Month: October 2012

Monica’s Great Grandma’s (Not So) Nutty Biscuits

Monica’s Great Grandma’s (Not So) Nutty Biscuits

Ms Monica (pictured above) is one of the many committed dancers at Dance Co. Her mom Annemarie advises these cookies have received “The BEST cookies I’ve ever made”,  seal of approval. That’s more than good enough for me! For reasons that will remain a mystery 

Cranberry Sauce Muffins

Cranberry Sauce Muffins

It’s a muffin kind of day. Two hours of raking leaves left me a bit hungry. This is an adaptation of a cranberry sauce muffin recipe I found online. I made the recipe and liked it but substituted yogurt for the sour cream. This time 

Arugula Pasta Toss

Arugula Pasta Toss

Arugula pasta toss is quick, easy, and delicious.

You will need:

Roasted tomatoes
4 cooked chicken breasts sliced (or leftovers from a roast chicken)
2 handfuls of arugula
1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese
1 c. orzo (boil in salted water for 6 minutes and drain)
Freshly ground black pepper.

Toss the tomatoes, sliced chicken, arugula and cheese together. Cook the orzo, drain and toss with the other ingredients. Grind fresh pepper on top.

Yield 4 servings.

Chayote..not to be confused with Peyote

Chayote..not to be confused with Peyote

My friends Doris and Wilson brought some chayote squash into the office last week and I thought I’d give it a go cooking it up for lunch.  The picture shows two squash cut into slices but you can see what a chayote squash looks like 

Great Food Blog:  Love & Lemons

Great Food Blog: Love & Lemons

My friend Tracy Rowand is the beauty and brains behind A Taste to Savour catering here in Vancouver. Recently, she’s embarked on a gluten free adventure and has been posting recipes. One of them was for polenta with mushrooms that looked absolutely incredible – of 

Roasted Campari Tomatoes

Roasted Campari Tomatoes

My local veggie market (Young Brothers Produce on Broadway) had Campari Tomatoes on special this weekend so I ended up buying two packages. I like making pasta tosses and roasted tomatoes go well with just about any toss you can think up. Tomorrow I’m thinking about making the orzo and arugula salad from Love & Lemons (recipe here) and adding in the tomatoes for an extra bit of zip instead of sun dried. There’s also a spinach version from Dinner with Julie (recipe here) that looks good too. Decisions, decisions.

You will need:

2 packages Campari tomatoes washed and cut in half
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp dried thyme
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

  1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
  2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  3. Pour olive oil onto a plate and dip the cut sides of the tomatoes in it and place on cookie sheet close together.
  4. Sprinkle with garlic, thyme and grind sea salt and pepper over top to taste.
  5. Roast for 45 minutes and cool slightly before using.

These keep for a couple days in the fridge but it’s best to use them at room temperature so the flavours come out.

 

Quinoa (Keen-wah) Salad with Tomatoes, Feta + Fresh Herbs

Quinoa (Keen-wah) Salad with Tomatoes, Feta + Fresh Herbs

Quinoa is perfect if you’ve got a kid who needs to eat gluten free. It’s now available at most grocery stores. Look for the organic, yellow one (it has a mild nutty flavour…without the nuts). This is a super easy recipe and you can pretty 

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

We are heading into soup weather (also time to clean out the vegetable drawer!). This recipe is cobbled together from half a dozen different recipes I found online and what I had on hand that needed to be cooked. The result was flavourful and spicy. 

Skunkworks Pasta Toss

Skunkworks Pasta Toss

I first made this for my colleagues at Skunkworks Creative Group Inc., thus the name. It works best with a hefty pasta like rotini, fusilli, penne or cavatappi.

You will need:

2 c. pasta of your choice
1 bag of baby spinach or arugula (washed and spun if not pre-washed…unless you like grit in your pasta)
3 Tbsp basil or sundried tomato pesto
1/2 c. kalamata olives (pitted is best but unpitted will do)
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes halved or 2 ripe tomatoes chopped
1 Tbsp capers
1/2 c. grated carrot (optional)
1 red pepper diced (optional)
1/2 c. shredded parmasan (not the powdered stuff) or feta if you prefer (both work well)
1/4 c. toasted pine nuts

  1. Put spinach or arugula, olives, capers, carrot, and pepper in a large bowl. Toss.
  2. Cook pasta according to package instructions, drain, and toss with pesto.
  3. While still hot toss the pasta with the spinach mixture until the spinach/argula leaves start to wilt.
  4. Toss in the parmasan and pine nuts and toss to mix.
  5. Serve with crusty rolls or a nice foccacia bread.

Serves 4-6

 

El Cheapo Carrot and Orange Soup

El Cheapo Carrot and Orange Soup

Tonight my daughter asked me if we could get carrot soup from Burgoo (a local chain in Vancouver known for their soups and stews). Since it was rainy and I was feeling lazy I said sure. Little did I know they had taken it off