Thursday, May 30, 2013

Super Green Smoothie (or the Shrek)

This smoothie was the reason we bought our Vitamix.

A trip to Costco with the family led us by the Vitamix sampling table. The kids were glued to the charismatic woman selling the super-powered wonder. Making bright purple smoothies with blueberries lured them in. They sampled and loved it. Then she made a green smoothie, sneaking in loads of spinach. She called it "The Shrek Smoothie". The kids were amazed how much they loved it. I was amazed how much they loved it.

I had never been one to sneak many veggies into foods, I thought kids should just appreciate veggies as they are. I still maintain that I want my kids to try and appreciate veggies in their wholeness. But I am realizing that supplementing with extra veg in the smoothie can only be a good thing.

We didn't buy the Vitamix from the super charismatic woman. I couldn't stomach the price---upwards of $600. When I found it on air miles, I sprung for it. Free! (Well, kinda). Although I still have a hard time with the price point with these machines, I do love our Vitamix. But I think that my old Oster blender I got in college was a wonder for the $40 it cost- it was super too!

Whatever blender you have this should work well since spinach isn't super fiberous and it should blend down nicely.

Here is a take on the smoothie that the woman made that day. It may not be an exact replica, but it is one of my new favourites and the kids eat it happily- knowing full well that some spinach is hidden inside.

Super Green Smoothie


Place in blender in order given until smooth:

1 cup water
1  1/2 cups pineapple chunks
1 1/2 cups packed spinach
1/8 of a whole fresh lime or 1/2 lime, juiced
1 tsp agave syrup, or to taste
4 ice cubes



Friday, May 24, 2013

Forgotten Cookies



I picked up an antique kids cookbook and found this gem of a recipe.

Really this is a meringue cookie. A really, really simple one.

But why "forgotten" you ask?

The deal? You whip them up before bed (it will take all of 5 minutes!), forget about them all night and wake up to cookies!

Really, what could be better than that?

They are adaptable to what you want to add (plain, chocolate chips, or with chocolate and chopped nuts) AND they require virtually no energy to cook them (both yours and the oven's energy, I should state!)

Best of all, these are naturally gluten-free for those avoiding gluten/wheat.

The kids love the chocolate chip version but the hazelnut and chocolate is pretty special for the big kids.

Despite the name, these cookies are not so easy to forget once you've tasted them though...


Forgotten Cookies (a.k.a.  Easiest Meringues ever!)
You can have some control over the amount of sugar in this recipe, I've decreased it to 1/2 cup and the results are still excellent. And you can also use less chocolate chips if you want. 

2 egg whites
1/2 - 2/3 cup sugar (I used organic cane sugar with good results)
up to 1 cup chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
*optional: up to 1/2 cup finely chopped or ground nuts (recommended: ground hazelnuts!)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Beat 2 egg whites until thick and creamy (nearly stiff peaks) with electric mixer or stand mixer.
3. Add 2/3 cup sugar and beat until stiff.
4. Gently fold in 1 cup chocolate chips (I used minis) and 1 tsp vanilla.
5. Drop by teaspoonfuls (or use a small ice cream scoop disher) onto a foil-lined cookie sheet. (No need to space far apart).
6. Shut off oven and do not open door until morning! Forget about them.
7. In morning, remove from oven and store in airtight container- if they can make it that long...







Friday, May 17, 2013

Rhubarb Coconut Cake


When I started this blog, I thought it would be a great place to store my favourite recipes online. I thought my mom and sister might read it. (Was right about my sister). 

It ends up a few of my good friends read it, a few of their friends read it, and a few people who are friends of friends may click on sometimes. (Thanks, by the way, for the encouragement!)

I've also met some nifty people because of this blog- both online and in person. I was referred to my current job because of a woman who ran across it. I have chatted endlessly with people who find out that I "blog" (a term that I don't really like since it sounds more impressive than it actually is!), and are interested in the same things I am interested in- local food, organic food, food security, food gardens, etc. And I get passed recipes and food samples often because people know I am a recipe collector hoarder. 

I am always so happy to try recipes that come from people who also love recipes and cherish them as much as I do. They are the people, like me, who scribble notes in the margins of cookbooks, have recipe notecards lining their shelves and who have been fine tuning their favourite recipes over the years. This results in some fantastic finds!

All this to say that today's recipe comes from a woman named Cathy who reads the blog and shares my affinity for the blessed Rhubarb plant. (Click here for more great information on Rhubarb from farm made!)

She has shared several delectable recipes with me that I hope to pass along soon but this is one I made this week and the smell in the kitchen as this baked was delightful!

Here is what Cathy has to say about this recipe:
"This cake is a big wow! I can served it at fancy parties and pairs perfectly with a dessert wine and/or can be taken to the beach, bar b q's etc. If you only make one cake every Spring-this is the one to make.
Found this recipe way back in the 90's in a magazine and saved it for years. Last year I misplaced it somehow and couldn't find it on the internet or anywhere. I was "heartbroken" as I couldn't recreate from memory.
A few months ago I was at a thrift store and found and bought the cookbook '"Inspirations-The Girls Who Dish" a selection from local woman chefs. I came home and much to my delight the recipe was in it! Chef Karen Barnaby had included it in her section- she knew the woman whose mother's recipe it had originally been."

Thank you Cathy for sharing! And thanks to everyone who I've connected with online and in real-life because of food, recipes and the shared love of being in the kitchen and cooking up some love in the form of a home-cooked dinner or a cookie in the lunchbox. You inspire me!

xo ~M


Cathy's Rhubarb Coconut Cake
I ended up changing this ever-so-slightly based on my bias against cinnamon in most situations (so I left it out, sorry Cathy!) and I used coconut milk that I had in the fridge to enhance the coconut flavour. She recommends using as much organic ingredients as you can find and I agree!

2 cups rhubarb chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 tsp ground cinnamon (*optional)
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk (or coconut milk beverage mixed with 1 tbsp vinegar)


1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F and butter a 9 inch square baking pan.


2. Macerate the rhubarb: sprinkle 2 tbsp of the granulated sugar on the rhubarb in a bowl and set aside while you prepare the rest of the cake-the longer it sits the better.

3. Topping: In a separate bowl mix the brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter, coconut and cinnamon by hand until chunky and well incorporated. Set aside.

4. Whisk together flour and baking soda in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine remaining granulated sugar and 1/2 cup butter. Beat with electric mixer until on med. high speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and buttermilk-mix on slow speed. Add the flour mixture and mix on slow speed until just incorporated. Fold in rhubarb and all the juice in the bowl. Mix in with rubber spatula.


5. Pour into prepared pan and sprinkle with brown sugar-coconut topping.
Bake for 40-50 min. or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. {Sometimes the topping sinks a little during baking-this is o.k.}

6. Cool on rack before cutting. Serve with creme fraiche, whipped cream, organic vanilla ice cream or yogurt.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Perfect Rhubarb Squares

So my house is a mess.

It could be due to the sun shining a whole lot more lately.

It could be due to some antique cookbooks that have come my way.

It could be due to the baby learning to walk and getting into everything as soon as I tidy.

Or, it is more likely due to the fact that I am currently obsessed (as I am every spring!) with rhubarb.

Everyday I am in the kitchen trying new recipes. I have made rhubarb syrup, a new rhubarb cake (look for that recipe soon!), rhubarb compote for  yogurt and now I am back to one of my favourites---rhubarb squares.

First introduced to me by a dear friend who makes some of the yummiest baked goods, I have repeated this recipe several times. I know I should reduce the sugar, maybe add some spelt flour, or "health-ify" it somehow. But it is so good and rhubarb only comes around once a year that it would be a pity to make this too healthy. It is such a delectable treat.

And I know this guy doesn't mind that my house is a mess when he is asking for more...

Rhubarb Squares

This recipe comes from the Best of Bridge series and is based on the Matrimonial Bars recipe. The only change that I made was to use a little more cornstarch to bind the rhubarb a bit more and not wait for filling to cool. Otherwise, it is perfect as is. If you are using a glass 9 X 9" pan, there is no need to line the pan. I just like to keep my metal pans from being scratched and cut up, so I line them and remove the goods before cutting.

Rhubarb Filling

3 cups chopped rhubarb
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla

Crust

1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened or nearly melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Combine filling ingredients and cook in a medium saucepan over medium heat until thick and bubbly, but not entirely broken down, about 8-10 minutes. Set aside.

3. Combine all crust ingredients in in a medium bowl with a fork. Line a 9 X 9" pan with parchment. Press 2/3 of mixture onto bottom of pan. Spread filling over top and sprinkle remaining crust on top. Softly press into filling to adhere.

4. Bake for approximately 35 minutes, or until golden. Refrigerate before cutting. (Or that is the recommendation, although I am sure this would be delicious warm with a scoop of ice cream!)