Still Feels Like Winter but Tastes Like Spring Biscotti

 Now that Christmas is all said and done I am so ready for the arrival of summer. I know it is so far off but a girl can dream right? I can almost taste the fresh fruits for breakfast and smell the BBQ cooking on the outdoor grill at night. I would really like summer but I guess for the next five months I will have to settle for some Spring Biscotti. I actually found this recipe online (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/spring-biscotti/) last summer and made it in June for my dad’s birthday gift but because it was so well liked I brought it back as gifts for this Christmas season.  Not going to lie, I may have saved three of four pieces for myself but I just had to test it to make sure it was good… it was. I modified the recipe a little from the one I found online because I don’t like making biscotti too hard. This way you can eat it with or without dipping it in a good strong cup of coffee and not have to worry about breaking your jaw.  I also added more orange zest than the original recipe called for because I love having a citrus hint in my baking. Also note that for those who prefer dark chocolate to white chocolate, you can easily switch it up to please all taste buds.  

You Will Need:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1   and ½ tablespoon orange zest
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg white
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2-2.5 ounces white chocolate, chopped (I also baked some with dark chocolate and they were equally delicious
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 1/4 cups pistachio nuts

Ready Set Bake:

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar, orange zest, and vanilla with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Mix in eggs and egg white one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; gradually blend into the creamed mixture using a wooden spoon. Stir in the white chocolate, dried cranberries, and pistachios. Cover, and chill for 30 minutes.

     2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

-PLEASE NOTE: Parchment paper and wax paper are two completely different things. I may or may not have confused the two while baking these biscotti and the result was one very smoky kitchen and one completely loopy mother (sorry mom!).

       3. Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface, and divide into halves. Form each half into a flattish log about 12 inches long by 3 inches wide. Put each log in centre of their own baking sheet.

       4. Bake for 20-25 minutes in preheated oven, or until pale gold. Allow logs to cool on the baking sheet until cool enough to handle. On a cutting board, cut logs crosswise on a diagonal into 1 inch thick slices. Arrange on baking sheet on their side.

       5. Bake for an additional 8-10 minutes, or until golden. Transfer biscotti to wire racks, and cool completely.

 Happy New Year!

-L

Brussel Sprout mix with Prosciutto

I think that we should create a section in our blog that includes simple dinner and veggie ideas so as to ensure that all us hungry and, well let’s admit it, slightly ‘I seem to always be tired when I think of cooking’ students. Being home, I am surrounded by different ideas and ingredients for some delicious dishes. There is nothing like spending an evening in the kitchen, surrounded by family and a glass of wine in hand. Sometimes, I must shield my eyes as my brother is a French chef and insists on adding extreme amounts of butter to everything. But, he happens to be so right because some of these dishes just makes my mouth drop.

As a child, my mother never forced me to eat brussel sprouts. In fact, I didn’t even know what they were until I took my first trip to a Farmers Market in Halifax. I was amazed by the long stalk of buds. I devour almost any green vegetable, and the chance of being introduced to yet another beautiful, leafy green vegetable made me a tad too excited. Although I eat brussel sprouts in any form, including raw, coming home to a kitchen where spoonfuls of butter and love are never too far definitely added a mouth watering element to my typical brussel sprout ways.

Start with a spoonful of butter in a pan that is on medium heat. As my brother would say, wait until the butter stops singing, and then slowly add your ingredients. So, when the butter had settled, we added some sliced mushrooms, onions, and prosciutto. Meanwhile, some brussel sprouts were boiling in a small pot on the side. Adding slight sprinkles of oil to the mushrooms when necessary, you want to make sure that you aren’t making the mushrooms or onions crispy, but soaking them. Essentially, you want to make them a little mushy. When the mushrooms, onions and prosciutto look well soaked, you add in your boiled brussel sprouts, in hopes that they will soak up that nice combination of tastes that have been simmering in your pan. You can adjust your heat and stir constantly, slightly browning the sides of your brussel sprout mixture. Everything should be golden and succulent as you remove the veggies from your pan, onto a fork and directly into your mouth. I suggest you do this while your family is scrambling to set the table and you can enjoy this moment all to yourself. Or, in the spirit of the holidays, you can actually try and wait and share the moment, and brussel sprouts, with your family. I pulled a scrooge with this dish and stole a few bites before announcing they were ready..simply irresistible, it can turn you greedy!

(I forgot to take a picture..this one is generously provided by : http://www.italiansrecipe.com/side-dishes/quick-recipe-deep-fried-brussels-sprouts.html)

Baby it’s cold outside: Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Raspberry Swirls and Chocolate Chips

Mmmmmm the holidays. Christmas happens to be one of the only times of the year where you can nap, eat, and read, and of course nap again, all by a fire that is wonderfully and conveniently built by family members that are shuffling around throughout the day.

In my household we love to eat, especially those Christmas sweets! The joys of listening to smooth Christmas jazz as you sway your hips and melt some chocolate is a magical moment (and if you haven’t tried it yet, then you are missing out!) Naturally, I have stuffed my belly with all sorts of different chocolates that are of various shapes and sizes, slowly making myself drunk with sugar and laughter. Luckily, I have a sister who is just as eager to set up the chocolate fondue, although, I somehow end up being the one who chops the strawberries and she seems to be the one who dips and eats them. But, she is a great inspiration during this cold season.

Any excuse to buy more chocolate chips is always a welcome recipe to try. So, my sister and I made a list (checked it twice…and added two more bags of chocolate chips) and set out to whip up some Vanilla Ice Cream with Raspberry Swirl and Chocolate Chips. The tart taste of raspberries is so delicately balanced with semi-sweet chocolate chips and the sweet, smooth taste of real vanilla bean. I practically dove head first into the pot of boiling cream and vanilla bean!

This recipe was provided by Scoop, a book full of ice cream recipes written by Ellen Brown. We also happened to receive an ice cream maker from good ol’ Saint Nicholas, but there are ways to make ice cream like this that are described in the book and do not require the ice cream maker. It’s oh so sweet, and oh so good.

Vanilla Ice Cream with Raspberry Swirl and Chocolate Chips

Ice Cream

1 1/3 Cups of Heavy Cream

1 1/4 Cups Whole Milk

1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar  (we used Brown sugar)

1/4 Cup Light Corn Syrup

1/8 Tsp Kosher Salt

2 Vanilla Beans

3 Tblsp Nonfat Dry Milk Powder

2 Tblsp Cornstarch

1/4 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

3/4 Cup Chocolate Chips

Raspberry Swirl

1 Cup Fresh Raspberries

1/4 Cup Light Corn Syrup

1 Tsp Lemon Juice

1 Tblsp Cornstarch

First, in a pot you want to combine your main ice cream ingredients : 1/2 cup milk, whipping cream, sugar, corn syrup and salt. You then slice the vanilla beans length wise and remove the vanilla seeds. Then place the pods in the pot as well and stir it on medium, without boiling it yet.

In a separate bowl, combine the rest of your milk, milk powder, cornstarch and the Vanilla extract. When smooth, add this mixture to the steaming pot. Over medium heat, whisk every minute and allow mixture to come to a boil. Once boiling, simmer down to low heat and stir, while allowing the mixture to thicken. When thick enough, we removed the mixture from the heat and placed it in a bowl. You directly cover the mixture with Saran Wrap until it reaches just above room temperature. When this occurs, you can place the mixture in an ice cream maker or proceed to hand make the ice cream.

While in the maker, we made the raspberry swirl. In a saucepan on low heat, you combine the raspberries, corn syrup and lemon juice. Stir until raspberries break apart and it starts to simmer. In a small bowl on the side, mix together the cornstarch with a few tablespoons of water (2-3). Add this mixture to the pan when sauce is sufficiently heated. You want to whisk the cornstarch in fast over medium heat, and this should give you a thick raspberry mixture within one quick minute. If not, whisk briskly until it thickens. Set in the fridge and wait to fold it in to the ice cream.

When Ice cream is frozen, fold in the chocolate chips and raspberry swirl. We only added half of the raspberry sauce and found that it was a perfect amount. Mmmmm it was the perfect dessert!

Warm food for a warm goodbye: Curry Lentil Burgers and Cucumber Peanut Salad

Our tastebuds become overwhelmed quite easily in our household. The mere mention of Curry, Garlic, Lentils and oh so much more just makes us weak in the knees. Who doesn’t love that tangy taste of roasted garlic? Some of us may take this love too far, spreading awkward stares around the kitchen, while ingesting a raw bulb of garlic. But we don’t judge…no we don’t.

I am one of the only one’s who actually LOVES eggplant. There aren’t many of us out there…and I realise this. But I am absolutely convinced that when the right amount is added and when cooked appropriately, everyone can become an eggplant lover. The way eggplant can soak up oil and crisp around its’ edges is simply marvelous and I vow to include as many eggplant recipes (without overdoing it of course…) in order to surprise your tastebuds one night.

I have always wanted to tackle the task of making a lentil burger. I say it is a task, simply because when you are cooking this beautiful veggie burger for others, it has the tendency to flop outside of its pita bread and reveal its sloppy consistency to your guests. Why are they so hard to make just right? Luckily, I have friends who are willing to eat anything, as long as it tastes good of course. So, in name of our dear roommates departure for the Christmas holidays, we decided to make Lentil Burgers. Not just any lentil burger…an eggplant curry lentil burger. Served with a side of cucumber peanut salad, this night might have been the weakest so far for my knees! Adapted from For the Love of Food: http://www.fortheloveoffoodblog.com/2010/10/lentil-and-eggplant-burger.html

Lentil Eggplant Burgers

1 Large Eggplant

1 cup Whole Wheat Bread crumbs

1/2 Onion, Finely chopped

2 Large Cloves of garlic

1 cup Cooked Lentils

1 tsp Curry Powder

1/4 tsp Coriander

1/2 tsp Cumin

1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper

1/2 tsp Agave Nectar

Dash of Salt

*These came out delicious but a tad floppy. You can add a tablespoon of flour or perhaps two tablespoons of oats to try and give them a better consistency.

 

Preheat the oven to 425 F

To prepare the eggplant, soak a pan in oil on medium. Peal the skin off the eggplant, cut it in half length-wise and then cut each half width-wise to create semi-circled shapes that are of medium thickness. Soak them in the oil, on low heat and remove from the pan just when they are beginning to brown. Throw all the pieces into a food processor with your two bulbs of garlic and create an eggplant paste. Try not to make it too runny.

In a separate bowl, mix all of the other ingredients. You can add spice after spice, lentils and onions in any order you want! I added a bit more cumin and it was delicious. When you have mixed all the ingredients in a bowl, add 3/4 of the eggplant puree (you can add the whole thing, it just makes the burgers a bit harder to handle) and mush away with your hands.

On medium heat, place flattened eggplant burgers in a pan. Flip on both sides until slightly brown. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. When you are done frying your burgers slightly, place them on your baking sheet. Place in the oven at 425F for 20 minutes. And voila!

DELICIOUS. If not the burgers, people must make this salad. It was such a great surprise and addition to the meal. This recipe was slightly modified from the original found on http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/cucumber-peanut-salad-recipe.html

Cucumber Peanut Salad

3 Cucumbers

1/2 cup Unsalted, Roasted Peanuts

1/4 cup Coconut Shred

Lime Juice

1-2 Tbl Butter

1/4-1/2 tsp Cumin

Handful Chopped, Fresh Cilantro

Place peanuts on a baking sheet and bake at 300F for 5-10 minutes (or until golden brown).

Peal the three cucumbers and chop them into small rectangle pieces. Throw cucumber pieces in a large salad bowl. Chop Cilantro and add it to the cucumber. Add in the coconut pieces and peanuts.

On low heat, melt butter in a pan. Add the cumin and stir quickly for about a minute or two. Add this mixture to the salad and squirt some lime juice on top. Mix together and enjoy.

As usual, light those dinner candles and pour some wine….indulge.

 

‘Tis the Season… So Let’s Make Shortbread!

‘Tis the season to bake delicious holiday treats and then eat way too many of them. And this past weekend that is exactly what I did. Meg hosted a wonderful cookie exchange, where so many wonderful people gathered together sat on the floor chatting for hours, eating the most scrumptious cookies, fudge and brownies. For this occasion I decided to make, for the very first time, my great grandmothers shortbread. My mom has made them every Christmas since I can remember and they state like pure brown sugar buttery heaven. They taste like home. I usually am tempted to deviate just a little from recipes but this one is just perfect the way it is. So here is my great grandmother’s shortbread recipe for you! So simple and yet oh so scrumptious.

Great Grandma’s Shortbread Recipe:

½ lb butter (two sticks)

2/3 cup brown sugar (if you don’t have a 2/3 cup it is 10 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons)

2 cups flour

2 tbsp. Cornstarch

When you put all the ingredients into a bowl you will want to cut the butter into small pieces so it’s easier to work into the dry ingredients. It will also be easier if your butter is at room temp.

Roll out on floured surface and cut into shapes. Small cookie cutters work best so the cookie is more evenly cooked. Decorate with cherry pieces, sprinkles or make designs with a fork.

Bake at 275 degrees for about 30 minutes or until slightly brown.

Happy baking!

-L

Pasta a la meg: Meatballs and Kale

I have a secret (obsession): It’s tall, handsome, and it’s the secret ingredient to make a dish which will bring you to your knees. Any guesses? Why yes…yes it is Mr.Jamie Oliver. I love this man. His food revolution, the fact that all of his recipes include some delicious herb and he does happen to have that British accent that we all love and adore…. aha okay Moving On!

So in case you haven’t yet checked it out, Jamie’s website is great for those dinner favorites. There are so many different varieties and ways of cooking vegetables, meat or anything your heart desires. And it’s okay if, when you check out this link and then start to cook one of his wonderful creations, you picture him the whole time..it’s totally normal and secretly everyone does it (aha we just don’t admit this to anyone).

I have been craving spaghetti and meatballs lately..I mean those meatballs that melt in your mouth with the perfect amount of herbs and fresh tomato taste. Naturally, I browsed Jamie’s website. I was on a quest to find a meatball recipe that used rosemary and basil, and I wasn’t about to give up. I found a perfect one, though i added some more herbs and used whole wheat bread to make some homemade bread crumbs http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta-recipes/meatballs-pasta. They turned out absolutely delicious and were easy to make. I don’t have a lot of experience making good homemade meat dishes, so I can assure you that anyone can make this dish.

 

 

Homemade Meatballs

4 Sprigs of fresh rosemary (chopped finely)

2 Sprigs of fresh thyme (chopped finely)

2 Basil leaves (finely chopped)

1/2 Tbl oregano

450 g of Fresh Free-Range Beef

2 Tsp Dijon mustard

1 Slice Whole Wheat Bread (finely chopped in a food processor)

1 Egg

Sea Salt & Pepper

Olive Oil

 

Slowly coat a pan with Olive oil. Adjust the heat to 3 (just below medium). When you hear that slight sizzle of oil, add your meatballs and make sure to spread them out. Within a few minutes, they should already be cooked quite well on one side. Continue to flip them over, cooking all the outer edges. Continue to flip every minute or so for about 8 minutes, until the outside is golden brown. I poked a knife through the centre of each meatball at this point and allowed them to cook for about another minute, ensuring there were no raw bits left in the centre.

Remove from the heat and add directly to your spaghetti sauce! I don’t know about anyone else but I always get this horrible, puff out my stomach feeling after indulging in such delicious pasta. So, I have come up with a wonderful creation! On a large plate, you put half the pasta noodles you would usually put, and then on top of that you put some fried up kale. You add your main pasta sauce with the meatballs and voila.

Grab your wine, and slowly sip your way through the rest of your night.

 

 

Want a Slice of Salted Caramel Cheesecake Pie?

You know those Saturday nights when you know you should be getting your butt off of the couch, dressing up in your best heels or rockin’ boots and strutting your stuff all the way down to pub for some good tunes and delicious brew. Well last Saturday was not one of those nights. I willed myself to go out,  I really did but in the end it just felt so darn good to have a night in with a few of my favourite people, drinks some  wine, listen to chill music and make a cheesecake… a Salted Caramel Cheesecake Pie to be exact. Best decision ever! There is really nothing I love more than relaxing with friends, eating good food and chatting the night away. I found this recipe on Joy the Baker’s Blog last week and just couldn’t not make it (http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2011/11/salted-caramel-cheesecake-pie/ ). I was a little weary because I have never made a cheesecake before but I felt a little less intimidated because it was also technically a pie. This delicious treat is really the best of both worlds and with the caramel drizzled on top it is definitely drool worthy. So with the much appreciated help of my wonderful friends Rhian and Kyal the cheesecake pie came to life and made for a delectable treat at the end of a busy day.

Ps. I am not going to lie. I got too excited about making this cheesecake pie and did not read all the way down to the bottom of the recipe to discover that the caramel topping had to sit in the fridge overnight before spread it onto the cheesecake pie. So we instead ate our pieces that night with butter sautéed apples on top and then went for seconds the next day with the caramel topping. Both were equally delicious, so if you are not the biggest caramel fan try out a fruit topping… any fruit would do!

Salted Caramel Cheesecake Pie

This recipe makes one 9-inch pie

For the Crust:

2 cups ginger snap cookie crumbs

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 stick salted butter, melted

For the Cheesecake:

1 pound (2 blocks) cream cheese, at room temperature

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream (I used unwhipped -whipping cream)

1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional but you should just go for it- it is delish)

For the Caramel:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/3 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Place two rack in the upper and bottom third of the oven.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  You will need a 9-inch pie plate and a 9×13-inch pan for boiling water.

To make the crust, place cookies in the bowl of a food processor and grind to a fine crumb. Mix together with butter and brown sugar until you have made sure that all the ginger snap crumbs are moistened.  Pour the mixture into a 9-inch pie plate and press with fingers until sides and bottom are evenly coated with crust.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool while you make the cheesecake filling.  The reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.  Boil a kettle full of water because you are going to need to add hot water to the 9×13-inch pan to place under the baking cheesecake.

To make the cheesecake filling:  In a large bowl beat together cream cheese and granulated sugar.  Beat until light and fluffy… I justified eating way too much of this cheesecake pie by the arm workout I got from this.  Beat in salt and vanilla extract and then eggs –one at a time-.  Once creamy and smooth, beat in the cream. Add lemon zest because it tastes so darn good.

Pour cheesecake mixture into the prepared cheesecake crust.

Place 9×13-inch pan in the bottom shelf of the hot oven.  Carefully pour in hot water, and fill to 1/2 full.  Push into oven… carefully!

Place cheesecake on the upper oven shelf.  Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until cheesecake is browned and puffed.  When cheesecake is all nice and browned  prop open the oven and let cheesecake rest for another 20 minutes in the cooling oven.  Remove from the oven and cool completely, for at least 4 hours. We clearly did not follow this step because we started to eat it before getting to this part of the recipe. Oops!

While the cheesecake cools, make the caramel so it can cool as well. As I have states previously the cheesecake had barely cooled down before we dug into it. And I must say it was just as good as when I ate the fully cooled piece the next day.

To make the caramel, add sugar, water, and corn syrup to a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring once or twice.  Bring to a boil and allow to brown.  Once sugar has browned to a medium amber color, remove from heat and immediately add heavy cream and butter.  Mixture will boil and foam.  Stir well.  Add salt and stir well to incorporate. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave to cool in the fridge overnight.

Pour the cooled caramel over the cooled cheesecake, return to the refrigerator until ready to serve.  Sprinkle with a dash of sea salt then slice and serve. I definitely did not follow this last step but what can ya do?! In the future I promise to have more self control and post pictures of the full cake decked out in caramel just to prove it.

Hope you are having a Happy Tuesday!

-L

Autumn Apple Crumble Muffins

Every Saturday, I merrily take an early morning stroll along the quaint streets of Halifax, chatting sleepily with my friends and enjoying the early morning air. I love Saturday mornings. The joyful feeling of waking up to newly formed frost on my window, as the sun shines through and I lie curled up in the abundance of quilts that I have layered upon my bed. I smile to myself as I fall out of bed and slowly find the thickest wool socks and scarf that I can find to keep me warm on the way to the market.

I love the market. All different sorts of people, milling about, chatting with one another as quirky and eco-conscious children run around, eating their cinnamon buns and laughing. The market brings everyone together, people of all different shapes and sizes, tastes and preferences.

November in Halifax is the perfect line between autumn and winter. Food wise, this means that our household get’s in the “ooey gooey” mood. We begin to crave deeply roasted, baked and toasted dishes which will warm our bodies. Passing by a sign this past weekend at the market that said “buy one bag of mcintosh apples, get the second free”, my mind began to wonder about melting brown sugar, butter and apples all together. Then came the craving for crumble. That’s right folks..I got the crumble crave.

These last few Sundays, our friend sara has joined us for an evening of baking and tea/wine (depending on the day we have had hmm?). Sharing my desire for crumbly muffins, we all began to smooth butter and brown sugar together. Slowly our kitchen filled with that warm smell of cinnamon spice, as it melted with the buttery crumble, creating a sort of muffin perfection. Adapted from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures (http://traceysculinaryadventures.blogspot.com/2009/10/whole-wheat-apple-muffins.html) our low sugar version created the perfect sweet and spicy muffin. So go ahead, add some spice to your life one of these November mornings!

Whole Wheat Apple Crumble Muffins

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 Tbl Cinnamon

1/2 cup Salted Butter, room temperature

6 Tbl Splenda Brown Sugar

1 large egg

1 cup buttermilk

3 Mcintosh apples (peeled and thrown into the food processor)

Crumble topping

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1/3 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1/4 cup Butter, softened

1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Preheat the Oven to 450 F and butter your muffin pan.

Place the flour, baking power, baking soda and cinnamon in a large bowl. Set aside.

In a smaller bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add in your egg and milk. Whisk together until there are no ‘chunks’. Add this wet mixture to your large bowl of dry ingredients. Add the apples that have been processed.

In a small, separate bowl, begin creaming together all the ingredients for the crumble. Make sure to press down lightly with a fork, but do not do this for too long as the butter will turn too creamy. Keep it nice and crumbly.

Place mixture in your muffin pan. Sprinkle as much crumble as desired on top of each muffin. Bake for 10 minutes at 450, then reduce the heat to 400 F and continue baking for another 8 minutes. This recipe made 16 medium sized, deliciously moist muffins. I recommend this recipe to anyone who has the crumble crave..you will not regret making these muffins for an instant.

As you wait in anticipation for a taste of that warm, buttery muffin, brew some pumpkin spiced tea and chat anxiously with anyone who will listen… it’s painful but the time does slowly pass. Enjoy fresh out of the oven, with butter and the rest of your tea.

Feeling Healthy?

 People when talking about being health always seem to throw that cliché saying out there: “You are what you eat.” I have eaten far too many cupcakes in my lifetime and I have not yet turn into one, although here’s to hoping I will! Not joking, if I were a food item I would want to be a cupcake. Not the ones with the icky fake icing on them but the ones that have the real butter cream icing. I would also request that I have turquoise icing, yellow sprinkles and a cherry on-top. Would that be too much to ask for? Anyways getting back to my point, this week I made a delicious Apple Pomegranate Brussels Sprout Salads to balance out all those cupcakes I have eaten throughout my 22 years of life. That’s right, I believe that one big luscious salad can counter all those cupcakes. I stumbled across the recipe on Joy the Baker’s blog and had to make it (Check it out! http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2011/11/apple-pomegranate-brussels-sprout-salad/). I substituted pecans for almonds and dressed it with a delicious maple balsamic glaze. So simple, so delicious and way to healthy.

 

Apple Pomegranate Brussels Sprout Salad

makes 4 small or 2 large portions

about 1 pound of Brussels sprouts

1/2 cup fresh pomegranate seeds

1 small fennel bulb, sliced thick or thin depending on how you like it

1 apple of any kind, sliced thin

handful of pecans

a little bit of  pepper if you would like

Rinse brussels sprouts and place on a cutting board horizontally, and slice thinny. Place in a large bowl and set aside.

Wearing an apron (don’t forget to put it on… you will regret it if you do) deseed pomegranate and gather about 1/2 cup of seeds (usually the whole thing).  Add to the brussels sprout bowl. Add thinly sliced fennel and apple, as well as the slivered pecans.  Toss together and there you have it! Oh and don’t forget the dressing! If you aren’t a big balsamic fan:  a) I think you are a little crazy and b) Use lemon juice instead to dress it.

Now go, frolic and be healthy!

-L

 

 

Breakfast for Dinner..om nom nom

Oh November long weekends, how I love you! Inspired by the falling autumn leaves and lazy mornings in bed, Lexi and I decided that there was no better weekend to make some delicious breakfast dishes..and what better time than dinner time to do so! This way, we could flip our pancakes with a mimosa in hand and no need to reassure ourselves that it must be noon somewhere…

While lazing about in the kitchen and browsing food blog after food blog, we came upon the most magnificent recipe I have ever had the joy of discovering. Honestly, when I was a kid, I made a whole website dedicated to chocolate chip pancakes. I used to have friends over just so that I could make the most delicious and thickest chocolate chip pancakes, slowly perfecting my skills as I moved from elementary shapes to making pancakes in the shapes of flowers and animals. But I was so busy focusing on my horrible pancake shape figures that I forgot to experiment with some of my key ingredients! What about cinnamon? Cream instead of milk? So many possibilities!

Well after this weekend, I have decided that my new, number one goal of all time, is to make the perfect whole wheat buttermilk chocolate chip pancake. Using my basic recipe that I have used for these last few months every time I make pancakes (honestly, i have tried so many whole wheat pancake recipes..and this is one of the best by far). Usually baking with whole wheat, you either end up with a baked good that is so hard, it would probably injure someone if you hit them with it. Or, there is absolutely no taste. Well, I have finally found some whole wheat joy.

Taken from the blog The Spiced Life (http://thespicedlife.com/2009/04/100-whole-wheat-pancakes.html), this whole wheat pancake recipe is sure to make everyone around you smile to themselves, as they can barely keep in their excitement when they scream for more maple syrup.  We adapted it slightly, by added one strip of cooked bacon to the middle of the pancake, and adding in chocolate chips all around it. The combination of sweet and salty was ohh soooo good. Served with a side of fried cinnamon and sugar apples topped with maple infused whipped cream, this breakfast brought back that sweetness to my belly.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Bacon pancakes 

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp salt

3 Tbl Brown Sugar

2 Large eggs

2 cups Cream

4 Tbl butter

Chocolate Chips

6 strips of bacon (one per pancake)

Serving size: about 6 medium sized fluffy pancakes

In a pan, fry the strips of bacon and set aside when done.

Whisk together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside.

In a medium size bowl, whisk together the eggs, melted butter and cream. Add these wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until all the clumps are gone.

Turn the heat on medium and butter your pan. Make long, thick pancake and add a strip of bacon in the middle of every pancake. All around the bacon strip, add as many chocolate chips as you want. Flip over and keep cookin good lookin 😉

 

Fried Buttered Apples with Brown Sugar and Pecans

2 Apples (peeled and cut in half slices)

2 Tbl Brown Sugar

1-2 Tbl Pecans

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 Tbl butter

In a pan, set on low heat, slowly melt the butter. Add in 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and then place the apple slices over top. Sprinkle cinnamon,nutmeg and the rest of the brown sugar on top of the apple slices. Add in the pecans. Remaining on low heat, slowly sizzle those apples, turning them over every few minutes.

You can adjust the spices and measurements to your preferences. You want to take the apples off when the pecans are sufficiently buttered and the apples are soft, just at the point before they turn to mush.

 

To satisfy your appetite, serve with extra butter, maple syrup and mimosas. Enjoy alongside some of your bestest of hungry friends and candlelight.