Whats Cooking Wednesday - The Simple Things

Some times the simple things are the best. BF and I have always loved trying new recipes and foods. After traveling for a year and taking cooking classes overseas we are even more excited about food. I find myself spending a lot more time in the kitchen cooking and actually enjoying it a lot more than before. Still, some times the best thing are the ones that are simple.

For example, I bought some strawberries on sale the other day after work. I had planned to just eat them as is but BF suggested he make a fruit smoothie instead. It was delicious and reminded me of Thailand where we would have fruit smoothies all the time. It was just strawberries and ice with a tinsy bit of sugar mixed in our blender. The results made my tastebuds sing with pleasure.

A few weeks back BF and I had purchased some amazing brie from a local cheese place on the island. Whenever we go through that area we always stop in. BF had some other cheese that he had bought on sale at the grocery store (Oka). Add in some Tuscany ham shavings, some green grapes and a fresh loaf of bread. Heaven! I could eat this way forever.

Yum! What is your favorite simple thing to fix and eat?

What's Cooking Wednesday!!! - Frozen Treats

It's been hot here on the West Coast lately. It's time to save some dough on frozen treats. If you don't already have one I'd suggest picking up some Popsicle molds. They come in all different shapes and sizes now. I'll bet you can pick some up at the dollar store. Just pour in your favorite juice with some fruit chunks and you've got yourself a frozen treat!

If you have a juicer at home you could take this one step forward and make your own juice so you would know for sure that you're consuming 100% pure fruit content. This is a fun project you can do with your kids if you have them. If not you could maybe add a little extra fun, as in alcohol, to kick things up a notch. Not to much though as we still want them to freeze people!

Try surfing the net and you can find all sorts of delicious recipes. I saw a lot of fun ones including some for rootbeer (YUM) and even beer itself. So dust off your molds and beat the heat with this yummy frozen treat!! :D

What's Cooking Wednesday!!! - A Natural Clean

This What's Cooking Wednesday I've decided that while its fun to try out new recipes and have a blast in the kitchen, there is always the big clean up at the end. With that said I've decided to feature natural home cleaning alternative links for this weeks installment.

BF and I are pretty big on doing our part for the environment. We both are employed by companies that take environmental issues very seriously which is a win win situation for us and the beautiful planet earth we all call home. I decided to do some looking around for links for the best homemade house cleaners. This way you are not using toxic chemicals that are nasty for mother earth. Also, I don't like to breathe in any of this crap.

The number one best part about this post is most, if not all, of these cleaning solutions can be made from things you already have on hand in your home which means ... saving $$$$. So here are the 5 best looking links I found. There is a lot of repeat information but I figure people will just pick out what they are interested in anyways.

• Less Toxic Alternatives for a Clean and Healthy Home
• Eco Cleaning
• Natural (and cheap) household cleaning products
• Natural Cleaning Alternatives
• The Natural Way to Clean Everything In Your House
  

What's Cooking Wednesday!!! - Ramune Drink

Today's What's Cooking Wednesday is about a new soda I recently discovered. About a month or two ago I stopped in a sushi place with my sister to grab some takeout. While waiting for my turn at the till I noticed a drink cooler and decided to grab something to drink. All of the options looked pretty boring to me except one. I meant to drink it that day but instead it stayed in the fridge until last week when BF spotted it again and threatened to drink it if I didn't. I told him to open it up and share it with me. That's when we realized the soda was more special than we thought. I didn't know when I had bought it just how cool it was.
Introducing to you the Ramune Drink. This drink is special as it uses a marble to seal it . We didn't notice anything until we popped the little green cap off and spotted it the marble.
The lid is actually built to push the marble down into the bottle. Sorry for the blurry pic but the middle of the lid actually pushes in and in turn pushes the marble in as well. Its hard to see but the marble is sitting snugly in the mouth of the bottle.
After we finished the drink (which was really good) we played around with the strange looking bottle. The design of the bottle actually holds in the neck and you can roll it back and forth. If you look carefully you can see it resting there.
Here is a picture looking into the bottle so you can see the marble. Fun, right!?

I read up on it when I decided to post and read that some people have problems drinking it because the marble rolls into the opening but we didn't have that problem. I thought it was really good. I can't really think of how to describe the taste.... maybe a bit like raspberry ginger ale? It has a familiar taste but I just can't place it. Anyway, if you spot one I would recommend trying it for sure. I love trying new things!

What's Cooking Wednesday!!! - Bacon wrapped Enokitake Mushroom Appetizer

If you try any of my recipes be sure to try this one. Its an appetizer that you can make ahead of time and simply grill for 12 minutes before serving with fresh lemon wedges. Its super easy, affordable and delicious. I have made these at parties, put the plate down, went to get a drink for myself, and come back to an empty plate. They are a definite crowd pleaser!
The star of this dish is the Enokitake mushroom. I would describe the taste as being sort of nutty. I usually purchase them at a local Oriental foods store but recently have seen them in larger grocer chains as well. They are very interesting to look at so it gives your appetizer a very unique look that attracts people quite well.


The first thing you should do is cut off the bottoms. I would say a half inch to inch above the bottom. I usually cut it off on top of the wrapper so I don't get my cutting board dirty right away.
Here is a close up shot for y'all.



Now I start dividing up the mushrooms into bunches around the size of a quarter. You can adjust this over time to a diameter that suits you best. Just remember you are broiling these babies so you can't make them too small. I then cut strips of bacon in half. I find a half slice is perfect for ensuring your bacon is done when the mushrooms are to avoid burning. You can always adjust the amount of mushroom but make sure to add enough so that the ends don't singe too much.

Roll up the mushrooms with a strip of bacon fairly taut and then secure with a toothpick. Once they are at this stage you can put them in the fridge until just before your guests arrive or its so fast that sometimes I do it while they are there. People love to watch these being made and are always thankful they did watch when they taste how good they are!
I usually line a cooking sheet with aluminum foil. This particular piece of foil I had used to cover a dish earlier in the week and then reused it as a grease catcher here. Don't worry it was clean. I'm big on the three R's. Reduce, reuse, recycle. You can do more than this of course. Do as many as you like. These ones I made were a little thicker with the mushroom than usual. You can fit way for than this on one pan. This was one package worth of mushrooms. I would say it does about 8 well from this last experiment with them. All brands that I have seen are the same size in package so whatever you get should be fine. :)

Now pop these babies in the oven and broil them for about 6 minutes on each side. Be very careful to watch them about 4 minutes into cooking each side as you don't want your mushrooms to burn. Remember.. they have tiny little ends to them that can easily burn.
Once they brown and the bacon is cooked enough bring them out and let them sit a minute. You can use this time to cut some lemon wedges. Go back to the bacon wrapped mushrooms and use a bread knife to cut them in half. You should be slicing half way through the bacon. As you cut them you can arrange them on a plate. Stand some up for a fun effect. I'm sorry I would have made the arrangement a little nicer but I had an impatient BF who didn't want to wait while I took pics for my blog, lol.

Make sure to advise people to use the fresh lemon slices to squeeze a few drops directly onto the bacon wrapped mushrooms to really give it a punch. Either way its delicious but I find the lemon really makes it special.

So there you have it. My number one appetizer and all of its secrets. *sigh

Share and Enjoy!

What's Cooking Wednesday!!! - Freezing Berries

(^^^^hand picked from our first crop^^^^)
Today's installment will be quick and sweet!

I have a quick tip for freezing your summer berries that are coming on sale everywhere right now.

When freezing berries try spreading them out on a cookie sheet so that they freeze individually. Once they are frozen go ahead and throw them into a freezer bag to store for later.

I like to have frozen berries on hand for a lot of things:

Muffins
Smoothies
Strawberry Shortcake
BF's Raspberry Coule
Ice cream topper

and Eating Frozen Berries as is!

What do you use your frozen berries for?

What's Cooking Wednesday!!! - Olivieri Contest

So today I was fumbling around the internet when I found a contest:
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We’re looking for the next OLIVIERI connoisseur. How do you add a little passion and personality to your meals? Do you use colourful flower petals as a garnish or eat your pasta with chopsticks? Have you figured out how to make OLIVIERI pastas, sauces, marinades, or pestos taste even better? Is it a touch of creamy yogurt or pinch of fiery paprika?

Let us know how you add your own personal flavour to your meals and you could win one of our gourmet OLIVIERI pasta cooking gift packs valued at $250 each. Post your ideas and upload any relating photos to our discussion board under the Saucy Gourmet Contest forum.
One prize will be given every month starting June 30th until December 31st. Good luck.

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If you are interested in entering here is the link. Good luck!

What's Cooking Wednesday!!! - Prawn Crackers

Today I have a long time favorite of mine to share with everyone. Prawn crackers! Not the ones you buy already made in store but the ones you make at home. I learned how to do this when I was young kidlet and have loved them ever since. In case you don't have any clue about what I'm talking about I decided to take some pictures the last time I was making some.

The first thing you'll need to do is turn on your deep fryer. If you don't have one you can also heat up oil in a pot but please be careful. My sister accidentally burnt down a kitchen being careless with oil on the stove.













Prawn Crackers come in different varieties and brands. Some also come in different colors and flavours. The blue box are the ones I having been eating for years. Recently I discovered they also come in red which actually makes them a cute pink color. The box on the right are ones I picked up just to try. They are multi colored and all taste slightly different. I've tried other brands in the past but the blue box is my favorite so far.



Here you can see the difference in color before they are cooked. At this stage they are hard little ovals.






Once the oil is ready go ahead and drop one in as a test. If it puffs up right away the oil is ready to go. If you have a fryer basket like mine you can drop a few in at a time with no worry. If you are doing it manually do one at a time with a set of metal tongs. I used to throw one in as I was taking one out before I had the fryer. Now that I have the fryer I dump 6-8 in at a time.








Fun, right!? It's totally fun to watch the first few times. They go from this hard little chip to a fluffy white cloud. Once they stop growing get them out of there. Make sure to shake off any excess oil.


Dump them onto some paper towel. I usually put a few sheets on a cookie sheet to soak up any oil that was missed. Once you have a layer of them, lightly sprinkle with salt.

After a few basket fulls you should end up with a nice little pile of snacks. If there are left overs place them in a freezer bag to keep them fresh. I did a little mix here to show what they look like when cooked.

I like to make these when we have company because they are fun to share with people. Sometimes when we have company and I make sushi and wonton soup I will make some of these for snacking on as part of the nights theme. Delicious!

What's Cooking Wednesdays - Rambutans

I like to try a lot of new foods. Especially fruits and vegetables! Whenever I go to this one small oriental foods store here in town I always end up with a few new items in my basket. About a month ago I purchased my first Rambutans. The store owner is a very good salesman and introduced me to them and insisted I try some.


I decided to just purchase three. One for me, BF and BF's friend who was shopping with us for a dinner we were preparing. I took them home and opened them right away. The shop owner had explained they are pretty much like a lychee nut, so they have a shell and a pit. I carefully cut around the outside of the Rambutan to pop off the exterior.


Then I carefully bit the fruit off the tiny pit in the middle. It was great!


I am always scared when I try things like this because the first time I had a lychee nut I bit into it and accidentally split in half which resulting in a horrible taste in my mouth. The owner told me that meant it was probably bad (Eww) but that its still not right to bite into the seed (LoL).

I definitely did enjoy this new fruit and I would recommend you to try if you see it the next time you're at the grocery store. Mmm good!

What's Cooking Wednesdays - Fellow Bloggers Tips and Tricks

I promised you all a super "What's Cooking Wednesday" as I slacked on last weeks due to being a little under the weather. R you ready?

First off lets give a big shout out to one amazing blog "A Year of Crock Potting" by a great blogger named Stephanie. She claims to have an unnatural obsession with her crock pot but is totally okay with it and so am I because her recipes look great! I really thought the idea of a "Crock Pot Party" was fabulous! What a great way to have everyone contribute with no stress for hours beforehand. Amazing and a must do for Dolly!

I found this blog by checking out Canadian Saver's blog roll who also updates her blog weekly with her organized meal plans. I really need to start mapping out my meals ahead of time too so I can save time, energy AND money!

Now... on to business...

Here is a handy little tool that is used often in my household.
Its an orange peeler! I've had this one for ages.
I know you can get them smaller and more compact
but I love mine and what's the sense in replacing something that works so well.

On to the recipe of the week....


Check out Krystal's

Chocolate peanut butter cup cookie recipe

I haven't had a chance to make these just yet but just looking at them made me drool and I'm not usually into sweets that much!

What's Cooking Wednesdays - Brie Cheese Lovers Unite!

Brie Cheese with Sundried Tomato and Green Onion

1 Brie Round
5 Sun Dried Tomato (in oil)
5 Green Onions
1 Fresh Baguette

Preheat Oven to 375*

Slice Brie round in half diagonally and open like a sandwich.

Place one half of the Brie cut side up into a small baking dish. ( I have a small glass circular one that fits perfectly :))

Chop up sun dried tomatoes and sprinkle evenly onto the Brie.

Chop up green onion and sprinkle evenly onto Brie as well.

Place top half of Brie back on top of tomatoes and green onions cut side facing down.

Let Bake for 15 minutes.

While cheese is baking in the oven slice baguette on an angle to create small discs.

Serve cheese in baking dish to company with sliced bread and butter knifes. Use knives to scoop and spread the melted cheesey goodness on to the bread and then pop it in your mouth and Enjoy!!



TO DIE FOR - Next time I make this I will be sure to take a photo for you all!

This is SOOO easy to do when you have guests over and they will LOVE it, I promise! You can get different sized Brie rounds and don't be shy to add more or less tomato or onion!

Thanks to my guy for teaching me this one! XOXOX

What's Cooking Wednesday!!! - Butter Bean, Sundried Tomato and Pesto Soup

For this installment of What's Cooking Wednesday I'm going to feature a recipe I haven't actually tried yet but think it looks good and super easy!

Butter Bean, Sun-dried Tomato and Pesto Soup

3 1/4 Cup Chicken or Vegetable Stock
2 - 14 Oz Can Butter (Lima) Beans - drained and rinsed
4 Tbsp Sun-dried tomato paste
5 Tbsp Pesto

Pour stock and butter beans into a pan and bring just to a boil.

Reduce heat and stir in sun-dried tomato paste and pesto.

Cook gently for 5 minutes.

Transfer soup to a blender/processor and blend until smooth.

Return puree to pan and gently heat again for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Ladle into bowls and serve it up with with some tasty bread!

Enjoy!

What's Cooking Wednesday!!! - Caraway Seed and Potato Salad

Caraway Seed and Potato Salad

1&1/2 lbs new potatoes, scrubbed
1 tbsp caraway seeds, gently crushed
3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
3 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
salt
pepper

Cook potatoes in salted boiling water until tender (about ten minutes).

Drain thoroughly and transfer to a large bowl.

Stir in the oil, caraway seeds and some salt and pepper into the steaming hot potatoes.

Set aside to cool.

When the potatoes are almost cold, stir in the parsley.

Serve and Enjoy!



**** Note - I have made this recipe a few times to accompany dishes for guests. I recommend buying a small amount of caraway seeds from the bulk section. I bought a spice container full and haven't had too much other use for it.

This recipe can be served warm but is best served cold as the it gives the potatoes time to absorb the flavours of the oil and caraway seeds.

What's Cooking Wednesday!!! - Honey Mustard Chicken

Honey Mustard Chicken

8 Chicken Thighs
4tbsp Whole Grain Mustard (I've used Dijon before)
4 tbsp Honey
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 375.

Put the chicken thighs in a single layer in an oven safe dish.

Mix together the mustard and honey. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Brush mixture all over the chicken thighs.

Cook for 25-30 minutes (or until cooked thoroughly), making sure to brush chicken with juices from the pan occasionally.



*** Note - Replace chicken thighs with 4 breasts if you would like to reduce the fat. Chicken thighs are yummy though, aren't they?

What's Cooking Wednesday!!! - Lemon Grass and Ginger Pork Burgers

Lemon Grass and Ginger Pork Burgers


Mmmm, I haven't made these in awhile... I'm glad I found this recipe again.

2 cup Ground Pork
1 tbsp Fresh, grated ginger root
1 stalk Lemon Grass
2 tbsp Sunflower Oil
Salt
Pepper


In a mixing bowl combine pork with ginger.

Season with salt and pepper.

Remove the hard exterior of the lemon grass and discard.

Chop the center of the lemon grass as finely as possible and also mix into pork.

Shape mix into 4 patties and chill for 20 minutes.

Heat Sunflower oil in large, non-stick frying pan and add patties.

Fry for 3-4 minutes one each side over a gentle heat, until thoroughly cooked.

Serve and Enjoy!

What's Cooking Wednesday!!! - Cantaloupe with Grilled Strawberries

Cantaloupe with Grilled Strawberries

1 cup strawberries (hulled and cut in half)
1/2 a cantaloupe
1 tbsp icing sugar

Preheat broiler to high.

Arrange strawberries cut side up in a single layer on a baking sheet or in an oven proof dish.

Dust with icing sugar.

Broil strawberries for 4-5 minutes or until sugar starts to bubble and turn golden in color.

While the strawberries are in the oven clean out the half cantaloupe by scooping the seeds out with a spoon. Remove the skin and cut into wedges.

Arrange strawberries and cantaloupe on a serving platter. Dust with icing sugar if you like.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

What's Cooking Wednesday!!! - Spaghetti Secrets Revealed

I promised you all my secret ingredient that I put in my spaghetti sauce and here it is......

Pepperoni

Yup! That's my secret ingredient. I love it and so does my guy. You can try different types if you like. If you like spicy sauce get a hot pepperoni, or try honey garlic which makes the sauce a little sweeter.

If you don't eat pepperoni you could always try sausage. That's a good one too!

The best things about spaghetti sauce are that its never the same and its always best the next day!

I recommend cooking your spaghetti sauce with pepperoni for at least 4 hours. Recently I've started leaving it most of the day in the slow cooker.

Mmmm I'm a pasta girl!

What's Cooking Wednesday!!! - BBQ'd Potato Secrets

Last night we had steaks on the BBQ with baked potatoes and a salad. I, as usual, took care of the veggie part of dinner. My guy asked me to try brushing some oil on the potatoes and sprinkling them with salt and pepper before wrapping them in foil to go on the BBQ.

This made the skins sort of crisp and really tasty! I was pleasantly surprised by the results.

What's Cooking Wednesday!!! - Chicken and Corn Saute

Last Saturday night I was all excited to try out a new electric wok that I bought half price only to open it and discover that half the components were missing. :( I was upset, especially since I had bought a few things to start cooking in it. A few months back my mom bought me a great stirfry recipe book and I've been dying to use it.

After flipping through many mouth watering recipes I settled on an easy one and got everything all ready. Once I realized cooking with the wok was a no go I decided to just use my frying pan. It turned out great.

Chicken & Corn Saute

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
9 oz/250 g baby corn cobs
9 oz/250 g snow peas
2 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
pepper
rice or Chinese egg noodles, to serve

1)Using a sharp knife, slice the chicken breasts into long, thin strips.
2)Cut the baby corn cobs in half lengthwise and then top and tail the snow peas.
3)Heat the sunflower oil in a preheated wok or a wide skillet.
4)Add the chicken and cook over a fairly high heat, stirring, for 1 minute.
5)Add the baby corns cobs and snow peas, and cook over a moderate heat for 5-8 minutes, until evenly cooked. The vegetables should still be slightly crunchy.
6)Mix together the sherry vinegar, honey, and soy sauce in a small bowl.
7)Stir the vinegar mixture into the pan with the sunflower seeds.
8)Season well the pepper. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
9)Serve the dish hot with rice or Chinese egg noodles.


This was so good! I did change things up a little though. I only used one and a half chicken breasts cuz the ones I have are huge. I also cut the amount of peas and corn in half. I used snap peas instead of snow peas becuz thats what I had and I like them better. I didn't use sunflower seeds becuz I didn't have them on hand. Also the recipe indicated that if you didn't have sherry vinegar you could use rice vinegar or balsamic, so I used the balsamic since I had that in the cupboard. We had it with some leftover rice and it was great! This one is a keeper in our household for sure.

Enjoy!

What's Cooking Wednesday!!! - Chicken Parmesan Link

Wow! You lucky people get 2 cooking posts today! LoL

My sweetheart has his messenger on at work all day so I can harass him periodically. Today I asked him what he'd like for dinner and he sent me a link for a new recipe he found online.

So this is what we'll be dining on tonight.

This dinner sounds easy and delicious. We have everything we need right here at home so thats a plus as well. I figure we'll pair it with some steamed veggies and baked potatoes.

Is it dinner time yet??