Pie for Breakfast

I have to say that pie for breakfast is one of the best things in the world. And when it's not really pie, but a healthy yogurt and fruit parfait that makes you think you're eating pie, well that must be the very best thing in the world!

When I first saw Oh She Glows recipe for Sugar Free Apple Pie Chia Jam Breakfast Parfait I thought that it sounded good but a wee bit too healthy for me. I can handle vegan or sugar free, but I don't think I am interested in both.

So I just used that recipe for inspiration and made my own version. My version isn't vegan or sugar free, but it's still healthy - especially compared with the alternative of pie for breakfast!

Puffed Quinoa and Goji Berries

Do you ever make NewYear's resolutions and wonder why you ever thought you could keep them going strong throughout the year? I think that around April every single year.

In January, I decided to try one new food per month for all of 2014. I'm still keeping my promise, in fact this month I actually tried two new foods, but it's much harder than I expected because there are only so many foods in the world to try!

In January I finally tried chia seeds and made a yummy chia seed pudding. In February I tried something I had never heard of, amaranth, and made a note worthy amaranth porridge with strawberries. And in March I tried raw cashews and made a truly delicious pasta dish with a vegan raw cashew sauce.

This month I was walking around the Bulk Barn, because that's where I've been finding all my new foods to try so far, and was worried that I might run before December. Then I decided to throw caution to the wind and made a yummy salad topper using two new foods for April. I realized that if I run out of new foods to try at the Bulk Barn, I can just head over to China Town or my Farmer's Market, it might get a little harder in December but if I keep trying I can fulfill this set of resolutions.

Read on for my recipe for Roasted Cauliflower and Sausage with Puffed Quinoa Salad Topper. It might sound a few bit familiar if you read a recipe I shared a few days ago for Puffed Quinoa and Peeps Tarts with Lemon Curd and that's because I used my Puffed Quinoa Salad Topper for the tarts! It turns out that a salad topper makes a pretty awesome tart!

Dulce de Leche Apple Cake

Dulce de Leche Apple Cake. How have these words never left my lips before?

I'm not ashamed to admit that those words actually only left my lips because of Duncan Hines Apple Caramel Decadent Cake Mix, but I'm happy to say that my homemade version was much better than the surprisingly delicious boxed version.

That's right. Today's recipe is homemade version of a Duncan Hines mix. It's full of apples, almost as many as a pie in fact. It's full of dulce de leche, almost too full if that could be possible. And it's a cake that I am proud to serve for breakfast or dessert. Or for a midnight snack. Or lunch. Or pretty much whenever.

Read on for my Dulce de Leche Apple Cake recipe!

New Year's Resolutions

For this month's Canadian Food Experience Project, we were asked to share a post on our resolutions. Every year I make resolutions, but I don't usually finish the year having kept them.

After spending a bit of time thinking about it, I think I know what my problem is. I think it's that my resolutions are usually too big and too difficult to keep. Or are something I just don't enjoying doing...

But I know this year will be different because I am only resolving to try one new food each month. That's just 12 new things and I can surely do that! I'll be posting about my new foodie finds each month and I hope that you'll be interested in trying a few of them along with me.

This month I am starting off by trying chia. I bet you once had a chia pet, one of those little terra cotta animals that you would scoop a little pile of seeds onto, water it, and then get to watch the plants grow? Well I had heard that chia seeds were really good for you and tasty too. Now I know that whoever said that was right!

Read on for my recipe for Chia Puddings, inspired by one from Giada's new cookbook, Giada's Feel Good Food.  I used fruit fitting for a Canadian winter and made a few other changes as well.

Apple Crisp Granola a la Mode and a Giveaway! #OPAYOPA

Everyday day I get out the door with a full belly is an achievement to me. And when I get out the door with a belly full of something delicious, well that's a great achievement because I'm a sucker for anything delicious.

When I first heard the Yoplait was coming out with a new Greek yogurt, YOPA!, I got excited and could see lots of delicious breakfasts in my future. I have always loved Greek yogurt, but YOPA seems to take the cake because it's really good for you and tastes like it should be considered a dessert.

YOPA comes in lots of delicious flavours including Mmm Mango Tango, Lotta Piña Colada, and my favourite - Va Va Vanilla Bean. Plus there are lots of added benefits with choosing YOPA. YOPA has double the protein of regular yogurt, no fat, no article colours or flavours, no gelatin, and only 80 calories per serving.

To celebrate my love of YOPA, I created a yummy Apple Crisp Granola recipe that I like to enjoy "a la mode" with a healthy serving of YOPA Va Va Vanilla Bean. It's the perfect breakfast or the perfect dessert -and I should know because I've it enjoyed it both ways!

Read on for my recipe and a great YOPA giveaway!

Chips and Dip

When I hear the words "chips and dip" I automatically think of thick cut potato chips, a huge bowl of French onion dip, and football. I also think of a couple hundred calories. I love chips and dip as much as the next girl, but I also want to be able to enjoy a crunchy chip and a silky dip without the crazy calories.

Thus my Cinnamon Apple Chips and Caramel Yogurt Dip were born. These chips are low fat, crunchy, incredibly yummy, and would make a great back to school gift for a teacher too. Plus, when they're served with this dip, oh boy, you had better make a double batch. Mine disappeared right   before my eyes. And I was the only one home too!

Flavour Bombs

I have a favourite recipe for banana muffins so I am always unsure about trying something new. So even though when I heard that Janet and Greta Podleski's Bananaberry Bombs were too good to pass up, I almost passed them up. 

After just one bite, I was happy I tried out the recipe. They're now my favourite banana muffin recipe and these flavour bombs really shouldn't be missed! 

If you don't like bananas, or don't have any super ripe ones, I would suggest trying these muffins with apple sauce in the banana's place. I often substitute mashed banana and apple sauce and have always gotten great results. 

Read on for my version of Bananaberry Bombs (AKA Applebarb Bombs) or visit the Looneyspoon's website for their original delicious version. 

Boiled Green Tomatoes

Maybe boiled green tomatoes doesn't sound as appealed as their fried cousins, but they certainly taste good in this Christmasy Green Tomato Chutney! 

You may or may not know that it's a tradition in my family to enjoy a succulent tourtiere every Christmas Eve and I love to serve mine with a chutney. This year's chutney is a little extra special because it's made with green tomatoes and ruby red dried cranberries. 

I am almost drooling at the thought of a piece of tourtiere smothered in chutney, so let's not waste anymore time. Read on for the recipe!

Blue Cheese Fiend

Lately I've had a hankering for blue cheese and I've been putting it in everything. I've put it on a beet salad, I've folded it into Twice Baked Potatoes, and now I'm putting it into a beautiful, fresh orange salad. 

I don't know what it is about blue cheese, but I think that it adds another dimension of flavour to almost any food. It pairs well with meat, potatoes, fruit, and veggies. I think the only thing it wouldn't taste good with is chocolate. 

And while I know everyone doesn't feel the same love I feel for blue cheese, I also know that those who love it, love it a lot. And those who love it should try this awesome salad. 

Read on for my recipe for Blue Cheese and Orange Salad. 

Cooking Club Challenge

You all must know that one of my hobbies is entering cooking and recipe contests. I love to cook and contests encourage me to get really creative in the kitchen by stretching my mind to come up with new ideas. Plus, there's the added bonus of getting a chance to win a prize!

Food Network Canada has a monthly contest where they ask everyone to cook a recipe of their choosing, take a photo, and send the photo in with a short paragraph about what you thought of the dish. 

This was my first time entering the contest and I won! I don't know what my prize is yet, but the day that it will come in the mail will be very exciting! 

You can check out a shot of my winning photo below or visit the Cooking Club Challenge webpage to see my photo and the recipe, Anthony Sedlak's Tangy Short Ribs with Coleslaw and Twice Baked Potatoes. 

I added some fresh apple cut into matchsticks, a touch of sesame oil to my coleslaw, and also folded a touch of blue cheese into my potatoes, but otherwise left everything as the recipe suggested. 

The only thing I don't agree with in the recipe is calling the potatoes Twice Baked Potatoes. At my house they're called Party Stuffed Potatoes, but that's a story for another day...

Gobbler Up This Cobbler

I love researching how different things got their name, but it's even more fun for me to come up a great reason why all by myself. 

I don't love tattoos, but I will always remember the reason why I think that tattoos were named tattoos. I came up with my reason when I was at a drum show in Halifax called Tattoo. The beat of drum sticks repeatedly hitting the drums made a tattoo sound, much the same as the beat of raindrops on a window. This is the same sound or action as when a tattoo is created on a person- thus the name tattoo was given. 

I don't know if that's true or not, I've never bothered to look it up. But I do think that it should be the reason!

Now Luke and I came up why we think a fruit cobbler was named a fruit cobbler. And I'm so pleased with our reason why, I know I will never look up the real reason. Looking at the top of a beautiful cobbler you see parcels of dough that resemble walking stones on a street, or you could call them cobble stones! 

But these cobble stones are much more delicious than their namesake. They're soft and sweet and cover an amazing array of roasted fruit. I know you'll want to try this one!

A Match Made in Heaven

Who doesn't love chocolate? Other than the few people I know that are allergic to my favourite feel better medication, I don't think I know anyone. 

I don't even need to taste chocolate for a pick me up, all I need to do is smell it. Of course, tasting chocolate really makes me happy, but a girl can only eat so much of it!

Today's post is a simple recipe that combines chocolate with banana, so you get a serving of fruit with your dessert. 

And while you read the recipe, try and guess what I am going to do to tweak it for Halloween this year.  If anyone guesses what I am going to do before October rolls around, I will let you know by making it early! 

Apple of My Eye

I am a big fan of apple sauce. I use in for baking, for making ribs, tons of other things, and just of eating too of course. 

Apples are really healthy and cooking with apple sauce means that you don't need to cook with as much refined sugar. 

I used to think that making apple sauce would take forever and require a lot of work. But after I made it just one time, I knew that I was very wrong and that making apple sauce was very easy. 

I know that you're going to want to cook some up right away, so I won't make you wait. 

Grate Expectations

I love breakfast for dinner of nearly all kinds. I love waffles, pancakes, eggs, and toast. I love fruit cut into beautiful shapes s and different kinds of speciality teas. I love almost everything, except for cereal for dinner.

Cereal for dinner seems a little sad, a little too much like something a bachelor would do. And I most certainly not a sad bachelor.

So when I remembered that it was Shove Tuesday today, I jumped at the chance to indulge in one of my favourite treats.

The name Shrove Tuesday comes from medieval times and the word shove is derived from "shrived", meaning "to confess". In medieval times, Shrove Tuesday was the last chance to treat yourself before lent and since pancakes have fat, butter, and eggs (no-no's for lent), pancakes have been traditionally eaten on this day.

I do not attempt to give up anything for lent. I know how disappointed I get when I fail at something, and I know if I tried to give up a certain kind of editable treat, I was surely fail. Plus, I am still working on my one meatless meal per week New Year's resolution, so I think I am doing enough.

But, that being said, I love pancakes. So let the indulging begin!

Dress It Up

I love dressing. I think I could eat just a big bowl of the stuff and leave all the other turkey dinner fixings alone.

But when I tried my mom's version of dressing, all my previous thoughts about my favourite holiday disappeared. Now I know what dressing is supposed to taste like and now I really REALLY love it. 

One of the key features about my love for this recipe is how all fruit and veggies are all grated. I thought bigger would be better until I tried it this way. The second key feature is using day-old sourdough bread; the flavour you get from this bread is unbeatable!

I won't make you wait any longer - here it is!

A Feather in Your Cap

If you weren't a big fan of the last brussel sprout recipe I showed you, maybe you'll like this new one and keep it as a feather in your cap for your next holiday meal. 

The sprouts have a cool name, Feathered Sprouts, and taste delicious too. Also, since they're feathered, meaning all the leaves are separated, they barely taste like brussel sprouts at all. 

That got all of you listening didn't it. 

And I'm telling the truth. Separating the leaves from the sprout makes each brussel sprout cook very evenly. The leaves are all the same thickness and they don't take long to cook at all. Just watch them and taste a few leaves to make you take them off the heat at your desired doneness. 

Hopefully this recipe helps you love this veggie as much as I do!

An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Everyone loves apples. Teachers, dentists, doctors, moms, and fairy tale witches.

Johnny Appleseed walked barefoot for miles to plant seeds so the fruit could be enjoyed by the masses. And Adam and Eve even risked their lives for the forbidden fruit. 

But did you know that the real proverb from the 1800s went like this: "Eat an apple on going to bed, And you'll keep the doctor from earning his bread."

Apples are great for you. They help your immune system, reduce cholesterol, and help to clean your teeth by killing off bacteria. 

But, the phrase was actually coined because, in Old English, the word apple referred to any round fruit that grew on trees. So it meant eat healthy fruit and you'll be healthy.

If we can take this one step farther and use the word apple for any round fruit or vegetable, this recipe will really keep the doctor away! 

Classically Trained

I was classically trained to cook, but not in the way you might be picturing...

There were no white hats in my kitchen. I didn't go to a cooking school. I have never worked in a restaurant. And I certainly haven't won any Michelin Stars.

I have big dreams, but I haven't done any of those things.

Instead, I was trained in the most classical way possible. I'm talking about how you learn real cooking, real love-filled cooking.

My mom taught me.

I'm sure you could see that coming, but I had to spell it out anyway for people not as smart as you.

So when you read the two following recipes I know you might think that they're just regular pies, but remember that a classically trained home cook made them. Plus, I won an award for one of my pies once.

That's right, I won an award. I was in the newspaper and everything!

I might have won the prize for youngest contestant, but who cares. I was around 5 years old and I took home the prize! It may have been grocery store treats, but I won and that's all I needed!