Owl Cupcakes

This is one of the cutest and easiest desserts out there. You need nothing more than cupcakes, chocolate icing, Smarties or M&M's, and Oreo-style cookies.

The toughest part is separating the cookies cleanly so the white IS white for the eyes, and not covered in chocolate "dust".

Happy Halloween!

Bread Baking Babes - Julia's Rose

This month's bread was chosen by Tanna from My Kitchen in Half Cups. She chose an absolutely stunning but amazingly simple bread for us. Julia's Rose. I must admit I was scratching my head a bit when I read the directions, but Tanna provided a video for us to watch which shows just how crazy easy it is to make the bread. Video here. (Note that the Chef makes small loaves and we made one big bread.)

I filled mine with butter, parmesan, oregano and garlic. Next time I will make a sweet version.

I accidentally overworked my dough so I didn't get a ton of rise, but it was delicious and beautiful. Please visit Tanna for instructions, and check out the participating Babes over on the right. Cheers!

Pumpkin Tarts

I adore the website Bakerella, but nearly all of her amazing creations are far, far beyond my puny culinary skills. But these pumpkin tarts are so easy even I made them look good! A fantastic treat for Thanksgiving, or just Fall in general. 

Recipe: Pumpkin Pie Bites

Breakfast from the Pioneer Woman

I cooked a couple of recipes from The Pioneer Woman for a project I ended up abandoning, but I thought I would share 2 of them with you anyway. This first one is a breakfast dish that you can prep ahead of time - Make Ahead Muffin Melts. Eggs and bacon are mixed with cheese, mayo and seasonings. Then when you are ready to eat you just smear the mixture on your bread or english muffin and broil. Easy.

I have never been good at peeling hard boiled eggs.

 

Here is the end result, which was good. I halved the recipe and also cut back on the amount of cheese and mayo because her quantities frightened me. I was sure Scott would love this, but some of the egg went to waste before we could get through it all. Still this would be a great breakfast for a group. I will definitely think of this next time the family comes to town.

                                                      Recipe:Make Ahead Muffin Melts

Shrimp Toast

This is a dish that I thought I would never in my life make. It wasn't until a few years ago I even knew what Shrimp Toast actually was. But at the beginning of the year when we were planning our Chinese New Year dinner I kept coming back to this recipe. Intrigued by it, drawn to it. I have never been let down by a Kylie Kwong recipe, so I added it to our dinner and it was the absolute hit of the meal. 

This is not an everyday dish - these babies are fried - but I have made it a couple more times this year. I did try broiling instead of frying once, and that was fine, but let's face it - many times fried is better. 

Oooh - I might have to consider this next time I have to bring an appie to my work potluck....... 

Recipe: King Prawn Toasts

Wordless Recipe - Breakfast wrap

Waffle benedict

I made a bit of a decadent breakfast - we had some leftover hollandaise sauce, and there was bacon in the freezer. So I went for it.

Warm crispy waffle, warm crispy bacon - check.

Scrambled egg - check.

Perfectly delicious re-heated hollandaise - check check check.

Awesomeness.

Hambuger cupcakes

My co-worker and her sister made these totally adorable cupcakes for a party last summer. They brought in a few to work as well.

I thought they were the sweetest thing, and after reading the directions, I knew they would be a perfect birthday dessert for my mother in law, as a follow up to the cake balls I made her for her birthday in 2010.

So last summer, I baked the cupcakes and brownies at home, sliced the cupcakes, cut out the brownie patties, and dyed the icing red, yellow and green.  I placed them in a cooler, and we went to the lake to my mother in laws trailer to celebrate her birthday.

I had planned to take the icings out of the cooler after dinner and let them soften a bit before assembling.  However, while we were eating dinner some of the family members announced that they were leaving right after we finished eating.  This was unexpected, and my sister in law and I had been hoping to have all the family there for dessert, so I ran into the trailer to start decorating while my sister in law asked the people leaving to hold on for a few more minutes. 

It was more difficult to try to decorate with the very cold and firm icing, and the time restrictions.  So they were not as cute as I'd hoped.  And I forgot the sesame seeds on the buns.  And this is the only picture I took.

But there were still cute, and delicious, and everyone loved them.

My sister in law said I beat the cake balls by a mile. But then she liked THIS years birthday dessert even better than the cupcakes.....

Chicken breasts stuffed with asparagus

At one of our work potlucks one of my co-workers made the most amazing chicken dish that she said came from a Best of Bridge cookbook, but she couldn't remember which one. I have one at home - Aces - so I scanned thru it to see if mine had that recipe. Sadly it did not, but I did find another delicious sounding recipe - Chicken Breasts stuffed with Asparagus.

I made this for a family dinner and while it was a little time consuming it didn't take too long to prepare for baking.  Chicken breasts are dipped into a mouthwatering marinade, then rolled around lightly steamed asparagus.  Yum!

The recipe says you will get raves - and we did. Especially when we brought out the hollandaise sauce for drizzling.

Recipe: Chicken Breast Stuffed with Asparagus

Kale Chips

In the summer I bought a package of seaweed snacks - I'd heard people raving about them, and I thought they could be a healthy snack when I was craving something crunchy. I took them to work to share with my co-workers and.....blech. Most of us couldn't even swallow a bite. One wouldn't even try, but one just loved them. So I gave the bag to her and drank some water to get rid of the taste.

I don't feel the same about kale chips though, YUM!

There are a billion recipes out there for them. I prefer to keep the oven temperature lower, but I start checking them and watching closely around the 10 minute mark.

I also make up my own seasoned salt to sprinkle on - salt, pepper and garlic powder, or salt and chile powder and cumin. Whatever tastes good to you.   So good and good for you.

Recipes lately

I have either not been taking pictures or taking bad pictures with my phone.  Here's some stuff I've made recently:

Portobello prosciutto burgers  I LOVE portobello sandwiches.  The basil mayo in this was a super addition.

Spanish Tortilla  I made one a few months ago that was just a little better, but this is a good recipe, and it gives you nutritional information, which I love.

Meatzza  I follow Nigella Lawson on Twitter, and I was happy to see she has a new book coming out next year.  She linked to this recipe which was fun and delicious.  I used some marble cheese instead of the fresh mozza, and added fresh basil in the 'za.

Spiced shredded pork  I have mentioned this one before, very delicious.

Chinese Pork Chops Very, VERY delicious.

Gyoza stir fry This was fun and I got to use up some odds and ends in the freezer and fridge.

Souper Spaghetti It cooled down here for a week and I made this during that time.  So comforting and homey.  PS- Paula, you have not posted in 2 months.  Please come back.

Vegetarian chili with fries I have made this before as well.  OMG, so good.

Beef noodle salad bowl I added sauteed onions, pepper and zucchini to this.  I would make it, my way, again.

Salted peanut butter chocolate chip cookies Yes.

Barriere Fall Fair

We had a blast at the Barriere Fall Fair today. If you go tomorrow, please fill me in on how the Zucchini Races went.

"Onesie" Cake

I made this cake last summer for my Sister and Brother-in Law for a family dinner after the birth of their second child. My mom had found the recipe and passed it on. It looked pretty foolproof, even for me!

These simple but amazing ideas always floor me. Bake a cake in a 9x13 pan, make a few strategic cuts, and voila! You have a cake that looks like a baby outfit.

After I baked and cut the cake, it was loaded into a cooler with baby blue icing and other supplies, and driven out to my Mother in Law's trailer which was parked in the Shuswap. I did the decorating out there.

I don't know anything about icing and decorating cakes. I think that's pretty obvious. I iced the cake in blue, then attempted to trim and decorate the cake. It's very basic, but cute.

Step by step instructions at Canadian Living here.

Tiger Ramen - Kamloops

Tiger Ramen

31-1210 Summit Dr

Kamloops

Bread and Butter Pickles

I have written about these pickles before, but they deserve to be mentioned more than once. These are Alton Brown's Bread and Butter Pickles, I think, the most wonderful B&B recipe I've tried.

Why is this photo 2 toned?

I also made a jar of no-can dill pickles, and 3 jars of pickle relish.  I'll let you know how they turn out. 

Ab's B and B's

• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 medium cucumbers, thinly sliced
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• Pinch kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon pickling spice

Combine onion and cucumber slices in a clean spring-top jar.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a non-reactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 4 full minutes to wake up the flavors of the spices.
Slowly pour the hot pickling liquid over the onion and cucumber slice, completely filling the jar. Allow the pickles to cool to room temperature before topping off with any remaining pickling liquid. Refrigerate.
Refrigerate the pickles for a week to ripen. They will keep for about 2 months in the refrigerator.

100 Ways to Celebrate Julia Child's 100th Birthday

I like this very much, found this morning at Crave - 

100 Ways to Celebrate Julia Child's Birthday

Looking forward to slowly savoring this list.

Grocery shop August 17

Milk, blueberry waffles, butter, salsa, parmesan cheese, cream cheese, carrots, strawberries, salad, turkey, peanut butter cups, bananas, crackers, creamer, tortillas, juice, broccoli, apples, nectarines, plums.

I would tell you how much I spent, but the receipt has gone missing between the store and here.  I think about $75?


Tonight for dinner - chicken quesadillias.  Tomorrow - the coconut shrimp I found in the freezer.

Julia Child

Yesterday would have been Julia Child's 100th birthday.  Gone for 8 years now, she continues to teach and inspire.

I made 2 of her vegetable dishes this week - Epinards Etuves au Beurre (Buttered Spinach)

Carottes Etuves at Beurre (Carrots braised in butter)

They were both delicious - the spinach was very very buttery - too buttery really.  The carrots were perfect and I will definitely use this recipe again.

Here's to you Julia.

Bon Appetit! 

Bread Baking Buddies - Easy Little Bread

Thanks to all the Babes and you out there who baked my choice for the Bread Baking Babes July bread - Easy Little Bread. There were some varying opinions but this truly is a favorite recipe of mine.

Thank you a million times over to Lien for the graphics.

I adore the shaping of this bread from Szeretetrehangoltan

A traditional shaped loaf from A Messy Kitchen

This loaf made the guild of knitting kninjas think of soup in the Fall

Beautiful bread from Gilad

Happy ready for jam bread from girlichef

Bread from my old stomping grounds, Calgary, from Crumbs of Love

Berry bread by Sweet and That's it

Bread from a familiar face, Judy's Gross Eats

I don't know why, but I always have trouble with photos from Soepkipje. My apologies, but please click to see her lovely bread.

I've been having some computer troubles lately, so if I've missed you, please send me an email.

Don't forget that the Babes are celebrating Julia Child this month - scroll down to the bottom of Tanna's post for all the details.

Thanks everyone! Happy Friday!

Bread Baking Babes - Easy Little Bread

It was my turn to choose the Bread Baking Babes bread for July.  I chose a bread that I fell in love with earlier this year - Easy Little Bread from 101 Cookbooks.

I love the simple ingredients - oats, whole wheat flour, honey - I love the texture, I love that it really is an easy bread, and most of all I love the taste.  If I could bake only one bread for the rest of my life (I think all the Babes are shuddering at the thought) it would be this bread.

This bread isn't going to win any beauty contests; it isn't elaborately shaped - it is pretty much just a really wet dough you scrape into a pan and let rise briefly before baking.  But the flavor and the quickness are divine.

Thanks to the Bread Baking Babes for allowing me to choose the bread this month!  I hope you all enjoyed it.

I hope you out there too will enjoy this bread! Want to be a Bread Baking Buddy? Bake the bread before July 29 and send me an email at iliketocookATshawDOTca. Include a photo and a link to your blog.

Cheers!

Easy Little Bread
from 101 Cookbooks

 1 1/4 cups / 300 ml warm water (105-115F)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast (one packet)
1 tablespoon runny honey
1 cup / 4.5 oz / 125 g unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup / 5 oz / 140 g whole wheat flour
1 cup / 3.5 oz / 100 g rolled oats (not instant oats)
1 1/2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted, for brushing


In a medium bowl, sprinkle the yeast onto the warm water and stir until the yeast dissolves. Stir in the honey and set aside for a few minutes, until the yeast blooms and swells a bit - 5 - 10 minutes.
In the meantime, mix the flours, oats, and salt in a large bowl. Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir very well.
Brush a 8-cup loaf pan generously with some of the melted butter. Turn the dough into the tin, cover with a clean, slightly damp cloth, and set in a warm place for 30 minutes, to rise.
Preheat the oven to 350F / 180C, with a rack in the middle. When ready, bake the bread for 35-40 minutes, until golden and pulling away from the sides of the pan. I finish things up by leaving the bread under the broiler for just a heartbeat - to give the top a bit deeper color. Remove from oven, and turn the bread out of the pan quickly. Let it cool on a rack so it doesn't steam in the pan. Serve warm, slathered with butter.
Makes 1 loaf.
Adapted from Gran's Kitchen: Recipes from the Notebooks of Dulcie May Booker.
Prep time: 10 min - Cook time: 35 min