Papaya Salsa

Papaya Salsa - June 28th, 2012

Thank You Kristina!!

This salsa was made possible by my very thoughtful friend Kristina. After hearing my disappointment at not being able to make the salsa last night, she surprised me by arriving to work this morning with two papayas.

Papaya Salsa - page 126

"Papayas are tropical fruits that appeal to most palates, making them a perfect addition to this summer salsa."

Incredibly quick and easy to prepare, this salsa is AWESOME!! It's got a little bit of heat, and it full of flavour. Prep consisted of some simple knife work to diced everything up and the squeezing of a lime. I like easy!

We were going over to our friends Meghan & Craig's place this evening for supper. Craig was preparing a Vegan meal for all of us as our vegan friend Gill was also coming. On a side note, you wouldn't have known that this was the first vegan meal he has ever made. It was DELICIOUS!!

I decided that this salsa would be an excellent appetizer to take with us. We stopped and pick up some Tostito Scoops (and beer) on our way there. The salsa was a hit! Everyone really loved it. Yahoo!!

All the flavours of this salsa work really nicely together. Papaya, red onion, red peppers, black beans, jalapenos, garlic, lime and cumin. As I will most definitely be making this again, I think I will also add some mango in there too. The recipe did call for cilantro but I left that out as Niall isn't the biggest fan of the stuff.

We brought home the left overs of the salsa. Niall can snack on it tomorrow. But we did do a little taste test to see how it went with some Tostito Hint of Lime Nachos. Mmmm-mmm-good!

I'll post tomorrow what the new recipes will be for next week. I hope you are enjoying this little challenge as much as I am. Stay tuned :)

13 down, 188 to go...

Ultimate Turkey Burgers

Ultimate Turkey Burger - June 27th, 2012

Sorry I'm late getting this post up. Meant to write this last night, but then last night turned into this morning which  then got delayed till this moment.

My original hope had been to make the Papaya Salsa to go with these burgers but unfortunately the Superstore's (both Young & Joseph Howe) papaya delivery was a day late.

Ultimate Turkey Burgers - page 243

"Replacing ground beef with lean ground turkey is an easy way to reduce fat and calories without sacrificing taste. Try it in any recipe that calls for ground beef - no one will know the difference!"

First off, I am all for healthy recipes, and I do love turkey burgers...but while I understand it is the point of their write-up to promote the recipe...to say that no one would notice the switching out of beef for turkey is a stretch. I am a fan of a good ol' fashioned hamburger. I don't think you can really put the two on the same scale.  Loving one doesn't replace the other.

These burgers were much different from burgers I've made in the past. I was always under the impression that you needed bread crumbs and eggs when forming patties. I now there are other options. The ground turkey is simple mixed with diced red peppers, garlic, parsley, and seasoning. When grilled they kept their shape and had a really nice flavour.

I must give Niall kudos for being the official Griller in our household. When something needs to be BBQ'd, he's the chef for the meal.

I may have cheated a little and added some thinly sliced cheddar goat cheese to the tops of the burgers. Simple on the condiments, just mustard, relish, lettuce and sliced red onion & tomatoes. Our buns may have been a tad too large though. I did a little demolition work on the bun and tore around the edge so it matched the size of the burger.

If I made these again the only thing I would change is that I would make the patties a little larger.  I prefer a thicker burger. Plus, next time I would make sure I had a topping such as chunky salsa.


12 down, 189 to go...

Honey Mustard-Glazed Salmon with Lentils & Kale

Honey Mustard-Glazed Salmon with Lentils & Kale - June 24th, 2012

With yesterday being Niall's turn-around night for work, I didn't make this until 8:30pm so he could have it for supper when he woke up at 9pm. I wasn't all that hungry anyways (maybe it was all the cookies....), so I just packed up my half and had it for lunch today at work.

Honey Mustard-Glazed Salmon with Lentils & Kale - page 104

"Mixing up your own honey-mustard sauce is a snap and allows you to skip the processed versions. Brown lentils are a good choice for this dish because they tend to hold their shape when cooked and are easier to find than red or green varieties."

Funny thing is that when I went grocery shopping on Sunday, I couldn't find BROWN lentils at all. I could only find GREEN ones. They also held their shape and were just as tasty. I'm not sure if the brown lentils would have tasted all that much different from the green ones or not. Does anyone out there know?

Another incredibly easy dish to prepare. At 450 degrees, the fish baked quickly and remained moist. The honey-mustard glaze is really good!! The Dijon was not over-powering. Just the right amount of savory & sweet.

The recipe uses only a light seasoning of sea salt and pepper for the lentils and kale, but upon Niall's suggestion, a light squeeze of lemon over top does the trick.

This meal was very filling! As I had it for lunch at 1pm (while dining in the rose garden al-fresco & catching up with my dear friend Kristina), I may not be hungry for quite some time. I guess this makes a good note that this dish reheats well and is 'left-over' friendly.

Just want to give a quick shout out to everyone on Baker Street. I'm excited to know that you will soon be following along via your own copies of the cookbook. I'm curious to hear your feedback!! To anyone else out there who may be interested in joining along, please let me know.

On Wednesday I'll be making the Turkey Burgers with the Papaya Salsa. Mmmmm.
Hopefully the rain holds off that evening so we can BBQ.

11 down, 190 to go...

Chocolate-Spiked Oatmeal Cookies

Chocolate-Spiked Oatmeal Cookies - June 24, 2012

I would like to begin by exclaiming that my condo smells amazing!

Freshly baked cookies. Yum.

Chocolate-Spiked Oatmeal Cookies - page 217

"Adding chocolate gives this classic cookie a delightful new twist. Try it as part of our CE "Ice Cream" Sandwich or dunk it into a refreshing glass of milk."

When I divided up the recipes into bundles, I just went down the Table of Contents. I didn't realize that the recipe for CE "Ice Cream" Sandwiches is actually just the two recipes for "Chocolate-Spiked Oatmeal Cookies", and "Vanilla Frozen Yogurt" put together. All three recipes were included in the '201 recipes', so you will hear about them at least twice more during this challenge. I would have just made the "Ice Cream" Sandwiches today but I didn't have any plain yogurt in the fridge. Although it would have been nice to knock 3 recipes off the list in one go. When the Frozen Yogurt recipe gets drawn later on, I will just make these cookies again and do the whole sha-bang.

This recipe had several elements that stand it apart from your 'normal' oatmeal cookie.

1. No butter
2. No egg yolk, egg white only
3. No granulated sugar
4. uses Almond Butter

For sweetness, the recipe calls for Agave nectar. I had it on my shopping list this morning. I couldn't find it down the regular aisle with the honeys and peanut butter, so I had made the mental note to finish getting everything else on my list before heading back towards the organic section to get the nectar. Well, some where down the frozen foods section I must have forgotten because I got home without Agave Nectar in my grocery bags.

A quick Google search told me that honey makes a good substitution so long as I wasn't going for a Vegan recipe. Honey would work just as well for these cookies. Although, next time I have to make them, I will make sure my cupboard is stocked with Agave Nectar.

Extremely easy and quick to make. I was dolloping the batter onto the baking sheet just as the oven finished preheating. These almost look like macaroons when spooning them out of the bowl. The recipe suggested flattening the mounds down to flat circles (obviously for the purpose of Ice Cream Sandwiches), but I left them slightly mounded as that's how I prefer cookies. I did have to extend the cooking time abit since they took longer to fully bake.

Once they had cooled on the tray for 10 minutes, I was eager to try a bite:
Mmmmmm.

The sweetness from the honey is the first flavour that hits you, followed by the oats and the dark chocolate chips. The sensation when you bite into them is slightly different from a "regular" cookie, I think because you don't have the richness from butter or a whole egg. It is obviously that these are a 'healthier' version of a traditional oatmeal cookie, but they are still enjoyable.

I dunked a couple in a glass of milk and had to tell myself to not go back for more...at least not until after supper. lol.

You may be wondering whatever happened to the Mustard-Glazed Salmon that I was supposed to make last night? Well, I ended up not going grocery shopping until today so we had BBQ'd  hotdogs for supper instead. I bought the necessary ingredients today and will make the salmon tonight. 

10 down, 191 to go...

Week 3 Lineup

Alright, another week down.
Ready for the next set.

I had Niall draw a new bundle of recipes from the bunch.
Here's what the new week will bring.

• Chocolate Spiked Oatmeal Cookies - page 217
• Honey Mustard-Glazed Salmon with Lentils & Kale - page 104
• Ultimate Turkey Burgers - page 243
• Papaya Salsa - page 126
• Sweet Potato Spread - page 154

I think I am most excited for the Turkey Burgers which I'm going to make with the Papaya Salsa.
Sounds yummy! Which one/s grab your curiousity?

A big thanks to my Dad, Bill Veinot. I told him about my blog today, and he instantly became my biggest fan. lol. 

He wasn't kidding when he asked if he could pass this along to "his people". 

If you've found yourself here because my Dad told you about this site, Thank You for checking it out.
I hope you will return again to follow my blog.

If you like what you see, please share this site with others.

As soon as I go grocery shopping tomorrow, I'll be making the salmon for supper.

Stay tuned. :)

Suddenly St. Tropez Salad

Suddenly St. Tropez Salad - June 20th, 2012

After a near sweet-induced coma today from all the Bake Sale goodies, it was nice knowing that I was coming home to make this salad for supper.

Suddenly St. Tropez Salad - page 171

"Beets have a high sugar content but are low in calories, which gives this salad a sweet flavor while keeping you slim at the same time."

To make this salad a meal I added a pan-seared chicken breast sliced over top.

I don't think I've ever had beets in a salad before, but I may now put them in EVERY salad. While having to finely julienne a beet was slightly tedious work, it was much worth it. Just as the write up said, the beets added this wonderful sweetness to the salad. Combined with a splash of balsamic vinegar, this salad basically makes its own dressing. I didn't even add the packets of Stevia that the recipe called for.

I am a lover of goat cheese. Goat cheese in a salad is always great, but sometimes messy getting it in there. Problem solved. Grated Cheddar-Style Goat Cheese. Had never heard of it before reading this recipe and then just the other day I find it in Sobey's 'Inspired' magazine on page 42. It's one of their new products: Sensations by Compliments Cheddar Goat Cheese. Very yummy!!

Niall and I both enjoyed this salad. Something new, and definitely something I will make again.


9 down, 192 to go...

Icebox Cookies

Icebox Cookies - June 19th, 2012

Let's just say a Pastry Chef, I am NOT!

Spent the majority of last evening, basically from 5-9, making these friggin' cookies.

I wish I could say it was worth it. I wish I could say the end result were scrumptiously delicious. I wish I could say alot more about these cookies than I'm about to.

While they look pretty...I am disappointed.

I followed the recipe word for word (except I used blue decorating sugar instead of yellow...maybe that's what went wrong? Actually those are the ones that taste the best out of the three types...hmmm).

The first batch to go in the oven were the Earl Grey cookies.

They smelt so good while baking. Was so excited to try them when they were done.
I think, I was expecting a little more crisp on them. More like a shortbread. But they are a bit soft, and the flavour not as pronounced as I was hoping.

Ok, so the first ones weren't perfect but maybe with a good cup of tea they'd be better.

Moving on to the Lemon cookies...

Now these actually taste pretty good. I think it's all the sugar around the outsides, plus the subtle lemony taste is nice.  I was a little relieved that these ones were better.

The ones I was really excited for were the ones I saved for last. The Chocolate Pinwheels...

One word: FAIL

One bite: AWFUL

They were SOOOOO dry. It's like the cocoa just absorbed all the moisture in your mouth and you instantly needed water and lots of it. I wanted to cry. Needless to say, after taking my little picture above, they quickly found their way in to the garbage (much to the dismay of my dogs whining to be let into the kitchen).

So I packaged up the first two types of cookies to look presentable for the Bake Sale.

 

Wishing I had chosen a more delectable recipe, something more out there. I had higher hopes for these cookies, but at least I tried something new. Again, at least they look pretty.

For someone who doesn't like super-sweet-hurts-your-teeth cookies, there will work. Like I mentioned earlier, they would be good with a cup of tea.