Roxana's Empanada.

The Gourmandise School   of Sweets and Savories

Follow us on Instagram @gourmandisela Roxana's Empanada. Can we discuss frying before we get into our awesome empanadas talk? First off, relax. Set yourself up for success with these sweet little steps: 1. Clean up your space. Create a center station for frying with your ready-t0-be-fried items on one side of the oil and a cooling rack on a cookie sheet for the other side. 2. Wash and dry your tools and pan thoroughly before frying. Most of the splattering in frying is caused by water droplets jumping off the hot oil. 3. Use a thermometer. When frying, you'll either be doing it at 350 (lighter fare, as in doughnuts) or 375 (for darker, crisper, say...apple fritters). 4. Use tongs or slotted spoons to gently lower your items in the hot oil- and another to lift them out.   5. Once the oil has cooled down a bit, place a strainer over a container (glass or otherwise). Line the strainer with a coffee filter and pour the oil into the container. Store the oil in a cool, dark place until the next time you're ready to fry! You good? Awesome. Now, onto Roxana and her sweet and savory pockets. Here's what we love about the fold-over: every culture has them. Mezzalunas in the pasta class, hand pies in at the state fair, samosas and English pasties. Between Spain and South America, Roxana's assembled three doughs and four fillings for her class. Check out my personal favorite below (next to the jammy ones, of course), and email us if you have any questions (also, you really need to follow Ms. Jullapat on Instagram). Argentinian Empanadas Makes 12 empanadas 2-1/4 cups all purpose flour  1 teaspoon kosher salt  1/4 teaspoon baking powder  1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp water 1/4 cup oil  2 tablespoons white vinegar 1.Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix to form a uniform dough. Knead briefly on a lightly floured surface for a few minutes. Wrap in plastic film and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 2.Roll the dough on a floured surface to a very thin thickness - as thin as you can get it. Using a biscuit cutter, cut 12 circles about 4-inches in diameter each. 3.Fill each circle with a few tablespoons of the filling of your choice (see below), fold in half and pinch the edges together to seal. Crimp the edges as desired. 4.Once all the empanadas are shaped, fill a medium heavy pot half way with vegetable oil. Heat up the oil until a digital thermometer registers 350 F. 5.Fry 3 to 4 empanadas at a time until they brown on the outside. Transfer the fried empanadas to a plate lined with paper towels. Let them drain for 5 minutes and serve while still warm.    Beef Picadillo  3 tablespoons oil  1 onion, small diced  1 each bell pepper, small diced  4 garlic cloves, sliced thinly  1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped  1 pound ground beef 1/4 cup green olives, pitted  1/4 cup raisins  2 teaspoons kosher salt  Black pepper, to taste 1.Heat up a large skillet over medium to high heat and drizzle with the oil. 2.Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic and cilantro and cook until the vegetables are translucent.  3.Add the ground beef and stir with a wooden spoon to combine and break the beef into smaller pieces. Sauté until the beef is cooked through, stirring occasionally.  4.Stir in the olives and raisins and season with salt and pepper. Cook for another 1 to 2 minutes.  5.Transfer to a plate and let it cool completely before stuffing your empanadas. Can be made up to 2 days in advance. Wishing you a delicious day,  Clémence and Hadley

Easy Hand made pasta with vegetarian Sausages

 Making pasta is the easiest thing you will ever do in your Kitchen

INGRÉDIENTS

• 625 ml (2 1/2 cup) organic all purpose flour
• Sel
• 4 Egg
• 15 ml (1 soup spoon ) olive oil

In a kitchen aid add the flour sea salt

low speed then add the eggs & olive oil mix together 

I will make a pictures blogge on how to make  easy pasta

 sauce tomato with roasted vegetarian chipotle sausage with zucchini, eggplant, portobello, mushroom…

I have to cancel this week end Farmers market

I am sorry I have to cancel again my Winter Farmers Market 

March 21 & 22 2015

Du to an infection after a minor surgery 2 weeks ago

 We are still on Granville Island every week end  from 9 am to 7 pm

Sorry 

Jean-Pierre

Canadian holiday at 28% discount

Today  March  19  2015

Years ago a small group in Bellingham Wa. Try to make a petition to limit some time at Costco for American only, as this wonderful Canadian boarder City is flood by Canadians looking for a bargain. well wish granted as the Canadian dollars plunge to it lowest point in 6 years (lost 28% of it value). Canadian do not line up so much at the boarder as before when the Canadian Loony reach 1.05 US.
Good News for our Americans Friends

You are more then welcome to experience our Country at 28% Discount, we do not mind if you take all the Parking lots at Costco, or any other of our shopping facility, our hotels and restaurants we will even take your currency with a great Exchange rate, we just love to make our Clients happy no matter where they come from.

It time  to plan your holiday and it is a great time to purchase Canadian fund as they are so low  this will not stay as soon as the petroleum come back to a higher  price so is our Dollar

Fresh Bay leaves

I just harvest  fresh Bay leaves from my 12 foot tall tree the smell is just magical 

Substituting Dried Bay Leaves for Fresh Whole Leaves

Can you substitute dried bay leaves for fresh whole leaves in stews, soups and other dishes? Absolutely! Dried bay leaves, which are readily available in grocery stores, are a very good substitute for fresh bay leaves which you may have trouble finding at your local grocer. However, you should be aware that bay leaves, also known as laurel leaves, lose some of their aroma during the drying process, which is why you will need to use more bay leaves if you are using dried leaves.

Replacing fresh bay leaves with dried leaves in your recipe is extremely easy; all you need to do is to make sure you use the correct conversion ratio. Most chefs recommend doubling the number of bay leaves your recipe calls for if you are using dried leaves instead of fresh ones. In other words, 1 fresh leaf would equal 2 dried leaves.

About Bay Leaves

Bay leaves, also called laurel leaves, are a staple in many European cuisines, but they are also commonly used in North America. These aromatic leaves are commonly used to flavor soups, stews, sauces, meat and seafood. Whether fresh or dried, bay leaves are usually used whole. The whole leaves are added to the dish during the cooking process and removed before the dish is served.

Source: http://www.healwithfood.org/substitute/dried-bay-leaves-convert-fresh-whole.php#ixzz3UnOPdA7q

Pear and Hazelnut Clafoutis

The Gourmandise School   of Sweets and Savories

Heritage. We're back! I took a brief hiatus from this weekly exchange to hop over to France and say goodbye to my sweet (and often salty) grand-mère. Mamie Gateau, as we called her, had to swear off sugar before I was born, a doctor's order that fueled her insatiable love of sweets. She'd sprinkle sugar packets in our oranges juice, store collections of cookies in her locked cupboard and make a clafoutis whenever it suited her (me). Clafoutis is traditionally made with either apricots or cherries, but we've got a few more months to wait before these come in. You can spike the custard with a bit of Calvados for a more grown-up (and grand-mère approved) flavor.  Pear and Hazelnut Clafoutis Toss together and set aside: 3 pears, cored and sliced each into 6 long pieces 3 Tbsps sugar Whisk together in a medium bowl: 1/2 cup sugar 2 eggs 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup milk (whole milk is best) Whisk together in a large bowl: 1 cup almond or hazelnut flour 1/3 cup flour  Set aside: 1/3 cup chopped, toasted hazelnuts 1. Butter the sides of a 9 or 10" springform pan (or cake pan, though you'll have to wait for the clafoutis to cool before removing it unless you use a springform). Sprinkle sugar over the butter. 2. Strain the liquid ingredients over the dry and mix until just combined. 3. Arrange the pears in a spiral pattern, then pour the custard down the sides of the cake pan. Sprinkle the nuts over the batter. 4. Bake at 350 for about one hour, or until it just sets and doesn't feel wet in the center. Wishing you a delicious day,  Clémence and Hadley