Grandma Got Runover By a Reindeer!

T// Christmas Sugar Cookies with Homemade Royal Icing!

My first Christmas Sugar Cookies! Slaved all day baking and trying to cut out shapes with a steak knife, so is the life of the baker with no cookie cutters. Ended up with whimsical triangles decorated with icing as Christmas trees, actual Christmas tree shapes, candy canes, and one star/snowflake. The icing process was definitely the highlight. Had an afternoon bake-off with my momtoday; we made a combined total of 4 types of cookies, 6-7 batches total.

It's that time of the year.... PEANUT BUTTER WALNUT TIME!! (again)

T// Walnut Peanut Butter Cookies Part II

So I decided to dedicate the day to baking and settled on my good ol' walnut peanut butter cookies once again and something a little festive (see next post). I'm one of those people who get giddy-like-a-kiddy around Christmas time, so tying those little bows on my cookies at the end, reminiscent of gift-giving, made my tiring day slaving over my kitchenaid and the oven worth it. =)

Finger Lickin' Good! (Yes. It's REAL chicken.)

T// Popcorn Chicken!

My rendition of finger lickin' good popcorn chicken, made with REAL chicken breasts. I decided to serve it with a side of Spicy Mayo and Plum Sauce just to spice it up and forgo the usual ketchup. Delish!

Cơm Sườn Xả Pack Lunch!

J//Cơm Sườn Xả Pack Lunch

Pork chops marinated with fish sauce, garlic, lots of ginger, soy sauce and fresh lemon grass. Garnished with sauteed green onions. All atop a bed of white rice, served with cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. pack lunch IS for cool kids!

Saucy, Saucy Parfaits

T// Homemade Parfaits Part II

More yogurt in the house inspired this healthy snack. Based atop passion fruit herbal jello, these parfaits were layered (not in this order) with mini clementines, crushed toasted walnuts, diced apples, raspberry & strawberry yogurt, dried cranberries, crushed honey oats cereal, and a homemade apple sauce with a spicy kick.

Guaca-mol-y-mol-y-mol-y

T// Quesadillas & Guacamole

Today's Lunch: Extra crispy Beef Quesadillas with lots of cheese, corn, cherry tomatoes, sauteed and fresh mushrooms, and bell peppers served with homemade fresh guacamole with cilantro, corn, cherry tomatoes, green, red, and white onions. A Mexican platter of deliciousness.

Cơm Sườn Xả + Nước Mắm = Delicious

J// Cơm Sườn Xả

Pork chops marinated with fish sauce, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, lemon grass, and honey. Garnished with sauteed green onions. All atop a bed of white rice. Keep'n it real, there's a side of sliced cucumbers and tomatoes. My favorite part of the dish is the small bowl of spicy homemade fish sauce for dipping, aka. Nước Mắm.

Knock Knock, Who's There?, Pasta..., Pasta Who?, Pasta Salt Please!

J// Pepper Crusted Salmon / Garlic & Oil Pasta

Quick late night dinner thats Healthy and Hearty! This meal was easy on the eyes and the stomach. Garlic and Oil pasta tossed with parmesan reggiano, lots of italian parsley, and some halved cherry tomatoes. Deliciously light and flavorful. Atop this bed of garlicy goodness is a (one side) pepper crusted salmon filet. Quite possibly one of my favorite pasta dishes to make.

[(Eggs) + (Evaporated Milk) - (Time)] x Sugar x Caramel = FLAN!

T// My first FLAN!

Not having posted and cooked for so long, I decided to make something quick, easy, yet delicious this Saturday morning, and came up with this classic Crème Caramel (Flan). You have no idea the joy I derive from eating eggs. So you can just imagine how much I love Flan. Learning from this first Flan experience, for next time, I'd set the heat lower to avoid bubbles and the mildly not-so-flat bottom...and use MORE caramel. =) Either way, it came out creamy, milky, and caramel-ly (yum.). Be sure to be on the lookout for Flan Part II!

Papi's Fish Tacos! Like em' hard or soft?

J// Papi's Fish Tacos

I've never had fish tacos before, but following T//'s suggestion lead me to this delicious relaxed dinner. Seared Boston Blue Fish, topped with a tangy medley of tomatoe, cilantro, cheddar chunks, garlic, and lemon, with a bit of tzatziki, all wrapped with a soft tortilla. Awesomely fun, fresh, and flavorful dinner.

Sorry, Mr. Krabs

T// California Rolls with fresh Blue Crab

A fresh and healthy meal, these rolls consisted of blue crab meat with spicy mayo, cucumber, avocado, and bell peppers just for some added color. Blue crab is actually the soft shell crab used in spider rolls used right before molting.

Toppings: LOTS of Fish eggs and/or Crab eggs & tomalley.

More Winter Denial..

T// Iced Cappuccino with Fresh Whipped Cream

Awesome study drink (2.5 shots of expresso, albeit dispersed into 2 cups) with all the caffeine you could need, and an added treat: fresh homemade whipped cream. Yum!

Mami's Salsa

T// Salsa served with Tortilla Chips

After a long day of studying, making (and eating) this salsa made for a good study break. A refreshing app with nostalgic flavours of summer. Great for winter-phobs like me!

It's Peanut Butter Walnut Time!

T// Walnut Peanut Butter Cookies

These cookies are a wonderful combination of soft centers with slightly browned edges, making it chewy with the right amount of crisp. I modified the original recipe to my liking - hence the walnuts and the subtle sweetness as opposed to chocolate chips and more sugar. Goes great with a hot cup of tea!

Are you a Mexican, or a Mexicant?

J// Delicious fresh homemade Guacamole!

Quesadillas at home without any salsa or sour cream resulted in this last minute side. Made with avacado, tomato, onion, garlic, little S&P, freshened up with a little lemon juice (i was out of lime). I am a MexiCan!

Ice, Ice, Baby.

T// Homemade Avocado Ice Cream

Pretty pleased with my first homemade ice cream attempt. Tastes like Avocado Milkshakes in a bowl, but creamier, richer, and with the slight tang of sour cream. Served with sliced bananas, strawberries, and chocolate syrup.

Muffin Top!

T// Fresh Zucchini Muffins

These zucchini muffins with crushed walnuts & dried cranberries turned out great: crispy muffin top, and soft inside. A nice change from the usual sugary/sweet muffins.

Who needs Duff?

T// Fondant Sponge Cake

My first fondant cake! I'm quite proud of this, spent a hell of a long time trying different fondant recipes... Lesson learned: Don't use the one that requires a giant bowl of microwaved marshmellows.....

Baking in the BackCountry

J// Camp fire baked Bannock

Delicious buttery cheesy bannock, baked over the camp fire to get a cripsy golden bottom, then stood up to face the fire to bake the top. A camping Must-Have!

Brunch at home

J// My Rendition of Eggs Benny (but with BEEF!)

From plate up, we have two thin slices of toasted rye bread, a bed of spring greens, sauteed beef and onions, a poached egg, all smothered with a lemony hollandaise sauce.

Summer Long Weekend

T// Backyard Grillage

~ Grilled T-bone steak
~ Grilled veggies
~ Bacon-stuffed & baked potato topped with sour cream, bacon & chopped chives
~ Crispy flat bread with cheese, sliced mushrooms, and freshly diced tomatoes
~ Pasta in a tomato sauce garnished with chives

Homemade Parfaits!

T// Homemade Parfaits! (very yum.)

From the Bottom up:
~ Honeydew flavoured herbal jello
~ Fresh Blueberries
~ Raspberry/Strawberry/Banana-Strawberry yogurt
~ Ripe plum puree
~ Honey Oats cereal & dried cranberries

Garnish:
~ Fresh Mint
~ Plum slices

Because Apple is a wonderful thing

Apples make the world go round.