a violet tinted life

Barbeque Season 2011

2011-05-26T13:27:00.007-04:00

Lamb Burgers!

Last night was the perfect mid week bbq dinner shared with good friends and lots of laughs.

The recipe came from my beautiful friend Jordana, who inspires me to try new recipes, with her food blog, which I really hope she starts back up again ;)

Hubby working his grill magic

these burgers are so flavourful, they don't require any extras (lettuce, tomatoes, relish) just a squeeze of mustard!

Lamb lovers L&D

What to do with a 4 pound butternut squash

2010-10-28T14:29:00.007-04:00

Ravioli!

I was given half of a butternut squash last week from L who used as much as she could and then wanted it out of her fridge. Aside from the typical squash soup and baked squash with butter and cinnnamon I had no idea what to do with this oversized orange thing. After searching online I came across a recipe for Butternut Squash Ravioli and decided to give it a try. It was so super easy and turned out to be a beautiful autumn meal. The best part about the recipe was using wonton wrappers instead of homemade pasta for the raviolis.

Ingredients
1 large butternut squash - halved lengthwise, peeled and seeded
2 teaspoons butter salt and ground black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
50 wonton wrappers
1 teaspoon egg white, lightly beaten

Sauce
1/4 cup butter
juice of 1 lemon & zest
1/4 c slivered almonds
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place the squash cut side up on a baking sheet. Place 1 tablespoon butter in the hollow of each half. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cover the squash with a sheet of aluminum foil tucking in the edges.

Bake squash in preheated oven until tender and easily pierced with a fork, 45 to 65 minutes.

Scoop the cooked squash into a bowl, and mash until smooth. Mix in the allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, and Parmesan cheese until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Fill a deep pot with lightly salted water and bring to a boil.

To make the ravioli, place a wonton wrapper on a clean, flat surface. Brush edges with the egg white. Place about 1 tablespoon of the squash mixture in the middle of the wonton. Cover with a second wonton wrapper. Repeat with remaining wonton wrappers and squash mixture until all have been used.

Drop the ravioli into the boiling water, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until tender. Remove, drain, and keep warm until sauce is prepared. With half the batch, I boiled them and then pan fried them to give them a crispy layer.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add lemon juice, zest and slivered almonds and cook until butter becomes very brown. Place 6 to 8 raviolis on serving plates, and drizzle with sauce.

Im trying to get in as much cooking as possible before this baby arrives. Due date is in 3 days! HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

Dabbling in Veganism

2010-06-10T14:00:00.004-04:00

I would love to go Vegan, but now is probably not the best time in my life to start, seeing as I'm 5 months pregnant..oh and by the way, we found out on Monday that it's a BOY!! Due date is October 31st which is not ideal, so I'll try my best to keep him in there at least until November 1st. The newest reason for my peaked interest in Veganism is a new blog I found which has some pretty amazing recipes on it. Last night for dinner I made the Thai inspired chickpea salad featured on the aforementioned blog. It was enough of a meal for myself (and baby boy)but for B and little W I accompanied the salad with a few grilled organic pork sausages, a baguette and goat's cheese with truffles, thanks to my new favourite foodie; Mark McEwan.

Please excuse the poor quality picture.

Popping in for a quick recipe share

2010-05-05T22:07:00.004-04:00

It wasn't completely intentional that i stopped writing, it just happened when my cooking and baking fell by the wayside over the past few months. We've been busy, busy, busy. With the house for sale, it's just going to get crazier over the next few weeks. However, recently I made a scrumptious meal, too delicious not to share with you all. The first part of the meal was adapted from one of my most used cookbooks entitled "The Best of, Chef at Home" by Michael Smith. The second part was taken from my other favourite cookbook Home Cooking with Charlie Trotter. If you are not a fan of scallops, thats fine, don't make the Brochettes, but please do yourself a favour and make the Bacon Barley Risotto!!!

Grilled Scallop and Red Onion Brochettes
serves 4

Marinade

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped lemongrass
1/2 jalapeño chile, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

24 sea scallops
1 red onion, cut into bite-sized wedges
2/3 cup white rice
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup chopped scallions
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh amaranth

Directions:

To prepare the marinade: Combine the orange juice, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, olive oil, lemongrass, jalapeño, cilantro, scallions, and lime juice in a small bowl.
To prepare the brochettes: Alternate the scallops and onion wedges on 8 skewers. Place the skewers in a large, resealable plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

To prepare the rice: Combine the rice and water in a medium saucepan, cover, and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 to 25 minutes, or until tender.
Cook the scallions in the butter in a small sauté pan over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, or until the scallions are soft. Add to the rice and cook for 5 minutes, or until warm. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To cook the brochettes: Prepare a medium-hot grill. Remove the brochettes from the marinade and season with salt and pepper. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until the scallops are just cooked.

Place some of the rice in the center of each plate and top with 1 or 2 brochettes. Top with freshly ground black pepper and garnish with fresh amaranth.
You could use Vidalia, Maui, or Spanish onions instead of red onion in this recipe. The important thing is using an onion that will be sweet enough to eat when partially cooked. Also, consider using a fresh rosemary sprig as the skewer, if available. It adds a lovely visual touch to the brochette

Click here for the Barley Risotto with Bacon recipe. I've made Risotto quite a few times, which is generally made with Arborio rice, after making this version of Risotto (with Barley) I prefer it to the traditional method with Arborio rice, and it's healthier. To ensure the Risotto reaches the ultimate creamy texture, add 1 cup of Padano Parmesean cheese right before serving. Bon Apetit!

Cutesy Butterfly Chicken Pot Pie

2010-03-15T21:50:00.007-04:00

Ina Garten (not "in a garden" as I always used to read it) is my all time favourite Food Network host. There's something so comforting about her home in the Hampton's, and the food she cooks on her show. This morning as I ate my Cheerios and downed my coffee I scoped out www.foodnetwork.com for dinner ideas and came across this which I couldn't wait to make.

Since spring is upon us, I decided to make the biscuits into butterfly shapes, or maybe I did it because I don't actually own any other cookie cutter shape. It was cute, nonetheless. The stew turned out delissioso, and I'm glad too, because this is what B will be eating for lunch for the next 35 days or so. ha!

The perfect lunch for 3 guys on a snowy day like today

2010-02-24T15:09:00.005-05:00

It's a miracle that my Cardamom Beef Stew with Potatoes, Celery Root and Parsnips turned out as good as it did! Because of my cold, I have no sense of taste or smell, which is incredibly frustrating. This recipe comes from one of my favourite cookbooks, Home Cooking with Charlie Trotter.

B had a few guys from work over for lunch and together they polished off a roaster full of this stew!

Cardamom Beef Stew

1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
2 cups chopped yellow onions
2 tbs canola oil
20 Cardamom pods crushed OR 1 tsp ground Cardamom
1 pound stew meat cubed
salt and freshly ground pepper
4 cloves of garlic minced
6 cups meat stock
2 cups large diced potatoes
1 cup large diced celery root
1 cup large diced parsnips
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

To prepare the Stew: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the celery, carrots, and onions in a hot roasting pan with the canola oil and cook, stirring occasionally, for ten minutes or until caramelized. Season beef with salt and pepper and add it to the pan along with the garlic, cardamom, and stock. Cover pan with foil and braise for 2-3 hours or until the beef is very tender. Season to taste with the salt and pepper.

To prepare the vegetables: About 45 minutes before the beef is ready, toss the potatoes, celery root and parsnips with the olive oil in a large bowl and add them to the beef in the roasting pan. Allow to cook another 45 minutes. I added some cornstarch to thicken the broth a little, and I suggest you do the same.

Feel free to serve the stew on top of noodles or rice.

My house smells like a cute little bakery

2010-02-20T15:10:00.005-05:00

I just took the last pan of Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins out of the oven, and they smell like thanksgiving! This recipe comes from Allrecipes.com one of my favourite go to recipe sites.

I was snap happy this afternoon!

Hoisin Lettuce Wraps

2010-02-19T13:42:00.009-05:00

These Lettuce wraps were similar to the ones served at P.F. Changs, except ten times better! Thanks Sook the Cook for the awesome recipe, the leftovers were even better. The only change I made was I added 1 cup of Bamboo shoots to the mix of vegetables.

You can find the recipe here.

Because my husband always comes home from work famished, he munches while I finish preparing dinner, and generally spoils his appetite. Last night I decided to be ahead of the game. since the Leuttuce Wraps are very light, I made Korean Tonkatsu (also adapted from Sook the Cook) as an appetizer so B could eat a little something before the main meal. The Panko breading of the Tokatsu was perfect, however next time I plan on using Chicken instead of Pork.

Stew and Buns..whats not to love?

2010-02-16T20:28:00.009-05:00

Dear readers: NO my child and husband have not been starving to death, I have been cooking dinner for the last month just haven't put forth the effort to blog about it. Between our anniversary, engagement parties, Valentine's day, quick jaunts to Toronto and back, gymnastics & swimming lessons, I've been a little busy. However, not busy enough to stay off FB, how does that happen anyways? I'm considering cancelling it altogether, I've said this for a while, but now it's just getting annoyingly time consuming and addictive.

Last night I made the most simple, yet delicious Chicken Stew I've ever had. It came from my grandma looking "Company's Coming" cookbook. I made a few small modifications to the recipe, I used whole white baby potatoes instead of regular potatoes cut up, and rather than chopping the chicken thighs into cubes, I left them whole. The meat was so incredibly soft, we barely had to chew it. So maybe this is why a grandma wrote this cookbook, maybe it's for our denture-wearing friends. Regardless, this recipe was outstanding, I will definitely make it again.

Chicken Stew

4 medium potatoes, cut bite size

4 medium carrots, cut bite size

1 chopped onion

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs

2 cups hot water

1 tbs chicken bullion powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp ground thyme (I used fresh thyme)

1/2 tsp Liquid Gravy Browner - if anyone knows what this actually contributes to the dish, please enlighten me.

Layer potatoes, carrots and onion in a slow cooker. Lay Chicken thighs on top.

Stir next 6 ingredients together in a bowl. Pour over Chicken. Cover. Cook on Low for 9-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours (I chose the latter, I put it on at 1pm and it was perfectly done for dinner at 6pm)

Whilst placing an ACE baguette into my cart yesterday I realized it's been a while since I last attempted to make bread. I bought the ingredients for bread, kept the ACE just in case the bread flopped, and proceeded home.

Here is how they turned out, I was VERY pleased with the final product, Benn had 4 of them with the Chicken stew and another 2 today at lunch as his sandwich bread. YUM!

Looking forward to enjoying one tonight, toasted, with some triple cream brie and pears.

I rarely have strong cravings..

2010-01-19T21:45:00.003-05:00

...But lately, THIS rice is what I feel like eating 24/7, it's that good! Thanks Menu Maniac for this awesome fried rice recipe!

Hungarian Mushroom Soup

2010-01-19T20:22:00.005-05:00

Do you know why we have eyebrows?

They were put there to act as miniature umbrellas for our eyes, so when we sweat or it rains, the eyebrow hair catches the moisture and diverts it around our eye so it doesn't interfere with our vision. Interesting? I thought so! Don't ask how I know this, all I will say is it had something to do with me Googling "why do we get goosebumps?" I was in an inquisitive mood yesterday what can I say.

I made a pot of Spaghetti for dinner last night, with store bought sauce, but I spiced it up with fresh basil, tons of freshly smashed garlic, oregano, and Parmesan reggiano. I think B thought it was completely from scratch..oops! There was a ton leftover, so I planned on heating it up for dinner again tonight, but as I ate my toast and egg whites (yes D.D, I'm still on that kick) I started catching up on blogs I follow. Thanks to Kevin the leftover spaghetti is still sitting in the fridge because instead, I made Hungarian Mushroom Soup and pan fried Pemeal Bacon. The soup was very flavourful, although next time I will puree it, as I found the texture of the mushrooms a little disturbing.

What have you readers been cooking up lately? Share some recipes with me, I'm always on the lookout for new ones.

A Taste of Autumn

2010-01-17T14:34:00.006-05:00

January is more than half way over and I'm still trying to kick this sore throat! The medication I've been taking is leaving me without an appetite and sluggish, which is never a good thing, but especially not when I have so many new cookbooks and recipes I'm dying to try, yet nothing sounds appetizing. I did, however manage to make a few new dishes this week, one of them being Pumpkin and Feta Risotto from my New Food Fast cookbook. Risotto is quite time consuming to make, but totally worth ever bit of effort. This recipe has the perfect balance of sweet and savoury, it's creamy texture is so comforting and definitely very filling!

Pumpkin and Feta Risotto

1lb Sweet Pumpkin (I used buttercup squash)

oil

sea sat and pepper

5 1/2 cups Chicken Stock

1 tbs Olive Oil

2 cups arborio rice

1/4 cup chopped chives

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

5 oz marinated feta in oil

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the pumpkin on a baking tray and toss with oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes or until soft.

To cook the risotto, place chicken stock in a saucepan over medium heat and allow to simmer. Place oil in a separate sauce pan over medium heat. Add the rice and cook or 1 minute or until rice is translucent. Add the stock, 1 cup at a time, and stir until stock has been absorbed. Continue adding until all the stock has been used, and rice is creamy.

To serve, stir the chives, Parmesan, pepper and pumpkin through risotto. Top with feta and its oil and serve.

note- I toasted the seeds from the squash and sprinkled them on top of the risotto for a garnish and a little crunch.

Happy 2010!

2010-01-07T14:30:00.010-05:00

It's snowing. Not big fat flakes, but tiny ones falling at a quick rate and accumulating fast! I hope we get 4 feet, that would be ideal. Unlike Toronto, where I spent some time during the holidays, this is pretty much our first major snowfall. While in the T.Dot, we had a lot of time to spend with my family and made the most of it.

It feels good to be home and back in the kitchen after taking it easy for the past 2+ weeks. The first meal I made when I got home was Chicken Paillards with Clementine Salsa, adapted from the December issue of Bon Appetit (thanks Becky!) It turned out nicely, I made no changes to the recipe, it was perfect just the way it was. I served the chicken with fingerling potatoes, tossed in olive oil, salt & pepper and roasted them for 35 minutes until they were slightly crunchy.

Salsa is one of my favourite things, and as I made this recipe I got to thinking, there are so many different variations of Salsa so I want to try a few different ones. If you love salsa too, and have a great homemade recipe for it, post it in my comments section. I plan on hosting a Salsa & Chips night soon and will have the guests vote on their favourite salsa. If you want me to love your salsa I prefer it extra spicy!

One of our favourite store bought salads, is the Greek Pasta Olympia, it has an odd name, but there is nothing odd about the taste. Despite the fact that it tastes so good, I still cringe every time I see the deli counter person scoop it out from the metal dishes and smoosh it into a plastic container, who makes those pre-made salads anyway and how long do they sit there before someone buys a few scoops of it. Needless to say, my homemade version is a million times better, and I made it last night for dinner. So here it is!

Greek Pasta

1/2 package Rizopia organic brown rice pasta

1 Container of Cherry Tomatoes (halved)

1/4 Red Onion, sliced very thing

Approximately 20 Kalamata Olives (halved)

1/2 Cucumber cut in half moon slices

1/2 Red Pepper, cut into 1 inch squares

A big hunk of good quality Feta (crumbled)

1. Boil noodles to your liking, preferably al dente, drain and toss with olive oil. Let cool.

2. While the noodles are boiling, cut the vegetables and toss together with the feta in a big (pretty) bowl.

3. in a separate bowl mix 1/4 cup olive oil, juice of 1 lime, a few generous shakes of dried oregano flakes, salt and pepper. Finally, toss the Pasta with the veggies and the dressing. If you want to add some protein, throw in a can of tuna or 1/2 a can of beans of your choice. ENJOY!

Readers, get cracking on the salsa recipes, I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Happy Blustery Thursday!

2009-12-10T15:19:00.006-05:00

Do you know that feeling when you open a wrapped present completely oblivious as to whats inside? Will it be socks? A Louis wallet? A homemade picture frame? Well, readers, this is how I feel right now, because I have a huge pot of Beef Bourguignon stewing away in the oven and I have no idea how it will turn out. The recipe comes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which my husband bought for me a few weeks ago when I was feeling slightly discouraged and lacked motivation in the cooking department. So the reason why I feel like this Bourguignon has the potential to be a flop is because firstly, I forgot to pick up tomato paste at the grocery store this morning so I omitted it from the recipe, and secondly because I could not locate a hunk of bacon with the rind still on, instead I used maple leaf center cut bacon, the one with the re-sealable container, which someone should of thought of years ago. Serious question for you readers, when you only need a few slices of bacon, how do you store the rest of it?

Fun fact about Julia Child, she loves using the word FAT in her cookbooks, in the recipe I used today, she used the word 7 times, referring to the bacon fat and butter. I guess healthy and low fat eating goes by the wayside when you cook with Julia.

Everything in this picture makes me happy, especially my new Cookbook which reminds me of Tiffany every time I look at it! My parents bought me the Saucy Sangria Drizzle in the photo from Niagara on the Lake a few weeks ago, I'm looking for a creative way of using it, any ideas?

Yesterday I was in a festive mood, so I made a batch of Almond Toffee, the key to making a perfect toffee is to not let the temperature rise even 1 degree over 290, which I accidently did yesterday. The end result was still completely edible, but it had a slight bite to it, which meant the sugar burned. Give it a try, I'm sure you have all the ingredients in your pantry right now, just go out and buy yourself a candy themometer.

Toffee

1 CUP BUTTER
1 CUP SUGAR
3 TABLESPOONS WATER

2 CUPS CHOPPED ALMONDS, TOASTED
2 CUPS CHOCOLATE CHIPS

In a heavy saucepan combine the sugar water . Cook and stir over medium heat until a candy themometer reaches 290. Stir in the nuts and pour immediately into buttered cookie sheet.

Evenly sprinkle the chocolate chips over toffee and let them melt from the heat of the candy, once the toffee has hardened, using a spatula smooth out the chips and allow to cool and set.

Cool tip: To make sure your themometer is acurate, place it in a pot of boiling water and it should read 212 degrees.

Tomorrow is our first Christmas Party of the season, oh..what to wear?!

no fun Sunday

2009-11-29T15:05:00.007-05:00

I've been slacking in the blogging department, but only because there are a million other things i've been busy with. The gym is one of them, and I'm proud of that, I'm also back in the saddle (litterally) after not having a riding lesson in over a month due to travelling and such. My lesson on Friday was so great, I started jumping which was such a rush! I'm supposed to ride again tomorrow, but doubt I will be able to because currently I'm half laying on the couch, foot elevated on 3 pillow and ice on my swollen ankle. I rolled it last night and now its ugly, ouchie and depressing. I've never had a sprained ankle so I don't know how long this will last, any suggestions as to how to make it heal quicker? Anyone?

We celebrated American Thanksgiving with my good friend and fellow blogger Ana and her whole extended family, there were close to 75 people for dinner at her parents house in adorable Rochester. The spread was unreal, they had everything from fried turkey, to a pomegranate and nut salad yum! Since we missed Canadian Thanksgiving this year (B was in Boston and I was in CO) celebrating it now was a real treat.

Have you ever tried Quinoa? (pronounced Keen-Wah) I discovered it several years ago and its been a staple in our house ever since. It's so versatile and the absolute epitome of nutritious! One night this week I made a Quinoa salad type dish. Other ways of incorporating it, is to use it in lieu of potatoes, rice or pasta. Tip: always rinse the Quinoa well before cooking to get rid of the natural pesticide it produces, failing to do so will result in a very bitter taste.

Quinoa with Coconut-Lime Dressing

6 Cups cooked Quinoa

Scallions

Shitake mushrooms (or your favourite kind)

Broccoli

Basil

For the dressing you will need 1 cup of Coconut milk, 2 tsp Fish Sauce, the juice of 1 lime.

Sautee the scallions, mushrooms, broccoli until cooked but still quite firm, add the cooked Quinoa, fresh basil and finally toss with the dressing add salt and pepper to taste. This can be served hot, room temperature or cold.

My ankle is frozen, I'm pretty sure that means I've iced it long enough.

I have a challenge for you lovely readers

2009-11-22T15:09:00.009-05:00

I'm back home from 3 weeks in Toronto and a weekend in Quebec City. Although B worked non-stop we still managed to cram alot of fun things into our time. Including, a sweet horse and carriage ride thorough Old Quebec City which picked us up right infront of our hotel Le Chateau Frontenac, which is 116 years old this year and really does look like a Chateau!

The last time I was in Quebec City was in grade 8, which would have been close to 14 years ago. On the first night in QC, B and I headed out to look for a good place to have dinner, we eneded up at this adorable little French bistro, and the hotel it was attached to looked wickedly familiar. As we waited for our food, I walked into the hotel lobby to see if it brought back memories. Indeed, it was the hotel my grade 8 class stayed at 14 years ago.

So here is the aforementioned challenge; for dinner at Les Freres de la Cote, B ordered something that made me very uncomfortable. Look closely at the picture and tell me in the comments section what type of meat it is. The winner will get a package of goodies sent to their house. This is a real contest, so whomever I told already...you don't qualify.

I will leave you with that.
Good luck to all!

Bison Burgers and Peameal Bacon Sandwiches

2009-11-09T22:12:00.011-05:00

I did not make these delicious things, but enjoyed eating them at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair this evening. (the 3 little cuties ate slices of pizza from a PizzaPizza booth)

Cooking these days for me has been non-existent, with the exception of mac and cheese (homemade, not Kraft-yuck-whatever-its-called) for W and an egg white omelet for myself at breakfast. I love being in Toronto but I'm feeling really guilty about my fish who have been alone since last Wednesday..oops! according to Wiki they should be o.k!

Tonight was the first time my little girl wore makeup, but the type of makeup Mimi Bobeck would wear, and it came in the form of a swirly lollipop from awesome Joshua!

I briefly mentioned the Gruyere-Walnut Crisps I made in my last post. They were strange. Every time I had a bite of one, I had to remind myself they were savoury and not sweet, because they looked like shortbread cookies but tasted very VERY different.
...after tasting a few of these mini cheese crispy things, I couldn't help but think they tasted alot like a popular child snack, which is why I snapped the next photo.

Have you ever had peameal bacon? If so, what is your favourite way to enjoy it? tell me in the comments section.

On a cooking fren-zē ; intense usually wild and often disorderly compulsive or agitated activity (not quite, but you know what I mean)

2009-11-03T14:04:00.017-05:00

Growing up in a Serbian home, my mom would make Pasulja a rich navy bean soup, with few vegetables and LOTS of flavour. I hated it, up until I got married and realized how much I missed my moms home cooked meals, now I love the stuff and decided to try making it. One day last week I visited Ade's Meat Market and bought a ham hock which was the base flavour of the Pasulja. It turned out delicious and was even better the next day! Some Serbs claim that Pasulja tastes the best the 7th time you warm it up. I wasn't about to try.

1 smoked ham hock (or any other smokey meat of your choice)

1/2 bag navy beans (soaked in cold water for 1hr)

3 cloves garlic minced

3 celery ribs chopped

2 carrots chopped

1/2 onion chopped

2 tbs Vegeta (or any other seasoning salt)

Boil the Ham in a large pot of water for 1hr, add remaining ingredients and let simmer for approximately 3 hours or until beans are tender.

To thicken the soup, make a roux;

3 tbs flour

1/4 C butter OR Oil

Brown the mixture on low heat, add sprinkle of sweet paprika and enough broth from the soup to make a thick sauce. Slowly stir roux mixture into soup until thick.

I made Serbian fried bread to accompany the soup. It was my first time making this, so I was not surprised when they didn't turn out as fluffy as they should have. I'm hoping my next attempt will be better!

There really is no reason to use any other Cookie recipe, EVER, other than this one. I have been making these for years, and when I made them on Saturday I substituted half the batch with chunks of white chocolate and chopped pecans. A.J said they ROCKED!

Make them, now, go do it! Come back and let me know how right I am!

In the fridge cooling right now is my Gruyere-Walnut crisps from Bon Appetite, such a quirky recipe, but I can't wait to bake em and taste em.

Recipe for Di's (Toronto Star clipping) Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

2009-11-03T09:30:00.009-05:00

My Mom blogged about this recipe when she was visiting a few weeks ago, you can view her posting here. Try it, and let me know how you like it.

ROASTED SWEET POTATO SALAD WITH BLACK BEANS AND CHILI DRESSING

4 Medium sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 Large red onion chopped
1/2 cup olive oilsalt and freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 tablespoon minced fresh jalapenoes
1 clove garlic
Juice of 2 limes
2 cups black beans drained and rinsed
1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oven to 400 F. Put sweet potatoes and onions on a large baking sheet, drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil, toss to coat and spread out in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast, turning occasionally,until potatoes begin to brown on corners and are just tender inside, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven; keep in pan until ready to mix with dressing. Put chilies in a blender or mini food processor along with garlic, lime juice, remaining olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Process until blendedPut warm vegetables in a large bowl with beans and bell pepper; toss with dressing and cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary/ Serve warm or at room temperature, or refrigerate for up to a day.

Finished Product

Today I will be making Gruyere-Walnut Crisps taken from Bon Appetit's Thanksgiving issue.

Yoga yesterday at the Downtown studio was GREAT! I'm so sore today.

My next trip will be to South America!

2009-10-29T21:32:00.012-04:00

Instead of watching Grey's I'm here blogging about my latest endeavour; EMPANADAS. (Ok so Im taping it)

Attempting to make this South American fare was completely unplanned. As I was trying to lovingly force-feed W and watch Handy Manny, I was scoping out new recipes I could try for dinner. I came across Tyler Florence's Potato and Chorizo Empanadas , the reviews were great and it involved using Masa Harina which sounded authentic albiet strange. Surprisingly, I found it at my local grocery store, which now has a whole aisle devoted to authenic ingredients including Indian, Asian, Mexican and Lebanese. I loved making this because it required many steps, but alot of cooling and wait time in between, which allowed me to get things done outside of the kitchen. I began cooking the filling (chorizo, onions, garlic and potatoes) around 2pm because it needed to cool completely before continuing. As it cooled, I did a load of laundrey and then whipped up the Empanada dough (so easy!) I have to say I may have been grossed out a bit as I un-cased the chorizo sausages.

So with having a brother-in-law who's been to South America recently and has tasted authentic Empanadas, I had to make sure I nailed it. He came over for dinner and said they tasted really good!

The recipe called for a Cilantro Cream (sour cream, finely chopped fresh cilantro, lime juice, S&P) to dip the Empanadas in. It also suggested a 4" cookie cutter, which would make very small crusts, instead, I used a pyrex bowl which made larger Empanadas.

..and this is how they turned out!!

Will definitely make them again, the dough was a little tough to work with as it kept cracking, but it yeilded a very authentic tasting crust. Next time I plan on making them with a different filling, the possibilities are literally endless. B said he wants to try sweet Empanadas, so if anyone knows of a good filling, please share!

Last night the Vegetable Barley stew turned out nicely, I'm starting to think that the crock-pot infuses my food with a wierd taste, so next time I make it will be in a pot on the stove. It was very hearty and healthy.

Tomorrow I hope to visit our friends at Ade's Meat Market to pick up some ham hocks (is that that part that has all the flavour!?) and make Pasulja (Navy Bean soup) Should be interesting!

I want a new set of pots and pans for Christmas, that would make me very happy. and maybe a new kitchen too!

2009-10-28T14:01:00.014-04:00

As mentioned in my last post, while making my apple pie yesterday I accidently forgot to "dot" the apples with butter prior to going into the oven. Turns out, it wasn't entirely necessary the pie turned out delicious and the Macintosh apples I used were the perfect type to use in this particular recipe. I used my favourite pie crust recipe from Home Cooking with Charlie Trotter

Mom's Apple Pie

Filling

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoon flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice

6 to 7 cups thinly sliced peeled and cored apples

1 tablespoon butter

Streusel Topping

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup butter

1/4 tsp nutmeg

In small bowl combine sugar and next 5 ingredients. Place half sliced apples in pie crust and sprinkle with half of sugar mixture. Top with rest of apples then rest of sugar mixture. NOTE: I added the apples to the sugar mixture and coated them well before putting them in the pie pan. Dot filling with butter. Top with the strusel topping.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes in a 425 degree oven.

I've been making ALOT of vegetarian meals lately, so I knew it was time to start adding a little more meat to our dinner menus. Last night I made Veal Scallopini. The original recipe just called for the veal to be smothered with a mushroom sauce type thing, in addition to that I served it on a bed of brown rice spaghetti pasta, which gave the meal more substance. The veal was a little tough but thats because B wanted it crispy which meant it spent way more time in the pan than it should have. I will make this again, but will subsitute chicken for the veal. I used portobello, shitake, crimini and oyster mushrooms. Love mushrooms, the more the better! The recipe didn't call for Basil, but I added some to the flour which coated the veal.

Dinner tonight is Vegetable Pearl Barley Stew, it's in the crock pot now and smells yummy. I hear W bouncing around in her crib and I better get her before she jumps her way out! She's attempted MANY times. I'm just waiting for a huge THUD!

Dinner 4 4

2009-10-27T14:54:00.009-04:00

I am an avid follower of my friend Jordana's blog because the recipes she tries always look so good, she also gives me good ideas and inspiration through her posts and pictures of the yummy food she cooks up! Last night we had A & J over for dinner so I decided to make Roast Chicken with Lemony Bombay Potatoes adapted from Jamie Oliver's Cook with Jamie, which She featured a few weeks ago. It turned out great, and was a simple one dish meal which I will definitely make again.

So with B being back in town after his 3 weeks in Boston, life is good! While he was away I barely cooked dinner, I would either get take-out or make salads for dinner. However one evening I felt like being creative so I put together a tofu stirfry with spicy Chilli sauce and Dijon mustard sauce. it was satisfying and healthy! Sometimes I make up a similar dish, but with a coconut peanut sauce instead.

I steamed the asparagus and tossed it with the tofu.

I currently have an apple pie with a streussel topping in the oven, sadly, it's not looking very promising. It's been in there for 45 minutes (5 more to go) and I just realized I forgot to dot the apples with butter...OOPS! hope it's not a big deal.

How do you know if you have H1N1? I feel like I have it, but only in the mornings, my chest hurts and I have a croup-like cough which generally lasts until 10am. Should I be worried? I really wanted to hit the gym hard starting this week, but this cold/cough/h1n1 thing is in the way of me and a good run. Frustrating, but at least I have a riding lesson on Friday and a massage on Saturday morning.

Tonight for dinner is Veal Scallopini taken from here and steamed Broccolini (which is hard to find in this town!) It's so much better than regular Broccoli, and the name is cute too!

Cooking to Di for

2009-10-24T15:47:00.014-04:00

This is Violet's Mom ( Diana )

Cooking has always been my passion. Having a house full of kids and a husband who all love food my life has been very fruitful. I always like to try new things and usually end up with keepers so my list goes on and on with my recipes.

Here is one of our favorite desserts. Poppyseed strudel / Makara

Something else I love to do is scan the newspapers and magazines for interesting recipes. Here is one I found in the Toronto Star for Roasted Sweet Potatoe and Red Onions with Black Beans and cilantro / dressing of Lime juice,olive oil and jalepeno peppers. YUMMO

This was so easy and yet so very very good.

This is the start of something good.

And now for the finished product.

Im HOME!

2009-10-22T14:00:00.004-04:00

I'm home from Colorado, Boston and Toronto and will tell you all about it, but first Iam pleased to announce that my own mama will be guest blogging about a delicious meal she prepared while I was in Toronto this week.

In case you are wondering, this was the weather I had in Colorado. Gross.

an out of the ordinary Friday night

2009-10-02T22:04:00.013-04:00

Usually we are out on Friday nights, but with the babysitters aka the inlaws in Europe, we really have no one else to stay over while we go out for dinner etc.. Tonight we are enjoying our favourite type of meal; good cheese, vintage wine and a fresh baquette that just came out of the oven, and B is loving the pork and chicken liver pate..not my thing!! As we're munching, I'm helping my handsome husband pack for Bo-town, yes, you heard me right, he's leaving for 3 weeks tomorrow at 7am and decides to pack the night before...wow I love him! I wish I could pull that off.
Image #1: dinner
Image #2 proof that this is a casual dinner..no bread knives allowed (serbian style)

Image #3 my husband "packing"

I haven't yet talked about my newest favourite movie, Valentino, love love love love love, I love it! Kind of wants to make me become anorexic like my 18 month old daughter, who by the way had 2 bites of a pancake, 3.5 bites of a cheese quesadilla, half a bowl of brown rice noodles, and a bottle of milk...ALL DAY..one cannot survive on this and it has me worried. so yes, I've always loved Valentino Garavani (who knew Valentino was his first name, love that!) and the movie makes me want to be Valentino clad for the rest of the year!

Off to watch Grey's from last night.