Coffee Beans

Its no secret, I like coffee, in fact I can't really function without it. Me minus coffee on any given day = grouchy, cranky, headachey etc. All in all, not fun! So I must have coffee... good coffee! I'm always checking out new types of coffee and the other day I stumbled across this delicious coffee put out by Level Ground Trading. I'm not really one to get sucked into all the fair trade, organic stuff, but after checking out their website, this company does some cool things and also does some great things for the people they buy their products from. So I thought I would share with you!

According to their webside, their mission is to "...trade fairly and directly with small-scale producers in developing countries, offering our customers ethical choices." So we've got a company thats going to source high quality, delicious products and pay their suppliers a fair price?! Awesome! Another cool thing about this company? They're based in Victoria, British Columbia! I won't go too crazy about their history, but you can check it out here if you're interested! These folks uphold some pretty high standards though, what with being certified organic, zero-waste, participatants in upcycling and green commuters I don't think you can get much more virtuous than that!!!

Level Ground sources delicious coffee from locations such as Peru, Columbia, Bolivia, Tanzania and Ethiopia. They also source dried fruit and sugar. They have been slowly building up their product base over time as they build relationships with the farmers who grow the products they source. One of the things that struck me was the fact that the bag of coffee said "We shake the hands that pick our beans". You can go on their website and look up detailed information about each individual farm that grows the products they source! To me this just shows what a great company this is - the fact that they can put relationships and fair trade above the ever pressing drive to make a quick buck. It pays off though - they've got some delicious, high-quality products that deserve to be shared. I would encourage you next time you buy coffee to check out a bag of Level Ground coffee to support a great company!

Cheers!

Speedy Cinnamon Rolls

Need something to whip up for breakfast tomorrow? Love cinnamon buns, but don't want to get up super, duper early to get them rising before everyone in your house gets out of bed? Make these speedy cinnamon rolls - delicious, tender cinnamon rolls without yeast!! Oh yeah, thats right - no yeast therefore you can make these in under an hour!! And the ingredients are very basic, so you likely have them on hand. So go ahead, make a delicious Sunday morning breakfast that your family will love!

Speedy Cinnamon Rolls

Recipe from The Guy Can't Cook

Ingredients:

• 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour


• 3 tbsp granulated sugar


• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder


• 1/2 tsp salt


• 1 cup of buttermilk (or one cup of plain yogurt will work too!)


• 1/2 cup whipping cream (I've used milk in a pinch and they've turned out fine)


• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for brushing


• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened


• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar


• 1/4 cup granulated sugar


• 2 tsp ground cinnamon

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.


2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, cream, and melted butter. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and stir until the liquid is just absorbed - don't worry if it looks a little dry. Turn the dough out onto the counter and knead it lightly, just until it holds together. Knead in a little more flour if the dough seems sticky.


3. On a piece of parchment or waxed paper, lightly form the dough into a rectangle. Use your hand or a rolling pin to gently roll until its about 18 by 10 inches.


4. Spread the dough with the softened butter. Combine the brown sugar, white sugar, and cinnamon. Dust the mixture evenly over the dough.


5. Starting with the long end, roll the dough as tightly as you can, using the parchment paper to aid you. Pinch the seam to seal and place the roll, seam-side down, on the counter. Cut the dough roll into 12 even pieces using a sharp knife or a piece of dental floss (to use the dental floss, simply slide the floss under the log, cross the ends of the floss over the log and pull to slice through the dough).


6. Pick up each slice carefully, pinching the base slightly to fit each roll into a cup in an extra large, non-stick muffin pan. Brush rolls with melted butter.


7. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Turn the rolls out onto a cooling rack and serve while still warm. Makes 12 rolls.

I hope this recipe makes it onto your to-bake list! Its worth it. The other weekend I baked a batch to take camping and we ate them for breakfasts with coffee - they were a hit! Everyone loved them and they disappeared quickly.

Happy Baking my Friends! I am pretty excited - I borrowed my friend D's ice cream maker attachment for my KitchenAid mixer and have some chocolate ice cream chilling in the fridge right now until it is cold enough to start churning in the icecream maker! Can't wait!

Cherry Pie!

Whew! What an insane week. I don't know where the time went, but it sure flew by fast. My hubby is out of town and I've been studying and working like crazy, oh and trying to fit in a few 6am spin classes to squeeze in some much needed exercise too! Any way, last weekend during some of my *ahem* spare time, I decided to use up my 10lbs of cherries I purchased in the Okanagan while we were there. So I made cherry pie! YUM!! I think this was my best cherry pie yet - this claim can be backed by various co-workers' rave reviews, including one cherry pie afficianado who claims it is the best cherry pie he has ever tasted. Hows that for an ego boost?

You're probably thinking this is a lot of work, or some outrageous recipe. Nope! Sure isn't. Its just Anna Olson's basic cherry pie recipe from her cookbook Fresh. I tweaked the recipe a little. Here is where you can find the original recipe.


Now, I made a few changes! First off - for the pastry - I used all butter (one whopping cup of buttery goodness) instead of half butter and half shortening. I think it lead to a flakier and richer tasting crust. You could definitely taste the butter. Be warned, this does make the pastry a tad more difficult to work with because it heats up and the butter melts a lot faster, so keep handling to a minimum and be sure to chill thoroughly prior to working with the pastry.

Next, I used sweet cherries because thats what was for sale in the Okanagan while I was there. To thicken the pie filling, I used a mix of half cornstarch and half flour, I also used a heaping quarter cup (total) of the cornstarch/flour mixture as I found that in the past the filling was a tad runny. This slight adjustment lead to the perfect consistency of pie filling!

An thats it! Easy, peasy!


Happy Baking my Friends! I promise to try to catch my neglected blog up to speed with some interesting posts this weekend. :)

Skinny Caesar Salad

If you've been following my blog, or browsing my archives, you may have noticed that I don't post many healthy recipes. I love baking, and most baking recipes are inherently laden with fat! And the recipes I usually make from my fav cookbooks are also usually laden with fat too... I do make healthy recipes most of the time during the week, but I don't usually blog about them because I'm always in a rush to get dinner on the table and never bother to photograph any of the healthy things I make... why would people want to read healthy recipes and look at pictures of healthy food?! *gasp*!!

Any way, getting on with the story, I whip this up on a super busy weeknight and plop it on the table in front of my husband and he stops me before we dig in and says "aren't you going to photograph this? It looks like restaurant food". Of course I burst out laughing, but was secretly flattered that he thought dinner looked that good!! It honestly made my day. So, I took pictures and decided to share it with you because it is a delicious and easy healthy recipe that even the most discerning caesar salad lover will enjoy!

Skinny Chicken Caesar
Recipe adapted from Cook Yourself Thin
Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts


• 2 heads romaine lettuce


• two handfuls of low fat croutons (I like the herb and garlic ones)


• 2 medium eggs


• 2 tbsp grated parmesan


• one recipe of caesar dressing (see below for recipe)

Method:

1. Preheat your grill and grill the chicken breasts with a little salt and pepper, or any seasonings you like. Remove from grill and let rest until the rest of the salad is ready to go.


2. Wash the lettuce and dry. Chop or tear the lettuce leaves into bite size pieces.


3. Carefully drop eggs into boiling water for 4 minutes exactly (for a runny center, for a soft, but not runny center, cook more like 6 minutes). Remove from boiling water and immediately immerse in cold water. Leave in cold water until the rest of the salad is ready.


4. Place the lettuce leaves in the bowl you mixed up the dressing in and toss together to coat. Add the parmesan and toss again.


5. Divide the coated lettuce among your serving plates. Slice the chicken and place on top of the lettuce. Sprinkle with croutons and a little extra parmesan if desired. Slice the egg in half and place on the plate as well. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper and serve.

Caesar Dressing
Recipe from Cook yourself Thin

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp fat free greek yogurt


• 1/2 garlic clove, minced


• 2 tsp dijon mustard


• 1 tsp malt vinegar


• 1 tbsp olive oil


• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Combine all dressing ingredients in the bowl you will toss your salad in. Whisk together until emulsified and creamy.

Happy Cooking my Friends!

Cranberry Oat Scones

Want a delicious and easy breakfast you can whip up quick on the weekend? Make these awesome scones! If you have house guests, whip them up and pop them in the oven before they get up in the morning and they will be impressed, and you don't even have to tell them how easy they were!!

Cinda Chavich's (author of The Guy Can't Cook) tip on perfect scones is "a light touch - don't handle the dough too much or your scones will become heavy". Follow her advice and you'll end up with light and fluffy scones every time. The reason this tip works so well? When you cut the butter into the mixture it stays cold so that it fills up pockets in the dough. When you bake the scones the butter melts leaving a lovely fluffy scone. If you handle the dough too much, the butter will melt before the scones are baked, therefore leaving a more dense scone with a heavy texture. :)

Cranberry Oat Scones
Recipe from The Guy Can't Cook

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour


• 1/4 cup granulated sugar, divided


• 1 tbsp baking powder


• 3/4 tsp baking soda


• 1/2 tsp salt


• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes


• 1 cup rolled oats


• 3/4 cup dried cranberries (I used cranberries from here)


• 2 tbsp finely grated orange zest


• 2/3 cup buttermilk

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 425F.


2. In a food processor, combine the flour, 3 tbsp of the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is chopped into small pieces and the mixture is crumbly. Pour into a large bowl and stir in the oats and cranberries.


3. In another bowl, whisk together the orange zest and buttermilk and add to the dry ingredients. Stir quickly with a fork until the batter begins to cling together.


4. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently pat into an 8 inch square about 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut into four 4-inch squares, then slice each square crosswise to make 8 triangular scones. Set triangles on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the tops with buttermilk and sprinkle with remaining sugar.


5. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden, then transfer to cooling rack.

I hope you enjoy these delightful scones! I recommend you make a double batch because they won't last long. Happy Baking my Friends!

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes!

I made these quite a while ago and was on the fence whether to post them. I wasn't entirely satisfied with the photos, but in the end, the taste won out... these are delish! I made them for my sister's birthday party along with mini oreo cookies and cream cheesecakes and mini raspberry swirl cheesecakes... is anyone picking up on a theme here? You would have to be quite the baking nerd to pick up on it... but I had a bit of an obsession with Martha Stewart Cupcakes at that time and as such, these are all cute desserts from her cookbook. I borrowed the cookbook from my friend D and I honestly didn't want to give it back... but I did what any good friend would do, I scanned half the recipes onto my computer then finally, reluctantly returned the cookbook.

Any way, I am trying to pack for camping this weekend, so I'm gonna make this post a quick one... without further delay, here is the recipe for snickerdoodle cupcakes. Top with seven minute frosting and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and you are set. Any seven minute frosting recipe will do... they are all pretty much the same. Here is one you can try.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Martha Stewart Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour


• 1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self rising), sifted


• 1 tbsp baking powder


• 1/2 tsp salt


• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon, plus 1/2 tsp for dusting


• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature


• 1 3/4 cups sugar, plus 2 tbsp for dusting


• 4 large eggs, room temperature


• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract


• 1 1/4 cups milk


• 1 recipe seven minute frosting (link above)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together both flours, baking powder, salt and 1 tbsp cinnamon.


2. With a stand mixer on medium high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combine after each addition.


3. Divide batter evenly among 28 lined cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks and cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored up to two days at room temperature, or frozen up to two months, in airtight containers.


4. To finish, combine remaining 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 2 tbsp sugar. Using a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip, pipe frosting onto each cupcake. Hold bag over cupcake with tip just above top, and squeeze to create a dome of frosting, then release pressure and pull up to form a peak. Using a small, fine sieve, dust peaks with cinnamon-sugar. Cupcakes are best eaten the day they are frosted; keep at room temperature until ready to serve.

Enjoy!! Happy Baking my Friends!!

How to... Roast Garlic

I share a lot of recipes with you on this blog... lots of them easy, some of them more involved, but I realized earlier this week, that sometimes I put ingredients in the recipes that I know how to make, but a lot of people would just go out and buy. So I decided I'm going to start doing some "How To" posts that discuss the techniques or methods for producing those ingredients at home. Usually those ingredients are far more delicious when you make them yourself, far more economical, and are often quite easy to make. So for my first "How To" post, I'm going to share with you how to make roasted garlic at home. Its super easy and you can do it while you're watching your favorite show on TV!

Slice the top 1/4 inch off a whole head of garlic, making sure the tops of all of the cloves on the head have been cut off so the garlic inside is exposed. This will make sure all of the cloves on the head roast evenly and carmelize nicely. Then cut out a square of aluminum foil that is large enough to wrap up the entire head of garlic in. Fold up the sides to envelop the head of garlic, leaving the top of the head exposed. Drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil and season with a tiny bit of kosher salt if desired. Then wrap the foil up over the whole head, closing up the package, but not sealing it tightly.

Roast the garlic in a 350F oven for approximately 50 minutes until your house smells delicious and the garlic has turned a lovely golden colour. Open up the garlic foil package to let the garlic cool until it is cool enough to handle and then squeeze out all the roasted garlic goodness for whatever you decide to use it for.

Now, you may notice that I have a whole tray full of roasted garlic... what am I going to do with all of it? Well, I'll tell you. I roast garlic in huge batches and then squeeze out two heads into freezer bags. Then I freeze the roasted garlic and use it whenever I feel like it. You can freeze roasted garlic for up to 6 months and it will still taste delicious. Or if you don't want to freeze it, it stays good in the fridge for about one week.


Happy Cooking my Friends!