V-Day.

I managed to wake up at 3 PM today...pretty proud of myself. 

If you don't think anyone cares if you're alive, try missing a few car/cellphone payments.  

At any rate, happy Valentines Day to those who have found their second half! I hope this day is filled with awesomely sappy love letters, expensive dinners, flowers, gifts...and all that jazz. Now, if you don't have enough money for all this courting...just remember: the quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket. 

And for the rest of us: the best thing to cheer anyone up on this 'Forever Alone Day' is a bunch of heart and tummy warming recipes (well, of course, besides the bottle of booze next to you) am I right or am I right? Okay, enough fluff, here are a couple things to go with that vodka.  

I'm starting with one of my favourite desserts-because it truly is the best course, I learned this one from my old friend's mom who is Cuban. She showed me how to make (what I call ) "Banana-Condensed Milk Bun-Ice cream thing" this really is filled with totally unnecessary calories but it is just unreal. 

For the Bananas: 

1. 4 large bananas, peel and slice them on the diagonal to increase their surface area
2. Throw them into a hot pan with a couple tablespoons of butter-allow the butter to melt on the pan before you toss the bananas on. Let them bubble away in the hot butter for a few minutes without moving them at all. 
3. When you lift one slice and see that it has started browning flip them all over. 
4. Now add a table spoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice, 2 table spoons of sugar, and a splash of rum if you like, add a bit more butter if needed. 
5. Allow bananas to fry in his mixture until the sugary sauce is nicely melted over and around the bananas (but make sure the heat isn't too high or the sugar with burn).  
6. Take them off the heat immediately and lay them out on a plate to rest. You can keep the sugar mixture in the pan but off the heat until ready to serve. 

For the Condensed Milk Bun: 

1. Get a white bread burger bun and slice it in half if it isn't already.
2. Open a can of sweetened condensed milk. Take the top half of the bun and smear a healthy spoon full of the sweetened condensed milk onto the flat part of the bun.
3. Do the same for the bottom half. 
4. You can use as many buns as you like; for 4 bananas I would use 2 buns. 
5. Lay them out on a baking sheet and bake in the oven at about 350 degrees Celsius until they are lightly toasted-carefully watch them to make sure they don't burn. 

Plating: 

Take two halves of a bun and place them on a plate (condensed milk side up) and place the slices of two bananas on the buns, then plop a scoop of vanilla ice cream over top and drizzle some of the left over sugar sauce over the ice cream or around the plate. Repeat this for the second plate and enjoy! 

This second dish I want to share with you is the epitome of comfort food for me, since this is what I grew up eating as a kid. I guarantee you will love this recipe as much as I do...and if you don't well it's a shame because it is delicious and you suck. :) 

Matzo Ball Soup!

2 (10 ounce) packages of matzo crackers
1/2 cup butter
6 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

1 medium carrot, sliced
2 onions, minced
5 ounces matzo meal
96 ounces chicken broth

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. 
2. Break matzo crackers into small pieces, and place in a large bowl. Add water to cover; allow to soak for a few minutes, until soft. Drain the excess water once they soften.
3. Melt butter in a large pan, over medium-high heat and stir in drained matzos. Sauté until the mixture is dry and slightly brown. Remove from heat, and mix in eggs, salt and pepper to taste, and onions. 
4. Mix in just enough matzo meal to make mixture hold together. Roll one golf ball-size matzo ball. 
5. Place matzo ball in the boiling water. The ball must rise to the top.
6. If it doesn't rise, that means you've added too much matzo meal. In this case, add another beaten egg to the mixture and try again. 
7. When desired consistency is reached, roll all of mixture into golf ball size balls. 
8. In a large saucepan, bring chicken broth to a slow boil over medium heat with the carrots, and parsley wait until the carrots are softened; add the matzo balls to the broth. Serve soup as the balls rise to the top of the broth.

Home-made Chicken Broth:

1 stewing hen (or 3lb/1.5 kg chicken)

3 small carrots (unpeeled) coarsely chopped 

3 small onions (unpeeled) coarsely chopped

3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped

3 cloves garlic, smashed

10 fresh parsley sprigs

½ tps (2 mL) salt

½ tsp (2 mL) black peppercorns

2 bay leaves

8 cups (2 L) cold water

1. In a large stockpot, toss in hen, carrots, onions, celery, garlic, parsley, salt, peppercorns and bay leaves. Then pour in water. Cover and cook (simmer) over low heat on stove top for 4 hours (or if you want to make it quicker boil over medium-high heat for an hour, skimming the top for a clear soup). 
2. Discard hen. Strain broth through cheesecloth-lined sieve into large bowl, pressing vegetables to drain all of the broth. 
3. You can make this ahead; just let it cool for 30 minutes, then refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days. 

Enjoy!

Bitter mood, makes bitter food. So, fucking smile! :D