Homemade Fruit & Nut Bars

Happy May Long Weekend Everyone!

In preparation for the many fun filled weekends this summer, I thought that I would make a healthy treat that is 'camp trip' friendly. I found this super easy recipe on Pinterest and I wanted to see if it really was 'that' easy. (Spoiler alert... it really is super easy)

The ingredient list... (highly modifiable!)

1 cup Raisins
1 cup Dates
1 cup Almonds
1/2 cup Ground Pecans
1/4 tsp Almond extract
As much cinnamon as you would like :)

Long Live the Food Processor! It has been a while since I've used this little mulcher and when I started it up, that concerning 'hot motor smell' filled my kitchen. If you're familiar with this particular kitchen appliance smell you know that it has to get pretty bad before bakers, like you and I, actually do something about it. But...I had high expectations of the processor so I just let the 'smell' work it's way out. Luckily the smell went away and the motor didn't explode!

Gather your ingredients...

Mulch the dates and raisins (these would taste great with craisins)

Gooey mess...

Add the nuts and mulch it up...

Add flavourings  (I used almond extract and cinnamon)

Keep mulching until you get a sticky clump...

Toss it out onto some saran wrap and mould it into a flat rectangle. 

Chill it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.  

Cut it up!

Perfect road trip/camping trip snack! Enjoy!!

Recipes

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Cakes

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!

Eggplant with Tomatoes (aubergines aux tomates)

Recipe from Ginette Mathiot's I know how to Cook

I've never eaten eggplant, let alone cooked with it. However, walking around the farmers market yesterday I saw this interesting looking vegetable (Fun Fact: Eggplants aren't actually vegetables, they are berries. FF#2: Eggplants contain nicotiniod alkaloids which means eggplants and tobacco are basically cousins in the "cigarette-berry family tree". But don't you worry, you would need to eat 20-40lbs of eggplant to get the same amount of nicotine that's in one cigarette. -Thank you Wikipedia).

Here's the recipe from this oversized, totally unnecessary and underused french cookbook.

Eggplant and Tomatoes is on the left

5 ounces tomatoes, chopped (I just used 1 can of diced tomatoes)
1 eggplant
Oil, for pan-frying
Salt and Pepper
1 small handfull of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
3 tbsp butter

Make a tomato sauce by cooking the tomatoes in a dry pan for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Mash through a strainer with a wooden spoon and set aside. Cut the eggplants into 1/2 inch slices. Heat the oil to a depth of 3/4 inch in a deep skillet. Pan-fry the eggplants in batches in the hot oil until golden, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F. Arrange a layer of tomato paste and a layer of eggplants in an ovenproof dish, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle each layer with the parsley and garlic. Dot with the butter and bake for 45 minutes.

I used a lot more parsley than the picture shows, but it didn't really seem to matter. These 'eggplant chips' were actually quite good. I don't think I'll be making them in the future. I'm more of a zucchini fan. Have a great Sunday Night!!