banana, chocolate & meringue pie

gluten-free banana, chocolate meringue pie

All I can think about is Montreal.

When my sisters & I were little, our grandfather had this beautiful farm in Montreal that was our little slice of heaven. We used to go every summer & spend the entire time outside & dirty. If we weren’t in a riding lesson, or competing at a competition, we were in the fields hunting for wild blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, climbing up trees, exploring in the woods looking for abandoned tree-houses built by hunters, or swimming.

Our bedroom was located in the barn directly above our horses. We originally used to sleep in the main house, but eventually everyone caught on that we wanted to be as close to our four legged friends as possible, & my grandfather had the attic in the barn converted into one large room. Andy, our resident handy man & grounds keeper (also the sweetest, kindest man one could ever meet) had even build us a balcony overlooking the fields. On a clear night, we had the best view anyone could ask for.

This is a painting someone once did of the farm, just so you get a sense of the magic:
Pope's Hill Farm, Montreal, QuebecI tell you all this because my sister Amyra & I were once again reminiscing about the magic & missing it terribly.

More often than not, when I miss a time or place, I remember the food & the smells that were associated with it. For the farm, chocolate & meringue pie is always the first thing that comes to mind. Rich, creamy, & delicious.

I told you, pie for me embodies love. If you don’t feel overwhelmed by love when you’re making it, it wont be amazing. Good, but not amazing.

So, feeling completely nostalgic & romanticizing the past, I decided it was time I posted up my very own recipe. I made a small adjustment by adding in bananas, but the rest of the pie is as close to the original as I could make it. Every single bit is bliss. Every single mouthful makes me feel all warm & fussy inside.

I miss my sisters. & I miss our paradise.

Continue reading

creamy coconut & almond chocolates

milk chocolates filled with a creamy almond & coconut filling

Every muscle in my body aches.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to dig a hole in the dirt, when the dirt is basically hardened clay & lots of rocks??

I’m not talking about some pathetic little hole, either. I’m talking about a full on trench!

No one told me that organic gardening would be hard. That the soil could basically be barren of anything resembling nutrients. That weeds would thrive, or snails would reign terror. No, I wasn’t given the 411 before I started my little adventure into exploring my green thumbs.

Going away to Athens for a week because we were let-go from our previous employment? Bad idea.

Not that we didn’t have fun, we had a ton of fun. My garden has run rampant in my absence however & it’s taking a lot of very labour intensive work to get back into shape.

Pruning. Weeding. Burying compost. De-snailing. Re-potting. Cleaning up.

There’s been a full workload the past two days & now it’s time to treat myself to chocolate. Lots & lots of little milk chocolate bites filled with a creamy almond & coconut filling. I’ve been storing them in the fridge too so they have this slightly refreshing feeling whilst you’re eating them.

Tonight is a night for “Mad Men” & chocolate. I’ve already had my long, pampering shower so I no longer smell like a man, & now it’s time to relax. Maybe even a spot of knitting.

Good night! Continue reading

fantabulous sugar cookies, literally

vanilla & almond sugar cookies

It’s no secret that I have an affinity for the word “fantabulous”.

I know it’s not a real word, & I’m not trying to suggest that other people get on board with my blatant disregard for the english language.

What I am saying is, that this is a word that reminds me of my sister Amyra. She & I have a deep-seeded love for Eddie Izzard & his comic marveling. So when I miss her, I use it more often.

I also felt that the word was appropriate for today. I’ve decided my future will be fantabulous!

Ok. Truth time.

Our future at Hotel Ploes has come to a rather abrupt end. There is no ill will held by either parties as nothing was actually done wrong, however, they have decided to close down the kitchen & all its production. Kitchens take a lot of work & when it was fully understood how many changes would need to be made & how much work was involved, it was decided that they weren’t up to the task.

We part on peaceful & pleasant terms though.

I did myself a little comfort baking last night. You know, just to soften the blow. Sugar cookies have a way of softening blows. Whilst doing this baking I was half missing my sister, terribly, & half contemplating the future & what I reckoned it held for me. I decided that no matter what would happen, it should in fact be fantabulous.

Hence the cookies. I’m starting the new chapter of my life with a sweet & positive attitude. A vanilla & almond flavored attitude.

Continue reading

thin & crispy pizza crust

pizza dough recipe: gluten free, egg free, dairy free, sugar freeI use instagram to procrastinate.

When I just don’t feel like doing something, i sit & troll through peoples pictures until I miraculously find the motivation needed to do the thing I was avoiding doing in the first place.

Today it just so happens I was trying to avoid thinking about food.

Not that I wasn’t hungry or didn’t want to eat. It’s just, well, I had fresh basil from the garden, a bulb of garlic, some delicious tomato sauce & a huge block of parmesan…. & the only things to put all these wonderful ingredients on were this disgusting gluten-free spaghetti, or rice.

No motivation I tell you.

It just seemed like such a waste!

Back to instagram…

I follow this cake designer who goes by the name of The Sugared Saffron. Turns out, she made home-made pizza for her kids & they loved it. What I loved, was the picture.

It looked glorious.

It’s been a while since I had pizza. I was sold on the picture she posted immediately.

That’s how this recipe came about.

The only way to have pizza, was to make my own gluten-free pizza crust. I’m very happy with this recipe. It rolls out thin, the edges get super crispy, the middle has a slight chew, it kind of reminds me of a whole-grain crust since it has flaxseed in it. It was just, delicious!

I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve eaten two pizzas. Well, one & a half… I shared with Mel because I’m a good fiance.

Here it is. My pizza dough.

It’s gluten-free. Dairy free. Egg free. & sugar free. It would be vegan too if it wasn’t for the honey. So close!

I haven’t included a recipe for the toppings, I kind of just threw everything on there in a big heap. My mouth was watering too much to keep track of what was going on. My apologies. Next time.

Continue reading

an enticing menu

It’s official. Hotel Ploes has opened up Cafe Ploes for business as of 08:00am yesterday morning!

It was an action packed first day full of prep work just trying to get the kitchen ready for dinner in the evening.

I’m happy to report that we had two people over for dinner!

As of tonight, there is an expected dinner party of 8, and hopefully a few walk-ins too.

On the off chance of enticing more people to join us for breakfast, brunch, dinner or cocktails, I’ve posted up the Cafe Plous menu which is available for all to see.

Take a gander & maybe…. book yourself a room over at the luxury boutique hotel so that you can come & enjoy the food, booze & view with us.

Picture 1