Bahn Mi

I love all kinds of street food because it is clean, simple, and unpretentious. Ethnic food is pretty hard to come by here in the North, but you can get by. Although you can't get a tomatillo anywhere in the city, canned or fresh, the selection of Asian groceries is not too bad. I have never dabbled in Vietnamese food at all, but this recipe in Vegetarian Times looked simple enough and I had the ingredients on hand (though I did not make it very spicy for the kids). I like the idea of a pickle or slaw to ratchet up a sandwich a couple of notches and will have to explore this concept more in the future.

Potato Rosemary Bread: Baking Through the Bread Baker's Apprentice

This is one of my favourite new breads from The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Potatoes make for a wonderfully soft bread with a chewy crust. The loaf has a beautiful golden colour (probably because I used Yukon Gold), and the rosemary is a nice addition because it is not overdone. In other words: perfection.

GENERAL NOTES
- none

VEGAN NOTES
- none

Strawberry Syrup

I guess I am a little late with this post since strawberry season is over here, but I don't see why this recipe would not work with frozen (and then thawed) berries. We have been enjoying this syrup in endless glasses of lemonade, or with some simple syrup and club soda on ice. It is fairly potent and not too sweet. If you want it a bit thicker, just cook it for a little longer (but not too long or you will get jelly).
I just used my raspberry syrup recipe, subbing in crushed strawberries for the raspberries. It put the hot syrup in mason jars and sealed lots away for later.

Speaking of raspberries, we have a ton here in the backyard.
And even some wild blueberries! We have had some awesome pancake breakfasts lately.

Happy 4th Birthday, Son # 3

Today is my youngest son's 4th birthday. We watched some old family videos of when he was a baby and I got a little teary seeing how fast he is growing up. He will be off to school in September and has developed so much since he was a tiny 5 lb preemie 4 years ago. Sniff. Here is the cake he wanted (you can get cake pans at the library), decorated in the colours he wanted. Not my finest work (and the cake pans kind of stifle creativity), but he did not care. Whilst on the phone to his grandparents he said, "my Dad is making my castle cake and I love it!" I love you too, little buddy.

More Baking on the BBQ

Well, the heat wave is over here, but before it ended I did more baking on the BBQ. I used the set up described here and made kaiser rolls and whole wheat bread in loaf pans. Everything turned out awesome, just as good as in the oven. They key is making sure your temperature is consistent, which is easily done by putting an oven thermometer in the BBQ. Also, I also put some water in the steam pan, even for bread in loaf pans, because the BBQ is a pretty dry heat.