I thought about a couple places. First I looked around Europe, then Asia (but I'll be visiting Jordan in Korea in September so I thought if I was going to go to Asia I might as well just visit Jordan), then I thought... Canada. I live in such a beautiful country and I've never really visited. Sure, I went to Winnipeg and Prince-Edward-Island a couple of years when my mom was working out there, but it was the winter so I didn't really get to go outside, and I was younger too. Now that I'm older, enjoy to run, and can really appreciate my surroundings I figured why not. Where did I decide? Vancouver, British Columbia. What's nice is, I've always wanted to go there, and luckily I have family who are willing to take me in for a week ;). I'm really looking forward to it. It'll be nice to spend time with some of my dads family, especially in such a beautiful province such as British Columbia. I leave next Thursday! I know it's so soon which makes it so much better because I won't have get the jitter bug of excitement for too long! I am looking very forward to it, and I'm sure will be taking a million and one pictures while I'm out there!
Easter Nests
Recipe from my head - inspired by the cyber world
As for recipes. Well, my mom left this morning for Montreal, yes... that's another reason why I wanted to go on vacation. I had one week between when I finish this job and when I have to start work in Montreal. To be honest this really hasn't been the easiest of jobs which is why I really feel like I need a vacation so voila. Anyways, she left this morning, and seeing as she will be seeing my adorable twin cousins this weekend for Easter I figured I would make them a cute little snack.I'm sure by now, all of us foodies have all come across "birds nest" at one point or another. I'm not sure where the recipe originates from, nor did I look at a recipe. I simply used the remaining ingredients that I had left and through some stuff together. I have to say, these are seriously the cutest things. It immediately made my heart melt, and made me feel like I was six again. These would be the cutest place settings for Easter dinner, or even brunch (don't want to start off the day on the wrong foot!) but honestly, how cute, and... seriously four ingredients, you can add, subtract more ingredients but these are so easy, and they'd be so fun to make with kids too!
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup butterscotch chipits
- 1 1/4 cups chow mein noodles
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds
- Chocolate eggs to put into your nests
In a microwave safe bowl, microwave your butterscotch chipits for 3o seconds. Once melted, add your slivered almonds and chow mein noodles and mix thoroughly making sure the chocolate is well coated on your ingredients. Using a 1/4 cup scoop, add your mix into the cup, on parchment paper/silpat/wax paper anything really place the mixed scoop of ingredients, gently press three eggs on top and a nest will be formed. Sprinkle with coconut for "feathers", or add coconut extract to the chocolate, if you're not vegan top with Peeps, so much you can do!
As for added Easter-ness, how friggin amazingly cute are these bad boys? I mean, do they not just scream Bugs Bunny, Easter, deliciousness? I think so!
These were pan-fried for ten minutes with EVOO + 1 tsp garlic salt + pepper to taste + dried spiced tomato flakes ... scrumptious honestly, it was a wonderful afternoon snack.Molasses Oatmeal Bread
Recipe taken from here
... in case my art skills aren't good enough, these are supposed to be rabbits... or Pikachu's ;)Okay, okay, last night I wasn't planning on baking... but, well, you get inspired and then you feel like you just can't wait another day, or until the weekend to make that dish, or baked good, or bread that is on the brain. Well that was me last night, while driving home. All I could think about was bread. Sweet, tasty, oatmeal, molasses, bunnies (what?) bread. No, no don't worry no animals were harmed while making this bread, but some sure were laughed at!
I was re-arranging some of the meals that I had planned on making because some plans were changed so I wanted everything to flow nicely. Well, I have an oatmeal planned for Thursday (which will be posted sometime after hopefully) that I will be adding molasses too. I was trying to look for other flavour pairings with molasses when I came across a recipe for Molasses Oatmeal Bread. Well of course I had to make that. It's vegan, looked simple enough, and from the ingredient list it sure sounded marvelous. 45 minutes, 43 minutes, 30 minutes, 28 minutes... the countdown until I would be able to make my bread it was killing me.
You know when people tell you to read a recipe before making it? Yes, this is definitely the case with this bread. BEFORE you continue, this is NOT a difficult bread, so that's not what I'm saying it's just... it took a lot of time. 30 minutes to let the oatmeal and boiling water sit (which got reduced to 15 minutes), one hour for the first rise... oops, 45 minutes, then an additional 45-60 minutes for the final rise... 15 minutes playing with the dough + 10 or so while the oven baked good enough! ... let's just set the record straight, this is the first time I have never let the bread rise for it's directed time... did it get ruined? Heck no, sure the animals may of turned out a little well... odd, but that did not take away from their tastes.
Oh my goodness are these ever good. To be quite franc, the smell that these emanate... are definitely not something I'd ride home about... honestly to me they kind of stunk. However, while touching the dough they felt like soft, soft sponges. I gave one to Jenna to eat, she really liked them (it was too late for me to eat... seriously it was 11:30 pm by the time they were done)... yes on a work night too, I mean... REALLY, did I really need to have them that badly?! Crazy I am I tell ya! These are... definitely one of my favourite breads I've ever made, and actually they are my first rolls! I was really happy with the outcome, deformed animals and all. They are sweet but not overly sweet, they are insanely soft, crispy on the outside and just make you feel awesome. I brought two to work, and totally regretting not bringing in a third. These are definitely going to be made again, they were a breeze to make, and were delicious to eat!
... before making these, check your stove if anyone left any fries on the bottom of your stove... nobody likes a fire alarm before any food is even put into the oven...Ingredients:
- 1 cup rolled oats (old fashioned)
- 1 1/2 cups boiling water
- 3/4 cup molasses
- 3 tbsp canola oil
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 cups warm water
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 4 cups whole wheat bread flour
- 4 cups whole wheat flour
Directions:
Combine the oats and the boiling water in a large mixing bowl and let sit for 30 minutes.
Add the molasses, canola oil, and salt to the oatmeal mixture and stir to combine. In a separate bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add to the molasses and oatmeal mixture.
Gradually stir in the flour, one cup at a time. Once the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead in the remaining flour until the dough is smooth (about 6-8 minutes). The amount of flour needed will vary based on the weather and other factors.
Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning over to coat all sides. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled (about one hour). Punch down, and divide in half. Shape into two loaves or rolls, if desired. Transfer the loaves to lightly greased bread pans or the rolls to a lightly greased baking sheet. Cover with the damp cloth and let rise for an additional 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Bake for 5 minutes and then reduce the heat to 350°F. Bake for an additional 40 minutes for loaves, and an additional 25-30 minutes for rolls. The bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped lightly - mine were rolls and were only in there for the beginning five minutes + 35 minutes afterward.
"It’s a devilfish!! Looks like crab cake but also looks like bread of some kind." - my dad... really a crab cake?
What do you think this looks like?
OMG these are so cute!! What a great idea!
ReplyDeleteTy! Hehe, they were really fun to make as well! :D
ReplyDelete