Pomodori al’Forno

May 20th, 2013 Posted in Appetizers
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Pomodori al’ Forno

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup (or more) extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 2 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise and seeded*
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 3/4 to 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh Italian parsley or minced fresh basil leaves (your choice)
  • Aged goat cheese
  • 1 baguette, thinly sliced crosswise, toasted

Preparation:

  1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
  2. Pour 1/2 cup olive oil into a 13x9x2-inch glass or ceramic baking dish.
  3. Arrange the tomatoes in the prepared baking dish, cut side up. Drizzle with the remaining 1/2 cup olive oil. Sprinkle with sugar, and salt.
  4. Bake two to three hours, stopping halfway to turn tomatoes, until tomatoes are a deep red colour. Let tomatoes cool to room temperature.
  5. When ready to serve, slice baquette into cracker sized peices and toast until crispy. Top with goat cheese, tomatoes and sprinkle with leeks for garnish. Enjoy!

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Matcha Green Tea Shortbread Cookies

May 18th, 2013 Posted in Baking
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Ingredients:

3/4 (2.25 oz.) cup confectioner’s sugar

1 1/2 tbsps matcha green tea powder

10 tbsps (5 oz.) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 3/4 cup (8.5 oz.) flour

3 large egg yolks

1 cup granulated sugar (to coat the dough)

Method:

Whisk the confectioner’s sugar and matcha powder together. Beat the butter and matcha sugar mixture together in Kitchenaide mixer . Add the flour and stir until just combined. Mix in the egg yolks until they are incorporated and the dough comes together. Gather the dough into a ball and flatten it into a thick disc. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until it is firm. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to about 1/2-inch thickness. Use a small cookie cutter to cut shapes from the dough.  Roll the cut shapes in granulated sugar and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes or until they begin to turn golden at the edges.

 

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Infused Water Combinations

May 18th, 2013 Posted in Drinks / Beverages
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  • strawberry, lemon, sage
  • strawberry, lemon, mint
  • blueberry, lemon, mint
  • mint & lemon
  • sage & lemon
  • strawberry & lime
  • orange
  • cucumber & mint
  • grapefruit & orange
  • cucumber & lemon
  • watermelon & lime & iced green tea
  • lime, cherries & mint
  • peaches, 2 vanilla beans and 1tbs honey

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Crunchy Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad

April 14th, 2013 Posted in Salads
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Ingredients:

  • 2 bunches broccoli
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/2 head of cauliflower
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • crumbled cooked bacon (about six strips)
  • 1/2 tbs mustard
  • 2 tbs vinegar
  • 1 1/2 cup mayo

Mix all ingredients together & serve cold :)

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Layered Salad

April 14th, 2013 Posted in Cooking, Salads
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Ingredients:

  • 2 heads Iceberg Lettuce, Chopped
  • 8 ounces, fluid Baby Spinach, Washed And Dried
  • Salt And Pepper, to taste
  • 16 ounces, weight Bacon, Cooked And Chopped
  • 4 whole Tomatoes, Chopped
  • 1 bunch Green Onions, Thinly Sliced
  • 8 ounces, weight Cheddar Cheese, Grated
  • 1 bag (10 Ounce) Frozen Peas, Partially Thawed

    Homemade Dilly Dressing:

  • 1/2 cup Mayo
  • 1/2 cup Sour Cream
  • 1 Tablespoon Sugar
  • Fresh or Dried Dill, chopped

Preparation Instructions

Layer ingredients, starting with iceberg lettuce and spinach in a clear glass bowl. Top salad with the Dilly Dressing & garnish with a bit of extra dill. Salad can be easilly altered to include or remove ingredients according to your preference. Personally, I was not a fan of the hardboiled eggs so next time I’ll omit them :)

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Best Ever Carrot Cake With Pineapple, Coconut & Walnuts

April 14th, 2013 Posted in Desserts
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Carrot Cake With Pineapple, Coconut & Walnuts

Ingredients:

◦2 cups all-purpose flour
◦2 teaspoons baking soda
◦1/2 teaspoon salt
◦2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
◦3 large eggs
◦2 cups sugar
◦3/4 cup vegetable oil
◦3/4 cup buttermilk
◦2 teaspoons vanilla extract
◦2 cups grated carrot
◦1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
◦1/2 cup flaked coconut
◦1 cup chopped walnuts

Preparation
1. Line 3 (9-inch) round cake pans with wax paper; lightly grease and flour wax paper. Set pans aside.

2. Stir together flour, soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

4. Beat eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk and vanilla at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add flour mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Fold in carrot, coconut, pineapple and walnuts.

5. Pour batter into prepared cake pans.

6. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Drizzle Buttermilk Glaze (recipe below) evenly over layers (I only used about 2/3 of the prepared glaze which I thought was perfect!); cool in pans on wire racks 15 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

7. Once the cake is cooled, slice each layer in half to give you a total of 4 layers. More layers = more frosting = me happy! Note: I put the 2 cake layers in the freezer for 45 minutes to make slicing them in half easier.

8. Make the cream cheese frosting according the recipe below. You can use a canned frosting but it won’t hold a candle to this delicious homemade icing!

9. Spread Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake. I’m a BIG frosting person so I made 1 1/2 batches of the cream cheese frosting to make sure the cake was completely covered. I also sprinkled chopped walnuts in between each frosted layer to take it over the top.

Buttermilk Glaze

◦1 cup sugar
◦1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
◦1/2 cup buttermilk
◦1/2 cup butter or margarine
◦1 tablespoon light corn syrup
◦1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Glaze Preparation
1.Bring first 5 ingredients to a boil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Boil, stirring often, 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla.
Cream Cheese Frosting

◦3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
◦1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
◦1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
◦3 cups sifted powdered sugar
◦1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Frosting Preparation

1.Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add powdered sugar and vanilla; beat until smooth.

 

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Vegan Banana Ice Cream

April 7th, 2013 Posted in Desserts, Snacks
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This is a simple, no sugar added base for Vegan Banana Ice Cream. It is seriously easy. Pre-slice and peel about 4-5 bananas in advance, keep ready in the freezer.

Basic Vegan Banana Ice Cream:

1. Put frozen banana slices in the food processor and let sit for about ten minutes (will break up a bit easier if not frozen solid.) If your food processor is struggling, I’d take a break and let it sit even longer, maybe 15 minutes to prevent it from burning out. You will occassionally need to stop the processor and stir the banana pieces up as it breaks down. Be patient and let your machine do the work. Took me a little longer than five minutes to break it down completely.

Variations:

After the ice cream is at a creamy consistency, you can alter the flavour by adding other ingredients. Some nice variations are:

  • 1 – 2 tbs peanut butter & 1-2 tbs cocoa (as pictured here)
  • 2 tbs honey, 2 tbs peanut butter
  • 3 tbs nutella
  • 3 tbs cocoa, 3 tbs cream, 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp honey, 2 tbs cream
  • 1/2 cup strawberries, 3 tbs cream
  • Other fruits – mango, pineapple, mixed berries.

 

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Dark Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

April 7th, 2013 Posted in Cooking, Desserts, Snacks
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This is a recipe I’ve been making for a few years now and really like. Try not to overbake. It’s especially delicious when the center is all warm and a bit goo-y.

Amazeballs Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup cup cocoa
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup butter
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract (try to find nice vanilla- it makes a huge difference in the quality)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 3/4 cups chocolate chips (dark)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees on convection

2. Combine flour, cocoa baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

3. Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Add in eggs and beat. Gradually mix in flour mixture.

4. Stir in chocolate chips

5. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.

6. Bake for 9-11 mins. I always take mine out right at the 9 minute mark, but it can vary by oven. Cool on baking rack for two minutes and then enjoy :)

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Honey Ginger & Lime Dressing

April 7th, 2013 Posted in Salads
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This was a recipe passed to my by my husbands Aunt at my wedding shower. I’ve made it a few times before and its quite nice.

Ginger Lime Dressing

2 tbs frsh ginger

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

3 tbs honey

1 clove garlic

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 cup oil

Puree everything in a blender and then slowly add the oil. Serve with fresh greens and dried cranberries and sunflower seeds.

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Delicious Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches

September 18th, 2011 Posted in Baking
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Okay, so obviously these are not the kind of things you’d send with your kids in their lunches at school, due to allergy risks and such, but damn, these cookies are really good, so i felt the need to share! So if you are lucky enough to live in a peanut free household, I would definitely suggest giving these bad boys a try. I originally got the idea from a Betty Crocker cookbook, which suggested using Betty Crocker cookie mix as a base for the cookies, but I was unable to actually buy the suggested cookie mix in Canada.

Thus, I used my own recipe for oatmeal peanut butter cookies, and made an easy but delicious spread for the middle. The  best part of these sandwiches is how superbly soft they are, so be mindful of over cooking to keep them nice and soft. All that being said, here it is!

 

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup margarine, softened
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cups oats, quick oats for baking
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup Betty Crocker vanilla icing

Directions

  1. Combine margarine, peanut butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla. Blend together very well.
  2. Add flour, oats, baking soda and salt with mixer. Chill dough 15 minutes in the refrigerator. Roll into balls by hand.
  3. Place on sprayed cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven until edges very lightly browning (about 7 to 10 minutes). Don’t overcook. We store them in a plastic storage containers, and they stay soft!
  4. Let cool on counter, mix up the vanilla icing with the peanut butter in a small bowl. Use it as the filling to spread between two cookies and voila- Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches! Enjoy!

 

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