Maëlys McArdle

Blog

  • Back in University

    Back in University

    I made some baked maple doughnuts today.

     

    This was also my first day of university. I got my books, my student card, and checked out events on campus. Tomorrow will be an introductory session for my department and classes start on Wednesday. I’ll also try to get some work done.

    With that, the amount of time that I’ll have to devote to experimenting with food will likely be drastically slashed. From 8:30am until 6:00pm six days out of seven, I’ll be either at work or school. For that seventh day, I’ll spend half a day at my work place.

    If I have time in-between classes, and all my homework is done, I’ll either telecommute to work or spend some time on this creative endeavour I’ve been meaning to get to (I’ll leave the details of said project for another blog post.)

    Anyways, given the expected cutbacks in culinary exploration, I figured this would be a good time to share what have been my favourite recipes over the past little while.

    First on the list would be the cinnamon sugar pull-apart bread. The best way to describe it is to say that eating it is like picking away at a huge Cinnabon.

    Next on my list would be the soft cinnamon sugar pretzels. I’m not a big fan of pretzels, but this to me didn’t taste like the ones I had before. It tasted more like a doughnut from Suzy Q. I have more pictures about my effort to make them here.

    Third up would be the New York style cheesecake recipe with a shortbread crust.

    Then there are the Oreo-stuffed chocolate chip cookies.

    Finally, a simple but delicious recipe for peanut butter cookies.

    As a funny aside, it was interesting to see how I’d grown since the last time I had my university ID photo taken. The anxious me who had just turned 18, living at home, and relieved at having made a friend during the campus tour. Then the me of today, confidently navigating the adult world as a sea of kids take their own first steps in the path to personal freedom.

    Whatever happens in these next few years, it ought to be interesting.

  • Apple Pie Pancakes

    Apple Pie Pancakes

    The other day, I spent a few hours at Chapters looking through their cookbooks.

    I’ve been trying to find a guide to teach me how to cook, rather than hand me recipes. I don’t like the recipes found in most books because they tend to call for a bunch of expensive ingredients I’d only ever use the once. This just doesn’t work for me. I’d much rather the ability to look at what I have on hand, and figure out from there how I can combine them to produce something edible.

    The exception for me has been baking and grandmother recipe books, which tend to reconstitute the same few set of ingredients in imaginative and delicious new ways. If you dear reader have any recommendations on good learning materials, I would love to hear them. Tina suggested the cooking show Good Eats with Alton Brown, which I’m absolutely loving.

    Anyways, back at Chapters. I was paging through a bunch of books and stumbled on a really neat recipe idea: apple pie pancakes. So I promptly took a photo of the page with my phone and went home to give it a shot.

    It did not turn all that well. It was supposed to be a pancake with apple pie filling on top, but I ended up with it all mixed up together. The way they did it in the book was to cook it all in a single pan, so I decided to rework the recipe and use two pans.

    I wrote directions for myself and tried it again this morning. Much better: delicious and pleasing to the eye. I’ve included them below, but can be summed up as made apple pie filling, dumped it on a pancake.

    Apple Pie Pancakes RECIPE

    This makes two servings. Approximately 450 calories per serving.

    Summary: First, we’ll prepare two bowls worth of stuff. One bowl will contain the apple slices, the other, the pancake batter. We’ll then dump the contents of these bowls into separate pans and allow them to cook. Once the contents of both pans are cooked, we’ll combine the two on a dish and serve.

    Ingredients:

    • 1 Apple
    • 1 Egg
    • 1/4 Cup Milk
    • 1/4 Cup Flour
    • 4 Tbsp Butter
    • 2 Tbsp Sugar
    • 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon

    Apple Slice Bowl: Take two tablespoons of sugar and put it in the bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and mix it well with the sugar. Peel an apple and cut it into slices, then throw the slices in the bowl. Mix the apple slices with the cinnamon sugar concoction so that all the slices get coated.

    Batter Bowl: Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the bowl. Microwave the bowl for 15 seconds to melt it. Add the 1/4 cup of flour, and mix it with the butter until it forms a paste. Add the egg and mix it until it’s a single consistency. Add the milk and mix it again until it’s uniform.

    Pan #1: Put the pan on medium-low. Add 1.5 tablespoons of butter, and wait for it to melt and bubble. Then add the apple slice mix including any cinnamon sugar left in the bowl. Stir and flip the slices occasionally.

    Pan #2: Once the first pan has been cooking with the apple slices for a few minutes, set the element for the second pan to medium-high. Add 1/2 a tablespoon of butter on the pan, and move it around to coat the entire surface. Wait a few minutes for it to melt and bubble, then add half the batter. Wait for it to solidify, then flip it. Take it out and put it on a plate when it becomes golden with brown spots on top. Add the second half of the batter and repeat.

    Finishing Touches: Add the apple mix to the top of the pancakes and serve.

  • Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Sandwich and Cinnamon Biscuits

    Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Sandwich and Cinnamon Biscuits

    I made a snickerdoodle ice cream sandwich today. I used the snickerdoodle recipe from Betty Crocker, substituting 3 tsp of baking powder for the cream of tartar and baking soda. I also substituted vegan buttery spread for the shortening and butter. This latter substitution wasn’t for any culinary reason; I just always buy that stuff rather than butter.

    I was quite happy with the results. I also made two attempts at cinnamon biscuits. I used a recipe from a card I found tucked away inside one of my books. The first turned out like little bites. I had rolled the dough in a rectangle and cut thick (inch long) pieces.

    For the second go-around, I rolled the dough a square and cut it up thinner.

    Cinnamon Biscuit Recipe

    Ingredients:

    • 2 Cups Flour
    • 3/4 Cup Milk
    • 3/4 Cup Sugar
    • 1/2 Cup Butter
    • 1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
    • 1 Tbsp Vinegar
    • 1 Tbsp Baking Powder
    • 1 Tsp Cinnamon
    • 1/4 Tsp Baking Soda

    Instructions:

    • Put the vinegar in a measuring cup. Then put in the milk to the 3/4 line. Leave for five minutes.
    • Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Mix it.
    • Add in the vegetable oil and the vinegar/milk concoction. Mix it all in until it has the same consistency.
    • Put flour on a surface, and place your dough on it. Roll it out until it’s about 40cm long and 20 cm wide.
    • Put the butter in a bowl, and microwave it for 45 seconds.
    • Lather the now melted butter on the rolled out dough.
    • Mix together the sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle it on top of the melted butter.
    • Set the oven to 400F.
    • Slather a bit of butter on a cookie sheet to grease it.
    • Roll up the dough.
    • Cut up the roll in 2-3cm pieces. Put the pieces, exposed face up, on the cookie sheet.
    • Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.
  • What Killed the Linux Desktop

    What Killed the Linux Desktop

    Miguel de Icaza wrote an interesting piece today sharing his thoughts on what he thinks is the lack of penetration by Linux in the desktop market. He points to development principles that have hurt backwards and cross-distribution compatibility, making the operating system less likely to function as well as the likes of Apple’s OS X.

    I think he raises some very valid arguments, but I also believe he’s missing the elephant in the room. I would summarize my explanation as to the lack of adoption as people take the path of least resistance. 

    That means using whatever comes on the system they bought. How often do casual users go through the trouble of switching operating systems after the fact? That’s a lot to ask from regular people. If the benefits are there, some may make the jump – but there’s a really high threshold you have to reach before they’ll be willing to overcome their reservations on the matter.

    Meanwhile, what motivation do computer manufacturers have to include it by default on their end? The path of least resistance is to keep using what’s worked. That means Windows. There’s a financial risk to deviate from that.

    I think as the hybridization of tablets with laptops go mainstream, there’s an opportunity for Linux to hit the desktop market by way of Android. If everyone’s used to laptops that behave like the mobile operating systems of today, it won’t be such a big jump to then have desktops that use Android. I think the rise of hybrids will have the effect of making mobile operating systems more desktop-y, making it more suitable as a workstation product.

  • Pride 2012 and Janice Kennedy

    Pride 2012 and Janice Kennedy

    On Friday, the Ottawa Citizen published a piece titled What does tacky sex have to do with gay pride? by Janice Kennedy. In it, she blasts Pride week and the parade in particular, calling it “classless”, “vulgar”, and undignified:

    Not to mention the big parade Sunday afternoon, which will feature drag queens, leather kings, sailor-capped guys in leopard skin bikinis and the usual display of rampant horniness on floats dedicated to sexuality made adolescent, trivial and — what’s the word? — tacky? vulgar? classless? all of the above?

    How does iconizing the pageantry of monumental bad taste — even when it’s dressed up in adjectives like “fun” and “colourful” — serve as a vehicle for dignity? How does a public sexfest honour a struggle for equality and human rights? Assuming a desire to end the alienating forces of segregation, how does any of this function as a bridge?

    She’s certainly not alone in voicing a disdain for the events. This conversation repeats itself every time Pride rolls around.

    I wonder if she’s ever actually been to one of these parades. Her view that it is no more than a hedonistic orgy on wheels doesn’t at all reflect how the march actually is. It is far more mundane, involving dozens of groups walking down to show their support for various causes.

    The title for her piece, in which she calls it gay pride, goes some way into explaining why she doesn’t get it. It is not a gay pride parade. It’s been called that, and it certainly has its fair share of gay people in attendance, but it isn’t a gay pride parade. It is a nexus for all those who want to show solidarity with issues surrounding the body, of which sexual orientation is only one small part.

    That’s why you’ll also find in the parade groups dealing with such things as gender expression and identity, HIV stigmatization, non-monogamy, BDSM and leather. It is an environment where people can celebrate among others and not be judged for it.

    To ask such things is not to be joyless or puritanical. It is to be publicly aware and socially respectful. Yes, the world should know who you are, why you’re flying the flag or wearing the triangle, why (against family expectations) you have a boyfriend, girlfriend or same-sex spouse. But the world really does not need to know explicitly what turns you on.

    With the exception of sexual orientation, Janice is uncomfortable with any notion of body and sex that deviates from her perceived norms. To the point where she argues that people shouldn’t be open about it at all, not even at its own parade. She sees it as taboo.

    I don’t believe that anyone should be ashamed about their body. I think that shame inhibits communication and so fosters ignorance, which in turn opens a world of pain for a lot of people.

    This is a parade about liberation. Unlike Janice, I believe this is very much the place for people to be open and free of the shame for who they love, how they dress, their gender, their kinks, etc. To her it’s an undesirable expression that is entirely unrelated to the struggle for acceptance. To me, it couldn’t be more about it.

    I’d also like to throw a shout out to Jeremy & Tina for having joined us at the parade. I had a great time, thanks guys!