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Quick Meals

Pepperoni Pizza Wraps

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Pepperoni Pizza Wraps are one of those fun recipes I’ve been making for years, and one that my son asks for all the time!

Before my kids started school I used to look after other kids along with my own and would always have fun creating new lunches for them. I had several guinea pigs to test out recipes on and the food was always fresh and never frozen, so I took full advantage of fun kid lunches.

Add sauce to your pepperoni pizza wraps
Add sauce to your pepperoni pizza wraps

My son is obsessed with everything pizza so I do try to make different “pizza” type meals. Pepperoni Pizza Muffins have been a hit in school lunches and bake sales, our Pizza Soup is one my mom got me hooked on back in the 90s and we take these Pizza Burgers camping with us making them in advance, freezing and they are thawed when it’s time to grill. I wrote about some of these pizza recipes on Food Network Canada, so check them out here: 3 Tasty Ways to Jazz Up Pizza Night.

Serve extra pizza sauce for dipping
Serve extra pizza sauce for dipping

In our family we all like our pizzas slightly different. The boys like all meat pizzas, the girl jazzes hers up with olives, pineapple, sometimes fresh basil and me, well after putting on YYC Pizza Week for 4 years and trying oodles of combinations, it depends on my mood but my go to is always a flavourful vegetarian.

These pizza wraps can be modified to suit your own tastes with added in mushrooms, peppers, onions, or even olives (we don’t judge here)! They do not have to be cooked or warmed up and we keep them simple with pepperoni and cheese, serving the veggies on the side.

 

Pepperoni Pizza Wraps
Pepperoni Pizza Wraps

Wraps are one way to change up lunches. We do a variety of them including Greek Salad Wraps, BBQ Beef Wraps and Cesaer Salad Wraps to keep lunches fun and interesting! What are your favourite ways to change up lunches?!

Pork Schnitzel with Israeli Salad & Halloumi

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Alberta has declared June to be pork month promoting Alberta Pork and we are celebrating by making Pork Schnitzel with Israeli Salad & Halloumi using pork from Sunterra Market’s own pork farms.

Pork Schnitzel with Israeli Salad & Halloumi
Pork Schnitzel with Israeli Salad & Halloumi plated

Sunterra Market is a grocery store offering everything you need to pull together a delicious  meal. In the Sunterra Market meat department they offer several options for those who prefer to pick up something to eat and be on their way.

If you like to cook but are short on time, Sunterra offers pick up and cook at home meal solutions like their ready to go pork schnitzel.

If you love to cook you will find every thing you need to make a fabulous and easy meal at Sunterra Market like our Pork Souvlaki with Cucumber Pineapple Salsa and Vietnamese Pork Meatball Banh Mi recipes.

Quick and easy Pork Schnitzel using Sunterra Farms Pork
Quick and easy pre-made Pork Schnitzel using Sunterra Farms Pork

Need a meal idea? Browse the Sunterra Market website for inspiration. It’s as easy as locating and visiting the store closest to you, or doing your shopping online right on their website.

Pork Schnitzel with Israeli Salad & Halloumi
Pork Schnitzel Ingredients

Earlier this year we made a chicken schnitzel recipe with an Israeli style salad. A quick protein and half your plate of vegetables is exactly how I like to eat, and this became my inspiration for making our Israeli Salad to accompany the pork schnitzel.

Our Israeli salad features all the traditional items like tomato, onion, cucumber and fresh herbs purchased from the market side of Sunterra. Plus we added grilled halloumi cheese.

You won’t find any bell peppers in this salad, we serve them in a bowl on the side. In this instance of an allergy or dislike of a particular ingredient, you can keep a bowl of chopped bell peppers on the table for those who like them in their salads.

The Israeli Salad with Halloumi
The Israeli Salad with Halloumi

PRO TIPS:

  • Chop your vegetables the night before to save time on preparations
  • Local, fresh produce has the best flavour
  • Know where your meat comes from and support local suppliers
  • If you can’t find what you want in the meat department, ask the butcher as they are very helpful

We like to serve our meals family style on a platter with a sprinkle of chopped toasted pistachios adding a little extra crunch.

Sunterra Farm Facts:

  1. Sunterra Farms started in Acme in 1970 by Stan and Flo Price and their eldest son Dave.
  2. All three Sunterra companies are still owned and operated by the Price family.

Sunterra Market has seven locations in Calgary and two in Edmonton. Each location may offer a slightly different set up, but they all have the same great local products, good quality and awesome selection.

We are working in collaboration with Sunterra Market and they have provided the ingredients for this recipe. All opinions, views expressed and recipe development are, as always, my own.

 

 

Vietnamese Pork Meatball Banh Mi

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Delicious and easy to make, our Vietnamese Pork Meatball Banh Mi’s can be enjoyed on a baguette or piled into a lettuce cup.

Vietnamese Pork Meatball Banh Mi
Vietnamese Pork Meatball Banh Mi

While most of the school year tends to be busy, we really gear up in May and June. Two kids in two different Fastpitch leagues keep us running 6 nights a week all over Calgary and beyond for games and weekend tournaments.

This is when organization and menu planning is key to ensure there are no greasy food stops along the way, but instead we keep pace with healthy, quick meals filling bellies and giving everyone tons of energy for the evenings adventures.

For the next month we have partnered with local business Sunterra Market to help promote their own farm pork in celebration of pork month in June. We will be creating some quick family meals using pork and accompanying store products.

With quick and easy meals our theme, we’ve created a Vietnamese Port Meatball Banh Mi. We initially had planned on a variation of a Pork Kofta recipe, (also an easy way to use pork for a quick meal) but changed to meatballs, because who doesn’t love a good meatball?!

Ingredients
Pork Meatball Ingredients

This recipe can be started the night before by mixing the meatball ingredients, even making the meatballs and leaving in the refrigerator, covered and uncooked. Making the mayonnaise spread in advance also allows the flavours to blend nicely.

For those on a low carb diet or keto, all the ingredients can be placed into a lettuce cup or on top of a salad using all the ingredients you have prepared for the Banh Mi’s. This recipe makes up to four dozen meatballs or 8 sandwiches. After feeding our family of four we had a handful of meatballs left!

Pork Meatball size
Pork Meatball size before cooking

The traditional Banh Mi sandwich itself is actually a French-Vietnamese hybrid consisting of a baguette, pickled vegetables, cilantro, a spicy chili component, cooling cucumber, a spicy or garlicky sauce and a protein.

These days any protein can go into one of these sandwiches allowing them to be unique to each person. Ours do not include the pickled vegetables since I am the only one who enjoys pickles in the family, therefore we keep our vegetables crunchy and everyone happy!

Cooked Vietnamese Pork Meatball Banh Mi
Cooked Vietnamese Pork Meatball Banh Mi

Did you know Sunterra Farms started over 40 years ago in Acme, Alberta. Since then they have been perfecting their pork. You can read more about Sunterra Farms and how they came to be through a conversation in Oxfordshire, England and the Pig Improvement Company (PIC) back in the 1960s by clicking on the link: Over Forty Years of Perfecting Pork

Sunterra Farms Facts:

  1. Sunterra Farms raises pigs in rural Alberta, producing top-quality pork that is processed at Sunterra Meats and available at Sunterra Market locations. The pork is traceable from farm to fork.
  2. All the pork sold in Sunterra Market comes from Sunterra Farms. Valbella processes their hams in Canmore then sends them to Sunterra Markets.

 

Vietnamese Pork Meatball Banh Mi
Vietnamese Pork Meatball Banh Mi

Bright, yet simple flavours are what make this Vietnamese Pork Meatball Banh Mi shine. We served the meatballs in a traditional Banh Mi style bun, in a lettuce cup, and the next day in a salad for lunch.

Do you enjoy Vietnamese food?! If so what are your favourite dishes?!

We are working in collaboration with Sunterra Market and they have provided the ingredients for this recipe. All opinions, views expressed and recipe development are, as always, my own.

Grilled Sausage Skewers

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There’s no doubt about it, summer took a long time to get here. Officially it’s still Spring, I know, but when you’ve had 8 months of winter you just want to say summer over and over again. So I say welcome summer, it’s been awhile, we hope you stay until December.

Grilling through the winter months is fairly easy for us – unless we hit -20 and our barbecue refuses to cooperate. When warmer weather hits barbecuing is almost a daily event. Sausage is always a reliable guest when you decide to grill so for

Grilled Sausage Skewers
Grilled Sausage Skewers

this recipe we opted to grill our sausage about 75% of the way through. Remove it from the grill, place onto a plate and cover with aluminum foil to cool down. After all the other prep work is done it’s time to skewer and grill.

Grilled Sausage Skewers
Grilled Sausage Skewers

Any kind of sausage will do and of course pick your favourite vegetables or go out of your comfort zone and try something new. The kids admittedly were not thrilled with the ribbon zucchini, however the adults loved it as it retained some of its crunch. I told the kids there would be more zucchini in their life so they should probably suck it up. You can imagine how they responded of course since they are tweens.

You won’t believe how easy this is. Let’s get started.

 

Grilled Sausage Skewers
Grilled Sausage Skewers

 

Greek Wedge Salad

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As we all know by now the wedge salad went into hiding for awhile before resurfacing. In this installment of our wedge salad series we share a Greek Wedge Salad recipe using all the ingredients you love in a typical Greek Salad.

We’ve shared the history of a wedge salad in our Iceberg Wedge Salad with Bacon post, how to eat a wedge salad in our BLT Wedge Salad post and today let’s talk about dressings and other types of wedge salads you could make.

Greek Wedge Salad
Greek Wedge Salad

The Salad Dressing

While not exactly the star of a salad, the salad dressing is a close second. Making your own salad dressing can save time and money once you have invested in all the ingredients you need which could be as simple as extra virgin olive oil, Dijon mustard and a few vinegars.

Store bought dressings are fine, especially these days when you can find dressings that are fairly healthy, however they can still contain extra unwanted sugars, calories and additives you can’t spell so be leary when going the store bought route and read your labels.

If you already have extra virgin olive oil and vinegars try adding some new flavours to your pantry. Walnut or pistachio oil is exceptionally tasty and a little goes a long way. White Balsamic Vinegar or Champagne vinegar changes up your vinegar game. Spanish onion, shallots, garlic and fresh herbs all chopped fine or blended add depth to any home made dressing. Of course you can use buttermilk, mayo, sour cream and Greek Yogurt if you please.

Greek Wedge Salad
Greek Wedge Salad

Other Ways to eat your Wedge

We are not referring to a blender wedge salad turned smoothie, but rather more wedge salad ideas to try.

  • Waldorf Wedge Salad: grapes, apple, celery, toasted walnuts, mayo dressing
  • Caesar Wedge Salad: pancetta, croutons, shaved parmesan, Caesar salad dressing
  • Cobb Wedge Salad: tomato, bacon, cooked chicken breast, hard boiled egg, avocado, onion, strong cheese like a blue, red wine vinegar dressing
  • Italian or Antipasto Wedge Salad: chick peas, beans, salami, tomato, provolone, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, Italian dressing with herbs

Have you ever tried a wedge salad?! If not, what’s stopping you?!

 

BLT Wedge Salad

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If you followed my pro tips in our Iceberg Wedge Salad with Bacon recipe and wrapped your iceberg lettuce in plastic wrap with a tiny splash of water, your lettuce wedge should be fresh and ready to make our next wedge salad: the BLT Wedge Salad.

Infatuated with Iceberg lettuce

As a youngish child we always had iceberg lettuce in the refrigerator and one of my guilty pleasures back in the day was to cut myself a chunk of lettuce and poor white distilled vinegar all over it eating it exactly as is or perhaps with a little salt on top. Don’t judge, I was a kid testing out my palate and always have been drawn to vinegar.

I was also infatuated with the crunch iceberg lettuce offers and I still am to this day. I have been known to go heavy on the vinegar in my salad dressing offering a more tangy dressing, so to those I may offend with over vinegar-ed salad dressings, I apologize.

BLT Wedge Salad
BLT Wedge Salad

Toss that salad, maybe

In a world full of radicchio, kale and arugula, iceberg in a wedge salad is like the steak of salads. It can be big, or small. You can dress it up, dress it down, or stick with the traditional classic. The wedge can be eaten as is, or once served, cut into smaller pieces and tossed right on your plate with all the other ingredients, giving those who prefer “tossed” salads, well, their tossed salad.

Our wedge salad today takes a look at ingredients we had kicking around. Leftover bacon, always tomatoes, home made croutons and hard boiled eggs. We used up basil and buttermilk to make a basil infused buttermilk dressing with a little bit of mayonnaise added since all BLT’s have mayo don’t they? The hard boiled egg is our ode to the BLT sandwich.

BLT Wedge Salad
BLT Wedge Salad

Pro Tips:

  • If you do not have time to make your own salad dressing, buy one. Your favourite, any will do. Really.
  • Pour a little dressing on and serve the rest on the side. Or just serve it on the side and use as much or less as you and/or your guests prefer.

Be sure to check out our Greek Wedge Salad where we talk about dressings and other wedge salad options.

People who love to eat are always the best people. – Julia

 

 

Iceberg Wedge Salad with Bacon

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A salad needs only a few ingredients and a fantastic dressing to make it a salad and this Iceberg Wedge Salad with Bacon offers all those things and more.

Wedge Salad History

The history of the Wedge Salad has been found to date back to 1916 in a book called “Salads, Sandwiches & Chafing Dish Recipes” by Marion Harris Neil. Iceberg lettuce was a very popular item in those days, most likely super cheap and a good canvas for adding flavours. With fewer ingredients to cook with in those days Marion’s recipe is simply Roquefort cheese and hard boiled eggs with a light dressing. In the decades to follow the wedge salad became a delightful and popular starter course to order when dining out.

Wedge Salad with Bacon
Wedge Salad

The traditional classic wedge salad of the 1970s could be found in many steakhouses and would always be laden with blue cheese dressing, crispy bacon, and hard boiled egg all on top of an iceberg lettuce wedge.

Wedge Salad with Bacon
Wedge Salad with Bacon & Pistachios

In the last ten years the wedge salad has begun to make a comeback popping up on menus all over the country. Many recipes stick true to the traditional wedge salad ingredients, however at Bakersbeans we see no point in following tradition and as always love to put our own spin on recipes.

A wedge salad, like any bright green salad can be dressed up or dressed down however you choose. Adding beans, nuts, chopped vegetables or fruit, different cheese, salad dressings, even protein changes the game and gives you a new fresh salad every time you make it.

I’ve been playing with my food aka wedge salads for the past month. We decided this week will be wedge salad week in our house. One head of iceberg lettuce can make four meal sized wedge salads, therefore stay tuned for three more wedge salads this week!

Pro Tips:

  • Leave the stem on, slice a thin piece off the bottom and eat around it. Keeping the stem on helps hold the wedge together.
  •  This recipe makes enough for one wedge. Double ingredients for more wedge salads.
  • Sprinkle a little water on your leftover lettuce head and use plastic wrap pressed against the cut side of the lettuce head and wrapped around it to stop it from turning brown.
  • If you do not like to cut into your salad, simply cut up the salad, toss everything currently on your plate and boom you have a regular plated salad.

This salad is a knife and forker and currently one of our favourites. Be sure to check out our other wedge salads: BLT Wedge Salad and Greek Wedge Salad.

What is your favourite salad?

 

 

Smoked Salmon on Pumpernickel Rye

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Smoked Salmon on Pumpernickel Rye comes together quickly and is easy to prepare in advance or when you arrive at your gathering when you have your ingredients prepped and ready to go.

Smoked Salmon on Pumpernickel Rye
Smoked Salmon on Pumpernickel Rye

Coming from the Pacific West Coast, I’ve eaten my fair share of smoked salmon. Even freshly smoked then canned via my momma. As a child my dad would catch river salmon and smoke it regularly. I craved it. When I moved to Vancouver I had a hard time eating smoked salmon that was not his. Eventually lox and cream cheese on bagels won me over and I let go of that craving. But it still resides in my thoughts as a taste I will never forget.

Smoked Salmon on Pumpernickel Rye
Smoked Salmon on Pumpernickel Rye

Did you know this recipe’s origins are German? We were asked to bring an appetizer to a recent family gathering or celebration of cultures. Since we have a Spanish student living with us, I wanted to hi-light some Spanish food. But he’s 16 and we couldn’t get it together in time.

I reached out to another former student from Germany, one who has become a second daughter to us. I am partially German with relatives living in Germany so I was intrigued to see what she would suggest. She sent me pictures of lox on Pumpernickel German Rye Bread and advised it’s very popular in Germany. I clearly had no idea! This was a dish I could get behind and off I went to find pumpernickel rye and lox.

Pumpernickel German Rye Bread is a heavy, dense and simply flavoured bread. Lox is sold everywhere here but as a touristy item. Fortunately thanks to twitter I located some that was both a decent price and delicious. The bread came from the European deli.

What I put together really didn’t look much like the photos she sent me but more based on my memory of lox on bagels with cream cheese. And the best part of it all, our Spanish student helped me assemble these German appetizers and did his share of eating them. I expected nothing less from a growing teenager.

 

 

Yogurt Drop Scones

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Since I was small child I have loved cookbooks. Most likely because my mom had cookbooks I could peek at (Joy of Cooking, Five Roses Cookbook) and secondly because I’d been watching PBS Cooking Shows on Saturdays since the 70’s. When I moved away from home and to Vancouver, I would always fly home for Christmas. It was then my mom always had some cookbook or cooking wares item under the tree for me. My suitcase went home full of inspiration and my cookbook collection slowly increasing in size.

This year I joined in on a cookbook of the month club. I have been enjoying discovering new cookbooks through this club and trying new recipes, several I will make again. The cookbook for September is Mamushka, A Cookbook by Olia Hercules. This book shares recipes from Ukraine & Eastern Europe and is a cookbook I would have never found on my own. I’ve enjoyed several recipes from this book and will be sharing a few on the blog.

Olia’s scones recipe is what we would call small pancakes. This recipe makes a small batch so you will need to double it if you are feeding a family of four. Or a teenager. I’ve never played with Kefir before and was thrilled to find it locally for this recipe. These scones/pancakes were simply delicious and with only five ingredients in this recipe, one I will make again.

Olia calls these one of her most favourite recipes of all time, ones he makes for her son often as her mom did for her.

 

Italian Sausage, Zucchini and Bocconcini Pasta Salad

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Summer fresh grilled veggies with fresh basil and bocconcini is favourite dish around here when it gets to hot to cook. Leftover veggies are an easy addition the next day to any dish, like these Grilled Veggie, Pesto & Bocconcini Pizzas.

Today we jazzed up our grilled veggies with bacon, grilled Italian Sausage and lots of fresh garlic. It was a hot one so making something easy and cool for dinner was right up our alley. If you have a side burner on your grill you could also cook the bacon and pasta right there to avoid your oven all together.

In our family we have some who don’t like peppers, some zucchini and some bocconcini cheese (insert gasp). Since I don’t cater to anyone’s likes or dislikes when I make a meal, I always tell them to pick out what they don’t like and eat what they do.

This would be an easy dish to partially prepare in advance and take camping. Make your dressing and store in a sealed jar. Cook all veggies and store in the fridge in a sealed container. Cook the rest when you are there and assemble.

 

Italian Sausage, Zucchini and Bocconcini Pasta Salad
Italian Sausage, Zucchini and Bocconcini Pasta Salad

 

 

Aiden’s Gouda Fruit Salad

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My kids love to get into the kitchen and create things. More often then not they announce what they want to make without checking on ingredients first. This salad was the exception as we just so happened to have all the fruit available. Aiden’s Fruit Salad is made by my son Aiden and on this night accompanied quick sandwiches before a busy activity evening.

A fruit salad can include any fruit you want. We never add a dressing or drizzle of honey to our fruit salads as we let the sweetness of the fruit speak for itself.

Aiden's Gouda Fruit Salad
Aiden’s Gouda Fruit Salad

 

 

Greek Pasta Salad

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A family favourite that has stood the test of time (almost 20 years) will soon be your new go to pasta salad. This Greek Pasta Salad combines Greek salad and a pasta salad for a winning combination!

Greek Pasta Salad
Greek Pasta Salad

Back in 2002 I used to play on a local softball slow-pitch team. I was fairly new to Calgary and looking to get out and meet people. The same year I also joined an indoor soccer team and billiards team. It was around then I met my husband, through work of all places, and life was forever changed.

Greek Pasta Salad
Greek Pasta Salad

During our ball season, our team did a few weekend tournament camping trips that included lots of beverages. Meals were potluck style and it was around this time someone from work introduced me to Club House Pasta Salad Dressing Mix.

So every camping trip that followed I would precook the pasta, store it in a zip lock bag, chop up a bunch of vegetables, store them in a plastic bag, mix up the dressing and keep it in a sealed jar and wrap up some feta as the finishing touches.

Greek Pasta Salad with cucumber water
Greek Pasta Salad

This pasta salad is also a hit at potlucks and barbecues. Here’s a few tips to help get you started.

PRO TIPS

  • Do not rinse pasta after cooking. This is an old wives tale. Drain pasta and spread pasta on a baking sheet to let cool down.
  • Do not add oil to the pasta water. Simply not needed. Make sure it’s salted however.
  • Pre-chop all veggies.
  • Pre-make your salad dressing.
  • Take this salad anywhere and be prepared to be asked for the recipe.

Like this salad idea, check out a few of our other favourites:

 

Roasted Jalapeno Hummus

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Chick peas, also known as garbanzo beans, are a good source of protein, iron and several other vitamins and minerals. Hummus is a staple in our house and this Roasted Jalapeno Hummus is the latest flavour addition to our weekly rotation.

Roasted Jalapeno Hummus
Roasted Jalapeno Hummus

Hummus is a popular Middle Eastern Dip and spread. A dish we did not grow up with and only learned about later in life through our many food adventures. It’s the perfect healthy dip for fresh vegetables. In fact it is so good for you, here are 8 Great Reasons to Eat More Hummus.

Roasted Jalapeno Hummus
Roasted Jalapeno Hummus

Adding roasted jalapenos was a no brainer for me as I love spice just not too spicy. Roasting jalapenos breaks down the capsaicin in the skin, reducing the pepper’s heat while giving it a sweet and smoky flavour. It is important to note some jalapenos can be hotter than others. Just like some oranges or grapes taste better than others, or onions can make you cry worse than the previous one. Using jalapenos in any dish may result in a mild experience or wild adventure depending on how spicy they are. Therefore you may want to start with just 1 jalapeno depending on your heat level tolerance.

Roasted Jalapeno Hummus
Roasted Jalapeno Hummus

I also love roasted garlic and roast up to 4 bulbs at a time keeping them in the refrigerator to use as needed. Once roasted squish out the entire contents of one roasted garlic bulb into this hummus for added flavour.

 

Gouda and Olive Tapenade Grilled Cheese

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April is National Grilled Cheese Month and that makes me one very happy camper. I grew up eating pretty simple grilled cheese sandwiches made with Kraft singles. As yummy as they were my tastes changed when I hit my twenties and my love for cheese and/or melted cheese exploded. As I aged I started adding new cheese variations to my grilled cheese and then BAM grilled cheese became cool and popular which made me even happier as there were new variations I hadn’t even thought of.

One of my favourite things to do as a teenager was melt cheese in a pan and scoop it out with fresh bread (this was how I fondued). From here I moved on to toasting the bread, pressing it into the melted cheese and this is how I’ve always made my cheese toast. My kids love it and it’s perfect camping where there is no toaster oven.

This inspired me to up my grilled cheese game one day by pressing my grilled cheese into some melting cheese that was left in the pan instead of scooping it out and burning my mouth like I usually would. So I did both sides. Cheese on the inside and crispy cheese on the outside. It was reaaallly good!

Here’s how we do it.

 

 

Gouda and Olive Tapenade Grilled Cheese
Gouda and Olive Tapenade Grilled Cheese

 

Grilled Bread & Tomato Salad

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Sunny days make me want to get outside and eat all the things and plant or harvest my garden and eat fresh grown tomatoes. Right? We’ve had an unusually warm start to 2016 which is great for us Calgarians but not so great for the farmers and producers who rely on the moisture to plant their seeds.

I am slightly addicted to bread so anything that involved bread makes me happy. Having to make up something for a BBQ I decided on a bread, tomato, parsley salad. Simple but delicious. I picked up some roasted garlic bread, gave it some lovely brown char marks and tossed it with the tomatoes. Don’t dress your salad or even add the bread until you are ready to serve it or the bread gets soggy. And serve it immediately for as it sits the bread soaks up the tomato and dressing goodness and it becomes soggy. A little added chunky salami or even cooked chicken would make this the perfect meal in one.

Since I’m using garlic bread I opted not to add garlic to my oil. This dish is beautiful served alongside grilled steak or chicken.

 

 

Homemade Sausage Patties

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I remember my sister in law serving up sausage patties while we were all out camping one summer. They were these perfectly formed sausage shaped coins (twoonie sized for my Canadian readers) purchased from the local Costco as an easy to cook main to accompany breakfast eggs or a dinner salad. I thought they were pretty cool and was left wondering why I didn’t think to bring something so convenient and easy.

These patties have the delicious addition of roasted garlic. If you can roast your garlic the night before or earlier in the day so it’s ready to go. They are an easy dinner served with green apple & jicama slaw, eggs, a light pasta or a salad. If you have time prep the ingredients the night before allowing the pork to infuse the flavours overnight.

A simple and healthy meal you can have on the table in less than 30 minutes.

 

Homemade Sausage Patties
Homemade Sausage Patties

Indian Frybread

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Sweeten up Indian Frybread for a mid afternoon treat by slathering on hazelnut chocolate spread, or use as a vessel to hold up your tacos or chili.

Indian Frybread
Indian Frybread

Indian Frybread, also known as Bannock has been a staple in First Nations communities all over North America for centuries. It is a flat dough bread, typically deep fried in some sort of fat, like lard or oil. It can be served as a sweet treat tasting very similar to Beaver Tails here in Canada, covered in chocolate sauce, caramel, dulce de leche, cinnamon sugar or even a cream cheese frosting.

Turn it savoury by using as a burger bun, taco base, base for hot piping chili or stew, topped with eggs and bacon benny style, or even an opened faced sandwich.

Indian Fry Bread
Indian Fry Bread

Today’s recipes for Indian fry bread follow similar ingredients and traditions that have been passed down through First Nations families for centuries.

My first introduction to bannock was in Home Economics class in high school in the 1980’s in British Columbia. It was part of the school curriculum to learn how to make bannock and learn the traditions behind bannock making from the local First Nations people . My husband also grew up eating bannock in Manitoba, warmed with jam.

Indian Frybread
Indian Frybread

We’ve dabbled in bannock a little over the years making Bannock on a Stick whenever we go camping. The kids love it as they wrap pieces of dough around hand carved roasting sticks and slowly roast the bannock over the coals until done. We eat it hot slathered in butter and jam.

Camping Bannock on a Stick
Camping Bannock on a Stick | Wanda Baker Photo

On one of our regular visits to Kelowna, B.C., we discovered the Kekuli Cafe. This Canadian Aboriginal cuisine restaurant has been serving up bannock with a twist for over 10 years. Much of our bannock recipe inspiration comes from this little cafe and all their delicious bannock offerings. Definitely a must stop the next time you are in Kelowna!

The best time to eat this bread is fresh, however it does taste pretty good the next day.

 

 

Mango Coconut Smoothie

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January is typically about smoothies for me. Trying to eat better following December’s eating palooza of treats, fatty foods and alcoholic beverages. By the time New Years comes around I’m feeling it and need a healthy kick. Enter smoothies.

Versatile and delicious, anything goes right. You don’t have to put a lot of thought into them. Juice, coconut milk, even water can be the liquid that loosens it all up. Keep some frozen berries or fruit on hand. Add in cinnamon, or not. Play a little and find a combo that works for you.

I was low on supplies when I made this. I alway try to have coconut milk on hand and some form of frozen fruit. Every thing else is bygones.

 

Tomato Soup with Sausage

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Lately I’ve been craving soup. Specially french onion soup but I haven’t had the booze I needed to make the broth sing. Recently I took some out of town clients to Charbar for lunch, a fairly new Argentinian style restaurant I’ve admittedly been to several times. I ordered the lunch special (and they did to) of half a salad and the daily soup. I encouraged them to have the fugazza (pizza) with their soup. The soup was an Argentinian inspired tomato & sausage soup. Wow was it ever good. In fact all four of us at the table completely enjoyed the soup. I decided to try and make my own version of this soup at home.

Have you heard of Spolumbo’s sausage? They are local sausage maker and the sausage is preservative and chemical free. I use it in pasta sauces, soups and we especially love it grilled on the BBQ. You can use whatever uncooked sausage you love in this soup. I also added a small piece of leftover parmesan rind as I’ve seen chefs do this to add flavour and depth. It did something because the soup was the best tomato soup I’ve ever had.

It’s a simple soup that screams flavour.

 

 

How to Assemble a Charcuterie Board

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Charcuterie boards have become all the rage in recent years with many restaurants offering it on their menus. When you think about it, charcuterie is a term that’s been in our vocabulary for a long time, just called something different. Like sausage and cheese plate. Right?!

When I put together a charcuterie board, or a cheese board, it’s essentially different every time. It always depends on the season, the event, and what I feel like when I shop for ingredients. Sometimes I go into the store with a plan, other times I wing it knowing I need the basics of meat and cheese.

With the holidays fast approaching, and several gatherings in our future, I will most likely end up preparing charcuterie boards. Here we show you how easy it is to prepare one for your next event.

Charcuterie Board
Charcuterie Board

First thing you need to consider is presentation. How will you display your items? Pieces of tile purchased at a home reno store, wooden boards, pottery or rustic platters, a cake stand or tray with handles along all become the perfect platform for your spread. Pair it with some smaller bowls or dishes and cheese knives, tools or markers. Have extra fresh herbs on hand? Pretty up your board with the addition of herbs.

The Cheese. If you go to a specialty cheese or European store to buy your cheese, the selection can be slightly overwhelming. Plan on purchasing both soft and firm cheese. Consider the type of cheese it is: cow, goat or sheep milk. Choose a couple in each category (soft and firm) including a blue, and an aged cheese. Be sure to include a popular, common cheese. Ask an employee for assistance if you are still uncertain in your selection. Remember to bring your cheese out and let sit on the counter for at least 15 minutes before serving.

The Meat. Pick 3 different types of meat. A salami (ie: sopressata), bresaola, prosciutto or sausage all sliced thin. Try to arrange the meat on your board looking a bit messy or whimsy. Roll it if you choose, layer sausage pieces, in the end it doesn’t have to be perfect. Smoked salmon or pate could also be included on your board. The meat, like cheese, should be served at room temperature.

Sweet, Salty, Crunchy. Think nuts, olives, pickles, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, peppers, tapenade, dried fruit, compotes, preserves. These items really enhance the flavour element you have created on your board, and are perfect in those smaller bowls or dishes we talked about.

Crackers & Bread. Offer a variety of breads and crackers. Thinly sliced baguette, crostini, bread sticks, and a small selection of crackers are great choices. I really like the thin water crackers and Leslie Stowe style crisps.

Fresh. Ensure you have some fresh fruits or veggies on your board. Have you ever tried apple slices with cheddar cheese or brie? Pear with blue cheese? Grapes or figs are a lovely addition to any board. We encourage you to try different fruits with the cheese you have selected for a little wow factor.

Your board doesn’t have to be jam packed with all the things. Keep it simple, do what works for you. Some boards we’ve created over the years: Greek, Mediterranean, seafood, grilled, meats and mustard’s, cheese and pickles, and even as simple as crudites. A little goes along way, just make sure you have some variety.

 

Mango Ginger Smoothie

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Smoothies in our house happen fast & furious. Never a lot of thought goes into making smoothies, but more searching through the freezer and fridge for fruit or veggies needing to be used up. That’s what so great about smoothies is anything goes. My kids now know how to make them and are totally ok with spinach going in, cause they can’t taste it.

This time we were under the weather so I added fresh ginger. You need to puree it really well to break up that ginger, and it’s never so strong it takes over the taste. Just a hint. Pomegranates never last long in this house. The kids are totally addicted. So this last tablespoon full is all I got out of two pomegranates. They both inhaled them. Not a bad thing since they are full of antioxidants. I just need to teach them how to clean them. This is a fun smoothie to make.

 

Panzanella Salad with Summer Cherries

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I enjoyed a childhood filled with an abundance of tree fruits. Cherry, apple, prune plums and crab apple trees adorned the front yard. I often wonder if the people who live in that house now enjoy the fruit trees as much as we did. I have fond memories of the battles my father would have with the birds (Robins mostly) eating his cherries. Sometimes when I think back to those battles, he reminds me of Mr. McGregor in The Tale of Peter Rabbit.

There are many variations of panzanella salads and I love how versatile this salad is especially in the summer months. Summer cherries just seems to work in this salad. It’s a salad that’s actually been around a very long time. Did you know Panzanella was based on onions, not tomatoes until the 20th century? And modern panzanella is generally made of stale bread soaked in water and squeezed dry? I’m not much on eating stale bread soaked & squeezed…I prefer my crunchy croutons!

It’s easy to toss the bread on the grill, chop up some veggies, mix up a dressing, pick your favourite cheese to add and you have a delicious dinner ready to go. Firmer veggies are best for this salad. It’s perfect for a potluck or to take camping. Days like today when it’s to hot to cook, we like to pick up a cooked roasted chicken, whip up an easy salad and dinner is done. Toss some firm fruit or berries into your salad and change it up again.

Better photo coming soon!

 

 

 

Crispy Molasses Coleslaw

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We had an International German student living with us for almost a year. She had a few food allergies and one of them was carrots. So I got used to cooking without carrots. Although the allergy was mainly to raw carrots, I just stopped using them so as to not “forget”. With my coleslaw’s I always experiment. Sometimes I’d add apple or pear, other times it’s nuts or seeds. But the basics of my coleslaw are always the same; cabbage, onions, cilantro with a mayo/sour cream/vinegar dressing.

As I was making the dressing to go with our Beef on a Bun, I asked my father in laws girlfriend/partner what she thought about me adding molasses into my dressing. She wasn’t sure at first so I pulled a little out & mixed in some molasses. Let her try it to get her opinion and Bam she liked it. I know some people add sugar to their dressings, so the molasses could add the sweet factor. And since I’m more of a salty person to begin with I needed feedback and second opinions. It was well received that evening by everyone. And so the Crispy Molasses Coleslaw recipe was born.

This recipe feeds a crowd so if you are cooking for a smaller family you may want to half it. And yes I put cilantro in my slaw. You can always replace it with flat leaf parsley.

 

Crispy Molasses Coleslaw
Crispy Molasses Coleslaw

Ginger Peach Smoothie

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Trying to get some frozen berries used up from the freezer so I can buy some more. Realizing tummy growls meant I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. 10am & I started tossing items into my blender to make a smoothie.

I’m a big believer in raw ginger in various forms. 20 years ago I worked in a high rise in downtown Vancouver. The penthouse housed actors & I even rode down the elevator once with David Duchovny. No bigs really. I’m never awed by celebrities, maybe cause I’ve met so many, but it was still cool to share elevator space with him even though I never gave him a second glance. At the bottom of the highrise was a little convenience store. I got to know the lady who owns/runs the store quite well. Late 50’s, looked amazing and one day she told me she hasn’t been sick in over 30 years! I asked how and she said “I cut up fresh ginger/garlic and eat it every single day”. Have been for 30 years. Inspired by this I started cutting up raw ginger & garlic and eating it. Now to be honest I don’t do it every day but it’s been a habit I can’t break for 20 years. It’s easy enough to cut up and store in the fridge for hubs & I. I even try to get my kids to eat it like this when they are not feeling well. We do 1 tsp every day – mornings/bedtimes, push it to the back of your mouth (don’t chew) and swallow. No bad breath either! I’m so in love with ginger I even grate it into my green tea.

Why not put some in my smoothie, I said. Delicious and only a hint of ginger taste. There is enough smoothie here for two, but I didn’t share today. If you do not have or can not find frozen smoothies, any frozen fruit will do. Here’s how I did it.