Last night I decided to try an almond torte with cherries and cream. The BC cherries are fantastic and I get raw cream from our local herd-share fresh every week, in fact I have just gotten back from picking up my share.

The almonds probably come from California. I did find a online farm-stand that would ship me nuts from the farm in 30 lb boxes, but I haven’t gotten around to doing that yet. Most almonds are pasteurized these days, unfortunately. As usual my oven burnt the hell out of my tortes. As a result I use a lower temperature for a longer time that might normally be used for a torte, feel free to experiment with the temperature.

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When I was a kid, my favorite recipe to make at Christmas were Swedish spritz cookies. I used to get up at dawn and pinch a few of them from the cookie jar to nibble in bed before anyone else was up. In those days I was using refined sugar and flour, but I think originally these cookies were made with blanched almond flour and honey. Made this way they taste like toffee or almond roca while at the same time being healthier!

• 1/2 c honey
• 1 c butter (softened)
• 1 egg
• 1 t almond essence (optional)
• 2 1/2 c almond flour
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t baking soda

Method Beat together butter and honey, add beaten egg and almond essence (I like to substitute cardamom for the almond essence sometimes) and beat well. Add the almond flour (to blanch almonds just pour boiling water over your almonds, let sit a couple minutes, then rub the skins off with your hands and discard). I use a coffee grinder to process my almonds into flour which works very well. Add in the salt and baking soda and mix. Chill for about 20 minutes. Use a cookie press on a greased baking sheet or just spoon the mixture out about a couple inch apart from each other. Bake for about 10 minutes in a 250 degree F oven.

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This recipe has such a great story that I just have to share it! The other weekend at Seedy Saturday, I met a lovely lady (Sandy) from Twining Vine Garden who sold me some seeds for American Ginsing. I was looking for a plant that would do well in a container and she told me of this amazing friend of hers (Marian) who had recently passed away after surviving cancer for about ten years (I may not have all the details exactly right). Sandy told us how her friend had used American ginsing, and said perhaps this helped. She then went on to tell us about Marian’s wonderful recipe, and said at the memorial service to this spunky and active lady they gave out recipe cards with this recipe and photo of Marian with a big smile and one of these fabulous cookies.

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This makes a delicious holiday dessert, warm, rich, moist nourishing and comforting.

• 1 loaf Panatone bread
• 250g softened butter
• 1/2 liter cream
• 1/2 liter milk
• 1/2 c maple syrup
• 2 t vanilla essence or 2 vanilla beans
• 9 eggs
• 1 t ground cinnamon
• 1/2 t salt

Method: Warm the cream, milk, maple syrup, vanilla, eggs and cinnamon gently on the stove-top. Do not allow to boil.

Slice the Panatone and thickly butter each slice.

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This recipe was found in an old out of print community recipe collection. Very delicious and creamy, it is a variation on creme brulee and was served at the Hotel St. Regis in New York by Chef Paul Moreau.

Serves 4-6

• 4 c milk
• 1 t vanilla extract
• ½ c semolina
• 3 egg yolks
• ½ c sugar
• ¼ c raisins
• fruit compote

Method: Boil milk with vanilla, add semolina and cook gently until mixture thickens.

Beat egg yolks with sugar and gradually add semolina, stirring briskly with a beater. Return to heat for 2-3 minutes and fold in the raisins.

Press into a small mold that has been well buttered and sprinkled with sugar.

Bake in a very hot oven (500 degrees F) for a few minutes to caramelize the surface. Remove from mold.

Decorate with slices of compote or fruit.

Just before serving sprinkle with Kirsch and set aflame. Serve with a sauce of apricots.

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From Russia, this is a traditional sweet pudding that is served at Christmastime.

• 2 c cracked wheat
• ½ c sugar
• ½ c honey
• ½ c chopped walnuts
• ¼ c poppy seeds

Method: Rinse wheat. Cook in water until done, about ¾ of an hour. Add water during cooking if necessary. Stir during cooking so that wheat will not stick to bottom of pan.

Pour some boiling water over poppy seeds to wash them, simmer them for about 10 minutes in a covered pot. Drain off any remaining water. Mix with wheat, honey, sugar and nuts.

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Use the best raw honey and farm raised chicken eggs you can find and this simple recipe will blow your mind.

• 1 c honey
• 4 eggs

Method: Separate the eggs. Mix the honey and egg yolks in a sauce pan and simmer over a low heat stirring constantly until this mixture thickens. Remove from heat and cool. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into honey mixture. Pour into individual serving dishes and chill.

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Method: Rinse dates, leave the seeds in. Drain well. Place in bottle, add alcohol, cardamom and ginger. Cover. Place in fridge.

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Hungarian Plum Dumplings (Szilvasgomboc) are a traditional food, this recipe comes from the Hungarian Cookery Book by Karoly Gundel (1956)

Serves 6

• 6 potatoes
• 3 eggs
• 40g (2oz) butter
• salt
• flour
• plums or damsons

Method: Boil six mealy potatoes and rub them through a hair sieve. Add the butter, eggs, salt and as much flour as they will absorb but not too much. Roll it out and then cut it into squares big enough to hold a plum.

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A very simple recipe and a great way to showcase the quality of ingredients used.

Serves 6

• 4 (farm fresh) eggs, beaten stiff
• 1 c hot maple syrup

Cook until mixture thickens, then cool and add:

• 2 c cream, beaten stiff

Place in the freezer.

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