Cook It Up!!

Grown Up Grilled Cheese

2012-02-12T05:33:00.002-05:00

I've always loved grilled cheese sandwiches. And, yes, as a kid I LOVED the Kraft processed cheese kind of sandwiches. I loved the crisp, buttery bread with the cheesy inside. But as I've grown up, I've looked for more interesting versions of the same thing. And until recently my favourite kind of grilled cheese was a simple grilled sandwich with smoked Gruyere and thin sliced tomatoes inside.

But this week I got a little creative and this is what I did:

You'll need the following and you can adapt it however you want:

bacon (Turkey bacon or regular or not at all if you don't want... I just liked the smokey, salty addition)
avocado (about 1/3 per sandwich)
fresh purple basil (whole leaves)
2 kinds of cheese (I used white cheddar and Turkish kasar)
butter or margarine
garlic powder
dried dillweed
dried oregano
dijon mustard
cayenne pepper

Okay... I baked my bacon so that it didn't crinkle or curl and was just easier to work with.

I mixed all the dry spices with enough margarine to spread on the slices of bread that I used (whole wheat for me... trying to make it somewhat healthy)

Then I layed one slice of the buttered bread in a pan that wasn't on the heat yet (I like to build my sandwiches before heating so that the cheese gets all melty). I then spread the avocado onto the bread and put on one layer of the cheese. Then I added the basil and bacon and the last layer of cheese. Before I added the last slice of bread I added the dijon mustard to the inside of the bread.

Grilling is a little tricky with something so stacked unless you have a panini press, and I don't so it was tricky but turned out great and made me want to think of a billion different variations! Enjoy!

Amazing Eggplant

2012-02-12T05:16:00.002-05:00

In my quest to eat healthier, delicious meals I asked around for some recipes. My teaching partner, Nilay, shared a recipe that her roommate shared with her for cooking eggplant. And of course, I tweaked and played with it in order to come to my own interpretation. :) What can I say? It's just my way.

I used one of the large eggplants and sliced it into 1/3" slices or so. I then boiled and salted some water. I dropped my eggplants into the water to soften them up a bit. I think they sat in there for about 3-5 minutes. While they were boiling away I made the following mix for coating them for the next step of cooking:

1 cup corn meal
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp dried garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
a dash of salt and pepper.

Then I took out my eggplant circles from their water (but I didn't get rid of the water, instead I poured in a little extra virgin olive oil and my pasta) and tossed them in the coating mixture. Once they were well coated, I put them in a hot pan with olive oil and browned them on both sides.

Then I plated the whole mess up and topped the pasta with diced, canned tomatoes. It was delicious and for a leftover, I put the eggplant circles in a container, topped them with the rest of the tomatoes and a slice of cheese (like eggplant parmesan) for heating up at the lunchroom.

It was an excellent, fulfilling and healthy dish. I hope you enjoy!!!

Beautiful Brunch

2012-02-04T04:59:00.002-05:00

Pinterest strikes again (yes... it's official and I have no real life)!! I was browsing on there the other night while waiting for a show I wanted to stream to load. I saw this recipe for avocado eggs and became intrigued so I thought I'd try it on Saturday... so I did (with a few twists of my own of course).

You will need:

1 avocado pitted and sliced into 1/2" slices (keeping the skin on in order to keep the shape)
2 eggs (I made this for one... because it's just me)
olive oil (just enough to cover the pan)
salt (just a pinch)
1 tbsp grated fresh parmesan
Chipotle Tobasco sauce

Let your pan get warm and make sure it's coated with the oil. Put your avocado slices in it and crack and egg in the center of each slice. Sprinkle your salt and tobasco on top and then evenly sprinkle on the cheese. Cover the pan with a lid and let cook until the eggs are done how you like (I like runny yolks so... )

And that's it... it looks impressive, tastes incredible and is just that easy!!

Happy Eating!

Pesto Salmon

2012-02-04T04:42:00.003-05:00

I also got this idea from Pinterest... have you discovered this site yet?! It's pretty amazing place to see and share things that you like. I don't always look at the recipes etc in detail, I just look... take my inspiration... then cook!

As my good friend was coming over for dinner and to celebrate our new jobs for the coming school year, I wanted to make something yummy but that was still healthy and within my new goals of eating clean and homemade (the only thing in this that I didn't make from scratch was the pesto... maybe next time though! ;))

For the salmon you will need:

Salmon fillets (we had 2)
Pesto (about 1 tbsp per fillet)
Sliced tomatoes

For the quinoa you will need:

quinoa (rinsed and soaked for about 20 minutes) - I used 1 cup of quinoa so I could have leftovers for a salad the next day
1 small onion (finely diced)
1 buillion of your choice(I used a white wine and herb one I had)
water (for my 1 cup of quinoa, I used 1 3/4 cup water)
a dash of olive oil

For the broccoli you will need:

1 small head of broccoli
salted water for blanching
1 tsp olive oil
2 tsp balsamic vinegar

To cook the salmon you need to pre-heat your oven to 200C or whatever that converts to in F (you're smart... you know how to google that, right?). Lay the fillets out on a piece of foil (that is big enough to make into a pocket around the fillets). Butter them with the pesto and then cover them with the sliced tomatoes. Wrap them in a pocket that is big enough to not let the top touch the salmon and place it in your oven for about 20 minutes.

To cook the quinoa, you need to first heat the oil in your pan, then saute the onions in the oil. Once they have sweat to a transparency, add the quinoa and let that cook in the oil for a few minutes (gives it a nuttier flavour and allows it to soak up the sweetness of the onions). Then add the water and buillion. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and let cook until there is no more water in the pot (about 25 minutes or so).

To cook the broccoli, get your salted water to a rolling boil and toss the veg in for about 2 minutes, just enough time to get them hot and bright green. Drain the water off and transfer to a pan containing the hot oil... saute for a few minutes before adding the vinegar. This takes less than 5 minutes and should be done right before serving.
Sorry for the poor picture quality... used my phone and the lighting was dim... *sigh*
The meal was super flavourful and tasty. And the best part was that it was healthy! Happy Eating!

Homemade Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

2012-02-04T04:28:00.002-05:00

If you know me, you know soup isn't my thing. Sure, I can appreciate a good soup but I like my foods to FEEL substantial and like I'm really getting something good. With that said and the understanding that I am trying to eat foods that are more clean and homemade, I decided to try making a soup. My inspiration came from a recipe I'd seen online but I didn't follow that recipe... I made up my own... so, yup, this is all me! I've included approximate measurements ( since it's just me, it's a small recipe but I got about 4 servings out of it)... and like all cooks will tell you, use your own judgement and tastebuds to tell you if you need more or less of something.

You will need:

1 small can of tomatoes
1 white onion (finely diced)
1 carrot (finely diced)
2 cloves of garlic (finely minced)
1 glug of olive oil (just enough to saute the onion etc in)
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp fresh basil finely chopped
1/3 cup of cream (this is optional of course)
700 ml of chicken stock (use veggie stock if you want)
salt and pepper to taste
1 pinch of oregano
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

So I started off by heating up the oil in my soup pot (yup... made it all in one pot because I hate to do unnecessary dishes)

Once the oil was hot, I dropped in the onion and garlic, turning down the heat and letting them sweat a little. Then I added my oregano, vinegar and carrot. I let those saute together for a little while before adding the can of tomatoes which I also allowed to cook (soaking up those yummy garlic and onion flavours into the tomato).
Next came the chicken stock. I brought that to a boil and then let it simmer for about 30 minutes before adding the basil (basil can be a little delicate and I wanted that flavour to shine through). I brought it back to a boil and then broguht the heat down low to stir in my cream and cheese.

And that's it! It was so easy... and it tasted better (of course) the next day (if you know me, you know I HATE leftovers... but this soup... well, I ate it for 3 days and could have eaten it for 3 more days!).

Happy Eating!

Bacon, Eggs, Toast....

2012-01-15T06:04:00.002-05:00

... does it get any better for breakfast? YES IT DOES!!! I've recently become addicted to the website pinterest.com. I don't know if you've seen it, use it or even heard of it but it's a great way to share the things you love with people and to learn about new things. I have a board on their called NOM NOM... it's all about FOOD. Not too long ago I saw a friend pin something to her food board that intrigued me so I pinned it to mine. It was a Martha Stewart recipe for breakfast. They are called Bacon, Egg and Toast Cups and they looked amazing, so I gave them a try.

Just click on the link above to see how to do it step by step. I made some little variations to mine in order to suit my flavour palate( Chipotle Tobasco, smaller pieces of bacon and fresh, shaved Parmesan on top). I also slightly overcooked mine (I got distracted by laundry and dishes and didn't keep close enough of an eye on them to bake just until the whites set). They were DELICIOUS and I think it's something you could do with kids (so easy to assemble) and yet they look all fancy, schmancy so you could do them for a brunch and really impress friends.

Happy Eating!

My Kind of Carbonara

2012-01-02T05:47:00.004-05:00

Having just got back from Italy, I still crave the delicious food there and want to be able to make some on my own. On of my favourite pasta sauces is the incredibly UNHEALTHY but DELICIOUS carbonara. I love the rich creaminess and the bacon... oh the bacon!! ;) So since I have some of that deliciousness in my freezer and I know how to make a simple cream sauce I went ahead and made it with some little twists.

You will need:

bacon (mine is frozen so it's easy to chop and you don't need to measure, just as much as you think you'd like... I guess I had about a handful of chopped bacon - enough for 2 people)
a pat of butter
about 1 1/2 cups of milk
1 tablespoon of flour (as a thickening agent, although if you can't have wheat or gluten, you can use whatever alternative works best for you)
1 egg
tabasco (I used the Chipotle one so that I could have that smoky flavour... so yum... and this you need to add to your own spice specifications)
a dash of oregano and a dash of basil and a dash of fresh garlic
cooked pasta for 2

I started by sauteing the bacon in the butter until the butter was brown and the bacon got crispy.

I also sauteed the herbs and tobasco in at this point.

Then I added the milk and flour that were already combined with each other. Now you have to stir constantly.

In went the egg, still stirring...

Now in goes the cooked pasta, still stirring...

Plate it up and EAT!! YUMMMMMY!!!!

Smoothie Madness

2012-01-02T05:37:00.003-05:00

I know I've posted about smoothies before but I haven't been really that good at actually making them Typically I like to have a smoothie for breakfast and in the mornings I am often too tired or slow moving to actually make the smoothies and then the fruit goes off so quickly here since it is picked ripe as it's grown within Turkey and there is no need to pick it early and let it ripen. So, long story short, I never end up making smoothies I love so much... so I came up with a simple solution (even for a teeny tiny freezer such as mine): make the fruit and yogurt part up, bag them and freeze them. That way in the mornings all I need to do is throw the contents of the baggie in the blender with a little juice or soy milk and instant, HEALTHY breakfast!! YAH. Here is what it looked like to do this:

It was great fun because I got to play with a lot of different flavour combos, no two baggies is alike and there are 8 of them... that's a lot of yummy breakfasts for me!!

Happy Eating!

Italians REALLY do do pizza best!!

2011-12-20T09:03:00.003-05:00

So I am in Naples, the home of PIZZA among other great traditional Italian foods that are eaten in other locations around the world. Today is my FIRST day in Naples and I hit the ground running, so to speak.

One of the things I was really excited to do here was to eat a Margarita pizza. I even wanted to try and eat it at the famous Pizzeria Da Michele (yes, the one that is in the movie Eat, Pray, Love). As I was wandering the streets today (basically I was lost... let's be honest), I stumbled upon said pizzeria and decided to try and find my way back (being that it was 10 am and just too early for pizza). Lucky for me, the chaotic streets of Naples have some order to them and after doing a little shopping and sight seeing, I was able to get back there for about 1:30. It looked like this outside:

Not knowing the procedure for how to get a seat or get food, I simply went inside and to the man at the cash. He asked how many I wanted to seat and I said that it was just me. Well, minutes later I was seated and my bira was placed in front of me (Italian beer is VERY light).

My pizza took a little longer and I'm pretty sure that my adorable singing waiter actually gave my order to another table at least once, but I'm not mad. The place was popping with people and pretty much everyone was getting the same thing. Hard to keep track really. Eventually, this:

was laid before me. *sigh of gargantuan happiness* If you are looking for crispy pizza, don't come to Italy. The tomato sauce is the most flavourful and plain sauce I've ever had.. it's very wet never mind all the water that comes off the FRESH mozzarella cheese, there is just a tiny bit of basil (I wish there was a tiny bit more) and then they drizzle olive oil over it. So needless to say the dough is a little soggy and a knife and fork are required for eating... but its SOOOOOOO good!!! The dough is a little salty and chewy and the flavours are... well... perfect. In a word, I could eat this meal every day while I'm here, and I just might since it only costs 6 Euros including the drink and I was so full that I couldn't finish... and I tried... trust me, I tried!!!

Nummy, Yummy Potatoes

2011-11-28T07:17:00.002-05:00

I forgot to take a picture (I was rushing out the door with these little gems hot from the oven).

Here is what I did:

I sliced potatoes and purple onions (as many or as little as you like... I know, I know it's very irritating for the exact measuring people out there), about enough to do 2 thin layers of each in a 9"X13" Pyrex baking dish.

Then in a big pot I made a roux with butter (melted and almost about to turn brown), garlic (powdered or real), flour and milk. I melted the butter and sautéed the garlic first. Then I added the flour until I had a thick paste. Then I added the milk slowly until I had a smooth and slightly thick sauce. Do not let it boil. I then added smoked guyere cheese and some regular white cheddar cheese. I continued to cook and stir until the cheese was all melted. I put this on top of my potatoes and then sprinkled more cheese and some chopped up bacon on top. Cover with foil and toss in the oven at 350* F or 175/200*C for about an hour. Take the foil off the top for an additional 10 minutes at the end and serve... it was rich, cheesy, buttery, smoky goodness!!!

Happy Eating!

Best Chicken Soup EVER!!

2011-10-22T09:41:00.002-04:00

So my friend Jordan is the soup king around here. He makes the most amazing soups and while I tend not to make a lot of soups, I've gained a new appreciation of them and just how many flavours you can build into a soup. Well, Jordan was away for a little while and his poor girlfriend, also my friend, Charity was surviving on cereal (or at least that is what I tell myself in justification for making the soup for us). She invited me over to watch a movie and I offered to make dinner.

I jetted home and put this together (makes enough for 2-4 people depending on portion sizes):

1/3 cup chopped up chorizo
1/3 cup diced purple onion
2 cloves finely chopped/minced garlic
2 or 3 chicken thighs chopped up
1 medium sized carrot sliced thickly
1 medium potato cubed
2 or 3 mushrooms chopped up
1 or 2 cubes of chicken bouillon
1 small can of corn
a sprinkle of dill, cayenne pepper and oregano
1 tbsp olive oil.
1 litre water

I put the olive oil into the pot and got it good and hot, added the chorizo, garlic, onions and mushrooms to sautee. Then I tossed in the chicken cubes in order to get them good and browned. Then I added the water, spices and other ingredients. I brought it all to a boil for a few minutes and then let it simmer for about 1 1/2 hours. I thought it was super tasty and my dinner guinea pig seemed to agree! :) No pictures this time, sorry!!

Happy Eating!

Quick and Easy Pasta

2011-10-22T09:36:00.002-04:00

I love a pasta dish (perhaps it's the Italian in me) and while I love the fancy ones, sometimes something simple and tasty is just what I need. The other night, I felt like I could really use a yummy dish that was simple to make and so I threw together some ingredients and this is what I came up with:

All it has is whole wheat bow tie pasta, chopped and sauteed chorizo sausage, blue cheese (just a little for creamy texture and flavour), oregano, dill and some small chunks of cheese that get all melty when you stir them in with the pasta. It was a quick dish that was easy to make and SOOOOOooooooOOOOOO tasty!!

Happy Eating!

Food Trucks!!

2011-08-10T17:40:00.002-04:00

Vancouver is one of the prettiest cities in the world with a ton of great stuff to offer and now they have one more: Food Trucks!! Vancouver has joined the elite foodie cities in the world with great, gourmet food available at reasonable prices on the street. (I love street food and make it a regular practice in my travels to try street food wherever I go) Normally my cooking blog is reserved for my own kitchen experimentation but I just couldn't let the opportunity pass to plug what I think is the greatest food truck in the city (perhaps I am biased because they originated on the Sunshine Coast where I am from... I ate there, in Davis Bay, last summer and remember telling them to get on one of those foodie shows... and they did!!! Eat Street from Food Network was there after I left!!). Anyway, it's a great big purple truck called Feastro and they do prepare a feast for every palate. They have fresh locally caught seafood, locally grown greens (coming from Henry Rd. Farm in Gibsons), delicious daily specials, incredible flavours and it doesn't hurt that the dude taking orders is adorable and good with the customers.

Anyway, if you ever find yourself in Vancouver with a hungry belly... head down to West Cordova and Thurlow (right across from the Olympic torch and the convention centre) and give Feastro a try... you won't be sorry!!!

Crab Cakes

2011-08-10T17:26:00.002-04:00

So the image is not mine (I'd forgotten to charge my camera battery) but it's basically what they looked like once I finished. I took a very basic recipe that actually called for fake crab and spiced it up the way that I do and came out with a DELICIOUS way to use up the oodles of leftover crab we had from our family reunion.

Here is how it went:

You will need:

3/4 cup flaked crab (I used locally caught fresh stuff but use what you can get)
2/3 cup fine bread crumbs ( you may need more and you WILL need some additional ones to coat the crab cakes)
1/2 cup lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
3 eggs, beaten (not that advocate the beating of any of your food... hehehe)
1 tbsp parsley (freshly chopped or dry flakes)
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 tbsp dill
1 tsp dry mustard powder

Mix the wet ingredients with the bread crumbs and spices and then fold in your crab. You may or may not need more bread crumbs depending on how wet your mixture is and how easy it is to make into little patties. You can also add extra lemon juice if it's too dry with what you have in it already. Once you make the patties, coat them in some extra bread crumbs.

Then heat some oil in a frying pan on the stove. I used leftover bacon grease (I know, I know... not very health conscious but it was TASTY!). Fry the crab cakes until they are golden brown on both sides (it's about 4 minutes per side).

Plate 'em and eat 'em!!!

HAPPY EATING!!

The Beauty of a Local Brew

2011-07-29T19:10:00.002-04:00

I'm a bit of a Lucy-Come-Lately to the beer scene, but I've really been enjoying the process of finding out what I like (and, no, not just because I get buzzed when I try to figure out what I like...). Being international makes it all that much more fun as I get to try local brews that aren't exported and that others may not get the opportunity to try. I can say that I enjoy a Japanese Asahi beer with Japanese food... a Korean Cass beer with their version of fried chicken... a Chinese Tsingtao beer on occassion... a Thai Singha beer with my green curry... a Turkish Efes on a hot day... and the list can go on. Currently, I'm at home and we have a fantastic local brewery called Granville Island Brewing and they have some fantastic beers... my favourite is the Robson Street Hefeweizen. Let me know what local brews you like best... I'd love to give them a try!

Take that, Cinnabon!!

2011-07-29T18:59:00.003-04:00

So I found this great recipe online for a cinnabon styled cinnamon roll recipe and I decided to give it a try. I followed it pretty much to a tee, except that I have a theory that all sweet baked goods are better with vanilla and since this recipe didn't call for any, I took the liberty of putting in about 1 1/2 teaspoons into the dough and because it is a cinnamon roll, I also put some cinnamon into the dough (didn't call for that either, but it was a good move... trust me on that one). I guess I used about 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon.

The rolls were light, fluffy, flavourful and simply tasty. I highly recommend the linked recipe above... it's just good.
This is immediately post oven, pre-icing... yum yum!!

Happy Eating!!!

Garlic Cheddar Buns

2011-07-28T19:48:00.003-04:00

MMMMMMMMmmmmmmm!!! That's just to indicate how good they taste!! As I said previously, I felt like I was cursed when it came to baking. Cooking? No problem... baking? Uh... yea, that was another story. But I think I may have broken the curse with a little help from my mom and a new container of yeast.

Our family reunion is fast approaching and my mom makes a killer spaghetti sauce (the recipe is in my archives, but if you click the work "spaghetti" above, you'll go there directly) and we decided it would be the best opening meal to the weekend. It wouldn't matter what time people got there, it could be ready to put on a plate with some Caesar salad and some garlic bread. But then I got to thinking and some garlic cheddar buns might be a nice answer to the traditional garlic bread. I tried to make them the other day and failed miserably, but found out that the yeast had gone bad, so we got some new yeast and I gave it another try.... SUCCESS!!!

Here is how I did it (by the way, this was my FIRST TIME EVER making homemade bread):

Ingredients:

4 1/3 cups of flour (I used all purpose)
2 tbsp salt
4 1/2 tsp yeast
1 cup shredded cheddar
2 1/2 cups warm water
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp powdered garlic
1 tbsp parsley flakes
1 tbsp dill
(I might try oregano instead of the dill next time)

The first thing you need to do is check that your yeast is active. So warm up your water to about 38 degrees Celsius or 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir in the sugar and then drop in your yeast after the sugar is all dissolved. The yeast will take 10 minutes to reach it's active state, but you will know that it is active once you see it bubble and rise into a foam on top of the water.

While you wait on the yeast, you can put all your dry ingredients (about half of the flour to start with and NONE of the cheddar) into a large bowl and mix well. Add the yeast mixture and continue to add the flour (you need to work it in with your hands now) until the dough is no longer sticky on your fingers. Now work the cheese into the dough, always folding the dough into the centre. Punch it down, form it into a ball and place it into a buttered, metal bowl or container. Place a tea towel over the top and pop it into your oven (you just need to warm the oven, then turn it off and leave the door open a crack). Pop that bowl in there and let it rise for about an hour. It should be double the size.

Once it's risen, remove it from the oven, and set your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and you can either form buns (I made 45 little buns) or 2 loaves. Put it on greased pans and then pop it in your hot oven. If you are making buns, they should be ready in 15-20 minutes (they sound hollow when you tap the tops) and a loaf of bread should be ready in 30-40 minutes.

When they are done, brush them with a little unsalted butter. These are a little on the salty side, so you might want to reduce the salt or use a less salty cheese.
HAPPY EATING!!

Case of the Cursed Baker

2011-07-27T19:01:00.002-04:00

That's what I've felt like for the last year... a cursed baker. I can cook and cook well! You can throw just about anything at me in the kitchen and ask me to make something tasty and I can do it, but for the last year, I've felt like I couldn't bake a thing. I didn't bake too much the year before it (when you have a roommate like I did, who is clearly gifted in baking, there was just no need) and so at first I thought I was out of practice. Then I thought it was because I struggled to read and translate the Turkish instructions (which was hard but, with the help of a dictionary and Google Translate, not impossible). Then I thought it was the elevation of the city of Ankara (I wasn't used to baking at high elevations and people said it could be problematic). Then I thought it was the experimentation with the gluten-free flour (which was part of the problem for me... I need to figure that stuff out!!). But finally, I began to think that these things were just excuses and it was ME... I couldn't bake. I'd lost the baking groove (a terrible thing to lose, let me tell you). This was further confirmed here in Canada a few days ago when I tried to make homemade, yummy garlic/cheddar buns and cinnamon rolls. I followed the recipe and the instructions but the dough didn't rise and all I got were some amazing smelling hockey pucks. It put PMSing me over the edge and I nearly lost my mind. That is, until my mom and dad discussed the yeast and figured out that it was no longer active.... so, I may or may not still be a cursed baker, but I know that the last baking mishap was NOT my fault. I will try both recipes again tomorrow and hopefully have some gorgeous pictures of yummy treats to show you. Stay tuned and HAPPY EATING!!

Another Great Summer Salad

2011-06-23T13:18:00.004-04:00

I love a good pasta salad in the summer. Typically it involves mayo as part of the dressing and in an effort to do something different and lighter, I hit the kitchen tonight after a great day by the pool to make a summer pasta salad.

Here is what I did:

I boiled some lightly oiled and salted water and then cooked some pasta (I used elbow macaroni for it this time, but really just about ANYTHING would work great). When the pasta was nearly done, I tossed in about a cup of frozen shrimp to cook with the pasta in it's last minutes.

While the pasta was cooking, I chopped up a cucumber and several cherry tomatoes (these I just cut into halves). I then doused them with a little bit of olive oil and a spice mixture that I get in Turkey called Olive Sauce (basically it consists of oregano, crushed red chillies, salt and a touch of sumac). I also sprinkled on some dried garlic spice and a wee bit of salt. Just before I drained and rinsed the pasta and shrimp, I decided that there was something lacking from the veggie mixture and I added 1 tbsp of caper berries in vinegar and the juice of half a lemon.

I drained and rinsed the pasta and shrimp in cold water to remove excess oil and to cool them before adding them to veggie mixture. Then I tossed them altogether for a wonderfully spicy and refreshing salad!!

HAPPY EATING!

Super Summer Salad

2011-06-19T09:57:00.002-04:00

I love a good salad (in fact, I eat it just about everyday for lunch... topped with a boiled egg and some Turkish yogurt if I can get it)... but sometimes they can get boring. Today, I decided to play around with the idea of a salad and to make it a little more interesting.

On top of lettuce (I had a red one), I put cucumber slices and halved cherry tomatoes. Then I threw on some half wedges of grapefruit and some halved, hard boiled quail eggs (don't worry, they taste just like regular eggs, just cuter). And over it all I poured warm curried shrimp (peeled and cleaned shrimp that was sauteed in butter, curry powder, grapefruit juices, sumac, garlic and cumin). YUMMY!! And it was pretty with all the colour contrasts too... eating isn't just about pleasing your tongue, right?

Happy Eating!

Kumpir

2011-06-19T09:51:00.001-04:00

In Turkey, Kumpir is a baked potato, but like nothing you have EVER seen before. Trust me when I say it blows ALL other baked potatoes out the window. It's cheap to get here and is SO good!! What they do that makes it better is that the potato is cooked so that the inside is soft and the outside is crispy (I don't know who they get it to work exactly like that) and then they crack it open and MASH the insides with butter and cheese (sounds wrong, but trust me on this one... it's SO RIGHT!!!) until it's a gooey, mashy mix. Then they let you choose what you want to top it with (everything from veggies to BBQ chicken are available). It's WONDERFUL! I wish there were proper Kumpir places everywhere I went... this could be my new crack food (you know, the food that's like a drug to you).

Sandwich Gone Wrong

2011-06-19T09:36:00.003-04:00

A while back, I went to Eskişehir with some friends. We were there to watch a basketball game and to just have some fun. Fun was had for sure... but I just have to share a food story. We were recommended to a place for dinner and we went. Place was extremely busy and things were flying off the menu, so I thought I'd stick with something easy and that would be simple to make with all the rush: a clubhouse sandwich. Now, I don't know about you, but when I think of a club, I think of bacon (I knew I wasn't going to get bacon on it... this is a muslim country afterall), turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, mayo etc with 3 slices of bread total... well, this is what they thought it was:

UH?!?!?! Needless to say, I took it apart and ate what I thought was edible which wasn't much. Beware when ordering what you think is simple!

Happy Eating!!

Scrumdilicious Banana Bread

2011-06-19T09:27:00.002-04:00

So I had some ripe (overly so) bananas in my fridge (here in Turkey it's the only way I can keep them for longer than a day or two it seems) and I wanted to make some banana bread. I haven't had a lot of luck with cakes and breads here and generally just get pissed off about the whole thing. But... I thought, why not give it one more try. So here is the recipe that I found online:

4 ripe, mashed bananas
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
dash of salt
1 1/2 cups flour

I threw in a crushed up bar of dark chocolate just for fun and a little extra flour because it seemed a little too moist when I was mixing it and that always turns into cake/bread gone to trash here.

And guess what?! IT TURNED OUT GREAT!!!!!

Happy Eating!!

Thai-tastic!!!!

2011-04-30T09:11:00.004-04:00

One of my Turkish friends really likes Thai food and asked if I could cook it (I'd told him that I was a pretty good cook so... ) and I said I could but couldn't get some of the ingredients here. He volunteered to do all the shopping if I'd cook for him and some friends. I readily agreed and planned a pretty good menu that included:

Cucumber Salad
Salad Rolls
Tom Yum Goong (spicy sour shrimp soup)
Pad Thai
Green Curry

He got me nearly everything I needed and wanted and I was able to make some adjustments and substitutions that helped to keep the flavour profile pretty similar and it was tasty... I found my recipes from www.thaitable.com and www.thaifood.about.com for a great green curry paste recipe. Take the risk and make your table Thai-tastic sometime... I had a blast doing it!

Tom Yum Goong... it was so tasty and sour!!

Green Curry... making the paste myself was much easier than I thought! I loved doing it!

Salad Rolls with imitation crab in them... also yummy!

Cucumber Salad...so refreshing!

Stuffed Eggplants

2011-04-30T09:03:00.002-04:00

The other day I was really digging my detox diet but had already stopped detoxing.... so I decided that eating healthy is a lifestyle and I wanted to keep on it. Sure, I can have whatever I want but I am going to choose to have healthy foods more often than not and so I made my own version of stuffed eggplant.

Here is how I did it:

I took 2 small eggplants, cut them into halves and then topped off the ends and hollowed them out. I cased them in foil and sprayed them lightly with olive oil and put them in the oven at 350 to baked while I prepared the filling which consisted of:

1 of the eggplant innards all chopped up
1 diced onion
1 cup cooked brown rice (cooked in salted water with olive oil, oregano, garlic and sumac)
1/2 cup cooked bulgher wheat

After about 10 minutes I took the eggplant shells out and put the filling in and topped them with a light cheese and put them back into the oven for about 15 more minutes. Then removed them from the foil and enjoyed. They were great!!!

Happy Eating!

Vegan Green Lentil Soup

2011-04-28T02:39:00.002-04:00

Sorry... no picture for this one. I actually took a photo (or thought I did) but ended up not having the memory card in the camera... hehehe Somedays I don't know where my brain is!

Anyway, in my detoxing that I was doing, I was allowed lentils and I LOVE the lentil soup that they make here in Turkey. I searched online to find a recipe that would be similar and contain no meat or meat products. I found a recipe but needed to tweak it a little and here is what came out:

2 tsp olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onions
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
8 cups water
1 1/4 cups dried green lentils
salt and pepper to taste

First take the onions and garlic and sauté them in the olive oil until the onions are translucent. Then add the rest of the ingredients and bring them to a boil. Once you have them boiling, turn the heat down to a simmer and cook until your lentils are completely soft. Then turn it off and let it cool before putting it in a blender and pureeing. Reheat to the temperature that you like your soup at. It's a great soup!!

I didn't have a blender so I elected to eat it chunky style and it was still tasty and I thought it would be amazing over brown rice!!

Happy Eating!

SPRING!!!

2011-04-02T11:13:00.002-04:00

When I lived in Oman, a woman from Jordan introduced me to this little spring jewel and I am thrilled to be back in a part of the world that sells, enjoys and loves them! They are the green, spring almond. It's an almond before it reaches maturity. It's crunchy, tangy and just plain good!! The green fuzzy part is what becomes the shell given time to ripen and harden. The inside is what will become the almond nut itself. Anyway, they come just once a year and are a treat! Soak them in a little salted water before eating, or simply crunch away while dipping in a little sea salt. Up to you!!

Call For Recipes

2011-04-01T08:17:00.002-04:00

Hi Foodie Friends!!! I've recently gone to the doctor for something that I think is unrelated to my weight but my doctor wants to put all the blame on my weight... so I'm happy to comply and lose the weight (I'm sure that it's not the cause of the issue, but I am also sure it's not helping things). Here are the parameters I must function within from now on (some are fairly easy for me since I don't partake in them often):

no salt (at all)
no sugar (at all, this includes fruit juices)
no oil (as little as possible)
no bread (guess what? It has salt!!)
no fast food (easy... I don't have that often anyway)
no cheese (this is like murder for me... if you remember, I had a post about melted cheese alone!!!)

Here's where you come in... please leave me links to good recipes or even some recipes you know and have that I could use in my comment box. After my Spring Break I had planned to follow a detox program and I have a few recipes with that, but I am going to need more... especially considering that I can't get all ingredients readily here.

Help me get back to happy eating, my friends!!

Turkish Coleslaw

2011-03-06T05:12:00.002-05:00

I am not the biggest fan of coleslaws usually, but there is one that they make us for lunch here that I have fallen in love with. So I asked my friend, Nilay, to tell me what's in it and she did. Let me share it with you!!!

You will need:

1 large white cabbage (chopped or shredded)
3 lemons
2/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp salt
2tbsp crushed red chilies
4 tbsp oregano
2 tbsp freshly chopped mint.

Chop up the cabbage, and then squeeze the lemon juice over them. Reserve a little for the dressing.

Mix the rest of the ingredients in a separate bowl and then pour it over the cabbage and toss it all together... and that's it! Super easy, super tasty and fresh!!

Happy Eating!!

Eggs... IN OATMEAL!?!?!?!

2011-03-02T02:38:00.002-05:00

Yes... and it's GREAT! I like having something hearty like oatmeal to start my day but I need protein or I am just hungry in an hour. You'd think oatmeal would hold me... but it doesn't. So I went looking online and this is what I found:

This is for a single serving so adjust as you need for your family.

1/2 cup oatmeal, uncooked
1 cup of water (you could cream it up with milk instead if you like)
1 egg
1 small pat of butter
sugar, cinnamon, fruits or whatever you like to add more flavour (I used dried cranberries, a little cinnamon and about 1 tbsp white sugar)

Bring the water to a boil, add the oatmeal and bring it back to a boil while stirring... add the butter and egg at this time.

Keep stirring so that it keeps a creamy consistency. It won't be as stiff as regular oatmeal, but it is tasty. At the end, throw in your fruits if you are using dried fruits. If not, plate it up and add your sweeteners and spices.

HAPPY EATING!!

Mmmm.... chicken!

2011-03-02T02:31:00.002-05:00

I don't buy meat often for my house because it's just me, it's expensive and I really enjoy vegetarian meals throughout the week. It makes meat a special treat when I go out to eat. However, I had some chicken legs leftover from the soup and I decided to give it a go.

Here is what you need:

skinless chicken legs (2 per person)
Rice (measure to the portion of people you are serving)
2 or 3 fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 can of diced tomatoes
red or green bell peppers
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp rosemary

Begin by sautéing the chicken with a little olive oil and the garlic.

Once it begins to brown, add some water and the rest of the ingredients, cover and let cook. Talk about an easy, 1 pot dish that is tasty!!

HAPPY EATING!

Spicy Chicken Soup

2011-03-02T02:15:00.003-05:00

So... I'm not really a soup person but this country and my friend Jordan are slowly changing my mind. In Turkey, soup is an important part of most meals and Jordan makes pretty much the best homemade soup I've ever eaten. So I thought I'd try my hand at this art... and it's as much art as science as far as I can tell. I'll give you my ingredients and in brackets I'll give some alternatives that I would have used if I was in Canada or the US.

Ingredients:

Chicken carcass or 5 chicken legs, I used skinless ones
Spicy Sucuk (I'd use chorizo sausage if I was home), chopped
3 carrots peeled and chopped
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
10 mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
1 can of corn
2 purple onions, chopped and divided
1 chicken bouillon for flavour
1 tbsp oregano
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 litres of water
salt and pepper to taste.
1 HUGE soup pot

I started by sautéing the the chicken legs, garlic, sausage or sucuk and half the onions with a little olive oil. Once the chicken was nicely browned and the onions were translucent, I added the water, bouillon, veggies and spices. Stir, bring to a boil and then let simmer for a couple of hours. Then I pulled my chicken legs out, pulled the meat off and put it all back into the pot to cook some more. Finally, I added some noodles and brought it back to a boil for about 20 minutes. I think the noodles were a mistake or I need to learn how to do that better... they were mushy! hahaha Or I'd add rice next time.

HAPPY EATING!

Conquering the Cake

2011-02-16T15:03:00.003-05:00

Cake has been the bane of my existence in the kitchen since arriving in Turkey. Ankara is at a higher altitude and without proper cups or measuring tools, it's been a crap shoot. Getting cupcakes to work was my first step and once I got that I figured I could do a cake (a zucchini loaf to be exact... which went terribly array and the only thing I can think of to explain it is that the zucchinis were really young and watery...). Anyway, tonight, I conquered the cake!! I decided to try again as I sometimes attend the Marine House Happy Hour that the US Marines put on at their house/bar on the US Embassy. They are a bunch of great guys who are loads of fun and the last time I was there they sent me home with an AMAZING salsa dip in a container.
Now, I don't know how your mothers raised you, but mine said to never show up at someone's house empty handed and NEVER return a container, that came to you full, empty. So even though I won't be attending this week's happy hour, I wanted to get their container back to them and thought I could make some cupcakes (see this entry for recipe and substitute apples and cinnamon for extra dark chocolate chips or chunks) or a cake. I decided to do both and, in the words of Monica on Friends: I WON! I WON! I WON!!!

Here's the recipe I used (I found it online when searching yogurt pumpkin bread):

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup pumpkin puree (I finely grated fresh pumpkin and it was AWESOME)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg (I didn't have any so I grated up a few cloves to bring that spicy aroma in)

First cream the butter and sugar together, add in the eggs, vanilla and yogurt. Then fold in the dry ingredients until well mixed and at last put in the pumpkin and fold it in. Bake at 350 until the knife comes out clean. The result? Have a look at that:

It is moist, not too pumpkiny and just right. I love this recipe and I LOVE this cake... hope the guys like the cake and cupcakes... if not... meh? *shrugs* whatcha gonna do? ;)

Happy Eating friends!

Pumpkin Risotto... the easy way

2011-02-13T05:45:00.003-05:00

So lately when I cook, I want something savoury and PRETTY!! I want it to be a feast for my eyes as well as my tummy. And pumpkin/squash is just such a beautiful vegetable. So I went online searching for pumpkin recipes that wouldn't require pureed pumpkin or things that I couldn't get here in Turkey and this is what I came up with:

The recipe called for some things I didn't have or couldn't get so I modified it and made it my own recipe. For this you need:
Pumpkin, 2 cups of rice (I combined rice and bulghur wheat for a different texture), 5 cups of chicken stock, 2 sprigs of fresh dill, 2 cloves of garlic or some garlic powder, 1 or 2 red peppers, 1 purple onion, a small bunch of fresh basil, 1 or 2 sprigs of oregano, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 3 or 4 pats of butter.

In a pyrex dish (a fairly large one), pour your oil, hot chicken stock and rice. Stir them around a little... like the murkey picture above. Don't rinse the rice first, the starchiness is required to make a more sticky and risotto like rice.

Chop up all your veggies and spices and toss them into the pyrex. Add a little salt and pepper if you like, stir, cover tightly with foil and pop into your oven at about 375 F and cook. Check it occasionally to stir it and once it is near to being done, put the butter on and let it cook down a little more. I let my cook a little too far so it was dryer than a risotto should be, so be careful to let there be some liquid still in it...

Happy Eating... it's a delicious savoury dish!

Simple, Apple Cupcakes

2011-02-05T12:39:00.003-05:00

I've had some apples in the fridge that I've been meaning to make into something for a while, but it isn't always easy to think of what to do. Initially I thought I would make some muffins but most of the recipes I found online had things that I didn't have readily available in my kitchen. However, this cupcake recipe did. And then I finely chopped up some apples, added them in with some cinnamon and voila:

They were light, fluffy, not too strong in flavour and the most successful thing I've baked since coming to Turkey. The altitude and not having proper measuring tools is doing me in for baking... until today, that is!

Happy Eating.

Eggplants and Saffron Rice

2011-02-05T06:25:00.003-05:00

Eggplants are one of those vegetables that people are often uncomfortable turning into a main dish at a meal unless they are vegetarian. I love them, I love their texture, their flavour and their meatiness. So here is what I did with a couple of them last night to make a wonderful meal:

I had the skinnier versions of the eggplant and sliced them length-wise after taking off the tops and bottoms. I then brushed them in olive oil and sprinkled salt and garlic over them and popped them in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes or so.

While they were baking, I put on some rice mixed with a little bulghur wheat in a pot with salted water, some saffron and a little butter and set that on the stove to cook. Then I sliced up a couple of tomatoes and some cheese (since I am in Turkey and all the cheeses I would normally use - brie and mozzarella - are really expensive, I just used some halloumi cheese and some kasar cheese).

I then took the eggplant halves out of the oven, topped them with the tomatoes and lightly dusted them with basil, oregano and rosemary before putting the cheeses on top and putting them back in the oven. There is no time limit for how long they should stay in the oven, but the general rule is to wait until the cheese is bubbly and melty good! I originally took this recipe from Cook Yourself Thin, but have had to make some adjustments now that I am here and can't just find all the things that they list so easily. But if you are in North American or Europe and can easily get what they call for, I really recommend their recipes. Super healthy and easy and TASTY!!

Happy Eating!

Awesome Food Inventions

2011-02-01T03:10:00.003-05:00

Today one of my students brought his snack in this:

Is that not one of the smartest food inventions you've EVER seen?!?! I love it. I love it as much as I love my Tupperware/Pampered Chef orange peeler, or my Pampered Chef oil sprayer, my Pampered Chef chopper (which is sadly in Canada and not here in Turkey with me), my Pampered Chef egg slicer, my apple corer/slicer and my Pampered Chef peeler, corer, slicer. I love kitchen gadgets and neat inventions that make things neater and more convenient. This is definitely one of the best I've seen in a long time!

What are your favourite kitchen gadgets/inventions?!

A Weekend of COOKING!

2011-01-31T03:23:00.002-05:00

So, first off, let me apologise because I don't have any pictures to show (it was just too busy for that!!!) for all the work that I produced this weekend. I made lasagna, salads galore, stuffed peppers, stuffed tomatoes, stuffed mushrooms, and garlic bread. I was cooking for MANY, so if you know me, you know I was HAPPY! Here is how it all came about with some recipes sprinkled in between.

Earlier in the week my friend Taljit (he'll be thrilled to be published in the blog) asked me if I would help him cook a special meal for some workmates and friends. I readily agreed and then reminded him that he promised some of my workmates and friends that he would be hosting a dinner party for them at his house. He sighed, hummed and hawed and then decided to kill two birds with one stone and do a full weekend of dinner parties. Being that his kitchen is gloriously large and he was supplying the groceries, I readily agreed to be the kitchen slave for the entire weekend. We met on Saturday morning and got to shopping and chopping. Thankfully the menu for the following day allowed me to pre-make or prepare lots of ingredients the day before. Here is the menu for Saturday:

Lasagna, fresh salad, garlic bread

*Taljit could be Italian with the amount he wanted to make, I had to reign him in a little so this is for 2 LARGE lasagnas

Here is what I did for my lasagna:

I made a meat sauce (reserving some of the ground beef mixture for the stuffed peppers the next day) that is just like my mama's which you can view by clicking the link to that post. Then I made a cheese sauce of 1 1/2 containers of ricotta cheese (big containers), washed and squeezed dry fresh spinach (about 2 cups), 3 eggs and 2 tsp of oregano, 1 tsp of granulated garlic and salt and pepper. Then I used the Barilla brand of lasagna sheets that don't need to be precooked. I layered them alternately with the meat sauce and cheese sauce while sprinkling a little mozarella into the meat mixture (my theory that melted cheese makes everything better still holds). Then I generously put shredded cheese on the top and baked them covered in foil (spray your foil to keep the cheese from sticking to it, or use toothpicks to keep the foil off the cheese) and cooked them for about 1 hour at 350-375 degrees. They were GORGEOUS!!!!

For the salad I threw together several different kinds of lettuce and a variety of fresh veggies that were colourful and tasty. For the dressing I combined 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil with 2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, 2/3 cup pomegranate vinegar, 1 tsp granulated garlic, 1 tsp sumac, a dash of salt and a pinch of pepper. It was incredibly fresh and tasty!!!

For the garlic bread I simply combined butter, freshly chopped garlic, a pinch of salt and a BIG pinch of oregano. You kind of need to feel this one out for the amount of bread that you have. I put it in the oven face up to melt and then toast the bread in the oven... super yummy and would have only been made better by sprinkling a little parmesan cheese over the top.

So that was Saturday... Sunday's menu was stuffed peppers, tomatoes and mushrooms, served with a side salad. I'd never done stuffed anything before so this was a bit of an adventure with NO RECIPE to help me... I am most proud of this dinner and how beautiful it looked on the plate. SO SAD I DON'T HAVE A PICTURE!!! *sigh* But here is what I did:

There were 6 dinner guests so this is a pretty hefty meal in regard to recipe proportions, but you can be creative and scale it down however you like.

I prepared enough Basmati rice for each person (1 1/2 cups rice to 3 cups water.... lightly salt the water and wash the rice 2 or 3 times to remove excess starch and keep the rice fluffy.).

Stuffed Peppers/Tomatoes:

6 large bell peppers and 6 large tomatoes (take the tops off and clean out the insides, then wrap them in foil and place on a pan. They will go into the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes to soften them before stuffing)
Filling:
Mix the cooked rice with beef (the cooked ground beef from the day before is what I used) and a veggie mixture (see below) as well as 1/2 a large container of ricotta cheese.

Veggie mixture:
Dice up the following: eggplant (1 small one or 1/2 a big one), 1 onion, 2 carrots, 3 cloves of garlic, 5 or 6 mushrooms, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tbsp crushed hot red chillies, and some of the tomato innards. Cook these down in a pot with olive oil until the eggplant is soft.

Once the shells are out of the oven, stuff them with the filling, top with cheese and send back to the oven until the cheese is bubbly and slightly browning. The hard part is plating because you have to get that hot foil off the peppers and tomatoes.

Stuffed Mushrooms:

Peel the mushrooms instead of washing them because of the moisture inside the mushroom. Pull out the stems and reserve them. Once you have the buttons all cleaned and peeled, pop them into a pan with hot olive oil and let them brown up a little. This will also help to get some of the moisture out of the mushroom.

In a bowl, combine the chopped up mushroom stems with one package of cream cheese and an equal amount of blue cheese and 2 chopped green onions.

Flip your mushrooms into a baking pan and make sure the indent is facing up so you can spoon the cheesy goodness in them. Then sprinkle a little parmesan on top and send them to the oven at 350 degrees until the cheese is melted and they are hot. Don't be alarmed when there is a heaping amount of liquid in the bottom of the pan... it's NORMAL! Just take them out of the pan to serve. They are incredibly yummy and the recipe comes from my friend Raymond!

So there you go... a weekend of shopping, chopping, stacking and cooking... A GREAT WEEKEND.

Happy Eating!!!

Homemade Mac and Cheese

2011-01-23T09:42:00.004-05:00

So, one of my goals was to make something every week. And so far, I am doing great! Made a great cake last week (although, truth be told, I messed up the glaze, so I am going to try it again this week some time but make it into cupcakes... yea yea!!), and this week I got the urge to try making Mac and Cheese. Now... I've NEVER made a for real, homemade Mac and Cheese before and I decided to just wing it (how's that for trusting my culinary skills?!)! So here is how it went down:

You will need the following ingredients if you are going to follow my recipe (that's right, I made this baby up all on my own!! No help from Food Network, any other site or cookbook):

*Pasta enough for about 6 servings
*1/2 of a small wheel of brie cheese
*2/3 of a cup of another strong cheese (I used Eczine here in Turkey... I don't know what the equivalent would be, it has a strong flavour but is very soft)
*1 1/2 cups of grated, fresh parmesan
*3 cups of grated white cheese (in Turkey, I used Kaşar Peynir, but I think a white cheddar or another cheese of your choice would be fine)
*3 cloves of garlic finely minced
*1 stick of butter
*2/3 cup of flour
*2 cups of milk
*1 green onion chopped
*1 red bell pepper chopped
*2 stalks of fresh dill finely chopped
*1 tbsp each of rosemary, sweet basil and oregano

I chopped all the ingredients first and cooked the pasta while I was chopping. When cooking the pasta, make sure to salt the water to give it some seasoning and when it starts to boil put a small pat of butter in there. Keeps it from boiling over and gives it a nice buttery flavour. Don't over cook your pasta. Make sure it's just al dente (a little on the undercooked side) because you are going to cook it again once you pop it in the oven.

I used the same pot that I cooked my pasta in (I threw it in the baking tin once it was drained) to make my roux and cheese sauce. I've NEVER done a roux before but it's pretty easy and I had fun with it. I threw my butter in the pot (it was on a pretty low heat), and added my minced garlic... talk about YUMMY smells!! When that was melted, I began to add the flour:

It gets thick really fast, so don't leave it!! I didn't end up using all my flour because I didn't want it to be pasty. Then I switched to using a whisk and began to add my milk, constantly stirring. You may need more or less milk depending on your tastes or how thick you like it. I added the two soft cheeses to the building milk sauce and melted them right in there. Then I tossed in a little of each of the other cheeses.

Then when that was all happy, melty, gooey, I tossed another small handful of the harder cheeses onto the pasta and threw in the pepper and onion. I tossed them lightly together and then oozed my cheese sauce over the top.

Finally I sprinkled the remaining cheeses over the top of the pasta mix and topped with all my herbs and spices. Threw it in the oven at 350 F and let it baked until it looked like this:

And, I am not tooting my own horn here (well, maybe just a little) but this is INCREDIBLY GOOD!! It's gooey, flavourful but not too rich. The cheesy spice crust on the top is much better than a bread crumb one in my opinion (I don't need more carbs on my carbs) and it does get a little crunchy on top because of the parmesan and the herbs.

Happy Eating!!

Lemon Cake with a Raspberrry Lemon Glaze

2011-01-18T12:13:00.002-05:00

It has been far too long since I last posted to this blog. Sorry readers. I do apologize for that. It's just been a big hectic and, really and truly, no fun to cook for just yourself. In the US, I had a lovely roommate and friends who were foodies. Here, in Turkey, I am alone and bored with trying to make things for myself. So... what I thought was that I would just cook for people and give it away as little gifts. Now, this can be limiting in the fact that I might make something that no one else likes, but I'll take the risk! My goal is to make one thing a week that can be shared with friends here and the masses out there! I hope you will enjoy what I have to offer, just as I hope my foodie friends here will too!

For my first weekly offering, I decided that I wanted to bake a cake from scratch... something I haven't done in ages and ages! So off I went into cyberspace to see what recipes I could find and I found this one on Food Network. It is a lemon yogurt cake (and we have awesome yogurt in Turkey, so why not showcase that?!!?) with a lemon glaze. Now, being who I am, I just couldn't leave well enough alone. So for my glaze, I substituted some of the sugar (no, Mary B, I am not sure how much... just eye-balled it like usual) for raspberry jam. I thought that might take the flavours up a notch and well... it's one of my favourite combinations of flavour. I'd like to see about steeping the lemon juice in green tea as well as that can be super tasty... look for this cake to make a come back! ;) It's super moist and tart/sweet and tasty!!

Happy Eating!!!

FOOD!!

2011-01-08T07:57:00.006-05:00

I know I haven't posted in a really long time, but I've really just been doing the same old, same old. And that's no fun to read about! But since it was the holiday and we (my friends and I) were traveling about and eating all kinds of new things and taking in a few new things, I thought I could at least share that with you!! ;)

As we were running around the Spice Bazaar in Istanbul, this is one of the things we saw... I laughed so hard. It didn't help that the store owner was keen to meet me later... I just kept laughing and laughing!

Turkey has an amazing number of spices, teas etc sold in bulk like this. It's wonderful!! Helps to inspire me to cook more!

Dried fruits... mmmm....

Nuts and sweets, Turkish style. In the Spice Bazaar, they often let you taste things. It was such fun to wander through here and get ideas of things I wanted to try to taste and to make!!

More Turkish sweets...

Fresh honey and honeycombs for the taking. Turks have some of the best honey I have ever tasted.

Roasted chestnuts anyone? These little gems are sold everywhere on the streets in the winter.

More simit! Although, I have to say, these weren't as good as the ones in Ankara!!

Ladies making Gözleme. A yummy snack here that can contain spinach, cheese, potatoes or even as simple as lemon and sugar.

A typical sweet store... stacked to the max! And it is often sold by weight, not by piece.

My Turkish breakfast at the restaurant that we ate at often... so tasty and more than I could finish.

Penne Arrabiata. This was Raymond's choice and it was so yummy!!

Roasted chicken and veggies... can't go wrong there!!

I can't remember what this was, but my friend Nicolas got it and devoured it! So it must have been tasty.

My tortellini... so good. Just because you are in Turkey doesn't mean that all there is on offer is Turkish food. Many restaurants here have a good variety of foods and do an excellent job preparing it!

I am NOT a soup person, but the lentil soups here in Turkey are AMAZING!! I am also a huge fan of their tomato soup too. Mmmm... so hearty and tasty on a cold winter day.

There was a random cage along the way we were walking and they had the best hot chocolate I have EVER had. I am pretty sure that they steamed chocolate milk. And the chocolate milk here is not overly sweet, but is super creamy. SO GOOD!!

Our favourite place to grab a bite to eat in Istanbul for this trip was a place called Pasha in Sultanahmet. We ordered a nescafe coffee there and when they asked if we wanted milk, we said yes. I had no idea that it would come steamed and foamy in a little pitcher for us to pour into our coffee... it was so good that we never got away with just one cup!

Raymond's omlet... perfectly cooked, no runny eggs at all.

I asked for chicken crepes... and I got this gooey, cheesy yumminess!!!

So even though I haven't been cooking much lately, I have been eating well!! Time to get back on the treadmill and to preparing my own tasty treats!

2010-12-13T05:21:00.002-05:00

My friend asked me for a simit recipe and when I searched online, there were many. So if you want to make these awesome treats at home check out the recipe I found at this site:

Simit

Yucel Tellici

Simit is a fast food bread sold in the streets of Turkey by vendors. It is often eaten as a breakfast food with jam or yogurt. Simit is also great by itself!

Simit is light and flaky, baked to a golden brown color, and topped with sesame seeds. It is sometimes formed into rings, and are often braided.

Ingredients:

1 cup cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoon water
1 tablespoons milk plus 1 teaspoon
1 egg, beaten
sesame seeds
milk for brushing

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour and salt.

Make a depression in the dry ingredients with your fist, making a "hole" in the middle.

Add olive oil, melted butter, water, milk, and egg.

Fold dry ingredients into liquids to form a dough. This may take 10 minutes by hand.

Once you have a dough, tear off pieces of dough, make long, cigar shapes. Bring ends of "cigars" together to make a circle.

Place circle on greased cookie sheet.

Brush with milk. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until simit become a golden brown color and crispy on top.

*The one change I would make is to coat the simit completely in seeds before baking... that's how it's done here*

Something a Little Old-fashioned.

2010-12-13T03:46:00.003-05:00

I'd never done this before and it's not technically cooking, but it does have to do with food, right?! So here it is. I've decided to stud some citrus fruits with cloves for the holiday season. I recommend wearing some kind of glove or protection for your fingers if you plan to do more than one fruit as those little cloves are hard and a wee bit sharp. The cloves go into the fruit fairly easily and if my marvelous mother is to be believed, then you can leave these babies out for quite a while and they will be like a natural air freshener in the house. Mine has a gorgeous smell of spices and citrus (I did 2 oranges, 1 lemon and 1 grapefruit) right now, can't wait to see how it continues to develop.

Çay and Simit

2010-12-05T08:34:00.003-05:00

I can make the çay (Turkish tea) at home, but I cannot pull of the simit. It makes for one of the loveliest breakfasts or snacks on earth, particularly if you have a little cream cheese on hand. Below are a couple of pictures of this yummy for your tummy moment:

This is a close up of my simit. It's like a bagel in consistency (chewy goodness) but it is entirely crusted in sesame seeds and is baked that way so the seeds often look burnt, but they are roasted to perfection on the outside of the simit. Here in Ankara, you can buy them in the streets and they are 3 for 1 Turkish Lira. Very cheap and tasty.

Sometimes there are simit sellers like this, but more often than not, you will find the treats in nice, closed in, glass trolleys. Usually somewhere nearby is a freshly squeezed juice truck. These places pop out bottles and bottles of freshly squeezed fruit juices and the small bottle is just over 1 Turkish Lira, super reasonable, super yummy and super good for you! What more could you ask for in a street food!?

TEA!! Tea is a mainstay here. Turks drink a multitude of cups a day. One shop keeper told me that he probably drinks 15 glasses a day at least. And he also said that drinking tea was a fairly new thing in Turkey. He said that about 100 years ago, Turks didn't drink tea, but were drinking coffee instead. I can't remember why they switched over, but they did in a big way. Sure, Turkish coffee is still hugely popular here, but tea is drank all day and night long.

Turkish Coffee

2010-11-19T03:34:00.002-05:00

First let me say that I do not like black coffee usually, but for some reason the dark rich flavour of Turkish coffee goes down so well, that I don't mind the lack of cream (although, you know I found a way around that too!!) Turkish coffee is simple to make as well, and there are some fun, non traditional variations too. So, being me, I am going to share those with you today.

There are a few things you need to make sure you have in order to do Turkish coffee properly and if you don't live in Turkey or a country where making Turkish coffee is a standard affair, you may have to find a Turkish store or a Middle Eastern market to get you the supplies you need. You need a Turkish coffee pot (like the one pictured above), a teeny cup (also up there) and Turkish ground coffee, it's ground to a powder consistency and there is something different in the way that it is roasted.

To make the coffee you need to measure out one teeny cup of water into the pot, 1 teaspoon of coffee and the equivalent of 1 sugar cube (you can, of course, add more or less sugar as you like). All of those ingredients go into the pot, it goes on the heat and let it boil. It does bubble up and over, so don't leave the room, stay close and take it off the heat once it starts to rise up. Then pour it all into your teeny cup and you have Turkish coffee... easy, right?!

Variations:

My lovely Turkish friend, Nilay, told me that sometimes she likes hers made with milk and not water. I tried it and it's a little like a super rich latte. Fantastic! (I told you that I got around the lack of cream issue) She also told me that sometimes they substitute Nutella for the sugar. I tried that this morning and it was like a dark chocolate, nutty mocha. Absolutely delicious!!

Happy Eating, or coffee making/drinking as the case may be!!!

Mmmmm... PIZZA!!!

2010-11-13T08:31:00.002-05:00

So today in all my Saturday laziness, I decided to get kitchen creative. I decided to use up the last of my shrimp, some veggies given to me by traveling friends and some frozen pizza shells... what did I make? THE BEST SHRIMP PIZZA EVER!! And because I am who I am, I am going to share that recipe with you. And it is ridiculously EASY!

Here is what you need:

1 cup, thawed deveined and peeled shrimp
1/2 red bell pepper
2 mushrooms finely chopped.
1/4 cup hellim cheese (it's middle eastren cheese that is super salty, not super melty but super yummy... it gives a salty, buttery taste to stuff. It also goes by the name of haloumi)
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp sumac spice
pepper to taste
1 tbsp lemon juice
a handful of baby arugla leaves
1 frozen pizza shell with a light coating of tomato sauce.

First things first: chop up your veggies!!

Next, you will want to saute that shrimp in a pan with the littlest bit of olive oil. You will be tossing in the spices and lemon juice with the shrimp.

Then put some of the cheese on your pizza shell and begin to stack your veggies on top. Then on goes that shrimp and the rest of the cheese.

Pop it all into a hot oven and when the cheese is bubbly and the pizza crust looks toasted, take it out and let it cool for a minute before slicing and enjoying!

Happy Eating!

Shrimp Fritters

2010-11-13T08:15:00.002-05:00

These were a favourite of KJ's when we were dating and they have seemed to be a big hit no matter who I make them for. Here in Turkey they took on a slightly different flavour that was really great. I will share with you the three ways that I like to make them and then you can create them all and choose or you can make your own variation!! (oh... and all measurements are approximate because I don't own measuring cups here in Turkey and I've always been a just kind of wing it girl)

Thai Style Shrimp Fritters:

2 cups finely chopped fresh, raw shrimp (you can also use thawed frozen shrimp... make sure the shells and veins are all off)
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp crushed red chilis
4 eggs

Mix all of that together and drop by spoonfuls into hot oil either in a pan or if you have a deep fryer, then use that. And then dip is sweet chili sauce when eating... it's magical.

My Style Shrimp Fritters:

2 cups finely chopped fresh, raw shrimp (you can also use thawed frozen shrimp... make sure the shells and veins are all off)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbsp dill (fresh is best)
1 or 2 cloves of fresh garlic, crushed or minced
4 eggs

Mix all of that together and drop by spoonfuls into hot oil either in a pan or if you have a deep fryer, then use that.

Turkish Shrimp Fritters:

2 cups finely chopped fresh, raw shrimp (you can also use thawed frozen shrimp... make sure the shells and veins are all off)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup mozzarella and/or hellim cheese
2 tbsp sumac
3 or 4 cloves of fresh garlic, crushed or minced
1 tbsp hot crushed red pepper
1 tbsp cumin
4 eggs

Mix all of that together and drop by spoonfuls into hot oil either in a pan or if you have a deep fryer, then use that. Dip in a nice tzatziki sauce if you have it (it's just plain yogurt, dill or mint, and cucumbers shredded up... so you can make your own)

If at any time you feel your dough is too watery, just add flour until it is a gooey, sticky texture. If you feel it is too dry, drop another egg in the mix.

Happy Eating!!!

Leftovers Can Be Yummy

2010-11-06T18:30:00.003-04:00

Generally speaking the only leftovers I like tend to be either from a restaurant or involving garlic and pasta sauce. But in an effort to be more mindful and less wasteful, I am trying to find ways to make leftovers appealing.
On Monday, I had made a roast chicken and then on Tuesday, I made those bad boys! I took some of the chicken meat, shredded it up and put it on a whole wheat tortilla with some mozzarella cheese and a little tobasco sauce to heat things up. Once it was all snugly wrapped in the tortilla, I put it in the oven, lightly brushed it with olive oil. The outside was crispy, deliciousness and the inside was gooey, spicy and just plain tasty. I used a little mayo for a dipping sauce, but you could also use a tzatziki too, I did the next time I made it and it was even better!!!

Oh yea... it was all done with one pot (or pyrex as the case may be).

Happy Eating!

One pot/baking dish.

2010-11-06T18:23:00.002-04:00

I think I should rename my blog... really. I love trying to make as few dishes as possible (mostly because I don't have a lot of dishes at my place in Turkey, and the sink is ridiculously small and I just hate to do the dishes). So anyway, the other day I decided to do something a little more involved but kept it to one dish in the oven. It was a simple roast chicken with veggies. But what made it so good was that I used loads of white wine to cook the chicken in. I first chopped and loaded the veggies into the pyrex container and then I laid my little chicken down. I poured wine into the cavity of the bird and then over the top. I added salt, pepper, garlic and thyme and then covered it and toss it all into the oven at 350. The wine really gave a great flavour to the bird and kept it moist. It also gave a nice tang to the veggies and if you wanted, you could have used the juice in the pan to make a lovely gravy (just a thought).

ah... technology

2010-11-03T15:55:00.001-04:00

Due to circumstances beyond my control (my computer fried and I am now using the school computer when I can), I haven't been able to update. I have 2 new dishes to tell you about and once I get free time and this computer at home with me... I will update. Please be on the look out for 2 posts in the new future... both have to do with chicken and both are one pot wonders (perhaps I should change the name of my blog... hm...)
Thanks for your patience!!!

Fresh is best!!

2010-10-22T11:50:00.004-04:00

The other day a friend and I were wandering the labyrinth that is the streets of Ankara and we stumbled upon a small farmer's market of sorts. I was wonderful. The fresh herbs, spices and produce was simply fantastic. We couldn't help ourselves and ended up taking a couple of pictures and then buying some of the delicious fruit (some of the best apples ever and truly the BEST pomegranate ever). Below are a couple of the pictures... enjoy and remember that local and organic fruits are better for your body, economy and cooking flavours!!

Happy shopping and eating!!

One Pot Wonder Variation

2010-10-22T11:17:00.003-04:00

Last time I made the one pot wonder (pasta, shrimp etc), I used a different veggie and a few different items. This time I tried out some new stuff and I think it's a nice variation that you may or may not wish to try or supplement with your own variations. Here is how it went down:

I was cooking for 2 people (which means 4 with my Italian heritage factored in)...

What you need:
Feta cheese (or you can use another cheese if you like) - 1/2 cup
Arugula (about 2 big bunches - it cooks down really easily, kind of like spinach, which is a great substitute if you aren't into the more adventurous greens)
Pasta (you can choose whatever type you like, it doesn't matter) - follow the packet for amounts for the number you are cooking for.
Frozen or fresh shrimp (I got the deveined and tails off kind, just easier to deal with) - about 1 cup
Lemon juice, thyme, salt, pepper and garlic to taste.

I boiled the water first with a little oil and salt (it helps to season the noodles). Once the noodles were getting close to done (about 5 minutes out), I dropped in the shrimp. When the noodles were done and the shrimp was too, I drained them, put them back in the pot and added the arugula. The heat from the noodles helps to cook it down without boiling the flavour or nutrients out. Then I dumped in the cheese and spices. I had the heat on super low during this so that the cheese could get all melty and yummy. It was a delicious meal and dirtied only one pot, 2 dishes and cutlery. So it was easy on the clean up too!!

Happy Eating.

Traditional Turkish Breakfast

2010-10-21T13:25:00.003-04:00

In Turkey a breakfast isn't a bowl of cereal, or some eggs fried up on a plate with toast and hash browns... it's this amazing meal to languish over and enjoy.
I recently had a friend visiting me and on her first day, I made her a traditional Turkish breakfast. It consisted of fresh bread sliced up (I used an olive loaf and some sesame buns), sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, hard boiled eggs, sliced cheese (the kind you slice yourself people... not the kind you take out of the plastic!), beef salami, and olives (I used ones here that are stuffed with almonds and they are amazing!!). It's light, tasty but filling enough to keep you going for hours and hours (even when you are walking all over Ankara). It was such a hit with my friend that she requested it just about every day. Give it a try some time... OH! I almost forgot, you have to have coffee and/or tea to drink while you work away at your breaky... it's the Turkish way. Anyway... if you have a longer time for breakfast, give it a try. We also added fresh fruits from time to time.

Happy Eating!

Leftovers?!

2010-10-11T13:12:00.002-04:00

Leftovers are not a favourite of mine, but wasting food is much less of a favourite, and there is just something about leftover turkey that is amazing!! Since I don't have a microwave here in Turkey, I couldn't just cheat and toss all the goods into the microwave and call it a meal. I also couldn't make my typical favourite turkey sandwich because my leftovers were wings and a bunch of chunks of turkey. What to do, you ask? Well... I came up with the brilliant idea of making a turkey gravy, I used a cream gravy mix to help me start out, I added in loads of yummy fresh mushrooms and then the chunks of turkey. I let it all get thick and hot and then poured it over some cold left over stuffing. The hot, hot gravy heated the stuffing up nicely and it was a lovely meal of a cold and blustery day. So instead of that typical sandwich, or just making plates for your microwave, give this idea a go... any other different ideas for leftover turkey dinner out here? Please post them in the comments and if you write, or have a cooking blog where you've posted your ideas, please add your link... I'd love to check them out!!

Stuffing, Three Ways

2010-10-09T07:29:00.004-04:00

So it's Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend and I am FAR from home, but the Canucks around me are throwing a dinner and asked me to prep the stuffing. I couldn't do my traditional stuffing because I can't get some of the ingredients here... so I had to get creative and I had a blast doing it!!

This first one has a flavour base of mushrooms, dill, onions, garlic and hot peppers. I wanted to do something a little spicy and fun. I tried to do lots of dill to balance out the pepper as the ones here are quite hot. I also threw in some thyme, salt and crushed red chillies. Then I added the bread crumbs, chicken stock and an egg to mix it before putting it in the oven.

This one might be a flavour favourite. I chopped up onions and apples (2 apples) and threw in some dried cranberries. I also used thyme, salt and a little pepper here, but the secret is a dash of sumac to bring that citrus flavour in. When I added the breadcrumbs, I used eggs and chicken stock again to moisten it all. At the end, I poured melted butter over the whole thing before throwing it in the oven.

I think this might be the one I am most proud of. At least one of the guests tonight will be vegetarian and I wanted her to be able to enjoy a really good, flavourful stuffing as well. So I decided to do a fruit and vegetable based stuffing. It could be a meal in itself with so much robust and hearty veggies: there is 1/3 of an eggplant, 1/2 a zuccini, 1 full onion, 1 cup or so of diced mushrooms, 1/4 cup of chopped dried appricots, 2 cups or so of quartered grapes and then I tossed in a bunch of pine nuts. To round out the flavours and bring out the best of them, I used a little curry powder and cumin with some salt. I tried to keep it simple but really fun. To moisten it (although with the veggies and fruits that I chose, it won't need much once it hits the heat of the oven), I used some melted butter. It smelled like heaven!!

Anyway, for those of you waiting to cook your big meal tomorrow or on Monday... maybe a less traditional stuffing is in order, or if you are American... you can get a jump on what you might like to do for November!

Happy Eating!

One Pot Meal

2010-10-05T12:46:00.003-04:00

So today I made one of my favourite one pot meals with a little variation... here is how it went down:

These are the ingredients I used: feta cheese, black olives, tomatoes, frozen uncooked shrimp, broccoli and whole wheat pasta. Normally I use just cheddar cheese and broccoli for this little dish. You also only need one pot and whatever spices you think would work. Measurements are not really important for this, and that's why I love it.

First I boiled up the pasta in lightly salted water, then when the pasta was about 5 minutes out from being done, I tossed in the shrimp and let it come back to a boil. When there was about 2 minutes left, I tossed in the broccoli. I like it a little crunchy, but if you like it softer, throw it in earlier. When the pasta was done, I drained it all and threw the other ingredients and my spices (I chose salt, crushed red pepper, garlic and thyme for this particular variation) into the same pot and stirred until the cheese was all melty... melted cheese makes EVERYTHING better!!

And... voila!! Yummy, healthy and EASY dish to make. Some other variations I've tried are using a little balsamic vinegar over it with Swiss cheese, or cutting up some brie cheese to use with the broccoli. I've also done it with cauliflower... you can toss in other veggies right at the end if you like, to just blanch them a bit and help them to be warm. Anyway, it's my one pot wonder that always satisfies...

Happy Eating!

Olive Cookies?!

2010-09-30T13:26:00.002-04:00

Yup... that's the look I made when I saw the recipe in a pop-up online the other day... Don't lie, you know you made a face... it's okay, I did it too. But since I live in the land of olives (Turkey), I thought I'd give this little concoction a try. I found the recipe here. Now, the other kicker to this is that I have no measuring cups or spoons, so that these little numbers turned out at all is a miracle. But since the recipe begins like a shortbread, I had a good idea of the consistency I was looking for. Then there was the issue that I don't have a cookie sheet or parchment paper. Which, in the end was no big deal. I just put the cookies on tinfoil and then loaded the directly to the racks on the foil... worked like a charm!! Anyway, if you like olives and a sweet/savoury combo, then these are great little cookies!!

Happy Eating!

Spicing Things Up!

2010-09-28T12:52:00.003-04:00

If you are looking for a new way to bring flavour to your foods, try using the spice Sumac. It's a middle eastern spice that's used for a variety of things. It's brings a great citrus kind of flavour to things. I've used it while cooking rice (AMAZING), I've used it on chicken with some thyme, garlic, salt and pepper (so tasty), I've used it with some garlic, dill, thyme, and oregano to flavour my olive oil for dipping breads in (can we say super yum?!), I've also used it with red wine vinegar and olive oil for a simple but tasty dressing for salads. So if you are looking for a way to spice up your foods without frying your tastebuds, give sumac a try. Some grocery stores might not carry it, you may have to look a specialty stores or middle eastern or Turkish markets in the west.

Happy Eating and spicing!!

Pasta Salad

2010-09-22T12:46:00.003-04:00

As I am waiting the week out for my first real pay day here in Turkey, I'm finding the cupboards getting bare and I've gone and invited people to come over and hang out at times that would include the dinner hour... YIKES!! And then I remembered that I can do this... I can make amazing things happen in my kitchen with not that much stuff. So today, I decided to make a simple pasta salad that can be eaten with some of the chicken I have in the freezer...

So, here is how it went down:

I took about 2 cups of penne pasta and cooked in lightly salted and oiled water.

Then in a separate bowl I mixed the following:

1 tsp crushed red chillies
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp dried parsley (although, I think freshly chopped would be much tastier)
2 grated cloves of garlic
2 tbsp freshly chopped dill
1 tsp onion powder (although fresh onions are much better)
1 tsp finely chopped fresh hot green pepper
1 tsp sumac
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

When the pasta was done, I combined the mix and the pasta together and let it marinade over night. Those noodles will soak up all that yummy dressing goodness. If I had it, I would add some fresh cucumbers, tomatoes and olives to give it more of a Mediterranean flavour... and maybe some feta cheese!! yum!! Can't wait to get paid and make it again with those things in it...

Happy Eating!

Rice... boring? NEVER!!!

2010-09-22T02:28:00.004-04:00

Okay... I know that plain rice can be boring, but why not have some fun with it too?! I love to make my rice aromatic and full of flavour. Here is my latest experiment with plain old, boring rice!

The first thing I do is rinse my rice. I used to work in a Lebanese restaurant back in the day and we rinsed the rice 3 times in cold water to get rid of the excess starch... I still follow the same practice. I also let it soak in the water after the last rinsing for about 30 minutes and I lightly salt it. It makes even plain rice very tasty.

Okay... first off, don't you love my teeny little grater?!?!?! In Turkey, they are magnets that you use to grate your garlic. I love it!!!! So you can see that I used garlic, butter, dill and what you don't see is that I tossed in some crushed chillies and a little dash of oregano. YUMMY!!
How did I do it? Well, I put some butter in the bottom of the pan, got it melting and grated in the fresh garlic. Then I let that saute a little and added the other spices to the butter mix. After I felt things were incorporated nicely and starting to give off a great aroma, I put the rice and water directly in. I also added a little more water to make sure it cooks thoroughly.

There you go, the final product... yummy, yummy rice!!!

Happy Eating, everyone!!

Finally.... A MEAL!!

2010-09-10T17:01:00.003-04:00

It's been a while since I posted anything on here. I haven't really cooked in a long time. The last couple of weeks before leaving Canada, I didn't cook because we went out or my mom cooked or even my dad did the cooking. Then the first couple of weeks here, they were providing dinners etc. And then there is the bread... people, you don't know... Turkey has some of the best breads in the WORLD and it's CHEAP here... I could live off of bread alone, but my rear end wouldn't appreciate it so I've had to cook.

Today I made a really simple casserole type dish. Check it out:

These were some of the ingredients: Diced tomatoes, onions, boneless/skinless chicken thighs (just two), fresh dill, mushrooms, dates (a little sweet in the spicy and savoury), fresh garlic, and other spices that you like. I used a special Turkish olive marinade spice called Zaytin and it was great... salty, spicy and with oregano etc.

The garlic cloves here are so small. But the flavour, like everything else in Turkey, is super powerful.

I also used some aborio rice/pasta stuff. I think I put in about 1 1/2 cups of it with the other ingredients and a full can (the tomato one) of water. OH!! I almost forgot to tell you that I used a little olive oil with my spices on my chicken before tossing all the other ingredients in.

Before it went to the oven... looking like a soupy mess. But I threw it in at about 375 (my stove is in metric and it was nearer to 200 or 225 on my stove) for about 40 minutes and:

VOILA!! It was quite thick but SUPER tasty!!

So there you go, a simple casserole that is both spicy and savoury with little sweet surprises. I am very pleased with this recipe and it tastes very Mediterranean to me... so HAPPY EATING!

Cooking in Turkey

2010-08-28T11:22:00.001-04:00

Hi there folks. I am sure that some of you are waiting for me to post a real cooking post but I haven't done too much of that in a while. Today I attempted to make some little Turkish dumplings and they turned out okay, but nothing worth taking pics or writing about. They were a lot like little ravioli. Once I get some more supplies (more than one pot and one skillet and one flipper would be a start), then I can look into cooking some stuff here. I am going to attempt to cook things that are Turkish in nature but with ingredients that I know you can get at home. Please be patient for the posts as it will take me a while to gather all the things I need... it's expensive to set up house here when you haven't yet been paid a full salary... but once I am, it's on and poppin'!!!
Thanks for your patience and thanks for not dropping off as readers as I go through this time of adjustment.

Mmmm.... Melted Cheese!!

2010-08-24T11:56:00.002-04:00

So now that I am finally lodged in my permanent Turkish abode, I thought I'd be able to hop back on the cooking train, but apparently my body and the appliances have other ideas. I've been struggling with Turkish Tummy since I moved in (hm... coincidence? Actually, yes it is... ) and this makes me less inclined to cook since it won't get to stay in long (sorry... from here on out, use your imaginations on that). But, aside from the digestive issues, there is then the issue of my kitchen. I have exactly 1 pot, 1 pan, 1 spatula and 1 knife for utensils to cook with... and since I have exactly NO dollars left to furbish my kitchen with, I am cooking like a camper. Today I made mushroom/cheese scrambled eggs. I melted down some butter, chopped up a couple of mushrooms and sauted them. Then in went 2 eggs and more cheese than I should have had, but it was GOOD. Sometimes a visit to the simpler side of life is good... and melted cheese makes just about EVERYTHING better!!!

Happy Eating!

Mmm... Dinner!

2010-08-20T01:03:00.003-04:00

Since I am unable to cook right now (not being in a real apartment with my supplies) I thought I would post some pics of some of the food we are being treated to at my new school. And if you haven't tried traditional Turkish food, perhaps this will motivate you to do so.

This was our mezze. It had the cucumber, the tomato, a roasted and peeled red pepper, some tzitziki, so fresh briney feta cheese, an eggplant dip and some sort of tomato salsa type dip. Each one was flavourful and refreshing.

Then came the Turkish version of hummus. It was served hot and so the garlic was very prominent and tasted roasted. So yummy.

All of this was served with copious amounts of pida, or flat bread. The bread was fresh baked, warm and delicious. I think I could have eaten that all night long without anything else. And they just kept bringing it.

Next was our main dish, a basic mixed grill. There was chicken, lamb, kofte kebabs and veggies. All had that charred taste of an outdoor grill and were simply perfect. At this point, I was too stuffed to eat it all but I made sure to have a bite of everything.

We ended the night with a fruit plate and some sweet, honey drenched hazelnut cookies that my friend Tim then made into the face you see above... the perfect ending and the indication that we all had happy tummies!

Turkish Food

2010-08-17T23:20:00.003-04:00

For those of you who weren't aware, I've moved to Turkey and will be embarking on a life adventure here, which will include cooking of course. However, currently I am in temporary housing and haven't the desire to cook in the same room as my bed, never mind that they school I am working for has lunches and most dinners provided for the next week. I will say that the food is amazing here and that I am enjoying every flavour intensely. I've also learned the Turkish word for Bon Apetit: Afiyet Olsun! So please stay tuned for future foodie moments and cooking adventures!

Mmmmm.... Pizza!!

2010-07-28T20:44:00.002-04:00

So today at my nephew's request, we made homemade pizza. It was AWESOME!!! Everyone in the family loved it and it was fun to do... here is how it went down:

At the market (IGA here in Gibsons) we found a pizza pack of meats (pepperoni, ham and salami) that I cut up into smaller pieces. We also found some squeezable pizza sauce, foccacia dough, pineapple, olives, onions, fresh tomatoes, mushrooms and green peppers. I cut up everything and prepped it for people to select from. We also found pre-shredded pizza cheese (provolone, mozzarella, cheddar) to use, which is available in all stores, I am sure. Gotta love convenience!! And for those of you wanting to make more "adult" pizza, maybe get a vodka tomato sauce instead of pizza sauce or pesto is a great sauce too.... you can also use ricotta, swiss, or other fancier cheeses. Have fun with the ingredients is what I am trying to say!! ;)

The store here doesn't sell pizza dough, but the bakery suggested that we buy their frozen foccacia dough (which I did). It stretches the same as pizza dough and cooks just about the same. The added bonus is you get all the lovely herbs in it... VERY tasty. And they also gave it to me for a 10% discount... very nice for the budget. Two loaves of foccacia dough made 8 larger sized single serving pizzas... but if you were doing it with kids you could easily get double that! You will need lots of flour though because the foccacia is pretty sticky.

Each person loaded the pizza the way they wanted and then I stuck them in the oven (ours is convection so it cooks pretty quickly - OH!! I also lightly oiled the cookie sheet with olive oil to keep the dough from sticking... it wasn't greasy at all) at 425 degrees...

Don't they look good?!?!

And there is the finished product: SO YUMMY!!!

Happy Eating!!!

BBQ Salmon

2010-07-27T20:44:00.003-04:00

First let me start by saying that here on the west coast of Canada the term BBQ doesn't mean slow smoking and covering in sauce like it does in the south east of the USA. Here BBQ means using your grill to cook your food out of doors. So for my American friends and readers you can think of the title as Grilled Salmon! ;)

Here is how it went down:

At the grocery I bought 1 half of a wild caught salmon. It had been filleted for me but there were some bones still in it, so be careful of that. I also bought 2 lemons, 1 bunch of fresh dill, fresh garlic and 1 onion. I used a yellow onion but I think a purple onion would look lovely and taste great.

I made a foil bed for my salmon to sit on. I lightly oiled the foil before laying my salmon on it skin side down. Then I squeezed 1/2 of a lemon over the fish and lightly seasoned it with salt and pepper. Then I sliced 1/2 the onion into rings, the other half of the lemon into slices and finely chopped one clove of garlic and 2 sprigs of dill. I put the garlic and dill on the salmon first and then layered the onions and lemon over the top.

After that was done, I closed up the foil over the top and put the little packet on a hot grill. Half of the grill was turned on quite high and the other half had no heat on and that is where I put the happy little salmon to cook. I closed the lid and left it alone for about 15 minutes. The grill was reading about 400 degrees for those of you wondering. After the 15 minutes I removed the fish packet from the grill and opened it, letting it cool for a few minutes before serving... The second lemon can be used to squeeze over the fish or to make cocktails with (your choice).

Eating west coast summer style

2010-07-21T16:35:00.003-04:00

Since we live close to the water and we are in the southern part of Canada, we have some benefits. We can get the best produce, the best seafood and all of it fresh! Below is a typical west coast summer meal. I just wanted to share it with you.

This was the carnage of the meal... looks kinda nasty, but I can't begin to tell you how GOOD it was!!

This was just before we dug into it all... fresh sweet peaches and cream corn on the cob, fresh boiled crab (which I am told you boil in salted water until it foams and then it's ready... this was our first time cooking it) and roasted baby red potatoes with onions, garlic and carrots. I got the potatoes from a friend at the farmer's market... YUMMO!!

This was my dad cleaning the two crab we were going to eat the next day. They were caught right from the waters near our house, brought home, cleaned (the rule is: if it's brown, wash it down... if it's white, its just right) and then cooked the next day. The meat was snowy white and so sweet and tasty.

This is the corn and potatoes before I started cooking with them. Originally I wanted to grill the corn, but that didn't go down this time (don't worry... I'll be working on it). I did make the potatoes on the grill by chopping them up with a carrot and some onion and garlic, tossing them in olive oil, dill, salt and pepper and then putting them in a foil pouch and letting the heat from the BBQ do it's job... super yummy.

Happy Summer Eating!

My Mama's Spaghetti Sauce

2010-07-16T21:54:00.002-04:00

My mom makes a mean spaghetti sauce and she always shares her recipes and skills with me. This sauce is so good it could be bottled and sold. We use mostly homemade products in our home and rarely employ the use of pre-made sauces etc. So here is how that sauce happened (my mom makes a vat of it, literally, so that she can freeze it and use it for weeks and weeks to come... it freezes and thaws really well).

You will need a GIANT pot for this and a HUGE pan... you can scale it down but I have no measurements for that... just for the jumbo size!! ;)

First, put some olive oil into the GIANT pot and then start the heat. Take 8 cloves of fresh garlic that is chopped up pretty fine (you can use a garlic press if you like but those things annoy me, so I go for the big knife!!). Let the garlic saute for a bit (not at a high heat) and add 1 1/2 chopped onions to the mix. Once they have gone translucent, add 3 or 4 cans of tomato paste (yup, we buy that stuff) and then add in 2 GIANT cans of diced tomatoes (my mom uses her homemade ones when she has them - yes, that's right... she cans her own when the energy and mood hits her). Then let the heat begin to rise and add 2 or 3 big cans of tomato sauce (we buy that too). The last things that you add are the mushrooms and the meat mixture (see below).

The meat mixture: Take your HUGE pan and put some olive oil into it and put it on a medium heat. Add 8 more finely chopped garlic cloves and 1 more chopped onion. You got it, saute it to translucence (I don't know if that's a word, but it is now!!! ;) ). Then add the hamburger meat (we use extra lean ground beef, but you can go with turkey, chicken, bison or even tofu if you like). Cook until browned. Do not add salt or any other spices to this at this point.

Once your meat is ready to add to your tomato sauce, add it in while stirring constantly. Then add several leaves of fresh basil, oregano and a bay leaf or two. Let the vat simmer for a couple of hours. Make sure to give it a stir once every 15 minutes or so to make sure nothing is burning to the bottom.

Now, my variation on this little gem is to put a cup or two of red wine into the meat mixture. This way the alcohol burns off and the flavour is SOOOoooooOOOoooo good!!

Happy Eating!!

Cookies and Nephews...

2010-07-16T21:45:00.003-04:00

Since I am often not in the country for some of the most important events in someone's life (weddings, Christmas, birthdays, the birth of children and so on), I am trying to make the most of having my nephew with me here in Gibsons (see my teaching here there and everywhere blog to see a pic of the beautiful place I am from). And one of the ways I can do that is to cook and bake with my nephew. Today we decided that chocolate chip cookies would be a great treat for our movie night. I got the recipe from the old Five Roses Cookbook that was put out in Canada ages and ages ago. My parents have had it and used it so long that the cover is missing and the pages are starting to yellow. I wish Five Roses would do a reprint because it has some of the simplest, easiest, and BEST recipes EVER. This is the cookbook that gave me fond memories of baking and making pancakes (that was a daddy thing in my house)

Anyway, this post isn't about the recipe or how to make something... it's simply about how cooking can bring families together and be a great activity to share with those that you love. Today as my nephew (a 12 year-old boy, so you know it was messy, fun and silly) and I (someone who I am suspecting might have a tough of OCD hehehe) baked together, we built a memory and that's better than the best tasting cookie.

Happy sharing the love through cooking!!!

Baked Potato Corn Chowder

2010-07-14T19:48:00.002-04:00

So my parents have a TON of baked potatoes left from an event that they did with their Lions Club on the weekend. I've been trying all week to find ways to use them. On Sunday, I made some of the yummiest hash browns EVER (saute onions and garlic in olive oil, add the potatoes and then use sea salt, pepper and basil to spice). On Monday, I made baked potato salad (chopped up the cold potatoes and dressed with chives, bacon bits, sour cream and mayo). On Tuesday, I made cheesy potatoes (slice the potatoes, place them on a cookie sheet and lightly brush with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake until lightly brown, then sprinkle cheese ALL OVER them and put them back into the oven on broil.... mmmm.... cheese!!). So as the days have gone by, we are getting potatoed out and are searching for new things to make that have potatoes in it. I've never done a potato chowder before and so that was today's experiment! Here is how it went down:

In a LARGE pot, put some olive oil to heat. Then finely chop 2 cloves of garlic and 1/2 of a yellow onion. Saute that in the oil until the onion is translucent. Then toss in 2 chopped up baked potatoes (leave the skins on) and let them saute for a bit, add in a pinch of black pepper and some sea salt. Let the potatoes soak up some of that garlicky oil before putting in two containers of chicken stock (veggie stock works as well). Take the remaining potatoes (I had 5 or 6 more) and scrape out the insides into a big bowl and mix it with about 1/2 a cup of sour cream and bacon bits(of course veggie alternatives would work well too). Once your soup is coming to a boil, put in the potato mixture. Then once it returns to a boil, toss in some corn (I used frozen corn). Then let it simmer until you are ready to eat. It was a super easy soup to make and it took about 1 hour total.

Sorry that there are no pictures, but I just haven't had time today (and soup never looks as good in a picture for some reason). Happy Eating.

Mmmm... RIBS!!!

2010-07-09T21:53:00.003-04:00

Tonight I did a little chemistry in the kitchen and made my own dry rub and BBQ sauce for the ribs my mother trusted me to cook for my whole family. It was a little nerve wracking because I've never done a dry rub, a BBQ sauce or ribs on the BBQ before.

Okay... so here is how it went down:

First I made a dry rub with the following (Mary, I didn't use exact measurements but I will try my best to give approximations for you):

1/4 cup granulated garlic
1 tbsp black pepper
1tsp Moroccan spice (or use cayenne, or skip it all together)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup paprika
2 tbsp sea salt
2 tsp basil

After I combined these ingredients (taste as you go and adjust as you like) I rubbed it into the meat and let it sit in the fridge covered for 3 or 4 hours).

Then I put the rubs on the grill (set to low) and let them get heated up. Then I slipped inside and whipped up a BBQ sauce (again, all measurements are approximate and I encourage you to taste as you go along to make sure it is to your liking):

2 cups ketchup
1/3 cup brown or whole seed mustard
a couple drops of hotsauce/tabasco
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

The sauce is a little sweet, with a little heat. YUMMY! I basted the ribs, turned them, basted them and kept doing that until they were done. Took about 45-50 minutes on low on the grill, but they were tender as could be with a little caramelized, crispy edges.

I made Krispy Kale (see an earlier post) and some carrot/celery sticks to eat with it. It was DELISH!!
HAPPY EATING!!!

Rice Salad and Teriyaki Chicken

2010-07-08T21:17:00.003-04:00

YAH!! I am so thrilled with this recipe. I did a little experimenting, tasting and crossing of fingers and came out with an incredibly tasty meal. So here is the break down of what I did:

First I marinaded the chicken in a homemade teriyaki sauce. I've done this before and you can go back into the archives to see that or just do this:

2 parts soy sauce
1 part sesame oil (I stole that idea from a reader and YUMMY!!!)
garlic (to taste)
1 part sugar (my parents are diabetic so I used Splenda to make it more friendly for ALL our waistlines)
ginger (to taste - I used fresh ginger chopped super fine)

I let it marinade for a couple of hours before throwing in on the grill. I LOVE summer and using the BBQ grill as often as possible (this makes 3 nights in a row and ribs are on the menu for tomorrow).

Then to make the rice salad I used the following ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of cooked and cold basmati rice
1 fresh clove of garlic
1 small piece of fresh ginger
a small amount of cilantro (or skip it if you don't like it)
a dash of black pepper (fresh cracked is best)
1/4 cup of soy sauce
1 tbsp of vinegar (I'd recommend a wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
2 green onions
2 stalks of celery
2 carrots

The first thing I did was finely chop the garlic and ginger. I also chopped up the cilantro into this so that there was a combining of flavours. I put it all in a big bowl with the soy sauce and vinegar.

Then I chopped up the veggies. I had a little fun withe carrots. I think you need to have some fun with your food, can't always be serious! ;) I then tossed them all into the dressing and added the pepper. I made sure that all the veggies got tossed around in the sauce before adding in the rice and stirring well.

Mmmmm.... so good.

And there is the finished product!! Perfectly cooked chicken that was both savoury and sweet and then a salad that was a little sour and spicy because of the fresh ginger. And the best part was that the rice was cold... such a nice treat on a hot day!

Happy eating!!

BBQ Chicken and Salad

2010-07-06T22:17:00.002-04:00

So my last post had a chilly weather meal, but this one has a typical summer menu around our house. It's nothing fancy either, but I was very proud to have grilled the meat myself for the first time!! I lightly seasoned the meat with a garlic spice mixture and let it rest for a bit before putting it on the grill. After cooking it almost all the way through, I basted it with some italian dressing. Once it was nicely grilled (if you look closely you can see some lovely grill marks... I tried hard) I paired it with a lovely garden salad I made a little earlier. YUMMY!! Happy eating.

Family Favourite Casserole

2010-07-06T21:55:00.004-04:00

When I was a kid and the days were cold and gloomy my mom would make one of the simplest, tastiest, heartiest casseroles. The day after we got home from our long drive (see my other blog: http://angelamae-internationalteacher.blogspot.com/ )it was cloudy, chilly and just right to revisit the old favourite and now I want to share that with you.

These are the ingredients: dinner sausage, potatoes, frozen peas, an onion and mushroom soup.

You slice the potatoes and dice the onions (we tossed in some celery this time, but we don't usually do that). You mix up the soup with the required water. Once you have it all ready, you put all the sausages on the bottom of the dish (no need to grease or whatever) and then layer the vegetables on top. We did two layers of each one and then pour the soup mixture over the top, making sure that everything was covered.

We use a big corningware pot, but any casserole dish works well. Cover with either foil or a lid and put into your oven at 350 for as much time as it takes for your potatoes to be done (ours took 1 1/2 hours, but a flat pyrex might take as little as 45 minutes).

And that's how it looks at the end. It doesn't look fancy but the taste just makes you feel warm and cozy. Not a typical summer dish, but up here on the west coast when our northern rain forest can drop rain and chilly temperatures anytime of year, this is a good, quick warm up meal. And it's easy and great for families!!

Frozen Lime Pie

2010-06-12T19:09:00.003-04:00

This is really all you need. Sweetened Condensed Milk, Frozen Limeade or Lemonade, Cool Whip and a graham cracker crust. I used a store bought one in the interests of time, but you could make your own. You fold the whipped topping and condensed milk together first and then slowly and gently fold in the limeade in as well. Once it is all incorporated, put it in the pie crust and toss in the freezer overnight. It's a SUPER yummy and refreshing treat!

Turkey Sliders and Krispy Kale.

2010-06-12T18:49:00.002-04:00

I had to start my summer yummies with a little beverage. I took a little white wine, lots of ice, some tonic water, some lemon and some strawberries. Mix it all together and you have a lovely summer spritzer.

Then I used the above ingredients, some mayo, some fresh sage to mix together and grill into turkey sliders. I didn't measure any of the ingredients, but I think I would have chopped the onions smaller so that they would mix in a little better. I found the chunks a little too big and they drove the burger apart as it cooked.
Then I took some kale and ripped it into bit sized pieces, sprayed it with olive oil, lightly salted it and tossed it into the oven at 425 for about 15 minutes or so and it came out krispy and better than chips! What a great way to get some green in your life. My friend, Mary, told me about it and it was AMAZING and will be on the menu often in the future. For those of you moms out there, my friend says her kids LOVE the Krispy Kale.

Yum, yum!! Happy eating!

Sandwiches

2010-06-09T21:51:00.003-04:00

Mmmmm.... Sandwiches are so good. And sometimes I forget that. Lately, I've been craving them on a regular basis. And if you read my other blogs, you know that I attacked the above sandwich in NYC. It was one thing that I knew I had to have in New York. My sandwich was just a simple salami and provolone with lettuce, tomato, mayo and some brown mustard. Never mind that gorgeous Kosher pickle. So, what's your favourite sandwich?! Please post it in my comments, I am super curious to see it and maybe try it... But I am also want to say that I REALLY love a good egg salad on soft multi-grain bread with alfalfa sprouts. Mmmm...

Twice Baked Potatoes

2010-05-25T18:51:00.002-04:00

Tonight my roommate made twice baked potatoes. I had all but forgotten about these little gems, and she had an amazing twist on them. Now here is how we did it in my family:

Bake your potatoes first (wash them, toss them in oil and sea salt before wrapping them in foil to bake for about an hour).

Once they are cooled, cut about 1/4 off the top lengthwise and scoop out the innards into a bowl. Mash them up with a little butter, some sour cream, cheddar cheese, bacon bits, and chives. Mix it all in and then load it back into the potato skins. Toss some extra cheese on the top and load them back into the oven for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees. YUM-A-ROO!!!

My roommate got her recipe from the Food Network - The Neely's Twice Baked Potatoes. They had spinach (or swiss chard), garlic, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese and dried chili peppers as part of the filling.... SO YUMMY!!!!!

So, get re-acquainted with your former food favourites and have some HAPPY EATING!

A Quickie Favourite

2010-05-09T16:29:00.003-04:00

One of my favourite things to make is pasta. I've tried (and succeeded) to move to whole wheat pasta so that it's not so bad for me. On Sundays, I often cook up whatever I am going to eat all week and then package it into individual servings in my fridge. Today, I went with a quick favourite:

I boiled some water (salted and with olive oil) on the stove and threw in my pasta. When it was almost cooked, I threw in a bag of frozen, peeled and deveined shrimp and a bunch of fresh broccoli. When it was done, I drained it and tossed in some dill and Italian seasoning. Yum!!

Chops and Stuff

2010-04-18T18:26:00.003-04:00

I started with bone-in, thin cut pork chops. I chopped up some fresh garlic, added a little olive oil and some balsamic vinegar. I let that marinade for a few hours before throwing it on the George Foreman.

My side dish was some mini courgettes... I cut them up and, as you can see from the picture below, sauteed them in some butter/olive oil, garlic and red chili flakes.

Mmmmm.... BUTTER!

My chops on the grill. Looking good and smelling even better!

There is my dinner plate. The starch that I chose for my meal was some sticky rice/barley mixture. The whole meals was awesome and I totally recommend it!

Fish Tacos

2010-04-16T19:07:00.002-04:00

So this is the final product. It is baked tuna steak on a whole wheat tortilla. I have some pre-shredded cheese there, some yummy black beans, mango salsa and a little bit of sour cream. SO YUMMY!!!

This is the mango salsa, hopefully close to the idea that I stole from my friend Sophia.

The mango salsa had green onions, avocado and mango, that's all it is!!

Here is what I did for the whole thing:

Tuna:

I put the tuna on a baking pan, topped it with a little oil (olive oil), dill and sea salt. I tossed it in the oven at 375 F and let it bake for about 30 minutes or until it was cooked through. I know that tuna doesn't have to be cooked through, so you can do what you like as far as that is concerned.

Mango Salsa:

You can see what I put in it in the picture above... the only things I have to add is that you need to chop up the components into small pieces (don't mush the avocado) and that you might want to throw in some cilantro, or hot peppers, or lime juice to give it a little more spice etc.

Black Beans:

I know, I know... how hard can this be?! hahaha. I took a simple can of beans, tossed it on the stove and threw in some sprigs of cilantro and some spices (I used Slap Ya Mama! Hot Spice) and let it simmer on the stove. YUMMY in my tummy!!

Enjoy... and Happy Eating!!

Teriyaki Tuna Steak

2010-03-03T18:03:00.003-05:00

Today I was happily surprised to have the day off, so I took a tuna steak out of the freezer and thawed it. I make my own teriyaki sauce by putting in 1 part vegetable oil, 3 parts low sodium soy sauce, 1 1/2 parts granulated sugar and fresh chopped or crushed garlic to taste (I like a LOT of garlic). I put all those ingredients in a bag with the tuna steak and let them sit together for a while. If you do it with chicken or beef, you can even do it the day before and it will just soak up all the flavours. Once I am ready to cook, I lightly oil my George Foreman Grill and toss the meat on the grill for a few. Tonight, I just tossed a single serving of italian veggies from Green Giant in the microwave for my side, but next time, I would like to use the extra teriyaki marinade to saute some mushrooms in and then put the whole lot over salad greens or brown rice or some couscous. Mmmmm.... yum!!

Happy eating!!

Roast and Veggies

2010-02-18T18:45:00.002-05:00

Okay, so today I had a half day so that I could go to the dentist for a check up (which went wonderfully well, thanks for asking!) and since I had the time, I decided to cook a roast and some veggies. I bought an angus beef roast (it ended up being kinda grisly but that's not the point), a beef marinade (that I used as a rub), some tri-coloured fingerling potatoes, some baby portobello mushrooms and a small sweet onion. I think I spent about $20 for all the ingredients (thanks to sales).
I took the beef and rubbed it with the marinade before searing it in a pan on the stove. I used vegetable oil to sear it in the pan with. Then I popped it in my trusty pyrex along with the veggies, covered the whole thing with foil and dumped it into a 375 F oven for about 1 1/2 hours. Yum yum!!

Happy Eating!

Grilled Cod Over Salad Greens.

2010-02-01T21:42:00.002-05:00

Okay, there is no picture with this one, but I just had to share this tasty meal! I bought frozen cod fillets and then coated the outside with Slap Ya Mama! spice. Then I put the fish on the George Foreman Grill (my favourite appliance) while I pulled out some mixed spring greens. I used a yummy dressing (any favourite will do) and when the fish was done, that was dinner. I loved it! Tasty, fresh and SUPER low in calories and fat!!

Happy Eating!!!

Roast Pork Loin

2010-01-30T16:04:00.003-05:00

So in an attempt to keep the low calorie, healthy eating interesting, I decided to cook a pork loin. I bought a pre-marinaded one on sale, froze it until I was ready to cook it and then thawed it out. The package (and my little calorie wonder book) tell me that 1 serving is about 140 calories and that the pork loin serves an average of 7 servings. I was able to get 8 good portions out of it so that makes it great for families who need something affordable and easy. And one of the hosts on the Food Network (Melissa D'Arabian) says that pork loin is one of the cuts of meat that most often goes on sale. I don't know if it is true or not, but the next time you see one... buy it. I then chopped up a single serving of celery and carrots, an entire onion and 2 yukon gold potatoes. I also tossed in some green beans and a chopped up apple. I spread the veggies over the meat (that was resting nicely in a pyrex baking dish) and then covered them with tin foil and threw the entire thing in the oven at 375 for about an hour (or until the pork's temperature was 170 - which is what my meat thermometer said it should be). After removing it from the oven, I put the pork on the cutting board for a little bit to let it "rest" and then carved it up... so juicy, so tasty (I got the garlic/herb marinaded one)and with just a cup of the veggies it was only about 250 calories for a hearty and healthy meal! I love this new adventure of cooking and eating healthy (don't get me wrong... I still enjoy a good, old fashioned fattening meal from time to time too!!).
Happy Eating!

Peanut Butter Dream Bars

2010-01-18T20:53:00.003-05:00

Yup... you guessed it! The recipe came from the cookbook Cook Yourself Thin... these little bars are so decadent and tasty. One little square seems so small but the flavour is amazing! And only for 157 calories a serving.
The basic idea is to mix low fat chocolate wafers (crushed up) with butter, oats and a little peanut butter. That makes the crust. Then you whip together some low fat cream cheese, peanut butter and vanilla together and spread that over the top. Finally, you melt some semi-sweet chocolate to spread over the top and freeze the whole thing to set it. I am not typing in the exact recipe because that would be fraudulent to claim it as my own or whatever... and also, I believe that this is an amazing cookbook that people should get whether they are hoping to lose weight or not. The recipes are super yummy, low in fats and really healthy!

Need a Pad Thai Alternative?

2010-01-18T20:45:00.002-05:00

I know no one ever NEEDS that, but it's nice to have a really good healthy option. Today my friend Sunny and I went through the Cook Yourself Thin book and tried the Sesame Peanut Noodle meal... we added shrimp and chicken and did broccoli as a side instead of the coleslaw greens that were suggested in the recipe. The calorie count for 1 serving is 308 calories and then you have to add the calories for the shrimp and chicken. I think it came out to about 500 calories total for the meal and it was SO TASTY!!!!!!

Happy Eating!

Steak and Roasted Veggies

2010-01-16T22:11:00.003-05:00

Even though I am cutting the calories in my life, I am refusing to cut my flavour! I love a good steak, so I grilled a super lean angus steak (4.5 oz) on my George Foreman grill and then sliced it up (I lightly salted and peppered it before grilling) and then I tossed some veggies (baby beetroot, baby zucchini squash, 1 thinly sliced yukon potato and some asparagus spears) onto a cookie sheet, salted them with some garlic salt and then lightly sprayed them with olive oil and threw them in the oven to roast. The result was a meal that was about 300 calories, very filling and YUMMY (oh... I only ate 1 cup of the veggies).

Skinny Lasagna?!?!?!

2010-01-16T22:03:00.002-05:00

Yes, you read right... skinny lasagna. I have this fabulous book that is full of really yummy recipes that are low in calorie, high in taste. Today I decided to try and make one so that there would be yummy lunches or dinners for the week. You'll have to buy the book to get the recipe, but I am here to tell you that it is very tasty and it makes about 12 servings that are listed for 337 calories... can't be all that bad, right?! So match that with a little green salad and a low fat garlic bread (I use 100 calorie sandwich rounds with a light spreading of real butter and garlic)and you have an amazing meal for about 500 calories total!

Jazzing Up Salads

2010-01-14T20:37:00.002-05:00

Okay, I know that with my healthy eating can't translate into boring food options to some but I think it can be really fun and kind jazzy if you want it to be. So here are some ideas for salads that I think are tasty and healthy:

Guac It Up!!

1 1/2 cups of salad greens
a sprinkle of green onions
1/4 cup of cucumber
1/4 cup of salsa (you pick the heat)
1 whole or 1 half avacado

* chop it all up and add the salsa last, it's simple and SUPER easy but it's like a little party in your mouth.

Hot Spicy Chicken

1 Chicken Tender (or part of a breast of chicken grilled on a Foreman grill)
Some Slap Ya Mama! spice
1 1/2 cups of salad greens
10 grape tomatoes
1/4 cup cucumber
Oil/Vinegar Dressing (I use my own, see recipe below)

*spice the chicken with the Slap Ya Mama!, grill it up and then when the chicken cools, put it over the salad. Pour the dressing over the top and EAT!!

Yummy Dressing

3 parts balsamic vinegar
1 part Extra Virgin Olive Oil
a sprinkle of dried oregano, garlic salt, and pepper

*pour, shake and enjoy!

Mary Salad

(This one is inspired by my friend Mary and her yummy salads)

1/4 cup seedless grapes
1/4 cup chopped up chicken
1 oz cheese, chopped up
1 1/2 cups salad greens
1/4 cup celery

* put it all together and dress as you like, I think Mary often uses an Asian style dressing with this one and it looks amazing!

So that's what I've had or seen that I like. I am thinking of some new ideas and will post them soon!!

Happy Eating!

Healthier Choices

2010-01-10T15:55:00.002-05:00

One thing I have never been known for in my cooking is being overly health conscious. I cook what I think will taste yummy and will leave a lasting memory. However, this kind of cooking hasn't helped me to have a skinny body! hahaha So in an effort to get healthy, I am trying new ways to cook healthy. I've found great ways to make salads exciting (using salsa instead of dressing) and have taken old favourites and made them healthy. Today I made meatballs. My previous recipe consisted of beef, pork and turkey all together with cheese, breadcrumbs and all kinds of goodies to make a delectable meatballs. But those were calorie loaded and full of fat and carbs: not good for the hips.
So, in order to make it healthy and still yummy I did this:

1 lb 99% fat free ground turkey
1 egg
1 clove crushed garlic
1 scallion chopped up
a little season salt
a little dried, crushed chilies
a little poultry seasoning

I mixed it all together and made little meatballs that I baked in the oven... yum yum!! About 4 meatballs is a serving.

Happy eating!

Readers...

2009-12-23T00:37:00.001-05:00

Please be on the lookout for a mess of stuff coming up in January. I am headed to Texas to spend time with one of my friends who is also one of my fabulous cooking buddies (best spaghetti ever when we make it) and I am helping to cook for his huge family over the holidays... so yea, keep your eyes peeled in the new year for pictures and chatter about what was done and how it turned out!

Reindeer Poo

2009-12-18T23:22:00.002-05:00

Hahahaha... I laugh every time I say it, write it or read it... reindeer poo! But I wanted to share the recipe with you because it's a great little party snack that is easy and yummy and great to do with the kids or without (see, married friends, I do think of you too!!).

Here are the things you need:

1 Box of Crispix Cereal
1 Bag of Milk Chocolate (although I am sure you can use whatever kind you like)Morsels
2 Cups of Peanut Butter
1 Stick of Butter
1/2 Bag of Confectioner's Sugar

Melt the PB, Chocolate and butter together. Mix with cereal. Let it cool spread out on a cookie sheet. The place it is a ziplock bag with confectioners sugar, shake and serve. Make sure to keep it in a sealed container.

Hurry Up Chicken Pot Pie

2009-12-17T20:44:00.002-05:00

Okay, there is no picture and you can get the full recipe from Food Network online. It is a Paula Deen recipe and is SOOOOOOO perfect for a wintry, cold day. My roomie found the recipe online today and we decided to make it. She did most of the making, but it was so yummy. We didn't have all the right ingredients so we make some more than perfect substitutions. Instead of Cream of Chicken soup, we use Cream of Mushroom (mushrooms and chicken are so nice together). Instead of mixed veggies, or peas and carrots, we used some frozen corn and spinach (we throw the fresh bags in the freezer so it will keep). It was incredible. We didn't spice the chicken when cooking, added no salt or pepper and it was still perfect. I felt like licking my bowl, it tasted so good. So, go, get the recipe... make your own substitutions if necessary and ENJOY!!

Happy Eating!

Crustless Quiche

2009-12-08T20:37:00.002-05:00

Okay... the first time I made a crustless quiche is because I was on the Atkins diet and couldn't eat the crust (which was, is and always will be my favourite part of the whole thing). So the first recipe I used was the one in the Atkins book and it was good but I couldn't find the book for when I wanted to make it again, so I looked it up on line (not at Atkins, just good ol'google), made a few changes and kept on cookin'. Here is what I ended up doing:

8 eggs
celery salt (about 1/4 teaspoon)
fresh ground black pepper (you decide how much, I just ground until it looked like enough)
Dill (about 1/2 teaspoon)
Thyme (just a dash)
Flour (1/4 cup)
Grated cheese of your choice (1/2 cup)
Thinly sliced baby zucchini (about 2 of them)
Finely chopped baby portabella mushrooms (1/4 cup-ish)

I added all of it together, whisked it until it was pretty nicely blended and there were no flour lumps and then I poured mine into a mini muffin tin that was greased with olive oil spray, but you could also do it in a regular greased pie tin too. Because mine was in mini muffin tins, I put a thawed frozen cooked shrimp on the top of each one... but you could just sprinkle them all over the top I guess. Then I popped into my oven that was pre-heated to 350 degrees F and cooked it for 30 minutes. It rose up beautifully, was pretty light and tasty.

So there you go, the latest creation from my wee little kitchen.

Baked Brie and stuff...

2009-11-17T18:54:00.003-05:00

Okay... the other day I was told that it is my grade level's turn to host the social for the month. Our fearless leader came up with the theme: Nutty for November. You know how cheesy we elementary people can be! haha. Well, it inspired me to make a savory dish with nuts in it. Originally I thought of making a cheese ball rolled in nuts and then I changed my mind to making little individual cheese balls. But then it ALL CHANGED!!! I was looking at the pilsbury website because my lovely friend Katrina sent me there to look at something she or a friend made (sorry, my memory fails me) and I saw a recipe for baked jalapeno brie cheese thingy. I looked, I saw, I decided to tweak. Have a look below and see what I did:

I couldn't find brie in the round, so I decided to use Camembert. I like the taste and it is pretty similar. I also decided to switch out the jalapeno jelly for fresh raspberries and walnuts.

I cut the cheese in half. I rolled out 2 crescent rolls from pilsbury and placed them on a greased cookie sheet and put one half of the cheese on it.

Then it was time to load the bottom half with fresh raspberries (which I kind of squished a little to make them flatter. I think using cranberries would be tasty) and walnuts. Then I topped it with the other half of cheese and put two more rolled out crescent roll dough pieces on top.

The next step is to seal it all up. If you have extra dough, you can cut it off and make adorable cutouts to put on top. I didn't, instead I made it a little thicker around the sides for a thick crust.

Once baked it came out looking like this!!! This is the trial one I made for my lovely lunch group that I eat with each day at school . Can't wait to crack it open and try it. I think with the one I make for school, I will do an egg wash with a touch of vanilla to bring a little sweet into the savory! Serve it up with fresh cut fruit and ENJOY!

HAPPY EATING!!

Carrot Soup

2009-11-12T08:27:00.002-05:00

I know it is not the usual for most people, but carrot soup is YUMMY!! The picture simply does not do it justice. Here is how you get to it: You need carrots (I added in some butternut squash because I love it's flavour), vegetable stock, the spices you like (I barely salted and peppered the carrots as they boiled in the vegetable stock and the taste was perfect for me) and whipping cream. You also need a blender or food processor, I had just a mini one so didn't quite get the smooth consistency that I love. So, it is really simple. You boil your carrots and/or squash in the vegetable stock. Boil until they are extremely soft. But don't throw away the bathwater once the babies are done cooking... you need it for flavour and soupy consistency. Take the soup broth and the vegetables and put them in your blender and blend until SUPER smooth. Put the blended mixture back in the pot, add a pat of butter to help make it smooth and buttery. Then throw in the whipping cream (I used the smallest container and didn't even use all of it) and heat gently. It should look creamy and a pale orange. Then all you do is serve it up. I used to make this (without the squash) at the Lebanese restaurant I worked at in my university summers. It is such a hearty and delicious soup... perfect for a rainy day... and lots of people who aren't huge fans of carrots actually like the soup! :) Happy eating!

Lazy Black Forrest Cake

2009-11-10T19:52:00.003-05:00

I am not the biggest cake fan, but WAY back in university, my roomie (Kris) used to make this cake and then I adopted it as my own (as we all do with the best recipes we come across). It is the lazy way to make a REALLY amazing cake.

You need 1 chocolate cake mix (two round pans for cooking), vanilla instant pudding (don't do it with soy milk... just doesn't set), a can of cherry pie filling and cool whip. I told you it was easy!

After the cake bakes and cools, put the cherries on the bottom layer with a thin layer of vanilla pudding. The put the top layer on. Mix the rest of the pudding and cool whip together and "ice" the cake. You can put on cherries and chocolate shavings to make it all fancy-schmancy, but I like it just the way it is. Make sure to keep it in the fridge so the cool whip doesn't melt off.

So yummy!!

Happy eating!

Caramel...

2009-11-02T20:06:00.002-05:00

I love having caramel with apples and I like it even better when it is homemade. I use Sweetened Condensed Milk, Dark Brown Sugar and Butter. I use about equal parts of all three, heat over medium heat until it is well blended and hot. It should settle into a thick caramel as it cools.
I did try to make it recently, but must have messed up my measurements somewhere as it didn't set as I needed it to. *sigh* I wanted to use it to make homemade caramel apples (never made those before), but alas it didn't work.
Hope it works for you... my favourite cake recipe is coming up soon (Kris, you will totally remember it once I make it and post the pics here).