Pumpkin Spice Steel-Cut Oats

So a friend of mine made a comment on her Facebook page, and I am paraphrasing, she would rather eat Rice Krispie Squares for breakfast, that oatmeal.  Which has now given me a challange to create a yummy oatmeal that Devon will enjoy, that is still somewhat healthier than eating Rice Krispie Squares for breakfast. 

So in honour of the season, and because I had a ton of pumpkin left over from Thanksgiving, I give you:

Pumpkin Spice Steel-Cut Oats

With Pumpkin Whipped Cream

4 Cups water
1 Cup Steel-Cut Oats  
1 Cup Raisins (optional)
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Ginger
½ tsp. Nutmeg  
¼ tsp. Ground Cloves or Allspice
1 Cup + 1TBS. Pureed Pumpkin (Not Pumpkin Pie Filling), divided
1 Cup Heavy Cream
Agave Syrup (optional)

Oats:

Boil water.  Slowly stir in Oats and Raisins and cook until oats start to thicken (about 5 minutes). Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.  Remove from heat and add spices and 1 Cup pumpkin. 

Pumpkin Whipped Cream:
Beat heavy cream with an electric beater until peaks form. Fold in 1 Tablespoon Pumpkin and Agave Syrup to taste. 

Shark Cake Pops

Shark Cake Pops

1 pkg. Duncan Heins Devil’s Food Cake

½ tub store bought chocolate frosting

24 Hershey’s Kisses

2 bags Blue Candy Melts

1 bag Red Candy Melts

½ cup White Candy Melts

Wilton Black Sugar Pearls

Black Sprinkles

24 Lollipop Sticks

Styrofoam Block or Floral Foam

Bake the cake according to the package directions.  While cake is baking start prepping your Kisses.  In order to get the perfect shark fin, I trimmed off each side of the Kiss and then angle-cut the base. See Pictures below.

Once your cake is baked and cooled, crumble into a bowl. Add ½ a can of frosting and mix with your fingers until thoroughly combined.  Using a scoop, scoop onto a cookie tray or cutting board. (I used my Pampered Chef Medium Scoop, which is approximately 2 TBSP.)  You should have about 24 mounds or cake mixture.  Using your hands, roll the mixture into balls and place all balls into the fridge.

Melt your Blue and Red candy melts together until they form Purple, add white until you get the appropriate gray colour.

Assembly:

1.       Dip the tip of your sticks into the melted candy melts

2.       Insert stick into prepared cake ball

3.       Insert the stick into Styrofoam block

4.       Dip bottom of kiss into candy melts and stick to top of cake pop

5.       Once candy melt has hardened, dip the entire cake pop into the melted candy melts. The technique that I used was I put the melted candy melts into a small deep bowl and dipped straight down and up, I then held the cake pop at an angle and twirled and tapped the side of my wrist with my other hand.

6.       Once candy melt has hardened, use tweezers to pick up and dip the sugar pearls in a small amount of candy melts and attach eyes.

7.       Use tweezers to pick up and dip the black sprinkles in candy melts and attach gills

Boursin Gougère

Gougère (pronounced goo-zhair) is a cheese flavored cream puff pastry, which I have adapted from the Land O Lakes website. I love this website; so many yummy recipes and beautiful photos.
My in-laws were coming over for lunch and I made these to serve with soup and salad.  They were a huge hit. Even my husband, whom does not like anything biscuit-y, loved these and approved them for future consumption. 

Boursin Gougère

1 cup water

½ cup butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp Italian seasoning
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp salt
4 eggs
1 150g package Boursin
2 TBSP. chopped fresh chives or green onion
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper, silicone mats or grease baking sheets lightly.

Combine water and butter in a 3 quart heavy sauce pan or dutch oven.  Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil (5 to 7 minutes).  Add flour, Italian seasoning, garlic,  and salt.  Stir vigorously until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat. Add 1 egg at a time, beating after each addition until smooth. Stir in Boursin and chives. 

Drop by rounded teaspoonful onto prepared baking sheets. Top each with parmesean cheese. Bake for 18 – 22 minutes or until puffed and browned. Serve warm.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Torte

Salted Caramel Chocolate Torte

So around Christmas time Andre and I were watching the Food Network when a show came on called “The Best Thing I Ever Ate”. There was a chef named Judy Joo who talked about a Salted Caramel Chocolate Torte that she had at the Lovin’ Oven in New Jersey.  Andre asked if I could make it, so I quickly wrote down a few notes from watching the episode and it was a good thing I did, because when I went on the Food Network website they did not post the recipe. 

So for the next two months I slowly amassed the needed items to make this torte.  I picked up a fluted torte pan and some pink Himalayan salt from Winners.  I researched the internets and Pinterest for some basic ideas for creating the perfect caramel filling.  I already had in my repertoire a really great chocolate ganache recipe. 

So Valentine’s Day was upon us and I was ready to attempt this. So I made the crust – no problem. I made the caramel and burned it, so I made the caramel again and burned it. Third time’s a charm – right? I watched that pot like a hawk and turned it off a little too early, but the caramel was not burned so I forged ahead.  The good news is I made this again the next week for some friends who were coming to town and let the caramel cook to a deep rich colour and got it just right.  Woohoo!!

The Crust

1 ½ cups Chocolate Cookie crumbs

3 – 4 Tbs. melted butter

1 pkg. Starbucks Via (optional)

Mix all ingredients together and press into a 10 inch round torte or springform pan.   Bake for 10 minutes in a 350°F oven.  Now the first time I made this I did not use the coffee and it was really good.  The second time I made this I thought I would try the coffee to add another level of flavour.  It was really good, but I had trouble falling asleep both nights that I ate a piece, so I would not recommend adding the coffee if you want to go to sleep early. 

Salted Caramel

1 ½ cups sugar
3 Tbs. corn syrup
¼ tsp. sea salt, finely ground
6 Tbs. water
6 Tbs. unsalted butter
6 Tbs. heavy cream
1 Tbs. sour cream

In a heavy duty saucepan or dutch oven, whisk together sugar, corn syrup, salt, and water and bring to a boil.  Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer inserted into the syrup reads 340°F (this is where I ran into problems – in Calgary, the temperature on the thermometer only needs to reach just under 300°F or it will burn) so take into account your location to sea level. 

Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter, cream, and sour cream (the mixture will bubble up) until smooth. Pour caramel into cooled tart shell and let cool slightly; refrigerate until firm 4 -5 hours.  Make sure when you put it into your fridge that it is level or the caramel will be uneven. 

Chocolate Ganache

½ cup heavy cream
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped – I used Bernard Callebaut
Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

Only make this once the caramel has set.  Bring cream to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Put chocolate into a medium bowl and pour in hot cream; let sit for 1 minute, then stir slowly with a rubber spatula until smooth.  Pour ganache evenly over tart and refrigerate until set, 4 – 5 hours.  Sprinkle tart with sea salt, slice, and serve. 

Quinoa Granola

So I woke up this morning craving my favourite homemade granola recipe.  Unfortunately, I discovered that I had only about 3/4 of a cup of rolled oats.  So I decided to substitute quinoa for the oatmeal and am pleasantly surprised with the results. 

Quick & Easy Quinoa Granola

1/2 cup Sunflower seeds
1/2 cup Pumpkin seeds
1 1/2 cups Quinoa, rinsed really well and patted dry
3/4 cups of Rolled Oats (optional)
1/4 cup ground Flax seed
1/2 cup dried Cranberries
1/2 cup sliced Almonds
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened Coconut
1/4 cup Almond Butter
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 cup Honey or 1/3 cup Agave syrup
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
1- 2 tsp. Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 300 F.  Combine ingredients in a bowl and mix until evenly blended.

Press mixture into a baking pan and bake for 40 minutes.  I used my broiling pan as it is the largest one I have and lined it with parchment paper.  This made it a little bit crispier, which I really like in a granola.

Chocolate Chip Oreo Brownie Goodness

 

So awhile back I had made Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies. Andre had suggested that I make them in muffin tins instead, in order to keep them from spreading out so much. Andre had also asked that I incorporate brownie batter into them in some fashion. After talking to some friends who made them (Hi, Devon & Amador) who recommended using Two Bite Brownies instead of the Oreos and finally while wasting time on Pinterest I found this. It was like the world was conspiring against me and telling me that I must make Brownie Chocolate Chip Oreo Goodness, much to the chagrin of Andre's waistline.

So three weeks ago I bought two bags of double stuffed Oreos in order to do just that.  Well, let's just say that my sister came to visit, life got busy and I have just gotten around to attempting to make them this morning.  The only problem is that by this time I only have one partially eaten bag of Oreos left (15 cookies).  I figured while that should make about 15 cookies (I am a math genius), that should be enough for dessert tonight.  So I made up my chocolate chip cookie dough batter (same recipe as here) and I made up my Brownie Batter (see below). 

Surprise, surprise, I have way more batter than I have Oreos.  So I thought, "I can just make cookies, but what fun is that?" I decided to experiment and settled on the idea of putting marshmallows in the center of the chocolate chip cookies and brownie batter cupcakes. Brilliant!! I tell Andre that necessity is the mother of invention.  He advises me that he did not think that having extra cookie dough was what Plato had in mind. So off I went to continue to construct this diet defying chocolaty treat.  I baked these in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes and when they come out the marshmallow has completely disappeared and been absorbed into the cookie and brownie dough, so that it has turned the dough into a delicious caramel infused cookie, but has left a giant void in the middle of my cupcake, so I stuff another 5 mini marshmallows into the crater and leave them to cool and melt the marshmallows. I have to admit that these were pretty tasty.  I took a picture, but it is really fuzzy (probably from all the sugar I had just consumed). 

But now I have run out of muffin tins and I still have a lot of brownie and cookie dough left.  Aha, I know I will put it in a bread pan and then bake a loaf, but why stop at just marshmallows - I can quickly whip up a small batch of rice krispie squares and make a rice krispie layer (and Andre wonders why there are so many dishes after I get done baking). 

Step #1

Step #2

Step #3

Now this idea was great in theory, but once baked the rice krispies turned into a hard chewy melted blob of sugary cereal.  Not that that is going to stop us from eating it in any event, we will probably just cover it in vanilla frozen yogurt and eat anyways or Andre will at least, but it is definitely not as tasty as the oreos or the marshmallows.     

Brownies

In a heavy saucepan over very low heat, melt, stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth:
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter

Set aside to cool completely.  Stir in:
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla

Stir until combined:
4 eggs

Stir in until just combined:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Scrape batter into pan (normally a 9 x 13) lined with parchment paper and spread to edges.  Bake in a 350 degree oven until the center is almost firm and a toothpick inserted comes out clean about 25 - 30 minutes. 

Oatmeal Apple Raisin Muffins

I like to make these muffins on weekend mornings, when I let Andre sleep in.  He is always so happy when he gets up and there are fresh muffins coming out of the oven for him. 

Preheat oven to 400.

Beat:
2 Eggs

Add:
1 1/2 cup milk
2 cups raisins (I will boil and drain my raisins in water before putting them in the recipe in order to plump them up and make them super juicy)
2 cups chopped apple (about 2 apples) I prefer Granny Smith, but any variety will work
1 cup vegetable or canola oil

In separate bowl combine:
2 cups flour
2 cups quick oats
2/3 cup sugar
6 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground nutmeg
4 tsp. cinnamon

Stir dry ingredients into wet until just combined.  Fill greased muffin tins or papers as right to top and kind of overflowing the top of the muffin tin.  Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Mediterranean Morning Mix

This is one of Andre and my staple breakfasts.  It is so good and really healthy as well.  It contains 22.5 grams of protein and 11 grams of fiber. This will keep you full until lunch time. 

I will usually cut up the fruit and divide it evenly between two bowls.  So all measurements listed is per serving i.e.  when I say ½ a cup of strawberries it means that it is ½ a cup of strawberries per person. 

1 kiwi, skinned and sliced

½ an Orange
½ an Apple, I prefer Fuji or Gala
½ cup Strawberries
½ oz. slivered Almonds
¼ cup dry curd cottage cheese
½ cup Liberte Greek Yogurt, this specific yogurt actually contains a whopping 18 grams of protein per ¾ of a cup.  You can purchase it at Costco in a two-pack for about $7.99 or at Sobey's and Community Natural Foods 
¼ tsp of cinnamon (or to taste)

Serve right away. 

Variation: Hawaiian Morning Mix, replace the Orange with pineapple and the almonds with chopped macadamia nuts. 

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Position a rack in the center of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Grease cookie sheets. Whisk together thoroughly:

2 cups plus 4 TBS all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

Beat on medium speed until very fluffy and well blended:

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed light brown sugar

Add and beat until well combined:

2 large eggs

½ tsp salt (if using salted butter, omit this)

3 tsp vanilla

Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until well blended and smooth.  Stir in:

2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Put dough in refrigerator and let cool. 

Open your package of Double-Stuffed Oreo cookies. Take a break and have 2-3 Oreos with a glass of milk and then proceed with the next steps. 

Make sure your hands are cold when forming the dough around the Oreos.  I had to keep stopping and running my hands under cold water, otherwise the dough just sticks to your hands. 

Roll two ½ inch balls of cookie dough in your hands and then sandwich on the top and bottom of an Oreo cookie.  Work the dough around the cookie making sure there is no Oreo exposed.  Place on cookie sheet spacing at least 2 inches apart.  Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until the cookies are just slightly coloured on top and rimmed with brown at the edges, 10 – 15 minutes; rotate the sheet halfway through baking for even browning.  Remove the sheet to a rack and let stand until the cookies firm slightly, about 2 minutes.  Transfer the cookies to racks to cool. 

This is an excellent chocolate chip cookie recipe all by itself without the Oreos. 

Jen's "Zingy" Grilled Pork Tenderloin

2 Pork Tenderloins
Sauce:
½ cup Light Soya Sauce
4 Tbs. Sweet Red Chili Sauce
1 Tbs. Agave Syrup
2 Tbs. Vegetable Oil
4 Tbs. Green Onions, chopped and minced
1 ½ tsp. Curry Powder
4 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Tbs. Frank’s Red Hot
1 ½ Tbs. Worcestershire Sauce

1. Mix all sauce ingredients.  Reserve ½ cup of sauce for pouring over meat after cooked.  
2. Choose one of the following marinating options:

3. Ziploc Marinade:	Food Saver Marinade:
   Place meat in a Ziploc bag	Place meat in Food Saver Marinade container
   Squeeze out air	Process through 1 Food Saver marinade cycle
   Marinate overnight

4. Preheat BBQ / Gas Grill for 3 – 5 minutes, scrape grill clean with grill brush, adjust the temperature to medium – high (400 - 450°F).
5. Brush the grill with canola oil to prevent sticking
6. Grill on all four sides, about 3-5 minutes per side until nicely browned, basting with marinade every time flipped (except the last time). For maximum flavor and tenderness cook to an internal temperature of 145 - 150°F.  Remove tenderloin from BBQ and loosely tent for 5-10 minutes, this will allow for the internal temperature to rise to 160°F. 
7. Heat reserved sauce. 
8. Slice Tenderloin crosswise and serve over rice with the heated sauce

Carrot Cake

This one is for you, Sheila.

Carrot Cake
Preheat oven to 350 F

You have the option of using pineapple chunks or raisins for this recipe,  if you are going to use raisins, place 1 cup of raisins in a small saucepan and pour in enough water to cover the bottom of the pot, cover and heat until water is evaporated or raisins are plumped up.  Remove from heat, drain, set aside to cool. 

While raisins are plumping, combine and mix well:

1 1/2 cup Canola Oil
1 1/2 cup Sugar
2 Eggs, beaten
2 cups grated Carrot
3 tsp. Vanilla

In a separate bowl, combine and sift:
2 1/2 cups Flour
1 tsp. Salt  
1 tsp. Baking Soda
3 tsp. Cinnamon

Combine dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix thoroughly, stir in the raisins (or 1 cup drained pineapple chunks) 

Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Cream Cheese Frosting

Beat:
8 oz. Cream Cheese
1/2 cup Margarine

Add:
2 tsp. Vanilla

Beat until fluffy.  Gradually add:
3 - 4 cups powdered sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
Mix until smooth. 
Spread on cooled cake. 

Baked Beans

I made these for the first time this summer when we went camping with Andre's family.  This is a time consuming recipe, but very worth it as I do not really like canned baked beans nor did Andre's brother, but both of us really enjoyed these.  I made this one day ahead of time. 

You will need:

• 1 pound dried pinto beans (about 2 cups)
• 8 - 10 cups water
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 8 oz of Maple smoked bacon, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup Agave syrup or 1 cup honey or 1 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 disposable aluminum cooking pan (I used one measured 8 x 10 x 2 1/2)

1. Pick over dried beans and remove any stones or broken beans.
2. Rinse beans.
3. Soak beans by placing in a 9x13 glass casserole dish and covering with two inches of boiling water. Let soak for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the beans have doubled in size.
4. Drain beans and combine with 8 -10 cups water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until the beans are almost tender, about 45 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 300 - 350F (300F if you live close to sea level. In Calgary, I needed to increase the temperature to 350F and increase the cooking time).
6. Drain beans, reserving the cooking liquid. Combine the beans in a 5 - 6 quart casserole dish with the onions, bacon, garlic.
7. Stir into the cooking liquid the Agave/honey/syrup, ginger, mustard, salt and pepper.
8. Pour the liquid over the beans. Cover and bake until the beans are tender about 2 1/2 hours (longer if you live at a higher altitude.
9. Once cooked serve immediately or transfer to the refrigerator and leave overnight.
10. I transferred to disposable aluminum pan to take camping and put it over the campfire and reheated the beans. Very tasty.

Building a Better S'more

Seeing as camping season is upon us, here is my super easy S'mores recipe.  I prepare these before we go camping and then after supper when we are all sitting by the fire; throw them on the grill and eat the sticky goodness without all the mess. 

You will need:

• Parchment paper
• Foil
• Best quality Milk Chocolate, I used Lindt (don't use dark chocolate as it does not melt correctly)
• Graham crackers
• Large marshmallows (I used Wal-Mart store brand this time, which I found nicer than the brand name ones I usually used)

1. Cut parchment paper into 6 x 6 inch squares.

2. Cut foil into 6 x 6 inch squares

3. Place 1 Graham cracker on a parchment square.

 4. Place chocolate square on graham cracker.

5. Place marshmallow on chocolate.

6. Place second graham cracker on top of marshmallow.

7. Wrap parchment paper around s'more and tuck ends into side of s'more (this will allow the heat to distribute evenly on the top and bottom of the cracker allowing the marshmallow and chocolate to melt).

8. Wrap again in foil.  Again tucking the ends into the side. 











9. Repeat as necessary until you have as many s'mores as you want. 

10. I just put these on the campfire grill and let cook about 5 minutes each side depending on the temperature of the fire.  Make sure the flames are about 8 - 10 inches from the bottom of the grill. Push on the packages with the backside of a pair of long tongs, when they are squishy they are done.

Lemon Chicken Couscous Salad

Lemon Chicken Couscous Salad


1 ½ cups Water
1 cup uncooked Whole Wheat Couscous

3 medium/small Zucchini
1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
3 Stalks Celery, chopped
1 Tomato, chopped
¼ cup fresh Parsley, chopped
¼ cup fresh Cilantro, chopped
3 Tbs. Lemon Juice
2 Tbs. fresh Dill weed, chopped or 2 tsp dried
1 Tbs. Extra-virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper, to taste
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted (optional)
Cooked Chicken

Chicken:
I usually try and have several meals worth of cooked chicken in my fridge.  I marinate the chicken for about 15-30 minutes in lemon juice, olive oil, and dried basil and oregano. Then grill it on the bbq.

Make couscous according to package directions. Feel free to add extra veggies or change it up. Combine all ingredients and enjoy.

Potato Salad

2 lbs. Red or Waxy Potatoes, whole

½ cup Crumbled Bacon

5 Green onions, chopped

1 cup Celery, chopped

3  Dill Pickles, chopped

¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped

2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar

¾ to 1 cup mayonnaise

Salt and pepper to taste

Boil the potatoes in a large pot with enough salted water to cover the potatoes, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, 20 - 25 minutes. Drain, and cut into bite-sized pieces.  

Mix together the mayo and vinegar.  In a large bowl, toss the still warm potatoes with this dressing and add the bacon, onions, celery, pickles, parsley and season with salt and pepper.  

Top with crumbled bacon and fresh chopped parsley. 

Indian Salad

I need to put one other recipe on here as it goes really nicely with the Chicken Jalfrezi and Taziki/Raita - I am thinking I should rename the Taziki/Raita to Raziki.  Anyways, as most of you know Andre and I have been eating quite a bit healthier recently.  Although both these recipes are relatively clean we do eat a lot of vegetables (approximately 4 cups each a day!). So here is an additional recipe. 

Indian Salad

1 cucumber

1 onion, red or white

1 carrot

1 tomato

fresh cilantro - Surprise!! It has cilantro

Juice of 1/2 a lemon or to taste

Salt

Peel and cut veggies into very thin slices.  Arrange veggies in a bowl or on a serving plate (depending on how fancy you want to be) and sprinkle chopped cilantro, salt and lemon juice. 

Chicken Jalfrezi

Chicken Jalfrezi

This is a Pakistani recipe for a spicy curry that I found on allrecipes.com, which I have tweaked and made into a Jen recipe.  My sister Rebekah always requests this when she comes out for a visit; if I am feeling particularly evil I will call her and tell her I am making it. You must try it if you are looking for something with a little bit of a kick. This dish is best served with basmati rice or naan bread and my fake taziki/raita. 

1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 onion, grated

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks

1-2 tablespoons ground turmeric

1 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon salt 1 – 2 (14.5 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes, drained, depending on how tomato-y you want it

1 ½ tablespoons ground cumin

1 ½ tablespoons ground coriander

2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger root

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Heat the oil in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic, and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the chicken, and season with turmeric, chili powder and salt. Fry gently, scraping the bottom of the pan frequently and turning the chicken.

Pour in the tomatoes and cover the pan, and simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes. Uncover, and simmer for another 10 minutes to let the excess liquid evaporate.

Add the cumin, ground coriander, ginger and cilantro, and simmer for another 5 to 7 minutes. Serve on steamed basmati rice with a side of Jen’s fake Raita.

Jen's Fake Taziki/Raita or Raziki

Raziki

So this is a recipe that I really love and Andre asks me to make for him so much that I ended up showing him how to make it himself.  It is not quite a traditional taziki or a raita, but some mutant form of the two.  Warning: there is some prep time for this recipe so read thoroughly .


1 Field Cucumber (not long English as LE tend to be quite bitter)
1 container Astro Greek/Balkan Natural Style Yogurt
1 – 2 cloves of Garlic (be very careful with how much you put in I like 1, Andre likes 4, which is so hot it burns going down)
½ tsp. salt (for garlic – see below)
1 tsp. salt (for cucumber – see below)
Handful fresh cilantro, chopped
1 TBS. Olive Oil
1 tsp. Lemon juice
Black Pepper, to taste

Strain yogurt. What I do is take a metal sieve and line it with cheesecloth (if you don’t have cheesecloth, use a coffee filter) put it into a bowl for the liquid to drain out into and dump container of yogurt into said filter (see picture) let sit overnight in the fridge or for 2 hours on the countertop. You have successfully made what is commonly referred to as Yogurt Cheese, which is a health base to all kinds of dips, sauces, etc.

Once your yogurt has drained, peel and grate your cucumber on a cheese grater. Set it in a strainer over the sink and let drain. As it is draining sprinkle and mix in 1 teaspoon of salt, this causes the water to come out of the cucumber, let drain for about 10 minutes or however long it takes you to do the next step.

Chop or mince garlic and then mash it with ½ teaspoon of salt until it becomes a paste, you can use a mortar and pestle if you have one otherwise just sprinkle the salt in a pile on your cutting board, put the garlic on top of it and squish it with the back of a spoon. The salt helps to grind up the garlic into a fine paste.

Return to your cucumber that is draining in the sink. Run cold water over the cucumber to rinse off the excess salt. Squeeze through paper towels to remove moisture.

Combine yogurt cheese, cucumber, garlic, cilantro, black pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice. Let favours mingle for a couple of hours and enjoy. This is really great with chicken and pork slouvaki.

Bison Burger

Bison Burger

1 lb. ground bison
1 Tbs. minced onion
1 Tbs. finely chopped cilantro
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients together and form patties.  Barbeque, top with goat or swiss cheese, tomato, purple onions, lettuce, dill pickles and serve on a whole wheat bun with sweet potato fries.

Newness!!!

So several people have asked me to send them recipes and food ideas. So welcome to my blog with fun little bits of jenisms, recipes, possibly goofy things my hubby says. So first recipe:

Roasted New Potatoes

12 new red skinned potatoes

3 Tbs. olive oil

1/2 tsp. onion salt

1/2 tsp. granulated garlic

1/2 tsp. dried parsley

1/8 tsp. paprika

Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 F. Cut potatoes into quarters or half depending on size of potatoes. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Place coated potatoes on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes, stir and bake for another 20 - 30 minutes until golden brown.

Enjoy!!