Category: appetizer

Cheddar Cornmeal Muffins

Photo of cheddar cornmeal muffins on a green and white antique plate

Today was the perfect day for soup and savoury muffins – our first snow of the year. I know, lots of you might think Canada is a winter wonderland, but on the west coast we rarely get snow, so Feb 2 is about right for a first snow of the year. Really wet snow.

I’ve made this recipe so many times, but it wasn’t until a group of friends celebrated CheddaFest* that I realized I really needed to share this with all of you. It whips up really quickly, and is the best accompaniment to soup. I often make a broccoli leek soup with them, something really light and healthy. These muffins make it a meal.

The recipe comes from FoolproofLiving.com. A few changes that I made to the original recipe: I didn’t add corn kernels or dill. I didn’t have whole wheat flour, so I made it with All Purpose, and used Oatmilk in place of whole milk. I have made this so many times, and never saw the instruction saying to let the batter rest for half an hour…. The recipe says to bake for 22-25 minutes, but mine was done at 20, even when I accidentally had the oven set for 400 degrees instead of 425.

These are best when they have been freshly baked. I’ve also eaten them after they had been sitting at room temperature for a few days, and they are still good, especially if warmed up a little! I usually freeze some of these, in a ziploc bag, and I try to remove as much air as I can.

Makes 12 muffins.

What you need:

  • 113 grams unsalted butter (or add less salt to the dry ingredients if you have salted butter
  • 3/4 cup milk (oatmilk is fine)
  • 2 eggs – room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1 & 1/4 cups flour (AP or WW)
  • 1 cup cornmeal -fine grind
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1 cup scallions/green onions, chopped
  • 1 cup aged Cheddar cheese

What you do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a muffin pan with 12 paper liners.
  2. Great the cheddar and chop the scallions.
  3. Melt and let the butter sit until it has cooled down.
  4. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and pepper.
  5. Beat the eggs with a fork, then add the milk, honey, and cooled butter.
  6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Fold the ingredients together, but not completely.
  7. Add 3/4 of the cheddar and all of the scallions. Mix just until combined. Any more mixing will make the muffins tough.
  8. Use a large spoon to place batter into the muffin tin liners, trying to make sure they are about equal.
  9. Sprinkle remaining cheddar on top or each muffin.
  10. Bake for 20-25 minutes, checking around 20 minutes. They should be lightly browned, and an inserted toothpick should come out clean.
  11. Remove the muffins from the oven, and after 5 minutes, remove the muffins from the tin.
  12. Feel free to eat them while they are warm! If you want to freeze them, make sure they are completely cool first.

*CheddaFest is a holiday we made up when some friends were interested in learning some cooking and baking skills. And we all really needed to not think about work for a while!

Garlicky Roasted Mushrooms and Brie

For Christmas Eve, we enjoyed this awesome roasted mushroom and cheese dish on slices of fresh baguette! It’s pretty quick to prepare, ready in around a half hour including baking time. It was so tasty, and felt quite indulgent! We also thought it would be great with just the mushrooms, so next time that’s probably what we will try.

The recipe comes from the Smitten Kitchen website, a huge favourite of mine. Her printed cookbooks are great too! I made one change to the recipe: her version called for capers, but my Main Eater doesn’t enjoy capers so I substituted olives to provide that salty flavour. She suggests anchovies as a substitute, but those are also not a favourite here. I used a bit more garlic than the recipe called for, and served it with freshly sliced baguette instead of toasted baguette, just to keep it simple. I opted for Camembert, but gooey Brie would also be awesome!

This was way more than the two of us could eat, so it is safe to say this would be a good amount for an appetizer for four people.

Photo of a serving dish containing roasted mushrooms with a round of cheese in the centre, placed on a cutting board surrounded by slices of baguette.

What you need:

  • 1 lb mushrooms (I used Cremini and King Oyster)
  • 2 tablespoons minced olives (or capers)
  • 3-4 cloves minced garlic (not run through a garlic press)
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt (or less to taste)
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 3 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter
  • juice of half a lemon (or less)
  • a few sprigs of parsley (garnish)
  • a few sprigs of fresh thyme if you have it
  • 8 oz wheel of Brie or Camembert
  • baguette, sliced or toasted

What you do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 425F.
  2. Break the mushrooms up into bite-sized pieces using your hands. I just cut the ends off the stalks first, then tore the mushrooms up.
  3. Mix together the mushrooms, olives, garlic, salt, oil and quite a bit of pepper in a baking dish, large enough that it will have enough room to add the cheese later.
  4. Cut the butter up into small chunks and sprinkle it over the mushroom mixture.
  5. Roast for 15 minutes, turning halfway through.
  6. While the mushrooms are in the oven, use a knife to score a circle in the top of the cheese, then remove the top of the cheese. This will allow for easier serving. (You CAN eat the rind).
  7. Push the mushrooms aside to make a space for the cheese. Place the cheese in the middle of the baking dish, place the fresh thyme on top of the cheese, then put it all back in the oven for about 10 minutes. The cheese should be melted, so if it’s not, you can give it a few more minutes in the oven.
  8. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the mushrooms and garnish with parsley. Serve immediately!

Gochujang Chicken Strips – Air Fryer Version

photo of breaded chicken strips on a plate with red chili sauce in a bowl

These chicken strips are really easy to whip up in an Air Fryer. With a bit of spice and a crunchy exterior, they’re pretty addictive!

The majority of the recipes I post are recipes that someone else has created; most of the time I make some changes to the recipe, and sometimes I follow the recipe to the T. This one I made up myself, and I have to tell you it’s a good one!!

It’s been far too long since I last posted a recipe on here, but I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel in my Master’s program. I haven’t been taking any photos of my food makes for a long time, so when I made up this recipe last night I again didn’t take a photos. I did remember what I put in the recipe, and it was so good that I had to make it again tonight, and this time I took a few photos.

What’s so great about this recipe, you ask? Well . . . these chicken strips are really tender thanks to the air fryer cooking method, and the chili coating brings a ton of flavour to them. Plus there’s no added oil, other than a little bit that you spray on the cooking surface.

Gochujang is a Korean chili paste that has a little heat, a little sweetness, and is slightly fermented. You can find Gochujang paste at any Korean grocery store; I get mine at Kim’s on Broadway in Vancouver.

I was a holdout on the Air Fryer purchase, but the more I read peoples’ opinions on it and heard from friends what they liked about it, I figured I should look into it. I do not like to have a ton of machines, and the Air Fryer machine is quite large, so I bought the Air Fryer lid for the Instant Pot that I already own. Since then I’ve done a lot of roasted veggies, Agadashi Tofu, and a few different chicken strip recipes. All have been excellent, and all have taken so little time that I am motivated to try more recipes. I made this recipe, start to finish, in less time than it would take me to preheat my oven.

I served these with Air Fryer roasted cauliflower last night, and tonight I made breaded zucchini in the Air Fryer. Air Fryer fries are also awesome! I dipped the chicken in a sweet chili sauce, but feel free to use your sauce of choice or no sauce at all.

What you need:

  • 1 chicken breast
  • 2 tablespoons Gochujang paste
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons Mirin
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 1/3 to 1/2 cup Panko crumbs

What you do:

  1. Combine the Gochujang, soy, mirin, and garlic in a bowl.
  2. Put the Panko crumbs in another bowl.
  3. Cut the chicken breast into strips.
  4. Place the chicken in the Gochujang mixture and coat all sides.
  5. Using a fork, place a piece of chicken in the Panko crumbs and coat all sides.
  6. Spray the Air Fryer with oil spray, then place the chicken on the Air Fryer rack in a single layer, with a little space between each piece.
  7. All Air Fryers will work differently, so get to know the cooking times on your machine. For my Instant Pot Air Fryer lid, I cooked the chicken at 400F with no preheating. First I cooked it for 4 minutes, then flipped the chicken and cooked it two minutes more. If you are testing your machine out, you could try cooking for a shorter amount of time so you don’t overcook, then add a minute at a time. Make notes about your cooking times.
  8. Enjoy them while they are hot!
photo of Trader Joe's soy sauce, Mitkusan mirin, Korean Gochujang paste, and a clove of garlic
photo of two bowls, one with chicken coated in a red paste, the other with chicken coated in panko breadcrumbs
photo of chicken strips in an instant pot air fryer

Lemon-Cilantro Hummus

Well it’s been about eight months since I’ve posted a recipe; working full time and working on a master’s degree doesn’t leave a lot of time for hobbies. I’m still cooking of course, and finally took a photo of something, so thought I’d share this yummy and delicious hummus recipe.

If I had more time I would have cooked my own chickpeas, but happy to have a time-saving can of them in my cupboard!

For the smoothest hummus you can take a few minutes to remove the peels from the chickpeas. It really does make a difference! But of course you can just throw them in there with the skins on.

This is best made in a food processor, but if you have a blender or immersion blender, those could do the trick. I suppose if you had a lot of time you could do it with a potato masher . . . ? Let me know if you try that!

I purposefully didn’t add amounts here. In the procedure below I suggest how much I added, but this is a really good recipe for “adding to taste;” add a little, then a little more if needed. I like mine lemony, and I like to serve it right away . The leftovers are excellent, but the batch fresh out of the food processor is the best.

I have been eating this hummus with crackers and as a dip for veggies.

What you need:

  • can of chickpeas, drained, and preferably with skins removed
  • tahini
  • garlic, crushed
  • cilantro, clean and chopped once or twice, stems and all (unless there are some really thick, woody stems)
  • salt
  • lemon
  • cumin

What you do:

  1. Pour the chickpeas into the bowl of the food processor.
  2. Add a dollop of tahini. I used about 1/4 cup.
  3. Put the lid on the food processor and blend it up for about a minute.
  4. Add a clove of crushed garlic (or more if you love your garlic), a whole bunch of cilantro (mine wasn’t a huge bunch), a little salt, half a lemon to start, and a pinch of cumin to start. Let that process until the cilantro is well chopped, and the hummus is creamy.
  5. Taste your hummus and see what you’d like to add more of. I almost always add a bit more lemon.
  6. Add a bit of water to make it the consistency you like and process again until it is really smooth, and you have the right balance of flavours. If you are going to refrigerate your hummus, keep in mind that it gets firmer when it’s been in the fridge for a while, so adding a bit more water can be a good idea.

Fava Avocado Spread

I’ve been growing fava beans on my balcony all winter. Planted in November, and beginning to harvest at the end of May. I didn’t think I would be harvesting so late, but it is so worth it! The beans are creamy and have lovely flavour. And check out the photo at the bottom of the page to see the gorgeous green of the bean after shelling!

This recipe is more of a guide. What I thought was going to be a massive crop, ended up being only 8 pods (for now), which yielded 18 beans. So I ended up making a really small portion of this spread, using less than half of an avocado.

In the photo I’ve got some delicious corn crackers, but we actually preferred the fava-cado spread on a piece of bread. The crackers had a lot of flavour on their own, so the milder bread allowed the flavours of the fava and avocado to shine through.

A word on growing fava beans: Yes, you can grow them in summer, but when I did that they got infested with aphids. Growing them over winter, in Vancouver, was pretty easy. I just had to wrap them up a bit when we had a cold snap. So after half a year of growing, I finally get to eat them! This is the first harvest, but there are a lot more pods still growing . . . hmm, what should I make with the next harvest?

What you need:

  • avocado
  • fresh fava beans
  • lime
  • salt
  • bread or crackers

What you do:

  1. To prepare the fava beans, get a pot of salted water boiling. String the pods and remove the fava beans. Boil the beans for 3 minutes. Drain the beans and then put them in a bath of ice water right away. This will help them to stop cooking, and retain their gorgeous bright green colour.
  2. Now you can slide the beans out of their skins, revealing the gorgeous green colour!
  3. Mash the fava beans together with some avocado (I used more fava than avo). Use an immersion blender if you like. Season with a little bit of salt and a squeeze of lime.
  4. Serve with bread or crackers right away. Not as good after refrigeration.

Oven-Baked Falafel

These oven-baked falafel are super tasty, and my official taster is looking forward to eating them again! Deep-fried falafel are delicious, I don’t enjoy cooking with boiling oil, and I think baking is healthier.

This photo was taken before the tahini sauce, hot sauce and pickled turnips went on – oops! Somebody was eager for the photos to be done so the eating could begin. I’ve also served these with some hummus and a cucumber, tomato and herb salad.

I found an aleb falafel, a falafel shaping device, for under $10 at a local Middle Eastern store. You can use a spoon or your hands to form them if you don’t have an aleb falafel.

falafel shaping device

This recipe is especially easy to make if you have a food processor, but you could also give it a try with a potato masher. It’s quite simple: all the ingredients go into the food processor bowl, you whiz it up, form the balls, and bake them. While they are baking you can prepare sauce and veggies.

These falafel freeze quite nicely!

What you need for the falafel:

  • 2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained, or equivalent home-cooked
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/ 2 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 large white onion, chopped
  • 1 cup flat leaf parsley
  • 1 cup cilantro (I like to use the stems too)
  • 1 tablespoon crushed garlic
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 & 1/2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 teaspoon paprika or Aleppo pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • olive oil for brushing on top of falafel before baking

What you need for the tarator sauce:

  • 1/2 cup tahini
  • 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1/4 to 1/3 cup water
  • salt to taste

What you do for the falafel:

  1. Heat the oven to 375F. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
  2. Add the chickpeas, eggs, bread crumbs, onions, parsley, cilantro and garlic to the bowl of the food processor and process until the mixture becomes doughy.
  3. Add the baking powder, seasonings and olive oil and process again until all the ingredients are combined.
  4. Form falafels with an aleb falafel (I lightly oiled mine before use), or scoop with a tablespoon and form into flattened balls with your hands.
  5. Use a pastry brush to brush a little bit of olive oil on the tops of the falafel, to help them brown nicely. Browning = flavour!
  6. Bake for about 25 minutes, then check to see if it is done; mine needed more time. You will know when it is done if a knife inserted in the centre comes out pretty much clean.
  7. While the falafel are baking you can make the sauce.

What you do for the taratour sauce:

  1. Mix the garlic in with the tahini.
  2. Add a little bit of lemon juice and mix well. Add lemon juice and water a little at at time until the sauce is creamy but not too runny.
  3. Add salt to taste.
  4. Enjoy!!

Lemony Hummus

You can make your own hummus! It’s so easy, delicious, and saves you money! Whether you use canned chickpeas or cook them from dried, it’s easy to make a great hummus. When I make hummus at home, I appreciate knowing exactly what goes into it, and adding more or less of whichever flavours I choose – and for me it’s all about the lemon right now!

This recipe is a variation of the hummus recipe I make often, but in this one I’ve added lemon zest along with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Plus a bit of cumin and hot sauce to perfect it.

You can use canned chickpeas, or prepare your own from dried chickpeas. I highly recommend removing the skins from the chickpeas to make a really creamy hummus. If you use split dried chickpeas, they are already skinless, so you will not need to remove the skins, but the flavour is a little different than the regular chickpea. Of course, you can always keep the skins on, but your hummus will not be as smooth. If you’ve got the time it’s worth a try, and removing the skins can be somewhat meditative.

One of my favourite meals that includes hummus is hummus kawarma, a Lebanese dish with lamb. Of course hummus also great with fresh pita, or as a veggie dip. I also love to toast day-old pita brushed with a little olive oil and sprinkled with salt to make crackers, and then dip them in hummus.

What you need:

  • 1 & ¼ cups dried chickpeas (or one 540mL can)
  • 1/3 cup tahini 
  • 4  or more tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • cumin, to taste (start with 1/4 teaspoon)
  • hot sauce (optional) to taste
  • 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
  •  Salt to taste
  • 5 or more tablespoons ice-cold water 

What you do:

  1. Cook the chickpeas ahead of time, so they are cold when you use them to make the hummus. If you are using canned chickpeas I highly recommend removing the skins. This is a bit of work, but here’s what I do: I drain them, then put them in a large bowl with water. Then I rub some of them between my hands, and a lot of the skins come off that way. Then I go through them and pull off most of the remaining skins.
  2. Place your drained chickpeas in a food processor or blender. Process them until you have a thick paste. Add the tahini, lemon juice, lemon zest, cumin, a little hot sauce, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt; blend this. With the machine still running, drizzle in some of the ice water and let it mix for several minutes. You will get a very creamy paste. Taste to see if you want to add any more lemon juice or any of the seasonings. Add more water if you think it needs it to be smoother; I like to add a bit more water than I think I will need, as hummus tends to thicken up a bit when refrigerated.
  3. Cover and refrigerate if you are not using it right away, but remove from the fridge at least half an hour before you want to eat it. A little drizzle of good quality olive oil is a nice way to top it off when serving.

Enjoy!

Fire-Roasted Tomato Salsa

This flame-roasted tomato salsa is excellent any time of year, even in the cooler seasons when it is challenging to access super tasty tomatoes. It’s really easy to whip up, but you do need to plan ahead so that you will have some roasted garlic on hand. I’ve started roasting a bunch of garlic bulbs and freezing them so I can make this awesome salsa anytime I want. I have served it with tortilla chips, but my favourite way to eat it is on beans and rice.

Recently I’ve been buying a lot of the Las Margaritas fresh salsa – it is just so good! But I can only find it in one store, and it is often sold out. So the difficulty finding it, combined with the nearly $8.00 price tag, made me start looking for a way to make it at home.

And . . . I found it! In the Thug Kitchen Cookbook! Yay!

I only made one change to the recipe, and it was a tiny one. I used sweet onions, and typically use them in all my recipes that call for onion because they don’t make me cry as much, plus I think they taste better. The most recent time I made this salsa I didn’t have any green onions, and it was still really good without them.

If you are looking for a fresh tomato salsa you can find one here, and this is a link to a creamy avocado salsa called gaucamolata. This roasted tomatillo salsa is also really flavourful.

What you need:

  • 1 can (398mL / 14.5 oz.) fire-roasted diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 white onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
  • 1/3 cup chopped green onions
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1-3 Serrano peppers, minced (depending on how much heat you like)
  • a whole head of roasted garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin
  • juice of 1/2 lime
  • salt to taste

What you do:

  1. Chop the onion, green onions, cilantro and Serrano pepper.
  2. Put all the ingredients (except for the salt) in a blender, or use an immersion blender to whiz everything up. Leave it a little bit chunky.
  3. Add salt to taste.
  4. Enjoy!

 

Mushroom Pâté (Instant Pot Version)

This week I bought an Instant Pot, so I’m now busy trying recipes to get a sense of how it works. I’ve tried out a few recipes, and I’m learning how to tweak them in ways that I enjoy. You can totally make this in a pot on your stove too!

This one is a delicious winner! It has a nice creamy texture and lovely flavours of mushroom, white wine, butter and olive oil. So nice on a piece of toasted bread or crostini! It satisfies those umami cravings. For me this was a part of a picnic spread of cheese, mushroom pate, bean salad, and some veggies.

I made a few changes to the original recipe: In my instructions I have clarified a few details that were not well-described in the Instant Pot Recipe Booklet, and some that were omitted. I used a combination of dried mushrooms instead of just porcini. I also cooked off some of the moisture after pressure cooking because it seemed to liquidy. I added pepper at the end instead of before cooking (I think cooked pepper tastes more butter), and I topped up the liquid in the dried mushrooms with white wine instead of water – yum! I transferred my mushroom mixture to a food processor instead of using an immersion blender because I wanted to make sure I had a really creamy paté; I’m sure the immersion blender does a nice job too – and who doesn’t love fewer dishes!!! I also used a high quality olive oil to add in the last stage. I might also drizzle some on the top in the future!

Next time I will add a sprig of rosemary to the pot before it cooks – doesn’t that sound delicious?

The recipe serves 4-6 people. Or two. If you are self-isolating or just selfish.

What you need:

  • 3/4 cup dried mushrooms, rinsed
  • boiling water
  • 1 tablespoon butter (use olive oil for vegan recipe)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 shallot, sliced
  • 500 grams (1 lb) cremini or white button mushrooms (thinly sliced)
  • 1/4 cup dry white wine (plus a little more)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • bay leaf
  • 1 tablespoon good quality olive oil
  • freshly cracked pepper, to taste
  • 3 tablespoons good quality Parmesan cheese, finely grated (use vegan Parmesan for vegan recipe)

What you do:

  1. Place the dry mushrooms in a measuring cup. Pour boiling water over them until it reaches just over 3/4 cup. Push the mushrooms down, then put a tight lid or plastic wrap over the measuring cup.
  2. Slice the shallots and mushrooms.
  3. Add the olive oil and butter to the Instant Pot, then sauté the shallots for a minute. Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté until they are golden brown (mine didn’t get golden, and it was awesome anyways).
  4. Pour the 1/4 cup wine in and allow to evaporate.
  5. Add the mushrooms and their soaking liquid, along with an extra splash of wine. Add the salt and bay leaf.
  6. Close and lock the lid, and then set the Pressure Cooker to 12 minutes. When the time is up, use the Quick Pressure Release.
  7. At this point I sautéd off a bit of the liquid – you can decide if you think this is necessary. Discard the bay leaf.
  8. Once slightly cooled, add the cracked pepper and Parmesan cheese. Use an immersion blender or food processor to blend until smooth.
  9. Enjoy on crostini or whatever form you choose!

Chili Lime Pepitas

chili lime pepitas - trustinkim.com

Here’s a tasty and simple way to spice up some pepitas/pumpkin seeds. It’s a nice little appetizer, or a snack with your favourite beverage. Vegan, gluten-free and all that!

It’s super simple:

  1. Squeeze some lime onto a bunch of pepitas in a baking dish.
  2. Sprinkle on some salt and Ancho chili powder, or any chili powder that you have on hand.
  3. Throw them in the oven at about 250F for 10-15 minutes, until they get a bit crispy. If you hear them popping you know it’s time to take them out. Just make sure you move them around in their baking dish once or twice through the process.
  4. Yum! Once they are cooled you can store them in an airtight jar for a few days – if they don’t get gobbled up right away!