The Leaf in a Page

  March of 2023, I ventured on a baking cookbook journey. My motivation was three fold. I wanted to share some of the recipes from the summer market at the Heritage Farm in Cole Harbour. It was a wonderful 2-3 hour market held Wednesday afternoons during the summer months. Usually from early June to late September. We had only a few vendors, preserves, veggies and baking along with farm market items sold by https://coleharbourfarmmuseum.ca/  . This is a true gem right in the middle of Cole Harbour, It is a working farm in the summer with gardens, animals and farm memorabilia to learn about the history of farming in the area. There is a blacksmith who comes and forges items sold in the Tea Room gift shop. Visitors are welcome to wonder about, enjoying the surroundings, having a snack at colourful picnic tables or inside where the culinary skill of the chef is something to make sure you taste while there.  Secondly I wanted to share the processes I learned along the way after taking the

If you are like me, you can find yourself looking at social media to discover new things to make life interesting. A few times now I have seen these lovely looking bowtie rolls and wanted to give them a try. I found a recipe from a chef in Greece, named Chef Antonis and he has a Facebook page, is an influencer and has a lot of followers. He looks like he could be my grandson. Check out his beautiful bakes if you have time. His recipe called for 500 grams of bread flour however because this is a test recipe for me, I halved the amounts, which still yielded 8 buns of 56 grams each. Below you can see the shaping photos.  After letting the dough ball rest for about 15 minutes, you just roll it into a circle and cut 2 slices close together. Cut opposite the initial 2, then cut the sides into three. You then fold the outer thirds under the middle third. Lastly you bring the initial cut over the sides to create the middle.  Here is the recipe for the full amount. You will yield about 16 -17 b

  Easy SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE   One of the easiest recipes for sugar cookies ever. You don't have to refrigerate the dough before you roll and make your cookies. It is actually recommended not to. They are also so very versatile. If you need a maple cookie for Canada Day or a maple celebration, simply substitute the vanilla for maple extract you will have the flavour. If you want a sandwich maple you can easily add a maple flavoured buttercream between two single cookies. Imagine a coffee buttercream between two chocolate cookies. Yum!! Another type I have baked is a strawberry filling between a vanilla and chocolate cookie to make a delectable Neapolitan cookie.  This recipe was sent to me by my sister-in-law, Laurie. She, by the way, is a fabulous cookie artist. If you make them please leave a comment.   Preheat oven to 350F           Yield depends on size of cookie cutters. Ingredients                          Vanilla version            Chocolate version Salted butter      

Classic Nanaimo Bars I always thought these delicious bars were difficult to make. Anything with three layers had to be, not only difficult, but time consuming. Guess what? Not so! All you really need to know, is how to warm something up, mix ingredients together, and spread the ingredients into a pan. Voila!  You don't even have to turn your oven on. The best way to quickly make these squares, or any square for that matter, is to measure all your ingredients before you start. Then you simply follow the instructions and before you know it, you have Nanaimo Bars. Bottom Layer Unsalted butter                                                          ½ cup                                      Granulated sugar                                                       ¼ cup Cocoa                                                                           5 tbsp Large egg beaten                                                        1 Graham wafer crumbs                               

  Cinnamon Raisin Bread  I love making this bread near a holiday season. Doesn't matter which holiday. You can tell there is enough raisins as they have popped right out of the bread. Any time possible I also substitute a portion of the raisins for dried cranberries. Hoping you enjoy this recipe. It takes a bit more time to rise because of the eggs and milk so be patient with the dough. There is plenty to keep us busy during a holiday so don't worry about getting it done then checking on your bread.  If you do have to move it along some, for the second rise you can place the shaped dough in the oven with the oven light on and place a pan of hot water on the lower shelf to make a home made proofer. Remember to remove the pan before baking your bread. Yield 4, Bake 350F Bread Flour                            908 g              6 1/2 c Sugar                                    40 g                 1/4 c less 1 Tbsp Salt                                       18 g                3 ts