Short Love Affairs & Awkward Dances

The Christmas bug bit me. My tree is up, the Christmas plant that I talked about recently is still standing (it's a Christmas miracle!), little red bows and colorful ornaments are hanging from light fixtures and festive centrepieces are carefully placed on the dinner and coffee table.

To bring it all together, I decided to make our home smell festive too. I went to Bath and Body Works and decided to stock up on the season's "wallflowers". I smelled them one by one and finally chose THE perfect Christmas smell (did you know Christmas had a smell?). It's called Champagne Toast and not only did I fall in love with the smell, I fell in love with the name as well.

 

I returned home and quickly plugged it into the wall of our kitchen. I could suddenly picture merry Christmas and New Year parties in our house surrounded by happy people and overall jubilance.

 

My love affair with my "wallflower" was coming to an end faster than I thought. The smell wasn't enchantingly taking over the house as I wished it would and I felt like I had to practically stick my nose to the diffuser in order to smell my Champagne Toast.

I returned everything back to the store today (they have excellent customer satisfaction policies!) and got a Champagne Toast fragrance oil instead (the one under which you have to light a candle to warm it so the smell diffuses).

 

I came home, lit a candle under the oil, lit up my tree and started to cook surrounded by merriment. Perfect, comforting winter food was on the menu: Cauliflower Potpie! Long story short, as I sit here and blog, I can't smell my Champagne Toast... I can't smell potpie either... I can smell burnt food. 

Not long after I put the food in the oven, smoke started to come out of its narrow openings. I quickly opened the oven door and suddenly, the whole room filled with smoke. I must have looked like I was doing an awkward rain dance as I frantically waved a kitchen towel under the ringing smoke detector (it rang twice!). I thought "why is this happening? I'm no chef but I know how to cook!" Turns out, some sauce had dripped in the oven and the drippings were burning.

I don't want to be the type of (prep) wife who burns food! I was disappointed and was getting angry at myself. I then saw the upside of this situation.... I'll blog and laugh about it (and perhaps I should have a "smoke" dance choreographed for next time something like this happens... because we all know it will!) ☺

Luckily, dinner wasn't burnt at all and it was very tasty! (P.S. The smell of the oil filled our home delightfully).
 

Cauliflower Potpie

Ingredients

- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter

- 1  medium yellow onion, diced small

- 4 medium carrots, diced small

- 1 head cauliflower cut into florets and boiled (about 3-4 cups)

- 2 garlic cloves, minced

- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

- 3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

- 1/2 cup milk (or cream)

- 1 cup frozen peas

- Salt and ground pepper

- 1 sheet puff pastry

 

Directions

 

1. Preheat oven to 375F

 

2. In a large pot, melt butter over medium-high. Add onion and carrots and cook until softened, 8-10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add flour and stir to coat vegetables.

 

3. Slowly add broth, whisking constantly until sauce is smooth. Add the milk (or cream). Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until thickened (about 6-7 minutes). Stir in the frozen peas. Season with salt and pepper, then stir in the boiled cauliflower florets. Pour filling into a baking dish or a dutch oven.

 

4. On a floured work surface, roll out puff pastry dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Place the dough over the dish and fold the overhanging parts inward while pinching to crimp edges. Cut a few slits in the dough. Place it on a baking sheet (to avoid doing the "smoke dance" like I did!) and bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling around edge (approximately 40 minutes). Let cool 15 minutes before serving.

 

The Anti-Plant Curse

I have brought a living thing into my house... and I'll do my best to keep it alive. I am the proud owner of my very first house-plant. It's not just a plant, it's a beautiful, red and green giant Christmas plant. It may be weird that I moved almost a year and a half ago and have never had a real plant. Truth is, my house is where plants go to die.
 
I am the anti-plant person (not willingly) and I may have "cursed" myself when I was 12 or 13 years old. I remember the snow had just melted and spring was on its way. Everything in our garden looked brown and grey because of the harsh, cold months that had just passed. It was a mess that had to be cleaned so my father had told me to pull out anything that looked like weeds. I put on my fancy gardening gear (AKA old clothes and rubber, yellow kitchen gloves) and started pulling. Perhaps an hour later, I went back inside, full of dirt and proud of my work. The garden looked so clean. Well... I found out later that not only had I pulled out all the weeds, I had also pulled out every single flower and herb from its roots. All those beautiful, colorful flowers and fragrant herbs that would magically grow every year would never make a comeback. In my defense, I was young and everything was brown. How was I supposed to know?
 
This past summer, I saw my neighbour with HUGE, marvelous basil plants on her balcony. I absolutely love basil and wanted in on the action. Ever since my herb and flower pulling frenzy, it may have been the first time I attempted gardening. I remained optimistic and thought if my neighbour can do it, I can do it too. I went to the market and got the biggest, most beautiful basil pot I could find. With such excitement, I put it on my balcony and tended to it to the best of my abilities. I got tips from the person who sold me the plant, read articles on how often I should water it and really did my best to make it grow. My fantasies of having an almost unlimited supply of basil were growing but my plant didn't grow at all. Within a few weeks, it was already wilting and I had to chop it all up. It ended up being the star in very delicious Pesto Pita Chips!

Pesto Pita Chips
yield 4 servings

Ingredients

 

Pesto

- 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves

- 3 cloves garlic

- 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

- Salt and pepper to taste

- 1/2 cup Parmesan or Pecorino cheese, grated

- 2 whole pita breads (or 4 small)

Directions

Pesto

1. Combine the basil and garlic cloves in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add 1/2 cup of the oil and process until fully incorporated and smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

2.1 If using immediately, add all the remaining oil and pulse until smooth and mix in the cheese.

2.2 If freezing, transfer to an air-tight container and drizzle remaining oil over the top. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw and stir in grated cheese before you eat.

 

Pita Chips

 

3. Split pita bread into two rounds. Spread with pesto and sprinkle with cheese. Cut into wedges.

 

4. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes or until crisp.