Caramel Corn

February 23, 2014 Sonte Leave a comment

So sometimes you are just craving something sweet but don’t want to feel horribly guilty after consuming said sweet, right? What about Caramel Corn? You convince yourself that Popcorn is good for you….never mind all the sugar and butter required to make it. Caramel Corn, made in your own kitchen is still heaps better than, say, a family size chocolate bar, a bag of chips and perhaps a soft drink, right?
Anyway, everything in moderation, I say. I was actually craving Caramel Corn for ages (since Christmas when I meant to make it but ran out of time) and then along came Valentine’s Day; the perfect excuse to make Caramel Corn to give as a gift while having the opportunity to do a taste test! Perfect, right? Right!

I used to have a great recipe in some random cookbook but I have moved so many times that it is now lost. I turned to my trusty friends over at Canadian Living to find a replacement recipe for Caramel Corn.

caramel corn — Caramel Corn all wrapped up to give away as Valentine’s Day gifts.

8 cups popped Popcorn
3/4 cup packed Brown Sugar
1/3 cup Butter
3 Tablespoons Corn Syrup
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon Vanilla
2 cups blanched Peanuts

Pop popcorn according to package directions or using your favourite method.
Sift through popped corn and remove any un-popped kernels.

In small saucepan, combine sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt over high heat.
Bring to a boil.
Let cool, stirring, for 2 minutes.
Remove from heat.
Stir in baking soda and vanilla.

Preheat oven to 325F.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
In large mixing bowl, toss coating with popcorn.
Transfer to prepared baking sheet, arranging popcorn in a single layer.
Bake in 325F. oven for 10 – 12 minutes.
Let cool slightly; transfer to mixing bowl and stir in peanuts.
Cool completely.
Divide into a few gift bags, secure then tie adorn each package with a bit of pretty ribbon and a gift tag.
Or turn out into a storage container with a tight fitting lid; store in a cool, dry location for up to 3 days.

Pasta, Vegetarian

Carrot Top Pesto

February 19, 2014 Sonte Leave a comment

So you are trying to eat healthier, you make the most of each of your produce purchases, right? What about the greens on those fresh carrots you just bought? Did you know you could make yummy pesto out of them? Doesn’t taste all that different from a pesto made with fresh parsley!

I had two bunches of carrots in the fridge, noticed the greens were beginning to look a little less than optimum which meant I needed to use them up fast. I googled, “what to do with carrot greens” and came up with a long list to choose from. I wanted super simple and this recipe from Culinate fit the bill to the T. I put a pot of water on to boil for some linguini and by the time it was ready, the pesto was done.

Admittedly, I did not know how my husband would respond to this dish. He was raised a super meat eater and I think in his mind, green stuff is, well, weird. He has come leaps and bounds over the past 15 years but I was thinking that this recipe might be a bit of a stretch. I placed his serving of Carrot Top Pesto and Linguini in front of him, watched his face closely…slight raising of eyebrows, he asked, “What’s this? It smells very P-cheesy”…took a tentative bite and smiled. (Dear husband is NOT a fan of Parmesan Cheese, but it is a vital ingredient in this recipe, in my opinion) Whew! I didn’t tell him straight away just what it was that he was eating. He is pretty trusting that most everything I cook is pretty delish. After he had really tucked into the meal I told him what it was and he was amazed!

Wow your family tonight with this super easy Carrot Top Pesto and Linguini.

1 cup (20 grams) lightly packed Carrot Leaves, stems removed, rinsed
6 Tablespoons (90 ml) Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic
1/2 teaspoon Salt
*3 Tablespoons Pine Nuts, toasted
1/4 cup (30grams) freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

Put a large pot of water on to boil for linguini.
Cook according to package directions and drain.

While the linguini is cooking, combine carrot leaves, olive oil, garlic and salt in a food processor until finely minced.
Add nuts *(I didn’t have any pine nuts on hand and used chopped walnuts instead; it was a gamble but it worked) and Pulse until finely chopped.
Pour prepared linguini into a mixing bowl, add pesto and parmesan cheese; stir well to combine.
Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of hot chili flakes.

Serves 4

Breakfast

Broccoli and Cheddar Whole Wheat Pancakes

February 3, 2014 Sonte Leave a comment

I wanted to make Luke Breakfast for Dinner but didn’t have any bread in the house. Luke doesn’t like to mix his savoury with his sweet so I couldn’t make, you know, regular pancakes. But, hey, I saw a post the other day for Ham and Cheese Pancakes…I don’t remember where I saw it but I have a pretty good grasp on how to make a basic pancake and let’s see, what’s in the fridge? Broccoli, cheddar, tomato….yup, I have it. Broccoli and Cheddar Whole Wheat Pancakes with Tomato Sriracha Yogurt.

Broccoli and Cheddar Whole Wheat Pancakes

1 cup Flour
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil or Butter, melted
2 Eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 – 2 cups Almond Milk or Milk
3 stems Broccoli, finely chopped
1/4 cup Cheddar Cheese, grated
2 Green Onions, chopped

1 cup Greek Style Yogurt
1 Roma Tomato, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons Sriracha Sauce
1/4 teaspoon Salt
Pepper, to taste

Heat electric griddle to 350F.
In mixing bowl combine flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a small bowl combine vegetable oil, eggs, 1 1/2 cups milk; add all at once to dry ingredients and stir gently, just until combined, adding more milk if needed to get right consistency. ( I never measure milk…just pour!)
Fold in chopped broccoli, shredded cheddar and green onions.
Drop about 1/3 cup of batter onto lightly greased griddle, smoothing batter out a bit with the back of your spoon. I can usually cook 6 pancakes at a time on my griddle.
Cook until bubbles form and start to pop, about 3 – 4 minutes, before turning over.
Continue cooking for another 3 – 4 minutes.
Transfer to serving platter and repeat with remaining batter.
While pancakes are cooking, combine yogurt, chopped tomato, sriracha sauce and salt in a small bowl.
To serve, stack two or three pancakes on plate, top with Tomato Sriracha Sauce, a bit of shredded cheddar and chopped green onion.

Makes 8 pancakes.

Broccoli and Cheddar Whole Wheat Pancakes with Bacon and Eggs

Soup

Cabbage Roll Soup

February 3, 2014 Sonte Leave a comment

I had a head of cabbage in the fridge that needed to be made into soup and seeing it was super cold on Sunday, Cabbage Roll Soup sounded pretty good! I have not made real Cabbage Rolls for about 30 years so I really couldn’t remember what ingredients were involved. Google to the rescue.
I needed to make it Vegetarian so I could eat it too, but by all means, head on over to annaOlson for the original recipe. I left out the bacon and the ground beef.

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Onion, diced
1 stalk Celery, diced
1 Carrot, peeled and diced
1 pkg Just Like Ground Round
2 cloves Garlic, minced
6 cups Green or Savoy Cabbage, diced
2 (28 oz) tins Diced Tomatoes
1 Green Pepper, seeded and chopped
3 cups Vegetable Stock
1/4 cup Cider Vinegar
1 Tbsp Sweet Paprika
2 teaspoon Celery Salt
2 Bay Leaves
1/2 Brown Rice
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Sour Cream, garnish

In a large, heavy-bottom soup pot heat olive oil over med-high heat.
Add and cook onion for about 3 minutes.
Stir in diced celery and carrot; cook for another 5 minutes.
Stir in Just Like Ground Round; and garlic and cook for another minute or two.
Stir in the cabbage and add the tomatoes, diced green pepper, stock, vinegar, paprika, celery salt, bay leaves and rice.
Cover the pot and bring it to a boil.
Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook until the rice is fully cooked, about 40 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Remove the bay leaves and serve, garnished with a dollop of sour cream

* I grilled some chicken breasts, chopped one up and topped my husbands soup with it.

* I used my Food Processor to slice the celery, carrot and cabbage

* Next time I will add a Tablespoon or two of Tomato Paste

Aysontespli's Kitchen

Caramel Corn

Carrot Top Pesto

Broccoli and Cheddar Whole Wheat Pancakes

Cabbage Roll Soup

Welcome to my Kitchen where the most important ingredient is Love.