March 23rd: Quinoa Tabbouleh & Peanut Butter-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

I can't believe I waited a month to write about my baby turning 2! This awesome kid is so much fun to have around and completes our family so perfectly; I can barely remember what it was like before we had her. In the time leading up to and since her birthday, she has become more independent and communicative; I enjoy her company each and every day.

Sadie Birthday Baby

For Sadie's birthday dinner, we had a big family party, with members from both sides of the family in attendance for the first time in my children's lifetime! At Greg's request, I laid out a healthy spread, which included roasted broccoli and cauliflower, roasted pork tenderloin, and a quinoa tabbouleh salad, the last of which I pulled off epicurious:


Quinoa Tabbouleh

1 cup quinoa, rinsed well
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large English hothouse cucumber or 2 Persian cucumbers, cut into 1/4" pieces
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
2/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Bring quinoa, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 1/4 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until quinoa is tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork, then let cool.

Meanwhile, whisk lemon juice and garlic in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer cooled quinoa to a large bowl; mix in 1/4 cup dressing. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover remaining dressing and quinoa separately; chill.

Add cucumber, tomatoes, herbs, and scallions to bowl with quinoa; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle remaining dressing over.

Makes 6 servings.

Going from memory, I think I altered the recipe a bit, increasing the lemon and reducing the oil, and reducing both the parsley and mint by a bit. I didn't keep notes, so this is guesswork. I do remember the salad was well-received and we enjoyed it.

For dessert, I used my Martha Stewart's Cupcakes cookbook and made:

Peanut Butter-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

4 ounces semisweet chocolate chips*

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate chips*

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

Peanut Butter Filling (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Put butter and chocolates in a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pan of simmering water; stir until melted. Remove from heat, and let cool slightly.

Whisk granulated sugar into cooled chocolate mixture. Add eggs, and whisk until mixture is smooth. Stir in vanilla. Add flour mixture; stir until well incorporated.

Spoon 2 tablespoons chocolate batter into each lined cup, followed by 1 tablespoon peanut butter filling. Repeat with another tablespoon of batter, and top with 1 teaspoon filling. Swirl top of cupcake batter and filling with a wooden skewer or toothpick.

Bake, rotating tin halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centres comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, about 40 minutes. Transfer tin to a wire rack to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days at room temperature in airtight containers.

Makes 12.

*The original called for chocolate, chopped. I always use chips. The chopping is done!

Peanut Butter Filling

4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

Stir together all ingredients until smooth. Use immediately.

Makes enough for 12 cupcakes

Thanks to Olivia bringing it to my attention just in time, I remembered one of our guests had a peanut allergy, so I subbed Wow Butter in for the peanut butter. The cupcakes were good, but I suspect with real peanut butter, they would be a truly wow experience.

That's March complete. Now for April. Eep.

March 16th: Hearty Pasta & Bean Soup

After many days of eating this soup, I decided to toss the recipe, but if you're feeding a crowd and could use it up quickly, it was pretty good. From March 2014's Chatelaine: Hearty Pasta & Bean Soup.

Hearty Pasta & Bean Soup

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil*
1 onion, finely chopped
1 1/3 cups finely diced pancetta, (about 150 g) [I used bacon]
2 red potatoes, diced
2 900-mL cartons no-salt chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 1/2 cups macaroni
540-mL can romano or borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup grated parmesan
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
4 slices Italian bread, toasted
1 garlic clove, cut in half

HEAT a large pot over medium. Add 1 tbsp oil, then onion and pancetta. Cook until onion is soft, about 3 min. Add potatoes, broth, salt and rosemary. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender, about 15 min.

ADD pasta and continue cooking until pasta is tender, about 8 min. Stir in beans. Ladle soup into bowls and top with parmesan and parsley. Drizzle with 1 tbsp oil. Serve with toasted bread rubbed with garlic and drizzled with remaining 1 tbsp oil.

*I used regular olive oil for the frying, and extra virgin for the drizzling at the end.

March 13th: All-Purpose Baking Mix and Chicken Pot Pie

I have blogged previously about my all-time favourite chicken pot pie recipe, which is to die for. Death bed food, right there. For a weeknight supper though, a bit time consuming. This one is a bit simpler. Still a bit of time involved, but not too bad, and the results are pretty tasty. From March 2014's Chatelaine: All-Purpose Baking Mix and Chicken Pot Pie.

First step is to whip up some all-purpose baking mix, which you can keep on hand for a month after making. I see now I should throw out my supply, as I haven't used it in the last month, although Chatelaine has various suggested ways to use it, including pancakes, biscuits and cookies.

All-Purpose Baking Mix

3 cups all-purpose flour (OR 1 1/2 cups each all-purpose and whole wheat flours)
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt

WHISK all ingredients together in medium bowl until combined. Use right away or store in an airtight container in a cool dry place up to 1 month.

Makes 3 cups.

Chicken Pot Pie

HEAT a large ovenproof frying pan over medium-high. Add 1 tbsp butter, then 2 carrots, cut into 1/4-in. coins; 1 cup chopped red onion; and a 227-g pkg cremini mushrooms, quartered.

COOK until mushrooms are tender, 3 to 4 min. Stir in 2 tbsp butter, then 2 tbsp all-purpose flour. Cook, stirring constantly for 30 sec. Add 1/2 cup white wine and continue cooking, 2 to 3 min. Stir in 2 cups chicken broth, then 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded. Cook until thickened. Stir in 1 tbsp chopped dill.

MIX 2 1/2 cups All-Purpose Baking Mix with 1/2 cup cold butter, cubed, and 1 cup milk in a bowl until mixture comes together. Scrape onto a floured surface and roll out to 11 in. wide and 1/4 in. thick. Use a 3-in. cookie cutter to cut 8 rounds of dough, re-rolling scraps as needed. Place rounds over chicken mixture. Brush tops with 1 beaten egg.

BAKE at 425F until golden, 15 to 20 min.

My cookie cutter must be smaller than 3 inches,
as I cut out 12 rounds, enough to fill the pan,
but I could have kept going.

Life imitating art.

We all liked this recipe. In future, I might try doubling the liquids (wine and chicken broth), as it was a bit dry the first night, and very dry the next day. It was also very meaty, probably not necessary to pick that rotisserie chicken clean.

March 12th: Baked Beans

This is a slightly cheater post, as I blogged about these beans three years ago, but I didn't include the recipe that time, so I will this time. This was the absolute perfect March Break apres ski meal. I tossed every thing in the slow cooker before Greg, O and I hit the slopes, then supper was ready and waiting when we got home. Lovely. It was also perfect timing, as they've been eating baked beans and molasses in The Long Winter, which O and I have been slogging through. She was excited to try them, but didn't like them any more this time than she did when she was 3. Alas. From March 2011's Chatelaine: Classic Baked Beans.

Classic Baked Beans

1 onion, finely chopped
4 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 cup fancy molasses
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp hot red-chili flakes
2 cups dry navy beans, rinsed
341 mL bottle beer

Stir onion with bacon, molasses, ketchup, Dijon, salt and chili flakes in slow-cooker insert. Stir in beans, beer and 3 cups of water until combined. Cover and cook on low until beans are tender, about 10 hours. Serve with baguette slices topped with grated cheese and broiled. Beans will keep well, refrigerated, up to a week.


Makes 6 servings.

March 10th: Moroccan Lentil Stew

Oopsy. Tad bit behind. Keeping this short and sweet. I wasn't going to make this recipe but Greg saw it and thought it looked good, so I made it and good thing: it was delicious! It tastes a lot like chili, but vegetarian and likely healthier. Yum yum. From March 2014's Chatelaine: Moroccan Lentil Stew.

Moroccan Lentil Stew

Heat a large saucepan over medium-high. Add 2 tsp canola oil, then 1 finely chopped medium onion. Cook, stirring often, until onion is soft, about 3 min. Add 2 tbsp curry paste,* 1 cup rinsed red lentils and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, partially covered, until lentils are tender and have absorbed all the liquid, about 30 min.

Add a 796-mL can whole tomatoes to lentils along with 1/2 tsp salt. Gently boil, uncovered, until stew reduces slightly, 5 to 10 min. Garnish with 1/4 cup each toasted slivered almonds and chopped fresh parsley. Serve with a fresh baguette.

Serves 4.


*The recipe called for Madras curry paste. I found this in the grocery store, and noting it had several chili peppers indicating a level of spiciness I figured my girls wouldn't go in for, I instead used the mild Indian curry paste I had in the fridge at home.