Nanaimo bars

Nanaimo bars

9 Dec 2013

Most days during our lunch hour, we play the trivia quiz that's in the local newspaper. A week or so ago the question was asked, 'what's the top layer of a Nanaimo bar'. Having spent some time working in Canada I was the only one who knew the answer. When asked what they tasted like, I couldn't answer because I'd never made or tasted one. I was told that it was time to put this to right and to make some Nanaimo bars to bring in to work, so I did. 



Nanaimo bars are pretty easy to make so I whipped up a batch last week in between my Christmas baking. The base is made from graham crackers which you can't find easily in Australia and I wasn't in the mood to make them from scratch. I looked online and found a suggestion that Arnott's Granita biscuits were a good substitute so I added them to my shopping list. Everything else I had in my baking cupboard, which is full to bursting at the moment.



All baked, filled and iced.



Sliced into squares, ready to eat with a nice strong cup of tea. Here's the recipe for you, adapted slightly from this Canadian Living recipe.

Nanaimo Bars

Ingredients
1 cup graham cracker crumbs

½ cup shredded coconut
⅓ cup finely chopped walnut pieces
¼ cup dutch process cocoa
¼ cup caster sugar
⅓ cup butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten

Filling
¼ cup butter

2 15 ml tbsp custard powder
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups icing sugar
2 – 3, 15 ml tbsp cream

Topping
125 g dark chocolate, chopped

1, 15 ml tbsp butter

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.  Line an 8-inch square cake tin with baking paper.

In a bowl, mix together the graham crumbs, coconut, walnuts, cocoa and sugar. Drizzle with butter and egg; stir until combined. Press the crumb mixture into the lined cake tin. Bake at 350°F/180°C until the base is firm, about 10 - 15 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack. 

Filling
In a bowl, beat together the butter, custard powder and vanilla. Beat in the icing sugar alternately with the cream until smooth, adding a little more cream if too thick to spread. Spread over cooled base; refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Topping
In a heatproof bowl over saucepan of hot (not boiling) water, melt chocolate with butter. Spread over filling; refrigerate until almost set, about 30 minutes. With the tip of a knife, score into bars; refrigerate until chocolate is set, about 1 hour before cutting into bars. Store the bars in an airtight container.

I liked them but how did my test audience like them? They really liked the base but found the filling a bit too sweet. I do plan to use the base recipe again either to make another slice with a caramel filling or just topped with the chocolate topping. 

Now next week is Christmas week on the blog. I've been cooking like mad and most of the goodies have now been made; some are still to be photographed and none of the recipes have been written up for the blog. It's going to be a busy week for me.

The end of the year is in sight -  just 8 more working days for me for 2013.

See you all next week,

Jillian

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style labo

style labo

22 Oct 2012

I posted this teaser image from Mile End a week or so ago. Why, because Mile End is home to Style Labo.



Who or what is Style Labo you may ask? Style Labo is a veritable treasure trove of industrial antiques housed in a modern building at 5765, Boulevard Saint-Laurent, Mile End.




What did I find inside? Furniture, lighting, glassware, flags, clocks, glove forms, old photos and some small gifts.



I'm drawn to these kind of stores even though they don't reflect my decorating style. Unfortunately my little flat is way too small for the scale of some of these pieces but if I had a large loft apartment....I do love vintage lighting though and have a few pieces in my place.



Aren't these great light fittings?



Isn't it funny how old tin cans are so much more appealling than the modern versions?



I spoke to Romain, one of the owners, about the provenance of the antiques and they're mostly from the US. This gives the store quite a different appearance from the industrial antique stores I've photographed in Australia. Put it this way, I've never photographed snow shoes in Australia before!



Style Labo is nothing if not eclectic. Apart from some amazing lighting, I found loads of maps and globes of the world and even a selection of plants.



I loved this enormous table and industrial seating.



As well as the larger items, Style Labo stocks some smaller decorative pieces for the home.



I hope you enjoyed my visit to Style Labo. Thanks once again to Romain and Anne for allowing me to shoot their shop.

See you all on Wednesday,

Jillian

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shopshoot - les touilleurs

shopshoot - les touilleurs

17 Oct 2012

I had a list of places to visit and things to see in Montreal inspired by Chantelle Grady's 'A little Relish - Montreal'. I hit the streets of Le Plateau to visit Les Touilleurs, a heavenly kitchen wares shop. Now I know most other women crave shoes but I'm not like most women. I've always craved kitchen ware and flower even when I was a teenager, so how could I not visit this store? 



Everything was displayed immaculately.



I wanted to buy it all, but common sense prevailed.



I came away with a confit jar which is currently being shipped home along with most of my other fragile purchases. The box should arrive some time next week and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything will survive the journey home.



How can you not love a store that considers its doggie visitors?



I'll be back next week with another Montreal shopshoot and now that I'm home again in Sydney, I might even get back into the kitchen to do some baking. 

See you all again soon,

Jillian

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quebec

quebec

10 Oct 2012

I'm in New York at the moment but when I was in Quebec last week, I stayed in the old port area at the Hotel Port Royal. I would walk through the old town each day on my way to the convention centre.




Quebec disappeared under a grey cloud for most of my stay but I did manage to see occasional flashes of blue sky.



Quebec is a very popular tourist destination and the streets are usually packed with travellers but during my 7.30 a.m walk to the conference, the streets were all but deserted.



I came back to photograph the Notre Dame de Quebec cathedral when the sun came out.




I found a few interesting details in the back streets where the tourists don't roam.



The Chateau Frontenac, reportedly the most photographed building in Quebec, with it's shiny newly renovated roof.

If I get the chance I'll post a few more photos from Quebec next week before I board my flight home. If not, you'll hear from me again once I'm back home again in Sydney. Where have the past 2 weeks flown???

Jillian

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montreal markets

montreal markets

9 Oct 2012

Whenever I travel I love to visit the local food markets to get an idea what people buy to cook and eat. When I was in Montreal I visited both the Jean Talon and the Atwater Markets.




It's Fall here so the markets were filled with potatoes, leeks and pumpkins, loads of apples and strawberries. I bought some lobo apples, a variety I've not seen before.



Aren't these capsicum so colourful?



I just love raspberries so one of these punnets came home with me.



Look at these beautiful hydrangeas.



Atwater markets were so much fun. This marching band entertained the crowd.



I just loved the building so I stopped to take a few more photos before taking my goodies home with me.



I hope you enjoyed these photos from my visit to Montreal. I'll be back next time with some images of Quebec.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends.

Jillian

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old montreal

old montreal

4 Oct 2012

This blogging on the road isn't as easy as I thought it would be. Attending a conference with a very early start time, walking to the conference venue and back again, taking and preparing images and sending emails all take up time. Before I know it, the day is over and it's time for bed and I haven't written a blog post. So before time runs out again I thought I'd post some images from Old Montreal.



I stayed in a quaint little hotel called Le Petit Hotel with the most comfortable bed in which I'd ever slept. After my epic journey I was sorely tempted to stay there all day but I forced myself out to explore.



I took myself on a self guided walking tour of the old city and started at Place D'Armes. This was my favourite building in the square, the Aldred Building - very Gotham City.

The lobby was equally as impressive and yes that is a beaver on the mailbox.



Here are some details from the old port area, the Cours de Royer, Marche Bonsecours and La Maison de Mère d'Youville. Mary Youville founded the Grey Nuns of Montreal and the Edmonton General Hospital, where I once worked, was run by the Grey Nuns.



I walked along the old port and found this amazing old grain silo and some fall colour.



I found this great sculpture outside one of the many art galleries on Rue St Paul



Technically this photo was taken just outside Old Montreal in the Place Des Artes but I decided to throw it in anyway. I still have a few more images to post from Montreal but I'll need to leave that for another post.

Until the next time then,

Jillian

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Montreal

Montreal

1 Oct 2012

Greetings from Canada. Following a 29 hour journey, I arrived on Wednesday and spent a few days in Montreal before catching the train to Quebec. I thought I'd share a few snaps of Montreal with you. I took loads of photos and even managed to squeeze in a shopshoot which I'll share with you once I'm back home in Sydney.

I stayed in the old part of Montreal on the happening end of Rue St Paul (naturally) where I snapped a bit of local street style. I'm no fashion blogger, but I have to say the men seemed to have a bit more street style than most of the ladies I saw passing by.



As I was staying in the old part of town, I did a self guided walking tour around the area. Here's the Hotel de Ville, which was looking very spruce.



Some details of the building for you.



I have to say most of my fellow tourists were on the more mature side. I discovered they were all about to take cruises along the St. Lawrence River. I did discover a few younger people though in my travels.



I visited 2 of Montreal's food markets - Jean Talon and Atwater - where I spotted these perfectly imperfect apples.



The shop I photographed was in Mile End, where I spotted this building.



I hope you enjoyed this little taster of Montreal. When I get a chance I'd love to share a few more images with you but as from tomorrow I'm attending a conference so will be locked in a convention centre for the next 7 days. 

Oh by the way, here's my latest column for decor8, a feature on Greg Hatton. When I get a bit more time I'll be sharing more of those photos with you as well.

Until later then,

Jillian

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chocolate glazed pecan pie

chocolate glazed pecan pie

2 Jul 2012

Many moons ago I spent a year living and working in Edmonton, Canada. I worked at the Edmonton General Hospital and on my walk home, I used to pass a restaurant called Vi's. Occasionally a group from work used to meet there for cake and coffee and it was at Vi's I first laid eyes on a chocolate glazed pecan pie and a strawberry rhubarb pie.



Fruit pies are more my thing so I ordered the strawberry rhubarb pie. A few years later I was in Vancouver and was roaming through a bookstore when I saw a Canadian cookbook called 'Nuts about Chocolate'. I flicked through the pages and there inside was the chocolate glazed pecan pie of my memory. Now this was way before the internet or digital camera age so I scribbled the recipe into the back of my diary eventually transposing it into my Canadian note book.



This pie was inspired by the original recipe (it's the pecan fudge pie recipe without the chocolate in the filling) but I've adapted the recipe so often over the years it's now quite different from the original. I had some leftover chocolate pastry from the Popina's Book of Baking chocolate pear and hazelnut tart I made a few weeks back so I used it to make the crust. The filling is from a pecan pie recipe I've had for years and the glaze I've been making for so long now, I can't remember it's original source.



The chocolate glaze was a bit of a disaster. I have a cold at the moment and a fuzzy head, so I kept overheating the chocolate mixture causing it to seize. By the time I made it to the third version of the glaze I only had 100 grams of dark chocolate left and had completely run out of patience, so the glaze isn't quite as luxuriant as it should be.



I took the leftover pecan pie into work today. I can't taste a thing at the moment so my piece of pie remains untouched in the fridge, but my workmates assured me that the pecan pie tasted okay. Here's the recipe for you.

Chocolate Glazed Pecan Pie
printable recipe
Chocolate Shortcrust Pastry
225 grams plain flour
25 grams cocoa powder
125 grams unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
85 grams caster sugar
1 egg

Place the flour, cocoa, butter and sugar in a mixer and blitz until you get crumbs. Add the egg and mix again. Take the dough out of the mixer and bring together into a ball.

Put the dough on a lightly floured surface then roll with a rolling pin until 3-4mm thick. Line the tart tin with the chocolate shortcrust pastry and trim the excess dough neatly around the edges. Refrigerate while you make the filling.

Filling
3 eggs
½ cup sugar (I used a combination of light muscovado sugar and caster sugar)
2 tablespoons cornflour (optional)
3 tablespoons melted butter
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 cup light corn syrup
1½ cups toasted pecans, roughly chopped (reserve a few for decoration)

Preheat the oven to 180˚C (350˚F).Remove the pie shell from the fridge and place the pecans over the base. Lightly beat the eggs with the sugar until combined. Add the melted butter, vanilla, the corn syrup and cornflour (if using) and mix until the mixture is well combined.(I used a stick blender for this).

Pour the filling over the pecans. The pecans will rise to the top. Place the pie tin on a baking tray and place in the preheated oven. Bake the pie for 45-55 minutes or until the top is well browned and the filling is set.

Remove the pie from the oven and cool on a wire rack. When cool place the pie in the fridge while preparing the glaze.

Glaze
155 grams dark chocolate, roughly chopped
3 teaspoons butter
2½ tablespoons boiling water
2 teaspoons rum

Place all the ingredients in a small bowl over barely simmering water. Mix well until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove the basin from the heat and allow the mixture to cool to spreading consistency before using to glaze the top of the pie. Decorate with the reserved pecans.
Store the pie in the fridge until ready to serve.

I hope you had lovely weekends. I'll see you all again on Wednesday,

Jillian

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Vancouver

Vancouver

17 Feb 2010

I wasn't sure what to post today. It's hump day and I'm going out for dinner tonight so I knew there wasn't going to be time for a long post. I wracked my brains and thought, Winter Olympics and Vancouver!

Vancouver is one of my favourite cities. I love the contrast between the harbour and the snow capped mountains. I think I've visited Vancouver 4 times so far and no doubt I'll return in the future. I attended a conference in Vancouver about 2 years ago and the city was a hive of activity with new projects for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Coming from Brisbane my snow and ice skills are severely limited. I tried ice skating, curling, and skiing when I lived in Canada. I managed to master skiing, couldn't quite fathom the purpose of curling and was a dismal failure at ice skating. That didn't stop me from loving ice hockey and after watching a few live games, I returned to Australia an avid ice hockey fan.

Sydney was a wonderful place to be during the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. Wouldn't it be fun to be in Vancouver right now?

I'll be in Melboune on Friday. I'm not sure what internet access I'll have so I can't promise I'll be able to post but if not then I'll be back next Monday, with lots of goodies for you.

Until then,

Jillian

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Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

11 Jan 2009

When I lived in Canada I collected quite a few recipes. I have recipes for pies, muffins, cinnamon rolls and nanaimo bars that I've never made. Some of the recipes I use all the time like the recipes for Chocolate Pecan Pie and Apple Cheesecake, whilst others I haven't made in years.

I went through my baking files from 2008 yesterday and backed them all up to dvd and I was shocked at how little there was to view. I'm going to have to get a bit more serious about baking or it will be 2025 before I have enough images to make a book on baking.

As my cookies were such a hit last week I thought I'd make some more cookies and decided to bake some old fashioned chocolate chunk cookies. It's been ages since I last made these and my hand written recipe says it's a Baker's Chocolate Chunk Cookie recipe. I think Baker's may have been a brand of chocolate. It's been over a year since my last visit to a Canadian supermarket and I didn't ever make it to the baking aisle so correct me if I'm wrong.

I'll let you know how these rate against the white chocolate and cranberry cookies.

Jillian

Edit - the cookies were a smash hit. 2 dozen gone in just one day!

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