Sometimes a recipe fails. What to do? My luscious coffee cake, laden with garden raspberries, rosy rhubarb and toasted hazelnuts nestled too snugly into the baking pan and came out in fits and starts. Broken. But essentially excellent. Too good to waste. That was never an option. So, I got myself some fresh berries, whipped up some heavy cream, and basically assembled a deep dish extravaganza which we scooped up hungrily with spoons.

I had it in my mind that I could also incorporate a tiramisu concept into this creamy creation. I took my mangled cake and cut it into bite sized morsels. I tossed these morsels with some strong, sweetened coffee before laying them in layers in my pretty bowl, aiming for an almost pudding-like softness to the dessert. Trifle is usually spiked with liquor and tiramisu is coffee-laden, so it was not too bizarre to combine the two techniques. The result, moist, flavourful cakey layers sandwiching some lovely thick cream and fresh strawberries. A perfect and decadent finale to a dinner with friends. An overnight rest in the fridge melded the flavours so the dessert was just as great the next day. It didn't last much beyond that.

Take a baking mistake and turn it into something else. There is no recipe to give you. Broken cake plus cream and fruit equals a trifle. Use a nice sherry on a sponge cake or sweetened espresso on a chocolate cake for some oozy moistness. Use real whipping cream that you whip yourself and sweeten it gently with icing sugar just before it is at its billowy best. Annoint it with some pure vanilla essence. Some nice combinations could include mandarin oranges with orange zested cream and a vanilla sponge cake, or raspberries with a chocolate cake and mocha cream. Cherries and kirsch with cream and white cake would be elegant and sublime. Use what you have. Build a dreamy, creamy, layered dessert in a glass bowl for all to see what lies inside. Chill and scoop. Heavenly.

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I have been feeling some pain over the last week with a disc out of joint in my neck, so it is a good time to look back to an older post I am nostalgic about. As soon as I can, I will hop over to the stove and whip up a batch of these tender, nutty, aromatic stove-top cakes to eat slathered with caramelized bananas.

Waffle-making is a task I take on without much prompting on the weekends, filling the kitchen with warm, vanilla aromas as my family lounges about drinking coffee. When I found a recipe for Hazelnut Waffles, I knew these would knock everybody over, adding a toasted nut nuance to the panoply of flavours I was about to launch.

Obviously, you need a waffle-maker for this project and I am happy to say I inherited an old-fashioned cast iron clunker from my mom after she gave up participating in this sort of kitchen slavery. For those of you not so inclined, may I suggest you take the beautiful batter and make pancakes instead? Surely you have a frying pan! I like to think we are all in this together.

Waffles speak to me of breakfast and brunch but I have been known to present them later in the day as well, even calling them a summer supper, topped with frozen yogurt and fresh fruit. Sometimes a multi-course meal just makes no sense and a tender, furrowed stove-top biscuit is exactly suited to our desires.

The other impetus for waffle-making in my house is having extra bananas, as I have been told that waffles without caramelized bananas are hardly worth waking up for. If there was ever a good reason for getting up in the morning, this is it.

Chocolate Hazelnut Waffles

2/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and ground medium fine (see Note ); 2/3 cup bittersweet chocolate, chopped medium fine in a food processor (optional, but really yummy); 2 cups all-purpose flour; 1/2 cup whole wheat flour; 2 tbsp. granulated sugar; 3 tsp. baking powder; 1 tsp. kosher salt; 4 large eggs; 2 cups milk; 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted; 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract.

Combine ground hazelnuts, chopped chocolate, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. Gently whisk eggs, milk, melted butter and vanilla in another bowl. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth, about 30 seconds. Use this batter according to the directions of your waffle-maker, or use it to make pancakes. Excellent served with carmelized bananas or fresh fruit and maple syrup. Makes 4 4-sided large waffles.

Note : To skin hazelnuts, toast in a 350 F oven until starting to turn golden and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Wrap the warm, toasted nuts in a clean dish towel and let cool. Rub vigorously to remove most of the skins. Don't worry if you don't get all the skin off.

Caramelized Bananas

Slice 3 - 4 bananas about 1/2-inch wide along the diagonal. In a large frying pan over medium heat melt 2 tbsp. sweet butter, 2 tbsp. brown sugar, a pinch of salt, 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon and a few gratings of fresh nutmeg. Add a splash of rum and stir to blend. Add the bananas and let them caramelize on each side. Serve hot over waffles.

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The premise for this rustic pie is so intuitively sound, so solid, I wish I had thought of it myself. What could be more comforting than sandwiching spicy Italian sausage and rapini between soft, smooth layers of mashed potatoes and baking the whole mass together until steaming hot? When I found this recipe it immediately resonated with me, a whole meal in a pan, replete with meat, veggies and potatoes!

Rapini is sometimes referred to as brocolli rabe and it has a more assertive peppery bite than brocolli. You may, however, substitute brocolli if you wish. Having made this a number of times and savouring each encounter with it, I cannot stop my imagination from inventing some new fillings to layer between the mashed potatoes: sauteed mushrooms and spinach, roasted tomatoes, a meaty beef ragout, thick stewed beans, leftover chicken, anything with a fair bit of solidity that will hold together when cut. Pile on the filling generously as the potatoes can dominate otherwise. Try the recipe as written first. Then, let your imagination carry you forward. Gattos are rustic, homestyle potato casseroles found in Southern Italian kitchens.

Gatto - Italian Sausage, Rapini and Potato Pie

4 pounds all-purpose potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks; 1 cup Parmigiano cheese; 3/4 cup milk; 2 eggs, beaten; 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil; 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped; 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes; 2 bunches rapini, stems removed; 2+1/2 tsp. kosher salt; 1 pound hot Italian sausage, casings removed; 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pea-sized pieces; 12 ounces asiago cheese, shredded; freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Put the potatoes in a large pot with enough cold water to cover them by a few inches. Salt the water well, bring to a boil over high heat and cook the potatoes until tender. Drain well.

Mash the potatoes with a potato masher, stirring in the butter, the Parmigiano cheese, milk and eggs.

In a large skillet, combine olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes over low heat. When the garlic is fragrant but has not changed colour, add the rapini and season it with about 1/2 tsp. salt. Toss the rapini in the oil and cook over higher heat until tender. Cool and chop coarsely. Set aside.

In another skillet saute the crumbled sausage, continually breaking it up with the side of a wooden spoon until it has lost all its rawness. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Oil a 9x13 inch baking pan and spoon about half of the potatoes into the pan, pressing and smoothing this layer with your hands until it is even. Arrange an even layer of sausage over the potatoes and then an even layer of rapini. Sprinkle shredded Asiago cheese evenly over the rapini. Season with black pepper and then spoon the remaining potatoes over the top, again using your hands to smooth them into an even layer. Use the tines of a fork to draw decorate lines on the layer of potatoes.

Bake for about 40 minutes, until the top is golden. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting into squares and serving. This dish reheats very well but should not be frozen.

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If you have not had the pleasure of smelling or tasting a Meyer lemon, brace yourself for olfactory overload. With an almost perfume-like sweetness and floral soul, Meyer lemons come from warm, sunny places and will brighten your day immeasurably. It was nothing short of a miracle to find them on the shelves of Superstore this week, as I was led to believe, by Florida grocers, that Meyer lemons are not exported out of their southern homes. But, now they are! And you are the lucky shopper who can infuse your salads, marinades, teas, pies, pastas, cookies and grilled fish with its intoxicating essence. They are thin skinned and softer than your run-of-the-mill lemon, and with much more juice. I grabbed a bag and am already planning to restock my stash, having made some basil pesto enlivened with its juice. All my inner resources are at play conjuring up ways to incorporate Meyer lemons into my life. Lemon squares, certainly, and cheesecake topped with a tart lemon curd. Lemon juice will season my rice pilafs and quinoa creations. Salad dressings with nothing more than the lemon juice, a fruity olive oil, cracked black pepper and some sea salt. Squirted on grilled wild halibut. Zested into my Tuscan braised chicken and artichokes. Lemon meringue pie is a must. Even a Shaker pie, which never really appealed to me before, is on my list, if only for the pleasure of slivers of the whole succulent fruit tucked into a flaky pie shell. Sometimes for fun I just take a Meyer lemon out of the fridge and smell it. That's how much I love them.

Simply put, use a Meyer lemon much as you would use an ordinary lemon. But, try to feature its unique personality in as pure a state as possibile, letting it shine through without too much distraction. So, leave the garlic out of your lemon vinaigrette. Don't overdo the parmesan cheese that you rain over your fusili with lemon cream sauce. When life gives you Meyer lemons, make lemonade! Greek avoglemono sauce would be a fine idea right now. Make a ceviche with sweet scallops or fish filets and Meyer lemon juice. Roast a chicken doused with olive oil and lemon juice and zest, tossing the squeezed carcass of the Meyer lemon into the cavity of the chicken during roasting. Finish off your grilled salmon steaks with a cascade of the sweet juice and nothing more. Serve slivers of Meyer lemon in a tall glass of cold Perrier water. A rare Tuscan steak would turn heads with some of this juice as a fresh flourish. How about some lemon shortbread, the butter serving as a conveyer belt for a Meyer lemon experience? Your shoe would taste good marinated in Meyer lemon juice.

To showcase the insane lemon-ness of Meyer lemons, take the freshest of firm fish filets and douse them with lemon juice. The fish will "cook" in the lemon juice because of its acidity, a perfect plan when you have stellar lemons on hand. Jamie Oliver, a British chef with an appreciation for simplicty and freshness, agrees:

Peruvian Ceviche from Jamie Oliver's Jamie's America

14 ounces sushi grade firm fish, VERY fresh, pinboned, skinned and fileted; 1 red or yellow pepper, seeded and finely chopped; 2 green onions, trimmed and finely chopped; juice of 2 Meyer lemons or 3 regular lemons; 3/4 tsp. sea salt; 1-2 fresh red chiles, seeded and finely chopped; 8 sprigs fresh mint, leaved picked off of stems; 8 sprigs fresh cilantro, leaves picked; large handful of watercress, baby arugula, alfalfa or micro greens; extra virgin olive oil; freshly ground black pepper.

Cut your fish fillets into 1/2-inch cubes. Put these into a bowl with your chopped bell peppers and green onions, then cover and place in the fridge until you need them. in a separate bowl or screw top jar, mix together lemon juice, salt and chiles. Cover and cool in the fridge. Wash and dry your herbs and cress and keep them in the fridge too.

The ceviche takes only a few minutes to "cook", that is to say to let the lemon juice work its wonders and permeate the flesh of the fish. Pour the lemon mixture over the fish mixture and immediately mix it up. Leave to sit for a few minutes while you lay out the plates. Throw most of your herb mixture into the bowl with the fish and toss together. Divide the ceviche between 4 plates (or onto a bigger platter) and include a little of the dressing (throw out what remains). Sprinkle the remaining greens over the top of the fish. Drizzle some extra good extra virgin olive oil from a height, anointing the fish with a golden glisten and grind some fresh black pepper over it all. Enjoy.

A regular lemon has plenty of citrusy charm, but a Meyer lemon is exponentially more magical, with perfume, sunshine and freshness in one handy, yellow package. Take your nose and tongue to places they have never been and use these books as inspiration:

Chocolate. Orange. Ginger. Wow, I am smitten already. Landing on this recipe was a stroke of good fortune.

Gingersnaps are not new to me, but I was still not prepared for the intense blast of punchy flavour and texture that these deliver. I cannot fathom a more congenial combination in a cookie than this one, a bittersweet chocolate base speckled with rich nuggets of dark chocolate, the zing of peppery fresh ginger, bursts of tangy orange flavour and the added bonus of little bits of candied ginger for extra oomph. Then, there is the perfection of the texture, chewy and crisp at the same time, a hint of toothy resistance in the bite yielding to moist tackiness in the centre.

How does this happen? Secret ingredient: Marmalade. Who knew you could toss it into a gingersnap and get this sparkling result? I further bolstered the orange flavour with some pure orange oil. Married with the chocolate, this is a cookie to swoon over. Also, ground ginger can only do so much in the flavour department. The fresh ginger in these cookies takes the ginger concept and really lets it rip, as well as enhancing the moistness and tenderness ratio. Molasses is another essential element in a gingersnap, lending its sensuous, sweet depth and irresistible caramel-like qualities.

All told, you are in for a major jolt of delight, happiness in your hot little hands. Here is the game plan:

Chocolate Orange Gingersnaps

2 cups all-purpose flour; 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder; 2 tsp. baking soda; 2 tsp. ground ginger; 1 tsp. ground cinnamon; 1 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg; 1/2 tsp. kosher salt; 3/4 cup unsalted butter, in pieces; 3/4 cup granulated sugar; 1/2 cup brown sugar; 1/4 cup molasses; 1/4 cup orange marmalade; 1 heaping tbsp. peeled and freshly grated fresh ginger; 1 large egg; 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract; 2 - 3 drops of pure orange oil; 5 tbsp. finely chopped candied ginger; 2 tbsp. cocoa nibs (optional); 5 tbsp. bittersweet chocolate, chopped small; 1/2 cup extra granulated sugar for rolling the cookie dough in.

Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper. Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a mixer, beat together the butter and sugars on low speed until well blended. Stop the mixer and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl and blend again. Add molasses, marmalade and grated ginger and mix to blend. Add egg, vanilla and orange oil and mix. Batter may look curdled, but that's OK. Stop and scrape sides and bottom of bowl as needed. Add the dry ingredients all at once and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Batter will be thick.

Add candied ginger, chopped chocolate and (optional) cocoa nibs. Mix only until evenly distributed. Refrigerate the batter overnight, covered with plastic wrap, for the best results.

When ready to bake, pour the extra cup of sugar into a shallow bowl or plate. Preheat your oven to 350 F. Using two teaspoons, plop balls of dough into the sugar and roll into a neater ball, coated with sugar completely. Place balls of sugared dough at least 3-inches apart on your baking sheets and bake for about 10 - 12 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies. Remove cookies from the oven just when they puff up the most, about 11-12 minutes, and let them cool completely in the pan. Makes about 50 small cookies.

Let me say a few words about cocoa nibs. They are available in gourmet shops and are on the pricey side, so make sure you understand what they are before you spend the big bucks. Cocoa nibs are the edible part of the cocoa plant, a hard, almost nut-like shell that is very bittersweet and brittle, with a crackly texture and deep, unsweetened cocoa taste. They are quite bitter on their own but when encased in a sweet cookie, your mouth will marvel at the intoxicating pure essence of chocolate. If you are unsure or unwilling to use them, simply leave them out. I did. I would love to use them for special occassions but not having them at all times will not stop me from making these cookies (at all times!).

At first I thought, I would would have liked this cookie to be a bit thicker, a more handsome handful, but this thin version certainly has its charm. With an almost lacey design, it is large and festive and beautifully toned. I am giving up on my idea of a perfect orb and loving the quirky form and personality at play here.

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