Barley "Risotto" with Rosemary Focaccia

My husband loves barley and  always says I don't make it enough.  I'm not sure why that is.  Perhaps it's because the kids don't love it as much as he does or maybe it's the time it takes to make it.  After his request for barley for tonight's dinner, I came up with this after browsing many recipes.  If you have all the veggies chopped and ready to go in advance, the recipe isn't as time-consuming prep-wise.  Whether you use water or stock for this recipe doesn't really matter, as long as you have at least 5 to 6 cups of liquid.  This time I used half water and half chicken broth and also added a chicken bouillon cube for some extra flavour.
This makes a very large batch of barley.  This will easily serve 6 people as a main dish with even some for leftovers.
I paired this with a rosemary focaccia bread that tasted great dipped in this barley (and was the real star for the kids).

Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 pkg (227g) sliced cremini mushrooms, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large carrot, thinly sliced
2 celery sticks, thinly sliced
1 cup pot barley, rinsed
5-6 cups liquid (water and/or broth)
1 bouillon cube (optional)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 pkg chopped spinach, thawed
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tsp dried dill weed
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. In a medium pot, melt the butter over medium heat.  Saute the onion for about 5 minutes, until tender but not browned.  Add the mushrooms, stirring occasionally until they release their juices, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute or so.

2. Add the barley and stir to coat.  Add your liquid (start with 5 cups) and soy sauce and bring to a boil; add the bouillon cube if using.    Reduce the heat to low, simmering gently.  Cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice.

3. Add the carrots, celery and dill. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.  Add the spinach and chickpeas, cooking for another 5-10 minutes, until barley and vegetables are tender.  Add more liquid if necessary to ensure the barley doesn't stick.  There should be a small amount of liquid left and the barley should have a bit of a "bite" to it. (If you'd like this "risotto" to have more of a soup-like consistency, add even more liquid [ideally stock for more flavour].) 

4. Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan.  Season with salt and pepper.

Rosemary Focaccia
This is really quick to prepare if you have dough ready to go (homemade or store bought).  The dough recipe below will make two round pizzas or one large rectangular one.  If you are dividing it in half, you can easily refrigerate it overnight or freeze for up to 2 months.  If you are freezing it for later use, wrap the dough in plastic wrap first and then place in a freezer bag.  To thaw, unwrap the dough and place it on a plate for about 3 hours to let it reach room temperature.  Before using the dough make sure it is at room temperature. 

Ingredients:
2-1/4 tsp yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1-1/4 cups warm water
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
3-1/2 cups flour

Focaccia topping
1 tbsp cornmeal
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp fresh rosemary
coarse sea salt
black pepper

Directions:
1. In a bowl put the water, sugar and yeast and let it stand until foamy (about 10 minutes). 
2. Add the salt, olive oil and flour and mix using the dough hook until it comes together.   I find it best to knead the dough with my hands for a bit to form it into a smooth ball. 
3. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turning to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Let the dough rise until it is doubled in size, about 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and punch down.  Knead into a smooth cylinder and divide it in half.  Knead each half to form 2 smooth balls, dusting with flour if sticking.  Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for 10 minutes.
5. To make one round rosemary focaccia, you will use one ball.  Lightly grease a round pizza tray and sprinkle with corn meal.  Place the dough on the prepared sheet and stretch the dough from the center outward to the edges of the pan.  (If the dough is too tight, let it rest for another 10 minutes before trying again.)  Cover the flattened dough with a damp kitchen towel and let rise for 15 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 450F.   Make dimples in the dough with your fingertips.  Drizzle with olive oil and spread around.  Sprinkle with rosemary, salt and pepper. 
7. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.  Cut the focaccia into pieces and serve warm or at room temperature.

Baci di Ricotta (from Nigella Lawson)

When the image for these "ricotta kisses" came up in my Instagram feed, I saved it and knew I'd be returning to it.  Easter weekend provided me with the perfect opportunity to make this lovely dessert.
I did a trial run the night before for my family and the kids ate them all up!  So I doubled the recipe to make for our family Easter get together.  I received many compliments and this recipe will become one of my go-to's.  It was fast and easy to put together; the only downside is the time spent frying the batter, but really it is so worth it.  They taste great the next day as well; if they get soggy put them in the oven for a few minutes to crisp them up again (but really they taste great either way)!

This recipe makes about 30 balls and the recipe can easily be doubled.

Ingredients:
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 large eggs
1/2 cup flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
vegetable oil or corn oil for frying
2 tsp icing sugar

Directions:

1. Beat the ricotta and eggs until smooth.  Add the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla extract.  Beat until smooth.

2. Fill a wide, shallow pan with about 1" of oil.  Heat the pan until a small bit of batter sizzles when dropped into the oil.

3. Drop rounded teaspoons of the ricotta batter into the pan, about six at a time.  In her recipe, Nigella says not to make them too big or fry too many at a time, and this is a good piece of advice.  The batter will puff up when cooking and they fry up pretty quickly.  As they turn golden brown, flip them over and leave for a minute or so on the other side.

4.  Place the cooked baci di ricotta on paper towels to remove someof the oil.  Pile the balls onto a plate in a pyramid shape and sprinkle with a thick layer of icing sugar  They taste best eaten right away!

Original recipe can be found here: Nigella's Baci di Ricotta

Rainbow Cupcakes

Our children's daycare does an activity called Toddlers in the Kitchen.  The kids get to make something and then bring it home.  It is very popular and the baked goods turn out pretty awesome each time.

This time they made Rainbow Cupcakes, which of course made my eldest a little jealous.  So I promised we would attempt to make the recipe another time.  This happened to occur over the March Break.  And of course right as we were colouring the batter, the daycare called to say the little one was ill and needed to be picked.  Needless to say, this very time consuming recipe took even more time than initially anticipated.  The end result was a beautiful cupcake with a dense texture and not too sweet taste.  We topped the cupcakes with a vanilla frosting from Martha Stewart that is always a hit!

Ingredients

 3 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1-3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups whole milk
Food colouring (red, orange, yellow, green, blue purple)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time.  Then add the vanilla and mix until combined.
4. Alternately add the flour mixture and milk to butter mixture.
5. Divide the batter into six bowls and dye each with food colouring. (Alternately, transfer each colour to sealable plastic bags and pipe the batter into the cups.
7. Bake the cupcakes for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Fluffy Vanilla Frosting
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1-2/3 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. With an electric mixer, beat butter on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes.
2. Reduce speed to medium.  Add the confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed; after every two additions, raise speed to high and beat 10 seconds to aerate the frosting, then return to medium.  This process should take about 5 minutes.  Frosting will be very pale and fluffy.
3. Add vanilla, and beat until frosting is smooth.  If not using immediately, frosting can be refrigerated up to 10 days in an airtight container.  Before using, bring to room temperature and beat on low speed until smooth again, about 5 minutes.
4. To tint with food colour, add a drop at a time and stir with a flexible spatula until well combined before adding more.

  

 

We enjoyed our creations over a warm cup of tea!

Lemon Pudding Cake

I love just about everything lemon.  It adds such a nice flavour to things.  So when I came across this Lemon Pudding Cake, I had to make it!  I love how it "magically" separates to be a cake on top and a pudding on top.  I made this to bring to a dinner at a friend's house and it was a hit!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs at room temperature, separated
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup butter, melted
1-1/4 cups milk or half-and-half
1/4 cup sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.  Butter a 9" square cake pan.
2. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt.  In another bowl, beat the egg yolks until smooth.  Stir in the lemon juice and zest, vanilla, butter and milk (or half-and-half).  Add the flour mixture to the egg yolks. 
3. Beat the egg whites to form soft peaks.  Gradually beat in the 1/4 cup sugar and continue beating until stiff, moist peaks form.  Fold a small amount of the egg whites into the lemon mixture first, then the remaining amount.
4. Pour into the prepared pan.  Set the pan into a large pan filled with one inch of hot water.  Bake for 40-50 minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Smarties Cookies

This cookie recipe comes together pretty easily and makes about 2-2.5 dozen cookies (depending on your size).  You can substitute the Smarties for chocolate chips if you like.

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups Smarties
1 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4  tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.  Grease a large baking sheet, or line it with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl beat butter and brown sugar with electric mixer until creamy.  Beat in vanilla and eggs.  Beat in flour, baking powder, and salt.

3. Drop by rounded tablespoons on to baking sheet, about 2-inches apart.  Flatten cookies slightly and press 4-5 Smarties into the top of each.

4. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until edges are lightly golden brown but center is still soft.  Cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing them to a rack to cool completely.

5. Cookies can be stored in an airtight bag or container for up to one week.

Strawberry Shortcake

I thought my husband would want an ice cream cake for his birthday, but this year he surprised me when he told my little one he wanted a fresh cake with strawberries and cream.  At first I couldn't tell if he was serious, but I held him to his words and decided to make just that for his birthday cake.

I had never made a cake like that before, so I took to the internet.  After browsing several recipes, I settled on one by Martha Stewart.  I've always trusted her cupcake recipes (I have a cookbook of hers and every cupcake turns out amazing - no matter what!), and it seemed to have pretty good reviews.  So I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

The outcome was a dense cake with a lot of flavour and freshness to it.  Below is basically her recipe with some modifications based on the reviews and other things.  You can view the original recipe here.
This recipe is definitely a keeper that we will make again!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (plus more for the pans)
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for the pans)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs, plus 2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup milk

for the filling
1 pound strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced (a few more never hurt either!)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp  unflavoured gelatin (from a 1/4-oz envelope)
1-1/2 cups heavy cream (or up to 473ml carton)
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Butter bottom of two (2) 8" round cake pans, and line with parchment paper.  Butter and flour paper and sides.  (Alternately you can bake it in 1 pan, double the cooking time and then slice it in half horizontally using a serrated knife.)

2.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

3. Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides as necessary.  Beat in vanilla.

4. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture in 3 parts and milk in 2 parts, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined.  Spread batter in prepared pans (the batter is quite thick).

5.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 15 minutes (or 30-35 minuets if you baked it in one pan).  [The cake will look very light in colour; it doesn't brown much.]  Cool in pan for 10 minutes; invert onto wire racks to cool completely. [At this point slice the cake if you used on pan.  Place the bottom half cut side up, and the top half will be placed cut side down.]

6. To make the filling/topping: In a large bowl, combine strawberries and 1/4 cup sugar; set aside.  Place 2 tbsp cold water in a small bowl and sprinkle with gelatin; let soften 5 minutes.  Microwave gelatin bowl in 10-15 second increments until the gelatin is dissolvevd, stirring as needed.  Let it cool.

7. Using an electric mixter, beat cream, vanilla and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a large bowl until very soft peaks form.  Add a couple of teaspoons of whipping cream to gelatin mixture to temper it.  Then gradually add the gelatin mixture as you continue to beat the whipping cream until soft peaks form.

8.  Arrange half the strawberries over bottom cake layer; top with half of whipped cream, leaving a 1" border.  Cover with top half of cake (bottom side up).  Top with remaining whipped cream, leaving a 1" border.  Refrigerate cake and remaining strawberries separately, at least 1 hour (or up to 1 day).  Just before serving, spoon strawberries over cake.

Maple Glazed Trout

I often buy trout from Costco - it comes as two nice fillets that are pretty easy to prepare.  This recipe will glaze two of those fillets (about 1.5 kg).  It can easily be halved if you are planning on making one fillet and freezing the other for another use. (Original recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/steelhead-trout-baked-with-honey-or-maple-glaze-50175385)

This trout pairs nicely with some basmati rice and steamed green beans tossed in salt and olive oil.  You can also sub out the maple for honey with the same results!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp maple syrup (or honey)
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/3 onion, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a glass bowl in the microwave.  Whisk in the remaining ingredients.

2. Place the fish in the centre of a piece of foil.  Pour the glaze over the fish and fold the packet around the fish.

3. Preheat the oven to 400F.  (The fish will marinate while the oven heats up.  This step is not necessary though; you can preheat the oven while you prepare the fish to save time.)

4. Bake for 10 minutes plus 10 minutes for each inch of thickness (ie: a one inch thick fillet would bake for 20 minutes.)  Alternatively, you can subtract 5 minutes from your total cooking time, open up the foil and broil for 5 minutes.