Lemon Squares

Easiest recipe for lemon squares ever.  They consist of a soft, tart lemon layer overtop of a shortbread crust.  Easiest recipe ever, as long as you don't let the base cool before adding the topping (say for instance, if you decided to bake the crust and then go for a run before adding the topping... :S), it will make the crust soggy.  I've misplaced my camera's memory card as of late so these lower quality pics from my cell will have to do.

• Base:
• 1/2 cup butter (add a little salt if using unsalted butter)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup flour
• Topping:
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp flour
• juice and zest of 1 lemon
• icing sugar- to sprinkle on top (optional)

1. Mix base together and press into a 9x9" pan
2. Bake 15-20 min at 350F or until lightly golden
3. Mix topping
4. Pour over hot crust and bake for an additional 20-25 min
5. Wait till squares cool to sprinkle icing sugar on top.  If it's humid, wait until just prior to serving.

Potato Pancakes

These potato pancakes are delicious! Highly recommended.  Great with sour cream and/or apple sauce.  I have another recipe for potato pancakes that's a little less work (it doesn't require grating the potatoes, you just blend them), I'll have to compare them sometime!  This recipe uses the starch from the potatoes as the binding agent as opposed to flour or cornstarch.

• ~2 lbs potatoes
• 1 onion
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 egg
• 4 scallions
• 2 tbsp parsley

1. Grate potatoes and onion
2. Drain potatoes/onion in a sieve over a bowl, squeezing out any excess water
3. Wait 5 min, and gently pour liquid off of top of drained liquid, reserving the thicker potato stach at the bottom
4. In the bowl with the potato starch, add egg, scallions, parsley, salt and pepper.  Mix.  
5. Mix egg mixture into the grated potatoes. 
6. Add 5-6 tbsp of oil to a pan over med heat.  
7. Add about 1/4 cup of pancake mixture to the pan at a time and press down with spoon so pancakes are ~1/2" thick
8. Cook for ~3min on each side

Tomato and Cucumber Salad

This (non-)recipe is for a friend of mine who wanted to know my 'recipe' for a salad I made... he asked me to include it on my blog.  Haha... this one's for you, J.  You're welcome.  Just make sure the tomatoes you use are tasty.  They are better (and cheaper) in season, but out of season I find the cherry or grape tomatoes from the grocery store are usually a better alternative.  Also, do not under any circumstances store your tomatoes in the fridge.  PS- J, I am hoping you'll send me a pic to use for this entry! ;)

• Plum tomatoes seeded and chopped, or cherry/grape tomatoes
• Cucumber, quartered, seeded and chopped into ~1/4" slices
• Crumbled feta cheese
• Dressing- make your own or use whatever is in your fridge... I used whatever was in yours, J- Kraft Greek or Italian, I think?

1. Mix and serve!

Bean and Cheese Quesadillas

Serve plain or with extra salsa or sour cream.  I've never tried these with store bought salsa or refried beans (see recipe links below).  

• Flour tortillas
• Cheese- Monterey jack or cheddar
• Refried beans
• Salsa

1. Heat pan over med heat and place flour tortilla on surface
2. Mix 3 parts refried beans with 1 part salsa and spread over one half of the tortilla, leaving ~1/4" of space at the edge, top with desired amount/type of cheese
3. Once the tortilla is golden and and slightly crispy, fold tortilla, flipping if necessary
4. Serve!

Salsa

I would only substitute canned tomatoes for fresh here if you are planning on using the salsa in a recipe as opposed to serving it plain.

• Can of diced tomatoes, drained, or 5-7 plum tomatoes (seeded and chopped)
• 2 tbsp cilantro
• 2 tbsp red onion, minced
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed, seeded and diced
• 2 tsp lime juice (the juice from ~ 1/2 lime)

1. Mince garlic in food processor, add the rest of the ingredients to food processor and pulse a few times
2. Add tomatoes, and pulse 1 or 2 times till tomatoes are just roughly chopped

Refried Beans

Makes a great dip for tortilla chips along with sour cream and salsa, or in bean and cheese quesadillas.

• 3 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed, seeded and diced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup water
• 5 tbsp olive oil

1. Blend 1 cup water with kidney beans in food processor or blender
2. Heat olive oil in a med saucepan or dutch oven over med-low heat
3. Add onion, pepper and 1/4 tsp salt to saucepan and cook till softened
4. Add cumin and garlic and stir till fragrant
5. Add kidney bean mixture and cook till thickened, ~10 min

Simple Vinaigrette Salad

I love salads, and there are all kinds of wonderful variations on a basic vinaigrette dressing.  This is a simple method to prepare a quick and tasty salad.

• Salad greens and veggies, to taste, I like radicchio or mesclun mix and thinly sliced cucumber.  More flavourful greens (as opposed to iceberg lettuce) work better.
• extra-virgin olive oil
• vinegar, such as apple cider (non-pasteurized if possible), or balsamic
• garlic clove, minced
• salt and pepper

1. Drizzle washed greens with olive oil (holding your thumb over the mouth of the olive oil bottle to control the flow of the olive oil), toss till greens are very lightly coated with olive oil and just glistening
2. Add minced garlic (1/4 to 1 clove depending on the amount of salad you are preparing- start with a little and add more to taste), and sprinkle with vinegar, salt and pepper.  Adjusting to taste.

Fry's Fudgy Brownies

This recipe is from Fry's cocoa and is a really easy and delicious one to make!  These brownies are much tastier than store-bought two-bite brownies- with the same fudgy texture and none of the weird artifical aftertaste.  You'd never guess that it uses cocoa instead of chocolate squares (which I much prefer as I rarely stock my pantry with chocolate squares).  Be warned however... they are very rich and fudgy... 1 brownie is heaven... 2 is overkill... and 3... well... I'd refer to it as a "food coma"... don't do it (trust me on that one).  Delicious with vanilla ice cream or milk.

• 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup cocoa
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup chopped nuts

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Mix all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. 
3. Melt butter in a saucepan. Remove from heat. 
4. Stir in Fry's Cocoa. Blend in sugar, eggs, and vanilla. 
5. Blend in dry ingredients and chopped nuts. 
6. Pour batter into greased 13x9" pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. 

Black bean chili with jalapeno skillet cornbread

A delicious combo!  I recommend freezing extra chili, and chopped and seeded jalapeno chilis for easy meal prep during the week.  The cornbread is best prepared in a cast iron skillet which has a great non-stick surface and gives the bread a lovely crispy crust.  I haven't tried it in any other oven safe bakeware- my guess that it would still be delicious, but not have as great of a crust.

Black Bean Chili

I'm not going to lie here, I don't really have a chili recipe, I tend to just throw together whatever I have in the pantry and it usually turns out fine, so if you're looking for a spectacular chili recipe you may want to look elsewhere.  However, this combo is usually pretty decent, especially topped with a little shredded old cheddar and a dollop of sour cream.  I have also tried adding a small quantity (1-2 tbsp) of molasses to the chili which has turned out well in the past.  Can't really go wrong these ingredients!  I always find it delicious.

Tip- As tomatoes all have different levels of sweetness depending on when they were canned etc., adding a little sugar to tomato based recipes such as this one can counter the acidic 'bite' that some tomato based recipes can develop.

• Black beans, if you are using canned beans- 1 or 2 drained canned should be good, depending on your preference
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can pureed tomatoes
• Spices:  2 tbsp chili powder, 2 tsp red pepper flakes, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2-3 small onions, diced
• 5-6 cloves of garlic, minced

1. Heat a little oil in pot or dutch oven over med heat and add onions, cooking till lightly browned.
2. Add chili powder, red pepper flakes, cocoa and cumin and cook for ~2 min
3. Add garlic and cook for an additional 30-60 sec, till fragrant
4. Add beans, cook for several additional minutes
5. Add tomatoes and cook, bring to a low simmer, stirring occasionally, for ~30 minutes or till thickened to your liking
6. Add salt/ pepper to taste and 1-2 tsp of sugar to counter the 'bite' of the tomatoes if desired.

Jalapeno Skillet Cornbread

This bread has a fabulously crunchy exterior, and deliciously moist interior!

• 1 1/4 cups milk mixed with 1 tbsp white vinegar (let stand for 10 min)
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups medium cornmeal (it develops a nicer texture than finer ground varieties)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar (or a little less depending on how sweet you like your cornbread)
• 1-3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped fine
• small onion, minced
• 2 tbsp butter or olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 375 F
2. Combine milk mixture with egg
3. Combine dry ingredients
4. In a cast iron skillet, saute onion in butter over low heat until well browned
5. Add jalapenos and cook for additional couple of minutes
6. Mix wet/dry ingredients and pour into skillet
7. Bake for ~30 minutes

Breakfast Muesli

A delicious breakfast or snack!  It's a great weekday breakfast- easy to prepare the night before for a quick breakfast.  It also keeps for several days in the fridge.  Just don;t add bananas until you are ready to serve the muesli.  I didn't have any bananas this time, so I just used 2 apples.  Other fruit/ nuts would work nicely here as well.  Keep in mind that the picture I used here does not do this breakfast justice.  I'm not much of a food photographer and I was almost finished my breakfast by the time I remembered to take a picture of it!

• 1.5 cups large flake oats
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup thick plain yogurt (I like greek or mediterranean style)
• sugar (optional, add if you like your muesli sweeter)
• 1 apple, chopped
• 1 banana, chopped

1. Mix oats and cinnamon together in a medium sized bowl
2. Add yogurt, milk, chopped apple (and sugar, if using)
3. Let sit for 10-15 min, or overnight
4. Add banana before serving

Please don't keep your tomatoes in the fridge!

I love tomatoes.  They are so amazingly versatile!  When they are fresh, tomatoes are just too fragrant and delicious for words!  When they are not fresh or (gasp!) have been refrigerated, they transform into the saddest, mushiest, mealiest, most unpalatable veggie (or fruit?) on the planet.

In short, please don't store your tomatoes in the fridge.

Love,

Tomato lovers everywhere

Pasta e Fagiole

This is one of the easiest soups I know how to make!  It is also a hearty comfort food, and can be made easily from items you likely already have stocked in your pantry!  All you need is an onion, some pasta, a can of kidney beans and a can of diced tomatoes.  Trust me, it's much better than it sounds.  Since canned beans and veggies have quite a bit of salt, try to use the low sodium varieties and add salt and pepper to taste when the soup is done.

• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 can diced plum tomatoes (strained)
• 1 can kidney beans
• 1/2 tomato can of water (use empty tomato can)
• 16 ozs pasta (I like to use fusilli), or serve instead with toasted baguette slices
• Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Saute onion in oil over low heat until onions are golden brown
2. Add strained tomatoes and cook for 20 min on med-low heat
3. Add tin of water, simmer for 20 min
4. Add can of kidney beans (without draining them), cook for 20 min
5. Add salt/ pepper to taste
6. In a separate pot, cook pasta to desired firmness and drain
7. Add pasta to soup and serve with parmesan cheese and a salad

Crepes

Crepes and pancakes are so easy to make, I have no idea why people bother with the mixes!
Delicious served with strawberries and chocolate sauce, or a little lemon juice sprinkled with sugar.

crepes with strawberries and chocolate sauce

• 1 egg, lightly beaten using fork or whisk
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• Scant cup of flour
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Accompaniments- lemon or strawberries etc.

1. Add sugar and salt to egg- mix well
2. Add milk and stir
3. Add a scant cup of all purpose flour and mix well to right consistency (a thick liquid that coats the back of a spoon)
4. Heat a couple of teaspoons of oil in a hot, small, light fry pan over medium/high heat
5. Add 2 or 3 tablespoons of mixture, roll around to spread over bottom of pan when bottom is lightly "rosy" in colour, flip until rosy.

Pizza

I used to live by this fabulous little bakery where I could buy fresh homemade pizza dough inexpensively, and unfortunately since my recent move I can only seem to find those salty, cakey pizza rounds at the grocery store.  Naturally, I was ecstatic when I discovered just how simple it is to make your own pizza dough and sauce- and the recipe makes enough for 3 12-inch pizzas and stores extremely well in the freezer!  It does take some time to make though.  I make the dough and sauce well in advance and thaw it the night before I plan to use it in the fridge.

Pizza with mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and basil

Pizza Dough

• 4 1/2 cups flour (bread flour works better, but all purpose works well too)
• 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups warm water

1. Combine 4 cups of the flour, yeast and salt in food processor.
2. Mix in oil, then water, pulsing slowly until ball forms (~30 seconds)
3. Let dough rest for 2 minutes
4. Turn onto lightly floured counter and knead by hand for about 5 minutes until it forms a smooth round ball See pizza dough kneading how-to.
5. Let dough rise for 1-1.5 hours in a lightly oiled bowl covered with plastic wrap
6. Divide dough into 3 pieces- can be used immediately or frozen for use later
1. Can be refrigerated- just let cooled dough sit on counter for 30 min before shaping into pizza
2. Can be frozen for use later.  Thaw dough the night before use and let thawed dough sit at room temp for 30 min before shaping into pizza

Pizza Sauce

Easy to make and freeze in small portions for convenience!  Waaaay less salt than commercially available versions.

• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1 can crushed tomatoes

1. Heat oil and garlic over low heat until garlic starts to sizzle (careful not to burn!)
2. Add tomatoes and simmer for 15-2 min, seasoning with salt and pepper

Pizza

Use any toppings you'd like!  Fresh basil added after the pizza is removed from the oven is delicious!

1. Preheat oven to 500F, adjusting rack to lower-middle position 
1. If using a pizza stone (they're amazing!! they give the pizza a really nice crisp crust) allow it to heat for 30min
2. Roll out pizza dough onto parchment paper, add desired sauce and toppings, brush crust with olive oil
3. Slide onto baking sheet to transfer to baking stone, or bake directly on baking sheet (and remove the parchment paper and sheet for the last few minutes of baking to ensure crispy crust if not using baking stone). 
4. Bake for 8-15 min, until crust edges are brown and cheese is golden.