Poutine, Go Quebec!

One of my most favourite Canadian foods are the poutine which originated in Quebec. It is a great combination of cheese curds, brown gravy and french fries. It's a very tasty food thingy. I don't know if it's a entree or an appetizer or a side dish. It's just awesome dish.
This is the dish for me that will never get old and outdated. I will always enjoy it for some reason. I think its the combination of cheese, gravy and crunchy french fries.
So here are some of the different types of poutine styles that are enjoyed:

• Poutine Itallienne : Uses marianara sauce instead of the Velouté.
• Poutine Bourguinonne : Adds ground beef and fried onions to the Velouté sauce, in Bourgennione style.
• Poutine BBQ : Heated BBQ sauce is poured on.
• Poutine Mole : With a wink, an Oaxacan black mole sauce slathers over the mixture, adding its wonderful smoke and chocolate sweetness.
• Disco Fries : An off-menu item in New Jersey and New York diners, combines a chicken-gravy and shredded cheddar on top a plate of fries.

Okay so to make the poutine, you will need:

• Vegetable oil
• Potatoes, cut into fries or wedges
• Cheese curds
• Brown gravy

So the reason you're going to need the veggie oil is because it is what you are going to fry the fries with. Now one of the things that you are going to need is a boiling pot of water. This is for blanching the fries. Blanching is a process in which you plung the vegetable into a the water for a short time, then plung into ice cold water to stop the cooking process. This is what will make the fries crispy one the outside and tender on the inside.
Once the blanching process is finished, and the fries are dry because you don't want to get water into the oil. Fry them until they are golden on the outside and crispy.
Now while you were getting the fries ready, also get the gravy start heating so it will be ready to put on top of you fries and chees.
When the fries are finished frying, let the oil drain from the fries and then place them on teh serving dish.
Next place some cheese curds on top of the fries. After you do that laddle some gravy on top of the both of those and let the cheese melt a little.
There you have it, now you have your own home made poutine. I hope you enjoy it.
Stay tuned for more recipes... :)

Coffee Time!

Coffee is a brewed beverage that is made from seeds from the coffee plan and which is also commonly known as coffee beans. Before the beverage is actually made, the beans have to be roasted and ground so that the water will absorb the flavour and taste.
The caffeine content in coffee is enough to have an stimulating effect in humans. Which is good for that morning pick-me-up but it’s also good for when you have headaches and migraines, it helps get rid of the pain of the tightened muscles.
The world has taken coffee and made it its own. If it’s Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Oceania and the Americas. Each country has its own distinctive flavour, texture and recipes for coffee. Which in itself is quite remarkable.
Now most people love there coffee and have mild addictions to it. Which can be really bad for the reasons that any addiction can hurt people. Even an addiction to coffee can have it draw backs. One would be people can get really gittery, cranky, upset, really tired and some can get violent.
So just remember everything in moderation. Yes, everything in moderation especially caffeine.
The next time you go out for coffee, remember to try different flavours of coffee and different types as well.

Ooey-Gooey Cinnamon Buns

One of my favourite foods to eat with coffee is Cinnamon Buns. They are amazingly tasty, sweet and breadie. I also love the Cinnamony taste and the warmness that they have. So lets just get started with the ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans, divided
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup melted butter

Cinnamon buns are amazing and tasty. If you like them you'll love this recipe. I find that cinnamon buns are a great pick me up snack, they are just so yummy. They always make me feel better. Yay! Go Cinnamon Buns! One of the things you should always remember is that you shouldn't always eat when you are sad and or angry because that's what can lead to an eating disorder which can hurt people psycologically. So just remember don't over eat when you are sad or angry. This is how you make these awesome cinnamon buns:

1. In a small bowl, dissolve 1 teaspoon sugar and yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter and salt; stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm.
2. In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture, milk mixture, eggs and 1 1/2 cup flour; stir well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
3. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
4. While dough is rising, melt 3/4 cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in 3/4 cup brown sugar, whisking until smooth. Pour into greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Sprinkle bottom of pan with 1/2 cup pecans; set aside. Melt remaining butter; set aside. Combine remaining 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup pecans, and cinnamon; set aside.
5. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, roll into an 18x14 inch rectangle. Brush with 2 tablespoons melted butter, leaving 1/2 inch border uncovered; sprinkle with brown sugar cinnamon mixture. Starting at long side, tightly roll up, pinching seam to seal. Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. With serrated knife, cut into 15 pieces; place cut side down, in prepared pan. Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in volume. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
6. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool in pan for 3 minutes, then invert onto serving platter. Scrape remaining filling from the pan onto the rolls.

I hope you enjoy these amazing cinnamon buns and will love them like I do!

Do you like fried foods?

Fried foods taste awesome. I love fried foods. I know there not the best things for me but I still love them. The one fried food that I love is onion rings.
Now this post is going to be a few tips on frying foods.
The first one would be when using fats and oils to cook is that when heating it make sure that you don’t heat it until smoking but remember to have it a little bit higher when you are frying anything cold because it will cool off the oil a bit.
The next tip is to watch open skin and clothes around oil because it will not only burn but it can make a more sore burn and can hurt a lot longer. I know because I have had many oil burns.
The next tip is too filter and clean the oil regularly because clean oil fries so much better then unclean oils. The cleaner the oil the nicer the fry.
Now one of the best tips to remember is that when oils are heated, there structure actually changes and when fast food restaurants say that there fried foods contain no trans fats. They actually would because like I said the structure of the oil has changed and its created trans fats which are in the food now. So if you do enjoy fried foods then you’ll have to take the bad with them, its just the burden that you have to take.
So those are my tips on fried foods and oils.

Chocolate, Oooo Yummy!

Chocolate is enjoyed world wide and loved by thousands. Chocolate comes in three varieties dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate. Chocolate is produced from the bean from the cacao tree that is originally found in South America, Central America and Mexico. Chocolate has been consumed for thousands of years, the earliest people to have consumed it was the Mesoamerican people who created a beverage out of the beans added spices to it. The Spanish were the first people to introduce chocolate to Europe.
Milk chocolate is actually dark chocolate that has milk powder or condensed milk added to make it lighter and more sweet. The sugars in the milk add a lot more sweetness to the chocolate. Most chocolate bars unless other specified are usually milk chocolate.
White chocolate doesn’t contain any cocoa solids which give it is white colour. Most people think because it doesn’t have contain the solids, that it isn’t real chocolate, but it really is. Most countries don’t consider it real chocolate. The best thing about white chocolate is that it doesn’t contain theobromine, which means it can be consumed by animals.
Dark chocolate is produced by adding fat and sugar to the cacao mixture. In North America to make dark chocolate it requires minimum 15% chocolate liquor but in Europe the minimum is 35%. In recent years science has proven that Dark Chocolate is very good for your health as it can reduce the possibility of a heart attack and it’s full of antioxidants. Antioxidants are amazing because they prevent the oxidation of unsaturated fats which prevents it from going rancid, which is awesome. Unsaturated fats are the good fats that your body uses for energy.
Ok so lets get back to chocolate.
Now the best thing about anything with sugar in it is to eat it in moderation, but there is some good news about chocolate. It doesn’t actually contribute to acne and or tooth decay. It’s the sugar in the chocolate that would do those things. Chocolate as a pure substance can actually help prevent these things from happening but its the taste that would make everyone not want to eat it as a pure substance.
So if you love chocolate then I hope you enjoyed this post, but remember is thing is great in moderation.

Tea, Tea and More Tea!!

Tea is awesome. It’s a great beverage that comes in many different types, but a lot of people don’t know that most teas come from the same plant which is the Camellia Sinensis plant. The only thing that is different is the way that leaves are processed or where it is grown which gives it there unique flavour.
White Tea is unwilted and unfermented, which gives its light colour and light taste.
Yellow Tea is unwilted and unfermented but is allowed to yellow some, which gives its light colour as well and its light taste.
Green Tea is allowed to wilt but still is unfermented, this gives its light greenish colour and the more prominent taste.
Oolong Tea is wilted, bruised and partially fermented, this gives its darker colour and its much more prominent taste.
Black Tea is wilted, sometimes crushed and fully fermented, this gives its much darker colour and its much more prominent taste.

Now teas like herbal and red tea actually don’t have any traces of Camellia Sinensis, or well it shouldn’t. Herbal teas are made from many herbs and flowers. Red teas are made from the South African Rooibos plant. This is what gives it’s red colour and flavour.
Tea is an awesome beverage that can help you feel better and is great because it is extremely healthy and has more nutrients then just water.
So try tea and have a great time enjoying it!
Yay tea!!

Blueberry Muffins, yay!

Blueberry muffins are an awesome treat. They’re full of flavour and antioxidants because of the blueberries. Yes they are full of nutrients and delicious goodness. Plus there blue! Yay!
I love blueberry muffins there so good and tasty. Now I want a muffin... haha :)
So lets get right into making these muffins, the ingredients that you will need are:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

What I love about blueberry muffins I find them to me the most moist out of all the muffins I’ve had and of course some of the most delicious. I find their not to sweet and that the fruit has a lot of natural sugar, which makes it a lot better becasue you don’t have to have a lot of sugar to make it taste good.
The directions to make this amazing treat are:

1. Pre-heat the over to 375’.
2. In a medium sized bowl, combine the first six ingredients.
3. In another bowl, combine the egg, milk, oil and vanilla; and then add to the dry ingredients just until moistened.
4. Gently fold in the blueberries.
5. Fill greased or paper-line muffin cups two-thirds full.
6. Bake at the 375’ F for 25-27 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan.
   

That's how you make this amazing pan of muffins. So I hope you enjoy them when you try them.
Yay! Go Blueberry Muffins! :)

Turkey Clubhouse and Reuben Sandwiches!

This episode of Cooking Tips and Recipes is all about sandwiches. Well two in general, a Turkey Club and Reuben Sandwich. Both of these sandwiches are awesome and tasty.
So for the first sandwich which is a Turkey Club, the bread you'll need is white or whole wheat. You'll also need 3 slices of the bread you choose, and the best thing to do is toast the bread.
Now for the Reuben the best bread to use I find is rye bread. You can toast the bread or grill the whole sandwich, or even use a panini press to heat it.
For the Turkey Club, you'll need mayo, tomato, lettuce, turkey thinly sliced, ham thinly sliced and bacon. So on all three pieces of toast spread the mayo, on the first slice put some lettuce on it and some turkey and ham, then place another slice on top. On that slice place lettuce, the rest of the turkey and ham, the tomato and the bacon. Then place the last slice on top of the sandwich. That completes this sandwich for you so enjoy it.
Now for the Reuben, you'll need corned beef, sauerkraut, swiss cheese and thousand island dressing. You slather the bread/toast with thousand island dressing, then layer cheese, then meat, and then sauerkraut on top of the bread/toast. Place the next piece of bread/toast on top. Then you can grill it or use the panini press if you want too.
And there you go that's how you make these sandwiches, so enjoy and I hope you like them.

Yummy yummy, Strawberry Smoothies

Well because it’s starting to get very hot out, so I thought we would make something fun, easy and cold! So today I thought i would post a recipe to make awesome Strawberry Smoothies. Yay! So if you love strawberries and smoothies this is the drink for you!
The ingredients you will need are:

• 3 cups sliced unsweetened strawberries
• 1 cup(8 oz) fat-free vanilla yogurt
• 1 cup fat-free milk
• 1 cup ice
• 2 tbsps. sugar
• 2 tbsps. reduced-sugar strawberry fruit spread

So these are the ingredients that you will need to make these great smoothies. Personally I love putting ice in my smoothies. I like the texture and the coolness that it makes.
Now these are the directions that you need to follow to make this drink:

1. In a blender or food processor, combine all ingredients.
2. Cover and process until smooth.
3. Pour into glasses; serve immediately.

I hope you enjoy this drink and have a lot of Summer fun!

Risotto Primavera, Ricey goodness!

This recipe I learned in one of my high school food classes. After we made it everyone was excited to make it again. We found it to be that good, well at least my group did, haha. This is an awesome Italian dish, and my teacher in that class would always say, “this is something that you would make for your partner or somebody that you loved,” and then she would say, “they will love you even more after trying it!”
Ok so for the ingredients you are going to need:

• 1 Litre of Stock (beef, chicken, vegetable)
• 300 mL Arborio Rice
• 25 mL butter
• 15 mL olive oil
• 125 mL of dry white wine
• 1 small onion, chopped finely
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 7-10 mushrooms, quartered
• 125 mL Parmesan Cheese
• 5 mL salt
• 125 mL frozen peas
• 25 mL chopped, fresh parsley
• Salt and Pepper to taste

This dish so amazing, you’ll fall in love with it again and again. I have made it for my family and they could never say anything bad about it. Well except for my sister but she’s really picky when it comes to food and doesn’t like to try new things. So in my books she doesn’t count when I make new things to try. I find its always good to make new things and to try new things and see where it goes from there. You can always make new dishes from some of you’re older ones by simply trying new things!
Now for the instructions:

1. In a medium pot heat the stock and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer gently.
2. Melt the butter in another large heavy bottomed pan. Add oil, onion, garlic, and mushrooms and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened.
3. Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes, until all the grains are thoroughly coated and glistening.
4. Add the wine and cook stirring until all liquid had almost completely evaporated.
5. Add a ladleful of the hot hot stock and cook, stirring constantly, until all the stock has been absorbed. Continue cooking, stirring and adding the stock, a ladleful at a time, for about 20 minutes or until the rice is tender and all the stock has been absorbed.
6. Meanwhile, place the frozen peas in a microwavable glass measure and cover with water and plastic wrap. Microwave for 1.5 minutes or until water is boiling. Drain water out.
7. Remove pan from heat and stir in peas, salt parmesan cheese, chopped parsley and pepper
8. Transfer risotto to serving dishes, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with some more parmesan cheese. Garnish with parsley.
9. Serve Immediately.

So that’s how this dish is made. I hope you love it and it makes you want to come back for seconds. Now if you want to make more then what recipes says to make. Just double or triple the recipe. It great to heat up and have later.
Now if you don’t have stock, broth will work just the same. Stock is harder to get so if you don’t have any handy use broth and that will work perfectly.
Also don’t worry about it being a heavy bottom pan. Any large pan will work perfectly. I just prefer heavy bottoms, harder to knock over, and that’s a good thing since I have been known as a klutz.
Well like I already said I hope you love it. Happy Cooking!

Breakfast, How important is it really?

I really wanted to cover how important breakfast actually. I find that I never have time in the morning for breakfast which to me really sucks because I love foods you eat for breakfast. Like eggs, bacon, toast, pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, cereal and orange juice!! That is the main reason why I want to cover the importance of having something for breakfast in the morning.
So scientist have been studying the importance of breakfast for about 40years now and they have found many things that help your body when you eat breakfast.
The first thing that breakfast can do for you is help your brain and body first thing in the morning by making you more alert and helps to brain process thoughts. Without eating breakfast you can feel tired, restless and irritable until you're able to eat something. So why not have breakfast and feel awake and help make yourself more active during the day!
The second thing breakfast can do if you have it each morning is help you loss weight or prevent weight gain. The reason it does this is because it helps start your metabolism working and its breaks the fast of not eating from about 12hrs since your last meal, which makes you not as hungry as the day goes on and can prevent binge eating, which is the major cause for weight gain in most people.
So here are some simple and great breakfast ideas from the website that I got most of my research from:

• Ready-to-eat whole-grain cereal topped with fruit and a cup of yogurt
• Whole-grain waffles topped with peanut butter, fruit or ricotta cheese
• A whole-wheat pita stuffed with sliced hard-cooked eggs
• Hot cereal topped with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice or cloves
• Peanut butter on a bagel with fresh fruit (banana or apple wedges) and low-fat milk
• Breakfast smoothie (milk, fruit and teaspoon of bran, whirled in a blender)
• Vegetable omelet with a bran muffin and orange juice

And if you're taste do not crave breakfast foods, here are some other ideas:

• Lean ham on a toasted English muffin and vegetable juice
• Cheese pizza and orange juice
• Grilled vegetables mixed with beans and cilantro topped with cheese
• Heated leftover rice with chopped apples, nuts and cinnamon and fruit juice

These are super ideas because they will get you up and moving and that is the most important thing to start your day. You need to have energy and breakfast will always give you that energy that you need! And don't forget to have lunch, it's just as important as breakfast and dinner! Also another tip: If 3 meals a day seem not to be enough. What you can do is have 6 meals a day, but make them smaller then the 3 you typically would be having. It won't count as binge eating and you will keep getting an energy boost throughout the whole which is nice, especially if you have a busy day! P.s.: Well I was writing this post today I was enjoying a nice bowl of cereal with milk!

Research link is: http://www.bellybytes.com/articles/breakfast2.shtml

My favourite snack, APPLESAUCE!

So I just decided that I wanted to post my favourite snack recipe. Applesauce of course. I know I know... it's considered a little kids snack... but its just so good.
So when I make my applesauce, I use apples which are sweet, good for baking and when they are heated they are really tender. So basically apples are great for making apple pie... Mmmmmm PIE! That will be another recipe, probably the next one. Anyways back to the path we were originally on!
So yes you are going to need apples that good for making pies, so something like red delicious, gala, fuji, rome apples. Don't use apples that are more bitter when they are cooked like Granny Smith (well personally I think there still bitter).
Okay so since we covered apples, the next thing we should cover is how much you are going to make, if you are going to be making a small amount just enough for you for a few days the grocery store would be perfect to pick them up. If you are going to make a huge batch, and are going to can them and store them, hit your local orchard or farmers market because you'll get a better deal and will be able to get a lot more apples.
Okay so the first thing that I like to do is peel the apples, you don't have to, but personally I like too.
After you have them peeled or not, the next thing to do is slice them and get rid of that core.
After you have sliced them place them into a deep pot with about an inch of water or apple juice. I use water, because I don't like having the extra sugar from the juice in my applesauce.

After they are soft and tender, you can turn them into sauce a few different ways:

• First way would have to be to use a potato masher, it will do the job and make it smooth, just will be a little more work.
• Second way is to use a grinder, this will make the apple slices sauce in almost no time.
• Third way and the way that I do, use a hand blender, they make great puree and will make you apples into applesauce in no time.

After doing this all you have to do is keep it warm and add your cinnamon, you should have to add any additional sugar but if you want to, its completely up to you, taste to see it is at the sweetness you want or like.
That is how applesauce is made, I know I'm going to get some apples soon and make a lot of it. I love applesauce!

Gorgonzola Farfalle Pasta, Ummm Ummmm GOOD!

So this recipe is from one of my favourite internet cooking shows called Bitchin' Kitchen. It's an awesome show, with a awesome host, who is funny as heck.
So the recipe is called Gorgonzola Farfalle Pasta.
You will need for ingredients:

• Farfalle Pasta
• 1 table spoon of unsalted butter
• 2 Portabello Mushrooms, sliced into squares
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 2 cups of half&half
• 1 cup of gorgonzola cheese

These are all of the ingredients you are going to need to make this great pasta. This recipe is so good, you'll love especially if you love gorgonzola cheese and mushrooms.
Now here are the instructions to making this awesome pasta:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter in a pan on med heat.
2. Add 2 sliced portabello mushrooms.
3. Add 1 minced clove of garlic, saute for 5-7 minutes.
4. Strain juices and set mushrooms aside. (*We strain the juice because it'll stain the cream sauce a purple-gray... not exactly an appetizing color.)
5. In a saucepan, heat 2 cups of half&half on med heat.
6. Add 1 cup of crumbled Gorgonzola cheese. Stir until it melts, about 5-7 minutes.
7. Lower the heat and delicately spoon in the mushrooms, stir 2x, no more! Remember, we don't want to stain the sauce.
8. Boil farfalle al dente in salted water. Coat with cream sauce and lots of portabello chunks.
9. Serve with a robust red wine, like a Pinot Nior.

This recipe is awesome. I will also post the link to the episode so that you can watch it first hand. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVDu74RI_ho

Eating Out... or Eating In... That's the ultimate question?

Now one of the ultimate questions I have sometimes would be... should I eat in or out tonight? I know I know... an inspiring Chef, I should be cooking and baking all the time, but the thing is working a 40 hour per week job like most people, can actually leave you very tired and when you get home you just don't feel like cooking, or doing anything else for that fact.

You may think that I am about to say you should try your hardest to stay home and make your own dinners, instead of going out when your tried, but I'm not. You should do what ever you want to do because ultimately it up to what you want to do. So I'm going to go over a few options of what you can do if you stay in or go out for dinner.

If you do decide to go out and eat the best thing that you should do would be to try many different restaurants and try new things at your favourites. Also try new restaurants that you may not have thought of trying before, it's one of the best ways to experience new things and widen your horizons about different cuisines. You may find that you like a certain type of cuisine/food that you said or promised yourself that you would never eat. Always be open about new things, that would be the best advice that I can give anyone.

Now if you do decided to stay home you have a world of options. You can have hot meals, cold meals, vegetarian, selections of meat products, curries or basically anything you can think of. They can be quick meals, long meals, easy to prep, fast cooking times and yeah. Really cooking at home lets you choose how big you want the portions and how spicy or mild you want your food to be. Personally I like a medium heat to my food, and I love curry so I can make it the perfect spice heat and that makes me happy :). The one thing you have to remember is that cooking at home has as many options as there are restaurants, but if you live in a small town where there isn't as many choices, you have one of the best option in the world to cook at home what you exactly want.

So if you decide its a take out night or a night to stay in and cook. Try new things and see what you come up with, you may find something new that you enjoy!