All in a days work

I had been working at a place doing mostly baking and pastry and at first I loved it, tiny little kitchen that overlooked a garden, I felt like I was baking at home. I have been in a transitional period so it was just a good place for me to be at the time while I figured things out. Who wouldn't want to be in a kitchen where most of the time you could literally crack open a cookbook or use any idea you had and get to create it on a whim? After awhile I started getting bored and not feeling challenged enough because from a cooking aspect, there was no one there to teach me any new skills or keep me feeling creative and inspired. Don't get me wrong, I looove baking but I miss cooking, REAL cooking. Ironically when people ask what I do its like welll I just graduated from Nutrition school and now I am working as a pastry chef using (and eating) copious amounts of unrefined sugar and flour! I still want to incorporate the whole nutritional aspect into my cooking at some point but damnit a croissants a croissant and sometimes there is just no messing with those ingredients! After leaving this job the first relief I had was that I won't eat so much garbage (although very tasty garbage!) anymore. Me and one of my co-workers called it quality control, we had to taste it to make sure it tasted good right?? Woohoo maybe I can stop going to the gym so much! Croissants were made every couple days, I helped make em once in culinary school but this is my first attempt at making them by myself. Chocolate, Almond, Cheese and Plain. Could have been a bit darker but not so bad.

Glorious Caramel Pecan Brownies

Christmas orders comin in...

Quiche special

Moussaka I was making for the Greek themed staff x-mas party. At the dinner one of the girls said great Moussaka! The owner who was sitting across from me, said THANKSS! Then abruptly looked up at me. I thought, seriously lady? Did you just take credit for my moussaka...


Catering gig

Testing out Tartines Pate Sablee Dough for Chocolate Hazelnut Tarts and Flaky Tart Dough for Wild Mushroom Caramelized Onion Quiches. Saved three Chocolate Tarts in the back to top with fresh raspberries.

Double Chocolate Chunk Brownie Cookies (chunks of brownie folded into the cookie dough as well) a recipe I had been meaning to trial for awhile. (Stay tuned for this recipe!)

Did somebody really leave me in this kitchen to my own devices??

A new approach...

I realize I have been terrible at keeping up with my blog, so I have decided not just to post things I make with the recipes (it can be very time consuming!) but even just my food ramblings, to places I eat in the city and my favorite discoveries. So here I go....! From the day I moved out to Van from Calgary I started making sticky notes of all the restaurants and places I heard about and wanted to go eat, they started to accumulate on my wall and everytime I made it to one of the places I checked it off my list. Thats the great thing about Vancouver, the food scene here seems NEVER ENDING! Its like whoa whoa whoa ANOTHER ramen noodle place just opened up?? What's this about our own local soup nazi? Ganache Patisserie makes canneles? I have to check it out...I honestly dont even know where to begin because not only do I take pictures of the food I make, but pretty much EVERYTHING I eat, yes I am that annoying friend. I have very patient friends because they know me by now and always wait for me to take pictures of the food before we eat. So I guess I may as well start with todays lunch...the much talked about MARKET by Jean-Georges Vongerichten opened up not too long ago and I have been wanting to try it. A friend and I have other criteria on deciding if we like the place (besides the main course), good bread and clean bathrooms.

Good crusty chewy bread, check. (Extra bonus points for the coarse sea salt)

I had to...I really did, I mean look at this bathroom. Cleanest and best bathroom ever! Check.

Okay I realize what the H you went to Jean Georges' restaurant and ordered SOUP? I honestly wasnt even that hungry but thats never stopped me from eating somewhere, so we just ate in the cafe. I also have a thing for soup. Creamy tomato soup, I always have to try it because I think there is a fine line between tomato soup tasting like tomato sauce thrown together with chicken stock and a good hearty tomato soup made with the right ratio of other veg and pureed until rich and creamy. It was delicious btw. (Extra bonus points for the soup being poured into my bowl at the table)

Goat Cheese and Beet Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette-Pretty good but not as good as the one I had at Chambar.

Green Onion Pancakes

So I think it was a sign that I was supposed to make green onion pancakes today. This morning I was on foodgawker and what do I see? A recipe for green onion pancakes! Later I was flipping through a cooking magazine while in line at the grocery store and what do u knoww...Green onion pancakes! My good friend Whit has also talked about nothing else but these darn pancakes for the last two weeks! Every time we were remotely close to Legendary Noodle (a place here in Vancouver that makes em fresh) she wanted to stop. That's all that has been running through my head... green onion pancakes green onion pancakes....!! Well I don't know what took me so long because they are dead simple to make!! I surprised Whit by making them for her and said "So nooww can you pleease stop asking to go to Legendary Noodle!?" she said "Okay, but now I'll just keep asking for YOU to make them for me!". I grew up on these and they taste just like the ones I used to eat when I was little, the only thing I did differently was finish them with a little French Sea Salt but other than that, tastes just like childhood!

Green Onion Pancakes

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup warm water

2 tsp sesame oil

1/2 cup green onions, finely sliced

2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

Fleur de Sel (to finish)

Dipping Sauce

Hoisin Sauce

Sesame Oil

Garlic Chili Sauce

Water (to thin sauce out)

1. Mix to combine

Mix the flour, water and salt together and knead just until smooth. Cover and let rest 30 minutes in a bowl greased lightly with oil. Cut into 4 pieces

Roll the dough out, brush with sesame oil and sprinkle green onion and cilantro on top.

Roll like you would cinnamon bun dough or sushi, making sure it is rolled tight.

Coil into a circle

Roll out into a flat circle

Makes 4 yummy pancakes

Pan fry until golden on each side, the more oil you use the more evenly golden and crispy it will get.

Finish with sea salt and serve with dipping sauces.

Poundcake with Passionfruit Curd and Pomegranate Seeds

Well I am finally back after quite the hiatus! I wont go into details, but have you ever had a feeling when you just stop believing in yourself, your capabilities and your passion? Something like that happened to me and as a result my blog has suffered, but I'm BACK! I'm still trying to figure out the true purpose of what cooking means to me, but in the meantime I will leave you with something I made for our Christmas dessert...

Passionfruit curd! Oh.my.god. I don't know why I hadn't thought of this before! I've always loved lemon curd but after making this, I dont think I'll ever go back. It's sweet, tart and has a more tropical edge than lemon. It takes curd to a whole other level. I think curd (what a terrible word no?) is extremely versatile, pour it over poundcake and top with whipped cream and pomegranate seeds, use it as a filling for cake, mound it into tart shells and top it with meringue, dunk coconut madeleines into it..or do what I did and forget all of these ideas and just eat it by the spoonful!

Passionfruit Curd

2 cups passionfruit puree

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp cornstarch

1/4 cup butter

1.Whisk together eggs, sugar, passionfruit puree and cornstarch. Bring to boil over med-high heat, boil and stir for 1 minute.

2. Remove from heat, whisk in butter, strain through sieve into bowl. Cover with plastic wrap layed right on top of curd (to prevent a skin from forming) and let cool.

Chocolate Toffee Cookie Cake

So it was my friend Julie's birthday last weekend and she is a big lover of baking, especially cakes! She's just starting out and I have promised her a lesson in cake decorating but in the meantime, just knew for her own birthday I had to make her a special cake! I had asked her what her favorite flavors were and the only thing she told me was CHOCOLATE. A girl after my own heart. If there is one thing I love most in the world it's chocolate chip cookies so it only seemed right that I incorporate it with another love of mine, moist chocolate cake! I was afraid the chocolate buttercream might soften the cookie layer overnight, but after biting into a piece of cake the cookies were still crispy and chewy. I figured I mine as well throw toffee in too, since I'd already taken it to that sugar level! Plus I loved the contrast of all the browns and gold, I was pleased how it all came together. I know this is where I'm supposed to tell you the recipe on how to make the cake but unfortunately all these recipes come from the bakery I used to work at, Crave so I can't reveal them to you! One of the best places I've ever worked my old bosses really knew how to treat their staff. Not only extremely nice, also very generous with staff meetings catered with good food and monthly staff gifts, a VIP Cowboys Stampede party, always stocked fridge and freezer with food for us to eat, free massages..I could go on! I have so many good memories from working there. My ol bosses deserve every bit of success they have had and recently were named 2 of the top 40 under 40 entrepreneurs of Calgary! If there are a few things I've learned from Crave, it would be how I would treat my employees, run an insanely successful business and how to ice a cake!

Ready to be assembled!

Rolling out the mini cookies, making sure each one had a chocolate chip (I would feel ripped off if I got a cookie with no chocolate chip in it, wouldn't you?!)

Middle layer of the cake-Chocolate Buttercream, Toffee Bits and Crumbled Chocolate Chip Cookies

After being out of the bakery for sometime now, I was relieved to know I can still ice a cake! I still got itt!

Finished on site

Warm Chocolate Pumpkin Cake with Pumpkin Butter and Cinnamon Scented Whipped Cream

So a couple days before Halloween some friends decided they wanted to do pumpkin carvings. One of them an Art History major and the other three talented artists, I was trying to think what the heck I was going to carve into my pumpkin. Of course the first thing that came to mind was something food related! I thought about it, couldn't think of anything (besides seeing this excellent pumpkin on Butter on the Endives blog that was made into a hamburger with real lettuce, cheese, tomato and a sesame seed bun using the leftover pumpkin seeds) and realized why not let them do their kind of pumpkin art and I will do mine? So I looked up pumpkin recipes and came up with this! The original recipe was a two layer cake with ganache and pastry cream which would have taken too long to make since I wanted something that would be fast and easy to whip up while they were carving, so instead I changed the batter recipe, served the cake warm, dolloped it with pumpkin butter made with the leftover puree and finished it with whipped cream and a final dusting of cinnamon and icing sugar. Using pumpkin made the cake soo moist and cakey and served warm, its the perfect dessert for those chilly fall nights!

Above: My pumpkin art....Below: Their pumpkin art!

Warm Chocolate Pumpkin Cake
(Makes 1 - 8'' cake and 12 cupcakes or 2- 8'' cakes) This can be made into a cake as well-Cool both 8'' cakes, slice off tops of cake to make a flat surface, fill middle with pumpkin butter, invert one cake cut side down onto the filling and cover with whipped cream.

1 3/4 cup flour (plus more to coat pan)
1/3 plus 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg (optional)
1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp butter, softened (plus more to grease pan)
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 8'' pan and dust evenly with flour. Tapping out any excess flour. Line bottom of the pan with baking paper
2. Combine together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. In another bowl combine pumpkin puree, oil and cream.
3. In a mixer beat butter and sugar until fluffy, add eggs and vanilla.
4. Add in dry ingredients and wet ingredients, alternating, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.
5. Divide batter in half, and place in 2-8'' pans or 1/2 in one 8'' pan, the rest into lined cupcake molds.
6. Bake cakes for 30-35 minutes, cupcakes approx 15-18 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
7. Serve warm with pumpkin butter and whipped cream

Pumpkin Butter (*note this is not a typical pumpkin butter recipe)
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1. Combine and chill in fridge

Cinnamon Scented Whipped Cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp icing sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1. Whip cream slowly adding in icing sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Whip to soft peak and chill in fridge.

Italian Dinner Part 2: Primi of Lobster Crab Ravioli & Yam Chestnut Ravioli. Secondi-Veal Saltimbocca w/ Chanterelles

Lobster Crab Ravioli & Yam Chestnut Ravioli w/ Roasted Orange Bell Pepper Sauce, Peppercress, Fresh Ricotta and Tiger, Teardrop and Cherry Tomatoes

While I was at Bosa Foods I picked up some Lobster Crab Ravioli and Chestnut Yam Ravioli. I had just come from the Trout Lake Farmers Market where I picked up a humongo bag of orange bell peppers and knew just what to do with them when I saw the pasta. Make a sauce! The great thing about using vegetables for a sauce is once you puree it, you really only need to add a splash of cream to finish it off.

Trout Lake Farmers Market
$4.00 for a bag of the sweetest bell peppers ever

Veal Saltimbocca w/ fresh Chanterelles in a Garlic, White Wine Cream Sauce
Ack!...as you can see, little effort went into this plate presentation. At least it tasted good...!

Dolce

I had contemplated panna cotta and tiramisu but after menu planning the other three courses, time got the best of me! In the end I threw together ricotta cheese, local honey, Bernard Callebaut chocolate chips and topped it with crushed Amaretti Cookies.

Yellow Bell Pepper Sauce
10 orange bell peppers (or yellow or red)
1 small onion, fine diced
6 cloves garlic, fine diced
3 cups chicken broth (approx)
s+p t.t (to taste)
sugar t.t
1/4 cup cream (optional)

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Toss peppers in oil and roast for 1hr or until evenly charred (turn peppers to help char evenly). Place peppers in a bowl and cover with saran wrap for 5 minutes. Discard the skin and seeds and roughly chop
3. In a pot sweat onion and garlic just until translucent. Add peppers and 1/2 of chicken stock. Using a hand blender or food processor puree mixture until smooth. Add enough remaining stock until it reaches consistency of a sauce. Season w/ s+p and sugar if needed. Finish with cream
*Note* Just add more chicken stock to make yellow bell pepper soup

Veal Saltimbocca w/ Fresh Chanterelles
2 pieces veal pounded thin (can ask your butcher or find it already ready in the meat section)
4 pieces prosciutto
4 fresh sage leaves
flour (for coating)
s+p
1 tbsp butter

1/2 lb fresh chanterelles
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup cream
s+p

1.Wrap 2 pieces of prosciutto around veal. Use a toothpick to secure the sage onto the veal, 2 pieces of sage/piece
2. Season flour with pepper.
3. Preheat pan on med-high with butter and a little olive oil
4. Coat veal in seasoned flour, dusting off any excess. Pan fry veal, sage side down and flip when the prosciutto starts to turn crispy
5. Repeat on other side, until prosciutto is crispy and golden brown. Let rest on a plate. Add a bit more butter or olive oil to pan.
6. Add chanterelles then garlic and saute for 2 minutes
7. Add wine, to deglaze the pan and scrape any bits that may be stuck to the bottom of pan. Let the alcohol evaporate and reduce down. Finish with cream and s+p.
8. Remove toothpicks from veal and serve with the chanterelles

Italian Dinner Part 1: Antipasti-Bresaola w/ apple, mizzuna, radicchio and shaved grano padano

I have been meaning to check out Bosa Foods for sometime now and finally got a chance last weekend. It may be a good thing that this store is so far away because I would be there every week buying things! This store is great, from their massive meat and deli section to their free samples (after 3 cannoli samples, a couple cookies and numerous cheese and cracker samples I was kinda full!) they have it all. I went on a Saturday afternoon and it was PACKED. I noticed all these cute little Nona's wandering around speaking Italian to their husbands, I just wanted to follow them around to see what they were putting in their carts! Okay, if we're being completely honest here what I really would have liked is if I could have asked one of them to take me home with them so they could show me how to make their secret family recipes! Besides wanting to check out the store I did have another reason for wanting to go, Bresaola! I have been meaning to try it for so long now and I just knew they would have it. Similar to prosciutto, it is dry cured beef instead of pork. This antipasti came together inspired by things I had just bought from my local farmers market, a nice tart granny smith apple, a sweet and crisp gala apple and some local greens, which was a nice balance to the salty bresaola. A good tip at your local deli, if you've never tried something before and are curious about it, it never hurts to ask for a sample. Stay tuned for the rest of this meal!

Bresaola Antipasti
14 slices of bresaola
Mizuna Greens ( Arugula would be nice too)
Radicchio, julienne (optional, just used for more color)
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
S+P
Apple, julienne (I used Granny Smith and Gala)
Lemon Juice
Grano Padano Cheese, finely grated with a microplane and shaved with a peeler (or Parmigiana-Reggiano)

1. Toss Mizzuna and Radicchio with balsamic, olive oil and s+p
2. Toss apple with lemon juce and finely grated grano padano
3. Lay bresaola on a plate, overlapping. Top with greens, then apple and finish with shaved grano padano

Apple Ricotta Almond Muffins

I'm still on my ricotta kick and when I came across an Apple Ricotta Almond Muffin at this cafe called the Little Nest which I frequent when I'm in the area, I just had to try it! Still warm from the oven I got it to go but it didn't last very long! You know when you keep it in the paper bag and think ohhh I'll just have a little taste and save the rest for later..then u keep eating pieces of it until you realize you have eaten the whole thing and are extremely disappointed that there is nothing left in the bag!? Really though, is there anything better than fresh out of the oven baking! Even better was that this muffin had the BEST muffin top! This weekend I was on my way to the farmers market and was close by the cafe, so I called to ask if they had any Apple Ricotta Muffins, the girl said why yes we have one left...! I asked her if she could put that muffin on hold for me and she laughed and said uhh okay...! Serious addiction here people...! I did realize if I keep eating these I too, will have a muffin top!! So I decided to make my own rendition of them at home. Incorporating apples fresh from the farmers market (it's apple season and the variety of apples at the farmers market is ridiculous!), whole wheat flour, unrefined sugar and buttermilk made these muffins moist, sweet and taste just like the ones from the cafe! My only regret is not filling them enough...so if you make these, forget the rule to fill the batter 3/4 full, and go ahead and mound the batter into the muffin tin, this makes the best muffins in the world because it creates that crispy muffin top which we all know is the best part!

A dollop of ricotta in the middle of the batter makes these muffins soo good

I learned my lesson from the first batch, so on my second batch I filled the batter to the top to get a crispy muffin top

Apple Ricotta Almond Muffins (Makes approx 12 muffins)

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/3 cup white flour

1/2 cup unrefined sugar (rapadura sugar)

1/2 cup white sugar (or 1 cup white sugar if u don't have unrefined sugar)

2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

2 egg whites

1 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup milk

1 1/3 cup ricotta cheese

3 tbsp canola oil

2 tsp vanilla

2 apples, small dice (I used Ambrosia and Gala)

Topping

1/8 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup almonds (sliced)

Icing sugar

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a bowl or mixer combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

2. In another bowl mix together eggs, egg whites, buttermilk, milk, 1/3 cup ricotta cheese, oil and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients just till incorporated. Stir in apples.

2. Fill muffin pan with liners and grease the top of the pan. Fill each cup 1/2 way with batter, add a dollop of ricotta cheese and fill to the top with more batter. Combine the topping of cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle on top. Follow with almonds. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. When cooled down, dust with icing sugar.

Carrot and Chickpea Soup w/ Crispy Pancetta and Truffled Honey Popcorn

Okay here goes, I’m about to tell you how my brain works when I come up with new ideas! It’s definitely soup season here and I’ve been meaning to make a carrot soup, of course not just any ol carrot soup! Actually the more I think about it I know exactly how this particular dish evolved…it started this afternoon when I was eating roasted vegetable hummus and thought chickpeas, that would be good with carrots! I thought it would add some body to the soup as well as a bit of creaminess without having to add cream. Later I was at the gym doing my cardio while watching the food network (It’s extremely tragic that I don’t have cable at the moment, so this is the only chance I get to watch my food tv!) and was watching caramel popcorn being made when I thought popcorn…that could definitely work as a garnish! It would add some crunch to the creamy soup, as well visual appeal. Thinking about popcorn reminded me of this time I had popcorn drizzled with truffle oil. (This is where the wheels really started turning) and I remembered I had some truffled honey that I brought back from Italy and both truffles and honey would work nicely with carrots. I needed something to hold the popcorn garnish so it wouldn't get all soggy and melt into the soup, when I thought of pancetta, which would add a nice saltiness and crispy texture to the smooth soup as well. Visualizing how I would serve it, I realized it needed a bit more color then the orange soup, red pancetta and white popcorn which made me think of dill, which goes great with carrots and would add a nice touch of green. Soo that is my thought process! Sometimes I think it's a great concern how much I think about food...! Above is a pic of the delicious truffled honey which I drizzled on the popcorn. I could eat this stuff by the spoonfuls!
Carrot and Chickpea Soup w/ Crispy Pancetta and Truffled Honey Popcorn
8 local carrots, small diced
1 white onion, small diced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk of celery, small diced
2 cups cooked chickpeas (if using canned, drain and rinse)
8 cups chicken stock (I used organic veg stock this time)
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped, reserve some for garnish
honey to taste (regular honey, optional depending on how sweet your carrots are)
s+p
Garnishes:
pancetta, pan fried (or baked) till crispy
popcorn
truffled honey (or regular honey)
fresh dill
*another option is to finish the soup with truffle oil or fresh truffles if you can get your hands on them*

1. Heat oil in a big pot and sweat off onions, then carrot and celery, then garlic and ginger until soft. Add in chickpeas
2. Add stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Use a hand blender, regular blender or food processor, puree until smooth.
3. Season to taste and finish with dill.

Grilled Flatbread w/ Fresh Ricotta, Artichokes, Anchovies and Wine Soaked Olives

Fresh ricotta...! I really think it's underrated. Cool and creamy with a slight hint of sweetness, I think it adds a nice balance to other strong flavors, in this case olives and anchovies. I can't seem to get enough of these kalamata olives, marinated in Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, vinegar and herbs, if you can find them, buy 10 jars! They are THAT good! Rewinding a bit I had originally picked up this ricotta from my local Italian store for this breakfast panini I wanted to make. Ricotta in a breakfast panini? Hear me out! Also stuffed with medjool dates, hazelnut butter and mashed banana the warmth of the panini press makes the hazelnut butter, banana and ricotta get a bit gooey and melty. It's almost like a sweet version of a grilled cheese! Okay that sounds so wrong but I swear its soo good! Another favorite of mine is fresh ricotta drizzled with local honey, a sprinkle of chocolate chunks and crushed up amaretti cookies. Sweet, creamy and crunchy. Back to the savory usage of ricotta, I really wasn't in the mood for a cheesy pizza but something lighter, so flatbread seemed like the way to go. Moral of the story? Go get some ricotta and put it on everything....sweet or savory!

Grilled Flatbread w/ Fresh Ricotta, Artichokes, Anchovies and Wine Soaked Olives (Makes 1 flatbread)
Dough:
1 tsp yeast
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon warm water
1 1/2 cups bread flour or all purpose flour (I used 1/2 whole wheat, 1/2 white flour)
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus 1 tsp to grease the bowl you proof it in
1. Combine yeast, warm water and sugar, let sit 5-10 min till the yeast puffs up
2. Place yeast mixture in mixer, add olive oil and mix. (Start with paddle attachment), or if by hand, start with a spoon and then use your hands to incorporate the rest.
3. Slowly add ½ the flour, add salt and add in the rest of the flour. Change to dough hook
4. Mix for 1 minute until dough comes together, might have to add a bit more flour, should be soft but not to sticky. Knead by hand for 20 seconds
5. Place in a bowl coated with the remaining oil, make sure to coat dough in oil as well, place saran wrap over top and let proof (rise) for about 1 hr to 1½ hrs.

Toppings (all optional):
Light base of San Marzano tomato sauce
Fresh Ricotta Cheese
Anchovies
Artichokes
Kalamata Olives
Roasted Red Bell Peppers
Fresh basil
Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano

1.Preheat bbq on high
2.Roll out dough until thin, can be odd shaped, coat both sides of dough with olive oil and cornmeal. Place on baking sheet
3.Place dough on grill and cover lid for 1-1 1/2 min, bottom side should have grill marks but not be completely burnt, flip dough over and cook the other side with bbq lid down. Dough is done when you can knock on it and it sounds hollow.
4. Place toppings on flatbread and warm through. (I usually do this in the oven). Finish with shaved parm and fresh torn basil.

Pear, Brie, Walnut and Prosciutto Baguettes with 15 yr Old Balsamic

Who doesn't love anything packed between a good piece of bread? Sandwiches just might be one of the best things ever invented! Some of my best food memories have to do with them. In Spain on a culinary tour, we had just arrived and were absolutely famished so my friends and I wandered down the street and picked up a baguette, some local serrano ham and manchego cheese and brought it back to the hotel, where we tore the baguette open with our hands, leaving crumbs all over the bed and stuffed it with the meat and cheese. So simple, soo good! In Italy my fam and I came across a local bakery that had the most gorgeous flatbreads that had zucchini and tomatoes baked right in, across the street we picked up some salami and pecorino cheese and made open faced sandwiches which we brought back to our hotel and ate in the picturesque backyard garden. I will never forget that lunch! I first had this pear, brie, walnut and prosciutto creation at a little place called Finch's in Van. Cutest place ever, the menu is written on chalk boards and they have the most gorgeous antique stove which can only bake 6 chocolate chip cookies at a time! (Some of the best cookies in the city I might add). Finch's uses a blue brie cheese so if you can get your hands on that, even better! From time to time I like to re-create this sandwich at home and I really think this might be the best combo ever, from the sweetness of the pear to the saltiness of the prosciutto to the creaminess of the brie, crunch of the toasted walnuts and tang of the balsamic vinegar, it's got it all! Fruit, cheese, bread and meat...all bases covered!

Pear, Brie, Walnut, Prosciutto Baguette
(Really this recipe is self-explanatory but here are the ingredients anyway!)
Crusty Baguette
Brie Cheese (Or Blue brie cheese if you can find it or any soft cheese)
Pear
Prosciutto
Walnuts (Toasted)
Balsamic Vinegar (I used 15 yr old balsamic)
Olive oil

1.Tear open baguette, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Spread cheese over baguette, stuff with prosciutto and fan pears inside and sprinkle in toasted walnuts.

Creamy Penne Pumpkin Alfredo with Swiss Chard and Garlic Chicken Sausage

Pumpkin Alfredo you ask?! l told you I was on a pumpkin kick and somehow pasta made it into the mix! I love alfredo sauce, how can you not like creamy garlicky goodness? But every time I see it on a menu I tend to stay away from it just because I know one dish of the stuff is probably enough for 2 days of my caloric intake as well it often leaves you with that oh so lovely stick to your ribs, can't breathe, need to put my sweatpants on immediately, I can't move from the couch feeling. Well I am telling you now I think I have found a worthy alternative! Pureed pumpkin and cottage cheese are the base for this creamy sauce and I know those two ingredients are probably at the bottom of everybody's food list (they used to be on mine) but it really works!! It's garlicky, cheesey, creamy and as an added bonus, loaded with antioxidants (beta carotene), Vit C, iron, fiber and much more! This sauce would also be great with chicken wrapped prosciutto, cannelloni, cauliflower and broccoli...tons of possibilities! Thanksgiving is coming up and I started thinking about how I could turn this into a Thanksgiving pasta....Pumpkin Penne Alfredo with Turkey Sausage, baked with a Sage Bread Crumb Topping (aka the "stuffing" component). This just may be what I will be eating seeing as I won't be with my fam this year for turkey dinner! Snff snff anyone in need of a extra guest at their table this year in Van? I know this great pasta dish I could bring...

Penne Pumpkin Alfredo with Garlic Chicken Sausage (Serves 4)
Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce:
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
1 cup pumpkin puree (butternut squash would work well too)
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp agave syrup (or sugar)
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 onion, fine diced
3 garlic cloves
1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
s+p

Garlic chicken sausage, roasted or pan fried (or any kind you like, chorizo would be good too)
Swiss Chard (lightly sauteed)
5 cups cooked whole wheat or brown rice penne
Fresh grated Parmigiano Regganio

1. In a food processor puree milk, cottage cheese, pumpkin puree and tomato paste.
2. In a pot sweat onion and garlic just till translucent. Add in pumpkin sauce and add sage, cayenne, agave and s+p to your taste. Heat just until warmed through (be careful as the sauce can break when it gets too hot due to the cottage cheese). If too thick add a bit of pasta water.
3. Toss together pasta, sauce, swiss chard and chicken and serve immediately

Spiced Pumpkin Bread

Sick! Pumpkin bread? Before you click off this blog (I might have done the same) hear me out! Usually I wouldn't even take a second glance at a recipe containing pumpkin, I only really like pumpkin pie because I associate it with Thanksgiving and turkey dinner and only then if it's slathered in homemade whipped cream! I was visiting a friend yesterday and she had just made a loaf that was still warm from the oven. Anything that is fresh baked and warm from the oven, even pumpkin containing, I will not turn down! I was blown away, it was nice and moist, due to the pumpkin puree and all the spices made me think of a warm chai latte. This definitely reminds me of fall and although I hate to see summer go, I'm stoked for everything fall brings, leaves changing color, cozy sweaters, warm scarves, crisp apples and now anything pumpkin! The ideas are churning..pumpkin cardamom creme brulee? Pumpkin souffles with mascarpone whipped cream...getting ahead of myself here. Of course I tweaked the recipe, cut back on the sugar and used more whole wheat flour than white. With that said, we happened to have some cream cheese icing leftover from a carrot cake so I slathered it on a few pieces, sooo goood!

Spiced Pumpkin Bread (Makes 1 loaf or 3 mini loaves)

2 eggs

3/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup agave (if u dont have, use 1 cup sugar)

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup sunflower oil

1/4 buttermilk

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp nutmeg (I used fresh grated)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

1 cup whole wheat flour

2/3 cup white flour

1/3 cup flax seeds (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.Combine eggs, sugar, agave, pumpkin puree, oil, buttermilk and vanilla.

3. In a separate bowl combine baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, whole wheat flour, white flour and flax seeds.

4. Combine dry ingredients into wet ingredients, just until incorporated.

5. Place in greased loaf pans and bake for 30-35 minutes for mini loaves or approx 1 hour for regular loaf. When toothpick comes out clean with no batter, it is done.

Coconut Macadamia Nut Crusted Salmon with Fruit Salsa and Banana Creme Fraiche

I've had this idea churning for awhile now and finally had a chance to try it out! So very summer and tropical, I think I'm trying to hold on to the last days of summer that seem to be slipping away! It first started out as a panko coconut crust which led me to add macadamia nuts into the mix. Thinking of something to make the crust stick to the salmon I came up with a wet rub of yellow curry paste, dijon and agave syrup. I also wanted a cool contrast to the salmon so I threw together a minted cilantro fruit salsa and if that wasn't enough, a banana "creme fraiche" which was really Greek yogurt with mashed banana. I swear I think this banana creme fraiche is a revelation..I just want to put it on everything (pancakes, peanut butter & honey quesadillas and South African curry come to mind) or just eat it by the spoonful! It sounds like alot of flavours for one dish but they really do work well together! As seen below is the complete meal which I served with a salad and of course bread, as a meal in my fam is not complete without it!

Coconut Macadamia Nut Crusted Salmon
1 fresh salmon fillet, pinbones removed, skin removed
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
3/4 cup shredded coconut (can use sweetened or unsweetened)
1/4 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
2 tbsp melted butter (optional)
1/4 cup yellow curry paste
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp agave syrup
s+p

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay salmon on baking sheet. Combine panko, coconut, melted butter and macadamia nuts in a bowl. In a separate bowl combine curry paste, dijon and agave. Spread over top of fish and season with salt and pepper. Evenly coat fish with coconut breadcrumb mixture and roast for 15-20 min (for medium doneness)

Fruit Salsa
You can really use whatever is fresh and available to you, this is what I had available:
1/2 cup cantaloupe, diced
1/2 cup mango, diced
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1 lime, juiced
fresh cilantro, chopped
fresh mint, chopped
s+p
1. Combine all ingredients and chill in fridge.

Banana Creme Fraiche
1 ripe banana, mashed
2 cups Greek yogurt (or plain yogurt that has been strained)
1 tsp agave syrup
1 tsp lime juice
1. Combine all ingredients and chill in fridge.