Dairy Girl's Culinary Experimentation

Chocolate Chip Banana Cookies

2006-06-11T09:56:00.000-04:00

A food post! It's been a long time. The truth is, though, that I haven't been doing much cooking the last few weeks. Since I hurt myself, it's been difficult to stand in one spot for a long time (like standing in the kitchen). But it's getting better now. So I decided to use up some bananas to make these cookies!

My roommate made a similar recipe during this past school year. I really liked them and decided that I would try to make something similar. These cookies are almost like a muffin. They are kind of a cross between a cookie and a muffin, quite yummy! Instead of making banana bread with your brown bananas, give these cookies a try!

Chocolate Chip Banana Cookies

1 cup white sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or mix and match with nuts and dried fruit)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cream butter and sugar together until smooth. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. Stir into the butter mixture. Then add the mashed bananas, rolled oats and chocolate chips, mix until well blended.

Drop teaspoonfuls onto unprepared cookie sheets. Bake around 8 to 10 minutes. Remove cookies from pan onto wire racks.

Makes 3-4 dozen

You thought I was too busy?

2006-06-03T12:06:00.000-04:00

You are probably all thinking that I have forgotten about my blog now that I have started working...which isn't true, because for the last week and a half, I haven't been working. Last Wednesday (the 24th) I fell down a couple of steps, and landed wrongly on my hip. I couldn't move. After laying on the ground for over an hour, stressing about what I possibly broke on my body this time, one failed attempt at standing (to walk to the car to get to the hospital), and nearly fainting, I called my mom and asked her if she thought an ambulance was covered by our medical insurance.

So, I had my first ambulance ride (oh, and if it's medically necessary, OHIP users will only pay $45 for the ambulance, and we've sent in the bill to see if the insurance company will pay the rest). The ride itself was not painful. The hospital situation was. I had to go to the washroom myself, which was not pleasant...but necessary nonetheless! I had to get X-rays, and I could barley lay on my back. I have to say, I don't recall ever being in as much pain as I was on that Wednesday. About four hours later (not bad!) I was on my way home.

Erik moved a bed downstairs for me that I lived on for about a week. On this past Wednesday, I went to the physio therapist, and got up for the first time by myself. Before that, Erik had be getting me up at about four hour intervals (when he came home from work). Walking isn't really a problem, but using my right leg to get me up is. It is getting better now..and I am noticing alot of improvment each day, but I'm still taking it careful. My lower back is bothering me now, because I am walking funny. Hopefully physio will be helpful.

So if you were wondering why I was straying from the blog, that was one reason. I've read alot of Harry Potter the last week (I'm on to the fifth book, but I'm going to take a quick break from Harry and read some other books now). Other than reading and sleeping, I haven't done much. I attempted to make some marshmellowy squares a few days ago, which reminded me that maybe I should just stay out of the kitchen until I've recovered a bit more (lets just say Erik ended up with marshmellow all over him and he wasn't even helping). I am not going back to work next week...actually, I don't know when I will be going back...but standing too long makes me tired, dizzy and have a sore back. I'm aiming to get back and do little jobs as soon as possible, but we'll just see how it goes first.

So, the updates should start to get a bit more regular, as I am probably going to get progressively more active. However, I dont think you all want to hear about what Harry did today (in my world), so I'm going to try to leave the updates to topics that would be of interest!

Slacking in the Recipe department

2006-05-12T10:47:00.000-04:00

Sorry about the slack! I have been making new dished, but I haven't taken any pictures, and I am convinced you won't cook anything I post unless there is a visual! I'll try to get on the ball with it, sorry Meaghan! haha...Actally, I'll be starting work full time next week, so it is hard to say how much I will be cooking this summer. Expect new recipes on Sundays, though.

This weekend is pretty busy. Lisa and Ron are getting married tomorrow! I'm really excited, I cannot wait to see Lisa's dress! Today we have rehersal business to take care of, which should be fun too. I expect alot of goofing around...at least between Lisa and I!

Snazzy New Shoes

2006-05-08T18:06:00.000-04:00

This is a pictures of my new shoes, aren't they snazzy??? I got them last Wednesday and swore I was going to go for a nice long jog on Thursday. Unfortunately, I woke up with a sore throat and didn't do my run until today. Not that I am feeling 100% better today, but I was sick of waiting to try the new shoes. I figured I'd take a nice short, slow run, but I guess I ended up being gone about 45 minutes and I think I ran...about 7 km (?) not too sure, I plan on measuring the distance tomorrow morning. Not to sound cocky, but that was kind of a slow run...but it was much longer than I planned on running. Needless to say, the shoes are very nice! They are super comfortable to run in (no blisters!) and they are also very hot (in terms of appearance!)

To further update, Lisa and Ron's wedding is this coming Saturday, and I'm really excited about that! It should be good, and it will be so neat to see my best friend get married! Lisa and I are going to get together tomorrow to do some chillin'...she wanted a non-wedding related day to relax a bit, so hopefully it goes go tomorrow!

I'm still kind of working. Part time. I'm milking in the morning, and technically I'm supposed to have this week off, but I really don't feel like I need to be sleeping in all week. Peter and Rachel have been really slack on me last week, and it looks similar this week. I think I'll take Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday off completely. They said next Monday there is no more of this part time bologna (my words) and that they won't be asking, "Are you coming tomorrow morning to milk?" any more...drat!

The Red Hot Chili Peppers' new album, "Stadium Arcadium" comes out tomorrow. Looking forward to that too! And on a similar note, last Tuesday was the new Tool album, "10,000 Days". I hate to say that this Tool album hasn't topped "Lateralus" for me...but it's still good. From what I've heard, the new Chili Peppers album is supposed to be one of their best yet (with their current line up), and I really think it's going to be the CD for the summer (at least for me...and therefore, Erik also haha). Michelle and I are probably going to go see the Chili Peppers in September (eh, Michelle, the 25th???), that is, if the tickets don't sell out in less than a minute like the Tool one's did...boo!

For those who are interesting in farming, Erik finished planting corn this morning. So that is taken care of for another year...that is, if it doesn't all have to get replanted, eh Erik? I kinda joked about that to him at lunch, he didn't see the humor in my comment. The first year he had the corn planter, ALOT of (if not all....) the corn had to be replanted...that was shitty. Oh well...it was my first year that I got to work in the field and I was happy to get to do it all over again haha.

Speaking of Erik, living with him is going good. The other day he said, "I like living with you." Normally I'd be thrilled of such a comment, but the fact is we haven't really seen each other since I moved in. Well, we've seen each other now a bit, but last week I would only see him for 15 minutes in the morning before we both left for work...and once and a while for a quick lunch. Should be better now though!

That should be a good enough update for you all! And looking back on the title of this post, "Snazzy New Shoes", I realize I have strayed a little bit from my intended topic. But I think this update was due, and since "Snazzy New Shoes" is a fun title, I think I'll leave it!

Still Busy!

2006-05-03T14:54:00.000-04:00

Man, I thought once I was moved home, (in with Erik), that this week would be really relaxing. And I also thought I'd be able to try out a bunch of new recipes, since now Erik would be able to help eat them!!! BUT man was I wrong. I moved home the last of my stuff on Sunday, and was up at 5am Monday morning to go to work (!) It's nice weather here and all the farmers are planting. Hence, why I was asked to start work. I am apparently going to get a week off still...when I'm not sure, because I can't see it happening any time soon. Probably as soon as the corn is all in the alfalfa will be coming off and I'll still have to work. Sigh. Oh well. Right now it's not too bad, I'm just milking in the morning and finishing up anything that has to get done for the day. I've been done around 10am all week...but still! I'm getting up in the morning, that's the hard part! Oh well.

So, hopefully when things slow down there will be some more culinary excitement around here, because lately, there hasn't been any. Oh well...at least I finally got my wireless router hooked up and working (that was a headache and a half!)

I'm done University!

2006-04-27T11:27:00.000-04:00

Yay! This morning I finished my life as a student...sad in some ways, but very glorious! My last exam was a breeze, I kind of kick myself for studying as much as I did...and considering I went biking yesturday afternoon, you know it was easy!
Now packing, moving home, unpacking...back to Toronto (Sunday) moving, taking furniture apart, putting it back together, moving Mike some time early next week, unpacking... sigh! Hopefully I can find some room for relaxation!

Saying some goodbyes

2006-04-25T21:23:00.000-04:00

The last few days have been a little weird. I have been saying goodbye to people that I have become friends with the last few years. Particularly, two instructors at the YMCA I have been going to. I really love the YMCA I am a member of, it's such a great place and I've really started to feel like a part of the family! Even though I leave during the summers, I would always go back and be greeted with familiar smiles and 'hellos'.
Since last year, I have been taking Spinning classes every Monday night and Tuesday night. This year, I wasn't able to continue with the Tuesday night class, although it really was my ultimate favorite class (great music, great workout!). I still loved Monday night's class, and I attended it regularly the last two years. I also became rather good friends with the one instructor. I said goodbye to her on Monday, but I have a feeling I'll see her some day again! The Tuesday night instructor I never got to know too well, but I introduced myself tonight and let her know how awesome her class was and how much I hated not being able to go to it this year (except during exam time, when I don't have Tuesday night classes!) She really appriciated it, which was nice to see!
Of course, I have been saying goodbye to my class mates also, but it doesn't really feel like a 'final goodbye' with them. I will see them at graduation, and hopefully will keep in touch with some of them through email and phone. I'm sure I'll be back in Toronto often enough, which is where (I believe) most of them are staying (this is where all the broadcast related jobs seem to be).
Anyways, I have until Friday to finish off saying bye to everyone...It will be wierd not attending the gym any more though, I always looked forward to going there in September and seeing everyone again.

I'm busy, have some (simple) cookies

2006-04-19T23:28:00.000-04:00

Anyone who reads this blog regularly probably has noticed I haven't been to active in the cooking department. Actually, I have been semi-active, (baking for a bake sale a couple weeks ago, and I made three loaves of bread last weekend), but I haven't really be getting to posting about any of it. Some if it is due to not having a camera around to take pictures of the yummies. And I am convinced that in order to even begin convincing you guys to cook ANYTHING on my blog, there damn well better be a picture. So, for me, no picture = no post, because I see it as much of a waste of my time as yours.

I guess now is the time to say how busy I am with school and stuff. I'm wrapping up my university career in the next week and a half. Feels good! I'm looking forward to it, as I have mentioned countless, countless times before. I have three more exams to write (one down), and I am actually more or less finished another one (a take-home exam). Just have to type it all up and make it look pretty, I've done all the work already. So that will leave two exams...one of which is Monday, and the last one is on Thursday. Then I have to move home and unpack and get settled into my new home (I'm moving in with Erik). So, by no means are the days before I start working again going to be relaxing. I'll try to take some time off, I guess.

Anyways, enough blabber...here are some good study cookies. Well, I haven't made them for studying yet, but I did make them a few weeks ago and thought I'd get around to posting them sooner. Actually, now that I sit here and write, "study cookies" that actually sounds like a good idea.

No-bake Cookies (From EatingWell.com)

8 whole-wheat graham cracker squares, finely ground
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup smooth natural peanut butter
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons honey
4 teaspoons unsweetened coconut

Combine ground whole-wheat graham crackers, raisins, peanut butter and honey in a small bowl. Pat into 16 cookies and press lightly in coconut.

Saturday night supper/cooking class!

2006-04-10T19:57:00.001-04:00

Saturday night, Mike and I prepared supper. My Mom and I went to a cooking class with Bonnie Stern, which was awesome, she signed my book, and I was inspired (as always) to cook from her cookbook! We had some excellent food at the cooking class, including, all from her new cookbook, Hummos with Sauteed Chickpeas and Zhoug, Chreime (Fish in Spicy Cherry Tomatoe Sauce), Sweet Potato Maple Mash, Strawberry Lemonade, Moroccan Sliced Oranges with Dried Fruit, and Gwen's Almond Haystacks. What I really enjoyed about the cooking class was the fact that pretty much all of the recipes Bonnie created were ones I wouldn't have created on my own (at least, not any time soon) and yet, they were all magnificant, and they are all dishes I am going to prepare myself. Neither my Mom or I are big fish eaters, but we both loved the Chreime and were ready to go home and make it! I'm really happy that Bonnie made the dishes she did, because it reassured me that everything in her cookbook is likely to turn out wonderful!
Anyways, back to Saturday night's supper. Mike and I decided on two recipes from Bonnie's cookbook: Thai Mango Chicken with Vegetables and Stir-Fried Baby Bok Choy. Mike also made a coconut milk based soup (that was very hot, but good!) and some rice for a side dish. The supper was excellent, but that is no surprise (not because we cooked...well, that's some of it...but more because of the cookbook we used ...hehe).

Stir-Fried Baby Bok Choy

1 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 lb (500 grams) baby bok choy, halved if neccessary
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup water

Heat the oil in a wok or skillet on medium high heat. Add the garlic, stirring for about 10 seconds, do not let it brown.
Add the baby bok choy and stir for about a minute.
Add soy sauce and water and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring often, about five minutes. The bok choy will be wilted and tender.

Serves 6

Nutritional Info per serving
18 Calories
1 gram protien
1 gram fat
0 gram saturated fat
0 mg cholesterol
2 grams carbohydrates
1 gram fibre
196 grams sodium
274 grams potassium

Thai Mango Chicken with Vegetables

1 lb (500 grams) boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 Tbsp peanut butter
1/4 cup light coconut milk
1-1/4 cup homemade chicken stock or water
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp green Thai curry paste (be careful if you don't like heat!)
1 sweet red pepper, cut in chunks
1 cup brocolli florets
1/4 lb (125 grams) mushrooms, trimmed and halved
1 mango, peeled and diced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Cut chicken into strips.
Mix the hoisin and peanut butter until smooth. Whisk in coconut milk, stock and cornstarch.
Heat oil on a skillet or wok on medium high heat. Add curry paste, cook for 10 seconds. Add chicken and stir fry until chicken loses its raw appearance.
Add pepper, brocolli and mushrooms. Stir fry for about 4 minutes.
Add mango. Stir up reserved sauce and add. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute or until thick. Sprinkle with cilantro.

Serves 4

Nutritional Information per serving
364 calories
36 grams protien
13 grams fat
3 grams sat. fat
79 mg cholestorol
27 grams carbohydrates
4 grams fibre
506 grams sodium
809 grams potassium

Biscuits!

2006-04-05T14:34:00.000-04:00

Here are two nice biscuit recipes for your taste buds. Both are drop biscuits, which are very easy to make, and taste delicous! The Cornmeal Drop Biscuits are from Matha Stewart's website (and were recently on one of her shows) and the Poppyseed Rolls (which are a cross between a tea buscuit and a bun) are from "French Women Don't Get Fat". Now, I have to say about that book...I find it a little bit embarassing to have it in my collection. But I LOVE the book, from a food perspective more than a diet book perspective. I loved reading about the French and their food! So, try out one, or both, of these recipes, they are a great accompaniment to soup!

Poppy Seed Rolls

1 egg
1 Tbsp water
1-1/3 cups plain yogurt
4 Tbsp olive oil
2-1/2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp double-acting baking powder
1 tsp poppy seeds

Mix together the egg and water. Reserve

Whip the yogurt and olive oil to a smooth consistency. Sift together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Make a well and pour the yogurt-oil mixture into the center. Using your fingertips, mix the dough until it is homogeneous. Work the dough until it no longer sticks and has a smooth consistency.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Make 12 round rolls and put on a baking sheet. Brush with the egg-water mixture and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Using a sharp knife, make a cross on top of each roll. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the rolls are golden. They are good warm, but you can, of course, serve them at room temperature once cooled.

Makes 12 rolls

AND....

CORNMEAL DROP BISCUITS

Makes 10

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup fine yellow cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few larger clumps remaining.

Pour in milk; using a rubber spatula, fold milk into dough, working in all directions and incorporating crumbs at the bottom of the bowl, until dough just comes together. The dough will be slightly sticky; do not overmix.

With two large spoons, drop mounds of dough (about 1/3 cup each) about 1 1/2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until biscuits are golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Slide parchment and biscuits onto a wire rack to cool.

Whole Wheat Penne with Eggplant

2006-04-04T09:46:00.000-04:00

So it has been a while since I have tried a new recipe, since I've been so busy with school. But I have a few to share now. This one I made last night, it comes from Cooking Light magazine, from March 2006. I think you can find all of their recipes on their website. But anyways, this one appealed to me because of the pasta! It's been a long time since I had any pasta dishes (and I don't think I've even posted and Italian inspired pasta dishes...) so I figured it was time! This turned out pretty good, also. It's easy to make, it doesn't take too long, and it's really a delight! haha It has a bit of a kick to it, from the red pepper flakes, so if you don't like spice, then omit them. I think I like the bit of heat on this dish, it makes it a bit more unique than just your average pasta.

Brown Rice Penne with Eggplant

1 (16-ounce, or 450 gram) package of brown rice penne (as you can see in the title of the main post, I used whole wheat penne instead)
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 cups cubed eggplant
1 cup finely chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp sal (this seemed like a lot, I halved it)
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 (26-ounce) jar fat-free pasta sauce (I used Muir Glen Organic, as the magazine suggested)
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh basil
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) preshredded Italian blend or Parmesan cheese, divided

Cook and drain pasta. Do not cook in salt of fat.
Heat oil on a large skillet, medium-high heat. Add eggplant and onion and saute for about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook for another 3 minutes. Add salt, crushed pepper and pasta sauce. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat, cooking for aabout 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add basil.
Add pasta to the eggplant/onion mixture. Add 1 cup of the cheese and toss gently. Serve with the remaining cheese.

Serves 8, 1-1/4 cups of pasta

Nutritional information:
353 calories
7.1 grams fat
3.1 grams sat. fat
2.7 grams mono. fat
0.4 grams poly. fat
11.5 grams protien
56.3 grams carbohydrates
5 grams fibre
17 mg cholesterol
430 mg sodium
202 mg calcium

Life Fest 2006

2006-03-31T22:51:00.000-05:00

Today Karen (my old roommate) and I went to Life Fest, which I believe is a Shopper's Drug Mart sponsored event. They heavily promote the show, and have their logo plastered all over it, anyways. As you can see in this photo, we got a TON of free stuff! It was well worth the money to go, because it easily paid itself all back. I don't think the plan was for you to circle the show a whole bunch of times getting doubles (ahem, triples) of all the free samples, but there was contract-signing stating otherwise. So we definately made our money worth!

As you can see in this photo, I have started going through all my stuff, trying to bring order to my bed so I can go to sleep (and not on the couch). I have separated the piles into the follow categories (and a few more): razors (yes, I have a men's razor in there too, it's for Erik, oh and yes, I do have two Venus razors and two Shick razors...about $12 each in the store!); lotions, creams, moisturizers and all things in little packages that look like they'd possibly be used on the body; edible stuff, including protien bars, Crispers, cottage cheese (which was in the fridge already), butter (also in the fridge), fruit bars, etc. magnets (yes, magnets got their own pile); coupons; recipes; magazines (yes, that is a "Today's Parent" magazine, and no I don't have kids hehe) as well as some random drugs (diet pills, vitamins, Tylenol, etc.) and random lubricants (I have a Strawberry Cheese Cake lubricant!!! Who thought that was a good idea?!)

As well as all the free stuff seen in the pictures above, we also had lunch/supper for free (tons of food sample and protein/ meal bars available!) It got to the point where I didn't want to look at food...that doesn't happen too often! I highly recommend this show! Karen and I went to the "National Women's Show" in Novemeber, and that was along the same lines as "Life Fest". I think I liked the NWS better, but I think that's just because there was more food stuff. But I could be wrong; they were very similar, all in all!

Mont Tremblant -- Our Hotel

2006-03-31T22:45:00.000-05:00

Here is a few pictures from our 'hotel room', which was actually closer to a mini appartment: This is a photo looking into the bedroom, it doesn't do it justice! The next picture is looking out of the bedroom into the kitchen/living area; and this last photo is looking down on the outdoor hot tub, from our balcony.

Some more pictures from Mont Tremblant...

2006-03-31T22:38:00.000-05:00

In the order they appear: Mont Tremblant with the ski hills in the background; Erik before we go skiiing; This is a shot of half way up the highest point...we are already quite hight. The highest point was at just under 900 metres above sea level; This is the kiddy hill (the hill I learned how to ski on!) looking down on Mont Tremblant; and this is a picture of me!

More Mont Tremblant

2006-03-31T15:19:00.000-05:00

This is Cute. I got her at the Plush Factory (as seen in the photo here). She is unique because I got to stuff her myself! Actually, don't tell Erik, but this was the highlight of my trip haha. Just kidding. Well, I did love it though. I was tempted to get another stuffy the next day...they had alot of beautiful bears! The neat thing about Cute is that I got to not only stuff her myself, but I got to make a wish on a little Angle stuffy thing, and I put it inside of her before she got sealed up. We could then pick an outfit for her, but it was lot of extra money and a cow in an outfit looked odd. We tried a sweater on her, but it looked funny! The bears looked kinda cute dressed up, but my Cute just looked weird!
As you can see in the second photo, Cute also got a passport taken! Erik and I were in the picture with her. On her passport, her date of birth is listed. It was a really fun little shop to go to! I cuddled with Cute in bed at night! Oh and in the other picture, you can see Cute went skiing...well at least, she tried on my goggles.

Mont Tremblant

2006-03-28T19:24:00.000-05:00

I got back from Mont Tremblant yesturday evening, and man, I wish I was still there! I had such a good time. Erik and I decided that we'd go back, hopefully at least once a year. Looking at these pictures makes me miss Mont Tremblant so much. The town/ski resort was such a unique town that follows the hill upward. Once the ski hills are closed for the day, the town becomes a bit of a party place, full of people, bands playing, patios open, drinks being served, and fires going if people want to warm up.

I have never skied before this weekend, but I really love it. I THINK I caught on fairly quickly...but by no means did I not fall. I DIDN'T break any bones, though. I have a bit of a scratch on my face from the time I feel on my head. Yes, I fell on my head. Actually, twice, and I'd do it again to go back to Mont Tremblant in a second!

We were so happy with our hotel, Chateau Beauvallon. It was gorgeous. It was located outside of the resort/town, but we perferred it that way. The hotel provided free shuttle service to and from the hills all day, so that was not a problem. We brought our skis with us to the hotel, and we never had to worry about them, they were stored by the hotel. We had a delicious breakfast on Sunday morning, and a smaller on Monday morning. Our room was really more like a mini appartment. We had two bathrooms, a king sized bed (in a bedroom, not in the middle of everything), a fire place (Which was nice to dry all our ski clothes since it rained at the end of Saturday), a living room, and a mini kitchen. We picked up some groceries and ate at our hotel for a few meals. On our last night in Mont Tremblant, we went out for supper at a place called The Cayenne Grill. We were both very satisfied with our dinners.

I cannot post enough pictures here to justify the wonderful time we had. We took around 200 pictures, so if you want to see more, just shout. Definately want to make this a yearly tradition!

Claire's Couscous Porridge

2006-03-21T10:05:00.000-05:00

This recipe comes from my brother, Mike, who got it from a friend of his, I believe. I make this for breakfast on the weekends, but it's so good I've been making in the last couple of days in Toronto, also. It is super yummy! After introducing my friend, Meaghan to my blog last night, and after telling her about couscous porridge, I told her I would take a picture of my breakfast tomorrow morning (this morning) and post it for her to see.
The recipe calls for soy milk, but I make it with actual milk and it turns out fine. I enjoy dried cherries and walnuts in my porridge, but you can really add whatever you like. The first morning I had this was Christmas morning, and Mike included dried cherries, pecans and pumpkin seeds. It was tres bon!

Claire’s Couscous Porridge

1 cup soy milk
1/2 cup couscous
2 Tbsp nuts (your choice; eg/ almonds, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds walnuts,
peanuts, cashews, etc.)
2 Tbsp dried fruit (your choice; eg/ dried cherries, cranberries, raisins, etc.)
1 Tbsp coconut (optional)
1/8 to 1/4 tsp vanilla (optional)

In a medium saucepan, bring the soy milk close to a boil, but not quite. Turn off heat and stir in couscous, nuts fruit and optional coconut and vanilla. Let stand covered for 5 minutes.

Serves 2

Butternut Squash Fritatta

2006-03-21T09:58:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, Erik and I made this Butternut Squash Fritatta for lunch. It was really good, and my first attempt at making a fritatta. A fritatta is basically a mixture of vegetables (or, in this case, butternut squash) set in an egg mixture that is baked. This recipe was taken from Bonnie Stern's new cookbook, "The Best of HeartSmart Cooking". I don't have the cookbook with me, so I cannot give you the recipe, but only encourage you to buy this wonderful cookbook! I cannot give enough praise for it! Actually, in April, my Mom and I are going to go to a cooking class with Bonnie Stern! She has a class in London, and there is food sampling and cookbook signing! I'm quite excited about it.

Cookies

2006-03-21T09:50:00.000-05:00

This weekend I made three different kinds of cookies. From the front to the back, Chocolate Cowboy Cookies, Nutella Cookies and Chocolate Fudge Cookies. They all turned out pretty good, but the one I am most excited about is the Nutella cookie. This isn't because I like the taste of it more than the others, but because I invented this recipe. I have never invented a cookie recipe, but it seemed to turn out pretty good, because these actually taste like cookies!
Erik wrote out the recipe as I was making it, but I don't have it with me in Toronto. However, I can tell you that next time I make these, I'm going to put more Nutella in, and maybe some ground hazelnuts to emphasize that nutty flavour. I added chocolate chips to half of the cookies, but once they had chocolate chips in them, all hints of the Nutella flavor were gone. It was a neat little experiment, and I will definately try it again! I won't leave you without a recipe, so here is the one for the Cowboy cookies. My friend and old roommate Karen passed this recipe on to me, and you really can improvise with it, also. Add to them what you please, and you can really play with the amount of oats, chocolate chips and nuts you add to these.

Chocolate Cowboy Cookies

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup margarine or shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 cup quick oats
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift together and set aside flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Blend together margarine and sugars. Add egg and beat until light and fluffy. Add flour mixture and mix well. Add oats, vanilla and chocolate chips and nuts if used.
Roll teaspoon sized balls and place on greased baking sheet. Bake for approximately 10 minutes.

Makes approximately 3-4 dozen

Cranberry-peanut butter muffins

2006-03-16T18:08:00.000-05:00

I planned on making these last Thursday, but since I still had so many muffins around, I thought I would hold off. I took my remaining muffins home to get eaten, and now today I have made a new batch. I'm pretty happy with how these turned out. They are very cake-like...or maybe I'm getting better and being gentle with muffin batter...who knows! Anyways, they ARE peanutty, but the peanut butter taste is not overwhelming by any means. I think next time, I would prepare these with either raisins or chocolate chips. I took the recipe from "Peanut Butter Planet", which I am still loving! Mmmm Peanut Butter, you're my favorite.

Cranberry-peanut butter muffins

1/3 cup peanut butter
3 Tbsp peanut oil
1 cup milk or soy milk
1 egg or egg substitute
1/2 cup light brown sugar, or less
1-3/4 cup all purpose flour
2-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. and lightly grease a muffin pan
Blend the first two ingredients. Add the next three (milk, egg and sugar).
In a seperate bowl, combine the remaning ingredients (but not the cranberries). Add to the peanut butter mixture. Stir JUST until combined.
Fold in the cranberries.
Divide between muffin cups.
Bake for 15-18 minutes. Cool in ban 5-10 minutes and serve warm.

Makes 12 muffins

Nutritional Information per muffin

181 calories
5 grams protein
21 grams carbohydrates
9 grams total fat
2 grams saturated fat
20 mg cholesterol
2 grams dietary fibre
216 mg sodium

Crazy Lasagna

2006-03-16T17:52:00.000-05:00

Okay, I know this doesn't look all that pretty in the picture. Actually, the picture above is just leftovers from the Saturday night (I ate it Monday, but I haven't gotten around to posting this long recipe!) BUT you have to trust me on this, not only does it look better when you just make it, but it TASTES WONDERFUL!
This recipe comes from Bonnie Stern's NEW COOKBOOK, titled "The Best of HeartSmart Cooking". I know, I have been meaning to get to this also. It came in the mail last week. It's a wonderful cookbook. It has so many recipes that I am looking forward to trying. I highly recommend Bonnie Stern in general. But if you like the idea of healthy, pick up this one, "The Best of HeartSmart" because it includes not only 100 new recipes, but 300 of her "favorites" from her other HeartSmart cookbooks. And for all of you non-believers, healthy does not equal nasty...my Dad even approved of this recipe, which is EVEN vegetarian!!!! I know...I was as shooked as ever.
This recipe DOES take time to get ready. Alot of chopping vegetables (which, thankfully, my Mom helped me with). And it's in the oven for close to an hour on top of the 45 minutes of roasting. So, if you want this ready in time for supper, start thinking about it mid-afternoon.
We halved this recipe (because we assumed my Dad wouldn't even want to try it, and my brother was already planning a light supper) but it made LOTS. Actually, my mom has a 12 x 8 inch pan and our mixture fit in it nicely. So I'm not too sure how one is supposed to get double the amount in a 13 x 9, but hey, you're more than willing to try. I guess since this isn't a traditional layered lasagna, you could fit what you could in a 13 x 9 and put the rest in a casserol dish or something. I'm sure you'll figure it out. Anyways, enough dely, here is the recipe!

Crazy Lasagna

2 lbs plum tomatoes, seeded and quatered
1 lb Asian eggplant, cut in 1/2 inch slices
1 lb zucchini, cut in rounds
1/2 portobello mushrooms, trimmed and cut in chunks
2 sweet red peppers, seeded and cut in chunks
1 large onion, peeled and cut in chunks
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 heads garlic
3/4 lb whole wheat or regular lasagna noodles, broken up
2 cups pureed canned tomatoes (Drained) or tomoatoe sauce
1 lb light ricotta cheese
1/2 lb mozeralla, grated
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or parsley
1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano, or 1/2 tsp dried
2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Arrange the first six ingredients on two parchment covered baking sheets. Cut the ends off the garlic and wrap in tinfoil and add to the baking sheets. Roast vegetables for 45 minutes or until vegetables have browned.
Cook lasagna noodles while waiting. They shoudl be tender but firm. Drain and rinse with cold water
In a large bowl combine the noodles and roasted vegetables. Squeeze in the garilc. Add the canned tomatoes, ricotta (leaving it in blobs), mozeralla, basil and oregano. Taste for seasoning.
Transfer mixture to a lightly oiled 13 x 9 inch pan and sprinkle on parmesan. Bake covered at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Uncover and baken an additional 20-30 minutes. Remove and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 8-10 servings

Nutritional Information Per serving
438 calories
22 grams protien
15 grams fat
7 grams saturated fat
37 mg cholesterol
60 g carbohydrates
10 grams fibre
365 mg sodium
645 mg potassium

Going Skiing!

2006-03-15T10:40:00.000-05:00

Last night I booked a hotel for the weekend of March 24th at Mont Tremblant, Quebec. And earlier in the day I booked the train tickets to Montreal. I am really looking forward to not only skiing for the first time, but also getting away! I am really starting to feel like I need a break from life and hopefully this is just the thing!
Stay tuned for information about broken legs, arms, hips, fingers, feet, etc.! Just kidding, hopefully... =O}

Peanut Macaroni Pie

2006-03-12T22:43:00.000-05:00

Tonight was another recipe out of "Peanut Butter Planet". This one turned out really good. I really liked it, anyways. Erik said it was okay; I have seen him more enthused about other dishes. It has a nice, nutty flavor, and I do think the topping was probably the best part of this dish! It's really easy to prepare, which is nice. Although, I'd recommend not using a 9-inch pie plate, as half of the mixture ends up all over your kitchen counters and floor. I think a casserol dish would have woked just fine...maybe a 3 quart or so.

Peanut Macaroni

8 ounces elbow macaroni
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 cups milk, or soy milk
4 ounces silken tofu
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp cayenne
pinch nutmeg
salt
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped, ground peanuts
paprika (optional)

Cook the macaroni, drain and put into your oven dish (this recipe recommends a 10-inch deep-dish pie plate).
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Add 1 Tbsp oil to a frying pan, and add the onion. Cover and fry for about 5 minutes.
In a food processor, combine the cooked onion, milk, peanut butter, tofu, lemon juice, mustard powder, cayenne, and nutmeg. Blend until smooth (be careful it doesn't go over the sides, I have a seven cup food processor and I had to be careful). Pour the mixture over the macaroni (and not on the floor), and sprinkle the parsley on top.
Combine the bread crumbs, chopped peanuts, the second Tbsp of oil and the optional paprika in a bowl. Stir. Sprinkle over the macaroni dish.
Cover and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 more minutes (the top will be lightly brown...who am I kidding, I forgot to cover the dish, but it worked out just fine!)

Makes four servings

Nutritional info per serving

427 calories
16 grams protein (yay peanuts and peanut butter!!!...and tofu)
38 grams carbohydrates
25 grams fat
5 grams saturated fat
12 mg cholesterol
4 grams dietary fibre
153 mg sodium

Szechuan Stir-Fry with Fiery Peanut Sauce

2006-03-08T19:01:00.000-05:00

Yesturday, the much anticipated "Peanut Butter Planet" cook book did arive. I was a little hesitant to order the book because I had never seen it before. The bookstores were not carrying it yet. But I figured I could always return it if it REALLY wasn't what I was hopping for. However, this cookbook is perfect! I was mainly worreid about whether or not the nutritional information was going to be available for the recipes, but it's all there! Not only that, but the author is writing the book from a health perspective. She talks about how she grew up loving peanut butter, but stopped eating her favorite peanut butter sandwiches when she had to start being concerned with her health. Well, that is pretty much perfect, isn't it? Peanut butter recipes with health and nutrition in mind.
So this stir-fry dish stood out to me because I had most of the ingredients on hand, and of course, it sounded really good. I gave it a try tonight, and it definately gets my thumbs up. I think next time I would vary the vegetable mix a little, there seemed to be alot of onion in this...but all in all, it was really good. I also halved the recipe, seeing as how I don't need to feed 6 let alone three.
I highly recommend this cookbook to all peanut butter lovers! I know I have only made one recipe so far, but it is full recipes I want to try. I think that you shouldn't be disappointed with this cookbook!

Szechuan Stir-Fry with Fiery Peanut Sauce

1/2 cup water
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 tamari or soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp light brown sugar
1 tsp ketchup
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger, grated
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp cornstarch mixed in 1 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp peanut oil
8 ounces extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 cups broccoli florets, blanched (I didn't blanch mine and they were fine)
1 red bell pepper, thin strips
2 cups napa, thinly sliced
1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms
6 cups cooked rice
1/4 roasted peants, for garnish (optional)

Combine the water, peanut butter, tamari, vinegar, sugar, ketchup, garlic, ginger and red-pepper flakes in a food processor (I stired them by hand, that works fine too)
Pour mixture into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cornstarch and let the sauce thicken. Remove from heat and set aside.
Heat the oil and add the tofu, cooking until brown. Remove from pan. Add the onion, broccoli, and pepper. Stir fry for 3 minutes. Add the cabbage and mushrooms. Stir fry for another 3 minutes.
Re-add the tofu to the pan. Pour the sauce over and mix throughout.
Serve over the rice (or, stir fry it in, as I did)

Serves 6

Per serving
200 calories
11 grams protein
12 grams carbohydrates
14 grams total fat
2 grams saturated fat
0 mg cholesterol
4 grams dietary fibre
661 mg sodium

Spicy Sesame Noodles

2006-03-06T15:01:00.000-05:00

Today for lunch (since I returned to moldy bread, boo hoo) I made this dish. It is not alot of work, but it does take some time (ie/ cooking the pasta, chopping the veggies) so if you are wanting this for a quick lunch, I'd suggest trying something else. I'm used to a quick lunch, and this wasn't one. Although, it did get eaten quick, because it was pretty good. It seems to compare with the Hong Kong Primavera I made a while back, and I definately liked that dish better than this one. However, this one was still good, and I'm going to have the second half of this recipe tomorrow as a cold salad, so I'll have to see how that goes! This recipe comes from my "Healthy Cooking for Two (or just you)" cookbook.

Spicy Sesame Noodles

4 ounces linguine or spaghetti
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp reduced - sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp tahini
1-1/2 tsp rice vinegar
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1-1/2 tsp canola oil
1/3 cup sliced mushrooms
1/3 cup diced sweet pepper (red or green)
1/4 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup coarsely chopped onions
1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 clove crushed garlic

Cook the pasta, drain well and put in a medium bowl.
Combine water, soy sauce, tahini, vinegar and pepper flakes and stir until smooth. Set aside.
Warm oil in a frying pan. Add the mushrooms, pepper, celery, onions and ginger. Cook for about 3 minutes on medium high heat. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute. Add the sauce and stir constantly until the sauce begins to bubble and becomes smooth.
Add vegetable/sauce mixture to spaghetti.

Makes 2 servings.

Nutritional info
296 calories
6.7 grams fat
0.4 grams saturated fat
0 mg cholesterol
322 mg sodium
9.9 grams protein
42.5 grams carbohydrates
1 gram dietary fibre

Super "Chuey" Chocolate Chip Cookies

2006-03-06T14:51:00.000-05:00

There is something about cookies in a cookie jar that is just so yummy. I'm not sure what it is. A couple of weekends ago, when I made a few kinds of cookies, I put some in this jar. I wouldn't let Erik eat cookies out of the jar because they just looked too nice! Well, eventually we emptied the thing and so I had to make some cookies again this past weekend.

Super "Chuey" Chocolate Chip cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1-1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 cup chocolate chips or chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter, and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Add baking soda, salt and flour, just until combined. Add chocolate chips, just until combined.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease. Spoon heaping tablespoons of cookie dough and flatten slightly with fingers.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges are slightly golden.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Nutritional information Per serving (1 cookie)

143 calories
18.3 grams carbohydrates
1.3 grams protein
7.8 grams fat

Baked Spaghetti Pie

2006-03-06T14:48:00.000-05:00

I made this dish Saturday night for Erik and I. It has become a favorite between us. It's kind of a mix between lasagna and spaghetti, but at the same time, it's completely different from the two.
I usually top this with parmesan cheese, but we were out, so I put cheddar on top which made it rather greasy. I kind of blotched the grease off with a paper towel, but I think I like the parmesan on top alot better. Oh well, better luck for next time! I got this recipe out of a magazine from Fitness Rx...I know, that surprised me too.

Baked Spaghetti Pie

1 c. chopped onion
1 teaspoon dried minced garlic
1 14-1/2 ounce can tomatoes, drained and chopped
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon Tamari soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1 cup tomato sauce
5 egg whites, lightly beaten
1/2 pound spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
7 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a nine-inch pie pan with olive oil cooking spray. Coat a nine-inch frying pan with olive oil cooking spray, add onion and cook over medium heat until lightly browned. Place all the ingredients in a large bowl, except three tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese. Mix well. Pour mixture into prepared pie pan. Spread evenly. Sprinkle top with remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake for 45 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting into quarters. Makes four servings.

Nutritional Information (per serving)

Kcal……………316
Protein…………17.3 g (23%)
Carbohydrates…50.1 g (66.9%)
Fat……………..3.4 g (10.1%)
Cholesterol…….7 mg
Sodium………...783 mg

Shrove Tuesday/Pancake Tuesday, part 2

2006-02-28T22:05:00.000-05:00

For supper I thought I would stick with a more traditional pancake, but instead of syrup, I made a blueberry sauce from my "Eating for Energy without Deprivation" cookbook. The recipe was really simple and was a nice alternative to maple syrup (although very good also, in its own rights!) This sauce could definately be used for other things, too. It might be served with desserts. I never let this sauce cool (it was served warm over the pancakes, and my roommate and I didn't give it a chance to cool down), but perhaps if you cooled it, it would be a nice cheese cake topping. Just a thought.

Fresh Blueberry Topping

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp cornstarch, disolved in 2 Tbsp cold water

In a small saucepan, combine the blueberries, water and sugar on medium heat. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and add cornstarch mixture, stirring until dissolved.
Serve.
Makes 4 servings

Nutritional information

50 calories
12.8 grams carbohydrates
0.1 gram protein
0.1 gram fat

Shrove Tuesday/Pancake Tuesday, part 1

2006-02-28T13:01:00.000-05:00

Today is a day of many meanings: Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Tuesday, or Pancake day to some, Mardi Gras, the start of lent, the end of Carnival to others. For me, it means I am eating pancakes today! The recipe in the picture above, Potato Pancakes with Apple Puree, is a little different from your traditional pancakes, but I thought it was a good start to celebrate this day. I made these for lunch and they turned out really superb! The recipe comes from "Healthy Eating for Two (or just you)". I had a hard time narrowing down recipes for my pancake day, but I have been wanting to try this one since I got this cookbook, and what better day to try it on! I figured it was worth doing something a little different for one of my pancake meals!

Potato Pancakes with Apple Puree

Apple Puree:
1 Tart apple (I used a Granny Smith)
2 Tbsp water

Potato Pancakes:
1 medium baking potato
1 large egg white
1 Tbsp coarsley grated onion
1/4 tsp salt
pepper to taste
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp canola oil

Peel the apples and cut into chunks. Place in a 2-cup microwave safe bowl with the water. Microwave for about 4 minutes. Mash/puree with fork and set aside while you make the pancakes.
Peel and grate the potatoes onto paper towels. Remove the access water by gently wringing them and patting them.
Beat the egg white until foamy and add the potatoes, onion, salt and pepper. Toss gently to blend, and sprinkle with flour and toss again.
Brush a 10-inch skillet with the oil and preheat for 1 to 2 minutes on medium heat. Divide the potato mixture into three pancakes and gently flatten with a spatula.
Reduce heat to medium low and cook the pancakes for 6 or 7 minutes or until they are brown and crisp on both sides.
Serve the pancakes with the apple puree
Makes 1 serving.

Nutritional Information (per serving)

162 calories
5 grams total fat
0.4 grams saturated fat
0 mg cholesterol
589 mg sodium
4.6 grams protein
26.2 grams carbohydrates
2.8 grams dietary fibre

Fruit and Fibre Bars

2006-02-27T15:22:00.000-05:00

I found this recipe in "Eating for Energy Without Deprivation: The 80-20 Cookbook". After finishing up my snack muffins last week (the Apple Walnut Bran ones) I decided I needed something to replace them. I came across this recipe and it sounded really good. It is easy to prepare, and I had most of the ingredients on hand. They turned out to be kind of the equivalent of muffins; they had the same kind of texture to the dough. But they are baked in a 13 X 9 pan, and cut into squares. I'm really happy with these and they will be a good quick snack. I'm going to try to freeze them, as I won't be able to eat them fast enough. I imagine they will freeze fine, since they are fairly similar to a muffin.

Fruit and Fibre Bars

2 cups bran flakes cereal
1 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup 1% buttermilk
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 eggs
grated orange rind (from one orange)
1 cup dried apricots, diced
1 cup diced dates
1/3 cup slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 13 X 9-inch pan.
In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. In a medium bowl combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs and orange rind. Wisk together.
Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Stir in the apricots, dates and almonds.
Pour mixture into the pan and bake for 25 minutes.
Makes 24 servings.

Nutritional information (per serving)

117 calories
21 grams carbohydrates
2 grams protein
4 grams fat

Stir-fried Tofu and Broccoli with Sweet and Sour Sauce

2006-02-27T09:26:00.000-05:00

Yesturday Erik drove me back to Toronto to start school again (boo!). But as my Mom keeps telling me, "you're in the final stretch and it will be over before you know it." Which is very true, I know these next few weeks are going to fly by. As you all know, I am really looking forward to that final exam to be finished.
Anyhow, Erik and I wanted to make something for supper tonight (well, I did, but as you know, Erik never seems to protest food). I found this in the Bonnie Stern "Heart Smart Cooking for Family and Friends". And, it was yet another good one out of that cookbook. It makes four to six servings; what I found is that these are four really big servings or six medium. Erik suggested the tofu be cut smaller for next time, as it would have been easier to stir-fry and eat. Also, the recipe doesn't call for rice or noodles, but it is a side note. We served ours over basmati rice, which worked really nice. I think it would have also been really good with spaghetti or rice noodles.

Stir-fried Tofu and Broccoli with Sweet and Sour Sauce

2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
2 Tbsp Rice wine
1 tsp hot chili paste
375 grams extra-firm tofu, cut into 2-inch/5-cm pieces (or smaller for Erik's liking)
1-1/2 cups chopped or pureed tomatoes, canned or fresh)
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbps rice vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp five-spice powder, optional
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp cold water
1 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp ginger, finely chopped
3 green onions, chopped
250 grams mushrooms
1 sweet red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 buch broccoli, trimmed and cut
1/4 fresh cilantro
rice or noodles to serve over (optional)

In a medium bowl combine the first three ingredients. Add tofu and coat well, marinating for up to 20 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, ketchup, vinegar, honey, soy sauce and five-spice powder, if using.
In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, cold water and sesame oil until smooth.
To cook, heat vegetable oil in a large non-stick skillet or work on medium high heat. Add tofu and cook for a few minutes until lightly browned. Remove from pan and reserve. There should be a teaspoon or two of oil in the pan, add oil if necessary.
Add garlic, ginger root and green onions, stir fry for thirty seconds. Add mushrooms and red pepper. Cook for two minutes. Add brocolli and tofu.
Add tomato mixture and bring to a boil. Cook for three minutes. Stir up cornstarch mixture and add half to skillet and cook for 30 seconds. If sauce is not think enough add some more. Transfer to serving dish and springle with cilantro.
Serve over rice or noodles (optional)

Nutritional Information (per serving)

287 calories
15.2 grams protein
11 grams fat
1.3 grams saturated fat
0 mg cholesterol
37.7 grams carbohydrates
6 grams fibre
905 mg sodium
917 mg potassium

Teriyaki Noodles with Beef

2006-02-25T20:27:00.000-05:00

My highlight of the week: this recipe. By far my favorite thing I have cooked all week. I definately like the peanut sauce stir fry (from Kraft Canada) but I think this one even tops it. In terms of all the NEW recipes I tried this week, this one is definately the best. It makes six servings, and my Mom and I were both putting together leftover bowls with great excitement (but a little dissapointed we had to skimp to ensure the late arrivers, my Dad and Erik, were going to get something).
This recipe is taken from my Bonnie Stern "Heart Smart Cooking for Family and Friends" cookbook. And even though this recipe includes beef, the saturated fat content is fairly low (at 2.9 grams per serving). This is one of those recipes you enjoy so much you couldn't imagine it being healthy.
I really DON'T want to add this recipe, because I'd like you all to go out and buy this cookbook to get the recipe! But I trust if you eat this one, you'll go and buy the book anyways. Like I said in the last post, the recipes in Bonnie Stern's cookbook really turn out wonderfully every time, and I think she deserves more credit!

Teriyaki Sauce

3 Tbsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp water
3 Tbsp rice wine
3 Tbsp sugar
1 peeled and smashed clove of garlic
1-inch peeled and smashed piece of ginger
1-inch piece of lemon peel

Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Cook until mixture is reduced by half. Cool, and remove the garlic, ginger and lemon peel. Should make around 1/3 cup total.

Teriyaki Noodles with Beef

1 lb Flank steak
1/3 cup teriyaki sauce (see above) divided
375 grams penne pasta
2 Tbsp vegetable oil, divided
1 onion
1 carrot
1 red bell pepper
1 stalk of celery
3 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
1-1/2 cups broccoli florets and stems
2/3 cup boil water
4 green onions sliced

Slice the flank steak thinly against the grain, then cut each slice into thirds (we had 2 or 3-inch strips)
Place the steak in a bowl and toss with 1 Tbsp teriyaki sauce to marinate for 10 minutes or up to a few hours in the fridge.
Cook the pasta until near tender, and drain thoroughly.
Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet or wok. Add the steak and cook until meat loses it's raw appearance. Remove from pan and clean out.
Heat remaining 1 Tbsp oil and add the vegetables (but not the green onions). Cook for 3-4 minutes until veggies are brightly coloured and tender.
Add steak with veggies and the rest of the teriyaki sauce (5 Tbsp), and the boiling water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the pasta and cook for a few minutes tossing until pasta absorbs juices but is still moist. Sprinkle and/or garnish with green onions.

Nutritional Information

443 calories
25.5 g. protien
11.3 g. fat
2.9 g. saturated fat
31 mg cholesterol
58 g. carbohydrates
4.2 g. fibre
488 g. sodium
607 g. potassium

The side notes suggest serving the dish at room temperature for another variation. They also say you can subsitute the beef for chicken. I am personally not a big fan of red meats, but I quite enjoyed this with the steak and think I will continue to make it with beef.

Enjoy! Try it, I urge you!

Italian Turkey Meatloaf

2006-02-24T08:19:00.000-05:00

I've never been a big fan of meatloaf, but when I found this recipe in Bonnie Stern's "Heartsmart Cooking for Family and Friends", I thought it was worth a try. My food prof. from last year recommended any Bonnie Stern cookbook to me. He told me that all the recipes he's ever tried from her cookbooks have turned out wonderful. I have to say, I agree with him at this point. I think I have made three or four of the recipes from this book and they have all turned out really well...including this meatloaf.
I don't have the cookbook sitting right infront of me, which means there is no recipe at the bottom of this post. However, I'll try to add it later on. But back to the meatloaf. This recipe does take quite a while (start to finish), but it really isn't much work. It's an hour in the oven and you do have to boil some potatoes ahead of time. But if there are leftovers, this meatloaf will heat up nice, and according to the cookbook, is great on sandwiches.
In March, Bonnie Stern's new cookbook comes out, and I have to say I think I'm going to get it. I picked up a little pamphlet from the grocery store about cooking with Lean Ground Beef. But what I didn't realize was that these recipes were from the new cookbook. So I guess you can say I got a quick preview: and it looks good! I'm not a big fan of red meat (perhaps why meatloaf never really appealed to me) but these recipes look good and worth trying. So I can just imagine what the meatless and poultry dishes are like!

Spaghetti Bolognese

2006-02-23T11:16:00.000-05:00

Last night for supper I used the second half of the Multi Mince recipe (see "Cottage Pie" a few posts back). This turned out pretty good. The sauce was very yummy, but I think I would have liked it to be a little more saucy, or thin. It didn't seem to coat the noodles with enough flavor (I ended up eating each fork of spaghetti with a bit of the meat mixture). But it was good and pretty simple!

First, I'll post the Multi Mince recipe, and below the "So-simple Spaghetti Bolognese" one.

Multi Mince

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 kg lean ground beef
2 pieces of bacon
2 onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
150 mL red wine
500 mL beef stock
leaves from 3 sprigs thyme

Heat olive oil in a frying pan. Add the beef and cook until browned all over, breaking lumps. Take out of the pan and set aside.
Add the bacon, onion and garlic to the pan. Cook until the bacon is done and onion softened. Return the meat to the pan and pour the red wine, stock and thyme leaves over top. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 mins, until the meat is tender and the sauce has reduced down.
You can freeze this up to three months.

So-simple Spaghetti Bolognese

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small carrot, chopped
400 gram can plum tomatoes
1/2 bunch basil, plus extra for serving
1/2 multi-mince recipe
400 grams spaghetti
25 grams toasted bread crumbs

Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan. Add the carrot and cook until softened. Scoop out the tomatoes and add them (without the juices). Cook for about 5 mins. Pour the tomato juice and basil into the pan and simmer for 15 mins. Puree in a blender/food processor.
Heat the multi mince with the sauce. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Toss pasta with the sauce and add reserve water if needed to thin. Serve with breadcrumbs (I didn't do this) and basil (or this).

Nutritional Information

608 calories
43 grams protien
82 grams carbohydrates
14 grams fat
4 grams saturated fat
4 grams fibre
10 grams sugar
0.82 grams salt

Spring Stir-fry in Peanut Sauce

2006-02-21T19:09:00.000-05:00

This is definately a favorite around my house. It's another great recipe that you can find at the Kraft Canada website. I really love Kraft Canada, there are tonnes of meal ideas just waiting to be discovered! Okay, that sounded lame, but it's so true. I have found a number of favorites that my family all readily eats up. They are also fairly simple, which is nice once in a while.

Sweet and Spicy Stuffed Chicken Breasts

2006-02-20T18:59:00.000-05:00

I made these stuffed chicken breasts for supper for my mom and I. We both agreed that they turned out pretty good. I took the recipe from my "Good Food" magazine. They only thing I didn't have was the coriander. We also halved the recipe, since it was just the two of us eating from it. Below I have included the ingredients for the whole recipe, serving four people.

Sweet and Spicy Stuffed Chicken Breasts

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, thingly sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped (I minced it)
knob fresh root ginger, chopped (I used powder)
1 tsp cinannamon, plus a pinch extra
1 tsp garam masala
100 grams bulgar wheat
25 grams sultans (raisins)
20 gram pack coriander, leaves roughly chopped
50 grams toasted flaked almonds
4 boneless chicken breasts

Preeat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the onion, garlic and ginger and some seasoning, and fry until soft (about 8 minutes). Add 1 tsp cinnamon, and the garam masala, then heat for 2 more minutes.
Cover the bulgar wheat and raisins with water and boil for about 5 minutes, or until soft. Drain away access liquid. Add the onion mixture, then the corriander and almonds. Check seasoning.
Cut each chicken breast open so that it is flat like a book. Divide the stuffing between them and fold the top over. Rub the skins with a pinch of cinnamon. Place tightly packed into a small baking dish and bake for 30 minutes.
Serve with the rest of the bulgar wheat mix.

Makes four servings

Nutritional Info:

419 calories
37 grams protien
31 grams carbohydrates
17 grams fat
3 grams saturated fat
2 grams fiber
8 grams sugar
0.55 grams sodium

Erik and Max

2006-02-19T20:04:00.000-05:00

Max seems to have this habbit of wanting to sit on your shoulder when you walk around outside. Erik came inside this afternoon with Max hanging off of him. And he normally is literally hanging. He doesn't seem to have any method of sitting properly. You have to hold your arm in a funny manner just to make sure he doesn't fall off. This afternoon, I was holding my arm out to my side, and I put it down, sure enough, Max fell off. Oh well, he landed on all fours and purred the whole time.
That's Max for you.

Chicken Korma

2006-02-19T19:32:00.000-05:00

From the "Good Food" magazine, I made Chicken Korma for supper tonight. It got Erik's approval (not like that means much, he approves everything I cook), but it did get my approval! There was lots of chicken, and not alot of sauce. If I could change anything, I think I would have liked it the other way around. Next time I might try a little more chicken stock and a bit more cream.
I had this on my birthday at Mantra, but what I ate at the restaurant was quite different than this recipe. This version that I made tonight is probably a lighter version of what any restaurant would have. For being a light, healthy meal, it was a good one! Here's the recipe:

Chicken Korma

small knob fresh ginger (I had issues with the fresh ginger and ended up using about 1 tsp of ginger powder)
1 garlic clove
1 onion, sliced
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 skinless, boneless chick breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 tsp garam masala
100 mL chicken stock
3 Tbsp low-fat fromage frais (I used light cream)
2 Tbsp ground almonds
handful toasted, sliced almonds, to serve
rice, naan bread or chapatis, to serve (we had basmati rice)

Cook the ginger, garlic, and onion in a large pan with the oil until softened. Tip in the chicken and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add in the garam masala and cook for 1 more minute.
Pour over the stock and simmer for 10 mins until the chicken is cooked through (I covered the pan at this point).
Mix together the fromage frais (or cream) and the ground almonds. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the mixture. Sprinkle the sliced almonds over. Garnish with fresh coriander, if desired.

Makes four servings

Nutritional information (without rice, naan or chapatis)
243 calories
37 g. protien
4 g. carbohydrates
9 g. fat
1 g. saturated fat
1 g. fiber
3 g. sugar
0.31 g. salt

M&M Cookies

2006-02-19T15:38:00.000-05:00

I know I have lots of cookies around now, but I like baking and since I now have people to eat all my cookies, I thought I'd take advantage of it. I was in the Bulk Barn today with Erik picking up some ingredients for tonights "Chicken Korma" supper, and when I saw the M&M's, I couldn't help myself! I asked Erik if he'd like M&M cookies, and he said that would be good. It has been so long since I have had M&M's and I'm not sure why the sudden urge to make these cookies, but it was a good urge, because these cookies are good and they were fun to make!

M&M Cookies

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup soft butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups M&Ms (or other candy coated chocolates)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.
Mix the flour, baking soda and salt and in a second bowl mix together butter and sugars. Beat in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla.
Add to the flour mixture, followed by, the pièce de résistance, the M&M's!
Roll into balls, I made them in two-inch balls, which makes around four dozen cookies.
Bake for 15-17 minutes, until just turning light brown all over. The edges should only be very slightly more brown, if at all, from the rest of the cookie. Cool on wire racks.

Makes about four dozen medium sized cookies.

Peanut butter cookies

2006-02-18T20:10:00.000-05:00

The Kraft Peanut Butter cookie recipe is the best, easiest peanut butter cookie recipe I have come across. These get eaten up like no tomorrow in my house (mainly my dad and me). Oh and speaking of my dad, you will notice that, yes I did just make a batch of cookies yesturday. However, every time I make cookies (other than peanut butter ones) my dad says "I like peanut butter cookies, why don't you make them?" So I figured I would make some.
They are so simple. You can find the recipe at Kraft Canada or you can follow it here:

Peanut butter cookies

1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg

Mix all the ingredients. Roll into 24 balls, flatten with fork on an ungreasted cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees F for 15 mins.

Yes, they are that simple. And believe me they are good. I ate one and went and brushed my teeth to keep myself from eating another one. I would have eaten the whole batch. And that wouldn't have been good.

* * *

On another note, you may have noticed the pictures are a little blurry. That is because I was using my mom's camera and wasn't smart enough to flip the flash up. BUT when I was putting the pictures onto the computer, I noticed the pictures from Erik's congratulatory party were on the camera. I was looking through them and came across this one. Yes, I am eating a dog buscuit. My friend Michelle got Skippy and Judy these gourmet buscuits for Christmas, and I thought the Vanilla one sounded pretty good. After looking over the ingredient list, I decided to try it. Michelle, I'm sorry, I know the buscuits were not meant for me, but I couldn't help myself...they smelled so good. haha...and I know you are reading this and laughing. I was only brave enough to try the vanilla one, the others had weird things in the ingredients. AND, just for your information, it was excellent!

Quick Cottage Pie

2006-02-18T20:02:00.000-05:00

Erik's parents mailed me a copy of "Good Food" magazine for my birthday. And this recipe, for "Cottage Pie" or what we would call "Shepard's pie" caught my eye as something I could cook considering my dad was going to have to eat it. He's not too adventurous, so I thought this would be a nice twist on something he was used to eating. Also, the recipe calls for "meat mince" (of which THAT recipe is also provided) and I only needed half of it. So the other half of the meat mince recipe will be used for Spaghetti (another recipe my dad will eat) later this week.
I have to admit, although it wasn't the top choice of things to cook for me, it did turn out good! There are ALOT more recipes in this magazine I am looking forward to trying, probably by myself, or with Erik...or actually, with either my mom or brother. It's just better to stay away from anything that doesn't look familiar when cooking for my dad.
Anyway, it's a good recipe, and like I said, I'll be using the other half of the meat mince to make some spaghetti (one of my favorites!) later this week. Maybe I'll include the recipe then, but it's long, and I'm not really up for typing it all out right now! Sorry!

Apricot Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

2006-02-17T22:00:00.000-05:00

I came home from Toronto today, and I picked up some ingredients to make this cookies with my new stand mixer (see a few days back for the whole scoop on the stand mixer...I got it for my birthday). They turned out pretty good. I gave a whole bunch of these cookies to Erik, because lots of cookies around isn't good for me.
The stand mixer came with a little recipe book. I think you can find it online if you are interested. Just search KitchenAid Recipes, or something along those lines. I've definately seen the recipes on the web (I searched for them this week to make sure I had all the ingredients for today).

Sir Poofy II

2006-02-17T21:49:00.000-05:00

This is our second black, long-haired kitten. One of Max's brothers was also long-haired, but his name was Poofs. You have to say his name a certain way...if you ever talk to me in person, get me to say his name...because it's not just Poofs, it's "POOFS!!!"
Okay, enough about random cat talk. Well, actually, no, I'm not done yet. Poofy (the one in the picture) has a cold, so I brought him to Erik's house tonight and we gave him some penicillin. All his other brothers (he is one of four remaining kittens, all of who are males) also have had a cold this week. Erik has been taking care of them. They all seem to be getting better now, though.
Now for the non-kitty news, I'm officially on reading week! I have come home, and I'm going to take the weekend 'off' and start some major school work. I'm going to try my new KitchenAid stand mixer to make some bread on Sunday, and see the post above this one for the cookies I made tonight with it. They are good!

Hong Kong Primavera with Spicy Peanut Sauce

2006-02-16T20:48:00.000-05:00

This was my third new recipe for today, and I have to admit, the "Peanut Sauce" is what drew me to this recipe. The third new recipe of the day was not a disappointmet, and like the two previous posts/recipes, I will add this one to my classic collection...it was just that good. I know I have said that about my other two recipes from today, but I was just so happy with how all my cooking and baking turned out today. I cannot find anything bad to say about any of the recipes today...so I won't! I will just keep praising them and hope you all cook them!
This recipe makes one serving. It comes from my "Healthy cooking for two (or just you)" cookbook. You can easily double all the incredients and make a meal for two. According to this book you can eat this either warm, cold or room temperature. I had it warm, just off the stove, and that was really good!

Hong Kong Primavera with Spicy Peanut Sauce

1-1/2 ounces Vermicelli or thin spaghetti (I used regular spaghetti, because that is what I had)
1 green oinion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
1-1/2 tsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp rice or distilled white vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp red-pepper flakes
1 tsp sesame oil
1/3 cup coarsley grated carrots
2 Tbsp Frozen green peas
1-1/2 tsp Minched fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 cups Thinly sliced napa cabbage (also called Chinese cabbage)

Cook the vermicelli or spaghetti according to the directions on the package but without salt. Drain and toss with the green onions; keep warm.
While the pasta cooks, combine the water, peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar and sugar in a blender container. Cover and process until smooth. (I just wisked it really well by hand). Add the pepper flakes and set aside.
Place the oil in a heavy, 10-inch nonstick skillet; stir in the carrots, peas, ginger and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Stir in the cabbage and peanut sauce. Cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute or until the cabbage is wilted. Add to the pasta and toss well. Serve hot, cold or at room temperature.

Nutritional Info:
353 calories
13.5 g. total fat
2.3 g. saturated fat
0 mg. cholesterol
631 mg. sodium
12.3 g. protien
48.3 g. carbohydrates
3.6 g. dietary fiber

Apple-Walnut Bran Muffins

2006-02-16T20:33:00.000-05:00

Today was a day full of trying new recipes (see post below and above!) This recipe comes from "Healthy Cooking for Two (or just you)." And like the Cornbread, I'm and highly impressed with these muffins. They are shockingly good. And not in a "this muffin is pretty darn close to a cup cake" kind of way, but rather a "this muffin it pretty darn far away from ever being considered a muffin." And I mean that in a good way. I really do not know how to express how yummy these are! You will just have to try the recipe out for yourself to know.
This recipe either makes 6 or 12 muffins. I'm going to give the ingrediets for 12 muffins, because muffins freeze really well, and because the 6 muffin recipe only uses 1/2 an apple. Also consider greasing your muffin tins instead of using paper muffin cup holders. They don't come out very well. And, one more quick word of advice before the recipe, the muffin tins will be VERY full, they were up until the edge of the paper muffin holders for me. They didn't spill under the paper muffin cup, but they were full. Another reason for me to recommend greasing the tin as opposed to lining it.

Apple-Walnut Bran Muffins

1 Granny Smith Apple (or other baking apple)
1-1/2 cups whole-wheat flour, unsifted
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg (I just used ground, because I had no whole nutmeg on hand)
1 cup water
1 cup wheat bran
2 large eggs
1 cup non-fat buttermilk
1/3 cup honey
1 Tbsp walnut or canola oil
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line (or grease, which I recommend) 12 muffin cups. Core the apple and chop it into pea-sized pieces. Do not remove the skin of the apple. Set aside.
Sift the flour, baking soda and nutmeg into a large bowl.
Bring the water to a rolling boil and add the bran mixture. Stir and set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs until foamy, then beat the butter, milk, honey and oil. Beat the cooled bran mixture, then the apples and walnuts.
Gently stir the flour mixture into the batter just to moisten. Do not overmix the batter (as with all muffins!)
Divide between muffin cups and bake for 25-30 mins. Cool muffins on wire rack when done.

Nutritional info per muffin

115 calories
4.1 grams total fat
0.6 grams saturated fat
36 mg cholesterol
91 mg. sodium
5 g. protien
17.5 g. carbohydrates
2.9 g. dietary fibre

Cornbread with Jalapenos and Cilantro

2006-02-16T20:24:00.000-05:00

For my birthday, Mike gave me the cookbook, "Eating for Energy without Deprevation: The 80-20 Cookbook." I wanted to try something from it since I didn't have to go to school today, and this recipe really caught my attention. If you recall, a few posts back I was talking about Southern-style cornbread, and I'm pretty sure this would fit the bill! I didn't plan on trying it so soon after making that comment, but hey, nothing was holding me back.
The recipe is pretty simple and it turned out wonderful! So wonderful that a few hours later I was still recalling the goodness of this cornbread! I will definately make this again and look forward to eating the rest of the pie-plate of this stuff!

Cornbread with Jalapenos and Cilantro

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup chilled 1% buttermilk
2 large eggs
3 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp mince jalapenos (no seeds)
1/4 cup diced red bell peppers
1/4 corn niblets

Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Butter two 9-inch pie plates. Wisk together dry ingredients, blend well. Wish buttermilk, egg, oil and cilantro in medium bowl. Add to flour mixture, stir to combine. Add pepers, corn and jalapenos (and an optional 1/2 cup of grated cheese), stir and pour into pie plates (or muffin tins). Bake until beginning to brown on top and toothpick comes out clean, approximately 22 mins. Cut each plate into 6 wedges.

I halved this recipe because I didn't have to pie plates and I didn't figure I needed 12 pieces of cornbread to myself =O) But this recipe is actually so good that I'm starting to think that maybe I do...haha.

Nutritional Info per slice:
200 calories
25 g. carbohydrates
6 g. protien
8 g. fat

A new addition to the family!

2006-02-13T15:58:00.000-05:00

No, I didn't have a baby (thank goodness), I did get a KitchenAid Stand Mixer from my Mom and Dad and Erik for my birthday! It was quite a surprise, I have to admit. I guess thinking back, I should have figured it out. I usually get asked to make a birthday list, and I didn't have to do that this year for Erik or my Mom. Hmm...Well, they surprised me anyways. I cannot wait to come home during reading week to play with my new machine! Unfortunately, I haven't tried any bread in it yet, and because it is so large I decided leaving it at home was a good idea. I am excited to try some whole wheat bread though. I am probably going to cook alot of things next week when I'm at home. I will probably do some cookies, and some different types of bread. Stay tuned to find out!

Walking with Judy

2006-02-13T15:45:00.000-05:00

Judy was quite happy this weekend, because she did get to go to the bush with me! I think she might have went for a walk with Mike, too, at some point during the weekend. I brought my camera (as you can see...) and Judy was not happy about that, since I was pulling it out every few minutes. She wanted to keep walking, but she didn't want to leave me. So, she put up with my picture taking. I took alot of pictures of her, and for most of the pictures, she is laying down, with snow all over her face. When we took a 'break' (me taking pictures) she would stick her head in the snow -- I'm guessing to eat it.

I found it really pretty back in the bush. Actually, in Toronto we don't have any snow, so it is kind of weird to come home to this. I really like the snow, though. I just don't like the cold.
Dan (Binary Rock) has been taking lots of macro shots lately, and I found them kind of inspiring. Here are a few close up shots I took. They are not really macros I guess, and they are not as impressive as Dan's, but hey, I tried.

Here is one of Judy not laying down! Wow!

Bread-a-thon

2006-02-10T18:32:00.000-05:00

Today I baked a whole-wheat loaf and four baguettes. These are two recipes that I am getting fairly familiar with. The baguette dough never seems to be the same twice. They always taste good (oh, like my opinion matters!) but I keep experimenting with shaping the baguette. I have since got the 'cuts' in the dough to pull apart great during the baking process, but I have yet to master the perfectly shaped baguette. Erik and I like eating these for a quick lunch, so I guess I'll keep making them. They also only have to rise twice and are usually done within a three-hour time span, so they are alot quicker than the whole wheat loaf.
That being said, I love the taste of this whole wheat bread recipe! It comes from "The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book" and all the recipes in this book are made from whole grains. I have only made this one loaf, it is called the "Learning Loaf". I think I have semi-mastered it, well, at least made it enough times to move on from it and try something else. But I do really like the results I have been getting with this loaf, and what is nice about it is, the recipe only makes one loaf at a time. Kneading whole wheat flour takes alot of effort to get the gluten going, and as soon as you double the recipe, you double the amount of time you have to knead for (only true for whole wheat bread, not for white flour). So, this results in me kneading for 20 minutes at a time. I guess I have no use for two loaves at once anyways, seeing as how I can not quite get through a loaf on my own before it goes bad (last time I just couldn't use the last two slices).
While on the subject of bread, last weekend I was home and didn't have any home made bread. Erik had Dempsters 12 grain bread (which was my favorite and I often thought I would miss it after I started making my own bread) however, when I ate it, I was really dissappointed with the lack of taste! I don't mean to brag, and it's probably not just my home made bread, but rather home made bread in general, but I really spoiled myself! I guess I'll just have to keep on making my own bread. That's a-okay by me, because I quite enjoy it!

Corn Muffins

2006-02-10T18:24:00.000-05:00

Corn muffins are great, aren't they? From how I understand, the type of corn bread you eat depends highly on where you come from. However, I've only had this recipe and maybe one or two others. I quite enjoy this recipe's simplicity. It doesn't have very many ingredients, and the ingredients it requires I usually have on hand. This is a sweet corn bread (or muffin, in this case) but I would really like to try a 'southern' corn bread some time. I'm sure it's nothing like this, but then I can at least say I've had it! I have quite a few recipes for southern corn bread, a bunch in "Larissa's Breadbook" (my first ever e-bay purchase!)
I don't have the recipe for these muffins with me now (the recipe is in Toronto, and I'm not) but I will try to remember to post it next week, because it really is a great, quick (30 minutes total) recipe and these muffins make a good snack or dessert.

Happy Birthday to me!

2006-02-08T14:05:00.000-05:00

I know, that is a lame title and a lame way to try to get people to wish me a happy birthday. But it is my birthday, and I love it when it is my birthday! Let me tell you about my day...
I only had one class today, at 9am. It was over at 10am, so at that point I went to the book store! (I love the book store, particularly the cookbooks and food section...hehe) I picked out a new book, ""Healthy Cooking for Two (or just you)" and can't wait to try some stuff. I really like the idea of cooking for one or two at a time instead of 4-8 or more. I won't be trying anything for a few days, but after the weekend, some time next week, I'm going to start trying recipes.
I then went to The Body Shop, because I have a card that lets you get a few $10 gift on your birthday. So I picked out a body wash that smells like limes! I really like the smell and will have to give it a try.
Tonight, Erik is coming to Toronto and we are going out for supper. I have chose the Mantra on Elm Street. It is an Indian restaurant that we have gone to on two other occassions, and we both enjoy it quite a bit. Then, tomorrow, we are going to a farm show, and then home (screw Friday classes!)
This weekend, I'm celebrating my birthday with my family. I am going to cook on Sunday a Chicken Masala (yes, it is also Indian). But I have never cooked it before, so I hope it turns out okay. Actually, I was going to cook it this week (to get an idea of how it all worked/tasted) but I realized I need a food processor or blender (my food processor is at home) to puree some garlic and gingers and some other things. Oh well...I guess the family will be guinea pigs this weekend. I'm sure they won't mind!

Show!

2006-02-07T09:47:00.000-05:00

There is a picture of me and Meaghan. The show went really well. Both of the bands that were new to the stage played really good. I was actually quite impressed! Then, of course the veterans to the stage did well too! If you want to see more pictures, go to www.footnotemedia.ca there are a few on there. I will have to update the photo gallery with new pictures also. But the pictures that are in the gallery right now are from the show in November.
Thats all for now!

Bake Sale

2006-02-02T19:50:00.000-05:00

This week, for school, our practicum group has been selling tickets for our first show with all our bands (we started a record lable, are recording three bands, making videos for them and websites). This is all part of our fourth year (last year) big project. So anyways, we have had to throw a pile of money into this project, so it's common to have fundraisers.
Now to the real point, we had a bake sale while selling tickets for our show. I made these yummy chocolate cookies (some call them Fiddle Diddles, Chocolate Haystacks, among other things, so I'm told) They are SOOOO freaking good. As soon as people had one, they were back for more! I think I could eat this whole plate. Actually, I'm glad thse cookies went to the bake sale, I could have one (or two) and be rid of them! It's a good way to enjoy baking without the deadly good sitting around!
Tonight is our show, so I'm just about to head over to that. I'm actually looking forward going to the show to see all the band perform. Two of the bands have never played live, so that should be interesting. Although I hate bars, and being around drunk people, I think I will enjoy myself tonight...hopefully.
Stay tuned for an update on how the show went. I'm sure I'll be posting some pictures and some info about it all!

YMCA Ball Hockey

2006-01-26T22:25:00.000-05:00

Last night (Wednesday) I played ball hockey at the YMCA again. I used to play, until two years ago when I twisted my ankle really bad. And when I was in third year, my school schedule never really worked to play ball hockey. But last night, I decided to go again. If I was at the gym that late at night (it starts at 8:30pm) I would go see if I knew anyone playing. There is one guy that I knew pretty good when I played two years ago that still plays every night. Anyways, he told me to come, so I decided to.
I feel like this story is all over the place, but bare with me here.
So last night, I went to the gym rather late, and I decided to take my stick 'just in case' i got the urge to go play. I was actually kind of nervous about playing again (I think because I'm the only girl, therefore, I would be judge, and considering I hadn't played in two years, I probably would be laughed at). I got the courage to go up to the gym floor (after working out on the eliptical trainer, just in case that would be the extent of my workout).
It was kind of neat, I have to admit. When I first went up stairs (to where everyone was playing hockey) all the guys barely even looked at me. They didn't seem to impressed that I was there. But their opinions changed in a hurry! I don't want to sound all high on myself, but I think I proved myself in a hurry. By the end of the night, about four different people had asked me if I was going to come back the next week. One guy even asked me to play on his competitve co-ed team. I don't think I'm going to, but the gesture was nice. He said I'd definately be their best girl, and one of their better players (I guess he's on a very good team, haha). Anyways, I always kind of like being able to prove myself when it comes to sports, and guys. They are always very skeptical about girls joining in, and although I've never had any problem, I was a little nervous before I went up stairs last night, but I'm glad I did. Hey, I even score two goals!

An election, a two piece band, and a website

2006-01-23T20:29:00.000-05:00

Well, today is the day we have all been waiting for, election day! I actually voted this time. It was my first time voting, and it was actually kind of exciting (I hate to admit that). I checked out all the websites and platforms of the various party's and voted kind of accordingly. I say kind of because I am worried about the Conservatives getting power and I kind of based my voting on that. But not entirely! After talking to some people today, I was reassured of my voting strategy. And I'm sure if you are Canadian, you know exactly who I voted for! And that's okay...it doesn't bother me. However, for the rest of you, I'm not going to announce it publicly =O)

* * *

Now, the two-piece band. At the corner of College and Younge (which is really, more or less, my doorstep) there is these two guys, one on a banjo, the other a fiddle, who I adore! I NEVER have any coins with me (or bills for that matter) which one way is good, because otherwise I'd be broke. I love the music that these to generate! If I see them, I'll cross the street (out of my direction) to listen to them for a while, and then cross the street again to go home. I should really start carrying some coins with me so I can show my appriciation for the talent.

* * *

Website. Right. Okay, now, for practicum, I have been building a website. I'm going to post the link here, but I have to say, I'm not totally crazy about the design. I've gotten compliments on it (surprise, surprise) but I think they are all liars! haha, no I'm just kidding. It's an "o-k" website, but nothing I'm super proud of. I like all the coding and stuff that went into it to make it functional, but I'm not so crazy about the design itself. Oh well, you be the judge. Since I'm on my mac (and don't get the option to make a link) you'll have to cut and paste this text to get to the site...its not difficult I swear.
www.footnotemedia.ca

The Wrath of the Bean Sprouts

2006-01-19T20:30:00.000-05:00

Okay, here is the deal. Erik and I wanted to make Pad Thai last weekend, and among the things we couldn't find were bean sprouts. This is due to the recent salmonella poisonings in Canada. I think these babies are pretty much banned. In fact, one grocery store worker said they were done FOREVER!!!! Although, I don't believe him -- he was speaking out of his ass to try to get rid of me. Anyways, that's beside the point. Today, I was at the St. Lawrence Market (after a bike ride, I found myself down there) and what did I find? By goly it was a bag of bean sprouts looking at me! I was so excited and the first thing I could think of was, "I'm having me some Pad Thai this weekend!"
But, as I proceeded to the check out, I started thinking about the situation. Bean sprouts are not in any grocery store in Canada for a reason...and here I am buying bean sprouts on the black market -- who's fooling who here, really? (Okay, I didn't buy nothing on the black market, but that's how hard these things are to get ahold of right now) So, I am caught in debate.
I THINK bean sprouts are a-Okay to consume if they have been thoroughly cooked. I am going to call the Canadian Food Inspection Agency tomorrow to find out what the scoop is.

* * *

On a more exciting note, I ate my first fresh fig today!!! I never expected to ever be able to eat a fresh fig in Canada! It was so yummy and sweet...unfortunately it cost me a dollar (!) so I won't be having them too often. I always told myself (and others?) that the next time I was in Europe, I'd be eating some figs, since I enjoy the dried one's so much. It was not really like a dried fig, but I guess dried fruit isn't usually replicas of it's fresh counterpart. Anyways, that was super exciting for me.

Oh School

2006-01-18T21:25:00.000-05:00

I just thought I'd write a quick update. I've been writing in all my assignments in my day planner and it's looking pretty hectic. I have four exams this year (I don't think I've ever had more than two), three mid-terms (don't think I've ever had more than one) and countless assignments and major papers. Man, I know I'm in fourth year, but it's looking unmanagable come the end of February to the middle of April (at which point, exams begin and I'll be just as busy). As I've said earlier (and probably to everyone who is reading this) I am looking so forward to be done with all this school crap. I'm sick of writing bull-crap essays, and I'm sick of being stressed out over stuff that doesn't even really matter. I'm ready for a break, and considering I'm only in the second week of thirteen, I should really just get used to being stressed. Sigh. I'm ready to pay people to write my assignments at this point. I don't think I've ever been dreading a semester like this one. Boo. Anyways, enough of my complaining, because no one cares.

My Spring Jacket

2006-01-12T16:39:00.000-05:00

Today was super beautiful (weather wise) and it felt just like spring. I got out my spring jacket and put it on and did feel really awesome. I guess because my spring jacket usually means it is near the end of the semester (although I have just begun) and school stress is settling down. It means alot of things to me, and today, when I got to put on my spring jacket to enjoy the wonderful weather, all those things came back to me. I cannot wait for the 'real' spring to actually come. But by the looks of the weather forcast for Toronto, it's going to feel like spring (rain and all...) for the next little while. Goody! Hopefully no more snow!

Bye bye farm...hello city

2006-01-10T16:47:00.000-05:00

Since many of you have no clue where I work, that picture is taken in the cow barn of where I work. There is also a "heifer barn", a "dry cow barn" and a "calf barn", as well as a second farm with additional heifers. But the cow barn is where most of my work is done, although I am in and out of all the barns throughout my work everyday! I was working during my Christmas break, but I have since come back to Toronto and started my last semester at Ryerson!
I have to say, I'm really looking forward to being done work. I am ready for a break from school. Although I KNOW I am going to really miss school, I am definately ready to move forward with my life. I have accepted a job at the farm I have worked at over the last few years (I know, it's not quite broadcast tv or radio) and will see how that goes till January 2007 before deciding for sure whether or not I will continue in the dairy industry or work in the broadcast industry. I have to admit, I love both equally and this is probably the hardest decision I have ever had to make in my life. But since I love both, I figure I cannot make a wrong decision...at least that is what I am hoping.

Congratulations, Erik!

2006-01-07T15:03:00.000-05:00

Yesturday (January 6, 2006) Erik became a Canadian citizen! We went to the oath ceremony in the morning for him to get all his official documents. It was quite interesting. There were 75 people becoming Canadian that day, and I THINK the judge said from 45 different countries.

After Erik was finished working at night, he came to my house to find a party waiting for him. My mom had picked up some balloons, a cake, and lots of other things. As you can see, Erik looks quite proud of himself with his stupid lei's and Canadian beer! haha...It was a really nice day, all in all!

I survived 2005!

2006-01-02T18:13:00.000-05:00

Just thought I would give a quick update, since I haven't in a while. I am home still, probably will be until the end of this week, depending on the weather. I start school again on January 9th. I'm not looking forward to it! It's always hard to go back to school after Christmas, because your break is just not long enough to fit everything in. Well, I can fit most things in, but it's just so rushed and forced. I am trying to see the maximum number of people in a short amount of time because I know when I go back to school I won't have time for visiting people. Sigh! It's is awfully frusterating actually. Everyone wants to visit and since I really don't have lots of time, everyone assumes that I am spending all my time with Erik, which isn't true! I get this every summer, especially. The farm is super busy and I spend all my time at the farm (minus 2 hours at lunch and...oh wait, that's it.) I LOVE working on the farm (yes, it is long hours and hard work) but I always feel so much preasure to spend time with everyone! I only have one day off a week when I'm working, and usually by then, I DO want to spend time with Erik, or sleep! So, as you can see, it becomes very difficult to fit in everyone else.
Now that I am home at Christmas (and only working mornings) I am trying to make up for the summer. I am trying to visit all my friends and spend time with them and my family. But as I mentioned earlier, it's becoming more stressful than anything! I have alot of homework to be doing over the holiday, and I also want to do some stuff for myself (hobbies). However, days are not 32 hours long, they are only 24, and I do require about 6 hours of sleep per night. And 18 hours just doesn't seem like enough waking hours to fit everyone in! I really don't know what to do, I TRY my best to visit and spend time with everyone, but I constantly feel like it isn't enough...and that some people are not happy with the situation. I just want to scream (once and a while) that I don't live in Watford any more (I'm in Toronto 8 months of the year); I have a boyfriend who I'm apart from those 8 months, and when I'm home, I like to spend SOME time with; when I'm home I am working because I'm trying to get by with as little debt as possible; I DO like to have some 'personal time'; and my life doesn't revolve around my boyfriend and I'm not spending 24 hours a day with him, although I do know that some people think otherwise!
Okay, I'm sorry for venting rather than saying how I've had a lovely Christmas and all (which I have). And I do know that it is important to spend time with friend and family. However, I just feel so much preasure to sacrifice my own holiday. NOT saying I'm 'wasting' my holiday by running around trying to visit everyone, just saying I'd have liked it a lot better if I had nothing to worry about rather than just going to work, reading a good book, and testing out some of my new bread recipes.
Sigh, again, I'm sorry for venting. All of those who are reading this, please don't take offense. It's not meant to say if you are either a friend of family member of mine that you have ruined my holiday (hehe, not the case at all) but please just realized that I have very limited time at home and too many ways to spend it.

Chocolate Candy Cane Truffles

2005-12-21T19:14:00.000-05:00

Another day closer to Christmas, another goodie baking in the kitchen! I made these for the first time last year, and they were very much enjoyed by everyone who managed to get one before they were gone. Okay, I'm exaggerating, they didn't go that quick, but everyone that had one said they were good. The recipe comes from a Pillsbury Cookies & Bars magazine for September 2003.

Chocolate Candy Cane Truffles (or, according to Pillsbury, "Mint Truffle Cups")

Crust:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 cup All-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

Filling:
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

Topping:
12 thin chocolate and gree mints, unwrapped, coarsley chopped (Pillsbury's)
OR
2 large candy canes, broken into pieces

1. In medium bowl, combine powdered sugar and butter; beat until light and fluffy. Add egg; blend well. Add flour and cocoa; mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours for easier handling.

2. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Divid dough into 24 equal pieces. Place one piece in each of the 24 ungreased mini-muffin cups. Press in bottom and up sides of each cup, level with tops of cups.

3. Bake at 325 degrees for 13-16 minutes or until set. Cool in pans on wire rakcs for 20 minutes. Remove from pans.

4. Meanwhile, in medium saucepan, combine all filling ingredients. Heat over low heat until chocolate is melted and smooth, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Cool 20 minutes or until filling thickens slightly.

5. Spoon about 2 teaspoons filling into each baked chocolate cup. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or until filling is set. Sprinkle topping on each cookie (candy canes or chocolate mints) and press into filling slightly. Remove from refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving.

Christmas Cookies

2005-12-19T12:09:00.000-05:00

I usually go overboard with Christmas cookies, but this year I am trying to control myself. I made my famous Ginger Bread Cows this morning (only one batch, but that turned out to be five dozen!) and my Mom's melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookies. I don't really want to think about how many cookies I made last year.

I also baked my first 100% whole wheat bread loaf yesturday and I am very happy with the results. It tasted great, it looked great, but the only thing I was not completely satisfied with was it's lightness. It was a rather heavy bread, and I'm trying to make a really light bread. I have some ideas on how to lighten it up, so I think I'll try another loaf again soon (better eat this one first). The bread takes quite a long time to make start to finish, so I will have to plan this into my schedule!

There is alot more snow in good ol' Watford than there was in Toronto. It looks very Christmas-y here, as it should, Christmas is less than a week away. I am pretty much done my Christmas shopping also, which is good. And by pretty much done I mean I think I have one more thing to get that my Mom is going to pick up for me. Yay! All is good. The malls have been busy, but nothing like the Eaton's Centre in Toronto, that is my worst nightmare.

Oh, and as promised, here is the recipe for Ginger Bread Cows. Obviously, they can be any shape, but I will warn you, they don't taste as good unless they are shaped (and iced) like cows.

Ginger Bread Cows

6 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup shortening, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup molasses
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Sift together flour, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon; set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together the shortening, molasses, brown sugar, water, egg and vanilla until smooth. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients, until they are completely absorbed. Divide the dough into three pieces, pat down to 1-1/2 inch thickness, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate three hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. When the cookies are done, they will look dry, but still soft to the touch. Remove from the baking sheet to cook on wire racks. When cool, the cookies can be frosted for the icing of your choice.

To make icing, combine two cups icing sugar with water, adding small amounts of water at a time.

All Done til 2006!

2005-12-15T14:47:00.000-05:00

The title isn't entirely true, I will be busy with practicum over the holidays, but whatever! No more classes, no more exams. A fresh start for 2006! The exam went well, it was a bit harder than the mid-term, but all and all, I feel good about it.

I trucked it up to Highland Farms today to get a Spanish Turron for the friends and family at Christmas time...alright, I lied, I actually got three. But when you spend $5 on public transit and about 2 1/2 hours of your time to get there, you better make it worth while, right? Actually, it was worth while because I had never been in Highland Farms and I definately know the next time I have a car in Toronto I will like to go grocery shopping there. It has alot of unique items.

I have just got back from my little journey, and the great blizzard has started! It actually looks very windy, and considering I live downtown Toronto (meaning I only see a fraction of the actual wind) I guess it is in fact VERY windy. I'm glad I don't have to go out again today...oh wait I do. Well, I'm glad I can sit inside where it's nice a warm for a little while. Oh! I also picked up some organic, stone ground whole wheat flour (at Highland Farms, they have lots of neat food items and I had to narrow it down!) and I'm going to try some whole wheat bread tonight when I get home. That is, if I can find my way home...if I had my camera, I would take a picture, but you have to take my word for it, ITS VERY SNOWY!

I'm leaving Toronto tomorrow at lunch time, and sadly (tear) won't be back until January. That comment may have sounded like I was looking forward to leaving, and in a sense, I am. But on the other hand, I love being in Toronto. If only I could have the best of both worlds all the time! I'd love to have a farm in the city with a roof-top pasture for the mooies (cows). Sigh, I guess that will never be!

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

2005-12-14T17:10:00.000-05:00

Last night (Tuesday) Erik and I went to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra at the Air Canada Centre. This is the third time we have went to a concert by these guys. For those of you who don't know, the Tran-Siberian Orchestra is a group consisting of two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, two key board players, a lead violinist and a group of local strings players (local for wherever the concert is being held). They also have about eight to twelve different singers. They primarily play Christmas music (they have concerts every year at this time) but do have some non-Christmas numbers. The show is great, and every year both Erik and I agree that we had better not miss the following year's performance. It has become a tradition for us and we quite enjoy it. Even once I am out of Toronto, we will probably continue to make the trip into the city for this show. I recommend going to see them if you have the chance!

On another note, I have strep throat again. Joy! I have been diagnosed this morning by the same doctor who diagnosed me last time (...two weeks ago?) and I self-diagonosed myself officially yesterday, but I kinda saw it coming. I wished he had put me on penicillin/amoxicillin (pretty much the same thing) when I asked him to the first time...grr. I hate being sick. Anyways, one exam tomorrow morning, Geography of Health, ironically enough, and then I am done until the New Year! My second bread book, "The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book: A Guide to Whole Grain Breadmaking" arrived today and I will probably try the basic whole wheat bread recipe tomorrow afternoon. I am meeting with an old professor of mine tomorrow after my exam, and I am looking forward to that.

Wish me luck on my exam, and the next time I am posting, I will be half way through my last year of university! Scarey when you have no idea what you want to do when you graduate!

Decorating

2005-12-12T19:51:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Erik and I decorated his house for Christmas. We tend to put up lots of lights, and couldn't keep ourselves from decorating Max. The results are good (see photo!) and Max cooperated like he was born to be a cat-model. These pictures were taken without a flash (ie/ slow shudder speed), so in order to get a non-blurry result, Max has to hold still for a few seconds. Max is one silly cat. This really proved to me that he will put up with up with anything! Purring the whole time. I'm going back to Toronto tomorrow, then I'll post some more updates.

For the non-foodies

2005-12-07T22:20:00.001-05:00

Now, this post is specifically for those who are not into the whole food thing and are wanting to hear what is going on in my life! Understandable! I am between exams now, and I have kinda just relaxed these last couple days (as you can see with the bread I have been baking). I went biking today to The Beaches (Ashbridges Bay) and I figured I would take my camera along. Not because I was particularly excited to take pictures, but rather for the purpose of posting them!

It was snowing earlier this morning, however, this afternoon it seemed to clear right up and it got nice and sunny, hence the rather spontaneous idea to go biking. It's pretty cold in Toronto now, although we don't have any snow on the ground. By the sound of it, I'm going to be in for a surprise when I go home tomorrow (there is enough snow to be snowmobiling). So, anyways, as you can see in the picture, the skies were blue, the sun was out and the ducks were swimming. I was only a little cold on my legs (next time I'll wear two pairs of pants and be set!)

Toronto has pretty good bike trails, and today I decided to take one of those trails to The Beaches. But my isolated trail was inhabitted by a film crew today!
As you can see, there were lights all set up along the side of the trail, and there were more lights back in the 'forest' (although, I'd hardly call it a forest). Kinda strange. I guess they must have been doing night shots, because the actually set was across the road (which was probably more than 500 metres away). Oh well, I'll probably never know!

I got to The Beaches around 3:45pm or so. I just wanted to take some pictures and turn around because I don't have lights on my bike and usually around 4:30-5pm it's getting pretty dark in the city.
As expected, The Beaches were rather bare. The only people that seemed to be walking down there were people that had dogs. The beaches themselves were completely bare, the playgrounds were bare, all the shops (well, they are just places to get food) were shut down. Quite a different sight than in the spring time. I'm sure the summer is right packed, but since I have been fortunate enough to not experience a Toronto summer, I cannot say for sure.

This last picture I am including is a place I like to hang out during the first warm days of spring. I have grabbed a book and come down hear a few times, usually sitting on the rocks. Its a neat little hang out, and I usually don't get much reading in because there is a "dog beach" (no leashes required!) right beside here. I usually just end up watching all the kiddies (well, the dogs) playing amongst one another, jumping in the lake, playing fetch and so on.

So that has been my day today. Raisin Walnut Bread (as seen in the post below) and my trip to The Beaches. Okay, it really did include more than that, but nothing worth writing about!

Raisin Walnut Bread

2005-12-07T22:09:00.000-05:00

Today, for the first time, I made some Raisin Walnut Bread. It turned out really good! I didn't know what to expect really, well, I mean, I knew it was going to have raisin and I knew it was going to have walnuts, but I am not too good with ingredients yet to know whether it was going to be a sandwich or cake-like bread. Actually, that isn't completely true. Because this bread doesn't have yeast in it, and usually non-yeast breads are a bit heavier. Maybe that is just me, though. I will learn within given time!

The recipe came from "Larissa's Bread Book: Ten Incredible Southern Women and Their Stories of Courage, Adventure, and Discovery". That book was my first ever purchase on eBay, because the book was actually out of print. It's more like a novel than a cookbook, but it's stories based around the bread recipes. Generally, when it comes to cookbooks, I love pictures for every recipe, but when it comes to books like this one (ie/ the novel/memoir type) I get so into the stories that I want to try the recipes.

Here is the recipe, titled "Raisin Bread" in the book:

1 cup applesauce
1/4 cup melted butter
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp grated nutmeg
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine applesauce, butter, egg and sugars in a bowl. Blend well. Sift other dry ingredients, including cinnamon and nutmeg, and add to the applesauce mixture. Add raisins and chopped nuts. Turn into a well-greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour, or until edges shrink away from the pan and the bread is nicely brown.

Makes 1 loaf.

I tried some tonight and it turned out really good. I am impressed with the results, however, this is the type of bread you don't eat too much off. It is more like a dessert (or breakfast, if you're into that kind of thing) than a sandwich bread. Think banana bread.

Hazelnut Honey Bread

2005-12-06T20:47:00.000-05:00

My first food post! I know I have posted already today, but this is a new development for the day (and this whole blog thing is new and it excites me!) So, I made some Hazelnut Honey Bread today (my second batch) and it definately turned out better than the first. Now, the NEXT time I do it, I'm going to not rush it so much (it takes about 7-8 hours, and I had to do it in about 6..hehe badddd). BUT with full rise times and such, I'm sure this bread will be even better. I had to rush it because of my spinning class tonight (which was awesome, I miss that instructor so much). But when I came back from the class, the smell of fresh baked bread hung in the air, and oh is that a bad smell to come back to after you go to the gym! I behaved and only had one slice!

I have posted a picture of the bread up above, and it was a little weird taking pictures of food. I apologize if it isn't pretty! I have to get used to the idea of taking pictures of food. It's a little weird...you try it! Anyways, this recipe was taken from "Canadian Living" magazine, the December 2005 edition. Here's the recipe:

1-1/2 cups sliced hazelnuts

Starter:
3/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
Dough:
1/2 cup warm water
3/4 tsp active dry yeast
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup warm milk
1/3 cup liquid honey
2 tbsp butter, melted
2 tsp salt

Starter: In bowl, sprinkle yeast over warm water, let stand for 1 minute. Stir with wooden spoon until yeast dissolves. Add flour; stir until consistency of pancake batter, about 2 minutes. Cover will plastic wrap; place in a warm, draft-free place until bubbly and doubled in bulk, about 4 hours (in my rushed version, I cranked the heat and let it sit for 3 hours. However, the slow rising is what will give the bread the flavor, so 'quickening' the recipe is not recommeneded for best results).

In food processor, finely chop half of the hazelnuts; set aside.

Dough: Pour warm water into large bowl; sprinkle yeast over top and let stand for 1 minute. Stir with wooden spoon until dissolved. Stir started and scrape into yeast mixture. Add 2 cups of the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sliced and chopped hazelnuts, milk, 1/4 cup of the honey, butter and salt. Stir until ragged soft dough forms.

Turn out onto floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, dusting with much of the remaining flour as needed to prevent sticking, about 10 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease all over. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 90 minutes to 2 hours.

Line large rimless baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

Punch down dough; turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead into a ball. Divide in half; shape each into a ball. Gently pull each into 11- x 8-inch (28 x 20 cm) rectangle. Starting at narrow end, diagonally roll up each into cylinder; pinch along bottoms and ends to smooth and seal. Transfer to prepared baking sheet, seam sides down and spaced well apart. Using serrated knife, cut 3 diagonal slashes in top of each loaf. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Stir remaining honey with 1 tbsp warm water; brush over loaves (I drizzled straight honey on the bread, then used a wet pastry brush and spread the honey out; occasionally putting the pastry brush under water to thin the honey, this gave the loaves a much sweeter crust, really yummy). Place baking sheet in center of the 400 degree oven. With spritzer bottle filled with cold water, spray walls of oven, avoiding oven light bulb, until steam fills oven, about 10 seconds. Quickly close oven door to trap steam in; wait 5 minutes then repeat steaming (steaming is optional). Bake until loaves are golden and sound hollow when tapped on bottom, 25 to 30 minutes (I had to put tin-foil over my loaves for the last five minutes or so, to keep them from getting too brown). Transfer to rack to let cool.

Makes 2 loafs, 16 slices each.

For those of you who are following a special diet or are trying to keep track of your nutritional information (yes, I am in this category) here it is:
Per slice:

112 calories
3 grams protein
4 grams total fat (1 gram saturated)
16 grams carbohydrates
1 gram fiber
3 mg cholesterol
153 mg sodium

1% calcium
7% iron
1% vitamin A
12% folate

It's done!

2005-12-06T13:23:00.000-05:00

Yay! I wrote my English exam this morning...at 8am! That is freakin' early. I have no problem getting out of bed at 5am to milk cows, but for some reason getting about of bed at 7am for an exam just seems pretty close to impossible. The exam itself didn't go too bad. If it were any other professor, I would say I did fine, but with this teacher, I am afraid I can never reach her expectations. But by the sounds of what everyone said after the exam was over, I felt more confident that most people. Part of the exam was definately unfair, though. About half the exam was (maybe a little more) was based on stuff we never talked about in class. Sure, we are supposed to be able to come to some conclusions on our own, but these expectations are kind of new to us at this point. And seeing as how we are in fourth year (last year), I can see why people are getting upset.

Regardless of how high the expectation is this year, as opposed to what it has been in the past, I have kinda enjoyed the texts we have looked at in this course. I am excited to see what we study next semester (although, I don't think I will admit this to anyone, in fear of being teased haha). Whatever, I really don't care what everyone thinks. I dislike very few professors (not to say I love this one) and DO enjoy reading quite a bit.

So now it's on to the next exam. I have to do some Christmas shopping and bread baking first though...priorities, people! I met with my old geography teacher (from Winter 2005) and promised to bring him some Hazelnut Honey Bread, which means, you will all get to see the results here! I have made it before, but it will take some fine tuning to get the recipe perfect. I'm relatively new to yeast breads!

Anyways, I have a full schedule today! And since I have no class tonight, I will be able to go to my old favorite spinning instructor's class tonight! I say old favorite, because since of my Tuesday night class, I haven't been able to go to her class. I really enjoyed it last year, she really pushes you to your maximum potential. Such a good work out! Anyways, I am going to keep going now! Stay tuned for the results of the bread!

By Tuesday it will all be over

2005-12-04T20:47:00.000-05:00

Although this English exam has been comsuming my life (I swear, you won't have to hear about it again after Tuesday, so bare with me here for a couple more days) I didn't really study too much this weekend. Well, lets say from Saturday afternoon until now (Sunday evening) I haven't. Erik was here, so I just hung out with him. Which was very nice, obviously.

I went to Kensington Market to pick up some gluten flour and some other ingredients to bake some bread! I will be baking bread Tuesday afternoon (post-exam!) and the results will be posted, no matter how horrible they may be. I also picked up some dried fruit, to make a "stollen" for Christmas. It's a European Christmas bread, with all dried fruits (just google it if you're curious) and since Erik always had them in Holland, I thought it was a good excuse to make one for Christmas! Of course, I got enough ingredients to make two, just incase the first one is a flop! So I might have to try baking that this week also. And of course, this week I will also start studying for my next exam (Geography) and work on some practicum stuff!

So as you can see, there are no pictures. I did not get inspired to bring the camera anywhere. But, trust me, through the holidays there will be pictures posted! By the sounds of it, I will be working on the farm again through the holidays. For those of you who don't know, I work on a dairy farm every waking moment I have a break from school (at least that's what my friends and family will say). Ususally through Christmas I am not totally tied down with work, but in the summer...man oh man, book a year ahead if you want to do anything!

Anyways, I should really stop writing this entry and start studying English again. Like I said, a couple more days (well, one and a half) and then I can move on with my life. And for anyone that has taken the time to read my little blog, you know that will be a happy day!

The first book has arrived!

2005-12-02T22:46:00.000-05:00

"The Bread Baker's Apprentice" arrived today...I am doomed for the exam! Actually, I am being very good about the whole situation. I was going to run off and get some baking supplies this afternoon, but I convinced myself that, at this point, studying was more important (good choice, Amy!) The book is sitting on my bed though, starring at me. It is saying, "When you are ready to call it a night with that boring English stuff, I am waiting."

Erik is coming tomorrow, I am excited about that! I'm not too sure what we are going to do yet. I picked up "March of the Penguins" this week (Documentary) when I finished exam number one (Advertising) and had strep throat (I was feeling sorry for myself), so we will likly watch that. I have watched it already, Tuesday night, actually, and I love it. So, there are no complaints from me when it comes to watching it again. As for the rest of the weekend, I'm not sure. Probably some Christmas shopping, probably lots of walking around and looking and stuff. I don't complain, it's just nice to spend some time with him!

I was thinking of running down to the St. Lawrence Market tomorrow morning to pick up a couple butternut squashes. I have a really yummy recipe for butternut squash soup, and when the weather starts getting chilly, soup starts getting even yummy-er! We'll see how I feel tomorrow morning. You have to go early in the morning to get in on the farmers market (farmers come in with their produce, all locally grown) which is where I want to get my squashes. Hey, it's Toronto, this kind of thing excites the Torontonians! I guess for me it just means cheaper squash, but the real novelty for me is growing the stuff myself.

That's all for now, if I do anything super exciting on the weekend, you'll be sure to find pictures here! This site definately needs some pictures. Oh, and don't mind the constant changing of the site's look...I'm trying to decide what I like. Unfortunately, what I like is my brother's layout, but he had it first! Anyways, I'm back to studying now!

Almost through

2005-12-02T00:05:00.000-05:00

School is winding to a close, just two more exams and practicum to worry about! I'm studying for English tonight, and, like the entire class, I'm quite worried for the exam, as the teacher seems to have quite unrealistic expectations. She definately said at the start of the year that she wanted us to be quoting from the novels on the exam (and no, it is not open book). So, really I don't see how this is possible. Well, sure it's possible, if we had any idea of what was going to be on the exam...she has yet to give us any idea of what kind of questions we will have and there is only one more class...sigh.

Oh well, I have complained enough amongst my fellow classmates about this teacher, I don't need to start doing it here. So, back to life...two more exams. And practicum. Then I will get to go home for the holidays and relax a bit. Who am I kidding, I will probably be working like a maniac. Hopefully not too bad though. I'd like to do some baking! I have ordered two bread books ("The Laurel's Kitchen Breadbook: A guide to whole grain breadmaking" and "The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the art of extraordinary bread") and am REALLY looking forward to their arrival. I'd love to get them before the weekend, but it is probably best that the don't come until my English exam has been written. I can pitcutre it now, the books arrive tomorrow and I am working on perfecting a loaf up until minutes before my exam.

Anyways, that is enough babble from me for now. I will be getting back to some studying now. I will definately post the results of my bread baking extravaganza over Christmas. And DEFINATELY you will be seeing my famous Gingerbread Cows! I might even post the recipe! We'll see! But stay tuned, I promise this will get more exciting!

Here goes nothing...

2005-12-01T00:03:00.000-05:00

Hello!
I guess I have been meaning to do this for a while...meaning, start a blog. And it is so simple these days, there is really no excuse. Mike, my brother, just started a blog (http://fromtheforests.blogspot.com) and I guess I got inspired. I guess my blog is probably going to be food focused, as I seem to enjoy cooking and baking quite a bit these days. I have also enjoyed checking out a world of food blogs already out there, so I guess this is my attempt at that.
For all of you who are going to check this site out because you want to know what is going on with my life, well, I will try to do some of that, too. I have attempted websites before in the past, but cannot keep up with them. But maybe this time will be different. We'll see!