Tiny cupcakes packed with carrots and parsnips are a sweet ode to the bounty of autumn.
1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose unbleached flour
1/2 cup (125 mL) whole wheat flour
2 tsp (10 mL) baking soda
1 tsp (5 mL) each ground ginger and cinnamon
1/4 tsp (1 mL) each ground cardamom and sea salt
1/2 cup (125 mL) organic light agave nectar
1 cup (250 mL) unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup (125 mL) vegetable oil
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract
1 cup (250 mL) each grated parsnip and carrot
1/2 cup (125 mL) raisins (optional)
Icing
1/2 cup (125 g) cream cheese
2 Tbsp (30 mL) butter, at room temperature
1 Tbsp (15 mL) light agave nectar or honey
1/2 tsp (2 mL) vanilla extract
1/2 tsp (2 mL) grated lime or orange peel (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).
Line muffin tin with paper cups.
In bowl, stir flours with baking soda, spices, and salt.
In another bowl, whisk agave with apple sauce, oil, and vanilla. Stir in parsnip, carrot, and raisins. Turn wet mixture over, add dry, and gently stir to combine.
Pour batter into muffin tin and bake 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in centre of cupcake comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.
For icing, beat cream cheese with butter until smooth; then beat in agave nectar, vanilla extract, and peel until mixed. Dollop over cooled cakes.
Makes 12 cupcakes.
Each cupcake contains: 245 calories; 3 g protein; 15 g total fat (4 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 27 g carbohydrates; 2 g fibre; 149 mg sodium
source: "Sweet Thanks", alive #336, October 2010
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.