Last night was a ton of fun. I invited five friends over for some snacks and drinks before we hit the town. I love entertaining, I wanted a really fun menu with everything miniature!

Everyone was greeted with a Mini Peach-Pomegranate-Grapefruit Drop Martini.

Peach-Pomegranate-Grapefruit Martini

• 2 oz Absolut Peach vodka
• splash of pomegranate juice
• splash of grapefruit juice
• sugar
• orange zest

Put a bit of sugar into a bowl and stir in some orange zest. Run a piece of orange around the rim of your martini glass and then rim with orange-sugar. In a martini shaker, combine ice, vodka, and juices. Shake! Shake! Shake! Pour into prepared glass. Garnish with an orange slice.

And we munched on a fresh platter of veggies n dip

I made these Fig & Brie bites, which were absolutely delicious. I think you guys know about my love affair with brie…and these were no exception. MAKE SURE YOU FREEZE THESE BEFORE YOU BAKE. I actually couldn’t serve these because mine weren’t cold enough, so the brie ran everywhere…..but the scraps were amazing haha. I have one more batch ready, which I will freeze first.

Fig & Brie Bites (adapted from Food Mayhem)

Sour Cream Pastry

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2″ cubes
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling

• 3/4 cup fig jam
• 10 oz wedge of brie cheese

To make the sour cream pastry, combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the food processor by pulsing a few times. Add the butter and pulse 4 times, then process for 10 seconds, or until it looks sandy.

Empty into a very large bowl and form a well in the center. In a small bowl, stir together sour cream, yolk, and vanilla extract. Place wet mixture in the center of the well and work from the inside out with a rubber spatula.

When the dough comes together, knead a few times with your hands and press together. Divide the dough in half and form a 3″x4″ rectangle with each. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. (Dough can be kept for up to 3 days in the fridge or 1 month in the freezer.)

Remove one dough rectangle from the fridge and cut in 4 equal pieces. Keep un-used dough in the fridge.

Roll the piece of dough into a 14″ x 3″ strip on a lightly floured surface. Spread 1 1/2 tablespoons of preserves down the middle.

Cut the brie into thin slices a little less than 1/8″ thick. Cut off the rinds. Lay the brie down the middle on top of the preserves.

Lift the sides of the dough over the preserves and brie, folding one side over the other. Press down gently to seal.

Cut into 1-inch pieces.

Place them 1 inch apart on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Repeat with all the remaining dough, preserves, and brie. Place them in the freezer for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F about 30 minutes before you are ready to bake.

Bake for 10 minutes or until golden. Remove to cooling racks to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Best served warm.

I also served Smoked Salmon Blinis. I love smoked salmon, and all seafood for that matter. I try to avoid salmon because I have a sensitivity to it, but what the heck, it was New Year’s Eve!!

Smoked Salmon Blinis (recipe found here)

For the pancakes:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped chives
• 1 ounce cream cheese, softened
• 1 tablespoon butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk
• 8 ounces cold smoked salmon
• Freshly chopped green onions, for garnish

For the sour cream sauce:

• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon horseradish
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and chives.

In a small bowl cream together the cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Add the egg and whisk until completely incorporated.  Whisk in the milk.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until just incorporated and no large lumps remain.  Do not over-mix.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Spray lightly with non-stick spray then scoop the batter by the tablespoon into the pan.  Cook for one minute on the first side, flip, then cook for an additional thirty seconds, or until the cakes are golden brown and spring back when gently pressed in the center.  Remove to a plate to cool while you prepare the rest.

While the cakes cool prepare the sour cream sauce by adding the sour cream, horseradish and salt to a small bowl.  Whisk to combine then let stand ten minutes.

To prepare, spoon a heaping 1/4 teaspoon of the sauce onto the center of the cakes.  Top with a piece of the salmon.  Garnish with the chives.  These can be assembled up to one hour in advance.  Serve at room temperature.

I have always wanted to make sliders, and I decided to make these lovely Lentil Walnut Burgers from Oh She Glows, into sliders! They look so adorable and almost to cute to eat.

Lentil Walnut Sliders (adapted from Oh She Glows)

• 3/4 cup canned lentils
• 3/4 cup walnuts, toasted
• 1 piece bread, toasted OR 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 chia/flax egg (1 tbsp ground chia or flax + 1/4 cup water)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl make the chia or flax egg and set aside.

Toast the walnuts by placing the walnuts on a baking sheet and cooking at 350F for about 12 minutes until golden brown and delicious. Let cool.

In a food processor, process the garlic, walnuts, toasted bread OR breadcrumbs, spices & seasonings until combined. Now add oil and lentils and pulse until coarsely chopped (some lentils should be visible and left chunky). Add the flax or chia egg and pulse a bit more until combined. Now shape small patties with hands and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a non-stick mat. Bake at 350F for about 35 minutes, turning once. When almost done, add cheese (if using), and let melt in the oven for about a minute.

I served these on slider buns, with spinach, avocado, ketchup, mustard, and havarti cheese. Enjoy!

My friend Taylor said, “These are the best f*cking burgers ever!” LOL

As if we didn’t have enough shots in our near future, I thought I’d kick things off with a shot that wouldn’t make our stomachs (and livers!) cringe. A simple Thai-Spiced Pumpkin Soup served in shot glasses.

Thai-Spiced Pumpkin Soup (adapted from 101 Cookbooks)

• 2 acorn squash, pumpkins, or other smallish winter squash (I used one can of pumpkin puree, and one acorn squash)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• clove minced garlic
• 1 14-ounce can coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon (or more) red Thai curry paste
• water
• 2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt (or to taste)
• sprinkle of red chili flakes

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and place the oven racks in the middle.

Carefully cut each squash/pumpkin into halves (or quarters). Slather each piece of squash with butter, sprinkle generously with salt, place on a baking sheet skin sides down, and place in the oven. Roast for about an hour or until the squash is tender throughout.

Saute garlic clove in a bit of olive oil in a soup pot. When the pumpkin/squash are cool enough to handle scoop it into a large pot over medium high heat. Add the coconut milk and curry paste and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and puree with a hand blender, you should have a very thick base at this point. Now add water a cup at a time pureeing between additions until the soup is the consistency you prefer – a light vegetable stock would work here as well. Bring up to a simmer again and add the salt and chili flakes (and more curry paste if you like, I used about 10 teaspoons of curry paste, but the kind I used was very mild.)

To round out the evening before we headed downtown, was a selection of festive cookies. I made shortbread 3-ways, snowflake sugar cookies, and rumnog pecan cookies (vegan, and to die for!) .

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you will know that I love quinoa. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snacks- I love it! I also love pumpkin and I decided to combine the two in a yummy fall-inspired dish. I caramelized some onions, candied some pecans, and cooked up some quinoa. Ooh! I also threw in some fresh sage from my garden. My garden is still giving me sweet strawberries, tomatoes, and I see some squash growing, along with all sorts of amazing herbs. I made a quick apple cider vinaigrette to go with it for extra flavaaaaaaa.

Pumpkin Quinoa

• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup organic pumpkin puree
• fresh sage, finely chopped
• candied pecans
• caramelized onions
• apple cider vinaigrette, to taste
• salt and pepper, to taste

Candied Pecans

• 1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup maple syrup

Heat a pan on medium heat and add the pecans, toast for about five minutes (until fragrant), tossing frequently. Add olive oil and salt, stir. Add maple syrup and stir continuously for about 30 seconds as it bubbles. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and let cool.

Caramelized Onions

• 1/2 sweet onion, sliced
• olive oil, to coat pan
• drizzle of red wine vinegar

Coat the bottom of a pan with olive oil, and heat to medium high heat. Add the onions and turn down the heat to low. Stir the onions every few minutes, as they begin to brown and eventually caramelize. This is a slow process….be patient!! At the end, add a tiny splash of red wine vinegar to deglaze the pan as you stir.

Apple Cider Vinaigrette

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp pure maple syrup
• 2 tsp dijon mustard
• salt and pepper

Whisk all the ingredients together.

Hello everyone! It’s been a little while since my last post and at last….something NOT pumpkin! After making a New England style clam chowder in my cooking class, I wanted to try to make MY version at home so I could actually taste it- sans pork, and chicken stock. I used vegetable stock with a bit of fish sauce mixed in because I could not find fish stock. The soup turned out fantastic, though not quite as thick as the one we made in school, the flavour was very nice and my family and I enjoyed it for dinner!

Koko’s New England Clam Chowder

• 25 g butter
• 50 g onions, diced
• 100 g celery, diced
• 50 g flour
• 3/4 L vegetable stock, warm, with 1/2 tbsp- 1 tbsp fish sauce added OR fish stock
• 300 mL clam nectar
• 1 sachet (herbs tied up in cheesecloth and left to float in the soup while cooking) consists of 1 bay leaf, 1/2 tsp peppercorns-crushed, 1/2 tsp dried thyme)
• 75 g potatoes, diced
• 350 mL baby clams, canned
• 125 mL Cream, 35%, or milk
• Salt and pepper to taste

Sweat onions with celery until translucent.

Add flour and cook roux until white/blond in colour.

Whisk in heated vegetable or fish stock until smooth.

Stir in clam nectar, add sachet and simmer 15 minutes.

Add potatoes and simmer until tender.

Stir in baby clams and their juice.

Return to simmer, add cream and adjust seasoning, enjoy!!

And now…back to pumpkin! You thought I had stopped!? Nooo…..try these pumpkin cheesecake brownies- they are SO rich you will only need one to satisfy your sweeth tooth, though they are absolutely delicious! The recipe comes from the Beantown Baker.

I have been dying to try pumpkin oatmeal for the longest time, and finally I decided on a recipe (there are so many floating around the internet to choose from!). The recipe comes from Give Me Some Oven and I chose it because it doesn’t contain a huge amount of sugar, and I was even able to reduce the sugar more. It was delicious topped with some soy milk and I love how it’s served in little individual ramekins.

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal Recipe (Adapted from Gimme Some Oven, originally adapted from GoodLife Eats)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup old fashioned oats, not quick cook
• 1 Tbsp. whole flax seeds, optional
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. allspice
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. lemon zest
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup soymilk or almond milk or regular milk

Topping:

• 1/3 cup pecans, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• sprinkle of cinnamon

Method:

Preheat oven to 375F degrees.  Grease 4 individual-sized ramekins.  Set aside.

Combine the first eight ingredients (oat thru salt) in a medium-sized bowl.  Stir well.  In a separate bowl, combine the vanilla, butter, pumpkin, and milk.  Whisk thoroughly.  Pour the pumpkin mixture into the oats, and stir until combined.

Divide mixture evenly between the four ramekins. Place ramekins on a baking sheet (this makes it easier to move in and out of the oven.). Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the ingredients for the topping: chopped pecans, butter, and brown sugar. After the oatmeal has baked for 10 minutes, remove and divide topping mixture evenly between the ramekins. Bake and additional 7 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before serving. Top with a splash of milk and raisins, if desired.

To everyone in Canada, I hope you have a fantastic Thanksgiving Weekend- eat lots!!!

Enjoy some delicious pumpkin scones like I did, with a great recipe from Pinch My Salt. These really embrace fall flavours and make a great treat on the weekend or for a special pick-me-up in the afternoon. I made some changes in the recipe, as I don’t usually eat cream or milk and I thought that dried cranberries would add more to the recipe than raisins. Enjoy!

P.S. Sorry for the short post but I’m working at way at getting my ‘Culinary’ section up and running, along with a pile of homework!!

Pumpkin Spice Scones

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or all purpose white flour)
• 1 cup cake flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4  tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup unsweetened dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup plain soy milk
• 6 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a medium bowl, combine both flours, baking powder, salt, and all spices. Whisk together well.

In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, soy milk, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk together well. Cut butter into pieces and put in bowl with the flour mixture. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender or rub it in with your fingertips until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the dried cranberries if you are using them.

Pour liquid mixture into the flour mixture all at once. Stir with a wooden spoon until everything is just moistened. The dough will be very crumbly, this is the way it should be. Turn the mixture out onto the counter and push the pile together with your hands. It should stick together fairly well. Knead it just a couple of times until everything is together. Don’t knead it too much or the dough will get too sticky.
4. Pat the dough out into a rough circle, 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Cut it like a pie into 8 pieces. Place pieces on the baking sheet so that they are not touching. Bake scones for about 15 minutes at 425 degrees. They should be light brown on the bottom, the tops will darken as they cool.

Cinnamon Glaze

Mix together 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 Tbsp soy milk, 1/4 – 1/2 t. cinnamon (to taste). Again, adjust amounts to change consistency. Icing can be brushed on or drizzled.

The other day I randomly thought about making ratatouille- I had never made it before but I wanted to try it. That night, the movie Ratatouille (so cute) was on TV and  so, I was convinced. I adapted the Ratatouille Provencale recipe from the Joy of Cooking. Ratatouille is usually a side dish but is also great as a main meal. I chose to serve mine over quinoa for some extra protein instead of rice, or noodles. Though not usually a part of ratatouille, I thought some mushrooms would have been nice and I will be sure to add them next time. I used chopped tomatoes but I felt that using canned tomatoes might have provided a juicier ratatouille, which is what I was looking for. Either will work depending on your preference! I chose to add parmesan cheese to mine but omit for this dish to remain vegan.

Ratatouille Provencale (adapted from the Joy of Cooking)

• 1/4 cup olive oil + 2 tbsp
• 2 chinese eggplants (about 1 pound)
• 1 pound zucchini
• 1 cup sliced onions
• 2 large red bell peppers
• 3 garlic cloves, fienely chopped
• salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes or one 14 oz can diced tomatoes (drained)
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 chopped fresh basil
• parmesan cheese

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add eggplant and zucchini and cook, stirring, until golden and tender (about 10-12 minutes).

Remove the vegetables and reduce heat to medium high. Add 2 tbsp olive oil and onions and cook, stirring until the onions are slightly softened.

Add the bell peppers and garlic and cook until tender (about 8-12 minutes). Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Add tomatoes, thyme and bay leaves. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the zucchini and eggplant back in and cook until everything is tender, about 20 minutes.

Taste and adjust seasoning. Stir in chopped basil, sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Serve over quinoa, rice, noodles, or plain. Enjoy!

For the month of October, instead of having a Cookbook of the Month, I will be having a Flavour of the Month. This flavour will be the alllllllll too popular PUMPKIN! I adore pumpkin and could never get tired of it. I recently spent an entire day making everything pumpkin from oatmeal to scones and brownies and pie. I will be posting these recipes in future posts as well as others part of the flavour of the month. If you know of any interesting and unique pumpkin recipes, let me know because I would love to try them out!

Happy Mother’s Day! This weekend it happened to be my mom’s birthday on Friday followed by Mother’s Day on Sunday! I really wanted to try out a recipe (or two!) from this month’s Cookbook of the Month- The Joy of Vegan Baking. So, last night I made Baked Pumpkin Pudding and I accompanied it with Chocolate Almond Brittle. The Baked Pumpkin Pudding was nice but I really wished I had some vanilla frozen yogurt or ice cream to go with it. The recipe suggested making the Tofu Whipped Topping to go with it, but since I am really the only one in my family adapted to using tofu in many different ways, I didn’t think they would enjoy that. I dug out my creme brulee torch because I wanted to add a nice burnt brown sugar topping to this dessert, but unfortunately I was out of butane! I still added brown sugar on top and stuck it under the broiler for about a minute- not quite the same, but oh well!

I really enjoyed the Chocolate Almond Brittle. It technically isn’t a brittle as it isn’t that rock-hard texture we all know. It was softer and contained chocolate, almonds and graham crackers. The best part for me were the bites that contained the graham crackers- next time I make this I will be sure to lower the amount of toasted almonds and up the amount of graham crackers!! I’m hoping to find the time to make some scones from this book soon, so stay tuned for that!

Say hi to yo mommas for me!!  

Here is a picture of me and my mom….unfortunately the only ones I have on my computer are from when I graduated high school!

Look how far I’ve come….from picking pumpkins (“it’s too heavy!!”) to baking with them!

For my first time participating in Magazine Mondays, I decided on a recipe torn from the pages of the October 2008 issue of Canadian Family magazine. The recipe is for Apple Pumpkin Butter. It is simple to make with very little prep work and lots of time spent in the oven. It is recommended to try the butter with ice cream, cheese and crackers, or toast. I have personally only tried it on toast, but I can tell you that it was great and provided something new and refreshing in exchange of regular butter, almond butter, or whatever you usually put on your toast!

Apple Pumpkin Butter (makes 1 1/2 cups)

• 2lbs assorted apples, peeled, cored and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1lb baking pumpkin, peeled, seeded and diced into 1/2 inch pieces (**I used a 15-oz can of pumpkin puree, as I did not have a baking pumpkin on hand)
• 2 cups apple cider or apple juice
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 whole star anise (or cinnamon stick if preferred)
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine apples, pumpkin, apple cider, and butter together in a large, shallow 12″ x 8″ glass baking dish. Cook in oven, stirring occasionally until apples and pumpkin are softened (about 30 to 35 minutes). Remove from oven, mash apple mixture with a potato masher or in a food processor for a smoother texture. Add maple syrup, star anise, allspice and ginger. Stir well. Return to baking dish and bake in oven, stirring occasionally until thickened and golden brown, about 2 hours.Remove from oven, discard star anise and let stand to cool. Tightly sealed and chilled, apple butter will keep 2 week; frozen, it will keep 3 months.