Brown Butter Spiced Winter Squash Bread

Oh boy. This was a good one. I think I easily polished off the whole loaf by day two.
The spices! The texture! Oh my I do adore this cakey bread.

The recipe comes from none other than my current favourite Ms. Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks. I followed the recipe pretty much completely as is, except I used walnut oil instead of hazelnut, and I made my own garam masala-esque blend of spices (coriander, cumin, ginger, black pepper, bay leaf, cardamom, and clove).
One bizarre thing I did do though was NOT measure my squash. Yup, that's right, I chopped, roasted, and pureed it but somewhere in my zombie mom brain I didn't think about measuring the damn stuff. Oh well, turns out lady luck was on my side and this turned out great. Now the only thing is I wonder how it'll turn out the next time...

Beet & Corn Hash

This post seemed have gotten lost in the shuffle somewhere. Seems a little out of place now that we're almost heading into November but it was delish so here it is nonetheless!

I love meals that really represent the transition of seasons, especially summer to fall. Lately I've been diving into fall produce while still trying to use up some of late summers best offerings. I feel like the addition of sweet fresh corn really adds a touch of summer to an otherwise heavy fall dish. 

No recipe this time, just hoping to inspire you to take a breakfast staple like hash and give it a good ol' seasonal twist!

Summer Squash Soup

So it's official. This is the time for soup. 

Not just weather wise, but baby wise. 

I've quickly realized that soup is the perfect meal for me to cook while taking care of the babe while my husband's at work. I start it late in the morning while the babe is napping, eat some for lunch then serve the rest for dinner, or just save it for another days lunch. If the babe wakes up and I have to leave my cooking, it's so easy to just take it off the heat or turn it down while putting it together, and of course once its done its perfect to just leave on the low heat ready for whenever I can sit down and eat some.

I wish I had found this recipe earlier. It's the perfect way to use up oodles of zucchini or other summer squash that we all end up having a little too much of now and then. With a hint of coconut milk and green curry, this simple soup was another great way to celebrate the transition into fall. I think I'll definitely be making this again this winter with some of the zucchini I've tucked away into my freezer.

Beet Greens with Tofu and Soba Noodles

When the end of summer nears closer and closer I feel myself clinging to the seasons best produce; green beans, tomatoes, peaches, and berries. Even though I'm actually slowly getting tired of these foods and actually can't wait to dive into my first winter squash or bag of brussels sprouts, I just feel like I need to avoid eating fall/winter vegetables as long as I can because before I know it beets, potatoes, cabbage and turnips will be some of my only culinary choices. 

During todays market trip however I just couldn't help myself. Its been weeks that I've been eyeing bunches of beets and piles of winter squash and I couldn't resist them any longer. We're heading out of the city for a few days tomorrow so I knew I needed to make quick work of the beet greens before my refrigerators crisper gets to them first. 

I think every fall I search for new exciting things to do with beets, especially the greens. I love their flavour but often find it quite overpowering.

After checking all my usual sources for inspiration and finding nothing, google provided me with this recipe from Canadian Living. I added this yummy tofu my friend Renee got me hooked on, as well as cashews and soba noodles. It was the perfect quick Saturday lunch! 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've had a real hankerin' for some classic chocolate chip cookies lately. I've often been a bit overwhelmed when looking for "the perfect" recipe for this classic cookie, and have just as often been disappointed with the results. This cookie is soft, not tooth-achingly-sweet and has just the right amount of chocolate in it. Just what I've been searching for!
Pair it with a cold glass of milk and you've got my favourite after dinner snack.

Not only do I love how these taste but they feel so fast to throw together. The recipe is simple enough that I'm sure I'll commit to memory after a few more times making them, and something about the melted butter step just seems to speed it all up which I'm grateful for these days.

Simple Carrot Salad

This is my entire carrot harvest of summer 2012.

Looks kind of sad when you think of it like that, but I prefer to appreciate the fact that I got one big bowl of sweet crunchy fresh carrots rather than none at all. The glass has been pretty well half full around these parts lately, thanks to this little beauty:

With him strapped to my chest or asleep on Daddy, I've finally been able to venture back into our overgrown forgotten garden and harvest some goodies, rip out some oldies, and plant some newbies.

The bebe has also been such a great reminder to slow down and stop and smell the roses. Life takes on such a different pace with him around and everything holds such a different meaning.

Which is why I just devoured and enjoyed this little carrot salad for what it was in the moment, and nothing more.

The recipe is from Everybody Likes Sandwiches, check it out here.

Peach Icebox Cake

It's probably no surprise that I've been seeking out ways to keep cool lately. Despite still baking a fresh loaf of bread every other day, I'm really trying to keep the oven turned off during this heat.

I made a variation of this cake about a week ago that was so lackluster it's a wonder I tried again. I built it in a small but high sided dish (thinking it would be easier) and ending up using WAY too much whip cream. I used both peaches and plums and yet the cake was so bland and boring I couldn't quite believe it. 

This cake on the other hand is far from boring, far from bland and really quite delightful. I made it for dessert last night and am kicking myself for not having leftovers to snack on right now. 

Somehow despite all the cream this ends up tasting so light, and fresh while the coconut and almonds really round out the flavour. Pair that with a soft and pillowy texture, and in my books you've got a winner!

Zucchini Chocolate Muffins

Zucchini season has hit my backyard and I couldn't be happier. I think in the last two weeks I've harvested 7 big beautiful zucchinis. Not a bad start eh? Most of them I have been diced and frozen but I've also made a batch of one of our guilty summer pleasures: Zucchini Fritters with Whipped Feta and how could I resist the allure of chocolate zucchini muffins? I was really looking for a recipe that was slightly healthier...but still quite chocolatey. It was truthfully hard to find but I think this was pretty much what I was looking for.

Mushroom & Sausage Risotto

When you're home alone do you have different behaviour than when your partner is around? The question makes me think of Carrie from SATC and her "Secret Single Behaviour" theory, demonstrated by her eating saltines with grape jelly while standing in her kitchen reading fashion magazines. I truthfully don't think I have any remaining "Secret Single Behaviour" left after 7 years with my husband. I actually think that I had lived alone for long enough before meeting and moving in with him that it wasn't that easy to hide anything that would could have been considered "secretive" anyway.
But nowadays when the rare occasion comes along that I'm alone for days if my husband is away I have developed a new type of SSB: I eat food that I know he hates.
Like tuna sandwiches! And mushrooms!

I bought myself four baby portabello mushrooms at the market this week anticipating a few lonely meals but really had no specific dish in mind for them. Thankfully a little quick browsing on one of my go-to recipe blogs provided me with the perfect use for them.

Strawberry Almond Tart

So I don't want to sound like a broken record or anything...but have I mentioned how uncomfortably hot I've been lately? 33 weeks preggo in 25+ degree weather isn't as lovely as it may sound. 

I think I've been doing a pretty good job at not complaining too much but there are points in the day when a frown creeps onto my face and I just can't comprehend the fact that I need to stay out of the sun. Add to that picture my undying desire to cook and bake new fun things for almost every meal and my utter disregard for the fact that baking will in fact make my house hotter. 

Thankfully I've stumbled upon this little gem of a summer tart. Not only is it super fast to make but the end result is so light and refreshing that it almost makes me forget I had to turn the oven on at all. 

Green Bean Hazelnut Salad

This summer has been just fantastic so far. Despite the fact that the high temperatures don't agree with my pregnant body, my feet are constantly swollen and I'm getting a wee bit crankier...I am actually having a really great summer.
Yesterday was a perfect day filled with two trips to the lake, a great burger from my favourite new burger joint, a long nap, a delicious quickly-thrown-together summer meal, refreshing mocktails, and board games in the yard at dusk. What more could I want?

This salad comes from (you guessed it) Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks. She comments on the surprisingly pleasant pairing of the tomatoes and the hazelnuts but I really think it's the green bean and hazelnut combo that wowed me. Either way, you must add this into your summer salad repertoire.

No Knead Bread

I fell out of my constant bread baking routine sometime last year. I was on a roll there for a good 6 months or so, making all our own fresh bread every few days. But then I'd miss a day of bread baking, my husband would buy a loaf from the store and before I knew it I'd completely fallen off the bread baking wagon.

From my experience the best way to get yourself back into a routine like that is to find a way to make it feel new and fresh, like with the help of a new recipe. 

I have literally been meaning to try this recipe for years. Apparently all I really needed to get my butt in gear was to have a friend make it first and show me just how easy and delicious it really is. 

And now it's your turn. Don't wait any longer to make this bread. It really is the easiest and most delicious bread and before you know it, you'll be baking a few loaves each week because you just can't get enough. 

Asparagus Chorizo Hash

Mmm-mm, this was so good! 

Hit-the-spot good. 

Making-me-crave-it-for-dinner-again-tonight good. 

My mind is truly everywhere else right now, so I don't know what else I can say to make you want to cook this. It's just damn good!

Chickpea Salad Sandwich

Sounds a bit weird, eh? But trust me it's oh-so-good. Just the kind of super healthy snack I've been craving lately.

Oatcakes

Lately my pregnancy has left my appetite so all over the map. Hungry almost always, but so quickly and easily filled up that regular meals just don't work so well anymore.
I feel like I'm constantly searching for quick healthy snacks that I don't get bored of. Sometimes it feels like the search is endless.

Well today I think I found a new snack that I hopefully won't get sick of in the next 3 months, cause these are perfect! Oats, whole wheat flour, nuts, flax and just enough sweetener to make them addictive. Yum!

Asparagus Salad

Do you ever have those moments when you have an idea for a dish or meal that slowly evolves into merely a shell of it's former self? Well that happens to me sometimes, like when I wanted to make a spring Panzanella salad and wound up with this.
Baked croutons, asparagus, dill, bitter greens, and some green onions are dressed in olive oil, lemon juice, a little garlic and lots of shaved extra old gouda.
The end result really reminded me of the flavours of my favourite Kale Salad but with more texture and diversity. This one's a keeper for sure!

Wilted Swiss Chard Potato Salad

Everyone keeps asking me if I've been having any strange cravings while pregnant. I feel like I'm almost disappointing people when I say no, not really. I remember asking pregnant friends the same thing, so curious of the weird and wacky food combinations they were eating. But most of them, like myself had nothing interesting to share.
I do feel like I'm eating a little differently but not all that "weird". There were a few weeks there when I could eat a bowl of cherry tomatoes simply dressed a few times a day, yet now it just doesn't appeal to me in the same way.
Around the same time I'd also slather a piece of toast with an inch thick layer of herb goat cheese and savour every tangy bite.
Lately I'd be pretty happy to eat some sort of grilled sausage on a bun smothered in mustard at any point in the day, but that's about it for real "cravings".

For the rest of the time I'm still trying to just enjoy all that spring has to offer. This salad is a perfect example of such. Asparagus, swiss chard and quinoa make this potato salad feel like a much healthier version of it's usual self.

Mango, Cucumber and Radish Salad

I think all of us who try to eat locally can admit that there are times we're weak and break down and buy produce "from away". My toughest time (as I've mentioned before) is usually towards the end of winter when I just can't eat another root vegetable and all I want are greens. Thankfully there are a few great sources for early spring greens here in Halifax to quench the craving.
However this spring my pregnancy has really thrown me for a loop. I've been craving fruit like nobody's business and can't get it off my mind. Apples aren't really cutting it anymore and lately I've been trying to satisfy myself with oodles of cherry tomatoes. Strawberries and peaches are what I'm really after but I still have so long to wait! I recently felt it was time to make the executive decision to just buy some imported fruit and let my body be happy.

So I've been scarfing down navel oranges and enjoying every single sweet, sticky bite. There truthfully wasn't much else in the grocery store that appealed to me...except for mangoes. Juicy, glorious mangoes.
Funny enough it was while looking for new recipe ideas for radishes that I found this mango salad recipe. It was so fresh, bright, juicy and fantastic. I might just have to make it one more time...

Oatmeal Pecan Sandwich Cookies with Peanut Butter Filling

I have just found a new favourite cookie! Not that I really needed to. I mean sure the rotation of cookies being baked around here is getting a little bland but still, this is a frivolous snack we're talking about. Variety is really just the icing on the cake. Or in this case the icing sandwiched between two chewy oatmeal pecan cookies.

Simple Tomato Salad

I know this looks a little too simple...but trust me; if you love tomatoes, you will love the simplicity. 

The other night I made another simple salad (greens + tomatoes + balsamic + olive oil) to accompany some grilled burgers and although the salad was good, I just couldn't keep from eating all the tomatoes first. They were just so ripe and perfect! I'm sure it's also due to the fact that these are still some of the first tomatoes of the season (thank you hothouses!) and my taste buds just can't get enough, but I knew then that I really should just take a direct approach and simply eat a bowl of cherry tomatoes. Because clearly that's what I really want. 

For this salad make sure your tomatoes are perfectly ripe (red, not pale at all) and fragrant. Do NOT store your tomatoes in the fridge (I don't know what the science is behind this but the fridge just ruins fresh ripe tomatoes), instead just leave them on the counter to ripen. Once summer hits and the fruit flies are rampant I usually keep them in a clear sealed bag (or bowl covered with plastic wrap) and often even store them in a cupboard so they're a little more hidden from those pesky flies.

Today I doused my tomatoes in a splash of red wine vinegar, a heavy glug of olive oil and a liberal seasoning of salt and pepper.