Most-Loved Recipes

Posted on July 28, 2019 by Not Crocker

NotCrocker sees an incredible amount of traffic even though I’ve not had a chance to update it in years. I have some recipes and ideas in my pocket that I will certainly get back up here one day, hopefully soon! In the meantime, I thought I’d highlight some of the most-loved recipes from the blog.

Chicken Crust Pizza: Get the recipe here! And check the comments, people have tried it with almond flour, omitting the coconut flour all together, and other creative variations! I made this recipe 6 years ago and it is still a favourite for many!
Jalapeño Low-Carb ‘Cornbread’: Get the recipe here! Made with almond flour, this is another low-carb favourite. Also another recipe with awesome community contributions in the comments!
Crispy Fried Fish: Get the recipe here! Another low-carb fave with a breading that folks in the comments have used on chicken as well!

All three of these get used time and again by NotCrocker readers and they will be the first I revisit with new photos and adjustments as I work through user suggestions!

Funnily enough, my favourites are almost all carby as heck, but maybe they are worth a quick highlight too!

I hope you find some favourites here! My goal will be to update the broken photos on the site and ideally start getting new stuff up within the year. Suggestions? Ideas? Wants and needs?

Momofuku Bagel Bombs

Posted on July 31, 2016 by Not Crocker

This summer has been busy, but it’s also been pretty great. Last weekend I flew out to Toronto to celebrate the marriage of my amazing friend Heidi to her now-husband Colin. It was an incredibly fun trip, flying with my friend Megan and staying with our friend Lauren. I don’t know how I manage, but whenever I visit Toronto, it’s in July, and it’s generally obnoxiously hot, this trip was no exception. Thankfully Lauren had an amazing fan, and we powered through!

The wedding was beautiful and Lauren and her boyfriend, Brian, were awesome hosts (no surprise there)! Food highlight of the trip (other than the amazing wedding food!) was Lauren making Momofuku bagel bombs. I’ve actually had this recipe tucked away for a long time, but as with most things Momofuku, I was somewhat intimidated. But, Lauren confidently whipped these up, and I helped her wrap the dough around the cream cheese plugs, and they were incredible! These are actually really easy, they just take a bit of time to prep, with the plugs needing some time to freeze and the dough needing to rest. That said, prep these on a Friday night, and your Saturday morning will be GLORIOUS. The real perk of these is that you can mix up the filling, and I am planning on adding some smoked salmon and dill next time around.

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Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Not Crocker

Well I guess my last few posts, spaced very dramatically apart over the last couple years were a suggestion that poor NotCrocker was left on its own. I’ve been around, checking in, but largely just figuring out life. And it’s been alright. I produced a short film, am still doing that. Flew to London and most recently I’ve started a new job, and am finally getting back to things that make me happy. It’s been a crazy 2-3 years. Truly, since I’ve moved to Vancouver, my whole life has been a bit topsy-turvey. I moved to Vancouver in August of 2011, packed into the moving truck with my dad at the wheel, it was the exciting start to a new adventure. We arrived, settled into my new place and struck off on my new life. I’ve met some incredible people in this city. My Masters program was a huge part of my feeling settled and part of something. My best friends are those I met in the program, women whose drive and intelligence inspire me. And since finishing coursework, the jobs I’ve held have all been an amazing source of learning and growing for me. I loved being part of the NFB team, and while I am sad to move on, I have been really enjoying my new path.

In the midst of all the newness, my dad was diagnosed with and passed away from cancer. It was a traumatic time, and it changed me a lot. My dad and I were close, he was a wonderful man who really shaped who I am, and how I go through the world. His passing taught me a lot about myself, lessons I am still learning, really.

All to say, a lot has changed, but my love for NotCrocker has remained. I’ve baked and cooked plenty over the last couple years. I’ve made cakes and cookies, casseroles and salads. I’ve come up with new combos and tweaked old, I’ve just not had the energy or brainspace to focus on this, something just for myself. NotCrocker is my space, it’s always been where I’ve come to be creative. The last couple of years were a bit of a suck on my resources, and I feel that a lot of myself was swept under the rug while I was busy serving other interests. Enough of that. I am going to, admittedly slowly, start posting again. And I am excited. I’d love suggestions for recipes, requests, new things to try!

For today’s recipe, I am channeling my deep, deep love of rhubarb. Seriously folks, I love rhubarb. I love dipping a stalk in sugar and taking a bite. Rhubarb just tastes like summer. I even like rhubarb and strawberry pie… and I barely like pie as a rule, so that’s pretty special. The tangy, brightness of rhubarb just goes so well with buttery-sweet baking. My mom caught wind of my desire to have some tasty rhubarb treats and when we ended up at my sister’s place that weekend, my sister proceeded to whip up a delicious crumble. She chopped up the extra rhubarb and we popped it in the freezer so I could take it home and do some baking of my own. Well, of course I forgot it, and only now, two weeks later, have I hunted down my own in Vancouver. To start, Rhubarb Coffee Cake!

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Not Crocker, Not Gone

Posted on February 8, 2015 by Not Crocker

I know, I’ve said it before, I am not gone and the blog is not forgotten. Last time I said it, I disappeared for a year!

The last few years have been a crazy whirlwind and rollercoaster, and all those things that indicate a life in major transitions. If you’ve followed me over the years, you will know my father was diagnosed with and passed away from a brain tumour. Obviously this was a huge event in my life. This past year brought about another huge set of changes, but this time for the better. I am finding myself again, maybe for the first time, and while it has been a tumultuous process, the support of my wonderful friends and family has been absolutely invaluable.

I am finally finding myself settled again and am so happy to get back to Not Crocker. First things first, I have to reimage the site. As I can imagine you’ve noticed most of my photos very unhappily disappeared. Unfortunately an update in the summer and a hostile site takeover resulted in most of my images going missing. I am digging through my hard drives as well as my archives, but some are irreversibly gone. Those that are missing for good… well I will just have to remake them! But you can see, I’ve already started making the effort to get the site back to its former glory. It will take time, but will certainly be worth it. I am happy to be back to you fine folks.

Took a little break, will be back. Cookies, cakes, cooking, oh my!

Let’s get baking, cooking, and being awesome.

A quiet return with Creamed Spinach

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Not Crocker

Well, as you might have inferred from my lack of posting over the last (oh my) two months, I have been crazy busy. I think I have also been crazy tired, meaning that coming home meant schlumping around rather than whipping up tasty treats and posting them here! I have been feverishly working on finishing my Masters, as well as scrambling at work getting a couple big projects underway. All to say, sorry for the unbelievably long absence. I wanted to come back with something INSANE and PUNCHY, but this is a subdued, yet delicious recipe. I have some punchier things in the wings, so no fear. But let’s ease back into this.

I’ve missed NotCrocker, and I felt so terrible about my terribleness that I haven’t even been to the blog myself much in the last month or so. Avoidance is a bizarre strategy for coping, so here I am, posting and coming back, and making whatever promises I can that I will not run away again! Work is going to keep going like mad through the next two months, and my paper is top-priority in my off time, but NotCrocker will not fall by the wayside again. I love posting great dishes, and will continue to do so. Who needs to sleep?! Not this lady!

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