While I love food for its yumminess and prettiness, I especially love fun food. Like dipping, which is my favourite method to eat anything. Chips, veggies, bread bits, even whole sandwiches are vastly improved if dipped in something awesome. While this recipe is not a dip, it was pretty fun to make which earns it huge brownie points in my books. Smashed potatoes are deliciously in between mashed and roasted and as already mentioned, more fun than either.
Boil mini-potatoes until just cooked.
Place on clean towel.
Using a second (clean!) towel, 'smash' (i.e. gently push down) the potato until it is about 1.5 cm thick. That's the fun part.
Transfer the potatoes to a baking sheet and let them cool completely at room temperature.
Heat the oven to 450C. Drizzle potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Make sure some oil gets underneath the potatoes so they are completely covered.
Roast until deep golden brown around the edges, about 30-40min. Flip the potatoes once mid-way through cooking.
I served them with prosciutto wrapped chicken and warm pea salad, recipes to come!
As a salsa-snob on a budget I could easily go broke if I didn't ration my salsa intake since I only like buying the fresh fancy stuff. So using a classic student solution, I made it myself...with great success. This will be a repeat recipe for sure!
Ingredients:
5 tomatoes
1 fresh jalapeno
1/3 cup diced red onion
2 cloves of garlic
1tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp tomato paste
Juice from 1 lime
cumin
cayenne
salt and pepper
1. Dice tomatoes, garlic, jalapenos and onion and spread on pan. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt.
2. Roast at 400C for about 20-30min.
3. Stir in tomato paste, lime juice, cumin, cayenne and s&p. Taste-test, season until you're happy.
* Next time I would add lime zest for a stronger flavour.
A recent excursion took us hiking up every mountain in and around Atlin with the Yukon Ski Team. While still a rockin' good time, this was training-camp-style hiking...an enthusiastic pace for 7+ hours, sometimes no trail to follow, and often necessary to use all four limbs plus more to get to the top!
A great side effect of so many mountain peaks is an endless appetite and constant eating. And the funny thing about camping is just about anything tastes fantastic. So while the following meals may not seem particularly unique or special, try a little pre-hike and dinner will taste ten times better.
Dinner #1: Chicken Fajitas
Whole wheat wraps
Chicken (cooked in basic fajitas seasoning)
Yellow, Orange and Red Peppers (cooked with chicken)
Avocado
Mixed Greens
Mango Lime Salsa
Old Cheddar
This meal has is all... colour, flavour, nutritiousness, its easy to make and leaves very few dishes.
Dinner #2: Foil Fire Roast
This meal is a Girl Guide favourite. Even easier and less dishes than fajitas.
Just put yummy stuff in many layers of foil, throw in the fire, play some cards while you're waiting, then dig in!
We put the following in our foil roasts but the possibilities are endless...
Pre-cooked ham
Potatoes
Yellow and red bell peppers
Carrots
Old cheddar
Many a fellow camper expressed extreme jealously over our brilliantly simple and scrumtious meal!
And you gotta have s'mores for dessert with this one...
See below for some more appetite-building action!
B. showing off her pro-river hopping skills.
A. taking the fastest route down.
Rock tossing, an infinitely entertaining game.
Stay posted for more posts. There's just been too many adventures and not enough time to share them!
This simple delicious recipe beats a bag of potato chips any day. The recipe below isn't an exact science and feel free to get creative with the spices and flavours in the bread crumb mixture.
Ingredients:
1-2 Zucchinis
2 eggs
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper
How to Make'em:
1. Lightly beat the eggs. Combine the bread crumbs, grated parm and s&p in a separate bowl.
2. Slice the zucchini in desired chip-sized pieces:
3. Dip each chip in beaten egg and then in the bread crumb mixture.
4. Place on a tray and bake in the oven at 400C for about 20min each side, flipping the chips over part way through.
5. Serve warm or cold, its all good.
Feels good to be back at the blog. Sorry for the neglect!
If you are looking for a quick and light recipe for dinner, stop reading now. While this dinner is scrumptious, pretty and fun to make, it is rich and time-consuming. But worth it!
Step 1: Make the crepes
You can use your favourite crepe recipe but this one is excellent...
Basic Crepes
4 large eggs
1-1/2 cups milk; more as needed
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
6 Tbs. unsalted butter; more, softened, for the pan
In a blender, combine the eggs and milk. Add the flour and salt and mix on high speed until smooth. Strain the batter (to remove any lumps) into a quart-size measuring cup with a spout or a pitcher. Let the batter rest at room temperature for 30 min.
In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the 6 Tbs. butter. Continue cooking the butter until it turns golden brown and has the aroma of toasted nuts, 3 to 5 min. Watch carefully and adjust the heat or move the pan around if necessary; the butter can quickly go from lightly browned to burned. Let the butter cool slightly and then stir it into the batter. The batter should be the consistency of heavy cream; thin it with a little more milk, if needed.
To cook the crêpes:
Set the skillet over medium-high heat and add about 1 tsp. butter. Heat the butter, swirling it in the pan, until it stops bubbling. Pour in just enough batter to coat the bottom of the pan. Quickly tilt the pan in all directions to spread the batter evenly over the bottom and a bit up the sides of the pan.
Cook until the center of the crêpe is set (dry) and the bottom is lightly browned, 1 to 2 min. Turn it over and cook until the center is firm and the edges underneath are lightly browned, about 30 seconds. Transfer the crêpe to a cooling rack. Proceed with the remaining batter, adding more butter to the pan as needed. Once cool, stack the crêpes between the sheets of waxed paper.
Step 2: Cook the chicken
4 chicken breasts, cut into cubes
Fresh ginger
Oil
Fry chicken and ginger in a skillet until cooked through.
1 cup fresh spinach
1 Tbs. curry powder, or to taste
Pinch cayenne, or to taste
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups homemade or low-salt chicken broth
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup heavy cream
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbs. sliced almonds, toasted
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion, mushrooms and celery; cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add the curry powder and cayenne and cook for another 1 minute. Stir in the flour and cook, whisking constantly, until the flour has lost its raw taste, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the broth and raisins. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, whisking often, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the cream, season with salt and pepper, increase the heat to high and boil to thicken for about 3 minutes. Strain about 1 cup of the mixture through a fine sieve to use as the sauce.
Combine the remaining cream mixture with the cooked chicken and stir well to blend. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Add spinach.
Heat the oven to 350°F. Divide the chicken filling evenly among the crepes and roll each crêpe into a thick cylinder. Arrange the filled crêpes in a single layer in the baking dish. Pour the reserved sauce over the center of the crêpes. Bake, uncovered, until the sauce is bubbly and the crêpes are lightly browned on the edges, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with the toasted almonds and basil and dig in.
Our first blog with a non-food twist will feature the Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay, the greatest relay on Earth! This race starts in Haines Junction, Yukon, and finishes in Haines, Alaska. In between, riders must cover 238km of mountainous, windy and stunningly beautiful terrain. Teams can consist of up to 8 people, and even a few keeners do it solo.
Bradele were proud members of 'That's What He Said', the 4-woman team with giant calves and endless jokes, who's enthusiasm and toughness earned them a surprising third place win!
But at least some credit must be given to the hearty dinner made in the campground the previous night. Spaghetti and meatballs was the perfect combination of simplicity and deliciousness.
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/3 cup milk
2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cayenne
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lb. ground beef or turkey or both
Combine the breadcrumbs and milk in a mixing bowl and let sit for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a heavy 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.
Mash the breadcrumbs and milk with a fork to a smooth paste. Add the beef, cumin, salt, several grinds of pepper, and cayenne to the breadcrumbs. Mix with your hands until thoroughly combined. Wet your hands to keep the mixture from sticking to them and roll a couple of tablespoons into 1-1/2-inch balls; you should have about 30.
Place on baking pan and bake in the oven at 400 C for about 20 min, until the meat is cooked through.
We made the meat balls the day before so all we needed to do was cook the pasta and heat up the sauce and balls in the campground.
These two standard-but-delicious party dips are bound to wow the crowd. I recently test drove them at the little rascal's 4th birthday party and both appeared to be loved by kidlets and grown-ups alike. The recipes came from Fine Cooking, which tends to have finicky but trustfully tasty recipes.
PART I: SPINACH-ARTICHOKE DIP
Everyone loves Spinach-Artichoke Dip and when you read the recipe you'll find out why! Complete with sour cream, mayonnaise and asiago and/or parmigiano cheese, its not exactly 'light' but tastes SO GOOD. Here it goes.
10-oz. package frozen leaf spinach, thawed, squeezed dry, and chopped
6 oz. can artichoke hearts, thinly sliced and patted dry
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Asiago (I used some of both)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup sour cream
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 425°F.
In a large bowl, mix the spinach, artichokes, 3/4 cup of the parmigiano/asiago, mayonnaise, sour cream, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 3/4 tsp. pepper. Transfer to a 1-quart (or slightly smaller) baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup parmigiano/asiago.
Bake until the top browns and the inside warms through, about 25 minutes. Let cool slightly and serve.
I made it a day ahead and then just saved the baking part for the day of.
PART II: TZATZIKI
Another classic, but still stellar. When there's tzatziki in the house, I tend to eat it with everything... veggies, leftover meat, as a salad dressing. Not hard to make but sometimes a challenge to find Greek yogurt but high-fat plain works well also.
Kosher or sea salt
2 medium cloves garlic
1-1/2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt, preferably Greek
3/4 cup peeled, seeded, and finely chopped cucumber
1 Tbs. red-wine vinegar
2 tsp. chopped fresh mint
2 tsp. chopped fresh dill
2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Fresh mint leaves for garnish (optional)
Spread 3/4 tsp. salt on a cutting board. Peel the garlic and finely chop it on top of the salt. Transfer the garlic and salt to a medium bowl and stir in the yogurt.
Put the cucumber in a colander and squeeze as much liquid out of it as you can. Add the cucumber, vinegar, mint, dill, and olive oil to the yogurt mixture. Stir to blend and season to taste with salt. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours before serving.
Draining the cuc's is tres important or else the tzatziki will be watery and fall off your pita into your lap.
My task: healthily/ not so healthily create a snack to fill the 5(ish) year old party goers goodie bags. Ingredient I felt it necessary to include: Smarties. Ingredient that caused said snacks to loose their shape: Smarties. Oh well! Kids (and Brittany... also my friend Hilary from Hilary Makes while we're here) love colours, so Smarties were indubitably kept.
Without further adieu I give you my granola bars
"Lola Bars" (as Mathias used to call them, far before he was a whopping 4 years old)
1 and 1/4 cups crisp rice cereal (Rice Krispies were used)
1 cup uncooked quick-cooking oats
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed (flaxseed meal)1/4 cup finely chopped dried fruit (I used chopped prunes.. they were around)
1/4 cup.. (or way more) Smarties (or nuts, chocolate, other mix ins)
1/3 cup Agave Syrup (honey, maple, or brown rice syrup are great too)
1/2 cup nut butter (used a mix of pb and soy nut.. they were around)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine Rice Krispies, Oats, Flaxseed Meal, Dried Fruit, and other dry mix-ins in a large Bowl.
Heat butter and syrup until melted together. I did this with 30 seconds in the microwave, then mixed in the vanilla.
Finally pour the wet over the dry ingredients and mix. That's right with your hands. No pansies in my kitchen. Though, my mother would have you know that pansies are one of the most durable and resilient flowers around. Back on topic. Press the mixture as firmly as possible into a pan of desired size and chill for at least a half hour.
So, I have posts upon posts under construction dealing with the fabulous birthday of my fantastic four year old frere. In the meantime, I will share with you the mother of all sweet potatoes. Take a gander.
... when you discover how exceptionally delicious, dirt cheap and dead easy it is to make it yourself! The only strange ingredient that won't already be in your cupboard already is tahini, sesame seed butter, but its worth to buy a jar and store in the fridge because once you make hummus once, you'll turn into a regular.
Recipe:
To be honest, I never really use a recipe so approach this as more of a guideline. Do plenty of taste-testing along the way until you have our desired consistency and flavour.
1 (15 oz.) can of chickpeas
2 tbsp. tahini
4 tbsp. lemon juice
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
- Rinse chickpeas well
- Blend all ingredients in a food processor until creamy
- That's it!
The ingredients above are just the basics but the possibilities of things to add are endless. I love using roasted garlic because it has a more gentle flavour and you can use more of it with out getting the garlic 'sting'. I also prefer soy sauce over salt and always add cumin and various other spices.
Today I added 1/4 c. sweet roasted red peppers, soy sauce, cumin, and fresh basil and oregano.
Almost as good as cookies but you can eat it for breakfast. Everyone knows you're supposed to put cinnamon and brown-sugar on oatmeal but switch it up and use molasses and powdered ginger and voila, gingerbread oatmeal! I also added trail-mix, bananas and plain yogurt because all those things are wonderful.
Nothing beats cardamom...it's spicy and kind of like cinnamon and ginger but so so much better! It is mostly found in Indian curry dishes and Scandinavian pastries, which is pretty random but proves that cardamom is great in anything. Today, I found a new use for my favourite spice in Cardamom Crisps. I modified a recipe for Moravian cookies, which are a tradition from the Moravian Christian communities in colonial America. Careful though, these cookies end up being too spicy for church.
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 molasses
2 large eggs
2 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 1/2 ground ginger
1/4 ground cloves
Blanched sliced almonds, ground almonds or whatever you please for topping
1. Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap, allowing some to overhang the sides
2. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt
3. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy
4. Add egg and spices
5. Add in flour mixture in 3 parts
6. Pour mixture in pans, cover with plastic, and freeze for at least 1.5 hrs
7. Preheat oven to 400 F
8. Slice dough as thinly as possible with a sharp knife
9. Place on baking pans and top with almonds
10. Bake until dark, golden brown, about 7-9 minutes
11. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely
These cookies were perfect with Bengal Spice tea. Although usually not a fan of herbal tea this one is amazing! Introduced to me by the H-Core paddling-phenomenon Katrina.
To continue with the jam packed food filled evening that followed our fun run ( still not having showered at this point, FYI) we decided to conquer our dessert dreams. Stumbling through the interwebs, we came up with a winning combination to use both our heaps of mangoes, and our ability to make ice cream! Hurray Ice Cream Ball!
My heart was set on making a galette (rustic tart) to showcase the magnificence that is mango. Along my foodblog travels I discovered an intriguing yet simple recipe for sour cream ice cream through The Family Kitchen. Considering my history (as a child of course) for digging a spoon into the sour cream container, this recipe was a definite GO. Through a combo of Cannelle et Vanille and the brain, the mango rustic tart was born.
Adele set off to OWN our new found ice cream recipe. And by OWN I clearly mean shake that ball like a stubborn baby for over a half hour!
Filled with these ingredients:
• 2 cups full-fat sour cream, chilled
• 1 1/2 cup half & half • 1/2 cup sugar or 1/3 cup honey • 1 tsp. lemon juice • 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla • pinch salt
Just a note, we halved the recipe due to ball size. Ha. Haha. Ha. Dell is a pro at baby shaking and knew exactly when to stop, mix up its innards, and get right back at it. The ice cream was perfection.
Meanwhile I took the Kitchenaid by storm and whipped together the crust recipe with aid from the lovely site above.
Short Dough:
• Just over 1 cup butter
• 1 1/8 cup powdered sugar
• 1 egg
• zest from one orange
• 3 1/3 cup flour
• 3/8 tsp baking powder (yes I was anal when converting from grams)
• 1/2 tsp salt
After creaming the first two ingredients in said magic machine, add the next two, mix, then last three, mixed. Then chill for a half hour (in da freezer) or more in da fridge, and roll that baby out. I can roll a mean crust mind you, so I kept atter until the size was satisfactory. It was big.
Now came the real fillin
• three ripe mangoes, thinly sliced
• sprinkle of cane sugar
• beaten egg (for wash)
Decoratively arrange the sliced mangoes around the tart and sprinkle them with cane sugar before folding up the edges wherever you see fit. Lightly glaze the whole tart with egg wash using a pastry brush and do a final sprinkling. It should look roughly (and I mean roughly, It's a rustic little bugger after all) like my beautiful offspring below:
She grew even more gorgeous after being in a 400° oven for around a half hour.
Finally, talk about a power couple:
If you want your night to end sweet and satisfied, because it hasn't in a while, follow the above instructions, or find a new lover.
The tales of two athletes trying to satisfy their voracious appetites for culinary adventures, mountain trails, and the midnight sun. Attempting along the way to fill the stomachs of B's Northern family. With one adorable 3 year old monster, two welcoming parents, and endless back country to conquer we've still got a long way to go.
