Greek Dip

We had a bunch of fresh, locally grown veggies, and at the end of the weekend (with all the eating at restaurants) something light was in order.

I saw this recipe and gave it a go. This is how I did it:

1 8oz pkg cream cheese, room temperature
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp dill (or more)
1 tsp herb and garlic seasoning (like Mrs. Dash)
1 tub hummus (or make your own)
Chopped cucumber
Chopped tomato
Chopped green onion
Chopped kalamata olives
Chopped lettuce (dark green...I used some baby lettuce I grew)
Chopped fresh parsley
Feta cheese, crumbled
Fresh cracked pepper
Olive oil

In a medium bowl, mix (with a mixer) the cream cheese, lemon juice, dill and seasoning. Adjust to taste but remember that the flavours will intensify with time.

Smear cream cheese onto bottom of a glass pie plate (or other vessel). Top with hummus (I used about 2/3 of a tub). Put a layer of cucumber, a layer of tomato, a layer of green onion, a layer of chopped olives, and a layer of lettuce on top of the hummus.

Crumble feta on the vegetables, sprinkle on chopped parsley, grind some fresh black pepper on top, and drizzle on some olive oil.

Easy stuff, right?

The original recipe suggested covering and refrigerating for a couple of hours. I chose not to. First, because refrigerating tomatoes is a sin. Second, I wanted to eat.

I toasted up some whole wheat pita triangles to eat with this, but you could use whatever.

We will totally be eating this again, though I'll probably throw in some orange sweet peppers for a little more crunch (and another veggie).

Cheesy Pull Apart Bread

It's Father's Day. We had all the Dads over here. It was a great time. I made pulled pork, brats (boiled in beer and a vidalia onion, grilled, and popped back into the onion beer), spinach dip...

...and this gem (from the Changeable Table), that will make a repeat appearance in the future. For sure.



1 round loaf of sourdough (though I had to substitute a calebrese loaf because that's all I could find and it was fine)
1 brick monterey jack cheese
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 green onion

Cut bread lengthwise and then crosswise, not going through the loaf completely. It's like a bloomin onion, but, like, bread. If you have trouble with this, put the handles of 2 wooden spoons (or dowels) on either side of the loaf to stop your knife. Oh, and obviously you will want to use a good serrated knife for the cutting.

Put bread onto foil lined cookie sheet. Slice the cheese (yay for not having to grate it!) and tuck the slices into the cuts. Cut the green onion and mix it in with the melted butter. Drizzle over the bread. Cover loosely with foil.

Pop into a preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.

You could mix other stuff with the butter: garlic, chives, whatever you like.

Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese and Edemame and Corn Salad

Edemame and Corn Salad

Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tsp herb seasoning mix (I used a Mrs. Dash type one)
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup frozen edemame beans (the shelled kind)
Handful of cherry/grape tomatoes
Thin slices of red onion
Pinch of salt to taste
2 tsp olive oil

Boil corn and edemame on stove for a couple of minutes until thawed. Dunk in ice water immediately to halt cooking, keep the veggies bright, and to cool them off.

Meanwhile, mix lemon and seasoning in a medium bowl and let reconstitute a few minutes. Throw in onion, tomatoes and cooled corn and beans, season with salt to taste and put in fridge until needed.

Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese

(makes 1 sandwich)

2 jalapenos
2 slices sourdough bread
Couple tblsp cream cheese (room temperature)
Butter
1/4 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
Crushed up tortilla chips

ETA: If the idea of roasting and skinning the pepper is keeping you from trying this delicious sandwich, just use the canned jalapenos. It's the same basic idea.

(it's tough to give measurements for this...my sourdough slices were from the centre of a circular sourdough loaf, so they were huge...and you might like more of one thing and less of another, so it's up to you how much you use)

Set oven rack to top position and turn on the broiler. Cut the jalapenos in half and scrape out the seeds and ribs (you might want to use a fork to hold the pepper, wear gloves, or put a plastic bag on your hand for this step). Put peppers cut side down on baking sheet and pop under broiler until the skins are blackened (maybe 15 minutes?). Pull them out and place them in a bag or container and seal, allowing steam to help loosen the skins and cool the peppers off.

Once cooled (around 20 minutes) enough to handle, pinch off the skins and discard.

Begin warming a skillet on the stovetop. You could probably also grill this.

Lightly butter one side of the bread. Flip it over and smear on some cream cheese, place the skinned jalapenos on the cream cheese, sprinkle with crushed tortilla chips and top with shredded cheese.

Butter the second piece of bread and put on top of the goodies you've just piled up (butter side out of course...I'm sure you've all made grilled cheese before!). Place in heated skillet and cook on medium-high until bread is toasty and cheese inside is melty.

Yummy Summer Avocado Wrap

This is a vegan recipe that I found on Pinterest and tracked it down here.



To make 2 wraps:

2 extra large wraps
1/2 an avocado
1 roma tomato, thickly sliced
1/4 Vidalia onion, sliced
4 tblsp fresh lime juice
1 tblsp apple cider vinegar
2 tblsp olive oil
2 tsp maple syrup (the real stuff, obviously)
6 tblsp spicy hummus
1 cup matchstick carrots
Freshly ground black pepper

Slice avocado into strips. Coat in lime juice and some salt and pepper. Throw some lime juice on the remaining half, cover, and store in fridge for another use.

Place onion and tomato slices in bowl and toss with olive oil, maple syrup, a splash of lime juice, and apple cider vinegar.

Warm tortilla in oven (or microwave) until soft. Spread spicy hummus on wrap, top with slices of avocado, some tomato and onion, matchstick carrots and a grind of pepper. Drizzle a little of the tomato and onion marinade on top.

Roll up your wrap and slice. Wrapping a piece of waxed paper around the wrap will make it easier to both slice and eat.

Mix the remaining tomato and onion marinade with some mayo (or sour cream) to make a dipping sauce if you like! I served it with Caprese salad on the side.

Mixed Veggies

Handful carrots, cut into 1" pieces
Handful of sugar snap peas
Handful of thin asparagus, cut into 2" pieces
1 yellow pepper, cut into 2" pieces
2 Tblsp butter
2 shallots, chopped finely
Salt and pepper

Put a saucepan with salted water on to boil. While that's heating up, fill a bowl with ice water.

Blanch carrots for 1 minute, add peas and asparagus for an additional minute. Toss peppers in for about 30 seconds.

Using a slotted spoon, remove veggies and plunge into the ice water. This will halt the cooking process and keep the veggies nice and brightly coloured.

In a frying pan, melt butter and toss in shallots. Cook until softened and add veggies. Cook until warmed through, test for seasoning and adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Black Bean Nachos

This was a quick "throw together" meal.

Needed: tortilla chips, taco seasoning, shredded cheese, black olives, chopped tomatoes, onions, avocado, jalepenos, salsa, sour cream...whatever you like on or with your nachos.



Filled the bottom of a 9" pie plate with some multigrain tortilla chips.

I heated up a can of black beans and seasoned them with my taco seasoning and a little water. Once that was done, I topped the nachos with the seasoned beans.

On that went a TON of cheese. Whatever it was that we had in the fridge...probably farmer's marble.

Sliced black olives, very finely chopped onion, diced (seeded) tomato, and a little more cheese went on top of the cheese.

It was baked in a 350 degree oven for about 15 or 20 minutes until all the cheese was gooey.

I chopped jalepenos and put them on the side because Quinn doesn't need that kind of surprise. The avocado was on the side as well because I don't like it warm. At all. Salsa and sour cream on the side as well, works.

Red Velvet Pancakes

I've been meaning to try these since I saw the recipe around Valentine's Day. I finally got the chance tonight!

They were a hit, and I think I'm going to have to make them more often.



1 cup unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons raw sugar
2 tablespoons Ruddy Red cocoa powder (unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder)
1 large egg
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon red food coloring (you can eliminate this if you like)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.

Add wet to dry and stir just until combined. You don't want to overmix.

I added about 1/8 cup water to loosen up the batter, but that's because mine was really thick.

Drop by 1/3 cup onto a buttered skillet or griddle and cook until done.

This cooked enough pancakes for two adults with 2 small cakes for the wee one.

I served this with a little cut up fruit and it made for a great "breakfast for dinner".

Bean and Portobello Burgers

I saw this recipe on Self Magazine's site and adjusted it to suit us.



4 tblsp olive oil
2 medium portobello mushrooms, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Freshly ground black pepper
2 egg whites
1 tblsp honey mustard
1 tblsp worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup oatmeal, ground (or more - or you can use breadcrumbs)
4 whole wheat pitas, naan, or buns
Barbecue sauce
Spring mix (or lettuce leaves)
Tomato slices
Shredded cheddar cheese

Heat 2 tblsp olive oil in a large skillet and cook mushrooms, onion and bell pepper until pepper begins to soften (6 mins or so). Add beans, paprika, garlic powder and black pepper. Stir and smash beans with the back of the spoon for another couple of minutes

Transfer mixture to bowl and let cool slightly (a couple of minutes). Add egg whites, honey mustard, worcestershire sauce, and oats.

Note: Grind oats in a food processor to help bind the burgers. You can use breadcrumbs instead. You may need to eyeball the measurement depending on the moisture content of your mixture. You want to be able to form it into a patty and have it stay together (without it being as heavy as a rock).

Wipe skillet and heat remaining oil to medium. Form mixture into four patties (or more) and cook in the skillet until burgers are golden brown and have a nice crust.

Dress burgers with lettuce, tomato, barbecue sauce and cheddar cheese (or anything else you may like).

I served mine with a cold broccoli salad (raw broccoli dressed with a combo of mayo, apple cider vinegar, sugar, a touch of salt, and fine dice of red onion).

We all really enjoyed this burger, but it needed...something. Maybe a little cilantro would brighten it up. Next time!

Vegetables with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce and Polenta

I made my own polenta rather than going for the instant stuff (and definitely not the premade stuff). The veggies were pretty basic, and the sauce was SPECTACULAR. I will totally use that again...for pasta sauce, sandwich spread, whatever!

This recipe served the three of us. I'm going to break it down into its three parts.



Polenta

3 cups stock or water
1 tsp butter
1 cup coarse cornmeal (I used medium grind because that's what I had, and it worked fine)
2/3 cup grated parmesan (divided in 2)
Dash of cayenne

In a saucepan, bring stock or water to boil. Add butter and allow to melt. Slowly pour in cornmeal, whisking to keep it from clumping together. Turn heat down to low, cover, and stir every couple of minutes to keep it from clumping or burning to the bottom of the pan. This will take about 35 minutes to thicken. Stir in 1/3 cup parmesan and the cayenne, and taste for seasoning. If you're using water, you may need to add salt.

Pour into a lightly creased cast iron skillet, or 9" pie pan, and set aside to cool for about 15 minutes.

Once the veggies (the next step) come out, top the cooled polenta with the final 1/3 cup parmesan and place under broiler about 15 minutes or until top is golden brown.

If you like your polenta loose, serve it up immediately. If you like it a little more like a cake, let it sit 20 minutes or so to set.

Vegetables

Juice of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic
1 tblsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 tblsp chopped fresh thyme
10 small asparagus stalks, ends trimmed
4 green onions, trimmed
2 small Chinese eggplants, cut into 1/3" half circles
1 small yellow squash or zucchini, cut into 1/3" half circles
10 cherry tomatoes

Preheat broiler and set the rack to about 6" from the top. Line baking sheet with foil.

Mix the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Add the vegetables and toss to coat. Arrange on baking sheet in one layer and pop into oven for 5-10 minutes (or more) until you start to see colour on the vegetables.

Flip the veggies and roast for an additional 5-10 minutes, remove from oven and let cool.

(At this point you'd toss the polenta into the oven)

Sauce

1 jar of roasted red peppers, drained
1/3 cup broth
1 large clove garlic
A few leaves of fresh basil
1 tblsp balsamic vinegar

Throw all the ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend up. My red peppers had bonus!garlic so I threw those in, as well as the raw garlic. I love garlic!

Putting it Together

Top a slice of polenta with some roasted veggies and smother with sauce. I garnished with a bit more fresh basil and a few black olives.

Jack and the Bean Stack

This is a recipe from my Crazy Plates cookbook by the Podleski sisters.

The original recipe calls for flour tortillas, but I'm using corn tortillas from a local Mennonite joint. I would have used diced avocado on top (because we love avocado) but there weren't any ripe ones in the store today.



3 tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 cup whole-kernel corn
1/2 cup diced onions
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup unpeeled, diced zucchini
1/3 cup grated carrots
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp chili powder
1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup chopped, fresh cilantro
1 tblsp lime juice
6 small corn tortillas
1 cup shredded Farmer's Marble cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chopped lettuce
Sliced black olives
Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a nonstick saucepan, saute most of the tomatoes, onions, jalepenos, carrots, zucchini, bell pepper, corn, garlic, chili powder and cumin for about 5 minutes. Add drained and rinsed black beans and cook an additional 2 minutes.

Place 2 tortillas on a cookie sheet. Spoon veggie/bean mixture onto both tortillas, top with cheese. Pop on a second tortilla, spoon more veggie/bean mixture, top with cheese, and finish with a final tortilla and a little more cheese.

Pop in oven for 15 minutes. Until cheese is melted and edges have a little colour.

Serve with black olive slices (if you like), some chopped tomato, fresh chopped cilantro, sliced green onion, and lettuce. Serve with sour cream.


It was a little difficult to cut with the corn tortillas (the flour would have been easier), but this would make an incredible veggie taco deal. That's how we'll eat it next time.

Good For You Taco Dip...

...or at least better than a traditional taco dip.

I found this recipe from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry for a taco dip...and, although I don't love the show (too much of the "this is baaaaad, you must eat thiiiisss) type stuff, I do really enjoy the Podleski sisters' cookbooks, and know that most of the dishes that they come up with are pretty darned good.

This is their Macho Nacho Dip.

It's very, very good...and has some adjustments from the traditional, fat laden taco dip (which I LOVE). Some of these things might sound kind of disgusting (hello...mushy peas in the guac?!?!) but this is really, really good!

It takes a bit of work to put together, and needs a couple of hours (at least) to set up, but it's worth it. The original recipe apparently serves 15, but I made some adjustments to fill an 8" casserole that fed the three of us, with leftovers. Here's my recipe, with the mods I made.



Beans Layer

1 can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup sour cream
1 small can green chilis (keep liquid)
2 tblsp low sodium taco seasoning

Throw it all in a blender, puree until smooth. Place in bottom of dish you're using (I used a round glass casserole, about 8"). Pop in fridge while you work on the second layer.

The Green Stuff

1/2 cup frozen sweet peas, thawed
1 large avocado
Juice of 1 lime
1 clove garlic, grated
1/4 cup finely minced red onion
Salt & pepper

In food processor (or food mill) blend up peas, avocado, and lime juice. Dump in a bowl and stir in grated garlic and onion, taste and adjust salt and pepper. Spoon and smooth onto bean layer in casserole. Put back into fridge.

The Creamy Stuff

1 cup sour cream
1 package light cream cheese with garden vegetables, room temp

You can mix these up by hand, but I like making it super creamy, so back to the food processor you go with these two beauties. Blend them together until smooth. Spread onto green layer in casserole. Pop back into fridge.

The Red Stuff

Some salsa you like (jarred, homemade, whatever)
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped

Layer salsa over creamy layer, sprinkle on the cilantro.

At this point, I covered it with plastic wrap and left it in the fridge for a couple of hours to set up. You CAN add the cheese and veggies before letting it set, I think that's how the original recipe specified, but I don't like soggy cheese and veggies.

Cheese and Veggies

1 cup grated cheese (sharp cheddar, monterey jack, whatever you like)
Sliced black olives
Sliced green onions
(red bell pepper, shredded lettuce, whatever veggies you want to add)

Throw everything on top, and serve with chips.

I like the multigrain tortilla chips (though I wish they weren't so damned salty!), and I love heating them up a little in the oven. It makes them a smidge crispier and fresher tasting.

This went over very well.

Curry Cream Tortellini

Not sure where I got this one from, but it was jotted down in my recipe file. It turned out pretty good (of course, I made some adjustments) but I would consider thickening the sauce a bit before serving. Maybe with a cornstarch slurry.

Although, it made a really tasty soup like dish! I served it with a side salad of mixed baby greens and a garlic papadum that I toasted up in the microwave.

Curry Cream Tortellini



1 shallot, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped (you can omit this if you're spice sensitive)
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 14 oz can coconut milk
1 package tortellini (we used cheese, mushroom would be wicked good!)
4 large basil leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon fresh ginger
Chopped peanuts (optional)

Heat oil in saucepan and soften the chopped shallot and jalepeno (for a minute or two). Grate in garlic and add curry powder. Heat until the curry powder warms (you'll smell it!)

Add veggie broth carefully (curry facial anyone?) and bring up to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and let it do its thing for about 5 minutes, stirring a couple of times.

While that's going on, toast your chopped peanuts by placing them in a dry frying pan over the heat, shaking often, until you smell them, then remove from heat. Keep a close eye on them though, because one second it may look like they are golden brown, and the next second they will be charred and leave a horrific smell in your house that won't go away for hours. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Back to the saucepan: Pour in coconut milk, tortellini, honey and grate in ginger (I keep mine in the freezer...grates like a breeze and lasts a lot longer than leaving it out). Bring up to a simmer (DON'T BOIL) and stir until pasta is nearly done. Sprinkle in basil at the last minute, let pasta finish cooking, and serve with toasted peanuts on top if you like.

I had some store bought papadums in the cupboard so I oiled them lightly and tossed one at a time into the microwave for about 40 seconds. Burnt papadum is another one of "those smells that never go away" so keep an eye on them.

Yummy Cake

Quinn eats Oatmeal Bear Paw cookies. They are these soft cake like cookies, and they are oh so convenient, but there are things in them that I prefer not to feed him - modified palm oils, sorbitol, artificial flavours...

I'm not saying that I'm going to totally stop buying them. They do serve their purpose as an occasional convenience food, but there has to be something better for him!

Then arrives my new Canadian Family magazine (October 2010). There was a recipe under the article "Smart Foods" for Flaxen Oaty Cranerry Walnut Bars.

Comparing the Nutritional Values, there really wasn't much difference between the Bear Paws and the Bars With the Really Long Name...but the ingredients were MUCH better. I made a couple of adjustments to the recipe and made them.

Quinn called them "Yummy Cake", which is a heck of a lot easier to remember than Flaxen Oaty Cranerry Walnut Bars. I will definitely make these again. I might try some different fruit and nut combinations next time. They are tasty, and healthy, and fulfilling. Give them a try!

Yummy Cake



2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup oats
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 flax seeds
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup demerara sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Grease 9x9 square pan (these could probably make great cookie cakes or mini muffins...adjust the baking time as necessary if you change it up) and preheat oven to 350.

Mix flour, oats, cranberries, nuts, flax, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.

Cream butter and sugar in a seperate bowl, and add eggs, milk, and vanilla.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Pour into pan and bake about 30 minutes (or until knife inserted in centre comes out clean).

Cool in pan and cut into bars.

Really, any fruit/nut combo would work. Bits of strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, apple...mash in a banana (maybe you'd need to adjust the milk and butter for that?) The cake part is a great base for anything you like to put into your baking. Grate in some zucchini! Heck, the possibilities are endless. Do it up!

Radish Spread

So I went to a party at a friend's place a few weeks ago, and she had this INCREDIBLE radish dip...a recipe of her Mother's. I couldn't stay away from it! I got the recipe from her and immediately set to making it.

And it just didn't taste the same as hers. No matter what I did.

When people have a "signature recipe", I think it's just impossible to replicate it. Stacy must have put some magic in that dip. Seriously.

This recipe has haunted me since. Who would have thought that radish + cream cheese (and a few other things) = wicked good? What else could I do to this combination?

Making up recipes on the fly is easy. It really is. I know, you're probably rolling your eyes (I would have been, a few years ago), but if you know what tastes good with what, you can do it! I believe in you!

Let's see what we already know: nearly everything tastes awesome with cream cheese. It's true. Add a smear of cream cheese to a roast beef sandwich. It's GOOD! But cream cheese is sort of bland...so you have to build it up with flavours.

Garlic, shallots or onions, very finely diced would fit that bill. Garlic might be a little strong with the radish as I want the radish to shine. So shallots it was...I like the sweetness of a shallot. And I'm totally lazy, so rather than chopping it super finely, I just grated it into the cream cheese.

Let's look at the radish - what tastes good with radish? Dill does!

I added a bit of this and a bit of that, and came up with this recipe...and it's pretty awesome.

I love radishes but can only do so much with them raw, you know? I am glad to now have this spread in my repitoire...it would be all sorts of awesome spread atop a toasted sesame seed bagel, or (as I was eating it this afternoon)on a multi grain cracker.

Yummeh!

Radish Spread



1 brick cream cheese, softened
1 med shallot
1 teaspoon dill weed (or more...but keep in mind that the flavour intensifies over time)
splash lemon juice
7 medium sized radishes (or more)
pinch salt

Grate shallot and radishes into cream cheese and mix. Add dill and lemon juice, stir and taste. Add a pinch of salt, mix, and taste again. Adjust any flavours as you see fit (more radish, more dill...keeping in mind that the flavour will get stronger as the dip sits...whatever).

Put dip in fridge to set up a bit and allow the flavours to meld.

Mexican Pizza & Cold Avocado and Leek Soup

The pizza is something I've made for a while, but the soup was adapted from Fast, Healthy Food from Readers Digest. I'll admit that I've never had cold soup. Really. I'm not kidding. The thought of a cold avocado soup made me a little twitchy, but I do love avocado, and adore the creaminess of it...and I had a few leeks in the fridge that needed to be used up, so I gave it a go.

It was a win!

I would recommend starting the leek part of the soup a few hours earlier, to allow it to cool.

Cold Avocado and Leek Soup



1 tablespoon olive oil
1 leek, whites thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced (I grate mine right into the pot)
3 cups vegetable stock
1 ripe avocado
1 small container plain yogurt (like, the single sized serving)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and pepper

In a saucepan, heat oil and soften sliced and cleaned leeks (remember, slicing the leeks and floating them in a bowl of cold water allows the dirt and grit to fall to the bottom and the clean leeks remain at the top) for a few minutes. Pour in veggie stock, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes or until leeks are very soft.

Put aside to cool.

Once cooled, pop leeks and broth in a blender and puree.

You don't want to open the avocado too soon because it will turn brown and the flavour will lessen. I'd serve this soup within an hour of mixing it up.

Cut avocado and remove pit, and scoop flesh into blender. Add yogurt, lime juice, and cilantro and whirr it up until smooth. Pop back into fridge to cool completely.

Serve with a little fresh cilantro on top.

The cookbook mentions that you can also serve this soup hot, but would replace the yogurt with sour cream.

Mexican Pizza



1 pizza crust (I use a PC Thin pizza crust, but you can make your own...just bake it off first)
1 cup refried beans (canned or homemade, or you can use black bean dip - see below)
Shredded cheddar
Any toppings you wish to add (or not)
Chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat your oven to 400 or so, pop in pizza stone (or you can use the underside of a cookie sheet, or other pizza pan...whatever you have). Remove stone or pan from oven, oil as necessary, and place pizza crust.

Smother beans on top - sometimes I'll use canned refried beans and add half a packet of low sodium taco seasoning. This time I used the canned beans and added some chipotle salsa I had in the fridge for seasoning. Sometimes I use a bean dip (recipe below) instead of the refried beans.

Top with shredded cheddar and anything else you'd like to add (that you want to heat up) and pop into the oven until pizza is hot and cheese is melted.

Pull out of the oven, and top with chopped cilantro and anything else you might want to put on there...I like raw green onions and I had some kicking around, so I put them on at this point.

Black Bean Dip (alternative to refried beans)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, grated in
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tablespoon (or so) fresh cilantro, to taste

Heat oil in saucepan and soften onions and garlic. Place in food processor and add rest of ingredients (aside from salt and pepper). Process until smooth, taste, and season with salt and pepper as needed. Sometimes I like to add a couple dashes of hot sauce.

Tomato Onion Tart

Don brought some local tomatoes home, so I figured I'd throw together a tomato tart of some sort. Coincidentally, I saw that Food Network Canada had tweeted about this recipe, so I figured I'd try it.

I realized I'd used up all my cornmeal on the anthills outside (don't ask) so I figured I'd substitute whole wheat flour. It was tasty, but a little heavy...cornmeal would have been WAY better. Next time, I'll make sure I use cornmeal.

I'd also use thinly sliced tomato, and seed them first.

Tomato Onion Tart



The Crust

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup freshly grated parmasan
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/4 olive oil
1/4 cup water
Salt and Pepper

Mix flour, cornmeal, paramasan, and oregano. Add in olive oil and water, mix until just combined, form to a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and place in fridge to rest about 30 minutes.

The Guts

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, peeled and sliced thinly
1 large tomato (or a couple of plum tomatoes), sliced thinly
Grated parmasan

Add olive oil to a hot frying pan and caramelize the onions. Once the onions start to turn translucent, turn the heat down and let them brown and sweeten up. stirring only a couple of times as necessary to keep from burning.

In the middle of cooking the onions, preheat oven to 400 and pull out your tart pan. We all have one of those, right? I don't. I used the springform pan I use for my cheesecake.

Put it Together

Pull crust out of the fridge and roll out into an even disk that will fit into your 8" tart pan/whatever you're using with a little lip. I guess you could also roll it to a rectangle and put it on a cookie sheet. You really don't need to make this too complicated.

Spread caramelized onions onto crust, arrange tomato slices atop, and cover with freshly shredded parmasan. I also added a grind or two of pepper...the salt level was good because of the cheese - didn't need to add that. It pays to taste your food before seasoning (learned that the hard way...a few times, sad to say).

Pop into oven for about 20 minutes, or until tomatoes are softened and the exposed crust is golden.

I grabbed some basil from the garden and put that on before serving.

Roasted Red Pepper Penne

I had a bunch of red peppers from Sunquest Farms here in my county (I love using local food!) that I wanted to roast down into a sauce.

Michael Smith is my "go to guy" for recipes, and he didn't disappoint this time. He has a Bowtie Pasta with Roast Red Pepper recipe that I worked from, and I know how I'd adjust it the next time. Maybe add a little white wine? We'll see.



Roasted Red Pepper Penne
(this was enough for the three of us plus a little left over...adjust accordingly)

4 red peppers, seeded and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 head garlic, peeled, whole cloves
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons of fennel seeds
Salt and pepper
1 pound penne

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Place peppers, onions and garlic in a bowl, drizzle in olive oil and toss to coat, spread evenly onto foil lined (easy cleanup!) baking sheet and sprinkle with salt, pepper and fennel seed.

Roast for about 45 minutes (check every once in a while to make sure everything is cooking evenly...rotate pan if necessary), until veggies are soft and have some nice colour.

Place roasted veggies into a blender and puree with a little water to loosen it up. Alternately, you can pop the roasted veggies into a sauce pan and hit them with your immersion blender.

Cook your penne in some boiling, salted water, and keep the sauce warm on the stove. Check for seasoning and adjust as necessary.

When the pasta is nearly done, throw a few handfuls of baby spinach into the sauce and stir. The heat of the sauce, and the soon-to-be-added pasta will wilt the spinach. You don't need to cook the crap out of it at this point....unless you like slimy spinach. Hey, it's your dinner!

Spoon the penne right into the sauce. The little bit of starchy water will help the sauce stick to the pasta. Note, I said "little bit"...clearly, if you dump the pasta in with a ton of water, you'll have the opposite effect. Use your head here.

Dish it up and add a nice bit of parmesan (shavings, gratings, whatever). I also added a bit of dried red pepper flakes to balance the sweetness of the sauce.

The addition of the fennel seeds triggered a memory of sausages (but no chewy gristle!!), and it was pretty awesome. The sauce was velvety and sweet. I'd never had a pepper sauce before.

Other recipies using red peppers I'd love to try include:
Anna Olsen's Goat Cheese Gnocchi with Pepper Coulis and Red Pepper Soup from Smitten Kitchen.

Blueberry Boy Bait

Yup...that's what I said...

Blueberry. Boy. Bait.

This is apparently a second place winner in a 1954 Pillsbury Bake-Off. The 15 year old girl who made it named for the effect it had on boys...riskee!!

It was adapted by Cook's Country, and Cook's Country's recipe was adapted by Smitten Kitchen.

Then I got ahold of it.

This is the first time I've made this delicious little treat and I can think of a couple of ways I might adjust it further to better suit my taste.

One thing I will say about this cake: It's SO moist and buttery that when you press down on it, there's an audible, rich crackle of moisture...and just the thought of that makes my mouth water.

I made this one with local blueberries, but it could easily be made with anything...it would be delicious with peaches, rhubarb, cherries...the endless possibilities give me goosebumps!

Blueberry Boy Bait

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour (plus 1 tsp set aside)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 sticks unsalted butter
1/4 cup demerara sugar (*see note)
3 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup milk (whole milk, buttermilk, skim milk, whatever you have...)
1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, don't bother defrosting)

For the topping:
1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, don't bother defrosting)
1/4 cup demerera sugar (*see note)
1 tsp ground cinnamon

* Note: I try to avoid using white sugar or commercially processed brown sugar in recipes...I prefer demerera sugar. If you don't have demerera sugar, in the cake you can use 3/4 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup white sugar, and in the topping, 1/4 cup white or brown sugar.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour a 13 x 9 baking pan.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and milk, and mix until combined.

Slowly beat in dry ingredients, in 2 or 3 batches, until just combined.

Toss blueberries in 1 tsp flour (it will help keep them from sinking to the bottom), and fold into batter with a spatula. Place batter into pan and smooth the top.

Combine all the topping ingredients in a bowl and evenly sprinkle on top.

Bake for 45 - 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. I had to check on it and rotate it throughout the baking to make sure it baked evenly.

It's rich, that's for sure, but it's a nice treat. It was a great way to use up some local fruit that I had lying around. I'd totally make this again.

Cream of Mushroom Soup and Grilled Cheese

Based on Chef Michael Smith's Cream of Mushroom Soup recipe.

1 stick butter
2 pounds mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (I like crimini mushrooms)
2 onions, peeled and chopped
2 cups(ish) red wine
4 cups stock or broth (chicken or vegetable)
1 cup heavy cream
Couple sprigs of fresh thyme
2 tblsp corn starch mixed in 1/4 cup water
Salt and pepper

Melt butter in large saucepot (or soup pot). Add mushrooms and onions and saute until softened and lightly browned. It might take a bit as mushrooms release a lot of water, but once that evaporates, they will brown and you'll be in business!

Season with salt and pepper. Add red wine, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze, and simmer until the wine reduces to about half. Add broth and cream, and bring back to a summer. Toss in thyme and simmer a few more minutes.

Add cornstarch and water mixture slowly and stir until the soup thickens to your liking. Taste and season as necessary.

When I plate (bowl?) my soup, I like to throw some chives on top and drizzle a bit of truffle oil or sweet chili oil.


To make the cheese sandwich, I just used some panini rolls I got at the grocery store. I heated up our panini grill, lightly buttered the outside of the bun, slapped some whole grain mustard on the inside of the bun, and laid on some old cheddar (or American cheese slices because they melt awesomely) on the mustard...put the "lid" on the sandwich, and put it in the panini grill for a few minutes until the crust is crispy and golden.

Mushroom and Leek Pizza

Tonight we had mushroom and leek pizza. It's pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.



1 store bought pizza crust (we used a President's Choice thin crust, but you could certainly use a homemade crust, or even a pita bread)
Olive oil
1 Tblsp butter
6oz mushrooms (whatever kind you like, we used crimini)
1 leek, green tops removed
2 sprigs of thyme
Tomato pesto (I used PC Tomato Pesto)
Fresh mozzerella
1 plum tomato
Salt and pepper

You can attack this pizza a number of different ways: do it on the grill...do it in the oven (on a pizza stone, the back of a cookie sheet, a pizza pan, or right on the rack). I prefer the oven method for this pizza, and our pizza stone rules my world...so I will explain what I did using that cooking method, but whichever style you choose, the order is the same: heat up the crust (or prebake if you're making it from a dough), put the stuff on, cook it, eat it, lick the plate.

Crank the oven to 350, put in the stone. Heat a skillet on the stove, adding a tblsp of both olive oil and butter when the pan is hot. Add sliced mushrooms (we like them sliced thinly) and sliced leeks to soften and brown.

Let me divert your attention to something you may or may not know...leeks can be dirty veggies, and just rinsing them under the tap isn't going to get all the sand out. Get a bowl of cold water and, as you chop the leeks, place them in the bowl to float. You might need to give them a swish to break up the rings because that's where the dirt and grit will be hiding. The leek slices will float on the top, and the grit will sink to the bottom. Scoop the ones off the top and throw them into the pan. Add a bit of salt, pepper, and the thyme leaves.

Ok, back to this pizza. While the mushrooms and leeks are browning, I pulled the hot pizza stone out of the oven, oiled the bottom of the prepared pizza crust, put it on the stone, and put it in the oven to warm.

Once the crust is warmed, pull it out of the oven and smear on some tomato pesto. Distribute the mushroom/leek mess over the pesto, add slices of roma tomato, cover with rounds of fresh mozzarella. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil (optional), salt and pepper, and slide back in the oven to melt the cheese.

I really like this pizza because it's not too heavy, and I'm not a huge fan of saucy pizzas, so the pesto element of this is just perfect. Pizza is a great dinner because it's so versatile.

I also make one that has refried beans as the "sauce" and is topped with shredded cheddar and cilantro. I'll have to make that again soon. Stay tuned!