Home garden in progress

We already have a few plants on the windowsill, lavender, basil, spearmint, a sad little sage plant, and a sad little tomato plant that doesn't grow tomatoes. By far the most successful things that grow are herbs (save for the sage). 

Recently we decided to buy some new plants. We bought three kits like this one and planted them the other night. We ended up planting chives, oregano, marjoram, chia, and a few other things. this is the first step. 

I'm so excited for these to be ready! I love seeing the little green sprigs pop up full of promise of delicious herbs to come. 

Tuesday tradition: pizza

Does doing something for 4 weeks in a row make it a tradition? Maybe! We kind of decided that pizza on Tuesday evenings was going to be a new tradition, after really only doing it once, and I have to say, it is our best idea. Every Tuesday, we make pizza from scratch. Sometimes the dough is made ahead of time, and sometimes I make it the day of, but either way, I love this tradition. We try to vary and do something new each week, so far, it's working!

Dough (adapted from Fine Cooking): 

1 3/4 cups warm water

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 tsp yeast

1 1/2 tsp sugar

4 1/4 cup flour (I've done all all-purpose, but we really prefer 1/2 allpurpose and 1/2 whole wheat, more flavor!)

Mix together the first 5 ingredients.  Slowly mix in the flour, until a dough forms. If you are making it ahead of time, you can just leave it in the bowl for a few hours, and it will expand and mature on its own. However, if you are making it right away, add enough flour to make a good dough, and kneed it for a few minutes. This dough is usually enough for at least two pizzas. It also keeps well in the fridge, in a bowl, and covered with plastic wrap, for up to a week. You can apparently also freeze it, but I haven't tried that yet. 

Pizza Sauce (adapted from allrecipes.com)

1 can tomato paste

6 ounces of lukewarm water

3 tbsp parmesan cheese

1 tsp minced garlic

2 tbsp honey

3/4 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp dried basil

pinch of ground pepper, salt. 

1/2 tbps fresh sage

Mix all the ingredients together until it forms a sauce, and let it sit for 30 minutes so that the flavors blend together. You can adapt the herbs and spices as you wish. We only had dried basil, so I added some of our fresh sage, but any herb would work here. 

Top the pizza! We always have pepperoni (according to Shawn, it's not real pizza without pepperoni), red peppers, mushrooms. Then we vary the other ingredients depending on what is in the fridge. The cheese also changes from week to week, always mozzarella, but a little havarti has shown up, and others like monterey jack may show up in the future! 

Chocolate cake in a cup

A while ago, I was at my sister's apartment, and happened to see a recipe for chocolate cake in a cup posted on her fridge. Apparently someone gave her the recipe and ingredients for her birthday, knowing she liked cake, and doesn't cook much. Well, apparently she never tried it, but I told myself that I would! Last night, I finally decided to try it, and it was totally worth it. 

Does the picture speak for itself? It was delicious (even though the microwave could use a little cleaning!!). It wasn't too sweet either. BUT, there was a lot of it, so it could be shared quite easily!

Ingredients
4 tbsp flour
4 tbsp white sugar
2 tbsp cocoa
3 tbsp oil
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp chocolate chips

Mix flour, sugar, cocoa, oil, egg and vanilla in a mug until well combined. mix in the chocolate chips.
Microwave on high for 3 minutes. Enjoy!! Cake can't get any easier than that!

Rhubarb muffins with crumble topping

On the weekend we went to the Market, and we got some rhubarb. I got so excited for this, because I love baking stuff with rhubarb. I had a lull in my day on Monday, so I decided to make the rhubarb muffins I had been wanting to make. They were so good! I brought one for El when I met her for lunch today, in exchange for her strawberry rhubarb jam. I found my recipe on Foodland Ontario's website, and adapted it slightly. I think they turned out really well.
Now it's pouring rain outside, and I would love to be able to cook something else.... Pizza night??? Pizza and a movie on this rainy night sounds perfect.

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup granola
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
3/4 cup 2% milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 cup chopped rhubarb

1/4 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp margarine

1. In a medium bowl, combine flours, granola, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, canola oil, and vanilla.
3. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and combine just until combined. Stir in the rhubarb. Put into muffin tins.
4. In a small bowl, combine the oatmeal, brown sugar, and margarine until well combined, and sprinkle on top of the muffins.
5. Cook in an oven preheated to 375F for 15-18 minutes.

Kale and egg breakfast sandwich

I made this particular dish as a breakfast, but it could easily be made as a dinner. I got this recipe from Eleanore again, from the recipe book that raved about for a few weeks, Power Foods. This was a little bit of a labour intensive breakfast, but I woke up early to make it, and it ended up being incredibly filling. Quite the change form my usual breakfasts, which usually involve oatmeal with fruit, or toast with jam. 

Ingredients

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

4 cups kale, chopped and trimmed

3 tbsp water

2 tbsp lemon juice

coarse salt, pepper

4 slices whole wheat bread (this was on my red river cereal bread)

3 tbsp ricotta cheese

2 large eggs

Directions

1. Heat 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook garlic until barely golden, stirring frequently  for approximately 1 minute. Add the kale and water, and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Add lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. 

2. Spread two slices with half of the cheese. Top with kale mixture, dividing evenly. 

3. Add the remaining olive oil to the skillet, and cook the eggs. Place on top of the kale, and top with the last 2 slices of bread. 

Ricotta kale pasta

Exams are finally done, and I have time to do so many things that I didn't have time to do before, like clean, and cook. And I'll have to pack. I have a very busy schedule for the next two days which involves wrapping things up here in Toronto, before returning to Ottawa. I figured I would take a few minutes to add a few of the delicious meals I've made in the past little while. This one I got from Eleanore's blog. She made a ricotta spinach pasta that raved about, so I just slightly adapted it since I only had kale, not spinach. I also had my favorite way to squash on the side: acorn squash with a little brown sugar.

Spinach Kale Pasta
Ingredients

4 cups of whole wheat rotini2/3 cup ricotta cheese1 teaspoon grated lemon rind3/4 teaspoon salt, divided1/2 teaspoon black pepper2 tablespoons olive oil, divided1 1/2 cups diced red pepper1/3 cup chopped walnuts 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced or pressed 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice3 cups fresh kale

Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to package, drain in colander; reserve 1/2 cup pasta water
2. combine ricotta, 1 tsp lemon rind, 1/4 tsp salt, and black pepper
3. heat 1 tbsp olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add bell pepper. saute 2 minutes. Add walnuts, 1/2 tsp salt, and garlic, saute 2 minutes. Stir in remaining oil and juice. Add pasta, pasta water and kale; cook 1 minute or until spinach wilts. Top with ricotta mixture

Acorn squash
Ingredients
1 acorn squash cut into quarters, and seeded
1 tbsp brown sugar per acorn

When the squash is prepared, put into a microwavable baking dish. Put some water in the bottom of the dish, enough to cover the bottom with 5mm of water. Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap, leaving a small space for the steam to vent (or if you have a lid for the dish, just use that!). Microwave for 10 minutes at a time on high. Check every 10 minutes to test for softness. I think mine took 20 minutes. put the brown sugar on the acorn while it is still warm, and it will melt onto it, and add just enough sweetness.

Granola, many ways

Oh wow, exams are draining me of all my energy! And time. I have such a huge backup of recipes to post. I've decided that before I start studying for the next set of exams, I'll post at least one! This one is so easy to make, and so incredibly versatile. I made some last night while I was studying. I'm talking about granola. Every time I make some, I wonder why I would ever buy granola at the store, and then I realize that it's because I can be excruciatingly lazy at times, or busy. Busy maybe sounds better. I've made this so many different ways, I can't even remember all the combinations. I'll post the basic recipe, then mention where you can make changes.

3 cups oatmeal
1 cup nuts (walnuts, slivered almonds, chopped pecan)
1/2 cup seeds (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds)
1/2 cup coconut
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup dried fruit

1. Mix the oatmeal, nuts, seeds, coconut, brown sugar together in a bowl.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the honey and oil.
3. Mix the liquid with the oatmeal mixture in a 13x9 pan. and cook at 250F for 1h15mn, stirring every 15 minutes.
4. Mix in the dried fruit when the granola is removed from the oven.

Variations: Yesterday, I added 2 scoops of unsweetened cocoa, and dried blueberries, so good! you can also add flax, or bran, or hemp, any other health food. Such a versatile recipe!