Spring ahead

Spring rolls tend to be a go-to snack in our house. They also help celebrate our pending spring, eating lighter and satisfying snacking cravings in a healthy way. Rice paper rounds are available in the international section of the grocery store. They're easy to use; I just wet each one with warm water as I'm getting ready to use it, fill it, and roll it.  A quick internet search can show you how to roll them if you're not sure. The finished rolls can get sticky if they're left out too long...but this usually isn't a problem for us :)

Our typical filling includes avocado and shredded carrot. Sometimes I add cabbage or kale, asparagus, herbs, or other veggies. Many people add noodles to theirs, and some add meat or shrimp. It depends on what you like and what you have on hand. With just cold veggies, it's a quick and nutritious snack...and gluten-free, too.

You can make your own dipping sauce or use a store-bought Asian salad dressing (like I often do). They're so fun to dip and surprisingly filling. Happy Spring!

Fuel to be back at it

I am now officially a working mom since I returned to work last week. It's a busy time as my partner is splitting parental leave and staying home with our little gal. There are a lot of firsts - baby's, daddy's and mamma's. Thankfully, I have found an energy-filled recipe for homemade granola bars that works as a quick breakfast or snack. Granola mix is something we usually have on had in one form or another. Sometimes it has different seeds, chocolate chips, different nuts, raisins, oats, etc. I have tried making bars before but they never seem to hold together or be suitable for taking to work or on-the-go. This one inspired by a Today's Parent magazine "picky eaters" insert actually works! It suggests putting the granola mixture in the bottom of muffin tins for baking so you end up with granola coins. Plus, the recipe calls for an egg which helps bind it all together. Brilliant!

Here's the recipe (but feel free to substitute items you have on hand or love (like instead of dried cranberries, use raisins or another dried fruit). I had coconut in the cupboard so I used that this time and it was yummy!

Egg, fresh, 1 large
Maple Syrup, .25 cup
Canola Oil, 1 tbs
Oats (large flake), 1 cup
Sunflower Seeds, without salt, 2 tbs
Cranberries, dried, sweetened (craisins), 0.25 cup
Almonds, 2 tbs
Cooking spray or oil for pan

In a medium bowl, whisk egg with maple syrup and oil. Stir in all the other ingredients. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray (or oil the bottoms of each part of the tin). Spoon the granola mixture into the muffin tin, separating the mixture into 12 portions and patting it down with the back of a spoon.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 mins until golden around the edges. When done. let cool a few minutes then run a knife around the edge of each one to release them. Let the coins cool on a rack.

If you want to make granola, or want to cut out the oats or egg in this recipe, simply toss all the dry ingredients together in a baggie. Sealed, it should last a while or you can portion out 1/4 or 1/2 cup portions into containers or baggies for lunches and snacks.

Don't you want me, Biscotti?

This recipe is adapted from an old Company's Coming cookbook recipe for cranberry-pepper biscotti (but doesn't that sound awesome?!). I didn't have cranberries but I did have chocolate chips. And a few hours one Sunday morning. I've made biscotti before and remember it being a little labour-intensive. This recipe, however, wasn't bad and the results were just great. Here's the recipe:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
1/4 cup butter (or margarine) softened
1/2 cup sugar (but you can use less)
2 eggs

Put first 6 items in a large bowl and mix well.

Cream the butter and sugar in a separate bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add all this to the first bowl's mixture. Slightly mix it all together until it's barely holding together. It'll be lumpy and bumpy and crumbly.

Turn the mixture onto a floured surface and get your (clean) hands into it. Knead the dough a few times. You can make small or large biscotti cookies. For large ones, use the whole mixture and form it into a long log. To make small ones, divide it in half and make two logs (about 8 inches long).

Place the log(s) on a greased baking sheet and flatten them slightly. Bake at 350F for 20-25 mins until the edges are golden. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes.


Biscotti means "twice baked" so when it's cool enough to handle, cut each log into 1/2 inch slices with a serrated knife. Arrange the cut-side down cookies on a baking sheet and bake for another 20 minutes at a reduced heat of 275F. Let stand in oven about 20 minutes after that with the oven turned off.

Biscotti are supposed to be dry and crispy. They're great for dunking into coffee or tea (or wine). This should yield about 2 dozen smaller biscotti...less if you like 'em big!

You can use this basic recipe and substitute the chocolate for anything you'd like, including dried fruit (like apricots, cranberries, raisins) and nuts (almonds are pretty traditional in biscotti). Enjoy!

Carb-alicious

Living next to a bakery can be harmful for one's health. But it's awesome for one's snacking. Here is a quick, but decadent, snack I love to whip up when I'm in the mood for a carbalicious treat.
Take one awesome baguette.

Pour out some quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar.


Pictures are worth so much more than words!

Chocolate coconut cookies

This is an adaptation from the Canadian Living Mud Pie cookie recipe. I was on a roll last week in the kitchen and took out my trusted Canadian Living Cooks cookbook. Their recipes are tested until perfect and this one promised to be a cookie version of a brownie. Yum. I had the basic ingredients but not the add-ins so I used what I had: chocolate and shredded coconut. Here is the recipe and what I did:

6 oz chocolate (bittersweet and chopped)
1/2 cup butter (I used a little less)
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup shredded coconut

Line baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350F.

In a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water melt together chocolate and butter. Remove from heat when almost melted and stir until fully combined.

Then whisk in sugar, eggs one at a time, and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Pour over chocolate mixture and stir until just combined. Add in coconut and combine. Drop by tablespoonfuls, about 2 inches apart, onto prepared pan(s). These cookies tend to spread while baking so take that into account. You can also make them smaller if you wish.

Bake one sheet at a time in the centre of the oven until firm around edges but still soft in the centre. This should take about 10-12 minutes. Let stand on the pan until firm (about 5 mins) before transferring them to racks to completely cool.

The recipe book also says you can make these ahead by layering them between wax paper in an airtight container to be stored at room temp for up to 5 days or freeze up to 2 weeks. This recipe makes a lot of cookies (about 3 dozen) so it's great you can store some if needed! Happy chocolate fix!

Lazy weekend junk food

Ah, the joys of junk food.

I had an incredibly lazy but truly satisfying weekend. And I didn't cook once. Well, I pieced together a salad yesterday to make myself feel better about all the junk I had and was about to consume. Yes, this weekend was full of eating out at other people's places. Restaurants, take-out, the lovely bakery in my neighbourhood, and the the corner store.

As I write this, I am having one last hurrah of a snack: Cheetos. Aside from it being the weekend, I am rewarding myself for a couple feats and was dealing with a couple stresses. Though I love to cook, sometimes it's just nice to be treated to someone else's work - and let them clean the dishes too while they're at it. And it's ok to eat when you're stressed as long as you don't go overboard. Food should be comfort in (and hey - I did my time at the gym this weekend too).

You've got to let go and stop over-thinking every calorie and every morsel of food every now and then. And as for the Cheetos...I'm not feeling one bit guilty.

Pretzels!

Flipping through a few cookbooks one day I found a picture of homemade pretzels and a pint of beer. The recipe for soft pretzels just seemed intriguing and promised to be yummy. It takes some time to make but a lot of that time is waiting, rising and baking. And the process of forming the dough is fantastic. Here it is:

2 1/4 tsp dry yeast (1 package)

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1 cup warm water

3 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp salt

6 cups water

cooking spray

2 tbs baking soda

1 large egg

2 tsp salt (kosher or sea - or replace this with sesame seeds)

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water in a large bowl and let stand 5 mins.

Spoon 3 cups flour and 1 tsp salt into yeast mixture. Stir together until soft dough forms. This is the beginning of your basic bread mixture. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface (counter top) and knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 mins). Kneading involves working with the dough in a push and pull method. You'll find the dough changing under your fingers and the feel of the dough is wonderfully tactile. Add some flour (about 1tbs at a time) if the dough starts sticking to your hands but it should feel slightly sticky.

Place the dough into a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning the ball of dough to coat it. Cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 40mins. The dough should double in size in this time.

Preheat oven to 425 F and divide dough into 12 equal portions. Working with one portion at a time, roll each into a long rope (about 18"). Cross one end of rope over the other to form a circle, leaving about 4" at end of each rope. Twist the rope at the base of the circle and fold the ends over and into the traditional pretzel shape. Alternatively, you can make smaller pretzel sticks or whatever other shape you would like!

Place your pretzels on a greased baking sheet and let rise again for about 10mins.

Combine 6 cups water and the baking soda in a pan or dutch oven (not aluminum). Bring this to a boil, reduce heat and simmer. Gently lower one pretzel at a time into the simmering water for 15 seconds, turn and simmer for 15 more seconds. Do this to all the pretzels returning each one to the creased pan. When they are all finished with the boiling process, beat the egg with 1tsp water and brush this over the pretzels. Sprinkle the salt or seeds on top of the pretzels. Bake at 425F for 12 mins until they are deep golden brown. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool and enjoy! These are great for a party or a nice light snack.

They will last about a day but then they'll get chewy and stale so keep this in mind. They're impressive for guests but do them the day of your event or party to keep freshness. And they're excellent with mustard!

Though they're satisfying in their doughiness, the pretzels only cost you 140 calories and about 2 grams of fat each.