These cookies have a perfect mix of sweetness and crunchiness. Almond butter raises the fat numbers, but most of this comes from beneficial monounsaturated fatty acids.
1/2 cup (125 mL) almond butter
1/2 cup (125 mL) maple syrup, No. 2 or No. 3
3 Tbsp (45 mL) vegetable oil
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla or almond extract
1 cup (250 mL) whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp (2 mL) baking soda
1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
1/2 cup (125 mL) almonds, chopped
Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).
In large bowl, mix together almond butter, maple syrup, oil, and extract.
In separate bowl, blend together flour, baking soda, and salt.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in almonds.
Refrigerate dough for at least an hour.
Roll heaping tablespoons of dough into balls, place onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, and flatten to about 1/3 in (0.8 cm). Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown.
Yields 12 cookies.
Each cookie contains: 188 calories; 4 g protein; 12 g total fat (1 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 19 g carbohydrates; 2 g fibre; 51 mg sodium
source: "A Touch of Maple", alive #340, February 2011
Tourtière is, for me, the dish that best represents Québec. It can be traced back to the 1600s, and there’s no master recipe; every family has their own twist. Originally, it was made with game birds or game meat, like rabbit, pheasant, or moose; that’s one of the reasons why I prefer it with venison instead of beef or pork. Variation: If you prefer to make single servings, follow our lead at the restaurant, where we make individual tourtières in the form of a dome (pithivier) and fill them with 5 ounces (160 g) of the ground venison mixture. Variation: You can also use a food processor to make the dough. Place the flour, salt, and butter in the food processor and pulse about ten times, until the butter is incorporated—don’t overmix. It should look like wet sand, and a few little pieces of butter here and there is okay. With the motor running, through the feed tube, slowly add ice water until the dough forms a ball—again don’t overmix. Wrap, chill, and roll out as directed above.
My love of artichokes continues with this classic recipe, one of the best ways to eat this interesting, underrated, and strange vegetable. Frozen artichoke hearts are a time-saving substitute, though the flavour and texture of fresh artichokes are, by far, much superior and definitely preferred.
Cervelle de canut is basically the Boursin of France, an herbed fresh farmer’s cheese spread that’s a speciality of Lyon. The name is kind of weird, as it literally means “silk worker’s brain,” named after nineteenth-century Lyonnaise silk workers, who were called canuts. Sadly, the name reflects the low opinion of the people towards these workers. Happily for us, though, it’s delicious—creamy, fragrant, and fresh at the same time. Cervelle de canut is one of my family’s favourite dishes. It’s a great make-ahead appetizer that you can pop out of the fridge once your guests arrive. Use a full-fat cream cheese for the dish, or it will be too runny and less delicious.