The Barest Hint of Sweetness

Reduced-Fat Pimento Cheese

2010-06-13T12:33:00.000-07:00

I really love pimento cheese for grilled cheese sandwiches, and the full fat version of pimento cheese is outrageously high in calories. It's 9 WW points per serving just for the pimento cheese if you made it full fat. If you make it reduced in fat, it's only 4 WW points per serving. That's 5 WW points less!! This recipe is great for weight watchers, and I'm currently on weight watchers and this is a nice treat to eat once in a while without feeling quite so guilty about it. :)

Six 2.5 oz. servings
WW Points: 4 points per serving

* 3 oz. light cream cheese
* 4 oz. / 1 cup reduced-fat shredded cheese (I used Sargento Reduced-Fat 4 cheese mexican blend)
* 1/2 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
* 1/4 tsp crushed garlic, or 1/4 tsp garlic powder
* 1/4 cup pimentos, or chopped roasted red peppers (I used the roasted red peppers, it was very good in flavour)
* salt and pepper to taste

Place 3 oz. cream cheese in a small bowl, and microwave for 30 seconds at 50% power.

In a medium size bowl mix with a whisk together cream cheese, mayonnaise, salt and pepper, and garlic paste.

Clean off whisk, and using a spoon mix in the pimentos/red peppers and shredded cheese until combined thoroughly. Place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours to set up. However, if you plan to make grilled cheese with the pimento cheese, you can use it right away.

Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

If you make grilled cheese sandwiches with this awesome pimento cheese, be sure to use a reduced-fat butter spread on each slice of bread.

Weight Watchers Friendly Chicken-Etti

2010-05-18T20:39:00.000-07:00

This is a great recipe, and it's low in fat but still tastes great! It's called Chicken-Etti. The original recipe has one pound of full fat cheese, and it comes out a bit oily and greasy... This is great because it's less cheese, but less oily. I actually like it better with less cheese. Plus the cheese used in this is reduced fat cheese. It's also only 5 weight watcher points per serving!

* 18 oz cooked whole wheat spaghetti cooked in salt water, drained
* 2 cups 2%/reduced fat sharp cheddar (I bought the Kroger 2% sharp cheddar)
* 1 can cream of celery
* 11 ½ oz. of Foster Farms fully cooked grilled chicken strips, defrosted in the microwave, and cubed (if you don’t use the foster farms grilled chicken, the points won’t be the same. We bought our foster farms grilled chicken at Costco.)
* 1 can mild Rotel tomatoes with green peppers/chilis, with juice
* 1 cup chicken broth
* 1 green bell pepper, diced
* No added salt, or pepper.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease, or spray a 13 x 9 pan.

Spread out your cooked, and drained pasta on the bottom of the pan.

In a 1 quart glass pyrex measuring cup, place the can of cream of celery, chicken broth, rotel tomatoes with juice, and whisk. Add 1 cup of cheddar to the liquid mixture and microwave for 2 minutes, stir, then cook for another 2 minutes or until the cheese is just barely melted.

Add the diced bell pepper to the hot liquid and stir.

Spread out the cubed chicken over the spaghetti and pour the sauce over the top. Stir it around a little bit, then top with the remaining 1 cup of cheddar cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Serves 8

Weight Watcher Points: 5

Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Cream

2010-02-19T19:53:00.000-08:00

I really love these cupcakes, they are so moist and light. The raspberry cream adds another dimension that makes them a taste sensation. If you don't like raspberry you could use blueberries, or even blackberries. I don't know how well strawberry would work. Give these a try, they are very light and refreshing. :)

Lemon Cupcakes:

* 1 1/3 cups flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 6 tablespoons butter, softened
* 2/3 cup sugar
* 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
* 1 tablespoon ground lemon zest
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 1/2 cup sour cream
* 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

Preheat oven to 350F; Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners and set aside.

To make the batter whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a small bowl; set aside.

In medium bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy.

With mixer on high speed, gradually beat in sugar, and continue beating until mixture is very light and fluffy.

Lower speed to medium, beat in eggs, one at a time, beating just until blended, then beat in lemon juice, and zest and extract.

Lower speed to low, alternately beat in flour mixture and sour cream, beating just until blended.

Bake cakes about 20 minutes.

Raspberry Cream:

1 pint heavy whipping cream
1/2 - 2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 10 oz. bag frozen unsweetened raspberries

Thaw raspberries; When thawed, blend in a blender until pureed.

Place sieve over a bowl, strain raspberry puree. With a rubber spatula press the sides of the sieve to get all the juice out.

Mix whipped cream until soft peaks form, add 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup of sugar depending on how sweet you'd like it to the whipped cream. Once heavy peaks form, spoon in the strained raspberry puree a little at a time into the whipped cream and continue to whip with the mixer. Once you've added as much raspberry as you'd like, cut the cupcakes in half and dollop the raspberry cream between the two halves. Dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Sore Throat Remedy

2009-11-03T00:37:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I have a sore throat right now, and my sister made me this remedy... It doesn't taste very good, but it really helps. It numbs the throat a little bit, and it soothes the soreness.

1/2 - 1 shot whiskey
1/2 lemon juiced
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons honey
Wedge of lemon
Boiling water

In a mug, add half a shot to one shot of whiskey.

Add the juice of half a lemon.

Add sugar and honey, and stir the mixture.

Add the boiling water to fill the mug 3/4 of the way full, and stir.

You can float the wedge of lemon in your glass for a little bit to add more lemon if you'd like, if it starts to taste bitter, take the lemon wedge out.

Now, it's going to be hard to drink it, but you need to drink it warm. The warmth helps, and if you want you can take two 500 mg tylenol (paracetamol in Europe) right before drinking this remedy.

It seriously helps, my throat was cured for a bit, and it helped me sleep throughout the night. The whiskey helped me sleep.

Pancakes with Coconut Syrup

2009-09-23T20:51:00.000-07:00

So, I love pancakes with coconut syrup, sliced bananas, toasted coconut, and toasted pecans. You could make it with toasted macadamia nuts as well. This recipe is very easy to make and it's sooo good. :3

Buttermilk Pancakes:

2 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs, unbeaten
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup melted butter

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly. Add remaining ingredients and stir lightly to just moisten dry ingredients. Mixture will be thick and lumpy.

Pour 1/4 cup batter into a hot pan and cook until golden on both sides, approximately 2 minutes per side.

Coconut Syrup:

3 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 15 ounce can coconut milk
Pinch of salt

In a saucepan over medium heat add the sugar and water. Bring to a boil, and turn to medium low stirring frequently until reduced by half.

Add the coconut syrup and a pinch of salt and bring to boil, turn down to medium low stirring frequently until syrup is reduced by half.

Remove syrup from heat and set aside.

Toasted Coconut and Pecans:

Preheat oven to 350 F

In two tin pie pans, put one cup coconut in one pie pan, and one cup pecans in another pie pan.

Bake for 15 minutes stirring every 5 minutes.

I hope you enjoy these delicious pancakes with bananas sliced on top, toasted coconut and pecans with the coconut syrup. It's truly a taste sensation! ^_^

Homemade Ginger Ale

2009-09-03T17:33:00.000-07:00

So, I've decided to start making my own soda... I don't like the fact that most companies put caffeine in their soda, and other ingredients that are not needed. I like this all natural soda, and it has a great taste.

Ginger Simple Syrup

1/2 cup peeled, organic ginger root
2 cups raw sugar
1 cup water
1 lemon
cans of sparkling water (which is the same thing as club soda)

In a saucepan add sugar and water. Bring to a light boil over medium heat.

While the syrup is coming to a boil, peel the ginger and wash your lemon.

Once the syrup comes to a boil turn down the heat to medium-low, and let simmer while you finish peeling and ginger.

Cut the lemon in half and juice it; Set aside.

Add the peeled ginger to the syrup and simmer for 9 minutes.

Cut the juiced lemon into quarters, removing the end pieces.

Add the lemon quarters to the syrup and cook for 1 minute.

Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice.

Strain the syrup through a sieve into a bowl. Cool to room temperature, and store in a jar, or air tight container in the refrigerator.

To make a soda:

3 - 6 tablespoons ginger syrup to taste
1 can sparkling water
Ice if desired

Pour the syrup into a 16 oz glass / tall glass, add ice if desired, and pour over the sparkling water and stir until well combined. You've just made homemade ginger ale with no added dyes, or preservatives! Enjoy!

Giveaway From Tricia's Dish

2009-08-14T15:10:00.000-07:00

I know this is not cooking related, but there is a giveaway over at Tricia's Dish for a handbag, and I so I thought I'd share this with everyone else.

Mrs. Weasley's Rock Cakes Updated

2009-07-15T15:23:00.000-07:00

So, I realised that my conversion skills from metric to imperial really blow, so I had to change the recipe to the correct conversion. The original recipe I posted was a half recipe, so I just had to change the half recipe to metric... Before the metric recipe was the whole recipe, and I converted it to imperial in a half recipe not knowing that my conversion was off. However, the conversion to imperial turned out to be an exact half recipe, so the Americans were making half recipes and the metric users were making the full recipe. I'm really sorry for this, now the metric users can have a half recipe, and the Americans can have a full recipe. So, I have updated it to give the correct imperial conversion.

Here is the link to Mrs. Weasley's Rock Cakes Updated

Cherry Almond Muffins

2009-07-13T13:16:00.000-07:00

These muffins are so moist and light. I love the cherry preserves and the almond flavouring... This was a major hit in my house!

Yield: 18 muffins

Topping:
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/4 cup brown sugar
* 1/4 cup granulated sugar
* Pinch ground cinnamon
* 1/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces
* 1/4 cup slivered almonds

Muffins:
* 3 cups cake flour
* 2 cups superfine sugar
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
* 1/2 cup butter
* 2 teaspoons vanilla
* 3 eggs
* 1/8 cup vegetable oil & 1/8 cup melted butter
* 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
* 1/2 cup cherry preserves (I used Trader Joe's)

Muffins:

* Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
* Stir to combine.
* Spoon butter into dry ingredients and beat well with mixer on medium speed.
* Mix until no chunks of butter are visible.
* The mix should resemble cornmeal.
* Using an electric mixer, combine cake mix, eggs, oil, butter, extract and preserves. Batter will be somewhat lumpy.
* Use an ice cream scoop to evenly fill each muffin pan with the batter. Sprinkle tops of muffins with 2 teaspoons of almond topping. Bake 17 to 21 minutes.

Topping:

* In a medium bowl combine all topping ingredients except almonds. Using a pastry blender or 2 forks, combine ingredients to a course consistency. Once combined, fold in the almonds.
* Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin tins with paper liners for 18 muffins.

Peachy Keen Splash

2009-06-29T11:17:00.001-07:00

Here is the recipe for the peachy keen splash that you can get at Red Robin... The Monin syrup was a little more effort than going down to a store and buying it. I had to call Red Robin and ask them if they'd sell me a couple bottles and they agreed. They had to order it for me and I had to wait a few days, but I got it at wholesale price. Anyway, here is the recipe.

* 2 tablespoons Monin Peach Syrup (I might buy some peach flavoured Torani just to see if it would taste the same)
* 1 tablespoon Minute Maid Lemonade (I used the frozen lemonade)
* 1 12 ounce can Sprite
* 1/8 cup diced peaches (optional)
* Ice
* If you want a spiked drink you can add 1 oz. Bacardi Rum to the drink

In a 20 ounce glass pour in syrup and lemonade. Stir.

Fill glass with ice. Pour in Sprite and top off with peaches.

Enjoy!

*NOTE: The peaches don't really change the flavour of the drink, so you can leave them out if you don't feel like trying to find frozen diced peaches, or dicing a fresh one yourself. However, the peaches are great if you are having a party and you are entertaining, they make the drink look nice.

Purple Fuzzy Cow

2009-05-02T23:35:00.000-07:00

This drink is similar to a Purple Cow, but the reason why it's called a Purple Fuzzy Cow is because of the carbonated soda. I love these drinks and my mum used to make them for me when I was young child, and I've loved them ever since!

Serves 1

2 - 3 scoops lemon or lime sherbet
2/3 cup grape juice
1/2 - 1 cup 7 up (7 up is the best for this drink, it's not quite as sweet as other lemon-lime sodas, you can also use an all natural soda from a health store if you wish)

In a 20 ounce glass, place 2 or 3 scoops sherbet.

Pour grape juice over the top, then top off with 7 up.

Eat with a spoon like you would a root beer float. Enjoy!

Chicken Teriyaki Burgers

2009-04-19T19:47:00.001-07:00

I made up this recipe because I wanted something new, and low in fat to eat. I wasn't expecting these burgers to be as good as they are. I really love these burgers, and on weight watchers they are 11 points per burger.

Serves: 4

1 lbs ground chicken
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce (Recommended: Yoshida's)
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp minced ginger (I used minced ginger in a jar, and it's more of a pureed texture)
2 tbsp pineapple juice
1 cup plain bread crumbs
2 oz. provolone cheese
1 can rings of pineapple (optional)
Green Leaf Lettuce (optional)
Sliced Tomatoes (optional)
4 potato hamburger buns

Preheat a greased non-stick pan or skillet over medium heat.

In a bowl small mix together the teriyaki sauce, garlic, ginger, and pineapple juice.

In a medium sized bowl, mix chicken and 2/3 of the teriyaki mixture. Add the bread crumbs and mix well.

Pat four pineapple rings dry and brush the teriyaki mixture over both sides and sauté in the preheated pan on both sides for 2 - 3 minutes or until golden brown. Side pineapple aside.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Weigh out 4.25 ounces of chicken mixture, or divide into four equal parts and shape into patties. Then cook on both sides for about 6 - 7 minutes or until medium brown. Using some of the left over teriyaki, brush the tops of the chicken burgers once they have been flipped. This will add a golden colour to the burgers, and also add more teriyaki flavour.

Keep your oven on warm and place burgers inside warm oven with half a slice of provolone cheese on top to melt.

Place patties on buns, and add pineapple, lettuce, and tomatoes.

Enjoy!

Easy Rice Breakfast

2009-04-02T21:55:00.000-07:00

I came up with this the other day because I had some left over rice and didn't know what to do with it... I'm supposed to try to limit my wheat consumption, so I decide to go gluten free for this breakfast. I hope you all enjoy!

4 oz. cooked rice (I used jasmine rice)
1 tablespoon toasted coconut
1 tablespoon toasted sliced almonds
2 tablespoons dried cranberries
2 tablespoons low-fat 1% milk
2 teaspoons honey of your choice

In a bowl weigh out your rice. Pour in your milk, honey, and cranberries and microwave for 1 minute. Remove from microwave and stir; add almonds and coconut. Enjoy!

Coconut Laddu

2009-01-09T14:42:00.000-08:00

Coconut Laddu is a very popular sweet treat in India. It's very rich and easy to make. These coconut laddu's are not low in calories... On Weight Watchers they are 4 points per coconut laddu. You can reduce the calories by using fat-free condensed milk, but it only cuts the weight watcher points by 1, so they are 3 points per coconut laddu with the fat-free condensed milk.

* 1 tbsp butter
* 1 14 ounce package dried shredded coconut(bakers brand is the best), ground up in a food processor or if you can find finely ground coconut, that would work too.
* 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk (or fat-free for less calories)
* 2 pinches freshly ground cardamom, or 1/8 teaspoon of jarred ground cardamom

In a non-stick skillet, melt butter over medium heat.

Add 3 cups finely ground coconut and brown for about 5 minutes or until most of the coconut is golden brown through out.

Add one can sweetened condensed milk and stir for about 6 - 8 minutes or until it's very sticky and thick and comes together in one mass.

Turn off the heat and add the cardamom and mix well.

Let the mixture cool enough to handle, you still want the mixture warm or you won't be able to form balls.

Set aside the rest of the coconut in a bowl.

With the warm coconut and condensed milk mixture, make balls about the size golf balls, then roll the coconut laddu's in the coconut that has been set aside.

Makes roughly 20 coconut laddu's

Creamy Tomato Bisque

2008-11-27T10:57:00.000-08:00

Okay, this recipe is normally very fattening, and if you'd like to make it the original way, I will post how much butter and cream you need to use. When I make this reduced in calories, my family can't tell a difference. I thought it tasted the same as well. It was really nice in texture and the flavour was the same as always. This soup is fantastic on a cold night when you want something warm and comforting. When I was a child, I hated tomato soup from the cans and I swore to never eat it again, but my family was begging me to make a tomato bisque. So, I reluctantly made it and I was astonished with the difference from homemade to canned crap. I love this soup and I would hope that you guys would try it too. :)

* 4 tablespoons Brummel & Brown or real butter
* 3 slice bacon, finely chopped
* 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
* 1 carrot, chopped
* 1 stalk celery, chopped
* 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
* 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 litre chicken broth
* 28 ounces tomato sauce
* 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (I grew my own and sometimes I use fresh, if you use fresh throw in 3 sprigs fresh thyme)
* 2 tablespoons pesto
* 1/2 cup fat-free evaporated milk and 1/2 cup heavy cream, or 1 cup heavy cream
* Kosher salt to taste
* Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, until crisp and most of the fat has rendered, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Place a soup pan over medium heat, add the brummel & brown, or butter. When the soup pan is hot add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until soft and fragrant, about 8 minutes.

Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Pour in the broth and tomato sauce and bring to a boil while whisking constantly. Add the thyme and pesto. Lower the heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Working in batches, transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Return the puree to the pot and reheat over medium heat.

Whisk the evaporated milk and heavy cream, or just all heavy cream into the soup and season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide among warm soup bowls and serve immediately with bacon on top of the soup.

Gypsy Chicken

2008-11-21T13:49:00.000-08:00

Okay, so this is a Spanish dish that my sister's husband's grandmother gave to me... When I say Spanish, I mean Spanish. From Spain. Not Mexico. So, anyhoo... This is a great recipe. You just throw everything in a pot and let it cook for a couple hours, and then serve it with some cooked rice. Please don't snub your nose at this when you see that it has raisins and green olives. It's actually really good. I didn't think it sounded good until I actually tasted it, and it's an amazing dish.

Serves 6

You will want to cook this dutch style (in a large pot with a tight fitting lid).

Combine together into large pot:

2 15 oz. cans of tomato sauce
1 green pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 cup dark raisins
1 cup green Mediterranean olives
1 1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 1/4 teaspoon oregano
4 large bay leaves
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
4 pounds chicken legs or chicken breast, whatever part of the chicken you prefer

Bring to a boil for 2 - 3 minutes, stir, then reduce heat to low and simmer covered for at least 2 hours. You can stir occasionally throughout the cooking period. Serve over white or brown rice.

*NOTE: I usually simmer this for about 3 hours. The longer you let it simmer the better the sauce tastes.

Flourless Chocolate Kahlua Cake

2008-11-19T22:50:00.000-08:00

I love making this cake because it's so light and airy, but extremely rich and chocolaty. The cajeta sauce is amazing as well. I hope you all like it!

Yield: 10 to 12 servings

Ingredients

* 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter
* 8 ounces semisweet chocolate
* 7 egg yolks
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1 1/2 ounces coffee liqueur (recommended: Kahlua -- I've used hazelnut coffee liqueur before and it turned out really nice)
* Whites from 5 eggs
* 1 cup sliced almonds, toasted
* Cajeta, recipe follows

Cajeta:

* 1/2 cup water
* 1 cup sugar
* Approximately 1/2 cup heavy cream
* 2 tablespoons butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch round pie pan. Line pan with greased parchment or waxed paper. In the top of a double boiler, melt the butter and chocolate and stir until smooth. Whip the egg yolks and the sugar until fluffy and pale in color. Fold butter and chocolate mixture into the egg yolk and sugar mixture, adding the coffee liqueur. Whip the egg whites to soft peaks and gently fold into the chocolate mixture. Pour into the pie pan and bake for 25 to 35 minutes then allow to cool completely.

Cover cake and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Cajeta: In a medium saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil, do not stir. Remove from heat when the sugar is amber in color and add enough cream to thin the caramel to a fairly liquid consistency. Stir in butter. To test consistency, dip a spoon into the caramel mixture and allow to cool. If the "cajeta" is gooey but holds its shape, it's ready; if it hardens too much, add a little more cream and test again.

Drizzle warm cajeta over individual slices of cake and sprinkle each slice with 1 - 2 tbsp toasted almonds.

Mongolian Pork with Vegetables and Rice

2008-11-17T21:17:00.000-08:00

I found this recipe on the net, but the only thing I used was the sauce recipe for the pork... The vegetables and the method of cooking is all my own. I tasted the sauce before it was cooked and it didn't taste very good, and I was starting to wonder if it was going to ruin my pork chops, but fear not... This recipe, if cooked the way I am telling you, will turn out beautifully. I have some left overs for lunch and thank God for that because this stuff is wicked good.

Makes 8 servings

18 oz. raw pork chops on the bone, trimmed of all fat
8 cups cooked jasmine rice to serve

Mongolian Marinade:

* 1 cup hoisin sauce
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce (if you use reduced sodium, I cannot guarantee that they will turn out good)
* 1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
* 1 teaspoon any brand hot sauce sauce
* 1 1/2 teaspoons lee kum kee black bean chili sauce
* 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed ginger (I bought the ginger in a jar that is like a paste)
* 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
* 3/4 teaspoon fresh ground white pepper

Stir-Fry:

* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 1/2 tsp sea salt or kosher salt
* 2 zucchini's
* 1/2 an onion
* 1 red bell pepper
* 1 green bell pepper
* 1 yellow bell pepper
* 1/2 cup of reserved marinade set aside

Trim the excess meat and fat away from the ends of the chop bones, leaving them exposed. Put the pork chops in a clean plastic bag and lightly sprinkle with water to prevent the meat from tearing when pounded. Using the smooth side of a meat mallet or heavy object like a bottle of wine or a marble rolling pin, pound the meat down to an even 1 inch thickness, being careful not to hit bones. Alternatively, have your butcher cut thinner chops and serve 2 per serving. To make the marinade, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Take out 1/2 cup marinade and set aside for later. Coat the pork chops liberally with the rest of the marinade and marinate for 1 hour.

Place the pork chops and the marinade the chops were in into a slow cooker on high. Cook for 3 1/2 hours, then take the pork chops out and remove the bone and any gristle and cut each chop into strips and cook for an additional 1 hour.

Turn the slow cooker off, and let the chops and sauce sit while you make the stir fry.

In a large frying pan or wok, heat olive oil over medium high. Add the vegetables and salt and stir frequently until the vegetables are no longer crunchy, but still have a crispness to them.

Once the vegetables are cooked, remove from heat and coat the vegetables with the 1/2 cup of reserved marinade and let them stand for a few minutes.

Cook the rice about 20 minutes before the vegetables then remove from heat and keep covered until ready to serve.

Low-Fat Cherry Clafoutis

2008-10-13T11:41:00.000-07:00

I love Cherry Clafoutis, it's like a custard with cherries in it. This is a low-fat version and it's really good, despite the fact that it's "low-fat". Don't let those words scare you, because this is a wonderful dessert. I got this recipe from weight watchers, but I made a couple changes to it. I hope you all enjoy!

1 14 ounce can pitted dark cherries, drained
3 large egg(s)
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1 oz cognac
1 cup(s) 1% low-fat milk
2/3 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup(s) powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon powdered sugar, for garnish
6 tablespoons aerosol whipped cream

EDIT: July 28th, 2009
I used my own cherries, I took about 1 1/2 lbs to 2 lbs of cherries, and rinsed them, stemmed them, and slit the side of the cherries. Then I brought 2 cups water and 2 cups sugar to a boil, then cooked the cherries in the simple syrup for 20 minutes. Then I drained the cherries, and kept the syrup left over. Let the cherries cool a bit, then pinched the pit out, and cut the cherries in half.

I also tripled the recipe, and I used 2 cups whole milk, and 1 cup half and half and I tripled all the other ingredients.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Coat a 10-inch pie plate with cooking spray.

Arrange cherries on bottom of prepared pie plate; set side.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs until frothy; whisk in extract, salt, cognac and milk. Add flour and 1/3 cup of sugar, a little at a time, whisking with each addition; mix until just combined. Pour mixture over cherries and bake for 10 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 300ºF and bake until center of clafoutis puffs up and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Allow clafoutis to cool before sprinkling with 1/4 teaspoon of powdered sugar. Cut into 6 pieces and serve.

Minestrone Soup

2008-10-11T22:30:00.000-07:00

I created this soup because I wanted something light for dinner and it's getting quite cold outside now, so I wanted something warm and comforting. This is a great recipe if you are trying limited to the amount of calories you can eat. I'm not exactly sure how many calories would be in this, but on Weight Watchers it's 3 points per serving.

8 cups beef broth
1 cup red wine (something good enough to drink)
1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
4 tablespoons basil pesto
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 6 ounce can tomato paste
2 large potatoes with skin on, cubed
1 carrot, diced
1 14 ounce can kidney beans, drained
1 1/2 teaspoons celery salt or kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
4 ounces uncooked pasta (I used Barilla Piccolini Mini Wheels pasta)

In a large saucepan over medium heat, boil broth, wine, diced tomatoes with juice, basil pesto, garlic, and tomato paste for one hour.

Add potatoes, carrots, kidney beans, celery salt, and sugar. Cook covered for another 45 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.

Add pasta and cook covered for 15 minutes or until al dente.

Makes 12 - 1 cup servings

Low-Fat Antipasti Pasta Salad

2008-07-06T17:36:00.000-07:00

My grandmother made this and I couldn't believe that it was low-fat pasta salad because it tasted so good... I really like this pasta salad and I will definitely be making this in the near future!

Servings: 8 – 1 cup servings

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups broccoli, cut into small florets
12 ounces cooked pasta, rinsed with cold water
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
½ cup purple onion, diced
2 bell peppers of any colour, chopped (My grandma used red, yellow, and green in hers)
20 medium burgundy olives, sliced
½ package turkey pepperoni, sliced into strips
2/3 cup light Italian salad dressing (I like wishbone salad dressing)

1. In a pan blanch the broccoli for a few minutes then drain and rinse with cold water.
2. In a bowl add all of the ingredients and mix well.
3. It’s ready to serve! Enjoy!

Thai Chicken Curry

2008-06-14T13:19:00.000-07:00

This recipe is great... I love it, it has great flavour and it's really easy to make. Serve it with rice and you've got a nice meal.

* 3 tablespoons red mild Indian curry paste, Patak's Mild Coriander & Cumin is a good brand
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
* 1 tbsp. pesto
* 1/2 bunch cilantro, leaves chopped
* 2 (13.5-ounce) cans coconut milk
* 2 tablespoons soy sauce
* Kosher salt
* Freshly ground black pepper
* Steamed rice, to serve
* Paprika, for garnish
* 1 scallion, thinly sliced, for garnish

In a large skillet, mix together the curry paste and oil over medium heat. Cook until it sizzles for 2 minutes. Add the chicken to the skillet and stir. Cook for 8 minutes stirring occasionally.

Add the pesto, cilantro, coconut milk, and soy sauce and season with salt and pepper. Give it a good stir, cover it, and cook on medium low for 10 minutes. Stir it again, cover, and let it rest for 3 or 4 minutes off the heat. Serve over steamed rice, garnished with paprika and scallions.

*Note: Patak's Curry paste is available in the US & UK. You need to get it at indian markets in the US.

Barley Tabbouleh Salad

2008-06-11T00:22:00.000-07:00

This recipe is wonderful... It goes very well with my spiced hummus recipe that I have posted earlier in this blog. Both hummus and tabbouleh are middle eastern dishes. You can eat tabbouleh with flat bread, pita chips, romaine hearts, or by itself. This recipe has a nice balance of all the flavours and tastes amazing. I hope some of you will be able to enjoy this.

* 1 1/4 cups pearl barley
* 3 cups salted water
* 1/3 cup olive oil
* 3 tbsp. lemon juice
* Zest of 1/2 lemon
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 green onion, chopped
* Salt and pepper to taste
* 1 roma tomato, seeded and diced
* 1 cup seedless cucumber, diced
* 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, minced (please don't use regular parsley, flat-leaf is traditional in middle eastern cooking)
* 1/4 cup cilantro, minced

In a saucepan, bring salted water to a boil. Add the barley and reduce heat to a simmer covered for 25 minutes. Drain.

Rinse barley with cold water in a strainer until all the grains are cooled.

Transfer to bowl and toss with olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, minced garlic, green onions, salt and pepper.

Before serving add tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, and cilantro.

Enjoy!

Khichdi (Rice and Lentils)

2008-06-09T23:30:00.000-07:00

This Indian dish is very easy to make and only takes 30 minutes to prepare... It is also prepared in one pot, which is nice for me. No extra dishes! Oh and did I mention it tastes really good? I love it! My mum hates lentils, but when she tried this, she really liked it.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 7 oz. (1 cup) basmati or jasmine rice
• 3.5 oz. (1/2 cup) green or yellow lentils
• 1 large onion, chopped (optional)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 2 potatoes, peeled and diced in cubes
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 2 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp kosher salt or more to taste
• 4 cups warm water

Procedure:

Heat the butter over medium low and fry chopped onions until it turns brown. Add minced garlic and ginger paste. Now mix garam masala and fry for 3 minutes. Pour in warm water and add lentils. Cook for 10 minutes. Add rice, potatoes, and salt; Stir. Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.

*Note:

This is supposed to be a very moist rice dish... Not all the liquid will evaporate like when rice is cooked plain. As long as the rice, lentils, and potatoes are cooked, it is finished.

Enjoy!

Paneer Makhani

2008-06-06T23:51:00.000-07:00

This is such a wonderful dish... I made my own paneer, to go with my makhani sauce, but you can buy it pre-made if you don't want to make it yourself... You can replace tandoori chicken for the paneer and make chicken makhani or in indian, 'Murgh Makhani'. Serve this wonderful dish with basmati rice or pulao and some naan and you've got a great dinner.

Yields: 6 Servings

* 1 cup cubed paneer
* 1 1/2 tsp garam masala
* 1 tbsp sugar
* 1/2 tsp chili powder
* 1 14 oz can tomato sauce
* 1 tsp crushed ginger
* 1 tsp crushed garlic
* 3/4 cup whipping cream
* 1 cup water
* 1/2 tsp ground fenugreek
* 6 tbsp butter
* 1/2 serrano green chili, with insides taken out
* 1/4 tsp. salt

Heat 2 tablespoons butter in medium sized pan over medium low heat. Add the paneer and fry until golden brown on top and bottom of cubes. Remove paneer from pan and set aside on a plate or in a bowl.

Heat 4 tablespoons butter in the same pan the paneer was fried in, over medium low heat. Add garam masala. Wait until it crackles. Add ginger, garlic, and 1/2 green chili. Cook 2 minutes. Add tomato sauce, chili powder, salt, and 1 cup water. Boil, reduce heat, simmer 10 minutes. Add sugar and ground fenugreek.

Add fried paneer cubes. Simmer 5 minutes. Add cream.

Enjoy!

Paneer (Fresh Indian Cheese)

2008-06-05T17:12:00.000-07:00

This is a wonderful cheese and can be made in one day if you start in the morning, it will be finished by evening. The flavours are very mild, but it has a unique flavour.

Equipment:

* Stove top
* 3 - 5 sheets cheese cloth or old linen i.e. an old pillow case cut down each side and at the bottom seam throughly washed in soapy bleach water and rinsed very well. (I used old linen, and it worked out very nicely, in fact I don't think I'd use cheese cloth at all.)
* 1 large pot
* 1 wooden spoon
* 1 colander
* 2 plates
* Tin cans, or something heavy like a brick, at least 10 lbs or 22kg.

Ingredients:

* 1 litre or 33.8 ounces rich 3.8% milk (avoid ultra-pasteurized)
* 2 tablespoons white vinegar
* 1/2 - 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Procedure:

In the sink or over a bowl, line the colander with the cheese cloth or old linen.

In a pot bring the milk to a low boil over medium heat (Be careful—once milk boils, it foams and makes a mess quickly). Stir constantly as it heats up to avoid scalding on the bottom of the pan.

Once the milk has come to a boil, removed from heat and add vinegar one teaspoon at a time and stir until curdles start to form and a yellowish liquid separates the white curds.

It should look like this...

Once the milk starts to curdle and you can see separate curds from the yellowish whey, walk away from the mixture for 10 minutes so that the curds can develop.

After 10 minutes, give it a stir again. Strain the curds over the lined colander.

Gently stir it around a bit to help the whey to drain. Once it is cool enough to handle sprinkle on the salt to taste, just a little not too much. Stir in the salt into the curds, then bring all sides of the linen together and start twisting. The tighter you twist the more liquid will come out. While twisting, stop for a few minutes and squeeze the ball of cheese to get the whey out. The more you squeeze, the firmer your cheese will be.

Once you have squeeze it, let the cheese sit in the colander to drain off the whey for a few minutes. Once the cheese has drained, untwist the cloth, but keep the cheese covered. While still in the cloth pat out a 1/2 inch disc on a plate and place another plate on top, then place your cans, or heavy object on top of the cheese and put it in the refrigerator for 2 hours. More whey will come off the cheese, discard it or save it for making your next batch of paneer. The whey from a previous batch will yield a more tender cheese.

Wrap the cheese and cut it into cubes and enjoy!

You can make paneer makhani (butter paneer), or fry the paneer in a little ghee (clarified butter), or oil for a tasty snack.

*NOTE:

The paneer should not be crumbly, it should be a solid cheese, but soft like goats cheese.

Makes about 6 ounces of cheese. Use immediately, or keep in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Spiced Hummus

2008-06-02T23:10:00.000-07:00

Difficulty: Easy
Appliances: Food processor and blender

* 2 (30 oz) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
* Tahini Sauce, optional, See recipe below
* 2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
* 4 tbsp lemon juice
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 1/2 tsp garam masala**
* 1 1/2 tsp. ground corriander
* 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
* 3/4 tsp salt
* 3/4 cup olive oil
* 1/2 cup water

Tahini Sauce:

4 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp olive oil

Tahini Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a shallow dish, like a 8" - 9" pie tin, place sesame seeds and shake lightly to make an even layer.

Place sesame seeds in oven and toast for 6 - 8 minutes or until golden brown.

If you don't have an oven, you can do this in a skillet over some sort of low heat stirring occasionally until sesame seeds are brown.

Cool the seeds.

In a blender, place the cooled seeds and add the olive oil and blend until you get a thick, but pourable sauce.

Put aside.

Hummus Procedure:

Process garbanzo beans and tahini in food processor. Blend in remaining ingredients in food processor and blend for 5 - 10 minutes or until creamy and all the garbanzo beans are blended. Chill in the refrigerator for an hour or so for flavours to meld. Serve with flat bread, pita chips, or fresh vegetables.

** Available in some super markets, and most indian stores. If you can't find garam masala, here is a recipe you can use. Click here

This recipe makes a lot of hummus, I usually make enough to munch on over the week, so if you don't want so much, try cutting all the measurements in half.

Orange FREEZE

2008-03-16T19:37:00.000-07:00

I love this drink... There is a hamburger place in Astoria that serves hamburgers and orange freezes and I live about 2 hours away and I wanted to come up with something that was similar in flavour, etc. It's still a little fizzy from the soda and has a good creamy texture from the ice cream. A must try!

Serves 1 (You only want to blend one freeze at a time in the blender or you could end up with soda all over the place in your kitchen)

4 heathly sized scoops of a good quality vanilla or vanilla bean ice cream
4 ice cubes
1 cup - 1 1/2 cups sunkist orange soda (I like the sunkist because it's all natural) or any kind of soda you'd like to use in case you don't like orange

Place all the ingredients in the blender and on high start out on the lowest setting (on my blender there is a button for low and high and then from there, there are buttons that start out low and then go higher) then gradually go up higher until the mixture is smooth and frothy. Pour into a glass that is at least 16 ounces, preferably 20 ounces if you have it. Insert a straw of your favourite colour (pink was my straw) and enjoy the yumminess of the Orange FREEZE!!

Warning: This drink is COLD!!! Drink at your own risk. Side effects may include brain freeze, temperature drop within the body, and a case of the shivers. :)

Looking To Link With Others

2008-02-10T21:41:00.000-08:00

I am looking for some people with other cooking blogs or websites, or any blogs/websites for that matter to link with.... If anyone who views my blog is interested in linking with me, please send me an email... Thanks! :)

Joujoudoll@comcast.net

Sweet and Sour Chicken

2008-02-09T00:39:00.001-08:00

This is something I made up on my own and have gotten the flavours right where I like it... I love sweet and sour chicken and I live out in the boonies, so it's not so easy to go to town and buy chinese food. It's more convenient for me to go to the small super market near my house and buy some of the ingredients than jump in my car and drive 15 miles to the nearest chinese restaurant... Haha. Most of the stuff in this are things that I usually have on hand, but the fresh produce is something I have to buy when I want to make it. This recipe is not as sweet as some in the restaurants and it has no food colouring in it because I don't want to polute my body with chemicals, but if you want it red, then by all means add food colouring. This is also a lower in calorie version of this favourite, but still has tons of flavour!

Serves 6

Ingredients

Sauce:

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped into big chunks
1/2 green bell Pepper, chopped into big chunks
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped into big chunks
1 tsp. minced ginger root
1 15 oz. can chunked pineapple, drained
2 tbsp. sweet chile sauce, optional
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
3 cups pineapple juice
3 tbsp. reduced sodium soy sauce
6 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup water
kosher salt to taste
non-stick cooking spray

In a large sauce pan, liberally spray with non-stick cooking spray over medium heat.

When pan is hot, add the red bell pepper, green bell pepper, onion, and ginger root and sauté for 5 minutes.

Add pineapple chunks, sweet chile sauce, rice vinegar, pineapple juice, and soy sauce.

In a small bowl or cup, add cornstarch and 1/2 cup water and stir until completely mixed together.

Season sauce to taste and bring sauce to a low boil over medium heat... When a boil emerges, pour in the water and cornstarch mixture.

Stir with wooden spoon until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Turn off heat and serve with chicken (see recipe below) and jasmine rice.

At this point you have to decide if you want to deep fry your chicken, or pan fry it in a little oil in a pan... This recipe for chicken can be made either way.

Fried Chicken:

4 large chicken breasts, cut into chunks
2 cups buttermilk
1 tbsp. sweet chile sauce
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1/2 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. kosher or sea salt
Corn oil for frying

In a zip lock bag combine the chicken chunks, half the buttermilk (1 cup), and sweet chile sauce and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, preferably 1 hour.

In pie tins or any kind of shallow dish, mix flour, breadcrumbs, and salt in one dish and 1 cup buttermilk and 2 eggs in another dish and a large plate for placing chicken on after breading.

Take the chicken chunks and place them in the flour mixture and roll around for an even coating, then place chicken chunks into buttermilk mixture and back into the flour mixture for a double coating. Repeat until all chicken is coated.

Prepare your deep fryer with the corn oil at 350 degrees. When the fryer is ready, place only a few pieces of chicken at a time (about 4-6 pieces). Fry for about 5 minutes or until golden brown, repeat all the chicken in batches.

If you want to pan fry them, you can prepare a large skillet with about 1/2 an inch of corn oil or olive oil in the bottom of the pan over medium-low heat. When pan is hot, but not smoking, add the chicken in batches of 6 - 8 pieces of chicken at a time for 3 - 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

Serve chicken with jasmine rice and sweet and sour sauce. Enjoy!

Make Your Own Microwave "Warm Delights" Minis

2008-02-08T01:01:00.000-08:00

Okay, I really like those warm delights, the mini ones are 150 calories and very yummy... I was trying to think of a way to replica that at home and I figured out a way that I really like it, but even better than the Warm Delights you buy in the store, and way cheaper too... It's a little more work at home, but I figured out it's 15¢ for each mini cake at home, versus $2.00 per cake from the store... You pay about $4.00 for the cake minis for a package with 2 mini cakes in them, but the regulars only come with 1 cake and those are $4.00 each. I'm sorry, but I really have a hard time paying that much for a cake that is a single serving when I can buy a cake mix for less than a buck at my local super market and a cheap packet of generic brand pudding and make the same thing for much much less. Dollars less in fact. It costs pennies to do at home, versus dollars from the grocery store.

So, here is the Recipe:

Makes 21 Mini Cakes with 1/4 cup dry mix

1 Duncan Hines Cake Mix
1 Sugar Free Instant Pudding Package (4 serving package; in the corresponding flavour of the cake mix)
1 1/3 Cups Dried Egg Whites (you can purchase this at baking shops)
Fruit Preserves, Hot Fudge, or Caramel in the tubs for dipping fruit (I get the low fat caramel and it tastes great, just don't go overboard with it, it can be a bit overwhelmingly sweet if you put too much on.)

Okay, you can do two things... You can either measure out 1/3 cup of mix into little packets or you can just scoop out 1/3 cup of mix whenever you want to make a cake... Then add 1 1/2 tablespoons water and 1 teaspoon oil and mix well.

Now, the Dried Egg Whites are not necessary. This is how I make it at home because I don't have the dried egg whites... I measure out 1/2 cup of mix (just the cake and pudding), and mix in 1 egg white, 2 tablespoons water, 2 teaspoons of oil, and mix well. Then I divide it into 2 mini cakes because I share with my mum whenever I make them. The problem is, I don't know how to make just one serving because I can't put half an egg white in the cake mix... So, for me it works out well to use the egg whites from an egg, but if you are single, it might work best to get the egg whites dried.

Now, I usually very lightly spray the bottom of my bowls (any microwave safe bowl works just fine, I have used correll (sp?), and even a mug.), and then swish a paper towel inside the bowl to make an even coat. Then I pour the cake mix in the bowl and if I am having chocolate cake, I use that caramel that is already made for dipping apples, and put 1 1/2 teaspoons on top and then microwave for 35 seconds in a 1000 watt microwave. Times may differ depending on the microwave, but you want the cake to look dry on top and have no sign of moistness... The caramel will melt and get saucy, so don't let that get dry, just the cake.

You can experiment with flavour, I am thinking of mixing up a white cake version and using lemon curd on top to make a light lemony swirl cake... For chocolate, you could use fruit preserves for flavours, or hot fudge, peanut butter, etc.

I know it sounds odd to microwave a cake, I thought it was too, but if you follow my recipe, you will see that it's very moist and quite good... I also top off with a little squirt of whipped cream. :)

If you don't want a mini, you can make the entire 1/2 cup serving with 1 egg white etc, and you will want to microwave for 90 seconds or so.

I use these little ramekins to make my minis in, but you'll want a bigger bowl, just a normal sized cereal bowl to make a regular sized cake in. :)

I hope everyone enjoys. If you try it, please let me know what you think.

Vietnamese Stick Noodle Salad with Grilled Shrimp

2008-01-25T13:16:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I've posted an entry, and for that I am sorry.

I've been a bit lazy lately and a lot has been going on in my life lately. I am hoping I can try to make more time for my blog. I really do enjoy sharing recipes with other people and I would love to hear from all of you and if you've tried my recipes how you liked them.

So, since I've neglected my blog so much lately, I will post a recipe to try to make up for it. :) I've been on a lower in fat diet since November and I've been trying to lose a little weight and I hate the fact that a lot of the foods I like are not low in fat and it's hard to replica something that is rich in fat and carbohydrates. Alas, I have come to the conclusion that you can cut the fat by about half and still be safe and limit the carbs and eat the things you love in moderation. So, here is a recipe for something that I love that I've made lower in fat and still just as tasty.

This recipe is Traditionally made with pork, but you can get it with shrimp in the Vietnamese restaurants. It's one of my favourite foods of all time.

Vietnamese Stick Noodle Salad with Grilled Shrimp

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 lbs. Stick Rice Noodles, cooked 3 minutes
1 lbs. Raw Medium Sized Shrimp, Marinated (see following recipe)
4 Cups Butter Leaf Lettuce, tore into small pieces
1/2 Large Cucumber, sliced into thin strips
1 Large Carrot, shredded, or grated
1 Bundle Cilantro aka Coriander, chopped
1 Small Package Bean Sprouts
4 tbsp. Peanuts, Chopped
3 tbsp. Green Onion, Chopped
2 tbsp. olive oil or corn oil

Procedure

1. Divide the Nuoc Cham in half. Use one half for marinating the shrimp for 10 minutes.
2. Preheat skillet over medium-low heat with 2 tbsp. olive oil or corn oil.
3. When pan is hot, place the shrimp in skillet and cook on each side for 1 to 2 minutes or until cooked throughly.
4. Place the cooked rice noodles into serving dishes and top with lettuce, cucumber, carrot, cilantro, bean sprouts, peanuts, green onion, and desired amount of shrimp.
5. Pour 2-3 tbsp. of Nuoc Cham on top of each salad and toss to coat.
6. Serve and Enjoy!

Tip: A lot of people over cook their shrimp, and the best way to cook it is to cook until each side begins to turn a red pearly opaque colour and begins to curl up. You want to cook it just until it turns white all the way through, if it cooks for much longer it will turn rubbery, dry, and lose it's flavour.

Nuoc Cham (Dressing & Marinate)

Ingredients

* 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
* 1 tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar
* 1/2 cup nuoc mam (fish sauce), available at Asian markets
* 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1 1/2 cups boiling water

Procedure

1. In a small bowl, soak the red pepper flakes in the vinegar for 10–15 minutes.
2. In a second bowl, combine the fish sauce, lime juice, garlic, and sugar.
3. Stir in 11/2 cups boiling water and the pepper-vinegar mixture.
4. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool. Serve at room temperature.
5. Store in a jar in the refrigerator for up to 30 days.

Oh The Cuteness!

2007-10-03T01:27:00.000-07:00

Hiatus For A Couple Weeks

2007-09-24T22:17:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am going on a hiatus for a couple weeks because my sister is very ill and I am helping her with that. I will be posting recipes again in a couple weeks. I hope everyone is well.

Homemade Ginger Ale

2007-09-22T20:46:00.000-07:00

I made this recipe up one night because I had a ton of ginger that I didn't know what to do with... So, this is my version of ginger ale, I hope you can all enjoy it as much as my parents and I have.

Makes 1 1/2 cups of syrup

3 cups sugar
3 cups water
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 cups sliced ginger
1 2-liter bottle club soda

In a medium saucepan over high heat, add the sugar and water and bring to a soft boil.

Reduce heat to medium-low and add the sliced ginger and lemon juice and simmer covered for 30 minutes, or until the syrup has reduced down in half.

Allow syrup to cool and add 1 - 2 tablespoons of syrup, depending on how flavourful you like it, to a tall glass with ice and add club soda. Enjoy!

*NOTE: I have boughten some squeeze bottles from a local kitchen store for $0.95 that work great for storing and squirting the syrup out whenever you want a drink. In case you're not sure what I mean, here is a link for you so you know what kind of bottle to get.

Link for Squeeze Bottle

Sourdough English Muffins

2007-09-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

I made these sourdough english muffins this morning and they turned out really good... The original recipe doesn't call for a sourdough starter, it calls for yeast, in which case I will post both recipes in case there are some people out there who don't have a sourdough starter.

Sourdough English Muffins:

2 cups sourdough starter
1/2 cup + 2 1/2 tablespoons whole milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
Non-stick vegetable spray

Special equipment: electric griddle, 3-inch metal rings, see Cook's Note*

In a saucepan over low heat combine milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and butter, and stir until the butter is melted and the sugar and salt are dissolved. Let cool to 95 - 100 degrees. Once the milk mixture is cooled add it to the sourdough starter, mixing well. Add the sifted flour and beat thoroughly with wooden spoon. Cover the bowl and let it rest in a warm spot for 60 minutes.

Preheat the griddle to 300 degrees F, or a cast iron pan over medium-low heat.

Place metal rings onto the griddle and coat lightly with vegetable spray. Pour 1/2 batter into each ring and cover with a pot lid or cookie sheet and cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the lid and take out the rings with tongs, they should remove easily from the steam created from the lid, using a spatula, turn over each english muffin. Cover with the lid and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a cooling rack, and cool. Split with knife and serve.

*Cook's Note: Small waterchest nut cans with tops and bottoms removed, and washed thoroughly work well for metal rings.

Active Yeast English Muffins:

1/2 cup non-fat powdered milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup hot water
1 envelope dry yeast
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup warm water
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
Non-stick vegetable spray

Special equipment: electric griddle, 3-inch metal rings, see Cook's Note*

In a bowl combine the powdered milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, butter, and hot water, stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Let cool to 95 - 100 degrees. In a separate bowl combine the yeast and 1/8 teaspoon of sugar in 1/3 cup of warm water and rest until yeast has dissolved. Add this to the dry milk mixture. Add the sifted flour and beat thoroughly with wooden spoon. Cover the bowl and let it rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes.

Preheat the griddle to 300 degrees F, or a cast iron pan over medium-low heat.

Place metal rings onto the griddle and coat lightly with vegetable spray. Pour 1/2 batter into each ring and cover with a pot lid or cookie sheet and cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the lid and take out the rings with tongs, they should remove easily from the steam created from the lid, using a spatula, turn over each english muffin. Cover with the lid and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a cooling rack, and cool. Split with knife and serve.

*Cook's Note: Small waterchest nut cans with tops and bottoms removed, and washed thoroughly work well for metal rings.

Biff Pajs (Swedish Meat Pies)

2007-09-13T23:49:00.001-07:00

These are a popular food item at the Scandinavian Festival in Junction City, Oregon. I love those meat pies, they are traditionally called Biff Paj's... They taste great and I honestly like this recipe better than the Biff Paj's at the Scandinavian Festival. I found this recipe on the net, but I've made my own changes to it and I like it the way I've changed it.

Yield: 6 meat pies
Prep Time: 40 Min
Cook Time: 20 Min

Ingredients:

* 1 tablespoon butter
* 1 pound ground beef (I use ground chuck roast)
* 1 tablespoon garlic powder (NOT GARLIC SALT!!!)
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
* 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
* 1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
* 1 pinch ground nutmeg
* 2 large red potatoes, grated
* 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/4 cup butter
* 1 cup sour cream

Directions:

1. Melt the 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Crumble in the ground beef and add parsley, allspice, dill, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, and grated potatoes. Cook and stir until the meat is browned. Turn off the heat and stir in the cheese and 1/2 cup sour cream until melted. Set aside to cool.

2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

3. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix in the 1 1/4 cup butter with a fork or pastry cutter until only pea sized lumps remain. Stir in 1/2 cup sour cream a little bit at a time until the dough holds together. Knead briefly on a lightly floured surface. Divide into six equal portions, and pat into balls.

4. Roll out each ball of dough to about 1/8 inch thickness. Place a heaping 1/2 cup of filling onto each one. Fold over into half circles, and seal by moistening the edges with warm water and pressing together. Place on a baking sheet.

5. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown.

Pad Thai

2007-09-08T00:46:00.000-07:00

Okay. Here it is. Hands-down the MOST popular Thai dish known to mankind. It is served in almost EVERY Thai restaurant.

Ingredients:

1 pack dried rice stick noodles or "sen lek"
1/2 cup dried shrimp
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
1/2 cup chives cut into 1 inch pieces
1 pound chicken meat cut into small bite-sized pieces
6 eggs
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 cup fish sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons smashed garlic
2 tablespoons smashed onion
1/2 cup of water

Preparation:

1. Soak the rice stick noodles in tepid water for roughly 15 minutes. Then cut the noodles into 4-inch pieces. Strain the noodles, then set them aside.

2. Using a large skillet (preferably a wok) heat the vegetable oil and add in the garlic, and onion.

3. After stirring for 2 minutes, add in the dry shrimp, and stir. Then, one at a time add in the peanuts, fish sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, pepper and chicken, stirring the mixture the entire time.

4. Add the eggs and continue to stir the mixture. Then add in 1/2 cup of water.

5. Add the noodles, and be sure to stir! The noodles tend to burn if not continuously stirred.

6. Check to see if the taste of the dish is suitable to you, if not, then add in either fish sauce (salty), sugar (sweet), vinegar (sour), or soy sauce (salty). Here is where a matter of preference comes into play.

7. The final step is to add in the bean sprouts and chives, just before turning off the burner.

Pad Thai is normally garnished with a heaping portion of uncooked bean sprouts on the side as well as a sprig of cilantro on top and wedges of lime to squeeze on top of the final dish.

Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup

2007-09-06T22:31:00.000-07:00

I made up this recipe one night about a month ago when I was in the mood for some tortellini soup, but I had never made it before, so I decided I'd make it the way I thought it would be made from past experiences in eating it at restaurants... I'm not sure if this is authentic or not, but it turned out very good and I was surprised at how well all the flavours melded together. I used fresh herbs out of my garden and tortellini I had made the previous day, although you could use frozen or fresh tortellini from the supermarket.

1 lbs. Italian sausage, or mild turkey Italian sausage (I used the turkey sausage)
3 tbsp. Olive oil
1 carrot, diced
6 basil leaves, chopped
3 sage leaves, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 onion, pureed
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 14 ounce can of diced tomatoes, half the can pureed with onions
1 6 ounce can tomato paste
1 14 ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup red wine
7 cups beef broth
4 cups fresh cheese tortellini
Fresh Romano cheese for garnish

In a large saucepan, coat the bottom with the olive oil over medium heat.
Once the oil is hot, add the carrots and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the chopped basil, sage, and Italian seasoning and sauté for 2 minutes.

Add the Italian sausage and garlic, and cook until sausage is browned.

Add the pureed tomato and onion mixture along with the other half can of diced tomatoes and the can of tomato paste. Stir; add the red wine, beef broth, salt, and garbanzo beans.

Simmer over low heat for 1 1/2 – 2 hours.

Bring soup to medium heat and when a soft boil emerges, add the tortellini and cook according to the packaged directions.

When the tortellini is cooked, dish and sprinkle with Romano cheese and serve.

Serves 8

Potato-Broth Bread

2007-09-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

I love this bread, by far it's the best basic yeast bread I've ever made... It's great for sandwiches and wonderful toasted. The crumb is so soft and moist. Although, I wouldn't recommend baking this bread to a darker colour, I know a lot of people like their bread dark, but if you over bake this bread it will dry out. This recipe is from 'The Fannie Farmer Baking Book' and the original recipe says it makes two 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaves, but I was able to make 3 loaves easily and I shaped and froze the other two loaves unbaked...

3 cups warm potato water
1 pkg. yeast
1 cup mashed potatoes, room temperature
2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. sugar
3 tbsp. butter, softened
7 1/2 to 8 1/2 cups bread flour

Stir the potato warm water (100 - 110 degrees Fahrenheit) and yeast together in a large bowl; let stand for a minute or so. Add the mashed potato, salt, sugar, and butter, and beat to blend well. Add 6 cups of the flour and beat vigorously. Add enough additional flour to make a manageable dough, turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a minute or so. Let rest 10 minutes. Resume kneading, adding just enough additional flour to keep the dough from being too sticky to handle, until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise for an hour. Punch the dough down, divide in thirds, and shape into loaves. Place in greased loaf pans, cover loosely, and let rise to the tops of the pans, about forty-five minutes. Bake in a preheated 350-degree Farenheit oven for 40-45 minutes. During first 10 minutes of baking, place a hot water bath in oven with bread loaf(s). Remove from pans and cool on racks.

Sesame Szechuan Chicken Noodles

2007-09-04T20:55:00.000-07:00

I just made this for dinner tonight for the first time, and it was amazing, it only took me about 20 - 25 minutes to make and it was so delicious! I got the recipe off the net, but made a lot of changes to the recipe. If you were to make this for a group of 4 people, you could be expected to pay no more than $8.00 for the amount of ingredients for the entire meal. Where I live, I was able to make the entire thing for $4.00! What a cheap and extremely tasty meal! No more than $2.00 a person! You can't go wrong with a cheap meal like that and it was very good. I hope you all enjoy it! :)

Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

1 lbs. diced chicken breast
8 ounces thin dried rice noodles
4 1/2 tablespoons sesame seed oil
3 tablespoons chopped peanuts
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1 tablespoon garlic paste
6 tablespoons bottled teriyaki sauce, Yoshiba's is a great brand
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
1/4 cup thick sliced green onions
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced and cut in half
1 8 oz. can sliced waterchest nuts
1 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp. salt
pepper to taste

Preparation:

Cook noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, about 3 minutes. Drain; return noodles to same pot. Mix in 1 1/2 tablespoons sesame oil and peanuts.

Heat 3 tablespoons sesame oil in heavy large skillet over medium-low heat. Add ginger and garlic; stir 10 seconds. Add teriyaki sauce, lime juice, chili sauce, salt, and pepper; simmer 30 seconds. Add chicken, red bell peppers, and onions; simmer for 15 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Add waterchest nuts, stir; Mix cornstarch and water until you get a thin liquid the colour of watered down milk, and mix into the sauce, bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer for 2 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Mix sauce into noodles. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Chocolate-Hazelnut Gelato

2007-09-04T11:36:00.001-07:00

I love this recipe, it's so smooth and creamy and almost better than American ice cream! You can use the base of this recipe without the Nutella to make any flavour of gelato you like. I've made rose gelato by just adding 2 tbsp. rose water to the base and a few drops of red food colouring to make a pink colour. So, play around with it, but at least try the Nutella before you make other flavours.

2 cups half & half
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup
4 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (recommended: Nutella)
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, crushed, for garnish, optional

In a saucepan combine the milk, half & half, and 1/2 cup sugar over medium heat. Cook until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whip the egg yolks with the remaining sugar using an electric mixer until the eggs have become thick and pale yellow, about 4 minutes. Pour 1/2 cup of the warm milk and cream mixture into the egg mixture and stir.

Add this mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 7 to 10 minutes.

Place a strainer over a medium bowl and pour the warm custard mixture through the strainer. Stir in the vanilla and hazelnut spread until it dissolves.

Chill mixture for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight before pouring into an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions to freeze.

To serve, scoop gelato in waffle cones, or waffle bowls and top with hazelnuts.

Gebrannte Mandeln (Sugared Almonds)

2007-09-03T23:53:00.000-07:00

I love Traditional Gebrannte Mandeln. They are a German roasted and sugared almonds. I go to a local Scandinavian festival here in Oregon in Junction City and there is a woman who sells these Gebrannte Mandeln and they are incredible, I love them so much that I decided to make them myself and they turned out great.

3/4 cups sugar
4 tablespoons water
3/4 cups whole almonds
1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Simmer the sugar, water, and cinnamon until syrupy. Remove from the heat and add the almonds. Stir until the sugar crackles. Heat and repeat the melting and hardening process twice. Pour the mixture out an a greased baking sheet and separate with a fork.

Homemade Soft Pretzels

2007-09-03T17:13:00.000-07:00

I absolutely LOVE pretzels and I've always wanted some that tasted better than the kind you get in the mall or at Costco... Haha. Well, I found an amazing recipe by Alton Brown, and they turned out wonderfully. I like my pretzels with a little melted butter and cinnamon and sugar, so feel free to substitute anything or just eat them plain without anything on them!

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 12 pretzels
User Rating: 5 Stars

1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel salt, optional

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 aluminum sheets with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 18-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined aluminum sheet.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 15 seconds on each side. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the aluminum sheet without the parchment paper and lightly brush each pan with olive oil, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 10 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Eggs Benedict

2007-09-03T01:27:00.001-07:00

I've had this recipe in my family for years and it's one of my absolute favourites! I hope you will all enjoy this as much as I do.

Makes 3 Servings

6 eggs
2 teaspoons vinegar (this will help keep the eggs from separating in the water)
3 english muffins
6 oz. canadian bacon, or fresh sliced ham

Hollandaise Sauce:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted and hot
1 egg, or 3 egg yolks (strictly egg yolks produces a very thick sauce, I usually go for 1 egg)
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, bring water with vinegar to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and add eggs, poaching for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt your butter and in a blender whirl on high the egg, mustard, lemon juice, paprika, salt, and pepper. Stream the butter while the blender motor is running, slowly until all the butter has been used and turn off the blender.

Toast your english muffins and fry your canadian bacon or ham on medium-high for 1 - 2 minutes or until heated through.

On each plate, place two english muffin halves. On top of each english muffin half, place 1 oz. canadian bacon or ham. Place one poached egg on top of each and finish off with a drizzle of the hollandaise sauce over the eggs.

Sourdough Starter

2007-09-02T16:50:00.000-07:00

I am going to start a sourdough starter before Autumn sets in so I can bake some yummy bread during the colder months.... I will post a link to the recipe that I am using, but I would greatly appreciate it if anyone out there could give me pointers on this sort of thing. I know a true sourdough connoisseur would never use yeast to make their starter, but unfortunately I live in an area that even professional pastry chefs have to use a little yeast to kick start their sourdough starter because there isn't enough wild yeast in the air in Oregon.

Here is the link to the sourdough starter recipe that I will be using...

Cherry Almond Tart

2007-09-02T00:51:00.000-07:00

I am in the process of making up a recipe for a cherry almond frangipane tart... I went to a local bookstore around here where I live and it's one of the largest books stores in the country with new and used selections.

Well, when I went to this store there was an espresso stand that had pastries in addition to beverages. I ordered a cherry almond tart and it had an incredible texture and not to mention delicate, but intricate flavours. It was an odd thing for me because at this time I was in the middle of trying to make that exact kind of tart, but with raspberry instead of cherry.

Anyway, I went out to a grocery store and bought the ingredients to make an almond paste and pastry dough and fill a tart pan with the pastry dough and the paste and top it with sweetened crushed raspberries.

Well, in my efforts I have to say it wasn't what I was hoping for. The center texture was nothing compared to the tart I had at the bookstore and I mused over the cherry tart and couldn't get it out of my mind.

So, I plan to make a cherry version, but do some research on how to get a wet and almost paste like center to my tart.

Wish me luck!

.<3
Stephanie

P.S. When I have perfected my recipe, I will possibly post it.

Moroccan Vegetable Tagine

2007-09-01T19:09:00.000-07:00

This recipe has some wonderful flavours and is from a popular magazine in the Pacific NW called, "Sunset". I found that the recipe was a bit spicy, but if you like the spice, you can put as much cayenne as you would like, but I have reduced the amount of cayenne for my own personal taste. I have also made some other changes and I hope you will all enjoy this recipe.

2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed with the side of a knife
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 cups vegetable or chicken broth
4 carrots (12 oz. total), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch lengths
2 1/2 cups diced peeled eggplant
2 1/2 cups sliced (1/2 in. thick) zucchini
2 cups cauliflower florets
1 cup diced onion (about 5 oz.), pureed
2 cans (14 1/2 oz. each) stewed tomatoes
1 can (15 oz.) garbanzos, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup dried currants, or raisins
1 cup chopped toasted almonds
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
Serve with Couscous

1. Pour olive oil into a small frying pan over medium-low heat. Add garlic and spices and cook, stirring often until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes, being careful not to scorch the garlic. Scrape the mixture into a slow-cooker (at least 5 qt.).

2. Add broth, carrots, eggplant, zucchini, cauliflower, onion, stewed tomatoes (with juices), garbanzos, currants, almonds, and salt, and stir to combine.

3. Cover slow-cooker and cook on high until vegetables are tender to bite and flavors are blended, 8 to 9 hours.

4. Ladle about 3 cups of the vegetable mixture into a blender. Holding lid down with a towel and taking care to avoid steam, whirl until smooth. Return purée to slow-cooker and stir to blend. Ladle stew into a tureen or individual bowls.

Yield: Makes 12 cups; 6 to 8 servings

CALORIES 292 (43% from fat); FAT 14g (sat 1.4g); PROTEIN 10g; CHOLESTEROL 2.3mg; SODIUM 741mg; FIBER 8g; CARBOHYDRATE 36g

Gaufres de Liege (Sugar waffles)

2007-08-31T00:01:00.000-07:00

I love to make food from all different parts of the world and I have heard of gaufres before and decided that I would find a recipe...

These sweet delicacies are so popular in Brussels, Belgium that you can find a waffle stand on almost every corner! You should never eat these like a regular breakfast waffle, these are more like a snack and the most you should do with it is maybe sprinkle a light dusting of confectioners' sugar on them and eat them plain.

This recipe was too loose and a friend of mine from Brussels told me it should be like a soft bread dough almost. So, I made some changes to the recipe that I found and they turned out great!

Serves 4

SPONGE:

2 packages ( 1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
1 1/3 cups warm milk
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 egg, beaten to mix

1. In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the milk. Add 1 tablespoon of flour and the sugar; set aside for 5 minutes or until foamy.

2. Sift the remaining flour into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture and egg. With a wooden spoon, stir well to make a smooth batter.

3. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside in a warm place for 2 hours to rise until the batter has doubled or tripled in bulk.

DOUGH:

9 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 cups flour, give or take until you get the texture of a non-sticky smooth dough
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 cup pearl sugar, or white decorating sugar, or raw sugar
Extra flour (for sprinkling)

1. In a bowl with a wooden spoon, work the butter, vanilla, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar, and pearl sugar into a paste.

2. Work the butter mixture into the sponge mixture until well combined. Slowly work your flour into the dough until you get the consistency of a non-sticky light and fluffy dough. Cover, and set aside for 10 minutes.

3. With floured hands, shape the dough into 10 balls. Flatten one slightly and dust it with flour.

4. Heat a waffle iron until medium hot. Place a flattened ball in the middle of the iron; close the top. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes. If the waffle iron is too hot, the sugar will burn. Some electric waffle irons bake on such a high temperature, it may be necessary to unplug the waffle iron intermittently to cool it off. Continue baking until all the waffles are done.

Pumpkin Pancakes

2007-08-30T18:34:00.000-07:00

Autumn is near and I can see the leaves turning already and the cool weather is going to be setting in soon... So, in celebration of this wonderful time of year, I have made up a version of the beloved pancake, but with an Autumn flavour. :)

Pumpkin Pancakes:

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Ready In: 40 Minutes
Yields: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs, seperated
2 tablespoon butter (only the real stuff!!), melted

See below for a syrup recipe to serve with these autumnlicious pancakes!

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a separate bowl, mix together the buttermilk, pumpkin, egg yolks, and melted butter. With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt, stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine. Fold in the egg whites into the mixture just until barely mixed in.

2. Heat a lightly buttered griddle or frying pan over medium-low heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the hot griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Spiced Brown Sugar Syrup:

1 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cup water
2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, or cinnamon

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer at a gentle boil for 30 minutes or until syrup is as thick as maple syrup. Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes before serving with pancakes.

Dobby and Winky's Butterbeer

2007-08-30T18:17:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe on the internet, and it's really good, but I've made my own revisions to it and I also made my own butterscotch sauce for this recipe. This is from the famous Harry Potter series.

Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 7 min
Serves 1

Butterbeer:
1 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon mixed spice (I like pumpkin pie spice from trader joes)
1 1/2 tablespoons hot chocolate powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 - 1/4 cup butterscotch sauce (measure depending on how sweet you like it), see recipe below

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butterscotch sauce and honey together. Next add milk and vanilla. Remove from heat and mix in hot chocolate powder and mixed spice. Enjoy!

Butterscotch Sauce:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1 cup half & half

Boil the butter, sugar and corn syrup very gently for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool for 5 minutes. Stir in cream and mix until smooth and silky. Let cool completely and store in an airtight container/jar in the refrigerator.

Vegetarian Fusilli with Pesto

2007-08-30T16:11:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe I made up... I was trying to figure something out for dinner one night and I decided to throw some stuff together... :)

Serves 4
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 20 min

1 lbs. fusilli pasta a.k.a. spiral pasta, cooked
3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped
1/2 cup cream (you can substitute this with half&half if you wish, but please don't use milk)
4 tbsp homemade or store bought pesto
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
3 tbsp tapenade, or chopped kalamata olives
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced into strips
8 tbsp romano cheese, for garnish

After cooking and draining your cooked pasta, it should be al dente which means still a little bit chewy and firm when bitten.

In the same large saucepan you cooked your pasta in, place it over medium-low heat and melt your butter. Add the pecans and toast for 3-5 minutes.

Add your pasta back to the large saucepan over medium-low heat, and add your pesto, cream, salt, and pepper to taste and stir gently until well incorporated. Once the mixture is warm, add your beaten eggs and stir for 3-5 minutes or until sauce thickens.

Remove from heat once your sauce has thickened and add your tapenade and sun-dried tomatoes, and stir to heat the tapenade and sun-dried tomatoes throughly.

Serve in pasta bowls and garnish each plate with romano cheese.

I hope you all enjoy this delicious mediterranean inspired pasta dish!

Mrs. Weasley's Rock Cakes

2007-08-30T16:06:00.000-07:00

I had read about rock cakes in Harry Potter and always thought they were something made up for the book, kind of like cauldron cakes or butterbeer.

Although, these light and fluffy delicacies are not made up, in fact they are a very popular tea cake in Britain, eaten cold with a nice hot cup of tea.

I have done you all the liberty of finding a recipe on the internet, from britain and converted it to imperial and even tested them out on myself before I posted the recipe, just to see if they'd turn out.

Oh, and I am sure you are wondering by now why they are called rock cakes.... It's not because they are hard. In Harry Potter, Hagrid's rock cakes are so hard, you will practically crack a tooth on his rock cakes. The reason they are called rock cakes is because when you drop them on to an aluminum sheet, they resemble the shape of a rock. :) I hope some of you out there will at least try my recipe... If you're not from the United States, I will post the recipe like this "4 cups / 450g flour" that way everyone from everywhere can make this recipe! :)

EDIT: July 15th, 2009 - After realising that my metric to imperial conversion skills are horrible, I realise that this recipe should nearly be doubled for the correct conversion. It is great the way it is, it's actually a half recipe, so underneath this I will post the correct conversion and fix the recipe I've posted.

Makes 6 Large or 8 Medium Rock Cakes

This is the half recipe version!

2 cups / 240g self-raising flour (or plain flour, plus 2 tsp / 10 mL baking powder)
1/2 cup(1 stick) / 120g butter
1/4 tsp / 1.25 mL kosher salt
1 tsp / 5 mL mixed spice (if you know what trader joe's is, I highly encourage you to go to that store and buy the pumpkin spice they sell, it works very well for this and it's a mixed spice blend)
1/2 cup / 100g granulated sugar
1/2 cup / 75g dried fruit (I used dried cranberries, most recipes call for currants or sultanas which are a white turkish or persian raisin)
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk / 60 mL
1/8 cup / 25g granulated sugar (for sprinkling)

This is the full version!

Makes 12 Large or 16 Medium Rock Cakes

4 cups / 480g self-raising flour (or plain flour, plus 4 tsp / 20 mL baking powder)
1 cup(2 sticks) / 240g butter
1/2 tsp / 2.5 mL kosher salt
2 tsp / 10 mL mixed spice (if you know what trader joe's is, I highly encourage you to go to that store and buy the pumpkin spice they sell, it works very well for this and it's a mixed spice blend)
1 cup / 200g granulated sugar
1 cup / 150g dried fruit (I used dried cranberries, most recipes call for currants or sultanas which are a white turkish or persian raisin)
4 large eggs
1/2 cup milk / 120 mL
1/4 cup / 50g granulated sugar (for sprinkling)

Preheat the oven to 400F/200C. Grease a large aluminum sheet.

Sift the flour, salt and mixed spice together in a medium bowl. Cut the butter into small chunks and rub it into the flour until it has the consistency of large crumbs.

Stir in the sugar and dried fruit. Beat the egg and milk together.

Pour the egg mixture evenly over the flour/fruit mixture in the bowl. Using a large metal tablespoon, blend the mixtures together to form a rough dough. Try not to over mix, this causes the rock cakes to come out hard and tough, just mix it enough until the flour is mixed in, I even had some dry bits of flour in mine and they cook out when you bake them, just make sure most of the flour is wet.

Using the spoon, dollop portions of dough onto the aluminum sheet. They will fall off the spoon in a rather rough fashion - resist the urge to smooth them out! Make sure to leave 1 1/2 inches/4 cm between the mounds as they will spread when baked. Sprinkle each mound with plenty of granulated sugar. This gives both good crunch and shine when baked.

Bake in the center of the oven for 15 minutes - smaller rock cakes will take about 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack immediately and let cool fully before eating. Best eaten within 2 days!

*NOTE: When I baked mine, I had my rack in the center of the oven and the bottoms got a little too brown for me, so when I baked my second batch, I put the rack a little higher, not all the way, but as high as I could go without having a hard time getting the aluminum sheet in and out of the oven. The second batch seemed to get a little less brown, but if you like yours to be darker than golden brown just follow the instructions the way it says, if you like them more on the golden brown side, put your rack up about 1 or 2 slots above the center.

I hope you all like these and will at least try them... They are easy to make and they are a great beginners recipe. Most young girls in Britain start out with this recipe when they are learning how to cook. So, if a 10 year old can make them, you can make them too! (Wink wink, that was directed towards you Matthew...)