Spicy Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 3 cups water
• Salt to taste
• 2 cups diced cucumber
• 1/2 small red onion, finely minced
• 3 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
• handful of cilantro, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 avocado, sliced, for garnish

What to do
Put the diced cucumber in a colander, and sprinkle with salt to draw some of the cucumbers moisture out. Gently mix the cukes and salt and allow to sit for 15 minutes or longer. To remove the salt, rinse the cucumber with cold water, and drain on paper towels or a clean kitchen towel.

Place diced onions in a bowl of cold water. By soaking them before adding them to the salad you will remove the stinging bite of the onions and it mellows out the taste a bit. Let them sit for five minutes, before draining and then drying tehm off on paper towels.

Soak the quinoa for 5 min in the cooking pot. (Soaking it will help the quinoa cook evenly, and loosens up any residue of saponin (usually removed in processing), which can give it a bitter taste.)

Stir the quinoa with your hand, and carefully pour off the water using a fine mesh strainer.

Dump the quinoa back into cooking pot, add 1 1/2 cups water & 1/2 tsp salt if desired.

Bring to a boil, and then cover with a tight fitting lid. Immediately turn the heat down to simmer.

Cook for 15 minutes.

Remove quinoa from heat and allow to sit five minutes with the lid on. You will know the quinoa is done when it is tender and translucent; on each grain you will see a little "tail" that is now visible.

Combine and stir the vinegar, lime juice, mustard and olive oil in a bowl. Add the tomatoes, chiles, cucumber and onion, season to taste with salt.

Add the quinoa and cilantro. Toss together, add salt and pepper if needed.

Dish and add a few slices of avocado and extra cilantro, if desired.

Serves six.

Roasted Corn and Black Bean Salsa

By the end of the week I had what seemed like a bushel of tomatoes on my counter. I didn't feel like making tomato sauce but some fresh salsa with home-baked tortillas sounded like the perfect Friday night treat!


The great thing about salsa is that pretty much anything goes. In this recipe, I used tomatoes, canned black beans and roasted corn as the main ingredients with cilantro, lime and a bit of chipotle sauce to finish it off.


The sweetness of the roasted corn really makes this salsa! I actually broiled it because we were out of propane. I shucked it and stuck it right under the heat until the kernels darkened (rotate it so it broils evenly).


Don't get too caught up in the quantities - just throw in whatever feels right or is on your counter!

Ingredients
2 large tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
juice of 1 lime
1 small can of black beans
1/2 red onion, diced
1 medium jalepeno, diced
1 ear of corn, roasted or broiled
dash of cumin
couples dashed of chipotle hot sauce
dash of salt


What to do:
Cut niblets off ear of corn.
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients.
Serve immediately or refrigerate until needed.

Brown-Eyed Susan Cookie Recipe

I must confess that I am much better at baking "flowers" than growing them. As I type, my husband is replanting our garden. It seems this year that mid-April on the westcoast was too early to plant veggies! April and most of May has been colder than usual and we even had frost. The frost destroyed all of our little veggies but this weekend, the weather seems to have turned the corner and we're replanting. I've also bought herbs to grow inside - mint (orange and chocolate), thyme, cilantro, 3 types of basil, and chives (regular and garlic) - so far I haven't killed thouse but there is still time :)

I recommend baking these cookies the day before you need them as they taste much better after resting for a day. The recipe is simple, and egg free (bonus for anyone with an allergy). The icing is simple too.

So remember...stop to smell the flowers...and eat a couple too!

Adapted from Marie Nightingale's Favorite Recipes

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt

Icing:

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 2 tbsp cocoa
• 2 tbsp hot water
• 1 tsp vanilla

What to do:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Cream butter and sugar for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add almond extract.
• In a separate bowl, whisk flour and salt.
• Add flour mixture to butter and sugar.
• Mix until combined and dough comes together.
• Using sall cookie scooper or tablespoon, form into balls.
• Place on cookie sheet and flatten slightly.
• Bake for 10 - 12 minutes and golden around the edges.
• Cool completely.
• Once cooled, sift the icing sugar and cocoa into medium bowl.
• Add the vanilla and water and stir.
• Frost each cookies with about 1/2 tsp of icing.

Oat Bars

 

 

I love oats. I love coconut. I love butter. I love this recipe. It is adapted from a Best of Bridge recipe. This recipe results in a very buttery oat flavour with a subtle coconut flavour. Melted chocolate or bit of softened store bought icing can be drizzled over them for some added flare.

The oat bars around the edges are crispy but the ones cut from the middle are relatively soft. Also, when you spread the mixture onto your cookie sheet it will only take up half of the pan. While it bakes it will spread to fill the rest of it. I also think you could add a bit of cinnamon for added flavour too.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of unsalted butter
• 3-1/2 cups oats
• 2/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp corn syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

What to do

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• In large pot, melt butter and corn syrup.
• Add brown sugar and stir.
• Stir in oats, baking powder, salt, vanilla, and coconut until well combined.
• Place on large cookie sheet and flatten until mixture is about 1cm thick.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes.
• Cool 10 minutes and cut into squares or rectangles.
• If desired, drizzle with melted chocolate.

Asparagus Dip

This recipe is sometimes called "asparagus guacamole". It's called this because it's green and has lime. But I gotta be honest and tell you even if you substitute cilantro for the basil, it does not taste like guacamole.  It is, however, a bright tasting, delicious, low-cal dip that is great in it's own right. It deserves to be thought of not as a sad guacamole substitute but a unique, original dip of its own. 

A cup of chopped avocado has approximately 250 calories and 22 grams of fat. Of course, the avocado also has fibre, potassium and vitamin C which makes it a nutritional star. But when calories count, the mere 40 calories in a cup of cooked asparagus makes me stand up and cheer for this skinny little veggie.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pound(s) asparagus, trimmed
• 2 Tbsp reduced-calorie mayonnaise 
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/4 cup basil, chopped
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 medium jalapeno pepper, chopped
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp chipotle pepper sauce
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• salt, or to taste
• black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Bring large pot of water to boil. Add asparagus and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain. 

2. Place asparagus into food processor and purée until smooth. Blend in remaining ingredients.

3. Refreigerate until cool.

4. Serve with assortment of veggies and tortilla chips.

Yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake - March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge

The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake. 

This is was a great Daring Baker's Challenge. I usually leave bread making to my bread machine so it was definitely a new experience for me to make a yeast bread from scratch.

Although the recipe looks tough, it is really straight forward and not all that difficult. Feel free to change up the filling - flavours, spices, fruit etc. Lots of Daring Bakers did a more savoury take on this recipe too ...think pizza flavours etc. Go wild!

My coffee cake was sweet and the bread itself is very moist thanks to the meringue. It got rave reviews from the office and kids. Enjoy.

The recipe below is from James and Ria.



FILLED MERINGUE COFFEE CAKE


Makes 2 round coffee cakes, each approximately 10 inches in diameter. The recipe can easily be halved to make one round coffee cake.

Ingredients

For the yeast coffee cake dough:

• 4 cups (600 g / 1.5 lbs.) flour
• ¼ cup (55 g / 2 oz.) sugar
• ¾ teaspoon (5 g / ¼ oz.) salt
• 1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons / 7 g / less than an ounce) active dried yeast
• ¾ cup (180 ml / 6 fl. oz.) whole milk
• ¼ cup (60 ml / 2 fl. oz. water (doesn’t matter what temperature)
• ½ cup (135 g / 4.75 oz.) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2 large eggs at room temperature

For the meringue:

• 3 large egg whites at room temperature
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup (110 g / 4 oz.) sugar

For the filling:

1 cup (110 g / 4 oz.) chopped walnuts
1/3 cup Tablespoons (30 g / 1 oz.) brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (170 g / 6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup toffee bits


Prepare the dough:

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ½ cups (230 g) of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast.

In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter and heat over medium heat until warm and the butter is just melted.

With an electric mixer on low speed, gradually add the warm liquid to the flour/yeast mixture, beating until well blended. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes. Add the eggs and 1 cup (150 g) flour and beat for 2 more minutes.

Using a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that holds together. Turn out onto a floured surface (use any of the 1 ½ cups of flour remaining) and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, sexy and elastic, keeping the work surface floured and adding extra flour as needed.

Place the dough in a lightly greased (I used vegetable oil) bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise until double in bulk, 45 – 60 minutes. The rising time will depend on the type of yeast you use.

Prepare your filling. In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar for the filling if using. You can add the chopped nuts to this if you like, but I find it easier to sprinkle on both the nuts and the chocolate, chips and toffee bits separately.

Once the dough has doubled, make the meringue: In a clean mixing bowl – ideally a plastic or metal bowl so the egg whites adhere to the side (they slip on glass) and you don’t end up with liquid remaining in the bottom – beat the egg whites with the salt, first on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque. Add the vanilla then start adding the ½ cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.

Assemble the Coffee Cakes:

Line 2 baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Punch down the dough and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, working one piece of the dough at a time (keep the other half of the dough wrapped in plastic), roll out the dough into a 20 x 10-inch (about 51 x 25 ½ cm) rectangle. Spread half of the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about 1/2-inch (3/4 cm) from the edges. Sprinkle half of your filling evenly over the meringue (ex: half of the cinnamon-sugar followed by half the chopped nuts and half of the chocolate chips/chopped chocolate).

Now, roll up the dough jellyroll style, from the long side. Pinch the seam closed to seal. Very carefully transfer the filled log to one of the lined cookie sheets, seam side down. Bring the ends of the log around and seal the ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal.

Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife (although scissors are easier), make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inch (2 ½ cm) intervals. Make them as shallow or as deep as desired but don’t be afraid to cut deep into the ring.

Repeat with the remaining dough, meringue and fillings. Cover the 2 coffee cakes with plastic wrap and allow them to rise again for 45 to 60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Brush the tops of the coffee cakes with the egg wash. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped.

Mango-Berry Crisp

My kids LOVE LOVE LOVE this dessert - "delicious", "the best ever", "mmmm" were all used in describing it and they each ate two servings. My  4 year old son plans on having it for breakfast :) Note: They did have it for breakfast (with yogourt) and begged me to make another.
Some tips: I prefer to use a shallow longer dish rather than a deep casserole dish that way you get to enjoy more crispy topping per serving!

• Also, any fruit pretty much works and the quantities are just guide lines. Just don't over pack the dish or you may experience juice overflow and make a mess of your oven!
• I coated the blueberries in flour so they wouldn't become too juicy.
• Coarse sugar sprinkled on top before baking adds a great touch to this dish!

Ingredients

• 2 mangos
• 2 apples
• 1-1/2 cups strawberries, chopped
• 1 cup blueberries
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger

What to do

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Chop up mango, apples, and strawberries.
• Place chopped fruit in medium baking dish.
• Place blue berries in bowl and throw in a table spoon of flour. Coat berries.
• Place berries with other fruit.
• In another bowl, whisk flour, spices, and sugar.
• Add oats.
• Pour butter over flour mixture and stir until combined.
• Drop in small amounts over fruit base until fruit is well covered.
• If you have any course sugar, sprinkle over topping along with an extra shake of cinnamon.
• Place in oven and bake for 1 hour or until golden brown.