Banana Bread

In the process of cleaning out my fridge yesterday, I noticed a large collection of brown bananas in my freezer. I commonly forget about all those bananas until I’m throwing a new one in and at that point, I usually make a note to make banana bread in the future…and then I forget.

BUT NOT TODAY!

Today, I made banana bread. It surprises me that I don’t make it more often as I absolutely love banana bread. It is one of my favourite comfort foods. Plus it’s so versatile – breakfast, afternoon snack, dessert…you can eat it just about whenever. I do.

I used Joy the Baker’s recipe and tweaked it a bit. I tend to use many of her recipes…because I trust her. And I didn’t want to waste those bananas!!

Even if I have about a zillion more…banana muffins may be next.

Banana Bread
This was originally Banana Cranberry Bread…but I had no cranberries. I used chopped pecans instead. I’m kind of on a pecan kick right now.

Ingredients:

3 to 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted salted butter
3/4-1 cup light brown sugar, depending on the level of sweetness you prefer
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup of flour

1 cup chopped nuts

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.


With a wooden spoon, mix the butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg and vanilla, then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour, mix. Add the nuts, and stir until just incorporated. Pour mixture into a buttered 4×8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Some Post-Christmas Recipes

So Christmas has come and gone…the radio stations have stopped playing Christmas music, Christmas movies are nowhere to be found on TV…it’s all a little depressing. I plan on spending the next week in my new Christmas sweats, watching lots of movies and continuing my Christmas eating. I may also do a little shopping. I probably won’t go to the gym. I may cook instead. And speaking of cooking…

Now, I’m not one to brag about my Christmas gifts or do some “Christmas Haul” post, however my very handsome and loving boyfriend bought me a Bravetti slow cooker for Christmas…and it is BEAUTIFUL! Consequently, we will most likely be eating chilis and stews for all of 2011. I’m pretty excited. And you should be too.

But before I get into a whack of slow cooker adventures, here are a couple more Christmas recipes…in case you’re like me and just can’t let go.

However, I am Ukrainian. And our Christmas (or my 2nd Christmas) doesn’t happen until January 7th so my tree stays up until then.

Pecan Puffs
You know how everyone has that traditional Christmas sweet that their mom makes that just takes them back to their youth? These are that for me. We haven’t made them the past couple years and this year my mom gave me the flour-stained, yellowing, barely legible recipe card and told me to make them for Christmas. So I did. They lasted about 3.5 minutes on the table after dinner.

Ingredients:

½ cup soft margarine or butter
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup flour

icing sugar, for rolling

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Mix all the ingredients together (you usually have to get your hands in there by the end). Roll into balls and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 30 minutes.

After they come out of the oven, wait about 5 minutes and then roll the balls in icing sugar. Wait until they are completely cooled and then give them another healthy roll in icing sugar. You can do either of these steps or both, it doesn’t matter. We’ve done a variety of different techniques over the years but this is my favourite. The icing sugar gets a bit sticky on the warm cookies initially, so the second roll is usually needed.

Makes about 2 dozen small balls.

Enjoy!

I also made red, white and green marble cupcakes for Christmas. These are always a hit and people are always super impressed but they’re actually pretty easy – you just need a little extra time.

Basically, just whip up your favourite vanilla cupcake recipe, separate the batter into 3 bowls and add red food coloring to one of the bowls, and green to another. Then, drop a scoop of each color into each cupcake wrapper and swirl with a toothpick.

People will think you’re a cupcake magician.

I topped mine with vanilla butter cream and chopped candy canes. Delish!

Festive Sugar Cookies

I know I’ve been seriously slacking in the recipe department this past week…one would think that because it’s Christmas and I have time off to bake, I would be baking. And in all honesty…I have been baking. However, I keep forgetting to take pictures. Or I’m out fighting the crowds at the mall or driving all over town to holiday get-togethers and parties.

But enough excuses!! Here is a traditional holiday cookie recipe: sugar cookies!! These are Matt’s favourite cookies so I tend to make them a lot…they’re good for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, birthdays, when your lover-man is away doing a show in southern Alberta for 4 months…they’re just always appropriate. And so simple. And delicious.

So, enjoy!!

Sugar Cookies
*Note: These cookies call for margarine and I have made them with butter and they just weren’t the same…normally I would stress the use of butter, but these are an exception.

Ingredients:

1 cup margarine
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
2¾ cups flour

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (my oven is super old and these tend to burn at 400 if I’m not careful, so I bring it down to 375, just to be safe).

Cream margarine & sugar. Add egg, baking powder and vanilla – mix well. Add flour.

Roll out and cut using festive cookie cutters.

Bake for 6-7 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Makes a crapload of cookies. I wouldn’t recommend doubling it, unless you have A LOT of time on your hands to ice them.

Ice with royal icing – or any basic icing of your choice. I kind of always make mine up…

Feed to the people you love!

Festive Breakfast - Egg Nog Pancakes

I have a confession to make…I don’t like eggnog. I never really have. I tried it once when I was younger and didn’t like it and ever since then, that memory in combination with the fact that it’s a drink made from eggs has turned me off of it every Christmas.

I do like pancakes though. Mainly because they are an excuse to have “cake” for breakfast. Naturally, Matt isn’t a huge fan but that doesn’t stop me from making them every opportunity I get. I especially love variations on pancakes. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I had just plain buttermilk pancakes.

So, I was hunting for a new pancake recipe this morning, and I stumbled upon Joy the Baker’s Egg Nog (without the Egg Nog) Pancakes. The “without the Egg Nog” part intrigued me and I discovered that they really are just normal buttermilk pancakes with the addition of browned butter, spices and whiskey.

Whiskey? At breakfast?! I’m in.

Egg Nog Pancakes
(From Joy the Baker)

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
heaping 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (I just used ground)
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of ground allspice
3 tablespoons butter melted until browned
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon whiskey or spiced rum or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used whiskey)

butter or a lightly coloured oil for cooking pancakes

maple syrup for serving

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, melt butter until much of the water has evaporated and little brown bits appear in the bottom of the pan. Remove from the flame and add the nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice. Set aside to cool a bit.

In a small bowl, beat the egg with the buttermilk. Add the melted butter, being to sure to scrape all the browned bits and spices into the buttermilk and egg. If the butter seizes up a bit in the cold milk, that’s ok. Add the whiskey/rum or vanilla extract and just whisk it all together.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to incorporate. Don’t overmix. It’s ok if there are a few lumps.

Let the batter rest, untouched for 5 minutes while you heat a griddle or skillet. Add a tablespoon of canola oil or butter to the hot skillet. Dollop heaping tablespoonfuls onto heated and oiled skillet and cook until evenly browned, flipping once. Place cooked pancakes on an oven-proof plate in a warm oven until ready to serve.


These pancakes aren’t very sweet, so maple syrup is a must! I also had some whipped cream on mine…’tis the season ;)

I like a little coffee with my Baileys...

If you know me, you know I like to indulge…indulgence is practically my middle name. One of my favourite weeknight dinners is crepes and wine. Why wait for a special occasion to spoil yourself?

Those who know me also know I like coffee…a lot. I’ve been a shameless addict since my late teens and even though I partially blame my height on it, I would never quit it for the world. I just love the stuff. The smell, the taste, the way it makes me feel…it’s just the best.

Tonight, I indulged on coffee…perhaps one of the best things to indulge on, in my opinion. I had purchased some Baileys last night (as Christmas is just over a week away and I need to stock up!!) and I found myself staring at the bottle of Baileys and my espresso maker, trying to come up with something delicious.

It wasn’t difficult. I kind of created a Bailey’s latte. And it was AMAZING.

So I had to share.

Baileys Latte

Ingredients:

2 shots of espresso
1 shot of Baileys (this is only a suggestion…you could always add more ;))
milk of your choice (I used soy)
whipped cream (might as well go all out!)
pinch of nutmeg

Directions:

Prepare the espresso in your espresso maker. While it’s doing its thing, heat up a cup or so of milk (I don’t have a milk steamer but if you’re all fancy, you could probably do it that way…). Measure 2 shots of espresso into a mug. Add a shot (or 2) of Baileys. Fill the rest up with milk.

Dollop some whipped cream on top (this is optional, but I made a lot yesterday for Matt’s pie so I had to use it up…) and sprinkle with nutmeg.

DELICIOUS!

Strawberry Rhubarb Birthday Pie

My boyfriend loves pie. He's not a huge fan of cake (sometimes I wonder why he dates me...) but he's really into pie. We constantly argue over cake vs. pie superiority. One day, I suppose we'll just have to agree to disagree.

Anyways, his favourite pie is strawberry-rhubarb. And yesterday was his birthday. Normal people enjoy birthday cake on their birthday. But not my boyfriend...no. He prefers birthday pie. Strawberry-rhubarb birthday pie, to be exact.

(On a side note, we're apparently having wedding pie at our wedding too...not sure how I'm gonna argue that one just yet.)

But yes. Strawberry-rhubarb pie. In the middle of winter.

And where, do you ask, does one find fresh rhubarb in the Albertan prairies in the middle of December?

That's easy. One doesn't.

Fortunately, I thought ahead and bought a ton of rhubarb when it was in season and blanched and froze it all for this very occasion. For my high-maintenance-summer-pie-loving boyfriend.

I like to think that I'm a pretty awesome girlfriend. Even if I did manage to nab the one boy I know who doesn't like cake.

I guess I like a challenge ;)

Summertime Pie in the Middle of Winter
(a.k.a. Strawberry-Rhubarb Birthday Pie)

Ingredients:

4 cups rhubarb, chopped
2 cups strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

pastry for a double-crust 9-inch pie

Directions:

In a large bowl, toss the rhubarb and strawberries with the sugar, flour, lemon juice and cinnamon.

Roll out half the pastry dough on a lightly floured surface and line a 9-inch pie plate. Spoon the filling into the prepared pie plate.

Roll out remaining pastry dough for the top crust. Gently lay it over top of the fruit and trim and crimp the edges. Cut slits in the top to allow steam to escape.

Bake on a baking sheet in a 425 oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for another 50 to 60 minutes longer or until rhubarb is tender and the crust is golden. Let stand for about 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Serve warm with whipped cream.


Once again – I promise I’ll share my pie crust recipe with you soon enough! I just happened to have 2 single pie crusts in my freezer from the last batch I made so it was quicker to just use those instead of starting from scratch…next pie time! I promise.

Guest Blogger: Matty Matt's Orange Wheat Bread

I'm not the only one in my family with a passion for food. Aside from having a mother who is an absolutely terrific Ukrainian cook and a younger brother who works in 2 kitchens and is heading to culinary school in January, my older sister is also a fantastic cook and even my nieces and nephews are beginning to dabble into some culinary experimentation as well.

My oldest nephew, Matthew, is 15 and a ridiculously talented musician. Just recently, I discovered that he is also a very talented baker! He did a unique take on a whole wheat bread recipe and it turned out great so I've decided to let him be my first guest blogger!

Check it out ;)

“Matt really wanted to make bread and make it healthy. He changed the recipe a little bit by using orange juice instead of water. We also used more wheat flour (by ratio) than the recipe called for and added ground flax seed as well. We used quick rise yeast instead of regular and shortened the first rise. The recipe said to leave it for 30 minutes till bubbly and then add more flour but we only left it 15 mounts. We made two loaves and 6 buns because we only have two loaf pans and the recipe makes three loaves.”

Matty Matt’s Healthy Orange Wheat Bread
(Adapted from Allrecipe’s Simple Whole Wheat Bread Recipe)

Ingredients:

3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C) (or orange juice)
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast (or quick rise yeast and cut down the first rising time)
1/3 cup honey
5 cups bread flour
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon salt
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup honey. Add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.

Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey, and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky - just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.

Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch.

Bake at 350 F for 25 to 30 minutes; do not overbake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely.


It is yummy toasted with peanut butter.

Gingerbread Frenzy

I went back to work last week…and that, in combination with meetings, rehearsals and seeing a show left me with very little time to bake. Consequently, I started getting a little restless.

So, I went on a bit of a gingerbread frenzy this weekend. I tend to get hooked on a certain flavour and do whatever I can with it for as long as I can...or at least until I get sick of it. You’ll learn this about me.

It all started when I made gingerbread men yesterday for me and the boyfriend’s annual Christmas card pictures…then all I wanted was dark, gingery, spicy molasses-filled goodness. All the time.

This morning I made gingerbread pancakes…and they were kind of amazing. They screamed Christmas all over the place.

And so…I have thus begun my Christmas baking. It’s happening. I hope you’re ready.

Gingerbread Men
(Taken from my Better Homes and Gardens 2007 Christmas Cookies magazine)
These cookies are pretty standard, I like how soft they are, however I’m hoping to tweak the recipe and make some with fresh ginger sometime before Christmas and see how they turn out!

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg

Directions:

In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and ground cloves; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter for 30 seconds with an electric mixer. Add sugar; beat until fluffy. Add molasses and egg, beat until combined. Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour with a wooden spoon. Cover; chill dough about 3 hours, or overnight, or until easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 350 F (the original recipe called for 375 F but they burned in my oven on that temp so I turned it down). On a lightly floured surface roll dough to about 1/4-inch thickness. Cut dough using 5-inch gingerbread people cookie cutters. Arrange the cutouts about 1 inch apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 7-8 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are light brown. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

I threw together a basic icing (water, icing sugar, vanilla, butter) to pipe on these cookies however royal icing works best.

Royal Icing: In a small bowl combine 2 cups sifted powdered sugar, 4 teaspoons meringue powder, and 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar. Stir in 1/4 cup warm water. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until combined, then on high speed 7 to 10 minutes or until very stiff. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons additional warm water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until of glazing consistency.

Gingerbread Pancakes
(Adapted from Joy the Baker’s Gingerbread Pancakes)
The original recipe called for 1 cup of sour cream but I did have any so I decided to use plain yogurt…which I just barely had a full cup left of so I filled the rest with buttermilk. Thankfully, it all still turned out alright.

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
3 Tablespoons molasses
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup buttermilk
3 Tablespoons milk
2 Tablespoons melted butter, plus additional for brushing the griddle

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200 F.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, spices and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk together molasses, egg, yogurt, buttermilk, milk and butter in a small bowl, then add the flour mixture and stir just until combined.

Heat griddle or 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot enough to make drops of water scatter over the surface. Brush with butter. Working in batches of 4 to 6 (depending on the size of the griddle), drop 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto griddle and cook until bubbles appear on surface and undersides are golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip pancakes with a spatula and cook until golden brown and cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer pancakes to a heatproof plate and keep warm in oven while you cook remaining batches.


Serve with more butter and syrup – or anything your heart desires! (Joy recommends sour cream)

Note: The batter is very soft and delicate, so make sure you let them cook for at least a full minute, before you attempt to flip them for the first time.

Mocha Marble Birthday Cupcakes!

Out of everything I bake, I’m probably most known (by my friends and family, at least) for my cupcakes. I bake them a lot. I’m actually shocked that this is the first cupcake recipe I have on the blog. I’ve been seriously slacking in the cupcake department and for that, I apologize.

It was my best friend Krystyn’s birthday this weekend. Naturally, I offered to make cupcakes and when I asked her what kind she wanted, she replied with, “Vanilla!!! Or espresso ;)” (that is a direct quote).

I pondered the possibilities for a bit and finally decided on marble cupcakes, to have the best of both the vanilla and espresso worlds. I topped them off with a vanilla buttercream as she’s also a huge sucker for anything “vanilla or buttercreamy goodness” (also a direct quote). Don’t you just love her already?

Clearly, we are friends for a reason.

Anyways, I sifted through my stack of cupcake cookbooks and decided to make a variation of the marble cupcakes in Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes book. And they turned out beautifully.

P.S. If you’re in the market for a cupcake book, I definitely suggest investing in Martha’s. It’s my fav. And Krystyn is actually the one who purchased it for me for MY birthday last year. See? Meant to be best friends.

P.P.S. Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman is also an amazing book. Second favourite, for sure.

Mocha Marble Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream
(Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Marble Cupcake recipe)

Ingredients:

Cupcakes

1¾ cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk, room temperature
1/3 cup heavy cream, room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1/4 cup boiling water

Icing

1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2½ cups icing sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners (I used brown ones with white polka dots).

Stir together cake flour, baking powder, and salt in one bowl. Combine milk and cream in another bowl.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk mixture, and beating until combined.

To make the chocolate espresso batter, measure out 1 cup batter, and transfer to another bowl. Combine cocoa, espresso and the boiling water in a bowl. Stir into reserved 1 cup batter.

Fill prepared cups with alternating spoonfuls of vanilla and chocolate batter, filling each three-quarters full. Run the tip of a paring knife or wooden skewer through batter in a figure-eight motion to make swirls. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until tops are golden and a cake tester (or a toothpick) inserted in centers comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.

To make the buttercream, mix the butter and the vanilla together and then slowly beat in the icing sugar. You can use food colouring to make it any colour you’d like; I left it white to go with the color scheme of the papers and the cake, but reserved a bit at the end and made it purple to write Happy Birthday on a bunch of them.

Makes 18-20 cupcakes.

Happy Birthday, lovely <3

Pumpkin Double Whammy!

So, my pumpkin obsession got a little bit intensified over the weekend when I discovered that numerous vendors at the farmer’s market have lovely selections of sugar pumpkins! I’ve been searching for cooking pumpkins for awhile now and I’m so stoked that I can finally buy them from local farmers at the market. The vendor I bought them from last weekend even assured me that she’d be selling them until Christmas…needless to say, I’m a little excited.

Today, I have a double dose of pumpkin for you! 1 savoury dish and 1 sweet. I made a pumpkin soup and a gluten-free version of one of my favourite pumpkin breads :)

Curried Roasted Pumpkin Soup
(Adapted from Joy McCarthy’s Roasted Pumpkin Curry Soup)
This soup is so yummy and incredibly good for you. I’m kind of in love with it.

Ingredients:

1 small sugar pumpkin, seeds and stringy bits removed and cut into large chunks
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp freshly chopped ginger
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tsp curry powder
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Drizzle pumpkin chunks with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 40-60 minutes. When pumpkin is fork-tender, remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Let cool and remove flesh from skins. Set aside.

Melt coconut oil in a large pot on the stove on medium-high heat. Add onions and celery and cook until brown, stirring frequently. Once veggies have browned, add garlic, ginger, pumpkin, salt and pepper.

Add enough water to just cover the vegetables. Stir occasionally and skim off any foam that appears on the surface with a ladle. Once the soup has come to a boil, turn the heat down to low heat and let simmer. Sprinkle in the curry powder and stir. Allow the soup to simmer for 15 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.

After letting it simmer for 15 minutes or so, remove pot from heat. With a hand-blender (or food processor), blend the soup until no chunks remain. You may need to add more water during this step if the soup is too thick.

Add any additional salt & pepper to taste. Enjoy!


Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Spice Bread
(Adapted from Joy the Baker’s Vegan Pumpkin Walnut Bread)
This bread is really crumbly and moist…and also very sweet. It’s more like cake. I think I might even love it more than the original.

Ingredients:

1 cup rice flour
3/4 cup oat flour
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
2½ tbsp water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place a rack in the center of the oven. Grease and flour one loaf pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flours, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices.

In a medium bowl, carefully whisk together pumpkin puree, oil, maple syrup and water.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and use a spatula to fold all of the ingredients together. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl well, finding any stray flour bits to mix in.

Pour the dough into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven. Let rest in the pans for 20 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack.

Serve warm.

Comfort Food: Beef Stew & Biscuits

Today, it was just plain yucky outside. After I braved the roads first thing in the morning to hit the gym, I quickly decided to spend the rest of the day indoors. On cold, snowy days like today, all I want to do is curl up on my couch with a mug of tea and some good movies.

I was also craving comfort food. Mind you, I tend to crave comfort food on a regular basis. Perhaps it’s due to the fact that I live in Alberta and we get snow for most of the year and therefore all I want is to hibernate and eat yummy and hearty meals year-round. Or it could also be due to the fact that I grew up eating the most delicious and comforting dishes as my mother is an insanely awesome cook.

Nevertheless, today I wanted stew. Beef stew. I had never made it before but I figured it couldn’t be that difficult.

Thankfully, it wasn’t. I also made biscuits. And they may just be the best biscuits I’ve ever made. AND they were super easy. I actually googled, “easy buttermilk biscuits” because I really didn’t feel like rolling out and cutting dough, and I stumbled upon a great recipe that’s quick and easy, and amazingly delicious.

Beef Stew
(Adapted from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry’s Stew-Pendous Beef Stew)
The longer you can cook this, the better. The meat really needs a good 2 hours to get fully tender and delicious. A slow cooker would make it even better. Unfortunately, I’m still waiting for one…

Ingredients:

olive oil
1-1½ pounds beef (I used eye of round), cut into 1 to 1½ inch cubes
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/2 an onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons herbes de Provence (or any mix of herbs you’d like – I made up my own)
3 cups reduced-sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon each salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into ¾-inch pieces
2 large carrots, diced
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup frozen green peas

Directions:

Pat beef dry with paper towels. Sprinkle beef lightly all over with seasoning salt. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large pot (preferably non-stick) over medium-high heat. Add half the beef cubes and cook, turning occasionally, until all sides are lightly browned. Remove from pot and keep warm. Repeat with another drizzle of olive oil and remaining beef cubes. Set browned beef aside.

Add onions, celery, and garlic to same pot (you may add a bit more olive oil or ¼ cup beef broth to pot if necessary to prevent sticking). Reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Return beef cubes to pot and stir in herbs de Provence (or your herbs of choice). Add beef broth, tomato paste, vinegar, bay leaves, sugar, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour, 15 minutes. (Make sure it is a low simmer and that mixture is not boiling or it will burn.)

Stir in potatoes and carrots. Cover and simmer for 30 more minutes. Mix cornstarch with 2 tbsp warm water until smooth. Add to stew. Mix well and continue to cook until stew is bubbly and has thickened. Stir in peas and cook just until they are heated through, about 2 minutes.


P.S. These are the biscuits I made. They’re seriously awesome. So awesome, in fact, that there were none left over – Matt made sure of that.

Gluten-Free Apple Crumble Pie

I did a show a little while back called, Perfect Pie. In it, my character was known for making amazing pies and pastries. Because of this, I made it my own little personal mission to learn how to make great pies – especially pastry from scratch.

I’m very picky about pies. I love fruit pies but I hate it when they’re too sweet. I especially hate it when apple pies are too sweet. My mom makes an AMAZING apple crumble pie and I have always been a little nervous to try to make one myself in fear that it wouldn’t be anywhere near as good as hers.

Sarah and I were at the farmer’s market on Saturday and I noticed that one of the vendors (specializing in gluten-free items) had gluten-free pie dough. I decided to buy some along with some fresh granny smith apples and embark on a gluten-free apple crumble pie adventure! If it was bad, I could always cheat and blame the dough, right?


Thankfully, it wasn’t. It actually turned out really good. So good, in fact, that I wasn’t able to snap a picture of the final product before it was devoured by my family. So yeah. It was good.

I will also definitely do a post in the future about my own pie dough as I do have a killer (and very not-gluten-free) recipe, but for now, enjoy this wheat-free alternative :)

Gluten-Free Apple Crumble Pie
Pie is another thing I don’t tend to have a set recipe for…I’m always adding more of this or that to suit it to my tastes. This recipe is kind of just a guideline.

Ingredients:

1 gluten-free pie crust (bottom crust only)

Filling:
6-8 coarsely chopped & peeled granny smith apples
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp rice flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Topping:
3/4 cup oat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat-free rolled oats
2 tsp cinnamon
pinch salt
1/3 cup cold butter, cubed

Directions:

Topping: In a bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, oats and cinnamon. Using pastry blender (or your fingers), cut in butter until crumbly; set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out pie dough to a generous 1/8-inch (3 mm) thickness; fit into 9-inch (23 cm) pie plate. Trim to leave 3/4-inch (2 cm) overhang; fold under and crimp edge. Set aside.

Filling: In large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice. Add sugar, flour and cinnamon; toss to combine. Scrape into pie shell. Sprinkle with topping.

Bake at 400°F oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F; bake for about 50 minutes or until filling is bubbly and thickened. Let cool on rack.

Sinful Gluten-Free Dark Chocolate Brownies

Sometimes, I get a little experimental in the kitchen. Sometimes, the results are delicious, whereas other times, it can get disastrous. However, that’s what experimenting is for, right? And what better way to do it than with food!

I have a friend staying with me this week. Her name is Sarah. She is gorgeous, crazy talented, continuously bouncy but unfortunately unable to digest gluten. Therefore, I’ve taken this as an opportunity to stretch my gluten-free baking muscles and start experimenting with different flours!

It’s almost pathetic how excited I get over this stuff…

Anyways, tonight I was craving chocolate. Good, dark, rich chocolate. So, I found a nice dark chocolate brownie recipe, threw some certified wheat-free oats into my Magic Bullet to make a fine oat flour and went a little crazy. And the results were…sinful.

(I also think it’s interesting that I’ve now made brownies for this blog more times in the past 2 weeks than I have in my entire life. Just sayin’.)

Gluten-Free Dark Chocolate Brownies
(Adapted from Joy the Baker’s Dark Chocolate Brownies)
I halved the original recipe and used a loaf pan just in case the brownies turned out awful, but since they didn’t, you should probably double it and use a full square cake pan.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup oat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons oil
6 ounces pure unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

Place oil and chopped chocolate in a medium sized heat proof bowl. Melt chocolate either in the microwave (keep a good eye on it!!) or in a double boiler (Place the bowl over a pot of barely simmering water, being sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the boiling water. Stir until chocolate and oil are completely melted & mixed. Use pot holders to remove the bowl from over the boiling water). Let mixture sit for a few minutes.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until pale and thick. Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Whisk until completely incorporated. Add the flour mixture all at once and whisk to incorporate. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.


These are super rich and super delicious. You might need some milk.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Quick Bread

I love homemade bread. Unfortunately, I kind of suck at making it. I’ve made both yeasted and quick breads and they always seem to have this uncanny habit of either not cooking all the way through (gummy on the inside, burnt on the outside) or just tasting like crap. Needless to say, I’ve been frustrated.

I even made bread yesterday and was going to blog about it…but it sucked. A lot.

However, today something magical happened. I toyed around with a new quick bread recipe and it actually turned out alright! Scratch that – BETTER than alright. It’s so yummy, in fact, that I’ve had to move it into the downstairs fridge to avoid from eating the whole thing.

I’m kind of in love with this recipe now. And this bread. Today, after countless homemade bread fails, I finally had a bread win!

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Quick Bread
(Adapted from Eating Well’s Honey Oat Quick Bread)
The buttermilk in this recipe gives it a really nice, almost biscuit-like quality. It’s brown and crumbly on the outsides, and soft and moist on the inside. However, make sure you cut big slices – it’s almost too crumbly for thin ones.

Ingredients:

1 cup quick-cooking (not instant) oats
1 1/3 cups whole-wheat bread flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk

additional flour
additional oats (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray (or the oil of your choice). Sprinkle about a tablespoon of flour into the pan and tip the pan back and forth to coat the sides and bottom with it.

Thoroughly stir together oats, flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.

Whisk the egg, yogurt, oil, sugar and buttermilk in a medium bowl until well blended.
Add the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined (don’t over mix). Scrape the batter into the pan, spreading evenly to the edges. Sprinkle oats over the top.

Bake the loaf for about 40 to 50 minutes (until well browned on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean). Let stand in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a table knife around and under the loaf to loosen it and turn it out onto the rack. Let cool until barely warm, about 45 minutes.

*Note: Because there aren’t any preservatives and such in the bread, it will keep longer if you store it in the refrigerator.


ENJOY! It makes great toast…or you can just have it plain with butter. That’s what happened to most of mine.

Chicken Soup

I love homemade soups. In fact, aside from desserts involving pumpkin, soup is kind of my culinary obsession right now. Making soup from scratch is much easier than people think and generally better for you – especially if you make your own stock – as you can control what goes into it (most importantly: the amount of salt). You just need the time…however, it’s a perfect way to make use of a lazy Sunday. Plus, your house will smell amazing.

I’m also a little obsessed with making my own stock. It’s so ridiculously simple and a great way to use up the parts of vegetables and meat that normally get thrown out. You can also make a whole bunch and freeze it, then just use it as you need it.

Today, I made chicken stock. I had roasted a chicken on the weekend and kept the bones and leftover meat in order to make a yummy chicken soup. My mom makes a mean turkey soup (usually after big family dinners) as a way to use up leftover meat and bones, and it’s one of my very favourite dishes she makes. It’s full of flavour and LOTS of dill.

What can I say? We’re Ukrainian.

Chicken Stock
I don’t really have a specific recipe for stock, as I kind of just like to throw in whatever I have, but here’s a basic guideline.

Ingredients:

bones/carcass of 1 roasted chicken, meat removed
2 unpeeled onions, coarsely chopped
2 celery stalks with leaves, coarsely chopped
2 unpeeled carrots, coarsely chopped
1 head of garlic (unpeeled), separated into cloves
6-8 sprigs of parsley
2 sprigs of thyme (or a tsp or so of dried thyme)
2 bay leaves
10-15 whole peppercorns

Directions:

In a stock pot, combine chicken, onions, celery, carrot, parsley, thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns. Pour in 14 cups of water; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, skimming occasionally, for about 3-4 hours.

Use a slotted spoon to discard the majority of the chicken & vegetables. Strain stock through cheesecloth-lined sieve (or just a regular old strainer) into large bowl, pressing remaining vegetables to extract liquid. Refrigerate until fat congeals on surface, about 8 hours. Lift off fat and discard. Use as needed.

The stock can also be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month.

Dillicious Ukrainian Chicken Soup
My spin on my mother's great soup.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons canola oil
half a medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 medium carrots, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
2 quarts chicken stock
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
LOTS of fresh dill

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Cooked egg noodles (optional)

Directions:

Coat a soup pot with oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, carrots, celery and a tbsp or 2 of dill. Cook and stir for about 6 minutes, until the vegetables are softened but not browned. Pour in the chicken stock (and more dill) and bring the liquid to a boil. Add the chicken (and more dill) and simmer for about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper (and any other spices you want – dill is nice).

Add noodles to serve (I don’t put the noodles to cook directly in the soup as they soak up a lot of the broth).

Enjoy!!


P.S. To accompany the soup, I also made these biscuits. They’re pretty much to die for. You should go make some. Now.