Holiday parties in full force!

Baking Time!

Holiday Parties!

To get into the winter season or escape from the winter blues its fun to plan parties, events and gatherings to look forward too. We are starting the tradition of a holiday cocktail party. This can really be done at anytime. To prep look up some of your favorite drink recipes, have them poured and ready to go on platters. Add a few easy and quick appetizer foods to mix in and your ready to go. Our tip is to keep it simple. For our party we are only making about 4 different appetizers but spreading them out all over the house on cutting boards and festive platters.
On the menu tonight; smoked salmon with capers, lemon and arugula, bruschetta crostini paired with pesto and sundried tomato crostini, flank steak crostini and a mix of grapes, cheeses and nuts. That’s it and all you need for a fun and successful holiday party. Cheers.

Recycle your leftovers

Do you ever have left over fruit that is on the brink of going bad? Do you not want to waste all of the ripened fruits in your kitchen?

It is so easy to create waste and waste money by throwing out unwanted foods. Why not add the leftover fruits to recipes, to delicious bread, muffin or even pies. No matter what fruit you have left over, such as strawberries, peaches, oranges, blueberries, banana’s, melons you can always find an alternative to throwing out these foods.

So why not try out a mixed fruit crumble.

Combine your leftover fruit with 1/2 cup white sugar, 1 tablespoon of flour, 1 cup cooking oats, 3 tablespoons of butter and a touch of cinnamon. This is a great healthy alternative make use of your unwanted fruits. You can also add the fruit to any pie crust and prepare a great desert.

Left over fruit is also great topped on yogurt, with nuts and honey. Our favourite way to use left over fruit is by adding it to a large serving dish and topping it with lemonchello or any liquor. Let sit for about two hours and this is delicious to serve on its own, topped with whip cream or even added to club soda for a delicious drink. Fruits are great in muffins such as bran, add them to bread recipes like banana bread, peach bread.

Try adding berries, or peaches to pancakes. There are so many alternatives to using unwanted foods in your home. It just takes some time to try out new recipes and to get out of the habit of pitching the leftovers. So search your home and see what is around to recreate. Happy cooking!

Tis the season to get….

Winter and Seasonal Festivities are now into gear. Along with the holidays comes gatherings with friends, holiday parties and eating, yes eating! We will be showing many different, quick recipes during the holiday season.

Here is a quick and easy recipe that is guaranteed to please.

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

This is a simple recipe that looks festival and is delicious with any dinner or as a side dish.
To prepare wash and cut asparagus’. Wrap 1 piece of prosciutto around 2 to 3 asparagus. Please on baking dish and season with olive oil, salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon. Bake at 375 for about 10 minutues.

Plate and top with light curls of parmesan cheese. Enjoy.

Ultimate Grilling Guide

As we are enjoying the end of summer what better way to be outside entertaining than grilling. Throwing BBQ’s spending time with friends and family is always the best around great food. Grilling is a simple way to prepare a whole meal, while being social entertaining your guests. Everything from appetizers, grilled salads, meats, potatoes and even deserts can be prepared on the grill. It is important to read through these great grilling tips and tricks so you can conquer the barbecue.

Starting with seafood, the trick to preparing fish on the BBQ I find is by wrapping it in foil with herbs and spices and than grilling it for about 10 minutes. Now this will change depending on the thickness of fish, so a good rule to go by is about 7 to 10 minutes for each inch. Make sure your BBQ is at medium to medium low and to test if is finished, the fish should flake easily when pricked with a fork. Shrimp is also delicious to prepare on the grill and shrimp cooks very fast. The best way to prepare shrimp is by leaving the skins on. This leaves them moist and delicious. Cook shrimp on medium heat for about 5 to 6 minutes.

Chicken is another great meat to prepare on the bbq. Boneless chicken breasts take about 5 to 7 minutes per side. You know when the breast is done when it is firm and has nice grill marks on it. Burgers are a summer favourite and take no time on the grill. BBQ burgers for about 5 minutes per side on direct heat. Sausages are another favourite and take about 5 to 10 minutes per side and remember to keep flipping them. Sausages take a little longer to cook, so that is great to remember when preparing a dinner.

Meats are so simple to prepare on the grill, so are great appetizers and salads. Lettuce is actually delicious lightly grilled than served with sliced almonds, mandarins, blue cheese and a balsamic vingarette. All veggies are great on the grill and are amazing served grilled on a platter, added to salads or potatoes. It is great to prepare potato salad on the grill. Grill potatoes until soft along with garlic, onion and veggies. Add to a dish, chop all of the ingredients to bowl. Add pitted olives, capers, dill and light mayo.

Desert is becoming a favourite as well on the grill. Grilling fresh peaches or pineapple is great served over vanilla ice cream or added to liquor. Bananas are another favourite on the grill and only take 2 minutes per side. They are also great topped with ice cream to create the perfect desert.

Try out some of these great grilling tips along with recipes to host the perfect outdoor party!

The benefits of Seafood!

It is simple to choose the nutritious and healthy choice and a great way to do that is by eating lots of fish and shellfish which are rich in protein, omega 3, vitamins, iron, magnesium, potassium and zinc. Seafood is a great way to live healthy and get your needed health benefits in the process. It is recommended by the food guide to have 2 servings of seafood a week. This can consist of clams, lobster, crab,salmon and there are so many ways to serve seafood and to also make it different. Why not try a delicious lobster salad with fresh greens, dill, cucumber and tomatoes. This is great by itself presented as a salad or add to a fresh bun and it is a great healthy meal. Shrimp are also healthy and delicious and why not grill some shrimp up on a barbeque with fresh lemon, garlic, hot peppers and olive oil. Leave shell on, peel and enjoy. Shrimp are also great in pasta with red sauce, pesto sauce or served as a soup with mussels, jalapeno peppers and garlic. Salmon is also a very healthy choice as it is fairly inexpensive to buy and easy to prepare. Salmon is great wrapped in tinfoil filled with garlic, lemon, dill and a dab of butter. Or our favourite way of presenting salmon is adding fresh tomato sauce to it, with added olives and oregano cook in the oven for the most unbelievable dish. This one is great for children as the tomato sauce gets rid of the fishy taste.

Now is the time to start eating healthy and choosing healthy alternatives. Watching your intake of food is important to your growth and health and overall life style. Trying new recipes is a great way to learn new favourites while eating healthy at the same time.

Start your day off right!

Start your day right by taking the time to have a healthy meal before you rush out of the house to your daily duties. Mornings are exceptionally busy in every household, but by getting yourself into a regular routine you can learn to start your day off the right way and have much more energy throughout your day!
Waking up abit earlier, preparing breakfast meal ideas before going to sleep are all ways to get into the routine of eating a well balanced breakfast before leaving your house. We all know the fastest way to get out of your house in a hurry is by grabbing a cup of coffee and maybe an apple It is fine to start your day with a hot cup of java but make sure you are eating more with it. Try sitting down with your coffee with a bowl of mixed fruit and a piece of toast with jam with an egg on the side. Having a well balanced meal in the morning gets your body working and you will crave less during the day and also burn calories faster during the day. Eggs are a great way to start off your morning and will keep you satisfied until lunch. If you are one of those people who have no time in the morning try to hard boil eggs the night before, this is easy to grab in the morning and add some toast or a small whole wheat bagel to your meal or prepare yogurt with fruit and granola if you are on the run. Another great breakfast favourite is ham and egg wraps. These are easy and fast to prepare and you can get them on the go. Try scrambling eggs, add some green onions, ham and light cheddar cheese. Top onto a small tortilla and even add salsa to the top. This is a great healthy breakfast and a different way of eating regular eggs.
Now is the time to get into the mind frame of having enough time for you, and by getting yourself used to a healthy regular diet. Its easy, so start your day off right and enjoy a delicious healthy breakfast!

Wild about Peaches

In Season: Peaches

Now is the time to enjoy the freshness of locally grown peaches. They are my favourite and I like to use them for everything. They are inexpensive to buy, and delicious in both savoury and sweet recipes. In the morning add peaches to yogurt, add some nuts and honey and that is a great start to your day. They are also delicious in pancakes topped with a dollop of fresh whipped cream and mint. Try peaches grilled lightly on the BBQ and toss in salad, with mixed greens, feta or goat cheese and chopped walnuts. Top with a simple oil and apple cider dressing. That salad is made to impress!
Peaches are also great in meat dishes such as pork or ham, or glazed over any meat for great presentation. Try cinnamon dusted peaches with ice cream, or our favourite peach crumble. So simple to make we use about 3 cups of fresh peeled peaches, 1/3 cup flour, 1/2 cup rolled oats, 4 tablespoons of brown sugar, 3 tablespoons of cold butter, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. We than add it to a baking dish, cook at 400 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes. To spice up this recipe try adding locally grown blueberries or raspberries to this recipe for a nice change and a different hint of flavour.
How about adding peaches to a drink, blend peeled peaches, with pineapple juice, vodka and peach snoops, and ice than add to martini glass and finish with a splash of sprite or club soda. Garnish with a peach slice.
So peaches are great in so many dishes, go out today and try some of these great recipes and let us know how they turned out!

Juicy Burgers Cooking Tips

Summer is a great time to host BBQ and what better way than perfecting the perfect burger. We have a recipe up for a great burger but the toppings are also important too. Try out the recipe and one new secret we found over the summer is adding 1 can of tomato paste to your burger recipe. We found this makes the burger juicy and mouth-watering. So try out our burger recipe and let us know what you think. Make sure to BBQ them low and slow!
Another great tip is grabbing toppings that are different such as avocados, roasted red peppers, cold slaw and pickles, roasted onions, garlic and hot peppers, try goat cheese, watercress, balsamic reduction and peppers or our favourite parmesan cheese, tomatoes and cucumbers . It is important to keep it fresh, so instead of buying burgers this weekend, plan to make your own!
It is simple, less expensive and are in charge of what goes into your meat. Leave us a comment and let us know how your juicy burgers turn out!