This moist plant-based cake, featuring flavours of orange and thyme, is punctuated by tart cranberries. Cranberries have long been known as a superfood with many health benefits, but in recent research cranberries have demonstrated an association with lower blood pressure, better cholesterol profiles, and with the management of other cardiovascular risk factors such as a high body mass index (BMI).
The cranberry harvest in North America takes place between September and November, so for most of the year, the cranberries you find on the shelf will be frozen. Frozen cranberries will last for up to a year in your freezer. If you use fresh cranberries for this cake, the moisture level may decrease slightly, which may result in a slightly shorter cooking time.
Per serving:
Preheat oven to 325 F (160 C) and line 9 in (23 cm) round cake tin with parchment.In small bowl or liquid measuring jug, add vinegar to almond milk and allow to stand for 20 minutes. In separate bowl, combine flours, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.
In bowl of stand mixer, combine on low speed applesauce, coconut sugar, olive oil, orange zest, thyme, and vanilla. Add almond milk mixture and mix to combine.
In medium-sized bowl, add cranberries and 1 Tbsp (15 mL) of flour mixture and mix through to coat cranberries with flour.
Add remaining flour mixture to wet ingredients, in three additions, stirring between each addition. Stir in cranberry-flour mixture until just combined. Pour batter into parchment-lined cake tin and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow cake to cool on wire rack for 10 minutes and then remove from tin to continue cooling. Enjoy a slice with a warm cup of tea.
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.