I’m not the most fashionable of people… being a mom has all but killed that side of me. Although I do try, it’s something that has fallen by the wayside. But I do have friends that are. My friend, Emily, started an online boutique, Suzy Bobby Pin. I was lucky enough to help her start this new endeavor. These are as few of my favorite shots.

Fall has officially made its way to London. We have pulled out the jackets and the sweatshirts. The past week has been gloomy and rainy. Mother Nature wasted no time in bringing autumn to our door.

There is something about fall weather that makes me want to bake. The other day I woke up needing maple bars… maybe that had nothing to do with the weather, but everything to do with the fact that I’m pregnant. Regardless, I’ve baked quite a bit this cold gloomy week, there has been bread, maple bars, chocolate chip cookies, and this morning, muffins. All this chilly weather has made me in the mood for warm, baked goods. This mornings craving, whether pregnancy or weather driven, did not disappoint. 

 I woke up dreaming of something warm, cinnamon-y, and full of apple goodness. Nothing says fall like apple and cinnamon packed baked goodness, right? Not in the mood for our standard apple pancakes, I decided upon apple cinnamon muffins. They turned out perfectly. The apple kept the muffin crazy moist; the cinnamon added yummy spice and warmth that screams fall, and the streusel topping gives it that scrumptious crunch that keeps you wanting more.  

Streusel topping: 

3 Tbs white sugar 

3 Tbs brown sugar 

1/3 cup flour 

1/3 cup oats 

up to 5 Tbs melted butter 

Muffins: 

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (can do all all-purpose flour if you don’t have whole wheat and oats or just don’t want to incorporate them.)

1/2 cup whole wheat flour 

1/2 cup oats 

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 

1 teaspoon table salt 

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 

1 cup sugar 

2 large eggs 

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly 

1/4 cup vegetable oil 

1 cup buttermilk 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

2 apples, chopped small 

Streusel Topping: 

Combine together, adding the butter a little at a time. You may not need all of the butter. 

For Muffins: 

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare standard muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray or liners. 

Whisk flours, oats, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together in large bowl. 

Whisk remaining sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick and well combined. Slowly mix in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla. 

Using rubber spatula, fold egg mixture and apples into flour mixture until just moistened. (Batter will be very lumpy with few spots of dry flour; do not over mix.) 

Using a cookie scoop or large spoon, divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). 

Sprinkle streusel evenly over muffins.
Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 19 minutes. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

Recently Trent and I had the rare opportunity to go out on a date. Between the minimal budget of being students these last two years and not having many babysitters nearby, this is something that hasn’t happened nearly enough. Quite unfortunate too, living in a city that is quickly passing up Paris as being the food capital of Europe. One of our favourite date nights is to try a new restaurant. We always share our food, so naturally a discussion ensues pre-order, determining which two dishes we would both like to try. At the end of the meal we usually declare a winner; deciding who of us ordered the better dish. A rare thing happened at the end of this meal: it was a toss-up. Both of us fully enjoyed our own dish as well as the other. When that occurs, we know we need to revisit the restaurant. 

10 Greek Street is nestled in a row of Soho restaurants. It is easy to walk past it. In fact, we did. The decor is hip and expected, but I won’t fault it for that. It is clean, simple and lets the food be the show, which is what a restaurant should do.

The menu is written on chalk boards on the walls and reads like a shopping list. If you find ordering from this type of menu a bit difficult (not knowing how the list of ingredients are prepared and fit together) the staff are warm, friendly and knowledgable. You don’t feel asinine asking questions about the menu or an ingredient found thereon. 

On to the food. It is all seasonal, giving you the freshest, most flavourful ingredients. In many cases it is simply, but expertly prepared. Cameron Emirali, Australian raised chef is the brains behind the thoughtful flavour combinations. Prior to starting 10 Greek Street he was working at the Wapping Project.

Trent ordered a caramelised onion tart, which looked almost too good to eat, with beautiful spirals of perfectly caramelised onions topping the tart. I had an expertly cooked fish (wish I could remember the type of fish, but it’s since escaped my mind) with fried capers and baby broccoli. We both raved about the dishes. Would definitely recommend this restaurant, especially since the prices are so reasonable. 

I have been absent for a while. We were quite busy with Trent finishing up school, followed by both of our parents coming for a visit. I had no idea my parents were coming. Trent told me one morning when he left for school that he was expecting a delivery to arrive that morning, so not to go anywhere. When we were buzzed, I answered and a gruff voice said “Parcel.” I let the person up and opened the door to accept the package. Then my parents came around the corner! I was shocked. Such a fun, unexpected surprise.

Trent’s parents arrived the next day. We spent the week, of course celebrating Trent and his huge accomplishment of graduating with his Masters Degree, but also going all around London. I was worn out by the end of the week. I’m not used to travelling around the city so much. G and I mostly stay local and are usually back home for nap time. I enjoy life with a toddler’s schedule. 

I was so excited when rhubarb came in season. A family friend introduced me to rhubarb with her famous rhubarb pies a while back and I’ve loved it ever since.

This rhubarb tart has just the right balance of tangy and sweet. It’s packed with all things that make a dessert good: sugar, butter, cream, and eggs. So you really can’t go wrong. Top it off with a little whipped cream, take a bite and just try not to smile. 

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour 

1/4 cup sugar 

1 cup cold butter 

Filling: 

2 cups sugar 

7 tablespoons all-purpose flour 

1 cup heavy whipping cream 

3 eggs, beaten 

5 cups finely chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb, thawed and drained

Process:

In a bowl, combine the flour and sugar; cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan or two pie pans. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, for filling, combine sugar and flour in a bowl. Whisk in cream and eggs. Stir in the rhubarb. Pour over crust. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until custard is set. Cool.

Top with sweetened whipped cream and enjoy.

Trent is in the final stretch of getting his MFA. He’ll be finished mid June and I can’t believe how quickly it is approaching. In many ways these two years have gone by so quickly, but at the same time have dragged slowly on. He just had a month break for Easter and is now back in the thick of it. I know there will be many late nights ahead of us in this sprint to the finish.

Little G turns two next week! My mind is completely blown. Right now he’s supposed to be asleep. We didn’t make it outside today, as we usually do. It was crazy windy and I had no desire to go out. Because of this, I don’t think he got worn out enough. So he’s standing in his crib saying “Mommy, Daddy.” It’s almost 9:00 pm. It’s late. It’s been a long day. We need out outside time. Yes, we do.

I wish I could say this was a complete recipe. The truth is, it is something I’ve made multiple times and every time, it’s a little different. I just throw together what I have on hand. So take the recipe for the enchiladas as a guide.

The sauce for the enchiladas is from Gimme Some Oven. I’ve made it several times now and it’s a fantastic homemade red enchilada sauce recipe. It’s super easy to make, tastes amazing and has got to be a thousand times cheaper than buying some. I’ve even made some and frozen it and it freezes just fine. I have found it’s a little too spicy for our family, so I’ve toned it down. Start with the amount of chilli powder I have and add more to taste.

The enchiladas have a evolved from several recipes. And the tres leches cake I keep mostly the same. I found it over at the food network. It’s this recipe.

For the sauce:

2 Tbsp. vegetable or canola oil 

2 Tbsp. all-purpose or gluten-free flour 

2 Tbsp. chili powder (*not cayenne!) 

1/2 tsp. garlic powder 

1/2 tsp. salt 

1/4 tsp. cumin 

1/4 tsp. oregano 

2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

Process:

Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour and stir together over the heat for one minute. Stir in the remaining seasonings (chili powder through oregano). Then gradually add in the stock, whisking constantly to remove lumps. Reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes until thick. 

 Use immediately or refrigerate in an air-tight container for up to two weeks.

Enchiladas: Use this more as a guide. Adjust ingredients and amounts to your liking.

4 Tbs vegetable oil, divided

about 3 cups cooked black beans, divided

about 1 1/2 cups red enchilada sauce

1/2 cup sour cream

about 1 1/2 cups of frozen corn

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 red onion, diced

3 cups shredded cheese, divided

about 10 small tortillas

Process:

Preheat oven to 350˚. Grease a 9x13 oven dish.

Heat 2 Tbs of oil in a pan over medium high head. Add the sweet potato. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the onion. Cook until soft.

In a blender combine 1 cup of black beans, the red enchilada sauce and the sour cream. Blend until smooth. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine remaining black beans, corn, the cooked sweet potato and red onion, 2 cups of cheese and about half of the sauce. 

Heat the remaining 2 Tbs of oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Cook the tortillas, flipping half way. Fill with about 1/4 cup of the filling. Roll up and place end side down in the greased pan. Top with the remaining sauce and cheese. Cover with foil and place in oven for 20 minutes, uncover and put back in the oven for another 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Enjoy!

Tres Leches Cake:

Nonstick cooking spray, for the cake pan 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the cake pan 

1 tablespoon baking powder 

4 large eggs, separated 

1 1/2 cups sugar 

1/2 cup whole milk 

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 

1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk 

2 cups heavy cream, divided 

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon powdered sugar 

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

Process:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray and flour a 10-inch cake pan with 2-inch high sides and then line with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper. 

 Mix the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl. Set aside. 

 In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites until frothy. With the mixer running, gradually add the sugar and beat to stiff peaks. Beat in the yolks, 1 at a time, blending well after each addition. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the whole milk in 2 additions.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes (every time I’ve made this it has needed about 50 minutes, but check at 30). 

Cool the cake slightly, about 10 minutes, then invert onto a platter with 1-inch high sides.  Pierce the top of the cake all over with a thick skewer. Mix the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, 1 cup heavy cream and vanilla in a medium bowl. Pour the mixture over the cake while warm. Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 3 hours or overnight. 

Combine the remaining 1 cup heavy cream and powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream until soft peaks form. Spread the whipped cream onto top of the cake and sprinkle with the ground cinnamon.