Canada Day Cookies

Happy Canada Day Weekend Everybody!!

Fun Fact about Canada that I just found out...
"Up here" we can legally eat Kinder Surprises whereas "Down there" (USA) they can't! Go Canada!

WARNING!  There is nothing healthy about these cookies! (aka the most tasty cookie!)

The Cookies
3/4 c margarine softened at room temp. (actually soften it. This recipe isn't for the 'microwaving' cheaters out there ;) )
1 c white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Cream the margarine and sugar until smooth. Mix in the eggs and vanilla and beat on medium speed until well combined. In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients. Then, throw it all together!!

Chill for at least 2 hours (this is key for great sugar cookies!! Buuuuuut if you must cheat, this part would be ok to cheat at. As my mom would say "cheater, cheater, pants on fire." Love you mom!)

Roll out the dough onto a floured surface and cut into what ever shape you want.

Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes (depending on the thickness of your cookies).

The Icing
1 kg icing sugar
1 tsp cream of tartar
5 tbsp meringue powder
3/4 c warm water

Mix it all together and add more or less icing sugar to get desired consistency. This is a great icing just make sure you let it dry entirely so it hardens up!

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Ok, firsts things first... What's the point of putting zucchini in chocolatey, sugary, bundles of deliciousness? Nutrition...flavor...health trickery?....hmmm

To set the stage, these muffins were the product of a girls marathon-relay weekend away. After a morning of skeet shooting and bustin' caps (but not really caps) me and my beautiful friends decided to bake something up. It was a team effort and the results were fantastic! 

The line up...

2 cups zucchini, grated
1/2 cup butter
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk
1/2 cup walnuts
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups sugar

How to do it...
1. Preheat the oven to 325
2. Cream the butter, then add the oil and sugar and mix.
3. Add the zucchini, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, cocoa, flour, baking soda and salt and mix well.
4. Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts by hand.
5. Pour the cuppy cake muffin mix into the tins. 
6. Bake for about 1 hour (or until done).

Yay!!! Icing!!!

Beauty!!

Mmm mmm! Choco-'zook' deliciousness!!

Watermelon Fruit Salad

Happy First Day of Summer!!!

In honour of the greatest season EVER I have decided to make a fruity salad. Super simple, super tasty, super filling!

Watermelon
Strawberries
Bloobs (blueberries)
Fresh Mint

Mmm, Mmm!

HELLO Summer!!!

Deeee-licious!!

Blueberry Muffins

2 cups flour (any type of flour)
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup apple sauce
2 tbsp vanilla
2 egg whites
BLOOBS!! (blueberries, as many as you would like.)

Still working on making these look better...but boy oh boy...they were tasty!! 

Combine the wet in one bowl. Combine the dry in another. Mix them together and fold in the BLOOBS! (I love blueberries! I would challenge anyone to a bloob eating contest, and I would probably win ;)  )

350 for 20 mins.

Banana Walnut Muffins

2 cups Flour (any type of flour. I used Gluten free flour and it was very chick pea tasting.)
1 cup White sugar
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 cup Applesauce
2 tbsp Vanilla (mmmm... I love vanilla!)
2 egg whites
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 banana, sliced
2 snack pack cup of banana pudding
1/2 cup walnut pieces
Cinnamon to sprinkle on top

Combine the flour, sugar, & baking soda in one bowl.
Combine the Applesauce, vanilla, & egg whites in another bowl.

Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until moistened. Fold in the brown sugar, sliced banana, pudding, and walnut pieces.

Bake at 350 for 20 mins.

Not the most appealing muffins, but they were surprisingly tasty!

Next time I make these I plan to substitute the white and brown sugar with a healthier sweetener. The banana pudding adds great flavour!

Lemon and Cream Roll

I'm just going to cut to the chase... this recipe was a little bit of a fail.

This lemon roll looked great in the picture and seemed easy enough, but there was some language barriers/lack of attention to detail that caused me some issues. 

All the way from Germany... this tasty, overseas recipe comes from the cookbook: 

Dr. Oetker-German Baking Today: the original. 

The 'Fatless' Sponge

4 medium eggs

1 egg yolk

3/8 cup sugar

1 sachet vanilla sugar

7/8 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1. Whisk the eggs on high for about 1 minute. Gradually add the sugar and continue whisking on high for 2 minutes. 

2. Mix together the flour and baking powder and add to the egg mixture while on low speed. 

3. Spread the sponge evenly onto a baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes. 

4. Loosen the sponge along the edges and turn out onto parchment paper that has icing sugar sprinkled on it. Let it cool. 

Filling

Whipping cream in the whipped form. 

5. Spread the whipped cream onto the sponge and roll it up!

Sounds simple enough, right? Welp, here's where I went wrong. 

So, I put the eggs into Jetty (aka, Jet black betty, the name of my kitchen aid mixmaster)... and whipped em up!

I added the sugar and and flour mixture...

...and then spread it out over the pan. 

Now, this German cook book has some conversional issues (or perhaps the reader of the cookbook does). The recipe said to preheat the oven to 200. So that's what I did. After 10 minutes, the "sponge" was lacking "sponge" properties and looked very similar to it's original form. I soon made the connection that 200 is obviously 'degrees Celsius' and not 'fahrenheit'. Trying to redeem myself I figured I could just turn the temperature up with the sponge still inside and let it cook some more. Right?

Wrong... all you get it a rock hard flour and egg mixture... ( I also may have baked it for too long...)

So, I started again....

this time the oven was perfectly preheated and the sponge cooked beautifully. It was just too thick so it didn't roll properly. 

Fail. 

Even though this recipe was a waste of eggs, took twice as long as it should have, and looked like crap when I rolled it, it tasted not too bad, (that may have been due to the 35% cream and icing sugar, though).  I will try to make this one again, and spread my batter a little more thin. 

Things I learned about German cooking:

1. Instead of calling for 'cooking spray' in the recipe, they call it 'a little fat'. (sad reality)

2. Even though the sponge cake is 'fatless', it has extra cholesterol (4 eggs + 1 yolk).

3. A sachet of Vanilla Sugar is no where to be found in Canada. Therefore, I improvised by mixing 2 tbps of white sugar with almond extract. Why almond extract? I am out of vanilla and it was the next best thing. 

4. Use jam and cream. (extra sugar, extra goodness). 

Mmmmm, Tasty.  

Cornmeal-Crusted Scallops with Mint Chimichurri

Today's recipe is not my typical dinner. For instance, some nights a decent sized bowl of popped corn with sour cream and chive seasoning is sufficient. However... having just recently finished all of my undergrad class after 4 years of assignments, tests, and projects, I  thought I would splurge and make a nicer dinner with a friend.

From: The Best of Cooking Light- Everyday Favorites

Cornmeal-Crusted Scallops with Mint Chimichurri

Fun Fact: Chimichurri is a thick herb sauce commonly made with parsley and oregano, and served with grilled meat in South American cuisine. Mint gives this version a more delicate tast, making it perfect for seafood. Serve over a bed of rice to soak up the flavourful sauce.

Chimichurri: (super fun word to say)
1 1/2 cups loosely packed fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup sliced green onions
2 tbsp water
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp minced seeded serrano chile (I was too lazy to actually find this stuff, but chili flakes seemed to add the 'swiftiest' of kicks.)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 garlic clove

Scallops:
3 tbsp yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 lbs sea scallops
1 tbsp olive oil
Green onion strips

1. To prepare chimichurri throw all the ingredients into a food processor (ah-ha! food processors do actually have a purpose). If you don't have a food processor because you've realized they were a fad of the 90's and an absoute pain in the butt to clean, a blender would work fine. Set this aside.

2. Preparing the stinky scallops!  (Sidenote... living many miles away from the coast, I have this weird paranoia about buying 'fresh' seafood in Alberta. I mean, it really can't be that 'fresh'. But, I figured for this recipe I would just have to get over it. Little did I know how bloody expensive scallops are!! I probably won't be making this again.)

1. Coat the scallops in the cornmeal. 

2. Heat oil over med-high heat and plop in the scallops.

3. Fry scallops for about 3 minutes on each side until it browns. Flip 'em over and brown the other side. 

4. Serve the scallops with a rice blend and top with chimichurri and onion slices. 

Overall, this was a pretty easy recipe and great for the wealth scallop lover. 

Some things I learned:
1. Scallops are the 'fishy' kind of seafood.
2. Leftover chimichurri tastes great in a bean salad.
3. Making onion slices is more fun than one would think.
4. I don't like the texture of scallops.

Check out what we had for dessert! Lemon roll with blueberries...

Chicken Fajita Chili

It's been a while since a New Recipe Sunday, but I feel like yesterday's NRS was totally worth the wait! This recipe is from...

Better Homes and Gardens: Year-round Slow Cooker Recipes (there's going to be some good ones come out of this book)

Chicken Fajita Chili
prep: 25 minutes   Slow Cook: 4 to 5 hours (low) or 2 to 2 1/2 hours (high)
Serves 8

2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1inch pieces
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp fajita seasoning
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 16-ounce package frozen stir-fry vegetables
1 19-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
3 tbsp shredded cheese
3 tbsp light sour cream
3 tbsp guacamole

1. In a medium bowl combine chicken, chili powder, fajita seasoning, garlic, and cumin; toss to gently coat.
2. Coat a large skillet with cooking spray; heat skillet over medium-high heat. Cook half of the chicken mixture in hot skillet until brown, stirring occasionally. Transfer until brown, stirring occasionally. transfer chicken mixture to a slow cooker. Repeat with the remaining chicken mixture. Stir in tomatoes, frozen vegetables, and beans.
3. Cover and cook on low setting for 4-5 hours or on high setting for 2-2 1/2 hours. If desired, top each serving with cheese, sour cream, and guacamole.

Nutrition facts per serving
261 cals, 2g total fat (1g sat fat), 88mg chol, 294 mg sodium, 22g carb, 7g dietary fiber, 7g sugar, adn 41g protien.

AND NOW THE RECIPE IN PICTURES!!! (because everyone knows that recipes are much easier to look at when they are in picture form)

1. Cube up a couple chicken breasts

2. Throw the cubes in a bowl and add 1 tbsp of chili powder

3. Add1 tsp (or an entire package) of fajita seasoning. The small detail of "1 tsp" isn't that crucial. I definitely just assumed I would put the whole package in without actually reading the recipe. It turned out great. 

4. Add two cloves of minced garlic. 

5. Add1/2 tsp of cumin. (Sidenote: I try to follow these recipes that I do as closely as possible. So, I go to the superstore and buy a whole bottle of cumin for $6.99 only to use 1/2 a teaspoon of it. This makes no sense to me. If I were in the spices business I would totally provide a much smaller option so people don't have cupboards full of spice bottles that have barely been used! Punchline...turns out I had already bought cumin for a previous recipe a while ago. Now, I have a crap load of cumin. If anyone wants some, I could most definitely set you up with at least a 1/2 tsp). 

Add caption

6. Toss'er all up!

7. Fry it on a medium-high frying pan until the edges are brown. 

8. Add the kidney beans, the chicken, the stir-fry mix and the tomatoes in the crock pot. Cook it on high for 2-2 1/2 hrs or low for 4-5 hrs. 

9. Top it with sour cream, guacamole, and cheese!  Delicious

This was the perfect Sunday meal for a snowy day in Edmonton. Enjoy!

Ravi-YOLO! (Homemade-ravioli)

I have never made homemade pasta before. So, with the help of a friend I decided Friday night was the night to make it. Long story short, if you have nothing else to do for an entire day, homemade pasta is the way to go!

First of all, I would like to welcome to the Kitchen of Leah, Maxwell Zambow-tie (mmzz, for short). It's Italian. Wasn't sure if a hyphenated last name was the way to go...

I'm beginning to realize I have a problem with impulsive shopping. Maxwell Zambow-tie is going to be seeing a lot of the inside of my cupboards for the next little bit. Sidenote: for those of you who are curious, yes, pasta makers are the adult playdoh machines.

Ok! So, here's the recipe. From: SOME COOKBOOK MY MOM GAVE ME! (aka- Creative International Cookbook. Thanks Mom!)

Ravioli
Eggnoodles - Italy
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp water
(*They're so easy to make!!)

Maxwell Zambow-tie in action! Works like a charm!

Filling
(This is where you can get a little creative...or just use cheese)
-About a palmful of chopped up smoked meat from the cutest little italian grocery store
-1/2 an onion chopped into tiny little bits
-enough garlic to make your kitchen stink...also chopped really small
-1 egg
-a lot of parmesan cheese
-even more marble cheese
-little bit of salt
*props to Michelle for great chopping skills!
Mix this all together and start stuffing!!

WAIT!!! Time for "recipe inside a recipe"!

Making this pasta was a long process. So if you get bored...infuse your vodka with tea and take a shot!

Any flavour of tea works. We used lemongrass and earl grey (plus a little bit of added sugar).

I bet you didn't know this is what 'those suction'ee things' are really for.

...continue making pasta...

Add a little prego and you're basically in Italy!
(I was going to make my own pasta sauce but after 2 1/2 hrs into making the pasta, that idea went right out the window)

Don't forget to play with the leftover bits of pasta!

P.S. If any of my friends need a pasta maker Maxwell Zambow-Tie would love to go on a Vacay!

Happy Sunday Everyone!