Staff Recipes: Roasted Cauliflower with Mustard Seeds and Cumin

You know that new gal in the delicatessen, Joey?  Petite, witty, loves to talk about food?  Well, turns out she's not just great with customers; she's also madly talented when it comes to photography, writing, cooking, and pretty much anything creative we throw at her.  It was therefore no surprise that when we asked her to contribute a recipe for the blog, she went above and beyond.  She provided both of these gorgeous photos and a satisfyingly simple recipe with two of our favourite Dirty Apron spices: mustard seeds and cumin.  This is the perfect dish to pull together on a busy weeknight, and would cozy up nicely to a bowl of dahl or some grilled arctic char.

Joey, welcome to the delicatessen, and for you dear readers, welcome to the remarkably talented world of our dear Miss Armstrong!

joeyarmstrong.ca
joeyarmstrong.ca/blog
myfoodobsessions.blogspot.com/

Valentine's Day Love.....

....tastes like this:  crystalized rose petals from Toulouse, France; caramelized pistachios in milk chocolate; house-candied organic citron from northern California in white chocolate; and freeze-dried strawberries in dark chocolate.  Who combined such a charming collection of sweets?  Beta5, of course.  And where can you find them?  At The Dirty Apron Delicatessen.

But hurry........this kind of love comes in limited quanities.  

Staff Recipes: Grilled Salmon with Champagne Shallot Mustard

Did you know that The Dirty Apron delivers?  If you've already enjoyed a fresh lunch at your office, there's a good chance you've talked to Taryn, our Catering Manager.  She's that super-efficient, great-with-details, do-anything-to-get-the-job-done lady who built our system from the ground up.  To the staff, she's also endearingly known as the one who lurks around the dessert case after lunch, eyeing-up the day's baked goods.  Taryn loves tea with an afternoon treat, but she also knows how to whip up a quick and healthy dinner.  Take for example her Grilled Salmon with Champagne Shallot Mustard, an absolute favourite condiment in the delicatessen.  This dish is simple, flavourful, and so light that you'll definitely have room for dessert!

Grilled Salmon with Champagne Shallot Mustard

4 wild salmon fillets (approximately 6 ounces each)

kosher salt

ground black pepper

1 to 1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 to 1/3 cup Stonewall Kitchen Champagne Shallot Mustard

Remove skin, rinse fillets, and check for bones.  Pat dry.  Apply kosher salt and black pepper liberally, rubbing both sides.  Crumble brown sugar onto a plate to remove all large lumps.  Brush mustard generously over fish and coat with brown sugar.

Grill over direct heat (three to five minutes), turning once.  Let rest for several minutes.

Serve with a simple green salad dressed with a Vincotto dressing (Vincotto shaken with olive oil, rock salt, and black pepper).

Staff Recipes: Gluten-Free Tahitian Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

The Dirty Apron wouldn't be what it is without Michelle Britton, our Assistant Manager.  She knows this place inside out and backwards, answering approximately 1000 questions a day from customers and staff, and always with a smile.  She's a wealth of information, an all-around lovely person, and lucky for us, an innovative baker!  A gluten intolerance has forced her to experiment when it comes to baked goods, and she's hit some serious home runs.  Take for example these cupcakes, which according to Michelle, "turned out really well. The boys didn't even know they were gluten free or had rice milk in them ;) HA!!"  To top off her sneakily-modified treats, she chose a Maple Cream Cheese Frosting from the Ottoloenghi cookbook.

Tahitian Vanilla Cupcakes 

2 cups All Purpose Gluten Free Flour Blend (White Rice, Brown Rice and Tapioca Starch) 
1 cup organic cane sugar 
1/2 teaspoon sea salt 
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1 teaspoon xanthan gum 

1 cup vanilla soy, rice, coconut, almond milk or plain regular milk  (I used Vanilla Rice Milk) 
1 organic free-range egg, beaten
3 tablespoons Grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon Tahitian vanilla extract 
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice 

Preheat oven to 350F. 

In a mixing bowl, whisk all dry ingredients together. Then add the wet ingredients and beat with a hand mixer until the cake batter is smooth.

Using an ice cream scoop, plop the batter into the twelve liners. Smooth out the tops with wet fingers. 

Bake in the center of a preheated oven until firm and dome shaped. For me this took about 15-18 minutes at sea level but they may take up to 20 to 22 minutes, depending upon your particular oven and altitude. 

Cool the pan on a wire rack briefly, then gently pop out the cupcakes and continue cooling on a rack (this avoids steaming the bottoms). 

Makes 12 large cupcakes.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar 
100 ml maple syrup 
1 cup cream cheese 

Beat butter till light and fluffy then beat in the cream cheese until just mixed in.  Beat in maple syrup and brown sugar.  

Ice cupcakes and if desired, sprinkle with coarse maple sugar!

Kids and Teen Cooking Camps, Summer 2012

Is your kid a curious cook, or just loves to have fun?  Then let them flex their culinary muscles this summer with us!  Chef David Robertson is excited to lead our annual Kids and Teen Cooking Camps, this July and August at The Dirty Apron.

A parent himself, Chef David will share his passion for food with six lucky groups of culinary campers; students will learn about kitchen safety, the diversity of foods available to us locally, and how to transform those fresh ingredients into impressive dishes they'll be proud to eat.  With snacks provided mid-morning to keep the creative juices flowing, campers will end each day with a shared meal around our beautiful harvest table.  Along with this valuable kitchen know-how, campers will also gain leadership skills, the confidence that comes from creating something from scratch, and of course, new friends!  

Does your child shy away from unfamiliar foods?  There's help for that too!  Cooking provides a sense of familiarity with ingredients kids might otherwise reject, so being part of the meal-making process helps to curb pickiness.  Chef David explains this further in his interview with Better Together. 

With brand new menus unveiled later this year, participants in last year’s camps are more than welcome to return.  Tuition for the week ($490/person) includes instruction, daily recipe book, hands-on cooking with close supervision, snacks and fine dining.  All materials and equipment are provided.  At the end of the week all young chefs get to take home, you guessed it, their Dirty Apron.  Click here to register your child or teen.  

Kids Cooking Camp (5 days, ages 7-11 years):  

July 16th - 20th, 9am - 1pm daily

Teen Cooking Camps (5 days, ages 12-17 years):                                                                                   

July 2nd - 6th                                             

July 9th - 14^th

August 13th - 17^th

August 20th - 24^th

August 27th - 31st