Canada, eh?

I've been watching some funny videos on YouTube with this one comedian who goes around LA's Venice Beach asking them about different topics and issues. His topics range from Sex to Justin Bieber to political issues to different countries. His show is more to display how ignorant people can be and how entertaining it is to watch people say the most unintelligent things. Anyways, he had one episode on Canada. I mean, I've always known how ignorant some Americans can be about their neighbouring country, but I was again flabbergasted (yes, I used the word flabbergasted) at some of their answers. I passed it just as an entertaining video, but then I started to realize how sad it really is. With the new generation of globalization and information at our fingertips, we're still just as clueless about the world around us. If you asked me about any other nation, I'd probably look just as foolish.



So in light of that, I thought I'd just tell you a little bit about my country, Canada. And if you're Canadian, it doesn't mean you're off the hook too. I'm in a grade 7 geography class to volunteer, and trust me, I'm always thinking in my mind, "Wow. I had no clue!".

In another video I saw a long time ago, an interviewer ask an American man how large he thought Canada was. He lightly answered, "Mmm, maybe the size of Texas?". Not quite. Directly north of USA, Canada is the world's second largest country. By total area (including water), we are actually larger than USA and China combined!



The geography of Canada is vast and diverse. Some of you might think we're all just snow and ice caps, but contrary to that, most of Canada has four beautiful distinct seasons. Places like British Columbia have warm enough weather all year round to have palm trees! The geography ranges from prairies to mighty mountains, islands to snow covered forests. We have an abundance of natural resources like minerals, fossil fuels, trees and we also hold nearly 1/4 of the earth's fresh water!



But Canada's geography isn't the only impressive thing. Canada boasts its diversity and culture, and how it doesn't have to become a melting pot of a nation. We celebrate and embrace our diverse backgrounds and identities. We think "Harmonize" more than "Indoctrinate". Economically, Canada is becoming more and more of a leader and an example for the rest of the world. Socially, Canada is known for its great health care, welfare policies and education. We're recognized in the world as peacekeepers and I hear Canadians are liked by everyone. Ha!



More than anything, though, I like Canada because it's a humble country. I think that's why even with the wealth of resources and cultures we have, we're still relatively peaceful and stable. I'm proud to be, in a non-prideful way, Canadian! :)



So, can I introduce you to a delicious, strictly Canadian concoction? It's called the butter tart. It's somewhat similar to the pecan tart down South, and may be mistaken for England's butter pie, but this bite-sized treat is originated from Canada. It's one of the earliest known Canadian recipes from northern Ontario and dates back to 1915! There are many variants to the recipe, ranging from different kinds of pastry shells, and different toppings and flavours. But the general idea is a flaky crumbly pastry filled with buttery sweet and soft inside.



Every Canadian has their own favourite butter tart. And I'm a purist when it comes to butter tarts. I don't like nuts or raisins in mine, let alone chocolate pastry or peanut butter flavouring. The shell should be stiff enough to hold its shape, but flaky and crumbly enough to yield when bitten into. The filling should balance ooziness and firmness in perfect harmony, and be just sweet enough to be delightful and memorable.



I found this recipe a long time from the Toronto Star. It was an article about how this middle school grade 7 class decided to find the perfect butter tart. It was a cute and interesting story and it also gave you the two top recipes it ended up picking. I thought it would be a great recipe to try out, as it is a true "Test Kitchen" recipe. :)

Without a doubt in my mind, I think the filling for this tart is perfect. It's justly sweet and buttery, and has such a great amount of "runniness" and shape. My only dissatisfaction is the pastry. It's really flaky, which is great for a sweet pie dough, but it doesn't feel right for a butter tart. I think a shortbread type dough would be more suitable for this kind of tart. It must be the egg in the recipe that makes it this way. I think next time I'll find a crumbly dough for these tarts, but for sure for sure keep the filling just as is!



Well that was just a small glimpse of Canada and a small sweet taste of the great country too. As a leaving note, I'm just going to tell you a few tid bit facts that you might have not known about Canada. And please enjoy the recipe too!

-Canada has two official languages: French & English
-Basketball was invented in Canada in 1891, as well as the baseball glove in 1883. (What else you ask? Insulin, the lightbulb, the zipper, the ear piercer, computer programming language JAVA, lacrosse, the game Pictionary, acrylics – like plexiglass, gingerale, newsprint paper, paint roller, rollerskates, snowmobile and the snowblower (rightly so), washing machine, the electric wheelchair, Yachtzee! and a whole lot of other things!)
-Some famous Canadian celebrities: Jim Carrey, Sandra Oh, Rachel McAdams, Ryan Reynolds, Kim Cattrall, Ellen Page, Keanu Reeves, Steve Nash, William Shatner, Pamela Anderson and yes, Justin Bieber.
-Toronto's famous theatre district is second in size only, to New York city, in North America.
-There's chip flavour called Ketchup Chips. When I first came here, I thought it sounded gross, but to think of it, it made perfect sense! It's SO delicious and probably one of the most popular chip flavours here.
-Canadians are in love with Hockey and will always be in the fabric of this country.

Canadian Butter Tart

adapted from Toronto Star
makes 16 regular tarts

ingredients

pastry
3 cups cake & pastry flour
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup cold, unsalted butter, cut in pieces
2 tbsp cocoa powder
5 to 6 tbsp ice water
2 tsp white vinegar
2 large eggs
filling
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup each: granulated sugar, packed brown sugar
1 cup table syrup with 15% maple syrup (I actually used 1/2 cup real maple syrup and 1/2 cup of plain table syrup)
2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs

directions

1. For pastry, stir together flour, sugar and salt in medium bowl. Blend in butter using pastry blender or large fork until pieces are the size of small peas.
2. In large measuring cup, whisk together 1/4 cup water, vinegar and eggs. Add to flour mixture. Blend mixture with fork, adding remaining 1 to 2 tablespoons water as needed to just moisten.
3. Finish blending mixture with fingers as you gather it into two balls. Press into disks. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate disks 30 to 60 minutes. Lightly grease 16 cups in muffin tins. You can also use mini muffin tins for smaller tarts.
4. On floured surface, press and pat or roll each piece into 4-inch circle. Put circles in muffin cups, ruffling edges to fit. Refrigerate while you make filling.
5. For filling, blend butter and sugars with wooden spoon. Blend in syrup, vanilla and salt. Blend in eggs. (Small lumps of butter will remain.)
6. Ladle filling into pastry shells, putting 2 to 3 tablespoons in each to fill about three-quarters.
7. Bake in preheated 375F oven until pastry is golden and filling is browned and puffy, about 30 minutes. Let sit on rack until cool before removing from muffin tins. Keep in covered container.

And..... we're back.

"You just gotta start somewhere!" That's what I kept telling myself every time I sat in front of the computer to write a blog entry. So much stuff has gone on that I don't even know where to start! It's just like when I approach any kind of written assignment. It's too overwhelming, I don't know where to start. But like the good advice that my sister gives me each time, "Just start writing!", here it goes.



1. The big stuff. Guess what guys. This is big. I quit my job. But before you start thinking that I'm crazy for leaving a perfect job at a fantastic design agency, just understand that it didn't come easy. It wasn't about the job — I'm changing careers. It was a huge decision, but I've made it and now I'm committed to it. I've decided that I want to pursue my aspirations of becoming a TEACHER! And now I'm back in school so that I can apply for teacher's college.


My beloved desk at my studio. I'll miss you!!

2. The cheesy stuff. Just in case you were wondering, Andrew and I are doing very well. We're very much growing and enjoying our lives together. It's been an amazing year and a half and we're both really excited to see where tomorrow will take us!


Look where Andrew took me for my birthday!! We went on a private horse trail riding!! He surprised me for my birthday and I had SUCH a great time. :) On a side note: Do you like our dinky little helmets? Ha!!

3. The cute stuff. My little niece, Chloe is honestly, the cutest, most lovable thing on EARTH. It's so beautiful and incredible to see new life. Really, the most amazing thing to experience all these "firsts" with a new baby. Each time she laughs, it's like the whole place lights up and in truth, it seems like she's playing with us rather than us playing with her. I'm so grateful for her and her parents. I miss her everyday!!







4. The grateful stuff. Honestly, everyone. I'm so grateful for your patience and encouragement over the few months. I'm sorry I've been so MIA but I'm amazed at how you still look forward to my blog entries!! It's really unbelieveable how warm and kind you all are. Thank you thank you thank you. You inspire me and motivate me!


Grateful for this tart pan! My friend gave me a williams-sonoma certificate for my birthday. You girls know exactly what I need/want. Hehe.

5. The delicious stuff. Yes yes it's the moment you've been all waiting for. Sometimes I feel bad when I write too much on my life etc., because I know you're thinking, "Okay.. now on with the food please!!!" Like I promised and you've proposed, I made the delicious French Lemon Cream Tart, courtesy of Dorie Greenspan. It was a recipe you really need to invest your time and heart in, but very much worth it.





The cream is truly extraordinary. It's marvelously smooth and velvety, with the perfect amount of sweet and tart. But to be honest, it was a challenging recipe for me this time. I was soo surprised and a bit disappointed to see how rusty I got. Man! Not baking and photographing for months really takes a toll on ya! Not going to lie, I'm not totally happy with the execution and the photography this time. I hope you can forgive me! Hopefully I'll get back on track soon.





But it was still really delicious and dorie's recipe was 100% fantastic. Unfortunately, I decided that I wouldn't post up recipes from books because it violates copyright. I know I've done it before but I now decided not to. But I wouldn't be surprised if you could find it easily on the internet. Also, I strongly encourage you to make that investment in her Cookbook "From my home to yours" as it's a staple for any baker filled with some of the best recipes you'll ever find.

UPDATED: Okay okay okay. I'll post up the recipe! It wasn't like me anyway. Haha. So instead, I have paraphrased her recipe! Hope it's not too choppy, or I haven't gotten too chatty. Nevertheless, still look at investing in her cookbook. It's really an amazing book!

Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart

recipe from "Baking: From My Home to Yours" by Dorie Greenspan

ingredients

1 cup sugar
grated zest of 3 lemons
4 large eggs
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 4-5 lemons)
2 sticks plus 5 tbsp (10 1/2oz) unsalted butter, cut into tbsp-size pieces, at room temp
1 9-inch tart shell made with sweet tart dough (I used an allrecipes recipe because Dorie's recipe only asks for a super pulsing food processor, which I don't have. You can just use your favourite sweet tart dough!)

directions

1. You need an instant-read thermometer, strainer, and a blender ready. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan.

2. Before setting over the simmering water, in a large heatproof bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic. Whisk in the eggs, followed by the lemon juice.

3. Now set the bowl over the pan and start stirring with the whisk as soon as the mixture feels lukewarm to touch. You'll need to slowly cook the lemon cream until it reaches 180F. It's important that you whisk constantly to prevent scrambled eggs.

As you keep whisking, the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger. Watching carefully as the temperature rises closer to 180F, it will become thicker and the whisk will leave tracks. You're ALMOST there! Don't stop whisking or checking the temperature but most importantly, be patient! Depending on how much heat you're giving the cream, getting it to 180F might take as long as 10 minutes (or 15 for me!)

4. As soon as it reaches 180F, remove the cream from the heat and strain it into the container of the blender; discard the zest. Let the cream stand, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 140F, about 10 minutes.

5. With the blender on HIGH, add the butter about 5 pieces at a time. Scrape down sides and make sure the butter is incorporated. (Mine just sat there on top of the cream if I didn't do this). Once the butter is mixed, keep the machine going. This will be the heavenly path to divine lightness, airy texture of "lemon-cream dreams" (that's her word). Continue to blend the cream for another 3 minutes, working in intervals if your blender gets overheated.

6. Before you pour the cream into a container, take a scoop with a new spoon and eat it. And savour it. And relish it. (This is my own line).

7. Now pour the cream into a container, pressing a piece of plastic wrap right against the surface of the cream. This creates a super airtight seal. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. (Wow! FOUR+ hours to wait. See, aren't you glad you followed instruction #6?). The cream will keep in the fridge for 4 days or, tightly sealed, up to 2 months in the freezer. You'll just have to thaw it overnight in the fridge.

7. When you are ready to assemble the tart, just whisk the cream to loosen it and spoon it in the tart shell. Serve the tart, or refrigerate until needed.