March 31st: Creamy shrimp fettuccine

Quickie Thursday evening meal from March 2011's Chatelaine: Creamy shrimp fettuccine. Yummy pasta, shrimp and leeks in a light cream sauce, enjoyed by all three of us. As I was making the meal, Olivia declared, "I don't like shrimp!" to which I replied (my standard), "That's okay, you don't have to like it, you just have to eat one." Some time later, as we sat down to eat, Olivia picked up her one shrimp, ate one bite and said, "I like this," to which I replied, "Good, that's your shrimp!" She looked surprised, as though she had never seen shrimp before, and she ended up eating three of them. Bottom line: Don't trust your 3-year old's supposed taste preferences. She clearly doesn't know what she's talking about.

Good-bye, March!

March 30th: beef shawarma ... on baguette?

We had a virus awhile back that ate a number of the pictures on our laptop. We have a goodly number on the Mac, so we haven't lost everything, but we have lost some gems. My blogspot profile pic exists on blogspot only. One of the less important pics, but one I had been planning to use for some time, was a picture of me looking sheepish as I hold up a copy of Company's Coming Inviting Asian Flavours. In January, I slagged Lindsay for asking me to cook out of a book I don't have. She responded forthwith, sending me said cookbook in the mail. Ask and ye shall receive. Though my asking was on the passive aggressive side, which is not so attractive.

I have made two recipes out of this book since receiving it. One I didn't write about, as I decided to spare you the descriptions of meals that don't turn out (unless I have a spectacular disaster to share!) and also gain some sleep for myself, a useless pursuit in general.

Tonight, I made a steak with shawarma flavours. Let's start with the recipe:


2 tbsp pomegranate molasses (more on this later)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp each: ground allspice, curry powder, ground cinnamon, salt and pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 x 225 g beef strip loin steaks


baguette, hummus, tomato, cucumber, red onion


Combine molasses, garlic and all spices, pour over steak and allow to marinate 6 hours. Drain and discard marinade. BBQ steak as desired. Split and toast baguette, spread with hummus, slice steaks and arrange on baguette with veggies. Makes 4 sandwiches.

The baguette does make for nice presentation, but see my comments below.

Except!: Pomegranate molasses: As explained in the book, pomegranate molasses "promote[s] a dark exterior that has a caramelized flavour." If you don’t have pomegranate molasses (as I do not), you can make it yourself by boiling down pomegranate juice. Easy peasy, thought I, as I bought a small but expensive bottle of juice at the grocery store. I measured out my ¾ cup, put it on the stove and let it boil away for several minutes, every once in awhile picking up the pot, swirling it around and measuring with my eyes how much more liquid needed to disappear before I would have the requisite 2 tbsp. Then, I made a novice mistake. I left the room. When next I came back (4 minutes later!), I had a smoke-filled kitchen, a pot containing a thick layer of unrecognizable, black, burnt-on juice, and a stink to high heaven. On went the fan, open went the door, water into the pan! (The water in the scorching pan caused a loud pop as a hole burst through the burnt-on juice. Although I haven't found time to clean it yet, I think my ever-abused Paderno pot came through the experiment unscathed.)

As this occurred post-10 p.m. on a Tuesday night, I didn’t bother with a second attempt. I decided some undiluted pomegranate juice would have to suffice. I mixed my juice in with my spices and garlic and poured the combo into a jar for the overnight time period. Wednesday morning, before leaving home, I quickly set my steak in a glass dish, poured my juice mixture overtop, and covered to rest in the fridge for the day.

I found the steak super flavourful, with an authentic shawarma taste. Next time, I'll slice the steak as thin as I can possibly manage, load it into a pita spread with hummus, and top with the suggested tomato, cucumber and red onion. I do not recommend serving this steak on a toasted baguette as per the recipe. I find baguettes really hard to eat (as in, their ridges cut my gums). I think a traditional pita is the way to go. Next time I will use straight pomegranate juice again and save myself the trouble of a messy pot to clean.

March 29th: Eggy Quesadillas

I was running late for supper tonight and didn't have time to make the meal I had planned, so I decided to try out this quick egg quesadilla from 101 Cookbooks. I didn't know if I would like it, but it sounded like a quick and filling meatless main, so I thought I'd give it a go. After reading through the comments a couple days back, I had already landed on the version I would make, which is:


Eggy Quesadilla


oil
1 lb mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 white onion, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper


oil
1 egg
pinch salt
1 tortilla
a bit of freshly grated Parmesan and Mozzarella
freshly ground black pepper


goat cheese


Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. When hot, fry mushrooms and onions until softened, 5-10 minutes, reducing heat if necessary. Season to taste.


Meanwhile, heat oil in a small skillet over medium. Beat the egg and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. When the pan is hot, add the egg to the pan let it set for just 10-15 seconds. Place the tortilla on top of the egg while the top of the egg is still a bit runny, so it should attach to the tortilla as it sets. When you feel like the egg has set enough not to run, flip everything. Sprinkle with Parmesan, Mozzarella and pepper to taste. Cook until the tortilla is nicely browned.


Fold the tortilla in half, top with some of the mushroom mixture and goat's cheese.


Serves 1, with enough mushrooms for 4-6 servings. Multiply as required.


I served this up with a hearty salad. Surprisingly, I loved this meal. It definitely needs to be eaten while hot and fresh, but yum! If you look at the original recipe, you will see this is quite different. I used mushrooms just because I had some that needed to be used up anyway. The great thing about this recipe is, it is completely versatile and you could use whatever ingredients you like.

March 26th: berry smoothie, roasted chickpeas and pistachios

Mmm, Saturday is the best day for making snack foods! For a Saturday morning snack, I made a fruit smoothie for Olivia and I. It took less than 2 minutes for her to spill the bright pink drink all over her white shirt.

It seems most smoothie recipes call for a banana, which I appear to be allergic to, so I am always excited when I find a good non-banana smoothie recipe. I've tried many that were not good. This one is good. The recipe comes from a cookbook we were given as a wedding present many a year ago, The Newlyweds' Cookbook.

Very Berry Smoothie

1 cup strawberries, hulled
1 cup raspberries
1/2 cup blueberries
3/4 cup cranberry juice
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp honey*
4 large ice cubes

Put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and process until almost smooth. Taste for sweetness, adding more honey, if needed. Pour into two chilled glasses and serve immediately.

Serves 2.

*The recipe calls for 1 tsp. I used 1 tbsp.

The last time her shirt was seen in its original white condition.

For a Saturday night snack for me and Greg, I tried a new variation on roasted chickpeas. I like this version even better than the last one I tried out. This one comes from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, although I tweaked it a bit.

Roasted Chickpeas and Pistachios

4 tbsps extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
1/2 cup shelled pistachios
1 tbsp minced garlic
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 lemon

Preheat oven to 400°F. Put 3 tbsps oil in a large ovenproof skillet large enough to hold the chickpeas and pistachios in one layer and put on the stove over medium heat. When hot, add the chickpeas, pistachios and garlic and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir quickly so that everything is well coated with oil and sitting in one layer.

Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast, stirring occcasionally, until the chickpeas begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, add last 1 tbsp oil, a good squeeze of lemon juice, and more salt and pepper, if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store in the refrigerator.

Serves 2 as a great snack for movie-watching! That's what we did. But we're lame and fell asleep watching the movie, which was some Woody Allen movie, I don't even know which one. I am so old.

The cookbook suggests topping the hot chickpeas with curry powder or chili powder rather than lemon juice. I think that sounds good too, but haven't tried them out.

March 25th: pizza pockets

I've seen many a recipe for pizza pockets, and I've made some myself in the past. Whatever way you make them, they are much better for you than the frozen variety. This Friday night, being my last Friday night I'm teaching BODYFLOW (next week I start teaching Friday mornings), it was my last Friday night I had to throw something together and then get out the door. Pizza pockets seemed like a good way to go. They come together quickly and are filling. This is my own recipe, from out of my head:

Pizza Pockets

canola oil
2 portobello mushrooms, chopped
1 sweet pepper, chopped
1 small onion, or 1/2 large onion, diced
1/2 cup diced pepperoni
398 mL can tomato sauce
1 small tomato, diced
salt, freshly ground black pepper and dried oregano, to taste
small pitas with pockets
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat until hot. Add mushrooms, pepper and onion to pan and fry, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften, 5 minutes or more. Stir in pepperoni, then pour in tomato sauce, diced tomato and salt, freshly ground black pepper and dried oregano, to taste. Stir and allow mixture to heat through.

Meanwhile, slice pitas partway open and stuff with shredded cheese. Once pizza mixture is hot, scoop lots into each pita, place in an oven-safe pan, and bake until cheese is melted, pita is getting toasty, and sauce is hot, about 5 minutes.

Pre-oven.

Post-oven.

March 24th: Cajun shrimp

I can't for the life of me figure out why this shrimp tastes so incredibly good. It has 5 ingredients, comes together in 10 minutes and tastes like the best thing I have eaten all week. It must be that perfect blend of butter and spice, combined with fresh, perfectly-cooked shrimp, whetted with appetite, equals perfection. Confession: I even used store-bought garlic butter rather than take the time to mince a garlic clove, even though I already had to mince a garlic clove for my salad dressing. Here it is, from March 2010's Chatelaine: Cajun shrimp. Shrimp + red pepper + butter, garlic, Cajun spice + green onions = one delicious supper.

 

The magazine recommends eating this with rice and salad, which Olivia and I did. Great supper. Bring on the weekend.

March 23rd: roasted tomatoes, warm potato-veggie salad

This is at least the third time we've made these tomatoes, from March 2008's Chatelaine, and we've now decided to toss the recipe, but I'll still share my version in case you think it might be up your alley:

1 pint cherry tomatoes

2+ garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
1 tsp (5 mL) Italian seasoning
Pinches of salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp (15 mL) balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup (50 mL) chopped fresh parsley (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Place tomatoes and garlic in an oven-safe bowl. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Roast 40 to 45 min.
2. Drizzle tomatoes with vinegar and stir to coat. Sprinkle with parsley if desired.

The warm potato salad, also adapted from March 2008's Chatelaine, I love love love. Greg, not so much. It's pretty strongly flavoured with vinegar and garlic, but I reduced the flavour and acidity somewhat by removing the anchovies, capers and olives (Olivia still got olives in hers). Here's my version, which I recommend and Greg does not:

6 medium potatoes, preferably red
1/4 cup (50 mL) white-wine vinegar
2+ garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp (2 mL) each dried oregano leaves, salt and pepper
1/3 cup (75 mL) olive oil
1/2 lb (250 g) green beans
1 red or yellow pepper
1/2 red onion
1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped fresh basil (optional)

1. Cut potatoes in quarters and place in a large saucepan of water. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and boil gently until fork-tender, 15 to 18 min. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk vinegar with garlic and seasonings. Slowly whisk in oil. Trim beans and thinly slice pepper and onion.
2. About 2 min before potatoes are tender, add beans, pepper and onion to potatoes. When done, drain well. Place in a large bowl. Drizzle with dressing and toss to coat. Sprinkle with basil if desired.

Served with the first barbecued steak of 2011.
Oh, barbecue. Oh, striploin. How I have missed you both.

March 22nd: cheese sauce

We didn't just have cheese sauce for supper, but it's the only recipe I'm sharing tonight. I had been planning to eat out, but ended up at home and had to throw together supper from items in the fridge; this is not my forte, but I managed. I made pork chops, oven-roasted tomatoes (check back tomorrow for that recipe), and then, to accompany some aging broccoli and cauliflower from a veggie tray, I made cheese sauce. I've never made cheese sauce for Olivia before (how is this possible?) and man oh man did she ever love it. We ended up taking the pot into the dining room after supper and scraping out cheese sauce with our forks. I think this girl is ready for fondue. My favourite cheese sauce recipe comes from the Joy of Cooking (sorry, Mom!), and here it is:


Cheese Sauce


2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 cup Cheddar cheese*
1/2 tsp salt**
1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
1/8 tsp paprika
pinch cayenne


Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add flour and blend with a whisk. Slowly add milk and whisk thoroughly until smooth and hot. Stir in cheese until melted, then season with salt, mustard, paprika and cayenne.

*the stronger the cheese the better, in my opinion
**some may find this too salty

March 20th: broccoli salad, veggies & tortellini

I have a broccoli salad recipe that I L O V E, that came from Jane (Y. L., not M.). Here it is:


3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
2 heads of broccoli, cut into pieces and blanched*
1/2 red onion, finely diced
10-12 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese

In a large bowl, stir together first three ingredients. Add remaining ingredients, stir until combined, and if there is time, let the salad sit to develop flavours.

*My preference, always, is to blanch the broccoli for one minute in boiling water, then plunge in cold water to stop the cooking. Perfectly al dente every time. I do this for every broccoli salad I make.

Unfortunately, this recipe is high in sugar, salt and fat, and I feel sick every time I eat it. Alas. So I try broccoli salad recipes every time I come across a new one that sounds good. Tonight, I tried one from March 2011's Chatelaine: Broccoli-almond salad. This one has no bacon or cheese, adds in some toasted almonds (yum) and lightens up the sauce a great deal. The apple cider vinegar adds a distinctly different flavour than the white vinegar, which I like. I found it a little light on sauce and would recommend making a bit extra. Also, blanch your broccoli. Otherwise, I think I have a new winner. Definitely no ill feelings after eating this one.

Also for supper, I altered a pasta recipe I found in March 2010's Chatelaine: Bacon and veggie ravioli. Here's my version:


Veggies & Tortellini

• 700-g pkg tri-colour three cheese tortellini
• 1 small or 1/2 large onion
• 2 sweet peppers, preferably yellow or orange
• 2 tbsps olive oil
• 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
• salt
• 142 g baby spinach
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) grated Parmesan (optional)

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add tortellini to boiling water. Cook according to package directions. Meanwhile, slice onion into thin strips and coarsely chop peppers.
2. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium. Add onion, pepper and tomatoes. Sprinkle with pinches of salt. Stir occasionally, until onion is tender and tomatoes begin to soften, about 5 min.
3. Drain pasta, then return to pot. Add tomato mixture along with spinach to pot. Stir often until spinach begins to wilt, about 1 min. Serve and top with a sprinkle of Parmesan.

I purposely make my garlic bread look like store-bought,
just to amuse myself.

March 19th: slow cooker baked beans

I make baked beans about once every five years, because I always get stuck eating a huge pot of beans myself, which is not the easiest thing in the world to do. Greg doesn't like beans. I was hoping Olivia would like beans when I set out to make the easiest baked beans ever: from March 2011's Chatelaine: Classic Baked Beans. These are so easy: you put the dry beans in the slow cooker, add lots of water and flavour and 9 hours later, you are done. The recipe says you need 10 hours, but mine were done after 9. And, they were super tasty. AND, Greg loved them. Ha! Olivia didn't give them much of a chance, unfortunately. But I had already fed her by the time they were done. I might not make beans again for another five years, but when I do, I think it will be these beans.

Grandma's brown bread rolls would have been my preferred side,
but I just can't seem to make them like she does.

March 15th: caramelized-shallot mashed potatoes

Bright and early tomorrow, I'm on a plane to Calgary, then driving to Canmore for the next couple of days. I can't tell you how excited I am to see the Rockies in person.

Greg took Olivia to the hockey game tonight. The Senators are failing miserably these days, but with seasons tickets, you can't pass up a game.

With the two of them out of the house, I had all the time I needed to pack my bags for the trip--whoa whoa whoa, let me correct myself: pack my BAG because bloody Air Canada only allows one checked luggage these days. Don't get me started on my airport/airline/flying beef(s).

While I should have been packing, I instead took the time to cook up a comfort meal as I face down three days of eating out. I don't much enjoy eating out, other than at really, really good -- read, expensive -- restaurants. I generally figure I am a better cook than a whole lotta cooks out there.


So, I roasted some sweet peppers and sesame-encrusted salmon, and to accompany, I made, from Epicurious, Caramelized-Shallot Mashed Potatoes: mashed potatoes with cream and caramelized shallots. I love potatoes, and I love onion in all its forms, and this is a yummy, rich and creamy onion-potato dish. Highly recommended.

If you're thinking those shallots are suspiciously purple, I was short on shallots so used some red onion to get the full two cups.

March 13th: orzo super salad, veggie & barley soup, mushroom & cream pasta

Clearly, I am going on another work trip and my guilt complex has caused me to go overboard on the "preparing food for my family to survive in my absence" drive. Here's all the stuff I made Sunday:

From 101 Cookbooks: Orzo Super Salad. This is a cold pasta salad with green veggies (you can substitute whatever you want), feta and avocado in a lemon, garlic, olive oil dressing. It's awesome.

I doubled the garlic, which caused Olivia to declare it "too spicy" and not eat it. Strike 1 of the day. I loaded in the cilantro, which caused Greg to decide he could probably force some of it down. Strike 2. Looks like I'll be eating it myself. Part one of making food for my absence failed. On to part two.

Inspired by Cooking With My Kid, and the tasty beef & barley soup we ate last week, I made a veggie & barley soup. I loaded in the Swiss chard, which apparently tastes like beets to Greg, and he doesn't like beets. Strike 3. I have A LOT of soup to be eating up in the next two days. Luckily, O seems to like it, so we'll share the load. Here's my version:

Vegetable and Barley Soup

oil

1 cup each chopped celery, carrot and onion

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 bunch Swiss chard stems, chopped finely (save leaves for later)

4 cups, or one carton, beef broth

3 cups water

1 cup tomato sauce

2 medium red potatoes, diced

2/3 cup pearl barley, rinsed

1 1/2 tsps marjoram

3/4 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

salt to taste

2 bay leaves

1 bunch reserved Swiss chard leaves, chopped finely

1/3 cup minced fresh parsley

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add celery, carrot, onion, garlic and Swiss chard stems and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-10 minutes, until starting to brown.

Add next ten ingredients (broth through to bay leaves) and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally for 1 hour, 20 minutes. Stir in Swiss chard leaves, cover and cook for 10 more minutes. Stir in parsley and lemon juice, season to taste, and serve hot.

Makes 8 servings.

Part two semi-failed. Part three:

Finally, for supper, inspired by the vegetarian salmon, I made a mushroom & cream pasta, to which I added the leftover asparagus and broccoli I didn't need for the orzo salad. This was actually pretty good, and G & O agreed. No surprise there, as it was the plainest of the three foods I made. Unfortunately, I didn't make a tonne, so it's not going to last more than a day or two. The recipe didn't say how much pasta to cook; I used two cups dry penne, and that seemed like the perfect amount. Strike 4ish, for not making enough of this. Part three semi-failed.

Best laid schemes.

March 12th: poached eggs for brunch, fajitas for supper

Our after-swimming-lesson-brunch was poached eggs on toast, jazzed up with focaccia for bread, and prosciutto and sautéed spinach for toppings. This was a re-try from last year, and this time we decided a couple of slices of old Cheddar on each piece of toast was a perfect addition. Served up with fruit, brunch was complete and delicious. From March 2010's Chatelaine: poached eggs over sautéed greens and toast.

For supper, I made fajitas, with one small change: inspired by Cooking With My Kid, I roasted a whole chicken (I skipped the crock pot method) with some fajita seasoning rubbed over the bird. I didn't find the chicken had much flavour beyond that infused by the lemon in its cavity, however, I did find the fajitas less greasy than usual, because the meat was baked rather than fried. The pièce de résistance, though, was my guacamole, a recipe I have perfected over the years:

Guacamole

2 ripe avocados
1/2 lime
salt and cayenne pepper, to taste
1/4 large red onion, diced fine
1 jalapeño pepper, diced fine
1/4 cup minced cilantro
10 grape tomatoes, quartered

Peel, pit and chop avocado flesh into a medium bowl. Squeeze lime half over top, sprinkle with salt and cayenne pepper, then mash avocado roughly. Stir in onion, jalapeño and cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning. Top with grape tomatoes.

The key with this recipe is to adjust the quantities as you see fit. Tonight, for example, I had some bad avocados, so I ended up using 4, with all the bad spots cut away, to get the right amount of avocado for the dip to have good consistency. Then I had to squeeze on another lime half to get the taste right. Play with this recipe. Make it your own. Love it as I do!

March 7th: sausage and egg puff pastry pie

Have you ever wondered what that picture at the top of my blog home page is? Tonight, I retried this one, from February 2010's Today's Parent: sausage and egg puff pastry pie.

I find it a little meat heavy, and I'm thinking of trying it again, leaving out the ham, taking away one of the sausages, and adding in some onion and diced sweet pepper. I made it this time around with pre-rolled puff pastry, which I don't think is quite as good, but does save a few minutes.


When I made it last year in February, it turned out so beautifully I simply had to take pictures. Now, looking back, that lovely picture up there was taken before the plate (and all my other plates!) acquired chips along its side. I need to invest in some good quality plates that won't chip. Add it to the list!

March 6th: Beef & Barley Soup

Another gem from Crazy Plates: Beef & Barley Soup. I only alter this recipe ever so slightly. Served up with chive biscuits from the freezer, this was a great way to finish the weekend/start the week.

Here's the recipe:

Beef and Barley Soup

oil

1 lb stewing beef, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 cup each chopped celery, carrot and onion

4 garlic cloves, chopped

4 cups, or one carton, beef broth

3 cups water

1 cup tomato sauce

2/3 cup pearl barley, rinsed

1 1/2 tsps marjoram

3/4 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

salt to taste

1/3 cup minced fresh parsley

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add beef and brown on all sides.

Reduce heat to medium. Add celery, carrot, onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients, except for parsley, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally for 1 1/2 hours. Stir in parsley, season to taste, and serve hot.

Makes 6 servings.

March 5th: Happy Birthday to Moi: carrot cake, portos + goat cheese, loaded baked potato skins

Happy Birthday to me! (From Kat)

I first tried this Epicurious carrot cake in the summer of 2008 when I was home in Nova Scotia. Shannon's friend Shannon made it and I thought it was the best carrot cake I had ever eaten. I tried making it once myself before and it didn't taste as good as I remembered. I had faith in the recipe though, so for my 32nd (gulp) birthday, I thought O and I should give it another go-around. There's a lot in this recipe besides carrots: candied ginger, pineapple, coconut and macadamia nuts, and we topped the whole deal off with cream cheese icing. Yum yum yum. I skipped the three-tiered dealio and just made a 13x9 inch cake. I SHOULD have divided the batter between the big pan and one small or two mini pans. In retrospect, I remember that was the problem last time around: there is so much batter in the pan that the cake starts to burn around the outside before the middle is cooked. But it was still delicious and the best carrot cake I've ever eaten. My goodness, I've been eating A LOT of it this weekend!

If you don't like ginger, I recommend leaving it out. I love ginger and love coming across chunks of it in the cake, but I know that's not for everyone!

Hard at work

I simplified the cream cheese icing a bit:


Cream Cheese Icing


1 250 g (8 oz) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tsp each vanilla and coconut extracts
3 1/2 cups icing sugar


Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Add extracts and beat again. Beat in icing sugar and, if necessary, chill until spreadable. Spread over cake and keep the whole deal refrigerated. Or just eat it in one sitting (not really!!).

For my birthday supper, I made two of my favourites: garlic-roasted portobello mushrooms and goat cheese, and loaded baked potato skins. The former comes out of my head and the latter is adapted from Crazy Plates. Here's my version of both:


Garlic-roasted Portobellos with Goat Cheese


1 portobello mushroom
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp each dried thyme, rosemary and parsley
2 tbsp goat cheese


Preheat oven to 400°F.


Remove and discard portobello mushroom stem and clean mushroom cap. Place gill-side up in oiled baking pan.


In a small bowl, combine garlic, oil and herbs and spoon mixture over mushroom.


Bake for 10-15 minutes, until garlic starts to get brown and crunchy (that's how I like it, anyway). Remove from oven and crumble goat cheese over top.


Return to oven and turn on broiler. Broil until cheese starts to warm up or gets browned, however you like it!


Makes 1 serving. Simply multiply the recipe amounts for each person you are feeding!

Loaded Baked Potato Skins


3 baking potatoes, scrubbed and bad spots cut away
1 tbsp butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp olive oil
Cajun spice, to taste
4 bacon slices, cooked and chopped
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 green onions, sliced
salsa and sour cream to top


Preheat oven to 400°F. Poke holes in potatoes with fork or sharp knife. Lightly coat potatoes in butter. Bake for one hour, turning over halfway through, or until done. Remove from oven, split lengthwise, and let sit until cool enough to handle.


Carefully scrape out potato flesh, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Lightly brush both sides of potato skins with olive oil and place flesh-side up in baking pan. Sprinkle on Cajun spice to taste. Place under broiler for 5 minutes.


Remove from oven and top with bacon, cheese and green onions. Return to broiler and broil 2-3 minutes, until cheese is melted and potato skins are hot.


Serves 2-3. Serve topped with salsa and sour cream to taste.

I liked them better without bacon, and Greg was happy to eat my bacon for me.

To accompany, I made sugar snap peas, pan-fried with a finely diced shallot. I squeezed lemon on mine but left G&O's lemon-free. They eat enough lemon on my behalf as it is!

Awesome birthday supper. Great birthday weekend. Happy Kirsten. :)

Happy Olivia, cleaning out the icing bowl.

March 4th: lemon and olive oil spaghetti

From smitten kitchen: spaghetti with lemon and olive oil. This was my quick Friday night supper for us, the babysitter, and O. I have no idea if the babysitter liked my lemon-heavy pasta, and I wasn't there to see what O thought of it either, but Greg and I loved it. I loaded the lemon juice into my own bowl. Once again, I am lacking in a picture, in my Friday night haste to beat Sens traffic to the gym (turned out not to be an issue; everyone's stopped going to the games). But smitten kitchen has better pictures than I would ever take anyway. Suffice it to say, I LOVED this pasta and will make it again for sure!

March 3rd: Corn and Black Bean Salad

I already have an amazing corn and black bean salad recipe, courtesy of Kelly, courtesy of her fitness instructor, courtesy of Women’s Health magazine. Here's my version:


Black Bean Salad
3 cups frozen corn, thawed
1/2 cup sun-dried tomato vinaigrette
1 can (19 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tsp ground cumin
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 oz mozzarella, diced
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
2 avocados, coarsely chopped
1 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro


Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add corn and pan-roast, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.


In a large bowl, combine corn with remaining ingredients and toss together. Chill until ready to serve.


Makes 4-8 servings 


However, that salad makes a big bowl (perfect for a potluck). This week, I wanted a simple corn and black bean salad that I could take for lunch, and save myself the $5 I spend on corn and black bean salad at Green Rebel. Every time I eat one, I think, this can’t be that hard to make. It’s not, but it is a little time intensive; however, it's not too bad if you spread it over a couple of days, as I did. The genesis of the recipe came from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, but I altered it slightly.

I started Tuesday night with 1 cup dried black beans. Boiled in an open pot for 2 minutes, covered and left to sit off heat for 2 hours, salted and then gentled simmered, partially covered until done, checking for doneness every 15 minutes (it took 30-45 in total). Once done, I measured out 1 ½ cups cooked beans for this recipe, then refrigerated the rest, in its own soaking water, for another purpose, yet to be determined. From there, on Wednesday night I made the salad:

Corn and Black Bean Salad

2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil

2 cups frozen corn, thawed (I left them sitting on the counter top for a couple of hours while I made supper, ate, and put O to bed)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1-4 garlic cloves, to taste, chopped

1 ½ cups cooked and cooled black beans

1 tomato, chopped (optional)

1-4 tsps minced jalapeno, to taste

2 tbsps freshly squeezed lime juice, or more to taste

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

½ cup finely chopped cilantro

1 avocado, diced

Heat oil in a large skillet over med-hi heat. Pan fry the corn, sprinkled with some salt and pepper, until it starts to get charred and crunchy to taste, 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and stir for 1 more minute. Remove all to a large bowl.

To the bowl, add the beans, tomato, jalapeno and lime juice. Mix all and adjust seasoning to taste. I found I wanted more lime juice, 1 tbsp of olive oil and some salt and pepper. Gently stir in cilantro and, if serving immediately, avocado. Serve warm or at room temperature. If you do refrigerate it, try to allow time for it to come back to room temperature before eating.

Serves 1-4, depending on what else you might have on the go.

On Thursday, when I ate the salad for lunch, I diced up the avocado and stirred it in at the last minute. So yes, I ate this whole thing in one sitting, which I didn’t think would happen, but it was pretty good.

For future versions, I am thinking of adding diced sweet pepper and red or green onion. Of course, the more I add, the less likely I am to be able to eat it all in one go. Hm.

And, so sorry, but I didn't even think to take a picture. How about a picture of my beautiful kid playing with dried beans instead? These are old ones, from about a year ago: