Stella's Apple Danish

After a certain amount of fuss about appropriate clothing, Stella sees her two girls, Zoe and Kendra off to school. Their boldly patterned umbrellas are the only bright spots in front of the coffee shop's windows on this wet,grey and dismal day. The girls look back and wave and Stella blows them a kiss before returning behind the counter where she is putting generous slices of her apple danish on a tray in the glass case.

Stella sings softly a little tune from Winnie the Pooh: 

The rain, rain, rain came down, down, down

in rushing, rising, rivulets

till the river crept out of its bed,

and crept right into Piglet's

The cafe is empty at the moment, but Stella knows it will soon be full of the loud chatter and clinking of coffee spoons when the group of women from the 8 a.m. exercise class at the neighbourhood gym come in. The women rarely order anything but coffee, and of that, there is plenty. 

Within seconds of these thoughts of hers, Stella is welcoming the exercise group and pouring cup after cup of hot black coffee. The women push three tables together and sit down to gossip and laugh and complain about 'the lazy young people of today.' The last one to order her coffee spies the apple danish in the glass case. 

"Oh...yummy," she says. "I'll have a piece of that with my coffee. I could use some cheering up and that looks like just the thing to indulge in on a day like this." 

Stella puts a piece of the danish on a plate and the woman returns to her chair at the group's table.

"Apple danish? But you'll undo all your hard work this morning. Think of the calories," says one of the more outspoken women. 

The woman with the danish shrugs, and with a forkful of flaky pastry and gently spiced and sweetened apple in her mouth, smiles and says, "I don't care. You count your calories, Margaret, and I'll count mine, thank you very much."

Two more women get up from the table and order a slice of Stella's beautiful apple danish. 

More customers come in out of the rain, and the umbrella stand is soon filled with shiny wet colour.
Stella puts some Brad Meldau on the stereo - When it rains

Stella's Apple Danish   Recipe adapted from one by Stella's good friend Marianne.

1 1/2 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup cold butter, lard, or a combination of the two, cubed
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 egg yolk

sliced apple from five or so of your favourite variety. (Stella used Ambrosia apples this time)
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
juice of half a lemon

Blend flour and salt. Cut in butter and/or lard until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a glass measuring cup, put one egg yolk and enough milk to make 3/4 cup. Add to flour mixture. Gather the dough together and knead lightly a couple of times on a floured board. Divide the dough in half, roll out, place on a rectangular cookie sheet and sprinkle with the corn starch. Place the sliced apples in a pattern on the pastry and sprinkle with lemon juice all over. Sprinkle with the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.

 Add the remaining dough and fold over to make a nice edge all around. Poke with a fork a few times.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 35 minutes.
Let cool completely.

Drizzle with icing made of 1/2 cup icing sugar, 1/8 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1-2 Tablespoons of water or lemon juice, whichever you prefer.

Cut, serve and enjoy!

Writing and photography by Rebecca

Red Lentil Soup - For Warmth!

The temperature has been hovering around the freezing mark, but the sky is holding at a wispy blue, bringing walkers out of their houses to enjoy the crisp air and the sunshine at mid day. After a good long walk, Harvey and June come into Stella's for a hot bowl of soup and some warm conversation with their friends. Meeting for lunch at Stella's has become a bit of a Friday routine for them all, and a pleasant one at that. 

On the menu today is a vegetarian soup, which appeals to June today, so she orders the large bowl, rather than the cup, with a side of fresh whole grain bread. "I could use a bowl of hot good hot soup," she says loudly, to no one in particular. "These bones are cold as well as old." 

Harvey is not fond of lentils, and orders something else. June admits that lentils are an acquired taste, and not for everyone. The couple sits down with their friends, Ellie and Surinder to wait for their lunch to arrive.

After a few spoonfuls of the soup, June calls out,"Very good, Stella!" 

Stella pops her head round the counter and says, "Well, thank you, June, but Savannah must take all the credit for the soup today." 

"Very good, Savannah, then," calls June, waving her spoon like she's conducting an orchestra.

Savannah smiles with satisfaction and begins serving the waiting customers. The lunch hour is upon them and it looks like a busy one today. 

Red Lentil Soup -from Moosewood Cooks at Home

serves 4-6

1 1/2 cups red lentils

6 cups water

3 bay leaves

4 garlic cloves, chopped

2 slices fresh ginger root, each about the size of a quarter

2 medium carrots (1 cup grated)

1 cup canned tomatoes, or 1 medium fresh tomato, chopped (undrained)

1 small red or green bell pepper (1/2 cup finely chopped)

1 1/2 cups chopped onions

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

pinch of cayenne

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

salt and ground black pepper to taste

Sort and rinse the lentils. Put them into a soup pot with the water, bay leaves, garlic, and ginger. Cover and place on high heat. (Watch carefully so it doesn't boil over!)

Prepare the carrots, tomatoes, and bell peppers, and add them to the pot. Bring to a boil, stir, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes, until the lentils are tender.

While the veggies simmer, saute the onions on medium heat in the olive oil in a heavy skillet for about 10 minutes or until browned. Add the cumin, coriander, and cayenne, and saute for another minute, stirring to prevent sticking. Remove from the heat. When the lentils are tender, remove the bay leaves, and ginger from the soup pot. Stir in the sauteed onions and the lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste.

*writing and photo by Rebecca