Garlic & Veggie Risotto

Risotto is a well-loved dish in my household and I'm always looking for ways to change it up.
I recently saw a post by Lidia Bastianich for a garlic risotto which sounded interesting but I was hesitant about the amount of garlic and lack of other veggies.  I made a few modifications, but I now have no doubt the original would have been wonderful the way it was!  You could easily pick any vegetable or combination of veggies for this risotto.

Needless to say, this risotto was a huge success!  The kids ate it up and the husband was very impressed.  This served our family of four with a protein and salad, with leftovers for another day. 

Ingredients:
7-8 cups chicken stock
2 cups arborio rice
1 head of garlic (approx. 14 cloves), peeled and crushed
1 cup white wine
olive oil
salt to taste
1 onion, chopped
1 cup chopped green beans
1/2 red pepper, seeded and diced
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 - 1 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated

Directions:

1. Bring the chicken stock to simmer over medium heat and season with salt.

2. In a frying pan over medium heat, add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.   Toss the green beans red peppers and cook until tender.

3. Puree the garlic and white wine in a blender or food processor.

4. In a large, shallow pot, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.  When the oil is hot, add the onions and cook until they are tender, but not starting to brown, about 5 minutes. 

5. Raise the heat to medium-high and add the rice, stirring constantly until the grains are coated in oil and translucent, about 2 minutes.  Add the wine-garlic puree and cook until the liquid is mostly absorbed.

6. Ladle in about 2-3  ladlefuls of stock, stir and cook until the liquid is mostly absorbed.  Repeat this process, adding in a couple of ladlefuls of stock each time the liquid is mostly absorbed, until the rice is al dente, about 20 minutes.  With about 5 minutes left, add the green beans and red peppers.

7. When the rice is al dente, turn off the heat and stir in the butter and Parmesan cheese.  Season with salt and pepper if necessary.  Serve immediately (with more cheese if you like!)

Banana Buckwheat Muffins

Banana Buckwheat Muffins

Being home during the pandemic has allowed for a lot more time to bake.  This is evident for many people it seems as it is getting increasingly difficult to find flour and yeast. 

So I decided to try a recipe I have never tried with some other flours I had in the house.  This is a slight adaptation from the original recipe found in Nourishing Meals by Alissa Segersten and Tom Malterre.

Banana muffins are a staple in my house, so I thought this would be a easy recipe to try and especially test out on the kids to see if they would notice a difference.  These muffins are dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free and refined sugar-free.  They are great for anyone who has allergies to any of these ingredients.

I've never used buckwheat flour before, but I had recently picked up a small bag by Bob's Red Mill to try out.    The muffins smelled amazing - just like any other banana muffin I've made before.  They had a much darker colour, almost like I had mixed cocoa in it.  The muffins were a little denser than I'm used to, but they still had a very texture.  The flavour is distinct; I'm assuming it is the buckwheat flour.  It was not subtle and the kids definitely picked up on the flavour and of course for them it was "not a banana muffin" anymore.  That is not to say that it was still not good.  My husband and I enjoyed the muffins, but it is definitely different from what I was used to.

So without further ado.....here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
Dry:
2-1/4 cups buckwheat flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Wet:
2 cups mashed bananas (about 5 bananas)
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/3 cup avocado oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup non-dairy milk (I used oat milk)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Line a 12-cup muffin pan with liners.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.

3. In another (medium) bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.  Begin with about 1/2 cup of the milk.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk together.  If the batter is too thick, add more milk up to the other 1/2 cup.  The batter should come off the whisk, but not so much that it is thin and runny.

4. Fill each cup all the way.  If you fill 3/4 of the way, you will get about 18 muffins instead.

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Cool completely on a wire rack before storing in an airtight container.

Quick & Easy Creamy Lemon-Garlic Ravioli

Has anyone else been struggling to find inspiration for 3 meals a day every day during this COVID-19 pandemic?  I've come to realize how often we ate out or even just picked up snacks out.  Now we are basically enjoying all meals inside.

I'm a PC Insiders member and I didn't even realize we had exclusive access to something called the Insiders Project until I received an email saying they were giving free access to everyone during the pandemic! 

Well of course I had to go on and browse what they have on there - and wow! Lots of variety and lots of great looking recipes.  So of course I had to try one of them out.

I've always loved a cream sauce on my pasta, even though my kids are not big fans.  And no matter what I do, I can never really replicate my mom's cream sauce, and any that I've found online are not what I would consider keepers.  Well tonight the pasta was enjoyed by all and my husband actually said "Wow! This is a keeper!" Now that's saying a lot because I'm pretty sure my kids inherited their dislike for cream sauces from him.  He started talking about all the different ways we could use this sauce in other dishes.

This amount was perfect for our family of 4, and it came together very quickly.  Once I popped the frozen ravioli in the boiling water, I got started on the sauce.  It has very little prep involved as well - grate the cheese, mince the garlic and zest the lemon.  The recipe calls for 1 cup of Parmesan cheese, but I never measure and always use till I think it looks good. Of course, you could use any pasta you want, but for some reason I love ravioli in a cream sauce.

Ingredients:

400g bag frozen cheese ravioli
2 tbsp butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup cream
zest of one lemon
sea salt to taste
1 tsp dried parsley
(1 cup) Parmesan cheese, grated
2 tbsp lemon juice
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Place frozen ravioli in a salted (large) pot of boiling water. Cook until the ravioli is al dente (approx. 8-10 minutes).  Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water, and drain the ravioli.

2. While ravioli is cooking, melt butter in a large frying pan over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Be careful not to brown or burn the garlic.  Stir in cream, lemon zest, dried parsley and salt.  Simmer until the sauce is reduced by half, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add drained ravioli and 1/2 cup pasta water.  Increase heat to medium-high, then cook, stirring often until the sauce thickens and coats the pasta, approx. 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat and gradually grate the Parmesan cheese over top, stirring occasionally.  Stir in lemon juice and season with black pepper.  Serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Asparagus & Mushroom Risotto

Rice was a staple in my husband's family growing up, but it's not something I could eat everyday.  Risotto is a great dish that brings together my Italian heritage with his Hispanic heritage.  Growing up there were two risotto dishes that were a staple in my house (made by either my mom or my nonna): mushroom risotto and a meat/tomato "red" risotto.  While I have never attempted to make the red one, mushroom risotto is something I make often enough.  I love playing around with different ingredients to add in a risotto.  Once you are familiar with the method, it is really easy to change up the ingredients.  This time around we happened to have a lot of asparagus sitting in the fridge that needed to be used up, so I added it into the risotto. 

If you've read any of my other risotto recipes, you'll recognize this one.  It is essentially the same with the asparagus added.  Unfortunately, my measurements may be a little off as I tend to eyeball risotto when I make it.  It doesn't hurt to have extra broth simmering away; you can always refrigerate it and use it for something else another time if there's leftovers.

This risotto was so creamy and delicious.  The asparagus is sliced up into tiny pieces so it's kind of hidden away from the kids, but it does give the dish a green hue.  I sometimes buy sliced mushrooms to save time, but I find they are often sliced into huge pieces.  So I give them a quick chop as well.  This will also hide the mushroom away if people in your house are not fans.  My recommendation when it comes to the oil and butter is to always add more if it is looking dry or sticking to the pot.

Make sure all your veggies are chopped and ready to go before you start cooking the rice because once you start, you are pretty at the pot until it is cooked.

Ingredients:
5-6 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth (stock)
2-3 tbsp olive oil
2-3 tbsp butter
1-1/2 cups arborio (risotto) rice
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 bunch asparagus (rough ends trimmed), thinly sliced with tops reserved
1 pkg (225g) mushrooms, thinly sliced
4-6 scallions, thinly sliced; reserve green tops
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup (or more) Parmesan
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Bring the broth to a boil, reduce and simmer over low heat.

2. Heat the oil and butter in a deep pan over medium-low heat.  Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes until the rice is coated and translucent.  Add more butter or oil if necessary. [If you like, at this point you can add a splash or two of white wine for extra flavour.  The rice will soak it right up almost immediately.]

3.  Add more butter and oil if necessary before adding the celery, scallions and asparagus (not the tips).  Cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes before adding the garlic then cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and cook for 3-4 minutes.  Add the asparagus tips and oregano.  Season slightly with salt and pepper.

4.  Add the broth, one or two ladlefuls at a time.  Stir constantly to prevent sticking and burning.  Add more liquid, 1-2 ladlefuls  at a time, as the liquid absorbs.  Increase the heat to medium so the liquid bubbles, but lower it slightly (or add more broth) if the broth gets absorbed too quickly (almost immediately).  Continue adding broth and stirring until the rice is fully cooked and creamy.  The actual amount of liquid used will vary.  This whole process should take around 20 minutes.    Season with salt and pepper.

5. Remove from heat and stir in one tablespoon of butter and the Parmesan cheese.  Plate the risotto and top with more cheese if desired.

It will be very hot (but delicious).  I often spread the risotto in a thinner layer on the plate so it cools faster, and work my way inwards on the plate.

Enjoy and let me know how it turned out for you!

Garlic Parmesan Chicken Bake

My husband and I have just started week 4 of the Plant Paradox.  Overall we've had pretty good success; with my husband being much more successful than I have.  The first few days were extremely hard for me, but we are starting to get into a rhythm.
Thanksgiving was this weekend and we knew it would be hard to follow the plan during this weekend.
So I tried this chicken bake for one of our family visits, and we were able to stay compliant without going hungry.

Ingredients:
10 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1-1/2 tbsp dried basil
1-1/2 tbsp grated Parmesan (or a bit more if you like!)
1-1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
olive oil

1-1/2 cups brussel sprouts, cut in half (or quarters if large)
1 scallion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 lemon

avocado oil for frying


1. Preheat the oven to 450F.
2. Mix the basil, Parmesan, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl.  Add a few drops of olive oil to combine.
3. Trim excess fat around each chicken thigh.  Then gently lift the skin to create a small pocket.  Rub the herb mixture onto each thigh,

under the skin, being gentle now to rip the skin.  Generously sprinkle both sides of the chicken thighs with salt.
4. Heat a few teaspoons of avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Depending on the size of your skillet, you may have to fry the chicken in batches.  Place the chicken skin-side down for five minutes.  Flip the chicken over and cook for another 5-7 minutes.
5.  Move the chicken to a large baking tray that has been greased, skin side up.  If you are frying in batches, start on the second batch. Otherwise move on the veggies.

Ready to go in the oven

6. When all the chicken has been fried, add all the vegetables to the frying pan and stir to coat in the oil and juices.  Fry for a few minutes until browned and softened.  Add to the pan with the chicken.
7.  Cut the lemon into thirds.  Take the two end pieces and cut into quarters, placing them around the chicken and brussel sprouts.  Take the middle piece and squeeze the juice over the chicken and brussel sprouts.
8.  Bake in the oven, uncovered for 30-40 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.  If it starts to brown too quickly, cover with foil.  When cooked, quickly flip the chicken to get the tops covered in the juices and flip back.  Cover with foil and let sit for 10 minutes before serving

.

The final product

Strawberry Cupcakes with Tri-Colour Vanilla Frosting

My eldest's birthday just passed and the theme was unicorns!  This has been a recent obsession in our house so I started looking for unicorn themed ideas for the party.

The unicorn toppers I purchased.

This cookbook is amazing and
never fails me!

I came across these cupcake toppers on Amazon and decided I would bake some cupcakes for the party.  I pulled out my trusty Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book and settled on Strawberry Cupcakes.  Every recipe I have ever tried from this cookbook has turned out amazing and I always get great compliments on them.  The tips and notes she provides in the recipes are always spot on; nothing has every failed.

I loved using this and can't wait
to make more cupcakes just to use this!

I also used her Vanilla Frosting which I divided into 3 bowls and coloured with food colouring.  I used this neat tool from Wilton that lets you pipe 3 differed coloured icing at the same time.  While I was a little wary of it because I've never really piped anything before and this tool had mixed reviews, I gave it a shot and it was really quite awesome.  It does get a little messy, but overall went pretty smoothly.  And they looked positively stunning.  They were a huge hit at the party!  The frosting recipe was not enough to frost all the cupcakes; I needed about 1-1/2 to 1-2/3.  Doubling the recipe will give you plenty to work with.

Strawberry Cupcakes
Makes 34 cupcakes

Ingredients:
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour (not self-rising) **
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2-1/4 cups sugar
1-1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 large whole eggs plus 1 egg white
1 cup milk
2 cups freshly chopped fresh strawberries (about 20)

Directions:
**If you don't have cake flour, measure out 1/2 cup all-purpose flour.  Remove 1 tbsp and replace it with 1 tbsp. cornstarch.  Give it a quick mix

1.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.  Sift together both flours, baking powder and salt.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and fluffy. Add whole eggs and the white, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down the sides of bowl as needed.  Reduce speed to l ow.  Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the milk, and beating until well combined.  Fold in chopped strawberries by hand.

3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full.  Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 25-30 minutes.  Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 15 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto rack and let cool completely.  Cupcakes can be stored up to 1 day at room temperature in airtight containers.

Fluffy Vanila Frosting
Makes about 4 cups

Here you can see how awesome
it looks with the three colours
piped together!

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 cups icing sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:
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 icing 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 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. If tinting with food colouring, add a drop at a time and stir with a flexible spatula until well combined before adding more.

Matcha (Green Tea) Ice Cream

I love tea, and matcha tea is one of my favourites.  What's really neat about matcha is that it is ground green tea leaves.  Instead of steeping the leaves as you would with pretty much any other tea, matcha powder is whisked into hot water.  The powder doesn't dissolve; instead it is suspended in the hot water.  This is why if you don't drink the tea right away, the powder will fall to the bottom of your mug and you will need to whisk it again.  Because you are actually ingesting the tea leaves when you drink matcha, you are reaping the health benefits of green tea (like high in antioxidants) in greater amounts.

Matcha will give your ice cream a nice green colour!  There are different grades of matcha powder.  For ice cream you can use a culinary grade, which will not be as expensive as a ceremonial grade for example.

I use an ice cream bowl attachment for my KitchenAid stand mixer.  It needs to be placed in the freezer for at least 15 hours prior to using it.  The ice cream mixture itself also needs to be chilled prior to using it; at least 4-8 hours.  And then once it has been churned, the ice cream needs to be placed in the freezer again for another 4-8 hours to firm up.  So the whole process is very slow, but it is so worth it!


Ingredients:
3 tbsp matcha green tea powder, or more to taste
1 cup milk (I used 2%, but whole milk provides a richer flavour)
2 cups heaving whipping cream
3/4 cup - 1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk

Directions: 

1. Sift matcha powder into 1/2 cup milk and whisk until the powder and milk is combined.  Gradually whisk remaining milk into matcha-milk mixture.

The cooked matcha mixture
cooling to room temperature.

2. Heat whipping cream and matcha-milk mixture in a pot over medium-low heat, whisking occasionally until heated through.  This should take about 5 minutes.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk sugar and eggs together.  Pour about 1/2 cup of the hot matcha mixture into egg mixture to temper the eggs; whisk thoroughly.  Add another 1/2 cup of the hot matcha mixture and repeat.

4. Slowly pour the egg mixture back into the pot, whisking constantly.  Cook, while occasionally whisking, over medium-low heat until heated through, about 5 minutes.

5. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.  Refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours, or overnight.

The churned ice cream mixture ready to firm up in the freezer.

6. Prior to pouring the cooled matcha mixture into an ice cream maker, give it a quick stir.  Then pour it into the ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

The ice cream has a soft texture
even after being left in the freezer
for 24 hours.  It tastes yummy!