A Lot About Nothing

This is a recipe that I submitted to Pillsbury’s Baking Challenge. I heard about the contest one night, and realizing that I only had a couple of days to create a recipe, I found a tube of Pillsbury Crescents in my fridge and started brainstorming. Apple-Cheese Struesel Squares (or rectangles, depending on how you cut ‘em), is what came out of it all. After serving the delicious dessert to several friends of mine (and of course, trying it myself), I knew I had a winner in my books. Moist and flaky Pillsbury Crescent base for this quick and easy dessert, along with the blend of tender apples, cream cheese and streusel topping. If you enjoy the recipe, remember to head over to the Pillsbury Baking Challenge website and vote for my dessert (you can vote once a day)!

Ingredients:

1 can (235 g) Pillsbury* Crescent Rolls

For cream cheese filling:
1 – 250g package of cream cheese (room temp.)
3 tbsp granulated sugar (45 mL)
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (2.5 mL)

For apple filling:
2 cooking apples, peeled and sliced (e.g. golden delicious)
3 tbsp unsalted butter (45 mL)
2 tbsp brown sugar (30 mL)
1 tsp ground cinnamon (5 mL)
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg (2.5 mL)

For Streusel Topping:
1/3 cup flour (75 mL)
1/4 cup brown sugar (50 mL)
1/4 cup unsalted butter (50 mL)
1 tsp ground cinnamon (5 mL)

Directions:

1. Grease an 8-inch casserole dish and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the 3 tbsp of unsalted butter for the apple filling. Add in the 2 tbsp of brown sugar and cinnamon and stir until dissolved. Gradually add in the sliced apples and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
3. In a medium bowl, using a spatula mix together the ingredients for the cream cheese filling: cream cheese and granulated sugar until blended, then add in the egg and vanilla extract. Set aside.
4. For the streusel topping, mix together the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Using a pastry blender or a fork, cut in the butter and combine until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
5. Open the can of Pillsbury* Crescent Rolls and arrange four sections in the bottom of the casserole dish to cover the bottom of it (use your fingers to stretch the dough slightly if necessary). Slowly pour the cream cheese mixture over the bottom layer of the Crescent dough. Top the cream cheese mixture evenly with the semi-cooked apple. Add the remaining four pieces of Crescent dough on top of the layers to seal.
6. Top the layers evenly with the streusel topping and bake in the pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is golden-brown. Cool for 5 minutes before cutting into squares.

Tips and suggestions: Top with chopped walnuts prior to cooking and serve with vanilla ice cream.

This recipe makes a great appetizer, or all around savoury snack if you’re a fan of fish and potatoes. You can experiment with any type of fish you’d like (or even mix them like I did), but I think cod, salmon or sole work really well. A helpful hint: if you want to reduce the cooking time, cut your potatoes into chunks (instead of boiling them whole), so that they cook quicker.

Yield: 12-14 fish cakes

Ingredients:

4 small white potatoes or 2 large russett potatoes (cut into large chunks)
2 salmon, cod or sole fillets (about 250-300g total)
1 egg (lightly beaten)
1 tbsp milk
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/4 cup fresh dill (chopped)
3 green onions (finely chopped)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt, or to taste
3 tbsp canola oil (for frying)

Directions:

1. Boil potatoes for about 15 minutes, or until tender.
2. While the potatoes are boiling, sear the fish fillets in a frying pan with a bit of oil for 5-10 minutes over medium heat. When they are almost fully cooked, remove from heat and flake into bits with a fork.
3. Drain potatoes and place into a large bowl. Quickly mash with a potato masher, adding milk and egg to themixture.

1. Mix the flaked fish into the mashed potatoes. Add in the breadcrumbs, green onions, dill, garlic powder, salt and pepper until well combined.
2. Using your hands, roll a portion of the mixture into a ball and form small patties (a little bigger than a squash ball, or larger if you like). Place fish cakes in a frying pan with oil over medium heat.
3. Fry each potato fish cake for about 5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel-lined tray or plate. Serve with your favourite seafood dipping sauce, ketchup or enjoy as is.

I’m a fan of South Asian cuisine. Whenever I visit an Indian restaurant I get so intrigued at the thought of what goes in to making the delicious food. Chicken Korma is something that I just had to try making on my own. Classically, korma is a term given to mild, creamy, curry dish where meat or vegetables are braised in yogurt or cream. To give this korma dish a South Indian flavour, coconut milk can be used, but you can substitute it for regular milk if you like. Another option is to stir in some ground almonds into the sauce just before serving.

Personally I prefer to marinate all the spices with the chicken (instead of adding them to the oil on the stove), and leaving the addition of the yogurt until later on in the cooking process (instead of traditionally using it as part of the marinade). I find this allows the flavours to better set with the chicken. I didn’t have any plain yogurt on hand the first time I made this recipe, so I substituted it with sour cream and it came out tasting just as delicious so I’ve stuck with it.

Yield: Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into bite-sized cubes)
1 medium-sized onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger root (finely grated)
1/2 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 tbsp canola oil (for frying)
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro/coriander leaves (chopped)

Marinade:
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp red chili flakes
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp canola oil

Directions:

1. Cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and place in a large bowl.
2. Sprinkle spices over the chicken pieces, mixing well with a spoon so that all pieces are coated evenly. Pour in the 1 tablepoon of oil and mix with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
3. Fry the onion in a large skillet on medium heat, until it begins to soften and lightly caramelize (5-6 minutes).
4. Add the minced garlic and grated ginger. Stir-fry for an additional 1 minute.
5. Add the marinated chicken into the skillet, increasing the heat to medium-high, and sauté for about 4-5 minutes, until chicken is opaque.
6. Gradually add the sour cream and coconut milk to the skillet, making sure liquids are blended evenly.
7. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20-25  minutes, stirring occasionally until chicken is cooked and sauce has thickened (add a bit of water if needed).
8. Remove the skillet from heat, and mix in the chopped cilantro, lemon juice and salt to the chicken korma, letting it sit for an additional 5 minutes so that all the flavours are able to intermingle.
9. Serve over basmati rice or with naan bread.

I wouldn’t call myself a tea connoisseur, but I drink enough of it to warrant purchasing a new tea infuser. Now I had a tea ball that I purchased from Dollarama last year, but after a bunch of uses and as cute as it is, it’s a bit difficult to clean the wire mesh, and I noticed that when I use fine leaf teas, they often seep through the tiny holes.

That’s when I decided to try something a little different. When I visited the new David’s Tea, I picked up a delicious tin of crème caramel rooibos tea. After looking around at their selection of infusers I came across the Blomos Teastick. It seemed pretty cool, but I didn’t want to shell out $25 plus tax for it. I searched the net for similar teastick, since I was worried that the perforations in the Blomos model were a little too big for oh-so-scrumptious rooibos tea. I stumbled upon Gamila’s Teastick,  and found one selling on eBay for $15.99. After reading some favourable online reviews, along with the fact that it saved me a few bucks over the Blomos Teastick I decided to purchase it. Gamila states that:

this is the ultimate infuser for tea enthusiasts features intuitive “scoop-slide-steep” functionality while it reflects the aesthetic of traditional loose tea service. Durable enough for industrial use, it has no breakable mechanisms and is constructed entirely of 304L stainless steel with holes small enough to infuse the finest of teas.

Entirely made of kitchen-grade stainless steel, The Teastick boasts it’s made for a lifetime of of home use (we’ll see about that). I must admit, the design is very stylish, but does it actually work like an infuser should? I can now say that it does after finishing a warm cup of tea. Even the packaging is pretty cool, complete with info on how to use and care for your teastick, as well as some brewing tips.

After washing my Teastick in warm, soapy water, I dried it off and got ready to test out my new gizmo. It slid open pretty effortlessly, and I noticed the little locking mechanism on the top of the perforated sleeve. It’s pretty

roomy inside the Teastick once you slide the sleeve all the way to the top. I was worried that the tea wouldn’t have enough room to steep.

When scooping up loose tea with your Teastick, make sure you kind of shimmy the tea in the scoop so that it levels off with the fill edge. And you want to be careful not to overfill it because tea needs room to unfurl.

I had a small cup, so I didn’t fill it too much. The sleeve slipped back down and locked easily and I dunked the stick into my cup of hot water and waited about 5 minutes for my rooibos tea to steep. What I also like about The Teastick is that it doubles as a stir-stick (and it also looks pretty chic in my cup of tea).

Clean-up was a breeze: I just slide the sleeve back up, dumped out the tea, and washed The Teastick with soap and water (note that it’s also dishwasher safe). If some loose tea leaves get stuck in the little holes, the sleeve is large enough that you can use your finger to pry any out (and this is coming from someone with pretty big hands ). I also like the little curved handle at the top of The Teastick. It prevents it from falling into larger mugs or teapots, and allows it to rest evenly on your table or saucer with minimal drippage while you sip your tea.

Now, because the type of loose-leaf tea (rooibos) that I used it had some small needle-like leaf particles in it, and a few did float through the perforations, but it wasn’t as much as I thought it would be. For drinkers of full-leaf tea, such as green or black, I think The Teastick would be perfect.

Scoop it. Slide it. Steep it. Brewing a cup of tea is that easy with The Teastick. I think this was worth what I paid for it, but if you can’t afford to pay for the $18 + shipping as noted on the Gamila site, check out eBay for sellers. I haven’t seen this model of infuser in any stores in Canada as yet. And if a teastick isn’t your thing, then you can always test out the various tea infuser balls, glass tea infusers, infuser cups, Gamila’s new super-cute Teastick Gems, or simply stick to the ol’ teabags. Happy sipping!

Gee… I feel like making more tea!

Plantains are such a versatile “vegetable-fruit”, and are used in a wide array of Caribbean dishes. Whether they are green (starchy, not-yet-ripened), yellow or black (fully ripe and sweet), plantains can be used in sweet or savoury dishes.

I usually see these “giant bananas” priced at about 99¢/lb. They can be hard to peel, especially when they’re not fully ripe (and you don’t really want to eat them raw). When you’re frying plantains this way it’s best to use them is when they’re yellow and firm (about a medium ripeness). Plantains become more soft and sweet as they ripen.

Plantain chips, also known as platanos, chifles, tajadas or tostones, are best served warm and will leave you craving for more.

Yield: 2 servings or about 40 chips

Ingredients:
2 plantains (greenish-yellow colour)
1 1/2 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
canola oil (enough to cover the surface of a frying pan)

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a wide frying pan over medium heat (about 375°F).
2. Using a mortar and pestle grind together the sea salt and the garlic (or you can use the back of a spoon). Set aside.
3. Cut off the ends of the plantains. Using a paring knife, slice the skin of the plantain from top to bottom, being careful not to cut the plantain itself (going along the seam will help). Make a total of four even slices, and carefully pry the skin off one of the sections using the tip of the knife. You can use your hands to peel off the remaining sections. Cut each plantain into slices about 1/8″ thick. Feel free to cut them in diagonals if you like. (I used a mandolin slicer which made this a bit easier).
4. Place half of the sliced plantains into the frying pan (they should gradually come to the surface if the oil is at the right temperature). Be sure not to dump them in all at once or put too many inside the pan (this will lower the temperature of the oil and affect the cooking). Fry the plantains for about 4-6 minutes, flipping occasionally, until golden-brown.
5. Remove from the pan using a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel-lined plate or tray. Sprinkle with the prepared garlic-salt while they’re still a bit oily and hot, coating evenly. Repeat the process for the remaining slices.