Warm Chocolate Pudding Cake

Pudding cake is one of those comfort food desserts that you can't go wrong with. 

Alternate pudding and cake flavours to make it different every time! I think I'll try white cake mix with lemon pudding next time!

Ingredients:

1 pkg (2 layer cake) yellow cake mix

2 cups cold milk

1  1/4 cup water

2 pkgs (4 serving size) Instant Chocolate Pudding

1/3 cup sugar

Prepare cake mix as directed on package and pour batter into grease 13 X 9" baking dish.

Pour milk and water into a large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes and sugar. Beat 2 minutes. Pour over the cake batter in the dish. 

Place the baking dish on a baking sheet and bake at 350F for 1 hour or until a tester comes out clean in the center. Cool 15 - 20 minutes.

Spoon into serving dishes.

Delicious warm or cold. Serves 14-16

 

Double Coffee Ricotta Tiramisu

Whether it's called Greek Frappé or Dalgona this whipped coffee is all over the internet! Here's a light tiramisu, or "pick-me-up" using whipped coffee and ricotta.

Ingredients:

2 tbsps sugar

2 tbsps instant coffee

2 tbsps hot water

1/2 cup ricotta, homemade or store bought

1/4 - 1/2 cup plain yogurt

2 tbsps icing sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

10 lady finger biscuits

1/4 cup strong brewed coffee for dipping

cocoa powder for dusting

Pick a dish that will hold 5 lady fingers. Quickly dip (don't soak) each biscuit in the brewed coffee and sit in the dish. 

Whip the ricotta, yogurt, icing sugar and vanilla together. The amount of yogurt will depend on the consistency of the ricotta you use. Spread this mixture over the biscuits.

Dip the other 5 biscuits in coffee and layer over the ricotta.

Next whip the 2 tbsps sugar, 2 tbsps instant coffee and 2 tbsps of hot water together until frothy and spread over the second layer of lady fingers. 

Finish with a good sprinkling of cocoa powder, cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Then cut into it and enjoy the caffeine buzz!

Serves 4

Caesar Style Spaghetti Salad

Creamy and delicious and it all comes together in about 20 minutes. 

Ingredients:

1/2 lb spaghetti, cooked, drained and chilled

1/4 lb bacon, cooked

3/4- 1 cup caesar salad dressing

2 tsps lemon juice

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

romaine and/or kale

cucumber (optional)

cooked rotisserie chicken (optional)

Once the spaghetti has been cooked and chilled, mix the salad dressing, lemon juice and parmesan together and toss with the pasta. Serve over lettuce with more caesar on the side. Or you could toss the lettuce with with pasta and dressing. Chop the bacon and add to the salad. If you have some cooked rotisserie chicken add that too!

Makes 2-3 dinner sized servings or 4 sides with cooked chicken.

Lemon Arancini Rice Balls

Served warm or at room temperature, these delicious nuggets go from appetizer to side dish to a meat free main. Or just snack away on them!

Ingredients:

1 cup arborio rice

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups warm broth (chicken, turkey, vegetable)

1 tbsp pesto (or 1 tsp dry basil)

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 tsp lemon zest

salt and pepper

1/4-1/2 cup flour

2 eggs + 2 tbsps water

3/4 - 1 cup Panko bread crumbs

oil for frying

Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan. Add garlic for 1 minute then add the rice to coat. On medium low to medium heat add 1 cup of the warmed broth and cook until it is absorbed. Then continue adding and absorbing broth 1/4-1/2 cup at a time until all the broth has been absorbed. The rice should be cooked al dente. If it still isn't cooked add more broth or water.

Remove from heat and add salt, pepper, parmesan, pesto and lemon zest.

Chill 20-30 minutes. Next roll into balls and chill another 30 minutes.

Now to coat the rice balls place flour in one bowl, eggs mixed with water in another and panko in a third. Use the smaller amounts of flour and panko and add as needed. Roll each ball in flour, then dip in egg, then roll in panko crumbs.

When all the balls are coated heat the oil to 350° - 375°F and fry on each side until golden, 1 1/2 - 2 minutes.

Then place on a paper towel to drain off any excess oil.

Serve with your favourite tomato sauce and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Makes 12 arancini 

  

Date Nut Carrot Muffins

The flavour of caramel in these muffins ups them from your regular date nut carrot muffins to awesome!

Ingredients:

Caramel syrup:

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup hot water

2 tsps molasses

Batter:

1 cup flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

1/2 cup chopped dates

1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup shredded carrot (1 medium carrot)

Starting with the caramel syrup... in a saucepan, melt the sugar on medium-low to medium heat. At first it doesn't seem like anything will happen. Just keep stirring and as you can see in the pictures below the sugar starts to form lumps then dissolves and turns golden. Once that happens carefully pour hot water into the pot. It will bubble up as seen in the bottom right pic. Stir in the molasses and set aside.

Now for the batter... sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. In another bowl mix dates and nuts with 2 tbsp of the flour mix to coat. And in another bowl beat the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla together. Stream in the caramel syrup while mixing. Add the shredded carrots.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix just until combined, then fold in the dates and nuts.

Ladle into a lined muffin tin. 

Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Makes 12 very moist muffins

Simmered Swiss Steak

With the tenderizing process of "Swissing" turn a somewhat tough cut of meat like round steak into a deliciously tender meal. 

Ingredients:

1 lb round steak, sliced in strips across the grain

1 tbsp vegetable oil

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups diced canned tomatoes

1 onion, sliced

1 sweet pepper, sliced

1/4 cup BBQ sauce

2 tbsps worcestershire sauce

2 tsps cornstarch

1 tbsp cold water

Heat the oil in a skillet, season the meat with salt and pepper then brown on all sides. Add the remaining ingredients (except cornstarch and water), cover and simmer 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

Once cooked mix the cornstarch and water together, pour into the center of the skillet and quickly stir together. Cook another 1-2 minutes to slightly thicken.

Served here over both white and sweet potato mash. So tender you could cut the meat with a fork!

Serves 4 

Seeded Sourdough

They say sourdough bread making is like striving for the Stanley Cup (or something like that!) My game is slowly getting stronger but I still need lots of practice!!

Here's a recipe to make one sourdough boule.

Ingredients:

3 1/2- 3 3/4 cups flour (1/2 cup whole wheat, the rest all-purpose white)

1 1/4 + 1/4 cup lukewarm unchlorinated water (105-115° F)

1 cup sourdough starter

1 tbsp salt

1/4 cup assorted seeds (sunflower, chia, pumpkin)

I had my starter in the fridge so I had to wake it up first. If your starter is on the kitchen counter and active you can skip this Friday night part.

Friday night: Took my unfed starter out of the fridge and left it on the counter overnight. Also left the water out on the counter so the chlorine would evaporate. 

Saturday morning 8:00 a.m.: Removed 1/2 the starter to discard. (I had 1/2 cup, so 1/4 to discard) Then I mixed 1/4 cup water, 1/2 cup AP flour and 1/4 cup remaining starter together vigorously. I removed 1/4 cup to go back in the fridge storing Big Bertha (the OG starter) for future loaves.  Then I covered my water/flour/starter with plastic wrap and put it in the oven, off but with the light on for 6 hours.

She's reviving nicely as seen here. 

Saturday 2:00 p.m.: I fed the starter with 1/4 cup water and 1/2 cup flour again. Left it in the oven light warmed oven for a while longer then just kept it on the counter.

Saturday 6:00 p.m.: Making the dough.

Warm 1 1/4 cups water either in microwave for about 20 seconds or on the stove to the desired temperature. Mix the active starter and water together until the starter is completely dispersed in the water. Add 3 cups AP flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat. Mix to shaggy ball stage then let sit 30 minutes. The dough should be a bit sticky.

Combine 1/4 cup lukewarm water and salt and work into the dough with hands. Rest 30 minutes.

Saturday 7:00ish p.m.: Start the stretch and fold process. This is where I started to incorporate the seeds, adding a tablespoon or so each time. So sprinkled some seeds on here then reached under the dough and pulled up and over, turning the bowl 1/4 turn and repeating to complete 4 stretch and pulls. Let rest 30 minutes, covered, then repeat this process 3 more times.

Saturday about 9:00 p.m.: Let the dough rest (again covered) for 60 minutes before putting the whole thing in a large plastic bag and refrigerating overnight.

Sunday 9:30 a.m.: Remove the bowl of dough from fridge and leave on counter for 2 hours.

Sunday 11:30 a.m.: Dump the dough out onto an unfloured surface and flour the top. Using a scraper or your hands carefully form into a ball. Rest 20-30 minutes. If the ball starts to fall repeat the forming and resting. It won't be a perfect ball, but a little flattish.

Sunday 12:00 p.m.: Have a large bowl ready with flour and some more seeds in the bottom. With the scraper gently flip ball onto floured side. Stretch and pull from bottom to about 1/3 up the ball 3 times. Then take the top and pull it right over to the bottom. Turn into the bowl pinching the seam and leaving it seam side up. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (yes again!) 2-4 hours.

Preheat oven to 450°F for 45 minutes before baking with the pot, lid and (if you have one) baking stone in the oven to heat. I placed the baking stone on the bottom rack. the bread will go in on the middle one.

Sunday 2:45 p.m.: 

Take the dough from the fridge and turn it out onto a sheet of parchment on the counter. Trim the excess paper off the corners but leave enough to use as "handles". Slash the dough. This was my first time using a razor blade which was much better than a knife or scissors, but I think the slash could have been deeper. Once the dough is slashed remove the pot and lid from the oven. Immediately and gently lower the ball into the hot pot using the parchment "handles". Cover with hot lid and return to the oven along with a cup of water in the bottom of the oven for steam. You could put a pan of water or ice cubes in the bottom, but I just throw the water right into the bottom of my oven (no element in the bottom of mine).

Bake at 450°F covered for 30 minutes. Then remove the lid and bake another 20 minutes. Finally remove the pot from the oven, lift the bread out of the pot, remove the parchment paper and place the bread directly on the rack in the oven for another 10 minutes.

She is a thing of beauty, isn't she!

Refrain from slicing until the bread is completely cooled (a very difficult thing to do!) And store a day or 2 in a paper bag at room temperature.