Canadian Flag Cake

Gather ’round, mes petits choux! Tomorrow is Canada Day, and do I have a cake for you! Run - don’t walk! - to the grocery store to buy two packages of strawberry or raspberry Jell-O, eh? And about two pounds of fresh strawberries, eh? And a white cake mix, eh? And a small tub of Cool Whip, eh? And some Dr. Oetker (or the generic equivalent of) red glaze mix, eh?

Start the celebration! Why not substitute 

sparklers for the flags?

I don’t normally bake with mixes, but tomorrow, Canada celebrates its 145^th birthday, and this almost-as-old blogger has no intention of fussing in the kitchen. Because the US will whoop-de-do on the 236^th anniversary of its independence from Britain on July 4, I’ll have a very special Fourth of July Pie for you in a couple of days - also very, very simple. I once lived in Australia - a spectacular country close to my heart - and promise to post one of my favorite Aussie recipes shortly before Australia Day, next January 26^th. So many recipes! So little time! But today, the Canucks will bask in the spotlight, eh?

Canadian Flag Cake:

One 18 oz. (515 g) pkg white cake mix

Two 3 oz. (85 g) pkgs strawberry or raspberry Jell-O jelly powder (or generic equivalent)

2 c. boiling water

3 c. ice cubes

2-to-2-½ lb. fresh, ripe, hulled strawberries, divided

8 oz. (250 mL) Cool Whip (or generic equivalent), thawed in refrigerator for several hours

3-½ oz. (10 g) pkg powdered Dr. Oetker red glaze mix (or small amount of pre-mixed glaze)

Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. for glass or metal cake pan or (or 325 deg. F. for dark-colored or coated pan). Lightly grease and dust with flour a 13x9-in. pan. Prepare cake mix as package directs (using 3 egg whites, ¼ c. vegetable oil, and 1 c. water). Pour into prepared pan, baking 23-to-28 min. Cool in pan on wire rack. When cake has completely cooled, place cake in its pan on baking sheet with sides. 

Dissolve Jell-O in 2 c. boiling water. Add ice cubes, stirring 3-to-5 min. until slightly thickened. Remove remaining ice cubes with slotted spoon. Stir in 2 c. rinsed, dried, and crushed strawberries (crush with a blender set to “low” or “pulse”). Pour jelly mixture over cake in cake pan until jelly almost reaches top of cake pan, allowing second pan to catch any overflow. Try not to over-fill. Refrigerate 30 min. until jelly is well set. 

Lightly smooth thawed Cool Whip over entire cake, striving to even out  strawberry lumps and bumps. Cover with foil and return to refrigerator at least 2 hr. Cover and return any remaining Cool Whip to refrigerator. While cake and toppings are chilling, Google and print an image search of the Canadian flag. Set aside.

Rinse, blot dry, and slice remaining strawberries. Cover, chill, and set aside. When Cool Whip over cake has thoroughly chilled, patch any areas of “jelly bleed” with a second, light covering of Cool Whip. Cover and return to fridge, eh? When second layer of Cool Whip has set, line both “short” sides of cake with two columns of sliced strawberries laid side-by-side. 

Now the fun part: If the maple leaf image on the flag you’ve printed is approximately the correct size, center on cake equidistant from the sides, top, and bottom, marking outline with toothpick holes and filling in with sliced berries to resemble the maple leaf on the Canadian flag (Realizing too late that I’d started my maple leaf too low on the cake, I added small cloth flags to create the optical illusion of “raising” the maple leaf’s position on the cake. When the strawberries I laid down looked more like Mickey Mouse than the majestic maple leaf, Ron complied with my request that he fix my faux pas. Never be bashful about asking for help, Dollinks!).

With the berries artistically arrayed, follow red glaze package instructions, carefully dabbing on glaze for sheen, show, and color. Remove cake from baking sheet, serving directly from cake pan. Yields 18 slices of about 2x3-inches. I’ve made this cake for many years. Everyone, everytime, wants the recipe. So now they have it! 

Prepare pan: Knock flour into all corners, removing excess.

Assemble ingredients.

Red glaze gives stronger

color definition.

Prepare cake mix as directed.

Prepare jelly with boiling water, as directed.

Add ice cubes, removing when jelly starts to thicken.

Add crushed strawberries.

Frost with Cool Whip.

Try to keep topping as smooth as possible.

Slice strawberries. Plenty of strawberries!

Re-size and print an Internet image of 

the Canadian flag as a template.

Let toothpicks stamp out the image. Then remove them.

Who, Moi, patriotic???

Buttery Steamed Carrots

I like trying new things, and recently bought a special hand-shredder that makes chocolate and vegetable curls. My little shredder gives grated carrots a new and interesting look - particularly with this recipe. I’ve cooked carrots this way for many years, but grating them in long, loopy curls seems more fun than the usual, short grate. This is a delicious, quick, and very simple way to prepare them. 

Buttery Steamed Carrots:

5-to-6 large carrots, shredded

1-½ tbsp. butter or margarine
1 tbsp. ginger slivers (optional)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Melt butter on low heat in small saucepan with tight-fitting lid. Add carrots, seasoning to taste. Cook, covered, 5-to-7 min.

This simple grater works lickety-split - as fast as
a vegetable peeler. It cost about $12 in a kitchen store

These long shreds go into a covered pot with melted butter

Carrot and Other Tasty Juices

“Why, oh, why are you so delicate and slender, Nicole? Why, when you prepare so many luscious recipes, do you not look like a sumo wrestler?”

Hah! No one ever says that. I actually look like a sumo wrestler, even though the top-knot and diaper are flattering.

This is a dead-simple blog I’ve tested and glug-glugged many times! We have a juice maker. ’Nuff said, but that’s never stopped my torrent of words. 

Our juice maker wasn’t expensive. It’s not one of those models that require so much storage that you may as well offer it your parking spot in the garage. Nor does it have so many moving parts that it requires intricate cleaning. Having said all of that, I’m not going to tout this or that company, so you’re on your own at finding the make and model that suits you best. 

I will say that Ron does the juicing in this household, buzzing stemmed, washed, unpeeled carrots (how hard is that?) through the machine, sometimes adding celery, beet, turnips, apple, and other wonderful things. In this way, we get a faceful of antioxidants and I manage to hold steady at 525 lb. (238 kg) instead of the 550 lb. (249 kg) my sumo wrestler genes crave.

Today’s “recipe” is simple: Buy a juicer. If you want to invest in good health, it’s money well spent. 

Ignore the brand name on this and all other small appliances

in my kitchen! What’s right for me, may not be right for you.

BRRRT! In go the carrots, out comes the juice! Simple, wot?

Pat’s Bok Choy Salad

Terrific recipe! Ate far too much! This salad - for which I have to thank my dear friend Pat - has no taste of soy sauce and no “Chinese” taste. We gobbled masses of it down with Ron’s Barbecued Ribs (blogged Nov. 29, 2011). While the two dishes were a perfect pairing, the salad’s calcium- and protein-rich almonds, the starch from its noodles, and the vitamins and minerals of the bok choy and green onions, could easily have made it our main course!

Pat: The fickle finger of fate
 pointed us to a nudist beach

Pat and I go back many years, linked by our non-existent sense of direction. A few years ago, when Pat and I decided to take a beach walk, we had no idea we’d strayed onto a nudist beach until we belatedly noticed that everyone was wearing their birthday suits. The odds that it was actually all their birthdays being quite low, we couldn't have been more shocked. 

Realizing we were lost by the deer-in-the-headlights look in our eyes, a man bearing a map pointed to the direction we should exit the beach. When Pat and I simultaneously saw that he wasn’t pointing with his finger, we shrieked in panic, making a run for the crumbling cliff that towers above the beach. Hauling ourselves up like rockets, we clung to roots, scrabbled over logs, dislodged stones, and screamed without pause. We emerged at the top with twigs in our hair and with our primly-clothed bodies covered in dirt and mud. The bemused man with the map is probably still telling the story.

Pat’s Bok Choy Salad:

To Prepare the Salad:

5 baby bok choy, washed, blotted dry, root-end removed 

2-to-3 green onions, finely chopped

1-½ tbsp. butter or margarine

One 3-oz. (85 g) pkg ramen-style instant noodles (discard seasoning packet)

One 3-½ oz. (100 g) pkg natural flaked or sliced almonds

Coarsely chop cleaned baby bok choy into bite-sized pieces. Place in salad bowl, sprinkling with green onions. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. While butter melts, break ramen noodles into bite-sized pieces. Add noodles to skillet, tossing frequently until they begin to brown, about 5 min. Add almonds in final minute, quickly stirring until they start to brown. Add to bok choy and green onions, tossing well. 

To Prepare the Soy Dressing:

In a small lidded jar, combine 6 tbsp. olive oil, 3 tbsp. soy sauce, and 1-½ tsp. granulated sugar. Shake together well, pouring about half the dressing over salad in bowl. Toss salad until leaves glisten. Taste mixed salad, adding slightly more dressing, if needed. In the quantities given, this recipe serves 4-to-6.

Pat says the crispy noodles and nuts remain so the next day, so that nothing goes to waste. I wouldn’t know … we ate every morsel. Once you’ve got the basic dressing on hand, you can adjust this wonderful salad for a buffet - or for just one. Bon appétit!

Use 2 or 3 chopped green onions

Use 5 or 6 baby bok choy

Toss both greens together

These are ramen noodles! The package I bought cost 49 cents

Break up ramen noodles, browning with flaked almonds

With its glistening leaves, this salad looks and tastes great! 

Chinese Lettuce Wraps

This dish is a superb break from the usual potatoes or rice. Vary what you put inside these wraps with what’s in the cupboard - but don’t forget the “crunch” the water chestnuts and vermicelli provide! It’s exactly that “crunch”that makes these wraps so interesting. If you’ve never worked with vermicelli, the photos and the method for this recipe will walk you through it. 

For another delicious dish based on this versatile noodle, see the Sunomono Salad recipe on this blog. It’s so easy and so delicious that it’s held steady for many months as the second most-popular dish I’ve ever posted. I plan to use the uncooked vermicelli left over from these wraps to make this excellent Japanese salad, again. 

Chinese Lettuce Wraps:

16-to-20 iceberg lettuce leaves, rinsed, blotted dry, well-chilled     

1 tbsp. (15 mL) cooking oil

1 lb. (454 g) lean ground pork

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1 tbsp. (15 mL) dark soy sauce

2 tsp. (10 mL) sesame oil

1 tsp. (5 mL) Chinese five-spice seasoning

2 tbsp. (30 mL) hoisin sauce

1 tbsp. (15 mL) rice wine vinegar

Coarsely ground black pepper, to taste

One 8 oz. (227 mL) can water chestnuts, drained, rinsed, blotted dry, finely chopped

1 bunch green onions, finely chopped

1-½ c. (375 mL) peanut oil (or canola or other oil able to withstand high heat)

Approximately ¼ of a bundle of vermicelli noodles (also called mung bean or glass noodles), slightly separated

Have all ingredients measured and ready before starting to cook. Slice large iceberg lettuce leaves in half, trimming off vein and leaving smaller, inner leaves whole (see Note). Wrap leaves in dampened paper toweling; place in produce crisper. 

Heat 1 tbsp. (15 mL) oil in deep skillet over medium heat. Add ground pork, browning until no pink remains. Remove pork with slotted spoon; set aside. 

Drain excess fat from pan, stir-frying onion and garlic over medium heat in small amount of remaining fat. Return cooked meat to pan.

Stir in soy sauce, sesame oil, Chinese five-spice seasoning, hoisin sauce, and rice wine vinegar, cooking just until onion becomes translucent. Add water chestnuts and green onions, stir-frying just until heated through. Transfer to platter or bowl. Keep warm in oven set to low heat.

Let skillet cool slightly before wiping with paper towel. Heat peanut oil over medium high, until oil is almost at smoking point. 

Drop uncooked vermicelli noodles into hot oil. Noodles will expand and explode within three seconds. Do not allow vermicelli to brown. Immediately remove from skillet with slotted spoon, blotting excess fat with paper towel (When oil in skillet cools, strain and add to lidded jar for future use). 

Lightly combine deep-fried vermicelli with hot meat mixture; serve at once. To serve, arrange lettuce leaves on large serving platter, spooning meat mixture onto lettuce leaves, one at a time. Fold leaves as a “wrap” to enjoy this messy, but delicious, treat. Serves 3 or 4.

Use freshly ground pork.

Here's what a pound of it looks like.

Fry until no pink remains.

Drain meat by placing it in a sieve so excess fat drips off.

Use about a quarter-bundle of dry vermicelli noodles.

Add to heated oil.

Stir them a second or two, ensuring they're soaked in hot oil.

BOOM! Watch them explode!

Remove from heat; blot off fat; add to meat mixture.

Work quickly, so noodles remain crisp.

Chilled lettuce leaves on platter, meat mixture nearby.

Spoon onto leaf, top with more hoisin sauce, and ...

Enjoy!

Chinese Fried Lettuce

This is a very simple dish, as quick to make as it is tasty. You could use a prepackaged lettuce product to make this, but ordinary iceberg lettuce is far cheaper. Caution: Don’t overdo it on the oil or salt - less is best!

Chinese Fried Lettuce:

1 large, whole head of iceberg lettuce

2-to-3 tsp. oil

1 clove garlic, minced fine

Dash of salt

1 tbsp. sesame seeds

Wash lettuce, spinning or blotting dry. Cut into quarters. Heat oil in wok, frying lettuce 1 min. Add minced garlic, salt, and sesame seeds, combining well. Cook 1 min. longer. Serve at once.

While I’m thinking of Asian foods, my friend Pat recently gave me her terrific recipe for Bok Choy Salad. I’ll share it with you, tomorrow.

Quick ’n’ Easy Dip Mix

This veggie dip is so easy. “How easy is it?” you cry in unison. It’s so easy that I’m not even going to bother asking Ron to take photos of a hand (mine, Dollinks!) shaking ingredients in a lidded jar. I think, my dears, that you will be able to figure this out sans photos. Oh, did I tell you? It’s a lovely, lovely recipe! 

Quick ’n’ Easy Dip Mix:

¼ c. commercially grated Parmesan cheese

2 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

1 tsp. salt 

1 tsp. paprika

½ tsp. celery seed 

½ tsp. onion powder

½ tsp. garlic powder

¼ tsp. finely ground black pepper

Shake all ingredients together in a lidded jar. Label and store in refrigerator. To use, stir 1 tbsp. of mix into ½ c. sour cream combined with ½ c. mayonnaise. Refrigerate at least 30 min. before serving with dipping crackers, chips, or trimmed, fresh vegetables. This makes enough mix for 5 cups of dip. Olé!

Kale Crisps

In the Time Zone and at the Latitude Where I Live, a very small bag of Kale Crisps costs nearly $9! I bought a bunch of kale and made my own - identical to the purchased kind and nearly nine times cheaper!  

Kale Crisps:

1 bunch kale

1 tbsp. (15 mL) olive oil

½ tsp. (2.5 mL) garlic powder

1 tsp. (5 mL) seasoning salt

Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. Rinse kale, tearing into slightly larger than bite-sized pieces - they will shrink as they bake. Whirl dry in a salad spinner, or blot dry with paper towels. Transfer dried kale to mixing bowl. Combine olive oil, garlic powder, and seasoned salt in a small bowl. Pour over kale, combining well with a large spoon. Lay in a single layer on a parchment-covered baking sheet. Bake 15 min., until edges start to brown and kale is well-dried and crisp. Turn off oven, leaving kale to dry an additional 5 min.

Rinse a standard bunch of kale.

Pop into salad spinner.

Whirl dry: Wheeee!

Kale stalks and tough ends are bound for the stock pot.

Add combined olive oil, garlic powder,
and seasoning salt.

Toss well, until kale glistens slightly. Resist the 
ttemptation to add more oil or seasoning!

Dried kale emerges from the oven.

A low-cal snack for watching the game on TV.