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Extra special guest post today – not only is it our first celebrity guest post.. but the guest poster is one of my favorite foodie tweeps.
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We bonded over our mutual affection for a fictional character – Jean Valjean – and our excitement over an upcoming movie featuring Hugh Jackman (yum) playing him. We’ve since found out that we have the same knives. Small world! I digress.. Mairlyn Smith is pretty awesome.
She’s also hilarious – the only professional home economist who’s also an alumnus of the Second City Comedy Troupe. As a cookbook author, and is well known for her warm personality and the wit she brings to her many TV appearances in Canada. Also? She’s adorable! |
Mairlyn’s email signature – “Peace, Love, and Fibre” – hints at her culinary passion: healthy eating. Her latest cookbook, “Healthy Eating Starts Here!” is a masterpiece. Huge, beautifully photographed book featuring 140 recipes that are not only healthy, but delicious and accessible.
Today’s blog post marks another first – the first time in my life that I’ve ever followed a recipe to the letter! No adding/subtracting ingredients, or otherwise screwing with it! I’m not sure if I should be proud of that newfound ability, or mourn the loss of the claim.
Let’s go with “proud”. The recipe – from “Healthy Starts Here!” – was fabulous, and didn’t need to be messed with at all. By the time I had the ingredients simmering, my husband was circling the kitchen like an impatient shark, repeatedly declaring how awesome it all smelled, and how hungry he was. The final product did NOT disappoint! Tons of flavor, great texture, and very satisfying!
Anyway, enough of my swooning, let me turn this all over to Mairlyn! Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Guest Posts, Healthy, Main Dishes, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegetarian | 1 Comment »
February 21st, 2012
Let me start off with a confession: As the kid who was always picked last for… well, everything, really… I’ve never won anything that involved a popular vote. EVER.
| As a kid, it was because I was “weird” (Aspergers). That was ok, they were all JUST as weird to me!
As an adult, it’s always been a mix of logistical concerns (Only taking on no more than 2 cakes per week puts one at a disadvantage against companies that churn out 60+ cakes per week!), and – again – being “weird”. I’m mouthy. I have turquoise hair. I *refuse* to “play the game”, and I don’t kiss anyone’s butt. When it comes to the wedding industry… yeah, no popular vote winning, for me! Usually, such popular votes are for totally meaningless awards, so I’ve never minded. |
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Here’s the thing though. I’ve entered the Food & Wine Show’s “Czar of Cakes” competition again this year. (Past year’s entries are here and here.) This year, things have changed… and I need your help. More on that in a bit, More on that in a bit, first let me ply you with cake photos!
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Posted in Cake Business, Cakes, Celebration Generation | 14 Comments »
February 20th, 2012
I feel a little bad for always talking about the tornado, but… man, it’s really taken over our lives. In 2 days, it’ll be 9 months, and the repairs are still pretty far from over.
This, however, has been a great weekend! As my husband churned out new shelves for the cabinetry, I was able to start unpacking the kitchen stuff. Everything just sort of got thrown into the boxes after we surveyed the damage, so we could demolish the kitchen. 9 months of plastic cutlery and paper plates later… progress is wonderful. I swear I heard the hallelujah chorus when I unearthed the cutlery set at the bottom of one of the boxes!
| As is usually the case when I’m in a great mood, we had some fun in the kitchen yesterday. Homemade, fresh cheese for breakfast. Yes!
A couple weeks after the tornado, we attended a cheese workshop at a local brewing supply store, which is where we learned this basic technique. It was a weird thing to spend our time on, at the time.. But we needed to just get away from it all. We socked the knowledge away til now, and yes – it was worth the wait!
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This method takes less than an hour to do, start to finish. (About 30 minutes of “active” time), and doesn’t take much in the way of ingredients. You will need rennet and citric acid, which are available at specialty cooking stores, or home brewing / cheese making supply shops – and only cost a couple of dollars each. Buy a fair amount of the citric acid – not only will you find this recipe becoming an easy “go-to”, I’ll be posting more recipes using citric acid. (For instance, Homemade Wine Slush Mix!)
I’ll be honest – I’d barely had my finished, still warm braid of cheese on the plate, before we ravenously tore into it. It was like a scene straight out of Jurassic Park or something – and I’m pretty sure at least one of us made raptor -like noises at each other while tearing away at our cheese with our bare hands.
Oh, and yes – the cheese was squeeky. SO good! You should definitely give this a try sometime!
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Posted in Cheese, Gluten Free, Recipes, Snacks and Appetizers | 9 Comments »
February 15th, 2012
It’s Wednesday! Time for a guest post! Today’s recipe is courtesy of Lisa, one of my fellow Food Bloggers of Canada members.
Lisa writes One Cook, Two Kitchens blog, detailing her kitchen adventures between two different kitchens: a condo in downtown Toronto (She’s near the St Lawrence Market. I’m super jealous!), and her Lake House. She can also be found on twitter, at @onecook2kitchns, or on Facebook here.
A friend of mine, who loves to cook as much as I do, recently confided that she has never made mussels because she finds the idea of making them somewhat intimidating.
I get it. There is an elegant mystique about mussels to the uninitiated, particularly if you are from a part of the continent where shellfish is not readily available. Also, if you’ve ever had fishy tasting/smelling mussels, or tough, chewy mussels, you may be concerned that they are too easy to ruin.
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The reality is that mussels are one of easiest dishes going. Once they are cleaned, you can have them cooked in minutes. There are infinite ways to prepare them. You can have them in a marinara or cream sauce, in a Thai curry coconut broth, or done very simply with beer or wine.
Today, I’m showing you how to make them with beer and bacon. The combination of the hops from the beer, with the sweetness of the onion, creates and irresistible broth. The next day, cold leftover meat pulled from the shells makes a delectable salad when combined with a lightly dressed salad. There will still be the faintest hint of the beer.
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Posted in Budget Meals, Main Dishes, Recipes, Seafood, Spirited Baking | 1 Comment »
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