Family Feedbag

Strawberry apple pie with pastry stars

2012-05-27T08:35:00.000-07:00

I love me a pretty pie! The filling in this strawberry apple pie is so bright and beautiful it deserved a pie top that would really show it off. I pressed a star-shaped cookie cutter into my rolled out pastry dough until I had enough stars to layer atop the pie, leaving enough room in between to show off the ruby red yumminess inside.

The strawberry patch in the garden is full of new green leaves and little white flours, but we're still about a month away from getting any berries from our patch. In the meantime, I'm making the most of great strawberry prices at the grocery store and picking up container after container of those juicy red berries, mainly to keep the kids stuffing their faces with one of their favourite snacks.

The apples in this filling add a little needed structure to the pie. I decided to leave the skins on for colour and ease of preparation. The filling was so quick and easy without peeling that I may leave the skins on for all my apple pies in future and just call it rustic!

Here's how I made it:

PASTRY

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp granulated white sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup vegetable shortening, cubed

1 egg

1 tbsp white vinegar

2 tbsp cold water

FILLING

2 cups apples, chopped into 1-inch pieces, skins on

4 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and chopped into 1-inch pieces

1/2 cup granulated white sugar

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

FINISHING

2 tbsp milk

1 tbsp granulated white sugar

To make the pastry, I mixed the flour, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. The vegetable shortening was blended in with a hand pastry blender until crumbly. In a small bowl, I beat the egg with the vinegar and cold water and added the wet mixture to the large mixing bowl, stirring with a fork to bring it all together. I divided the pastry into two balls and rolled one out on a floured surface for the bottom crust and laid it in my 9-inch pie plate, tucking the edges under for a clean finish. The ball was set aside.

To make the filling, I blended the sugar and flour in a large mixing bowl then tossed in the fruit and stirred to coat. The filling was spread evenly in the pie plate, then I set my oven to preheat to 425 degrees (F).

To make the pie top, I rolled the second ball of pastry dough and used a star-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the pieces. I kept rolling out the scraps until I had enough stars to layer on my pie, leaving small gaps in between. To finish, I brushed the stars with milk using a pastry brush and sprinkled on the sugar. It baked on the low rack for 10 minutes, then I moved it to the middle rack and lowered the temperature to 375 degrees (F) to continue baking for 45-50 minutes until the filling was bubbling.

I love me a pretty pie, but no pie is too pretty to eat!

What are you making with strawberries lately? What was the last pie to come out of your oven? What's your favourite kind of pie to make?

Come can with me!

2012-05-22T09:11:00.003-07:00

I'm really excited about my newest cooking class! My First Canning Class is a fun 3-hour workshop covering the basics of water bath canning. Together we'll cut and core locally grown apples for a naturally sweet homemade applesauce, and we'll stuff jars with fresh pickling cucumbers, dill and a simple brine for crunchy dill pickles. Participants will learn these two beginner canning recipes and the simple steps to processing the jars in a water bath canner to safely seal in all that yummy garden goodness.

Canning is making a comeback, baby, and it's so easy once you know how!

WHEN: Saturday, August 18th, 2012, 1-4 p.m.

WHERE: Vic West Community Centre, 521 Craigflower Road, Victoria BC

COST: $30 per person, all supplies included

Book now to make sure you get in on the fun! Call 250 590-8922 to register.

Keep checking my new classes page for info on all my upcoming cooking classes, including my next Family Favourites class at The London Chef on June 9th!

Have you been wanting to learn about canning and preserving? Who's coming to My First Canning Class in August?!

Chewy peanut butter cookies

2012-05-15T09:11:00.000-07:00

These pretty little numbers are, to me, everything a peanut butter cookie should be - sweet and salty with a lightly crisp edge and a soft chewy centre. No traditional peanut butter cookie fork marks here. Instead, they get a shimmery coating from a quick roll in a bowl of sugar before going in the oven. With a glass of cold milk, they're the perfect little snack for an afternoon sweet tooth.

Here's how I made them:

makes about 30 cookies

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup + 1/3 cup granulated white sugar (divided)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

While the oven preheated to 375 degrees (F), I combined the peanut butter, 1 cup of sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and mixed thoroughly. In a separate mixing bowl, I stirred together the flour, baking soda and salt. The dry ingredients were added to the other ingredients and mixed well to form the dough. The remaining 1/3 cup sugar was added to a small dish. Using my hands, I formed the dough into balls the size of ping pong balls and rolled them in the sugar before placing them two inches apart on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. They baked for 10 minutes, then cooled on a wire rack.

Chocolate chips are nice and all, but a really good peanut butter cookie is my all-time favourite cookie. Especially that chewy centre.

What's your all-time favourite cookie?

A non-perishables cooking challenge

2012-05-09T06:55:00.000-07:00

It's Emergency Preparedness Week and my friends over at Emergency Management BC came to me with a challenge. Is it possible to feed a family healthy and delicious food for a minimum of 72 hours with only the contents of your emergency survival kit? Yes it is! It takes planning ahead and getting creative, but with the help of a camping stove and a handy can opener a family can easily share some comforting meals until help arrives.

My first challenge was to prepare a main course using only non-perishables. This Survival Seafood Stew combines stewed and crushed tomatoes, baby shrimp, and iron-rich clams (an excellent food source for anyone who may be injured and has lost some blood), although cans of tuna, salmon or crab could be used instead. Some fresh chives found in the garden served as a garnish.

Here's how I made Survival Seafood Stew:

1 796 ml can crushed tomatoes

1 398 ml can stewed tomatoes

1 142 g can whole baby clams, liquid included

1 106 g can small shrimp, liquid included

torn chives or other garden herbs as garnish (if accessible in an emergency)

The contents of all four cans were combined in a large saucepan and warmed over medium-high heat until bubbling. The garnish was spinkled on top to serve.

My next challenge was to prepare a dessert from non-perishables. This oh-so-simple Preparedness Pineapple Crumble is yummy and offers a real energy boost using only three items from the emergency kit.

Here's how I made Preparedness Pineapple Crumble:

1 398 ml can crushed pineapple, liquid included

1 300 ml can sweetened condensed milk

2 granola bars

I combined the pineapple and condensed milk in a saucepan and gently warmed it over medium heat. The granola bars were crushed in the packet then sprinkled on top to serve.

To find out more about Emergency Preparedness Week and how to get your family emergency-ready, visit the Emergency Management BC website. To watch videos of me preparing these dishes, go to Emergency Info BC's You Tube channel.

What would you cook if you could only use non-perishables?

Halibut & kale with mango mint salsa

2012-05-07T07:34:00.001-07:00

As the days get warmer and the sun shines brighter I start to crave lighter, healthier dinners. I'm often just not up for a heavy meal at the end of an afternoon outside with the kids. Besides, eating a light dinner sure makes justifying an evening bowl of ice cream so much easier! You didn't think I was going all health nut on you, did ya? This dinner is tasty and filling, yet completely guilt-free in my book.

I used fresh open water halibut fillets to make this recipe, but thick fillets of cod or haddock would work equally well. The salsa is a combination of sweet mango, fresh mint, lime juice and spicy cayenne pepper, while the red kale is wilted and tossed with Dijon and sesame oil. Delish!

Here's how I made it:

makes 4 servings

1 cup fresh mango, diced

1 dozen fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped

1/4 tsp ground cayenne

juice of 1 lime, divided

1 1/2 lbs halibut fillets (cut into 4 pieces)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/3 cup water

1 lb red kale, roughly chopped

1 tsp prepared Dijon

1/4 tsp sesame oil

To prepare the salsa, I stirred together the mango, mint, cayenne and half the lime juice in a small bowl, then set it aside.

While my oven preheated to 400 degrees (F), I warmed up a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. I seasoned my fillets with the other half of the lime juice, salt and pepper, and added them to the hot pan, skin side up, and cooked them until slightly golden and cooked half way through (4-5 minutes). The fish was transferred to an oven-safe dish, skin side down, and popped in the oven to finish cooking for 8-10 minutes until flaky and no longer clear.

Meanwhile, I brought the water to a boil in a large saucepan and added the kale. With the heat lowered to medium and the lid on, I cooked the kale while occasionally stirring for about 5 minutes until wilted. The wilted kale was tossed with the Dijon and sesame oil.

To serve, I used the kale as a bed for the halibut then topped it with the mango mint salsa.

So fresh and healthy!

How does the warmer weather affect your eating habits? What's happening in your kitchen this week?

Rhubarb raisin chutney

2012-05-03T08:30:00.001-07:00

I had been eyeing the backyard rhubarb from the kitchen sink for weeks. It started out a small mass of wrinkled leaves, and with time and sunshine and spring rain drops it grew into a full large-leafed plant. I had to tell myself not to cut it yet. The longer I waited the bigger the stalks would be. But yesterday felt like the day. So as soon as I put my youngest son down for a nap I headed out into the garden with my shears to harvest those red and green stalks of rhubarb, and by the time naptime was over I had four jars of sweet and sour rhubarb raisin chutney cooling on the kitchen counter.

This recipe makes four 500 ml jars of chutney. Prior to filling, I sterilized my jars by boiling them in water for 10 minutes. The seals and rings were boiled for the same amount of time just before screwing them on .

Here's how I made it:

2 lbs rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 1/2 lbs onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup raisins

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup granulated white sugar

3 tbsp dry mustard seeds

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

1 1/2 cups malt vinegar

1 1/2 cups cider vinegar

1 156 ml can (5.5 fl oz) tomato paste

I started by sweating the rhubarb and onion in a large stock pot for five minutes over medium heat. The remaining ingredients were added and the mixture was brought to a boil over high heat. I returned the heat to medium and allowed the chutney to bubble and reduce, uncovered, for 50 minutes, stirring often.

The chutney was ladled into the jars, leaving a half-inch of head room. The jar rims were wiped clean with a paper towel dipped in sterilized water, then the seals were removed from the boiling water and secured in place with the rings. I lowered the jars into the water bath canner, ensuring there was two inches of water above, and processed them for 15 minutes. The jars cooled on the counter until the seals popped (this can happen immediately or take several hours).

If you're not into canning, you can store a jar of this in your fridge for a few months and freeze the rest.

I love chutney with meat, fish, on burgers and inside sandwiches. But my favourite way to enjoy chutney is simply spooned on top of crackers and cheese. So good!

Have you had your canning supplies out yet this year? What have you made, or what are you looking forward to making? Leave a comment and share your recipes and links!

Farfalle with slow cooker bolognese

2012-04-28T07:18:00.000-07:00

I think when it comes to all-time favourite family comfort foods that are easy to make, pasta with a bolognese sauce, or meat sauce, is at or near the top of my list. This robust sauce is made with lean ground beef, sweet crushed tomatoes, and full-bodied red wine, and gets its intense character from being simmered for five hours in the slow cooker. The result is a thick and satisfying sauce with tender bits of beef. Seriously simple and divinely delicious.

Here's how I made it:

1 lb lean ground beef

1/2 cup onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, sliced

1 796 ml (28 fl oz) can crushed tomatoes

1/3 cup red wine

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp salt

1 tsp granulated white sugar

4 cups dry farfalle pasta

I started by browning the beef with the onion and garlic in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. The mixture was added to the slow cooker along with the crushed tomatoes, wine, oregano, salt and sugar. After giving the mixture a stir I set the slow cooker on high for 5 hours.

To serve, I boiled the pasta in a large pot of salted water according to package instructions until al dente (about 8 minutes). The pasta was drained and returned to the large pot and half of the bolognese was stirred in. Once the pasta was on plates I spooned more sauce on top.

This is the sort of thing I love to cook in the fall as the air begins to get cooler and the nights come sooner. But it's too yummy not to throw in the dinner rotation now and again the rest of the year too!

What goes into your bolognese sauce? Which pasta shape is the favourite around your dinner table?

Mango chili chicken

2012-04-26T08:13:00.001-07:00

Ooh baby, that there is some sassy chicken! This fruity and flavourful Caribbean-inspired dish combines sweet slices of mango and bell pepper with garlic and a little spicy heat. It's the kind of dinner that slaps you in the mouth and leaves you feeling lucky for the privilege.

This is so easy to prepare and has just eight ingredients. I used bone-in, skin-on chicken which is a great bargain compared to standard skinless chicken breasts, and gives the finished dish a more intense chicken flavour. I wrote recently that I was trying to get tropical flavours on the dinner table more often, and I'd say this chicken puts a big check mark next to that on my mental to-do list!

Here's how I made it:

3 lbs bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
salt & pepper
1 mango, peeled, pitted and sliced
1 bell pepper, seeded and sliced (I used an orange one, but any colour will do)
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper

While my oven preheated to 400 degrees (F), I warmed up a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. I seasoned my chicken thighs with a bit of salt and pepper and put them into the hot pan, skin side down, to cook until golden brown on one side (about 10 minutes). Meantime, I tossed together the mango slices, pepper slices, chili powder and cayenne in a medium mixing bowl. I transferred the partially-cooked chicken to a large baking dish, skin side up, and scattered the seasoned mangoes and peppers on top. It baked in the oven for 30 minutes.

I served this with rice to catch all those zippy, fruity juices. Mmm!

How do you like to cook with fruit? What's your favourite way to use mangoes in your kitchen?

Broccoli salad with lemon dill dressing

2012-04-21T13:50:00.000-07:00

My mom gets full credit for inspiring this recipe. She made a gorgeous broccoli salad with a creamy dressing for a family barbecue last week and I couldn't stop thinking afterwards about wanting to come up with my own recipe to share here on the blog. She even loaned me her serving bowl for the photos. Thanks, Mom!

So here's my version of a broccoli salad with sweet dried cranberries, salty cubes of ham, crunchy sunflower seeds and loads of fresh green broccoli tossed in a creamy lemon dill dressing. So fresh and lovely and perfect for barbecue season! It's also dead easy to make.

Here's how I made it:

3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

juice of 1 lemon

2 tsp dried dill weed

1/2 tsp salt

8 cups broccoli (about 2 crowns), chopped into bite-size pieces

1 cup cooked ham, diced

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup roasted sunflower seeds

In a large mixing bowl, I mixed the yogurt, lemon juice, dill and salt to create the dressing. All the other ingredients were added to the same mixing bowl on top of the dressing and the whole salad was tossed to coat. That's it!

I love the look of this salad! And I feel healthier knowing that this was part of our weekend.

What's your favourite barbecue season salad?

Strawberries & cream oatmeal

2012-04-19T12:30:00.002-07:00

You know me and oatmeal. I love the stuff. It's delicious, satisfying, versatile, and completely guilt-free! I've loved it my whole life and I enjoy experimenting with new goodies to stuff in there. This time it's strawberries and cream oatmeal with fresh red berries, a hit of vanilla and a big dollop of cool Greek yogurt on top. Mmm! Such a great breakfast. Or lunch!

This recipe makes enough for two kids or one hungry grown-up.

Here's how I made it:

1 cup water

1/2 cup quick-cooking oats

1/2 cup fresh strawberries, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

dollop of plain Greek yogurt (regular or non-fat)

I brought the water up to a boil over high heat in a small saucepan. I added the oats, strawberries and vanilla and lowered the heat to medium, cooking for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. To serve, I poured the oatmeal into a bowl and topped it with the yogurt.

There are some other yummy oatmeal recipes here on Family Feedbag, including Apple Pie Oatmeal and Banana Coconut Oatmeal. Check the Breakfast section of the Recipe Index for more oatmeal recipes!

What's your favourite way to prepare oatmeal?

Everything buns

2012-04-16T14:24:00.000-07:00

Whenever I bake bread I always have an I-Can't-Believe-I-Made-That moment as it comes out of the oven all hot and golden brown. Bread is fundamentally a simple, rustic comfort food, and yet a crusty hunk of fresh-baked bread with creamy butter can feel like one of life's most satisfying feasts.

Like a lot of families, we go through a lot of bread in the Feedbag household. Usually it's store-bought sandwich bread. But at least once a week I make some pizza dough, and occasionally I bake some loaf bread. This is my first attempt at making buns, and I think they turned out pretty nicely!

Here's how I made them:

1 cup warm water (slightly warmer than luke warm)

2 1/2 tsp instant yeast

1/4 tsp granulated white sugar

1 3/4 to 2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp poppy seeds

1 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tbsp dried onion flakes

1/4 tsp salt

I started by pouring the water into a large mixing bowl and stirring in the yeast and sugar. I let the mixture sit for five minutes to activate the yeast. Then I began adding the flour, incorporating half a cup at a time, stirring with the handle end of a wooden spoon at first then switching to my hands and kneading with the heel of my palm, until the dough was only slightly tacky. I kneaded for a couple minutes longer, then covered the bowl and let the dough rest for ten minutes.

Using a sharp knife, I cut the dough in half, then in half again and so on until I had eight equal pieces (if I was making burger buns I would have done six pieces). The pieces were formed into balls and set about four inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets to rise, covered with a tea towel, until doubled in size (this took about 45 minutes). Meantime, I preheated the oven to 400 degrees (F) and mixed together the poppy seeds, sesame seeds, onion flakes and salt in a small bowl.

I brushed each bun with the olive oil and sprinkled on the seed mixture, then baked the buns for 30 minutes.

I was thrilled when my oldest son, who is quite a picky eater, saw these on the kitchen counter after preschool and insisted his lunchtime sandwich be on one of them. Outwardly I acted like it was no biggie (pressure, good or bad, doesn't work for him), but inside I was beaming and high-fiving myself silly!

Have you been baking bread lately? What goodies have come out of your oven? Leave a comment and brag about what you've created!

Caramelized lime guacamole

2012-04-13T07:48:00.000-07:00

Guacamole, baby! Seriously. Thank you, Aztecs. So good. We can all agree guacamole starts with fresh avocado, but beyond that everyone has their own opinions about what should and shouldn't go into a guacamole. I like to keep it simple with chunks of fresh tomato and green onion and full of zippy chili and lime flavours. Yet this guacamole recipe doesn't just have lime juice. It has caramelized lime juice. Yup. It's like lime juice amplified, all sweet and fragrant and intense. The best part is it takes about one minute to caramelize a lime, and I can swing one extra minute for some awesome.

I love that guacamole works as a snack, an appetizer, a side dip, or as a party nosh. In fact, we're headed to a neighbour's birthday party this weekend and I'll be making more of this to bring along. Almost everyone likes guacamole. Well, I do recall a good friend in college ordering fajitas with "No Guatemala," so maybe not everyone. That still kills me.

When I'm choosing avocados at the store, I always give them a little squeeze with my finger tips to see if they're ripe. If they're hard, they're not ripe. If it feels like pockets of air are under the skin, they're overripe. But if they're just slightly soft and the skin is still firmly attached to the flesh, they're coming home with me.

Here's how I made it:

2 ripe avocados, halved, pitted, and the flesh scooped out

1 Roma tomato, diced (about 1/2 cup)

1 lime, halved

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 green onion, chopped

pinch salt

I started by heating a small non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Once it was scorching hot I placed my lime halves directly into the dry pan, flat sides down, for about one minute until the edges were caramelized, then set them aside. In a medium mixing bowl, I roughly mashed my avocados with a potato masher then added the diced tomato, chili powder, salt and the juice of the lime halves (I just jab a fork in the centre and give it a twist). I gave the whole thing a stir, scooped it into a serving dish and topped with the green onion.

We scooped this up with salty, crunchy tortilla chips. I made an extra caramelized lime while I was at it, and it was gorgeous squeezed into a tall glass of cold sparkling water. For a second there the rowdy kid noise and the messy house disappeared and I was on a tropical beach somewhere. Oh heck, who am I kidding? Tasted good, though!

What goes into your guacamole?

Strawberry banana muffins

2012-04-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

Just the idea of strawberry banana anything makes me happy. It's a cheery combination that reminds me of childhood and sticky fingers and milkshakes on sunny days. It was only a matter of time, really, before I baked these two gorgeous fruits together in a muffin. A happy, smiley muffin that my kids adore as much as I do.

These muffins are simple to prepare. A mashed banana and a full two cups of chopped fresh strawberries go into the batter. That's a lot of strawberry banana goodness in each crumbly bite!

Here's how I made them:
makes one dozen

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 overripe banana, mashed (about 1/2 cup)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

While my oven preheated to 375 degrees (F), I creamed the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. To that, I added the eggs, oil, banana and vanilla and beat well until smooth (I used my stand mixer, but a hand-held electric beater or mixing by hand would work just fine). In a separate mixing bowl, I whisked together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. The dry ingredients were added gradually to the wet ingredients, beating well until smooth. The strawberries were stirred in last. I filled each cup of a greased standard muffin tin about three-quarters full and baked them until a toothpick inserted in the centre came out clean, which was 22 minutes in my oven.

Pretty little muffins, they are.

What's your favourite kind of muffin? Have you done any baking recently? Leave a comment and brag about your efforts!

Crunchy coconut & lime chicken drumsticks

2012-04-06T08:46:00.000-07:00

Tropical flavours are a little out-of-the-ordinary on our dinner table, but I'm trying to change that. Coconut and lime is such a fantastic flavour combination and I had been daydreaming for a while about how to play with that combo in a savoury dish. The result is these crunchy coconut and lime chicken drumsticks. Marinated in acidic lime juice for a few hours, the meat stays tender and juicy, and the crunchy golden coating adds sweet coconut, a hint of chili, and more lime in the form of zest.

Mr. Feedbag really loves these. I suppose they're like a tropical vacation for the fifteen minutes it takes to eat dinner. Hey, I'll take what I can get!

Here's how I made them:

3 lbs chicken drumsticks (about a dozen)
zest and juice of 1 lime
3/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 eggs
1/3 cup all-purpose flour

I started by zesting the lime and setting aside the zest for later. The drumsticks were laid snugly in a 9x9 baking dish and the lime was juiced over the chicken. I covered the chicken and returned it to the fridge to marinate for 3 hours.

When ready to cook, I preheated the oven to 400 degrees (F). In a large shallow bowl, I combined the lime zest, coconut, panko crumbs, salt and chili powder and mixed evenly. The eggs were beaten in a medium shallow bowl, and the flour was added to a second medium shallow bowl. Each drumstick was coated first in the flour, then in the beaten egg, then the crumb mixture. All the drumsticks were placed on a parchment-lined baking sheet, which went into the oven for 40 minutes until the chicken was cooked through and the coating was golden and crunchy.

Mmm, troptastic! Here's hoping out-of-the-ordinary becomes a more regular thing.

How do you use tropical flavours in your cooking? Got a favourite recipe? Share the link!

Honey spiced pecans

2012-04-02T08:39:00.000-07:00

A warning - these tasty little nibbles are addictive! Pecans are good to begin with, but toss them in a hot melty mess of honey and spice and suddenly there's no such thing as just a few. Have them in a salad, dip them in yogurt, or just pile these sticky candied nuts in a stack and enjoy them as they are. Yum yum!

I think snacks should always be easy to prepare and that holds true here. This snack starts with a mixture of honey, vanilla and spices heated on the stove until ooey gooey, then tossed with the nuts and baked quickly in a hot oven. So quick and a really special treat.

Here's how I made them:

1/3 cup liquid honey

2 tbsp canola oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp salt

3 cups unsalted pecans

While my oven preheated to 400 degrees (F), I combined the honey, oil, vanilla, cinnamon, coriander, and salt in a large non-stick skillet and brought it to a bubble over medium-high heat. Using a rubber spatula, I stirred while the mixture continued to bubble and darken for 2-3 minutes. I removed the skillet from the heat and added the pecans, stirring well to coat the nuts. I spread the pecans out on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and baked them in the oven for 5-7 minutes. The pan was then placed on a wire cooling rack until the sticky pecans were cool enough to handle. Delish!

Addictive!

Does your family eat a lot of nuts? What are your favourites? How do you use them in your cooking?

Make your own seasoning salt

2012-04-01T07:04:00.000-07:00

One of the things I love most about cooking is the opportunity to add flavour at every turn. With each step in making a dish for my family I consider how I can add to the story of what's happening on my stove in or my mixing bowl. Lately my oldest son has been in love with breakfast potatoes, or homefries, and this seasoning salt brings them from boring to beautiful!

Seasoning salt is also great on oven fries. I make a lot of yam fries for weekday lunches and having a seasoning mix ready to go saves me time and I know exactly what's in it - just five simple seasonings shaken together and stored in a small jar on my spice shelf.

Here's how I make it:

1/4 cup salt

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp garlic powder

4 tsp ground paprika

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

I put it all in a jar and shake it up. That's it!

Do you have a favourite homemade or store-bought seasoning blend? How do you like to season breakfast potatoes and oven fries?

Sweet & salty chicken wings

2012-03-25T11:43:00.002-07:00

Chicken wings are one of my all-time favourite pub foods. I mean, mmm! So good. And I often go for the stickiest, sweetest ones on the menu. Honey garlic and teriyaki are some of my favourites, and this recipe is a combination of those two sauces.

These chicken wings are sweet and salty with an Asian flavour theme. There's garlic in there, soy sauce, honey, plus a few other ingredients that make for an awesome wing sauce. Half the sauce is used as a marinade and the other half gets reduced in a saucepan and tossed with the crispy wings when they come out of the oven. That's mega chicken wing goodness!

Here's how I made them:

1 tbsp garlic, minced

3/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup water

1/2 tsp ground ginger

3 lbs (approximately 3 dozen) chicken wings

1/4 cup liquid honey

1 green onion, chopped, for garnish

I stirred together the first five ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Just over half of the sauce was poured over the raw chicken wings in a large baking dish, and the remaining sauce was covered and set aside in the fridge. The marinating wings were covered and set in the fridge for 4 hours (feel free to marinate these overnight for extra yumminess!).

To cook, I set my oven to 375 degrees (F) and transferred the chicken wings to two parchment lined baking sheets, discarding the marinade. They baked for 45 minutes, turning once half-way through the cooking time. Meantime, I poured the reserved sauce into a small saucepan and added the honey. The sauce bubbled over medium-high heat, while stirring constantly, for 15 minutes before being pouring into a large heat-proof bowl. When the crispy and golden wings came out of the oven, I tossed them in the sauce and plated them with a sprinkling of green onion on top.

These were so good! I think I'll be making chicken wings again soon.

Go on and share your chicken wing tips! What's your favourite chicken wing sauce? Where are the best wings where you live?

Giveaway winner & more making from scratch

2012-03-23T07:38:00.000-07:00

It's time! It's time! One reader has won a copy of Maggie Meade's new book The Wholesome Baby Food Guide: Over 150 Easy, Delicious, and Healthy Recipes from Purees to Solids! In addition to all those easy-to-make recipes, it has lots of info on food storage, nutrition, and other feeding tips. Every baby really should buy this book for their parents, but since that's not going to happen let's give one away right now! The randomly selected winner is...

RobinMar 19, 2012 01:09 PM

"Yay! I love giveaways and I love Family Feedbag! What could be better?"

Congratulations, Robin! I'll be e-mailing you soon to get your shipping details for the publishing company. You're getting your very own new copy! Thanks to everyone for entering your names this week.

And now for something completely different. I love making things from scratch both inside and outside the kitchen and I thought I'd share something I've been up to. Knitting is my craft of choice and I just finished making this sweater for my 4-year-old son. I just love how handsome it turned out!

I love knitting and I spend quite a lot of time doing it. I have an argyle vest for Mr. Feedbag on my needles at the moment and I'm about to start an Audrey cardigan by my pal, Jane Richmond. I have the yarn ready to go and I'm excited to get it started!

But I'm not the only one excited about getting a new sweater.

And now back to your regularly scheduled food blogging.

Are you making things from scratch outside the kitchen too? What's your craft of choice? Are you a knitter too?! Leave a comment and tell me all about your hidden talents!

Spinach & strawberry salad with balsamic vinaigrette

2012-03-21T07:53:00.000-07:00

Springtime is here and the signs are everywhere in the garden. Stalks of young rhubarb are growing taller and redder each day, the buds on the fruit trees are pink and getting ready to blossom, and the bright green grass is growing again. Although the air is still chilly around here, all is becoming fresh and new again.

To my oldest son, nothing in the garden is more fabulous than picking and eating fresh red strawberries right where they grow. That'll start happening in June, but for now we can enjoy the good prices on imported strawberries at our grocery store as we mark the start of spring with fresh and vibrant flavours like this spinach and strawberry salad with crumbled feta and a balsamic vinaigrette. Simply delicious!

This salad comes together in a snap. The dressing is four simple ingredients shaken in a small jar and poured over top. I love fruit in a veggie salad. Sweet red strawberries are a beautiful thing and they pair smashingly with balsamic vinegar. It's a combo I want to put on our plates plenty this growing season.

Here's how I made it:

Makes 2 large servings or 4 small

4 cups fresh spinach leaves

1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1/3 cup olive oil

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp liquid honey

1/4 tsp salt

I placed the spinach into my serving dishes then topped them with the sliced strawberries and feta cheese. In a small jar, I combined the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey and salt. With the lid on the jar I gave the contents a good shake, then I poured the vinaigrette over the salad to serve.

So simple. So fresh. So delicious!

Which foods say spring to you? Are you seeing your vegetable garden come to life yet? What do you hope to grow this year?

GIVEAWAY - The Wholesome Baby Food Guide

2012-03-19T08:06:00.002-07:00

Well, this is exciting! This is my first giveaway here on Family Feedbag and I'm so pleased with the prize. I'm giving away a copy of Maggie Meade's new book The Wholesome Baby Food Guide: Over 150 Easy, Delicious, and Healthy Recipes from Purees to Solids to one of you!

If you've ever chatted to other parents about starting your kids on solid foods, or searched for information online, you've probably come across Maggie's incredibly popular www.wholesomebabyfood.com. For years it has been a handy resource for parents, including me, wanting to give their babies a healthy homemade start to eating. Her new book offers tips on nutrition, safe food storage, allergies and all the other things we wonder about when starting a baby on solids, plus 150 easy-to-make baby food recipes!

This book makes a useful kitchen resource for anyone with a new baby in the family or someone expecting one soon.

My youngest son got a big bowl of Groovy Grape Chicken with Noodles from page 240. As you can see, he had a great time trying to feed it to himself! Or was he washing himself with it? Ha!

To enter to win a copy of this fabulous new book from Grand Central Publishing, leave a comment on this blog post with your name and an e-mail address you can be reached at if you win. That's it! Winner to be announced on Friday, March 23rd. Now go enter!

Crab & Asiago rice bake

2012-03-13T10:37:00.002-07:00

This was going to be a post about guacamole. Only it was very windy and rainy out and I had two tired kids in the backseat coming home from a play date and I just didn't feel like stopping at the grocery store to pick up two silly avocados. You know how it is - get two car seats unbuckled, walk one kid and carry the other through busy parking lot, get baby in shopping cart, find stupid quarter for shopping cart, someone's whining, someone's hungry - you know the rest. So my post about guacamole got sidelined and I rummaged instead through the kitchen cupboards to see what else I could have fun creating with. Some tins of crab meat caught my eye and this creamy, cheesy, crabby goodness was the result!

Baked with rice, bacon and cherry tomatoes in a creamy Asiago cheese sauce, the crab meat in this dish remains centre stage. This recipe works nicely as a side dish to something like a baked ham or as a main course served with a salad to lighten things up.

The preparation is pretty simple. Cooked brown rice gets mixed with the other ingredients in a large mixing bowl, then the mixture is poured into a baking dish to go in the oven until golden and bubbly.

Here's how I made it:

1 1/4 cups long grain brown rice

2 1/2 cups water

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup onion, diced

4 strips of bacon, chopped (I use kitchen shears to do this)

1 cup fresh cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

2 120g (6 oz) tins chunk crab meat, liquid included

2/3 cup cream cheese

1/2 cup Asiago cheese, grated and divided into two equal amounts

freshly cracked black pepper to season

I started by bringing the rice, water and salt to a boil over high heat in a medium saucepan. The temperature was turned down to low and the rice simmered, covered, for 20-25 minutes until the water level was below the surface of the rice but there was still some water left. The oven was set to 375 degrees (F) to preheat. Meantime, I cooked the bacon and diced onion together in a frying pan over medium-high heat until the bacon was lightly crispy. In a large heat-proof mixing bowl, I combined the contents of the saucepan, the contents of the frying pan, the tomatoes, crab meat, cream cheese and a 1/4 cup of the Asiago cheese and mixed well. I poured the mixture into a ceramic 9 x 9 baking dish (glass would work nicely too) and sprinkled the remaining 1/4 cup of Asiago and the black pepper on top. It baked for 45 minutes until bubbling in the centre.

Creamy, cheesy, crabby goodness!

What's your favourite way to use crab?

Rosemary & black pepper bread

2012-03-09T07:33:00.000-08:00

Making bread is a slow and meaningful process with simple ingredients. Flour, water and yeast is all you really need. But with the addition of some herbs and spices a standard loaf can go from simply humble to something really special. This recipe for a dense and chewy bread with a crispy crust combines rosemary and freshly cracked black pepper, like a couple of old friends reuniting under a little melted butter on my breakfast plate.

Making bread takes time. There's the mixing, the kneading, the rising, the second rising, then the baking. This isn't something I do when I'm in a rush. It's something I do when I know I'll be spending several hours at home doing other stuff. Life stuff. Each time I return to the kitchen to check on my bread dough I smile and feel good knowing the house will soon smell incredible with the comforting aroma of freshly baked bread.

I am by no means an expert bread baker. But through experimentation with ingredients and methods I have settled on a mixture and technique that works nicely for me.

Here's how I make it:

1 + 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp instant yeast

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp granulated white sugar

1 tbsp dried rosemary

1 tsp black pepper

1 cup warm water (not hot)

I start by mixing 1 cup of flour with the yeast, salt, sugar, rosemary and pepper in a large mixing bowl. I add the water to the dry mixture, stirring with the handle end of a wooden spoon until the dry mixture is absorbed. Then the other 1 1/2 cups of flour gets added gradually, mixing with my hands and making sure the flour is absorbed into the dough between additions. At this point I transfer the dough to the bowl of my stand mixer to knead for 5 minutes with the dough hook (or sometimes I just do it by hand on a lightly floured surface, using the heel of my hand to push the dough away from me then folding it over and repeating). I transfer my kneaded dough to a large greased bowl and leave it to rise, covered with a tea towel, until doubled in size (about one hour). Then I knock it down (punch the air out of it) and form the dough into a log shape and press lightly into a greased loaf pan.

The second rising takes another hour or so until it reaches the height I want my finished loaf to be. It bakes at 400 degrees (F) for 40 minutes, then I turn it out onto a wire rack to cool.

It doesn't usually cool all the way before someone has a first taste.

Is freshly baked bread part of your baking routine? Leave a comment and share your bread baking techniques! We're also chatting on the Family Feedbag Facebook page.

Kale & carrot beef stew

2012-03-06T12:23:00.000-08:00

Not much says winter like a big pot of hearty beef stew. Chilly winter winds are still blowing around here and that means the kids and I are still coming in from playing at the park with rosy cheeks and cold noses. A bowl of this stew warms the belly and packs mega nutrition from dark green kale and vitamin-rich carrots.

As with most stews, the work is in the prep and the cooking is easy. The mixture of beef, vegetables and stock simmers low and slow for 90 minutes until the pieces of beef flake with a fork, and the kale gets wilted in at the end. Stew is the ultimate one-pot wonder!

Here's how I made it:

a splash of canola oil

2 lbs stewing beef, cubed

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp ground paprika

1 1/2 cups onion, diced

4 1/2 cups carrot, peeled and cut into chunks

2 cups potato, cut into chunks

5 cups beef stock

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

4 cups kale, roughly chopped

I started by warming the oil in my largest soup pot over medium-high heat. In a medium mixing bowl, I tossed the beef with the flour, chili powder and paprika to coat. The beef was added to the pot and browned on all sides. Next, I added the onion, carrot, potato, stock, and salt and pepper to the pot and stirred to combine. I brought the stew up to a boil over high heat, then lowered the heat to medium-low and allowed the stew to bubble away, covered, for 90 minutes. To finish, I stirred in the kale and allowed the stew to cook another 5 minutes.

Take that, cold noses!

What says winter in your kitchen?

Silky chocolate pudding

2012-02-29T14:10:00.001-08:00

Chocolate pudding has to be one of my all-time favourite desserts. It's so simple to make and when you need a chocolate fix, as I've been known to have from time to time, there's nothing like it. This pudding is wonderful served warm. But if you want to save some for after the kids go to bed (c'mon people, I know you do this stuff too), simply pop it in the fridge, covered, and enjoy it cool.

If you like your chocolate pudding fancied up a little, see the bottom of this post for flavour variations!

Here's how I made it:
makes 4 servings

3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3 tbsp cornstarch
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract or seeds of one vanilla bean
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream

I combined all the ingredients in a large saucepan and placed the saucepan over medium to medium-high heat. I stirred using a whisk until all the cocoa powder was absorbed into the milk, then switched to using a heat-proof spatula. I continued cooking and stirring over medium to medium-high heat just until the mixture came to a light bubble and began to thicken. To finish, I immediately poured the pudding through a mesh sieve into serving bowls (before it thickened too much and wouldn't run through the sieve).

There are many variations that can be made to this dessert. I've made it with a mashed banana added to the mixture for a chocolate banana pudding. You could also add the zest of an orange for chocolate orange pudding, or a teaspoon of peppermint extract for one of my favourite flavour combinations - chocolate mint!

I'm teaching this recipe in my Family Favourites cooking class at The London Chef! Click the button at the top of my blog for registration info.

What's your favourite chocolate dessert?

reflecting on year one

2012-02-25T07:27:00.001-08:00

I can't quite believe it's been a whole year since I made my first post and created Family Feedbag. So much has happened in my kitchen and in my garden over the past year, and it's been a real treat to share all of that with you here. Whether it was pastries and pies, soups and stews, cookies and cakes, fried things, fresh things, canned goodies or sauces, I have enjoyed photographing and sharing each and every recipe with you.

This blog has created opportunities for me to connect with other home cooks and I love that. What we do usually happens in the isolation of our own kitchens with sometimes unenthusiastic eaters at the table. So being able to connect with other home cooks and share ideas, particularly with my ultra creative readers who follow Family Feedbag on Facebook and Twitter, has been a real boost to my own passion and creativity in the kitchen.

This blog has lead to new opportunities for me offline as well. A year ago I never would have dreamed I'd be teaching cooking classes at an exquisite downtown cooking school! I mean, I don't have any actual training! But here I am, a week away from teaching my very first homestyle cooking class at The London Chef with the support and encouragement of so many of you.

A year ago I also had no idea how much fun taking pictures of food was going to be. Like food, beautiful photos of food get an emotional reaction from people. I'm pretty sure I have taken more photos of food in the last year than I have of my children (there are even some of my children eating food!). It's been a fun self-taught journey and I'm excited about continuing to experiment and explore with food images.

Thanks to each and every one of you for reading along over the last year and especially for trying out my recipes in your own kitchens. Your families are nourished in more ways than one with each homemade meal you put on the table. I hope you'll continue to read and cook along. I'm excited to see what the second year of Family Feedbag will bring!

Happy cooking!