Recent Posts

Peanut Butter, Nutella, Chocolate Chip Cookies
November 4, 2018

Peanut Butter, Nutella, Chocolate Chip Cookies

My sweet tooth was bugging me today. I had a massive jar of Nutella and one of Peanut butter that I’m sure I will not get through on my own, so I thought I’d have a go at inventing a new cookie. It’s a mash …

Baked treats, Cookies
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by Marni MacLeod
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1 Comment
Simple Onion and Tomato Quiche with Cheddar and Feta
May 21, 2018

Simple Onion and Tomato Quiche with Cheddar and Feta

I have to confess I did not feel like cooking tonight. However, this onion and tomato quiche fit the bill for my lazy mood. If you have extra greens, like spinach or chard, you could add them when you are sauteing the onion. Left over …

Dinner, Pie, Vegetarian
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by Marni MacLeod
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0 Comments
No Fuss Chocolate Pie
May 21, 2018

No Fuss Chocolate Pie

Chocolate pie is easy, rich and delicious. Kind of like chocolate pudding in a crust. You can use store bought pie crust or make your own. No judgment here.

Pie Crust

Makes 4 crusts – wrap and freeze what you don’t use.

  • 5 C flour
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 C vegetable shortening or lard
  • 1 C butter
  • 3 Tbsps sour cream, add enough cold water to make 200 mL liquid

Method

  1. Whisk flour and salt together in a large bowl.
  2. Cut the shortening and the butter in to cubes and add to flour.
  3. Use a pastry cutter or your fingers to crumble the shortening/butter into the flour. You want to end up with something that looks like small peas.
  4. Add the sour cream liquid a bit at a time, stiring until a ball forms.
  5. Knead the dough a bit to make it come together.
  6. Divide into four and wrap in plastic wrap shaping into flattened disks as you go.
  7. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.

Filling

I modified the recipe from Tasty Kitchen by adding vanilla. Thank you Tasty Kitchen for a great recipe that is so simple to make.

  • 1 1/4 C white sugar
  • 3 heaping Tbsp of cocoa powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 10 Tbps unsweetened evapourated milk
  • 1/4 C butter melted and cooled
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk the sugar and cocoa powder making sure to get out all the lumps.
  3. In a second smaller bowl, whisk the eggs and evaporated milk together, add the butter and vanilla and continue whisking until well incorporated. The filling will be quite thin, don’t worry about that.
  4. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the cocoa powder and sugar mixture, whisking until well incorporated.
  5. Bring one of your portions of pie crust dough to room temperature and roll out on a piece of parchment paper generously dusted with flour.
  6. Transfer the crust to a pie plate, crimp the edges and prick the dough with a fork several times.
  7. Pour filling into the pie cruse and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the filling starts to set, you’ll see a thin chocolate skin start to develop on top. If you are worried about under cooking it, let it go another 5 minutes. It won’t hurt.
  8. Remove pie from the oven and cool completely.
  9. Chill or serve at room temperature with whipped cream and sliced fresh strawberries or other seasonal fruit.

Serves 8

Pie
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by Marni MacLeod
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0 Comments
Deconstructed Salade Niçoise with Seared Ahi Tuna – Mother’s Day Dinner
May 13, 2018

Deconstructed Salade Niçoise with Seared Ahi Tuna – Mother’s Day Dinner

My Mother’s Day dinner of choice was a Salade Niçoise with seared Ahi tuna. We are a family who cooks and a dinner out is the exception not the norm so my son, who is home from Uni for the summer (yay!) helped me prepare …

Salad
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by Marni MacLeod
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0 Comments
Leek, Onion, and Rainbow Chard “Spanokopita”
May 12, 2018

Leek, Onion, and Rainbow Chard “Spanokopita”

I love Spanokopita and this leek, onion, and rainbow chard pie is my take on a Greek dish that borrows a bit from this recipe for Greek Leek Pie from Nancy Gaifyllia of The Spruce Eats (thank-you Nancy!). It is not entirely coincidental that it …

Dinner, Vegetarian
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by Marni MacLeod
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0 Comments
Leek and Mushroom Pie
April 15, 2018

Leek and Mushroom Pie

I love the delicate flavour of leek and mushroom pie, it is satisfying on it’s own or when paired with bacon or chicken. Serve it with a salad and some roasted veg and you have a balanced, nutritious meal.

A note about leeks: because they are grown in sandy soil you need wash them really, really well. Don’t know how to do that? Here’s a handy video from Dani Spies (she’s got a great YouTube channel for learning about food prep):

Crust:

Use your favourite recipe or a store bought crust. If you want an easy pie crust recipe, check out this Pastry Dough from Epicurious.

Filling:

  • Two large leeks, cut into moons and cleaned well
  • 1 C sliced mushrooms (any kind)
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 1 C milk
  • 1/2 C sharp cheddar, grated
  • 1 Tbsp grainy mustard
  • 1/4 tsp ground sage
  • 1/4 C chopped chives
  • 1/2 Tsp white pepper
  • 4-6 rashers of bacon chopped and browned (you could substitute cooked chicken if you don’t eat pork)
  • 1 egg well beaten
  • Salt and pepper to your taste

Instructions:

  1. Heat oil and butter in a saute pan with high sides.
  2. Add the leeks and mushrooms and saute until soft (about 5 minutes).
  3. Sprinkle in the the flour and mix to coat the veg.
  4. Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly until the sauce starts to thicken.
  5. Add  add the mustard and sage and stir.
  6. Stir in the cheese, chive and cooked bacon and let the filling simmer for 5 minutes.
  7. Remove from heat and let cool.
  8. Grease whatever baking pan you are going to use.
  9. Put sauce in the bottom of your baking pan.
  10. Roll out crust to 1/4″ thickness to fit the top of your backing pan and place on top, with a 1/4″ to 1/2″ border.
  11. Tuck the crust into the filling and brush the crust all over with the beaten egg.
  12. Cut some vents into the crust.
  13. Give it a good grind of pepper and a pinch of salt over the top.
  14. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

Remove move from oven and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. You can make this ahead and just reheat it when you are ready to eat.

Serves 6.

Pie, Vegetables
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by Marni MacLeod
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0 Comments
Sour Cream Apple Pie
April 15, 2018

Sour Cream Apple Pie

Sour cream apple pie is easy and delicious. Crust: You can make your own pie crust using your favourite recipe (the one off the Crisco box works perfectly well) or use store bought. If you want a quick and easy recipe use this Pastry Dough …

Dessert, Pie
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by Marni MacLeod
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0 Comments
Turnips, Collard Greens and Cabbage Shoots with Applewood Smoked Bacon
April 13, 2018

Turnips, Collard Greens and Cabbage Shoots with Applewood Smoked Bacon

I hate turnips. Or at least I’m thought I did. Bad experience in my youth. Also true, I absolutely love collard greens. When collard greens are cooked right there is nothing better. So, when I got collard greens, cabbage shoots, and turnips in my Organivores …

Side Dish, Vegetables
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by Marni MacLeod
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0 Comments
Stripetti Squash with Sundried Tomatoes
April 8, 2018

Stripetti Squash with Sundried Tomatoes

I finally got around to roasting up the stripetti squash that came with my first bin from Organivores. A stripetti squash is a cross between a spaghetti squash and a delicata squash (apparently). In my opinion, the taste and texture are pretty much the same as a spaghetti squash so I cooked it the same way.

Ingredients

  • 1 stripetti squash
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, diced
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp fine herbs (or thyme)
  • 1 tsp rosemary rock salt
  • 5 sundried tomatoes packed in oil, cut into strips and then diced
  • Fresh ground pepper to taste

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 375F.
  2. Poke a couple holes in the squash with a meat fork and put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  3. Roast for 60 minutes or until you can easily insert a knife.
  4. Let cool until you can handle it easily.
  5. Cut the stripetti squash in half and carefully scoop out the seeds.
  6. Using a fork, scrape the flesh out into a large bowl. If the stripetti squash is cooked enough it should come away easily in short strands. If it doesn’t, you need to pop it back in the oven for a bit or microwave it.
  7. Toss with the butter and set aside.
  8. Heat olive oil in a big frying pan.
  9. Add the onions and garlic and saute until fragrant (this won’t take long).
  10. Add the squash and toss the works together.
  11. Add the herbs and rock salt and toss.
  12. Add the diced sundried tomatoes.
  13. Give it a good grind of fresh pepper.
  14. Correct the salt to taste.

Serves 6 as a side dish.

Vegetables
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by Marni MacLeod
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0 Comments
Dandelion Greens with Red Pepper
April 8, 2018

Dandelion Greens with Red Pepper

My Organivores bin had a myriad of greens this week including a big bunch of dandelion greens. Yup, weed leaves. And, I have to say, they are delicious. First up, I had a look around on the web to see how exactly one prepares and …

Vegetables
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by Marni MacLeod
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0 Comments