Coconut-Blueberry Muffins

We have house-guests staying this week, so I whipped up some muffins so they could grab quick breakfast snacks while I'm at work. These aren't the most fantastic muffins that I've ever made, but they do seem to be going quickly!

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp each cinnamon and salt
1/2 cup plain, non-fat yogurt
3/4 cups milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup fresh or frozen bluberries

In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, coconut, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt milk, eggs, oil and vanilla; pour over dry ingredients. Sprinkle with blueberries; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Spoon into greased or paper-lined muffin cups, filling three-quarters full; sprinkle with a bit more coconut. Bake in 350 F oven for about 25 minutes or until golden and tops are firm to the touch.

Makes 12 muffins.

Blueberry Scones

 

I was so excited to share (and eat!) my Rhubarb-Strawberry jam, (admittedly my first, runny, "compote" version) that I was baking everything I could think of with the sole purpose of delivering the jam into mouths.  These scones were the perfect vehicle for delivery!

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

 

In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. With pastry blender or two knives cut in butter until in coarse crumbs with a few larger pieces.

In glass measure, beat egg with fork; add enough of the milk to make 1 cup, stirring to blend. Remove 2 tbsp and set aside.

Pour remaining mixture, all at once, into centre of flour mixture. Stir with fork just until dough comes together to form wet dough. Add blueberries. Using hands, shape into two balls. Transfer to lightly floured surface; pat out into 1 inch thick circle. Brush with reserved milk,  and sprinkle with another tablespoon of sugar.  Slice into 6 triangles.

Place on parchment paper–lined baking sheet. Bake in 425°F (220°C) oven until risen, golden and firm to the touch, about 12-14 minutes.

As an alternative to the blueberries, add a bit of cinnamon to the batter and replace the blueberries with raisins.  Or, white chocolate chips and cranberries. Orange peel and almond slices? I often separate into two balls before adding the feature ingredient and do one of the balls in one style, one of them in another.  This makes everyone happy!

Makes 12 scones

Rhubarb-Strawberry Jam

As I've said before, the first thing to appear and the last thing to go in my garden is Rhubarb, and I'm always trying to find new recipes to use it up.  I think I've hit the jackpot:  Rhubarb-Strawberry jam.

I've never made jam before, and starting up was a bit of an investment.  I purchased the Bernardin Starter Canning Kit, and it was a life-saver; it has all sorts of little trinkets that are helpful and I am sure I would have forgotten to pick up.  I'm still working through the process of getting the jam to consistently set; this seems like more of an art-form than a learned skill! I think that once I have that piece down, I will be able to be a little more flexible and experiment with the spices and hopefully reduce the amount of sugar (key to the setting process).  For now, I am just happy to have fun making and gifting everyone I know with a jar of home-made jam!

Ingredients:
8 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1 inch pieces
4 cups strawberries, quartered
6 cups sugar
1/2 tsp of butter
2 boxes + a bit more of pectin
ginger and cinnamon to taste

Stir the rhubarb and sugar together in a large pot and set aside for an hour or so. 

While this is stewing together, fill a large canning pot with water, add six or seven 500ml jars, and bring to a boil. For me and my stove, this takes about 30 minutes. Boil jars for 10 minutes, then leave in hot water until you're almost ready to fill them.   At the same time, soak the sealing-disks for the jars in a bowl of hot, but not boiling water.

Add the strawberries, spices and pectin to the rhubarb, which has most likely turned the sugar into a syrup.  Bring to a boil, and boil for about 15 minutes. Add the butter to reduce the foam.

This is where I run into trouble; the idea is to boil until it will set, but not so much that it turns into taffy.  The best way to test this is to keep a side plate in the freezer; at about 15 minutes, reduce the heat and put a teaspoon of the jam onto the plate, return to the freezer for 3 minutes, and then gently poke the jam with your finger.  If it has turned into a jam-like substance, you're good to go. 

This 3 minute window is a good time to retrieve the jars from the hot water.  I have a special jar-tong that I got with my canner, and it's brilliant.  Take the jars out, and put them on a cookie sheet.

When the freezer sample looks good, use a soup ladle and a large funnel to fill the jars to about 1/2 cm from the top of each jar.  This recipe makes about 5 jars of jam, but I would boil an extra jar or so just in case. 

Top jars with sealing-disks, remove any foam that may be floating on top, and screw lid on relatively tightly. Return to hot water and boil for another 10 minutes.  Remove from water as upright as possible, and store in a cool dark area for 24-48 hours.

Hopefully this sets!  If not, you can do one of two things.  Open up all the jars, pour them back into a pot with a couple of extra tablespoons of pectin and re-boil and try again, or just call it Rhubarb/Strawberry "compote", and serve over waffles or with ice-cream or yogurt.  Don't worry about it too much though; regardless of the consistency, I promise that it will taste fantastic.

Enchiladas

Growing up, my family celebrated New Year's Day alongside other family holidays such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and every family birthday.  I grew up  with a brother and parents and grandparents and cousins and an extensive number of aunts and uncles, so we had reason to gather for a family celebration at least once a month.  As my family grew up and moved away, one by one, this tradition continued on a smaller scale, until it was just me left in Vancouver.

This year I decided to revive the family traditions, and had my friend-family over for Christmas and New Year's dinners. Next year, I'll make sure we say Grace and my recreation of my warm-holiday memories will be complete.

I made these enchiladas (alongside some failed Spanish rice) for New Year's dinner.  They were delicious.  They also took me hours to make - next time I think I'll prep some of the chopping and maybe the sauce the day before. I was still trying to make the side dishes while Immanuel assembled - the side dishes were a bust, but the enchilada's were delicious and filling enough so that no-body minded the gross rice! There was also quite a lot of filling and sauce left over; we mixed them with some rotini and veggie round and made a baked Mexican pasta the following evening.

Ingredients:

For the sauce:
1 tsp. canola oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. sugar
2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce
½-¾ cup water
Salt and pepper

For the filling:
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 can corn
1 tbsp. canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped fine
1 (8 oz.) zucchini, halved lengthwise, seeded and chopped
10 mushrooms, chopped
1 can corn
 3 cloves garlic, minced
1½ cups enchilada sauce (above), divided
1 cup finely crumbled feta cheese
½ cup minced fresh cilantro
¼ cup drained chopped canned green chiles
Salt and pepper

For assembly:
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup feta cheese

 

Directions:

 

Sauce:

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin and sugar and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce and water, bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (This makes more sauce than you will need for the enchiladas. The extra can be frozen for later use or passed with the enchiladas for serving.

 

Filling:

Preheat the oven to 450˚ F. Transfer half of the black beans to a bowl and mash with a fork until almost completely smooth. Set aside. Add the oil to a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering. Chop up all the vegetables so that they're all about 1 cubic cm. Add the onion and bell pepper, mushrooms and cook until slightly softened, 5-7 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook just until tender, 3-5 minutes more. Stir in the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the mashed beans and remaining whole beans and corn and cook until warmed through, about 2 minutes.

 

Assembly:

Transfer the veggie mixture to a large bowl and stir in ½ cup of the enchilada sauce, the queso fresco, cilantro and green chiles. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

To assemble, briefly microwave the tortillas until warm and pliable, about 30 seconds. Place 1/3 cup of the filling mixture down the center of a tortilla. Tightly roll up the tortilla and place in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining filling and tortillas. Pour 1 cup of the sauce over the enchiladas, spreading it evenly. Sprinkle the shredded cheddar and some feta over the top of the sauce. Cover with foil and bake until the enchiladas are heated through, about 10 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese is melted, 3-5 minutes more. Sprinkle with additional feta and cilantro for garnish, if desired. Serve warm with a dollop of sourcream and lime wedges.

 

Serves 12

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni is everyone's go-to guilty-pleasure comfort food.  It's fattening.  It's delicious.  It's decadent.  It's a great dish to make for meat-eating guests; they're so happy to indulge that they never notice that there's no meat on their plate.

My recipe is a conglomeration of every macaroni recipe I've found out there... it's as close to "my own" as I have ever come up with.  I've never measured the cheese, just play it by ear and keep tasting the sauce until it looks, feels, and tastes right.  The key is to add a lot of sauce; it will get soaked up by the noodles and if you don't have enough, the dish will be dry.

A bit of goat cheese would probably be good, or adding some crumbled feta to the macaroni and sauce mix would be great. Some people add Velveeta, but if I'm going to go out of my way to make a home-style dish, I want it to be comprised of what I would consider to be "real food".  Adding vegetables is never a bad idea; most people add tomatoes, but I add broccoli and mushrooms. 

Now I'm hungry!

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1/2 onion, finely chopped
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2.5 cups milk
1.5 tsp Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1.25 cups aged white cheddar cheese, grated
3/4 cup smoked Gouda, grated
3/4 cup old yellow cheddar, grated
1/4 cup Parmesan, grated
1/2 cup bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Boil macaroni until not quite done, about 6 minutes. Drain and put aside.

While macaroni is cooking,  melt the butter over medium heat in a large pot. Sauté the onions, and then blend in the flour, salt and pepper and cook, stirring for about a minute.  Slowly add the milk milk, whisking continually, and beating out any lumps. Bring to a boil and then add Dijon mustard.  Continue to whisk as it thickens, about 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat.

Add the white cheddar and Gouda cheeses, and stir constantly until the sauce is thick and smooth. I like to add the macaroni to the sauce before adding it to the casserole dish.  Transfer the pasta and sauce to the casserole dish, cover in yellow cheddar, and top with Parmesan and bread crumbs.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until sauce is thick and bubbly. Take out of oven and let sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

Broiled Asparagus with Goat Cheese

This is a super easy, very tasty side-dish that dresses up any dinner.

Ingredients:
1 bundle fresh green asparagus
1 tbsp olive oil
3 oz soft goat cheese
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to

Preheat oven to 425.

Rinse asparagus and snap off bases.  Place on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive-oil.  Toss to coat, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Place on highest rack of warm oven for about 5 minutes, take out and shake, put it in for another 3-4 minutes until tips are slightly browned. 

Take out, top with crumbled goat cheese and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Vegetable Pot Pie

This is hands-down, the favourite meal of all guests who sit at my table.  Best part?  It only takes about 45 minutes, max, to whip up from scratch - 10 minutes to assemble if you're using left-overs. 

You can add whichever vegetables you would like in the pie; the key to the deliciousness is the mashed-potato base which is infused by the mushroom soup gravy and vegetable juice as it bakes. I've made this with home-made alfredo sauce, but it's just as good, if not better with old-fashioned mushroom soup.  I've also played around with lentils, beans, chopped Yves Chick'n tenders, and tofu to add a bit of protein to the meal, but it tastes just as good without.

Ingredients:
Mashed Potato Base:
2-3  potatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons of sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Filling:
1 medium yam
1 parsnip
1-2 carrots
4 large mushrooms
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup cauliflower florets
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 small cans of condensed mushroom soup

Crust:
1 Frozen pie crust
Sprinkle of rosemary

Roughly chop up potatoes, yam, parsnip, mushrooms and carrots into 1 cm - 1 inch cubes.  Boil in salted water for about 10 minutes, until cooked right through.  These can all be boiled together in one pot. While these are boiling, steam the broccoli and cauliflower florets, and steam or saute the mushroom chunks.

Drain and separate most of the mashed potatoes.  Mash with sour cream, milk, garlic powder, salt and pepper until you have some lovely mashed potatoes.  Cover the bottom of a casserole dish with the mashed potatoes about 1 inch thick.

Spread a layer of mushroom soup over the potatoes.  Sprinkle the frozen peas on top of the soup.  Cover this with a layer of the cooked root vegetables and muhrooms.  Add more mushroom soup on top of these vegetables, then cover that with the cooked broccoli and cauliflower florets.  Add remaining mushroom soup on top of the broccoli and cauliflower, and top with frozen pie crust.  (You can, of course, throw together a quick home-made crust, but I usually just grab a pre-prepared crust from the freezer).  Sprinkle crust with a bit of rosemary - this makes all the difference.

Bake in oven at 350 for about 35 minutes, or until crust is golden.