Taste My Plate

Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah @ Taste My Plate) — Sun, 01 May 2016 15:46:00 +0000

Your Sunday brunch menu struggle is now resolved! 😉

Eggs Benefict is easier to make than you might think.

Find the recipe here.

You can team up your eggs with some simple hashbrowns too of course. Match made in heaven.

Oh, and remember Mother's Day is coming up.... What should you make for your special Mum? ..... Hint hint 😉

Happy Sunday!

Rolled Pork Loin stuffed with Apple and Caramelized Onion stuffing

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah @ Taste My Plate) — Sat, 06 Dec 2014 19:06:00 +0000

This is a dish I had posted way back, but I still go back to it as it was one of my absolute favourite dishes that I've ever made. You can see all the other delicious servings that went along with this beautiful piece of pork here.

Preparing this rolled pork loin was fun! A bit of muscle and time is needed :-)

To save myself a bit of the work though, I had the butcher cut a slit in to middle of the pork loin so I could stuff it but I ended up deciding to roll it too. I simply slice the ends open to butterfly the pork loin. You can also ask the butcher to butterfly it for you but I changed my mind to butterfly after the fact.

The butcher also scored the fat top of the pork loin for me.

Part of the fun was having the preparation of this dish become a joint effort. We all (myself and all my friends who were over for Christmas) each took a turn pounding the poor thing until reaching about 2cm thick. Boy oh boy that builds muscle!! This took some time, but that was probably because of all the laughing while doing it :-)

I seasoned both sides of the pork loin with some salt and pepper and rubbed each side with olive oil.

To prepare the stuffing I used was a boxed cranberry stuffing (I’m no miracle worker I needed to leave something to be quick preparation), but I mixed it with some onions caramelized with apples and balsamic vinegar. Yum!

I spread the stuffing over the flesh side of the pork loin then simply rolled it (like a jelly roll).

I then tied 3 pieces of string around the rolled pork loin to hold it together while it roasts.

It roasted in the oven at 450F/gas mark 5 for about 1hr, until the internal temperature reached 165C. However, I turn up the oven temperature a tad half way through cooking so that the crackling gets going....yum yum yum!!

Allow the pork to rest for about 15 minutes before slicing.

This is a seriously delicious pork! Just try and you'll see.

Enjoy!

Homemade Granola

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah @ Taste My Plate) — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 20:02:00 +0000

I'm eating this granola as we speak, and every mouthful I am glorified at how deliciously easy this is to make myself.
This takes very little effort and time, plus makes for a great gift!

3-4 cups thick oats
1/2 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup hemp seeds
1 1/2 cup chopped almonds
2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/2 cup canola oil (although next time I want to try coconut oil)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup chopped banana chips
1 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup coconut flakes

Directions:

Oven: 325F
Combine oats, flax seeds, hemp seeds, almonds, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl
Combine oil, honey, syrup and almond extract in a small bowl
Pour honey and syrup mixture over the oat mixture. Stir well to combine and have all oats covered
Lay the oat mixture flat out onto a lined baking sheet. Spread and press it out to make an even layer.
Baked for 35-40 minutes, or until golden, rotating the pan once halfway through baking.
Once baked, remove from the oven and let rest and cool for up to 1 hour
And now the fun part! :) - using your hands, break the granola into pieces (size of your choice)
Place the granola into a bowl and toss in the cranberries banana chips and coconut flakes

This makes about 8 cups of granola. Stored in an airtight container it should last up to 2 weeks.

As I mentioned, this makes for a great gift but don't seek yourself short; make sure to keep some for yourself also! Your taste buds will thank me!

Cranberry and Pistachio Biscotti

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah @ Taste My Plate) — Sun, 22 Dec 2013 21:05:00 +0000

'Tis the season and all is festive in the kitchen!
It took me some time to get in the festive spirit this year, which is odd since I absolutely love the Holidays! The colours, the smells, the music and the all around sparkling spirit in the air.

I finally climbed onto the Christmas band wagon and got my ar*e in the kitchen. My place of comfort.
I'm taking on this season now, like a bulldozer!

These are ideal Christmas biscotti… the red berries, the green nuts and the white chocolate... hellooo… perfect much?
These look so great wrapped up and given as Christmas goody gifts.
So here we go, my first baked good of the season… Cranberry and Pistachio Biscotti - dipped in white chocolate. Heavenly!

Recipe from Canadian Living:

1/2 cup butter (softened)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup pistachios (chopped if you want, but not necessary)
1 cup dried cranberries
1 egg white
10 oz (280g) white chocolate, melted

Instructions:
(I used a kitchen aid stand mixer for this but you don't require one)
- Set oven to 325 F
- In a large bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Mix in vanilla
- In another bowl blend flour, salt and baking powder
- Add the half the flour mixture to the butter mixture, stirring until nearly combined, then add the remaining flour mixture and stir all together until completely combined
- Now add pistachios and cranberries and mix into the dough well
- Divide dough into two. On a lightly floured surface shape each into a 12 inch long rectangle
- Place on a lined baking sheet, approximately 5cm apart
- Combine egg white with 1 tsp water, and brush over top of biscotti rectangles
- Bake for about 30min, until lightly golden and just firm to the touch. Then allow to cool on a rack for about 10 minutes
- Turn oven down to 300 F
- Move the rectangle biscotti to a cutting board and using a chef's knife cut into 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick slices
- Stand each stick upright (so that a cut edge faces upwards) back on the baking sheet
- Bake in 300 F oven for another 30-35 minutes, or until nicely golden and almost dry
- Transfer biscotti sticks to a wire rack to cool completely
- Dip the end of each biscotti into the melted white chocolate and place on waxed or parchment paper lined baking sheet; refrigerate until chocolate is set. This should take only 20 minutes or so
- Wrap up as desired!

Homemade Lip Balm

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah @ Taste My Plate) — Sun, 15 Dec 2013 01:10:00 +0000

I know this isn't a food post, but there is some cooking and creativity involved so why not!? ;)

I sometimes like to make a little extra effort and actually make gifts rather than buy, especially (for some reason) for the Christmas season. Last year I made Red Pepper Jelly (delish'!) - which I just posted late so don't let the post date fool you. The year prior to that I made Orange and Cranberry Mini Loaves….. I really must make these again, Yum!
This year I will be doing some baking but haven't got around to it yet, however in the mean time I have decided to make…. wait for it….. Homemade Peppermint Lip balm!

I can't get over how easy this is. The only thing to be careful of is to make sure you don't wait too long before pouring the mixture into the containers. This stuff sets quite quickly. Oh, and be very mindful that the tins you're filling are probably very shallow, they fill fast! Don't let them overflow like I did; quite a mission to clean up! haha!

So here we go…

I found this recipe through a Pinterest trail (www.soulmama.com). All you need;

8 tbsp coconut oil
3 tbsp beeswax
1.5 tbsp raw honey
30 drops of peppermint essential oil
1/2 stick natural lipstick, colour of your choice (optional - didn't use any colour this time)

Place coconut oil, beeswax and honey in a heatproof bowl or large mason jar resting over a pan of simmering water (this is called a bain marie). Or if you have a double boiler that is perfect!
Heat slowly until everything has melted.
Then remove mixture from the heat and add the peppermint (and the lipstick if using). Stir to blend.

Now very carefully pour the mixture into the individual tins.
This should make approximately 8-12 tins, depending on the size of your tins.

You can use old mint tins if you'd like to re-use/recycle. I didn't have any though so I bought a few from a local soap making shop (where I also bought beeswax pebbles that the lady said was for cosmetic use). You could also try craft stores for the tins though.

One of my favourite parts is the wrapping… especially when finding an 'out of the ordinary' use for something. These little cloth sacs are reusable tea bags and fit the lip balm tins perfectly! How adorable :)

Happy Gifting!

Chicken and Avocado Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah @ Taste My Plate) — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 01:31:00 +0000

It's summer! ... and what do we all like to eat in summer? Bright and colourful salads! This one is no exception. It's great for BBQs, balancing out all that meat, potato and macaroni salad we all typically love.
I found this recipe on Pintrest (a site I am totally obsessed with and will eventually apply the icon link for my posts - if I can figure it out). The only change I made was not adding corn and the dressing I used was different. I thought a fruity flavour may let this salad sparkle even more than it already does, and boy was I right! Or you be the judge ;). I used a raspberry vinagrette (not homemade, sorry). The combination of flavours made my summer heart sing!

I didn't get a photo of the salad in it's original form (typical me!), but I had a little leftover and wanted to make a meal out of what was left the next day so I combined it with some penne, left off the raspberry vinagrette, and instead sprinkled with a bit of sea salt, squeeze of lemon juice and splash of olive oil. Yum!!!

So as you can see this salad is quite versatile. You can truly make it yours own :)

This makes about 8 servings as a side salad or 4 as a meal salad.

8 cups baby spinach (1 bag)
1 cup halved cherry or pear tomatoes
1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken (I used a ready rotisserie chicken)
1 large avocado, sliced
1/3 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
5-6 tbsp Raspberry vinaigrette

Instructions:
Toss all ingredients together.
(To make it look pretty when making this salad without pasta, toss half the toppings with the spinach, then roughy layer the remaining on top of the spinach in this order: chicken, feta, avocado, tomatoes, pine nuts)

Suggestion: do not add the dressing until you are about to serve. No one likes soggy salad! Or better yet, have everyone add the dressing to their own liking.

Enjoy!

Mini Banana and Butterscotch Muffins with Cream Cheese Icing

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah @ Taste My Plate) — Fri, 03 May 2013 19:14:00 +0000

I had some friends over for dinner. We did the common thing that friends often do; I make the main, some one brings a dessert and another brings some kind of canapé.
My friend brought a delicious apple cheesecake with butterscotch sauce.... to die for! but unfortunately this post is not about that meal (not a great way to introduce what's coming is it? ha!)

Getting to the point... there was some butterscotch sauce leftover. It was quite a small amount but it was so delicious I felt it would be a sin to chuck it.

Now the question, "how am I going to use this butterscotch sauce?". I mulled over it for a while.... I had some frozen bananas I was planning to make a banana loaf with, and I thought "banana and butterscotch?... yummy!"
Now, how to use the two together?? We all know about cupcakes filled with icing or whipped cream right? ..... well..... :)

3-4 bananas, mashed

½ C melted butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 ½ C flour

¾ C white sugar (I actually put just under ¾ C. I don’t like too sweet)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

About 1/2 cup butterscotch sauce

Oven @ 350F

Line mini muffin tin with mini-cups

Mix all wet ingredients in one bowl and all dry ingredients in another bowl. Then add dry mix to wet mix and combine well (I use a kitchen aid – God sent!!!)

Pour batter into each mini-cup to just under the rim. Bake for approx. 15min or until golden and knife comes out clean from the centre of a muffin.

And now for the butterscotch filling; with a small knife, cut out little hole in each mini muffin (don’t discard the hole tops); fill with butterscotch, and replace the little muffin top. It looks like this but obviously much smaller.

As for the cream cheese icing, I don’t really measure. I just mix to taste. It was about ¼ cup butter, ¼ cup cream cheese and ¾ cup icing sugar. Whip together (in a kitchen aid or with hand-held electric mixer). (The butter and cream cheese should be at room temperature. If they’re not just whip them long enough, they will warm and soften enough eventually). Again, I don’t like anything too sweet so you can add more or less icing sugar depending on how thick and how sweet you want your icing.

I was actually inspired by this recipe… amazing!! I’ll have to try it sometime

Red Pepper Jelly

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah @ Taste My Plate) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 18:55:00 +0000

I made this as a gift for some friends and paired it up with goat's cheese (made locally) and rice crackers. A totally sibbling combination! (minus the rivalry of course).
My first attempt at jelly... looked so easy, and IS easy, as long as you don't boil it for too long; an important point I did not know until after the fact. This Red Pepper Jelly tastes delicious, however, it turned into more of a drizzly glaze. After speaking to a friends of mine who has more professional cooking experience, he explained that if it is boiled for too long the pectin loses all it's activity.
Trial and error! Although this jelly didn't really come out jellified I want to share it with you because it still tastes delicious, looks amazing, and I will get it right next time. You can learn from my mistake

4 red bell peppers, seeded and roughly chopped
2 teaspoons dried hot red-pepper flakes
1 pouch of liquid pectin
5 cups sugar
1 cup cider vinegar
3/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Place red peppers in a food processor and purée.
Combine puréed peppers, sugar and vinegar in a large pot. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly to avoid scorching.
Remove pot from the heat. Let cool for 15 minutes. This allows the peppers to continue cooking slowly and prevents them from floating to the surface.
Add pectin and return pot to stove. Simmer over medium heat for at least 20 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Skim any foam from the surface.
To jar your jelly, place your jars and their lids in boiling water to sterilize them. Spoon the jelly into the jars immediately and lid them. As long as you use hot jars and hot sterilized lids they will stay sealed.

Salmon with Grilled Asparagus topped with a Tarragon Hollandaise Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah @ Taste My Plate) — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 19:46:00 +0000

If you're having a dinner party, have little time but want to serve something impressive this is a great dish! This meal presents a most beautiful display. It's colourful, elegant, and best of all, the taste is wonderful! It's the sauce that truly makes this dish. Well, it usually is the sauce that pulls any meal together, but this sauce, in particular, is to die for! And wouldn't you know, the friends (including the birthday girl and photographer of these photos, Monique Napier) I made this for, raved about the cherry tomato garnish too! I have to admit I was very proud of that. The bright red and deep green makes the rest of the dish come to life, esthetically.

The Tarragon Hollandaise Sauce can be made first.
What you need:
Hollandaise Sauce (Follow the link for the basic hollandaise sauce recipe.)
2 Tbsp fresh tarragon

Follow the steps for the hollandaise sauce, but add the tarragon at the end with the season.
Set aside while preparing the rest of the meal. This sauce can be made ahead up to 2 hours. (Keep it warm by leaving the bowl in the warm water of the 'bain marie')

For the Salmon, I used a tradtional method of cooking in a foil bag in the oven. Perhaps I should have taken photos to show you how to prepare the foil bag. But for those who do not know, I have found a good step by step instruction here.
What you need:
Foil
4 small salmon fillets
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup
Seasoning of your choice (I just used salt and pepper this time, but a bit of parsley too would be nice)

Rub the olive oil all over the fish fillets then sprinkle with seasoning. Once the bag was made, but before folding the last seal, I pour about 1/4 cup of dry white wine into the bag with the fish. This is if you'd like the fish steamed rather than baked. I place the bag on a cookie sheet and cooked in for about 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees.

For the Grilled Asparagus, after trimming the asparagus, I simply tossed the asparagus in olive oil.
Place the asparagus, small bunches at a time (you want each spear, touching your hot grill pan). Turn them around once they start charring. This should only take about 5-10 minutes per bunch (depending on how thick the spears are). You'll know they're ready if you can easily get a fork through.
TIP: a fool proof method of trimming asapargus is just by using your hands. No knife needed! :) Hold the asparagus at each end and bend. It will break at the right spot. Check here for a more detailed explination, if you're new to trimming, or even cooking, asparagus.

To garnish I grilled some cherry tomatoes left on the vine. They were on the grilled for about 2-3 minutes. Just until they were charring and softened.

Trust me, you will feel pride when plating up this elegant dish!

Bon Apetit!

Hollandaise Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah @ Taste My Plate) — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 05:29:00 +0000

I have died and gone to buttery heaven! Hollandaise sauce is becoming by far my favorite accompaniment sauce. It goes great with just about any meat, fish or poultry; and of course with the famous Eggs Benedict, (my absolute fabourite breakfast). And no wonder; it's practically pure butter. What do they say in the world of french cuisine? The three most important ingredients are butter, butter and more butter!

I have made Hollandaise sauce a few times and this particular recipe that I fiddled with, using a few recipe ideas and put into one, turned out great.

3 egg yolks
1/2 tsp lemon zest
Juice of 1 small lemon
1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 sticks of unsalted butter (melted - should be about 1 cup)
2 tbsp warm water
2 or 3 pinches of sugar
pinch of salt and pepper

Instructions:
- In a stainless steel bowl set over a pot of simmering water (this is called a 'bain marie' or you may have a double boiler) over low-medium heat, whisk together the egg yolks with the lemon juice, prepared mustard and zest. Do not let the egg scramble! This is why it is important to keep on a simmer

- Whisk the mixture until it is a pale yellow and slightly thick.

- Remove the bowl from the pot and whisk vigorously.

- Add the melted butter, in a slow steady pour, a bit at a time, while continuing to whisk, until all is incorporated.

- Add the water 1 tbsp at a time and whisk until encorporated and smooth. Depending on how thick you want your sauce you may only want 1 tbsp water, or you may even want as much as 3 tbsp of water.

- Taste and if it is too lemony add a pinch or two of sugar. Whisk and taste again. Decide if you want to add one more pinch of sugar.

- Season with a dash of salt and pepper.

As mentioned before, this sauce is great with many things. i especially like this sauce with asparagus, salmon or even steak!

Yum yum!!

Bon appetit

Pesto Sauce (Basil)

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah @ Taste My Plate) — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 21:50:00 +0000

This has got to be my favourite Italian sauce. It's fresh (meaning no cooking involved!), ultra tasty and super easy to make!

The mix of flavours bursting with every bite from the earthiness of basil, nutty flavour of pine nuts, and the vintage appeal of parmegiano. And who can miss the kick of garlic! Such simple ingredients to make this most satisfying sauce.

Another great thing about pesto is that it can be stored so easily and used in numerous ways.

Of course the most traditional (and my favourite) is with pasta.

You can also use it with chicken, fish, potatoes, stuffings....the options are endless.

I've made pesto a few times and this has to be my best yet.

1 large handful of fresh basil leaves

1 cup parmigiano reggiano (freshly grated)

1/2 cup pine nuts (lightly toasted)

1 clove of garlic

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Mix all ingredients together all at once, slowly adding the olive oil in last (mix in less or more as you can choose the consistency you prefer)

I usually mix my pesto up in a food processor but if you have a pestle and mortar go for it! :)

Yummm! Enjoy, however you decide to serve it up!

Homemade Pasta

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah @ Taste My Plate) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 04:11:00 +0000

I have been meaning to make homemade pasta for a very long time. I don't know why I've left it so long since I am obsessed with pasta. I even got a pasta machine for Christmas 2010!

I guess this just goes to show how time really can pass us by. So no more stalling! I made my first small batch of homemade pasta (fettuccine noodles to be exact) this week. After a bit of struggling with stickiness, breakage, re-kneading and re-rolling, I must say I am quite impressed with my homemade pasta

The homemade pasta recipe is very simple. It will take some practice to get to know the consistency you want but after using the pasta machine this understanding should come quite quickly

500g (1lb) flour *
5 eggs

* I used sifted all purpose flour since that is all I had in my cupboard, but I've read that using semolina or extra fine flour such as 00 works best. 00 flour is also lower in gluten than all purpose

Instruction:
- Place the flour on a clean counter top or bowl. Make a well in the center and break the eggs into the well. Using a fork, beat the eggs, gradually pulling in the flour until the dough begins to form a homogeneous mass.
- Dust the work surface with flour and begin kneading the pasta dough.
If the dough is too dry or crumbly, drizzle with a little room temperature water. When the right texture has been reached, form a ball and wrap in plastic and place to rest in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes
- Roll out the dough using a roller pasta machine (as per the machine's instructions). Keep the dough dusted lightly with flour at all times to prevent from sticking. Fold up and roll a second time and put through the roller again a couple times until it becomes smooth. Continue to roll each sheet, gradually decreasing the setting until you've reach the desired thickness.
- To make ribbon noodles there are a couple ways to do this; roll up the sheet like a jelly-roll, and slice to desired width to make noodles, or use the cutter attachment of your pasta machine. If you use the machine make sure the sheets have enough flour dusting otherwise you could have a sticky situation

Fresh pasta only needs about 2-5 minutes, depending on thickness, of cooking in vigorously boiling salted water

Coat your homemade pasta with your favourite pasta sauce. One of my favourites is Fettuccine Alfredo

Enjoy!

How to soften butter quickly

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah @ Taste My Plate) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 06:52:00 +0000

Here is a great way how to soften butter quickly. I would need a dozen hands if I were to count how many times I've forgotten, or not even realized soon enough, to get the butter out of the fridge in time for a recdipe that requires room tempearture butter

If you're anything like me you'll want to know these tips:

You have some time on your hands: cut the butter into small cubes and let it sit out at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes.
You have practically no time on your hands: microwave the butter on defrost setting in 5 second spurts. I don't recommend this as your first alternative since it's so easy to accidentally melt the butter. So be careful if using this method
If the butter is frozen: Grating it should be fairly easy

Now you know how to soften butter quickly! :)

Happy baking!

How to season a cast iron pan

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah @ Taste My Plate) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 01:12:00 +0000

Dear fellow foodies!

Today I would like to share with you a trick that I learned about how to season a cast iron pan. Some of you might have read my older blog post about a Chantal cast iron pot review which has been very popular so I have decided to open up my cast iron horizon for you even more and share this beautiful tip how to create a non stick cast iron pan.

So what is the reason you might want to season a cast iron pan? Quite simply, this process creates a stick-resistant coating using oil. Imagine a layer of vegetable oil or animal fat is cooked onto the cast iron pan. Once this layer is there, it protects your wonderful cast iron pan from rusting. More importantly for me, it gives my pan a non-stick surface and gives me a piece of mind that the iron of the pan will not react with the food I make. Some of the best chefs recommend this process and they like to repeat it once a year.

When you buy a cast iron pan that is not already pre-seasoned or if you use your pan and forget to season it or dry it well, you need to season it up. And here I am going to show you how to season a cast iron pan step by step. If your iron skillet has any rust, it is really important to scrub it well. What do I scrub it with you might ask? Well a great solution would be to use hot soapy water! Here are the precise steps how to do this.

1. Dry your cast iron pan with a cloth both inside and out

2. Heat up your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit

3. Pout a little bit of canola oil on the surface of the cast iron pan and smear it all over (it is good practise to do the handle of the pan as well as the bottom).

4. Put the cast iron pan into your pre-heated oven for a couple of hours (250 degrees) but make sure you place it on a cooking sheet and turn it upside down on the over rack (this ensures that if there is any oil that concentrates in the middle of the pan, it will drip off).

The heat in the oven opens up the pores of the cast iron pan; the oil seeps in the pores and when you pull it out of the oven, the pores close and create a magnificent non stick surface

5. Pull the skillet out of the oven (be very careful as it is very hot)

6. After you bring the cast iron out of the oven, wipe it out again with a paper towel or a cloth (this gets rid of some of the excess oil) and voila!

More tips:

- When you cook with a cast iron pan, it is very important not to use any harsh detergents to clean it as this process would take the seasoning off and you would have to repeat the process all over again.

- After you wash the skillet (in a mild soap), dry it, put it back on the stove, turn the stove on warm temperature(and again what this does it opens up the pores), make sure the surface is dry and now it is ready to go and it will never rust!

And now I am ready to cook, what shall I do? You will find out in my next post! :)

Healthy Desserts: Coconut Balls

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah @ Taste My Plate) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 01:06:00 +0000

It's nothing new that this time of year is the toughest time to eat healthily. Being surrounded by irresitable treats such as shortbread, mince pies and sausage rolls make it nearly impossible! But it's not completely impossible

A bite of these coconut balls leaves you with the taste of Christmas in your mouth yet the feeling of health in your body!

1 1/2 Cup dried mixed fruit (ie.raisins, prunes, apricots, apple, pear etc )

3/4 Cup walnuts

2 T. orange juice

Zest of one orange (about 1 tsp)

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 small bag unsweetened shredded coconut

Instructions:

In a food processor, process raisins, walnuts, dates and apricots for 1-2 minutes or until finely chopped. Add juice and zest and blend for 1-2 minutes more. Chill mixture in refrigerator for 15 minutes. Dampen hands, form mixture into balls, and roll them in coconut. Store balls in refrigerator.

TIP: If you don't have a food processor just chop up all the dried fruit as fine as possible by hand. This will take a bit longer but so worth it!

Enjoy, guilt free!

Orange and Cranberry Mini Loaves

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah @ Taste My Plate) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 00:58:00 +0000

One of my greatest pleasures in life is to reach loved ones' hearts through their stomach; and what better time to do this than at Christmas time?! Christmas time just gives me an excuse to cook and bake tones more than just to feed my household :)
Normally I'm inspired to bake a certain dessert from reading cook books or online research, but this loaf was inspired all due to the beautiful packaging you see in the photo. As soon as I saw the festive mini loaf trays with the charming wrapping I was immediately inspired to find the right recipe and give as gifts. Look how sweet it looks, and how professionnal :)
The packaging matches very well with what's wrapped inside too. This Cranberry and Orange Loaf is stunning! Eat it warm, spread with butter. Yum!!

2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons orange zest
4 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup milk
2 cups dried cranberries
1 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions:

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, orange juice and zest.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt;
add to the creamed mixture alternately with milk.
Stir in cranberries and walnuts.
Pour into four greased 5-3/4-in. x 3-in. x 2-in. loaf pans.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Merry Christmas!

Smoked Salmon and Ricotta Croustades

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah @ Taste My Plate) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 23:57:00 +0000

These little beauties are great for 3 reasons;
1. They look great
2. They taste even better
3. So quick to make

If you're going to a dinner party, have a busy day beforehand, Croustades are your godsend!
You can fill them with any tasty combination you'd like. Let your imagination run wild

Smoked salmon and cream cheese is a classic combination, however I felt like a change. I felt like having it with something lighter. Ricotta is a great alternative in this case as it allows for a creamy yet airy texture while leaving room for the other combined flavours

This is what I put together

24 croustades
1/2 cup BBQ smoked salmon, shredded
1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
Juice from 1/4 of a lemon
Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:
- In a bowl, combine the ricotta, lemon juice and mustard. Add salt and pepper to taste
- Fill each croustades about halfway with the ricotta mixture
- Top with a few chunks of the salmon and some chives

TIP: It's best to fill the croustades just before serving to keep the crunch

Quinoa Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah @ Taste My Plate) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 02:41:00 +0000

I've been meaning to get into the whole quinoa frenzy, but hadn't quite gotten to it. Pronounced keen-wah, for a long time I was even pronouncing it completely wrong! kwi-no-ah. How embarassing! Haha!

We went to friends for dinner recently and were very pleased to be presented with such a colourful and tasty meal, including the oh-so-healthy quinoa

It's similar to cous-cous in look, and somewhat in taste too. However quinoa is a grain derived from South America, where-as cous-cous is a form of pasta made from wheat and derived from Morocco. Quinoa can be considered a superfood because it is so high in protein and contains many essential amino acids :)

This salad was so yummy, and served with an equally delicious turkey loaf (sorry, no recipe for that). I am lucky enough to have been given the recipe for the quinoa salad and share it with you lovely folks!

Serves 4-6

Dressing:

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp fine mustard - grainy is best

1 tbsp brown sugar

3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Ground pepper to taste

Add a splash of juice from the mandarin tin (see below)

Salad Mix:

1 cup quinoa (uncooked) – can be red or white

¼ tsp curry powder

Pinch of salt

½ cup carrot julienne

½ cup green onions, chopped

½ cup corn kernels

½ cup red/yellow peppers, chopped

1 small tin mandarin orange slices

½ cup toasted and salted nut mix of your choice

½ cup dried fruit of your choice (we had it with dates/cranberries)

Cook quinoa with curry powder (1 cup quinoa to 2 cups water). Once cooked, let stand for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork. Salt to taste, then chill.*

Mix chilled quinoa, carrots, green onions, corn, peppers, green onion, mandarin slices, nuts and dried fruit with dressing to taste. Chill for 1 hour. Serve over whole romaine leaves.

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash and Sage Manicotti with Roasted Red Pepper Bechamel

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah @ Taste My Plate) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 19:45:00 +0000

I have been been having a tough time getting back into the kitchen since our big move last year. All the stress I guess? But I certainly can feel it all coming back! :)
I made this dish yesterday for a dinner party. I was so excited to have my 'mojo' back in the kitchen I started doing a happy dance and sliding back and forth along the floors 'Risky Business' style. ha! No joke!

My plan was to make a Roasted Butternut and Red Pepper Manicotti with Bechamel sauce (still a delicious idea), but along the way I thought why not added the red pepper to the bechamel!? Don't you just love it when that happens? You have a clear plan in mind and half way through there's a new spin to the dish you're creating. This is one of my favourite thing about cooking; there are no rules and many suprises!

What I love most about making this dish is that I use crepes instead of pasta. So much easier to fill than pasta tubes, and it simply just makes a nice change from pasta

The dinner turned out without a hitch, to say the least ;)
Our friends also brought a lovely, fresh mediterrarian style layered dip for the starter and 'melt your heart' apple cinnamon dumplings with vanilla ice cream for dessert (sorry I didn't get photos of these)

(Serves 6 people)

Before making the filling you can start preparing the Crepes:
3 eggs
1.5 cup milk
3/4 cup flour
Pinch or two of salt
2 tsp vegetable oil

Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl until it comes to a smooth batter. Cover and place in the fridge for about an hour (while in the fridge this would be a good time to prepare the filling. See below)
Heat a non-stick frying pan to medium temperature. Brush with a bit of butter. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan, tilting to coat the base of the pan. Cook 2-5 minutes, flipping over once until both side are slightly golden.
Repeat process. Stack them onto a plate and set aside. This should make about 10 crepes

The Roasted Red Pepper Bechamel sauce:

1 portion of Classic Bechamel Sauce
3-4 red peppers, roasted
4 garlic cloves, roasted

I roast my peppers by charring them over the flame on my gas stove, until softened, then peeling them. Or, if you don't have agas stove, you can place them in the oven for approximately 30 minutes at 400 degrees F
Garlic cloves should be kept in their shell, placed on a pan and roasted in the oven for approximately 45 minutes (I put them in the oven when I was roasting the butternut (see below) . Cut an end off and you should be able to squeeze out the garlic
Blend the roasted peppers and garlic in a food processor then combine with the bechamel sauce

What you will need for the Manicotti filling:
3 tbsp olive oil
1lb butternut squash
1/2 an onion, chopped
3 large handfuls baby spinach
250g ricotta cheese
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tbsp dried sage leaves
Salt & Pepper to taste

Set the oven to 400 degrees F
Peel, de-seed and cut the butternut into chunks. Place on a baking tray mixed with the onion. Crush the sage leaves over top, sprinkle the sugar and pour over the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.Toss all together
Place the butternut and onion mix into the oven and roast for approximaely 45min, or until the butternut and onion are softened and starting to charcoal a bit. Remove from oven, place in a large bowl with the spinach. Toss until spinach starts to wilt. Set aside to let cool
Once cooled mix in the ricotta cheese. Taste, and add more seasoning if necessary

Prepare the dish:

You may need 2 baking dishes for this. Grease baking dish (es). Oven should be set to 350 degrees F
Place about 1/2 cup of filling into the middle of the crepe. Fold each end of the crepe to the middle, and place the manicotti fold side down into the backing dish. Repeat until all manicotti are done, lined up side by side, with a little room between each one
Pour the sauce over top. Cover with grated parmesan cheese. Bake for 25 minutes

Serve some caesar salad on the side
Buon Appetito!

Brownie Cheesecake

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah @ Taste My Plate) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 23:11:00 +0000

Have you ever died and gone to heaven? I just did! This Brownie Cheesecake is to die for! There's no other way to describe it.
We went to friends for dinner last week. Our first dinner party with them and I was determined to blow their socks off with my contribution, and it certainly worked!
My brownies have so far been a favourite, but I was in the mood to make some cheesecake since I haven't made a cheesecake since the Lemon Mousse Cheesecake. Brownie?... Cheesecake?... Brownie?... Cheesecake?... Chocolaty heaven? or Creamy velvet goodness? Then it hit me! Haven't I heard of a Brownie Cheesecake before? Perfect! Perfect!

So here it is and wow, what a reaction. I even heard a cook's beloved response of "This is the best cheesecake I've ever had"....Mmmm, music to my ears and cooking heart :)

What you'll need:
2 x quantities of TasteMyPlate's Brownie Mix
16 oz. (2 x 250g packages) cream cheese, softened
3-4 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Just under 1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
3 tbsp milk

Instructions:

Grease bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Prepare the brownie mix as instructed on. Pour the mix into the pan, bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 F. You want the brownie to be firm enough to act as a base, but not be completely done

Combine cream cheese, whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla. Mix on medium speed with an electric mixer until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Pour cheese mixture over brownie base

Melt the chocolate chips in a bain-marie with the milk. Spoon melted chocolate over the cream cheese mixture in swirls or blotches (not a layer), then cut through with a knife for a marble effect

Bake at 350 F for 35-40 minutes. Loosen cake from rim of pan; cool before removing rim of pan. Chill

Serve and enjoy!

Leftover Chicken Pasta

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah @ Taste My Plate) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 03:19:00 +0000

Wow! Has it really been 6 months since my last post?!
Time really flies but I have been feeling a hollow space in my heart from my lack of cooking and blogging this year.
What other way would I return than with a pasta dish?
I had some left over chicken.....you got it, this is a 'leftovers' and 'fridge clearout' pasta dish, and as many of you know, often the best kind of pasta dish!.... as I was saying, I had some leftover chicken and some stuffed olives on it's last edible days. I remembered I had some canned jalapeños that I bought specifically for my "it just needs a little something" moments with cooking. These three ingredients were shouting out "mexican!".

The following ingredients tied it all together and made a quick and delicious dish!

250g fusilli pasta
3 cloves garlic
1 cup leftover chicken, shredded
1/4 cup canned jalapeños, chopped
3/4 cup feta stuffed green olives, sliced
1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tbsp curry powder (If you have it use cumin and a bit of chilli powder. I didn't have any so I used curry powder instead)
Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Cook pasta, al dente, in salted water. Drain, reserving a bit of the pasta water
2. On medium, heat a heavy based frying pan with the olive oil, add the garlic. Cook for about a minute
3. Add all remaining ingredients at once and combine. Heat through for about 3 minutes
4. Toss in the pasta (with the reserved water), stir until all combined. Taste and season more if necessary

Tastes great and it's healthy, Bonus! Thank you leftovers :)

Enjoy!

Brownies

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah @ Taste My Plate) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 19:57:00 +0000

These are the best brownies ever!! I've tried several recipes and this one beats them all by far!

I got this recipe from a colleague. We were having a charity bake sale in the office building. I made brownies that I was not that happy with because they turned out too fudgy for my taste. My colleague also made brownies and they were heavenly. Luckily she shared her recipe with me. A perfect crunch top and lovely light texture inside.

I like my brownies to have a good balance of fudge and cake. The more flour the more cake like your brownies will be. I find this recipe a great balance!

1/2 cup butter
4-5 tbsp cocoa powder
2 eggs
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions:
1. Set oven temperature to 350 F, then grease and line an 8 inch square cake tin with baking (greaseproof) paper
2. Slowly melt the butter in a small saucepan. Once butter is fully melted stir in the cocoa, Blend and set aside
3. In a medium bowl beat the eggs and caster sugar together until creamed and light, then stir in the cocoa mixture. Now stir in the vanilla extract and sift in the flour and mix. Add the nuts and stir.
Note: I find mixing brownie batter by hand gives a better outcome. Using an electric mixer tends to make these brownies turn out too cake-like
4. Pour mixture into the cake tin and bake in the centre of the oven for approximately 30 minutes or until a a skewer comes out clean from the centre
5. Allow to cool for about 10-15 minutes. (You should be able to lift the whole thing out from the cake tin with the baking paper edges, but do this carefully. If it hasn't cooled enough it could break as you lift it). Place it onto a rack to allow more cooling for a few minutes.
Now you're ready to slice into squares and enjoy!!

Note: I made mine in a 8x13 inch tin so I just doubled the ingredients. Sometimes I'll triple the ingredients if I want to have deeper brownies :)

Best of 2010!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah @ Taste My Plate) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 22:43:00 +0000

How could I have left this until February!? Once again time passes too quickly, and what a year 2010 was! Where do I begin? For those of you keeping up with my blog and whereabouts you'll know that 2010 was a year of moving country. My passion for cooking grew and my food blogging began all during my amazing years living in London UK. London is a vibrant and non-stop eventful city, which is probably why I began cooking so much more there; cooking is a stress reliever for me.
Eventually there weren't enough hours in the day and I began to miss the calming nature and more relaxed pace of life found in my home of Vancouver Canada.
The tough decision was made, the immigration for Marek was approved, and the packing began!
Combining the fast paced life of London and everything involved with moving I didn't give myself enough time to put as many posts up as I would have liked. So I'll only mention a few, although I'd love to say all recipes of 2010 are the best, haha!

Porky Pasta
This was a dish completely made up on the fly. Loved it! I haven't made it since and I'm really wondering why? Hhhhhmmm....dinner for tonight, solved

Bolognese sauce, Perfecto!
I'm not conceited, but this is probably the best bolognese sauce I've ever had. No joke!
Classic Bechamel sauce
This is a never fail recipe. Like I say in the post, it's easy to remember. Take a look and you'll see
Traditional Lasagne
Using both my most successful sauces of 2010, I created also my best ever lasagne

Rolled Pork Loin with Apple and Caramalized Onion Stuffing
I am very proud of this one. It not only looks beautiful but tasted gorgeous. The crackling is always a favourite at the dinner table

I'm in love Mac n' Cheese
This is still my best ever Macaroni and Cheese dish. The smoked cheese adds the most amazing touch!

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes & Devil's Food Cupcakes
I was making cupcakes for Marek's 30th birthday. I couldn't decide between 2 types so I made both! I'm more of a vanilla girl than a chocolate girl but they were both amazing!

Chicken Goujons
These were a very popular part of our Hors D'oeures Party. They are so easy and delicious

Vianocka (Slovak Christmas Sweet Bread)
Just looking at this braided bread makes me proud :)

So that's my trip down memory lane for 2010.

Halusky Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah @ Taste My Plate) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 23:42:00 +0000

This has to be my all time favourite meal! I can never get enough of it. When we have this for dinner I'm the one having double portions. Honestly, I can't control myself!
I must have been Central or Eastern European in a past life because I'm so drawn to foods like this.

Halusky (pronounced ha-loosh-kee) is the Slovak version of gnocchi. It's a pasta made with potato dough. The difference between the dough is that halusky is more like a thick batter than a roll-able firm dough. So, perhaps a more similar comparable would be Austrian or German 'spaetzle', except that spaetzle isn't made with potato.

There are many different ways to eat Halusky. Two of the most popular kinds are bryndzove halusky (sheep cheese with sausage or bacon) and kapustove halusky (sour cabbage - "saurkraut"), or more commonly named Strapacky (pronounced sh-tra-pach-kee).
Bryndzove halusky is Slovakia's national dish, and I certainly don't wonder why. Yum! This is the one in the photo.

Halusky
2-3 potatoes
4-5 tbsp flour
1 tsp of salt
1 egg

Instructions:

Peel potatoes and finely shred them
In a bowl combine potato, salt, egg and flour. The dough shouldn't be too tough but also not too watery. You may add more or less flour, or a bit of water if the dough is too tough
Boil a large pot of salted water
You have to work quite quickly here: With a halusky sieve (called a halsukar - see image to the right) or a strainer with large holes, put the dough in it hovering over the pot of boiling water. Stir the dough in the sieve with a wooden spoon. Little bits of dough will drop into the water as you stir. If the dough starts to get tougher you can quickly dip the strainer into the water as you go to loosen the dough a bit. Continue stirring the dough until all of it has dropped into the water. NOTE: If you do not have a haluskar or strainer with large enough holes you can instead, cut off 1/2 tsp size dough pieces and drop them into the boiling water
The halusky is cooked when all the dumplings are floating
Prepare halusky with flavour and topping of your choice (2 possibilities below)

Bryndzove
3-4 tbsp sheep cheese (or goat cheese as alternative)
2-3 tsbp milk
1 smoked sausage or 6 strips bacon, chopped and fried, reserve the juices

Stir the sheep cheese, milk and some of the reserved frying juices with the halusky. The cheese will melt in quickly. Top with the bacon or sausage.

Kapustove
1 jar (no more than a litre) of sauerkraut, drained
1 medium onion, chopped
1 smoked sausage or 6 strips bacon, chopped
1 tsp caraway seeds
Salt and pepper to taste

Fry the sausage or bacon, remove and set aside. Then fry the onion and sauerkraut with caraway seeds, salt and pepper. Stir the sauerkraut mixture with the halusky and top with the bacon or sausage.

I am proud to send this one in for Presto Pasta Nights' 200th roundup! Hosted this week by Helen from Fuss Free Flavours. Congrats Ruth, on reaching #200! How time flies!!

Banana Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah @ Taste My Plate) — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 22:52:00 +0000

Banana bread is a 'never fail to please' tea time cake. Sliced and smeared with creamy butter....oh how my taste buds tingle just thinking about it!

Who can compare baking their own to store bought? The smell wafting through the house is amazing, and having the chance to spread the butter over a freshly out of the oven, warm slice.....ouu! there go my taste buds again!

Here is the latest recipe I used, and it worked like a charm

(Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes)

4 medium size ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
Handful of pecans, crushed

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large mixing bowl cream together the sugar, butter and vanilla, then stir in the mashed bananas
In a separate bowl sift flour, baking soda and salt
Add the flour mix to the banana mix and stir together with a wooden spoon
Pour batter into a greased loaf pan, sprinkle top with pecan and bake for 1 hour (or until a knife comes out clean from poking into the middle)
Cool on a wire rack