Chocolate Dipped Chocolate-Almond Biscotti

And the people thus spake, “We have tasted of this New Biscotti, and it is good.”

And so, upon the day of the Feast of Lights at English Bay, many ate of the biscotti and were satisfied.

Thus it came to pass that the people proclaimed the recipe to be of high quality, and henceforth deemed worthy of the masses.

And so it shall be revealed unto thee:

What you need:

1 & 1/4 cups peeled almonds, toasted

1/2 cup butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup flour

1 cup cocoa powder

1 & 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

2 eggs

3/4 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon almond extract

for the chocolate dip:

5oz chocolate

2 tablespoons butter

What you do:

1.  Use a coffee grinder or food processor to finely grind toasted almonds.

2.  Mix 1/2 cup of the butter and 1 cup of the almonds, along with the salt, until it is fluffy.

3.  Whisk eggs, sugar and almond extract in a large bowl.

4.  Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder and hand-mix into the egg mixture.

5.  Add the nut and butter mixture, and stir until it is just incorporated.

6.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and form the dough into two long, flat logs. I like my biscotti to be a bit smaller, so if you want larger cookies, then make one log and add about five minutes to the baking time.

7.  Bake at 350F for 25 minutes.  When it comes out of the oven, allow it to cool on the pan for about half an hour.

8.  Slice the logs into cookies, and put them back on the parchment paper.  Bake for 15 minutes more, then cool on wire racks.

9.  Melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler (I use a pot with a bowl on top).  The key here is to make sure you don’t get any water into the chocolate; it will seize up and become clumpy.

10.  Dip each cooled biscotti in the chocolate (I had to spread it on a bit), then sprinkle a little of the remaining almond flour on top of each.

Brandied Cherries

In the middle of winter you are going to pull out a jar of these, and all the warmth of summer will come flooding back, just long enough to warm you up.

It’s really easy.  You just need:

a few canning jars (but we’re not doing proper canning, so don’t worry!)

some fresh, plump cherries (I used Bing and Rainier so it would look pretty)

a little maple syrup

vanilla bean

brandy

Here’s what you do:

1.  Wash your jars and lids.

2.  Stuff as many cherries as you can into each jar without squishing them.

3.  Cut small pieces of vanilla bean and put one in each jar.

4.  Drizzle a little maple syrup in each jar.

5.  Top up with brandy.

6.  Screw the lids on tight and wait a few months.

7.  Enjoy straight out of the jar, or on top of some vanilla pudding or ice cream in the dead of winter.

Cool Cucumber Salad

This salad is great for a hot summer day when you want something light and refreshing.  And a great way to use those cucumbers you’ve got coming up in the garden!

What you need:

cucumber

2 red or green hot chillies, thinly sliced, seeds removed if you don’t like too much spice

sweet red pepper, very thinly sliced

freshly toasted peanuts, chopped

1 small package rice noodles, vermicelli style

for the dressing:

2 tablespoons unsweetened, shredded coconut

1 tablespoon boiling water

2 teaspoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

What you do:

1.  Put a pot of water on to boil.  Use this to cook the rice noodles: after the water has boiled, take it off the heat and add the noodles.  After a few minutes, when the noodles are al dente, strain them and pour cold water over to cool them.  Set aside to continue cool.

2.  Add one tablespoon of boiling water to the coconut, then stir in the brown sugar.  Leave this to cool, then add the lime, vinegar and soy sauce.  Taste and adjust seasonings.

3.  Toast peanuts in a frying pan, being careful not to burn them.  When they are cool, chop them up.

4.  Chop peppers finely, and use a vegetable peeler to make long slices of cucumber.

5.  To assemble the salad, first put down some noodles; make sure they have been well-drained.  Place some slices of cucumber on top, then pour on the dressing.  Add some sweet peppers, peanuts and hot peppers.

6.  Enjoy your refreshing salad!

Optional toppings include grated carrots, cilantro, tofu or some shaved beef, if you feel the need for some meat.

Lemony Kale

Easy, good for you.  Need I say more?  Oh yeah, it tastes great too!

You need:

garlic cloves, sliced

olive oil

kale

lemon juice, fresh squeezed

What you do:

1.  Slice 1-2 garlic cloves per person.  Heat olive oil in frying pan on medium heat.   Add garlic, and fry briefly.  It should not turn brown.

2.  Cut the leaves of the kale off the stems, and chop roughly.  Add kale and stir, adding a tablespoon or so or lemon juice.  The kale will begin to wilt, and it will be ready to go!  It should be bright green and fresh looking when it is, finished cooking, which only takes a few seconds.

3.  Eat it right now, while it is still warm and fresh!

Kale is an anti-oxidant, and is a good source of beta carotene (good for the eyes), vitamin C, lutein (also good for the eyes), calcium, and has cancer fighting properties.  It’s a superfood!  So eat up!

Blueberry Flax-Bran Muffins

This tasty muffin recipe uses Omega 3-rich flax seeds, which are a great way to lower cholesterol.  Plus they provide, along with the bran and blueberries, a great dose of fibre.  And blueberries – besides being delicious, contain antioxidants and vitamin C.  Did I mention these muffins also taste good – you can’t go wrong here!

It is important to use ground flax seeds so you can access their benefits; the chewing and digestive processes are not enough to break down the seeds.  You can buy them ground, or grind them yourself in a coffee grinder.  They are best stored in the fridge after grinding, so they do not become rancid.

You need:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 cup bran

1/2 cup ground flax seeds

1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

2 eggs

1 cup milk (soy is good too)

2 Tablespoons molasses

1/4 cup butter

What you do:

1.  Preheat the oven to 400F.

2.  Stir dry ingredients  in a large bowl.

3.  Melt butter, then mix in the milk slowly, so the butter doesn’t harden when you add cold milk.  Add molasses.  Pour the liquids, along with the slightly beaten eggs, into the dry ingredients.  Mix by hand only until the ingredients are combined; if you mix more you’ll get tough little muffins.  Gently mix in the blueberries, so they don’t break and you don’t over-mix.

4.  Place mixture in muffin tins lined with paper baking cups.

5.  Bake at 400F for 20 minutes.  Take muffins out of tins and cool on a rack for a few minutes before eating.

6.  If you freeze them, make sure they’re completely cool before they go in the freezer.

Sticky Apple-Pecan Cake

What do the people think of this cake?  Well, there wasn’t much left over for them to take home, so I’d say it was a hit.  It’s moist and a little sticky from the sauce… so good!  Yes, there’s lots of sugar and fat in this one – it’s a cake, and a Paula Deen recipe at that!  If you’re looking for a healthy recipe, check out one of the salads or something. You might not love coconut, but you can’t really tell it’s in there – it really adds something to the cake, though.

If you’re a little scared of making cakes, this one is for you.  There’s not much you can do wrong if you add all the ingredients.  You pretty much pile everything into a bowl and mix, then pour the sauce over top when it’s out of the oven.

What you need for the cake:

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 cups sugar

3 large eggs

1 & 1/2 cups vegetable oil

1/4 cup orange juice

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 cups peeled and chopped apples (I used Macintosh)

1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

1 cups chopped pecans

What you need for the sauce:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

What you do:

1.  Mix flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.

2.  Add the eggs, sugar, oil, orange juice and vanilla and mix it up with a wooden spoon until it is combined.

3.  Add the coconut, apples and nuts and mix it.  The batter will be quite thick.

4.  Pour the batter into parchment-lined pans(wax paper will do).  I used two 4 by 12 pans, but that’s an odd size… so you can use two bread pans or, if you have it, one 10-inch tube pan.  What ever you do, bake it for about an hour at 325 F, then test it with a toothpick.  If it needs a little more time, add 10 minutes, check again, adding more time if needed.

5.  Before it has finished baking, prepare the sauce by melting the butter in a saucepan, then adding the sugar, buttermilk and baking soda.  Bring it to a rolling boil, stirring constantly for one minute.

6.  After the cake comes out of the oven, poke holes in it with the back end of a wooden spoon.  Pour the sauce over the top.

7.  Let the cake cool for about an hour before taking it out of the pan to cool the rest of the way – or just get started on it while it’s still warm!

You could reheat it and serve with a little vanilla ice cream, if you’re looking for true decadence.

Quick Lemon Pasta

Looking for ways to use up my bumper crop of arugula, I made up this easy pasta dish.  You can easily substitute the arugula for fresh basil; just use a little less.  It’s a super fast meal to prepare!

What you need:

Pasta (I used brown rice spaghetti by Tinkyada)

fresh lemon juice

parmesan (I use lactose-free l’Ancetre)

arugula or fresh basil

salt and pepper

What you do:

1.  Cook the pasta in lots of water.

2.  Squeeze lemon juice, about 1/2 a lemon per person.  Mix it with a tablespoon or two of parmesan per person, a big drizzle or olive oil, and salt and pepper.

3.  Chop arugula roughly and place in the bottom of a bowl.  Place hot pasta on top of the arugula so the arugula wilts a tiny bit from the heat of the pasta.  Pour the lemon mixture over top and mix it all up.

4.  Enjoy!

lemon block print

Honeyed Ginger Carrots

Here is an easy and tasty way to serve carrots.

What you need:

A bunch of carrots

1 tablespoon butter (olive oil for vegans)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon ginger, grated finely

1 tablespoon honey

salt

What you do:

1.  Scrub peel carrots and slice diagonally.

2.  Place carrots into a steamer basket and bring water to a boil.  Cook for about 5 minutes, making sure they don’t get overcooked.  They should still be a little firm.

3.  While the carrots are steaming, heat the butter in a frying pan, then add ginger and garlic, cooking for just a minute.  Add the honey.

4.  When the carrots are cooked add them to the pan with the ginger and garlic.  Stir until they are all coated.  Transfer to a serving dish.  Yum.

Coconut Mango Cookies

These cookies have just the right  crispy-chewyness to please a whole lot of people at one time.  This recipe makes quite a few cookies, so you can either bake them all up at once, or put some of the rolls of dough in the freezer.

You can substitute apricots for the dried mango, and hazelnuts, brazil or macadamia for the almonds.

You do need to plan ahead a bit, as the dough needs to be refrigerated for about an hour before baking.  The toasted almonds also need to cool before you can add them to the batter.

What you need:

3/4 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

2 cups flour

1 & 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups shredded sweetened coconut

1/2 cup dried mango or apricot

1/2 cup toasted almonds

What you do:

1.  Toast almonds and allow to cool, then chop them.

2.  Beat room temperature butter with sugar until fluffy and light in colour.  Beat in egg.

3.  Add flour, baking powder and salt, then mix with a wooden spoon, being careful not to over-mix.

4.  Stir in nuts, chopped fruit and coconut.

5.  Form into 4 logs, about 3 cm in diameter, and wrap in plastic wrap.  Place in the fridge for about an hour.  If you are going to freeze for later use, add another layer of protection by putting them into a plastic bag.

6.  Let the logs sit for about 15 minutes, then carefully cut into slices just less than 1 cm thick, with a serrated knife.  It can be a little tricky to make this work neatly, but it helps if you use a sawing motion.  When I ruined a few, I just hand-formed them and made them into “tasters.”  Everybody likes to taste your baking!

7.  Place on ungreased cookie sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 F or until lightly browned, a little longer if you prefer crispier cookies.  For added decadence, you can sprinkle a tiny bit of sugar onto the top of each cookie before baking.  I used vanilla sugar and the result was amazing!

8.  Store in an airtight container.  They keep well for about a week.

Oven-Baked Coconut Chicken Fingers

This easy recipe is delicious as an appetizer with dipping sauces, or as part of a meal.  You can also use whole chicken breasts, pounding them before coating.

What you need:

2 chicken breasts

1 egg

1 Tablespoon buttermilk or plain yogurt

1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1 cup bread crumbs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

What you do:

1.  In a small bowl beat egg slightly with a fork, then mix in buttermilk or yogurt.

2.  In another bowl combine bread crumbs, coconut, salt and pepper.

3.  Cut chicken into strips.

4.  Coat chicken in egg mixture, then cover with bread crumbs.  Place chicken on a baking sheet as you take it out of the bread crumb mixture.

5.  Repeat step 4, this time just lightly dipping in egg mixture, then making sure it is coated in the bread crumb mixture.  Place chicken on a baking sheet, with some space between each piece.

6.  Bake at 350F of 15 minutes, then turn each piece over once and bake for 5 more minutes.  They should be slightly browned.

7.  If you are using this as an appetizer, serve with sweet chilli sauce or honey mustard mayo (see recipe below).  It is great when paired with a pasta dish, such as lemon-basil pasta.

Honey Mustard Mayo:

Mix 1 tablespoon mayonnaise with 1 teaspoon dijon mustard and 1 teaspoon honey.