Chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream. The bicycle and the balloons were made using candy melts.
I absolutely adore this cake! I hope you do too.
Ash :)
Friday, June 6, 2014
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Butternut Squash Dal (Lentils)
Comfort food is food that hugs you from the inside. I don't think it can get more comforting than this.
This recipe has been calling to me for the past few months. Taken off my 2013 milk calendar, I'm glad I finally gave in and tried it out. Eaten with some naan bread, it was a perfect dinner. The subtle sweetness from the butternut squash combined with the notes of curry and ginger created a flavour party in my mouth. It was quite a filling dish, and my family of carnivores didn't even miss the meat!
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) reduced-sodium vegetable broth
1 tbsp (15 mL) butter
1 chopped onion2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp (30 mL) minced gingerroot or
1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) ground ginger
2 tbsp (30 mL) Indian yellow curry paste or powder
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1/4 tsp (1 mL) pepper3 cups (750 mL) chopped peeled butternut squash, about 1 lb/500 g
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) milk
1/4 cup (60 mL) chopped fresh cilantro or green onions
Garam masala
Butternut Squash Dal (Lentils)
1 cup (250 mL) dried red lentils1 1/2 cups (375 mL) reduced-sodium vegetable broth
1 tbsp (15 mL) butter
1 chopped onion2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp (30 mL) minced gingerroot or
1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) ground ginger
2 tbsp (30 mL) Indian yellow curry paste or powder
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1/4 tsp (1 mL) pepper3 cups (750 mL) chopped peeled butternut squash, about 1 lb/500 g
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) milk
1/4 cup (60 mL) chopped fresh cilantro or green onions
Garam masala
Place lentils in a fine sieve and pick through to remove any stones or grit. Rinse well and drain; stir into broth and set aside.
In a large, deep saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; sauté onion for 3 min or until starting to soften. Add garlic, ginger, curry paste (to taste), salt and pepper; sauté for 2 min or until softened. Add lentils in broth, squash and milk. Bring to a simmer, stirring often.
Cover, leaving lid ajar, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 25 min or until squash and lentils are soft and tender. Remove from heat and mash lightly with a potato masher. Sprinkle with cilantro and garam masala (if using).
Serve with papadum, basmati rice, or naan.
Enjoy!
Ash :)
In a large, deep saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; sauté onion for 3 min or until starting to soften. Add garlic, ginger, curry paste (to taste), salt and pepper; sauté for 2 min or until softened. Add lentils in broth, squash and milk. Bring to a simmer, stirring often.
Cover, leaving lid ajar, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 25 min or until squash and lentils are soft and tender. Remove from heat and mash lightly with a potato masher. Sprinkle with cilantro and garam masala (if using).
Serve with papadum, basmati rice, or naan.
Enjoy!
Ash :)
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Homemade Naan
Basically, naan is an indian flat bread that goes well with anything that bread goes well with. Marinara sauce, a sandwich, a personal pizza, bread to soak up your gravies.... Naan is your man! (cheesy, I know)
I stumbled on this recipe on www.budgetbytes.com quite awhile ago but I kept putting off making it till now. I greatly regret not making this sooner. I made it to go along with some Butternut Squash Dal I had made. I'll post the recipe for that later. The naan came out even better than I dreamed it would. Soft with lots of pockets allowing it to hang onto that dal. Oh this was delicious. The best vote of confidence came from my 3-year-old extremely picky eater. She gobbled this up together with the dal. What's more, she went back for seconds! And thirds! This is unheard of unless it's pizza night.
So without further rambling from me, the magic get-your-3-year-old-to-ask-for-seconds recipe is as follows:
2 tsp dry active yeast
1 tsp sugar
½ cup water
2½-3 cups flour
½ tsp salt
¼ cup vegetable oil
⅓ cup plain greek yogurt*
1 large egg
In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and water. Stir to dissolve then let sit for a few minutes or until it is frothy on top. At that point, stir in the oil, yogurt and egg until evenly combined.
In a medium sized bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour with the salt. Next, add the bowl of wet ingredients to the flour/salt mixture and stir until well combined. Continue adding flour a half cup at a time until you can no longer stir it with a spoon (about 1 to 1.5 cups later).
At that point, turn the ball of dough out onto a well floured counter top. Knead the ball of dough for about 3 minutes, adding flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. I ended up using about 3 cups of flour total. The dough should be smooth and very soft but not sticky.
Loosely cover the dough and let it rise until double in size (about 45 minutes). After it rises, gently flatten the dough and cut it into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a small ball by stretching the dough back under itself until the top is smooth and round.
Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat and spray lightly with non-stick spray. Working with one ball at a time, roll it out until it is about ¼ inch thick or approximately 6 inches in diameter.
Place the rolled out dough onto the hot skillet and cook until the under side is golden brown and large bubbles have formed on the surface. Flip the dough and cook the other side until golden brown as well. Serve plain or brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with herbs!
*I actually did not have greek yogurt on hand when I made this so I substituted with sour cream. I can guarantee you that there was no difference to the taste.
TIPS:
For the most bubbles, don’t roll out the ball of dough until just before it is ready to be placed in the skillet. I experimented with different skillet temperatures and found that a medium heat produces the most bubbles in the dough and does not burn the surface.
I stumbled on this recipe on www.budgetbytes.com quite awhile ago but I kept putting off making it till now. I greatly regret not making this sooner. I made it to go along with some Butternut Squash Dal I had made. I'll post the recipe for that later. The naan came out even better than I dreamed it would. Soft with lots of pockets allowing it to hang onto that dal. Oh this was delicious. The best vote of confidence came from my 3-year-old extremely picky eater. She gobbled this up together with the dal. What's more, she went back for seconds! And thirds! This is unheard of unless it's pizza night.
So without further rambling from me, the magic get-your-3-year-old-to-ask-for-seconds recipe is as follows:
Naan
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
2 tsp dry active yeast
1 tsp sugar
½ cup water
2½-3 cups flour
½ tsp salt
¼ cup vegetable oil
⅓ cup plain greek yogurt*
1 large egg
In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and water. Stir to dissolve then let sit for a few minutes or until it is frothy on top. At that point, stir in the oil, yogurt and egg until evenly combined.
In a medium sized bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour with the salt. Next, add the bowl of wet ingredients to the flour/salt mixture and stir until well combined. Continue adding flour a half cup at a time until you can no longer stir it with a spoon (about 1 to 1.5 cups later).
At that point, turn the ball of dough out onto a well floured counter top. Knead the ball of dough for about 3 minutes, adding flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. I ended up using about 3 cups of flour total. The dough should be smooth and very soft but not sticky.
Loosely cover the dough and let it rise until double in size (about 45 minutes). After it rises, gently flatten the dough and cut it into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a small ball by stretching the dough back under itself until the top is smooth and round.
Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat and spray lightly with non-stick spray. Working with one ball at a time, roll it out until it is about ¼ inch thick or approximately 6 inches in diameter.
Place the rolled out dough onto the hot skillet and cook until the under side is golden brown and large bubbles have formed on the surface. Flip the dough and cook the other side until golden brown as well. Serve plain or brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with herbs!
*I actually did not have greek yogurt on hand when I made this so I substituted with sour cream. I can guarantee you that there was no difference to the taste.
TIPS:
For the most bubbles, don’t roll out the ball of dough until just before it is ready to be placed in the skillet. I experimented with different skillet temperatures and found that a medium heat produces the most bubbles in the dough and does not burn the surface.
Enjoy!
Ash :)
Ash :)
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Peanut Punch
Hey there! Did you miss me? I know I've been away for some time but I'm back now. I hope all of you have been keeping well this summer. Speaking of summer, I've been feeling for a nice cold glass of Peanut Punch lately. I finally got round to making it so I thought I'd share a couple of recipes with you.
You’ll be amazed at how simple it is to make this drink. It's not time consuming at all. Start to finish, the whole process takes anywhere between 5 and 15 minutes, depending on which recipe you use. You can always fool your friends into thinking it took quite a bit out of you to get it "just right". The result is a delicious drink which you're sure to want over and over again. Here are the recipes:
You’ll be amazed at how simple it is to make this drink. It's not time consuming at all. Start to finish, the whole process takes anywhere between 5 and 15 minutes, depending on which recipe you use. You can always fool your friends into thinking it took quite a bit out of you to get it "just right". The result is a delicious drink which you're sure to want over and over again. Here are the recipes:
Both recipes yield 2 servings.
Peanut Punch (1)
8 - 10 cubes of ice
2 Tbsp peanut butter
2 Tbsp peanut butter
1 cup cold milk (1%, 2%, whole milk etc. Your choice)
1 Tbsp condensed milk
Place the ingredients in a blender in the order in which they are listed.
Blend for about 1 minute until everything is well mixed. It should be creamy and frothy.
Blend for about 1 minute until everything is well mixed. It should be creamy and frothy.
Serve immediately.
Note: You can experiment a bit by adding some of these ingredients alone or together:
- dash vanilla essence
- a dash of nutmeg
- cinnamon (you can also use cinnamon sticks as stir sticks)
- granola- ripe banana
- dash vanilla essence
- a dash of nutmeg
- cinnamon (you can also use cinnamon sticks as stir sticks)
- granola- ripe banana
This second recipe requires you to use actual peanuts instead of peanut butter. It also yields 2 servings:
Peanut Punch (2)
2 cups of shelled unsalted peanuts3 cups of water
1 cup of whole milk
6oz of sweetened condensed milk
Angostura bitters
1 tsp vanilla extract
Lay peanuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast them for 5 min in a 350 degree oven or until you can smell them. Keep an eye on them as you don't want them to burn. Let them cool completely.
Combine toasted peanuts, cold water, and cold milk in a blender. Blend on high for about 1 minute, or until the peanuts are ground up finely. Using either cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer, strain the mixture into a pitcher
Add the condensed milk, vanilla, and Angostura Bitters. Mix thoroughly.
Serve immediately in a cold glass
Enjoy!
Ash :)
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Single Serving Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie
It's a bit late at night. My kids are asleep, my husband's at work, and I'm craving chocolate chip cookies. I LOVE chocolate chip cookies. I especially love them when they're warm and fresh out of the oven with bits of melted chocolate in every ooey gooey bite. If I were to follow only what my tongue dictated, I could eat the entire tray of cookies right out of the oven.
Now to just be able to have one cookie without the temptation of its 11 or so brothers on the tray would be perfect. In comes the single serving deep dish cookie! I was most happy when I came across this recipe. In my opinion, every lady should have this recipe for those nights (like tonight) where you want chocolate chip cookies, but you don't want to go through the whole guilt trip of eating an entire dozen off the tray... not that I'm speaking from experience here.
So, to satisfy my (sinfully late at night) craving for chocolate chip cookies, here is my saviour of a cookie recipe for one (deep dish) cookie.
Single Serving Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
Drop or two of vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup flour
2 Tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips
Vanilla ice cream, for serving
Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Have one ramekin ready.
In a medium microwavable bowl, melt the butter. Whisk in both sugars and vanilla. Whisk in salt, baking soda, and flour, Whisk in the chocolate chips. Scrape the batter into the ramekin.
Bake 12-15 minutes or until the top is firm and light brown. Let cool for a few minutes before serving with ice cream.
As you can see, I thoroughly enjoyed this! Bon Appetit!
Ash :)
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
For the Kids - DIY Bubble Solution
My kids love blowing bubbles. They love it so much that we go through gallons of bubble solution each summer. With winter now slowly (painfully slowly) making its exit from the northern hemisphere, bubble solution has begun popping up on store shelves, and with it the refrain "Mommy, can we get bubbles." Over the winter, I came across a recipe for homemade bubble solution. In an effort to save money, along with my ears (temper tantrums over not having a bubble store in my kitchen are no fun), I figured why not have my own bubble 'store' indeed.
To make your own bubble solution, I can guarantee you that you already have all you need in your cupboard. If you don't, it won't cost you a fortune to get it. The bubbles come out big and beautiful. I've found that they work better if the solution has cooled completely before you use it. I've saved many of the bubble wands from previous bottles, but you can always make a few out of pipe cleaners. Just bend pipe cleaners around cookie cutters or various shapes, and wrap the extra wire around the stick portion to hold in place.You can also make some bubble blowers by lining up some straws together and wrapping around with tape. An extra 15 minutes of craft time is always a good thing.
DIY Bubble Solution
2 1/2 cups hot water
1/2 cup light corn syrup
Now, go outside and enjoy some good old fashioned bubble blowing with your kids. You're sure to have a blast!
Ash :)
1/2 cup liquid dish soap
Add 1/2 cup light corn syrup to the hot water and whisk well until it is dissolved. Slowly add the 1/2 cup liquid dish soap, and whisk well. Pour the bubble solution into a bottle or a container with a lid.
Now, go outside and enjoy some good old fashioned bubble blowing with your kids. You're sure to have a blast!
Ash :)
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