Maple Walnut Scones

People often ask me if I miss living in Canada. I’ve been living in Ireland now for almost five years. I have three great kids, a house we’re fixing up, a big garden (and more gardens planned), a small business and lots of friends and family milling around.

So yeah, it’s safe to say I’m usually too busy to be feeling homesick for Canada. That said, I recently got my kids their Canadian citizenship and, this year being Canada’s 150th birthday (if you’re First Nations, though, I should add that Canada is thousands of years older), I started feeling a bit nostalgic with all the celebrations and activities posted all over my social media streams.

Canada Day is July 1st, so it’s already happened. I didn’t do anything on the day to celebrate. Sometimes I host barbecues, bake a cake and have my friends over for Canada Day, but this year – having just had a baby – I wasn’t really feeling it. Too much, too soon.

But I can’t say Canada hasn’t been on my mind lately. So while I don’t miss living in Canada, there are a few things about Canada (or just Cape Breton, really) I miss in general:

1. Lobster season: May to July in Cape Breton. Lobsters everywhere you look. Lobster boil dinners at every small community hall. Lobsters being sold right from the boat. I love lobster, and I really miss eating it when it’s at its best. That also goes for mussels, scallops, haddock, salmon, chowder… and the list goes on. I know Ireland is surrounded by ocean, but there isn’t great seafood in landlocked Tipperary!
2. The beach: Cape Breton has so many gorgeous beaches. By July the water is warm enough to swim, the sand is golden and fine-textured and the beaches are relatively isolated. I love Irish beaches, but find the water is usually a bit too cold and most beaches a bit too crowded.
   

   

   
3. The restaurants: I love lobster and seafood. I love the places that prepare these foods as well. The Rusty Anchor in Pleasant Bay (where I once had some decadent lobster poutine with a cold beer; one of my most favourite meals), The Dancing Goat in Margaree, The Herring Choker in Nyanza, Charlene’s Bayside in Whycocomagh, The Bite House in Big Baddeck – all of these places make amazing Cape Breton food and deserve all of the accolades. I miss these places.
4. My friends and family: Obvs. I love and miss my *very large* extended family. Aunties, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephew, brothers – I miss them all.
5. The weather: in summer, it’s warm enough to swim in the river and in the ocean almost every day. On the East Coast, though, it’s not as hot as it would be elsewhere in Canada. We have the ocean to keep the temperature moderate (like, 35°C and under). A great deal warmer and sunnier than an Irish summer, but still comfortable (I don’t miss black flies and mosquitos, though).
6. Wild Blueberries and good Maple Syrup: I miss these things very much. The fruit in Ireland is lovely, but the blueberries here don’t compare to the blueberries in Cape Breton.
7. Canadian beer and wine: in Nova Scotia there is a wine appellation called Tidal Bay. It’s located close to where I went to university. The wine is gorgeous. Once, a sparkling wine called (Benjamin Bridge) Nova 7 beat out actual, expensive champagne at a tasting I attented in Toronto. It’s that good. The beer in Ireland is great, so I don’t miss Canadian beer that much; just certain kinds.
8. Homestyle baking: I know I do a lot of Cape Breton-style baking here in Ireland, but I miss other people’s baking. Namely from the cafes I mentioned previously, my aunties and older people from around my community.

Speaking of homestyle baking, I especially love East Coast scones. Large, triangular, sweet with a crunchy sugar or glazed topping, scones in Cape Breton are indulgent – often made for sharing – and perfect with a cup of strong tea.

I whipped up these maple walnut scones with another nostalgic food in mind – ice cream! I love the ice cream at home. It’s not soft serve like a 99 here in Ireland, it’s hard and comes in a million and a half flavours; one of my favourites being maple walnut.

No need for butter and jam on these scones. The glaze is thick enough to ensure the right amount of sweetness in each bite, and the walnuts are toasted in the oven and then soaked in maple syrup. Perhaps most importantly, the flavour is nostalgic enough to get me through to my next visit home.

Maple Walnut Scones

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups/375g Plain Flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup/60g light brown sugar

1/2 cup/125g cold butter, cubed

1 large egg

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup/250ml cold buttermilk

For the glaze:

2 cups/500g Icing Sugar

1 tsp vanilla or maple extract

3 Tbsp good quality maple syrup

Splash of heavy cream

Toasted walnuts, soaked in maple syrup

Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 200°C (400°F). Line one or two baking sheets with parchment and set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, brown sugar and cold, cubed butter.
• Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut/rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the centre of the butter/dry ingredient mixture.
• In a large measuring cup, measure out the buttermilk, then add the egg and vanilla. Mix to combine.
• Add the wet ingredients to the well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Using a wooden spoon or just using your hands (your best pastry tool!) mix the wet into the dry until just combined (mixture should be on the wet side – if it’s dry and crumbly add more buttermilk!).
• On a lightly floured surface, turn the dough out and knead lightly for one minute. Form into a ball and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
• Using more flour for dusting and a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a thick rectangle (you want to get 8-10 scones out of this dough at most). At least 1.5 inches thick.
• Cut the rectangle into 8-10 smaller rectangles or triangles. Transfer to the prepared baking sheets. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the tops with milk and sprinkle a bit of sugar over each scone.
• Bake the scones for 20-ish minutes. Let cool slightly on a rack.
• Make the glaze: in a mixing bowl, combine the icing sugar, maple syrup, maple extract (or vanilla) and about a tablespoon of heavy cream. You want the glaze to be thick, but still be able to drizzle it over the scones. If the glaze is too thick for your liking, loosen it up with a bit more cream.
• Dunk the tops of each scone in the glaze, or spoon the glaze over each scone allowing the excess to drip down the sides. Top with toasted maple walnuts. Allow glaze to set slightly before eating (if you can wait that long).
• The scones will keep no longer than two days, so make sure you eat them right away!

 

Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits

Things are slowing down around here, and just in time, too.

• The calves are pretty much all born. The eldest are already weaned!
• The cows are out in the field, loving life (if you’re a cow and you have a choice between luscious, green grass or silage, you choose the grass every time).
• The weather is brighter. It was chilly this past week, but for the most part Ireland has thawed out from the bitter winter. My garden is growing, we just got our house power-washed (a preemptive move as the house is getting a lovely new coat of paint very soon) and landscaping plans are in motion. We’re hoping for a warm summer with lots of BBQ’s!
• I’m slowing things down with my small business, The Siúcra Shack. Spending more time with my kids, getting the house cleaned and organized and baking for fun. Just for now!

This is all because I am totally ready to pop. 38 weeks of pregnancy have flown by, and while I’m thankful for a complication-free pregnancy (and hoping for a complication-free delivery), I am so very ready to not be pregnant anymore.

I’m not being insensitive. I love my babies. I know we’re #soblessed. But three babies in less than four years is a lot for anyone to handle (except for all those women with more kids than me, or moms of multiples, or moms of multiples with other small kids – I’m in awe of those ladies). So, while we are very, very happy, I am also looking forward to a cold beer, getting my body back (in some form), and never being pregnant ever again once we welcome #3 in a few short weeks.

Did someone say biscuits?

So no cold beer for me just yet, but I have been milking these last weeks of pregnancy for all they’re worth. Entire tubs of ice cream? Yes. Massive bowls of creamy pasta? Absolutely.

An entire pan of these flaky, fluffy buttermilk biscuits?

Um… well… Patrick, Ciara and my father-in-law helped devour these, but I’m pretty sure I ate most of them.

They were just so good, you see. Especially with a generous schmear of Tipperary butter and a large dollop of strawberry jam. While still warm.

Actually, I made another pan this morning. I forced myself to give half away, but if Patrick is late coming back from work I can’t promise the remaining biscuits will still be here for his tea.

Since I’ve revisited the way I actually make biscuits, I thought I would share this recipe today. I’ve been making biscuits for a long time. I mean… I have no idea what age I was when I made my first pan of biscuits. I’m from Cape Breton. We literally eat these every day. I never thought I could improve on the recipe I already had in my head, but this “stand mixer/fold” method is getting a lot of online traction so I thought I’d give it a try.

Fold that dough in half!

I can tell you, I won’t be going back to rubbing in the butter with my fingers and rolling out once with a rolling pin. You get better flakes, height, texture and an overall fluffier biscuit with this method!

*For the Irish reading (and anyone else who wouldn’t consider this a biscuit), this is more of a scone for you, I know. BUT it’s not as sweet. You can eat these biscuits with savoury or sweet accompaniments. I like biscuits with fish chowder, casseroles. made into breakfast sandwiches and with baked beans as well as with the traditional jam/butter combo!

Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits

Ingredients:

4 cups/500g (weight) plain flour

2 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup/60g sugar

1/2 cup/110g cold, cubed butter

1 1/2 cups/400ml cold buttermilk

Directions: 

• Preheat your oven to 200∘C (400∘F) and line a large baking pan with parchment. Set aside.
• In your stand mixer, add all dry ingredients and, using the paddle attachment, mix to incorporate.
• Add the cold, cubed butter to the dry ingredients and, continuing to use the paddle attachment, mix on med-low for 5-8 minutes, until the butter is mostly incorporated into the dry mixture (some chunks of butter are ok, but most of it should be mixed into the flour).
• Add the buttermilk and mix just until everything comes together.
• On a lightly floured surface, dump the dough out of the mixing bowl. Using your hands and a pastry cutter, start to shape the dough. Fold it in half, flatten out, then fold again and flatten out.
• Cut out the biscuits and place them on the baking sheet. You can shape/fold the remaining dough and do a second cut, but I would discard the leftover dough after the second cut.
• Bake 15-20 minutes, or until the tops and bottoms are browned and the bicsuits have risen.
• Eat the same day, if possible. Even better, eat them hot out of the oven. With tea. And butter and jam.
• Makes about 14 medium sized biscuits.

Upside-Down Strawberry Rhubarb Cake

I’m back home. In Ireland, I mean. It’s funny, I call Cape Breton “home” and Ireland “home”, but when I talk about Cape Breton being home it’s meant to be past tense. As in, it used to be home and will always and forever more be referred to as home. But, as wonderful as Cape Breton was, and Vancouver, and Victoria, it is so, so good to be back in Tipperary.

In my own house.

With my little family.

Babies at pasture here in Tipperary

And it’s summer. My garden is growing. There are baby animals everywhere (and thanks to my cat, baby animal corpses everywhere, but we won’t go there right now) and, even though it’s often grey and rainy, it’s sometimes warm and sunny. Already much better than last summer, which was mostly cold, windy and rainy.

I’ve been home a little less than a month and I’m already super busy. Making plans, going to playdates, taking little day trips here and there, visiting, baking. The bit I’m most excited about is the plan-making, but I’m not ready to say anything more about it at the moment – just stay tuned!

Home in Cape Breton

Also, once again, this little blog has been long-listed for two Littlewood’s Ireland Blog Awards, which is really, really lovely! I’m also up for a Huawei Snapy Instagram Award! If you feel so inclined, you can check out my entry (and possibly give it a vote) here.

So yes; I’m super busy. But don’t worry, I always have my two darling children to keep my ego in check. Whether it’s by peeing on the floor (daily) or simply staying up all night long, my kids continually remind me who’s truly in charge of my life (or I guess you could say: what’s truly important in life). I wouldn’t have it any other way, really.

When I came home, my garden was so overgrown with weeds it looked more like a jungle. It took four solid evenings of weed-pulling and seed planting, but my hard work is paying off. Napa Cabbage (for autumn kimchi making!), sprouting broccoli, cauliflower, squash, pumpkin, courgette – you name it, it’s been planted and is currently sprouting. I was late getting a few things planted, but the growing season is longer here than it is in Canada so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a good harvest.

Two things that were ready when I got home were our strawberries and rhubarb. I’ve never grown strawberries before, but this year Maeve asked if she could plant them. Our old farmhouse is surrounded by very old, black cauldrons (I think they were used for laundry or something back in the day) so we found the biggest one and planted the strawberries there. We left tiny seedlings and came home to a huge, vine-laden bunch of plants just dripping with beautiful berries.

This is a great summer cake to make with whatever fresh fruit or berries you have on hand. I made it with our gorgeous strawberries (of course) and fresh rhubarb, but it would be great with blueberries (with some maple syrup and lemon), peaches, plums or cherries. The cake base is a super-moist hot milk cake recipe that I use all the time – it never, ever fails me.

Strawberry Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake

Ingredients:

For the cake:

1 cup/250g granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup/250g AP/plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup/125ml scalded milk

3 Tbsp butter (melted into the hot milk)

For the topping:

1 punnet strawberries – hulled and cut in half

3-4 stalks rhubarb, chopped

1/2 cup/125g brown sugar

1/4 cup/60g butter

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350∘F (190∘C, no fan). Grease a round springform pan and place the pan on a lined cookie sheet (in case it leaks) set aside.
• In a small saucepan, combine the butter and brown sugar for the topping. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.Pour the mixture into the bottom of the pan and arrange the strawberries and rhubarb over the top. Set the pan aside again and make the cake batter.
• To make the cake: whisk the eggs, vanilla and sugar until pale yellow in colour and nearly doubled in volume (this is known as the ribbon stage – the mixture should drip off the whisk in ribbons).
• Add the flour, baking powder and salt to the mixture and stir until just combined. Add the hot milk all at once and, again, stir until just combined and there aren’t any lumps in the batter.
• Gently pour the cake batter over the strawberries and rhubarb in the springform pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes (if you have an extra-hot oven start checking your cake at 25 minutes). A skewer inserted in the centre of the cake should come out clean.
• When the cake is ready, allow to set in the pan for 15-20 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and gently remove from the pan. Flip the cake onto a plate and gently lift the bottom of the springform pan. Voila! You should have a perfect upside-down cake.

Seared Digby Scallops & Citrus Roasted Fiddleheads

 

I’m past the halfway point of my time home in Cape Breton, and on this chilly, rainy morning I’m feeling particularly sleep deprived, cranky and sore.

Sleep deprived because my five month old suddenly doesn’t sleep anymore. Or nap. Cranky because she looks at me, all red-eyed and wild-haired, and giggles. Like she’s being funny. She is not being funny. Sore because I started the Couch to 5k app three weeks ago, solidly finished three days of the app and then became completely lame. My knee gave out – a combination, I think, of wearing my mother’s running shoes (I left mine in Ireland) and having a wonky hip to begin with.

So basically, I’ve been hobbling around like a zombie the past few weeks with a clingy baby attached to my boob.

I’m so torn between missing Ireland – my husband, my house, my friends, my life – and being happy in the place where I grew up. I get sad seeing my garden growing at home in Ireland, but at the same time I’m so happy having my children spend time with their Canadian family. I’m missing the great weather right now in Ireland because I know we could have spent some wonderful time together this past long weekend, my husband and kids and I, but I’m thrilled my daughter gets to splash around at the beach and take walks by the river and have campfires with her cousins – such Canadian rites of passage.

Over the years, it pains me to say, Cape Breton has become less home and Tipperary has become more home. Moving there is one of the best things I’ve ever done.

That said, Tipperary has crap seafood. Get with the program, guys.

I have been literally stuffing my face since I returned home. All of my favourites – Tom’s Pizza (those garlic fingers!), the epic sandwiches at The Herring Choker and The Dancing Goat, and way more to come (like The Bite House! And Charlene’s Bayside!). It’s been the seafood though – the sweet mussels, fried haddock, chunky chowders and fresh-caught lobster – that has me waxing all nostalgic these days.

The other night, we had Digby scallops (Digby is a lovely town on the mainland) with an East Coast specialty – fiddleheads! Fiddleheads, for those not in the know, are a type of fern that has not yet unfurled. So, it’s all curled up and vibrantly green, and looks like the end of a fiddle. Hence the name.

Fiddleheads are all kinds of delicious. Possibly toxic if you’re foraging and don’t know what you’re doing, but a delightful treat for those in the know. We’re in the thick of fiddlehead season, and you can even find them at the grocery stores right now (I have two small children and no time to forage, ok?).

Whether store-bought or foraged, you’ll want to make sure they’re thoroughly washed before you cook them. Soak them in water and vinegar as soon as you get them (if you forage, leave as much stem as possible). Rinse them, running your finger through the curled bit, no less than three times.

Safety folk will tell you to cook fiddleheads more than once. I don’t know how necessary that is if you’ve cleaned them well, but it never hurts to blanch them in boiling, salted water before finishing off in a hot pan or oven for a few minutes if you’re feeling nervous. This sounds like so much work, but they really are tasty little morsels and you can do so much with them once they’re cleaned.

Soup, risotto, roasted, stir-fried – my general rule of thumb is to treat the fiddlehead like asparagus. I love having them with poached egg and hollandaise. They’re great with seafood, which is why we had them with scallops the other night. A quick beurre blanc and we had ourselves about as fancy a dinner as you can find in Cape Breton.

Seared Digby Scallops & Citrus Roasted Fiddleheads

12 large scallops, patted dry with a bit of paper towel

1 large bunch of fresh fiddleheads (about 600g), cleaned

1/2 lemon, juiced

salt and pepper

1 Tbsp cold butter, cut into small pieces

2 Tbsp olive oil

For the beurre blanc:

60ml/1/4 cup dry white wine

60m/14 cup white wine vinegar

250g/1 cup cold butter, cut into cubes

1 shallot, finely chopped

salt, to taste

Directions:

• Once your fiddleheads have been thoroughly cleaned, trim the ends and place in a pot of boiling, salted water for 3 minutes. Immediately shock the fiddleheads in ice water to stop the cooking process. Strain and lay out on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
• Drizzle the fiddleheads with salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil. Preheat the oven to 400∘F (200∘C) and set the tray aside.
• Make the beurre blanc: in a clean saucepan, add the shallot, vinegar and wine and boil on high until the liquid is reduced by half. Strain out the shallot and return the liquid to a medium heat. Whisking constantly, add the cubed butter a little bit at a time until it’s all incorporated. You should have a slightly thick, glossy sauce. Season with salt and keep warm, stirring occasionally until you’re ready to use.
• Place the seasoned fiddleheads in the preheated oven. Roast for 5-8 minutes.
• Make the scallops: heat a cast iron or stainless steel pan on high. Pat the scallops dry with paper towel, then liberally season with salt and pepper. When the pan is smoking hot, add some olive oil and sear the scallops on one side for 40 seconds (the shouldn’t stick – if they are sticking, they aren’t ready to turn so just wait a few seconds and try again). Turn the scallops and add the little cubes of butter to the pan. Baste the scallops with the browned butter as the other side cooks for about 30 more seconds.
• Remove the fiddleheads from the oven, transfer the scallops to a warm plate and serve with the hot beurre blanc.

Maple Planked Salmon with Maple Dijon Glaze

 

In a culinary world full of deconstructions, elaborate plating, shocking flavour combinations and specially-foraged ingredients we sometimes lose sight of the simple pleasures of eating. A set table, friends and family, a smoking barbecue – great food done simply.

Maple syrup and salmon may not sound like a winning flavour combination to some, but it is a pairing that has withstood the test of time and always, ALWAYS impresses even the pickiest eater – especially if you’re cooking the salmon on a plank.

Planking salmon is one of my favourite ways to cook the fish. You can buy maple or cedar planks in most grocery stores in Canada, or if you have access to a lumber yard you could have someone cut you some. Cooking the salmon on a plank adds a distinctive flavour and light smokiness, but since you’re cooking the fish indirectly it also remains moist and flaky. Topped with a great glaze, a well-planked filet of salmon is tough to beat on a beautiful summery evening.

And we have been having some lovely evenings lately. 

I was disappointed with the weather when we first arrived in Canada – mostly due to the gorgeous weather that exploded in Ireland as soon as we left! Even though I spent the majority of my life in Cape Breton, I couldn’t believe the leaves weren’t out on the trees (as they were in Ireland) and the daffodils weren’t in bloom (they were long finished in Ireland) when we arrived in early May.

We’re still waiting for the leaves, but it won’t be long now. We’ve also caught some trout, gone on walks and played in the sunshine with family and friends in the two + weeks since we arrived. This salmon, which we enjoyed last night with a dear family friend, was icing on the cake.

So you want to try planking your own salmon? Here’s the method I follow every time I plank (that sentence sounds so healthy, doesn’t it? If only.):

1. SOAK – you need to soak your planks for at least 1.5 hours before cooking with them.
2. TRIM – I buy an entire side of local salmon from the fish guy (who comes to the nearby village of Baddeck on Wednesdays to sell seafood out of his trailer).
3. CURE – I lightly cure the salmon for 30-45 minutes before cooking. Just sprinkle the trimmed side of salmon with even layers of salt and sugar (I don’t measure, but a few tablespoons of each should be enough). Leave it for 30-45 minutes and you’ll see how much excess water is drawn from the fish. It makes for a more succulent filet, but you don’t have to cure your salmon if you don’t want.
4. PORTION – A full side of salmon should provide around six generous filets. I sliced the side in half, then portioned each half into three.
5. RINSE – If you didn’t cure your salmon, don’t worry about this step. If you did, you’ll want to rinse the excess salt/sugar from the salmon with fresh, cold water.
6. DRY – Pat each filet dry with some paper towel.
7. PLANK – Transfer your salmon filets to the plank(s).
8. GLAZE – Brush some of your chosen glaze on the uncooked fish.
9. GRILL + GLAZE – The final step! Place the planked salmon on the barbecue grill (you can also do this in the oven – but it’s not as nice), close the lid and allow the salmon to cook slowly on medium for about 15-20 minutes (keep an eye – it will take a bit of time for the planks to heat the salmon, but it won’t be longer than 20 minutes). Intermittently, you can add more glaze as the heat and smoke does its work.

This sounds like a lot of work, but like any great meal, if you’re prepared and organized it will come together so, so easily. Serve with wild rice or roasted potatoes and sauteed greens (some nice wine won’t go amiss, either).

Here’s the recipe for my favourite maple glaze:

Maple Dijon Glaze for Planked Salmon

Ingredients:

1/3 cup/80ml good quality, medium or dark maple syrup

1/4 cup/60g Dijon mustard

1/2 Tbsp each: finely chopped fresh chives, parsley, dill, oregano

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:

• In a small bowl, mix the maple syrup, dijon and fresh herbs.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Add some glaze to the uncooked salmon, then add more while the salmon cooks.

Grammie’s Baked Chocolate Pudding

I’ve been in Canada for a little over a week now. The jetlag is gone, the sun is shining (though the temperature is nothing like the balmy weather the Irish are enjoying) and I’m busy catching up with family and friends I haven’t seen since 2014. If my husband were here with me, things would be perfect. He’s not, though, so things are just very good.

We’ve been spending a lot of time outdoors since the sun’s been shining. There’s a large pond behind my parents’ house and Maeve likes going down there to see if there are any frogs (though she doesn’t like to get too close to the water for fear of falling in). We’ve been looking under big rocks and logs for bugs, wiggly worms and the many cute little salamanders who call the backyard their home.

Last weekend was Canadian Mother’s Day (we celebrate in March in Ireland) and as we spent the day spoiling all the moms and mom-types in our lives, I couldn’t help think about my sweet Grandma, who lived with me and my family until she passed away over 15 years ago.

Aside from my mother, who taught me that you can work full time, be a great mom, have a social life and be involved in your community, my Grandma was the most important woman in my life. She suffered from MS and was confined to a wheelchair, but that didn’t hold her back. She was a sweet, strong, soft-spoken woman.

She was also a great baker.

This Baked Chocolate Pudding is one of my favourite “Grammie” desserts. Served hot with fresh cream or ice cream, it’s pure bliss. Velvety chocolate sauce with soft, rich cakey bits – what’s not to like? If you’re having people over for dinner, you can put it in the oven just before you’re ready to sit down to eat. It will be molten hot – the perfect vessel for something cold and creamy dolloped over top.

*My plan was to lose as much baby weight as possible while home for the next 1.5 months. I realize now this probably isn’t going to happen. Stay tuned for more delicious Cape Breton adventures!

Grammie’s Baked Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients:

For the cake:

1 cup/250g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup/60g good quality cocoa

1/2 cup/125g granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup/125ml buttermilk

1/4 cup/60ml strong coffee

2 Tbsp/30g melted butter

For the sauce:

3/4 cup/200g light brown sugar

1/4 cup/60g good quality cocoa

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 cup/250ml boiling water

1 cup hot strong coffee

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350∘F (180∘C).
• Sift all of the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Stir the hot coffee and melted butter together. Add the buttermilk/vanilla to the dry ingredients, then the coffee/butter mixture. Mix the batter until everything is *just* combined (don’t overmix). Pour the batter into an ungreased pie dish or small casserole dish and spread evenly on the pan.
• Mix the hot coffee, boiling water and vanilla and set aside. Mix the cocoa and brown sugar and sprinkle evenly over the top of the batter. Pour the hot water/coffee mixture evenly over top.
• Place the pie/casserole dish on a sheet pan (in case it overflows) and bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.
• Allow to cool 10-15 minutes, then serve hot with ice cream or whipped cream.

Blackberry Cream Scones

I love the autumn.

Not that it’s been very autumn-ey here in Tipperary. When I got off the plane in Dublin a month ago I was prepared with a warm sweater and my rain jacket handy, but as it turned out I didn’t need them… and I haven’t needed them all month.

This is strange to me.

See, the very first time I came to Ireland was in September. I left Korea with Pat and we were going to settle in Toronto for a few years, but we wanted to come here to visit with his family for awhile. So while my two cats flew straight to Toronto to be picked up and cared for by two saintly friends, Pat and I flew to Ireland for a month.

When we left Korea, it was normal Korea-weather for September. Hot. Still hot. Muggy. So muggy. I had been getting Japanese straightening perms my entire time in Asia but still, my hair was no match for a long Korean summer.

Imagine my genuine shock when we landed in Dublin late on that September evening, coming from the hot, sunny weather in Korea and descending into the bone-chillingly cold Irish autumn.

I got used to it quickly, and in fairness, it wasn’t bone-chillingly cold our entire time in Ireland (there was a particularly beautiful warm, sunny day spent on the lakes of Killarney). When we arrived in Toronto later that October I wasn’t so shocked by the cold weather.

With the unseasonable warmth this year came a shitload (an actual technical kitchen term, folks) of blackberries. I don’t know if I mentioned this already, but Pat and I are fixing up the family farmhouse in Tipperary, meaning we’re not in Waterford anymore (sniffle). We live down a long dirt road lined with hedges. I was delighted to discover the hedges were basically all blackberry bushes, sloe bushes, rosehips and elderberries. Jackpot.

Taking Maeve for a daily walk down the lane to see the “moo’s”, I would fill the two cupholders on the buggy with big, juicy berries. When I’d acquired enough, I just had to make a batch of cream scones. Two reasons for this:

1. I live on a dairy farm now. I can just skim a bit of cream from the batch whenever I want. ENDLESS CREAM, PEOPLE.
2. I had an amazing meal in Cape Breton at The Bite House which ended with a gorgeously plated cream scone crumble. I couldn’t get Bryan’s scone out of my mind.

Blackberries are my favourite berry after wild blueberries. I just love the flavour of them, especially picked wild and at their peak. It’s funny, each year I expect them to taste like raspberries (don’t ask me why) and am then pleasantly shocked when I remember how a blackberry is supposed to taste. They go so well with these sweet, crumbly scones and go particularly well with cream. You could skip this recipe altogether and just have a bowl of ’em with cream.

Blackberry Cream Scones

Ingredients:

Scones:

4 cups cream flour

2/3 cup golden demerera sugar

2 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

2/3 cup cold, cubed butter

2 cups rinsed, fresh blackberries

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 1/2 cup fresh cream

1 egg

Glaze:

2 cups confectioner’s sugar

3-4 Tbsp cream

Splash of vanilla essence

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees (210 degrees Celsius, no fan) and line one or two baking sheets with parchment. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Rub in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Add the blackberries to the mixture. In a separate bowl, mix the cream, egg and vanilla. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet all at once.
• Mix until everything is just incorporated. On a well-floured surface, knead/continue to mix the dough until you have a bit of elasticity (the dough may be on the wet side).
• Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
• Roll out the dough to a thickness of at least an inch. Cut and place each scone on the parchment lined baking sheets.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes until the tops are golden brown.
• Mix the three ingredients together for the glaze. Using a pastry brush, lightly glaze each scone while they’re still warm.

Highlights from Home

Now that the jet lag is gone, Maeve’s teething is (mostly) under control and the mad pile of laundry that awaited my return is (mostly) under control, I have some time to sit down and reflect on my summer in Cape Breton.

It was a different summer. Not in a bad way, but in an “I have a baby now” way. Baby always take precedent, and rightfully so.

Still, I got a part-time job baking pies, biscuits and desserts for the summer. My mom eagerly made use of her alone time with Maeve, teaching her new words (we’re still hearing about crows, or “Ohhh’s” over here), blowing bubbles with her and taking her around the garden when the black flies weren’t too bad.

I hung out with Dan from Tourism Cape Breton and went on lots of fun tours, day trips and meals. I have so many things to write about. 

We had a two-day stopover in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and one of my dearest friends flew from Toronto to meet us there – it was so wonderful to see her and spend time with her family. 

Before I put my 2014 summer away in my “memories” folder, I thought I’d share some of the biggest highlights of the summer:

Louisbourg

This was a fabulous day. I think the last time I visited The Fortress of Louisbourg I was 2 or 3 years old – definitely not old enough to remember anything. A trip to this 18th century French fortress was absolutely in order. It was supposed to be stormy that day so we weren’t sure if we’d make it. With Louisbourg, a little misty rain and cloudiness can add to the atmosphere but torrential rain does not a great day make. 

It turned out to be one of the most beautiful days of the month. We were lucky, and we had an amazing day with my aunt, uncle, cousins and all our little people. In true Cape Breton style, the bus driver knew my Uncle Donnie. We had a great auld chat (he also told us there’s a Louisburgh in Ireland! Go fig.).

Fun fact: Louisbourg is the largest reconstruction in North America, right down to the actors knowing the actual stories of the people who owned each establishment. The French eventually lost Cape Breton to the British, but Louisbourg still looks the same as it did in 1744. 

The Miners Museum

From the 1700’s to the early 1990’s, coal mining was Cape Breton’s largest industry. Except it wasn’t, where I grew up. Mine was a farming community. I never thought much about coal mining, as a result, until I visited the Miners Museum in Glace Bay.

The funny thing is, I come from a family of coal miners on my mother’s side. Her father and all of her uncles mined coal, and so did my uncles until the mines were shut down. What I learned about coal mining – about how the mining companies owned the houses the miners lived in and the shops where they bought their food, and how they never paid them enough so the miners were always in debt to their employers – opened my eyes. When it was no longer considered profitable, the mines were all shut down and the miners, who had never done anything else, were out of a job.

I think my family members were a bit better off by the time they started mining – they had some benefits by then and better pay – but it was still an extremely dangerous job dealing with toxic fumes, explosions and other serious workplace hazards. My aunt told me my grandfather used to have to fight the rats for his lunch. 

The museum has an actual mine replica and a former miner is your guide. You get a real feel of what it was like underground.

In true Cape Breton style, our mining guide knew my grandfather and my great-uncle Wes.

We had a really good lunch at the Miner’s Village Restaurant – crispy haddock and oatcakes? Yes, please. 

Family Time

There are a lot of babies in my family right now. In the past year I think there have been at least eight or nine born and one or two more on the way. Since there weren’t any babies for a long time before this, everyone’s in great cheer. Babies just bring out the best in people.

Maeve had so much fun with her cousins this summer and I’m so glad she got to spend time with so many of them. Some were too little to play, but Maeve enjoyed tickling their toes. I really have a wonderful family and, even though I love living in Ireland, I miss them every day. 

Glenora Distillery

Did you know: Cape Breton has North America’s first ever single malt whisky distillery. And it’s awesome.

The distillery is called Glenora and their whisky is known as Glen Breton. They were actually sued a few years back because the Scotch Whisky Association doesn’t like other areas using the term “Glen” in their branding. Sorry Scotland, but when so many of your inhabitants moved to Cape Breton they called a lot of areas “Glen something-or-other” – I mean, the distillery is located in a place called Glenville! 

At the distillery, you can take a tour, have a tasting, stay at one of their gorgeous chalets on the hillside, eat some tasty food in their pub and listen to the talented musicians who play there every day. Besides their whisky, which is excellent, the pub has a great selection of local beers and wines. 

I had a great seafood gnocchi when I visited and as a starter we tried their bacon-wrapped, whisky-glazed scallops – which were phenomenal. 

I should mention that their gift shop is one of the nicest on the whole island. You can buy their whisky but also handmade, local crafts, artwork and knick-knacks. There are a lot of gimmick-ey gift shops in Cape Breton where the trinkets are all made in China – this is not one of them! 

On that note, let’s go on to…

Cape Breton Centre for Art & Design

Cape Breton is home to some truly talented artists and craftspeople. The Centre for Craft & Design, located in Downtown Sydney, has some of the most beautiful pottery, paintings, jewelry, leatherworks, glassworks and weaving around. They feature juried artists from around the island – many with their own small shops; well worth checking out – and work hard to garner support for the arts in Cape Breton.

Aside from their gorgeous gift shop, they also have a space for art shows and rooms for workshops. They put on summer camps for kids and do a lot of good in the community.

Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia

Before we left for Newfoundland, we visited my alma mater in Wolfville – a small town about an hour from Halifax. 

I went to Acadia University for my undergrad so it was a lot of fun showing Pat around and buying swag at the university shop for Maeve. We even got her picture taken on the sign (a time-honoured tradition).

Aside from checking out the university (and visiting my favourite former professor), we visited Paddy’s Pub, Joe’s for Scot Skins (it’s an Acadia thing), The Library Pub, Just Us! Coffee (where I used to sling espresso) and The Rolled Oat (to visit some good friends). 

I wanted to see the Benjamin Bridge Winery, but apparently it’s not open to the public! Also, we tried to have dinner at Front & Central, a restaurant that made last year’s Top 100 Restaurants in Canada, but it was closed for some reason.

I still managed to smuggle some Benjamin Bridge Nova 7 into Ireland (it’s exquisite. It’s sitting in my fridge now, waiting for an occasion).

Newfoundland

The amazing new Westjet flight from Dublin to St. John’s gave us the perfect excuse to spend a few days exploring Newfoundland. We could have taken the ferry from North Sydney in Cape Breton to St. John’s, but the plane ride was only an hour long. 

I have so much to say about St. John’s it will have to be another post. For now, let’s just say: I had the best meal of my life, the coziest brunch ever, drank beer made from an iceberg, ate fries, dressing & gravy, got blown away by a tropical storm and soaked in an ocean swell. And that’s just the beginning.

‘Til next time!

Life’s a Beach

Things are busy right now. Real busy.

Visiting family, day trips and our everyday jobs are making what was meant to be a vacation into a full-time job, but you won’t catch me complaining. I’m loving having my husband here, my brothers and their families and all the time I’m spending with the fabulous folks at Tourism Cape Breton. I have so much to post about, but it won’t be happening today.

Today I’ll give you some photos cataloging our first time at the beach as a family (spoiler alert: Maeve loooooved it).

Two Sundays ago we drove for about 40 minutes to Chimney Corner Beach – located off a small dirt road in between Margaree and Inverness. It’s not easy to find if you’ve never been there, but if you do manage to find it you won’t regret it. It is, in my opinion, the best beach on Cape Breton Island. The sand is golden, the surf is gentle, the water is warm – in other words, it’s the perfect beach for small kids (and big kids, too).

There’s a short hike you can take up to the “chimney” on the south end of the beach. Just walk to the end of the beach and follow the dirt path to the top of the bluff. There are nice ocean views and a decent view of Margaree Island from the top (if you’ve read any Alistair MacLeod stories, this is the area where he spent his childhood and where most of his stories are set).

This is the kind of stuff I miss about Cape Breton when I’m gone. On a beautiful day, there is no better place to be than Chimney Corner.

Where We Swim

The winters in Cape Breton are long, bitterly cold and full of snow. Some years, the snow is still here in May. Some years, we don’t get much of a spring. Like this year. There was snow on the ground only several short weeks ago and now it’s incredibly hot – summer has been in full swing since late June.

There isn’t much air conditioning in Cape Breton. It doesn’t get as hot here as it does in Toronto, for example, where air con is a must-have during the summer months. But we have something that many other areas don’t, something that cools you down completely and leaves you feeling comfortable for the rest of the day: a gorgeous river to swim in.

Growing up, my brothers and I lived for summer swims in the river. My parents would faithfully take us every day and we’d splash and swim and dive to our hearts’ content. This river is special. It’s not murky or dark. It’s cold and refreshing. The pools we frequent are deep enough to swim and dive, but the water is clear enough to see all the way to the bottom.

There are a few different parts of the river that are good for swimming – Chuck’s, Danny Neil’s and The Yankee Line are the three most popular.

I don’t know what it is about this river. In all my travels I haven’t come across another that compares to it. I’ve seen some great rivers – The Han in Korea, The Mekong in Laos, The Shannon in Ireland – and charming smaller rivers. I’ve enjoyed them all and appreciated their beauty. But I haven’t found a river as cold, refreshing, clear or as relatively isolated as the river running through my tiny community.

For the record, Maeve has been enjoying her time in the river, too!

*These pictures were taken at Danny Neil’s, near my house, in Middle River, Cape Breton.The deepest spot is about 8 feet and the slope is gradual, making this an ideal place to bring your kids. I won’t give more info than this because we don’t want the place overrun with visitors – but if you can find it, I hope you enjoy a well-deserved swim!