Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese

It's been a while, and that's an understatement. It's actually been almost three months since I've posted! If you are reading this, thank you for not giving up on me entirely. I don't have any reason other than I've been busy with life. But alas, here I am now, and I'm coming to you with a super delicious recipe that I came up with last night when I was thinking about mac and cheese, but didn't want something really heavy and greasy. My mind wandered to sweet potatoes, because I love them, and then I thought about pureeing them and using that as the sauce. Well, it worked! It turned out better than I could have expected, creamy, cheesy, with a perfectly crunchy top and an earthy sweet, garlicky sauce coating and filling the little macaroni noodles. I also think it would be a super way to 'hide' sweet potatoes for kids (or husbands) who claim not to like them. If you don't see them go into the food processor, you would be hard pressed to pick them out in the finished dish. Please try it and let me know what you think, there are surely a million spins you could put on it, I added spinach to the pasta and sauce before pouring it into the baking dish, but you could add lightly steamed broccoli or cauliflower, goat's cheese, the possibilities are endless. Please take the amounts (especially the milk, cheese and spinach) as guidelines, if you like more or less, add more or less.

Ingredients

1 Medium Sweet Potato

1 c Skim Milk

75 gm Crumbled Feta Cheese

75 gm Grated Old Cheddar

¼ c Plain Bread Crumbs (I make my own by throwing stale bread into the food processor and letting it go until it turns into fine breadcrumbs)

4 Cloves Garlic

1 T Olive Oil

2 Handfuls Washed Spinach

1 lb (a regular sized package) Macaroni or other small, tubular pasta

Salt And Pepper

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Cut sweet potato into thick rounds, place on baking sheet with garlic cloves, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for about 40 minutes, turning the rounds over about halfway through cooking. They should be very tender.

2. Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, put cooked sweet potato and garlic into food processor and pulse until smooth. Pour in milk and feta and pulse until combined. Taste for salt and pepper and add as needed. When pasta is cooked, drain and return to pot. Pour sweet potato mixture over top if pasta and stir to combine everything. Add the spinach and stir it in until it's wilted from the heat. Pour the pasta into a large rectangular baking dish. Sprinkle with the cheddar and bread crumbs and pop in the oven at 400F for about 20 minutes, or until golden and bubbly. Enjoy!

Bon appetit! And I promise to be back before long with more recipes!

Mandarin Champagne Jelly

Christmas has come and gone once again. So much preparation, planning, shopping, baking, cooking, wrapping, and in one glorious, food-filled day, it's over. This year I had bronchitis to tend with while I celebrated, luckily my antibiotics kicked in just in time to allow me to enjoy the day. My Christmas was filled with delicious food from morning until late at night, family and friends and some lovely gifts, given and received. But this post, of course, is all about the food.

Usually, I plan more elaborate and rich Christmas desserts like cheesecakes, tortes and ice creams, but this year I wanted something a little more refreshing, and seeing as my brother and A were coming to our place for not only their second dinner of the night but their fifth meal of the day (!), I didn't want to make their last bite of the night painful. I had been watching Jamie's Christmas shows over the past few weeks, and one of his desserts appealed to me more than the others, Clementine Jelly. The only thing is, I'm not a huge fan of gelatine. I'm not going to go vegan on you, don't worry, and I'm not sworn off gelatine entirely, it has it's place, I just have a hard time getting past that very wet-dog/barnyard-y smell it releases when it's soaking. I've been wanting to try cooking with agar agar for a while anyways, so I thought I'd take Jamie's idea and make it my own. I also liked the thought of incorporating some champagne, to make it feel a little more grown up and festive and hopefully a bit bubbly. The result? A light, refreshing, delicious, and mildly bubbly, post-feast treat.

Mandarin Champagne Jelly

3 cups mandarin orange juice, freshly squeezed (I didn't count, but it was about half a box of Chinese mandarins)

1 cup champagne (Ok, I used sparkling wine)

2 tsp agar agar powder

pomegranate seeds for serving

Put the juice (and pulp) into a saucepan over medium heat. Sprinkle the agar agar over top and whisk in. Bring to a gentle simmer, whisking, for about 5 minutes, until the agar agar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes while you decide what glasses you want to serve the jelly in. Pour the champagne over the warm mandarin juice and give a gentle whisk. Pour into glasses, (you can strain it into the glasses if you like. I only did this for one person, not naming names) cover and pop into the fridge to set for about an hour, they don't take long to set. I made mine the day before and they were perfect and made my life much easier on Christmas day! Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds before serving. Serves 6-8 depending on the size of your glasses.

Marmalade (the dorky jam)

I once overheard a conversation in a shoe store between two people about my age that went something like this: "Marmalade is gross", "Yeah, it's like something my Grandma eats", "I don't even know why they still make it, nobody really likes it, except Grandmas". I restrained myself from jumping in and explaining to them the virtues of marmalade, it's citrusy sweetness and versatility. But that might have made me look crazy.

Marmalade is kind of like a dorky kid in high school that nobody likes, but that ends up being cool and successful later on. I put it in the same category as raisins, prunes and pickled onions. I feel the need to stick up for these underloved but delicious ingredients. Raisins, in particular, get a lot of flack. I get the slime factor, when they sit inside cinnamon buns and just get wet and ruin the whole experience. But when they are the star of the show, like in a really well basted and aged fruitcake, they become delicious and complex, with notes of caramel and molasses. But standing up for raisins is for another post. Today I'm working on converting marmalade haters, and I know this cake will do the trick! This one's for my shoe buying peers, and their Grandmas.

Citrus Yogurt Cake

I have adapted this cake from a recipe I found in Cooking Light a few years ago. I've made it many times and everyone always loves it, even marmalade haters (my husband included).

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Sift dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 egg white

1/3 cup plain yogurt

1/3 cup olive oil (or you could use canola oil)

Whisk these ingredients together in a large bowl.

zest of one orange and one lemon

1 cup freshly squeezed orange and lemon juice (I usually squeeze one orange and one lemon and make up to the cup mark with water)

1 tbsp orange flower water

Add juice and zest to the wet ingredients. Then add the wet into the dry and give it a whisk to combine, stopping when the ingredients are just about combined. Finish mixing gently with a spatula. Pour into a greased and floured 8 inch round baking pan (I line the bottom of mine with a circle of parchment paper just to be on the safe side) and bake for about 50-60 minutes. Check at the 50 minute mark. A toothpick should come out clean and it will be lightly golden on top. Remove from oven and cool about 10 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack.

While the cake is cooling, get on with the glaze.

Glaze

1/3 cup marmalade

2 tbsp Grand Marnier

Place the marmalade and liqueur in a small saucepan and warm on medium heat until it just starts bubbling, remove from heat. Put the warm, but not hot, cake onto the serving dish and poke it with a toothpick to create lots of little holes. Pour the glaze over the top. Allow the cake to cool to room temperature before serving.

To make the cake ahead of time, bake the cake, cool completely, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze. Remove from freezer and thaw for a few hours, make the glaze and pour over top before serving.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

November is a month that I come into with a certain amount of dread. I'm not a cold weather person and the first month that has the real potential to feel like winter just doesn't appeal to me. But every year, I'm reminded that there can be nice days in this transitional month. There are not many leaves left, but there are a few hangers-on, there is the odd day that the mercury creeps tentatively up to 13 or 14C, and have I mentioned my love of scarves? So November is not all bad. It is also a great cooking month. There are still pumpkins and squash around, and I just ate my last garden tomato this week (with a tear in my eye). I pulled all my swiss chard and multicolored carrots the other day, before the big frost, as well as what was left of my parsley, chives and mint. So there has been a last bowl of my favourite summer dish, taboulleh, in my fridge this week and parsley on everything. Now I must move forward into this inevitable season of cold whiteness and enjoy the flavours it brings.

My last post was all about pumpkins, and I do love them so! On Halloween as I was carving a funny face into a big pumpkin, I decided to make roasted pumpkin seeds, and since JS doesn't like them, I made them spicy. They are so easy to make, and are delicious and really healthy too! Here's what I did....

Spicy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

2 cups pumpkin seeds (washed and dried)

2 tbsp olive oil

good sprinkling of Maldon salt and black pepper

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp piment d'espelette

1/2 tsp ground ginger

Toss the pumpkin seeds in a bowl with the oil, salt and pepper and spices. Spread onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and place in a 350C oven for about 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temp to 250C and continue baking, stirring occasionally for about 45 minutes or until they look toasty, dry and golden. These are best when they are warm from the oven, but you can keep them in an airtight jar for about a week.

Ten things to do with pumpkins

There's something about October and pumpkins. The very word October conjures images of the big, orange squash. They are so versatile, healthy and delicious. October is such a crisp, cool and crunchy month outside and that has me yearning for warm bowls of smooth pumpkin soup; toasty, golden, salted pumpkin seeds; cinnamon and clove spiced cakes baking in my oven and creamy pumpkin risotto on the stove. Forget about carving scary faces in your pumpkin, put it in the oven instead!

Here is my top ten list of things I've been making with pumpkins these last few weeks:

1. Roasted pumpkin and goat cheese salad (pictured above)

2. Glazed pumpkin cookies (recipe below)

3. Spiced pumpkin whisky ice cream (pictured above, I made this for Thanksgiving and it was delish!)

4. Pumpkin risotto

5. Creamy pumpkin soup

6. Pumpkin and feta quiche

7. Pumpkin pecan loaf

8. Pumpkin spiced breakfast oatmeal (To die for!)

9. Toasted pumpkin seeds

10. Pumpkin spice squares

I'm not going to give you ten recipes, but here is the recipe for the Glazed Pumpkin Cookies that I got from the new Canadian House and Home. They are so amazing, you have to try them!

Glazed Pumpkin Cookies

adapted from Canadian House and Home, November 2010

Cookies

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup softened butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups cooked, mashed pumpkin

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F.

Whisk flour with spices and salt. In the bowl of a mixer, beat butter with sugar. Add egg, pumpkin and vanilla. Slowly add flour mixture into butter mixture until just blended. Drop with a tablespoon onto parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 13 minutes, they should look like they are just cooked in the middle, but not over baked. Cool on a wire rack.

Glaze

1 cup icing sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup almond milk (or regular milk)

Whisk together in a small bowl adding more almond milk or icing sugar to get the consistency you need. When the cookies are cool, dip the tops in the glaze and put them back onto the rack to drip and dry. Makes about 3-4 dozen cookies depending on how big you make them. I got 3 1/2 dozen. If you're serving these to friends, make sure you keep a stash in your freezer because they will be gone and when your friends go home you will wish you had just one more to get you through the dishes and clean-up (not that I'm speaking from experience or anything)!

Healthy Granola Cookies

I'm always on the quest to make cookies that are a little healthier. I'm not saying that cookies full of butter and sugar and chocolate shouldn't be enjoyed, but I prefer to leave those cookies to special occasions and holidays (especially Christmas, when a few extra pounds are expected). On an average day, when I want cookies, I want to feel just a little bit virtuous about it.

The other reason I've been thinking about trying out some healthier cookie recipes is because my Dad is a cookie addict. I know people who like cookies, but my Dad's love for the little round discs of buttery goodness goes beyond almost any love for a food item I've ever seen. My Mom has spent 41 years of marriage trying to keep up with his demand for a full cookie jar. When she makes cookies, it's like a factory in the kitchen, there are jars and tins slowly being filled and racks and trays covering every surface. She has "healthified" her cookies over the years, but one of the ways she does that is by using soft margarine. I'm not a proponent of chemically produced "healthy" fat. I've been trying to get her to switch to butter for years, but to no avail. Their Doctor told them that margarine is good for the heart, so it stays. But these cookies use canola oil, and a small amount of it, which in my opinion is much better for the heart, but I'm no Doctor.

I came up with these cookies this morning, and they are my rough draft, but I must say, they turned out so well, I don't think they need any editing. You can definitely play with them to make them your own by putting different nuts and seeds in them, or by using a different type of granola.

My Healthy Granola Cookies - Rough Draft

I use my homemade granola (http://figueetnoisette.blogspot.com/2008/10/tree-hugging-granola-making-and-more.html) for these, which has gone through quite a number of drafts itself, and is now the best it's ever been. I will post the newest version soon. The one I made yesterday has almonds, hazelnuts, dried apricots, dates and golden raisins in it, but you can really use any granola you like.

Preheat the oven to 350C.

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I think spelt flour would also work great here)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup ground flax

Whisk together in a large bowl. Add:

2 cups granola

3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

1/3 cup shredded coconut

1/3 cup pumpkin seeds

In another bowl, whisk together:

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

3 egg whites

Pour this over the dry ingredients and stir in with a spatula until everything is combined. Spoon onto a parchment lined cookie sheet (they should be about the size of a ping pong ball), and make sure you space them apart so they have room to spread. Bake for about 12 minutes or until they are golden brown around the edges and the centres don't look pale and doughy anymore.

Eat!

Scarves, socks and Sunday night soup

I'm not a fall person. I love the barefoot, carefreeness of summertime. I love the sticky, sleepless nights, the hot, humid afternoons. I love sitting by the lake, going to the beach, swimming in cool water and heating up afterwards with the hot, summer sunshine. But, inevitably, fall makes it's appearance. It's not that I can't appreciate the beauty of fall, it's the imminence of winter that I can't get past.

Something I can embrace about fall though, is the food. I love warm bowls of soup after many months of crisp salads, bread baking in the oven, spicy cakes made with apples and pumpkin (there is one in my oven as I type this).

I will also admit that I love wrapping a cozy scarf around my neck and wooly socks on my feet and going for long walks, watching the leaves changing colours and crunching beneath my feet. The sun seems to cast a more golden light and every day when I get up I'm happy for any plant in my garden that has survived a night a little cooler than the last. It's always exciting to see which ones hold out the longest until they get covered up with their white blanket of snow to have a long nap until spring.

So I guess I'm coming around to fall. And a warm bowl of soup sure makes it easier to embrace.

Sunday Night Soupe Maison

This recipe is so easy I struggle to give you an exact recipe, so I will just give suggestions. It is pretty much impossible to screw up, and it will always taste good. My Mother-in-law is the master of this soup, and when I make it, JS is in heaven. He could eat just this soup all the time and be happy. His Mom used to make it for him every Sunday night. When I made it the other day, the only veggies I had to hand were potatoes, onions, carrots and some swiss chard in my garden. It was delicious! You can also add celery, garlic, turnip or any vegetables you like.

3 medium red potatoes

2 small or one large onion

5 medium carrots

1 zucchini

A few Tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp dried herbs (I use herbes de provence, but any mixture of thyme, oregano, sage and/or rosemary will do)

Salt and pepper to taste

A few large leaves of swiss chard, spinach, kale or other leafy greens

Roughly chop the vegetables into fairly large chunks. Tumble them into a large soup pot with the olive oil and herbs and turn the heat to medium. Toss them around for a few minutes to heat and release some of their aroma.

When they are beginning to soften, but not brown, pour water in to cover them. Add a little bit of salt and pepper, stir and bring to the boil. Once it's boiling, reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer for about 45 minutes.

At this point, the vegetables should be cooked. If you stick a fork into a carrot and it's soft, that's perfect.

Add your chard leaves and let them wilt for a few minutes.

Puree right in the pot with an immersion blender, or you can use a blender or food mill (if you want to be really traditional). Add more water if it is too thick. Taste and correct seasonings. Serve in a big bowl with some chopped fresh herbs, a grating of parmesan cheese and some good, crusty, whole grain bread. Eat and feel happy about the changing seasons.