Kim Barlow and Matthias Kom – Spring Break Up
Holy cow, I love this album. When I first got it I enjoyed it too much to listen to at work. (Co-workers noticed my blissed-out expression as I swayed happily in front of my microfilm reader, completely ignoring it). Kom and Barlow combine beautifully to create an album of bittersweet chips. Neither of them have voices that would get them on “American Idol” but they both have a quality of honesty and emotional expressiveness that makes you feel like they aren’t just singing lyrics, they’re telling you about it. These are nine break up songs (and one love song) that are full of beauty and tinged with humour. Like that chuckle through the tears when you think for a moment, “What was I thinking?”
Great Lake Swimmers – Lost Channels
Nothing can compare to listening to the Great Lake Swimmers live, but this album comes close (and without an obnoxious and apparently lost barrista in the crowd loudly explaining that cappuccino and lattes were basically the same thing). This is an album for quiet times. Built on a solid foundation of delicate harmonies and strong talent, Great Lake Swimmers succeed in establishing a cohesive, peaceful and completely enjoyable album
Franz Ferdinand – Tonight
You’ll notice that this album is a bit different from the others on my list. No banjos here. This is a pop album that rocks and rolls and is more effective at busting me out of my 3pm slump than anything else I’ve tried. I think I’ll forever associate this album with my fastest typing, as the driving beats send my fingers skittering across the keys.
The songs themselves couldn’t be further from 3pm in an office. It’s an album about being out at night: clubs or parties or walking down the street, seeing people, meeting people, and the feverish dreams that follow.
The Burning Hell – Baby
I’m not going to lie to you, the first time I heard The Burning Hell, I fell asleep. The worst thing about this story is that I was actually hearing them live. That’s right, I fell asleep at the Ship Pub. In my defense, I’d just returned from law school and I didn’t do much but sleep that whole week. Also, the Burning Hell had started their set with a series of slow songs, which had a sort of dirge-like quality. Throw in the soothingly deep voice of Matthias Kom (Hey! It’s that guy again!) and I was out like a light. I left before the show got going. The second time I saw the Burning Hell was several months later. I was a happy dropout/waitress and I got swept into the energy that their live shows grow into to, like a power-saving bulb which slowly lightens the room from dimness to a dizzying blinding bright. I’ve heard that their previous albums have failed to capture this energy, but I don’t know anything about that because I don’t have those albums, I have “Baby”
And “Baby” is awesome. I bought this early in the year and I think I can reasonably estimate that I listened to it 200 times (allowing 4 times a week, 50 weeks out of the year). This album makes me want to dance Matthias Kom (the “Pope of Pop” as M has dubbed him) weaves his lyrical magic through bouncing, sometimes racing tracks. Although he notes “Every good album needs a slow song or two” these are mostly songs you can dance to, or clean your house to, or cook dinner to. Whereas the Great Lake Swimmers you listen to in your rocking chair with a cup of tea, when listening to The Burning Hell you have an icy glass of water which you bounce over to when you need to cool down. They’ve managed to affect this change while staying true to their traditional themes of grave situations, historical political conferences, and (of course) the things that people make.
...and two albums I wish I hadn’t bought:
Lily Allen – It’s not me it’s you
Oh Lily, please don’t take this personally. I think you’re lovely and your first album got me through some rough times. But on this one your pathos has become petulance, your raw honesty a crassness it simply isn’t as good. Maybe you should take a little time to make peace with the people who tormented you in highschool, deal with your daddy issues, and construct a healthy relationship. It’s not that you’re not talented, “The Fear” may have been one of the best single tracks of the year, but it’s time to grow up a little.
Joel Plaskett – Three
Apparently, I missed the something. That’s how it feels, anyway. I wasn’t very familiar with Plaskett’s earlier works, but what I had heard I’d liked just fine. And then this album came out the Canadian music industry collectively crapped themselves, so I had pretty high hopes. I also really liked the 3 albums for the price of 1 part. But it wasn’t that good. I don’t mean a very good album that just didn’t meet the impossible hype, there just wasn’t much there. A few really good songs, a bunch of “meh” songs, and a few cringe-worthy ones. And then it gets shortlisted for the Polaris! Seriously? This is considered great art, worthy of being up there with the Great Lake Swimmers? I don’t think so. I wound up leaving this one at the cardshop, and I never bothered to go pick it up.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Sugar Pie, You know I love you
Over coffee this morning, a coworker described in glowing terms a dessert she’d once had in a small pizzeria in St. Pierre. It was sugar pie. Sweet, creamy, heaven in a pie crust, is what she said. Sugar pie.
It stuck in my head. I’m new to pies, for a lot of my life I was very anti-pie. I’m still not huge on fruit pies. But through quiche and savoury pies I’ve begun to learn that pastry can be an excellent vessel, and I’m beginning to explore dessert pies as well. There was something about the thought of sugar pie and I just couldn’t think of anything else.
So I took to the internet and discovered that it is a traditional dish of Quebec (land of poutine, don’t forget) and incredibly simple to make. The only truly important element is the sugar itself. Pure Quebec maple sugar. I was now more determined than ever.
At the start of my lunch a dashed quickly across the parking lot to the supermarket to pick up a few ingredients. Namely, a half-litre of cream. I wasn’t shocked that the supermarket didn’t carry the proper sugar, and darted downtown to the specialty grocery store/ bakery/ deli, Auntie Crae’s. It took some digging, but Auntie Crae’s came through with small packets tied with twine and a maple leaf on the front. They cost $7.58, which seemed a little much for a small packet of sugar, but this was a special, seasonal sugar. Then I looked more closely. The packet contained 125 grams. For the cup of sugar the recipe required, I would need to buy two packets which meant spending $15.16 on sugar. Not sugar to stock up against the apocalypse, but sugar to go in one pie.
This was when I paused to have a think. I wouldn’t be able to leave the store if there was a possibility that I would never have a sugar pie. How could a person live like that? When you’re talking about something that you might regret for 60 years, fifteen bucks is not that much. Furthermore, if I didn’t make it today, than when? I couldn’t make it January, not with my resolutions for frugality and healthy eating kick in. Optimistically I could hold onto my resolutions for a few months, but I’m not going to make a maple sugar pie in summer, that’s just insane. So really now was the time. The last week of the year was the perfect time for sugar pie and I was standing there with cream and just the right kind of sugar.
I bought the sugar.
Quebec Maple Sugar Pie (from Epicurious)
This really couldn't be simpler. Whisk together one cup pure Quebec maple sugar (I've been assured that this is of the utmost importance) with 1/4 cup flour. Add 1 and 1/2 cups of heavy cream and mix. Pour the works into a partially baked pie crust and bake or 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
This pie will come out of my oven in 2 minutes. It smells amazing, it looks amazing, but I won't taste it quite yet. I'll save that for midnight. I have a feeling that it will go very well with cheap champagne
It stuck in my head. I’m new to pies, for a lot of my life I was very anti-pie. I’m still not huge on fruit pies. But through quiche and savoury pies I’ve begun to learn that pastry can be an excellent vessel, and I’m beginning to explore dessert pies as well. There was something about the thought of sugar pie and I just couldn’t think of anything else.
So I took to the internet and discovered that it is a traditional dish of Quebec (land of poutine, don’t forget) and incredibly simple to make. The only truly important element is the sugar itself. Pure Quebec maple sugar. I was now more determined than ever.
At the start of my lunch a dashed quickly across the parking lot to the supermarket to pick up a few ingredients. Namely, a half-litre of cream. I wasn’t shocked that the supermarket didn’t carry the proper sugar, and darted downtown to the specialty grocery store/ bakery/ deli, Auntie Crae’s. It took some digging, but Auntie Crae’s came through with small packets tied with twine and a maple leaf on the front. They cost $7.58, which seemed a little much for a small packet of sugar, but this was a special, seasonal sugar. Then I looked more closely. The packet contained 125 grams. For the cup of sugar the recipe required, I would need to buy two packets which meant spending $15.16 on sugar. Not sugar to stock up against the apocalypse, but sugar to go in one pie.
This was when I paused to have a think. I wouldn’t be able to leave the store if there was a possibility that I would never have a sugar pie. How could a person live like that? When you’re talking about something that you might regret for 60 years, fifteen bucks is not that much. Furthermore, if I didn’t make it today, than when? I couldn’t make it January, not with my resolutions for frugality and healthy eating kick in. Optimistically I could hold onto my resolutions for a few months, but I’m not going to make a maple sugar pie in summer, that’s just insane. So really now was the time. The last week of the year was the perfect time for sugar pie and I was standing there with cream and just the right kind of sugar.
I bought the sugar.
Quebec Maple Sugar Pie (from Epicurious)
This really couldn't be simpler. Whisk together one cup pure Quebec maple sugar (I've been assured that this is of the utmost importance) with 1/4 cup flour. Add 1 and 1/2 cups of heavy cream and mix. Pour the works into a partially baked pie crust and bake or 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
This pie will come out of my oven in 2 minutes. It smells amazing, it looks amazing, but I won't taste it quite yet. I'll save that for midnight. I have a feeling that it will go very well with cheap champagne
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Cookie Baking: Day 3, 4 and 5
Yes, the schedule slipped over into a fifth day, but more on that later.
Day 3
This was a very simple day. Boyfriend and I rolled out the dough, cut the shapes, and baked the cookies. We got 8 dozen here, but it didn't really feel like much work. The butter cookies got green and red sugar sprinkled on top, but the chocolate ones we left blank. It seemed that icing these would just be a mess.
Day 4
I kept a record of this one:
Day 3
This was a very simple day. Boyfriend and I rolled out the dough, cut the shapes, and baked the cookies. We got 8 dozen here, but it didn't really feel like much work. The butter cookies got green and red sugar sprinkled on top, but the chocolate ones we left blank. It seemed that icing these would just be a mess.
Day 4
I kept a record of this one:
10:00 – Put on Pants
10:06 – Preheat oven
10:15 – Begin Chocolate Hazelnut Crinkles (www.epicurious.com) by toasting hazelnuts or “filberts”. I distracted the kitten by tossing her one, then was suddenly gripped with fears of a feline hazelnut allergy and stole it back. Kitten is not happy.
10:26 – Take out the hazelnuts
11:03 - Man, hazlnuts take a long time to shell!!
11:05 - Encounter my first problem of the day. I need to pulse the hazelnuts till finely chopped, but I don’t have food processor and my blender is full of sticky fig mixture. I briefly consider using my roommate’s processor without her permission (she’s not home) but I really didn’t want to risk anything happening to it, as I don’t know how to use it. I finally decide to go with Boyfriend’s coffee grinder. Coffee and hazelnut go together, right?
11:25 – Hm. Hazelnuts may be too finely chopped. Anyway, time to melt the chocolate.
12:03 – Chocolate hazelnut dough is finished! (30 minutes active time my ass) I put it in to chill and treat myself to a cup of tea and a beater before I start the dishes.
12:28 – Dishes are done! Time to start the trios!
12:45 – Well, that was quick and painless. Flour, butter, sugar, salt, egg and vanilla. Gotta love it. It’s chilling in the fridge (I have to admit, I did not consider fridge space when I started this project) and now it’s time for lunch. Kale and white bean soup, anyone?
2:02 – Back to work. It’s not all the dishes that bug me so much, it’s washing the exact same dishes over and over again. My big red bowl will be pink by the time I’m finished!
2:20 – Middle of the recipe for molasses crinkles and I discover that I need ground cloves and I only have whole cloves. At this moment I thank heaven for my friend J, who gave me a mortar and pestle for my birthday 3 months ago. Thanks, J.
2:35 – Oh no! A jar o partridgeberry jam fell from the cupboard and into the mixing bowl! Thank goodness it didn’t break!
2:40 – The bowl broke. There’s egg all over the counter. I don’t believe this
3:07 – Call it a miracle, but the cookies are in the oven!
3:17 – The molasses crinkles are out of the oven and they look fantastic!
3:30 – about half of them burned on the bottom. It’s ok, though. I have enough for gift and even the burnt ones taste pretty good, so I’ll just keep those.
3:45 – I start shaping the trios. Each is made up of three dough balls with a different kind of jam in each. To be a bit special, a used all locally-made jams. Blueberry, Rasberry and Partridgeberrry.
4:07 – The first batch of trios goes into the oven.
4:21 – I become so engrossed in the meditative feeling of rolling dough balls that I forget about the first batch and the alarm goes off. More burnt cookies!
4:35 – The second batch goes in.
4:45 – I don’t know how I feel about these. They came out all right, but they’re somewhat cracked and not uniformly golden. Also, on a few the jam bubbled over onto the cookie. I’m not really into jam cookies anyway, I’ll have to get Boyfriend’s opinion on them
5:00 – Ok, time to go to my parents for dinner. I’ll just finish cleaning up and then return for the shocking conclusion: Chocolate-Hazelnut Crinkles!!! (Or was that foreshadowed when I made the dough this morning?)
Day 5
I woke up Monday morning feeling like I needed more molasses crinkles. I was out of butter and eggs, so my first trip was to the grocery store. While there, I noticed the pillsbury roll out dough. That would work for the fig swirls, but I'd never used a pre-made dough before, did I really want to start? I stood there for quite a while, then finally grabbed the box and headed out.
When I got home I unrolled the dough, spread the fig mush over it, rolled it back up and stuck it in the fridge. Then I got to baking. This was actually my most intense day, as I had a deadline: the office Christmas party at 4. The fig rolls in the fridge, I pulled out the chocolate hazelnut crinkles and started rolling balls and dipping in icing sugar. I got 4 dozen of these, so it was a lot of rolling. I skipped lunch and jumped right into the molasses crinkles. This was frustrated, as I ran out of the dark brown sugar and had to use the golden sugar. Also, there wasn't quite enough molasses, even though there should have been by the size of the container. Then there was more rolling and sugar dipping. I didn't burn these, anyway, so that was good. They weren't quite as good as the first batch, I'm blaming the sugar, but they were pretty good. 2 dozen more.
By this time it was after 3, and I was supposed to be at the party by four. I really didn't want to spend another day baking cookies, so I pulled the fig rolls out of the fridge and started slicing. I got two dozen more and did my makeup in the kitchen as they were baking. But they came out! They looked as if the dough in the middle hadn't baked properly, but they were just fine.
Conclusion
I baked 19 dozen cookies, and that is quite a lot. But you know, I would do it again. The cookies came out great and the recipients were all really appreciative. I didn't let myself get stressed, even when things got a bit tangly, and i enjoyed the feeling of baking treats for the people I care about. Finally, the house still smells amazing!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Cookie Baking: Day 2
Sometimes, things just don't work out. This was one of those times.
Friday, the second day of my cookie-baking extravaganza, I tried to make fig swirls. Basically, you make a pastry dough, roll it out flat, cover it with a fig filling, roll it up like a jelly roll, and slice cookies off of that for baking. I thought it sounded lovely and traditional, and a bit different for my cookie jar.
But it didn't work. The problem was in the pastry. The dough simply wouldn't stick together. I don't know if I did something wrong in the recipe, if the recipe itself was flawed, or if I was wrong to use a mixer instead of a food processor. I suppose it could be any combination thereof.
But you live and you learn. I never claimed to be anything more than a rookie in the kitchen, so there are going to be times when things don't go as planned. I have lots of other cookies, so I chucked the bad dough and moved on.
Any suggestions for what to do with the fig filling?
Friday, the second day of my cookie-baking extravaganza, I tried to make fig swirls. Basically, you make a pastry dough, roll it out flat, cover it with a fig filling, roll it up like a jelly roll, and slice cookies off of that for baking. I thought it sounded lovely and traditional, and a bit different for my cookie jar.
But it didn't work. The problem was in the pastry. The dough simply wouldn't stick together. I don't know if I did something wrong in the recipe, if the recipe itself was flawed, or if I was wrong to use a mixer instead of a food processor. I suppose it could be any combination thereof.
But you live and you learn. I never claimed to be anything more than a rookie in the kitchen, so there are going to be times when things don't go as planned. I have lots of other cookies, so I chucked the bad dough and moved on.
Any suggestions for what to do with the fig filling?
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Cookie Baking: Day 1
Alright, December has been kicking my ass. There has been an awful lot of work, and an awful lot of play, in the form of social engagements. But now I have a few days to myself and I've decided to immerse myself in an ambitious baking programme.
The idea came from www.epicurious.com 's "25 Days of Christmas Cookies". I quickly got caught up with the idea of doing all of them, baking cookies everyday. Boyfriend quickly pointed out that that would be more of a death march than a joyous kitchen experience. So I picked my top 5, pulled out Orangette's butter cookie recipe (www.orangette.blogspot.com) and made a schedule.
Tonight was the first night. I thought about live-blogging, but there was no time. After work Boyfriend and I hustled down to a local specialty grocery store for the last necessary ingredients, and then back home. I had almost forgotten that we would actually have to eat supper tonight as well. I took the opportunity to test out my new rice maker. I mixed wild rice, water, carrots and onion, turned the thing on, and then put on my baking apron.
The Danish Butter cookies take a pound of butter. I'm not kidding. Other than that, it's a fairly simple recipe, just sugar, flour, baking soda and egg. Since the butter is really the centre stage I used Spyglass butter, made just an hour away near a very good friend's childhood home.
I rolled out the dough, wrapped it in plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge where it will stay until I'm ready to actually bake it. Boyfriend cooked some chicken while I started the dishes. We took a break for dinner and Jeopardy, and then got back to the business of the cookies.
Our next recipe was Chocolate roll outs, from www.epicurious.com . I really like the idea of chocolate cookies in Christmas shapes. Boyfriend started the dishes while I melted some bittersweet chocolate, and mixed it with sugar, butter, vanilla, flour and cocoa. The dough was delicious! I rolled it out, wrapped it in plastic, and popped it in the fridge.
At this point I took over the dishwashing duties. I'm beginning to realise that this will be a theme of the next four days. Dishes done, I called it a day ... for now!
The idea came from www.epicurious.com 's "25 Days of Christmas Cookies". I quickly got caught up with the idea of doing all of them, baking cookies everyday. Boyfriend quickly pointed out that that would be more of a death march than a joyous kitchen experience. So I picked my top 5, pulled out Orangette's butter cookie recipe (www.orangette.blogspot.com) and made a schedule.
Tonight was the first night. I thought about live-blogging, but there was no time. After work Boyfriend and I hustled down to a local specialty grocery store for the last necessary ingredients, and then back home. I had almost forgotten that we would actually have to eat supper tonight as well. I took the opportunity to test out my new rice maker. I mixed wild rice, water, carrots and onion, turned the thing on, and then put on my baking apron.
The Danish Butter cookies take a pound of butter. I'm not kidding. Other than that, it's a fairly simple recipe, just sugar, flour, baking soda and egg. Since the butter is really the centre stage I used Spyglass butter, made just an hour away near a very good friend's childhood home.
I rolled out the dough, wrapped it in plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge where it will stay until I'm ready to actually bake it. Boyfriend cooked some chicken while I started the dishes. We took a break for dinner and Jeopardy, and then got back to the business of the cookies.
Our next recipe was Chocolate roll outs, from www.epicurious.com . I really like the idea of chocolate cookies in Christmas shapes. Boyfriend started the dishes while I melted some bittersweet chocolate, and mixed it with sugar, butter, vanilla, flour and cocoa. The dough was delicious! I rolled it out, wrapped it in plastic, and popped it in the fridge.
At this point I took over the dishwashing duties. I'm beginning to realise that this will be a theme of the next four days. Dishes done, I called it a day ... for now!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Dreamy Kale
When you start dreaming about kale, you’re eating too much kale. This is exactly the situation I found myself in one morning, waking up to wonder, “Was it really a dream? Did I actually dream about cooking kale? Do I have any kale in the fridge?”. Well I don’t know if it was dream or heavenly vision but I woke up in possession of a new recipe, and a new reason to fall in love with kale all over again.
In the dream, I was washing and ripping kale leaves, getting ready to make my staple kale and chickpeas (recipe at www.orangette.blogspot.com) and sighing, wishing that Boyfriend found it filling enough for a meal, when it hit me: not chickpeas but chicken! I decided to make the switch to satisfy my ever-loving carnivore. As the dream continued I saw myself sautéing the chicken with prosciutto, for flavour. What an idea! Where had that come from? A few hours after waking I was still mulling it over in my head, so when I went home for lunch I took out some chicken to thaw. And thus, that night I had the best kale yet.
Dreamy Kale
- Two chicken breasts, cut into cubes
- ¼ cup prosciutto, shredded
- 1 tbs Olive oil
- A big bunch of kale, washed and cut into ribbons (should still be wet)
Heat oil in a large, deep skillet. Add prosciutto and chicken and sauté until chicken is browned. Add the kale, cook until wilted. (You may need to add it in batches, but as it wilts it will shrink and you should have room for all of it). Reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Cook another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Friday, November 13, 2009
The Flying Troutmans
There's just something about Miriam Toews. I've never known an author who could be so uplifting and depressing at the same time.
I read her mega-hit "A Complicated Kindness" summer before last. I usually avoid the big bestsellers, they have an annoying tendency to be sad voids where a potentially good story gets bogged down in terrible writing and critic-pandering, but when M. tells me I should read something, I usually do. He was right, as he mostly is. I liked it very much. A book about the hard times, and a hard girl that managed to avoid cliches and was funny without simpering.
If anything, I liked The Flying Troutmans even better. Again a story about people dealing with impossibly sad situations, Toews takes her prairie desolation on the road, to the deserts of the USA in this surprisingly optimistic story. The narrative is more traditional and therefore probably more accessible than the first. The heartbreak is constant, but so too is the idea that, although things will probably never be ok, they might at least get a little better. This is more optimistic than it sounds. You know that the characters will never be free of their burdens, because they are imposed by bad luck on people they love. They would not choose to leave anyone behind no matter how hurtful that person was. But you believe that things will likely improve to the point where they will be bearable, and that's good enough.
When the characters reach a situation that they can live with, you want to stand up and cheer. Bound by love, they find a way to deal.
I read her mega-hit "A Complicated Kindness" summer before last. I usually avoid the big bestsellers, they have an annoying tendency to be sad voids where a potentially good story gets bogged down in terrible writing and critic-pandering, but when M. tells me I should read something, I usually do. He was right, as he mostly is. I liked it very much. A book about the hard times, and a hard girl that managed to avoid cliches and was funny without simpering.
If anything, I liked The Flying Troutmans even better. Again a story about people dealing with impossibly sad situations, Toews takes her prairie desolation on the road, to the deserts of the USA in this surprisingly optimistic story. The narrative is more traditional and therefore probably more accessible than the first. The heartbreak is constant, but so too is the idea that, although things will probably never be ok, they might at least get a little better. This is more optimistic than it sounds. You know that the characters will never be free of their burdens, because they are imposed by bad luck on people they love. They would not choose to leave anyone behind no matter how hurtful that person was. But you believe that things will likely improve to the point where they will be bearable, and that's good enough.
When the characters reach a situation that they can live with, you want to stand up and cheer. Bound by love, they find a way to deal.
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