Frittatas are the Italian version of an omelette, and my idea of an omelette- not that I really eat them- is to put all sorts of things inside them. I had a number of egg whites left over from making tart doughs earlier on in the week and decided to pour them all together in this comprehensive frittata. It’s rich and chock-full of good things, but on the lighter side due to it being mostly egg whites- lower in cholesterol and fat! It’s very, very simple, despite having tons of ingredients… so try it! :)

Low-Fat Egg-White Frittata

Ingredients:

• 6 egg whites (large, cage-free, brown, organic eggs)
• 3 whole eggs
• 2/3 cup organic skim milk
• 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp salt & pepper
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup fresh sweet yellow corn, organic
• 1/4 cup fresh green peas, organic
• 2 tablespoons freshly-grated Reggianito cheese
• 3/4 cup chopped peppered deli turkey
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach, organic
• 1/4 cup finely chopped baby carrots, organic

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Place all frittata ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together briefly until just combined. For a firmer consistency, add a tablespoon or two of organic AP flour.
3. Butter a large, shallow tart dish fairly generously and pour in batter.
4. Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes or until top is golden brown and mixture is set in well; wiggles when shaken lightly.
5. Allow to cool 5-10 minutes; then slice with a smooth knife and eat warm.

I told you it was simple! It’s very quick, very very very simple- did I mention how simple this is?- and hearty. You can make it as a weeklong leftover dish, or comfortably feed it to 5-6 people. Long live Italian practicality.

Summertime is here and that means, traditionally speaking, an ample amount of grilling! Sadly I have no balcony or backyard at the apartment and thus grilling indoors results in some smokey-ness… but I suppose if we were ever to eat the apartment, I could bill it as a ‘smoked apartment’ with ‘smokey flavour’… not that we’d ever be eating the dry-wall, so the point’s completely moot.

The boyfriend has been doing quite a bit of physical labour as of late for my family. I told him it’s like being a husband with none of the perks, constantly being asked to lift heavy things and whatnot- so I opted to say thanks in the form of steak. Like most men, he has a high appreciation for meat. As I don’t, I opted for salmon (yay, fish and fatty acids).

The char was strong, but I personally enjoy the char of grill, so some blackening was by no means a hardship. The addition of balsamic vinegar (fake, of course, I have yet to obtain a bottle of the real thing but it’s on my life’s to-do list… read the wiki for more information, and realize that the likelihood of your having had actual balsamic is, unfortunately, low) and olive oil- with some spice- took away the slight bitterness of the spring mix, making for a crisp, crunchy, summery dinner.

Grilled Herb Steak, Wild Salmon, and Summer Vegetable Salad

Ingredients (for two):

• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, hulled, cut into 1/8ths
• 8-10 cherry or campari tomatoes, halved
• 12 baby carrots
• 3 cups organic spring mix
• 2-3 tblspn organic canola oil
• 1.5 tblspn extra virgin olive oil for salad, 1 tblspn for meat
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/16 tsp cumin, coriander, salt, pepper for salad
• 2 tsp salt, pepper, paprika for meat
• 2 steaks (your choice of size) or 2 fillets of wild salmon (King or Sockeye) or mix-’n-match proteins!

Process:

1. Heat grill pan (not press) on medium heat and drizzle in 1 tblspn canola oil. Once grill pan is hot, place vegetables in pan (depending on the size of your pan, you may need to do this in batches). Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper if desired. Flip over often, being sure to grill but not burn, getting as many grill marks as possible. Add extra canola oil as needed when the smoke becomes excessive. Set aside on a plate once complete (tender, soft but not falling apart by any means, and with char marks)
2. For meat, rub on paprika, salt, and pepper, then brush on olive oil and place on grill; then repeat rub and oil process for other side, and flip after 4-5 minutes (depending on how you’d like your steak to be cooked and how thick it is). For the fish, go with the same process or to let the salmon’s flavour speak for itself, skip the paprika and simply brush on the oil with a sprinkling of salt and pepper.
3. Prepare dressing by mixing together balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and spices; whisk together forefully to ensure the vinegar and oil mix. Pour over salad in a bowl and toss throughly.
4. To plate, place the salad on the plate first as bedding; then add the grilled vegetables; then the meat. If you’d like a sauce, I’d suggest a cold, white-based one :)

It’s very simple, but I believe that’s what this sort of dish is meant to do- celebrate the flavours brought out by the grilling and not adding too many extra aromas or flavours to the mix. It lets the vegetables and meat speak for themselves, and it’s a lovely sunset summer dish to enjoy with friends.

This was, without a doubt, the most delicious salad I have ever made. The fact that it was so remains a happy stroke of luck, for I was really just haphazardly putting things together and hoping they would work in conjunction. Thankfully, they did :) and the result was a miracle. The boyfriend took three servings. THREE. Three servings of salad! Miraculous! And our other dinner guest- a friend of mine who is allergic to gluten and has issues with mainy dairy products- took two. I was proud of this accomplishment.

My friend B was joining us so that I could make her a thank-you dinner; she has gifted me so many wonderful kitchen gadgets and I thought that the clear way to say thanks would be to use them for her benefit. B, however, is an impeccable guest to the last, and thus brought yet another gift with her upon arrival… meaning that I’ll just have to have her over again soon :)

Due tu B’s intolerance to gluten, I was looking for a way to add crunch to the salad. I immediately thought, “nut!” and looked about the cupboards. We had some cashews that were sitting about in a jar, and I had some honey-roasted cashews (these are even crunchier!) and thought they would work well. I then began assembling other ingredients and eventually had a nice mix of things put together.

The key to this salad is the warm pear glaze that serves as a dressing. I had prepared some extra virgin olive oil and pear-infused vinegar to use, but they really weren’t needed at all. And happily, the dressing of pear glaze consists of pear… and nothing else, really! Cheers to simplicity and healthiness.

Warm Pear-Glazed Chicken and Cashew Spring Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 large chicken breases, cleaned
• 1/3 lb spring mix, washed and dried
• 1 cup fresh spinach leaves, washed and dried
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup  jumbo black raisins
• 1/2 cup sultanas (to put directly in salad)
• 1/3 cup sultanas (to poach)
• 1 cup honey-toasted cashews
• 1/2 cup whole cashews (normal)
• 1 can Kerns brand pear nectar
• 1 half yellow bell pepper, diced finely
• 1/2 lb baby carrots, sliced thinly
• 1 tbl soy butter
• 1 tsp sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, coriander, nutmeg

Process:

1. Place spring mix in a large salad bowl. Add in spinach, cranberries, raisins, sultanas (not 1/3 cup for poaching), bell pepper, carrots and toss thoroughly.
2. Chop cashews (both types) together into fairly large chunks; add in to salad and toss again.
3. Place soy butte rin a medium sautee pan. Coat chicken on one side with half of spice mix (salt, pepper, coriander, nutmeg), and place in pan. Once bottom side is seared, flip and season other side. Then flip again.
4. Once both sides are fully seared, add in the 1/3 cup of sultanas and the can of Kerns nectar.
5. Keep heat to medium and flip chicken every 4-5 minutes, moving the sultanas around and placing at times over the chicken. Once the chicken is firm to the touch and the pear nectar has caramelized to a thick, full-bodied consistency, place chicken on a cutting board and roughly chop into very large pieces. Spoon all caramelized pear nectar into the salad bowl.
6. Place chicken onto bowl and toss one last time, making sure to distribute chicken and pear nectar thoroughly.

It’s delicious- trust me. Try it! It’s better warm, though the boyfriend finished the leftovers the next day cold and said it was still very good. Thanks to the sweet pear and honeyed pecans, it has a very sweet taste. “It’s like candy”- B and the boyfriend both agreed. And if you could have candy for salad… wouldn’t you? :)

If you’re looking for a powerhouse of health and flavour, this is it: pounds upon pounds of vegetables, rich aromatics, spices from far away and tantalizing textures. This dish is perfect for vegetarians and vegans looking for a hearty main course; for anyone looking to have something quick and on-the-go that is delicious either cold as a salad or warm- by itself, or as a complement to a meat.

The boyfriend had a potluck to attend and make something for, so naturally he asked if I could help. :) I looked at the menu of what others were planning to bring and saw starch and meat and a serious lack of vegetarian entrees (ironically, as it turned out, there was virtually no meat and much less starch than planned) and thus opted to search for what I could make that would be heavily vegetabled. A discussion with a coworker led me towards use of couscous or ourzo and thus I happened upon this seven-vegetable couscous recipe from Food Network. It seemed perfect, and thus I printed it, went searching for ingredients- this was to be my first time using turnips and yellow squash- and began the process!

The mechanics of the dish are by no means complicated- the reason it took me an incredible amount of time was that a) I opted to triple the recipe, b) I’m slow at cutting, and c) my casserole pan was by no means large enough. I ended up cooking the vegetables in two batches and then making the cous once the veggies were all done. However, this worked out for the best- as the veggie water wasn’t thickening properly into a sauce I made the first batch, drained it, reused the water for the second batch, drained it, and re-re-used the water for cooking the cous, resulting in some highly flavourful starchiness.

As I made copious changes to the recipe, here’s my version of this Moroccan dinner:

Spiced Vegetable Moroccan Cous Cous

Ingredients- makes 7 lbs vegetables:

• 2 – 3 cups of water (depending on how much you’re able to drain and re-use)
• 4 cloves of garlic, smashed and diced finely
• 5 medium-sized turnips, peeled and cut into inch-sized cubes
• 1 large yellow sweet onion, cut into inch-long thick strips
• 6 very large carrots, peeled and cut into 1.5-inch cubes
• 2.5 cups jumbo sweet black raisins
• 1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch strips
• 2 large yellow squashes, peeled, cut into 1.5-inch cubes
• 3 large zucchini squashes, rinsed vigorously- not peeled- and cut into 1.5-inch cubes
• 1 large can chickpeans, drained, rinsed thoroughly
• 6 large roma tomatoes, cut into large chunks
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes in their juices
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon each of freshly-cracked black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves
• 2 teaspoons each of sugar, ground turmeric
• 3 teaspoons each of ground cumin and spanish paprika

Ingredients- makes 3 lbs couscous:

• 4.5 cups room-temperature water – amount of remaining vegetable water (aka take all the water you’ve drained from the vegetables and add as much water as necessary to make the total amount of water 4.5 cups)
• 3 cups whole wheat cous cous
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup smashed hazelnuts
• 1/2 cup smashed cashews, salted
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

As that differed quite a bit from the original recipe, I thought it useful to write it all out there again. Mind you this makes for an incredibly large quantity, so feel free to use their original proportions for a more normal size! The process I followed was rather similar to the one listed, with a few minor changes.

Process:

• As the bell pepper is the longest ingredient to soften, I boiled these separately in a small pot with lid for 5 minutes before adding them to the veggie mixture at the same time as the carrots
• Due to my pot being too small, I ended up adding 3/4 of the zucchini and yellow squash, half the roma tomatoes, half the canned tomatoes + 1/3 of the raisins as a second batch using the drained water from the first batch
• When cooking the couscous, I put in the drained water from the vegetables and added as much extra water as needed (a half cup, in my case), and put it to boiling. Once the water was at a boil, I reduced the heat to low, put in the couscous, mixed the smashed nuts into it, and closed the lid with it sitting on low heat for 6 minutes. I then removed it from the heat, let it sit- still lid on- for another 5 minutes, then served.

The rest of the process I followed more or less as directed on the recipe. It’s one that’s open to much interpretation and very forgiving on timing- when making a stew of vegetables, cooking times are inexact! I felt very much like a Medieval lady out in the woods, with one of those gigantic stew cauldrons that you haphazardly throw all manner of vegetables into. It was great :)

It’s a simple recipe, but time consuming if you’re slow like me, so put aside a bit of time and then enjoy the fruits of your labour! Just one word of caution: if you go heavy on the turmeric, make sure you soak your dishes thoroughly when cleaning, and be careful not to spill any onto you. Turmeric is rather difficult to wash out, so be forewarned!

You can substitute almost any vegetables in here, the only trick is figuring out at what point to add them to the stew based on how long they’ll require to soften through to the middle. That said, it’s simple, it’s delicious, and it’s so nutritious that just a bit will have you feeling like you’ve done a good deed for your health :).

Whole wheat pasta. Baked carrots and tomatoes. Herbs. Cheese. Sound familiar? It should.  It’s simply a slightly different variation of one of my pasta standby recipes. Whole wheat pasta- fussili this time, to switch things up a bit- 3/4 of a pound of sweet baby carrots, copious amounts of cheese, herbs, and olive oil, some tomato chunks, and we’re in business. Procedures- see recipe linked above for more detail:

Herbs de Provence Baked Carrot & Tomato Pasta

Ingredients:

1. Half-box of fussili whole grain pasta (or your choice of whole grain pasta)
2. 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
3. 3/4 pound to 1 pound sweet baby carrots, sliced in half lengthwise (hot-dog style, if you will)
4. handfull of cherry or roma tomatoes, diced into large chunks
5. 1 cup shredded mozarella, gruyere, etc- pick a good Italian or French cheese
6. 1/2 – 3.4 cup extra virgin olive oil
7. 1/3 cup herbs de Provence
8. 1 cup tomato-basil/oregano pasta sauce (make your own or get a store-bought) (or use pesto)
9. heavy sprinkling of seat salt & freshly-cracked pepper

Process:

• Preheat oven to 365 degrees F.
• Place carrots (cut) in tight rows on a baking sheet. The closer they are, the better- you don’t want to waste oil, cheese, or herbs that get lost between carrots.
• Sprinkle the herbs over all the carrots, making sure they’re well covered. You can go heavier or lighter on the herbs as desired, and don’t have to go with the Provence mix of herbs, either: any combination of the following works great: oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, fines herbes, parsley, etc… just makes sure they’re dried, and try to crush them as you sprinkle them onto the carrots. This will release even more flavour. Fresh herbs would burn and dry out!
• Sprinkle on the cheese in the same manner, making sure it’s evenly coating the carrots. Feel free to take my family’s approach of over-cheesing :)
• Sprinkle on the salt, pepper- and any additional spices, should you want to add some
• Once you’re happy with all your other ingredients, add the olive oil last- this will stop the cheese from burning on top and will keep the carrots moist as they bake!
• Place the baking sheet in the top rack of the oven for about 10-15 minutes, until the cheese begins to brown/golden on top
• Then move the baking sheet to the bottom or middle rack and drop the temperature to 350 degrees, allowing the carrots to cook fully through but without applying as much heat to the cheese (so as to not burn and dry out)
• Once the carrots are cooked through (after another 10-15 minutes in the bottom rack), take the baking sheet out of the oven and set it aside for some cooling.
• While the carrots/tomato chunks are baking, prepare your fussili or other pasta (just a half box will give you 4-5 servings!) as designated on your pasta box. I’d suggest sprinkling in sea salt and a small dollop of olive oil into the water.
• Once the pasta is cooked to just being slightly al dente, drain out the water- but save a 1/2 cup of the pasta water and set aside for using later. Place the pasta into a large mixing bowl and add the parmesan and a quick sprinkle of salt and pepper. Toss thoroughly.
• Once the cheese is thoroughly tossed into the pasta, mix in the tomato sauce. If you revese this order, the pasta won’t stick to the cheese very well, and will be stuck within the sauce more than the pasta itself.
• Using a spatula or similar tool, break apart the carrots/tomato chunks- they will have stuck together- and then pour the pile of them into the pasta. Toss thoroughly again, and pour in a bit of the pasta water if things seem too sticky.

And you’re set! This is a healthy, hearty vegetarian dish that will turn any carrot-naysayer into a carrot-lover… guaranteed to work! Serve it warm for best results, but it’s nicely effective as a cold pasta salad as well for picnics and the like. My only warning there is to watch out for stains- the pasta sauce I used (O Organics) is quite hard to wash out, so if on a picnic, you may prefer to forgo the sauce. I do fairly often, and it’s very yummy, sauce or no- if you do forgo it, add a drizzle of olive oil at the end to give it a bit more moisture. Or, go more Italian and add in some pesto instead!

Mmmh, this one’s a winner. Fresh mozarella, gruyere, domestic parmesan, and parmigiano reggiano… cheese is a wonderful thing.

I’ll share a little secret with you: you can get anyone to like and eat carrots. It’s true, you really can! I’ve discovered a bit of a trick, and as per usual, it deals with the melding of sweet and salty. This dish is the perfect way to introduce some beta carotene into your diet through a yummy, yummy means.

When I’m cooking for more than 2-3 people I have a tendency to migrate towards pasta. It’s easily made in large quantities, is hearty (and you can use whole wheat!), keeps well for leftovers, and can be made in infinite variations. When it comes to meats, I’m too meticulous about cleaning the fat prior to cooking to really make it in bulk, so pasta is a happy alternative.

One of the best things about carrots is their meatiness. Even when cooked, carrots (particularly wide little ones like those I used) retain most of their size- which makes them perfect when cooking for people who secretly wish there were meat in the dish (the boyfriend). Here’s the trick to this dish:

• Cook pasta as directed/to your liking (wanting to be traditionally Italian, I made mine a bit al dente)
• Once you remove the pasta from the water and drain it, immediately pour it into a bowl with some sort of liquid (I had about a 1/4 of a cup of EVOO, some pre-grated domestic parm, and freshly-grated gruyere) and toss thoroughly. If you leave cooked pasta completely alone, it may get sticky (this happens less often with whole wheat pasta, but it’s always best to be safe and add a little moisture) Note that adding pasta water alone does not solve this, as the starch from the pasta is still floating in it- add a bit of something else as well!
• I chopped the cherry tomatoes into thirds and tossed them in without making any changes- I personally like their texture as-is. Feel free to cook them, but don’t bake them, it’ll make a mess of your cookie sheet.
• I added about half a container of O Organics tomato-basil pasta sauce. It’s delicious! Make sure you add this AFTER having thoroughly tossed the pasta with the cheese and oilive oil mixture. This way the cheese will fully stick to the pasta and will aid the pasta in sticking the sauce to itself, as opposed to having it swim in the sauce.

The carrots: this is so simple, yet so, so delicious! Slice the carrots in half (length-wise (see pictures below for the steps)) and arrange them as close as you can in rows in a cookie sheet (NOT a flat one without edges- make sure there’s a half-inch of depth to it at the least- a casserole or baking dish will work just as well for this). Once they’re well packed in, sprinkle on sea salt and pepper, and drizzle with EVOO. Now, take a large chunk of mozarella (I use Whole Foods low-moisture part-skim mozza loaf for this. You’ll want to experiment with different mozza’s and see what works best for you. This one is runny enough once hot to where it will well cover the carrots, but still browns very nicely.) and cut slices (about 1/8 of an inch thick) and arrange them over the carrot slices. You can leave some room in between the slices of cheese as it will expand upon melting. Then grate some gruyere onto it (you can forgo this, but to have the full four-cheese effect, go for it!) and sprinkle on some dried herbs (I chose oregano and basil). Put it in the oven for 20-25 minutes (until the mozza is browned, fully covering the carrots, and a bit bubbly- the carrots should look a little wrinkly as well) at 350 degrees.

Once the carrots are done, remove them from the oven, let cool 5 minutes, then break them apart and toss into the pasta. Grate some reggiano parm (imported) on top and you’re set! We were able to very comfortable feed five (with some taking seconds and thirds) and have enough for some leftovers as well.

Christine (one of our guests) doesn’t like carrots (or so her room-mate tells me)… but loves cheese. She enjoyed this so much that she picked all the carrot pieces left at the end and ate them :). That’s the power of this recipe! The carrots are naturally very sweet- so when coupled with a salty, nutty cheese, they become this salty-sweet delicious thing that you can’t get enough of.

Though that was a large number of steps described above, it’s a simple dish (I was able to complete both this and the dessert in an hour- and I’m slow!) which can, as well, easily be made in large batches. Try it and let me know how it works out for you!

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day- and usually the boyfriend and I do some walking or dancing, something simple. He’s not the surprising sort, so I was enthusiastically baffled when he presented me with the most beautiful bouquet of roses, lillies, and lavendar I had ever seen yesterday. It’s gargantuan- and it’s positively lovely :). To say thanks, I wanted to make a particularly enjoyable dinner for tonight. Upon asking what he would like, he mentioned that he had really enjoyed the tortelloni of a few weeks ago. My sister mentioned she had some leftover ravioli she wasn’t planning to have, and so came about the ravioli lasagna.

The contents are whole-wheat prosciutto-chicken ravioli; sauteed carrots, bell pepper, roasted garlic, and tomato in olive oil (cooked like this); and a thick layer of mozarella. Some corriander (I was looking for cardamum but settled happily on this one), large sea salt, freshly-cracked pepper, a drizzle of olive oil… it smelled fantastic, is oh-so-simple, and when plated prettily with some salad, is a sight to see.

Taking pasta- of any sort- adding sauteed vegetables, and baking it with a layer of cheese (of your choice) on top is, I guarantee, an easy way to add class to an already-delightful recipe. Which cheese do you find melts best? Whole Foods has a nice part-skim mozarella that slices nicely and browns perfectly on top.

Really, the title is self-descriptive. As I sat with the boyfriend Sunday night, watching in amusement as he devoured his birthday dinner, I snagged a carrot from his plate- and was pleasantly surprised that my random addition of vinegar was delicious. Thus, I had been wanting to try it again, but this time baking the dish at the end. Thus, to go with the gargantuan hunk of bread I knew I would be enjoying out of the warm oven this evening, I sauteed two large carrots, a zucchini, and half a red bell pepper in olive oil, salt (too much, according to my sister), and pepper- then once the edges started browning slightly, I drizzled in a splash of pear-infused vinegar (thank you, Alessi, for being wonderful and making such vinegars in the first place). I can not go on long enough about the benefits of this splash of vinegar. For one, the combination of sweet and salty adds a layer of flavour that’s divine. But for two, the sweetness of the vinegar causes the vegetables to crisp and brown- it almost seems to accentuate the sauteeing process. Once it seemed to be browning happily, I transferred the lot to an oversized ramekin (or, as H called it, the mother of all ramekins) and popped in the oven for 5 or 6 minutes to finish the crisping. The result was utterly delicious, so simple, and incredibly healthy. I highly suggest you try it!

That title is a mouthful, I apologize, but it was an ingredient-filled dish! The main course of the boyfriend’s birthday dinner consisted of a really neat recipe by Giada. I was searching for lamb preparations that weren’t necessarily Greek (because when I think of lamb, that’s my first thought, usually) and happened upon this roulade. As prosciutto is another favourite of his (he fits well into the family in that regard, I’m the only one who isn’t crazy about it) and the fresh basil, if I couldn’t find any that was in good condition, could be substituted for some pesto, it seemed perfect.

This recipe was incredibly easy to follow! My one caveat is making sure you have kitchen twine or a twine-like substance prior to starting to assemble. That, and you may need to use some force in closing the roulade if, like me, you over-stuffed the pocket. Another plus is making friends with the butcher to get a good cut of lamb- they had no boneless loin, so he kindly suggested they take a small leg and de-bone it for me. Not wanting to waste the fat or other pieces I was trimming off- my mother taught me to conserve!- I made a stock (about 4 hours of simmering- I would have prefered to infuse it longer but had to go to sleep eventually) that I’ll probably use later in the week for some couscous (I doubt its shelf life is over a week or so).

I really do suggest this recipe if you have the time for it- there’s nothing too difficult about it. If you’re going to go with a sherry reduction for the sauce (which is my go-to sauce, anyway, so that was a nice surprise) have patience and wait it out until it’s bubbling like caramel, then spoon it over the lamb. I guarantee your patience will be worth the while! Also, to add a bit of flavour- and because I love them- I chopped in a white pearl onion while the lamb was browning, and threw in five more for the oiled baking dish to infuse the lamb a bit. And, sustainable bonus- when plating, I stored the pearls in a small container in the fridge and will re-use them later in the week for a planned vegetarian dish. Despite claiming he had barely eaten all day and was ravenous, the dish proved to be too much for one meal- making for a cutely-packaged leftover plate for dinner today when he came to visit. Cheers for leftovers! Paired with some warm rosemary bread (central market organics has a frozen one you can heat in the oven- make it as per serving suggestion with some brushed-on olive oil, sprinkling of sea salt and dried rosemary and it’s fantastic) it sent him into a food coma upon finishing :)

Lastly- I sauteed the vegetables in salt, pepper, a little coriander, and olive oil, but what really made their flavours stand out was the secret ingredient- a little less than a tablespoon of pear-infused vinegar. The sweet and salty notes made for an excellent combination!

So Friday was the boyfriend’s birthday, and upon asking what he’d like to do to celebrate or have as a birthday gift, he cutely replied that he would like me to cook dinner for him. When I asked what that should consist of, he named is favourite meat- lamb- and one of his favourite desserts- carrot cake.

First came the cake, to allow for cooling time. This was my first try at a carrot cake, and I wanted to allow myself plenty of time for potential mishaps. Upon studying a number of recipes- I was glad to see that most recipes didn’t call for butter, and even more glad to have found this one from Eating Well, so that became my base (along with some alterations and some added-in ad-libs from Barefoot Contessa).

• I used 16 ounces of pineapple instead of the suggested 20 and found it to be far too much- I’d cut down to one 8-ounce can- and make sure it isn’t in syrup!
• 1 cup of sugar is really enough if using pineapple, which is naturally sweet, no need for the extra half cup
• I substituted some of the sugar (and made up the pineapple loss) with applesauce- but for the next time will use less- the middle of the cake was too moist and did not cook evenly with the outside edge of the cake
• Grating carrots is eeeeevil… have patience ready for this one… lots of patience… (but I do love carrots, so it’s okay)
• Thanks to a method developed in part by watching Robin Miller on food network (even though I really am not too big a fan of hers) and the boyfriend, it turns out that the easiest way to mash nuts is place them in a sealed bag, place the airtight bag on a wooden board, and smash them with a rolling pin. If you’re angry at someone, it’s an excellent way to let out your anger… consider it a punching bag for bakers.

That said, this one turned out fairly well for a first attempt- I’m pretty sure that I should have it reasonably mastered on the second try, paying attention to removing some moisture and baking for closer to 50 minutes rather than the suggested 45. Also: will try piping some of the icing.