Month: January 2012

Blueberry Boy Bait

~ Lynn ~ 29 Comments

Blueberry Boy Bait

Whenever we have an office potluck I bake something. And whenever I bake something the “moms” in the office always tell me I’m bonne a marrier (good to marry). They all seem to believe the idea that a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. There is a catch to that though; for it to work I would have to actually feed someone, and I generally don’t walk around with baked goods at the ready in case I see a cute guy.

When the people at Gojee asked if I wanted to participate in a virtual potluck I first planned to make a quinoa salad, but then I realized this is my chance to serve up some baked goods on a much larger pot luck scale. The blueberries in my fridge made my decision on what to make real simple: blueberry boy bait.

Blueberry Boy Bait

This is a combination of a Smitten Kitchen recipe and one of my moms. Blueberry Boy Bait is actually a really simple cake to make, it’s basically a coffee cake like batter with a ton blueberries on top. It kind of reminds me of an upside down cake, without the upside down-ness, if that makes any sense. The original calls for a cinnamon sugar crust on the berries, but I like a streusel topping. You can use fresh or frozen blueberries, though I prefer the texture of fresh.

Starting on Thursday, January 26, check out other potluck dishes fellow gojee contributors shared. Go to gojee.com and enter “gojeepotluck” into I Crave.  You can also follow #gojeepotluck on Twitter.

Enjoy!

Spiced Kettle Corn

~ Lynn ~ 6 Comments

Spiced Kettle Corn

One of the great pleasures of winter, for me at least, is that it’s an opportunity to curl up on the couch and catch up on some TV/movie watching and general laziness. This weekend has been particularly cold, with windchills bringing the temperature down to minus 25 Celcius (around minus 8 F). Yesterday I braved the cold and got some errands done, my teeth chattering the whole way through. My bravery was rewarded with a great find at a thrift shop; for $40 I picked up a solid wood dresser that with a little love is destined to become a TV stand in my new place (I was channeling my inner Sarah Richardson).

So today I feel zero guilt in my plan to watch super hero movies all day, starting with Thor (how hot is Chris Hemsworth in that movie?) followed by Batman Begins and the Dark Knight.  The fireplace is roaring, and my super cozy wool blanket is waiting for me. As I get carried away into these fantastical worlds where the good guys always win, I will be munching on this Spiced Kettle Corn. Stove top popcorn is really easy to make, and doesn’t take much more time or effort than microwave popcorn. There is also the added bonus of controlling the ingredients that go into your popcorn and knowing there are no random chemicals leaching into your food. In this recipe I added a touch of cayenne and garlic powder to give the popcorn a spicy/savoury kick. I was a little worried about the garlic and sugar together, but in the end I found the flavours really worked together. You can substitute any spices you like in this recipe.

Spiced Kettle Corn

  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne (or to taste)
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/3 cup unpopped popcorn kernels
  • salt to taste
  1. Mix the sugar, garlic powder and cayenne together. Set aside.
  2. In a large heave bottomed pot that has a lid, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the popcorn and cover. When you hear the oil start to sizzle, stir in the sugar mixture then cover again. Shake the pot constantly to keep the sugar from burning. When the pops slow to once every two to three seconds remove the pot from the heat, keep shaking until the popping stops completely.
  3. Pour the popcorn into a serving bowl and season with salt.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Marshmallows

~ Lynn ~ 32 Comments

I’m sure many of your diets have switched away from rich holiday meals and desserts to something a little more reasonable for every day life. I’ve been trying to do the same, but my mind keeps wandering back to sugary treats. I think I may have an addiction. I have a hard time going more than a day without something sweet to calm the cravings. It’s hard to believe that not too long ago I cut sugar and gluten completely from my diet.

One of the sweet visions that I go back to regularly are these Chocolate Marshmallows I made in December. There is nothing quite like a homemade marshmallow. Although you can see the resemblance to store bought, looks are really all they have in common. Homemade are much more flavourful, their texture light and fluffy. Unlike store bought, I could eat them as is, no need for anything else.

It was quite the adventure making these, not that the recipe is difficult, I was just having a particularly klutzy weekend. I made a batch and was about to unmold it when somehow I dropped the whole pan on the kitchen floor, sticky side down (of course). There is no 5 second rule when it comes to sticky marshmallow, I had to scoop it up in chunks with my hands, the whole thing ruined.

I still wanted marshmallows, so I made another batch. This time the entire marshmallow making process went off without a hitch.

Unfortunately the photo session didn’t turn out so well. I took a few shots like the one above then started to take photos of the marshmallows in a mug of hot chocolate. It was a gloomy day out, so I had a whiteboard set up to bounce some light onto the mug. I have no idea exactly what happened, but while I was shooting, the white board fell over onto the mug, causing it to topple over and the hot chocolate to spill. There was hot chocolate everywhere; on the table, the carpet, even on my parents upholstered dining room chairs. Disaster. After scrambling to clean it all up I decided there was only one thing to do: sit down and eat marshmallows.

Marshmallows make everything better.

Chocolate Marshmallows

(makes approx 36 marshmallows)

  • 2 tablespoons gelatin
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup clear corn syrup
  • 4 oz dark chocolate, melted
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  1. Line an 8 by 8 inch pan with plastic wrap and lightly grease the plastic.
  2. In a small sauce pan, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let the gelatin expand. Add the sugar to the pan and gently heat while stirring until the sugar has dissolved completely.
  3. Pour the sugar and gelatin mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the corn syrup and then beat for 10 to 12 minutes until the mixture forms stiff peaks. Stir in the chocolate using a spatula to mix.
  4. Pour into the prepared pan spreading with a greased spatula. Refrigerate for about 1 hour until well set.
  5. Cover a work area with half the cocoa powder. Unmold the marshmallow onto the cocoa powder, then cut into squares using scissors or a pizza cutter. Cover each square with the remaining cocoa powder.
  6. Keep in a well sealed container at room temperature for 3-4 days. (if they make it that long)

Enjoy!

A Fresh Start Cocktail

~ Lynn ~ 36 Comments

Happy New Year!

I’m not big on new years resolutions. I see no reason to hold off on doing something you truly want to do, so waiting till January 1st doesn’t work for me.  I’m sure the reason most resolutions are not kept past January 3rd is that they tend to be things people don’t want to do.

That’s not to say I don’t see an advantage to the new year. It’s a time to reflect, look back on what was and move forward. If your year was good, you can build on it. If your year was crappy, well then you get begin all over again. A new year gives us a chance to clean the slate and start fresh.

Personally I found 2011 to be kind of meh. It was  year I spent waiting, and because of that I feel almost that it was a lost year. It had ups and downs along the way, but  looking back the downs outweighed the ups. So I’m looking forward to 2012 and all of the opportunities it has to offer.

I’m starting the year off with this fresh start drink, a rosemary scented grapefruit cocktail. The fresh squeezed grapefruit is a nod to the healthy living many have promised to adhere to this month. And the rosemary sugar syrup and booze are there to throw resolutions out the window. Feel free to use store bought grapefruit juice, but keep in mind that they are often sweetened so you may have to cut back on the sugar in the syrup. Also, if you are on medication that doesn’t play well with grapefruit .. drink something else please.

Rosemary Scented Grapefruit Cocktail

  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2-3 long sprigs of rosemary
  • 4 cups fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
  • 3 oz vodka
  • 2 oz Triple Sec
  1. Make the rosemary syrup: In a small saucepan heat the sugar and water until the sugar has completely dissolved. Add the rosemary and simmer for 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
  2. In a pitcher, mix the rosemary syrup with the grapefruit juice, vodka and Triple Sec.
  3. Serve over ice with a rosemary “stirrer”.

Enjoy!