Monthly Archives: August 2011

Shish Taouk

Posted on by Andrea

shish tawook

[Hi everybody, it’s been awhile…I’m back from cottaging and I have been cooking like a maniac– I  just have had no time to document it. Here’s a great recipe to start off.]

What the hell is Shish Tawook you say? It’s delicious, that’s what. This recipe comes to me from Michelle Blandford-Duggan–she told me she loves this recipe …and so I tried it, and I’m so glad I did (and so was my family).  I love a kebab. This one is made with chicken, onion and peppers.  The marinade, I believe is of Persian origin, although I have done no research whatsoever. All I know is that it’s good.  The marinade, which really works best if you Continue reading →

New-fashioned Potato ‘Salad’

Posted on by Andrea

new potato salad

Everyone is probably getting tired of potato salad this late in the summer, but this isn’t really what I would consider traditional potato salad. Sure, it contains potatoes, and it’s served at room temperature, and it has a dressing on it, but that’s where the similarity ends. This recipe was inspired by my friend, Karin Reynolds, who knows how to make everything taste good.  I suspect this was an old family recipe, and I’ve modified it here and there to make it seem ‘new’.  Try it,  it really is very tasty and not boring at all, and it’s a delicious way to use those great new potatoes that the farmer’s markets are full of right now. Continue reading →

Stacked Tomato Asiago Salad with Basil Pesto

Posted on by Andrea

stacked fresh tomatoes with asiago cheese and basil pesto

I bought a huge bunch of organic basil at the farmer’s market and decided to make it into pesto.  I can’t imagine what else you could do with it so I cleaned it up and made a classic pesto, except I used walnuts instead of pine nuts and I added some lemon rind in as well.  Plus, if you make it fresh, it’s so much better than anything you can buy at the store.  Pesto essentially mean ‘paste’, so bear in mind that a little goes a long way — it’s very concentrated flavour. I’ve demonstrated using it in a stacked tomato salad, but there are several uses for pesto. Continue reading →

S’more Chocolate Birthday Cake

Posted on by Andrea

Here’s an idea for a birthday cake I made today. It’s a chocolate layer cake that I  made from scratch, but use your favourite chocolate cake recipe, out of a box is fine.  I melted about 15 marshmallows with 3 tbsp of butter, and added that to a pre-packaged tub of white icing. I refrigerated that until it firmed up a bit. Frosted the cake, added some crumbled graham crackers in the center and sprinkled on top. Made chocolate shards and stuck them in. Quite dramatic looking, wouldn’t you say? Quite delicious too. Serve with ice cream. Fun! Continue reading →

Slow Cooker Risotto-Stuffed Peppers

Posted on by Andrea

I love stuffed peppers…so when I saw a recipe using aborio rice, I thought I’d try it.  That’s the same rice you would use to make risotto, so it’s a rounder grain, it produces a creamier finished product, and I found the entire stuffed pepper held together really well when you sliced the pepper in halves or quarters.  Recipes for stuffed peppers are a dime a dozen, and  I’ve adapted this version from the current (Aug/Sept 2011) edition of Cook’s Country magazine. There is no meat in my version, but you could easily reduce the rice and add in some sauteed ground beef, chicken or sausage.  Also, you could bake these in the oven, but it’s nice and easy to throw in the slow-cooker and walk away for a few hours. Continue reading →

Healthy Quinoa and Dark Chocolate Snack Bars

Posted on by Andrea

quinoa dark chocolate snack bars

Here’s a healthy and very tasty snack bar that works well in school lunches or as an afternoon snack.  They are sweetened with maple syrup and composed of cooked quinoa and a few different gluten free flours. I cut and wrap these individually and store them in the freezer. The quinoa and eggs contribute to these bars having a fair amount of protein so they are filling…but they also taste delicious. Give them a try if you are not interested in buying mass produced, high-fructose corn syrup-laden bars. The best part about these gluten-free, low glycemic bars is that they taste great. Continue reading →

Summer Fresh Tomato Salad Dressing

Posted on by Andrea

summer fresh tomato salad dresssing

Summer’s bounty is coming in fast….I found this recipe and thought it might be a good way to use up those fresh tomatoes that were sitting on the windowsill, as well as a pleasant change from our usual vinaigrette dressing,  This dressing tastes similar to bruschetta, with it’s fresh tomato and garlicy flavour, and the wine vinegar balances it nicely.  Mixed with your salad greens and some cukes and cheese, it’s delightfully refreshing and different on your daily salad…if you eat as much salad as we do, it’s nice to change it up. Give it a try if you’re feeling bored with your usual salad or you want to make something unique for company. It takes a few minutes to prep the tomatoes, but aside from that, easy as can be. (blender required). Continue reading →