Three Course Meal

So, the other day I decided that I wanted to make a three course meal. This was inspired from watching "Come Dine with Me." A show that is aired in the UK, it puts four complete strangers together to host dinner parties for each other. It's totally ridiculous, but very addictive, and fun to watch.

Anyways, I knew I wanted to make a three course meal -- but I had no idea what I wanted to make. So I jumped online to get some ideas, and looked through some of my moms cook books. After over an hour of looking I had decided on my menu.

~Yam Fries with Spicy Mayo~ 

~Roast Chicken Thighs, with Creamed Spinach,

Bread Stuffing, Green Beans, and Onion gravy~

~Apple and Strawberry Crisp~

The meal turned out wonderfully, and my whole family loved every course!

Eggs with Bacon, Lentins, and Spinach

This is an easy and tasty dinner to make. Its really straightforward, and I love it. It's a awesome rendition of bacon and eggs.

Here is the recipe, as follows:

3/4 cup green lentils
5 cups washed spinach 
2 TBS butter
2 TBS olive oil
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
1 1/2 leeks
2 TBS apple cider vinegar 
10 slices of bacon
10 eggs
1 tsp tarragon
1/2 tsp savory
salt and pepper to taste 
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 

Wash lentils, and place them in a pot. Cover with water, and put a lid on the pot. Place on medium heat, and cook for 25 minutes or until tender.

While the lentils are cooking, wash and chop the veggies. Then cook them in a cast iron frying pan with the butter. Then add the apple cider vinegar. Season with tarragon, savory, salt and pepper. Mix in with the lentils, and set aside.

Wipe out the skillet, and cook the bacon. Discard the grease. Cut half of it into bite sized pieces, and mix in with the lentils. Put the rest of the bacon aside.

Then add the water and balsamic to the pan, to make a reduction.

In a clean skillet, heat the olive oil and fry the eggs in batches.

To serve: put a cup of spinach on each plate, a 5th of the lentils, two of the eggs, one slice of bacon, and a drizzle of the balsamic reduction.

Things I've Cooked!

I did a little bit of cooking before I left for my three week journey, and in the insanity of packing and spending time with friends, I completely forgot to post about the things I cooked.

So, almost a moth late (better late then never, right?) here are the things that I cooked before I left. 

#1) Grilled Salmon with three different sides, and a herb mayonnaise. 

The sides were: 

1.  Statued bok-choy

2. Peach and blueberry salsa

3. Statued edamame beans 

#2) I just cooked some plain chicken sausages, and served them with steamed green beens, and mixed grilled veggies. 

I must admit, since I cooked these so long ago I forgot what I put in them. Any normal person might, you know, write down the recipes as they went. But I'm not a normal person, so I neglected to write down the recipes. 

So pictures will have to suffice!

Where Have I Been?

Yes, I realize its been more than three weeks since I've last posted, but I have a good reason for this!
I've been away, traveling with my family for three weeks. On August 7th, we embarked on an epic  journey to England and France. 

We spent the first week trying to recover from the jet-lag (8 hour time difference), and driving around the south of England. We visited many places, some of which included: Oxford, Cambridge, Salisbury and Sussex. It was my first time in England, and I was amazed by the gorgeous rolling hills of the countryside. We sampled some bar food at pubs, and I must say it really wasn't that great. It was high priced for mediocre sandwiches. However, it was cool to experience a real English Pub.

The second week, we spent touring around London. We did an unbelievable amount of walking all over the city, and got used to riding trains and the tube. We pretty much saw all the main tourist attractions, as well as a few lesser known ones, such as the Winston Churchill War Rooms. Which were absolutely amazing!! We also went out for Indian food one night (London is known for really good and cheap Indian food), and it wasn't a disappointment.  They didn't have some of the dishes that I'm used to, (like butter chicken) but they had an amazing chicken tandoori that made up for it. We also went to a Pizza Express one night (a really popular pizza chain in London, they are EVERYWHERE), and pizza was decent, but we didn't order enough food so I was left still slightly hungry. They did however, have a really good salad. It was rocket salad, (a popular green in the UK, its kind of like arugula) with romano cheese, and a balsamic reduction. It was very tasty.

The third, and final week was spent in Paris. Which was arguably my favourite week, and the week which we ate the best food.  We found the most amazing bakery called Eric Kayser (website linked here: http://www.maison-kayser.com/en/), which we went to every morning to get croissant for breakfast and bread for the day.  The bread without argue is the best bread that I have every had in my whole life. It is slightly crispy on outside, and light and airy on the inside. It tastes both salty and sweet at the same time. Generally, just out-of-this-world. My family consumed a huge amount of bread. We were in Paris for five days, and in those five days we consumed close to 20 baguettes. A little bit of over-kill, but that's what my family does. Paris also has the most amazing cheeses, we ate so much brie, most likely an un-healthy amount, but it was so delicious we didn't really care.

On our last night in Paris we went out for dinner to this cute little cafe. It was amazing. I had very thinly sliced beef that was just lightly cooked, so it was still pink. It was served with amazingly seasoned home-fries, and a salad. It was so good, I'm normally not a fan of beef, but I loved this beef. My sister and I shared a creme brulee for dessert.

Another thing I must mention about Paris, are the crepes. Crepe stands are EVERYWHERE you go, and the crepes are amazing. We had crepes three different times, twice from crepe restaurants, and once from a stand. I must say, the ones from the restaurants were good, but were kind of sickeningly sweet once you got half way through your crepe, and they were expensive. (6 to 8 euros a crepe) But the crepes that we got from the stand were prefect, and were really reasonably priced. (2 - 4 euros a crepe) So, if you want crepes in Paris, hunt out a stand. It will be cheaper, faster, and much better.

Cheese Souffle? Yes Please!

Last night I was watching Master Chef. You know that show with Gordon Ramsey? It puts 'home-chef' head to head in different cooking challenges. Anyways, one of the challenges last night was to make the best cheese souffle. As I was watching, I couldn't help but think: "hey, I'm a home-chef." (Well an aspiring one at the very least.) And: "hey, why don't I try making souffle!" I must admit the souffles on TV looked so darn tasty, so that was part of the motivation.

After the episode was over, I went on YouTube to look up how exactly to make a cheese souffle. I must admit, I had NO idea how to make one, but I really wanted to learn how to. Then I watched enough videos to feel confident enough to try making a souffle. However it was already pretty late, so I just deiced to make them in the morning.

This morning I went back online to look up recipes. I went on many different websites, until I found a recipe that I liked. This is the one that I used: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Classic-Cheese-Souffle-242119

I only made two small changes, they were:
-I added in 1 TBS of fresh chives.
-Instead of Gruyere cheese, I used cheddar

Overall, I think that my souffles turned really well. Especially since it was my first time ever making souffle! They rose nicely, and they didn't fall in the process of cooking. Also to top everything off, they were super tasty, light, and fluffy!

 Here are some pictures of the process!

Tasty Summer Dinner? -- I Think So!

So after a more than month of official summer, its finally start to FEEL like summer here. For most of the month of July it was chilly, overcast, and rainy. Not what you'd call nice summer weather. However, the weather Gods have finally decided to be nice to us here the on West Coast! Lately the weather has been gorgeous, sunny, and warm. Let me tell you, I'm loving it! It's so nice to have actual summer weather. Weather that you can go out it and don't have to worry about bringing a sweater or a rain jacket. Its bliss!

So, to celebrate the nice weather I decided to make a delicious meal to celebrate!
On the menu was:
-Grilled pork chops with papaya, corn, and blueberry salsa
-Grilled asparagus
-Boiled potatoes with butter and chives



-Pork chops-

6 pork chops
3/4 cup BBQ sauce
1 papaya chopped
3/4 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 red onion sliced
2 ears of corn grilled, cut off the cob
1 red pepper, chopped
1 TBS fresh mint chopped
1 1/2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

 Preheat your BBQ, to about medium heat.

Place the pork chops on a cookie sheet. Brush both sides with BBQ sauce. Put cookie sheet directly on BBQ. Let cook for about 10 minutes. Then, place chops directly on grill, so that they get grill marks and finish cooking completely.

To make the salsa just mix together all of the rest of the ingredients in a bowl.


-Asparagus-


1 large bunch of asparagus
1 1/2 TBS olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Wash asparagus well, and take off woody bottom ends. Toss together with the oil, salt, and pepper.
Then place on grill, and and cook for about 10 minutes. Until they are slightly chard and soft all the way through.


-Potatoes-

20 mini golden potatoes, washed and cut in half
3 TBS melted butter
2 TBS fresh chives, chopped
1 TBS capers

Boil potatoes in salted water. Then toss with butter, chives, and capers.
Serve right away!


And there you have it! my tasty summer meal :)

Also since it looks so darn good, here is a picture!

Mago-Lime Ice Cream

So, the other night I made mango-lime ice cream. It didn't turn out exactly how I expected though.
It was a bit gloopy for my liking. The mixture itself was a bit thin, so it didn't set well. If I make this again, I think I'll add more fruit to offset this.

Also, it didn't have enough of a mango-y taste.
I used canned mango instead of fresh mango. Because of this it didn't have much of a mango taste.

However, it was tasty anyway -- just not what I expected.

Anyways, here is the recipe that I used. (adapted from my mom's recipe for home-made fruit ice cream)

1/2 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Combine all ingredients in above list in a small sauce pan. Place on medium heat and stir. Keep on heat until mixture scalds. The mixture will be scalded just before it boils. Take off heat, set aside, and chill. (min chill for 40 minutes)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

2 cans of mango slices, drained and rinsed
Juice of one lime
Zest of 1/2 lime
1/4 cup sugar

Put the mango, lime juice and zest, and sugar into a food processor.
Blend until to incorporate everything. You want the mixture to be somewhere in-between smooth and chunky. Once you think the mixture is blended enough, set aside and chill. (min chill for 30 minutes)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

1 cup buttermilk

Combine both mixtures with the buttermilk. Stir so that everything is combined well.
Place in your ice cream maker, and make according to your machines' instructions.


~Makes 8 to 10 servings~

Potato Salad With Chorizo

This potato salad is really tasty, and really easy to make!
The recipe is as follows.

-Salad-
About 20 - 30 mini golden potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
1 Chorizo sausage, cut into thin slices
1 cup of pistachio nuts, chopped
1 onion
2 TBS fresh oregano, chopped
2 TBS capers

-Dressing-
3 TBS olive oil
3 TBS apple cinder vinegar
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/1 tsp worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste

To make salad....

First Boil potatoes in salted water.
While the potatoes are cooking, fry chorizo sausage until the edges of the slices are crispy.
Transfer the sausage into bowl, but keep the grease from the sausage in the pan.
Put the nuts in the pan, and cook till golden. Put the nuts in the same bowl as the sausage. Then fry the onion in the same pan, you may need to add a little bit of oil to the pan.
Add the rest of the salad ingredients into the bowl (including the cooked potatoes.)

To make dressing, whisk all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl, then drizzle over the salad.
Mix well, and serve right away.

Food and Family

I know I've said this in many posts before, but I strongly believe that food brings people together.
This is very true for my own family. I don't have a huge extended family, but its not small either. On my mom's side I have three aunts, two uncles, and five cousins. My dad's side I have my Granny, one aunt, two uncles, and countless cousins. Some of whom are already married and have their own kids. I also have more cousins on my mom's side (she has something like 15, which make then my cousins too I guess) but I'm not in contact with any of them. Its not to do with fighting or anything, my mom just isn't close with any of them.

Food has always played a prominent role in my family gatherings. Particularly on my moms side. My Gran (who was my mom's mom)  had a love for food and cooking, and she passed it down to all of her kids. Ever since I can remember, family dinners with my mom's family centered around food. When my Gran was alive she would spend so much time cooking for every family dinner that we had. It was amazing, she was such a good cook! Besides being a good cook, my Gran was an amazing baker. I remember one year at Christmas, instead of buying presents for everyone she just gave out giant boxes of baking that she made. I remember it being one of my favourite gifts from her.

Food is also part of my family gatherings in so many other ways. Time spent in the kitchen talking with my aunts. Eating at a long table set up in my dinning room stretching all the way to the living room, to accommodate all 20 of us. Spending time cooking with my mom, to get ready for a family dinner. As well as just so many other small things that just add up to form memories. Yes that sounds cheesy, but its true. It's the little things add up to form memories.

On my dad's side of the family we have a family reunion hosted by my dad's cousin, it happens every August long weekend. Food is such a huge part of it. Everyone pitches in to help cook, and there is always an endless supply of snacks to eat. My dad's cousin lives right by the beach, and has a crab trap. Normally we have fresh caught crab for dinner one of the nights, it is so good!

Those are just a few ways that food connects my family. Most of them are small ways, but they really do keep my family connected.

Burrito Bowls

The other night is was my turn to make dinner. I had no idea what to make, so I jumped on the handy-dandy internet to come up with some ideas. I finally stumbled across the idea of making burrito bowls! It sounded like something fun, so I thought I'd make them.

Essentially a burrito bowl, is a bowl made out of a tortilla and then it is stuffed full of tasty burrito fillings! A lot of the time the burrito bowls are deep fried, but I wanted a healthier alternative so I baked mine in the oven. I did this by taking a small stainless steal bowl, greasing it, and placing the tortilla in it. I put that in the oven (375F) and baked for about five minutes. The tortilla took on the shape of the bowl, and was nice and crispy.

Whatever you want to fill your bowl with is up to you. Here is what I put in mine.

-Home made refried beans (seasoned with lime and seasoning salt)
-Thin slices of cut up steak, pan fried with taco seasoning
-Lettuce
-Tomato
-Green Pepper
-Mix of cheddar and montary jack cheese
-Sour cream
-Salsa
-Green onions
-Olives

And thats essentially it! It was kind of difficult to eat however;  a knife and fork was needed. Next time I make them, I think I'll serve them with corn chips. Corn chips can act as a fork to scoop out the filling, right?

Mac N' Cheese = Amazingness

Homemade mac n' cheese is possibly one of the most delicious things ever. It is one of the foods that is just so comforting. For a lack of a better explanation, it wraps you up in a blanket of comfort. It is just that amazing. Anyways, I made it for lunch today. I just kind of made up the recipe as I went.
Here it is as follows the best I can remember.

-Sauce-
2 TBS butter
1/2 onion, finely chopped
pinch salt and pepper 
1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp chili flakes
1/2 tsp seasoning salt 
2 TBS flour
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup half-and-half 
1/2 water (I ran out of milk and cream, and needed something to stretch the sauce) 
2 tsp lemon juice
1 cup grated cheddar cheese + 3/4 cup
1 cup grated montary jack cheese


4 1/2 cups rotini 

I put the pasta in boiling salted water, and let the pasta cook while I made the sauce.

I also preheated the oven to 375F

Sauce....
I melted the butter, and added the onions and garlic. Then  I added the spices, salt, and pepper. Then I made a roux. I did this by slowly adding the flour to the butter and onion mixture. Then I added the  milk and cream and whisked until there was no lumps. Then I added the water, to make the sauce go further. Then I added everything else (minus the 3/4 cup of cheddar) and kept whisking until a sauce was formed.
Then I mixed in the pasta with the sauce, and put it in a casserole dish. I sprinkled the rest of the cheese on top and put it in the oven for 20 minutes. I broiled for the last few minutes so the top got all bubbly.

Then I had super tasty mac n' cheese, it was amazing!!!!! :)

 

On Food and Community

I recently was part of a inner city mission project, that was hosted by my church. The project lasted 11 days, and brought together youth and leaders from all over the country. It is something I will never forget, it was an amazing experience. A wonderful community was formed.

I think one of the reasons why such a wonderful community was formed, was because of the food that we cooked and shared together. We didn’t have a cook, or anyone to cook our meals for us, so we did a lot of cooking (and conversely, a lot of eating.) I think there is something about cooking, that just brings people together and creates community. One of the ways that I think cooking creates community, is the co-operation that occurs when you cook a meal with someone else. Cooking brings people together, and causes them to share something.

One of our main mission sites was First United, which is located right in the heart of Vancouver’s Downside Eastside. First United works hard to create a community for Vancouver’s less fortunate. It is a home for hundreds of people who don’t have any-other place to call home. If you want to learn more about them, and what they do you can check out their website here: http://firstunited.ca/ .

By spending time at First, I really came to understand that sitting down with someone to share a meal, can create something profound. Part of our mission was serving meals at First.  However, we were lucky enough to also sit down and eat a meal with the people who we had served for many days before. Let me tell you, it was a experience. Sitting down to eat a meal with someone who you have never before met, can be a little bit intimidating. However, after a few minutes of conversation I relaxed, started to enjoy myself, and I became genuinely interested in what the others had to say. It is something that I won’t forget.

Another thing amazing about First, is that it helps people build and maintain friendships. First serves three meals a day, seven days a week. This allows people to get the food and nutrition that they need, but it also allows people to spend time with their friends. The meals almost have a feeling of a whole bunch of good friends meeting together in a restaurant, the community is that strong. It is an amazing thing.

Another way I found community through food, was through a community BBQ that we hosted. The BBQ was part of our mission. We spend a day preparing for it. We made fresh bread, and hamburger buns. We also went to a market and picked out fresh local produce to make salads. Then as a whole group we made a meal together. It was so much fun! A lot of different people came to the BBQ, and it was so wonderful to see how we brought so many people together. It was most definitely a success!

Ultimately, food and community go hand in hand. Food is something that is meant to be shared. By sharing food with other human beings, you are able to form a connection. Life is all about millions of little formed connections. So, I think it is important make these connections mean something. By sharing meals, you will most definitely have some meaningful connections in your life.

**Disclaimer: I was not asked by First United to write this blog post. All opinions are my own.**

Spinach Salad with Blueberries and Goat Cheese

-Salad-

1/4 red onion sliced  + 1/2 cup boiling water + pinch of salt
1/2 long English cucumber, seeded and sliced
1 cup slivered almonds + 1 TBS butter + pinch of salt
1 cup blueberries
2/3 cup goat cheese, crumbled
2 TBS sesame seeds
6 cups spinach leaves, torn into bite-sized pieces

-Dressing-

1/4 olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 TBS honey
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

~To make the onions taste milder, combine them with the boiling water, and salt in a bowl. Let sit for 30 minutes, then drain.~

~For the salad, you want the almonds to be toasted. To do this, put them in a pan over medium heat, add the butter and salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, string often.~

To make the salad itself, just combine all of the salad makings in a large bowl, and toss until everything is throughly combined.

To make the dressing, put all of the dressing ingredients in a container with a tight lid, and shake until it is one liquid. If it is not combining well, add a little bit more mustard. The mustard acts as an emulsifier. This means that the mustard brings the oil and vinegar molecules together, and bonds them. This way, they won't separate.

Serve the dressing on the side, so that the salad doesn't get soggy.


 

Yummy Salad

As I have said before I LOVE salad. Tonight I made a really tasty salad to go with dinner. Here is what was in the salad..

3 cups mixed salad greens
1/4 of a long English cucumber, seeded and cut
1/4 red onion sliced
1 green onion finely chopped
5 strawberries, sliced 
1/4 cup toasted almonds, chopped
3 slices of crisped ham, broken into little bits
1/4 cup dried cranberries 
1/4 cup grated feta
1 TBS fresh chopped mint

So that was what was in the salad. Then to make the dressing I just combined everything listed below in my handy-handy Magic Bullet, until it was smooth and creamy

-Dressing-
Juice of one lime
3 TBS olive oil
2 TBS mayo
salt and pepper to taste

Home-Made Ice Cream

The other night I was looking through a collection of recipes that my mom has accumulated throughout the years. I came across her recipe for raspberry lavender ice-cream. Now you might be thinking: "Eww!! that sounds discussing. Who would want to eat that?" However, you would be wrong there. It it is a delicious hybrid of sorbet/ice cream goodness!!

So, here is the recipe!

-Cream mixture- 

1/2 cup milk (I used skim) 

1/2 cup half and half

3/4 cup sugar 

1/2 tsp vanilla 

2 sprigs of lavender 

Place everything in a small pot and put on high heat. Continue stirring mixture until the milk scalds. Place in a shallow dish and in the freezer until the milk is cooled. 

*Scalding the milk is a very important part of the process as it infuses the milk with lavender flavour and allows the sugar to completely dissolve.*

-Fruit Mixture- 

3 cups frozen raspberries 

1/2 cup sugar 

Juice of one lemon 

Zest of half a lemon 

PLUS 1 cup of butter milk, to be added later. 

Blend everything in a food processor, until everything is combined. You don't want everything to be completely smooth, but you don't want huge chunks of fruit. You want somewhere in between.  Place mixture in a shallow tupperware, and put in freezer until chilled. 

Once the fruit and cream mixtures are both chilled, mix them together and then add the buttermilk. 

Then place in your ice cream maker, and process according to your machines' instructions. 

Jalapeno Burn

Shortly after I finished making the salsa and guacamole last weekend, I developed a burning sensation on my hand. It was centralized on my left hand, in between my pinky and ring finger, and in between my ring and middle finger. It didn't take me long to figure out that it was from the jalapeno.

The burning sensation felt like that feeling you get when you come into a warm house from the cold. However, it was only worse and would not go away. I tried washing my hands a few times, but it actually only made it worse. After I washed my hands, the feeling spread all over my left hand and it would not go away!

I then tried soaking my hand in water, then ice water but that didn't work. If anything it only made it worse. I then just gave up, and figured that the pain would go away eventually. I had to go to work anyways, so I just sucked it up, and let the pain go away on its own.  By the time that I got home from work about five hours later, the pain was gone.

But, that actually wasn't the end of it. I had a shower later that evening, and the pain came back worse than ever. I quickly went online to figure out what was going on. I read up and found out that hot water only aggravates jalapeno burns, and can bring back pain, even two days after contact.

I was desperate for relief, so I tried pretty much all remedies that I could find online. First I put a cold compress on my hand, but that only gave very temporary relief. Next I tired rubbing alcohol dabbed on my hand. Many people online sang it's praises, so I was hopeful -- however it didn't work for me. Next I tried soaking my hand in milk, but that didn't work well either. Lastly, I tired baking soda. I mixed baking soda and water to make a paste, and then I put it all over my hand. It worked, I think. About five minutes after that almost all of my pain was gone! I'm not sure what did the trick, since I tired all the remedies in such a short period of of time. However something did work! I was just happy for the pain to be gone.

And lets just say -- I've learned my lesson. The next time I cut Jalapenos, I will wear gloves! 

Chips, Guacamole, and Salsa

So, the other day I was in a summerish mood and I had a whole afternoon of nothing to do!
I decided that I would make homemade chips, salsa, and guacamole. I went up to the store bought some tomatoes, cilantro, avocados, and limes. Then I began preparing the food.

To make the chips: I first preheated the oven to 350F then I cut eight corn tortillas into triangle shapes and placed them on a cookie sheet. I then drizzled 2 TBS of cooking oil, and sprinkled 3/4 tsp of salt over everything. Then I put them in the oven and let them cook for 20 minutes until they were nice and crispy.

For the salsa: I just mixed all of the following ingredients in a bowl, and let it sit for 20 minutes.
4 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
3 green onions, chopped 
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped 
1 jalapeno, finely chopped 
1/2 cup of corn 
2 garlic cloves, chopped 
juice of one lime 
1 tsp of cumin 
1 tsp of coriander 
2 TBS of white vinegar 

For the guacamole:  I mixed all of the following ingredients, and kept one of the avocado pits in the bowl. I served it right away.
2 avacados, chopped 
juice of one lime 
1/2 jalapeno, finely chopped 
1/2 medium tomato, finely chopped 
3 TBS cilantro 

 

 

Delicious Meal

Last night, I had some friends come over so that we could cook a meal together.
We made three different things.

1) Spanakopita

2) Chicken and vegetable quiche

3)  Caesar salad with garlic toasts

Everything turned out amazingly and it was all so delicious!
The spanakoptia was amazing,  I think that it was one of the best ones that I've ever made.
The quiche was also really good and the chicken and vegetables paired together nicely.
The salad went together well with the spanakopita and the quiche.
Overall it was a great meal.

Greek Pizza

The other day I made a really tasty Greek Pizza. Again this was another recipe made from what I had on hand.

So here is the recipie! :)   

Preheat oven to 400F

-Dough-
1 cup white flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 TBS quick rise yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 1/2 TBS olive oil

To make the dough, combine all ingredients in a food processor until a dough is formed.
Place in a bowl, cover with a towel and let sit for 20 minutes.

-Pizza toppings-
3 TBS tomato paste
2 tsp fresh oregano
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 sliced tomato
1/4 sliced onion
1/4 cup sliced back olives
1/4 cup grated feta cheese
2 tsp olive oil 

Roll out the dough until it is 1/4 inch thick. Then place on a greased cookie sheet.
Top the pizza in order of the ingredients on the list above.

Put in oven, and cook for 20 minutes. Broil for the last three, so that the top gets browned.

Serve right away.

 

Cheese Twists

 The other day I again was feeling lazy and bored. I was also hungry.
So, I set out on a quest to find something to eat, and to combat my boredom.

I had the idea to make cheese twists.
I looked all over the Internet to try and find a good recipe, but none of them seemed very good.
I then... had the genius idea...(feel the suspense building)... to come up with my own recipe (!!!)

This was completely made with what I had on hand....

Here it is as follows:
2 1/2 cups white flour
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup warm milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp mustard powder
2 TBS powdered Parmesan cheese
2 cloves of fresh garlic, crushed

Filling
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 egg, beaten

In a bowl, mix everything (but the fillings) together until a dough is formed. If needed add a little extra flour or milk. Then let sit covered for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F

Then on a floured counter roll out dough until it is 1/4 inch thick.
Top with cheese, and flood over. Then roll out again.
Cut into strips, and then twist the strips, and place on a greased baking sheet.
Brush with the egg, and then place into the oven and cook for 15 to 20 minutes.

Makes 15 to 20 twists.

Overall, I thought that they turned out really well. They tasted really good! However, I don't think that their was enough liquid in the dough. The next time I make them I am going to add more butter and milk.

Here are some pictures of the process! :)

 

Chocolate Chip Raspberry Pancakes

This past Saturtday morning I was feeling particularly lazy.
I slept in till 11am, and was in the need of something sweet.
I decided to make pancakes! Ones with chocolate and raspberries! :) 
So, I went online to find a basic pancake recipe. I used this one here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-challenge/pancakes-recipe/index.html

The only change that I made was using three parts whole wheat flour, and one part white flour. 

Anyways, I then fried up the pancakes. Then, on the raw side facing up, while the pancakes were still cooking I sprinkled chocolate chips and frozen raspberries. Then I flipped the pancakes over, and let them finish cooking! :)

They were really tasty, and I ate them with maple syrup. Here is a picture. (I warn you though, the picture doesn't do them justice.)

Also, a quick side note..the stuff on the pancakes that looks like burnt bits, is actually just chocolate. 

Favourties

OK, so since I am on a roll with posting, I am going to keep going! Today’s post will be a list of some of my favourite foods! This list will include individual types of food, as well as whole cultures of food.  So here goes:  my list of favourite foods in a super fun random order!

1)  Sushi: I am a total sushi addict. I have been known to eat sushi two – maybe three times in the same week. Where I live, you can get really good and cheap sushi pretty much everywhere you go. So you can’t go wrong! Some of my favourite rolls include: spicy salmon, spicy tuna, spicy salmon and avocado, and lastly, yam tempura.

2) Pizza: Because pizza is delicious….honestly, need I say more?

3) Indian Food: I love Indian food so much! There’s something so tasty about the spiciness of the curries, mixed with the creamy sauces that is just so darn good! I also love naan, and samosas. Also, you can never go wrong with a mango lassie.

4) Lemon Chicken:  My mom has this AMAZING lemon chicken recipe that my grandma (her mom) used to make.  Let me tell you, this recipe is so good!  However, it’s a lot of work, so we don’t have it very often.

5) Salad: As you can see in my previous post, I am a salad freak!

6) Chocolate Cake: Because chocolate cake is good! Also, because I think that chocolate is one of the most amazing things ever invented!

7) Burritos: With burritos you can get super creative, and put whatever you want in them! That’s why I love them so much.  Also because, I normally eat them with guacamole, salsa, and sour cream; I think that’s reason enough.

8) Bacon: A total guilty pleasure. But, bacon is just so good; I had to put it on the list!

9) Eggs: I love eggs. They are so good, and there are millions of ways to cook them!  I eat them for breakfast a lot.

10) Chinese Food: Really, I just love all the noodles! Also I love dim sum.  For those of you who don’t know what dim sum is, I will explain.  Dim sum is when people wheel carts of food around the restaurant. When a cart comes by your table and you want what’s on it, you wave it down. The person who is wheeling the cart gives you the food, and then stamps a card on your table. At the end of the meal you pay by how many stamps you have on your card. It is so tasty. Dim sum restaurants have these amazing buns stuffed with BBQ pork that are to die for.

Anyways, there is my list for now. If I am feeling inclined I might at to it at another time. But for now, happy eating J

Comfort Food

For fun, I thought I’d do another post that is also a list. This time, it will be a list of my favourtie comfort foods to cook. There is jut something about comfort food that is so pleasing. If you come home from a long stressful day, comfort food is just, well comfort. I guess that’s how it got its name. So, here goes, my list of favourtie comfort foods to cook in no particular order:

1) Salad: So call me weird, I don’t care; salad is a comfort food for me. I am a salad fiend. I absolutely love, love, love salad! Salads are just so vertical and delicious. There are just so many different things you can put in them, and so many different types. It’s so hard to run out of possibilities for salads, that’s what I love about them. Some of my favourtie salad additions are: grated beets, grated carrots, goat cheese, blueberries, bell peppers, pumpkin seeds, cucumber, celery, Chinese chow mein noodles, and of course lettuce. I normally used mixed salad greens.

2) Lasagna: I love making lasagna; I can make it without a recipe. It is so delicious, and always makes the whole house smell delicious! Also, who DOESN’T associate lasagna as a comfort food?

3) Crepes: Crepes are so much fun to make! I love coming up with creative ideas for crepe fillings. Both savory and sweet are delicious! One of my favourtie crepes I make is tuna salad. Sounds gross, but its delicious. Inside the crepe: canned tuna mixed with mayo, salt, peppers, and capers. Rolled up, and then toped with cheese sauce. It’s so good; don’t judge until you’ve tried it. Comfort right there J

4) Yam fries: Making these is a lot of work, but they are amazing. When I make them I like playing around with different seasonings to see what tastes best. Also eating them dipped in a spicy mayo dip is really yummy J TOTAL comfort food, plus if you cook them in the oven with just a little bit of oil, there is less guilt, and it is also WAY better for you!

5) Sandwiches: I love coming up with creative sandwich combinations. I get to get super creative, and make tasty combinations.  Although, I’m picky when it comes to sandwiches, and HATE them even if they are the slight bit soggy, so I rarely pack sandwiches for lunch. Call me a sandwich purist – but I think that sandwiches should be eaten right after they are made.

6) Cheese Toast/Grilled Cheese: So this barely counts as cooking. But they are tasty and pretty much comfort food point blank....so there you go J

7) Mac N’ Cheese: Okay, okay, another classic comfort food that is so delicious. There’s just something about crabs, butter, and cheese that SCREAMS comfort food. But, me being me, and liking to experiment in the kitchen, my mac n’ cheese is fancy. For example, once I made pesto mac n’ cheese, that was amazing!! I have also been known to bake my mac and cheese in a heart shape baking pan.

Well that’s about all that comes to mind right now. …

Happy eating J

Food For Sickies

The past few days I’ve been home sick with a bad cold/flu. I've pretty much spent the last two days in bed on my laptop. Catching up on homework I feel behind on when I went away for the long weekend, and watching way too many episodes of Modern Family (my new favourite TV show. I guess there are few reasons for this solitude: a) to be perfectly honest I don't feel like doing much, b) I don't want to get my family sick, and c) they don't want to get sick, so thusly they are staying far away from me. In fact, my sister has forbid me from going into her bedroom. If I want to talk to her I must stand outside her door, announce myself, and then let her open the door (so I don't  get my germs on it), and then stand in the doorway if I want to talk to her. Which sounds a bit extreme, but in all honesty I think it's fair enough as she has exams coming up.

Since I've been really sick, I haven’t been very hungry, and what I’ve been eating is pretty simple. When I get sick, I always lose my appetite, and only feel like eating plain food. So, out of sheer boredom, and having nothing better to do, I thought I’d compose a list of the things that I eat (and drink) when I’m sick, that help me feel better. 

So, here is my list, in complete random order.

1)      Orange Juice. I always drink OJ when I’m sick in order to get enough vitamin C

2)      Smoothies. If my throat is sore, the cold icy-ness is very soothing

3)      Tea. Mostly herbal kinds. Like chamomile, lemon/ginger, or peppermint

4)      Chicken Noodle Soup. Enough said.

5)      Spicy food. Such as curries, if my nose is stuffy they really help.

6)      Toast. Because if my stomach is upset, its easy on it.

7)      Boiled eggs. They’re simple, but somehow only taste good when you’re sick.

8)      Popsicles. Good for sore throats.

Well I feel as if that was somewhat of an long enough post, -- at least it gave me something to do for a while. Anyway, now its time for me to get some rest, and watch more Modern Family! :)

Summer Food and Memories

With the summer just around the corner, comes lots of fresh food. Where I live, in the summer there is lots of delicious and fresh locally grown produce available. One thing available, is berries. Raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries. Each summer, my family buys huge amounts of all of these berries and we bag and freeze them ourselves. Its a long process and takes most of a day for just one kind of berry. But, but the end of the summer our freezer is stocked with delicious fruit, that will normally last well into the spring.With the berries that we don't freeze, we normally just eat them as they are. Sometimes though, my mom will make a shortcake and use the berries to top the cake along with whipping cream. It is so delicious, and a prefect way to end a summer day.

Another fresh food that is available is corn on the cob. The corn is so sweet and goes so well with BBQ chicken or salmon. Fresh corn on the cob, is just part of summer for me. I have many memories of sitting on my back porch as a kid shucking the corn. As a kid, this was always something I enjoyed doing, and to this day, I still do.

For me, I associate lots of my memories with food. BBQ chicken reminds me of beach picnics with my family on beautiful summer evenings. Tofu dogs remind of camping, my siblings and I ate many tofu dogs on family camping trips. Grilled cheese sandwiches remind me of the summer camp I worked at last summer.  Whatever the found memory is, it is most likely that there is some food that I can associate with it. I think that this is because food brings people together, and when people come together memories are made. Yes, I realize that this sounds very cheesy, but it’s true.

Update and Pictures

Pi Day

As you might know, March 14th was “Pi Day”. Pi day happens every year and commemorates the mathematical constant of Pi.  This is because, when you write out March 14th using the month/day date format you get: 3/14, which are the three most significant figures of Pi.
I wanted to do something to celebrate Pi Day, So instead of doing something incredibly painful, such as trying to memorize the first 100 digits of Pi. I decided to do something much tastier; I decided to make a Pie from scratch. The Pie I made was apple.

The recipe is below. Quantities (beside the pie crust) are approximate.

Pie Crust (adapted from the cookbook “The Perfect Recipe.”)
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
½ tsp salt
3 Tbs Sugar
12 Tbs butter, chilled, cut into ½ inch cubes
8 Tbs Crisco, chilled, cut into ½ inch cubes
8-12 Tbs ice water (the water has to be very cold!)

Pulse all dry ingredients together in a food processor. Then add the butter cubes. Pulse in quick two second bursts, about five times. The butter should be in little pieces, and the mixture should resemble corn meal.

Then, add the Crisco cubes, and again pulse in two second bursts, this time only three times. Finally, add the water one tablespoon at a time using as much or as little as you need. Again, pulse as you go. If your crust has enough water, it will stick together without being crumbly. It also should NOT be sticky to touch. It is a very delicate process, so take your time. However, make sure your water stays nice and cold, by putting ice cubes in it. Once your crust is done, put it in plastic wrap and store it in the fridge for 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Pie Filling
2 medium ambrosia apples, skinned, and cut into ¼ inch pieces
1 medium golden delicious apple, skinned, and cut into ¼ inch pieces
½ cup brown sugar
1 Tbs cinnamon
½ tsp allspice
1/8 tsp cardamom
Juice of half a lemon

Extras
About 2 Tbs butter cut into ¼ inch pieces
4 Tbs brown sugar
Extra cinnamon, taste to your liking, about 1 Tbs


Preheat oven to 425 F.

Mix all of the ingredients from the first list together, and set aside.

Then, on a floured surface, roll out the crust so that it is ¼ inch thick. Take your pie dish, and grease it. Then, put it in face down on top of the crust, and cut around the dish plus an extra inch for overlap. Gently place the cut out crust into your dish, and drape over the edges. Then, take half of the extra: butter, cinnamon, ad sugar, and rub it gently into the crust.

Next, place half of the filling into the plate, and cover with the rest of the extras. Follow with the rest of the filling. Finally,  place the rest of the crust on top. Cut off any excess pieces, and crimp the edges. Cut some sort of hole into the top of the pie, so that the steam can escape.

Place pie into the 425F oven, and bake for 20 minutes. Then, reduce the heat to 305 F and continue baking for another 40 minutes. The crust should be a beautiful golden brown and flaky when it is done.

Remove the pie from the oven, and let it sit for 20 minutes. I must admit, this is the hardest part -- waiting after all that work, but it is so worth it. If you don’t wait, you will burn your mouth and the inside of the pie will be too runny.

Finally, after all that work it is time to enjoy your pie! There are many different ways to eat apple pie. My sister likes hers with lots of vanilla ice cream; my mom likes hers with a giant slice of cheddar cheese. I, however, like to keep it simple: I have mine with a giant glass of ice milk. But, in the end no matter how you like your apple pie, it all boils down to the fact that apple pie is delicious.

Pie making tips!
-Make sure you keep the butter and Crisco as cold as possible.
- Make sure you keep the water as cold as possible.
-Touch the crust as little as possible. Your hands will warm up the crust, which will make it less flaky when you cook it.
-Take your time. Pie crust is challenging to make -- there’s no need to rush something that is difficult.
-When it comes to liquid, sometimes less is more. It is very easy to add too much water to pie crust, so be careful when you add water. Add it very slowly, a little bit at a time.