I just love it when summer berries are in season. There is nothing better than going to the Farmers Market and seeing baskets of bright, colourful berries. Since this is the berry* last weekend of summer, I thought I would share with you the ultimate summer berry crumble. *I know – that was pretty bad, wasn’t it?!? 🙂
I usually make an apple crumble (or Apple Betty as my Grandma used to call it). It is a very satisfying fall harvest dessert. Fresh apples topped with a delicious topping of rolled oats, cinnamon and brown sugar. Yummy! Earlier this year, we were at our friends Kim and Ryan’s for dinner, and Kim made a gorgeous Triple Berry Crumble with blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. I wanted to attempt to make something similar, so off to my cookbook cupboard I went!
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Tags: baking, blogging, blueberries, cooking, family, food, homemade, party, pot luck, raspberries, recipe
Today the role of guest foodie will be played by Connie’s sister, Cherie.
When I read Connie’s post for ‘Chocolate Brownies’, I felt the need to answer her question of “is there any other kind?”
Well of course there are other types of brownies out there and this is, by far the best Black Bean Brownie recipe that I have come across – and trust me, I have tried a few. Some are too dry, some are too wet and some are just too, well, beany. But this was the perfect consistency for a delicious guilt-free brownie treat.
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Tags: bake sale, baking, black beans, blog, chocolate, cooking, family, food, homemade, party, pot luck, recipe
Here is another creation inspired by the local Farmers Market. I can’t help but be excited when I see farm fresh field tomatoes. They are so flavourful and delicious. I really could eat them just like an apple, but I think that might get a bit messy 🙂
Jamie and I had purchased some beautiful looking tomatoes and we were looking for another way to use them. Then Jamie came up with the amazing idea of stuffing the tomatoes! I have never done that before. I have heard of stuffed peppers, but never a stuffed tomato. I wasn’t sure if the delicate flesh of the tomato would stand up to being hollowed out, stuffed and baked, but I was willing to try it out.
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Tags: blog, breakfast, cooking, food, homemade, recipe, tomatoes
With summer in full swing, I am seeing S’mores everywhere! In the grocery store I see kits for them. On Twitter, everyone seems to have their take on this camp-fire classic. I wanted to make my own S’mores, because nothing says summer like graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate!
I wasn’t sure if I could make my own version, since we are in an apartment, with no balcony and an electric stove. Don’t you need to have an open flame to make S’mores bars? Well the answer is NO! You can totally make these in your oven.
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Tags: bake sale, baking, blog, caramel, cooking, family, homemade, marshmallow, recipe
I was in the grocery store and I discovered that Kraft made their caramels in an add-in size! I have used their traditional square caramels in the past to make Easy Salted Chocoate Caramels, but now a whole other world of possibilities had opened up for me; I could add caramels to cookies!
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Tags: almonds, bake sale, baking, blog, caramel, cookie, cooking, food, homemade, nuts, party, recipe
This is actually the very first recipe that I ever made from America’s Test Kitchen (ATK). I had purchased one of their magazines during a grocery store outing, and while I was flipping through the pages, a photo of a gorgeous pizza crust caught my attention.
Even though the directions for this recipe are lengthy, it is actually very easy to make. There is just something magical about making bread. You throw some pretty basic ingredients together, and they just grow into something beautiful and delicious.
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Tags: baking, blogging, bread, cooking, food, homemade, recipe, sandwich, weekend, writing
Okay – I am going to share with you my all time favourite go-to muffin recipe! I have been using it for years and I find that it creates the perfect banana muffin. Now, normally I add chocolate chips to this recipe, and then these become more of an afternoon snack or dessert muffin, but this time I thought I would try to be a bit healthier and add frozen blueberries. I was not disappointed! The blueberries added a total flavour burst to the wonderful essence of banana that was already present.
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Tags: bake sale, baking, bananas, blog, blueberries, breakfast, cooking, family, food, homemade, pot luck, recipe
*I don’t know why I had to call this post Chocolate Brownies, because really, is there any other kind?
I am going to be completely honest with you – this is the first time I have ever made brownies from scratch!
I KNOW! You would think that I have dabbled with a variety of scratch brownies over the years, but nope, this is my first attempt. I have always fallen victim to the pre-boxed mix. Don’t get me wrong, the mixes taste pretty good, and they are incredibly easy, but they don’t compare to scratch baking.
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Tags: bake sale, baking, blog, chocolate, cooking, homemade, photos, pot luck, week-night, weekend, writing
With summer finally here, it is time to embrace the fair weather pleasure of the Farmer’s Market. We are very fortunate here in Ottawa to have many different locations to choose from, and Jamie and I are lucky enough to live within walking distance of a few.
Our on last visit I was so happy to see that strawberries are in season! The window for any fresh berry season is very small, maybe two weeks, so when I saw the overflowing baskets of strawberries I knew I had to get some.
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Tags: blog, canning, cooking, family, food, homemade, recipe, strawberries, weekend
In celebration of this week’s RibFest happening here in Ottawa, I thought it was appropriate to share a recipe for ribs 🙂 RibFest is that wonderful time of year when you step out of your office and all you can smell is BBQ! All the options are there to tempt you; Pulled Pork, BBQ Chicken and Ribs. It is difficult to sit at your desk, eating your garden salad, when the smell of BBQ is coming in from the street.
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Tags: blog, blogging, cooking, food, party, photos, pork, pot luck, Super Bowl, tailgate
Ruby Reduction 