We go through a lot of almond milk. I use it in all of my baking. I drink it in my flavoured coffee. We use it to make turmeric tea. But the one thing I don’t do is drink it on its own. I find that the store bought almond milk has a bit of a chalky taste, so I use it in place of milk, but don’t drink it like milk. I had read that you could make your own almond milk, so I wanted to give it a try.
With Valentines Day happening this week, I thought I would share with you a spicy brownie recipe. Nothing says Happy Valentines Day like chocolate, especially when it is complimented with a hint of heat.
The pairing of chocolate and spice isn’t new. In fact, one of my favourite desserts that I have experienced here in Ottawa is Chili Chocolate Ice Cream from the Smoque Shack in the Byward Market. It is so confusing for your taste buds to have to cooling sensation of chocolate ice cream, but then the heat from the cayenne pepper hits you and your instinct is to eat more of that cooling ice cream, but that is where the heat is. It is such a delicious and vicious cycle 🙂
A few weeks ago I was watching the Food Network (no real surprise there) when Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Minute Meals came on. Now, I like these types of shows, however, I am quite skeptical that these meals can truly be prepared in fifteen minutes. By the time you get out all your pots, pans, knives, cutting boards and then prepare your food and measure out your spices, well, I just don’t think fifteen minutes is accurate, but the meals presented on this program are relatively quick and can be prepared for a delicious week-night dinner.
Cherry tomatoes have to be one of my favourite snack foods. I just love the sweetness of the tomato and they really are adorable. Just little bites of summer.
When I was looking through one of my cookbooks for a new side dish, this recipe appealed to me. Confit Cherry Tomatoes. Now, I am not familiar with confit, in fact, the only time I see this term is when it refers to duck. Since I am not a huge fan of duck, the idea of confit has never really struck me as something I needed to try. But cherry tomatoes, well, I never pass up an opportunity to eat more tomatoes, so I figured it was time the confit made an appearance in our kitchen.
On Monday I shared with you the totally delicious and amazing pulled pork that I had made on the weekend. I had found the recipe on a site called Primal Bites, and was very impressed with the texture and taste of this dish. The original recipe was called Paleo Pulled Pork 3 Ways. Although I didn’t plan on it, I ended up making one of the recommended leftover meals – Asian Pork and Slaw.
I have been spending a lot of my free time watching the Food Network. Specifically, I have been watching a lot of episodes of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. I don’t know what it is that draws me to this program, but I just can’t get enough of it. It is like I have an un-natural attraction to burgers 🙂
So, in watching an abundant amount of this program, I have come to realize that anyone with an oven and a few hours to spare can make delicious pulled pork. I always thought that I had to have a smoker in order to make a proper pulled pork, but a lot of the restaurants on this program dry rub their pork shoulder and roast it in the oven for hours. It looks like it comes out tender, juicy and fully shred-able. Based on my viewing, I decided to give this a try.
I have tried making a variety of different hummus recipes, and have loved each one. I am still amazed at how simple it is to make, and totally regret all the money I threw away by buying it pre-made in the grocery store.
As part of trying to stick (more or less) to a Paleo diet as part of my getting back on track for the New Year, hummus has been off my list, as it is made with chick peas, and they contain a lot of carbohydrates.
However, I have found a new hummus substitute and I couldn’t be happier. Drum roll please – Ta Da – Cauliflower Hummus 🙂
I am going to have to admit to you, that I have never made cabbage rolls before. I have enjoyed them on more than one occasion, but I have never attempted to make them myself, till now.
When we were growing up, our Mom would make cabbage rolls a couple of times a year. It was a time consuming task, but we always enjoyed the effort, as there is nothing better than homemade cabbage rolls. Over the years, I have had the frozen variety, but they just don’t compare to homemade.
This past week has been cold here in Ottawa. Real cold. That biting kind of cold that gets through your coat and multiple layers of clothing right into your bones. When it is that cold outside, all you want to eat is comfort food. Now for me, comfort food usually consists of lots of carbs; pasta and bread immediately come to mind, but in trying to eat healthier, I have decided to forgo the big bowl of spaghetti and make a stew instead.
The weekend of our move is finally here! I have been talking about it for so long that you may have thought that it had already happened.
When I was starting to pack up our pantry, I noticed that the carton of molasses was almost empty. To me it seemed like it wasn’t worth packing away in a box, but it was the perfect opportunity to look for a recipe to use the molasses I had left.
Ruby Reduction 