Jesse's Kitchen

Renovating Jesse's Kitchen

2012-02-05T22:54:00.000-08:00

Of course! The week I promise to keep my blog updated....

We do this to the kitchen:

Jesse's Kitchen is being renovated - literally.

And it's waaaaayyyy more intense than I expected.

I have such a hard time making choices to being with and now I'm trying to choose between infinite paint colors, trillions of countertop options and flooring?!?... Please tell me this is all going to turn okay! One day (possibly this lifetime) I will have my kitchen back?

Here's a picture pre-ripping apart of the kitchen. This picture was taken in about the same spot as the above picture. We removed the wall and cabinets which really makes the kitchen look bigger.

So umm.... needless to say there's not a lot of cooking or baking going in there. Which is going to equal infrequent posts (again) for awhile. I'm sure once the improved kitchen is up and running I'll be so excited I'll bombard you with pictures and unwanted information about it so yeah.... be prepared!

Pumpkin Shortbread Bars

2012-01-25T17:06:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'm going to do this.
I'm going to climb out of my rut and make this happen.

If you haven't noticed (*sniff), I've sorta lost my blog posting groove since last summer. I can't think of any particular reason except that life happens. And when life happens in a big way, you make take out your friend.
Take out and sweets.
Sugary, buttery, fattening sweets.

Oh, and coffee (but that's another subject for another day!)

Anyways, I'm going to try to at least do weekly postings again.

My energetic 2 year old might be an obstacle to this goal, however I will prevail!

I think.

I hope.

Don't hate me if I don't.

These pumpkin bars are going to fuel me. They're sort of like a cross between pumpkin pie and a butter tart. Um... does that sound a-ma-zing or what?

If you're like me and you stock piled pumpkin puree at the end of the fall, make these.

Your cupboards and mouth will thank you.

Pumpkin Shortbread Bars

Makes: about 16

Source: Slightly adapted from Lauren's Latest

For the Crust:

1¼ cups all purpose flour

4 tbsps white sugar

½ softened butter

dash of salt

½ tsp vanilla extract

For the filling:

1¾ cups pumpkin puree

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ cup all purpose flour

For the topping:

¼ cup semi sweet chocolate chips

¼ cup toasted pecans

¼ prepared caramel sauce (I used Smucker's ice cream topping)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease an 8 x 8 square dish with cooking spray. Set aside. In a large bowl combine all the crust ingredients until moist. Press evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.

2. In a different bowl, stir together filling ingredients until smooth. Pour over shortbread crust and smooth the top.

3. Sprinkle the chocolate chips and nuts over the top. Press gently into the filling. Drizzle caramel sauce over top of the entire pan.

4. Bake 45 - 60 minutes or until pumpkin filling is firm. Cool completely. Cut into 16 equal squares. (Can be served warm or cold.)

Brazilian Cheesebread (GF)

2012-01-16T22:25:00.000-08:00

Everyone is probably making new year's resolutions to cut down on carbs, eat healthier and exercise more.

If that's you, good for you! I hope you win.

One word of advice though.... you might want to stay away from me for a bit.

I'm nothing but trouble!

I've never really subscribed to the whole New Year's Resolution thing.

One time of year we resolve to make major lifestyle changes?

Seems overwhelming and destined for failure.

(Why yes, I know I'm a ray of sunshine :p).

Don't get my wrong, I'm all about resolving to change oneself. Change is good. I just prefer to tackle it day by day, and moment by moment.

In that spirit, I'm always resolving to try out different ingredients in my cooking or baking.

This recipe interested me in particular because it's made mostly with tapioca flour (starch), something that I've only used maybe once before. (For anyone wondering, tapioca flour was $1.79/425g in the supermarket's oriental section.)

Plus I'm a sucker for anything carby and cheesy.

These were really easy to make, no kneading or rising. But there was one thing......

They had a very um..... unique texture. I'm not sure if it was unique good or unique bad.

They are extremely chewy like I-thought-I-under-baked-them chewy.

Almost..... dare I turn you off by saying......... gluey?

That really sounds gross but they weren't gross at all they were just different.

Your just going to have to try these out for your self.

Embrace them. Love them. Make them this 2012.

Brazilian Cheesebread

Makes: about 12

Source: The Pink Cowgirl via Tasty Kitchen

½ cups Whole Milk
½ cups Water
¼ cups Canola Oil
¼ teaspoons Salt (heaping)
2-½ cups Tapioca Flour, Or A Little More As Needed
1-½ whole Egg Beaten
4 ounces, weight Granulated Cojita Cheese, Plus Extra For Topping Cheese Breads
Directions: Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease 2 baking sheets. In a saucepan bring the milk, water, oil, and salt to a boil. Remove the pan from heat and set aside. Add the flour in increments, stirring constantly until the dough becomes pliable and can be kneaded with hands. Be patient, the more you stir the more solid the dough will become. Only add enough flour until dough reaches desired consistency. Stir in the beaten eggs then the cojita cheese. Stir until dough becomes thick and can be molded. Add additional tapioca flour if needed. Roll dough into 1″ balls and dip the tops into the extra cheese. Place on the greased baking sheets and bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese becomes golden brown.
Note: You can also use granulated parmesan cheese (Kraft) for this recipe.

Cranberry Seed Muffins

2011-12-11T22:35:00.000-08:00

I made you some muffins.....

with my little elf.

Beware that they may not have been made in the most sanitary way.

Elves like to lick their fingers when they bake.

They're still good though, no worries there.

Fresh, tart cranberries, with crunchy pumpkin seeds.

A true seasonal delight.

Cranberry Seed Muffins

Makes: 12 large muffings

Source: Canadian Living 2011 Special Edition

1¾ cups all-purpose flour

¾ cups whole wheat flour

½ cup oat bran (or wheat bran)

1½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

⅓ cup unsalted sunflower seeds

⅓ cup unsalted pumpkin seeds

¾ cups white sugar

¼ cup packed brown sugar

2 tsp finely grated orange zest

2 eggs

1 ⅓ cups buttermilk

½ cup butter, melted and cooled

2 cups thawed cranberries

Topping:

3 tbsp each oat bran, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds

Directions:

1) In a large bowl, whisk together flours, bran, baking powder, baking soda and salt; whisk in sunflower and pumpkin seeds.

2)In a separate bowl, whisk together white sugar, brown sugar, orange zest, eggs and buttermilk. Whisk in butter until combined; stir in flour mixture in 2 additions just until combined. Stir in cranberries. Spoon into 12 greased muffin cups.

3) Mix together the bran, sunflower and pumpkin seeds for the topping. Sprinkle on the muffins. Bake at 375°F until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.

Spicy Feta

2011-10-30T21:50:00.000-07:00

My head is swimming, my nose is running, and there are nails in the back of my throat.

Ick, ick and ick.

Consequently, I've been using 'The Backyardigans' as babysitters for the last few days.

So unfortunately, the only thing taking residence in my brain is '' We've got the whole wide world in our yard to explore. Now it's time for us to have a snack, meet you next time when your back with your friends the Backyardigans....''

That being said, I'm going to have a snack.

The jalapeños in this are going to burn out my cold and the garlic is going to boost my immunity.

And then I'm going to bed.

Spicy Feta

Slightly adapted from: How Sweet It Is

Makes: about 1½ cups

1 brick of feta cheese (8oz)

2 whole jalapenos

3 tbsp olive oil + 1 tsp

1 small bulb garlic

juice of half a lemon

zest of half a lemon

salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Chop the top off the garlic bulb and drizzle it with the teaspoon of olive oil. Wrap it in foil and roast for 25 - 30 minutes or until golden. At the same time, brush the jalapenos with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast the in the oven until charred, about 15 - 20 minutes, rotating at least once. Remove both from the oven and let cool.

2. Once jalapenos are cooled, remove the skin, cut in half and discard the seeds and ribs. Finely chop. (Don't touch your eyes!)

3. In a medium bowl, crumble the feta. Add chopped jalapenos, lemon zest and juiced. Squeeze roasted garlic out of bulb and directly into the feta. Add the 3 tbsp of olive oil and mash with a fork. Season with salt and pepper to your liking. The feta will be a bit ''wet'', sort of cross between a dip and spread. Serve with pita chips, bread or spread on a sandwich. Keeps for about 1 week.

Vegan Banana Breakfast Bar

2011-10-23T22:11:00.000-07:00

As my daughter gets a little bit older, she's becoming super eager to help me out in the kitchen.

Her 'help' seems to involve dumping flour on the floor, eating chocolate chips by the handful, making cakes that are 1 part wood blocks to 2 parts fridge magnets and of course sampling anything I'm making by the fistful.

Don't be fooled by those little fists.

A one year old can get a lot of cookie batter in there.

This breakfast bar (anything with oatmeal can be eaten for breakfast, right?) was a good little baking project for her and I.

The batter has no eggs (hello, it's vegan!) so I really didn't mind if she sampled.

And then sampled again. And again.

And then just took a spoon and shoveled it in, all the while screaming ''MINE!!! MINE!!! MINE!!!!!".

I'd like to say I'm kidding but that is pretty much how it played out.

This is super easy to make and a tasty grab and go.

You can switch up the cranberries for different dried fruits and the chocolate chips for nuts.

If you're feeling brave and like you want to spend some extra time cleaning the kitchen.... let little hands get involved by squishing the banana, adding in the dry ingredients and mixing.

(But don't say I didn't warn you.)

Vegan Banana Breakfast Bars

Makes: about 9 bars

Adapted from: Eat, Live, Run

1 very ripe banana

1/3 cup canola oil

2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

2/3 cup dried cranberries

2/3 cup dark (pure) chocolate chips

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 cups quick cooking oats (or old fashioned oats pulsed in a food processor for a few moments)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mash the banana with a fork and then add the canola oil and brown sugar. Mix well until there are no sugar lumps left.

In another (smaller) bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and oats. Mix into wet ingredients and add cranberries and chocolate chips.

Pat batter down into a greased square 8-inch pan. Bake for 25 minutes, or until edges are golden. Let cool before cutting into squares.

German Chocolate Cake Cookies

2011-10-16T16:56:00.000-07:00

Do I really need to discuss the merit of joining german chocolate cake and cookies into one glorious baked treat?

Does not the name say it all?

German. Chocolate. Cake. Cookies.

Is this something you think you can handle?

I barely could.

Pecans, brown sugar and coconut on top of a chocolate cookie.

I'm not sure that it gets better than this.

Bake a batch of these and share them with a friend.... just don't skimp on the frosting or you might lose that friend.

German Chocolate Cake Cookies

Source: Peach Cobbler Murder by Joanne Fluke

Cookie Dough:

1 cup butter

1 cup milk chocolate chips

2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

3 cups flour

Frosting:

½ cup packed brown sugar

¾ cup packed shredded coconut

½ cup chopped pecans

¼ cup chilled butter, cut into 4 pieces

2 egg yolks

Directions:

1. Use a doubler boiler or your microwave to melt together the chocolate chips and butter.

2. In a seperate bowl, beat together the white sugar and eggs until well mixed and smooth. Slowly add the cooled chocolate mixture and continue to beat. Add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, vanilla and flour. Mix well. Cover the dough and set aside.

3. In a food processor, chop up the brown sugar and coconut until the coconut is very fine. Add the pecans a butter. Process until the butter is in small bits. Add the egg yolks and continue to process until completely incorporated. Transfer to a small bowl and refrigerate the frosting.

4. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Once the oven is heated, pat the cookie dough into 1'' balls. Place the balls on a greased cookie sheet (leave lots of room for spreading). Press down in the center of each ball to make a deep indentation.

5. Pat the chilled frosting into ½" balls and place in the indentations. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack and allow them to completely cool before enjoying.

Sour Cream Twists

2011-09-24T06:24:00.000-07:00

Where did summer go?

I feel like I went inside my house to escape the heat and when I left the next morning the leaves were changing colors and the temperature had dropped 10 degrees.

All of sudden I'm digging for down filled jackets and wholly boots.

I'm not complaining though.

Definitely not!

I love the fall.

I love being able to cook roasts and bake breads and pies.

To me, there's not much better than coming out of the cold and being hit with the smell of fresh baked bread laced with roasted meat and cinnamon sugar.

YUM and YUM.

That's why I made these sour cream twists.

Pretty much just for the smell.

If I could bake these and bottle the scent, I'd be a billionaire.

No joke. Probably even a gillionaire.

Not only do they smell a-mazing, they also taste dee-licious.

The dough is really tangy and soft while the cinnamon sugar filling is the perfect blend of crunch and sweetness.

I won't be waiting too long to make these again.

Bake these! Your house will smell fantastic.

Sour Cream Twists

Makes: 24 twists

Source: Della's Favorites

1 cup sour cream

2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast

¼ cup warm water

2 tbsp butter, softened

3 tbsp white sugar

1 tsp salt

1 egg

3 cups all purpose flour

2 tbsp butter, melted

⅓ cup brown sugar, packed

1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Heat sour cream to lukewarm. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in sour cream, butter, sugar, salt, egg and one cup flour. Beat until smooth.

2. Mix in remaining flour until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. Knead on a floured board until smooth. Let rise in a greased bowl until doubled in size.

3. Roll into a rectangle, 24'' x 6''. Brush with the remaining 2 tbsp of butter. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle over a lengthwise half of the rectangle. Fold the other half over the sugar half. Cut into one inch strips, holding the strips at each end. Twist in opposite directions.

4. Place 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet, pressing the ends on the sheet. Cover and let rise until double in size.

5. Heat oven to 375°F. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden. If you want, drizzle with a glaze.

Garlic Bread Sticks

2011-07-19T07:42:00.000-07:00

Yes..... well..... ahem...... these look a bit rude, don't they?

They were really just supposed to look like a bread stick; the phallic resemblance was completely unintentional.

I'm even a bit embarrassed looking at that top photo. Let's just move on to photos of dough.

Yes, innocent looking dough..... much better!

Anyways...... these breadsticks were inspired by a Glee eposide via the Food Network.

Apparently somewhere in the show the winners of a duet competition get a dinner at a fictional place called BreadstiX where, ironically (not), the breadsticks, much like these ones, are bottomless.

I can't say that I care very much about Glee, but I do care about bread.

I care deeply about bread.

Especially bread that is soft, chewy, garlicky and accidentally inappropriately shaped.

These were really great fresh out of the oven but didn't keep well. By the next day they were getting a bit dry. In the future, I might try freezing them in dough sticks then taking them out to rise just before I bake them.

Don't worry, if you don't know anything about Glee (like me) you can still enjoy these yummy breadsticks.

Garlic Bread Sticks

Source: Food Network

Makes: 12

1 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 clove garlic, minced
Chopped fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme and/or oregano), for sprinkling

Directions:

Put 3/4 cup warm water in a food processor. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar and 1 teaspoon salt and pulse until dissolved. Add the flour, olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter and pulse until the dough forms a ball, about 1 minute. Continue to process with the motor running until smooth, about 2 more minutes.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; brush with olive oil. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Divide into 12 pieces, then roll each piece into a 12-to-16-inch rope. Arrange the ropes 1 1/2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets, rolling them to coat with the oil. Cover each baking sheet with a damp cloth and set aside in a warm place until the breadsticks double in size, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Put the remaining 3 tablespoons butter and the garlic in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave until melted, about 1 minute. Brush the breadsticks with the garlic butter; sprinkle with herbs and salt. Bake until golden, 15 to 20 minutes.

Kitchen Sink Cookies

2011-07-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

These cookies have a little bit of everything in them.

Dried cranberries, toasted pecans, oats and chocolate chips.

Normally, I'm just a straight-up, no frills chocolate chip cookie kind of girl but occasionally, very occasionally, I get a hankering for something a little bit more interesting.

Given that yesterday the skies decided to open up and release an ocean of rain on Revelstoke, it seemed like a good day to turn on the oven to restock my cookie supply.

Yes, I am amply supplied with cookies at all times.

I had seen a recipe for John's Kitchen Sink Cookies from Martha Stewart that piqued my interest but when I checked it out it had corn syrup in it. I don't know why but it doesn't seem right to put corn syrup in cookies so instead, I settled on this recipe from the Food Network magazine and made a few changes (as always).

Make these with whatever's in your cupboard, raisins, toffee chips, butterscotch chips, coconut, you name it! Sandwich them between vanilla ice cream for a quick and delicious summer dessert.

Kitchen Sink Cookies

Makes about 20

Adapted from the Food Network

¾ cup flour

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup white sugar

½ tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

½ cup butter

1 egg

1 ½ cup rolled oats

½ cup dried cranberries

½ cup toasted, chopped pecans

½ cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

2. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and light brown, dark brown and granulated sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix on low speed until incorporated. Slowly add the flour mixture, oats, dried cranberries, pecans and chocolate chips and mix until combined.

3. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. With wet hands, make 20 balls from the dough and put on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Press down on the dough balls with the palm of your hand to make flat circles.

4. Bake the cookies until golden and still a bit tender in the center, 15 to 17 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit on the baking sheets for 1 minute, then transfer the cookies to a rack to cool completely.

Summer Quinoa Salad

2011-07-11T23:21:00.000-07:00

It seems that I have a crush on quinoa.

Breakfast Quinoa.
Crunchy Quinoa.
Mango Chicken Curry Quinoa Salad.

It's just fun to say: keen-wah, keen-wah, keen-wah, keen-wah, keen-wah...........keen-wah.

Actually, I like that it's so versatile.
You can eat it for breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner and even dessert.

Unlike a lot of other foods, I find the leftovers really easy to use up. You can throw leftover quinoa in soup, smoothies (yes, blended up!), chocolate cake (you heard me) and of course salad like, conveniently, the one I have right here.

This salad is a mixture of chicken, raw veggies, quinoa and feta in a lemony vinaigrette. The recipe for the dressing is a bit rough so if you make it you'll have to adjust the ingredients to your liking.

Try it out and bring it to your next picnic.
Hope you like it.

Summer Quinoa Salad

Jesse's Kitchen Creation

Makes about 4 cups

For the salad:

2 cup cooked quinoa

1 cup cooked chicken, shredded

½ head broccoli, diced

1 sweet red bell pepper, diced

¼ cup crumbled feta

For the dressing:

1 shallot, minced

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp maple syrup

3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

4 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp minced parsley.

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large bowl combine together all the salad ingredients. In a small bowl whisk together dressing ingredients. Pour dressing over salad and toss to combine. Serve chilled. (Doesn't keep well).

Raw Lemon Chews

2011-07-08T08:06:00.000-07:00

Wow! It's like a trillion degrees here. No joke.

I just think about going outside and I get a sunburn.

Yesterday, I posted on Facebook that I couldn't wait for winter and I was bombarded with hate mail.

Can you believe that? I even got a buh humbug.

Who cares that we only get 2 months of summer here compared to 8 months of heavy snow; the summer heat is oppressive!

I consider myself too much of a lady to sweat like this.

Since I can't turn my oven on for fear that my house will burst into flames with the temperature rise, I made these cool, somewhat refreshing lemony treats.

They're not hot, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies but they do fill a certain void for sweetness in my life.

The date, almond, lemon mixture is so sweet that I'm pretty sure my one year old thinks they're candy. She steals them from the fridge and hides in the corner in fear that I'm going to take them away.

Of course, I think it's great that she likes them and even considers them a treat.

So if you're feeling the need for a sweet baked good without the baking, try out these babies. I know you'll love them.

Raw Lemon Chews
Makes an 8'' x 8'' pan
Bar: Jesse's Kitchen original recipe
Icing: Recipe based on the Rawtarian

For the bar:
1 cup whole, raw almonds
¾ cup dried dates
1 lemon (preferably organic)

For the icing (optional):
½ cup dried dates
¼ + ⅛ cups water
¼ cup coconut butter
1 tsp lemon zest
2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Directions:
1. Use your food processor to grind up the almonds into a coarse meal. Set almonds aside and grind dates as fine as you can. Add the zest and juice of one whole lemon and continue to process. Add the almonds and process for a few minutes until the mixture sticks together. Press the mixture into an 8'' x 8'' pan.
2. To make the icing, soak the dates in the water for about 15 minutes. Blend all of the icing ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor until smooth (mine didn't really get that smooth). Start on a low speed and gradually work your way up.
3. Spread the icing over the bar and refrigerate until firm. Cut into square or use a biscuit cutter to make pretty little rounds.

Tomato Ricotta Tart

2011-07-05T15:44:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when I cook I pretend I'm working in a restaurant being featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

I show Guy Fieri how I make my signature dish from scratch.
Of course, I always make a point of telling him that I only use fresh, local ingredients and organic whenever possible. (Liar!!)

During the cooking process, he's constantly stealing bits of cheese and herbs to 'taste test'.

When the finished product comes out of the oven he raves about the complexity of flavors in my dish and then gives me a fist bump and a good work to end the show.

Like the show, my dishes are always delicious and unlike anything else he's ever tried at the one million other restaurants he's been to. (HA!)

Although that last statement is dripping with skepticism (or at least it was when I said it in my head), I do think this tart would meet that criteria.

It kind of reminds me of a quiche but without the eggy texture. It's really perfect for brunch or lunch and is packed with flavor which is a bit surprising given how few ingredients it uses.

This tart will probably never make it's debut on Triple D.....

But it'll always be a star in my kitchen.

Tomato Ricotta Tart

Makes 1 x 9'' tart

Slightly Adapted from: Martha Stewart (who else?)

2 cups fresh bread crumbs
¼ cup olive oil plus more for brushing
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 eggs
2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (basil, rosemary etc.)
¼ cup grated parmesan
salt and pepper
1 large tomato

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a 9-inch springform pan, toss breadcrumbs with olive oil; press evenly into bottom.
In a bowl, whisk ricotta with Parmesan, eggs, and herbs; season generously with salt and pepper. Spread over crust; arrange tomatoes on top. Brush with olive oil.
Bake until tomatoes are almost dry, 35 to 45 minutes; let cool. Unmold. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Black Forest Cookies

2011-06-22T23:16:00.000-07:00

My jeans have been mysteriously shrinking in the wash.

I refuse to believe it has anything to do with these cookies.

Or the 40 peanut butter cups I ate last week.

You think I'm joking or exaggerating but I'm not.

I have a chocolate and peanut butter addiction.

It can not be cured.

I just accept it and try to live my life the best I can.

I made these cookies to try to get myself off 'the cups'.

It worked for about 5 minutes.

Then I ran out of cookies.

Next time I'll be sure to make a double batch.

Black Forest Cookies

Makes: about 36

Source: Martha Stewart

1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 package (about 12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chunks
1 1/2 cups dried cherries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder; and salt; set aside.
Place chopped chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water; stir until melted and smooth. Remove from heat; whisk in sugars, then eggs, until smooth.
Whisk in dry ingredients just until combined (do not overmix). Fold in chocolate chunks and dried cherries; press plastic wrap directly onto surface of dough, and refrigerate until firm, 30 to 45 minutes.
Drop mounds of dough (equal to 2 level tablespoons) about 2 inches apart onto prepared sheets. Bake just until edges are firm (but not darkening), 11 to 13 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 1 to 2 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cherry Almond Granola

2011-06-20T00:12:00.000-07:00

Chunky nuts and tart cherries make this my favorite granola.

Ever.

That's saying a lot if you've ever tried the peanut butter and chocolate granola on this site.

I can't really describe to you why this is so great, it just is.

Something about the toasted nuts and warm cinnamon make this granola both nutritional and decadent.

All I can say is:

Make it.

Eat it.

Love it.

Repeat.

Cherry Almond Granola
Makes: about 6 cups
Slightly adapted from Martha Stewart
4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
½ cup coarsely chopped almonds
½ cup coarsely chopped pecans
½ cup dried cherries
½ cup sweetened dried coconut flakes
½ tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
⅓ cup coconut oil
¼ cup honey
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. In a large bowl, stir together oats, almonds, pecans, cherries, coconut, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, combine oil, honey, and sugar. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Drizzle syrup over oat mixture; toss with a wooden spoon. Pour granola onto sheet pan and spread evenly. Bake, stirring occasionally, until golden (about 25 minutes). Let granola cool completely on a wire rack. Break it into chunks and store in an airtight container.

Chinese Chicken Salad

2011-06-15T09:29:00.000-07:00

Occasionally I emerge from my sugar coma and I'm forced to make something other than cookies for dinner. It usually happens around the time that I'm looking in the fridge and realize I have a bunch of vegetables that are going to be compost if I don't eat them, and soon!

This event occurred yesterday. (Mark it on your calender.)

Sometime between my 12th Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and 27th maple glazed almond I spotted this recipe.

The shock that I had all the ingredients on hand to make this wonderful looking salad propelled me into motion. (Not to mention my secret love affair with chicken salad sans mayo.)

The results were spectacular and well worth setting aside the junk food for.

This salad is bursting with flavor and has lots of great texture and color.

Try it out for you next lunch, supper or picnic!

Chinese Chicken Salad

Serves 6

Adapted from: A Farm Girl's Dabbles but originally from Barefoot Contessa Parties!

For the salad:

3 large chicken breasts

2 tbsp melted butter

salt and pepper

½ lb sugar snap peas, cut into 1'' pieces

2 sweet bell peppers (red, orange or green), cored and seeded and sliced into 1'' pieces

1 cup coarsely grated carrot

2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

½ cup raw chow mein noodles

For the dressing:

⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

⅛ cup apple cider vinegar

¼ cup soy sauce

2 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp honey

1 large garlic clove, minced

2 tsp fresh ginger, minced

¼ cup creamy natural peanut butter

½ tsp salt

½ tsp fresh ground pepper

Directions:

1. First, prepare chicken. Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush melted butter all over the chicken and season liberally with salt and pepper. Place on a foil lined sheet pan and roast for 35 - 40 minutes, until chicken is just cooked. Once chicken is completely cooled, use to forks to shred the chicken in bite sized pieces.

2. Combine the shredded chicken, snap peas, bell peppers, carrots and chow mein noodles in a large bowl.

3. Whisk together all the dressing ingredients and pour over the chicken and vegetables. Gently combine. Sprinkle the 2 tbsp of sesame seeds over the salad and season to taste. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Balance Cookies

2011-06-12T22:08:00.000-07:00

Did you notice I've been away for awhile?
Well I haven't actually been away.
My blog has been away from me.... ie: I was somehow blocked from my Blogger account.

You don't believe me. I can tell.

But it's true.

I've still been cooking.

Well, mostly baking. That's what I do best.

I just haven't been able to share the baking love.

My lovin' from the oven... if you will.

You don't have to worry about missing out on baking love anymore, because I'm back.

I didn't want to kill you with sugar and butter and chocolate right off the bat (although that would be a nice way to die, wouldn't it?) so I made you some gluten free, dairy free, egg free cookies.

Packed with toasty almonds and sesame seeds these are tasty and appropriate for people with all kinds of allergies.

Except nuts.

Turn off your computer and walk away if you have a nut allergy.

Balance Cookies
Makes: about 2 dozen
Source: In the Kitchen with Anna

2 cups brown rice flour

1 cup ground almonds
3 tbsp lightly toasted sesame seeds
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp fine salt
⅓ cup honey
¼ cup vegetable oil
whole almonds for garnish

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Stir the rice flour, ground almonds, sesame seeds, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. In a seperate bow, whisk the honey and oil and add to the rice flour mixture.
3. Scoop tablespoonfuls of dough and use your hands to shape each into a ball, placing 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Press each cookie to flatten and press a whole almond into the center of each. 4. Bake 1 sheet at a time for about 15 minutes or until cookies start to brown a little on the bottom.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

2011-05-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

I want to be one of those people that drink sangria on their decks in the evenings.

Preferably a fruity rosé with citrus undertones and a crisp afterbirth (The Office, anyone?)

The sad truth is I'm more of a sit on my couch with a bowl of soup and bread person.

Light on the soup, heavy on the bread, please.

(Give mama some comfort food and don't skip on the carbs! That's all I'm sayin'.)

This broccoli and cheddar soup is the ultimate comfort food.

I made it yesterday while the heavens opened up and wept all over Revelstoke.

Or less poetically, while it rained all day.

The aroma of cooked onions and simmering vegetables was heavenly. It only took a few minutes to prepare and I would say it rivals any restaurant soup of the same variety that I've ever had.

Give it go....or be a loser and drink your stupid sangria.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Adapted from the Food Network

Makes: 4 servings

6 tbsp butter

1 small onion, diced

¼ cup all purpose flour

2 cups whole milk

3 cup chicken or vegetable stock

2 bay leaves

⅛ tsp nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

4 cups broccoli florets ( I used the stems too)

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

1½ cups grated sharp white or yellow cheddar plus more to garnish

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the flour and cook until golden, 3 to 4 minutes, then gradually whisk in the half-and-half until smooth. Add the chicken broth, bay leaves and nutmeg, then season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, until thickened, about 20 minutes.

2. Add the broccoli and carrot to the broth mixture and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Puree the soup in batches in a blender until smooth; you'll still have flecks of carrot and broccoli. Return to the pot. (Or puree the soup in the pot with an immersion blender.)

3. Add the cheese to the soup and whisk over medium heat until melted. Add up to 3/4 cup water if the soup is too thick. Ladle into bowls and garnish with cheese.

Classic Vanilla Cupcakes

2011-05-15T21:11:00.000-07:00

Did you see my post on roasting peppers?

Hmm.... it was there for about a day or so.

And then something happened. It mysteriously disappeared.

I think the internet ate it.

Is there like an internet sewer somewhere? You know I place where postings that have been eaten and then um.... excreted are found?

I'm a little afraid that this awesome cupcake recipe is going to end up in the internet sewer.

It really deserves much better than that.

It deserves to be on Cupcake Wars.

(It's a good thing I don't have cable or I'd never turn the food network off.)

Please make these cupcakes.

Please give them a chance.

Or if you're in the neighborhood, come over to my house and eat mine so that I don't.

I want to eat them.

I do.

In fact, I can't stop eating them.

But I must!

I have a new bathing suit and at this rate, it'll never see the light of day.

Classic Vanilla Cupcakes with classic chocolate icing

Makes: 24

Source: Paula Deen's My First Cookbook

For the cupcake:

¾ cup butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar

3 eggs

2 ½ cups cake flour

2 ½ tsp baking powder

⅛ tsp salt

1 cup whole milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

For the icing:

¼ cup butter, softened

3 tbsps milk

3 tbsps cocoa powder

2 cups icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl cream together the sugar and the butter for about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well with after each addition.

2. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add half of the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, along with half the milk. Beat well, then add the rest of the flour mixture and milk. Add the vanilla and beat again.

3. Put 24 liners into the cupcake pan. Pour the batter into the liners, filling a little more than half full.

4. Bake the cupcakes for about 18 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove the cupcakes and place on a wire rack for about 15 minutes to cool. Meanwhile, make the icing.

5. To make the icing, put the butter, milk, cocoa powder, icing sugar and vanilla into a large bowl and beat until the mixture is very smooth. Ice cooled cupcakes.

Caramel Root Beer Float

2011-05-09T08:17:00.000-07:00

I made some really lovely things last week.

Lemon frozen yogurt and toffee bars to name a few.

Unfortunately, a week of bad luck and some computer mishaps left me with no pictures of said lovelies :(

While drowning my sorrows in an A&W root beer float, I had a moment of inspiration.
They're rare and far between but occasionally I have them, moments of inspiration that is.

I thought to myself, "Self, this would taste pretty amazing with a healthy drizzle of caramel..... No, wait! a healthy drizzle of salted caramel sauce on top.''

Because I generally always do what the voices in my head tell me to do, I bought some ice cream and some root beer and made a batch of caramel sauce and let the voices take over.

Listen to your inner voice and try this.

If you like root beer floats, you'll love this!

Caramel Root Beer Float

I'm sure you don't need me to tell you how to make a float. Make sure you buy really good vanilla ice cream and extra bubbly root beer. Top it with homemade caramel sauce (with a pinch of fleur de sel if you're feeling sassy).

Apple Carrot Coconut Muffins

2011-05-04T08:42:00.000-07:00

These were almost too pretty to eat.

Almost.

I eat all things. Pretty or not.

I thought these would be easy to throw together in the morning and be ready for breakfast once my family woke up.

I was wrong.

It took me forever to grate the apples and carrots and apparently weighing out ingredients versus measuring volume takes me double the amount of time.

By the time these were ready it was nearly lunch time and I'd filled up on ice cream cake and cookies.

I still managed to eat 3 but had to freeze the rest.

The combination of apples, carrots, coconut and walnuts was nice but next time I'll use a recipe with volumes.

Apple Carrot Coconut Muffins

Makes: 18 muffins

Slightly adapted from Apples: more than 70 inspiring recipes

Muffins:

3 large eggs

300g light brown sugar

125 ml vegetable oil

125 ml applesauce

450g self rising flour

2 tsps ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

300g coarsely grated carrots

150g flaked coconut

100g walnuts, lightly toasted and chopped

2 tsps baking soda

Topping:

50g walnuts, lightly toasted and chopped

50g flaked coconut

75g brown sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 18 muffin cups with muffin papers.

2. To make the topping, mix together the walnuts, coconut and sugar and set aside.

3. Combine the eggs with the sugar, oil and applesauce in a bowl. In a separate bowl combine the other ingredients and fold into the oil mixture. Spoon into the muffin papers and top with the sugar mixture. Bake for 30 minutes or until well risen and firm to the touch.

Crepes

2011-05-02T09:29:00.000-07:00

I had a bad day.

I need crepes.

Please make me some.

I'll be in bed with my head under the covers, m'kay?

I just want to forget that I lost my keys, drove over my phone, and hit a neighbour's brand new travel trailer.

In the scheme of life these things aren't very important but today,

they seem pretty big.

The best thing to do on a bad day is ~~stay in bed wallowing in your sorrow and filth~~ eat a good breakfast.

Haven't you heard? It's the most important meal of the day... next to dessert.

So if I could just muster up the courage to make these crepes the skies will clear up, I will find all that's been lost, wrongs will be righted and life will be good.

Well maybe not all of that will happen.

But getting out of bed and making some crepes is a good start.

Crepes

Makes: 12

Source: Wonderful Ways to Prepare Crepes and Pancakes by Jo ann Shirley

2 eggs

1 ¼ cups milk

1 cup all purpose flour (I used ½ barley flour)

¼ tsp salt

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Beat together eggs and milk with an electric blender or whisk.

2. Sift the four with the salt and add to egg and milk mixture

3. Add vegetable oil and blend thoroughly.

4. If beating by hand, strain mixture through sieve to remove lumps (I'm much to lazy to do that! But you can if you want to.)

5. Allow mixture to stand for at least one hour before using. If mixture is too thick, add a little milk.

6. Pour 1 or 2 tbsp of batter into the center of a hot, lightly oiled frypan. Tilt pan to spread the mixture around the edges of the pan. Cook until top is dry. Turn over and cook other side for about 15 seconds. Serve with fresh berries and whip cream or serve with cheese sauce and sliced ham for a savory crepe.

Spiced Pecans

2011-04-27T22:57:00.000-07:00

Darn you, discounted Easter candy and your allure!

You are evil.

The 2 (almost empty) family sized bags of mini eggs on my dining room table are proof.

Proof that discounted candy tastes much better than full price candy.

Also proof that I lack complete self control when it comes to a) sales, b) candy, and c) eating candy that was on sale.

And by the way, 'family sized' really means 'Jesse sized'.

This morning my husband asked me to make him mini egg pancakes and I was like, 'That's gross. Mini eggs are gross'.

I had to lie.

I didn't want to share my precious egg stash.

I actually think mini egg pancakes are a pretty fantastic idea and I'm jealous I didn't think of it first.

Another great idea (I also didn't think up) is these pecans.

Salty, sweet and spicy.

They're a big blast of flavor in your mouth.

They're definitely not gonna rock your world like a bag of mini eggs stuffed into some pancakes but they do jazz up a salad and make a pretty tasty snack.

I know. I know.

I was just talking about mini eggs and now you're craving some and all I'm leaving you with is a recipe for pecans.

That's tough. I'm mean. I'm sorry. Try the pecans.

Spiced Pecan

Makes 1 cup

Adapted from : Urban Pantry

2 tbsp + 4 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp cayenne

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp paprika

½ tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

¼ cup peanut oil

1 cup whole pecans

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl combine 2 tbsp brown sugar, cinnamon, cayenne, turmeric, paprika, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.

2. Cover the bottom of a large sauté pan with the peanut oil and heat on medium high. When oil begins to ripple add pecans - stir frequently so they don't burn.

3. When pecans start to smoke add 4 tbsp of brown sugar and toss, toss, toss so the sugar doesn't burn. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove the pecans with a slotted spoon and add them to the measured out spices. Working quickly, stir to combine. When mixture has cooled enough to taste, adjust spices to your liking. Pour on a pan to cool completely. Store sealed at room temperature.

Energy Bites

2011-04-25T08:12:00.000-07:00

I like things that are easy to make, use simple ingredients and take almost no time.

Who doesn't?

If a recipe is healthy to boot and can fit in the busy hands of a one year old, you can be sure I'll be wasting no time in making it.

Like these little energy bites.

I can't tell you enough how much I love the simplicity of them.

They're customizable, using whatever might be in your cupboard.

They take less than 10 minutes to throw together, they're portable, they don't contain filler or mystery ingredients, and they're just plain tasty....

I want to marry them.

I wonder if John would mind.

Make these, and you'll see what I mean.

Energy Bites

Makes 12 - 16 bites

Adapted from The Cilantropist (originally from A Hungry Spoon)

¾ cup nut butter (peanut butter, almond butter, tahini, etc)

¾ cup rolled oats

¼ cup toasted seeds (sunflower, sesame, pumpkin, etc)

½ cup dried fruit, roughly chopped (apricots, cranberries, cherries, etc)

2 tbsp ground flaxseed

½ tsp kosher salt

1 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Make sure to evenly distribute everything. Take some of the 'dough' and press it between your hands if it sticks together it's ready- if not, add a bit more nut butter. Likewise, if it feels too wet add some more oats or flax.
2. To form the dough into a small bite, use a spoon or a cookie scoop to portion out the dough, squeeze it between your hands, and then gently roll it into a ball. This amount of dough makes 12 bites that are about 2 inches in diameter. Store the bites in an airtight container, and keep them refrigerated until eating. Bites will keep for 1-2 weeks refrigerated.

Whole Wheat Pitas

2011-04-21T22:53:00.000-07:00

If you're celebrating Passover this week and doing the whole flour-free thing, I apologize for tempting you with this.

I realize it's cruel to dangle this soft, flavorful homemade pita in front of your eyes when you're probably eating something made with matzo meal. (I haven't actually tried anything made with matzo so please forgive my ignorance if it's actually super delicious.)

When the Feast of Unleavened Bread is over, I encourage everyone to try making their own pitas.

You'll never ever go back to store bought ones.

If you do, you'll feel completely disappointed with yourself.

Unless, of course, you're in a rush and just don't have the time, then it's okay.... you don't have to feel disappointed.

Try making these today.... or next week if you must.

Just be careful when sticking your head in the 500 degree oven, you're mascara might want to melt to your eyeballs. For the ultimate protection, break out your safety goggles... or just improvise with a nice pair of shades ;)

Whole Wheat Pitas

Makes: 8

Source: Confections of a Foodie Bride and Annie's Eats

2¼ tsp active dry yeast
1 tbsp honey
1¼ cups warm water (105°F - 115°F)
1½ cups bread flour or high-gluten flour, plus additional for kneading
1½ cups whole wheat flour
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
cornmeal for sprinkling baking sheets

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the yeast, honey and ½ cup of the water. Stir gently to blend. Whisk ¼ cup of the bread flour and ¼ cup of the whole wheat flour into the yeast mixture until smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside until doubled in bulk and bubbly, about 45 minutes.

2. Remove the plastic wrap and return the bowl to the mixer stand, fitted with the dough hook. Add in the remaining ¾ cup of warm water, 1¼ cups bread flour, 1¼ cups whole wheat flour, olive oil and salt. Knead on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Transfer the ball of dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat, and let rise in a warm draft-free place, about 1 hour, until doubled in bulk.

3. Place an oven rack in the middle position. Place a baking stone in the oven (if using) and preheat to 500˚ F.

4. Once the dough has risen, transfer to a lightly floured work surface, punch down the dough and divide into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball. Flatten one ball at a time into a disk, then roll out into a 6½-7 inch circle. Transfer the rounds to a baking sheet or other work surface lightly sprinkled with cornmeal. Once all the rounds have been shaped, loosely cover with clean kitchen towels. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, until slightly puffy.

5. Transfer 4 pitas, 1 at a time, onto the baking surface. (Note: These can be baked on a baking stone or directly on the oven racks. I use a pizza stone, but either method is fine.) Bake 2 minutes, until puffed and pale golden. Gently flip the pitas over using tongs and bake 1 minute more. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely. Repeat with the remaining pitas. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Easy Cheesy Whole Wheat Crackers

2011-04-19T23:43:00.000-07:00

Are you a cracker snacker?
I am.
I'm a cheese and cracker snacker.

I can and will never turn down a hunk of gouda, or cheddar, or gruyere on a nice sturdy cracker.

Sometimes I even smear cheese whiz on my saltines.

If I'm feeling really fancy I slather on the cream cheese.

Please don't judge me.

It's only natural that my love for cheese and crackers has morphed into a cheese cracker.

I'm not sure how the whole wheat flour made it in these but I'll allow it.

Only this time though.

(Oh, and that other time, too.)

These make for a nice lazy snack because I don't need to go to all the work of slicing cheese to top the cracker since the cheese is in (and on) the cracker, already.

Cheese, crackers and lazy... count me in.

Easy Cheesy Whole Wheat Crackers

Makes about 60

Adapted from How Sweet Eats

1¾ cups whole wheat flour (I used spelt)

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

¼ cup olive oil

½ cup + 2 tbsp warm water

¼ cup white cheddar, shredded very finely

parmesan, pepper and coarse salt for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix together dry ingredients, add white cheddar, olive oil and ½ cup warm water. Mix until a dough forms; add additional water if needed.

2. Spray a baking sheet with oil and lightly flour or flour a non stick silicone mat. Put dough on the baking sheet (or silicone mat) and roll out as thinly as you can. Use a pizza cutter to cut squares in the dough (careful if you're using the silicone mat).

3. Sprinkle the dough with parmesan, freshly ground black pepper and coarse salt. As the squares bake they will separate into crackers. Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden and crispy.

Strawberry Salsa

2011-04-15T00:05:00.000-07:00

The grocery stores are teeming with ripe, juicy strawberries.

They've been practically jumping into my cart every time I run in for a jug of milk.

(Which, believe me, is a lot more than the average person.)

Consequently, we've been eating strawberries in any and all forms.

On brownies, on pavlova, dipped in whip cream, chocolate sauce and caramel sauce, added to spinach salad and of course eaten straight up.

Hmm... white pants and strawberries might not be a good choice.

My favorite strawberry recipe (so far) has been this salsa. I love the combination of sweet, salty, and tart. It's like a little fiesta going on inside of your mouth.

We ate this on top of baked salmon for an extraordinary dinner. As long as strawberries are in season I'm going to keep this on hand for an easy, healthy snack alongside pita chips.

Yum!

Strawberry Salsa

Makes: about 3 cups

Adapted from: Annie's Eats

2 cups fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled and diced

1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

2 green onions thinly sliced

1 tsp fresh parsley, minced

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp honey

salt and pepper, to taste

Note: A nice variation would be swapping the parsley for cilantro, and the lemon for lime juice and adding a bit of jalapeno for spice.

Directions:

1. Combine the all the ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix well, cover and refrigerate for about 1/2 hour to allow flavors to meld. Serve on salmon or with pita chips.

Linked to: April in the Raw

Cookies and Cream Square

2011-04-13T09:42:00.000-07:00

We're gonna make some magic with 3 simple ingredients.

Oreos, butter, marshmallows.

Oh yeah, you know what we're gonna do.

Marshmallow meet Oreo.
Oreo meet Marshmallow.
You two are going to make some beautiful babies.

If this marriage doesn't sound like heaven to you, you need to walk away, walk away right now and don't come back until you've thought long and hard about what's really important in this life.

I made up a batch of these babies for my lil' bro and my hubby.

Then all this chewy goodness went straight in my belly.

When you make something for someone you don't have to actually give it to them.

It's the thought that counts, right?

That's a good rule.

Feel free to use it.

You can thank me while you're eating chunks of this scrumdillyumcious no-bake bar and thinking about who would love them.

Cookies and Cream Square

Makes about 15 bars

Source: Picky Palate

1 box (350g) Oreo Cookies

¼ cup Butter

5 cups Large Marshmallows

Directions:

1. Place Oreos in a food processor and pulse until ground.

2.Melt together marshmallows and butter in the microwave until puffed and melty, about 1 ½ to 2 minutes. Add ground Oreos to the marshmallows and stir until combined. Pour into a greased 8'' x 8'' square baking dish and smooth out the top. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until firm. Cut into bars.

Linked to: Sweets for a Saturday

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Granola

2011-04-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

Chocolate in your breakfast cereal?

Uh...yes, please!

If you need me to help you justify this whole chocolate and peanut butter thing for breakfast (again), we can talk about the protein in peanut butter or how dark chocolate is rich in antioxidants but...... we should definitely avoid the chat about fat content.

We can still talk fiber, though.

'Cause it is there.... along with some energy boosting sunflower seeds.

Are you okay with it now?

Have I talked you into it?

Eating this dessert-worthy granola on top of your yogurt for breakfast?

I bet you haven't even heard (or read) what I've said about how nourishing this is going to be. You just saw peanut butter and chocolate granola and headed right for the recipe.

I don't blame you.

I shall celebrate your love for chocolate and peanut butter by eating another bowlful myself.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Granola

Makes about 1lb

Adapted from Eat Live Run

¼ cup canola oil

⅓ cup maple syrup

½ cup natural peanut butter

1 tsp salt (I like the sweet/salty combo but if you don't like that reduce the salt by half)

1 tsp cinnamon

4 cups old fashioned oats

¼ cup ground flaxseed

½ cup sunflower seeds

½ cup dry roasted peanuts (if using honey roasted reduce the maple sugar to ¼ cup)

⅔ cup chopped dark chocolate (or chocolate chips)

Direction:

1. Preheat oven to 275°F. Bring the canola oil, maple syrup, peanut butter, salt and cinnamon to a simmer on the stove. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes.

2. While that's cooking. mix together the oats, flax, sunflower seeds and peanuts. Pour hot syrup mixture over the oats and toss well to coat. Spread the granola out on 2 lined baking sheets and bake for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Cool granola completely before stirring in the chocolate. Store in an airtight container.

Sunflower Cookies

2011-04-08T09:11:00.000-07:00

I thought you might need a little sunshine to start your day off.

Since the skies don't seem to agree with me, I baked a cookie full of sunshine for you.

Just please don't walk on them.

(I'm walkin' on sunshine, yeah, yeah)

These make me smile : chocolate covered sunflower seeds.

These cookies should really brighten your day.

They have a good helping of sun butter and a sprinkle of these cheery little chocolate covered sunflower seeds.

What? I have big 'sprinkles'

They remind me a bit of a peanut butter cookie that's been bathed in sunlight and spring time happiness :)

If that's your thing, peanut butter and happiness, go on and eat up these little rays of sunshine.

Happy Spring!

Sunflower Cookies

Makes: 18 large cookies

Source: Eat Live Run

½ cup butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 ¼ cups sunflower seed butter (available in most health food stores)

1 ¾ cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp kosher salt

½ cup chocolate covered sunflower seeds (or chocolate chips)

Note: Our local grocery store carries these chocolate covered sunflower seeds made by Spitz

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the sunflower seed butter and mix well. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until smooth.

2. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt and add to the wet ingredients beat until it just comes together. Mix in the chocolate covered sunflower seeds.

3. Form cookies into small balls and press down gently on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 - 15minutes or until golden and puffy.

Spiced Hummus

2011-04-06T08:51:00.000-07:00

Hummus is a great snack. It's easy to make and packs a huge protein punch.

I like mine with cilantro, cumin and a touch of ginger to give it heaps of flavor.

(I say that, but it was initially a way to disguise some wilty cilantro.)

Make a batch and keep it in your fridge for a healthy snack with fresh vegetables or whole wheat pita.

Spiced Hummus

Makes: about 2 cups

Adapted from Martha

1 can (15oz) chickpeas, drained with ¼ cup liquid reserved

¼ cup tahini

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove

¼ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp cumin

¼ cup cliantro leaves

freshly ground pepper

coarse salt

Directions:

1. In a food processor combine chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, 3 tbsp olive oil, garlic, cumin, cilantro and salt and pepper. Puree until smooth. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary.

2. Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle with remaining olive oil and a sprinkle of pepper.

Easy Caramel Sauce

2011-04-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

A few nights ago I made dinner for my mother-in-law and my mother.

(John and the baby were there too but they don't count.)

For some reason it didn't occur to me to make a dessert until the last minute.

I'm not sure why since dessert is my favorite part of dinner, duh!?

After taking a quick look in my fridge and seeing 3(!) different varieties of apples I was inspired to make a caramel dip.

This caramel was easy and quick to make, I think it took less than 10 minutes from start to finish. The sauce was delicious although I over cooked the sugar a touch so it tasted slightly like burnt sugar.

It was still good though and a winner with my mom and MIL.

I definitely recommend it for dipping apples, pouring on ice cream, adding to coffee or drinking straight from the jar.

Oh, and on a completely different note:

Look up cute in the dictionary and you'll find this face right here.

Easy Caramel Sauce

Source: Simply Recipes

Makes: about 1 cup

1 cup sugar

6 tbsp butter

½ cup heavy cream

Directions:

1. First, make sure you have everything ready to go - the butter and cream right next to the pan, ready to put in. Caramel is a fast process that can't wait for hunting around for ingredients.

2. Heat sugar on moderately high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. As soon as the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring. You can swirl the pan a bit if you want, from this point on. Note that this recipe works best if you are using a thick-bottomed pan. If you find that you end up burning some of the sugar before the rest of it is melted, the next time you attempt it, add a half cup of water to the sugar at the beginning of the process, this will help the sugar to cook more evenly, though it will take longer as the water will need to evaporate before the sugar will caramelize.

3. As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be dark amber in color), immediately add the butter to the pan. Whisk until the butter has melted.

4. As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be dark amber in color), immediately add the butter to the pan. Whisk until the butter has melted.

5. Whisk until caramel sauce is smooth. Let cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then pour into a glass mason jar and let sit to cool to room temperature. (Remember to use pot holders when handling the jar filled with hot caramel sauce.) Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Warm before serving.

Oreo Cheesecake Cookie

2011-04-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

I've been able to think of nothing else since I saw this recipe.

Seriously, who wouldn't be obsessed with making a recipe that has Oreo and cheesecake in the title? (Hannah - you know what I'm talking about!)

These weren't quite as cream cheesy as I'd hoped but they were still pretty darn delicious. Given that the dough is eggless, I had a really hard time not eating it by the spoonful.

Actually, I sort of gave in and did eat it by the spoonful.

If you love Oreo's and cheesecake you might just want to drop everything and make these right now.

Oreo Cheesecake Cookies
Makes:
Slightly Adapted from Multiply Delicious

½ cup butter, softened
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup oreo cookie crumbs (about 8 cookies crushed up)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese using a hand mixer until well combined.
3. Add the sugar and vanilla and continue mixing until well combined. Add the flour and mix on low speed until incorporated. Stir in mini chocolate chips.
4. Scoop the dough into 1'' balls and roll in cookie crumbs until completely covered. Place the covered cookie dough balls on the baking sheets and bake for 12 - 15 minutes or until cookies are golden and slightly puffed.
5. Cool on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.

Linked to: Sweets for a Saturday

Cinnamon Sugar Flatbread Crackers

2011-03-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

Do you remember having cinnamon toast for breakfast?

(I'm talking to you, sister and brothers.)

Hot buttered toast with just the right amount of crunchy brown sugar and cinnamon.

Soooo good.

Oops, hold on a sec while I wipe the drool from my keyboard.

There.

That's better.

The only thing better than cinnamon toast are these lovely crackers.

They have the same crunchy sweet sugar topping on a crispy whole wheat base.

Delicious!

I cheated and used a pasta maker to get my crackers thin.

I think they'd be super duper fab on a fruit tray alongside some cream cheesy fruit dip. (Think: cinnamon bun with cream cheese icing.)

Or maybe dipped straight into a jar of peanut butter.
Or dipped in some nutella.

Once you've tried these crackers it won't matter how you serve them as long as they're making it to your mouth.

Cinnamon Sugar Flatbread Crackers

Makes: about 2 dozen

Adapted from How Sweet It Is

1 cup all purpose flour

¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

½ cup plus 2 tbsp warm water

¼ cup olive oil

2 tbsp melted butter

2 tbsp granulated sugar

¾ tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. In large bowl, combine flours, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add water and olive oil and mix until a dough forms. Form into a ball.

2. Dust a rimless baking sheet with flour. Roll the dough out as thin as you can right on the baking sheet. Brush the dough with the melted butter. Mix together the granulated sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle all over the dough. Use a pizza cutter to cut into small or large crackers. Bake for 8 minutes or until golden and crisp.

Frosted B-raw-nies

2011-03-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

I couldn't turn on my shower for 3 days.

It was not a good situation.

I had to use dry shampoo (not dried out shampoo) and I didn't work very well.
I don't recommend it.
Just get your shower fixed if it's broken.
And use wet shampoo.
Always use wet shampoo.

In other news, I made these b-raw-nies.

Do you get it?

Aren't I clever?

They're a raw brownie. Oh, and they're gluten free.

Don't worry though, they don't have raw eggs in them.

They're really just ground up dates and stuff.

And they'll rock your world.

Believe me and trust me about the wet shampoo.

Frosted B-raw-nies

Makes: about 12 small pieces

Source: The Rawtarian

For the brownies:

1 cup walnuts

1 cup dates

5 tbsp raw cacao powder (or regular cocoa powder)

4 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut

2 tbsp honey or agave nectar

¼ tsp sea salt

For the frosting:

1 cup dates

¼ cup coconut butter (or cold expelled coconut oil)

¼ cup raw cacao powder (or regular cocoa powder)

¾ cup water

Directions:

1. Process walnuts in the food processor until small and crumbly. Add dates and continue processing until finely ground and mixture sticks together. Add the remaining brownie ingredients and process again until chocolatey brown and only small bits remain. (Don't over process or it'll turn buttery.)

2. Dump mixture into a small cake pan or loaf pan. Smooth out with a spatula and place in the refrigerator. Meanwhile prepare the frosting.

3. Place all the frosting ingredients in a blender a let sit for about 15 minutes to allow the dates to soften. Turn on the blender on low and gradually increase the speed until the frosting is smooth.

4. Spread over the brownies and refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm.

Linked to: April in the Raw

Crunchy Quinoa Parfait

2011-03-25T15:09:00.000-07:00

I was actually pretty impressed with this easy breakfast parfait.

We eat a lot of quinoa around here and this seemed like an interesting way to incorporate it into breakfast.

The quinoa is toasted in the oven with a bit of sweetener and olive oil and transformed into a nice, crunchy treat. Add that to some creamy, thick Greek style yogurt and fresh fruit and you have yourself a plethora of texture and flavor.

I toasted the quinoa the night before making it super fast to throw together in the morning.

Try it out for a variation to the usual yogurt and granola parfait.

Crunchy Quinoa Parfait

Adapted from: Whole Living

Serves at least 4

For each cup of quinoa (red or white), mix with 1 tbsp of honey or agave nectar and 1 tbsp of olive oil. Spread in a single layer on parchment paper. Bake at 375°F for 10 minutes. Let cool and serve with thick Greek yogurt and fresh seasonal fruit.

Flatbread

2011-03-22T23:04:00.001-07:00

I made this to eat alongside some roasted pumpkin and beet soup.

I should've known that was a bad idea.

I ended up eating all the flatbread and none of the soup.

It was like serving a kid a side of lollipops with a main course of brussel sprouts.

It's not that the brussel sprouts are bad it's just why would you eat them when you can have lollipops instead?

That's how I feel about this bread.

It's like candy to me.

If I could, I would tuck some in my purse to munch on during church or while I'm driving or waiting in a line-up. I'd pull out chunks of this lightly seasoned, soft, chewy bread with it's crunchy bits and people all over would envy me wishing they had flatbread in their bags instead of boring old chocolate bars or granola bars.

Hmmm....maybe that's not such a bad idea.

Flatbread

Makes 8 - 10'' flatbread

Barely adapted from Good to the Grain

2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast

1 tbsp honey

½ cup amaranth flour (feel free to substitute with all-purpose)

3 cups all purpose flour plus more for kneading

1 tbsp kosher salt

olive oil for brushing

a pinch per flatbread of spices to taste (ex: dried oregano, chili flakes, sesame seeds, rosemary)

Note: I like to use some dried oregano, pepper and a squeeze of lemon for a 'Greek' style bread or some cumin, ground coriander and dried cilantro for a 'Mexican' style.

Directions:

1. Add 1½ cups warm water, yeast and honey to the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Stir together to combine. Let stand for 5 - 10 minutes or until foamy.

2. Add the flour and salt to the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Use the paddle attachment on your mixture to knead for dough for 5 minutes add a small amount of flour if the dough seems too sticky. The dough should stay soft and tacky.

3. Form the dough into a ball and place in an oiled bowl. Cover with a towel and place the bowl in a draft free area until the dough has doubled in size, about 2 hours.

4. Fold the dough over itself, gently deflating it as you form it back into a ball. Arrange the dough so that the smooth side is facing up and cover with a towel. Let the dough rise for 1 1/2 hours more.

5. After the second rise, scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat.

6. Roll each piece of dough into an irregular circle (no bigger than 10-inch) about 1/8'' - 1/4'' thick. Lightly brush one side with olive oil and sprinkle with herbs. Carefully, transfer to the pan and grill, oil side down for 3-4 minutes.

7. While the first side is grilling, brush the other side with oil and dust with more herbs and spices. Flip and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, adjusting the heat and cooking time as necessary. Flatbreads are best eaten right away.

Molasses Bran Muffin

2011-03-21T23:20:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I'm on a mission to use up some amaranth flour.

I shouldn't really say 'mission' because it's more of a casual attempt to use up the flour.

I figure I have at least a year before I need to actively get rid of the stuff.

Last week while I was browsing through recipe books in the library (who doesn't love the library?), I came across 'Good to the Grain' by Kim Boyce. I was already familiar with the cookbook from these honey amaranth pancakes but what I didn't know was that this cookbook has a whole section on amaranth.

How perfect is that?

Unless of course you don't have any amaranth flour, then it's probably not ideal for you.

Kim Boyce pairs amaranth with ''strong-flavoured sweeteners like honey, molasses and muscovado sugar as they temper the boldness of the flour without masking it's flavour."

These muffins are a great example of the above. The molasses makes them thick, chewy and uh.... molassesy(?) while still allowing a hint of amaranth's earthiness to shine through.

Not too much though.... I don't want my muffins to taste like grass.

I had to make quite a few adaptation to the recipe to fit what was in my cupboard. Her recipe called for cooking prunes in orange juice, which I'm sure would've tasted great, but since I didn't have any prunes or orange juice I subbed in bananas.

I'm a simple girl with simple ingredients.... it works for me.

Molasses Bran Muffin

Makes: about 18

Adapted from Good to the Grain

½ cup mashed banana (you could also try pumpkin, pureed berries or date spread)

1½ cups wheat bran

½ cup amaranth flour (or substitute quinoa flour or whole wheat)

1½ cups whole wheat flour

2 tbsps brown sugar

1¼ tsp baking soda

½ tsp kosher salt

½ tsp cinnamon

2 cups buttermilk

½ cup molasses

3 tbsp butter, melted and cooled

1 egg

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease muffin tin.

2. Measure the bran into a medium bowl. Warm the buttermilk until lukewarm and add to the bran. Set aside.

3. Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. In a separate bowl whisk together the molasses, butter, egg and banana, making sure the egg is thoroughly mixed. Add this mixture to the bran, stir, then add the entire wet mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir gently until just combined.

4. Spoon batter into muffin cups (about ¾ full). Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. Cool completely. These freeze well.

Crustless Broccoli and Cheddar Mini Quiche

2011-03-18T21:47:00.000-07:00

I honor of St. Paddy's day (yesterday) I thought I better kick out something green for y'all.

It was between this broccoli, some spinach or the green eggs and ham in the back of the fridge.

The broccoli needed to be used up so it won.

I'm not sure if being eaten is really 'winning' in the life of a vegetable but it's better than being tossed, right?

These are yummy and easy so they're a winner in my book.

The muffin tin makes them the perfect size for little (and big) mouths. My one year old gobbled them up (probably because of the cheese). The few leftovers we did have I put in the freezer and they taste pretty good reheated.

Try them out for an easy breakfast or lunch.

Crustless Broccoli and Cheddar Mini Quiche

Makes: about 16

Adapted from Martha Stewart

1 pkg (10oz) broccoli florets

6 large eggs

½ cup whole milk

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 16 holes in a standard muffin tin, set aside. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add broccoli and cook for 1 minute. Drain well. Blot with paper towels to get out as much water as possible. Once cool enough to handle, coarsely chop.

2. In a large bowl whisk together eggs, milk, mustard and pepper. Stir in broccoli and cheese. Ladle broccoli mixture into muffin cups, dividing evenly. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the center of the quiche no longer jiggles.

Linked to: Seasonal Sunday's

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Bread

2011-03-16T12:18:00.000-07:00

I do like peanut butter bread, Sam I am.

I could eat in a boat or with goat, or by a moat or even stuff it in my tote.

I'll eat with nutella, jam and jelly; anything really as long as it goes in my belly.
I'll eat it by the telly with Shelly alongside my pet melly in a deli.

I'll eat it for breakfast, lunch and snack I'll even share some with Jack.

Just don't make me give it back or I'll stuff it in my sack and make you sit on a tack.

Peanut Butter Bread

Makes: 1 loaf

Adapted from "The Lady and Sons Savannah Country Cookbook" by Paula Deen

2 cups whole wheat flour (I used spelt)

⅓ cup sugar

4 tsp baking powder

¾ tsp salt

⅔ cup peanut butter (preferably natural)

1 ½ cups milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9'' x 5'' loaf pan. In a large bowl mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add peanut butter and milk and stir until just combined. Pour into prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top. Bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Best eaten with homemade jam.

Butter Olive Oil Spread

2011-03-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

Today, I bring you an extremely complicated recipe.

It involves multiple steps, exotic ingredients and unusual kitchen gadgets.

Are you ready for it?

Do you have some of this in your kitchen:

What about some of this:

Do you know how to beat together butter and olive oil?

Oh, you do.

Well I take back what I said.

This is actually the easiest thing you'll ever make. Ever.

Use it instead of tub margarine to spread on toast, baked potatoes, you name it.

Given that margarine is pretty close to being plastic, your body will thank you for making this.

It'll thank me for giving you this recipe.

So - you're welcome.

Butter Olive Oil Spread

Makes: about ¾ cups

Source: The Highlandview Pantry

½ cup softened butter

6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Beat together softened butter and olive oil until well combined. Season with salt to taste. The mixture will be the consistency of mayonnaise. Refrigerate until it reaches a spreadable consistency.

Double Ginger Vegan Cookies

2011-03-11T07:00:00.000-08:00

You may not be vegan if:

1) You just saw the word cookie and immediately reached for the butter.

2) You've been wondering how to replace the ginger for chocolate in these cookies.

3) You've had 30 pounds of bacon in your possession at one time.

4) You thought I forgot the egg in this recipe.

5) You once presented a homemade marshmallow to a vegan friend and when they looked at you quizzically exclaimed, "What? There's no meat in these!".

6) The thought of going a day without cheese or chocolate makes you feel faint.

AND

7) You think hot dogs are fine for non meat eaters since they really don't contain any meat anyways.

Double Ginger Vegan Cookies

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

Source: Organic and Chic via Joy the Baker

1½ cups all purpose flour

1½ cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 tsp ground ginger

1 cup minced candied ginger

1 cup vegan sugar

2 tbsps ground flaxseed
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
¼ cup canola oil
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
¼ cup vegan sugar for rolling cookies into balls

Directions:
1. In a large bowl whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground ginger and minced candied ginger. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar, flaxseed, applesauce, oil, lemon zest and juice.
3. Add all the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well together until all the flour is moist and everything is well incorporated. Form dough into a disc and wrap well. Refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove dough from fridge and form into walnut sized balls. Roll balls in granulated sugar and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 15 - 18 minutes until just slightly browned but still soft on the inside. Best eaten the same day. (As all cookies are.)

Cilantro Pesto Egg Salad

2011-03-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

I'm not a huge lover of cilantro or egg salad.

Maybe this wasn't my best choice to make for lunch.

The cilantro made me do it.

A half batch of cilantro pesto being made

I had a big bunch of cilantro sitting in the fridge threatening to spoil and this seemed like a good enough way to use it up.

Let me start my 'review' in saying this recipe didn't convert me to egg salad.

I'm still not fond of the stuff but I'll eat it if I must.

I was, however, pleased with the way the cilantro pesto turned out.

Generally, I find cilantro over powering and a bit of a steal the show herb.

This pesto really mellowed out the flavor. I think it'd be good tossed with some hot pasta instead of the egg salad. I'm still struggling to think of how else I'd use this Mexican-Italian fusion pesto.

Any ideas out there?

Cilantro Pesto Egg Salad

Adapted from Mess in the Kitchen

Makes about 2 cups for 8 sandwiches (don't hold me to that)

For the pesto:

70 grams cilantro

2 tbsp pinenuts or walnuts

2 tbsp parmesan cheese

1 small garlic clove, peeled

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

For the egg salad:

6 hard boiled eggs, peeled and roughly chopped

½ cup low fat mayo (is there really such a thing?)

2 sticks of celery, chopped

16 slices crusty brown bread

Directions:

1. To make the pesto: combine all the ingredients (under pesto) in a food processor and process until smooth and creamy looking. Taste and add more salt and pepper depending on your liking.

2. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the chopped eggs, mayo and celery.

3. If desired toast the slices of brown bread. Spread about ¼ cup of egg salad on 8 slices of bread, top with the remaining slices and cut in triangles.

Apricot Cheese Loaf

2011-03-06T22:51:00.000-08:00

Winter is alive and well in Revelstoke.

In the last week it's snowed almost 3 feet!

(Um... yes, I know it's March!)

I really love snow and winter but even I'm starting to miss the grass.

March 04, 2011

All this snow had me longing for a little taste of summer.

This loaf is basically what happened after I was finished tasting summer.

I took out some frozen apricots and blackberries and made some really lovely things (more on that another day) and was leftover with a handful of mushy thawed apricots.

Truthfully, I didn't have high expectations for this loaf (I'm really more of a chocolate kind of gal), but oh goodness me it was good. The cream cheese made it super duper moist and gave it a lovely melt in you mouth quality.
And the nutmeg and the cinnamon!
They just make everything taste like granny's house. (A cute little old granny that bakes not the one that sits in a lazy boy chain smoking all day.)

Although this loaf was superb, I wish I hadn't eaten all of it.

I should've saved some for the very real possibility of getting snowed in.

Apricot Cheese Loaf

Makes 1 loaf

For the loaf:

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour (I used spelt)

½ cup chopped apricots (dried or fresh)

2 tsp baking powder

¼tsp salt

¾ cup granulated sugar

¼ tsp nutmeg

2 eggs

¾ cup milk

½ cup oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

For the filling:

4oz cream cheese, softened

1 egg

¼ cup granulated sugar

⅛tsp almond extract

For the topping:

2 tbsp granulated sugar

½ tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9''x 5''x3'' loaf pan. To prepare the loaf combine the flours, baking powder, salt, sugar and nutmeg. Mix well. Add the apricots, eggs, milk, oil and vanilla and stir until just combined. Set aside.

2. Prepare filling. Beat softened cream cheese for about a minute or until smooth. Add sugar and beat another minute. Add egg and almond extract and beat two more minutes, occasionally stopping to scrap the sides of the bowl.

3. Pour half of the loaf batter into the prepared pan. Spoon about half of the cream cheese mixture on top. Pour in the rest of the loaf batter and top with remaining cream cheese mixture. With a butter knife, gently (and minimally) swirl the batter to create a swirl effect (duh).

4. In a small bowl mix make the topping by mixing together the sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle this cinnamon mixture all over the top of the loaf. Bake for about 1 hr - 1hr 15 mins or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool completely, slice and enjoy.

Linked to: Sweets for a Saturday

Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup

2011-03-04T08:48:00.000-08:00

I'm not even close to vegan.

I'm a bacon lovin', butter eatin', whip cream slurpin' omnivore.

I can't help it.

I just love that stuff.

But I do still like to mix it up once in awhile.

It's usually at the request of my arteries.

Truthfully, I really do try to prepare vegan or vegetarian meals at least one day a week (usually Meatless Monday's) for some variety.

When vegan recipes taste as good as this soup, I really don't miss the other stuff.

This soup subs cashew cream for the heavy cream that would normally be in the soup. Although it's not as rich and thick as regular cream, the cashew cream works really well to make this into a comfort food.

I know this is a bit weird and different but give it try.

(Not ready to go vegan? Eat it with a huge slice of cheese toast on the side :) )

Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup

Serves: 4

Source: Joy the Baker

2 tbsps olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 lb (454g) cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

1 tbsp tamari (or soy sauce)

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 tsp coarse ground pepper

3 cups vegetable broth (or 3 cups water plus 1 tbsp homemade bouillon)

salt

½ cup raw cashews

½ cup water

Directions:

1. In a large pot heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and saute until translucent and slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, stir and cook for 1 minute more. Add mushrooms, tamari (or soy sauce), and worcestershire and continue cooking until mushrooms or very soft and broken down, about 5 minutes. Add pepper and broth and simmer for about 10 minutes.

2. While soup is simmering, prepare cashew cream. In a blender or food processor, puree cashews and water until smooth. Pour into a small bowl and set aside.

3. When mushrooms are cooked through add about ⅓ of the soup to the blender and blend on low until smooth. Pour into a clean pot and continue until you've pureed the whole batch of soup. Pour the cashew cream into the soup and stir until incorporated. If desired, strain through a fine mesh strainer. (I didn't). Serve or freeze for later.

Linked to: Seasonal Sundays

Brownie Lava Cake

2011-02-28T14:46:00.000-08:00

I was needing a chocolate fix the other day and I came up with this recipe.

" 'Cause I've got a Golden Ticket, I've got a golden....."

I'm not gonna lie to ya, this was supposed to be just brownies.

I got a little carried away with the chocolate and made it into a lava cake.

It was the best 'mistake' I've made all ~~week~~ year.

Not like when I decided to order a Vanilla Matcha Mocha.

Word to the wise:

vanilla +green tea+chocolate+espresso

too much to stomach in one cup.

Please believe me.

You'd think all this chocolate would be too much to stomach.
But no.
It's not.
Too much and chocolate don't even belong in the same sentence.

Chocolate and more belong in the same sentence.

More chocolate, please.

Brownie Lava Cake

Serves: 6

(Original recipe)

½ cup butter

300 g good quality dark chocolate, finely chopped

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 cup flour

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp instant coffee

1 tbsp heavy cream, warm

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a microwave safe bowl, melt together 100 grams of chocolate and the butter. Stir together until completely combined.

2. Pour chocolate mixture into a mixing bowl and beat on low speed for about 1 minute. Add sugar and vanilla and increase speed to medium and beat until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time until well mixed.

3. Dissolve the instant coffee in the warm cream and add to the mixing bowl. Add flour and stir until just combined. Fold in the rest of the chopped chocolate (200g).

3. Pour mixture into a greased 8'' x 8'' square pan or 6 ramekins. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes (for the square pan) or until the top of the cake has turned crisp and dry. The inside will be very gooey and seem under cooked. Serve warm topped with ice cream or whipped cream. As the lava cake cools it will harden on the inside. Reheat in the oven for a few minutes to make it gooey again.

Linked to: Sweets for a Saturday

Vegan Pumpkin Breakfast Cookie

2011-02-25T07:00:00.000-08:00

How do I say, "I didn't like this cookie, it wasn't very good, don't make it?"

Oh, I just said it.

That was easy.

I shouldn't completely disregard this cookie.
They're not bad.
They just don't deserve the title 'cookie'.

I prefer my cookies to be tooth achingly sweet, and loaded with chocolate and butter.
That's the way cookies were intended to be.
Am I right? Or am I right?

These aren't very sweet at all (truth be told, I threw in a handful of chocolate chips to liven them up but if you're vegan just forget I said that).
I'd say they're more of a cookie shaped power bar, good for an afternoon snack (or quick breaky) but definitely not going to satisfy a sweet craving.

That being said, they're not going to waste around my house. Although they're not my favorite 'cookie' (I use that word lightly) I probably need a break from all the sugar/butter/chocolate that usually goes on around here.

Vegan Pumpkin Breakfast Cookie

Makes about 16

Adapted from The Alchemist

1 ¾ cups pumpkin puree (or banana)

2 ¼ cups rolled oats (I used a mix of kamut flakes, soaked in hot water for a couple minutes and regular oatmeal)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup maple syrup or agave nectar (adjust this depending on how sweet you'd like the cookie to be)

½ cup toasted chopped walnuts (or any other nut)

½ cup chopped dates (or any other chopped dried fruit)

½ cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Using your food processor or blender grind 2 cups of the oats into a fine powder.

2. In a large bowl combine ground oats, ¼ cup whole oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add the pumpkin, vanilla and maple syrup and thoroughly mix. Fold in the nuts, dates and seeds. Scoop out by the tablespoon and roll into balls, gently flatten and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 - 16 minutes or until done in the middle. Store in an airtight container.

Linked to: Seasonal Sundays

Curried Apple Brie Flatbread

2011-02-23T13:27:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry but I just don't like brie.
There are so many wonderful recipes out there for baked brie that I want to like but it doesn't seem to my thing.

I think it's the rind on the cheese that I can't stand. Isn't it some type of mold or something? (Clearly I'm not very savvy when it comes to cheese.) I guess I could cut the rind off but it seems like such a waste of money.... I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned this before but I'm extremely cheap and I hate food waste.

Hate it.

If you waste food you're not my friend.

Yeah, I took a few bites outta the bread.

A few weeks ago I forgot about my disdain for brie cheese and was somehow compelled to buy it.

Weird, I know.

So here's a recipe that, I think, covers the unpleasantness of the cheese rind and transforms the brie into a tasty lunch, appie or snack.

(Don't think you need to stick to making this as a flatbread. This could be made as a pizza, a stuffed pita, a grilled cheese sandwich, or served on naan.)

Curried Apple Brie Flatbread

Serves 4

Adapted from Dinner with Julie

½ cup softened butter

3 tsp mild curry powder

1 flatbread (or naan, pitas, wrap, pizza crust)

6oz Canadian brie, thinly sliced while chilled, discard end pieces containing mostly rind

1 apple, thinly sliced

4 tbsp mango chutney

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. In a small bowl mix together the curry powder and butter. Spread it on the top of flatbread. (Alternatively, you can brush the bread with olive oil and sprinkle on the curry powder.)

2. Arrange the apple slices on the flatbread. Top with the thin slices of brie. Scatter small dollops of the chutney all over. Bake for about 8 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Apricot Mustard

2011-02-21T15:41:00.000-08:00

It's sorta the wrong time of year to be making apricot preserves.
Unless you're like me and have several freezer bags full of them.... then it's always the right time of year to preserve apricots.

I came across this recipe in the Urban Pantry by Amy Pennington; a book I highly recommend for anyone looking for tips on building a thrifty, sustainable and seasonal kitchen.
(If you think I sounded pretty intelligent with that whole "tips on a thrifty....." spiel, I must let you know I stole it off the front cover of the book.)

Because of my copious amounts of apricots I was eager to try this mustard out. I found it to be a little bit sweet and a little bit spicy, sort of honey mustard-like. I mixed it into some cream cheese with some bacon (because we have a lot of bacon around our house these days) for a quick sandwich spread and oh Lordy was it good!

Amy recommends using the mustard as a glaze on roasted meats or alongside cured meat and cheese so I'm definitely going to give that a go next.

Alphabet pretzels and apricot mustard - an obvious match.

Bookmark this recipe and give it a try in the summer when apricots are cheap and abundant.

Apricot Mustard
Makes: 5 half pints
Source: Urban Pantry

2lbs apricots, pitted and peeled
½ cup water

2 ¼ cups sugar

1 lemon, peel grated, halved and juiced (seeds reserved in a muslin bag)

¼ cup brown mustard seeds
1 cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup yellow mustard seeds
1 tbsp ground yellow mustard

Directions:
1. In a large saucepan combine apricots, sugar, water, lemon juice, grated peel, halves and seed bag. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat, skim any foam as it cooks. Cook until fruit is soft and sugar is dissolved (about 20 minutes). Remove from heat, cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.
2. Meanwhile, use a mortar and pestle to smash brown and yellow mustard seeds into a coarse meal. Put the smashed seeds and ground mustard into a small bowl and cover with vinegar. Set aside, covered on the countertop at least 6 hours or overnight.
3. Prepare jars for canning ie: sterilize jars and lids.
4. Return the saucepan of fruit to the stove and cook over medium heat until thickened and amber in color, about 30 minutes. Stir in the vinegar mustard mixture. Scoop out about 1 cup of the apricot mustard and purée until smooth. Add puréed fruit back to the pot and cook until thick and the mustard is set, 15-30 minutes. Test to see if it has set by putting a small amount on a plate that's been in the freezer at least 15 minutes. Drag your finger through the mustard and if it wrinkles it's done. Discard lemon halves and seed bag.
5. Add the mustard to the prepared jars and gently tap on the counter to release air bubbles. Wipe the rims of the jar and put on lids and rings. Process in a water for 5 minutes to ensure a good seal.

Whole Wheat Double Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

2011-02-17T22:55:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, this is my second pumpkin recipe this week.

There's no real reason for it except that I have a ton of pumpkin in my freezer; so why not use it? (that's actually a statement and not a question).

These muffins are a bit on the dry side because of the whole wheat flour. They're not saw dust dry, they're more like could use a bit o' butter dry. If you feel like experimenting with the recipe you could always add some more pumpkin for some extra moisture. I personally wouldn't change them though. I love the whole grainy goodness mixed with chocolate that kind of thing is right up my alley.

Whole Wheat Double Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

Makes: 14

Adapted from Good Life Eats

2 ⅓ cups whole wheat flour (I used spelt)

⅔ cup sugar

⅔ cup cocoa powder

2 tbsp flax meal

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 ¼ cup pumpkin puree

⅔ cup plain yogurt

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup melted butter, cooled to room temperature

¾ cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, sugar, cocoa, flax, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined.
2. In another medium bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk until combined. Stir in the butter.

3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Then, stir in the chocolate chips, reserving about 1/4 cup or so for sprinkling on top of the muffins.
4. Grease 24 standard sized muffins cups. Using a large cookie scoop, fill your muffin tins. Each muffin cup should hold about 3 tablespoons of batter. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on top.

Bake for 17-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove and cool on a wire rack (or eat).

Linked to: Seasonal Sundays
Sweets for a Saturday

Pumpkin and Roasted Beet Soup

2011-02-13T22:49:00.000-08:00

Everywhere I turn I see snotty noses and hear phlegmy coughs.
Is that happening where you are too?

It's an onslaught of germs and viruses out there.
Yucky, icky germs and what can you do about it?

I know what I'm gonna do about it.
I'm loading up on this warm, sippable, vitamin packed soup.
Not only is it good for you, it's just plain tasty.

Rich in zinc and vitamin C, pumpkin gives a major boost to the immune system helping fight off little germ intruders.

That's a fact.

I know because I read it on the internet.

Germs, meet your match.

Pumpkin and Roasted Beet Soup

Adapted from Dinner with Julie

Serves 6

2 cups pumpkin puree (or any type of squash)

3 - 4 small beets topped trimmed

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1½ cups orange juice

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

salt and pepper

sour cream or yogurt to serve (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450F. Wrap the beets individually in foil. Place the beets directly on the rack; roast for 30 minutes.

2. In a large pot, heat oil over med heat and saute onion for a few minutes, until it starts to soften. Add the garlic and pumpkin puree. When they're cool enough to handle, peel and chop the beets; add to the pot along with the orange juice and stock. Simmer for about half an hour.

3.Puree the soup with an immersion blender and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt.

Linked to: Seasonal Sundays