Getting ready

So we're all back to work, and the baby is away from home and us full time for the first time. To try and make things easier, I'm getting into the habit of making food ahead of time. I have always been a fan of making lunches the night before and Sundays have often been my time to cook something big with leftovers in mind. Now, I'm cooking for three and need to be more mindful about nutrition than ever before. Things have to be yummy, simple and portable. This past week, I made a rice casserole with whole grain rice, broccoli, peas and white kidney beans. It was a little bland but did the trick. The baby didn't like it too much but she ate leftover beans the next day and I enjoyed the dish with salsa.

Today, I took about 20 minutes and made macaroni and cheese with peas, whole milk and squash. One pot is enough for a few adult lunches and several kid-sized portions - plus it will freeze well. I also chopped up a carrot and some broccoli, and boiled it until tender, which the baby will love as finger food. I'll also send along in baby's lunch bag some yogurt (baby's favorite!), chickpeas (soaking as I type), fruit (like applesauce, banana or avocado), and cereal. And that's a week of meals. Done.

I just hope I can keep this up because it's inspiring to be on the ball and ready to face the week with one less thing to worry about.

Squashed mac & cheese

I was looking for recipes on Spark People and was inspired by this one for butternut squash macaroni and cheese. It seemed like a great way to get an extra veggie into a dish and also lighten up a traditionally high-fat - but very comforting - meal. I decided to make the recipe for Mother's Day dinner with the family but couldn't find butternut squash anywhere. Not even frozen. But I did find a spaghetti squash so I bought that and figured I'd try adapting the recipe to suit. The end result turned out better than I expected and everyone loved the dish. Here's what I did:

First to cook the squash, I cut it in a half, pierced the skin and baked it in a shallow amount of water in the oven until it is soft and browned. You can find lots of ways to cook a squash online including video tutorials.

Then I scooped out the flesh of the squash with a spoon. It does look a bit like spaghetti but more like thin rice noodles. I put the squash in a strainer to drain the liquid off while I prepared the rest of the dish.

I cooked macaroni (gluten-free for my mom & sister) and some frozen peas for colour and put that aside, too. Then in a big pot, I combined some milk, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, crushed garlic and some shredded cheddar cheese. You could use more or less of any ingredient as you wish. More cheese is always yummy but also not as healthy so I tried to strike a balance and used about a cup. I wish I had used sharp or old cheddar cheese because I think the flavour would have been better. So I'll make sure to do that next time!

The macaroni and squash was stirred around with the mixture in the pot until it was all combined and gooey. I put the mixture into a casserole dish and topped with some shredded parmesan cheese. You could top with breadcrumbs, too, if you'd like that crunch.

Then I baked the whole thing for about 30 mins until it was bubbly and browned. When served, you couldn't tell the melted cheese from the squash strands and the squash's taste wasn't detectable. Next time, maybe I will try to up the healthy (and protein) factor by combining some soft tofu in with the cheese mixture. This would also be a great dish for a pot luck & would freeze well. There will definitely be a next time for this dish!

Pizza...plain and simple

 Often the simplest foods are the best foods. This couldn't be more true of pizza. It often does take much less effort and definitely less cost to make a pizza from scratch than to buy or order one. And it's always healthier when you know what goes into your food. This time around, I made a whole wheat flour pizza dough (because that's all I had in my cupboard) with fresh ingredients.

For the dough, here's a good recipe which makes quite a bit of dough:
6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used a slightly less amount of whole wheat flour)
3 cups warm water (77° to 81°F)
4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 tsp salt

Let the yeast dissolve in the warm water for about 5 minutes.

Combine the flour and salt and dump the mixture onto a flat surface. Make a depression in the middle, pour the yeast and water into it, and combine the dry and wet ingredients until the dough starts to come together. Keep working the dough with the palms of your hands for 7 to 8 minutes, and then let it rest at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until it doubles in size. You can cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and leave it somewhere warm. Once risen, punch it down, squeezing out all the air bubbles. Cut the dough into four equal pieces and shape them into balls. Place them in the fridge for another 2 hours.

You can cut the rising time but your dough will make a thinner crust for your pizza. Once its ready, shape out your pizza crust with your hands and put it on a pizza stone or pan. Then top with whatever ingredients you like.

I used some olive oil, tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella cheese. Bake the pizza at 400 C for about 20 minutes or until the crust is browned and firm, and the toppings are baked through. Plain and simple. And Delicious!

Lasagna ? I hardly know ya!

Lasagna is something most people enjoy or make on a regular basis. The basics are layers of pasta, sauce and fillers. There are a million different types: white sauce, traditional with tomato sauce, meat, spinach, veggie, fancy or simple, you name it. I made one recently with no-bake noodles (a time and sanity saver), plain old tomato sauce, mushrooms, spinach, beef and green peppers. It was simple and delsih. I did use cheese (because I'm a cheese addict) and alternated between mozza and ricotta. I love ricotta in lasagna and tend to use it whenever I make the dish.

The thing I really love about lasagna, no matter the variety, is that it's great for so many occasions. You can bring it to a pot-luck, have it at a dinner party, leftovers are great, and you can make a big batch and freeze portions for use at another time. I made two lasagnas this time around: one for now and one for freezing for work lunches. It's an easy and economical solution to the morning rush! Just grab a container out of the fridge and away you go.
ps. I just want to mention I love the lighting in my new kitchen. It's helping me make great strides in my food photography!

Adventures in entertaining

Everyone has the need (or want) to entertain once in a while. Holidays, birthdays, housewarmings, congratulations, etc. They're all excuses for celebrations complete with food, drink and good company. While I have been known to go a little out of control with my food and drink preparation, I have learned some useful tricks and techniques over the years that have made entertaining enjoyable and easier than ever. First, I try to have one or two signature dishes. Then the rest of the spread can be easy cheese/fruit/meat platters, veggie or fruit trays, ready-made frozen apps or even chips and dip. Have one drink you can offer guests (and make sure there's a non-alcoholic option) but more often than not people will bring their own libations so don't sweat it. Focus your energy on taking pride in your work, setting a nice grouping of finger foods and then forget about it. When guests stat arriving you need to relax and enjoy their company. The middle of your party is no time to be worrying over un-made dishes, stuff in the oven or if a pot is boiling over on the stove!

I threw a bash this past weekend and here are some things I threw together for the occasion. Complete with my recipe for my go-to party dish: guacamole!

There are a million different ways to make guacamole and I've been known to just throw together some avocados, tomato and lime juice and call it a day. But if I'm really serious, here's how I do it:

3 avocados
1 tomato
1/2 lime (juiced)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1/4 onion (minced)
1/4 cup cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper (minced)
pinch salt & pepper

Combine everything in a medium/large bowl and mash avocados with a fork until the mixture is still slightly chunky but well combined. Then transfer the mixture into your serving dish. To save the guacamole for the party, put plastic wrap over the mixture and press it into the top of the guacamole so it touches all the surface. This will prevent the mixture from browning. Refrigerate until it's time to party. Serve with chips or veggies. Yumm-0!


Cheese and crackers is easy peasy but pleases lots of people. This was simple brie and pepper goat's cheese. Below: a spread on a table makes it easy for people to mingle and dash back and forth for treats. Besides what I talked about here, I also made bacon-wrapped asparagus (yes, it is an excellent idea!) and did a couple veggie platters and candy bowls in strategic places around the apartment.




One of my signature dishes and an essential sweet treat in a sea of salty, savory appetizers. Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes get easier to make every time and are are a great conversations starter! Happy entertaining!

Monte Cristo Sandwich

So it's Saturday and you're up a little late and craving something a bit more special and substantial than cereal or toast. Do I have the sandwich for you. A Monte Cristo sandwich is a cross between a grilled cheese, ham sandwich and french toast. It's a wonderful combo of some of my favorite things. The Monte Cristo is a variation of the French croque-monsieur.

To make one on a lazy weekend morning what you do is put some cheese (good old-fashioned cheese slices are the way I go) and ham between two pieces of sandwich bread. Then dredge the whole thing in slightly beaten egg. Fry it up in some butter until crispy on both sides. You can serve it with maple syrup, fruit or whipped cream. Enjoy and happy weekend!

Junk food

Every now and then I crave something simple and not-so-good-for-you. Some people love chocolate, some love salty snacks, while I love stinky stuff. That's right. Curry, Doritos, garlic, whatever will make my breath stick is what I love. Thankfully, I have a partner who loves stinky stuff as much as me and can take raw onions and hot peppers like the best of 'em. Though I did not have this today, I often make nachos to satisfy my stinky junk-food craving. And if you want to make nachos less heart attack-inducing you can make some sneaky substitutions for a semi-healthy meal.

I think the secrets to a good plate of nachoes is layering ingredients and lightly broiling them for extra crispiness. For the nachos above, I added roasted chicken and lots of veggies like green and red peppers, tomatoes, onions and lots of jalapeno peppers. Use homemade or low-sodium store bought salsa, keep a light hand with the cheese and use organic and/or multi-grain tortilla chips (or there's even flax and baked seed ones out there now) and there's not too much bad stuff on there. Now, it won't be as satifying as a oozy, cheesy, sour-cream laden pile of fried chips. But there's enough stinky flavour on there to keep me happy!

Stuffed potatoes: one thumb up, one down

It's starting to warm up so, after cleaning up the back yard over the weekend, we threw some burgers on the grill for Sunday supper. As a side dish I could prepare inside, I decided to make a recipe I saw earlier on America's Test Kitchen's Cook's Country for Supper Stuffed Baked Potatoes. They turned out looking great but I was a disappointed in their taste.

The method described on the episode for preparing the potatoes, scoping them out and crisping them op worked out great. To the potato innards, you mix in garlic and herb-flavoured Boursin cheese, a soft cows milk cheese originally from France but now often produced in the US. Then you add half-and-half, sauteed garlic, butter, salt, pepper and chives. You top the whole stuffed thing with more crumbles of the cheese.

I was quite excited to dig into this big side dish but it came up short in flavour. Maybe I've melted my taste buds with regular doeses of spicy foods and lots of garlic...but this just didn't seem creamy or garlic-y enough! I will try this again but will add more cheese or try another brand of garlic-flavoured cream cheese (hey, I never said this was a healthy side!). All in all this recipe was pretty easy, looked great but left me wanting more.

Picture: Cook's Country Online