5-6 large whole wheat tortillas
4 cooked chicken breasts
1 can cream corn
1 can rinsed and drained black beans
4 green onions chopped
4 cups washed baby spinach
2 tbps salsa
1 cup of shredded cheese
4 garlic cloves crushed
2 tbsp cumin
2 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper

Bake chicken breasts until cooked through (375 for approximately 25 minutes). Once cool, shred or chop into small half-inch long pieces. In a mixing bowl, combine chicken, corn, beans, green onions, spinach, salsa and 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese (or any you prefer). Add in garlic, cumin, chilli powder, oregano, cayenne pepper and salt and pepper. In a 9 x 13” baking dish, spread 2 cups of salsa. Now, time to fill the tortillas. Divide mixture among 5-6 tortillas. Fill and roll. How simple?! Place filled tortillas in the baking dish side by side. Top with 1/2 cup of cheese and bake covered at 350 for 20 minutes. Uncover and cook for another 10-15 minutes until cheese is golden brown. Best served with salsa, avocado, and sour cream. Enjoy~

Ingredients:
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package of milk chocolate chips (approximately 2 cups)

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugars until smooth. Add egg and vanilla and blend in. Stir in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoons onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. Enjoy!

As of today, I’ve officially been back to work for a whole month! This new reality is quite a change for me. Just as I was mastering the art of being a full-time mom, I’m now learning to balance work with home life. It’s not easy. Everything seems to happen at an accelerated pace. And I feel like I’m constantly rushing – to catch the train, prepare breakfast, have my morning coffee, dress my son, dress myself and so on and so on. I’ve come to one conclusion whole heartedly – family time is so precious and being away from my little guy during the day makes me want to hold him so much tighten when I get home.
Lately, I’ve been struggling to get my son to eat his veggies and soup has been the solution to my dilemma. He loves soup! I made this hearty, spicy soup last week and it was delicious! It has the whole family’s stamp of approval.

Ingredients:
1 large cauliflower
1800 ml of chicken broth
1 540 ml can of lentils drained and rinsed
1 large carrot peeled and chopped
3 celery stalks chopped
1 clove of garlic
1 bay leaf
2 dashes of worcestershire sauce
2 tsp maple syrup
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp onion powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon

In a large stove top pot saute cauliflower florets in olive oil for a few minutes. Add in broth and remaining ingredients. Over medium heat simmer until all the veggies are tender and fully cooked. With a hand-held blender, puree until smooth. Delicious right away, but even better the following day. Enjoy!

This past Sunday I had two very good reasons to make this rich yummy chocolate cake. One, it was my hubby’s birthday, and two, it was also his first father’s day. And, the poor guy also had to spend the whole weekend studying for finals – I think he deserved a good cake! You can, of course, use regular old icing instead of the chocolate fudge icing recipe below, but the fudge icing is sooooooo delicious. Really. Beating it till the perfect consistency is always tricky, but it doesn’t really matter if it ends up a little too hard or a little too runny…it’s just that good. 

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
4 heaping tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup miracle whip
1 cup cold water
1 tsp vanilla

Sift together dry ingredients. Add miracle whip and mix well. Add cold water and vanilla and beat until fluffy and smooth. Pour into two 9” round cake pans and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Chocolate Fudge Icing (I always double it!):
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

In a stove top pot, combine all and over medium heat, bring to a boil. Boil for 2 -3 minutes. Let cool completely (30 minutes to an hour). Once cool, beat until the consistency becomes fudge like, but not too hard. Mix in vanilla and spread over cake. Enjoy!

Yesterday morning, with my little guy off swimming with dad, I made this delightful blueberry streusel cake and it is ever so yummy….in fact it’s calling me back for another piece. The recipe is from Donalyn Ketchum. Her recipe called for rhubarb, which I think would have been delicious, but all I had lingering in my fridge begging to be used were a few cups of blueberries. Next time I’ll try with rhubarb.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sour milk or buttermilk

Streusel topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup all purpose flour
5 tablespoon softened butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon

In a large mixing bowl, cream together sugar and butter. Beat in eggs and vanilla. In another mixing bowl, sift flour, salt and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to the sugar mixture in thirds, alternating with the buttermilk (add 1/2 cup buttermilk in between dry ingredients). Fold in 3 cups of blueberries (or your choice of seasonal fruit). Spread evenly in a greased 9 x 13 ” baking dish.

Bake at 350 for 35 to 45 minutes or until puffy and very golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool slightly before serving. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup 2 % plain unsweetened yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp almond extract
2 cups flour
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups fresh blackberries

In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, oil, yogurt, milk and almond extract. In a large mixing bowl, sift together, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the dry ingredients and slowly pour in the egg mixture. Stir until just combined. Fold in blackberries and spoon into prepared muffin tins. Makes 12 to 16 muffins. Bake at 375 for 20-22 minutes. Enjoy!

Rain rain go away, come again another day…

It’s a dreary day here in Montreal, not the sunny warm Easter weekend weather I was hoping for, but that’s ok. I’ll stay in and hibernate; watch movies and drink lots of hot tea. It’s been a busy past couple weeks. Lot’s of gardening, picture taking, sugar shack visiting, etcetera, etcetera. All good things. Just like this soup. Smooth, hearty and subtly flavoured.

Blossoms from my backyard

Butternut Squash Potage
Serves 8
Ingredients:
2 large russet potatoes
2 celery stalks
1 medium red onion
1 1/2 medium sized butternut squashes roasted (approximately 4 cups)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 dashes of tabasco sauce
Dash of turmeric
Salt and pepper to taste
900 ml vegetable broth
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 350. Slice 2 butternut squashes in half lengthwise. Remove seeds, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place flesh side up in a shallow baking dish and roast in the oven for about an hour, or until fully tender. Meanwhile, in a large stovetop pot, over medium high heat, saute chopped onion and celery in olive oil for 5 minutes. Add in potatoes and saute for another 15 minutes. Add in vegetable broth to cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked. Add garlic, ginger, tabasco, turmeric and salt and pepper. When the squash is cooked, scoop out the flesh and add to the soup. Depending on the thickness of the soup, add in approximately 2 1/2 cups of chicken bouillon. Puree until smooth with a hand-held blender and enjoy!

A pic from our Easter photo shoot…

and our visit to the Sucrerie de la Montagne (seriously, best sugar shack I’ve ever been to)…

it was gorgeous.

Wishing you all a lovely Easter weekend!

Be warned, these cookies are so light and fluffy that you’ll eat half a dozen before realizing that maybe you should stop.

Makes approximately 24-30 cookies depending on size.

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of one large lemon, finely minced
4 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Directions:
Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Using a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and very fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon zest. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Place on lined cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

Glaze (From Giada De Laurentiis)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon

Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours.

‘More pie please!’ That’s what I said after my second helping. Gulp. Then I got a grip. It would have been completely possible to eat this entire pie myself and had it not been for the inevitable guilt that would be sure to follow (not to mention what my husband would say…’what, you ate the whole pie!’), I probably would have. I adapted this from a Chatelaine rhubarb custard pie recipe and had planned to use peaches instead of pears, but found them an unappealing yucky brown upon slicing them open. Why can’t I find some good peaches? What really makes this pie is the crust. I know. I know. You’re thinking, ‘who cares about the crust?’. You do. And after you try Donna Hay’s vanilla pie pastry you will never use another.

Pie Filling
4 cups fresh blackberries (washed and dried)
3 ripe bartlett pears (pealed and roughly chopped)
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp melted butter
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp four

*Donna Hay’s Vanilla Pie Pastry
1 2/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup ice water
1 tsp vanilla

Combine flour, sugar and baking powder in a bowl. Using a food processor (or your hands), cut in cold butter until crumbly. Combine cold water and vanilla and gradually add into the dough (continually mixing). Mix until the dough comes together and is smooth. Using plastic wrap, cover and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes before using. * I doubled this recipe.

Preheat oven to 425. Roll out half of pastry on a lightly floured surface and line bottom of a 9 inch pie plate. Do not prick. Set pastry shell aside. In a medium-size bowl, whisk egg yolks with butter. Stir sugar with flour. Then, stir into egg yolk mixture to form a paste. Stir in blackberries and pears until well mixed. Turn mixture into pie shell. Roll out remaining dough and cut into strips 1/2 inch wide. Weave strips over filling to form a lattice top. Check out this how-to video to see how it’s done! Bake at 425 on the bottom rack for 10 minutes, just until edges start to brown. Then, reduce oven temperature to 350 and continue baking for another 40 minutes. Let cool for at least an hour…I know it’s tempting to grab a spoon and dig right in, but try to have some self restraint. Enjoy!

(For the full effect, read with a British accent)

I know the world is full of good parents who never give their children food with salt or sugar, and this recipe (among others) proves conclusively that I am not one of them. Oh, and on top of these dietary failings, the following also contains alcohol.

Now tell me, aren’t you smitten too? So now that I’ve brought you all up to speed on my fondness for Nigella, let me tell you that I just made her chocolate banana muffins and oh my they are something else. I’ve never had a muffin so yummy and moist.

Ingredients:
3 very ripe bananas
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 3/4 cup flour
3 tbsp coco powder
1 tsp baking soda

In a large bowl, mash bananas. Beat in oil and eggs, followed by sugar. In a another medium bowl, sift together flour, coco powder and baking soda. Mix flour mixture into the banana mixture. Spoon batter into muffin tins (makes 12 muffins). Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!