Bonnie Stern Food News
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Contents
Kitchen Tip

Bonnie's
Book Club

Bonnie's Cookbooks

News and Events

Restaurant
Recommendations
and More

Featured Recipes
Contact

 
Phone:
416 484 4810

Email:
bonnie@bonniestern.com

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Website:
www.bonniestern.com

 

About Bonnie

Bonnie Stern is the founder of the Bonnie Stern School of Cooking in Toronto which she opened and operated from 1973 to 2011. She has studied and taught cooking around the world, authored 12 bestselling cookbooks, hosted three national cooking shows, and appears regularly on various television and radio shows across Canada.

For 17 years Bonnie wrote a weekly column for the National Post and her articles have appeared in numerous magazines. She has conducted popular workshops for the James Beard Foundation in New York City and leads culinary cultural trips to various delicious destinations. Bonnie is also the creator of a ground-breaking book club in which novelists are invited to discuss their work during thematic dinners.

Bonnie Stern is the recipient of many awards including ones from the Toronto Culinary Guild, the Ontario Hostelry Institute, Cuisine Canada and most notably she is the recipient of the 2007 Premier’s Award. Bonnie Stern’s Essentials of Home Cooking won the coveted International Association of Culinary Professionals’ award. Bonnie was inducted into the Taste Canada Hall of Fame in 2021.

 

March 2023

I am so excited that we are once again coming together for in person book clubs. And I’m even more excited that we are doing so with three remarkable talents. Ann-Marie MacDonald is one of Canada’s most beloved novelists and her novel Fayne has topped bestseller lists from coast to coast to coast. Marsha Lederman is one of the very best journalists around and her powerful family memoir, Kiss the Red Stairs: The Holocaust, Once Removed is such a meaningful work. With the rise of antisemitism around the world Marsha’s book is more relevant and important than ever. And our Book Club favourite, Tom Rachman, is back with his new book, The Imposters, it’s a novel that I can’t stop talking about!!

Having just returned from Israel and having eaten out way more than usual (see all the restaurant recommendations below), all I crave now is home cooking. I have included a few of the ideas I loved on my trip that I have interwoven into my recipes below and hope you love them too. Israeli food with its fresh, locally grown seasonal ingredients, abundance of herbs, variety of spices and unique fusion of cuisines is very exciting and so delicious.
 
And Anna and I want to say, once again, how grateful we are that you buy, recommend and most of all cook from our new cookbook, Don't Worry, Just Cook. It means so much to us!

Can't wait to see you at the farmers market,

Bonnie

Kitchen Tip
Three-Minute 'Baked' Apple
Three-Minute 'Baked' AppleHere's a new way (or at least new to me) to make an old-fashioned baked apple. Cut an apple in half crosswise - I used a 7oz McIntosh. Scoop out the core and pits from each half with a melon baller (aka Parisienne cutter). Put both halves, cut side up in a microwave safe dish, sprinkle each with about 1 tsp brown sugar, a pinch of cinnamon and add 1 tbsp water to the dish, cover. Cook in microwave on High for 3 minutes, or until tender. Cool a few minutes and then eat it all up. Ice cream wouldn't be bad on top if there's time.


Bonnie's Book Club
Bonnie's Book Club is a labour of love. Nothing pleases Bonnie more than to have the opportunity to bring readers and writers together in a truly unique way that offers the rare opportunity to meet some of the country's leading authors, discuss their work and enjoy a delicious meal inspired by the book.

Drawing on her degree in English and her passion for food and cooking, Bonnie Stern invites you to a literary feast you won't soon forget - Oprah's book club never tasted this good!

Small print: All registrations must be paid in full when registering. Please check your schedule carefully before registering. Cancellations can be accepted only up to 14 days before event date, a $50 charge (plus HST) applies to cover the administration fee and cost of the book. At any time you may send someone in your place for no additional charge. It is the attendee’s responsibility to mark their calendar with the date, time and location of the event.


APRIL

ANN-MARIE MACDONALD: FAYNE
ANN-MARIE MACDONALD: FAYNEIn April, Bonnie welcomes the beloved writer Ann-Marie MacDonald as she discusses her number one national bestseller Fayne, a tale of science, magic, love, and identity.
 
In the late nineteenth century, Charlotte Bell is growing up at Fayne, a vast and lonely estate straddling the border between England and Scotland, where she has been kept from the world by her adoring father, Lord Henry Bell, owing to a mysterious condition. Charlotte, strong and insatiably curious, revels in the moorlands, and has learned the treacherous and healing ways of the bog from the old hired man, Byrn, whose own origins are shrouded in mystery.  Her idyllic existence is shadowed by the magnificent portrait on the landing in Fayne House which depicts her mother, a beautiful Irish-American heiress, holding Charlotte’s brother, Charles Bell. Charlotte has grown up with the knowledge that her mother died in giving birth to her, and that her older brother, Charles, the long-awaited heir, died soon afterwards at the age of two.

When Charlotte’s appetite for learning threatens to exceed the bounds of the estate, her father breaks with tradition and hires a tutor to teach his daughter “as you would my son, had I one.” But when Charlotte and her tutor’s explorations of the bog turn up an unexpected artifact, her father announces he has arranged for her to be cured of her condition, and her world is upended. Charlotte’s passion for knowledge and adventure will take her to the bottom of family secrets and to the heart of her own identity.

Join us for what is bound to be an absolutely wonderful evening.

Date: Monday April 24, 2023 (Waitlist only)
Time: 6:30pm to 9:30pm
Location: The Edible Story
320 Richmond Street East #105, Toronto
Fee: 175 + HST (includes dinner, beverages, gratuity and a copy of Fayne sent out as soon as possible)
Advance registration only: Bonnie Stern 416 484 4810


MAY

MARSHA LEDERMAN: KISS THE RED STAIRS
MARSHA LEDERMAN: KISS THE RED STAIRSBonnie is pleased to welcome one of Canada’s most respected journalists, Marsha Lederman of the Globe and Mail, as she discusses her powerful family memoir, Kiss the Red Stairs, which has become one of the acclaimed works of non-fiction of the year.

For readers of All Things Consoled by Elizabeth Hay and They Left Us Everything by Plum Johnson, Kiss the Red Stairs is a compelling memoir by award-winning journalist Marsha Lederman that delves into her parents’ Holocaust stories in the wake of her own divorce, investigating how trauma migrates through generations with empathy, humour, and resilience.

Marsha was five when a simple question led to a horrifying answer. Sitting in her kitchen, she asked her mother why she didn’t have any grandparents. Her mother told her the truth: the Holocaust.

Decades later, her parents dead and herself a mother to a young son, Marsha begins to wonder how much history has shaped her own life. Reeling in the wake of a divorce, she craves her parents’ help. But in their absence, she is gripped by a need to understand the trauma they suffered, and she begins her own journey into the past to tell her family’s stories of loss and resilience.

Kiss the Red Stairs is a compelling memoir of Holocaust survival, intergenerational trauma, divorce, and discovery that will guide readers through several lifetimes of monumental change.
Date: Monday May 29, 2023
Time: 6:30pm to 9:30pm
Location: United Bakers Dairy Restaurant
Lawrence Plaza, 506 Lawrence Avenue West, Toronto
Fee: 175 + HST (includes dinner, beverages, gratuity and a copy of Kiss The Red Stairs sent out as soon as possible)
Advance registration only: Bonnie Stern 416 484 4810


JUNE

TOM RACHMAN: THE IMPOSTERS
TOM RACHMAN: THE IMPOSTERSWhat better way to wrap up this season with a long-awaited return visit by Book Club favourite Tom Rachman. Tom will be travelling from the UK to launch his brand new novel, the superb The Imposters.

From the author of the international bestseller The Imperfectionists, the story of a chameleonic writer, and the indelible characters in her orbit, in a novel about love, the power of art and what we leave behind.
 
Dora Frenhofer, a once successful but now aging and embittered novelist, knows her mind is going. She is determined, however, to finish her final book, and reverse her fortunes, before time runs out. Alone in her London home during the pandemic, she creates, and is in turn created by, the fascinating real characters from her own life.
 
Like a twenty-first-century Scheherazade, Dora spins stories to ward off her end. From New Delhi to New York, Copenhagen to Los Angeles, Australia to Syria to Paris, Dora's chapters trot the globe, inhabiting the perspectives of her missing brother, her estranged daughter, her erstwhile lover, and her last remaining friend, among others in her orbit. As her own life comes into ever sharper focus, so do the signal events that have made her who she is, leaving us in Dora's thrall until, with an unforeseen twist, she snaps the final piece of the puzzle into place.

The Imposters is Tom Rachman at his inimitable best. With his trademark style -at once "deliciously ironic and deeply affectionate" (The Washington Post) - he has delivered a novel whose formal ingenuity and flamboyant technique are matched only by its humanity and generosity.
Date: Monday June 26, 2023
Time: 6:30pm to 9:30pm
Location: The Edible Story
320 Richmond Street East #105, Toronto
Fee: 175 + HST (includes dinner, beverages, gratuity and a copy of The Imposters sent out as soon as possible)
Advance registration only: Bonnie Stern 416 484 4810



Book Club Locations
 
The Edible Story1
The Edible Story2
The Edible Story 7
The edible story
The Edible Storyx

The Edible Story
This cooking school, catering company and event space, owned by chefs Alanna Fleischer and Brian Cheng is the perfect place for our themed book clubs.

320 Richmond Street East #105
Toronto

(Entrance on Sherbourne)
647 278 1819

www.theediblestory.com

United Bakers Dairy Restaurant 4
United Bakers Dairy Restaurant 1
United Bakers Dairy Restaurant 2
United Bakers Dairy Restaurant 3
United Bakers Dairy Restaurant x
United Bakers Dairy Restaurant

It is a beautiful thing when a restaurant is over 110 years old and still in the same family (Full story in Toronto Life magazine here). My favourite things are the split pea soup, the blintzes, the smoked whitefish, actually everything.

Lawrence Plaza
506 Lawrence Avenue West
Toronto
416 789 0519


www.unitedbakers.ca

More Featured Products
 
Don't Worry, Just Cook
Bonnie's new cookbook, written with her daughter Anna Rupert (who has, in fact, been in the kitchen cooking beside Bonnie her whole life!). Bonnie and Anna are here to help cooks of all experience foster comfort and connection through food.
                                     
Published by Appetite by Random House of Canada, 2022, 293 pages, hardcover.
AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE BOOKS ARE SOLD

$35


Kindle edition
$16.99
Friday Night Dinners (Paperback)

Friday Night Dinners

Bonnie's last cookbook with her favourite menus, recipes, photos and stories. Over 170 delicious recipes for every occasion - holidays, barbecues, fast suppers and fabulous feasts - and Bonnie makes sure you can make fantastic meals and still enjoy the food and fun with everyone else. You'll want to use this book every day of the week.

Published by Random House of Canada, 2010, 320 pages, paperback

$29.95

Bonnie Stern's Essentials of Home Cooking
Bonnie Stern's
Essentials of Home Cooking

Winner of the 2004 International Association of Culinary Professionals Award. A beautiful cookbook filled with Bonnie’s personal favourites - dishes that reflect the way we are cooking today.

Published by Random House of Canada, 2003, 208 pages, paperback

$34.95
HeartSmart
HeartSmart
This wonderful compendium is a must for every kitchen featuring over 300 favourite recipes from the bestselling Simply HeartSmart Cooking, More HeartSmart Cooking and HeartSmart Cooking for Family and Friends, as well as 75 brand-new recipes to add to your HeartSmart repertoire. Many of the classic recipes have been fully updated to incorporate current food trends and new nutritional information.

Published by Random House of Canada, 2006, 480 pages, paperback.

$34.95
Cuisiner au goût du cœur
Cuisiner au gout du coeur
Published by Trecarre, 2006, 512 pages

$18.98 
Appetizers
Appetizers
A very special collection of over 150 mouth-watering recipes including soups, spreads, salads, hors d'oeuvre, pastas and much more. Complete with presentation, entertaining, menu planning tips and over 50 detailed illustrations.

Published by Random House of Canada, 1990, 176 pages, paperback

$22.95
Desserts
Desserts
Over 120 recipes for decadent cakes, pies and pastries, scrumptious cookies, creamy mousses and ice creams – A collection of recipes from a master that stand the test, and tastes, of time.

Also provided are elegant decorating tips, helpful information on equipment and ingredients, and black-and-white illustrations throughout demonstrating basic techniques that will make these recipes absolutely no-fail.

Published by Random House Canada, 1998, 214 pages, paperback

$21
News And Events
PRE-PASSOVER COOKING EVENING
PRE-PASSOVER COOKING EVENING Thursday March 23, 2023
7 pm

Congregation Habonim invites you to join Bonnie Stern and Anna Rupert as they share some delicious Passover friendly recipes from their new cookbook Don't Worry, Just Cook.

For more information and to register click
Pre-Passover Cooking Evening

ELLIE'S GREAT BIG CHALLAH BAKE
ELLIE'S GREAT BIG CHALLAH BAKEIt was an honour to participate in Ellie's Great Big Challah Bake, March 9, 2023.

Every Thursday night on Instagram Live (taped so you can watch it anytime here) they raise awareness about pediatric cancer with a special guest baker. Their hope is to  share Ellie's story so people can continue to pray for her recovery and donate to the foundation, helping them fund pediatric cancer research and helping other families with their emotional and financial needs.

ZOOM COOKING EVENTS
COOKING CLASSESBonnie has been doing custom Zoom cooking events for fund-raisers, corporate classes and private groups. One of her favourite formats is to bring families together who are separated by distance to cook and enjoy dinner together.

Contact bonnie@bonniestern.com for more information and rates. Subject line: Bonnie’s Cooking Events. Events can be personalized but some of the popular themes are:

Italian All the Time

French Country Cooking

Israeli Family Dinner

Mediterranean Flavours

Restaurant Recommendations and More
HAIFA, ISRAEL
Raseef 33
Ha-Namal Street 33
Haifa
972 4 663 8071
Lunch in Haifa at Rasif33, was recommended by friends and culinary experts alike. Chef Hamudi Okla's Arab - Galilean food was modern, beautifully served and so delicious. The restaurant is beautiful and service was great.
Expensive
TEL AVIV, ISRAEL
North Abraxas
Lilienblum Street 40
Tel Aviv
972 3 516 6660
Still one of our favourite restaurants. So casual but so delicious. The chef, Eyal Shani just opened his amazing pita sandwich shop in Toronto - MIZNON - which he has in New York, Paris, Melbourne etc. (I can't wait to go - it opened here a few weeks ago when I was in Israel.)
Expensive
HaBasta
HaShomer Street 4
Tel Aviv
972 3 516 9234
One of our favourite restaurants. Very casual but very delicious. It was voted one of the World's 50 Best Restaurants in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Expensive
Animar
Retsofrbert Samuel Street 94
Tel Aviv
972 3 575 9060
Very elegant and delicious. Also voted one of the World's 50 Best Restaurants MENA.
Expensive
Radler
Nahalat Binyamin Street 48
Tel Aviv
972 3 728 3839
We loved this new very popular 'hot' restaurant in Tel Aviv. Chef Moshiko Gamliali's other restaurant in Tel Aviv is also a favourite - Bar 51.
Expensive
Opa
Ha-Khaulutzim Street 8
Tel Aviv
972 52 583 8245
We did not go this time but we have been before and loved it. Very creative vegan tasting menu and surprisingly delicious. Voted as the restaurant to watch in the World's 50 Best Restaurant MENA.
Expensive
Dalida
Zevulun Street 7
Tel Aviv
972 3 536 9627
Popular and casual in Florentine since the day it opened ten years ago.
Moderate
Thai Har Sinai
Har Sinai Street 1
Tel Aviv
972 3 566 6975
Considered one of the best Thai restaurants in Tel Aviv. We even ordered in - with my friend Adeena Sussman. A mark of a true Tel Avivian is to order in Thai!
Moderate to expensive
HaShomer
HaShomer Street 2
Carmel Market
Tel Aviv
We had amazing chicken schnitzel sandwiches (regular and Moroccan) on challah and the grilled lamb kebab sandwich also was excellent. I have heard that their hummus and shakshuka are terrific too.
Moderate
Port Sa'id
Har Sinai Street 5
Tel Aviv
03 620 7436
No Reservations
Crazy busy, the more casual restaurant from Chef Eyal Shani of North Abraxas is one of our favourites. We like to go early for lunch or dinner to avoid the crowds! Always busy.
Moderate to expensive
Mirage Cafe
3817 Street
Tel Aviv
A wonderful cafe (also from Chef Eyal Shani - is he taking over Tel Aviv?) especially for people watching at brunch on the park along the old railway tracks (called Park Hamesila).
Moderate to expensive (for a cafe)
Manta Ray
Nahum Goldman Street 4
Tel Aviv
972 3 517 4773
One of the first (if not the first) restaurants on the beach and it is still going strong. I recommend it for breakfast or lunch (or dinner in the summer) for the incredible view. We had a delicious lunch there recently.
Moderate to expensive
Cafe Asif
Lillienblum Street 28
Tel Aviv
972 3 375 2727
Asif Culinary Institute of Israel is a non-profit culinary centre dedicated to explore and present Israel's diverse and creative food culture. Open for delicious breakfasts and lunches with tours of the library, rooftop garden and exhibits. They also have many special events so it is worthwhile going on their mailing list or following them on social media.
Moderate
Lehamim
Hashmonaim Street 103
(also other locations)
Tel Aviv
972 3 561 8111

 

Favourite Israeli bakery uniting Danish, French, California and Israeli techniques and flavours. Great for breakfast or lunch and I love their seed breads, gorgeous challah, cheese straws, marzipan apricot cookies, chocolate babka and so much more. Owner Uri Scheft changed babka forever by using a type of Danish pastry dough instead of challah dough.
Moderate
Eats Cafeteria
Two locations:
Adam Hacohen Street 1
or Sheinkin Street 20
Tel Aviv
Great sandwiches and pastries.
Moderate
Hakosem
Shlomo HaMeleckh Street 1
Tel Aviv
Best street food and they even have delicious gluten free pita for falafel sandwiches. Very busy.
Moderate
School Yard by Danon
Danon Culinary Center
Tel Aviv Port
Pastry students opened a bakery cafe for breakfast every Friday from about 8 to 11am. If you go be sure to visit the farmers market nearby, which is amazing.
Moderate
In and around
Carmel Market
Shimon the King of Soups
Yemenite chicken soup in Carmel Market

Bottargaa
Home cooking in Carmel Market

Caffe Tamati
Favourite coffee shop in Tel Aviv
JAFFA, ISRAEL
Beit Kaninoff
HaTsorfim Street 14
Tel Aviv - Yafo
972 3 650 2938
Delicious casual food in a beautiful, heritage building.
Moderate
Onza
Rabbi Hannina Street 3
Tel Aviv - Yafo
972 3 648 6060
Delicious upscale Turkish cuisine in happening Jaffa location. Half price Monday to Thursday 6pm to 7pm.
Moderate
Featured Recipes
WINTER DAY PUMPKIN AND LEEK SOUP
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 lb leeks, (2 large) trimmed, and rinsed well and sliced
  • 2 large cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 tsp crushed or ground coriander seeds
  • 1 1/2 lbs butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 1 lb parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock or water
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


  • toppings:
  • 1/4 toasted pumpkin seeds
  • 1 1/2 tsp sumac
  • 1/4 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese, optional
  • WINTER DAY PUMPKIN AND LEEK SOUPOn a recent trip to Israel we were lucky enough to have lunch with Gil Hovav and Dvorah Frishberg at Rutenberg, a beloved Israeli restaurant on the border of Israel and Jordan just south of the Sea of Galilee. We could see Jordan across the river. We had a wonderful lunch and I recreated their beautiful and delicious soup to warm us up when we returned to our snowstorms!

    Notes: When a recipe calls for pumpkin I usually substitute butternut squash for the right texture and colour. To trim leeks, cut away the tougher dark green tops and use the lightly green and white parts. To get rid of any sand or grit between the layers, slice the leeks, place in a large bowl of cold water, swish them around, let rest a minute - the leeks will come to the surface and the sand will sink. Lift out the leeks leaving the sand and water in the bowl.



    Method:
    1. Heat oil in a large saucepan and add leeks. Cook gently 3 or 4 minutes until softened. Add garlic and coriander and cook 2 minutes longer.

    2. Add squash and parsnips (you should have about 6 cups) and combine. Add stock or water and bring to a boil. Add 1 tsp salt and a little pepper. Reduce heat and cook 25 to 35 minutes until vegetables are very tender.

    3. Puree soup with an immersion blender or in a food processor or blender until smooth. Season to taste. If soup is too thick thin with a little boiling water and adjust season.

    4. Top each serving with pumpkin seeds, sumac and crumbled cheese if using.

    Makes 6 servings
    PUMPKIN RISOTTO
  • 1 1/2 lbs butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2" dice
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1/4 tsp each ground coriander, turmeric and allspice
  • 1 1/2 cups risotto rice (eg arborio, vialone nano or carnaroli)
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 6 cups vegetable or chicken stock, more or less if necessary)
  • 2 tbsp butter, optional
  • 1/4 lb Parmigiano Reggiano, in thin slices
  • 2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley or cilantro
  • PUMPKIN RISOTTORisotto is a technique and a recipe. The creamy consistency comes from using short grain Italian rice (see most readily available rice types below) and stirring it as it cooks so that the grains of rice rub against each other. Risotto must be served as soon as it is ready as the texture will change quickly.

    There are different styles of risotto and I love them all. It can be creamy and thick and mound on the plate or it can be creamy and runnier more like a thick soup. I had a soupy one at Mansura Restaurant in Jaffa last month and now I like it like that! It is up to you. They also had thin slices of cheese on top instead of grated which looked and tasted great.


    Method:
    1. Preheat oven to 400F. Toss squash with 1/2 tsp kosher salt, a little pepper and 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Spread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast 10 minutes or just until tender and maybe a little brown. Mash 1/2 of the squash.

    2. Heat 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in large heavy saucepan and add onions. Cook gently for 5 to 10 minutes until fragrant and wilted but not brown. Add garlic and spices and gently cook about a minute longer. Add rice and cook 2 or 3 minutes until rice is well coated with oil and onions.

    3. Bring stock to a boil in another saucepan and keep warm.

    4. Add wine to rice and cook, stirring, until wine evaporated - a few minutes. Then start adding stock about 3/4 cup at a time, stirring and cooking on medium heat. After 10 minutes stir in the mashed squash and diced squash. Combine well. Continue adding stock until rice is just tender. It should take about 18 to 20 minutes for rice to become tender. If it is cooked but you still have stock left, freeze the stock for another time. If your rice is not cooked and you have used all the stock, use boiling water until rice is tender. If you want a soupier texture add a little more liquid. Stir in butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately and top with thinly sliced cheese. Sprinkle with herbs.

    Makes 4 main course servings and 6 appetizer or side dish servings
    TUNA SALAD WITH PRESERVED LEMON AND HERBS
  • 7oz can tuna, preferably packed in olive oil
  • 2 large ribs celery, halved lengthwise and chopped
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped preserved lemons (rinsed before chopping)
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs (I use a combination of cilantro, parsley and dill)
  • 5 tbsp mayonnaise (I use Hellman's Real)
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • TUNA SALAD WITH PRESERVED LEMON AND HERBSI sat in the back of Caffe Tamati, my favourite coffee shop in Tel Aviv, talking to Mickey as he made a huge bowl of tuna salad for lunch sandwiches. He said our mutual friend, Adeena Sussman gave him the tip of using preserved lemon paste in the mix. It was a delicious tip and now I do it too. I lost track of everything he was adding (so excited about the preserved lemons) but here's my version. You can buy preserved lemons or preserved lemon paste in Middle Eastern or specialty shops or you can make your own by layering sliced or chunky pieces of lemon with kosher salt in a preserving jar - there's a recipe in our new cookbook 'Don't Worry, Just Cook' (written with my daughter Anna Rupert) or other online versions.

    Method:
    1. Drain tuna well. Break it apart in a mixing bowl and add the celery and preserved lemon. Mix well. Add the herbs and stir to combine.

    2. Add the mayonnaise, mix well and season to taste.

    3. Serve as a salad or make into 3 or 4 sandwiches on fresh buns or challah with arugula or preferred lettuce.

    Makes about 2 cups
    ESPRESSO WHITE CHOCOLATE BLONDIES
  • 1/2 cup butter, diced if cold
  • 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp instant espresso powder (or finely ground instant coffee)
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 3/4 cup toasted pecans, roughly chopped
  • 3/4 cup chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chips


  • topping: (optional but looks and tastes great)
  • 1/4 cup salted caramel or dulce de leche or about 2 oz melted white chocolate
  • 25 to 30 toasted pecan halves
  • ESPRESSO WHITE CHOCOLATE BLONDIESThese are easy and quick to make - slightly adapted from my recipe in Essentials of Home Cooking. You can omit espresso powder or use decaf; use gf flour (I used cup4cup) instead of all-purpose and you can use milk chocolate instead of white. These freeze well.

    Method:
    1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter or spray an 8" square baking dish and line with parchment paper.

    2. In a food processor or in a bowl with a hand mixer or wooden spoon, beat butter with brown sugar until smooth and light. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla and espresso powder. Don't worry if batter looks separated - it will come together when flour is added.

    3. In another bowl whisk flour with baking powder and salt and stir into butter mixture. Add pecans and white chocolate. Transfer batter to prepared baking dish and bake 30 to 35 minutes or until just set in the centre. Do not overbake. Cool on a rack.

    4. For easy cutting, chill, remove the 'cake' from the pan and cut into squares. Drizzle with caramel or melted chocolate and top each piece with a pecan. Delicious at room temperature, cold or partially frozen!

    Makes 25 to 30 pieces
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