Category Archives: Snacks

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 →

Fruity Butter Tarts

Posted on by Andrea

fruit-filled butter tart with walnuts

Just when you thought butter tarts couldn’t taste any more awesome….well, they can. This recipe is inspired by my friend, Marion Ratzinger (who got the recipe from her friend…and she got the idea from her friend and so it goes 😉 ).  This is basically a buttertart recipe with added fruit and nuts. We used fresh seasonal fruit, but they taste great with frozen berries as well. We added walnuts, but feel free to use whatever you like. Customize them to your taste. They are so good! The use of store-bought tart shells makes these a snap, in fact, my 16 year-old daughter made these with no supervision. You can throw these together Continue reading →

Zucchini Pecan Loaf

Posted on by Andrea

zuchini pecan loaf- delish

It’s that time of year again, already! Sheesh, it’s almost August and it seems like it was June about five minutes ago.  Well, the good thing is the availability of  fresh, local produce. One of my daughter’s male friends keeps bringing me giant zucchinis–so I had no choice but to figure out a great recipe for Zucchini Loaf. This one is easy, really tasty and fairly healthy. It makes 2 nice big loaves, everyone likes it, freezes well…and uses up all those zucchinis that everyone keeps dropping off! Continue reading →

Easy Afternoon Platter on the Patio

Posted on by Andrea

Since ‘chacuterie’ (prepared and preserved meats) seems to be the trend these days, this platter of cured meats and old cheeses was just the answer for an afternoon with company on the patio. Try to find a good local  source for some of these delicacies. I love to have some on hand in the fridge — great if company shows up unexpectedly…with a cold beer or nice glass of wine or a spritzer, it’s hospitable and tastes great too.  Put out some mustard, pickles and olives and Bob’s yer uncle. 😉

*For my local readers, these products come from our newest business on Rd. 38 “Seed to Sausage” – no antibiotics/hormones, ethically raised, etc. (amazing breakfast sausage as well). You can sample his products at the Sharbot Lake Farmer’s market (at the beach) on Saturday mornings from 9am-1pm. Continue reading →

French Crêpes

Posted on by Andrea

blueberry ice cream filled crepe with yogurt and berries with lemon zest

ham and swiss filled crepe with mustard sauce

Crêpes are like very thin pancakes that you must handle a little more gently so as not to tear them. The batter is simple, but it needs to ‘rest’ at least an hour after you mix it up. They can be used in a myriad of ways – plain with maple syrup and butter, filled with fruit and cream or even used in savoury applications — ham and asparagus with a hollandaise sauce, chicken and broccoli in a cream sauce – the possibilities are limitless. The crêpes will keep well in the fridge or freezer, stacked with parchement paper in between. Continue reading →