Warmed Marinated Olives

For as long as I can remember I have been a huge fan of olives.  Normally I will just but them already marinated, bulk at the grocery store.  I came across this recipe in one of my cookbooks and thought it would be easy enough to make so I thought I would give it a try.  They were very easy to make and the flavour was amazing.  It is a perfect appetizer for the summer and really wows guests.

Warmed Marinated Olives

1/2 cup picholine olives

1/2 cup moroccan olives

1/2 cup nicoise olives

1 orange

1 lemon

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 clove minced garlic

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Rinse the olives under cold water to remove any brine.  Pat them dry with paper towels.
2. Remove the zest from half of the orange in long thin strips with a citrus zester. Remove the zest from half of the lemon as well.
3. In a bowl toss the olives with the olive oil, garlic, thyme, orange and lemon zest.
4. Before serving, sauté them over medium-low heat.  Just enough to bring out their flavours and gently warm them.

Roasted Garlic and Onion Hummus

I have always enjoyed hummus and found it to be a great way to have some extra protein.  The other day I was eating some hummus with my sister and she had mention how she once bought a caramelized onion hummus that was amazing but hasn't been able to find it since.  I thought that it must be easy enough to make a similar hummus to what she was talking about so I decided to search online for a recipe.  It didn't take me long to find a recipe to try.
It was very simple to follow this recipe and the end result tasted great!  So great that my husband decided to lick the bowl clean so that none of it was wasted.
A thought we had while eating the hummus was they only problem with this one is the time it takes to roast the garlic and onions for the recipe.  Then I thought that it would be easy enough to make enough for a couple of batches for the hummus at once and then freeze.  All you would have to do would be defrost the onion and garlic and through the rest of the ingredients into the blender.  Next time I make it I plan on trying this.  I will let you know how it works out.

Roasted Garlic and Onion Hummus

4 heads of garlic

1 large onion

1-2 tbsp vegetable oil 

1 can chick peas, rinsed

1/3 cup tahini

3 tbsp lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 400.
2. Cut off the tops of the heads of garlic and remove any of the papery skins from the sides.  Place them each individually on a sheet of tinfoil and drizzle with the vegetable oil before wrapping them up.
3. Peel and cut the onion into 1/2 inch slices and place them onto a piece of tinfoil.  Drizzle with the oil and wrap it up.
4. Place the garlic and onion foil packets onto a cookie sheet and bake for about 45 minutes or until they begin to brown.
5. Once the garlic has cooled squeeze out the cloves into a dish.
6. In a food processor, combine the garlic, onion, chickpeas, tahini and lemon juice.  Process until it reaches the desired consistency.

Creamy Ginger Carrot Soup

I think ginger and carrot go so well together.  I am alway looking for new recipes to blend these two ingredients.  I do not usually make many soups in the warmer weather so while the soup seasons (3 of the four seasons where I live are cold enough for soup) is coming to an end I thought I would try this recipe.  I really liked the result and think it would be a great soup to use as a starter for a dinner party.  It tastes great fresh but it is really nice the next day once the flavours begin to mature.  It freezes well so if you want to make a big batch and save some for later, I am sure you won't be disappointed when you defrost it at a later date.

Creamy Ginger Carrot Soup

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 spanish onion, coarsely chopped

2 lbs carrots, in 2 inch lengths

pinch of ground cinnamon

8 cups chicken stock

2 tsp fresh ginger root

1/2 c heavy cream

chopped fresh parsley or chives to garnish

1. Place a heavy bottomed stockpot over medium heat and when it is hot, add the butter.  Once the butter has melted, add the onions and carrots.  Cook until they are tender and lightly coloured, about 10-15 minutes.
2. Add the cinnamon, ginger and stock. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat allowing it to simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Remove the solids and place them in a blender. While blending, gradually add the cooking liquid and heavy cream.  
4. To serve, garnish with extra heavy cream and some herbs.

Cauliflower Celeriac Puree

I am always looking for new ways to use cauliflower and experiment with new ingredients.  I was looking through one of my recipe books the other night and came across this one.  I had never used celeriac (celery root) before but I have always wanted to try it in something.
We were had my in-laws over for dinner the other night and they are always open to trying my experiments so I decided to give it a try.  It tasted wonderful and it is an excellent alternative to regular old mashed potatoes.
If you are wanting to dress it up a little when you serve it, a light dusting of nutmeg looks really nice and enhances the flavours.

Cauliflower and Celeriac Puree

1/2 head of cauliflower 

1/2 celeriac

1/2 fennel

1/4 cream

4 tbsp butter

salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut the vegetables into pieces and place into salted boiling water.  Cook until very tender.
2. Drain well and place in a blender with the cream and butter.  Puree until smooth.

Waffles

On the weekend there is nothing quite like having a nice, hot homemade breakfast.  One on my favourite breakfasts has to be fresh waffles serves with fresh fruit or a fruit sauce.  Whip cream is an added bonus but not necessary.
I use this recipe all the time.  It is very easy to make and they taste wonderful. Depending on how hungry you are and how many your feeding you might want to make a double batch.  I have one of the 6 inch round waffle irons and it makes about 6 waffles.  If you have extra, they can be frozen in a ziplock bag with parchment paper placed between the waffles.  When you want them all you have to do is take them out and place one in the toaster like you would do with store bought frozen waffles.

Waffles

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 3/4 cups milk

1/2 cup cooking oil or melted butter

1 tsp vanilla

1. In a medium bow stur together flour, sugar, baking powder ans salt.  Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs slightly; stir in the milk, oil and vanilla.  
3. Add the egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture.  Stir until just moist (it should still be slightly lumpy).
4. Pour enough batter onto your waffle iron and cook according to the manufacturer's directions.

White Cake

Every year at Easter my family has a tradition of making a bunny cake.  For me it just isn't Easter without a bunny cake.  I have been in-charge of making the bunny cake for some time no.  It is nothing fancy, just to white cake rounds, some icing and LOTS of Easter candy.  Traditionally it is made from a cake mix but this year I thought I would step outside the box and try making one from scratch.  I didn't want to break from tradition too much so I made a simple white cake.
This recipe makes a nice, moist, fluffy white cake and didn't take too much longer than it would have if I had used a cake mix.  It did feel more gratifying to know that I had made it from scratch.
If you are not a fan or do not have almond extract replacing it with extra vanilla works well.

White Cake

2 3/4 cups sifted cake flour

4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

4 egg whites

1 1/2 cups white sugar

3/4 cups butter

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

1. Measure the flour, baking powder and salt.  Sift the ingredients together three times.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat together the egg whites until foamy.  Add 1/2 cup sugar gradually, only beating until the meringue will hold up in soft peaks.
3. In a separate bowl, beat butter until it is smooth.  Cream in the remaining 1 cup of sugar.
4. Alternately add the in the sifted ingredients and the milk, blending after each addition until smooth.
5. Mix in the extract(s).
6. Add the meringue and mix thoroughly into the batter.
7. Spread the batter into two 9 inch rounds or a 15x10 pan.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.  Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then allow it to cool on a cake rack.

Cranberry Orange Muffins

Today I had the urge to make some muffins and I wanted to use some cranberries up that I have had in the freezer since Thanksgiving.  Unfortunately didn't have any yogurt in the fridge and I didn't feel like funning out to grab some so I couldn't use my regular recipe.  I did a search and found a recipe online that I had everything for and they turned out great!  This batter is a very thick one, there is just enough moisture to wet everything so don't be startled if it looks a little thick and is hard to mix.
The muffins turned out great and reminded me why it is always good to experiment with new recipes even though you have tried and true favourites.

Cranberry Orange Muffins

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp orange zest

3/4 cup orange juice

1/2 cup canola oil

1 egg

2 cups chopped cranberries

1. Combine all of the dry ingredients into a bowl and make a well in the centre.
2. Whisk together the zest, juice, oil and egg in a second bowl.
3. Pour the juice mixture into the well of the dry ingredients and mix until just moist.
4. Fold in the cranberries.
5. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Italian Style Spicy Cauliflower

I think cauliflower is a vegetable that will often get passed up at the grocery store when people walk by it.  It is too bad because there are so many wonderful ways to use this vegetable.  This recipe is simple but adds a lot to a meal.  I made it for a dinner party and everyone loved it.  Even some of the picky, unadventurous eaters I know really enjoyed it.
If you are feeling adventurous or really like things on the spicy side you can always add more red chilli flakes.  The amount called for creates a nice mild-medium flavour.

1 head cauliflower
about 3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp capers, rinsed and chopped
2 tsp lemon zest
3 cloves garlic minced
1/4 tsp chilli flakes
3 tbsp black or green olives, pitted and chopped

1. Remove the outer leaves of the cauliflower and trim off the end.  Using the entire head, cut the cauliflower into bite sized pieces.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat.  When the oil is hot add the cauliflower, allowing it to sizzle and start to brown.  Make sure to stir it often so the cauliflower does not scorch. 
3. After the cauliflower has softened (about 3-4 minutes) add the salt, capers, lemon zest, garlic, chilli flakes and olives.  Continue cooking, stirring often, until the cauliflower is golden brown and the other ingredients have caramelized (about 10-15 minutes). As you stir, scrape the sides of the pan with your spoon to loosen the caramelized bits.  
4. Taste and adjust the seasoning before serving.

Moroccan Style Vegetable Stew

I love all the different spices in the recipe and how well they combine together.  I think this is the first time I have had raisins in a soup, I was sceptical as to how it would turn out but the stew was wonderful.  All my guests really enjoyed it.
This is a nice and flexible recipe that allows you to make omissions, substitutions and additions as you please based on what you have available to you and your likes.

Moroccan Style Vegetable Stew

2 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cardamon
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground or grated nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
1 small butternut squash, peeled
1 large baking potato
3 carrots
1/4 cup raisins
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium zucchini
1 can chick peas
1/3 halved and pitted black olives
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley or cilantro
3 tsp fresh lemon juice
several drops of hot pepper sauce

1. Heat a large dutch oven to medium heat and add the oil.  Once it is warm, add the onions and cook them until they have softened.
2. Stir in the stock and simmer until the onions are very tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile in a large bowl, mix the cumin, chill powder, cardamon, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
4. Cut the squash, potato, carrots and zucchini into bite size pieces.
5.  Toss the squash and potatoes with the spice mixture.
6. Add the vegetables into the onion and broth mixture, along with the carrots, raisins, garlic and cloves.  Bring to a simmer and then reduce the heat to medium low.  Cover first with a sheet of aluminum foil and then with the lid.  Simmer gently until the vegetables are completely tender.
7. Add the zucchini, chickpeas, olives, salt and pepper. Simmer, uncovered until the zucchini is tender (about 10 minutes).
8. Stir in the parsley, lemon juice and hot pepper sauce.
9. Serve.