avocado and orange salad

Today I decided to start working with Weight Watchers and started the process off very well with a tomato and leek soup and an orange and avocado salad.  Points for the salad are a total of 4 points and the soup was a total of 2 points for a cup of soup.  NICE.

 

 

So here’s what you need:

• 1/2 cup finely sliced red onion
• 3 moro or navel oranges (moro oranges are also known as blood oranges)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
• 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
• dash hot pepper sauce
• 1 head of boston lettuce, separated
• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced
• 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds

In a bowl, cover onion in cold water; and let stand for 30 minutes.  Drain and rinse under cold water.  Drain well and pat dry with paper towel, then put to the side.

Over a bowl, cut off peel and outer membrane of oranges.  The reason for working over a bowl is to catch the juice of the oranges, so continue cutting the oranges into slices  and set aside in a separate bowl.  Squeeze any juice from the membranes into the bowl you were using to catch the juice before.  Whisk the oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and hot pepper sauce into the left over juice from the oranges.

Arrange the lettuce (after rinsing it) in a shallow serving bowl or divide among plates.  Top with avocado slices, orange segments and onion.  Drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

P.S. My dad added pecans to his salad and that could be a nice touch if you’re into that.  This makes about 6 to 8 servings, and the recipe is from Canadian Living – honestly one of my favourite resources for finding new ideas.  They are almost always fresh and juicy and tasty and HEALTHY.  Yumm.  There was no onion in mine because I remembered that I needed to buy one just as I was leaving the grocery store, but it is definitely necessary.  Without the onion, the salad was sweet but missing something, so the bite of the onion will be what is definitely needed.

a birthday meal: oven roasted ribs, a maple-berry spinach salad, and a pink lemonade birthday cake

So today is my little sister Jen’s 17th birthday and one plus that comes from a surgical recovery is being stuck at home.  Being stuck at home = more time to cook.  And today just happened to be the first day that I’m off all my pain killers and feeling back to normal.  For the meal we had my mum’s famous oven roast BBQ ribs served with white rice and a maple-berry spinach salad and topped the night off with a pink lemonade birthday cake.  So let’s start out with the ribs and go from there.

For these yum-tastic ribs you want to find the most meaty ribs you can find.  We went to the butcher for these, and it was a way better choice then the plastic wrapped pieces of meat that you find in the meat aisle.  And for some reason the butcher’s meatier ribs were cheaper.  AMAZING, no?

Ok here’s what you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Cut the ribs into pieces that have two bones in each of them.  Place in a glass pan in a single layer and fill with an inch of water.  Cover with foil.
3. Cook for 1 hour, and check for any pinkness around the bone.  If they aren’t done (they probably won’t be), put back in the oven and turn it up to 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  The longer they cook in a low temperature, the more tender they will be.
4. When they are done, they will be very light.  Drain the water and cover both sides of the ribs (top and bottom) with your favourite barbeque sauce.  I just used Diana’s Chicken and Rib sauce, which is a family favourite here, but kind of a cheat too since I haven’t made my own sauce yet.  BUT I will!  Soon.  Cook for 30 minutes at 350 degrees covered with foil.
5. FINALLY (which is how you’ll feel by the end of the two hours of cooking) take the aluminum foil off and cook for 15 minutes to make them a little crispy on the edges.  What you’ll end up with is ribs that are tender on the inside and crispy on the outside.  And the best ribs you’ve ever tasted.

For our meal, we put the ribs into a bowl and the extra sauce into a dish to be used as a gravy for the rice and ribs.  Yumm.

Next on the list is the salad.  What I did was fill a large salad bowl with baby spinach and some baby reds.  Next I threw in a 1/2 cup each of blue berries, sliced grapes, sliced strawberries, and clementines with soft goat cheese to taste.  Top that with a handful of pralines and this recipe for a Maple Vinaigrette.  For the dressing, put all the following ingredients into a jar, shake and drizzle over salad.

• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 3 tbsp white vinegar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

NOW for what you’ve been waiting for: the Pink Lemonade Cake!  Mmmmm.

Sorry about the terrible picture, my family dug into the cake so fast, I couldn’t get a picture of the whole thing.  But I guess this way you can see the “pink” and the “lemon” parts of the cake, haha.  Here’s what you need:

• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 6 tbsp butter, softened
• 1 tbsp grated lemon rind
• 3 tbsp thawed lemonade concentrate
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg whites
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/4 sups fat-free buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, beat the first 5 ingredients at medium speed until well blended.  Add the eggs and the egg whites 1 at a time, beating between each egg.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda.  Alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the sugar mixture, beating well between additions.

Pour the batter into 2 9-inch round cake pans greased with butter and lightly floured and tap the pans on the counter to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.  Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, and then remove onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

For this cake I used two different frostings.  The first one was very drippy and lemon-y and wonderful, and the other was a thick buttercream.  I’ll tell you what I did first and then give you the ingredients, I think that’ll be easier.  So with the drippy icing, I put one layer of the cake onto a plate and spooned the icing on and let it drip down the sides.  Then I put the second layer on and completely covered the cake with the lemon drippy icing and stuck it in the freezer to harden the icing for however long it took me to make the second icing – about 10 minutes.  Maybe a little longer.  Then I spread the second icing onto the top and sides of the cake.

Here’s the ingredients for the two icings, first the lemon drippy icing:

• 2 tbsp butter, softened
• 2 tsp grated lemon peel
• 2 tsp thawed lemonade concentrate
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 8 oz low-fat cream cheese
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In a large bowl, place the first 5 ingredients into a large bowl and beat on high until fluffy.  Add the powdered sugar, and beat on low until just blended (DO NOT OVERBEAT), and chill for 1 hour.

For the buttercream, you need:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 4 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• a couple drops of red food coloring (optional – but that’s what makes in a PINK lemonade cake. 😀 )

For the buttercream, I wanted to make one that was really thick.  First, in a pan, I cooked the flour and milk until it forms a ball, stirring with a spatula as if making scrambled eggs.  Bring down to room temperature (I stuck mine in the fridge), and cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Beat both mixtures together on high speed and add the vanilla and a few drops of food coloring until well combined and fluffy.  Then I spread the icing onto the top and the sides of the cake.

So I know there’s a lot to digest here in this post (literally, ha!), but if there’s something you like, give it a try and let me know what you think.

greek nachos

A few months back, I was invited to a potluck and wanted to make a healthy alternative to the usual chips and dip or fancy dessert and came across this tasty option.  It’s meaty, it’s fresh, it’s saucy, it’s tangy.  It’s greek.  Put all of those together and you get something incredible.

This recipe is from the New York Times, and is very simple.  For my purposes, I changed certain ingredients and tried to make it yummier. 🙂  Anyways, here’s what you need:

• 4 pita pockets, white or whole wheat, cut into wedges (I used Na’an bread, and if you have the time you could make the recipe that was featured here a little bit ago.  A great pairing if you ask me.)
• About a 1/2 cup olive oil
• Salt
• 4 oz feta cheese
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1 lemon
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 lb ground lamb (I used turkey, it’s leaner, lighter and less of an intense taste.)
• 1 tbsp ground cumin (or more if needed)
• 2 medium ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 1 medium cucumber, peeped and chopped
• 1/2 cup calamata olives, pitted and halved (optional)

If you are using pita, heat the oven to 350 degrees, and arrange pita wedges in one layer on baking sheets and brush or drizzle with a tablespoon or two of olive oil.  Bake until they begin to color, turning once or twice, about 10 minutes.  Sprinkle with salt, turn off over and put chips back in to keep warm.  If you decided to use na’an bread, heat the oven to 150 degrees and wrap the bread in foil and heat until needed.

For the sauce, combine feta, yogurt, 1/4 cup olive oil, mint and zest and juice of the lemon in a blender or food processor and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Blend until smooth.  If you don’t have a blender, you can also mash the mixture by hand with a fork.

To cook the meat, put two tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook onions until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add lamb and cumin and sprinkle with salt and pepper; continue cooing until meat is cooked through, about 5 to 10 minutes more.  Put the chips on a serving plate and top with the meat.  Cover the meat with the sauce, then the tomatoes, cucumbers and olives if you’re using them.

This recipe makes 4 servings and is mm mm gooooddd.

time for recess

Apologies to all my loyal readers, but I will be away for about a week from my cooking and baking exploits.  I have just undergone surgery and am in recovery.  UNFORTUNATELY this means no cooking adventures, so we need to take a small break.  BUT I promise I will be back with a multi-course meal and a fabulous dessert in honor of my sister’s birthday.  If you have any suggestions or favorites that you think could be a good addition to the meal, let me know.  I am always happy to hear from you. 🙂

marble cake with a piped icing – MY FIRST TIME :)

Sorry that I’ve been MIA for a couple days but I’m back!  And with a really great recipe perfect as a match for tea or ice cream after dinner.

So on monday, my sister and I were at home together for the first time in probably three years where neither of us had anything to do, and amazingly we decided to have some super sister bonding and this awesome cake was the result.

The cake itself is a marble cake, really simple.  Here’s what you need:

• 1 cup soft butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups spelt flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• food colouring
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder

Preheat the over to 315 degrees.  Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and creamy.  Add the vanilla and the eggs at room temperature, one at a time, and beat well.  Use a wooden spoon to stir in the flour.

Next, divide the cake into 3 bowls.  Mix a few drops of food coloring (we used blue) into one bowl, and the cocoa powder into another.  Leave one plain.  Grease an 8 inch round cake tin, and spoon the 3 mixtures into the cake tin.  Unfortunately for us, there was too much batter for an 8 inch pan, but not enough for two 8 inch cake tins.  Maybe try two 6 inch cake tins? Or a larger one to make a bigger cake.

Use a skewer or knife to swirl the mixtures together to create a marble effect.  Bake for 40 minutes, or until the cake is cooked in the middle when you poke a skewer into it.  Cool in the tin on a wire rack.

While the cake was baking, my sister and I made two different kinds of icing; a vanilla buttercream and piping icing.  If you are going to pipe icing, the mixture is thicker and stands up on its own.  Also make sure to keep the icing cool, because it is very easy for it to become melty.

Here’s what you need for the vanilla buttercream icing:

• 1 box confectioners’ sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract, but almond extract can be substituted
• 1/4 cup milk or light cream
• food coloring (optional)

What you want to do is combine the sugar, butter, vanilla and milk together and beat for a while.  Now I’m very liberal with my addition of vanilla so I always put in more then the recipe says, but I’ve never used almond extract, so I’m not sure what the measurement is for it.  All I know is that it will be slightly less then vanilla.  Try maybe a 1/2 tsp, taste it, and add if needed.

For the roses, I used the recipe  and tutorial here How to Pipe Icing Roses — Zoe Bakes.  It was very informative and very easy to follow.  Anyways check it out, and let me know what you think.  I am always very happy to hear your comments.