General Tso Chicken with Sweet and Sour Sauce and Noodles

"What do you feel like having for dinner?" asks Raul.

"Pizza," replies Drew.

"We still have two thawed chicken breasts from yesterday," notes Raul.

"Bbq?" says Drew hopefully.

"Pho?" counters Raul. "No. Let's save that for winter. Something heartier. A stir fry."

"Sounds delicious," says Drew.

Raul slices the chicken breasts into strips and then rolls them in corn starch and then fries them until they brown. "The corn starch acts as an adherent," he explains. "When I add them to the:

Sweet and Sour Sauce: 
2 tablespoons of rice vinegar, two tablespoons of white sugar 
2 tablespoons of soya sauce, 
2 tablespoons of water 
1 squirt of ketchup
1 teaspoon of hot chili sauce

it will coat them perfectly."

Raul stir fries onion slices, red pepper strips, sliced mushrooms and thawed frozen vegetables (cauliflower, carrot and broccoli). He layers the serving bowls with noodles, the chicken, the stir fried vegetables, pours the sweet and sour sauce on top, and then sprinkles with chopped green onions. "Stir it all together," he suggests to Drew.

Drew does and it is even better than pizza.

Basil Chicken wrapped in Bacon, Greek Potatoes, Peas and Bean Salad

Raul buys bacon on extreme sale and is horrified at how fatty it is, not a bargain at all. It sits in the fridge but has to be used creatively at some point. He thaws some chicken breasts and layers them with a thick layer of basil from the balcony - the season is sadly ending but there is still a large crop growing - and then wraps them in bacon. He bakes them at the same time (350 degrees) as the Greek potatoes from food.com that have become a favourite. The bacon bakes up crispy and the chicken - being wrapped in all that fat - is moist and flavourful. A few grinds of Spicy Garlic and the taste explodes.

"The bacon was a disappointment but the chicken is magnificent," admits Raul.

"Not as great as the pork loin," notes Drew. "But then it was bbq'ed and not baked. That was before we started the blog but it was one of your greatest successes so you should really make it again and we'll document it."

As much as Raul hates to repeat himself, he entertains the idea.

BBQ'ed Steak Sandwich with Nuclear Macaroni Salad

Raul is suffering from either a cold or allergies and rather than further inflict his misery and moans on Drew and the dog, he turns to extreme comfort food: a grilled cheese sandwich (made with processed cheese slices) and Kraft Dinner. "Isn't cheese bad for increasing phlegm," says Drew with concern.

"I don't care," mutters Raul. "It makes me feel better."

Raul isn't able to consume all the Kraft Dinner so he stashes the remains in the fridge for future use. By lunchtime he is feeling hungry and like having something more substantial. There are some eye of round steaks that Drew found on sale in the freezer and Raul thaws them, pounds them and coats them with his favourite spice mix (paprika, Greek oregano, pepper and garlic powder). He caramelizes onions and red peppers, and sends Drew to the Milk Mart for crusty buns. And then he has a moment of inspiration: turning the leftover Kraft Dinner into a salad. He adds chopped celery, red peppers, diced onions and a spoonful of pickle relish, and a dash of black pepper. He stirs in a big helping of Miracle Whip and there is an instant tasty salad.

"How does it taste?" asks Raul. "My taste buds are off."

"It's delicious," reassures Drew. "I'll never be a fan of Kraft Dinner but I do love the camping campy flavour of nuclear salad."

Apple Crisp

It pours rain all day and despite a delicious lunch of pulled pork sandwiches (the leftover pulled pork with the addition of caramelized onions, avocado and some coleslaw) and bean salad (also with avocado chunks added - it was a big avocado) Raul is restless and decides to bake a wholesome treat. He googles many recipes before he finds the apple crisp recipe he thinks has the best potential. Of course he then makes some necessary adjustments . .

Ingredients:
Crisp Topping
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup oats (Raul substitutes Drew's Mom's granola to add nuts and flavour)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter
Fruit 
6 cups sliced apples
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375ºF 

Topping: Combine flour, oats, brown sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture is crumbly. Set aside.

Fruit: Arrange apples in greased 9" (23 cm) square baking dish or 1 1/2 qt (1.5 L) casserole. Sprinkle with sugar, water and lemon juice.

Sprinkle topping evenly over fruit.

Bake in preheated oven for about 40 minutes, or until fruit is tender-crisp.

The apartment fills with a sweet aroma and the dog, already restless from the absence of a long walk because of his aversion to getting wet and his raincoat, paces while he waits. "Do we have to let it cool?" asks Raul.

"A bit," answers Drew. "It's best when it's still warm. Or the next day. Do you want me to run out and get ice cream?"

"In this weather?" says Raul incredulously. "Besides we don't have room in the freezer for another thing. I have an idea."

The freezer is full, partially, because No Frills had a sale on Nestle Drumsticks two weeks ago and Drew stocked up. Then Food Basics had a sale, not as good but still a significant sale, and Drew stocked up further. In his defense it has been great ice cream weather until today, and Raul was enjoying the occasional cone as well. Raul dishes up the apple crisp and then takes a Drumstick and slices it cleanly down the middle. "Not only an instant post-modern scoop of ice cream," he announces proudly, "but also a bit of chocolate and a few more nuts."

Pumpkin Cookies from The Danish Pastry Shop

When Drew was a child one of his favourite treats when visiting his grandparents in Thunder Bay was to eat a marzipan from the Current River Bakery. Drew's Mom is a master baker, so the fact that it was such a treat had more to do with the influence of his cousins who would visit at the same time. When Drew's Mom would travel to Thunder Bay she would always go to the Current River Bakery and bring back marzipans - a nice gesture but not a necessary one as a tray of her brownies or some of her gingerbread men are actually more delicious. Unfortunately on the last few visits, Drew's Mom's return flights have fallen on days when the bakery was closed and purchasing the scrumptious petit fours in advance lead to staleness. A dilemma indeed.

Fortunately The Danish Pastry Shop, 1017 Pape Ave is just down the street from R&D's and they make, though differently shaped (tubular rather than square), magnificent marzipans. Drew agrees to pick some up for his Mom to take back for Drew's sister. That way they will be fresh and at their best having only travelled a short distance.

It is pouring rain but Drew has his orders and sets out. On a Saturday morning The Danish Pastry Shop is busy but people wait patiently while individual orders are packaged and paid for. It is an odd but delightful little shop, selling all kinds of pastries, pies and treats, as well as meat pies and pickled herring imported from Denmark. Drew decides to buy a blueberry danish to eat on the walk back but his eye is also caught by the first of their Halloween treats: pumpkin cookies in the shape of jack o'lanterns. At Christmas the store creates massive magnificent gingerbread houses, for Halloween they go all out with spooky cupcakes and cookies in terrifying shapes and styles.

"What do you think of the cookies?" asks Drew.

"They're delicious," says Raul. "You can tell the difference of a master baker."

"Your cookies are great as well," reassures Drew while remembering the hours Raul spend in the kitchen perfecting Drew's Mom's oatmeal cookie recipe. " They've been doing it for so long that they can probably bake perfectly on auto-pilot. The pumpkin makes them really moist and not as sweet as sugar cookies."

"And we did like that Jamaican pumpkin," muses Raul as he heads for the kitchen.

Pumpkin Alfredo Penne with Chicken

Drew's Mom goes to bed while R&D head out to cover a theatre opening. It is a late night and they are all up at 5am in order to get Drew's Mom to her flight on time. After seeing her off (and a brief nap) R&D are famished. Raul contemplates the contents of the fridge and tries to ascertain what they feel like eating. Something that provides energy for sure. "How about an alfredo pasta?" suggests Raul.

"Sounds delicious," pipes up Drew who is completely distracted by the computer screen as he works on the theatre review. "With pulled pork?"

"No," says Raul. "Too spicy and we're too sleepy. But I have an idea . . ."

He mixes two tablespoons of flour and two tablespoons of butter in an enamel lined cast iron saucepan and cooks them into a roux. He adds a cup of hot milk, whisking constantly, to make a bechamel sauce. Salt and pepper are added and then he stirs in four tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese. He brings the bechamel to a boil to thicken before adding a cup of mashed pumpkin (left over from last night's dinner). For colour and vitamins he adds a half cup of frozen peas and slices of last night's leftover bbq'ed chicken. The resulting concoction is mixed with cooked penne pasta and sprinkled with more Parmesan. 

"This is amazing," enthuses Drew. "Classico Alfredo with pumpkin? It's such a unique and subtle flavour, just what I needed when suffering from a lack of sleep but have to concentrate."

"Oh it's just a basic bechamel sauce whipped up from scratch," beams Raul. He must remember to break a sweat next time.

BBQ Chicken with Jamaican Pumpkin, Rice, Bean Salad and Coleslaw

Drew's Mom is stopping over for the evening on her jetsetting way to Thunder Bay to visit her brother and youthful stomping grounds. Raul is feeling the pressure to produce a gourmet but traditional dinner, so while Drew and his mom wander the nearby Danforth and thrift stores - though mainly they are just visiting and catching up - Raul works in the kitchen.

He rubs chicken breasts with his favourite combo of spices - paprika, Greek oregano, pepper and, for Drew's Mom's tastes, just a touch of garlic powder (he omits the usual salt) - and sets it aside to marinate for bbq'ing. He puts brown rice in the rice cooker and is confident having ascertained that brown rice requires a bit more water and some extra cooking time to be perfect and for the grains to not clump. The bean salad and coleslaw are already prepared.

Raul has purchased a large slab of Jamaican pumpkin after the eventual success of Drew's spaghetti squash debacle. Drew's Mom loves squash and this will, hopefully, be a taste treat with a bit of a difference. He slices the squash into inch and a half squares and then tosses them in olive oil and cumin. The pumpkin bakes in a glass baking pan for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Drew's Mom has brought carrot cake so the pressure to bake dessert is lifted. He plans to serve the cake on the Halloween plates that were a gift from Drew's Mom from one of her nostalgia trips to the shopping mecca of Thunder Bay.

The meal is a big success and the pumpkin is flavourful and tastes of the best of autumn and the tropics. Drew's Mom has nothing but praise and Raul is proud and relieved. Now if there was only space for a proper dining room table so that she didn't have to eat on the coffee table . . .