. It has been used in Mediterranean countries for thousands of years and has quickly become a staple here in North America and other parts of the world. California has some delicious olive oils that I was lucky enough to sample last year at the Foodbuzz Festival in San Francisco.  It’s actually a pure fruit juice and unlike most seed or vegetable oils, it does not require any heat or chemicals to extract the oil and needs no refinement. The oil can be consumed "as is" immediately after pressing. How perfect is that!! Olive oil can replace the fat in almost any recipe which makes it extremely versatile. It offers more nutrition and flavour than vegetable and seed oils, remains stable when heated and has a relatively high smoke point. Nature's gold!!!

Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake.... a Real Sensation!!!

Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake

Blood oranges are juicy, sweet with  a dark red interior and are slightly less acidic than regular table oranges. Originally from Sicily (Italy) and Spain the blood orange has gained in popularity and can be found fresh or in juice form in many local grocery stores. Blood oranges contain a pigment called anthocyanin which is not typically found in citrus but rather more common in other red fruits and flowers. Not only is the inside of the orange darkly pigmented but depending on the variety the outside may also have dark washes of red. What we find here in our stores probably are grown in either California of Texas. U.S. grown blood oranges are in season from late fall to early spring.

A Culinary Journey to Nicaragua with Joan of FOODalogue

Tres Leche Cake

Joan of FOODalogue has started the year off with another armchair travel adventure with her Culinary Tour 2010 - South of the Border . I really enjoyed travelling with Joan last year and you will too!!!! If you haven't heard of this very popular event check out her site for all the round-ups of delicious recipes and stories by all the participants. This year she has featured the cuisine of 10 of our south-of-the-border neighbours. So far we have travelled to Mexico where we sipped on tequila and margaritas and enjoyed each others company virtually. Then we travelled to El Salvador and the "Ruta de las Flores" (Route of Flowers) where we enjoyed the fiesta atmosphere at the feria gastronómica (food festival) in a small mountain village. Each one of these destinations in her culinary tour challenges you to create a dish outside of your comfort zone and experience new taste and food sensations. You can also do a little armchair travelling and daydreaming through your tastebuds. Our next stop in our armchair travel is:

A Recipe for British Columbia Applesauce Apple Muffins

British Columbia Applesauce Apple Muffins

If I were to have any New Year resolutions one would be to clear out my draft posts here on More Than Burnt Toast. It is safe to say I have hundreds if not thousands of recipes waiting in the wings for me to either post or create in my own kitchen. The problem there is I am always coming across new recipes to try, new ingredients, and more ideas to add to the evergrowing lists. I am sure you can all relate. More Than Burnt Toast is full of ideas and is bursting at the seams!!!! In a few short weeks it will celebrate it's 3rd year blogiversary and it is highly unlikely that I will have my drafts cleared and "swept" out by Chinese New Year to start afresh and bring me good luck!!!!

A Recipe for Nutella Swirl Poundcake

Nutella Swirl Poundcake

When browsing through those monthly food magazines in our collections I am sure we all come across countless recipes that we bookmark to create in our own kitchens someday. Like everyone else I have stacks of cookbooks and magazines with recipes patiently waiting in line to show up in the More Than Burnt Toast kitchen.