Watermelon Juice...mmm

You know, this is such a simple idea that I think I have a tendency to overlook.
You just buy a tasty watermelon (when you shop for one, you tap on the watermelon and if it sounds hollow, it is sweet and watery), chop it up and blend! Voila! Watermelon juice, fresh, ready, healthy and ready to drink!

A tip is you can chop up the watermelon, freeze it and then blend it for a nice slushy type of fresh fruit juice. If it melts, you have a nice juice to drink anyways.

The same idea can apply to any other fruit of choice.

Enjoy! mmm...

Dessert Dumplings!!! Mmmmm so delicious

I just randomly created this when I was making my vegetarian dumplings today and had some left over wraps.

Ingredients:
* nutella
*graham crackers
*dumpling wraps

Crush the graham crackers finely.
Put some melted nutella.
Mix.

Fill in perogies.

Fry in pan with oil.

The result is a crunchy (depending how you fry it), sweet, scrumptious dessert!

Mmmm! I love cooking! (and eating of course!)

Yogurt Dill Dressing or Dipping (which ever you prefer)

This recipe was given to me but I did not have any mint leaves so I used dill as a substitute.

Yogurt
Dill
Salt
Cucumber (1 small kirby cucumber should suffice)
Onion (half an onion is good)
Garlic (1 garlic is good)

Just chop everything up and mix into yogurt.

This is tasty on rice or dipping with pita bread (or whatever your tastebuds and imagination can come up with!)

Bon appetito!!!

Creamy Dill Potato Soup

This is just an alteration of the Creamy Tomato Soup (See October 2007), I just subtituted the tomatoes for potatoes and I used water instead of vege broth (because I did not have any)

Need:
*1 large carrot
*1 large celery stick
*1 medium onion
* 2 garlic cloves
* 6 potatoes
* real dill herbs (chop as much as you like-more equals more flavor)
*4 cups of vege stock (or water in this case of mine-still taste good, you just add salt)
*2 cups of soy (book version) or milk

chop all

fry the carrots, celery and onion listed above over medium heat until onions are golden

add garlic and fry alittle, then add the dill ,and then the potatoes and stock...let simmer for 30 mintutes...let cool, blend, and then add the soy milk/milk...warm up soup...

enjoy!!!!

Delicicious Brie Raspberry Soy Ginger Salad

This was created spontaneously and it was so delicious I have to share it.

Use the spring salad mix (that you can buy from the grocery store-its the one with the mixture of green and dark red lettuce-not sure of the name of the vegetables)

-some brie
-some raspberry jam
-some soy and ginger vinegarette (I bought this at the local grocery store, but I am sure it is easy to make on your own since the name gives away the ingredients and you just add some seseme oil and vinegar to it)

Just cut up the brie (as much as you like)
Take one teaspoon (or as much as you like ) of the jam
Mix with the dressing

Sooooooooo yummy!!!

Bon appetit!!

My awesome vegetarian dumplings!!! yummy

Ingredients(for filling):
-tvp simulated beef (can get it from the blueline choices from Loblaws or ask for tvp simulated beef from any other grocery store)
-frozen chopped lemon grass (pretty cheap from Chinese grocery stores)
-maggie sauce
-chopped onions
-chopped green onions
-garlic powder
-1 egg
-dumpling/perogie wraps from Chinese grocery stores
-seaseme oil
Ingredients(for dipping sauce):
-rice vinegar
-water to dilute if too salty
-sugar
-thinly chopped ginger
-add seaseme oil too if you want extra flavor
-mix and set over night-you can taste the ginger if you do this.

mix all together and let marinate (I recommend overnight as the flavors will be much richer)
-Now, you just take a small spoon and put some of the mixture in the middle of the perogie wrap and fold it like a dumpling( I'll have to upload a video when I videotape myself as it is difficult to explain,but for now, I will attempt to describe in words as if someone were blindfolded)

-How to fold:
Hold the perogie wrap with the filling in the middle.
Dip you finger into the egg white (for gluing the wrap edges) and smear it on one half of the top edge of the circle/wrap.
Take the bottom part of the circle and fold it up to the edge with the egg white and pinch in the middle.
So now you have the back and the front of the perogie. On the layer that is facing you, now that you have pinched the middle, take the layer on one side from the middle and fold it towards the middle and pinch. Then take the corner on the same side and pinch to the middle of the one side.
Do the same for the other side of the perogie.
Once that is done, take the perogie and tap the bottom on a plate with flour (so that they don't stick to the pan later and this also makes the bottom crispy when you cook them)

-To cook
Take a bowl of water and add some flour to mix.
When the perogies are on the frying pan, pour the water mixture on top just enough that half the pergoies are covered.
Cover and cook until the water evorates. It's important to cover because the steam will make the wrap soft. Also, if you have a non stick pan, there is no need for oil, unless you like that type of crispiness that oil gives.


*video will eventually be inserted, but hopefully, this will be clear in the meantime.

Enjoy!

Spinach Banista

This is one my my favs. It is delicious and easy to make.

Ingredients:
-300 g chopped frozen spinach(I bought a package for 0.99 on sale. My suggestion would be to wait until they're on sale and stock up)
-1 pack of phyllo pastry sheet
-6-7 eggs
-300g feta cheese, crumbled
-300 g of plain yogurt
-1/2 can of carbonated water
-butter, sunflower oil

What to do:

-preheat the oven to 325 degress celcius
-mix the eggs, thawed spinach, feta cheese and yogurt
-mix butter(melted), sunflower oil and use to lubricate pan.
-Layer two sheets of phyllo pastry on top of oiled pan (with a smaller pan, just fold the sheet)
-Place mixture and spread on sheet
-place another two sheet phyllo, brush butter mixture, place mixture
-repeat

once the phyllo, butter, mixture repetition is done (when you run out of mixture), cut the banista and add the carbonated water on top.

Bake for 40 minutes.

Et Voila!

Three Sisters Stew

1 tsp oil l large onion,
sliced l clove garlic,
crushed l jalapeno chili, finely chopped
2 squash of different kinds, e.g. butternut and acorn, peeled and sliced
2 large or 4 small zucchini, cut into l inch pieces
3 cups fresh or frozen green beans, cut into l inch pieces
l cup fresh or frozen corn
l teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 tsp savory salt and black pepper to taste
2 (l6-ounce) cans kidney or pinto beans
1-2 cups vegetable stock or water (don't let the stew boil dry)

Saute onion, garlic and chili for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender.
Stir in remaining ingredients.
Cook covered over a low heat 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently until squash is tender.
Serve with wholewheat bread and a green salad.

http://veg.ca/content/view/290/112/

Jello-marshmello rolls

Okay, my sister made a dessert that looked so cool, but I didn't see her make it( but it tasted so good!) I am only guessing how she made it but I am writing it here for my own reference so that when I do cook it, I can go to my blog.

Take jello, mix it and place the liquid in a pan. Put marshmellows on top and bake until it melts into the jello.

Put the mixture into the refridgerator. When it's done, I think you slice it and then roll it into rolls. Soo tasty!

Jello Mousse

Someone made the most tastiest dessert a few years ago and I just remembered it. I only involves two ingredients: Jello and vanilla icream.

Make a bowl of Jello (or how much the box makes), let it solidify.

Take out the jello and add vanilla icecream (or soya ice cream,etc) and blend.

Put mixture to set again.

This tastes like mousse. (Recommendation: Strawberry Jello -because that's all I've tried so far! I think other combination would work just as well though :P)

Enjoy!

Simply Orange (and Cinnamon)

This is a very simple recipe but a unique combination I felt was worth sharing:

Slice oranges, sprinkle cinnamon!

Very tasty, very simple. Enjoy!

Best Punch Ever!

I went to a house party recently and the hostess' punch was so delicious I had to ask for the recipe:

2L Bottle of Gingerale
Can of Frozen Cranberry Juice
3 Cups of Club Soda
2tbsp Lime Juice
500 mL Raspberry SorbetLime for garnish

Just mix and stir!

Very tasty...

Low Fat Pie

This recipe is very versatile and was given to me by a friend. Here is the e-mail:


1- Drive to your local grocery store
2- Buy the following (PS: you can grow them, if you want): Strawberries(or any other fruits, except Kiwi or Pineapples.... Jell-O won't set) -from locals... and enough to fill the pie to your liking
3- Buy a pre-maid crust... (can use cookie crumbs too)
4- Buy the Jell-O that you want (4 servings package is good for aregular size pie (170g)... you'll even have a little extra).
5- Drive back to household (yours or friends)
6- Wash fruits, cut in pieces and put in crust (try broiling the crustfor 5-10 min. so it'll be crustier... never tried it yet)
7- Make Jell-O
8- Pour Jell-O in the mixture and let it set
9- Enjoy with friends
10- Repeat to your heart's content I'll try one with Bananas and vanilla cream.... mmmmmmmmm....You can use Low sugar Jell-O... when the fruits are very sweet andtasty.

To avoid soggy crust, bake the crust a bit, and then put in the contents...

mmm..

Deserted Island Dessert

I saw this on a cool television show called Fun Food Frenzy...very yummy looking:

Ingredients

Pineapple
Papaya
Coconut (whole one)
Lime
Boiling water

chop up the Pineapple and papaya. Put together

Bake the coconut. Break it open. Cut out the meat. Put it into a blender.
Grate the lime zest. Put it into the blender.
Put coconut,lime zest and boiling water into blender and blend. Strain out the fluid. Put the fluid into the chiller.

Add to the pineapple/papaya mixture.
Yummy.

Curry Macaroni and Cheese mmmm

Okay, this was taken from the LCBO Food and Wine magasine which they give out for free. This recipe caught my eye, so of course, it had to be made. Anyhoo, here is the recipe from memory:

Ingredients:
1 cup of chopped onions
1 large chopped clove of garlic
3 tbsp of butter
1 tbsp of curry powder
Bread crumbs (I forgot how much, but I think if you have 2 cups it should be fine-just eyeball it)

1 cup of grated chedder
1 cup of grated probolone cheese
1 cup of grated gouda cheese
1/2 cup of crumbled goat cheese
4 cups of flour
1 1/2 tbsp of salt
1 litre of milk

1 bay leaf
1 thyme
3 cups of macaroni (or 4 I think)
4-5 chopped green onions

Part 1. Preparing the Onion Curry top

In a frying pan, melt 3 tbsp of butter, add onions, fry for about 2 min, then add garlic and fry until it looks cooked, remove from heat.

Add the curry powder, bread crumbs mix and set aside. (regarding the uncertainty pertaining to the quantity of the bread crumbs I think it's good as long as it's thick enough to be a topping)

Oh, and don't forget to boil and drain the macaroni....

Part 2. Preparing the cheese mixture.

Add all the 4 cheeses, with the flour and salt. Set aside.

Part 3. Boil the milk with the bay leaf and thyme. When it's boiled, add the Cheese mixture little by little with your hand. Add the green onions. Mix until the mixture thickens and once it boils, add the macaroni and stir.

Part 4. Get a casserole dish, cover with oil for easy cleaning, dump in the macaroni and cheese. Flatten it out and top it up with the Curry Onion mixture and flatten. Place in a preheated oven and cook for about 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees celcius. To prevent burning of the top, try covering it with tin foil once you notice the burning.

The magasine suggests a white wine to complement the dish, but we personally drank it with an alcoholic fruit drink which only costed about $8.00....

I'm sure you'll like this one-especially if you like cheese! Mmmmmmm.

Creamy Tomato Soup

Sooo delicious! This is from a The Whole Soy Cook book:http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/The-Whole-Soy-Cookbook-Patricia-Greenberg/9780517888131-item.html?ref=Search+Books%3a+%2527the+soy+cookbook%2527

Need:
*1 large carrot
*1 large celery stick
*1 medium onion
* 2 garlic cloves
* 6 tomotoes
*1 bay leaf
*crushed peppercorn
*4 cups of vege stock
*2 cups of soy (book version) or milk

chop all

fry the carrots, celery and onion listed above over medium heat until onions are golden

add garlic and fry alittle, then add the peppercorn ,and then the tomatoes and bay leaf and stock...let simmer for 30 mintutes...

let cool, blend, and then add the soy milk/milk...

warm up soup...

enjoy!!!!

Yummy Potato Skins

This was inspired by one of my fav restaurants. It is my own version of it as I had to guess how to make it.

Okay, you need:

*Red Potatoes (the small ones)
*Mushrooms
*Tomatoes
*Red Onions
*Optional Brie
*Cheese Sauce (you can get Knorr or any other powder mix)

*One bowl
*Fork or something to mash potatoes
*One Casserole dish

Okay, boil the potatoes with the skin until it's good enough to mash.
Then when they're done, cut the potatoes in half. Scoop out most of the soft potatoe and put in the bowl. Put the skin in the casserole dish. Chop all the tomatoes, mushrooms and onions so that it's minced. Put in casserole dish and bake in the oven until it's the desired crispiness. Make the cheese sauce. When the potatoe skins are finished (you could bake with the brie or save till now) pour the sauce over.

Bon appetit!!!!

Chocolate Mousse...mmmmm

Okay, this has got to be one of the most quickest, tastiest desserts I have ever discovered. All you need is 1 package of silken tofu (the softest tofu you can find) and some semi-sweet chocolate chips.

-Melt the chocolate
-Blend the tofu
-Pour the chocolate into the tofu
-blend the two until it's a nice moussy consistency
-let settle in the refridgerator for a few hours
-enjoy!!!!

Breakfast shake

Milk
Yogurt (plain)
Strawberries (or bananas, or mangos, or you get the drift...)
*to sweeten, add honey,etc.

Just blend together. Enough said.

Portobello Mushroom Burger-That's right, B U R G E R!

OKay this is what you need:

*Big Portobello Mushroom
*Margarine
*Pesto
Grill on a pan, stick it between a kaiser bun (or whatever other type of bun) and serve with red onions and tomatoes.
(for non vegetarians, a nice addition could also be some mayo with curry powder...)

This is my guess of how to make it. I tried this burger at a birthday party and it was DEEELICIOUS!

Enjoy!!