Graceful Oven

Quinoa Carrot Cake Muffins

2012-01-24T11:55:00.005-05:00

For Christmas, I was given a new cookbook called Quinoa, The Everyday Superfood.

(I am always in the market for a new cookbook.)

A dear friend, who knows I love quinoa, got me this little number.

The only thing I have ever put quinoa in is a pilaf or salad.

This book has you coating chicken with it, eating it for breakfast and even baking with it.

I love the taste of baking with a variety of flours.

Spelt is my old standby. I do everything with spelt. It's often in cookies and cakes and always in my pizza dough.

These carrot cake muffins get their rich nutty flavour by using only quinoa flour.

I wasn't sure if I would like baking with quinoa flour. It seemed strange.

I bought (at the Bulk Barn) only what I needed for this recipe.

If buying 'weird-ish' ingredients scares you, do the same. Just buy a couple scoops of it to start.

My kids love these.

Of course, I didn't say, "Hey kids, come get a load of these ultra weird, low fat, quinoa muffins..." I called them "Carrot Cake", served them as dessert and they totally went for it.

I iced them with the same icing I used for the Red Velvet cupcakes and they're perfect together.

Quinoa Carrot Cake Muffins

From: Quinoa The Everyday Superfood

1 1/3 C quinoa flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground clove

2/3 C golden raisins (I did 1/3 C raisins and 1/3 C pecans)

2 large eggs

2/3 C plain or vanilla yogurt

1/2 C packed brown sugar

2 1/4 C grated carrot

Preheat the oven to 350*, line 12 muffin cups with liners or a coating of non-stick spray.In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, and clove.

Whisk until well blended. Mix in the raisins and pecans (if using) and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, yogurt, sugar and carrot.

Using a spatula gently mix dry into wet and stir just until combined.

Scoop in to muffin cups and bake for 20-22 minutes or until tester stick comes out clean.

When cooled, top with cream cheese frosting.

Joy's Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 C butter, at room temperature

1 package of cream cheese, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbsp Milk

3 C sifted icing sugar

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth.

Red Velvet for Christmas

2011-12-23T15:53:00.004-05:00

Red Velvet Cakes and cupcakes made a bit of a comeback a couple years ago.

But somehow, to me, it has to be eaten at Christmas!

These are perfect. I have tried a few from bakeries and none compare to these.

Joy the Baker has a knack for getting baking just right. These are from her.

So delightfully festive...so celebratory...so right for a certain person's birthday 'cake' perhaps...

Red Velvet Cupcakes

(Joy the Baker)

Click here for the recipe.

Joy does such a good job of explaining the method.

Everyone's Favourite Joe

2011-12-19T18:17:00.004-05:00

When I make Sloppy Joes, everyone is happy.

They never disappoint. Ground beef, tomato, vegetables and a bun - It's all there.

I found this recipe over at Simply Recipes. I always have all the ingredients for these and they are, hands down, the kids favourite thing to eat.

I throw together a green salad for Jim and I.

That's it.

Dinner.

Sloppy Joes
(Simply Recipes.com)

1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup minced carrots (or chopped bell pepper)
1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium onion)
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt
1 1/4 lb ground beef
1/2 cup ketchup (or tomato paste)
2 cups tomato sauce (or 1 15-ounce can whole tomatoes, puréed)
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp vinegar (red wine or apple cider)
2 Tbsp brown sugar
Pinch ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Pinch cayenne pepper
2 turns of freshly ground black pepper
4 hamburger buns

1 Heat olive oil in a large pan on med high heat. Add the carrots and sauté for 5 minutes. (If you are using bell pepper instead of carrots, add those at the same time as the onions.) Add the chopped onion and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally until onions are translucent, about 5 more minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 more seconds. Remove from heat. Remove vegetables from the pan to a medium sized bowl, set aside.

2 Using the same pan cook ground beef. Season with ½ tsp salt. Strain off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat.

3 Return the cooked ground beef and vegetables to the pan. Add the ketchup, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar and brown sugar to the pan. Stir to mix well. Add ground cloves, thyme, and cayenne pepper. Lower the heat to medium low and let simmer for 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Serve with toasted hamburger buns. Serves 4.

Un-Brownies

2011-12-12T10:00:00.005-05:00

So here you have some chocolaty, fudgy and not too fatty squares of something that is not a brownie.

I daren't call these brownies.

I served these to Jim under the title of Brownie...

"They're good." he said, "But they're not brownies!"

That said, I find these extremely hard to keep out of.

They're not too rich, not sickeningly sweet and a good base for a healthy scoop of vanilla ice cream if you're in the mood for that.

I found this recipe on the silver flap of my Astro Original Yogurt container.

Give it a go.

The Un-Brownie
(Astro Original Yogurt Recipe)

1/2 C melted chocolate chips

1 C Plain yogurt

1/2 C sugar

3/4 C flour

1/2 C cocoa powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 C milk (soy or coconut milk work too)

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Melt chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave. Mix chocolate with yogurt and sugar. Sift in flour, cocoa and baking soda. Just until combined. Add milk. Stir

3. Pour into a greased 8 or 9 inch square baking pan.

4. Cook 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

5. Cook completely and cut into squares.

Curried Shrimp

2011-12-12T09:38:00.002-05:00

We love shimp.

I thought Ina's Garlic Shrimp Scampi was my favourite way to eat it until I tried this.

This curry is so easy and, because shrimp cooks so quickly, it's ready in no time.

I know I've said it before, but in a recipe like this it will really pay to use a nice curry powder. I used Arvinda's here.

So to make this, you totally throw everything in a big frying pan, cook and finish with a huge squeeze of lime and a swirl of plain yogurt. Done.

Serve it over rice.

I threw some finely sliced green beans in at the end, but small green peas would be even better.

Curried Shrimp

(adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food Cookbook)

Serves at least 4

1 Tbsp Olive oil

1 large onion finely chopped, or thinly sliced

pinch cayenne

Coarse Salt

2 Tbsp Tomato paste

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes, drained

2 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp heaped, ground ginger

Fresh pepper

1 1/2 C fish or vegetable stock

1.5 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 C chopped green beans or frozen peas

1/4 C plain yogurt (or sour cream)

1 lime, juiced (plus extra wedges for the table)

Cooked basmati or jasmine rice

1. Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add onion 1/2 tsp salt and pinch of cayenne.

Cook 3-5 mins or until onion is soft. Add tomato paste, curry powder, ginger and a few times round with the pepper mill. Cook breaking up the tomato paste and stirring around the spices until fragrant, about 1 minute.

2. Add tomatoes and stock. Cook 5 minutes. Add shrimp, cook until pink and opaque. Remove from heat. Add peas.

3. Squeeze the lime over the top and add the yogurt. Stir again. Serve over rice with extra wedges of lime for the citrus fiends like me.

Espresso-Chocolate Chip Shortbread

2011-11-16T15:21:00.005-05:00

Christmas is coming...really, it's almost here.

We haven't yet begun decorating or planning but here is one thing I am doing.

I am am making these cookies.

Here's the deal, you can make the batter, seal it in a ziplock bag (all rolled out and ready), freeze it and then cut off as many lovely little squares as you need to bake.

I have a serious weakness for shortbread.

I grew up eating my Dad's shortbread. His recipe originally came from a Scottish lady that used to live next door.

Perfect rounds of his shortbread was and is always in little tins around my Mum and Dad's house at Christmas time.

This recipe is rich and espresso-y with the occasional melt of chocolate.

They're perfect! They get RAVE reviews!

And since this bag is going in the freezer to be baked at a later date, you'll have to stay posted to see it finished product...or jump over to Smitten Kitchen to see how they turn out.

Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

(Discovered at Smittenkitchen.com)

Makes 42 cookies

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

1 tablespoon boiling water

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Dissolve the espresso in the boiling water, and set aside to cool.

2. Working with a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is very smooth.

Beat in the vanilla and espresso, then reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, mixing only until it disappears into the dough. Don’t work the dough much once the flour is incorporated. Fold in the chopped chocolate with a sturdy rubber spatula.

3. Using the spatula, transfer the soft, sticky dough to a gallon-size zipper-lock plastic bag. Put the bag on a flat surface, leaving the top open, and roll the dough into a 9 x 10 1/2 inch rectangle that’s 1/4 inch thick. As you roll, turn the bag occasionally and lift the plastic from the dough so it doesn’t cause creases. When you get the right size and thickness, seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible, and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or for up to 2 days.

4. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

5. Put the plastic bag on a cutting board and slit it open. Turn the firm dough out onto the board (discard the bag) and, using a ruler as a guide and a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1 1/2-inch squares. Transfer the squares to the baking sheets and carefully prick each one twice with a fork, gently pushing the tines through the cookies until they hit the sheet.

6. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The shortbreads will be very pale–they shouldn’t take on much color. Transfer the cookies to a rack.

One Fall Night

2011-09-28T06:00:00.001-04:00

Jimmy and I went out a few eves ago, spur of the moment, and it was one of those nights so sweet you just could not have planned it.

We saw a movie at one of those retro-rejuve theatres, got a massive pop and popcorn, watched a cool movie and then had some really good seafood pasta and Cab-Sauv at the Italian restaurant next door.

It was one of those prefect fall nights...

You know those nights where the cool is just verging on chilly, but not quite.

One of those nights when tucking into a sweater on the restaurant's front booth by the open window feels so right.

Conversation is so good and so easy.

The seafood tastes better than you remember it could and you resent feeling full.

Just one of those nights you wish you could plan but couldn't and just happily receive every now and then.

Curried Noodles and Veg

2011-09-27T20:45:00.008-04:00

Isn't it interesting how the change in season tends to generate excitement.

It does that to me.

I love our seasons.

It seems to prompt a change in so many areas.

I feel more creative, more artistic, more clear headed and, like so many others, eager to cook from the bounty of this new season.

A few weeks ago, while browsing Whole Foods, I came across Arvinda's Artisan Curry Powder.

Since we are coming into fall and fall is a perfect time to start making curries again I bought the All Star curry blend and started anticipating.

This stuff is good, really good.

My friend Shaida would probably laugh at the noname curry powder that usually finds its way into my spice cupboard.

Another friend recently gave me a recipe to mix up a curry blend of my own. I still want to try that one.

So, the garden is loaded with carrots, basil and kale--they're going in a curry.

Moosewood LowFat Faves gave me all the incentive I needed for a vegetable loaded curry swirled into some nutty soba noodles.

The result was a beautifully fragrant vegetarian noodle dish with tons of ginger and spice.

We squeezed tons of lime juice on top and stirred in some basil at the end, passed around the pepper at the table and everyone loved it.

Little Jib scarfed down two bowls of it. He needed plenty of water to handle the heat but he's no sissy around a spicy curry.

Curried Noodles and Veg

1/2 lb soba noodles

Dried Spices

2 teaspoons curry powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

2 dashes cayenne (or to taste)

Sauce

2 tablespoons dry sherry, I used rice vinegar

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon honey or agave

Vegetables

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1-2 tablespoon grated fresh gingerroot

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup peeled and julienned carrot

1 cup sliced red bell peppers (or combination of colors) or 1 cup yellow bell pepper

4 cups thinly sliced kale

salt and black pepper

2 tablespoons julienned basil

1-2 limes

Cook Noodles and keep warm.

Mix together the curry powder, cumin, turmeric, and coriander in a small bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine the sherry, soy sauce, water, and sugar and set aside.

In a large nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron skillet, combine the garlic, ginger, and oil and

saute on medium heat for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add the carrots and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often.

Add the bell peppers and continue to cook, stirring, for about another 4 minutes.

Add the kale and dried spice mixture and cook for 1 or 2 minutes.

Pour in the sauce mixture, cover, and simmer for another 2 minutes, or until the kale is tender.

Stir in noodles then season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Serve with lime wedges and your choice of basil, cilantro, or scallions.

Jib says, "Don't wimp out on the cayenne, it's worth the sweat"

Summertime Peach Tarts

2011-08-18T15:34:00.009-04:00

In the summer, I like to cook simple, quick meals that don't involve a lot of oven-on time. That said, I seem to make a lot more desserts.

Summer's wild blueberries, raspberry bushes discovered walks, PYO strawberry farms, Ontario peaches and plums make it impossible to resist making dessert.

Early summer is berry season. We generally get carried away when we pick strawberries and come home with about 4 more baskets of berries than we needed.

There are plenty of ways to solve an over-abundance of strawberries:

Strawberry shorcake cookies.

Strawberries with cinnamon dumplings.

Strawberry milkshakes.

Jam.

But now it's peach time. Few things taste quite so quintessentially summertime as peach pie.

These peach tarts are perfect.

A bright yellow dough of cornflour, cornmeal, butter and egg yolks is rustically formed around a sloppy, sweet mix of ripe peaches and cinnamon.

Eat this one alone or with some whipped cream on top.

PS- Now would be a perfect time to make Oven Roasted Peach-Tomato Pasta... Just incase you needed dinner inspiration.

Rustic Peach Tarts

(adapted from Good to the Grain cookbook)

1 Cup corn flour

1 Cup All purpose flour

1/2 Cup fine cornmeal

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon Kosher or coarse salt

1 stick (4 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream

2 egg yolks

6 Peaches, peeled and sliced

2 Tbsp honey

2 Tbps flour

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Whisk the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment,

add the butter and turn the mixture speed to low

and mix to break up the butter. Increase the speed to medium and mix until the butter is as coarse as cornmeal.

Add the heavy cream and egg yolks and mix until combined. The dough will look crumbly but when pinched between your fingers, it will come together.

Divide dough roughly into 8 pieces. Roll out into 5 inch thinnish slabs on a lighly floured board.

In a med bowl, combine peaches, honey, cinnamon and flour.

Add about 1/3 C peaches to the centre of each slab.

Fold the edge of the dough toward the peaches and up, to create a ruffled edge; continue around the perimeter, letting the ruffles be their bad irregular selves. Slide a bench scraper or spatula under the tart and transfer it to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Continue with the remaining dough.

Freeze the tarts on their tray for at least 1 hour to firm them up before baking.

Bake the tarts: Preheat over to 375°F. Bake tarts, still frozen,

for about 35 minutes or until the edges of the tarts are brown and the peach is bubbling and thick.

Serve warm or at room temperature. The tarts keep in an airtight container.

Cheese Party and Bruch

2011-06-10T09:26:00.005-04:00

We hosted a cheese tasting brunch.

Here are the recipes and a few pictures of the very memorable and delicious morning.

Crostini

Jamie Oliver

Mixed Herb Crostini

Get any mixture of soft herbs like fennel tops, green or purple basil, parsley, mint, chervil,

thyme leaves, or sorrel and roughly chop them.

Take six cherry tomatoes and halve them, then rub one of the halves into each of your hot crostini.

Grate some pecorino or Parmesan over the top and season with salt and pepper.

Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle over your chopped herbs.

Mixed nuts (Ina Garten)

1 pound roasted unsalted cashews

2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons light brown sugar

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175°C).

2. Spread the cashews out on a sheet pan. Toast in the oven until warm, about 5 minutes.

3. In a large bowl, combine the rosemary, cayenne, sugar, salt, and butter.

Thoroughly toss the warm cashews with the spiced butter and serve warm.

Mini Quiche (Canadian Living)

24 Frozen mini tart shells, (in foil cups) thawed

4 eggs

1-1/4 cups milk

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

8 slices applewood smoked bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 green onions, sliced

1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1/4 cup chopped mushroom

Filling: Place tart shells on rimmed baking sheet; divide bacon, green onions and cheese among shells.

In bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, mustard, salt and pepper; pour into tart shells.

Bake in bottom third of 375°F oven until pastry is golden and filling is just set,

25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm.

(Make-ahead: Let cool. Refrigerate in airtight container for up to 3 days; reheat in 400°F/200°C oven for about 4 minutes.)

Black Bean and Lentil Salad with Curry Viniagrette

2011-06-08T10:02:00.007-04:00

When I opened the front door this morning, it was like a wall of heat hit me in the face.

To me heat means salad and smoothies for lunch and dinner.

This salad is really easy to make if you have a few cans of beans in your pantry.

I used two cans of black beans and one of green lentils but you could surely use almost any sturdy bean.

Feel free to use any vegetable you have. Grated carrot, thinly sliced celery, green peppers, chives or cucumber would be great in there.

The vinaigrette is a bright combination of ginger, lemon and curry.

I like to serve this as a side to sausage, cheese and crackers or boiled eggs.

A perfect meal for a day when you don't want to heat up the house by using the oven.

Black Bean and Lentil Salad with Curry Viniagrette

(101cookbooks.com)

3 cups cooked beans (I used 2 cans Black beans)

1 cup cooked black or green lentils

1 cup cooked brown rice (optional)

1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced into crescents (optional)

1 cup vegetables, chopped or grated (I used a combination of zucchini, carrot and tomato)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon of fine-grain sea salt

1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

1-2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger (from 1-inch cube of fresh ginger, peeled)

juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/3 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

In a large bowl toss the beans, black lentils, red onion, and vegetables.

In a bowl or jar whisk together this garlic, salt, the curry powder, fresh ginger, lemon juice, and olive oil.

Whisk well, taste, and add adjust flavors/salt if needed.

Pour about half of the dressing over the beans and give it all a toss.

Add more dressing a bit at a time until it is to your liking.

Serves about 4 - 6 as a side.

Southwest Bean Burgers

2011-06-06T08:13:00.000-04:00

I love burgers.

Going out for burgers is a pretty cheap date.

Going out for burgers is my idea of a good time.

Perhaps I should qualify that, going out for good burgers is my idea of a good time. (Not as cheap but way more...ummm...good.)

I'm pretty lucky, though, because the best burgers I've ever had are always free.

The combination of my mum's perfect burgers and my dad's crazy barbecue skills are a match to be reckoned with.

These aren't those burgers but they're really good anyway.

These are made with friendly and yet exciting things like corn tortilla chips, chilies and black beans.

You're excited already right...?

Make these, bake them and top them with any toppings you would put on a beef burger.

I like mine with salsa, cheddar cheese, hot peppers and sour cream.

Southwest Bean Burgers

(moosewood)

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 cup chopped onions

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon salt

dash of ground black pepper

1 cup finely chopped mushrooms

1 cup grated carrots

1 fresh chile, minced or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 cup orange juice

1 cup ground corn tortilla chips

2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Warm the oil in a skillet on medium-high heat.

Stir in the chives, cumin, coriander, salt, and pepper and cook until the onions soften, a couple of minutes.

Add the mushrooms, carrots, chiles, and orange juice, lower the heat to medium, cover, and cook,

stirring occasionally, until tender, about 8 minutes.

While the vegetables cook, combine the ground tortilla chips, beans,

and egg in a large bowl and mash well with a potato masher, or pulse in a food processor

and then transfer to a bowl. When the vegetables are tender, drain, and stir into the bean mixture.

Form the burger mixture into six patties (a heaping 1/2 cup per burger) and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet.

Bake in a preheated 375 oven for 25 minutes, until firm and lighted crusted.

Chicken Pita Sandwich with Cucumber Yogurt

2011-06-03T06:00:00.000-04:00

Warm, herb flecked, chicken bites layered in a pita with slices of feta and tomato and topped with cucumber-chive yogurt is the perfect dinner on a very hot, late spring night.

We had some hot weather here this past week. Not wanting to turn the oven on, an abundance of fresh herbs in the garden and being inspired by Everyday Food's Chicken Koftas, I made these lovely little sandwiches.

I loaded the chicken up with chives and parsley and seasoned them with salt, pepper and cumin but left the rest of the toppings pretty basic.

This came together so quickly. With some sparkling lime water, it was a cool, refreshing way to end a hot spring day.

Chicken Pita Sandwich with Cucumber Yogurt

(Everyday Food, Martha Stewart June 2011)

1 1/2 lbs ground chicken

1/4 C minced chives

1/3 C minced parsley

3/4 tsp cumin

salt and pepper

1/2 cucumber, seeded and diced small

1/2 C plain yogurt

salt and pepper to taste

2 Tbsp veg or canola oil

1-2 medium tomatoes, in thin wedges

feta, sliced or crumbled

pitas

fresh chives or mint for serving

In a large bowl mix together chicken, chives, parsley, cumin, salt and pepper. Form into 8 oval and slightly flattened patties.

In a small bowl, toss together cucumber, yogurt, salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, heat oil over med-high heat. Cook patties until brown and cooked through.

Divide patties among pitas.

Top with tomatoes, feta, yogurt sauce and herbs.

Fold in half and serve.

Biscuits and Gravy

2011-06-02T13:00:00.006-04:00

While we were reading, By the Shores of Silver Lake, Clara and I were both oo-ing and aw-ing at the breakfast the Ingalls ate Christmas morning.

Fried pork and potatoes, biscuits, gravy and hot applesauce.

Clara decided that sounded like a pretty prefect dinner for tonight.

We started by throwing together some simple buttermilk biscuits. Clara can make these biscuits almost entirely on her own. They're very simple and very good.

Even though it's not exactly prairie fare, we are also having sausage gravy.

Along side the biscuits and gravy we are having some roasted new potatoes, applesauce, and maybe an excerpt or two from one of Laura's books.

Buttermilk Biscuits

(epicurious.com)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

heaped 1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk

1 tablespoon milk or cream for brushing

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.

Blend in butter with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Add buttermilk and stir with a fork until a dough just forms (dough will be moist).

Drop by Heaping Tablespoonful onto a lined baking sheet.

Bake 12-15 minutes.

Sausage Gravy

(Alton Brown)

1lb breakfast sausage, bulk style (we used lamb sausage squeezed from the links), drippings reserved

1 1/2 oz all purpose flour

2 C whole milk

salt and pepper to taste

Cook sausage in a skillet.When done, remove sausage from pan and pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat.

Whisk flour into the fat and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in milk a little at a time.

Return to medium-high heat and stir occasionally while the gravy comes to a simmer and thickens.

(Be sure to scrape up any brown bits that might be stuck to the bottom of the pan, that's where the flavor is.)

Check seasoning, add crumbled sausage and serve over toast or biscuits.

Honey Cake with Rhuby Soda

2011-05-30T10:49:00.006-04:00

My sweet friend brought me a very special surprise.

A special surprise she knew I would love...and an armful of it.

Enough to make soda, a cake, and a crisp!

Thank you, my friend.

I love to bake with honey to cut back on the amount of sugar most recipes call for.

Honey is easily masked by the other flavours in baking but this cake is all about the honey and its warm, fragrant sweetness.

Nestled down inside the cake is some rhubarb...just because I can.

Honey Cake with Nestled Rhubarb

(adapted from Moosewood Farm Fresh Meals)

1/2 C softened butter

1/2 C honey

1/2 C sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 C flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 C milk

2 1/2 C chopped rhubarb

Preheat oven to 350*. Butter a 7 x 11 baking dish.

Cream butter, honey and sugar together until light. Add eggs one at a time, beating well.

In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking powder and salt.

Combine milk and vanilla in a small bowl.

Alternate adding flour mixutre and milk to butter mixture, beating well after each addition.

Spread 2/3 of the batter over the bottom of the dish. Top with all of the rhubarb. Top gently with the rest of the batter, spreading to the edges.

Sprinkle with 1-2 tsp cinnamon sugar if you like.

Bake 35-40 mins or until golden and cooked through.

*Raspberries or strawberries would be a good substitute for the rhubarb.

Top with vanilla yogurt, whipped cream or ice cream.

Rhuby Soda

(culinate.com)

1 1/2 C chopped rhubarb

1 C sugar

1 1/2 C water

Sparkling water

ice

In a large saucepan, combine rhubarb, sugar and water. Boil and then turn down to a simmer for 15-20 mins or until the syrup is bright pink.

Turn off the heat, cool and pour into a large mason jar.

To make each soda, measure ¼ cup rhubarb syrup into a glass.

Add enough sparkling water to fill the glass ⅔ full. Stir to mix, then add ice.

Or make Soulemama's Ruby Junes.

Fleur de Sel Buttermilk Cake

2011-05-24T15:54:00.005-04:00

Apricots are in season.

I love apricot season.

I can hardly keep apricots around long enough to make anything with them. The kids love and devour them.

So I hid some and made a cake with them.

The apricots really get to show off here as they lay on top of this mildly sweet, slightly salty, buttermilk cake.

If that's where it ended, that would be delicious enough, but its finished off with a sprinkle of fleur de sel.

Fleur de sel is really cool because it doesn't dissolve into the cake like other salts would. It sits on top adding really pretty texture and a light crunch.

This cake sparkles.

Salted sweets hooked me a few years ago when I tried a Salted Caramel Tarte at Nadege Patisserie. My love continued at Hotel Gelato, with their Salted Caramel Gelato...oh my!

Clara and I outside Nadege.

Fleur de Sel Buttermilk Cake

(adapted from 101cookbooks.com)

2 1/2 C Whole Wheat pastry flour (or a combonation of WWPF and Spelt)

1Tbsp baking powder

1/2 C brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 C buttermilk

1/4 C butter, melted and cooled slightly

zest of 2 lemons

1-1 1/2 C Sliced Apricots (feel free to use any berry or soft fruit here. (I like using raspberries and blueberries here too)

1-3 Tbsp Large grain raw sugar (or scant 1 Tbsp of white sugar)

1 tsp fleur de sel or other large grain salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, rack in the middle.

Grease a 9 x13 dish or grease and line an 11inch tart pan.

Combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl whisk eggs and buttermilk together, whisk in butter and zest.

Pour buttermilk mixture over flour mixture and combine gently. Try not to overmix here.

Spoon batter into dish, pushing into the corners. Top with fruit of choice.

Sprinkle with sugar and salt.

Bake 18-20mins. Or until cake is set and golden on top.

Some Solitary Cooking and a Rhubarb Pie

2011-05-23T11:15:00.012-04:00

Three weeks of wonderful traveling and visiting made me thoroughly enjoy my slow Monday morning of quiet pie making.

Jibs is napping, Clara and Jimmy are out exploring the river for wildflowers and bugs, and I'm in the kitchen. Everyone is having a happy day indeed.

When I returned to my lovely little rhubarb crop this weekend I was pleased to discover a healthy bunch ready for picking.

Strawberry-rhubarb has to be one of my favourite fruit combos.

It literally took me an hour to decide what to do with my 8 precious cups of the sweet red gems.

Since its a holiday and my fridge is bare from our weeks of being away, my choices were somewhat limited.

I was missing key ingredients necessary for:

Rhubarb Soda and Rhubarb Jam.

These looked inviting as well...tartlets and crisp.

In the end I settled on a simple Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie with Crumble from my good old Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Crumble

(adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook)

1 recipe Single Crust Pie

1 recipe Crumb Topping (below)

3/4 C sugar

1/3 C flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3 Cups fresh chopped rhubarb

3 Cups fresh quartered strawberries

Prepare and roll out pastry. Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry and trim to fit the plate. Crimp edges if desired. Prepare crumb topping. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together sugar flour and cinnamon, add fruit and gently toss.

Transfer fruit to pastry lined pie plate.

Sprinkle with crumb topping.

Bake in a 375* oven for 45 mins.

Cool and eat with ice cream.

Crumble Topping

1/3C Brown Sugar

1/2 C flour

3 Tbsp cold butter

healthy pinch fresh nutmeg (optional)

Stir together sugar, nutmeg and flour, cut in cold butter until mixture resembles a crumb.

The Boys

2011-05-05T08:48:00.005-04:00

Jack: Hey Jimmy, are you going to share those snacks with me? If not, you'll get a piece of this!

Jim: Jack, that is not really funny you know!

Jack: Well, then share with me already!

Jim: NO! See my shoulder? Eat it!

Jack: Scores!!

Jim: Oooohhh! You're gonna get it now.

Commentary credit to Shannon.

French Sandwich Rolls

2011-05-04T14:07:00.006-04:00

"...just two people that like warm rolls."

Ok, four people that love warm rolls.

There have been a few kitchen moments that have made me jump up and down with excitement.

These buns made me really excited!

Why I'm excited about these warm rolls:

1. They smell and taste like those perfect little french rolls you can buy in a fancy bakery.

2. They're easy.

3. They are going to be perfect for the BLTs we are having for dinner.

4. Most importantly, they look like a baby's bum while they bake! (Clara and I sat the whole 12 minutes in front of the oven door giggling...)

This recipe comes from Mel. She has great tutorials on working with yeast and how to roll these perfectly.

These would be a perfect burger bun.

Warm Rolls, "...I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

French Bread Rolls

(from melskitchencafe.com)

Makes about one dozen rolls (see Mel's tutorial on shaping these rolls)

1 1/2 cups warm water

3/4 tablespoon instant yeast (or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast)

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon salt

4 cups all-purpose flour, give or take a few tablespoons

In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl by hand, combine the warm water, yeast, sugar, oil, salt

and 2 cups of the flour (if you are using active dry yeast instead of instant yeast, let the yeast proof in the

warm water and sugar for about 3-5 minutes until it is foamy and bubbly before adding the oil, salt and flour).

Begin mixing and continue to add the rest of the flour gradually until the dough has pulled away

from the sides of the bowl. Judge the dough not by the amount of flour called for in the recipe but in how the dough feels.

The dough should be soft and smooth but still slightly tacky to the touch.

Knead the dough in the stand mixer or by hand until it is very smooth and elastic,

about 5 minutes in a stand mixer or 8-10 minutes by hand.

Lightly spray a large bowl with cooking spray and place the dough in the bowl.

Cover the bowl with lightly greased plastic wrap.

Let the dough rise until it has doubled (this usually takes about an hour).

Lightly punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly greased countertop.

Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and form the dough into round balls.

Place the rolls on a lightly greased or silpat-lined baking sheet about an inch or two apart.

Cover the rolls with lightly greased plastic wrap taking care not to pin the plastic wrap

under the baking sheet or else the rolls will flatten while rising.

Let the plastic wrap gently hang over the sides of the pan to fully cover the rolls but not press them down.

Let the rolls rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 12-14 minutes until lightly browned and cooked through.

Breton Apple Pie

2011-04-27T13:15:00.004-04:00

Our family is one full of pie lovers. My mum and gramma are pie makers. Pie for breakfast is quite a common thing...if there happen to be leftovers.

My grandpa would quite often, after supper, tell my gramma he wanted a piece of pie and she would whip one up in an hour.

I cannot count the number of pie varieties I have tried on account of my mum and gramma.

All that said, I don't fancy myself a pie maker. I have made my share of pies in different forms, sweet and savory. I'm not a master by any means.

"So Jess how's your pastry success been lately?" My gramma asked me today, which made me smile. Mostly because I know it makes her happy that I love to cook, like she loves to cook.

Honestly though, my pastry is pretty hit and miss.

I'm quite sure all cooks learn a lot by trial and error.

Gramma's first pie was a pumpkin, she had never made a pie before and thought she'd be a good (new) wife and make her husband a pie. She made her crust, dumped a can of pumpkin into it, smoothed it out and baked it. She proudly served it to my grandpa but, instead of gratitude, was met with gags and sputters.

Grandpa-"What did you put in this?"

Grandma-"Nothing just the pumpkin!"

Now she knows you have to add sugar, spices, cream and other such important ingredients.

Gramma has since totally redeemed herself.

Last night, after dinner, I thought I'd make an apple pie for Jimmy. This pie had caught my eye as a quick one to make during the week.

Breton Apple Pie is quick, and really won't feel like pie making, in the laborious, fiddly kind of way it can.

The crust is somewhere between a shortcrust and a shortbread cookie. It's easy to work with and shortcomings can easily be patched.

The apples are partially cooked before hand on top of the stove with applesauce, lemon and cinnamon. They will become soft and shiny and rich smelling.

Everyone loves this pie. I will be making this one over and over. Maybe it will become a favourite in your house too.

Breton Apple Pie

Originally in by Nick Malgieri and also in The Washington Post, September 17, 2008

Apple

2Tbsp unsalted butter

2 1/2 lbs apples, peeled, cored and sliced (6-8 apples)

1/4 C apple sauce

1/4 C sugar

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Dough

1C unsalted butter, room temp

1tsp vanilla

1C sugar

4 large egg yolks (1 of the egg whites beaten with a pinch of salt for a wash)

2 3/4 C flour

Butter a deep 9 inch pie plate and set aside. Place oven rack at the lowest setting and preheat oven to 350*.

In a large saucepan, melt 2 Tbsp butter in a large saucepan, add apples, applesauce, sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon. Cook, covered about 10 minutes or until swimming in liquid. Uncover and cook another 10 minutes.

Combine the butter, sugar and vanilla extract in the bowl of a mixer.

Beat at medium speed for 5 minutes.

Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating until smooth after each addition.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a large rubber spatula to incorporate the flour.

Place half of the dough in the bottom of the prepared pan.

Use your fingertips to press the dough evenly over the bottom of the pan and about 1 inch up the sides.

Spread the filling over the dough.

Roll out remaining dough on a board with lots of flour until the circle is the same size as the pie plate. Top the pie with the dough and press down around the outside to seal.

Brush the top of the pie with the egg wash. Use the tines of a fork to trace a lattice pattern on the top.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until the dough is nicely colored and baked through.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.

Slice and serve with ice cream, cheese or by itself.

Black Beans with Ginger

2011-04-26T18:00:00.008-04:00

I made more refried beans.

Beans with ginger and hoisin sauce.

Ginger and hoisin make the beans sweet, smoky and spicy.

Clara told me she could eat these beans for every meal.

These have a more Asian taste than the Limey Beans, they taste great piled into tortillas (or a large lettuce leaf) with brown rice, mango salsa, sour cream and black olives.

Both kids came back begging for more of the beans 20 minutes after we finished dinner.

Black Beans with Ginger

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced and crushed

1-2 Tbsp grated ginger (I freeze my ginger to make it easier to grate)

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1-2 Tbsp Hoisin sauce

1/2 C vegetable broth

2 tins black beans

Heat oil in a med sauce pan. Add onion and cook on med heat until soft, about 8 mins.

Add garlic, ginger and thyme and cook on med another few minutes.

Stir in hoisin and broth.

Add beans and mash in with a potato masher. Simmer on low for 20 mins. Stir a few times.

Serve on a tortillas or large lettuce leaf. Top with brown rice, mango salsa, sour cream and olives.

Blueberry Date Juice

2011-04-25T06:00:00.002-04:00

(Photo by Renee)

Renee and I were making this cake, and trying to figure out how dates grow.

Do they grown on a tree or on a bush or on a plant like a strawberry? Finally we googled it and discovered that they do, indeed, grow on trees, a little like a coconut does.

We then stumbled upon this recipe for a blueberry date juice.

After a morning of baking and cooking we were ready for a snack.

Throw bananas, milk, blueberries and dates in the blender and you get this bright violet juice that is creamy and sweet and filling.

Blueberry Date Juice

(livelighter.org)

2 Bananas

1Cup Milk

2Cups blueberries (frozen)

8 dates, pitted

1-2 Tbsp protein powder (optional)

Mix together in a mixer until smooth.

Breakfast Sandwiches with Fried Mushrooms

2011-04-23T09:05:00.007-04:00

We eat a lot of eggs. One of our favourite ways to eat them is in a breakfast sandwich. Usually the sandwich just consists of egg, cheese and an english muffin. But on the weekends, we like to fance them up by adding vegetables and meat.

Fried mushrooms are so versatile and simple to prepare. We put them in crepes, pizza, burgers, sandwiches and even eat them as a side dish.

I watched my Uncle Steve make his version of fried mushrooms last summer and was inspired to simplify my recipe and eat them a lot more.

Alton Brown has an amazing recipe for mushrooms which he then piles in between layers of crepes. They are amazing!

This method is the easy way.

The Breakfast Sandwich with Fried Mushrooms

2 tsp olive oil

2 tsp butter

1/2-1 lb mushrooms, chopped or sliced thinly

1 small onion, chopped finely (divided)

1/4 C red pepper, chopped finely

2 thin slices of ham, chopped

5 eggs

heaping 1/4 tsp herbes de provence

1/2 tsp Montreal Steak Spice (divided)

2 Tbsp sliced Kalamata olives

1/4 C grated mozzarella cheese

3 English Muffins, halved and toasted

In a small frying pan warm 1 tsp oil and 1 tsp butter. Add chopped mushrooms, 1/2 the onion, herbes de provence and 1/4 tsp montreal steak spice. Fry until mushrooms are soft, about 5 mins. Keep mushrooms warm.

In a larger (10 inch) frying pan warm the other 1tsp oil and 1 tsp butter over med heat.

Add 1/2 the onion, red pepper and other 1/4 tsp of steak spice. When the vegetables are soft, add ham and warm through.

Crack 5 eggs over top of the cooked vegetables. Mix up the egg into the vegetables breaking a few of the yolks. Continue cooking, opening up little holes in the egg mixture so the uncooked egg falls onto the hot pan and fills the holes.

Once the egg is mostly set, sprinkle with olives and cheese. Cover the pan with a lid and turn heat down to low.

Toast english muffins. Butter them when toasted.

When eggs are set, divide into 3 portions.

Fill up english muffins with egg and mushrooms. Squirt on some hot sauce or ketchup if you like.

Chocolate Espresso Bars with Dried Fruit

2011-04-22T06:00:00.000-04:00

I love granola bars, I buy granola bars.

Starting today, I make granola bars.

It always pains me to buy them even on sale because the good ones are usually so expensive. Jim and I love Clif Bars but try to ration them because of how expensive they are.

Today, I was inspired by Grace to make granola bars.

I view this recipe as more of a ratio suggestion than a recipe because you could do anything with it.

I decided to make my first batch chocolate espresso bars and then added some chopped apricots and walnuts.

Some other flavour ideas:

~ Banana chip, Chocolate with Espresso

~ Carrot, Walnut with cinnamon and yogurt chips

~ Peanut butter, chocolate....(maybe some espresso in there too)

I doubled the recipe and used a 10 x 14 inch as well as an 8 x 10 baking dish to spread the mixture in because I wanted my bars to be really thin and look like a Clif bar. Mmmm.

Granola Bars

(adapted from whatscookingwithkids.com)

1 cup oats (quick cooking or old fashioned)

1 cup shredded wheat or weetabix cereal

1 cup walnuts

1 1/2 cups dried fruit (I used apricot, fig and golden raisin)

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp espresso powder

2 large eggs

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 cup finely chopped good dark chocolate (or chocolate chips)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Light oil or coat an 8×11-inch baking dish and set aside.

Place the oats, weetabix, walnuts, dried fruit, cinnamon, espresso powder

and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture is finely chopped. .

Or chop fruit and crush cereal by hand and mix with other dry ingredients in a large bowl.

(The dried fruit should be the size of lentils.)

Whisk together the eggs, honey, and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended.

Add the oat mixture and chocolate chips and stir to combine.

Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan and flatten gently with the back of a spoon.

Bake about 18 minutes, or until the edgest turn golden brown.

Let cool completely in the pan before slicing into 12 bars.

Broccoli Pasta with Feta

2011-04-21T06:00:00.005-04:00

Don't pass this one by. It's EASY, cheap and so tasty.

A bunch of broccoli, a can of beans, some pasta and feta.

This couldn't be easier or more perfect for making after work. (Shannon, if you like broccoli, this one's for you.)

I threw some chopped tomatoes and kalamata olives on top.

I think a Sauvignon Blanc would go perfectly.

Mum I see this being a great dinner to take down to the beach this summer... The Sauv will be a must!

Broccoli Pasta with Feta

(Moosewood Cooking for Health)

450g (1lb) chunky pasta

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

4 Cups chopped broccoli

1-2 Tbsp minced (pressed) garlic

1/2 tsp salt

ground pepper

2 ladles of pasta water

1 small can pinto beans

1 C crumbled feta (cow or goat)

chopped tomato, sliced kalamata olives to finish

Cook pasta.

While pasta cooks, warm oil in a large frying pan over med-high heat. Add broccoli, cooking 5 mins, and stirring constantly.

Add garlic, salt, ground pepper and 2 ladles full of pasta water. Stir in beans. Cover and steam for about 5 mins.

Please do not overcook the broccoli! Let it remain bright and green!

Top cooked pasta with broccoli and feta. (add tomatoes and olives if desired)

Ideal Easter Cookies

2011-04-20T07:46:00.009-04:00

We spent a long time with my Gramma today making cookies for Easter. She has some fantastic old spring chicken and bunny cutters. What I failed to do, even though I took my camera, was take a single solitary photo of us together...sad.

We used Martha's "Ideal Sugar Cookie" recipe. I love Martha's Ideal Sugar Cookies. I especially love that they're called "ideal"...that makes me laugh.

That said, these cookies are ridiculously easy to make, yield a dough that is perfect to roll out and bake into a beautiful, light and tasty cookie.

We inherited a large amount of cookie decorating supplies from a sweet friend the other day, which proved quite inspriational to the decorating of our cookies. And, of course, Clara made her signature violet and tiffany blue icing for them.

After the icing hardens, they can be placed in a container in the freezer so they stay fresh until the weekend comes.

The only thing to do now is try and stay out of them.

Ideal Sugar Cookies

(Martha Stewart)

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons brandy (or milk)

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl; set aside.

Cream together butter and sugar; mix until light and fluffy.

Add egg, brandy, and vanilla; mix until well combined. Add reserved flour mixture.

Mix until just combined.

Transfer dough to a work surface. Shape into 2 discs, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness.

Cut into desired shapes, and transfer to prepared baking sheets, leaving an inch in between.

Leftover dough can be rolled and cut once more.

If the dough or the cut outs are getting soft refrigerate them again before cooking.

Bake until lightly golden, about 10 minutes; do not allow to brown. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Ice and Decorate.

Clara's Signature Icing

2C sifted icing sugar

2-4 Tbsp warm water or juice

blue, red and green food colouring

Mix sugar and water together in a med size bowl.

Divide icing into 2 smaller bowls.

To the first bowl add 1 drop of blue and one drop of red. Stir well.

To the second bowl add 1 drop of green and ond drop of blue. Stir well.

Shove the icing into 2 separate, small ziplock bags, cut off a small corner and pipe onto cookies.

Vegetable Fried Rice

2011-04-19T08:44:00.008-04:00

Perfect fried rice. We all love it.

We couldn't keep out of it tonight. The fresh and slightly crisp vegetables sit on top of perfectly flavoured rice. Eventually Jib ate the dinner by the fist full.

I wanted to keep it simple and vegetarian tonight but chicken, beef, pork or shrimp would be easy to add and a welcome addition.

Vegetable Fried Rice

(adapted from Real Simple magazine)

1 1/2 cups brown or white rice

3/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar, honey or agave

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 tbsp canola oil

2 carrots, matchstick-size strips

2 cups snow peas, cut into thirds

2 cups bean sprouts

4 scallions, thinly sliced

4 large eggs, beaten

Cook the rice.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, honey, vinegar, and ginger.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Add the snow peas, bean sprouts, and 3 tablespoons of the soy sauce mixture.

Cook, stirring, until slightly tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

Return the skillet to medium heat. Add the cooked rice, scallions, and the remaining soy sauce mixture.

Cook until just heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.

Push the rice toward the side and pour the eggs into the center.

Scramble with a spatula until set then stir in the rice.

Top with the vegetables and serve.

Oven Roasted Tomato Peach Pasta

2011-04-18T16:45:00.013-04:00

My Gramma, "Doda" as Jibs calls her, has been raving about frozen peaches lately. They're really quite good.

This pasta uses frozen peaches as the primary ingredient in its sauce. Mixed in with the peaches are onion, lots of fresh and sun-dried tomato, some cinnamon and cayenne pepper.

All the ingredients go into a 9 x 13 baking dish and get thrown in a hot oven to roast.

Once the sauce is done, it will be sweet and rich and thick. You can pour it over some chunky pasta and top it with parmesan cheese.

This one's for you, Gramma...do you want the leftovers?

Oven Roasted Tomato Peach Pasta

(Moosewood Cooking for Health)

6 sundried-tomatoes, chopped

4 cups coarsely chopped tomatoes

2 cups chopped fresh or frozen peaches, thaw if frozen

1 cup chopped onion

2 tbsp olive oil, (I used the oil that the sundried tomatoes came packed in.)

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne

2 tsp herbs de provence

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

450g chunky shaped pasta (3 Cups or so dried)

grated parmesan cheese

In a 9 x 11 inch baking dish, stir together sundried tomatoes, tomatoes, peaches, onions, oil, salt, cinnamon, herbs de provence pepper and cayenne. In a 450* oven roast, uncovered, for 40 mins stirring a couple of times.

When the sauce has been cooking about 25 mins, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta.

When the sauce is cooked, stir in vinegar.

Serve sauce atop pasta with a generous grating of cheese.

A side salad of spinach, goat cheese and walnuts would be nice.

Jib says, "Get over here pasta, I love you."

Jib tip, "Don't get the pasta in your eyes, the cayenne is quite unforgiving!"

Vegetable, Cookie, Banjo

2011-04-13T22:01:00.004-04:00

Beans and greens are a wonderful combination. This salad is cheap, filling, has simple, healthy ingredients and is quick to throw together.

I have never cooked with black eyed peas before but they have great flavour and really go well with the kale and sweet fennel. I'm always looking for more ways to use kale so I know I will make this over and over this summer.

Today we ate it on top of some amazing sausage that my Dad keeps his freezer stocked with.

The salad could easily stand on it's own feet at one of those epic summer barbecues that are inevitably approaching. (Yay!)

I did sample, and love, the taste of the dish when I first made it, but it got better with time. So if you can make it an hour ahead of eating time, it will be even better.

Black Eyed Peas with Kale, Fennel and Tomatoes

(adapted from Moosewood Cooking for Health)

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Cup chopped onion

1/2 tsp salt

3 garlic cloves minced

1 tsp herb de provence (or 1/2 tsp ground fennel)

1 tsp oregano

1 1/2 Cups chopped fennel

4 Cups chopped kale (stems removed)

1 Tbsp Soy sauce

1 Cup chopped tomato

2 cans (15 oz) black eyed peas, drained and rinsed (or 1 1/4 Cups dried beans, cooked)

ground black pepper

In a large saucepan over med heat, warm the oil. Add onions, salt, garlic and herbs. Cook, stirring often until onions soften. About 10 mins. Add fennel, cook another 8 mins.

Stir in kale and cook, covered 5 mins or until softened. Add soy sauce, tomato and peas.

Simmer 5 mins. Season with salt and black pepper.

Let sit 1 hour or so if possible. Not necessary but it will develop the flavours.

_________________________________________________________________

As for the cookie, made Joys Brownie Cookies tonight for my class...they were stupendous.

Make them!

I used 3/4 of a PC Dark Chocolate Bar in the cookie and then topped them with sprinkles and mini marshmallows. Pretty decadent.

Last thing, my Jimmy is the most inspiring person I have ever known.

He's an optimist, he will try anything and teaches himself all kinds of things.

Being around him has made me, a perfectionist who is scared to try anything that I might do wrong, learn and try stuff I never would have otherwise.

"You could totally do that, Jess.", he says. Then comes along side and helps me push through all my, "I just can't do it"(s).

Well, Jimmy has started teaching himself the banjo...and it pretty much rocks!

Peanut Butter-Cereal Balls

2011-04-11T10:24:00.003-04:00

I could say I make these for the kids...but to be true...I make these for Jim and I. (We let Jibs and Clara have a few.)

Jim made these at home when he was a kid and I was introduced to them on a visit to his family's home years ago.

You have to love peanut butter to love these, we do...and we love these balls!

Cereal, honey, peanut butter, and some chocolate or raisins rolled into a ball.

Peanut Butter Cereal Balls

1 cup honey

3 cups peanut butter (I used crunchy)

1 1/2 cups rice krispies

1/3 cup applesauce

1 cups coconut

1 1/2 cups crushed cereal (I used Cheerios)

1/3 cup chocolate chips

1/3 cup golden raisins

5-8 tablespoons powdered milk

1-2 cups crushed shredded wheat (or mini-wheat cereal)

Mix all but last two ingredients and mix until well combined.

Add powdered milk. Mix.

Form into smallish balls and roll in crushed wheat cereal. Refrigerate or freeze.

I like mine frozen, Jim likes his refrigerated.

Another One For the Cookie Jar

2011-04-07T12:04:00.003-04:00

Clara and I made these today.

It's a little like a granola bar, a little like a cookie.

Perfect for taking along on the little bus ride excursion we're going on this afternoon. They'll be filling enough to get us through to dinner.

A little note: the batter is very chunky and will look weird for a cookie dough...just hang in there, when they bake they'll hold together fine.

Oatmeal Granola Bar Cookies

(Moosewood Cooking For Health Cookbook)

2 Tbsp butter, room temp

2 Tbsp Olive oil

1/3 C brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 large egg

1/2 C spelt flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 C Rolled Oats (not instant or quick)

1/2 C chocolate chips

1/2 C golden raisins (craisins, dried blueberries, or apricots), chopped

1/2 C walnuts (pecans or cashews), chopped

In the bowl of an electric mixer or with a whisk, beat together butter, oil and sugar. Bean in vanilla and eggs. Sift in flour, soda and salt. Mix until well combined.

Stir in oats, chocolate chips, raisins and nuts.

Batter will be chunky.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or grease with oil. Drop batter by tablespoonful. You will probably need to use your fingers to clump the dough together. Press down lightly with a wet fork.

Bake at 350* for 10mins or until the edges are golden brown. Do not overbake.

Cool and eat with a glass of cold milk.

Prairie Wisdom

2011-04-06T22:22:00.006-04:00

Enough is as good as a feast. - Ma Ingalls.

'70's Cookbooks Rule

2011-04-06T06:00:00.002-04:00

A few years ago, I totally gave 70's/80's cookbooks the cold shoulder.

They aren't as flashy...they don't boast celeb chefs "As seen on the Food Network"...and they aren't usually peppered with gorgeous glossy photos.

What they do have - accessible, interesting, healthy and frugal recipes.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Moosewood Cookbooks: I love Mollie Katzen and have made tons and tons of Moosewood recipes.
I love how Mollie hand wrote the recipes in this cookbook and drew great illustrations to go with.

2. Found this one today, The Art of Cooking for Two. The book guides small families on how to use really natural ingredients, spend less, eat better and waste less food.

A lot of the recipes are easily double-able for our family and some are even written for 4 servings so a 2 person family could freeze the leftovers.

Looking at this book to pick some goodies out with my Gramma tonight, she has recently begun the hard task of cooking for one.

Amazing cookbook. I want to make everything in it.

Some that I want to try:

Zucchini Spaghetti
Baked Broccoli Egg Supper
Christmas Roast Chicken
Curried Lamb Spare Ribs
Whole Wheat Biscuits
Baked Honey Custard
Herb Salt
Curry Mix
Once-a-week Jam
Fruit Chutney

3. Alice Waters is amazing at simple, basic cooking. I love the fresh combos of flavours and creative ways to eat from the garden.

Of course, a cookbook devoted to pizza, pasta and calzones is right up our alley.

Spring Pasta: Pasta with peas, spinach and prosciutto. Asparagus and artichoke pasta.
Summer Pasta: Pesto and New Potato. Pasta with Cherry tomato vinaigrette.
Pizza: Shrimp, Green onion, Tomato. Hot Peppers, Coriander, and sausage.

Bring on the garden cooking.

Bean Curry

2011-04-05T07:22:00.004-04:00

Monday is turning into Beanday.

Beans are good for Mondays because I can improvise with them from my pantry. And since we have significantly depleted our food stock by Monday, this is perfect.

Everyone loved this curry.

The recipe called for black eyed peas, I didn't have any so I used kidney but any bean would be fine. Also I used tined San Marzano tomatoes (in place of fresh), chopped them and added their juice to the broth. And a handful of peas made it a little prettier.

If you don't have Garam Masala, make your own. Otherwise, it's easy to find in the spice isle.

Clara and I topped ours with a little Major Gray Mango Chutney, Jim liked it plain.

Bean Curry

(Melskitchencafe.com)

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 onion, chopped

1-3 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1 large tomato, chopped (or 1/2 28oz can San Marzano tomatoes chopped)

1/2 teaspoon tumeric

pinch cayenne, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon Garam Masala

3/4 cup half and half (I used 5%)

1 cup vegetable stock or chicken broth or V8)

1 can black-eyed peas, lightly drained

1 C frozen peas

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Add onion; saute 5 mins or until translucent and slightly browned.

Stir in garlic and grated ginger root; stir constantly for 30 seconds.

Add tomato; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in turmeric, cayenne, salt, paprika, and garam masala;

stir constantly for 30 seconds. Add half and half, stock, beans and peas.

Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cilantro or parsley.

Serve over rice. Naan is nice to dip in. Chutneys or pickle as a topping or side.

Springtime Lime Pie

2011-04-04T09:15:00.003-04:00

Here's a spring dessert for you. 10 minutes prep time, 18 mins bake time...chill (4 hours)and eat.

Lime Pie

(myrecipes.com)

22 graham wafers, crushed (yield 1 1/4C)

1/4C butter, melted

2- 14oz cans sweetened condensed milk

1 1/4 C freshly squeezed lime juice (about 6 limes)

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 C sour cream

2 Tbsp powdered sugar

zest of 1/2 a lime

Preheat oven to 325*.

Mix graham wafer crumbs and butter in a 10inch pie plate. Press crumb mixture into plate.

Bake for 10 mins.

Meanwhile, whisk together milk, lime juice and eggs in a large bowl.

Pour into baked pie shell. Bake 18-20 mins.

Chill for 4 hours.

Mix sour cream and sugar in a small bowl. Spread on top of pie. Sprinkle with lime zest.

Serve.

Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies

2011-04-04T08:15:00.005-04:00

These are not your usual sugar-butter laden peanut butter cookies. They're reasonably healthy, easy to prepare and will surprise the skeptics.

I was a bit skeptical myself. Sugar-free, spelt cookies don't sound very promising.

If you don't know what spelt is and you have never baked with it before, go to the bulk food store, buy just what you need for these cookies and be pleasantly surprised at how normal it feels to use it.

Spelt actually gives these cookies wonderful flavour. The batter will look a little more gritty than regular flour but will taste perfect when they're baked.

I took these to share with a group of friend last night and everyone agreed, they're good!

...(despite being healthy)

One thing I will mention, Heather from 101cookbooks recommends you buy a well combined peanut butter and not a super oily one. I used PC Crunchy and it worked beautifully.

Heather's Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies

(101cookbooks.com)

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, spelt flour, or unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

1 cup organic, chunky natural peanut butter

1 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350* degrees. Place racks in the top third.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate larger bowl combine the peanut butter, maple syrup, olive oil, and vanilla.

Stir until combined. Pour the flour mixture over the peanut butter mixture

and stir until barely combined - still a bit dusty looking.

Let sit for five minutes, give one more quick stir, just a stroke or two.

Now drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto parchment-lined baking sheets.

Press down on each one gently with the back of a fork.

It's a loose batter, so if you're set on doing criss-crosses,

go ahead and chill the batter for an hour or so before this step.

Bake for 10, maybe 11 minutes - but don't over bake or they will be dry.

Let cool five minutes and transfer to a cooling rack.

Revisiting the Everyday Bagel

2011-04-01T09:29:00.005-04:00

Bagels used to be so mysterious to me. Their texture so unlike any other bread. Peter Reinhart's method of bagel making is easy and will totally de-mystify the bagel making process. Clara formed these for me...she's a great bagel maker.

I used white flour this time, but whole wheat flour worked beautifully last time.

You will have to start a day before you want to eat them, but the hands on time is very minimal. So worth the time! Give it a try.

Today we are enjoying Cinnamon Sugar, Everything, and Sesame Seed Bagels.

Baked Pasta with Chicken and Sun-dried Tomatoes

2011-03-31T21:00:00.009-04:00

How pleasant a thing it is to find a recipe, sorta special, perfect for dinner, good for a crowd and one that I have all the ingredients for. The kind of dinner that people feel free to keep taking a little more of. Everything right in the middle of the table, comfortable and inviting.

The creamy white pasta looks so pretty all studded with the bright colours of the tomatoes and broccoli. Sun-dried tomatoes and the roasted chicken breast give this dish so much flavour. And I'm in love with bread crumb topping on almost anything. See, comfortable and sorta special.

When I saw the amount of food this was going to make (serves 8 people) and remembered a few of my favourite ladies were alone tonight I quickly called them and begged them to come eat with us. It was a great evening. Complete with a salad from Gramma, a lemon Pie from Clara, and the entertainment of watching Jim and Jill learn the drums.

This recipe comes from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. Mel has so many recipes that look good, I want to make them all. She takes lovely photos of them too.

Head over and check out Mel's blog for this recipe and all her other goodies.

Clara's lemon pie

...With Jam and Bread

2011-03-30T14:06:00.008-04:00

Clara's spring swimming classes have begun and will be right at dinner time. So, for the next few months we will be having sandwiches for dinner on Wednesdays.

This morning we made a nice sandwich loaf and some strawberry jam.

I usually make a slow rise bread from this book, but I forgot to put it together last night. In a pinch, I tried Ina Garten's Honey White Bread. The 2 egg yolks give the bread a pretty light yellow colour and a great texture and taste.

My mum came to visit us today bringing a few pints of strawberries.

The two of us got a batch of strawberry jam made really quickly. Thanks mum!

A jar of the jam is going to be donated to a certain jam hiding sparrow I know of.

Jib says, "I could eat the whole loaf."

Lime-y Beans

2011-03-28T12:19:00.008-04:00

Not to be confused with lima-beans, these are essentially refried beans.

You could make these with almost any bean, romano, black or red kidney, but I used white kidney beans because I have never seen white refried beans. I think it looks prettier.

I made a batch this morning (and it took me less than 10 minutes) so dinner will come together in a flash tonight.

I love the simple bright flavour of the garlic, cumin and lime. They will be perfect on flat bread and corn tortillas with some cooked rice, salsa, chives, sour cream and grated cheese.

I know I've said it before, but beans are such a cheap way to eat. I recently bought, The Everything Beans Book. There are something like 96 bean recipes rated by expense, time and kid-friendliness, tips on cooking big batches of beans and info on their health benefits. I have really enjoyed reading through it so far.

Limey Beans

(Everything Beans Ebook)

3 1/2 cups cooked beans (I used 2 tins White kidney beans)

olive oil

1 C finely chopped onion

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp oregano

1-3 cloves garlic, crushed or minced

3/4 c vegetable broth (or bean broth if you soaked them yourself)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c grated pepper jack or other cheese (optional)

juice and zest of 1 lime

Cook onions and cumin over med heat 5 mins in a large sauce pan. Add oregano, garlic and salt.

Stir together cooking another 3 mins. Stir in beans and stock. Mash together until liquid is absorbed.

Remove pan from the heat and add cheese and lime zest and juice.

*add 1/2 tsp of chili powder or some cayenne with the other spices for heat if you like.

"Miller's Wife" Fish

2011-03-23T18:06:00.005-04:00

"Miller's Wife", or what the french call 'Meuniere', is fish dredged in flour and pan fried.

I cannot think of many better ways of eating trout than this. I was calling out ideas on how to cook this fish, "Trout with mushrooms, tomatoes and ginger", or " Trout with raisins, red onions and bacon."

Jim told me that none of those options sounded like they would really match the trout.

Sometimes the simplest ways of preparing fish are the best.

Very simple and arguably the best way to eat trout.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper, dredge in flour, fry in butter.

Garnish with lemons and parsley.

Serve with baked sweet potatoes.

Fish Meuniere

(Alton Brown)

2 large fillet of rainbow trout, skin-on

kosher salt

fresh ground black pepper

1/2 C all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp Canola oil

1 Tbsp butter

lemon slices

parsley

Heat a large 12 inch skillet (preferably not non-stick) over med-high heat.

Sprinkle the flesh side of the fish with salt and pepper. Dredge in the flour, shaking off excess.

Add oil and butter to hot pan. Let the butter melt, foam and brown.

Add fish to pan, flesh side down. Jiggle pan to ensure it is not sticking. Cook 2 minutes, a pretty brownish, flecked crust will form.

If the fat around the fish is smoking, turn down the heat a bit.

Flip fish, and cook another 2 minutes or until fish flakes with a fork.

Remove fish to a plate, garnish with lemon slices and parsley.

Sweet Potato Half-moons

Peel a huge sweet potato or several and cut them into 1cm half moons.

Toss with olive oil and Montreal Steak Spice on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Cook at 400* for about 20 mins or until soft on the inside and crispy brown on the outside.

We dip ours in a combo of 1/4Cup Mayo, 1/4 tsp Chipotle Chili Powder and 1tsp honey mixed together.

Peanut Butter Bread

2011-03-22T14:24:00.016-04:00

Well it seems that day has come.

Jibs no longer needs to start his day with a banana.

It is always a striking to me when little routines change. Routines that seem so definitive of a certain time.

Baby Jib loved bananas, toddler Jib does not. (Though I'm sure he will always love Caroline's Banana Gelato!)

We have moved on to bigger, better, and more mature things such as peanut butter.

Peanut butter on apple slices, crackers, toast. Peanut butter in cookies and now in bread.

This bread has tons of rich peanut butter and banana flavour .

The house will smell amazing while it's cooking!

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

(adapted from Cooking Light)

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (3-4)

1/3 cup buttermilk

heaping 1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter

3 tablespoons butter, melted

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup ground flaxseeds(optional)

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Preheat oven to 350* and grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

Whisk together flours, wheat bran, soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice in a large bowl. (I used my kitchenaid.)

Mash banana in a medium bowl. Stir in buttermilk, peanut butter and butter. Add eggs and sugar.

Beat banana mixture into flour mixture, just until combined.

Bake for 1 hour or until cake tester comes out clean.

**I don't think this bread needs anything else, but Cooking Light suggests making a peanut glaze.

If you want to try it, here is the full recipe.

A Baker Came to Call

2011-03-21T20:49:00.006-04:00

A sweet friend and terrific baker came to visit us today. Much like the last baking day, it was cold and rainy outside, but delicious and warm inside.

Lots of laughs, jazz, mishaps and art later...we ate some delicious cinnamon pull-apart bread.

We love you.

Thanks for fixing all my mistakes!

...next time I watch, you bake!

PS.- Happy New year.

Calzones: II

2011-03-18T19:19:00.005-04:00

A cheesy 'N'

I thought I'd change it up a bit for pizza night tonight and make calzones with the Stowe Pizza Dough.

Clara loves calzones. Jib was skeptical when I called it pizza but was won over very quickly.

Our good friend was over for pizza night tonight and she calls it 'Pizza Pie'.

These are fast, easy to make and way too easy to eat.

I have written about calzones before but I prefer the Stowe Pizza Dough over my previously posted dough recipe. This dough is so stretchy and simple to work with. I doesn't need time to rise and can be made on a whim.

Tonight I chopped up some thick cut bacon, red and green peppers, mushrooms, olives, hot banana peppers, tomato sauce and cheese. Everyone had a variation of these toppings...I had all of them.

Another pizza we've been eating a lot of lately features potatoes.

Slice a scrubbed and peeled potato into 1/3 inch slices, toss with olive oil and Montreal steak spice or salt and pepper. Cook at 400 for about 15 mins or until getting golden and very soft inside. Top pizza with olive oil or tomato sauce, cheese, chopped turkey kielbasa, cooked potato slices, hot peppers and green olives.

A tip: Since no 2 calzones are alike in our house, I like to make an initial or special marking on the top of each calzone with left over bits of shredded cheese. Then everyone knows who's is who's. Of course, everyone thinks their calzone is the perfect combination of flavours and wants to eat their perfectly concocted pie.

I hope you love these.

Calzones

Serves 2 adults and 3 kids or 4 adults

1/2 recipe of Stowe Dough

olive oil

toppings

Divide dough into 4 equal parts and then divide those each in half. Jim got a whole quarter, the kids and I got an 1/8.

Roll dough into an oval and top one half of the oval with about 1/2 C of topping choices leaving an inch boarder on the one half you topped.

Brush the boarder with olive oil, fold the top over and roll the edges up sealing with a fork press.

Brush entire calzone with more olive oil. Fill remaining calzones. Place all the little packages on a large cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 15 mins or until the tops are nice and golden brown. Check the bottoms to ensure they're brown too.

Cut them in half. The filling will be lethally hot!

Cooking with Guinness

2011-03-18T13:06:00.008-04:00

Steak and Guinness Pie

Guinness Cake

3 delicious recipes with a common theme.

It is very hard for me to let a St. Patricks Day pass without making something with Guinness.

First, a dark rich beef stew baked inside a puffy, buttery crust. Served with peas and a green salad on the side.

Followed by a very dark and damp chocolate cake topped with a fluffy white frosting. (Looking quite like a pint of the dark beverage it contains.)

Regardless of their preferences towards Guinness as a drink, I have yet to find a person who did not love it in these forms.

Steak and Guinness Pie

(adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe)

3 medium red onions peeled and chopped

3 cloves garlic, peeled chopped

2 Tbsp Butter

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 stalks celery chopped

6-8 mushrooms, sliced or chopped

2.5 lbs stewing beef cut into 3/4 inch pieces and trimmed of fat

1 Tbsp herbs de provence (or 2 sprigs rosemary stemmed and chopped.)

salt and pepper

1 pint of Guinness

2-3 Heaping Tbsp Flour

water or beef stock

1 1/2 C grated cheddar cheese

1 package store bought puff pastry

1 egg, lightly beaten for egg wash

Preheat oven to 375*.

Heat a very large saucepan over med heat and saute onions gently for 10 mins.

Turn heat up to med-high and add the other vegetables. Stir together and then add beef, herbs, a pinch of salt and 1 tsp pepper. Fry for 4minutes.

Pour in Guinness and scatter the flour over top. Stir in enough water or stock to just cover the beef and veg.

Bring to a boil and then put the lid on the pot and place in hot oven for 1 1/2 hours or until meat is very tender.

Remove the pan and stir the stew. Return stew to the oven and cook another hour.

If the stew is a bit watery at this point remove the lid and cook on the stove top over med heat until some of the liquid is gone and the stew is really thick.

Stir in half the cheese.

Season with more salt and pepper if needed.

Roll out one of the sheets of puff pastry big enough to cover the bottom of the appropriately sized dish. Let the excess pastry dangle over the edges.

Pour the stew into the bowl. Top with remaining cheese and brush the edges of the pastry with egg wash.

Score the other sheet of pastry diagonally in 1 cm crisscrosses. Place the lid on the pie and fold the edges inwards together to seal the pie and make a nice crusty ring around the outside.

Brush the top of the pie with more egg wash and place in the oven for 45 mins at 375* or until pastry is puffed up and golden.

Guinness Cake

(Nigella Lawson)

1 C Guinness

1/2 C + 2 Tbsp unsalted butter

3/4 C cocoa powder (unsweetened)

2 C sugar

3/4 C sour cream

2 eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla

2 C flour

2 1/2 tsp baking soda

8 oz Cream cheese

1 1/4 C icing sugar

heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 and butter a 9 inch springform pan.

Pour Guinness in a large saucepan, add butter and heat until butter is melted over med heat.

Whisk in cocoa and sugar.

Remove from heat.

Beat together sour cream, eggs and vanilla. Pour into buttery beer.

Whisk in flour and soda.

Pour into prepared pan.

Bake 45 mins.

Cool.

Whip cream cheese until light and fluffy, add sifted icing sugar. Add enough cream to make the icing spreadable. Beat again.

Top cold cake with icing.

Finally, another delicious Guinness meal we have had recently can be found over here.

Fish Tacos

2011-03-15T21:47:00.003-04:00

The mangoes were perfect today.

I bought 3 and made mango salsa.

Fish tacos are great with mango salsa.

Coleslaw and warm corn tortillas are good with mango salsa.

Hello dinner.

I'm looking forward to eating this meal again this summer outside on the patio, this is a great summer meal. But for now, it was a nice, light change from the usual winter fare of stews, root veg and chili.

A few tips for this recipe:

1. Use perfect mangoes, they will take this taco from good to great.

2. Don't overcook the fish.

3. Warm up your corn tortillas...they're inedible otherwise... (First time I tried to use corn tortillas I did not know you were supposed to warm them first and was grossed out by the inevitable crumbly, rubberiness of a cold corn tortilla...Do warm them.)

Fish Tacos

serves 3-4 people

5 (or more) pieces of firm white fish (I used frozen, thawed cod)

salt and pepper

1 Tbsp veg oil

1/2 bag coleslaw mix or 2C shredded cabbage

1-2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

2-3 mangoes peeled and diced

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded, minced

1/2 cucumber, diced

pinch cayenne pepper (optional)

salt and pepper

1 lime juiced

sour cream and warm corn tortillas for serving

Pat dry the fish and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Warm oil in a fry pan over Med heat.

Cook fish a few minutes per side. Mine took about 8 mins total.

Chop fish into chunks and place in a bowl to stay warm.

Mix coleslaw (cabbage), vinegar and salt in a bowl and toss.

Mix mango, cucumber, red pepper, salt, pepper, cayenne, and lime juice in a bowl.

Wipe out your fish pan and warm your corn tortillas and place them in a tea towel to stay warm and soft.

Pile up your taco with all the toppings including a good smear of sour cream.

These toppings would also be good piled on top of rice instead of the tortillas. Feel free.

The Cookie Jar

2011-03-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

Here's what is in our cookie jar right now.

Orange Yogurt Cake

2011-03-10T08:16:00.007-05:00

It's good to have something that you make with some regularity for when people come over unexpectedly or at the last minute.

I'm usually all about scones of any shape or flavour. Scones are pretty easy to whip up but are also a little fancy.

I remember my mum making scones so many Sunday nights when we'd have people back from church. I was always proud because I knew my mum would make a fresh batch of these perfect little scones and serve them with butter and marmalade or strawberry jam. I loved the predictability of it.

I'm about to make this cake for the second time in 24 hours and it may become the equivalent of my mum's scones. This cake takes about 4 minutes to prepare and 24mins in the oven. All the ingredients get tossed in a big bowl and whisked together somewhat haphazardly. No fuss.

You would never know by what ease it is made after it's done though. Damp and subtly sweet with little flecks of fresh orange zest running through it, dusted with a bit of icing sugar.

Orange Yogurt Cake

(from a vintage Martha Stewart Magazine)

1 C flour

1/2 C plus 2 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

1/2 C yogurt (I used banana yogurt)

1/4 C vegetable oil

1 orange zested

1 Tbsp orange juice (1 Tbsp of grand marnier here would be decadent!)

1 large egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

(icing sugar for dusting)

~Preheat oven to 350*.

Grease a 8inch round cake pan.

Stir all ingredients together in a large bowl.

Pour into pan.

Bake until cake tester comes out clean, about 24mins.

Cool.

Dust with icing sugar.

Jib suggests having this cake with a cup of tea.

Oatmeal Pancakes and Chicken Bites

2011-03-09T07:41:00.005-05:00

A couple of things...

I have a really hard time making things more than once...(good thing I don't knit or I'd have a lot of single socks hanging around waiting for a mate).

I love pancakes and sausage and yesterday being pancake Tuesday reminded me that we had not had pancakes in a long time.

Put those things together and I tried yet another new pancake recipe...a Joy the Baker pancake recipe. (That girl can bake!...that reminds me I have to try her cinnamon bread.)

Since I've been in an oatmeal state of mind lately, I made Joy's Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes. Loaded with sweet spices and oats these came out of the pan with a beautiful texture and smell.

The recipe suggests putting golden raisins in the pancakes but Clara advised me, "Raisins are fine in oatmeal cookies but do NOT belong in pancakes!" ...Jim concurs.

The kids loved them and they were even great reheated the next morning for breakfast.

To go with the pancakes I made up some little tiny sausage bites. I mixed together some shredded apple, green onion, Epice a montreal, breadcrumbs and ground chicken, rolled them in tiny meal ball sizes, dredged them in some flour and fried them in a little oil.

Oatmeal Pancakes

(adapted slightly from Joy the Baker.com)

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

heaping 1/2 cup old fashioned oats

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

2 cups buttermilk (I used whole milk mixed with 2tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar)

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

½ teaspoons vanilla extract

~Beat eggs together in a large bowl. Add in buttermilk, butter, maple syrup and vanilla. Stir well.

~Add in the rest of the ingredients and stir until combined.

~I used my 1/4C measuring cup to drop the batter in to the pan, cooking over med heat.

~Keep ready pancakes in a 200* oven until they're all cooked.

Chicken Apple Bites

1 apple peeled, cored and grated

3/4-1 lb ground chicken or 2 boneless skinless chicken breast cubed

1 green onion finely sliced (1/2 red onion finely chopped)

1Tbsp chopped parsley

1 1/2 tsp Montreal Steak Spice

scant 1 C bread crumbs

1 Tbsp Chicken stock (or 1 egg)

whole wheat flour for coating

cooking oil for frying

~Put chicken, apple, onion, parsley, spice, breadcrumbs and stock in a food processor and pulse to combine. (This could be done in a bowl with a fork, mixing very well.)

~Spread flour on a plate. Divide the mixture into small bowls. Roll in flour.

~Heat a small amount of oil in a large frying pan and cook balls 5-8 mins until brown all over and cooked through.

Sufferin' Succotash

2011-03-03T06:16:00.003-05:00

There will be no suffering with this succotash.

For Christmas I received a beautiful green depression glass casserole dish and a box set of Moosewood farmer market recipes both of which I have used very faithfully since. I love to make the succotash from those recipes and serve it in my green dish.

A reasonably quick vegetable dish, this is a sweet combo of roasted butternut squash mixed with some buttery sauteed lima beans and corn. I have taken this to our monthly fellowship lunch at church but make it a lot at home to accompany BBQ sausage and a coleslaw.

My hilarious nephew, Jack, gorged himself on this last week. Jibs has good things to say about it too.

Jack and Jibs say, "Trust us, this succotash is mighty fine."

Fancy Succotash

(moosewood farmer's market collection)

5-6C peeled and cubed (bite size) butternut squash

2 C coarsely chopped red onion

2 Tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp salt

3 Tbsp olive or veg oil

2 Tbsp fresh sage (1.5 tsp dried)

2 tsp dried thyme (2 Tbsp fresh)

1 1/2 C fresh or frozen corn

1 1/2 C frozen or canned (drained/rinsed) lima beans

1/4 C minced fresh parsley

Heat oven to 450*.

Mix together squash, onion, garlic, salt and 2 Tbsp oil on a large cookie sheet lined with parchment.

Bake 40mins stirring frequently until softened but crisp around the edges.

Meanwhile, heat the last 1 Tbsp of oil (or 2tsp oil, 2 tsp butter) in a large skillet.

Add sage and thyme and simmer a few seconds. Stir in corn and lima beans. Cook on low about 5 mins. Cover and set aside.

In a large dish toss together cooked squash mixture with the lima bean/corn mixture. Stir in parsley.

Baked Oatmeal with Pear

2011-03-02T14:16:00.005-05:00

I find it feels so right to eat oatmeal on these cold, windy, late-winter mornings. The kids and I eat it a lot just boiled up with some maple syrup and milk on top.

Between granola making and oatmeal porridge we go through a lot of rolled oats. I have a feeling we're going to have an even harder time keeping oats in the house.

I tried a new recipe for baked oats today and since I had some pears left over from a cake I had made I threw those in too.

Jibs and I sat and ate it right out of the baking dish with a fork. It would be great as a breakfast but I can even see eating it as a dessert with some whipped cream on top.

Baked Oatmeal with Pear

2 1/2 C Rolled Oats

1/2 C steel-cut oats

1/4C Brown sugar

2 tsp baking poweder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 C milk

1/4 C sunflower or veg oil

2/3 C apple sauce

1 1/2 C chopped pear (I used a tin of pear halves chopped)

Mix dry ingredients together.

Mix wet ingredients, except pear, in a 4 C measuring glass.

Stir wet into dry.

Pour into a glass baking dish.

Bake at 400 for 20 mins.

Stir in pears and bake another 20 mins.

A Pretty-Perfect Cookie

2011-03-01T11:31:00.008-05:00

The most memorable cookie I ever ate was in the kitchen of a B&B in Pennsylvania where my family stayed for a night probably 18 or so years ago. They will probably always be our family's favourite cookie. The owner of the B&B had just pulled a batch of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies out of the oven and we were lucky enough to have been right there to taste them hot. Made with chunky peanut butter and large morsels of chocolate, I'm pretty sure no cookie will ever measure up to those eaten that afternoon. We were kindly given the recipe and have since endearingly called them Dutch Colonial Treats.

I am quite sure my mum has made 500 batches of them, at least. I frequently had them in my lunch at school, we always had a cookie jar brimming with them and friends begged for them.

That said, sometimes we must break with tradition for a new cookie to enter the jar.

Keeping up with the constant need for a healthy supply and variety of cookies for my family, church, friends and other abundant events that call for cookies, can be quite an undertaking.

So when I find a new cookie that turns heads and tummies, I take note. (Thanks Martha Stewart for yet another delightful cookie.) These cookies have had rave reviews and I've made them a bunch of times in the last couple of weeks. My dad says they're one of his favourite cookies and has frequented my cookie jar quite a bit lately. I love you Dad:)

Say, what's in your cookie jar?

My apprentice rolling cookies.

Jibs says, "I give these cookies a big thumbs up!"

Perfect Oatmeal Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

(An Everyday Food recipe from Martha Stewart March 2011)

Yields: 3-4 dozen

1C AP Flour

1 1/4 Rolled Oats, Not quick oats!

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 C unsalted butter, room temp

1 C light brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 large egg

1C chopped pecans

1 C chopped chocolate or chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350*.

In a med bowl mix flour, oats, salt, BP and BS.

In a large bowl using an electric mixer (I use my Kitchenaid) cream together butter and sugar until fluffy, about 4 mins. Add egg and vanilla. Scraping bowl as you go.

With mixer on low add flour mixture, beat just until combined. Stir in nuts and chocolate.

Drop dough by Tbspfull 2 inches apart on a parchment or greased sheet.

Bake 12 minutes.

Should last about a week in your airtight cookie jar, unless little bitty hands get to them first!

Enjoy....we sure are.

Valentines Day

2011-02-14T13:10:00.004-05:00

I'm being spoiled tonight. Jimmy is making dinner for me tonight and he is a great cook. The menu is a surprise so I'm looking forward to finding out what he's planning. He knows me very well so I know the food will be be well tailored. But mostly of all, I'm just looking forward to having an evening together.

Some pretty unforgettable valentines gifts he given me have included a message encrypted poem and yellow roses hand delivered from San Antone.

Gnocchi Scramble

2011-02-11T11:22:00.003-05:00

Creamy gnocchi with scrambled eggs and scallions, I could eat this every day. I love this meal, it's a creamy and very flavourful dish that takes less than 10 mins to make. I almost always have gnocchi and eggs in the pantry so I can make this whenever I need to. It goes perfectly at any meal, with toast at breakfast, on a bed of romaine at lunch and as a side dish at dinner. Jim was the first one to makes this dish one night when I was laying on the couch sick and watching Jacques Pepin's cooking show Fast Food My Way with no strength or ambition to make dinner. This was the recipe that Jacque was making in that particular episode and Jim said, "Do you want that? I could make that." Mmmm, it tasted mighty fine.

Creamy Gnocchi Scramble

(adapted from Jacques Pepin's Fast Food My Way)

1 small pkg potato gnocchi

1C water

2 tsp olive oil

5 eggs

salt and pepper

2 tbsp chopped scallions (optional)

2 tsp butter

1/3 C cottage cheese or sour cream

Place gnocchi in a large frying pan over med-high heat. Pour in water and oil. Cover and cook 4 mins or until gnocchi is tender and rehydrated.

Meanwhile, whisk together eggs, salt and pepper.

When gnocchi is cooked, remove lid and cook 1 more minute. Add butter and scallions cook 1 more minute.

Stir in eggs and continue stirring until egg is cooked. Finish by removing pan from heat and stirring in the cottage cheese or sour cream.

Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a grating of Parmesan cheese if you like.

What I {almost} ate for : Breakfast

2011-02-09T08:06:00.005-05:00

Having a very hungry boy around me all the time means I share all my meals. Jibs usually finishes his breakfast and then finishes my breakfast. This morning (after being inspired, yet again, by Everyday Food) I toasted myself a piece of bread, sliced some white cheddar on top and spread the cheddar with marmalade, popped it in the toaster oven again and melted everything together. If you don't have a toaster oven, I would stick the dressed toast under the broiler for a minute or so.

I love marmalade and what I actually of this toast was delicious...Jibs ate most of it and made "mmm, yum" sounds the whole time. This is sure to become a morning favourite.

Now excuse me as I go make myself another toast.

What we ate for : Lunch

2011-02-08T12:16:00.005-05:00

Lunch can be a challenging meal at times, so I'm thankful for things like grilled cheese and soup. One of my long-time favourite lunches has to be this salad. I think I modified this from a Michael Smith recipe about 6 years ago or something. (I ate it a lot when I was pregnant and after Clara was born).

Stir together a mixture of beans, tuna, olive oil, and lemon with a sprinkle of kosher salt and some pepper then eat it on some lettuce or pasta and even serve it up in a soft tortilla. Lunch is served.

Today I ate it on a bed of arugala, parsley, cucumber and spinach. The kids ate it beside some sliced cucumber, red peppers, grapes and cheese.

Lemon Chickpea Salad

1 can chickpeas (or white beans)

1/2 lemon, zested and juiced

1 can tuna, drained and chunked

1Tbsp Olive oil

1/4 tsp Kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.

Serve atop lettuce or pasta, fill a tortilla or eat it alone.

Sprinkle with freshly grated parm if you want.

Saving the Casserole

2011-01-31T08:51:00.002-05:00

When most people hear the words 'leftovers' or 'casserole' they think gross, no thanks. (At least, my family does.)

Ok, this recipe uses leftovers and is a casserole but totally redeems the terms. I roasted a ton of bone-in skin-on chicken breast the other day (using Ina Garten's method**) and went looking for something to do with it. So it doesn't have to be with leftover turkey, as the recipe suggests, but it would be a great dish to do after Christmas or Thanksgiving when you have tons of the bird kicking around.

I made this for company one night and it fed seven of us, including Jibs and Clara, with one small serving left over.

The thing that made this meal especially good, in my opinion, was using really good bread for the topping. My favourite bread right now is actually an bun from the Caldense bakery. Their rye, seedy buns are pretty amazing. Chopped into medium sized chunks, tossed with a little parmesan cheese, melted butter, salt and pepper, it is a perfect topping.

Curried Chicken Casserole

(Adapted from Martha's Everyday Food)

1/4 C Melted Butter

1 small onion, diced small

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 C AP flour

3 Whole Milk, warmed slightly

2 Tsp curry powder

coarse salt

ground pepper

6 1/2 C broccoli florets

4 C cooked chicken or turkey, cut into 3/4 inch pieces**

3 C bread, medium dice

2 Tbsp butter, melted

1/4 C parmesan cheese, grated

salt, pepper

Preheat oven to 400*.

Melt butter in a medium pot. Add onion, and garlic, cooking until soft but not brown, about 7 mins.

Whisk in flour and cook 1 min. Slowly whisk in milk until mixture is smooth. Cook until it comes to a simmer. Stir in curry and season with salt and pepper.

Add broccoli and cook 5 mins until softened. Stir in chicken.

Transfer mixture to a 9x11 baking dish.

In a small bowl, toss bread with butter, parm, a pinch of salt and a bit of pepper.

Top the meat and broccoli with bread. Bake until golden brown about 15 mins.

Serves 6-8 people.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Ina's Roasted Chicken Breast (Bone in Skin on)

Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Cut the chicken into large dice. You will have 4 to 6 cups of cubed chicken.

Giant Oreos

2011-01-26T14:22:00.002-05:00

Oreo cookies are really something most everyone can agree on. Introduced in 1912, they have quickly become the best selling cookie in the USA and probably in Canada too.

The other day, I had a bag with a few cookies in it, a few arrowroot biscuits and an Oreo. Jibs saw the bag and brought it to me expectantly. I reached in the bag and pulled out an arrowroot biscuit. His, once hopeful eyes, filled with tears and he crumpled to the floor...he wanted the Oreo!

Jibs is not the only one, Clara and Jim could easily eat Oreos by the tray full.

Curious as to whether or not I could come close to the Oreo goodness found in the Nabisco bag, I tried this simple recipe found here.

The chocolate wafer is a breeze to make if you have a stand mixer or food processor, just throw in all the ingredients and blend. The filling, just as painfully sweet as the true Oreo, is a delicious filling for its crunchy chocolate surroundings.

Clara was my taste tester and absolutely loved them.

Giant Oreos

For the chocolate wafers:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter

1 large egg

For the filling:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

Set oven to 375.

Place flour, cocoa, soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix and then add butter and egg blending until a thick paste forms.

Roll teaspoonfuls into a ball and place on a paper lined baking sheet, pressing down lightly.

Bake 9mins.

Meanwhile, make filling. In the mixer, blend butter and shortening. Slowly add sugar, and then vanilla. Whipping until very well mixed.

Place a blob between 2 cooled cookies and squish.

Sugar Free (Not Taste Free) Apple Spice Muffins

2011-01-26T09:38:00.005-05:00

Jibs says, "It's pretty hard to wait for these to cook, I want one now."

Having muffins or loaf around really helps in the mornings, Jim loves being able to grab something quick to eat in the car on the way to work if he doesn't have time for a large breakfast. They also travel well as a snack if we have to run out to the store. So it's nice to have a few good, healthy recipes on hand to whip up.

I don't like to give my people sugar first thing in the morning, so I worked on making this recipe tasty but also reasonably healthy and sugar-free. The sweetness comes from apple sauce and honey with some nice bits of fresh apple. These come out moist and full of flavour.

I use all whole wheat flour and I would encourage you to do the same because it adds a really nice texture and taste, but white flour would be fine too. Feel free to add a handful if walnuts or raisins to the batter at the end if you like. My peeps like plain apple spice so that's how I do them.

Apple Spice Muffins

1 C apple sauce

1/2 C honey

1/2 C butter, soft

1 3/4 C whole wheat flour

1 tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves and ginger

1 C apple, chopped

(1/2 C nuts and 1/2 C raisins or craisins, optional)

Preheat oven to 350*.

Cream together butter and honey. Add applesauce and mix well.

Combine all dry ingredients. Add the applesauce mixture to dry.

Blend just until combined. Fold in apple and extras.

Scoop into 12 lined muffin tins or 1 loaf pan.

Bake 25-30mins. (for muffins)

or 40-60mins (for loaf)

What we ate for : Dinner

2011-01-26T08:33:00.005-05:00

Jibs says, "These are mighty tasty biscuits, I think I'll eat 2."

Moosewood Herbed Carrot Soup

2lbs Carrot, peeled and chopped

3 small potatoes, peeled and chopped

4 C Chicken or Veg stock

1 Tbsp Olive oil or butter

1 onion, chopped

1 tsp salt

2 cloves garlic minced

2 tsp herb de provence or (1/2tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp margoram or oregano, 1 tsp basil)

1-2 Tbsp lemon juice (I forgot to add this and it was still really good)

Add carrots, potatoes and stock to a large saucepan and bring to a boil, simmer 15-20 mins.

Meanwhile in a frying pan simmer oil, onions, garlic and spices over med-low heat until soft but not brown.

Add onion to carrot mixture and puree either with a submersion blender or pour into an upright blender. Add lemon juice.

Cheddar Paprika Drop Biscuits

(Martha Stewart)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika, plus more for dusting

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

1 C cheddar, finely grated

1 1/2 cups heavy cream ( I used 1 cup whole milk and 1/2 cup plain yogurt)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar and paprika. Using a pastry blender, or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles course meal with a few larger clumps remaining. Stir in the cheese with a fork.

Add the cream (or milk and yogurt); using a rubber spatula, stir until the dough just comes together. The dough will be slightly sticky; don't over mix. Scoop dough onto baking sheet using a 1/4 C measuring cup. Lightly dust with paprika.

Bake until brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm. We dipped ours in the soup.

Jibs couldn't wait and ate his before dinner.

Pizza Night

2011-01-25T14:30:00.009-05:00

My new pizza night favourite: Whole wheat crust topped with olive oil, 2 garlic gloves minced, oregano (fresh or dried), tomatoes, chopped kale, fresh ground pepper, grated parmesan cheese, minced onion and mozzarella.

Many traditions from both my Robinson and Stowe families have carried over into the way we do things in our own family. Pizza night happens to be one thing that both our families do. Friday night is Stowe pizza night and something we all look forward to. Most pizza dough recipes that I have tried in the past have not worked for me. Either they're too complicated or they don't roll out well or just plain don't taste good. My mum-in-law's pizza dough is my favourite. It is so simple and always perfect. I prefer whole wheat flour for my crust but some of my family members disagree so we usually go white.

*If I am making this for just the four of us, I half the recipe. If it's a Robin-Stowe pizza night I use the whole recipe.

Stowe Pizza Dough

2 1/4C Warm water

2T instant yeast

1T sugar

approx. 6 cups flour

3T Olive oil

1 1/2t salt

Combine warm water, yeast and salt in a bowl or stand mixer (fitted with dough hook attachment.) Let stand 5 mins. Add remaining ingredients, mix and knead a few minutes. (If using a stand mixer let the dough knead about 2 minutes.)

Divide dough into 6 equal parts and roll onto the pizza tray, dusting rolling pin with more flour.

Top with sauce, toppings and cheese.

Note: My mum says this recipe makes 3 thin crust pizzas, I say it makes 6...Apparently we like really thin crust pizza.

Flatbread Accoutrement II: (Re)Fried Beans

2011-01-18T15:26:00.006-05:00

While looking for a good refried black bean recipe, I stumbled across this one by Gwyneth Paltrow. Very good as an addition to a taco or flat bread with cheese, I think I might even throw some on a nacho plate.

Gwyneth's Refried Beans

1 can black beans

4 cilantro stems

1 clove garlic crushed

pinch or 2 of salt

Combine all ingredients in a frying pan and simmer until all the bean liquid is gone, about 15-20mins. Remove stems and garlic clove. Serve.

Make Loaf, Not War

2011-01-17T15:36:00.009-05:00

This is a fantastic loaf. We have made and eaten a lot of this lately. Jim usually grabs a few slices on his way out the door in the early morning. Eat it for dessert or with afternoon tea, it's everything one could hope for in a loaf, thus the name Everything Loaf. Another Joy the Baker gem, it is slightly sweet, and very moist. The combination of pecans, walnuts, pumpkin, spices, apple and cranberries is wonderful and wintery.

I love that this recipe makes two loaves so I can have one out for eating and one in the freezer. You could easily omit the nuts, if anyone is allergic to them or swap out dried for fresh cranberries.

Vegan Pumpkin Cranberry Apple Pecan Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups light brown sugar, packed

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree, (2 Cups)

1 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup maple syrup or honey

1/3 cup buttermilk

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts plus 8 pecan halves for the top

1 heaping cup fresh or 1/2 C dried cranberries

1 medium Granny Smith apple, peeled and cored and cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 350, grease 2 loaf pans.

In a large bowl mix together dry ingredients. In a 8 cup measuring cup (or med bowl) mix pumpkin, oil, maple and water.

Add wet to dry and told together with a rubber spatula.

Fold in nuts, cranberries and apple.

Divide between the 2 pans and line the top with pecan slices. (Sprinkle a little sugar and cinnamon on the top now if you want.)

Cook for 1- 1 1 /4 hours, until tester comes out clean.

Flat Bread's Accoutrements

2011-01-12T12:16:00.007-05:00

Jim bought me Alton Brown's recently released cookbook, Good Eats: The Early Years. Good friends of ours, Ken and Dave Williams got me completely hooked on Alton Brown and his show Good Eats. After watching an episode, along with learning an amazing recipe, you have the science and understanding of the food or technique to make you a better cook. Alton's goal for the show was to be a combination of Julia Child, Monty Python and Mr. Wizard. If you have never watched an episode, watch an episode.

Alton's Guacumole

3 Avocados, chopped

1 lime juiced

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/2 med onion, minced

2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

1 Tbsp chopped cilantro

1 garlic clove, minced

Stir together avocado and lime juice, reserve juice. Drain extra lime juice and mash in salt, cumin and cayenne with a potato masher. Fold in onion, tomatoes, cilantro and garlic. Add 1 Tbsp lime juice back to the guac. Let stand at room temp covered with saran wrap. Serve atop flatbread, or dip chips into it.

That Bread's Flat Bread

2011-01-08T20:52:00.007-05:00

A warm, black speckled, sweet smelling tortilla is something special. Jim lived in Texas for a while and so he knows a good tortilla when he sees and tastes one. I ran out of our regular PC tortillas that were suppose to host Alton Brown's Guacamole and some of Gwyneth's refried beans. (Recipes for theses two are coming soon.) Instead of calling Jimmy to stop and pick some up on his way home from band practice, I tried something new. I've talked about The River Cottage Cafe cookbooks here before. This is their easy recipe for flat bread.

Easy Flat Bread

1 2/3 C All Purpose Flour (plus extra for dusting counter top)

1 tsp salt

1Tbsp Olive oil

2/3 C warm water

Mix together flour and salt in a large bowl. Pour oil into a measuring cup with the warm water.

Pour the water/oil mixture over the flour mixture slowly, stirring with your finger tips. Bring flour and water together to a sticky dough.

On a lightly floured surface work the dough into a ball and kneed for 5 minutes. (or have your eager assistant knead for 5 minutes) Stretching the dough, folding over and quarter turning as you go.

Cover the dough with the mixing bowl upturned on top of it. Let dough rest 15 minutes. In the mean time, prepare fillings for your bread.

Remove dough from under the bowl, roll it into a sausage shape and cut into 8 equal parts.

Flour counter top and rolling pin and roll out your dough pieces until they are the size of a salad plate (about 6-8 inches across).

Place a dry frying pan over high heat and get it really hot. Decrease heat to medium low and add your first flat disc. Flip when the bread starts to puff up and get speckley brown on the one side.

Have a clean tea towel ready to wrap warm bread in as you go.

Top cooked bread as soon as you can. They are so good warm!

Jim loves his bread straight out of the pan with a healthy smear of butter.

Baby Likes Green

2011-01-07T06:00:00.005-05:00

Me being creepy with the VMix

Jibs Says, Green is Good!

Vita mix Love

Jibs is having a hard time waiting for his juice.

Im not sure how I got along without my Vita-Mix. About five years ago, my parents bought us the Vita-Mix for our anniversary present. Since then, we have made probably hundreds of different smoothies and juices in it. Somehow the favourites have usually been green. If you dont drink green juice, it may seem gross to you but it really is good. If the green comes from either spinach or kale, it really doesn't add any flavour to the juice. It does, however, add calcium, Vitamins A and C, potassium and iron.

I generally like pear in any juice because it adds sweetness. I also get bananas that are very ripe, cut them into chunks and throw them in a ziplock freezer bag. It's easy to take out a couple handfuls of them for your juices.

Here is what we do:

Baby Loves Green Juice

1C spinach

1C kale

1 banana (frozen and cut in chunks)

1 pear

1C yogurt (plain or vanilla)

1C water, Orange juice or milk

1T honey or maple syrup

Blend all ingredients in a Vita mix or powerful blender.

Pioneer Woman's Sweet and Sour Meatballs

2011-01-06T08:19:00.009-05:00

No not this pioneer woman.

(Photo credit and thanks go to Clara, the only one in the family with a functional camera.)

Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, has reduced me to tears more times than I would like to admit. Tears of hysterical laughter, that is. She cleverly logs her tales of farming, parenting and homeschooling with lots of pictures of their beautiful family ranch. Ree also cooks and takes tons of pictures of the food and cooking process. Her Olive Oil Cakes with Lemon and Thyme are so good. Amy brought some to one of our summer brunches and they were hard to keep out of. That reminds me, I must make those soon...today, if possible.

Jim and I went out last night for some very tasty southern BBQ. In our absence the kids ate Meatballs with Peppers and Pineapple from the blog served over rice. Easy as can be, I made it in a flash. Because it makes quite a bit of food and looks so pretty, it would be a great one to do for company.

Meatballs with Peppers and Pineapple

1¼ pound Ground Beef or turkey

½ Onion, Diced Very Finely

1 whole Egg

½ cups Breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste

½ teaspoons Crushed Red Pepper, More To Taste

¼ cups All-purpose Flour

Canola Oil, For Frying

2 whole Green Bell Peppers, Seeded And Diced Roughly

1-½ cup Pineapple Chunks

2 cups Beef Stock

2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce

½ cups Sherry Or White Wine Vinegar

⅓ cups Sugar

1 Tablespoon Cornstarch

Mix meat, egg, onion, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and crushed pepper flakes. Roll into small balls, dredge in flour and fry in two batches over med-high heat in a large skillet until brown. Set aside. (Ree suggests freezing the balls for 15mins while you make the sauce, I didn't because I didn't have room in my freezer and they still turned out fine. If you have a big/organized freezer go ahead and freeze them.)

Mix together stock, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl.

Drain any fat that is in the pan and then add green peppers and pineapple to the pan. Cook a few minutes. Add stock mixture to the pan and bubble a few minutes. Add meatballs, bubble a little more, stirring gently. Add more red pepper flakes and salt to taste.

Serve over rice.

Energy Bars for Little Hands

2011-01-04T08:02:00.010-05:00

Most mornings I need to make Jibs a preliminary breakfast while I'm making his full breakfast. Usually he has a banana, fruit smoothie or some cheerios to chew on while his eggs and toast are cooking. Clara found a recipe for energy bars in her beloved cookbook Salad People. With a basic ingredients and a very forgiving dough, we made these lovely, filling little treats which perfectly satisfy my ever hungry boy.

One of the nice things about these bars is you can't really over mix the dough, so it's a perfect job for little hands to squish and squeeze. I used less sugar and added dried cranberries in the place of raisins. Next time I think I might add some pumpkin seeds and raisins or walnuts and dates. Protein powder is called for and easy to find at bulk food stores (I get mine at costco) but if you cannot find it or want to make them now just substitute with flour.

Diminutive Energy Bars

1C AP flour

3/4C protein powder (sub in more flour if you don't want to use protein powder)

1/2tsp salt

2C rolled oats

3/4tsp cinnamon

1/3-2/3C brown sugar

1/2C raisins (or craisins, walnuts, almonds, figs...)

1 1/2C Vanilla Yogurt (I use Astro Balkan style)

1/4 C canola oil

Preheat oven to 375*- Grease 24 muffin tins.

Combine flour, powder, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in oats, cinnamon, brown sugar and raisins (or any other additions that sound good).

In a 2C measuring cup whisk together yogurt and oil.

Stir wet ingredients into the dry and mix very well with your hands or the hands of a small one wanting to help.

Place about 1 1/2 Tbsps of the batter to each well greased muffin cup poking into place.

Bake 12 mins or until lightly brown around the edges. Do not overbake.

Store in an airtight container. I imagine they would freeze well if you wanted to freeze half for later. Though I haven't tried.

enjoy.

Whole Foods' Mexican Taco Stew

2011-01-03T16:27:00.006-05:00

Happy New Year. December was a busy month, was it not?

For me, January seems to be my month of doing easy recipes that are delicious, quick and cheap.

Whole Foods recipes have always served me well, their Chai Cookies have become our Christmas staple. After a very kind friend gave me a Whole Foods gift card, I was inspired to check the site for new recipes and this Mexican Taco Stew is sure to be a new favourite. It takes about 10 minutes of actual hands on time and a few more to simmer, then it's done. This stew could be adapted to suit any vegetable or meat preferences. Tonight, I added green and red peppers, and a cup of frozen mixed vegetables in place of the zucchini. I only wish I had a few avocados to make guacamole and a few tortilla chips...that would finish this meal off perfectly.

PS-Check out Whole Foods budget friendly meals and Menu Plans to plan some January feasts.

PSS-I do wish my pictures were better, but our camera is in serious need of some surgery. You may have to just trust me that the food is good;)

W.F. Mexican Taco Stew

1lb Ground meat, turkey, chicken or beef

1 med onion

4 garlic cloves

2Tbsp Taco seasoning

2C Veg or chicken stock

2C Vegetables (chopped green and red pepper, zucchini)

1 can (creamed) corn

1 can black beans

1 28oz can diced tomatoes (use a smaller can if you like we love tomatoes)

1 can tomato paste (optional)

1C salsa

Cook ground meat in a large sauce pan until brown. Drain fat, set meat aside.

Add chopped onion and garlic, cooking until soft. Sprinkle taco seasoning over onion and add meat back to the pot. Stir in all the remaining ingredients and simmer 15minutes.

Top with any or all of the following: sour cream, cheddar cheese, more salsa, guacamole, tortilla chips and green onion.

Baking Season

2010-12-02T17:05:00.008-05:00

Baking is always in season but at Christmas even the most timid baker feels daring and inspired to fill the house with sweet smells and delicious treats.

Clara is a gingerbread girl. Gramma Marion was always sneaking her gingerbread men, it was one of their many little 'secrets'.

Gingerbread cutouts are such fun to do if you have an open afternoon, a few cookie cutters and a sweet little helper. I always use Martha's recipe for Molasses Ginger Cookies.

They always turn out and the dough is lovely to work with.

{Just found this post that somehow wasn't posted in December}

Do you like Lentils?

2010-11-29T16:50:00.001-05:00

If you ask my Mum-in-Law how to cook thriftily, she will ask you this: Do you like beans? Lucky for us, we do. My kids love them and so do we. So many things can me made with them; soups, stews even salads. Lentils are a little like beans both in their economy and ability to fill you up (without filling you out- and that's always good around Christmas). I could eat the Orangette Quiet Soup every day. The two cups of red lentils and carrots make this soup a very pretty orange colour. I like to put out a big pot of this soup for lunch with some cheese, crackers and apple slices. This recipe is perfect, in my option. We are eating it twice this week.

Sesame Beef

2010-11-16T16:09:00.004-05:00

I was reading Grace's post about how much she loves Costco and saw her pictures of her freezer full of pretty little packages of meat and felt inspired to do the same. I bought a few very large ribeye steaks and sliced them up finely and went to December's Everyday Food mag and found this tasty little number in the 'Grocery Bag' section.

We don't eat much red meat around here but everyone loved this and the meat came out tender and saucy. Even my meat skeptic, Clara, enjoyed it and ate her whole portion. The ingredients for this are things that I always have on hand. (I think pork tenderloin would also work well here.)

Sesame Beef

3Tbsp soy sauce

2Tbsp dry sherry (I used a dry white wine)

1Tbsp sugar (honey would be good too)

3tsp rice vinegar

1/2tsp red pepper flakes

1/2tsp cornstarch

1Tbsp + 1tsp sesame oil (olive oil would work)

3/4lb boneless NY Strip steak, thinly sliced

2 red bell peppers, seeded and thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1Tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Cooked rice, for serving

thinly sliced scallions, for serving

Whisk soy, sherry, honey, vinegar, pepper flakes, sesame oil and cornstarch in a small bowl.

In a large skillet, heat 1tsp oil and brown beef strips in 2 batches over med-high heat. Max 2 minutes per batch.

Transfer to a plate, add a little more oil if you have to and add peppers. Cook peppers until tender crisp, 2mins. Add garlic, 30seconds. Stir in sauce. Cook until sauce thickens, 1min.

Stir in sesame seeds.

Serve over rice, with a sprinkle of scallions on top.

Remembering Summer Brunches

2010-11-13T06:00:00.002-05:00

I woke up a couple weeks ago expecting to have brunch with friends, as we did most Saturday mornings this summer.

These were good Saturdays.

Birthday S'mores

2010-11-12T06:00:00.004-05:00

S'more bars, another easy dessert, and a fond memory of the summer nights at the cottage, take about 10 minutes to make. Crushed crumbs of graham wafers on the bottom, chocolate melted with sweetened condensed milk, topped with marshmallows. (Next time I make these I will also add chopped reeses pieces with the mallows.)

S'more Bars

3Tbsp Butter, cut into chunks

12 Graham Wafers

3/4C sweetened condensed milk

1 1/3 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/2t vanilla

1 pinch salt

1 C mini marshmallows

1C chopped reeses pieces and teddy grahams

1. Line an 8inch square baking dish with tin foil. Grease foil with butter.

2. Put butter in a pan and melt over med-low heat. Cool.

3. Crush Graham wafers with a rolling pin or can in a zip-lock bag. Should yield about a cup.

4. Stir together crumbs and butter. Scrape into baking dish pressing in firmly to create a crust.

5. Heat condensed milk and chocolate in a pan over med-low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and add vanilla and salt. Stir again.

6. Pour filling over crust and spread evenly.

7. Scatter marshmallows, reeses pieces and grahams over the warm chocolate. Press them in gently.

8. Refrigerate until firm. About 4 hours.

To serve, lift foil out of pan and peel away from the sides to totally remove it. Cut into squares. Store in the fridge.

If you happen to be in a marshmallow-y mood, as we often are...these Joy Milkshakes look pretty amazing.

Birthday Cake

2010-11-11T06:00:00.003-05:00

When we sat down to think about Clara's birthday party this year, she was very decided about what she wanted to serve; Oreo Ice Cream cake, S'more Bars and Ritz mini cheese sandwiches. The ice cream cake recipe is one I know I will use again and again. The base is a very simple, thinn-ish layer of chocolate cake, topped with a tub of ice cream, topped with sweetened vanilla-infused heavy cream, topped with a crumble of oreo cookies. The cake could be modified by using any other ice cream flavour and topping. Candy cane ice cream on Christmas Eve, with crushed After Eights on top would be amazing...

Ice Cream Cake

1C All Purpose Flour

1/4C cocoa powder

2t baking powder

1/4t salt

3/4C sugar

3/4C milk, warmed

1 egg
1/3C oil

1T vanilla

1/2 gallon Ice Cream any flavour

1 1/2C Whipped cream

3Tbsp sugar

1t Vanilla

Topping of your choice: crushed chocolates, candies, cookies or sprinkles...

Heat oven to 325*

1. Put flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a sifter and sift into a large bowl. Stir in sugar with a whisk.

In a separate bowl, whisk milk, egg, oil and vanilla until well blended.

Pour egg mixture into flour and whisk.

Pour into a 9x13 inch dish (pre greased).

Bake 20mins. Cool completely. Freeze 30mins.

2. Remove ice cream and soften 15mins or so on the counter.

Spread over the cake, cover with plastic and freeze 4 hours.

3. Whip cream with sugar and vanilla about 3mins, until stiff peaks form.

4. Crush topping.

5. Spread whipped cream on ice cream and top with whatever you just crushed.

6. Freeze again until ready to eat.

Cut with a knife dipped in warm water.

Lakeside Fish

2010-11-10T08:54:00.007-05:00

Growing up with a fisherman dad and a cottage meant that we did a lot of fishing and ate a lot of fish in the summertime. I have so many great memories of sitting in the boat or on a dock with my dad and my brother fishing. Dad generously spent most of his time on the lake untangling our lines, re-baiting our hooks and stringing our fish. Thanks Dad!

After getting the fish back to the cottage, Dad would clean the fish and prepare it one of two ways. Fish Fry was an obvious and delicious choice, but my favourite is fire roasted.

Butter, lemon juice, onion, potato, carrot, the fish and a little salt and pepper wrapped up in tin foil and set on a bed of hot coals is how I like fish the best. Bass and pickerel work really well this way.

For pike you just take away the fins, head, tail and guts, stuff the belly with peppers, carrot, onions, salt, pepper and butter in a package of tin foil, over coals. When you open the package the skin sticks to the tin foil and the meat falls off the bones. Perfect for camping.

Now, it never tastes quite the same at home as when you reel the fish in fresh and cook it on the shore, but it is still so good.

Here is how I do it at home.

Reminiscent of Lakeside Fish

2lbs Cod or if you're at the cottage, Bass or Pickerel

2 carrots sliced thinly in half moons

2 potatoes sliced thinly in half moons

1 red pepper, thinly sliced

1 onion thinly sliced

Butter 1-1 1/2Tbsp per package

1 lemon sliced

salt and pepper

Heat oven to 400*.

Rip off pieces of tin foil or parchment paper about 12 inches long. Put pieces of fish in foil or parchment topped butter, lemon slice squeezed a little, veg and salt and pepper. Pull foil piece over fish and scrinch to seal package well.

Place all the packages on a baking tray and cook for 30 mins.

Eat the fish and vegetables right out of the package on your plate.

Magical Muffins

2010-11-09T16:07:00.006-05:00

There is something about 'real' that kids LOVE. It's that, buy a child an expensive present and they'll play with the box it came in, phenomenon. I have witnessed that very thing with my own children.

With that in mind, I have allowed my kids to do a lot of real things in the kitchen. It's amazing how fast "helping mom in the kitchen" truly becomes helpful. Clara has always loved the kitchen and, now, with very little guidance, produces delicious food.

Molly Katzens cookbooks for children are amazing. We love them for their step by step pictorial instructions. Sunny lemonaide from Molly's Salad People has become Clara's Lemonaide as she can now make it all on her own.

My girl just had her sixth birthday. One of her presents was a new cookbook. (Like mama like daughter, cookbook=awesome present) The newest addition to Clara's cookbook collection is Cooking For Girls, put out by a company called, Imagine That. It has a lot of recipes in it that look very tempting, such as the "Magical Muffins".

Clara loves cupcakes and these had such a simple recipe and beautiful finished product. The recipe is so easy to remember, 4oz of everything and 2 eggs. Easy. The icing gave Clara a chance to experiment with colour blending. She came up with such a pretty mauve and a near Tiffany blue. Not only do they look pretty, whip up in a flash, they also taste delicious and light...dangerously light, perhaps.

Magical Muffins

4oz(1C) self rising flour or (1 Cup All Purpose flour + 1 1/2 t baking powder)

4oz(1/2C) butter, cold, cut in small cubes

4oz(1/2C) Sugar

2 Eggs

4oz (1/2C) Milk

Set a 350* oven.

Put muffin cups in muffin tray.

Sift flour into a large bowl. Rub in butter cubes with finger tips until mixture crumbly. Add sugar and mix. Stir in eggs.

Add milk, stir until creamy.

Spoon into paper cases.

Bake 10-15 minutes.

Cool.

Ice and decorate the little cakes.

Icing: 4oz (1/2C) Icing sugar mixed with 1Tbsp Milk or Lemon juice. Whisk in food colouring.

Clara would like everyone to know she did these single handedly.

Moosewood Pasta Primavera

2010-11-05T06:00:00.001-04:00

Another winner from the Moosewood collection. This pasta primavera is loaded with vegetables and in a very tasty, tomato-wine (ricotta) sauce. If you have Moosewood's Lowfat Favourites, turn page 206, get out a pen and make some changes to the original recipe. My humble recommendation is that you add a few things to the recipe as shown in the cookbook. I love adapting recipes and this one needed just a few tweaks to make it perfect.

To make the sauce a little creamier, I added a tub of ricotta cheese with some salt, parsley, butter and parmesan cheese stirred in, to the pasta just before adding the tomato sauce. The cheeses and butter will melt into the pasta so nicely.

I love vegetables and the brief steaming keeps them tasting fresh and sweet. A lot of vegetables would work in this dish, so feel free to add what you like or subtract any that you don't.

Pasta Primavera

6 cloves garlic, minced

2tsp Olive oil

3Cups Chopped tomatoes

1/4C White Wine (Sauvignon Blanc)

1t salt

1/2C chopped basil

1 small red onion, sliced thinly

2 carrots, 2inch matchsticks

1 bunch asparagus, 2 inch pieces

2 heads broccoli, bite-size

1 bell pepper, 2 inch matchsticks

1 zucchini, 2 inch matchsticks

1/2C green peas

salt, pepper

1 tub ricotta

3Tbsp butter, diced

1/2C grated parmesan

1/3C chopped parsley

1 lb pasta- any shape works

extra parmesan for topping

Warm olive oil in a large deep skillet, add garlic and cook over med heat 2 mins.

Add tomatoes, wine, salt and stir 5-10mins. Add basil and red onions and remove from heat.

Bring a large pot of water to boil with a steamer basket inside. Starting with the carrots for 1 minute, add peppers, asparagus, and broccoli to basket and cook another 3 mins. Add zucchini and cook 1 min. Add veg to tomato sauce, season if necessary and keep off heat.

Cook Pasta.

While pasta is cooking mix ricotta, butter, salt and parsley to taste and parmesan in a serving bowl. Add cooked pasta, stir well. Add tomato-veg mixture and stir well.

Top with lots of fresh pepper and grated parmesan cheese.

Jibs says "Dont forget a healthy sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan on top!"

Chicken and Dumplings

2010-11-04T20:49:00.004-04:00

Stumbled upon this recipe for chicken and dumplings the other day. Jim loves chicken and dumplings...The Jim collective love chicken and dumplings, actually. There's not much to dislike about chicken and dumplings. This C&D, however, is noteworthy and from Pam Anderson's new book, Perfect One-Dish Dinners. (Pam Anderson the cook--not the TV "personality?")

So, this dish starts of with a very basic roux with chicken stock, milk and the very intriguing addition of a whole jar of salsa verde. (I added some corn and green beans to it as well.) The chicken is topped with a pretty, slightly yellow dumpling that is flecked with green onion, and other herbs. The pot comes out full of lovely pieces of chicken in a thick bubbly sauce that's mildly spicy and topped with buttery cornmeal dumplings.

This cookbook definitely looks promising and worth owning. I love a good one-dish meal for company. Anything to decrease the stress of having everything hot and on the table when the guests arrive, and increase the joy of having people sit around the table together.

Salsa Verde Chicken with Herbed Cornmeal Dumplings

4Tbsp Butter

1/2C flour

1 1/2 C chicken broth

2C salsa verde (about one whole jar)

1 jar evaporated milk

1/2C green beans, 1 inch pieces

1 C corn

6 C cooked chicken, chopped into large chunks (I used 10 thighs, salt + peppered in a 350 oven for 30 mins)

1C whole milk

3Tbsp butter

1 1/2C flour

1/2 C yellow cornmeal

1Tbsp baking powder

1/2tsp salt

1/4C chopped scallions

1/4C chopped green herbs (I used basil and parsley. Cilantro would be good too)

Chicken: Melt butter in a deep dutch oven 5-6quarts or a deep, oven-proof skillet. Whisk in flour to make a paste. Whisk in stock, milk and salsa. Whisk vigorously until it thickens. Add vegetables and chicken. Cover and keep warm.

Preheat oven to 400*.

Dumplings: Heat butter and milk in a saucepan until steamy. Mix flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, onions and herbs in a large bowl. Stir in milk mixture to form a dough. Dot golf ball sized bits of dough atop the chicken in pot. Return chicken to simmer over med-high heat.

Cover and place in oven for 15-20 mins.

Eat.

Corners of the Kitchen: Pyrex

2010-10-28T10:24:00.005-04:00

For the first few years of married life I hoarded Pyrex dishes. I blame my Grammas. My Gramma Hobbs bought me my first set of green, Pyrex nesting bowls. My Gramma Robinson gave me a few of her pie plates and bowls when she heard I liked them. Now I'm hooked.

How could any kitchen dwelling, pie baking, food preparing, food transporting individual not love them? They come in so many shapes and sizes, colours and patterns. Oh, and my favourite feature of all, they're virtually indestructible. Believe me, I need indestructible!

I have only a handful of cups and none of the original dishes I got when we got married....they are all broken. I mean well and try very hard to be careful and slow down, but things always get broken. In the earlier days of my married life, such events would result in tears. Now the events are so common-place, no one really notices a broken dish or glass, someone just goes for the broom and we move on.

So, lovely Pyrex, this is why I love you so. After a recent, move-induced purge I only have about 20 Pyrex left. (That is all that would fit in my new cupboards...If I also wanted room for food.)

Here are some of the lovelies.

Sweet Cherry Tomato and Some Witteveen

2010-10-25T20:58:00.007-04:00

Even though I had taken out some delicious Witteveen Mennonite Sausages, tonight just felt like a Lovely Butternut night. I had to do both. Since I was already into Jamie at Home, I looked up 'sausage' in the index. The recipe that caught my eye had two very important main components; sausage and cherry tomatoes.

My kids eat tomatoes like candy. While we were at the St Lawrence Market on Saturday I bought a bag of sweet little tomatoes for them to nibble on while we walked...they soon vanished.

While the tomatoes and sausages bake, their juices melt out and mix with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar making a wonderfully rich sauce. We alternated dipping our croutons in the soup and in the sauce. Jimmy and I both said, several times, "This is perfect." A perfect mix of flavours.

I anticipate the leftover tomato and sausage will be poured over some penne or mashed potato tomorrow for the kids lunch. What a versatile dish.

Sweet Cherry Tomatoes with Sausage

4lb cherry tomatoes (or a mixture of cherry tomatoes and largely diced roma)

2 sprigs each, thyme and rosemary

1T dried oregano

3 garlic cloves, peeled, and chopped

4-6 good pork or chicken sausages (we love Witteveen)

Extra virgin Olive oil

Balsamic Vinegar

salt and pepper

Heat oven to 375*.

Toss tomatoes with herbs, garlic, sausage, a few swirls of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

Bake 30mins. Stir and bake 15 more minutes.

Let cool a few minutes and then serve with just about anything that will absorb these delicious juices. I highly recommend the parmy-croutons from Lovely butternut soup.

Cottage Pie

2010-10-22T12:16:00.003-04:00

Another easy one that Jimmy and the kids love. A good one pot dish for those nights when you aren't sure what time people are coming home and you have to keep it warm.
It tastes so retro, which I love, and it looks quite the part if prepared in a lovely mint green Pyrex baking dish. Anyone else have a Pyrex obsession? The only thing to serve with this, in my mind, is a dish of sweet pickles, some thickly sliced bread and some molded jello for dessert.

Cottage Pie

adapted from Everyday Food November 2010

3T butter melted

1 large yellow onion, diced medium

2 large carrots cut in medium chunks

salt and pepper

2T tomato paste

2T Ketchup

1.5t Worcestershire sauce

1lb ground turkey, lamb or beef

1.5t herb de provence or thyme (more if using fresh)

1C dark beer (I used tankhouse)

1C stock or water

2T flour

1C frozen peas

1 large russet or yukon gold potato sliced thinly

Prettiest 2Quart Pyrex you've got

-----------------------------------------------------

Preheat oven to 400*.

In a large skillet, heat 1T butter over med-high heat and add onions and carrots, stirring often until soft. 5mins or so.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add tomato paste, ketchup, and worchester. Add meat and stir until almost cooked, 3mins. Add herbs and beer and bring to a boil. Cook stirring a lot until slightly reduced. Sprinkle with flour, stir. Add stock and cook until thickened, 2mins.

Stir in peas and season again, if you feel it's necessary.

Transfer mixture to pyrex. Top with potatoes, overlapping slices. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Drizzle remaining 2T of melted butter over the top of potatoes. Bake 40-45mins.

Cool at least 10mins before serving.

Banana Man has Quite an Appetite and Loves this Loaf

2010-10-21T13:09:00.004-04:00

I laughed this morning as I found a piece of playdough on the floor that had been rolled up with a bit of parma ham and a few tomato seeds because I knew it had to have been my Jibs...Playing is good, eating is better.

The boy loves to eat. He gets very excited when he sees me in the kitchen. "Oh, look...Wow." He says. Quite often he outeats his big sister and occasionally even the Mama.

If you happened to read the birthday post, you will know that he loves and starts each day with a banana. I have tried probably dozens of recipes with bananas in them and so far this is one of my favourite and also one of the easiest. The other thing that I love about this one is the quantity of bananas in it. If you have an abundance of bananas that have past their prime (which never happens around here) or, if you are like me, and you buy them on the reduced rack already soft and speckled then freeze them for later, try this recipe out.

Try it plain or with a few little extras such as rum infused raisins, figs, nuts or chocolate.

Banana Bread with Options

1C plus 2T AP Flour

2t baking powder

1/2t baking soda

1/2t salt

1/2C sweet butter, melted

1/2C, scant, sugar

2 eggs

4 bananas, very ripe, mashed

1t vanilla

Good things to have on hand: 1/4C walnuts or pecans, 1/3C chopped figs, 1/2C Choco-chips, 1/3C raisins, 3oz dark rum, 2T cocoa powder.

9x5inch loaf pan, greased

------------------------------------

Preheat oven to 325*.

Put flour, baking powder, soda and salt in a medium bowl and mix.

In a large bowl mix sugar and butter, then add eggs one at a time beating between additions. Add mashed banana, vanilla and stir well.

Add flour mixture in thirds mixing well with each installment.

Scrape into loaf pan and bake 1-1/4hrs.

Cool. Slice it up.

When to add the extras:

Rummy Raisin Bread: Bring rum to a boil, soak raisins in rum for up to an hour if possible. Drain raisins and stir into the batter with the mashed banana.

Chocolate: Sub in 2T cocoa powder for 2T flour, stir Chocolate chips with banana mash.

Nut: Stir in nuts and figs with the banana mash.

Shoreham Market Pasta

2010-10-19T13:07:00.005-04:00

Last Thursday I went, for the first time, to a little market held at Shoreham Public School. My brother has been telling me about it for a few weeks now and I decided to go. Though small, there were loads of fresh, mostly local fruits and vegetables for sale. (For steal practically, the prices were so low.)

Twelve dollars got me two boxes full of lettuces, eggplant, zucchini, peppers, oranges, carrots, ginger, bok choi, broccoli, onions and other things. At the recommendation of one vendor, I bought some okra, I think it was like .50 for a bag of it or something, and Jibs and Clara ate it raw from the bag. Clara thought it a bit slimy but Jibs loved it and shoved the whole thing in his mouth, stem and all, chewed vigorously and went on to an orange slice.

To further Jim's birthday celebrations, we went out last night and walked, checked out some book stores, got dinner and some coffee. My mum, kindly stayed with the kids so I made some dinner for them to share while we were gone.

Shoreham Market Pasta

2T Olive oil

1Eggplant, large dice

1 each green and yellow zucchini, large dice

1/2 red onion, large dice

1C cherry tomatoes, halved

1 yellow pepper, large dice

1 red pepper, large dice

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2C vegetable stock

1/2C red wine

Salt, pepper

2t Herb de Provence

Butter

1/4C Goat Cheese

1box penne

Toss all veg except garlic with olive oil, salt, pepper, and herb de provence on a baking sheet (with sides). Roast at 375* for 20mins or so until getting soft, stirring at 10 and 15mins. Add garlic, broth, and wine. Stir. Bake another 15 mins, again stirring a few times mid way, until sauce is reduced significantly and veg is soft and fragrant.

Cook pasta, drain and tip into a large bowl. Stir in the goat cheese and 1T butter, melt together.

Add veg and stir.

Top with extra crumbled goat cheese and pepper.

My beloved

2010-10-18T09:30:00.008-04:00

Person dearest to my heart, and two other beloveds had birthdays today. Few things are more enjoyable to me in this world than being with these people; talking, sharing, laughing, singing, eating and then the inevitable sleep that ensues.

Sunday we celebrated with a meal dedicated to the culinary preferences of my Jimmy. With this as my guide the menu went as follows:

Lunch

~Mulled Cider

~Spinach Artichoke Dip with Bread to dunk

~Beef Burgundy

~Buttered Spaetzle

~Green salad with Pear, Roquefort and Pecans

~Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Evening Snack

~Apple Dumplings

~Coffee