Best of 2010, Hello 2011!

Happy New Year again!

I know I blogged yesterday, but I didn't really talk about New Years, instead I talked about my anniversary with Jordan. New Years Eve was incredibly exciting, probably the best one I have celebrated up to date. I was intending on staying home, because a couple of weeks before New Years Jordan's parents had decided that they were going to take the family to Nathan Phillip's Square in Toronto, however, they had asked if my mom and her boyfriend would want to join and get a hotel so that I could go to. Unfortunately that wasn't the case since they had decided to go to Montreal. I wasn't really interested in partying because it would more than likely be with people that I'm not really interested in hanging out with since my good friends had decided to go out of town.

Well, it was two days after our anniversary, Jordan's parents came in the afternoon to pick him up and head downtown for the night. After about ten or so minutes I had gotten a call from Jordan's dad asking if I wanted them to turn back and come pick me up, I said no since it was a family thing and was more than happy spending it at home with my cats. However, he asked a few more times and I said sure. I really was appreciative that they did this because it was a lot of fun.

We headed downtown, brought all of our stuff into the hotel. After taking a couple shots we walked down a few blocks and found a Thai restaurant. It was really good, I had bean curd and veggies, incredibly delicious. We then headed back to the hotel and hung out for a couple of hours. We decided to make our way down to Nathan Phillips (which we could see from our hotel room which was completely amazing) at about 9 o'clock. It was so warm out it was wonderful. It was supposed to pour and that didn't happen so it was awesome!

We stayed out until 11:30 pm. We saw Divine Brown, Shawn Desman (his brother), Kids Wearing Crowns, The Stereo's and I believe that was it. The performers weren't amaziiiing but it was lots of fun. Jordan's sister and I brought lots of energy which seemed to pump those around us. Unfortunately at around 11:00 pm lots of creepy Torontonians were coming out (I am NOT a Toronto person at all, they give me the heebs to be completely honest), there was one in particular who just freaked us all out. Needless to say at this point we were all getting very freaked, annoyed and anxious so we made our way back to the hotel. We sat at the windowsill, talked, reminisced about the year and at 11:58 pm I realized it was almost 2011. It was fun, we were watching it live, and had it turned on on the tv too (which we realized had a ten second delay), so I had first started the countdown (looking at the tv) at 25 seconds, then looked "live" and realized it was 15 seconds until 2011. 10, 9, 8, 7.... 3, 2, 1 HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We clinked our glasses, about a minute or so later got a kiss from Jor and we watched the fireworks, it was beautiful. After talking for about an hour or so more we decided to go to sleep. The next day we stayed in the hotel until about 2 in the afternoon, packed our stuff, got out of the hotel, made way to a sushi restaurant then went to Jordan's grandfathers. We had dinner there, spent a couple of hours, then made Jordan and I got dropped off at my place. We then finished the evening off by watching a couple episodes of Fringe.

So that is how I spent my New Years Eve + day, hope yours was as much as mine was.

At the beginning of each year, most people set out resolutions for what they want to modify to their "life" for the next year. Now, most people make resolutions and end up breaking them about a week or two into the new year. Myself however, I am not like that... I am one of those people that if I write something down, or I tell myself something I make it the holy word. Last year I stuck with my resolution all through out and I'm hoping the same thing happens this year.

This year my resolutions are as so:

• To put some weight on, so far I am up a few already (I actually started my resolution early and started on the 28th)
• To not worry about my weight so much (I'm hoping that with time I will talk more about ... some of these issues)
• To weigh myself once a week
• To start eating healthier again, and not just binging on ice cream, cookies and cake
• To make a weekly meal plan and sticking with it
• To feel happier about myself/life
• To continue blogging, and learning about nutrition
• Start working out regularly again
  

I know that the majority of these have to do with weight, but over the past couple of months I have struggled with that. As above, I am hoping that with time I will have more confidence and will be able to talk about it, until then, I want to focus on my resolutions and get healthier physically and psychologically. These aren't the easiest of goals, but they also aren't the hardest. These are all goals that are incredibly important to me and I know I need to work on them so I will do so.

I would love if some of you would share your resolutions with me, so that we could encourage each other because sometimes just getting a little encouragement from others can really make a difference.

On this post, I am not going to be posting any new recipes as I am going to post my twelve favourite desserts of the year. I mean, I have made way too many desserts that this was incredibly difficult, but these were ones that came to mind when I thought of the best! I didn't want to do meals because well I just felt like doing desserts :P.

Chocolate Cherry Kisses Almond Walnut Cookies + Chocolate Chip Cookies (I cheated since there were two on the same page ;) )
Amazing Hard Boiled Egg Oatmeal Cookies

Green Tea Almond Thumbprints
Anise Drop Cookies x2 ;)
Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies with/without Banana
Red Velvet Caramel Chip Cookies
Cranberry Apple Streusel Pie
Anise Ice cream

White Chocolate Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies
Strawberry Goji Yoghurt Peach Muffins
Almond Lemon Cake
Vanilla and Nutmeg Risotto with Fresh Berries

Hope you will check them out! Have yourself a great day!

Homemade Tomato Sauce + Vegetarian Cannelloni

Homemade Tomato Sauce

I have had canned tomato sauce only twice in my life (that I'm aware of, I mean... hopefully I'm not getting served canned sauce at a restaurant but you never know... although, I don't even eat spaghetti when I'm out so the chances are that I have not had it). My mom is an excellent cook and always made her sauce from scratch. When I was younger I have memories of us making bushels of sauce in the garage with our neighbour, smelling up the whole street and house with the gorgeous scent. Then years we didn't do that we would make sauce on the stove as a replacement. This is the recipe I'm going to show you. I love making it, because it's pretty hands-free, only dirties up one pot and smells the house up for hours! I love this sauce. When I first started dating Jordan he used to think it was so bizarre that I would spoon this sauce into a bowl and just eat it with melted cheese on top, that is until he tried it. When he comes over and knows we have sauce, he gets disappointed if I don't offer him any. Yes, I've won him over to my weird sauce-eating ways :)!

Ingredients:

• 1 large can GOOD quality tomato juice
• 1 can Unico tomato paste
• 1 can Unico diced tomatoes
• 1 can Unico crushed tomatoes
• EVOO
• Garlic
• Oregano
• 3 cloves
• Thyme
• Rosemary
• Dash of red chili pepper flakes

Directions:

Over high heat in a large pot heat your EVOO and garlic. Once it starts to sizzle turn the heat to 1. Pour in your ingredients, add your spices according to taste. Stir. Let simmer for 4-8 hours depending on the consistency you would like your sauce. Stir every once in a while so that your sauce doesn't burn at the bottom.

Grab a bowl, toss in some cheese, grab a spoon or some bread and enjoy! It's that simple!

Vegetarian Cannelloni

"Cannelloni (Italian: large reeds) are rectangular pasta sheets that are rolled into a cylindrical shape encompassing a filling. After a pasta sheet has been boiled, it is typically filled with a savory stuffing which may include ricotta cheese, spinach, and various meats. It is then covered with a sauce, typically a classic tomato or béchamel sauce. Cannelloni is often erroneously referred to as manicotti (Italian: sleeves), which is actually a filled Italian dinner crepe, as opposed to pre-rolled pasta. While many Americanized versions believe manicotti and cannelloni are interchangeable, traditional Italian dishes make cannelloni with pasta and manicotti with a specialized crepe pan. Although both terms are plural nouns in Italian, the English term is often construed as singular, particularly when used as the name of the dish." - Wikipedia.

Along with melanzane this was always a favourite of mine. It got the family around the table, (our family was never really one of those families that gathered around the table and had beautiful conversations, we would just sit, eat then scamper off). When having the traditional Italian meals, it just seemed that everyone was happier and it brought everyone together. This is such a hearty meal and is so beautiful on those cold winter nights, with the snow falling and everyone is bundled up. This makes my heart warm just thinking about it. I made this for my family not too long ago because I wanted the beautiful aroma to fill the house. I didn't eat any since it was store-bought cannelloni, but it went quickly. Everyone really enjoyed it which made me happy even though I couldn't eat it. This is definitely a family favourite, and can easily become a family favourite of yours too with just a few simple ingredients!

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 1 container cottage cheese (opted for this since I wanted to use up my cottage cheese and not have to buy ricotta
• 1 box of cannelloni shells
  
• 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup chopped basil
• 1 tsp salt
• Pepper, to taste

Garnish:

• Grated cheddar cheese

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook cannelloni (in batches) according to package directions; drain, rinse in cold water, drain.

Meanwhile, in large bowl, combine your cheeses. Add eggs, basil, salt and pepper. Fill cannelloni shells with cheese filling.

Divide sauce into 6 portions. Spread 1 portion each on the bottom of three 2 L rectangular pans (or similar size pans that will fit 8 manicotti in a single layer). Arrange 8 stuffed cannelloni in each pan. Spread remaining sauce over the manicotti. Cover pans with foil, refrigerate until ready to bake.

Bake at 350-375 degrees F for 45-60 minutes. If you freeze this, take it out the morning you're intending on baking it! Freezes very well.

Really, it is that simple to have a homemade Italian meal, may not be the healthiest but it sure is hearty, comforting and gets a smile on everyone's face!

Melanzane alla Parmigiana aka Eggplant Parmesan

Recipe taken from here

Parmigiana or eggplant parmigiana (Italian: melanzane alla parmigiana or parmigiana di melanzane) is a Southern Italian dish made with shallow fried eggplant (aubergine) slices layered with cheese and tomato sauce, then baked.

In addition to the many Italian versions, variations of Parmigiana have been developed across the world, most often in countries where large numbers of Italians immigrated. Examples of dishes developed outside of Italy from the original Parmigiana include veal (Veal Parmigiana) or chicken breast (Chicken Parmigiana) dipped in a mixture of beaten eggs, breaded, shallow-fried and topped with a marinara sauce (red Sicilian tomato sauce) and mozzarella. It is then usually baked until the cheese is bubbly and brown.

In the United States and Canada, veal parmigiana or chicken parmigiana is commonly served with a side of or on top of pasta. It is also popular as a submarine sandwich. Diced onions or green bell peppers, sautéed or raw, are sometimes added.

Chicken or veal parmigiana has become very popular in Australia as a pub dish, often served with chips and salad. It may also contain a wide variety of topping, including sliced ham or fried eggplant slices. A variation on the dish, popular in home cooking but rare in public eateries, includes sliced tomato instead of the sauce. This dish is often referred to as a parma or parmi, a simple shortening of the name. The two nicknames for this dish can be the subject of some debate amongst Australians of different regions.

Growing up, my Nonna (my Italian grandmother) used to make as melanzane often. Having this meal reminds me of my childhood. Having meals in my Nonna's dining room was rare, we used to only eat in there for special occasions such as Easter or Christmas. When I think of this meal, this is one of those occasions where we got to sit in her dining room. Due to the rarity of that, I really do treasure this meal because it reminds me of her.

I have had my share of melanzane but it seems now that my Nonna has passed I see it far less often. My mom makes it from time to time but it's one of those meals that just doesn't happen very often.

As I was at the grocery store yesterday, I came across this beautiful purple eggplant and I knew I had to make eggplant parmigiana. Am I ever glad I decided to buy that eggplant because let me tell you, this is THE best eggplant parmigiana I have ever had.

When I came home and unloaded all the groceries I then browsed my usual blogs in search of the PERFECT recipe. I did, I found a few, and there were two that really stuck out the most because they were baked and not fried. At first I was a little skeptical because the traditional melanzane is battered then fried in oil, but I just... I can't eat fried food, it really freaks me out, I mean I eat it on occasion but if theres a baked version of something I much rather risk it and try it. This was nothing to be afraid of. It was so so so delicious. I can't even tell you. This is the perfect dish for this time of year too. It's warm, comforting and just makes you so at ease. I've never had melanzane with Panko either, always the traditional Italian bread crumbs, but the crunch factor that's added from the Panko is beyond perfect. Homemade tomato sauce + Panko + baked eggplant = one beyond amazing dish.

This recipe is probably one of my favourite dishes I've ever prepared, and will no doubt be seeing this again very very soon. It took barely any time at all too since the frying step wasn't there. Oh, you must make this for your family! Now onto this fabulous recipe!

Ingredients:

For The Eggplant:

• 2 Medium Eggplants, or 4 Small
• 6 Tablespoons Coarse Salt
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

To Assemble:

• 1 Ball Fresh Mozzarella Cheese (Not Buffalo) (About 6 to 8 Ounces)
• 1 1/2 Cups Seasoned Homemade Bread Crumbs
• 3/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 2 to 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Directions:

Cut the eggplants lengthwise into 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick slices. Place a few slices in a colander and sprinkle with a little of the salt. Continue to slice the eggplants and place them in the colander with salt. Place a plate that just covers the eggplant on top, and then weight it down with a heavy can or canister. Let the eggplant drain in the sink for about 45 minutes. Rinse with cool water, and pat the eggplant dry.

While the eggplant is being purged of any bitterness, begin the sauce. To prepare the tomatoes, cut a slice off the core end. Squeeze the tomato gently over the sink to remove most of the seeds and juice. Do not worry if you do not remove them all. Chop the tomatoes into 1/2 inch dice. Heat the olive oil in a heavy saucepan. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute or two. Next add the chopped tomatoes, salt pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook over low heat until the sauce has thickened, about 15 minutes. Add the chopped basil and mix well. Set Aside

Turn on the broiler in the oven on medium, and place the eggplant slices flat on a lightly greased baking sheet. Lightly brush the top of the eggplants with olive oil or use olive oil spray and then broil until lightly browned. Turn the eggplant, and brown the other side. Continue in this manner until all of the eggplant slices have been browned and are soft.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. F. In a large baking pan, first lightly grease the bottom. Place a layer of eggplant slices side by side without touching each other. Spoon a little sauce on each slice, and then cut the mozzarella cheese to fit each bottom slice. Choose another slice of equal size for each of the prepared eggplant slices in the pan, and cover each with this second slice.

Mix together the grated parmesan cheese with the olive oil and homemade bread crumbs. Sprinkle the crumbs over the eggplant slices. Cover the casserole with foil, and bake the eggplant for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until the bread crumb and cheese topping has browned. Place each eggplant "package" onto individual plates and spoon some of the sauce on top. Serve warm.

Buon Appetito!

Saffron Ice Cream + Anise Ice Cream + Plum Frozen Yoghurt + Fig Frozen Yoghurt

For my birthday I received an ice cream maker from my dad. I was so so excited about getting one of these because, between cake and ice cream, definitely my two weaknesses. This machine was sort of a let down though. In having it for such a short amount of time it definitely did quite some damage in my pockets in wasting my ingredients. I'm not sure how many recipes I made that I had to turn into "smoothies". Sort of a let down to be honest considering I want YOGHURT or ICE CREAM NOT SMOOTHIE. Grr... oh well, I brought it back, and got the money for it, but I still really miss it, especially after two recipes I will be posting here that actually worked and cost me a few pounds ;)

Saffron Ice Cream

This recipe here was the last one I attempted to make with the maker. It was insanely delicious. This had such a great flavour it was fluffy, creamy, hit the spot with the right amount of fat, and lastly it was sweet with a subtle taste of bitterness from the saffron, (I used Turkish saffron that my mom brought back from Turkey, helllloooo). This, is one ice cream I will certainly miss. The last night I had half the tub left... started with one small bowl, went back for another tiny bowl then ended up just grabbing the tub I had put it in and sat on the couch enjoying, oh it was totally worth it! I didn't really follow a recipe, I read a few different one's for a simple vanilla ice cream then adapted it myself but don't have a real source per se, sorry.

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups heavy or whipping cream
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 tsp saffron

Directions:

Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluff, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour in the cream, milk, and vanilla and whisk to blend.

Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer's instructions

Anise Ice Cream

Recipe adapted from here

I have told you time and time again how much I looooove the taste of anise. It reminds me of my childhood, the pizelle's my neighbour used to bring over to us, the sweet anise cookies I made last winter, the black liccorice I have now started to feast on, and so on. When I found this recipe I knew it was meant to be. Let me tell you though, I did NOT have a fun time with this. No... my ice cream maker decided it DIDN'T want to make me a happy happer and make my life easy. Nope, all I had was liquid. LIQUID of pure bliss, seriously it did taste wonderful, but I wasn't going to give up so easily, I needed this ice cream like I need oxygen in my lungs, yes, I am being that dramatic! I froze the counterpart that needed to be frozen and tried again the next day. HALLELUJAH it worked! It worked, it worked, it worked! I seriously was overcome with joy. This was so insanely indulgent, I'm ALMOST thankful they don't sell these commercially because I'd be a whale, I'm not even joking. This tub, I ate the WHOLE thing in one sitting. I couldn't stop, it was really bad. As much as I tried to stop myself it just kept taunting me with it's beautiful speckly anise morsels and the creamy goodness it had to offer me. I told you I'm a complete mess when it comes to ice cream, but ughhhh I did not regret this what so ever, except... for the fact that I ate it all in one night and didn't have any for another day, but my memory of this ice cream will forever live on, oh it certainly will! This has got to be bookmarked as one of your top priorties to complete in the kitchen, ahhhh so great!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup soy milk
• 2 cups cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp ground anise seed
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Place anise seed in a coffee grinder and grind to the consistency of sand. Set aside.

Heat milk and cream in a pot. Add sugar, vanilla extract and ground anise. Continue cooking on medium heat and stirring for about 10 minutes. Do not let milk boil.

Remove pot from heat. Allow contents to reach room temperature before transferring to another container and placing in fridge until cold. Once cold, transfer to ice cream maker and follow directions per your machine.

Plum Frozen Yoghurt

Recipe adapted from here

* I never got a photo of the frozen yoghurt, however, I did take a picture of it in a smoothie I made!

This recipe here, I wanted it to be on the healthier side (which is why I even reduced the amount of sugar and changed it to honey), but I wanted this more so to be something that I would throw into my smoothies in the morning. I liked this, it wasn't very sweet, it still had a pretty tart taste but it had what I was going after. It really was perfect for my smoothies since when I mixed it with the other fruit it definitely gave it a punch. I enjoyed this even by itself surprisingly, when I first made it it was because I had plums that were going bad but in the end I was really happy with the outcome. I wouldn't make this often (if I still had my ice cream maker), but it definitely was a nice treat.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs ripe plums
• 1/2 cup water
• 3/4 cup plain whole milk yogurt
• Freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup of honey

Directions:

Peel plums, slice them in half, and remove the pits. Cut the plums into chunks and cook them with the water in a medium saucepan over medium heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until soft and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the sugar, then chill in the refrigerator.

When the peach mixture is cool, puree in a food processor with the yogurt until almost smooth but slightly chunky. Mix in a few drops of lemon juice.

Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacture’s instruction. Eat immediately or chill for a few hours if you want it to be harder.

Blueberry Fig Frozen Yoghurt

Recipe adapted from here

This was probably the biggest failure my ice cream maker witnessed which really annoyed me since at the time the figs I had bought were $7.00 a case and had used up quite a hefty amount. What ended up happening AGAIN is that the ice cream maker decided it didn't want to churn properly and wanted to give me normal yoghurt over frozen yoghurt. In the end, I am a little grateful since it tasted like heaven, it was just disappointing at the time since I did want frozen yoghurt. The mix of blueberries and figs though, what a beautiful combination. My love of figs grows more and more every time I have them, everyone in my house seems to despise their taste because of the seeds, but me, the more seeds I get the happier I am, I dare them to bring me more because I love the extra crunch it brings to its soft self. Oh... sorry for this tangent I started to day dream I suppose, but really, if you have a trustworthy maker try this recipe, definitely, definitely worth a try!

*This is just a picture of the yoghurt, absolutely positively delicious, ahhhh!

Ingredients:

• 1 pint blueberries
• 5 fresh figs, stems removed
• 2 6-ounce containers of vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 cup sugar

Directions:

Place the blueberries, figs and sugar in a food processor and puree until smooth. Add yoghurt and pulse until mixed evenly.

Churn in an ice cream maker for about 40 minutes, then freeze for 2-3 hours for the best consistency. Scoop, and serve.

Makes about 1.5 or 2 pints of frozen yogurt.

Root Beer Float Popsicles

When making the Root Beer cookies I still had some Root Beer left that wasn't used for the extract. I had decided to make some Root Beer float popsicles since it was an easy way to use some of the pop as well as some of my ice cream. These went like hot cakes and were definitely a huge hit. They were so simple to make, were cute, and tasted great what more can you ask for? You don't even need to use a bowl!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Root Beer
• 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream (I used sprinkle cake ice cream)

Directions:

Allow your ice cream to melt a little, once melted pour your ice cream into the bottom of your popsicle containers and mix the pop in. This will allow it to mix together.

Let sit for 4-6 hours or until frozen.

Serve cold.

I know the summer is over, but it's still nice to have some cold treats while sitting in the warmth of your house on a cold winters night right...? ;)

Enjoy :)