Two Sides To Every Story

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I knew I had to start whipping up some side dishes that could compete with the main event.

But where should I start?

I always make a ton of food for holidays and Thanksgiving's one of those holidays that seems to warrant me cooking a little extra.

I make turkey, a potato dish, dressing, cranberry sauce, a green veggie, and an orange veggie. Plus dessert, of course! And that's just if there's only Luke and myself!

I know some people might say that's overkill, but I say it's enjoying the moment. And it doesn't hurt to have lots of leftovers.

But it's not Thanksgiving yet, so I don't need all the leftovers.

Tonight I whipped up a simple side that combines two of the most integral parts of my holiday meal. And I have to say that it really made the meal feel like Thanksgiving.

The recipe is altered from one featured in September's Canadian Living and it's on my keep list.

One-derland

For my one hundredth post I thought about what recipe to highlight for awhile.

I debated savoury or sweet, simple or sophisticated, quick or time consuming, and couldn't make up my mind.

So after all that I decided that what I was muddling over in head was too complicated and what I should share today would be something featuring one of my favourite ingredients.

And no, I do not mean cheese. Today I mean tea!

I drink one cup minimum per day and whether the tea is black, white, or green, I don't care. I love each and every tea in my cupboard.

But today isn't just about drinking tea (though what I am sharing does go well with a cup), it's about cooking with tea too!

Taste the Feeling

I am so excited!

And this time it's not because it's less than 3 months until Christmas! Although, that is also pretty exciting...

This time it's because Kraft Peanut Butter has chosen my video for Spread the Feeling as one of the TOP TEN entries!

And that means that I have a one in ten chance of winning the ten $10,000 prize!

Can you believe it?

If not, check out my video and my recipe for my Peanut Butter Caramel Thumbprints.

Oh, and maybe while you're checking out my video, you could vote for me?

Thanks everyone!

(And thanks to you too, Kraft!)

Curry Flurry!

That's right folks! I've got yet another curry recipe for you.

But all you non-curry fans out there, don't worry. I won't be turning into a curry monster anytime soon, I still love all kinds of food.

Plus, this is no ordinary curry dish. It's made with pasta and is my curry take on a mac and cheese.

And... a tuna noodle casserole... And there's another little twist hidden in there too....

Something I like to add when I mix up a curried tuna sandwich to bring a bit of sweetness and cut a bit of the heat...

Have you guessed yet? If not, you'll find out in a minute!

Hold onto your fork and let's get eating!

Lean, Mean, and Green

Curry is a dinner I love. It's easy, it's yummy, and, with a creative pantry, it's a very versatile dish!

But that's not all in the story of curry...

The most important part is there are tons of health benefits to eating curry!

1. Turmeric, a primary ingredient in many curries, is associated with easing the swelling of joints and also may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's and dementia.

2. The antioxidants in curry might help reduce the risk of cancer.

3. The chili in curries help to boost immune systems.

4. Many spices in curry help with digestion.

5. Black pepper in curry helps to break down fat cells. And the balance of veggies and proteins in the dishes are great for this too.

6. Curry might help to manage asthma.

7. You won't believe this one... Curry can also help to improve your appearance! Turmeric and cinnamon can help to improve your skin and other ingredients can help to improve your hair and nails!

I should tell you that the curry I just made doesn't have turmeric in it, but it's great tasting. And now, after reading about turmeric, I am going to be getting use to more of that in my diet!

Weird Science

There are a lot of weird Asian foods.

Nope, I'm not touching that. There are so many things I won't even discuss because they're too weird to think about.

But if you've ever thought about it, how many Asian desserts can you spout off the top of your head?

Of course there are things like deep fried green tea ice cream and maybe coconut or mango rice creations. But that's about it.

Really Asian desserts don't exist.

So today I am exploring the lesser known area of Asian desserts with gloves off.  Hopefully you like what I make, even if only for the creative factor. :)

Breakfast for Dinner

I love breakfast for dinner almost as much as I love breakfast on the weekends.

I think about all the delicious, comforting egg dishes on Friday night and wonder which one I'll treat myself to the next morning. There are so many kinds of dishes that you can make with eggs that the possibilities are seemingly endless.

So when I get an opportunity to try one of these delightful breakfast style dishes for dinner, I jump on it.

I mean, another chance to enjoy breakfast? Who wouldn't love that?

The dish I am sharing with you today is a dish that you could serve for dinner and have memories of weekend breakfasts, or you could enjoy it for breakfast and serve it with fruit instead of a salad. It's good any way you try it!

Double Vision

Here it goes again... Another contest between Luke and me of who has the best dish.

Only this time it's not buns, it's coconut shrimp. And this time it's not Luke liking the way I cooked, but instead he liked the concept behind it.

And... he got extra creative because he didn't even make the same course that I did; he made an appetizer and I made dinner.

Curious yet?

Well lucky you, because I won't make you wait any longer.

Maybe I will make you wait just one more moment... But it's interesting so I think it'll be work it.

Looking at these photos again, I see we used the same plates and the same frame for the photos. It wasn't our intention, but maybe this helps you judge the winner?

If not, surely tasting both will. 

My dish - Curried Coconut Shrimp

Runs in the Family

That's right folks.

I won't be the only pretty face from my family in the Real Women of Philadelphia Cookbook.

And that's because my mom will be in it too! Can you believe we were both chosen as winners?

I sure can't. But even more amazingly, my mom entered once! I entered so many times that I've run out of fingers to count on.

Her recipe was pretty delicious though and it deserves it's page.

Is you mouth watering yet? Do you want to see it?

Here it is!

Eggplant Philly

Orange You Glad I Didn't Say Banana?

Banana's are one of my most favourite food. No scratch that. Cheese, bread, lasagna, and potato chips are way above bananas in my opinion. Let's start again.

I love bananas in so many ways -- on cereal, in sandwiches, in desserts, in fruit salads, and just hanging out as a snack.

But in this case I think bananas would have been pretty darn gross. And I bet you'd agree.

However, oranges are another story. And that story tells a delicious tale of how Asian dishes need not be heavy and deep fried...

Tag Team

This month was a bit of a tag team month for Luke's trip to the kitchen.

I don't mean that I helped Luke out in some way by chopping or cleaning. What I mean is that Luke loved a recipe I had found for some delicious Sesame Seed and Herb Buns, so he made the recipe his own.

He not only made the recipe easier and more "Luke friendly", but his take on it was yummy and something I would make again.

Let's start with mine. And I use the word mine very loosely because this recipe was from the July 2011 Bon Appetit magazine. (That's my favourite subscription, incase you haven't already guessed!)

Mello Yello

Does anyone else remember the feeling of going to the United States as a child and buying something that was unavailable in Canada?

I loved it when I visited my Nana and Papa in southern Ontario and we would make the short drive across the bridge or, even better, take the short ferry ride to Michigan.

We would always get to go out for dinner, always a plus, but we would also get to shop.

I was never a brand name wearing child, so I didn't really understand the concept of buying clothes from stores we didn't have in Canada. But food I have always loved, so picking up a brand of chips, a snack cake, or my all time favourite Mello Yello soda was the big hit for me.

I would save a can of Mello Yello to bring to school and when I popped the can open and people turned to listen, I would take a sip and notice them staring. I felt cool.

Today, I probably wouldn't feel quite as cool... But the memories are great and the yellow things still inspire me. Especially yellow food things.

Here's a quick shot of tonight's dinner. Can you tell why I posted it?

'Twas the Night Before September

'Twas the night before September, when all through BC

People were full from eating, as far as the eye could see;

The dishes were done by Luke with care, 

In hopes that breakfast soon would be there...

Ok... So my rhymes are not as good as some people's are. I'll stop now before you get mad. 

Sometimes I play around and think I sound great with my rhymes for possible children's books, but my family always holds their ears in pain. And I don't want you to feel like that!

But back to the night before September, something exciting did happen to me on August 31. 

Drum roll please... 

Third Time's The Charm

I looked back over my last few posts and realized I had only posted one follow up recipe to my Dancing Chickens.

I know that Luke goes into the fridge at night and eats almost everything he finds in there, but surely I had to have made at least one more meal with the leftover chicken.

So I looked through my photos and sure enough I found my third chicken recipe. I don't know how I almost forgot about this one too, because lasagna is probably my favourite meal of all time.

Nothing is bad in it. You've got cheese, pasta, veggies, and usually meat. The only thing missing is dessert. And although I love dessert pizza, I definitely don't think I will ever want to eat a bite of dessert lasagna.

Here you go chicken lovers. Hopefully this helps to get you out of any leftover chicken ruts you're in!

Smells Like Teen Spirit

And tastes like it too!

But without the fear of eating raw eggs...

Wait... Am I getting a bit ahead of myself?

Did you figure out I was talking about all the sleepovers I used to have with my girlfriends? And how I loved baking cookies and eating half the raw dough with them before we baked?

You did? Great!

Well, did you figure out I was also talking about how the recipe I am going to share with you today is a vegan cookie recipe? So there are no eggs in the recipe, meaning no raw eggs in the cookie batter?

Let me say that again, just incase you didn't catch it the first time: there are no eggs in the batter!

I guess you can tell I am not a vegan or this little tidbit of information would not have affected me. But since I always have eggs in my cookie recipes, this is extremely exciting.

And what was more exciting was that these cookies were delicious.

I don't know about you, but I have always tended to think about vegan cooking in a negative light. I didn't think there would be a lot of taste because the food had kind of bland ingredients. At least that's how I thought about vegan cooking, without have tasted it.

I was definitely proved wrong. And I hope you will be proved wrong too.

So let Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero's Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar as soon as possible.

All I did to make their recipe my own was shape the cookies differently. Instead of wrapping the peanut butter part of the cookie with the chocolate part of the cookie, I used the peanut butter part as the centre of a flower.

Let me know which style of cookie you prefer:

Moskowitz and Romero's Peanut Butter Chocolate Pillows

or.... 

MY Peanut Butter Chocolate Flowers

Flash in the pan

I know when people hear this term they think of something with a flashy beginning that kind of fizzles out in a disappointing way.

However, that isn't what the term has to mean.

A flash in the pan can also be something positive, at least when you're cooking dinner.

A flash in the pan can mean something that only takes a few minutes to prepare in your pan, and that is what I am changing the meaning of this term to right now.

So let's celebrate the new meaning of this now easy and yummy term with a recipe.

Although, before we begin, I'm just realizing this recipe has no pans involved. Let me know if you think I should change the term to a flash in the pot...

Dancing Queen

Some say this dinner is dancing. Some say it is drunk. Some probably call it something else entirely. All I say is that is moist and delicious.

Ok, I guess I have adopted one of the popular names for my dish too. And since I think I'm pretty fun, I chose the most fun name -- Dancing Chickens!

I know this is not an original recipe because I grew up with it and so did everyone else I know. But using beer and beer cans to make the chicken's dance does make this dish very delicious.

Plus, the recipes I'll be showing you over the next week are original and use up the leftovers in fresh new ways.

However, before we get to the leftover recipes, here are the stars of today-- Dancing Chickens!

FFood

I know what you're thinking, food has only one f....

But today food has two fs because my entire dinner consisted of food that began with the letter f or, to keep it simple, ffood.

Does it sound like Sesame Street is on? We're almost talking about food that begins with letter f too much!

I think we had better shelf this conversation for now and just talk about the actual food.

New-dle Salad

Don't you love stabbing your fork into a big bowl of veggies? Enjoying the crisp sound of every crunchy bite? And cool, fresh, good-for-you feeling that you get after eating salad?

Well, this is a salad recipe. But it's no ordinary salad.

And if you answered no to the questions I just asked... you might just love this recipe too. Because this is an Asian noodle salad. 

This isn't one of those healthy creations with veggies on top of veggies, but I think that if you eat enough of those you deserve to enjoy a pile of dressed up, beefy noodles too. 

Plus I always include veggies in my dinner, so there are some token healthy bites nestled between the lovely noodles. 

And even though my dish might not be the prettiest presented dish you've ever seen, try it anyway because it tastes better than it looks!