Blog Post List

This blog post list contains the most recent blog posts from The Messy Baker in reverse chronological order. You can also browse by recipe category or use the search function.

Dear Duke and Dutchess of Cambridge, According to numerous news reports, you are coming to Canada and making Prince Edward Island one of your destinations. An excellent choice. While I haven't been to the smallest province in our Dominion since I was a teenager, I assure you, it's charming. Red sand beaches, red-haired heroines and red-skinned potatoes. What more could you want from a country with a bright red maple leaf slapped smack dab in the middle of its flag? We're nothing if not colour coordinated. I know I'm not going to meet you on this occasion either,  which is a shame, because I, too, was an Anne of Green Gables fan as a child. I'm sure we have lots more in common, but judging from your whirlwind itinerary, we wouldn't have much time to mine the depths of our shared experiences even if we did meet up. I realize it's customary to give visiting royalty gifts that reflect the location toured. Since this is just a cyber meeting, and one-sided at that, I'm going to talk about the gift I would have given you had our paths crossed. Unlike the Apple Ginger Truffles I made in honour of your wedding, this is something that won't mess your lovely outfit. As an added bonus, it can fit in your carry-on so you don't have to worry about paying extra luggage fees. If our paths were to cross, I would give you a copy of Flavours of Prince Edward Island: A Culinary Journey by Jeff McCourt, Allan Williams & Austin Clement. Portable, informative, and with evocative photos that cover most aspects of island life, this is the perfect gift for you. When your friends ask you what Prince Edward Island was like, just hand them the book. When you hanker for Crab-Stuffed Mushroom Caps, Cranberry Chutney or Chocolate Potato Cake with Red Raspberry Mud Puddles, call in the kitchen staff and just hand them the book. But be sure to ask for it back. They might want to keep it. This gift even holds the potential for controversy, which I am lead to believe is imperative for a successful Royal Tour.

This is where I am. In a remote stretch of wilderness, ankle deep in murky swamp water with Yodi-knows-what nibbling at my ankles. Only when I say "swamp water" I actually mean "projects" and those pesky ankle biters are really just the "little things" that...

As today is World Oceans Day, I thought I'd tip my virtual hat to all the finned, tentacled, shelled, non-land animals out there. I know. I know. One look at my recipe index and you'll see I don't cook a lot of fish. While I'd like to blame the lack of a reliable fishmonger, the real reason is my husband doesn't like anything that comes out of the water. Not even mermaids. That, and the fact I'm a little bit scared of ruining expensive ingredients. Steak is forgiving. You can claim culinary triumph on anything from blue to well-done. But fish and seafood? They slip from perfection to inedible in no time. So, in honour of World Oceans Day, I have four solutions for those who love seafood and the planet. Don't like fish? Have some galette with Andrew. Everyone else, enjoy what the lakes, oceans and waterways have to offer. Guilt-free. No matter where you are.

Rhubarb-Raspberry Galette with Frangipane Technically this is an original recipe. But like all dishes, its initial creative spark came from a patchwork of ideas. The pivotal concept, pairing rhubarb with raspberry, came via David Lebovitz, who posted a link to Lottie and Doof, who got it...

It's my birthday. And since you are all lovely people, I just know you want to get me something. Something nice. Something special. Something I've been dying to get for myself but won't because I'm not a materialistic person. Because I'm so thoughtful (and already have...

Hang onto your harddrive, this is going to get a wee bit technical. I'm about to talk photography. If you're here for a recipe and don't know an f-stop from an f-bomb, grab a cookie from the TARDIS and poke about the archives. If you are a food blogger who struggles with photography, top up your coffee and sit down. In a rush? Here's the short version. If you have a digital SLR and struggle with food photography for your blog, buy Plate to Pixel: Digital Food Photography & Styling by Helene Dujardin. Now. Got five minutes and a full mug ? Here's the long answer. I have read books on food photography. I have taken online photography lessons. I have even taken the time to read my camera manual. And still photography remains my single biggest frustration. It's hit or miss and until now I couldn't tell you why. While I understood the individual concepts, I struggled to bring them together. Having read Plate to Pixel, the pieces are finally coming together.
I was poking about the archives, looking for inspiration and to my shock realized that Christie's Corner recently turned 5. Five? Five! How'd that happen? As a classic ENFP, I don't stick with anything that long. Okay, I've been married for almost 9 years, but to keep things fresh I rearrange the furniture every six months. And yet, this blog has been quietly chugging along in one form or another for half a decade. What gives? To be honest, there are times I have considered throwing in the dish towel. I've often asked myself, Does the world really need another recipe for butternut squash soup? After all, other than an embarrassing amount of cat hair wafting about my kitchen and a natty TARDIS cookie jar, what sets me apart from the others? But just when I am ready to pack up my camera and wipe the virtual counter clean, a book, a person or an idea comes along that says, "Keep going." And you know me. I always do as I'm told.
This is Mairlyn Smith. Like me, she has a  frequently misspelled first name and a passion for chocolate that borders on illegal. She even has an impossibly small kitchen (like mine was until last year). I had the pleasure of interviewing her earlier this month and the longer we talked the more I realized we had in lot common. By the end of our conversation, the only difference between us -- other than hairstyle and a few inches of height -- is that I don't go into grocery stores with a big blade and hack at the root vegetables. Other than that? We're practically twins. She also wrote a health-conscious cookbook that fits my tagline, putting flavour before looks. Unlike many health-focused cookbooks, where fibre content and finger-wagging trump taste and joy, Mairlyn's Healthy Starts Here!: 140 Recipes that Will Make You Feel Great is rooted in pleasure and practicality. She believes, and backs up with studies, that treats are essential to your emotional health. She believes if  something is "good for you" it should also taste good. She believes cooking shouldn't be so complicated you end up huddled in the corner nursing a bad case of carpal tunnel syndrome and an anxiety disorder.

This is a TARDIS Cookie Jar. It's mine. You can't have it. If you want your own, and I know you will, you can buy one here. It's the best cookie jar in the world. No. Make that The Universe. Why? Well, being a TARDIS* it's bigger...

This photo the best I can do. The final dish was delicious but it's all gone and I figured a shot of the bones wasn't going to cut it. So here are some of the spices you'll need. Trust me, you'll be glad you rummaged about in the cupboard for that hidden jar of allspice. The resulting sauce was so tasty I used what little was left over as salad dressing. This recipe comes from 100 Perfect Pairings: main dishes to enjoy with wines you love. My cyber-friend Jill Silverman Hough (we've emailed but never met) is the author behind this brilliant little book. When I asked her favourite recipe picks, she named some dishes, but diplomatically suggested my recipe-first approach needed a tweek. She wrote:  
My advice? Pick a wine you like, then pick a recipe in that wine’s chapter...  I think you’ll be most likely to find something that’ll really turn you on that way.
She was right. While it's not hard to get me excited about a delivery system for shiraz or cabernet frac, I get sulky when confronted by a chardonnay. But with a mom and two sisters more inclined to off-dry-pushing-sweet whites, I figured this was an opportunity to compromise. So I gave Gewurztraminer, my mom's favourite, a try. And I'm glad I did.