Red Velvet for Christmas

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

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

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

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

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

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

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"