Spring Salad

Tomorrow is April 1 and I'm hoping that the nice weather I've been experiencing is no April Fool's Day joke. I've been loving the sunny, flower filled, gorgeous days so much that I've already started having a few summer salad dinners. And, boy, so those dinners make me happy!

I know I'm in one of the few cities in Canada that can say spring has arrived, but I think that one bite of this spring salad will begin to convince even those on the frozen east coast that spring is on it's way.

Luck of the Irish

It's March 16 today and I bet a few of you are planning on celebrating St. Patrick's Day today. I bet some of you are looking for green food to whip up, some of you are looking for an easy and yummy meal to soak up some of the Irish brews you'll be enjoying later, and maybe a few of you are looking for a recipe you can make for a date. Whatever the case, I think that today's dish will bring the luck of the Irish to you.

Today's dish is green, easy to make and filling, and fanciest enough looking to be perfect to make for someone special. It's only fancy looking though, so don't get worried. It's not really fancy...

Read on for my take on a Veggie and Shrimp Barley Risotto. It's inspired by one from Food Network Canada. 

A "Heart"y Valentine Dinner Made Delicious

Today's post is dedicated to anyone who is planning on making their partner a home cooked meal this Valentine's Day and also to anyone who loves puns because those are two things I cannot live without on February 14. If you're still looking for some foodie puns for your card this year, I've got a few up my sleeve that I'm willing to share with you.

You're my "butter" half, Valentine

Take another "pizza" my heart now, baby

I'm "nuts" about you!

You make my heart "beet" like crazy, Valentine

And here's one more special punny Valentine I've created just for someone who wants to make my Crab Stuffed Portobellos with Shrimp Hearts....

I'd never "shrimp" on my love for you, Valentine. You're the best.

Ok, so maybe I'm not going to be employed by Hallmark anytime in the future, but I know that my recipe is perfect for you to serve to your loved ones tomorrow!

Double the Fun

When I have friends over for a wine and appy party, I know I'd like to create a menu of entirely handmade little delicacies - but I also know that would only make me frazzled. I know I need to use my time wisely and make a few homemade appetizers and a few from the frozen or deli sections of my grocery store. 

The two appys I am sharing today start might come in handy for those of you that want to make things even easier. These appys start out as the same basic recipe and then ever off into two different directions so you can have even more choices besides the wheel of Brie. 

Get ready to run out to grocery store for wonton wrappers because these recipes need them. :) 

Christmas Sliders

'Tis the season to be jolly and also to look for time saving ideas! December seems to fly by in my house every year and while I wish for an extra hour every day in December, Santa never gets me the gift I really need so I have to find the extra time I wish for another way.

One of the ways I save time is by visiting the Pillsbury area of my grocery store. I like to say I'll be serving homemade cinnamon buns in Christmas morning, but it hasn't happened yet so I always buy a big roll of Grands Cinnamon buns. And I like to think I'll be making my own buns to serve with Christmas dinner, but I always buy a package or two of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, "just incase".

This year I am little more organized than other years because I'm not pretending that I'm going to be making everything from scratch. I know what's going to end up happening. This year I'm stocking up on Pillsbury goodies, but planning on making them a little extra special by adding a few little twists. 

On Christmas morning, I am planning on making Life Made Delicious' Easy Crescent Danish Rolls and I think I might make Life Made Delicious' crescent rolled covered Raspberry Baked Brie at least once between now and the big day - because when I have I ever turned down Brie?

But first I made some incredibly yummy and surprising simple Shrimp Sliders on Pillsbury Crescents for a happy appy at a potluck I recently went to. I know you're going to want to make a batch up yourself. Read on for the recipe!

The Canadian Harvest on Vancouver Island

There's something about the crispness in the air that makes me think of root veggies. And although root veggies go perfectly with a roast chicken, my favourite way to serve them is Asian tempura style.

Maybe it's because tempura done right is just as crisp as the autumn air or maybe it's because of the amazing China Town in my home of Victoria, BC, but I think that root veggies and tempura are a perfect pairing. So when I found out that our November Canadian Food Experience Project challenge was to write about a Canadian harvest experience, I knew I had to share my delicious tempura recipe.

My only secrets to perfect tempura are to use only drier veggies like squash, beans, and broccoli and to make sure that your batter is really cold. Now that you know those two tricks, you'll be making tempura like pro. So read on for my recipe and get started!

Meat on the Side

I haven't always been a person who'd love to fill up on a fresh and delicious salad while enjoying meat on the side, but I sure am now. Now I love seeing as much fresh green as possible on my plate and seeing only just enough protein to keep me healthy. 

Today's dish is a light curry over a small bed of rice topped with a few plump shrimp and a big fresh salad. It's perfect for a healthy person on the go and filled with enough flavour to satisfy anyone. 

Ready for my fresh and fast recipe? Read on for it! 

Paella - Take Two

Paella used to be one of Luke's tiny pile of recipes that he could make and I could enjoy, but that's no more. Now I've improved upon his recipe so much that it's turned into a dish that I can make and he can enjoy.

I'm not so sure that I like the sounds of being treated to a home cooked meal less, but I know I love my new recipe. It's more authentic because there is only fish in it, no chorizo, but the awesome flavours are still there.

Curry In a Hurry

Fast Food doesn't have to be burgers and fries from a chain restaurant. It can be food prepared in your own kitchen too! 

I just bought Michael Smith's new cookbook, Fast Flavours, and it's already one of my favourite cookbooks. Not only is it full of delicious recipes that can be prepared quickly, it's also full of awesome pictures. Beautiful pictures are important to me in a cookbook because if the food doesn't look good, how will I know if I want to eat it?

I changed a few things from the chef's original recipe, but not a lot. It was almost perfect for my taste buds! 

Bubba Gump's Shrimp Co.

I'm going to let you in on a few secrets, just because we're friends. I've never eaten okra before making this recipe and I've never watched Forrest Gump in it's entirety. Those were just two things that I had never wanted to do before.

However, after eating this Shrimp Gumbo and learning that okra can actually be quite tasty, I think I might give watching Forrest Gump a try.

Read on for a delicious Shrimp Gumbo recipe. And if you're not interested in trying okra, you can always omit the slippery veggie and replace it with zucchini instead.

Scamper to the Table

I can never remember what Shrimp Scampi is. Whenever I hear those words I get a picture of a squirrel stuffing his mouth full of food for the winter and scampering around the yard to bury everything. And I know that's not what Shrimp Scampi is.

After spending a few minutes researching what Shrimp Scampi is, I realized it's a difficult meal to define. Scampi are actually small lobsters, or langoustines, so calling Shrimp Scampi by this name is actually just calling it Shrimp Big Shrimp. And that really doesn't define anything.

A little more research showed me that traditional recipes include shrimp sauteed with butter and garlic, maybe with some lemon juice and parsley on top. And the dish is usually served with pasta or rice.

My version is inspired by a healthy cooking recipe and includes artichokes and butternut squash instead of pasta or rice. It makes the dish lower in calories and carbohydrates, but is packs a lot of flavour.

Souper Soup

When I read a recipe I like to use it as inspiration and make it as easy to replicate, but still keep the original amazing flavour. 

I don't think cooking should be hard and I don't think that it should make people shy away from staying home for dinner. I think cooking should be fun and creating flavourful meals should be easy. 

When I was given a recipe for Tom Yam Gung (Hot and Sour Shrimp Soup), I almost put it down and vowed to only enjoy it when I ate out. But then I thought to myself that I could replace making a time intensive shrimp broth with simple seafood (or even veggie broth) and just add in a few extra flavours. It worked when I made Wonton Noodle Soup, so why wouldn't it work now?

Well, wouldn't you know it. My idea worked. I think my simple version of Tom Yam Gung is just as good as the homemade broth version!

Changing It Up

You might think that I cook new meals every single night because I always seem to have something new to share. New meals are great to keep tempting my taste buds, but, like everyone else, I have favourite meals that I like to enjoy all the time. 

I do sometimes duplicate things exactly. But a lot of the time, I like to take one of my favourite meals and change things up a little to make it taste different. 

Sometimes my "new" meals are so similar that you can't tell them apart from my "old" meals, but sometimes my inventions are actually inventions. 

Let me know if you think the recipe below is better than the Salmon Creole I previously shared? I can't pick which one I like better!

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

Lemon-Aid

I have been an ambitious person for as long as I can remember. I used to take cans of lemonade concentrate and mix them up with water to sell to people on the street.

I was so important that I also took bags of cookies to sell and also didn't wash the glasses when I was done.

Nope, instead I counted up my profits and squirrelled them away for a rainy day.

Today I don't sell lemonade on the street to my neighbours, but I still think I am ambitious--- at least in the kitchen.

It's hard to be completely original when cooking, but I thought when I came up with this recipe that I was original. It turns out that there are dishes similar to it all over the place, but I've never had one and this dish is original to me.

Lemon definitely helps make the dish pop with a freshness I've rarely tasted in a pasta dish.

Curious yet? Read on and you'll find out the secrets to the dish!

Don't Scrimp on the Shrimp

I love to eat shrimp and sometimes feel bad for everyone out there allergic to the little crustaceans when I'm enjoying them. However, sometimes I make something that makes me forget to feel bad that others can't enjoy what I can.

Today's post is all about that.

I used a recipe for inspiration on this dish; but instead of doing everything they did, I changed it is up a bit. If you know me at all, you know I love to save money anywhere I can. And I think I did pretty well on that in this recipe.

I didn't want to scrimp on the flavour, but I did feel annoyed at the thought of wasting huge shrimp when I would be pureeing them in a bisque.

Here's my recipe.

Let me know if you like it or think it would be worth the extra money (and time) of using large shrimp and making your own shrimp stock with the shells.

Summer Rolls into Town!

Today is definitely one of my favourite days of the year. And if you don't know what day it is, look outside and then check your clock.

Did you do a double take? I might have if I hadn't known it was the first day of summer and the longest day of the year today. 

The weather outside in Victoria BC is so perfect, it just makes everything even better. The sun is shining, it's warm and lovely, and there are tons of flowers blooming. 

And since I took my allergy pills this morning, I can honestly say I am happy about the flowers too!

So in honour of summer rolling into town, I decided to whip up a new fresh take on summer rolls. But before I show you the recipe I have to let you in on how this recipe came to be. 

I entered a few original recipes in the Real Women of Philadelphia and while I wasn't chosen as one of the top 16 finalists, I did really enjoy the competition. I met some lovely women and still enjoy going on the website to see what people are talking about and to join in on just-for-fun competitions. 

One of the women thought it might be fun to try a Chopped style competition and I love that show, so I jumped on board with both feet. 

If you are not familiar with Chopped, it's a television show on the Food Network and chefs receive baskets containing about five unknown ingredients and they have to cook meals with them. The first round is the appetizer round, then then last least impressive chef gets 'chopped'. The second round is the entree round, another basket of unknown ingredients is given out, and again the least impressive chef gets 'chopped'. Finally it's the dessert round and we go through it again to see who wins after the last round of unknown ingredient competition.

Well this was the appetizer round and the ingredients were chicken, mustard, spinach, quinoa, rhubarb, and of course Philadelphia Cream Cheese. Here's what I came up with.

My Trip To Thailand (In My Kitchen)

Ok, so I've never actually gone to Thailand.

I've gone on a few vacations to exotic countries. And I have packed up my car with all my belongings and driven across the country from tip to tip, but I've never visited Thailand.

Never even came close. Except for in my kitchen.

Luke's Monthly Visit to the Unknown AKA the Kitchen

I don't mind cooking every night. In all honesty, I love it. Especially since Luke does the dishes.

But I have to say it is a rare treat when Luke has the time to cook up one of his two meals -- Paella or Wontons. It's really nice to sit in a chair and relax with a glass of wine while he chops, sautes, measures, and all around cooks.

I love to create something new in the kitchen but knowing that his familiar tastes will be ready in slightly more than an hour are fantastic too.

The funny part is that even though I think I love to relax, I actually can't help myself but try to help. I try to sneak past him and get out my own cutting board to help with the chopping or I pull out my own homemade chicken stock and defrost it. It's like my hands want to take over.

Most of the time I can refrain from doing too much more than slicing up the occasional veggie but I have been told to get out before. I think Luke really likes cooking his two meals for me. He knows how much I love food and tries to share it with me. Kind of like I try to share his love of the outdoors by camping?

Anyway here is his recipe for Paella - the dish of the night. Wonton Noodle Soup to visit next month.