Shredded Sweet Potato Pancakes

Seems like recently l've been doing a lot of cooking with sweet potatoes. They're just so darn tasty. Growing up I was only introduced to the mashed variety, which I wasn't really keen for, and have really been enjoying branching out in the sweet potato world. 


That said, these Sweet Potato Pancakes were last night's dinner. I had initially planned to make the little guys with chicken and corn on the cob ... needless to say, after we saw how much the recipe made (a dozen!) we decided we'd gorge ourselves only on the pancakes :) For this recipe, you have to grate the potatoes - which is a lot easier than it sounds. Sweet potatoes are brutal to chop up and I find grating them much, much easier.Gives them a neat consistency too. The recipe I had called for sour cream as a side, but we went for plain yoghurt instead for a slightly healthier alternative. Also, if you wanted a 'sweeter' variety, you could substitute some nutmeg and cinnamon for the onions. If you 1/2'ed them, I think that these would make nice little appetizers. Or, like us, just serve em' up for dinner! Bon Appétit! 


ps - I don't know if this photo does these little guys any justice... they were very, VERY tasty. 


Ingredients:
- 1 pound sweet potato, peeled
- 3 scallions, trimmed and finely chopped
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- coarse salt & freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- sour cream or plain yoghurt, for serving (optional)


Directions:
1. Coarsely grate the sweet potatoes on the large holes of a box grater (or use a food processor fitted with the shredding blade). Transfer to a large bowl; stir in scallions, eggs, flour, 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper.
2. Using a packed 1/4-cup measure per pancake, divide your potato mixture into 12 portions, placing them on a baking sheet. Form each into a firm ball with your hands, then flatten into 3/4" thick cakes.
3. In a large skillet, heat 1/2 of your oil over medium heat until shimmering. Using a metal spatula, carefully place 6 pancakes in the skillet; flatten to about 1/2" thick. 
4. Cook until golden brown, 4-5 minutes per side. 
5. Transfer your pancakes to a paper towel-lined platter, sprinkle with salt. Repeat with remaining cakes. Serve hot, with sour cream or yoghurt alongside if desired.


* to keep these pancakes from browning too much, cook them over medium (NOT HIGH) heat, and lower the temperature if they start to darken too quickly. 

Banana-Oat Smoothies

This is me recovering from my latest back surgery... drinking smoothies. Nothing says, feel better soon, like drinking a delicious banana smoothie and catching up on my blogging! I am now up and about and asked Jerms to get the blender out for me so that I could blend away the afternoon. Life gets a little boring when you're moping about all tender-like and why not make a smoothie to make life a little, well, smoother? 


This recipe is from my newest Martha cookbook. I like it because it calls for ingredients that you are likely to have around your house - let's face it, it's not often that I have pomegranate juice and mangoes just kicking around ...


This would be a good breakfast smoothie for on the road, or just for relaxing on the back porch. It's quite good - different, but good. Very oaty. Very banana-y. VERY filling. Bon Appétit mes amis!


Ingredients (makes 2):
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant or quick-cooking)
- 1 cup plain yoghurt
- 2 bananas (I chopped mine up and then froze them to make the smoothie a little colder)
- 4 tsp. honey
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 
- 1 cup of milk


Directions: toss er' all in the blender, puree on high speed until smooth and enjoy! 

Fried Green Tomatoes

Yup, so it seems that I'm pretty antsy to get at my field of green tomatoes that can't seem to redden up fast enough. Last year I dived in to the wonderful world of growing tomatoes, full of ambition, determination, green-thumbed resolve ... only to realize that I'd planted my little guys far too late and that we had a crummy summer. Tomatoes lllllove sun. The summer of 2010 has brought about a new resolve and I think that come mid-September I will have a gorgeous crop of red beauties. Til' then, I am trying to come up with new and exciting ways of eating my green tomatoes. The first thing that comes to mind is, of course, fried green tomatoes. These serve up as a delicious side dish or a nice lunch that are quick and easy (if not a little messy) to make up. If you've never tried them, then you're in for a treat! 


There are a couple of different ways of making fried tomatoes - often recipes will call for a mixture of flour/spices or you can dip your tomatoes in straight up cornmeal. It's up to you! The recipe we made up used only flour and Adobo seasoning. Adobo is a south-american seasoning that you can buy at any Latin American food store or probably at Loblaws too. We put it in everything to give our dishes a bit of a kick. Adobo is very flavourful but not hot. It's a mix of onion powder, garlic powder, Tellicherry black pepper, cumin, salt and powdered mexican oregano. You can also fry up red tomatoes with this recipe but make sure they are not over ripe or they will be mushy. Bon Appétit! 


Ingredients:
- Green tomatoes, sliced about 1/4-1/2" thick
- Salt & Pepper to taste (or Adobo Seasoning if you have some on hand)
- 1/2 cup of flour 
- garden basil 

Directions:
Slice the tomatoes into 1/4 - 1/2-inch slices. Salt and pepper them to taste. Dip in your mixture of flour and seasonings and fry in hot oil about 3 minutes or until golden on bottom. Gently turn and fry the other side. Enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Rice

If you're in the mood for some 'bowl food' as a most-lovely Ozzie frau-mate of mine used it call it, this yummy dish is for you. Just try to overlook the fact that in my picture, it's served on a plate.  Instead of going out and buying a 'sweet & sour' sauce, why not try making your own? It's surprisingly easy and you'll save yourself a few $ at the checkout (there's my frugalista spirit coming out!). This is an easy recipe to double & then freeze for lunches later on. We made ours with rice, but there are lots of yummy alternatives to change things up a bit like bulgar, which is made from wheat, it has a nutty flavor and can be either cooked or soaked and eaten raw; barley, which has another 'nutty like' flavour and a very chewy consistency; or quinoa, “The Gold of the Incas”, a yummy protein-rich seed that has a fluffy, creamy, slightly crunchy texture when cooked. Enjoy & Bon Appétit!

Ingredients:
- browned chicken
- 1 red pepper, cubed
- 1 onion, large chunks
- 1-2 tbs. olive oil
- wild rice (or couscous, barley, quinoa, bulgar ... etc.)

For the sauce:
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbs. corn starch
- 2 cups pineapple chunks
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 3 tbs. soy sauce
- 2 tbs. granulated sugar
- 2tsp. lemon juice
- 1/2 cup water

Directions:
1. Start by getting your rice going: we make ours in a saucepan on the stove by covering the rice with an inch or two of water, boiling it down until all the water is gone and then letting it stand, covered, heat off. This usually takes about 15-20 minutes.
2. Brown your chicken, onion and red pepper with a little olive oil. Set aside.

To make your sauce:
1. Mix 2 tbsp. of cornstarch and 1/2 cup cold water in a small bowl and set aside, this will need to be re-stirred a little later.
2. Combine all of the other 'sauce' ingredients in your saucepan and heat over med.-high heat, stirring continuously.
3. Bring the mixture to a boil.
4. Re-stir your cornstarch/water mixture and pour it into the boiling saucepan - continue stirring.
5. Stir while the mixture is boiling until it thickens to a thick syrup consistency ( this may take several minutes)
6. Remove from heat when desired thickness is achieved. Mix in the chicken, onion and pepper and then serve over your grain.

A New Spin on a Sweet Potatemo: Chili-Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges

Ahh the delicious sweet potato. How I love you. And how good you are served up with sugar & chili powder. This is another recipe from Martha's famous Everyday Food magazine... you'll be seeing many more of these delicious little dishes in future posts, I can guarantee it. What I love about this recipe is that a) these little guys only take about 20 minutes to make, b) they're baked, not fried and c) they're a neat way to spice up an old favourite. These potatemoes are frequent flyers in the Giles' household. Hope that you enjoy them too! Bon Appétit! 


Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 pounds (2-3 medium) sweet potatoes
- 2 tbs. olive oil
- 1 tbs. sugar
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- coarse salt & freshly ground pepper 


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Cut each potato lengthwise into 8 wedges; halve long wedges crosswise.
2. In a plastic bag, toss your potatoes with the olive oil, sugar, chili powder, 1tsp. coarse salt & 1/4 tsp. ground pepper, until well coated.
3. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the sweet potato wedges cut sides down.
4. Roast potatoes until browned and tender, only 15-20 minutes. Season with additional salt, if desired, before serving.

Summer bar-b-qu'ed steaks

Need I say more? I mean, really? A special thank you to the Peacock family for providing these yummy "Peacock Steaks". No, they're not from real peacocks ... they're from the Peacock Family hobby farm close to the Giles' home in Niagara Falls.
Us Giles' are a hibachi charcoal-only family. Many of you will remember the hand-made brick-pile charcoal bar-b-que of 2009. Oh baby. Working with charcoal means that bar-b-queing is a little bit more tricky than turning your bbq to 'on', but oh boy is it ever worth it. We recently procured a charcoal chimney starter which makes lighting the charcoal much easier. We made these yummy steaks with nothing but charcoal and some hickory chips. Served up with some corn on the cob and Diana Sauce... Yummo! Bon Appétit! 

Roasted Tomatoes & Tomatillos

To start... my apologies for seriously neglecting this blog for the past month and a half. I'm going to be better from now on. Promise!


As many of you know, I am a Martha-lover at heart. I think that she's pretty darn amazing. I recently picked up her Everyday Food: Fresh Flavours Fast cookbook. It's fantastic. I love it. I absolutely love it. Not only does it have TONS of exciting, fresh recipes, but it also has PICTURES for all of them. How fantastic is that? Let's face it, if a recipe does not come with a picture, we're much less inclined to try it. Hence the premise of this little bloggidy blog. I also have a subscription to Martha's Everyday Food and think that it's hands down one of the best foodie magazines out there. Highly recommended by Mrs. Giles. This recipe comes out of this new favourite cookbook of mine. Go and get it. You won't be disappointed. It's also a great way to use up lots of those green tomatoes that you have in your garden if you can't find tomatillos at your grocery store. Bon Appétit! 


Ingredients:
- 3/4 pounds tomatillos, husks removed, washed and halved (we used fresh green tomatoes from the garden)
- 3/4 pounds plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise 
- 2 tbs. olive oil
- 2 tsp. ground coriander
- red onion, quartered
Coarse salt & freshly ground pepper


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place tomatillos and tomatoes, cut sides up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with coriander; season with salt & pepper. Toss to combine, then spread in an even layer. We did ours in the toaster oven, they turned out GREAT.
2. Bake until tomatillos and tomatoes are very soft and browned in spots, about 1/2 an hour to 45 minutes. Serve hot, room temperature or chilled. 

Normandy Crêpes

When I was in high school I spent 3 1/2 months in France on exchange. While I was there, I lived with a delightful little French family who had their own crepe maker. The idea was that you could all sit at the table and make your crêpes throughout your meal. I brought over some maple syrup for them but I don't think that they ever really warmed to it. We'd often have crêpes for dinner with an egg cooked on top and served with ham. If you've ever been to Paris, then you've definitely seen the crêperies :) Don't be intimidated - crêpes aren't that hard to make. It just take a little bit of practice to get it right. Bon Appétit!


Ingredients:
2 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tsp. vanilla

2 tbs. sugar (if you want your crepes sweeter)


Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl (or stand mixer if you're lucky enough to have one), mix together all of your wet ingredients (milk, water, eggs, vanilla, butter). Gradually add in the flour, sugar and salt, stirring to combine. Beat until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium heat. Spray with Pam or melt some putter and then pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly. Your first crêpe probably won't turn out too well, but keep up the practice and it'll get easier and easier.
3. Cook the crêpe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown and the top is mostly cooked. Keep the crêpe moving by lightly shaking the pan. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. 

* Depending on how many crêpes you plan on making, you may want to keep a hot oven on the go to keep your stock HOT. You may also want to have 2 frying pans on the go. The recipe above makes about 12 crêpes.

* You may have to adjust your temperature throughout cooking. Be sure to start with a very HOT pan, but at medium heat. You may be tempted to turn the heat higher but you'll just end up burning your crêpes and who want to eat a burned crêpe??

* Be creative in serving your crêpes, yummy combinations can include chocolate & banana, peaches and creme, mixed berries and yoghurt, you name it. Have fun!

Lentil Burgers

We're not vegetarians but we thought we'd give a go on trying lentil burgers. I have to admit that I had to do a lot of meat-loving-husband coaxing to even get him to try this meal. The recipe promised a "high-fiber, low-fat and even lower-cost recipe that turns the traditional beef burger on its head". Not sure about turning the traditional beef burger on its head part, but they were pretty good. I don't think that the photo does it much justice, the original recipe photo must have used a hamburger maker press or something, if they exist, because I ended up having a bit of trouble forming my burgers. They were yummy though and definitely a nice veggie alternative! They'd be a nice option to bring to a bbq. Bon Appétit! 


Ingredients:
1 cup dried green lentils, rinsed
6 cloves of garlic, minced
3/4 cup yellow onion, diced
2 celery stalks, minced
1/4 cup leeks, finely diced
2 tbs. flaxseed, ground (I added chopped walnuts because I didn't have any flaxseed)
5 tsp. dijon mustard
3 tbs. tomato paste
1 tsp. chile powder
1 tsp. tumeric
2 tsp. cumin
1 cup cooked long-grain brown rice
2 tsp. olive oil


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cook lentils according to package directions.
2. In a large bowl, mix the garlic, onion, celery, leeks, flaxseed (walnuts?), dijon, tomato paste, and spices. When lentils are cooked, mash them with the back of a fork, leaving some of them whole. Add mashed lentils and rice to bowl, mix all ingredients together.
3. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. While oil is heating, form lentil-rice mixture into 6 lentil patties. Add them to the pan and cook for 2-3min. per side, until light brown. Transfer the patties to the prepared baking sheet and cook in the oven for 15 minutes until warmed through. Serve with a side-sald and topped with diced tomatoes and avocado if desired.

Butter Chicken & Naan ... Yummo.

So this post is for my twinny, Leah, all the way out there in Saskatoon. Leah is a big fan of our butter chicken, and all things fantastically spiced. This is an Indian dish from Punjab. The only kind of 'out there' ingredient in it is the garam masala. Garam Masala is from the Hindi for garam ('hot') and masala ('mixture') and is essentially just a blend of common Indian & South-Asian spices (commonly black & white peppercorns, cloves, malibar leaves, long pepper,black cumin, cumin seeds, cinnamon; black, brown, & green cardamom,nutmeg, star anise and coriander seeds). And by 'hot' we're talking about the intensity of the spice, and not spicy 'hot'. This is NOT a spicy dish. You should be able to get the garam masala at any grocery store spice isle. It may be under "Indian Masala". To make the meal go a little further, you could serve it with some nice rice. We like to serve it with naan bread. We buy our naan in bulk and keep it frozen in the freezer. If you look in different grocery stores (we're a big fan of Price Chopper) other than Loblaws where they sell the naan for 2 pieces for 4$, you can usually find bulk naan for 10 pieces for 5$. It freezers really well and heats up in a toaster oven really well in just a couple of minutes. Bon Appétit! 


Ingredients:
2 tbs. olive oil (divided)
1 lbs. boneless, skiness chicken cut into bit-sized pieces
1 onion, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbsp. ginger, finely chopped
2 tbsp. butter
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. of each: garam masala & cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup plain yogurt
salt & pepper to taste
Serve with: rice or naan bread


Directions:
1. Heat 1 tbs. oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook chicken until lightly browned, about 10 minutes and then set aside. If serving with rice, start your rice cooking.
2. Heat remaining oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion, garlic and ginger until soft and fragrant. Stir in butter, lemon juice and all of the spices. Cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add tomato sauce, cooking for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the milk and yogurt. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often.
3. Add reserved chicken to sauce and bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes until sauce has thickened and chicken is cooked through. In the mean time, if serving with naan, heat in the oven with a light brushing of olive oil.
4. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.

Homemade Granola

The great thing about do-it-yourself homemade granola is that you can think outside the box and customize it with whatever nuts, seeds, and dried fruit sound good to you. The problem I often find with store-bought granola is that it always seems to skimp on one ingredient or another -- the one that happens to be your favorite, of course.There isn't really a specific recipe to making granola - take a stroll through the isles of your local Bulk Barn and pick and choose some ingredients that look good to you. The main ingredient is rolled oats and you will need 4-5 cups for a batch. You can use your granola as a healthy snack throughout the day, with milk for cereal in the morning or with yogurt as a dessert. When you make granola yourself, you can adjust the proportions to your liking. Add more dried fruit and honey for sweetness and texture, nuts for richness, even a little vanilla or apple cider for flavor. Bon Appétit!


Ingredients that I often throw in could include:
- 4-5 cups of large rolled oats (NOT the quick oats!)
- sunflower seeds
- walnuts
- dried apricots, cranberries or mangoes
- 1/2 cup of shredded coconut
- sliced almonds
- wheat germ
- raisins
- figs
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup honey 


Instructions:
1. Line an 8x11 baking dish with parchment paper or greased aluminum foil, set oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix all of your ingredients in a bowl and pour the honey over top, mix again.
3. Bake your ingredients in the oven for 25 minutes to 1/2 an hour - stirring every 10 minutes, until the granola is golden brown. Watch your granola carefully so that it does not burn.  Enjoy!

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake (A.mazing.)

This cheesecake is a Giles haus favourite. It shows up here and there and is often devoured on site. Your "crazy bad for you" siren should be going off right about now just looking at it, but oh boy is it ever good.  “Dulce-de-Leche“ is Spanish for “milk-candy” and is the basis for many classic Latin and South-American desserts. It is a delicious, caramelly sauce that you can actually make by yourself by boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk for about 40 minutes. Or, to go on the safe side, you can pick it up at any grocery store (I often find it in the honey, jams and peanut butter section). ¡Buen provecho! 

By the way, if you're keen to try the starbursty top, here's a great link

Ingredients:

Crust

- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs 

- 3 tbsp. butter, melted
- pinch of sugar

Filling

- 3 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese (24 oz. total) – softened to room temperature

- 1 cup superfine granulated sugar 

- 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour 

- 2 tsp. vanilla extract 

- 3 eggs 

- 1/3 cup whole milk 

- 1/2 cup Dulce de leche sauce (+ more for serving)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). 

2. Mix crust ingredients together, and press into the bottom of a lightly buttered 9-inch springform pan. Place pan on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. 

3. Reset oven temperature to 325°F (160°C). 

4. With an electric mixer beat cream cheese, sugar and flour together until well mixed and smooth. Add vanilla and beat until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until smooth. Add milk and mix until well blended. 

5. Measure 1/2 cup of the cheesecake batter and pour into a small bowl. Add Dulce de Leche sauce and stir until well combined. 

6. Pour plain batter over crust. Top with Dulce de leche batter by placing rounded spoonfuls over the cheesecake batter and gently swirl into plain batter with the tip of knife or spatula. 

7. Bake in preheated 325°F (160°C) oven in a water bath for 45-55 minutes or until center is almost set. The water bath helps prevent the cheesecake from cracking. After the cheesecake looks done, just turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in the oven for another hour so that it cools very slowly (again, this helps prevent cracking). Remove from oven and gently run metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cheesecake (cracking...). Let cool 30 minutes outside of oven before covering and placing in the refrigerator. Refrigerate 4 to 6 hours or overnight before serving. If desired, serve each slice drizzled with a little bit of dulce de leche sauce, or pass around a bowl of dulce de leche sauce for guest's to help themselves.

Cayenne-Rubbed Chicken with Avocado Salsa

This is a dish from one of my favourite foodie magazines "Everyday Food", by none other than Martha Stewart. For some time I had a subscription to Martha's "Martha Stewart" magazine but got tired of the 12 page articles on gravy boats and Easter Eggs and exquisite (ie. EXPENSIVE) dishes that were just too over the top (that said, what I wouldn't give for a 'linens room' in my own Turkey Hill, which, remarkably is on the market at present for $4,500,000). When I discovered "Everyday Food" though, I was in heaven. It's recipes for normal people and comes highly recommended by Kendra Giles.
This is a yummy, zippy meal that I often just serve up with a side of greens or asparagus. The buttery and cool avocado is such a treat with the spicy cayenne pepper. Enjoy! Bon Apétit!


Ingredients:
- Coarse salt and ground pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6 to 8 ounces each)
- 2 tbs. olive oil
- 1 medium red onion, finely diced
- 2 tbs. lime juice
- 1 avocado, pitted and cut into chunks


Directions:
1. In a small bowl, combine 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and cayenne; rub all over chicken.
2. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium. Add chicken, and cook until browned on the outside and opaque throughout, 8 to 10 minutes per side.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine onion and lime juice; set aside. Just before serving, fold avocado chunks into onion mixture; season with salt and pepper. Serve chicken topped with salsa.
4. Serve with spring greens mix or with asparagus.

Spinach, Asparagus & Salmon with Blackberry Glaze

This is a gorgeous, bright summer meal. Baking the salmon and steaming the asparagus are good ways to make the meal cleaner, but I decided to sauté the asparagus in a tiny bit of butter to give them a nice, rich taste. This was my first experience steering away from my usual way of cooking salmon (frying and then serving with lemon juice... which, I must say, is still very, very delicious!). The bright pink salmon, purple berries and a background of deep green veggies definitely satisfied both the eye and the tummy. This meal looks difficult, but it's really, really not. From Clean Eating magazine. Bon Apétit!

Ingredients:
- Salmon fillet, skin and bones removed
- Olive oil cooking spray
- 2 cups asparagus tips
- 2 cups blackberries
- 1-2 peaches
- 2 tsp. raw honey
- 4 tsp. soy sauce
- 2 tsp. dark sesame oil
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 6 cups greens (ex. spinach, arugula, dandelion... be creative!) 
- 4 large scallions, cut on the diagonal


Instructions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Given that you're not baking much, I recommend you cook up your fish in a toaster oven if you have one. Mist a baking sheet and divide the salmon in to individual servings. Bake the salmon for about 18-20 minutes (when done the salmon will flake but still stay together). 
2) Cook the asparagus by steaming either in the microwave or with a steamer (or you can sauté in butter which I recommend!)
3) Take about 16 blackberries and put them in a small bowl; set the remaining blackberries aside. Mash the 16 blackberries, the add honey, soy sauce, oil and orange juice. Stir to combine (your berries will still be chunky).
4) Serve! Arrange the greens, asparagus and salmon on your plate and then drizzle with the blackberry glaze. You can garnish your salad with orange zest and the remainder of your blackberries.

Yummy Summer Drink - The classic, Shirley Temple.

I don't make too many fancy drinks, but I generally always have a bottle of grenadine syrup on hand to give a sweet kick to punches. Grenadine is essentially red liquid sugar. High-fructose corn syrup to be precise. It used to be made of pomegranate juice ("grenadines" en français). You can buy a bottle of grenadine syrup at any grocery store. 


Shirley Temples are delicious summer drinks that come highly recommended by Gilesies and have been a long-time favourite by most children at Swiss Chalet. Of course the drink is named after the biggest child star in history and doesn't contain any alcohol. Serve with fresh fruit and enjoy!


Ingredients to mix together:
- 1-2 tsp. of grenadine syrup
- 1/2 glass of orange juice
- 1/2 glass of ginger ale or some other limey/lemony carbonated drink
- fruit to garnish 

Orange Broccoli Stir Fry with Honey & Almonds

Today's post is quite a tummy tickler with LOTS of bold, zesty tastes. I really like how bright the meal is as well with all sorts of different colours. Jeremy tells me that he now really likes this blog because it means that he's eating well :) One little tip with this meal is the beef. We always buy a roast and cut it in to 5-6 different meal-sized portions... that way it goes much further.
Bon appétit! Ingredients

- 1 pound beefsteak, cut into thin strips 

- 4 teaspoons soy sauce

- 2 teaspoons minced fresh gingerroot

- 1 teaspoon finely grated orange peel + remainder of orange cut in to thin slices

- 1 tablespoon olive oil

- 2 cups fresh broccoli florets

- 1 small sweet red pepper, cut into strips

- 3 tbs. picante sauce (or tabasco)

- 1 teaspoon honey

- 1 tablespoon cornstarch

- 1/3 cup orange juice

- Sliced almonds, optional

- Hot cooked rice or egg noodles

Directions

• Toss meat with soy sauce, ginger and orange peel; set aside for 10 minutes.
• Heat oil in a wok or large skillet on high. Stir-fry mixture just until meat is no longer pink; remove. Add broccoli, pepper, picante sauce and sugar to skillet. Cover; reduce heat to simmer. Cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes.
• Combine cornstarch and orange juice until smooth; add to skillet along with meat and onions. Cook and stir 1 minute or until sauce is thickened. Sprinkle with almonds and orange slices if desired. Serve with rice or noodles.

Grandma's Hot & Spicy Meatballs

This 2nd post is a special shout out to my grandma Dorothy. She's one mean cook and one of her specialties is her infamous Hot & Spicy meatballs. There wouldn't be a Hartley Christmas without em'. These meatballs really seem to bring out the best, and worst, in us. I made them for a very special fraumate's wedding a few years back and they were a big hit. There's never a meatball left when they are served as appetizers & potlucks. They have about 50 ingredients and a very special secret ingredient, which you'd never guess. Since I'm sharing my recipes though and want your meatballs to taste just as good as my grandma's, I'll tell you what that very special ingredient is: grape jelly.  Yup. It's true. Grape jelly is what makes em'. I'd have never guessed it, but according to my gram, you can't substitute it for any other kind of jelly - apparently they just won't taste the same. Even though this recipe calls for a ton of ingredients, it's totally worth it. Bon appétit! 


For the meat balls:

2 eggs

2-3 tsp horseradish

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 lbs of ground beef

1/2 cup bread crumbs

Mix all ingredients together & shape in to 1” balls. Bake at 350⁰ on slightly greased baking sheet about 20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes or so.

For the sauce:

1 onion finely chopped

1 clove garlic crushed

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup or more grape jelly (don't use any other jelly, as it does not taste the same)

1/2 cup or more ketchup

1/2 cup or more of chilli sauce (or you can use salsa)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup cider vinegar (you can use white)

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp mustard

1 tbsp Tabasco or hot pepper sauce

Place all ingredients in a sauce pan, bring to a boil, reduce, simmer uncovered  for 5 minutes. Place meat balls in sauce and simmer covered in the pot or bake them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 1/2 an hour. Serve them nice and hot out of the oven or you can freeze them until ready to use. If this is the case, after your meat balls thaw out, bake them covered for about 1/2 to 3/4 hour at 350 degrees until they look done.

- Grandma Hartley