Maple Glazed Salmon

This is a staple at our house. I have been making this for years.  I have not really adjusted the recipe much from when I first started making it.  This is another tasty treat that I got from a grocery store cooking class (a nod to the Sobeys in Long Pond, Newfoundland).  It is super easy, yummy, can be made in the oven or on the grill. When I do it on the grill, I either put it on some foil so that it does not burn or I will put it on some cedar planks.  A couple of notes on the cedar planks:

·         Soak them for a few hours first otherwise they will really burn (as wood does over open fire),

·         You can buy them specially packaged at the grocery store OR if you have a handy saw go to the closeest lumber yard and pick up a length of un-treated cedar board and cut it to the length you need.  WAY cheaper! Sometimes you can even go to the cast off bin for even cheaper.

Maple Glazed Salmon

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 ½ tbsp apple juice

1 ½ tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tsp hoi sin sauce

1 ½ tsp grated ginger

1 ½ country style Dijon mustard sauce

¼ tsp Chinese 5-spice powder

4 6 oz Salmon fillets

 Preheat broiler

Combine first 7 ingredients in a large plastic bag.  Add fish to bag and seal.  Marinate in fridge for 15 minutes

Remove filets from bag, reserve marinade.  Place filets, skin side down on a broiler rack (greased).  Broil for 12 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.  Baste filets occasionally with reserved marinade.

ENJOY!

Blueberry Loaf Cake

When I have enough time, I love to make this blueberry loaf to bring as a hostess gift to friends and family who I get to visit.  NEVER have I been turned away when I have this loaf in hand.  Ok I admit it, there may be other reasons why I am not turned away but the loaf is probably the clincher.  I found this recipe on the www.tasteofhome.com website if you want to check it out.

There are so many recipes for blueberry loaf/cake/muffins out there I encourage everyone to find their own. I make it a practice when blueberries are in season to freeze some for the winter. Even this basic recipe can be jazzed up – oatmeal, nuts, etc.

I turned this one last night, add a little whipped cream and some blueberries and raspberries, and la ti da...dessert!

Blueberry Loaf Cake

½ cup	Butter (softened)
1 cup	Sugar
2	Eggs
½ cup	Milk
1 tsp	Vanilla
1 ¾ cup	Flour
1 tsp	Baking powder
Dash	Salt
1 cup	Fresh or frozen blueberries
Topping
2 tsp	Sugar
1 tsp	Cinnamon (ground)

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, milk and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture, just until moistened. Gently fold in the blueberries.

Pour into greased 9x5 inch loaf pan (or muffin cups). Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over top. Bake at 350F for 50-55 minutes (or 20-25 min for muffins) or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to a wire rack to cool completely.

 ENJOY!

Green and Yellow Bean Salad

It is so wonderful to see the fresh veggies hitting the grocery stores and markets at this time of year.  One of the first ones to make an appearance is green and yellow beans.  I just love beans, when blanched they are so crisp and fresh.  Bean salad is a pretty standard recipe on most BBQ tables but I have found that you can jazz this version (taken from www.canadianliving.com) up by changing up the mustard and/or the vinegar.  I am always trolling the shelves for new fun things to cook with and recently I found a Baco Noir Vinegar. WOW did this change the flavour of the salad to add a smoky richness.  As well, someone once gave me small crock of Champagne Mustard as part of a gift basket and that added another dimension. 

I have heard that there are people in the world who have dreamed of this salad as the pedaled their butts across Canada.  I am happy to help motivate when needed, just saying!

Green and Yellow Bean Salad

To retain the colour and crispness of the beans, make this salad as close to the time of your get-together as possible.

This recipe makes 6 servings

Ingredients

12 oz (375 g) each green and yellow beans
2 tbsp (25 mL) chopped fresh oregano
2 tbsp (25 mL) extra-virgin olive_oil
2 tbsp (25 mL) wine_vinegar
2 tsp (10 mL) grainy mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp (2 mL) each salt and pepper
Half red onion, thinly sliced

Preparation:

Fill bowl with ice water. In large pot of boiling salted water, blanch green beans until tender-crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. With slotted spoon, transfer to ice water; stir until cold. Drain on towel-lined plate. Repeat with yellow beans. (Make-ahead: Wrap and refrigerate for up to 4 hours.)

In large bowl, whisk together oregano, oil, vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper. Add onion and green and yellow beans; toss to combine.

Arugula and Fennel Salad with Balsamic Vinegar and Parmesan Crisps

For about 6 months of the year, I eat salads and the balance is all about soups and stews.  This is salad season!

This summer has been stinking hot and the last thing that I want to do is spend too much time in the kitchen “slaving” over the stove. That being said, I prefer to eat good food and if at times this requires a little heat then so be it.  This recipe is awesome. The sacrifice of a few minutes to make the parmesan crisps is worth it. I love the peppery Arugula, the liquorice of the fennel and the salty crunch of the crisp parmesan. It makes a very healthy portion.  I have used the same dressing to make a great super easy appetizer, by rolling some salad greens inside some prosciutto.

One word of caution....if you use a French Mandolin to cut the fennel into the most beautifully thin slices, USE THE GUARD!!! Not that I did that did this and ended up spending hours in hospital emergency department only to give up and go home at 4am and get a AMA (against medical advice) on your chart and then have two fingers that are just a little slanty on one side! Of course this is all hypothetical!!  Some days I am not so bright!

Arugula and Fennel Salad with Balsamic Vinegar and Parmesan Crisps

Yield: 4

Ingredients

For the Crisps

• 1 cup grated parmiggiana reggiano
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds

For the Salad

• 16 ounces arugula, washed
• 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced and feathery fronds reserved
• 10 sun dried tomatoes, thinly sliced

For the Dressing

• 3 tablespoons of your best balsamic vinegar
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

For the Crisps

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix the grated cheese and fennel seeds together, then sprinkle onto a parchment or silicon lined baking sheet, forming a thin even layer. Bake until golden and crispy. Cool then break into bite-sized pieces.

For the Salad

1. Toss the arugula, sliced fennel, feathery fennel fronds and sun-dried tomatoes together in a large salad bowl.

For the Dressing

1. Whisk the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, mustard, honey and salt and pepper together until smooth. Alternatively, shake them in a covered glass jar until smooth. When you’re ready to serve the salad dress the greens, toss well and top with a handful of the Parmesan crisps.

Peggy's Cottage Cheese Dill Bread

PEGGY'S COTTAGE CHEESE DILL BREAD

2 pkgs. active dry yeast
2 tsp. sugar
2 tbsp. minced onion
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. sugar
4 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. warm water
2 c. creamed cottage cheese
2 tbsp. dill weed
2 tsp. salt
2 eggs


Sprinkle yeast on warm water. Stir until blended. Stir in 2 teaspoons sugar. Set aside.
Combine cottage cheese, onion, dill weed, baking powder, salt, 2 tablespoons sugar and eggs. Mix thoroughly. Add yeast mixture and mix well. Add flour to make a stiff dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic.
Place dough in greased bowl. Turn to bring greased side up. Cover and let rise in warm place (85) until double in size (1 to 1 1/2 hours). Punch down.
Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead a few times. Divide into 2 equal portions. Shape each portion into a loaf in well greased loaf pans 8x5x3. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from pans to rack. Brush tops with melted butter. 2 loaves.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins/Loaf

Yesterday, I had to run to the grocery store to pick up a few items for supper and, as luck should have it, there were bananas sitting on a discount shelf just waiting for me. Now bananas are not terribly expensive, but I will take the 50% discount if I can get it for good quality ingredients.  I don’t often get to the grocery store during the day so it is a treat when I can get things like this to make yet another household favourite.

There are a couple of things that I really like about this recipe: it can be done with the least amount of dishes possible, I normally have everything on hand to make them and there is still room to have some fun with the ingredients.  What is listed below is what I “normally” make, but you can feel free to add nuts (e.g. walnuts, or pecans) or if you want to be a little more healthy use whole wheat flour or throw in a little ground flax or wheat bran/germ to bring up the fibre. I like to use milk chocolate chip rather than semi-sweet as I think they are just a little more yummy but you can leave them out all together.  I will admit that I at one time bought a large bag of milk chocolate chips but started eating them right out of the bag so now I just buy the smaller bags to maintain portion control!  No matter what these are a tasty treat.  The original recipe from the “Simply Recipes” website did not use chocolate chips and used more sugar, also I rarely make just one batch so what is below is doubled. They freeze really well.  You can half the recipe if you only have 3-4 bananas on hand. Also, I am sure everyone knows to do this, but I like to use and ice cream scoop to measure out my muffins - and I get 24 every time! 

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins/Loaf

6-8	Ripe bananas
2/3 cup	Melted butter
1 ½ cup	Sugar
2	Eggs beaten
1 tsp	Vanilla
1 tsp	Baking soda
Pinch	Salt
3 cups	Flour
270 g	Milk chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 350F.  In a large bowl, mash bananas. Mix in butter and stir until well mixed.   Add sugar, egg and vanilla. Sprinkle baking soda and salt over mixture, and mix in.  Add flour, and mix until blended but do not beat until fluffy.  Finally, mix in chocolate chips.

For Muffins 24 muffins – bake for 20-25 minutes

For 2 Loaves – bake for 1 hour

Raspberry Macadamia Frozen Dessert

Sometimes you can find great, and cheap, cooking classes in your community.  When I was living in Newfoundland, the local grocery store (Sobeys) offered Wednesday evening cooking classes with a local Chef.  While I did not get to do any of the cooking, I was able to enjoy what was produced (normally 3 dishes) and pick the brain of the Chef about other options to make this better or to use what was on hand.  Chef Michael Smith has this philosophy: recipes are just a starting place and that you should make it your own. I believe that. This makes duplicating a recipe exactly a challenge as I rarely do the same thing twice, and measuring is like speed limits –merely strong recommendations! This recipe came from one of those cooking classes. Family members have used animal crackers instead of vanilla wafers, and rum instead of orange flavoured liquor. So make it your own and amaze your friends and family!

P.S.  I am completely smitten with Chef Michael Smith – Geoff knows and he is on my “list” along with John Corbett and Pierce Brosnan! Just dreamy!

Raspberry Macadamia Frozen Dessert

Crust

1 ½ cup	Crushed vanilla wafers (I use about 30 “Nilla” Wafers. They can be a little hard to find but other similar cookies can also work, e.g. arrowroot
½ cup	Finely chopped macadamia nuts
¼ cup	Butter, melted

Heat oven to 375C. In a small bowl, combine all crust ingredients; mix well.  Press in firmly in an 8” spring form pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool

Filling

1 can	Sweetened condensed milk (14oz and not evaporated)
3 tbsp	Lemon juice
3 tbsp	Orange flavoured liquor or orange juice
1 pkg	Frozen raspberries in syrup, thawed (10 oz)
1 cup	Whipping cream, whipped

In a large bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and liquor; beat until smooth. Add raspberries; beat at low speed until well blended (you do not want to beat the raspberries too much as you want to be able to see the larger pieces when you cut the cake). Fold in whipped cream. Pour over cooled baked crust. Freeze until firm.

Just before serving, let stand at room temperature about 15 minutes. It make the cutting a little easier, I will run my knife under some hot water. Garnish as desired (I normally use a little shipped cream and a few fresh raspberries). Store in freezer.

Enjoy!

Parsnip Pear Cake

Sometimes you eat in a restaurant and you have something that will just turn your head with an "OMG this is amazing" double take.  This is what this recipe did for me. I love Carrot Cake but Parsnip Pear Cake? This was a bit of an unusual combination.  Geoff and I shared this at Aqua, a restaurant in downtown St. John’s.  We enjoyed a great meal with friends Karen and Bill and when the waiter came back and asked if there was anything else I said I wanted the recipe. He agreed as long as I promised not to go into competition with the restaurant. While I entertain a lot I certainly don’t think my kitchen qualifies as competition.  He took my BlackBerry to the back and photographed the recipe.  I had never done this before and it was worth the ask.  There is a photo of this on my Facebook page for those who want see what I pulled together.

Parsnip is a great vegetable, very sweet cousin of the carrot. I use it very regularly in soups and stews, mostly in the fall and now here it is in a dessert!

Parsnip Pear Cake with Carmel Icing

Carmel Icing

1 ½ lbs	Cream cheese (at room temp)
½ cup	Unsalted butter (at room temp)
2 cup	Icing sugar
1 ½ tsp	Vanilla
	Carmel sauce to taste

Put all the above ingredients in a mixer and mix until smooth.

Parsnip Pear Cake

2 cups	Parsnip, cut into ¼ inch coins
1 cup	Walnuts, toasted (you can also use pecans)
1 cup	Unsweetened Coconut, toasted
¾ cup	Pear, poached and finely chopped (this is normally about ¾ of a pear so do the whole thing and enjoy one quarter with a little ice cream),  keep ¼-1/2 cup of liquid (note: I favour the poaching liquid with cinnamon stick and nutmeg)
1 ¼ cup	White sugar
¾ cup	Brown sugar
2 cup	Flour
1 tbsp	Baking powder
½ tsp	Salt
1 tsp	Cinnamon
½ tsp	Nutmeg
3	Eggs
1 cup	Canola oil
2 tsp	Vanilla

·         Roast parsnip in aluminum foil at 350C for 1 hour, until soft.  When mostly cooled run through the food processor until mostly smooth, you can use some of the pear poaching liquid to keep the parsnip loose.

·         Poach pears, and toast coconut and walnuts

·         Beat the wet ingredients in a separate bowl (eggs, oil and vanilla)

·         Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, then add the wet ingredients and mix just until all moistened. Fold in Parsnips, coconut and walnuts.

·         Bake at 350C for 35-40 min

·         Frost with Carmel Icing

·         Enjoy!

One more thing about Rav-sagne

After I posted this, I had a couple of other thoughts that might be relevant to some people.  First, I normally use the cheese and spinich ravioli, but if you have meat eaters in the family try that too.  Also, this freezes great. You can split this into several portions and freeze for a later time.  Put it right in the over for a little extra time or until hot and bubbly.  I did this for my step-son Ben and he loves having instant home cooked food!

The First Recipe - Rav-sagne

I am not sure why I have chosed Rav-sagna as the first recipe, except that it was a little life changing for me.  Lasagna has been a favorite for many people (and cats, see Garfield) over the years.  But it is a bit of a pain to make.  I discovered this in a Chateline Magizine (http://food.chatelaine.com/Recipes/View/Ravioli-lasagna-with-sausage_mushrooms)%20and modified it to make it my own.  One thing about this is that you can make it many different ways - vegetarian, kid friendly or fancy enough to share with a first date or in-laws.  And the best thing is that it is DEAD easy!

Rav-sagna

The original recipe did not call for the peppers or zucchini but I like the extra veggies. For kids who do not like veggies cook the meat separate and puree the veggies with the crushed tomatoes then add the meat back in.

1 tsp	Olive oil
1 med	Onion, diced
2 cup	Peppers (red and green), diced
1	Zucchini, diced
2 cloves	Garlic, minced
500 g	Italian sausage, removed from casing (I like to use Hot for an extra burst of flavour, or you can leave this out and add more veggies, or use a ground meat of choice-turkey, pork or beef)
1 tsp	Dried oregano
796 ml	Can crushed tomatoes (do not use a can of diced tomatoes – it makes a difference)
	Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup	35% Cream
½ cup	milk
1 cup	Mushrooms, diced
700g pkg	Fresh Ravioli – most grocery stores have this now
1 cup	Mozzarella cheese, grated.  You can use other cheeses that you have on hand, a little sprinkle of parmesan is nice too

Preheat oven to 350F. Heat large pot on medium. Add oil, then onion, peppers, zucchini and garlic. Cook until onion is soft (about 3 minutes). Add sausage meat. Mash with a fork to keep meat crumbly. Cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and oregano. Season with salt and fresh pepper. Stir in cream and milk until combined. Add in mushrooms and ravioli and combine until well mixed and ravioli have separated.

Press into a 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle mozzarella on top.

Bake for 20-30 minutes  

Enjoy!