Elegant & Gourmet….made EASY!!

I LOVE preparing our huge Thanksgiving feast.  All the wonderful smells filling the house….in anticipation of all the yummy food we are going to eat!!  Of all the holiday dinners, this is the one I enjoy making the most.

Pumpkin pie is always, always on the top of the list.  I still have my mom's handwritten recipe that I turn to each year.  It has been many, many years since she has been with us, but the memories of her pie always make their way to my dinner table.

My oldest daughter is the ONLY person that does not like pumpkin pie. How can you not like pumpkin pie??  Even my 2 1/2 year old grandson loves pumpkin pie.  So like most moms….I make 2 desserts so she can enjoy a nice ending to the meal as well.  Believe me, my husband and son-in-laws have no problem eating both desserts….even my other daughter….who loves pumpkin pie as much as I do, enjoys the 2 dessert option.

Since this is the fall season, my dessert of choice involves apples.  Usually an apple pudding, or apple crisp  find their way onto the menu.  This year I decided to try something different.  With the help of one of my favourite sites: www.thekitchn.com, I made a truly wonderful, elegant dessert…..Free Form Apple Tarte.

It is one of the most simple desserts I have ever made and it's now on my list of top 10 desserts I love making.  It truly reminds me of visiting a gourmet coffee shop with my husband, and ordering this for a nice treat.  In fact I have ordered something like this on several occasions….now I can make it at home!!

So you see…with a little help from the internet….and some patience in the kitchen…things people would consider difficult are actually easy.  Simple gourmet….it doesn't get better than that.

Check out the site and give it a try….perhaps it will become a favourite of yours too.  

Enjoy!!

Shrimp Tacos with Homemade TORTILLAS!!

 I have always thought the idea of fish tacos was strange.  I guess that is because I never tried them….until now!

Making my own tortillas always intrigued me….but living in Canada and trying to find an authentic tortilla press was almost impossible.  Thank goodness for online shopping and Amazon!!  Last month I decided to order the press and give this whole new cuisine a try.

Yesterday was experiment day.  Myself and my wonderful husband decided that it was time to try our new press and  shrimp tacos for the test.

We were blown away at the final product.  Although my tortilla making skills are far from the wonderful Mexican chefs, if the first attempt at something at least resembles the end product, and the taste is awesome….then the attempt was a success…and these WERE!!

I made the dough and pressed out the tortillas and he cooked them in the skillet.  We kept them warm while he grilled the shrimp on the BBQ, and I sliced up the avocado.  These tasty little gems were garnished with chopped kale and peach chutney.  For the side we had a crispy cool cucumber salad.

Voila just like that we felt like we were in a little Mexican villa without leaving the house!!

I certainly don't think fish tacos are strange anymore….in fact I think these are going to become one of my favourite fun things to make!!

Like I have said before….have fun in the kitchen and ENJOY!!

Who's Your INSPIRATION?

Who's your cooking inspiration?  For me it originally started with my mom, grandmother and aunts.  With a Ukrainian background, endless hours were spent in the kitchens of many family cooks, all creating their wonderful "home made" masterpieces.  Many of my relatives had huge gardens, orchards,  farms that raised livestock….and even in Manitoba my uncle had a wheat farm!!

Everything like milk, bread, meat, fruits and vegetables all came from someone in the family.  Freezers where always full, and cold rooms contained many jars of sauces, jams and pickles.  Oh how the memory of the fall and smell of "sauerkraut" still creeps into my senses.

Mostly everything was made by memory.  I do have a few scribbles of notes that my mom had….at least I managed to find her pumpkin pie recipe, but mostly all these wonderful ladies cooked from the heart!!

Although I loved (and still do) many of the family favourites, after getting married I thought it was time for me to get inspired on my own, trying different things, different food cultures….tasting the world with never leaving home!!  So my immense cookbook collection got underway.  Many years later I am still adding to the collection…in fact I just added 3 new books last month (well really my husband surprised me with them).  My collection also includes magazines and binders full of Internet recipes as well.  

Along with the books, I am an avid fan of so many cooking shows.  Top Chef, Master Chef, many of the celebrity chef shows….and one of my all time favourite shows was Junior Master Chef.  At the end of that show my husband laughed and said, "I thought you were a good cook, you better pick it up a notch".  I laughed too….but totally agreed!!

These things have inspired me to cook and try things I would have never even thought of.  I do remember once we were having company for dinner, and I decided to try something new.  My mom said to me, "You've never cooked that before, how are you going to serve it to guests"?  My answer was…they don't know that!!

Over the years I have cooked fresh pasta, made curries, Moroccan lamb, Thai food, sushi, endless food adventures….all with a little inspiration.  Next time you are in the mood for a certain cuisine….try cooking it.  You might be surprised at what you are able to accomplish in the kitchen.  I love when I try something new and say:  I MADE THAT!!

BBQ Pizza … REALLY???

It certainly is interesting the things you can cook on the BBQ.
During my work day I mentioned to a co-worker that we were going to BBQ pizzas for dinner on the weekend.  Her response was … "Really you can BBQ pizza?"  I know the first time I heard about cooking pizza this way, that was my exact reaction too.

My husband and I really enjoy doing pizza on the BBQ.  It gives us both a chance to be creative and have fun cooking and eating something we LOVE.

When time permits I will make my own dough, but this day that was not an option.  I opted using a Italian stone fired crust available in the bread section at the grocery store.

The sauce consisted of pureeing a can of fire roasted tomatoes, then staining out the excess liquid.  Since we were making 2 different pizzas, I divided the sauce.   One sauce had hot pepper flakes and Italian seasoning added, and the other had smoky BBQ sauce added to the tomato base.

Now comes the fun part….all the wonderful toppings.  I made a "Zesty Mediterranean Pizza".  It consisted of the spicy sauce, feta cheese, black olives, spicy Italian sausage and kale.

My husband's creation was a "Smoky BBQ Chicken Pizza".  It had the BBQ sauce as the base, along with shredded double smoked cheddar cheese, yellow peppers, cooked chicken breast and mushrooms.

Since my husband is the official "grill master" in this house….the rest of the work was up to him.  He preheated the BBQ to around 400 degrees Fahrenheit and placed the pizzas directly on the grill and closed the lid.  About 10 minutes later he took out his handy dandy pizza peel….and removed the wonderful smelling pizzas from the grill.  It's like having your very own pizza oven!!

Now comes the best part…..eating these wonderful creations!!!  They were AWESOME!!  What a fun way to end a busy day…..stress free cooking!!

Next time you are in the pizza mood, and you have a BBQ, why not give this a try?  Creations are endless….let your taste buds help inspire you to create some of the best tasting pizzas you will ever eat!!

P.S.  This was the first time I used the store bought crust….it is a wonderful idea…give it a try!!

An Apple A Day!!

How often have we heard that phrase?  It seems to be encrypted into our brains!!

Whatever "diet" people follow, getting enough fruits and vegetables seems to be a common denominator in all of them.  Personally I dislike the word "diet".  As soon as I hear it I automatically think of eating a bunch of boring food which leaves me feeling hungry….which in turn makes me an unhappy person.

I prefer to look at eating in terms of "food choices".  Do I choose to eat that chocolate bar … or do I choose to munch on an apple?    Whatever people decide to eat, it all boils down to "choice".

Now, back to the "apple a day".  I love biting into a nice, crisp, juicy Cortland apple  in the fall during apple season.  That is my absolute favourite time of year to get my fill on fresh apples.  During the rest of the year however, I have to get creative and find tasty ways of incorporating apples into my cooking.  My husband would be more than happy to live on homemade apple crisp….but that is not an option!!

There are endless way to fit apples into any meal of the day including snacks.  If you experiment, you might be surprised with all the ways apples can be eaten on a daily basis … making the "apple a day" challenge a breeze.

For breakfast I love making baked oatmeal with apples.  Warm oats, cinnamon and nutmeg in the morning is almost like eating apple crisp for breakfast.  Not to mention the house smells wonderful as it bakes.

Snacking on apple slices with peanut butter is a great way to work on that apple eating challenge.

Lunch has lots of possibilities, especially if you are taking it to work (or school).  Try chopping up an apple, adding some cottage cheese, dried cranberries and shredded raw coconut.   Another option is an apple salad.  Choose your greens base, (I love spinach) but any greens of your choice will work.  Slice up an apple, crumble  up some goat cheese and sprinkle with sliced almonds and dried cranberries.  Make a dressing of greek yogurt mixed with a bit of pomegranate juice and honey and you will have yourself an awesome and pretty salad!!

For dinner try adding some chopped apples to your next turkey meatloaf or turkey burgers.  Apples help the burgers and meatloaf stay nice and juicy.  Today I am sautéing some onions and apples to top our pulled pork sandwiches … can't wait!!

Get creative and experiment.  An "apple a day" is not as hard as it seems!!

My Passion of Cooking

Everyone has a passion or two….or more.  Cooking has always been a passion for me.  Coming from a Ukrainian background, food and cooking was something I was accustomed to.  The smells of the many kitchens of my mom, grandmother and aunts still to this day manage to find their way back into my senses.  Huge family gatherings and LOTS and LOTS of food was the norm.  It sometimes took many kitchens to prepare the feast of the families.

Now that I am all grown up and have my own family, cooking is still a passion I enjoy.  We have our own "family favourites"…. and even though my kids are grown up and have families of their own….I still get the "Mom can you make…." and very soon I expect the grandchildren to ask for certain things, just like I did to my grandmother.

The family holidays are usually celebrated here.  Seems that people enjoy the food and keep coming back for more.  I have often been asked why I don't run a Bed & Breakfast, or get involved with cooking in a business manner?  I guess perhaps the timing has not been right, we get busy with our lives and the daily ins and outs that keep just occupied on a daily basis.

With my posts I hope to inspire people to look at food as exciting.  Lots of people don't like cooking, or say they can't find the time.  In today's world  of over processed, high fat, high sugar foods, we have to take the challenge of nourishment in our hands to provide healthy and tasty choices for feed ourselves and our families.

If I can do it….you can too.  It can be as complicated….or as simple as you like, that's what Cooking with CHOICE is all about.

Cooking with  CHOICE….what does that mean??

In the world of CHOICE….cooking fits right in.

What is the RIGHT way to cook?   Atkins, Paleo,  Clean Eating, Vegan, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Sugar Free…the lists are endless.

I am an firm believer that no DIET is the correct approach (unless you have a specific medical condition).  I am not an authority on either nutrition or cooking …. but speak with my heart on the subject of COOKING and WHY I choose my ingredients and methods.

I am new to blogging…and with that I will end this first post….many. many more to come on my thoughts and experiences on Cooking with CHOICE!!

DIET….what does that mean?  I will discuss my opinion in my next post.