Recipe: Pea Pesto

pea pesto

Spring!!! Without being too optimistic(because the 5 day forecast does still include some MORE snow!) I feel like it may be, possibly, perchance, tentatively, almost: spring. You don’t even know how much of a relief this is to me. I think it’s been a few months of me saying, that’s ok, we know spring ALWAYS comes!!! Then it turned it, it’s ok, spring always comes. Then it was, ok spring DOES come right? To finally, ok, spring will never come. I know it’s been a hard winter for many many people. And sunny Calgary has not been sunny at all. But the sun is out today and trying hard to melt the mountains of snow everywhere. Sexy Husband and I took the girls out for some much needed Vitamin D synthesis and after our walk we hovered outside on the driveway, well past the girls’ patience, soaking in as much as we could!

Here’s a happy little spring recipe I whipped up for an afternoon snack. This took me, literally, 2 minutes to make. You could substitute lots of different things in this recipe, so use what you have!

Pea Pesto

1 cup frozen blanched peas

1/2 cup dried and crunchy soybeans

1/2 cup crumbled feta

juice of 1/2 a lemon

Directions: Microwave peas for 90 seconds or so, until not frozen anymore, with a tbs of water, or run them under hot water until room temperature. Place all ingredients in a food processor and whirl around for 10 seconds. Serve with crackers or pita or bread!

Recipe: Chicken Satay

chicken satay

My little family has reluctantly embraced my mostly-vegetarian ways. They don’t complain about it, they like healthy food, and they are usually pretty grateful for meals on the table. However, the odd time I cook something with meat, you would think it was…well…Christmas. They are PRETTY excited about it. Poor children, forced to live without meat. Ha! Of all my meat dishes, this one is always the biggest hit. I bust it out for company. Last night, no company other than my favorite company: two little girls and one Sexy Husband. The great thing about this recipe is that I pretty much ALWAYS have all these ingredients in my house, except the chicken.

Chicken Satay

Serves 4

(note: There is no need to actually measure out most of this stuff. I’ve had a little more or a little less of all ingredients and it turns out great every time!)

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 cup peanut butter(not sweetened or salted, just straight up peanuts)

1/2 large sweet onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tbs brown sugar

1 tbs minced ginger(optional)

fresh cilantro(I use a LOT)

1 can sliced water chestnuts

4 raw chicken breasts sliced into 2 inch pieces

Directions: Mix all ingredients together except the chicken. It takes a bit of stirring to get it combined into a sauce. Place chicken pieces in and cover with sauce. Marinade or little or as long as you like. Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. You can leave chicken breasts whole if you prefer, or chop them up quite small. Up to you. The chicken pairs beautifully with wild rice, but is utterly delicious with barley!

Baking: Caramel Fudge Macadamia Squares

Caramel Fudge Macadamia Squares

In case the title of the dessert didn’t give it away: these are not healthy squares. These are a special treat. We have some friends coming over tonight and we’ve placed a ridiculously enormous sushi order in from our favorite place here in Calgary. I’ve managed to not have to cook hardly at all this week so I thought I should bake a little something, just so I don’t forget how! It was all a little bit of an experiment, and after sampling one or two(or five) of these squares, I can assure you…delish. Totally over the top, totally decadent, perfect for cutting into little pieces.

Caramel Fudge Macadamia Squares

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 can eagle brand sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1 tbs cocoa powder

2 tbs unsalted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup whipping cream

handful or two each of macadamia nuts and shredded coconut

Directions: Preheat oven to 375. Butter a 8×8 glass baking dish. In a food processor, combine first 3 ingredients. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Press into pan and bake for 15 minutes. Meanwhile in a small saucepan, over medium heat, stir eagle brand, chocolate chips and cocoa powder until melted and smooth, just a couple of minutes. Set aside. In a small saucepan, over medium heat, combine butter and sugar. Stir until smooth and combined and then let simmer until the whole top of the caramel is frothy with bubbles(3 minutes of boiling or so). Remove from heat and stir in cream. Pour chocolate ganache mixture over the crust, sprinkle coconut and nuts over the chocolate and drizzle caramel over the top. Bake for about 20 minutes more. Remove from heat and cool completely until set. Cut into squares and serve!

Brown Sugar Caramel

Recipe: Thai Green Curry Soup

Green Thai Curry Soup

Mmm, this is a good one. We all know this has been the longest most ridiculous winter ever. I’ve stopped complaining out loud about it. My little family all had almost colds last week, so I cooked up anything I could that seemed healthy and cold-preventing. We also had a very busy week celebrating Picky Princess turning 5!!!

This soup was so delicious, had just enough burn to clear my sinuses, not enough to be scary. It was also very easy and I’m sure could be made with any combination of veggies sitting in the crisper. Wishing you all a healthy March!

Green Thai Curry Soup

2 tbs olive oil

1/2 large sweet onion

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

4 stalks of celery cubed

sea salt to taste

2 tbs green thai curry powder

2 cups of water

2 tbs freshly grated ginger

2 medium potatoes cubed

Directions: Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add the next 5 ingredients and saute until onions are softened. Add water, potatoes and ginger and simmer until potatoes are soft. Serve. If I had cilantro or lemongrass in the house that day, I would have garnished with either or both.

 

Cookbook Preview: Toasted Coconut Cookies

toasted coconut cookies

Thought I’d break out a little cookbook recipe to share with you all this week! I love this beautiful picture Kristy-Anne took. Something about the light makes me hopeful for spring. Enjoy!

Toasted Coconut Cookies

makes approx 3 dozen

1 cup coconut flour

1 cup spelt flour

1 cup dried unsweetened flaked coconut

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup honey

1 egg

large handful of chocolate chips

 

Preheat oven to 350

Whisk dry ingredients together.

In a 2 cup measuring cup, stir together coconut oil, honey, and egg. Pour into dry ingredients and stir together. Add chocolate and stir. Drop teaspoons full of batter onto parchment lined baking sheets. Lightly pat down. The cookies will not spread hardly at all. Bake for 15 minutes until toasted looking.