Simple salad

It's going to be a short and sweet post today. Right to the point. What you see is what you get.
It's healthy. It's yummy. It's quick to make. It requires no cooking. And did I mention that it's yummy?

It's a salad packed with good-for you things.

• 1 can of beans of your choice (I used a mix) rinsed under cold water.
• 1 ear of corn, cooked, shaved
• 2 stalks of celery, cubed
• 10-15 cherry tomatoes, washed and halved
• a handful of sliced olives, black or green
• a handful of pickled pearl onions, halved
• a bunch of parsley (curly) washed and chopped
• a few splashes of olive oil
• 1 lemon, zest and juiced
• a couple pinches of sea salt 

Mix everything together and let sit for about 30 minutes. Ta-da!

Serve with some grilled chicken on top, or with a sandwich if you like. I was content eating it as is. Simply happy food :)

A somewhat healthier pumpkin pie

It's spring!!! The season of sun (supposedly...) flowers, yummy fruits and veggies. It's the season of the birds and the bees (understand that however you want to...) This is when we tend to lean toward the fresh, light tasting dishes, unlike in fall and winter where we need our dose of comfort food and cozy blankies. But because every season is a season to make someone happy, I made a pumpkin pie smack dab in the middle of spring.

Thank goodness for the canned stuff!

Now, most pies are things of fall and winter. Pies make us think of Christmas and Thanksgiving. They make us think of that warm, spicy and comfy feeling in our tummy after the first bite. But THIS pie is LIGHT! It's really not too sweet and dare I say, healthy-ER than most pies (Yes, i said it! *gasp*) Obviously, there is the crust to be considered in the equation, but who's checking?!

I got this recipe from Cast Sugar who got it from Chicago Tribune and the only reason for why mine is a tad lighter is due to the fat-free evaporated milk.

Crust:

• 9 inch pie shell, baked according to recipe or package. Cooled.

Filling:

• 2 eggs
• 1 can 15-oz pureed pumpkin
• 1 can 12-oz evaporated milk (I used fat-free)
• 1 tsp. brandy (I used rum, and a couple tsp more...)
• 3/4 C packed brown sugar (I thought it was perfect but you might prefer it to be sweeter)
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 C sweetened toasted pecans (I made mine with maple syrup) optional

Heat oven to 425F.

Combine eggs, pumpkin, evaporated milk and rum in a pot over medium low heat; cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, 5-7 minutes.

Put brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in a mixing bowl and add the pumpkin mixture. Pour everything into the crust and bake for 10 minutes.

Lower heat to 350F and bake another 35-45 minutes, or until set. Arrange pecans around rim then let stand until cooled, about 1 hour. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Maple cinnamon pecans

• 1/2 C pecan, toasted in a pan over medium heat until fragrant, about 5 minutes
• 1 tsp maple syrup 
• 1/4 tsp brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Toss everything together until pecans are well toasted. Spread on a small baking sheet lined with parchment paper. While pie is baking, stick the sheet in the oven on the lower rack for 5 minutes or so. Let cool then decorate when pie is done.

Now, this pie might taste even better if you listen to this song while eating it... It's about a merchant who has the best pumpkin pie recipe ever and wouldn't give it away to a corporate guy... And then you should really hear the part at the end when the credit rolls.

Enjoy a slice and the song, pumpkins!

Too-tired-to-think oven baked trout

Has it ever happened to you, being so tired, you couldn't think of what to make for dinner, so you eat oatmeal instead?

Yes, me too... *sigh*....

Functioning on half a brain lately due to my love for making these babies, I haven't had much time to do the other thing I like so much: cooking. Shame...

So a couple of days ago, when a bunch of lovely trout filets caught my eyes, I knew I couldn't resist and that no matter what happened that night, I was going to cook.

Here comes the best part: the quick marinade of, seriously, random things I picked out from the fridge that made sense at the time...  And it turned out great!!!!!! So here is how it all went down:

Too-tired-to-think oven baked trout:

Oven at 400*F. Line a baking pan with foil, then parchment paper, so you have no cleaning up to do afterward.

Pull out the big mixing bowl, and toss in there:

• About 1 to 2 Tbsp of olive oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar.
• A couple of splashes of balsamic reduction
• A chunk of wasabi
• A squeeze of oyster sauce
• A few splashes of lemon juice
• A few grinds of black pepper
• A pinch of turmeric powder (because it is good for your health, read here!)
• Sea salt to taste
• A few cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped.

Whisk it all together. Drench the filets of trout in the mix, and be generous! Place them in the baking pan. pour the rest of the marinade on top, and bake for about 20 minutes or so. Ta-da, done!

Look at that yummy flesh... Hmm... it was delicious! And the yellow spots? That's the turmeric doing its healthy things for ya! ;)

Eat! Relax for half an hour or so. Now go do the other things that you have to get done. Good luck!!! :)

Lactose-free *KBAM!* fruit mix gelato

There are many happy moments in life. From big moments like becoming a home owner, to medium moments like getting a discount on a great pair of shoes, to little moments like eating ice cream on a sunny day, or any day for that matter (I'm easily amuse, what can I say...)

Then there are sad moments...  From losing someone you love, to seeing a baby bird with a clipped wing, to hearing someone say: "Oh... no ice cream for me, I'm lactose intolerant..."

In those lactose related moments, I always feel a little bad that I'd be enjoying my cone of ice cream in the person's face. So the other day, while pondering about such matters, I wondered why they don't make lactose-free ice cream, or at least gelato, since gelato is made with milk and there is definitely lactose-free milk. Maybe the demand isn't high enough?

Whatever the reason may be, I've got a recipe for you if you are in a rut with milk... KBAM! Actually, that  just stands for Kiwi, Banana, Avocado, Mango and the ! is really just my excitement expressed in writing. LOL!!!

Lactose-free *KBAM!* fruit gelato

(makes about 3-4 cups) 
 
Fruit mixture

• 1 Ataulfo mango, ripe, chopped
  
• 5 kiwis, chopped (3 for the blending and 2 for added chunks)
  
• 1 avocado, ripe, chopped
  
• 1 medium banana, ripe, chopped
  
• a splash of lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1-3 tbsp milk (to make the blending easier on your machine, lactose-free in this case)

Blend everything except for 2 kiwis, in a blender. Place in fridge to cool for a few hours. Put the rest of the chopped kiwi in the freezer.

Custard

• 2 eggs, whole
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/3 - 1/2 cups sugar (depend on how sweet u like it)
• 1 cup milk 2% (lactose-free in this case)

Whisk eggs and sugar together until blended. Add milk and stir well. Put mixture into a pot over low heat, cook and stir constantly until mixture is a custard (check that it coats the back of the spoon) Remove and cool completely.

Mix custard and fruit thoroughly, then cool again in the fridge for at least a couple of hours or over night. Then churn in ice cream maker as according to manufacturer's  instruction.  At the last 5 minutes of churning, throw in the frozen kiwi chunks.

Freeze your ice cream until ready to enjoy.

The result is a creamy, fruity, satisfying concoction that won't be stomach-stabbing. The best part for me in all this is to hear: "I was perfectly fine after eating it!!!!"

I will be trying out other flavors soon, so keep an eye out! Let's get together to save lactose intolerant people, one spoon of gelato at a time ;)

P.S: Here is a peek into my latest cakes :D You may also check them out on my Flickr page here!!!!

pI love you!

I'm not really a "pie person", but I adore the smell of baking pies in the house. There is something so loving and cozy about the fragrant spices and the steamy bubbly filling that makes me want to hug someone special.

And on cold rainy days like these, we can all use some love, hugs and a couple of slices of warm pies. So go call someone you love, tell them that you're coming over in an hour and get in that kitchen!  

Quick apple ginger pie

(makes 1 pie)

• 2 pie shells (1 if you want an open-faced pie)
• 4 medium apples, peel, cored, quartered and sliced
• a small knob of fresh ginger, a little less than an inch or so, minced
• 1 lemon, juiced
• about 1/2 cup sugar (I used half brown and half white)
• about 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
• about 1/2 to 1 tsp ground nutmeg (depending on how much you like the spice) 
• about 1 Tbsp flour
• egg wash, optional (1 egg white and a tsp of water)
• a few pinches of sugar for sprinkles

Heat oven to 375*F

If you are using frozen pie shells (yes... I cheated... LOL) thaw them out on the counter for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the prepared apple slices, ginger, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and flour together. Put everything into the first pie shell.

Take the second pie shell and drape over the pie. Make a cross in the middle for the steam to escape while the pie bakes. Brush egg wash on top, and sprinkle some sugar on top, liberally.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or so, or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling.

Now, bring it to that someone and spread the love, one slice at a time.

War is over!!!

No... not that war... I'm sorry (hang head down in shame)... It's just the war between macarons and I.

Today, after the seventh attempt to tackle those sons of b****** cutie pies, I declare peace. A success with shine, dome and feet reigns upon us. The sun even came out to celebrate our victory. I can almost hear the music...

This has been a long and somewhat disastrous voyage, haunting me since last year.  The first time I tried to make macarons, they ended up shine-less, dry and feet-less... *sigh* it was a sad day... Then there were the ones that somehow became amaretti cookies... Then last week, they were just down right hollow, extremely shiny with feet, as if just to piss me off.

Thank goodness I'm so f**king stubborn. I wasn't giving up until I get it right.

So this is it, no more swearing and pulling out my hair at 2am talking to baked egg whites.  No more over-dosing on epic failed cookies with increasing anger after every bite. No more mumbling bad words at people who walk by with tubes of macarons from the cute pastry shops on the Plateau. No more! Yes, I mean it, I might never make macarons again now that it's done. LOL!!!!!

I read a lot on macarons, more than I'd like to remember, and  most people "fold" with delicacy. A few however, beat the crap out of the meringue when mixing in the almond meal. (I would have had to use that if the lucky seventh  failed) Fortunately, this war ended with no violence.

So after reading many awesome bakers and dessert chefs out there (David Lebovitz, Tartelette, A La Cuisine!, etc) this is how it all went down:

Macarons shells 

(makes about 60 shells, so 30 macarons)

• 1 cup almond meal (I ground my own natural almonds, then put it in the oven on a baking sheet with really low temperature to dry it out)
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 100-110 g egg white, left out on the counter loosely covered for at least 24 hrs (about 3-4 egg whites, I actually used the stuff from the box because of so many fails, I didn't want to have all the yolks left over)
• 1/4 cup sugar 
• powder color

Sift the almond meal and powdered sugar together, making sure there are no lumps.

Beat (in a stand mixer or hand-held, with a whisk attachment) the aged egg whites until foamy, then gradually add the 1/4 of sugar. When soft peaks form, add desired color and continue beating until peaks are firm. 

Add the almond meal mix into the meringue, in 3 batches. Fold the mixture delicately to not break the meringue and do a total of not more than 50 times.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Fill a piping bag with a plain tip of 1-2cm or so and pipe equal circles of your desired size (1.5-2 inches is usually the case) Let them sit for 30-60 minutes, until they have formed a skin on top, then bake in a 300F oven for 8-12 minutes depending on the size of the shells.

Cool completely before filling

Quick peanut butter, Nutella & banana liqueur filling

• 1 part peanut butter
• 1 1/2 part nutella
• a few spoons of banana liqueur (I used Austrian  Casali Schokobananen liqueur)

Mix peanut butter and Nutella together and add the liqueur. Fill the macaron shells.

Enjoy!!!!! Because nothing tastes better than victory!