Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The kids and I decided that the best way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day was with a cake. Yes, nothing honours the death of a saint from the 400s like cake. But not just any cake: green marbled cake! I made two batches of Isa and Terry's basic vanilla cupcake recipe, and dyed one green with Wilton's gel dye. 1/4 of the of plain batter went into a buttered and floured 8" cake pan, followed by 1/4 of the green batter, then 1/4 of the white, and 1/4 of the green. I repeated with a second 8" pan, then used a knife to slice through the batter to get the marbled look. I then baked the cakes for 22 mins, as per the recipe.

The frosting is Isa and Terry's buttercream frosting. After laying down a layer of frosting, Son #1 drew a picture of a leprechaun on it with a toothpick, and I filled it in with frosting. Son #2 suggested the shamrock and Son #3 licked all the bowls clean.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

This is a nice, simple soup, perfect with the baguettes you see in the background.

INGREDIENTS
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 large sweet onion, diced
- 1 shallot, diced
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 2 heads of broccoli, cut into florets
- about 3 cups water
- 2 cups cashew cream (or soy creamer/soy milk/coconut milk)
- salt and pepper to taste

METHOD
1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onion, shallot, celery, and garlic for 15 mins, until nice and soft and stating to get golden.
2. Add broccoli and enough water to cover about 3/4 of the way up (about 3 cups). You don't want too much water or the final soup will be too thin. Cover and simmer for 15-20 mins, until veggies are soft.
3. Blend broccoli mixture with an immersion blender (or what have you) until very smooth. Add in cashew cream and season to taste. Heat to desired temperature, then serve.

French Bread: Baking Through the Bread Baker's Apprentice

I will admit that I was a bit dubious about this recipe. I have made quite a few baguettes in my day, and have even posted a recipe. So how much better could Reinhart's recipe be? The answer: so much better! As with most of his recipes, a little extra time makes for an amazing loaf of bread. The key to this French bread is pate fermente, a dough made the day before and kept in the fridge until needed. This pre-ferment and the final dough is a mix of bread and all purpose flour which makes for a tender loaf with a crispy and crackly crust.

I don't have any notes for this recipe, vegan or otherwise.

Chow Noodles

One of my favourite blogs is Chow Vegan, a site with great recipes and beautiful pictures. The other night I really wanted to make the Cantonese Style Chow Mein but did not have all the ingredients. So, I tweaked here and there and dubbed the dish Chow Noodles. The thing that really makes this dish is Chow's baked and crispy noodles. Delicious. Actually, you're probably just better off making the original recipe.

INGREDIENTS
The amount of each ingredient is up to you, depending on how many you are serving
- chow mein noodles, baked as per this recipe
- dried shitake mushrooms
- boiling water
- oil
- crushed garlic and ginger
- water chestnuts
- edamame
- sliced romaine lettuce leave (or some other green)
- soy sauce
- splash of sesame oil

METHOD
1. While noodles are baking, soak mushrooms for about 20 mins, until soft. Drain and reserve water, then slice mushrooms.
2. Heat oil in a wok, the briefly fry ginger and garlic until fragrant. Add water chesnuts and edamame and fry for a few mins. Add greens and fry until soft but still vibrant.
3. Add noodles to the pan along with as much of the reserved mushroom soaking water as you want to make a sauce. Season to taste with soy sauce, then stir in the sesame oil. Serve.

Our Farm: By the Animals of Farm Sanctuary

Maya Gottfried, author of Our Farm, was kind enough to send me a copy of her latest book. Beautifully illustrated, the book is a collection of poems, each one capturing the personality of some of the animals at Farm Sanctuary. Other than a note in the back to parents, the book does not get into why the animals are at the sanctuary but instead celebrates animals as unique individuals. As such, the book allows parents to discuss animal rights on their own terms, or just enjoy a book that respects animals with their kids.