I recently got some strawberries in my CSA, and because I favor raspberries more for eating, I decided to use them for baking, and more specifically, for a batch of muffins to accompany a visit to a friend’s cottage. I used a variation of my recipe for Partridgeberry Crumble Muffins for these, and they ended up very tasty, with a lovely crunchy topping. Next time I might also mix in a little rhubarb too.
If you are like me, and love roasting vegetables along with a BBQ, or year round for that matter, this recipe is a great way to use up any leftovers. You can use any combo here – I used zucchini, red pepper and purple onion as that’s what I had on hand. As with my other farinata recipes, these cut and freeze great for lunches, and I have been keeping one on hand on a regular basis for just that. This will be a great way to use up the abundance of zucchini I’ll likely get during my summer CSA too 🙂
On to the recipe !
It is the time of year again when all sorts of maple goodies start to show up in the shops, following a season in the sugar woods and all those great pancake dinners. There are a few places near by where I live where you can purchase maple products right where they are produced, but they’re also available pretty much anywhere. Maple syrup seems to stick around for a longer time frame, but the maple cream and maple butters seem to have a shorter appearance (although the MPANS website states you can freeze maple butter).
So for this recipe, I wanted to make use of a tub of maple butter I had picked up Hunter’s maple products in Springhill, to create a kind of turtle cheesecake, substituting it for the caramel in the recipe. This is the stuff you’re looking for (and good stuff it is!):
On to the recipe!
This recipe was just something I whipped up on the weekend with a bunch of asparagus and shredded gouda. Farinata is a simple dish made from chickpea flour and comes out as kind of a cross between a custardy pancake and a quiche, but is egg-free, gluten-free and vegetarian. It can easily be made vegan through the addition of a vegan cheese substitute. The mix-in possibilities are endless, and you can eat this for any meal. I consider this a kind of spring version of the dish.
On to the recipe!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone ! Especially to my fellow Newfoundlanders back home celebrating, and any displaced Newfoundlanders such as myself, as this day makes me extra homesick. Ah but I’ll be heading for the foggy shores of home soon!
This recipe is perhaps a little bit late to whip up for the day, unless of course you already have the ingredients on hand. But you can also try this cookie when you’re looking to use up any leftover whiskey. Just kidding, there’s no such thing as leftover whiskey!
My waffle iron is getting a lot of use this past week! I love savory waffles and the combination of beets and goat cheese made for a tasty filling here. And those beets were probably the last vegetable that I used up from last year’s CSA (Wysmykal Farm), just in time to start preparing for the next one. I tend to use every bit of my beets, by cooking the greens in various ways, and usually roasting the beets, much of which ends up frozen for later use.
You can, of course, also use boiled beets, or even try them pickled, but I love how roasting the beets brings out their sweetness. And for me, it’s also simplest that way. I just give them a rinse, wrap them in foil and toss them in the oven at around 350 until they are soft, let them cool, and the peels come right off. They freeze well, and then you have them on hand for soups, salads, or recipes like this.
Happy (nearly) Valentines Day ! Here is a little sweet and spicy cookie to share with everyone you care about, especially you!
The recipe starts with a basic chocolate chip cookie dough, with a few extra add-ins, in this case white chocolate and those little cinnamon heart candies that show up this time of year. A little extra warmth comes from cinnamon in the dough. It is February, after all, everyone needs a little heat 🙂
Snow days and freezer overflows mean lots and lots of cooking. This past week I’ve made soups and stews to use up the last of my CSA frozen veggies from the year along with a few other things. I’ve been trying to choose my carbs more carefully in the new year so decided to whip up a few new waffle recipes to have for snacks, breakfast or in place of sandwich bread (I had a breakfast sandwich with one of these today, so good!). These waffles are gluten free and good for a little extra protein. And best of all, easy to make.
Years ago when I was still living in Newfoundland and increasing my interest in all things cooking and baking, one of my friends and taste-testers came over for dinner and along with that dinner I made a loaf of fig and fennel bread out of some Martha Stewart mag. I thought I was so fancy, lol. I don’t think she was overly fond of it and it was probably like a door-stopper, what with my bread-baking luck. Thankfully we are still good friends. That little dinner for some reason popped into my head as I was thinking up a new holiday toffee recipe, so this one goes out to that good friend.
Happy holidays to you all ! And happy holidays to me as well, because I FINALLY got myself some Christmas baking spirit these past few days, and have been into the candy making as well. I like to try a few new things each year, so I have two new toffee recipes coming up in addition to the other lovely recipes I’ve found (round-up to come!).
This recipe features a combination of cranberries, almonds, and spice cookies nestled in a buttery toffee, topped with creamy white chocolate. The result was very Christmas-y, I thought. Check it out for yourself !
Sugar n' Stuff 