Baked Apple Rings

This dessert is like apple pie minus the pastry crust. It is so simple and delicious.. It will not take you longer than 10 minutes from start to finish.

1) Turn oven on to broil (place rack in middle)

2) Peel 2 MacIntosh Apples, slice them into 1/4 inch rings - remove the pith and seeds - Place on baking sheet

3) Melt 1 tbsp butter - and brush onto apples

4) Broil for 5 minutes until slightly browned

5) Remove from oven and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon

6) Broil for another 2 minutes

7) Serve with vanilla ice-cream

Tomato and Bocconcini Salad

If you are in the mood for something fresh and easy - this dish is a great option. I often serve it as a side to lamb/beef or I throw some chicken on top and make it a full meal.

This salad is all about the ingredients. You will need fresh tomatoes, bocconcini and basil.

Dressing:

1 clove garlic

1/2 tsp salt

** Press garlic and mash with salt in a bowl **

1/2 tsp sugar

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp mayo

1/2 tsp dijon mustard

** Add remaining ingredients to the garlic and salt **

1/2 cup olive oil

** Whisk in olive oil slowly until dressing has emulsified **

Salad:

Grape tomatoes

Bocconcini

Avocado

Basil

Mushroom Risotto

Risotto has a reputation of being really challenging to make, its not, its very easy - it just takes a little TLC. Plan on spending about 45 minutes making it and being near the stove the whole time, as it needs to be constantly stirred.

1 1/2 cups hot water

3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon soya sauce (some soya sauce contains gluten - Kikkoman does not)

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 shallots finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 cup mushrooms

1 ½ cups Arborio rice

1/3 cup dry white wine

1/3 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

**This will make enough for about 4 people.**

1) Add broth, soy sauce, and water to a sauce pan and bring to a simmer.

2) Meanwhile in a large frying pan, heat oil with 1 tablespoon butter over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté onion, stirring, until just softened, about 5 minutes.

3) Add garlic and fresh mushrooms and sauté, stirring, until mushrooms are browned and any liquid they give off is evaporated, about 8 minutes. You can add a little more butter or oil at this stage if you find the pan to be too dry.

4) Add rice and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed, about 1 minute.

5) Stir ½ cup simmering broth into rice and cook, stirring constantly and keeping at a strong simmer, until absorbed. Continue cooking and adding broth, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently and letting each addition be absorbed before adding next, until rice is tender and creamy looking but still al dente, 18 to 20 minutes.

6) Remove from heat. Stir in cheese, salt, pepper, and remaining 3 tablespoons butter until butter is melted.

Health Muffins

It snowed today in Toronto - I almost cried. Bill and I were at a coffee shop near our place and I was wearing a short sleeved sweater, three-quarter length pants and no socks. Needless to say, I am unwilling to accept that winter is coming. Anyways, to make myself feel better I made muffins. They are pretty healthy as muffins go - no butter, tiny bit of oil and just a little honey as a sweetener and they are gluten-free (of course)!


These muffins are a bit more "bouncy" (the descriptive word chosen by Bill - he's amazing) than the banana muffins posted a few weeks ago! The cinnamon and apple combo makes them delicious and autumny.


1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees


2) Mix together
1 cup rice flour
1 cup gluten free flour mix
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
3 cups oats
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon


3) In a separate bowl combine
2 whole eggs
2 egg whites
2 tbsp canola oil
1/3 cup honey
1 cup yoghurt
1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup grated apples
1/4 cup grated carrots


4) Combine wet and dry ingredients and add 1/2 cup of raisins or chocolate chips or nuts or all three!


5) Pour into (greased/parchment lined) muffin tins or a loaf pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until tooth-pick comes out clean!


6) If you are in the mood to be a little less health conscious - spice it up. In a small sauce pan combine 1/3 cup butter, 1/3 cup honey and 1 tsp of cinnamon - heat on low until melted and combined. When muffins/loaf come out of the oven drizzle with honey butter. mmmm!!

Smoked Salmon Stacks

The gas in our condo was out today - so instead of cooking I used the smoked salmon in our freezer to make a little lunch time snack. I figure that it could also be a good appetizer at a cocktail party.

All you need is:

1) Smoked salmon

2) Rice crackers (deep fried wonton wrappers would be great also - though they contain wheat flour and would be more labour intensive)

3) Goats cheese (or cream cheese)

4) Avocado

5) Fresh dill

Spread the goats cheese onto the cracker as the base, then the avocado, then the salmon. Top with dill for presentation purposes and a little extra flavour.

Enjoy!

This smoked salmon is courtesy of "Fisherman Bill - 2010 biggest fish champion (sorry Frank)".. Haiki salmon always makes me feel proud to be a British Columbian!

Organic Foods

Recently I have been reading a bit about organic produce and meat. I found this article and thought that I might post it for those of you who are interested. There have been thousands of studies conducted on various topics surrounding organic foods including: nutrient value/pesticide levels in organics, health and longevity of organic food consumers, attitudes and behaviours of consumers, etc. This article reviews and summarizes the findings of these studies.

I feel very privileged to have access to all of my wonderful and fresh cooking ingredients - both organic and conventional. Organic food is very expensive and inaccessible to many Canadians, so when contemplating this type of debate I feel very thankful that I never go to bed hungry or worry about the expense of the food that I eat.

Autumn Sweet Potato Salad

I LOVE sweet potatoes, so anytime I can incorporate them into a meal I do. This salad was a spur of the moment creation, as I didn't have much else in the kitchen to cook. Some lettuce, nuts, cheese and sweet potato. Voila!

1) Bake, peeled/sliced (slice potatoes into any shape/size you wish - but keep them consistent with each other so they cook evenly) sweet potatoes @ 400 degrees for 30 minutes (15 minutes per side - flip after 15 minutes). They should be brown on the outside and soft on the inside.

Let the sweet potatoes cool and harden a little while you make the rest of the salad.

Salad Dressing:

1 clove garlic

1/2 tsp salt

** mash salt and pressed garlic together **

1 tbsp honey

2 tbsp champagne vinegar

1/2 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp mayo

** add these four ingredients to the garlic salt mixture and mix**

1/3 cup olive oil

** add olive oil slowly, while whisking dressing, until emulsified.

Salad:

Arugula or spinach

Grated parmesan cheese

Fresh bocconcini

Roasted sunflower seeds

Roasted walnuts

Baked sweet potatoes

Pour dressing over greens and add cheeses, nuts and sunflower seeds. Place sweet potatoes on-top.

Enjoy!