Happy 2010!

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

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


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

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

Greek Pasta

1/2 package Rizopia organic brown rice pasta

1 Container of Cherry Tomatoes (halved)

1/4 Red Onion, sliced very thing

Approximately 20 Kalamata Olives (halved)

1/2 Cucumber cut in half moon slices

1/2 Red Pepper, cut into 1 inch squares

A big hunk of good quality Feta (crumbled)

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

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

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

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

Happy Blustery Thursday!

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

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



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

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


Toffee

1 CUP BUTTER
1 CUP SUGAR
3 TABLESPOONS WATER

2 CUPS CHOPPED ALMONDS, TOASTED
2 CUPS CHOCOLATE CHIPS


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

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

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


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

no fun Sunday

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

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

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

Quinoa with Coconut-Lime Dressing

6 Cups cooked Quinoa

Scallions

Shitake mushrooms (or your favourite kind)

Broccoli

Basil

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

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

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

I have a challenge for you lovely readers

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

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

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

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

Bison Burgers and Peameal Bacon Sandwiches

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

3 cloves garlic minced

3 celery ribs chopped

2 carrots chopped

1/2 onion chopped

2 tbs Vegeta (or any other seasoning salt)

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

To thicken the soup, make a roux;

3 tbs flour

1/4 C butter OR Oil

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ROASTED SWEET POTATO SALAD WITH BLACK BEANS AND CHILI DRESSING

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


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

Finished Product

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

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