A Logo, An Art Auction with a Twist......

Giz of Equal Opportunity Kitchen and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support and involvement in raising money for the World Food Program (WFP). As foodbloggers, we have the good fortune of having the means to not only eat quality food but to share our recipes and food-related experiences with others around the world. BloggerAid began as a vehicle to create an opportunity for bloggers all over the world to band together to help change the face of famine. Consistent with the original mission, the work of BloggerAid - Changing the Face of Famine at it's new location will continue to be a hub for our combined efforts to raise awareness and funds for the WFP.

With nearly 140 submissions, the BloggerAid Cookbook is currently one of our main focuses. We have a dedicated and enthusiastic team of members devoted to editing the cookbook. Editing began this week. If you are interested in helping out with this ambitious project please let us know. Our plan is to raise funds for the WFP’s School Meals program by selling the cookbook internationally starting in November.

In a continued effort to meet our goals we present:

Art Auction with a Twist

For more details on this event visit BloggerAid - Changing the Face of Famine .

We met Lisa Orgler as foodie friends on FoodBuzz and she has generously agreed to create an art piece from one of YOUR food photographs and donate it to Bloggeraid - Changing the Face of Famine. Her love for food, art and journaling have brought her to blogging and driven her to create art from food creations. On her blog Lunchbox Project Lisa reaches out to fellow bloggers to create a masterpiece from your own photography. The final piece that she has so generously donated to BloggerAid will be displayed on the site for silent auction with the proceeds to the School Meals program.

Lisa is an award-winning artist and designer and has been creating innovative landscapes and media for over ten years. She earned her Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Landscape Architecture from Iowa State University. Her energetic presentations and fresh perspective make her a popular choice for garden design and art talks across the country. Her current project is writing a book on out-of-the ordinary garden design.

So put your thinking caps on!!! Let your fingers walk you over to Lisa blog Lunchbox Project but for more details about the auction visit our site here.

Christine Cushing Lamb Souvlaki

If you have been following More Than Burnt Toast you will know I have started a weekly feature to highlight Canadian Chefs. Through your TV networks, or perhaps on other blogs, or even just right here on More Than Burnt Toast you may have heard of some of our Canadian chefs. For those of you who haven't, I hope you will find it interesting to see what our chefs are up to, a little about their history and how they came to love what they do. For the next few months I will be featuring one of our Canadian chefs each week. As the fifth installment in my Canadian Chef series I will introduce you to:

Christine Cushing

I have been watching Christine on the Food Network for years. She has been a link to the foods that I love as well as a link to the Toronto area where I grew up. Christine was born in Athens, Greece and immigrated with her family to Canada when she was a year old. She grew up in the Toronto area and began cooking alongside her father, an accomplished home chef who taught her how to be fearless in the kitchen.

According to her web site, although cooking was in her veins, Christine decided to pursue a career in her other passion in the field of linguistics. Somewhere in between her studies and home she discovered that the kitchen was still calling her. She went on to complete the Food and Beverage Management Program at the prestigious George Brown College and then later at the Paris based École de Cuisine La Varenne. Her year in France changed her philosophy of food and made her strive even harder to follow a career in the culinary arts. She has worked in such renowned kitchens as Toronto’s The Four Seasons Hotel, King Ranch Health Spa and Scaramouche Restaurant.

She also had her own successful catering business and was focusing on recipe development and food styling. Her love of teaching spun off a cooking school called "Cooking Chez Toi" where she would teach in people's homes with cooking parties.

Christine was the host of Christine Cushing Live for four seasons and prior to its debut in October 2001, she hosted three seasons of Dish It Out on Life Network. She has published two best-selling cookbooks, Dish it Out and Fearless in the Kitchen, and her third called “ Pure Food” won a Gourmand world cookbook award in Spain (Whitecap 2007).

She also has a product line, Pure by Christine Cushing which you can find on her web site here. The line features a spectacular, award winning extra virgin olive oil from the sunny island of Crete and a series of five delicious, all natural sauces made from Christine’s personal recipe in small batches in Niagara Falls that were finalists in the Canadian Grand prix 2006 . Based on true customer comments and brand testing, she redesigned her brand identity to better suit her philosophy of starting with great ingredients and sharing all her insatiable passion in the kitchen with viewers, consumers and foodies everywhere.

She says, "I am working on a very exciting new show for the Corus Network called “Fearless in the Kitchen.” The show takes getting to know people to a whole new level as I will go into the kitchens of people who can’t cook and give them a culinary makeover of sorts. I want them to go from hopeless to fearless with a series of fun excursions and step-by-step cooking guidance. The finale of the show will involve these self-described “terrible cooks” cooking a meal for their shocked family and friends. Will they succeed? You’ll have to tune in to find out!"

I had a hard time choosing just one dish, but ultimately decided to go with a dish that speaks to Christines Greek heritage with Barbequed Lamb Kebabs and Greek Fries. You could also try Mixed Greens with Olive Oil Pomegranate Dressing , Green Tea Creme Brulee , Ginger Lemon Chicken Soup, Chocolate Pecan Torte withFluer de Sel, Baked Semolina Custard With A Lemon Honey Glaze, Dolmades With Egg Lemon Sauce, or Stuffed Leg Of Lamb With Pine Nuts, Herbs And Feta.

She was the spokesperson for Cook for the Cure Breast Cancer campaign and a superhero for the Starbright foundation for Sick Kids hospital in keeping with the generous nature of worldwide chefs.

**Christine's Souvlaki**

1- 1/2 pounds boneless leg or shoulder of lamb, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (60 ml)
1/3 cup red wine vinegar (75 ml)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, finely chopped
1T dried Greek oregano (15 ml)
2 Tchopped fresh parsley (30 ml)
1- 1/2 tbsp chopped fresh mint (22 ml)
Coarse salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Tzatziki, for serving
Pita bread, for serving
************
Add olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, onion, oregano, parsley, mint and black pepper to a bowl. Mix until combined. Add lamb to bowl and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate. Marinate overnight for best results or for at least 2 hours. If using wooden skewers soak them in water overnight or for at least 2 hours.

Preheat the grill to medium high.

Thread lamb evenly onto 4 skewers. Season the lamb souvlaki with salt and pepper. Grill skewers 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium or cook a few minutes longer if you prefer well done (6 to 7) minutes. Serve with tzatziki sauce and pita bread.

**Greek Fries**

4 cups vegetable oil (1 litre)
6 large Yukon gold potatoes

Dried Greek oregano, to taste
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled (250 ml)
2 T of fresh lemon juice (30 ml)
Coarse salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1 T fresh chopped parsley (15 ml)
************

Peel and cut potatoes into 1/4-inch thick slices. Soak in water for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight. Remove fries from the water and dry very well.

Heat the oil in a deep pot until it reaches 330 degrees F. Blanch potatoes in small batches in oil for 3 minutes or until just cooked through but not browned. Drain on paper towel and cool to room temperature. Heat the oil to 375 degrees F. Fry potatoes again for 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towel.

Assembly: Season the fries with salt and pepper and dried oregano. Sprinkle with a little fresh lemon juice, chopped parsley and crumbled feta. Serve immediately.

Gelato for Taste & Create

For those of you who frequent my blog you know that I try never to miss the Taste & Create event which gets bigger and bigger each and every month. It is the brainchild of Nicole over at For the Love of Food . I love to visit her site for all the delicious recipes and tidbits of very helpful information. She even has an on-line store with wonderful kitchen gadgets and gourmet foods. We are paired with another foodie and prepare a dish from their site for the event. I love this idea so I can showcase someone elses talents and have the pleasure of creating something delicious as well. This month I have been paired with Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen . Aparna lives in Goa, India and is a vegetarian. We have been partnered before and she has many delicious recipes to choose from. She always makes it a tough choice to choose just one dish.... Dalmatian Pudding, Tomato Rasam, or Spiced Baby Potatoes with Sesame Seeds. I finally decided upon a gelato simply because I was looking for a dessert to serve company. With summer just around the corner this creamy concoction seemed perfect!!

Aparna says, "But what is stracciatella? In Italian, “stracciato” means “torn apart” and normally describes a soup into which egg is incorporated such that it forms shreds/ stracciatelle in the soup.It also refers to thin bits of chocolate in gelato which is what this recipe is about. Stracciatella gelato is made by finely drizzling melted chocolate onto frozen ice-cream (usually vanilla). The chocolate solidifies into thin pieces when it hits the cold ice-cream. This is broken up by lightly stirring the ice-cream. The result is a smooth ice-cream/ gelato with the slightest crunch/ crackle of chocolate and a wonderful experience."

Here is her recipe.....

**Strawberry Stracciatella Gelato **

3 cups finely chopped strawberries
½ cup granulated sugar (adjust as required)
¼ cup honey
1 T lemon juice
¼ tsp salt
500ml milk (3% fat)
3 tsp custard powder/ cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the stracciatella:

75gm semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
25gm milk chocolate, chopped
2 tsp oil

*********
Put the chopped strawberries in a bowl and add the sugar, honey, lemon juice and salt. Mix well and refrigerate this for about 30 minutes.In the meanwhile, boil the all the milk except half a cup. Once it starts boiling, turn the heat down to medium. To the half cup of cold milk, add the custard powder/ cornstarch and mix well to dissolve it. Add this to the boiling milk and keep stirring till the milk thickens to a custard consistency. Take off the heat and allow to cool to room temperature, while stirring the custard frequently to prevent a skin from forming.Take the strawberry mixture out and puree it. Add the vanilla extract and the milk custard and blend well. Pour into a plastic or metal bowl, cover it and freeze. Then follow Angela’s advice to me which follows.
“Pour it into a plastic freezer box , cover the surface with clingfilm, put a lid on and freeze. Thereafter re-mix with a fork every 30 minutes until it reaches the right consistency. The ice cream should be eaten within 3 weeks; before serving, remove it to the main body of the refrigerator for 20 minutes to soften.When you think the ice-cream has almost reached the right texture, then melt your chocolate & oil together over hot water. Let it cool slightly and then quickly drizzle a little over the surface of the ice-cream. It should set on contact and then you need to quickly stir the chocolate into the ice-cream, breaking up any long strands of chocolate into small pieces. Keep repeating until the chocolate is used up. You may need to pop the ice-cream back in the freezer during this process if it starts to melt.”It is important to drizzle the chocolate in a thin stream and this can be done using a fork. That would give you the perfect texture.

BB Croque Monsieur

April is the month of April Fool's Day and the devout celebrate Easter, but, did you know that it was also National Grilled Cheese Month? I don't know who dubbed April with this honour (even after an intensive Google search) but it is a good month to celebrate. I would suggest that the month belongs to Kraft:D

Once again it is time for the Barefoot Bloggers to join forces and make some delicious recipes from Ina Garten and her league of cookbooks. She is one of my favourites. It is always a "win win situation" because her recipes are always consistent. I haven't come across a recipe yet that hasn't turned out and been a crowd pleaser. So to celebrate National Cheese Month Kathy of All Food Considered has chosen Croque Monsieur which can be found in Barefoot in Paris on page 48 . Croque Monsieur is a glorified version of a grilled cheese sandwich...or is it a glorified version of French toast? I am late in posting with work and getting ready for a holiday...but here it is finally:D

A croque-monsieur is a hot ham and cheese sandwich that is typically made with emmental or gruyere cheeses. The Croque Monsieur, or “Crispy Mister,” appeared on Parisian café menus in 1910. The original Croque Monsieur was simply a hot ham and Gruyere cheese sandwich, fried in butter. Some believe it was accidentally created when French workers left their lunch pails by a hot radiator and came back later to discover the cheese in their sandwiches had melted. It originated in France as a fast-food snack that patrons found at cafés and bars. More elaborate versions come coated in a Mornay or Béchamel sauce for an even more glorified grilled cheese sandwich.

Found all over France today, the Croque Monsieur (casually referred to as a Croque) has as many recipes and variations as it has cooks. The crunchy sandwich is served as an appetizer, snack, or casual meal. Versions of the sandwich with substitutions or additional ingredients are given names modelled on the original croque-monsieur, for example:

Croque Madame - with a fried or poached egg on top.
Croque Provençal - with tomato, raclette cheese and herbed mayonnaise.
Croque auvergnat - with bleu d'Auvergne cheese.
Croque norvégien - with smoked salmon instead of ham.
Croque Hawaii - with a slice of pineapple.
Croque Bolognese - with Bolognese sauce.
Black croque monsieur. - toasted squid ink bread with buffalo mozzarella.
Croque Tartiflette - with Reblechon cheese, sliced potatoes and a creamy bechamel sauce.

All of these versions sound delicious to me!!

Before I move on to the recipe I would like to thank a couple of people for honoring More Than Burnt Toast with awards this week. First of all a bug thank you to Sam of My Carolina Kitchen . Along with the Friendship Award comes this message: "These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated." I have only recently discovered Sam's blog and I love to visit and read about her culinary trips to France.

Secondly I would like to thank Giz of the mother/daughter team of Equal Opportunity Kitchen and the co-founder of BloggerAid - Changing the Face of Famine for bestowing upon me the Sisterhood award. She knows the true value of friendship and sticking to your core values with truth, integrity and a generosity of spirit. She is one classy lady and deserved this award. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

A big thank you to Kathy for reintroducing us to this French classic. This is an especially delicious version, but you can always add your own special twist. On to the recipe........

The Barefoot Bloggers have now made 91,946 Friday night dinners for Jeffrey!!!

**Croque Monsieur**

2 T unsalted butter
3 T all-purpose flour
2 cups hot milk
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Pinch nutmeg
12 ounces Gruyere, grated (5 cups)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
16 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
Dijon mustard
8 ounces baked Virginia ham, sliced but not paper thin

*********
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter–flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened. Off the heat add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup grated Gruyere, and the Parmesan and set aside.

To toast the bread, place the slices on 2 baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes. Turn each slice and bake for another 2 minutes, until toasted.

Lightly brush half the toasted breads with mustard, add a slice of ham to each, and sprinkle with half the remaining Gruyere. Top with another piece of toasted bread. Slather the tops with the cheese sauce, sprinkle with the remaining Gruyere, and bake the sandwiches for 5 minutes.

Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot.

Blog Your Omelet with Nuria

One of the bonuses of blogging is that you get to meet so many new people from all over the world. I have had a fascination with Catalonia in Spain and Portugal for many reasons. Once I have saved all my "buttons" I am sure this will be my next destination of choice. A blogger that we all know from Spain is Nuria of Spanish Recipes. If you have come to know her through her blog you have appreciated her wit and her winning personality.

Nuria is holding an event this month called Blog Your Omelet. Now haters beware but I am not a big fan of eggs, but I will try them in limited ways such as egg salad, quiche and devilled eggs. I still wanted to partipate in Nuria's event so decided to create a Cheese & Tomato Galette. This recipe comes from Gale Gands new book, Gale Gand’s Brunch! You can read more about her book in my previous post here. I am unable to share the recipe with you but it was a wonderful combination of eggs, extra-sharp Cheddar, Canadian Swiss and Parmesan cheeses. The filling was very creamy and somewhat like a custard and less like a quiche that I expected. This was a winner. You just have to get a copy of this book!!!

David Rocco Makes Pasta anto te!!!

If you have been following More Than Burnt Toast you will know I have started a weekly feature to highlight Canadian Chefs. Through your TV networks, or perhaps on other blogs, or even just right here on More Than Burnt Toast you may have heard of some of our Canadian chefs. For those of you who haven't, I hope you will find it interesting to see what our chefs are up to, a little about their history and how they came to love what they do. For the next few months I will be featuring one of our Canadian chefs each week. As the fourth installment in my Canadian Chef series I will introduce you to:

David Rocco

To use David Rocco's own words, "He is not a chef, he is Italian!" He is one of Canada's favourite TV hosts and lets face it he is also very easy on the eyes!!!

David Rocco credits his love for cooking simple and delicious foods to his Italian heritage. Born in Toronto, to Neapolitan parents who immigrated to Canada in the '50's, the 36-year-old Canadian-Italian is the youngest of three children. He says, "His lifelong appreciation for good food was formed in his mother's kitchen when he was a little boy and it continues to inspire him today". As is the custom in Italy, mealtimes were always special in the Rocco household.

During his school years, David took up acting and modeling which allowed him to travel worldwide while earning his degree in economics. But after graduation, it was the kitchen, not the business word of Bay Street in Toronto, that called him. He and his wife Nina opened up their restaurant “La Madonnina” in Toronto. After 2 years or running their successful business, the couple decided to change course, and merge their mutual passion for cooking and all things Italian with David’s natural abilities in front of the camera. They formed their production company, Rockhead Entertainment. David and his wife Nina, were given the chance to present Avventura: Journeys in Italian Cuisine, a 26-episode travel and Italian cooking show, which aired in Canada. It was a hit and he branched off with his first cookbook. The show is currently syndicated in 40 countries in 6 different languages.

The Roccos wanted to continue to share their love and passion for food and life that reflected their own personal style, so, they created “David Rocco’s Dolce Vita” and pitched it to the Food Network. They oversee every single aspect of the show from planning to editing to final delivery to the networks. David Rocco’s Dolce Vita” is a unique show. According to his web site, "It provides the viewer with accessible and delicious classic Italian food, focusing on fresh and seasonal ingredients and techniques that any home chef can master, along with a taste of the Italian lifestyle." The show is now seen in 120 countries and counting! The show is shot in Florence, Sicily and the Amalfi Coast. David and his wife Nina divide their time between their homes in Florence, Italy and Toronto, Canada. They are the proud parents of twins Emma and Giorgia born in 2008.

David is also personally responsible for picking all of the music on the show. The music is a mix which reflects his own eclectic tastes to specially written themes played under the cooking segments to original songs written by musicians who loved the spirit of the show and wanted to contribute. The music has struck a major chord. As a result, Rockhead Entertainment released their first soundtrack which is available in stores.

Fans have been waiting for his latest cookbook!! Eagerly anticipated, this book is full of everything that makes the TV show such a favourite such as beautiful food photography throughout Italy, and, of course, David's sense of la dolce vita, the sweet life. According to Amazon, "His cookbook is all about taking a relaxed, enjoyable approach to the everyday, and the foundation of this lifestyle is simple, elegant food. David's easygoing style embraces straightforward ingredients and techniques to create wonderful dishes anyone can enjoy without stress. He emphasizes the philosophy of quanto basta, or "just enough," and encourages readers to suit their own tastes. Try some of David's wonderful fizzi, simple but sophisticated snacks: Fiori de zucca (zucchini flowers stuffed with mozzarella and anchovies) or Frico (parmigiano chips). Delight in Spaghetti con pomodorini e pecorino (spaghetti with cherry tomato sauce and pecorino cheese), delicious Beef carpaccio (easier than you think!), or meltin- your-mouth Gnudi ("naked" ravioli)."

I wanted to share a pasta dish with you from his web site. This pasta dish requires using several methods I have not come across before and with the addition of the rosewater it has a distinctive flavour that is really quite delicious.....I think SPRING IS HERE!!!!!!!!!

**Pasta anto te**

1 cup parmigiano cheese, finely grated (228g), plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 cup milk (117ml)
1 T unsalted butter (14g)
0.8 lb fresh tagliolini pasta (362g)
4 T extra virgin olive oil (59ml)
2 T rosewater (44ml)
1/2 cup pistachios, chopped (114g)
0.2 lb fresh sheep­s milk ricotta cheese (100g)
a sprinkle of saffron
a bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
salt to taste

********
To make the sauce, first make a parmigiano cream­ by combining parmigiano cheese, milk and butter in a stainless steel bowl.

Rest bowl over pot of simmering water. Stir until creamy and uniform and set aside.
Cook the tagliolini in a pot of boiling salted water. Stir to prevent from sticking together.
While the pasta is cooking (fresh pasta takes very little time to cook), place olive oil and rosewater in a saucepan over low heat.

Add pistachios, ricotta and saffron. Mix thoroughly.

Drain the pasta approximately 2 minutes before the al dente­ stage, reserving some of the pasta water.

Add pasta and the reserved pasta water to the saucepan. Mix well. Then add parmigiano cream, salt and stir thoroughly.

Sprinkle with parmigiano cheese and parsley.

Serve immediately.

Serves 4

Combat Cancer with Lasagna

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is Monday and here I am at home enjoying a day full of sunshine and promise. Spring is here!!!! It has been a very long and enjoyable weekend with also having Good Friday off from work, so, it has given me plenty of time to catch up with friends and enjoy being a tourist in my own town. I hope you all had a wonderful Easter holiday and celebrated whatever way is best for you.. and just enjoyed!!!! We are all healthy and happy and enjoying life. Some of our friends and loved ones are not as blessed and our hearts and our thoughts go out to them and their families!!

 

I read about this event on Susan's blog Foodblogga. Chris of Mele Cotte is raising cancer awareness once again for the third season in a row with her Cooking to Combat Cancer 111 event. She says, "As you're cooking over the next couple of weeks, try to work in recipes which include ingredients that help the body fight cancer. In short? Think healthy. Mayo Clinic Recipes is a great place to look, including this list of Cancer Fighting Foods and Spices and this list of 11 Cancer Fighting Foods."

 

We all know someone who has been touched by cancer whether it is ourselves battling the disease or another loved one. Mounting evidence shows that the foods we eat weigh heavily in the war against cancer. The extensive research published in the last decade alone proves that what you eat can have a profound effect on your protection against cancer. A healthy diet and exercise will keep you on the right track. It's a little-known fact that nutrition is barely taught in medical schools, where the solution to most problems is a drug of some kind. But can you blame them when a variety of patients are unwilling to make lifestyle changes? L'il Burnt Toast is at university studying to be a Dietician. The kids of today will change this world for the better!!

 

For this event I am offering this version of lasagna. This is what I call an old-fashioned lasagna made with a bechamel sauce instead of my usual layer of cottage or ricotta cheeses. To combat cancer it contains tomatoes, garlic and carrots.

 

The anti-cancer compound in tomatoes, lycopene, has been shown to be especially potent in combating prostate cancer. This compound appears to be more easily absorbed if the tomatoes are eaten in processed form-either as tomato sauce, paste, or juice. In addition to preventing prostate cancer, lycopene may also protect against breast, lung, stomach, and pancreatic cancer.

 

Garlic (including onions, scallions, leeks, and chives) contains a number of compounds believed to slow or stop the growth of tumors. One such compound, diallyl disulfide, appears to be especially potent in protecting against skin, colon, and lung cancer, though it is not known exactly how it functions.

 

Carrots contain a lot of beta carotene, which may help reduce a wide range of cancers including lung, mouth, throat, stomach, intestine, bladder, prostate and breast. Some research indicated beta carotene may actually cause cancer, but this has not proven that eating carrots, unless in very large quantities - 2 to 3 kilos a day, can cause cancer.

 

With your lasagna have one moderate glass of red wine which, even without alcohol, has polyphenols that may protect against various types of cancer. Polyphenols are potent antioxidants, compounds that help neutralize disease-causing free radicals.

 

**Kick it in the Butt Lasagna**

• 2 T olive oil
• 2 carrots, peeled, finely chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 large celery stick, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 450g ground beef
• 450g ground pork
• 125ml (1/2 cup) white wine
• 1 T tomato paste
• 1 x 700g bottle passata (tomato pasta sauce)
• 1 x 400g can diced tomatoes
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 1 sprig parsley, chopped
• 1 dried or fresh bay leaf
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 100g (1 cup) mozzarella, grated
• 70g (1 cup) Parmesan, grated
• 1 x 250g package dried lasagne sheets

 Besciamella (bechamel sauce)

• 1L (4 cups) milk
• 1/2 onion, peeled
• 2 sprigs parsley, chopped
• 2 dried or fresh bay leaves
• 6 whole black peppercorns
• 50g (1/3 cup)butter
• 50g(1/3 cup) plain flour
• 40g (1/2 cup) coarsely grated parmesan
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• White pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the carrot, onion, celery and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until soft. Increase heat to high. Add the ground beef and pork and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up any lumps, for 5 minutes or until meats change colour. Add the wine and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Add the passata, tomato, stock cube, parsley, bay leaf, oregano, basil and sugar. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook for 40 minutes or until the sauce thickens.

 

2. Meanwhile, to make the besciamella, place the milk, onion, parsley, bay leaves and peppercorns in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a simmer. Set aside for 10 minutes to infuse. Strain the milk mixture through a fine sieve into a large heatproof jug. Discard the onion, parsley, bay leaves and peppercorns. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until foaming. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes or until mixture bubbles and begins to come away from the side of pan. Remove from heat. Gradually pour in half the milk, whisking constantly until smooth. Gradually add the remaining milk, whisking until smooth. Place over medium-high heat and bring to the boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 5 minutes or until sauce thickens and coats the back of the spoon. Stir in the parmesan. Taste and season with nutmeg, salt and white pepper.

 

3. Preheat oven to 200°C. Combine the mozzarella and parmesan in a small bowl. Spread 3/4 cup of meat mixture over the base of a 2.5L (10-cup) capacity ovenproof dish. Top with one-fifth of the lasagne sheets, 3/4 cup of meat mixture and 1/2 cup of besciamella. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of mozzarella mixture and 1 tablespoon of egg. Top with one-quarter of the remaining lasagne sheets and press down gently. Continue layering with remaining meat mixture, besciamella, mozzarella mixture, egg and lasagne sheets, finishing with mozzarella mixture.Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until golden. Set aside for 15 minutes to stand. Cut into portions and serve.

 

Serves 10

Chinese Chicken Salad for the Barefoot Bloggers

Once again it is time for the Barefoot Bloggers to join forces and make some delicious recipes from Ina Garten and her league of cookbooks. She is one of my favourites. It is always a "win win situation" because her recipes are always consistent. I haven't come across a recipe yet that hasn't turned out and been a crowd pleaser. This week McKenzie of Kenzie’s Kitchen has chosen Chinese Chicken Salad
which can be found in Barefoot Contessa Parties!

I was preparing this dish for one this time around so opted to add the chicken mixture to some salad greens to round it out. The "dressing" was amazing, but as always I cut back on the salt a little.

The Barefoot Bloggers have prepared 86,185 Friday dinners for Jeffrey!!!! Lucky man!!!!

**Chinese Chicken Salad**

4 split chicken breasts (bone-in, skin-on)
Good olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound asparagus, ends removed, and cut in thirds diagonally
1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded
2 scallions (white and green parts), sliced diagonally
1 T white sesame seeds, toasted

For the dressing:

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup good apple cider vinegar
3 T soy sauce
1 1/2 T dark sesame oil
1/2 T honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp peeled, grated fresh ginger
1/2 T sesame seeds, toasted
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

*********************
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub with the skin with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove the meat from the bones, discard the skin, and shred the chicken in large bite-sized pieces.

Blanch the asparagus in a pot of boiling salted water for 3 to 5 minutes until crisp-tender. Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain. Cut the peppers in strips about the size of the asparagus pieces. Combine the cut chicken, asparagus, and peppers in a large bowl.
Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the chicken and vegetables. Add the scallions and sesame seeds and season to taste. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Grandma

I'm contributing this recipe to Laura from The Spiced Life for her wonderful event Grandma's Recipes Her event spotlights recipes passed down to us from our grandmothers. What a terrific way to honor these time honoured recipes. This recipe actually comes from my own mother, but she is a grandmother many times over.

This version of potato bread is not light and tender like a yeast loaf, which is also delicious, but more like a potato scone. It is a favourite recipe here in the More Than Burnt Toast household. If you can't find this British cheese use Cheddar.

Every family has their heirloom recipes that are passed down from generation to generation. I don't know if this was my grandmothers recipe exactly, but I am sure it is close. I never had the pleasure of meeting either of my grandmothers who both passed away quite young. I did meet my grandfathers in England though.

On another note I don't know if I will be around this blog as often as I usually am and commenting on yours as I usually do. Yesterday I started a new job. It has been a long time coming.

**Mom's Potato Bread**

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp. mustard powder
2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup grated red Leicester cheese
2 cups cooked, mashed potatoes
¾ cup water
1 T oil
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Lightly grease a cookie sheet.

Sift the flour, salt, mustard powder and baking powder into a mixing bowl.

Reserve 2 T. of the grated cheese and stir the rest into the bowl with the mashed potatoes. Mix until well combined.

Pour in the water and the oil, and stir all the ingredients together (the mixture will be wet at this stage). Mix them all to make a soft dough.

Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and shape it into an 8-inch round loaf.

Place the loaf on the cookie sheet and mark it into 4 portions with a knife, without cutting through. Sprinkle with the reserved cheese.

Bake the loaf in a pre-heated oven at 425 degrees for approximately 25-30 minutes.

Transfer the bread to a wire rack and let cool. This bread should be served as fresh as possible or toasted.

Note: You can use instant mashed potatoes for this if you like.

Anna Olson's Orange Olive Oil Cake

I am sure you have all made something at one time or another that is a keeper. Something that you know you will make time and time again, something that is special enough to make for company, something that your friends ask for the recipe? This cake from Anna Olson is one of those things. I took a few pieces to work and now I will be making this cake once a month because a co-worker wants me to make him THIS cake and pay me for it. I am happy to oblige because I am happiest when I am creating in the kitchen...although it doesn't usually involve sugar and flour.

If you have been following More Than Burnt Toast you will know I have started a weekly feature to highlight Canadian Chefs. Through your TV networks, or perhaps on other blogs, or even just right here on More Than Burnt Toast you may have heard of some of our Canadian chefs. For those of you who haven't, I hope you will find it interesting to see what our chefs are up to, a little about their history and how they came to love what they do. For the next few months I will be featuring one of our Canadian chefs each week. As the third installment in my Canadian Chef series I will introduce you to:

Anna Olson

According to her website, Anna Olson is originally from Atlanta, Georgia. She moved with her family to the province of Ontario as a child and grew up in the Toronto area. She moved to the Niagara region in 1995. It was here that she met her husband and business partner Michael Olson at Inn on the Twenty, in Jordan Ontario. It is considered to be Ontario's premier winery restaurant, located in the midst of prime Niagara farm and wine country. As always Anna embraced the bounties of the local growers, changing menus seasonally and using only the freshest ingredients possible in her role as pastry chef.

Anna joined the Canadian Food Network starting with her show Sugar and following with her new highly acclaimed new series "Fresh with Anna Olson". The couple currently reside in a beautiful historic home in the heart of Niagara, dated back to the 1860's. It is here that she tapes her successful new program where she tantalizes our tastebuds with each recipe she prepares. I have featured several over the years on this site. "In each episode Anna invites viewers into the comfort of her Niagara region country home, and creates unique meals using her mantra “eat fresh, eat local”.

When not taping or writing, Anna spends most of her time at Olson Foods on Port which is their bakery in Port Dalhousie, a historic lakeside community in St. Catharines, Ontario. The shop opened in 2004 and boasts an open kitchen and sells baked goods made fresh daily, artisanal cheeses and gourmet pantry items. Their latest enterprise is Olson Foods at Ravine, a partnership with the newly opened and acclaimed winery, Ravine Vineyards, in historic St. Davids. Through it all Anna is an advocate for local ingredients and suppliers.

In addition to participating in various fundraisers, Anna supports a local endeavour, the Niagara Women’s Enterprise Centre, which provides hospitality training to women who might not otherwise have such opportunities and her end-of-day product from the bakery is given to the local YWCA women’s shelter or the Out of the Cold Program.

Here is her much praised recipe for Olive Oil Cake that she serves with a delicious citrus salad.

**Orange Olive Oil Cake**

2 eggs
1 -1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup 2 %milk
zest of 2 oranges or tangerines
1 cup + 2 T all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
dash salt
icing sugar for dusting

Citrus Salad

2 navel oranges
2 honey tangerines
2 blood oranges, clementines or limes
2 T good quality extra virgin olive oil
2 T sugar
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To prepare Orange Olive Oil Cake: Preheat oven to 350 °F and butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs and sugar. Add olive oil, milk and orange zest and mix well. In a separate bowl, stir flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to olive oil batter and stir just until smooth. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Let cake cool completely, then turn out onto a plate and dust with icing sugar.

To make Citrus Salad: Cut away skin and pith from outside of oranges and cut out sections of orange with a paring knife, pulling the orange segment out of its membrane. Immediately before serving, toss oranges with olive oil and sugar and serve with a slice of cake.

Gale Gand's Brunch

Stephanie from the The Happy Sorceress and her friend Cath of A Blithe Palate are co-hosting a new edition of Cookbook Spotlight on April 17 with Gale Gand’s new book, Gale Gand’s Brunch!

If you are familiar with this event you may remember from the last few Cookbook Spotlights that food bloggers select recipes from the same cookbook, make the dish, and blog about it. They follow with a round up of everyone's choices and photos. Stephanie contacted me and offered me and a few others a copy of the cookbook. How lucky am I!!!!! This is Gale Gand and this is a new cookbook to try...how could I refuse!!!

"Every weekend is worth celebrating when you can relax over a good brunch," says Gale. She has long made brunch a part of her life because it's the easiest way to gather around the table with family and friends. Gale Gand is a James Bread Award-winning pastry chef and co-owner of the Chicago restaurant Tru. She is the host of "Sweet Dreams" on the American Food Network.

Her new cookbook Gale Gand's Brunch starts with an enticing assortment of drinks such as White Hot Chocolate, Thai Iced Coffee and a Three-Alarm Bloody Mary. In subsequent chapters, Gale hits the sweet and savory high points, from pancakes and doughnuts to onion tarts and cheddar grits. She amps up classics like French toast by using sliced almonds and ciabatta bread and transforms others, so that a bacon-scallion scone, for instance, comes out light and flavorful rather than resembling the usual floury hockey puck. She also mixes things up with less common items such as pretzels, pot stickers and a lemony wheat berry salad. For those who think cooking brunch is a chore you will find this cookbook to be inspiring.

It was hard to choose just one recipe from the book. Sorry but we are not able to reveal the recipe we have chosen. But if recipes such as Torta Rustica, Caramelized Apple Crepes, Goat Cheese Cake with Slow-Cooked Quince, Blackberry Bread Pudding, Ginger Scones with Peaches & Cream, Pear Streusel Coffee Cake, Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts, Panini Finger Sandwiches, Potstickers with Soy Dipping Sauce, Poached Salmon with Cucumber Yogurt, Gooey Camembert in a Box with Cranberry-Black Pepper Compote, Goat Cheese & Chive Hash Browns or Heirloom Tomato Bisque have you salivating you must add Gale's cookbook to your collection.

I chose to make Spiced Apple-Raisin Turnovers which is a combination of sweet and spicy apple butter, applesauce, apples and raisins encased in puff pastry and drizzled with glaze. According to Gale, "Fragrant, spicy apple butter, which you can usually find at the farmers market, farm stands or at gourmet grocery stores year-round, is a quick and easy spiced apple filling for homemade turnovers. Kids can help make these. They will especially enjoy drizzling the icing at the end."

I highly recommend this diverse cookbook the latest in Gale Gands collection.

Taste & Create

For those of you who frequent my blog you know that I try never to miss the Taste & Create event which gets bigger and bigger each and every month. It is the brainchild of Nicole over at For the Love of Food . I love to visit her site for all the delicious recipes and tidbits of very helpful information. She even has an on-line store with wonderful kitchen gadgets and gourmet foods. We are paired with another foodie and prepare a dish from their site for the event. I love this idea so I can showcase someone elses talents and have the pleasure or creating something delicious as well.

This month I was paired with Ace & Yoko from Spilt Wine & Sticky Rice. They made it very hard to come to a decision on what I should prepare from their site. Should it be Chicken Pot Pies ,
Cinnamon Scones or The Empress Marin ated Mahi Tuna . I decided upon...Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto as a last hurrah to winter here in Canada. It is barbecue season ladies and gents, but this made a delicious addition to the grilled lamb chops, although risotto is equally as delicious when it stands alone.

**Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto**

3 lb butternut squash
6 cups nonfat chicken broth
1 medium onion, chopped
1 T unsalted butter
1 -1/2 cups Arborio rice (9 oz)
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp ground cumin
5 T (approximately) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/2 oz)
1 tsp salt
1 -1/2 tsp chopped fresh sage or 1/4 teaspoon dried
4 oz arugula or baby spinach (6 cups), stems discarded and leaves very coarsely chopped (I didn't have the arugula this time around either Ace and Yoko)

***********************
Roast squash:Preheat oven to 450°F.

Halve squash lengthwise and seed, then cut crosswise into 1 1/2-inch-wide slices and season with salt. Roast slices, skin side down, in a shallow baking pan in middle of oven until tender and golden– anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half.

Set aside 6 crescent-shaped squash slices for serving and keep warm. Cut flesh from remaining slices into 1/2-inch pieces, discarding skin.

While the squash is roasting, start making the risotto:Bring broth to a simmer and keep at a bare simmer, covered.

Meanwhile, cook onion in butter in a heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring, until softened. Add rice, garlic, and cumin and cook, stirring, about 3 minutes, until fragrant.

Stir in 1/2 cup simmering broth and cook at a strong simmer, stirring frequently, until broth is absorbed. Continue simmering and adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition be absorbed before adding the next, until rice is creamy-looking but still al dente (it should be the consistency of thick soup). Check the consistency sometime after 4 1/2 cups, and keep checking thereafter. You want to be able to bite into a grain of rice and not have it crunch, but have a little give to it, not too mushy. There will be leftover broth.

Stir in squash pieces, then stir in cheese, salt, sage, and arugula and simmer, stirring, 1 minute. (If necessary, thin risotto with some leftover broth.)

Serve risotto with reserved squash slices.

Chicken Feta and Taboulleh Salad

There is an event in the blogosphere called Bookmarked Recipes, created by Ruth, of Ruth’s Kitchen Experiments. With all of the events out in the blogosphere it is hard to participate as we would like and suppport each and every one of our friends. Don't you find that life gets in the way of blogging? How dare life interfere like that...wink...wink...This week my friend Ivy of Kopiaste...To Greek Hospitality is hosting this event. She always finds the time to participate in as many events as she possibly can to support her friends each and every week. In fact this week she is hosting two events!!

I have been meaning to try this recipe from Cooking Light magazine for some time now. The magazine is one of my favourites which is always filled with tasty and healthy dishes. I found this version of a taboulleh salad in this months magazine which incorporates two of my favourites...chicken and feta cheese. How could I resist you say...well...I couldn't.

**Chicken Feta and Taboulleh Salad**

4 cups uncooked bulgur
1 cup boiling water
2 cups chopped skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast
1 cup chopped plum tomato
1 cup chopped English cucumber
3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup finely chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

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Place bulgur in a medium bowl; cover with 1 cup boiling water. Let stand 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

Combine chicken and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add bulgur to chicken mixture; toss gently to combine.

Joans Southern Culinary Tour

Joan of Foodalogue, has been helping to promote hunger awareness through her event, A Culinary Tour Around the World. Joan has been travelling virtually wherever her imagination has taken her since the beginning of the year. With the help of many friends throughout the blogosphere she has travelled to Norway, Poland, Germany, France, Portugal ,Romania, Ethiopia, Russia, India, Mongolia, Philippines , Peru and now her last stop the Deep Southern United States.

It has been an amazing journey and I would like to thank Joan for undertaking and organizing this incredible journey with a tireless effort to raise awareness for world hunger in conjunction with BloggerAid-Changing the Face of Famine and the World Food Programme . The members of BloggerAid are collaborating to publish a cookbook where 100% of the proceeds target children and education through the United Nations program School Meals. The deadline for submissions is now complete so look for the sale of the cookbook in November.

Joan's journey has now reached an end and if you haven't already, why not revisit Joan on her site and follow her culinary tour as she travelled around the world!!!!! As a group we met her in any one of her stops and presented our own interpretation of the cuisine and the culture from that country. Joan enabled us to undertake this fascinating journey and it was a true learning experience. We made some new friends along the way and discovered some of the worlds most fascinating and diverse cuisines. Who wouldn't enjoy taking a journey around the world even if it was from the comfort of our favourite armchairs and sampling some of the best foods the locals have to offer??

This week Joan travels to the southern USA...y'all....

Southern cooking is a unique blend of European, African and Native American foods and cooking techniques. From the Cajun and Creole flavors of New Orleans to the down home tastes of soul food to the unique blend of rice and seafood that makes Low Country cooking so delicious, you won’t find better food anywhere on earth.

As Chef Paul Prodhomme says, "In The South... "It's All About Taste!" When the taste changes with every bite and the last bite tastes as good as the first, that's Cajun."

For my stay in the South I chose to take a 5-day culinary vacation with Culintour to the "Jazz Capital of the World"..New Orleans!! I stepped back in time to enjoy the culture, history and cuisine of this romantic city. We visited majestic landmarks, dined on savory Cajun and Creole cuisine, and listened to soulful music.

We also spent one morning giving back to the children of New Orleans by participating in a special service project supported by the Collette Foundation. The “Collette Foundation” is a 5-year, $2-million dollar investment focused on improving the quality of life of children in our partner communities worldwide. This employee-run, global initiative connects Collette employees, its partners, travelers and communities worldwide toward a common good. The foundation will touch twenty countries, including the United States, Peru, Mexico, Kenya, South Africa, China, Cambodia, Australia, Italy and Ireland.

In New Orleans, the Collette Foundation is active in supporting the regions Backpack Program. Collette Employees are also active with the Second Harvest network in their respective regions Second Harvest Food Bank Backpack Program. The nation's largest charitable hunger relief organization, America's Second Harvest provides America with over 2 billion pounds of food annually. Through its Backpack Program, America's Second Harvest meets the needs of hungry children when other resources, such as free school meals, are not available.

We rolled up our sleeves at the New Orleans School of Cooking where we created our own bread pudding, Cajun boils and learned how to cook New Orleans style with a group of wonderful people.

We enjoyed a leisurely walking tour of New Orleans’ famous French Quarter where we saw the majestic St. Louis Cathedral, one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks. We continued on to the bustling French Marketplace where we explored Pirates Alley, the Cabildo, the Presbytere and the Pontalba. Then it was off to the Toulouse Street Wharf where we climbed aboard the famous Steamboat Natchez, dubbed Natchez IX and operated by the New Orleans Steamboat Company, for a scenic river cruise from the heart of the French Quarter.

We then enjoyed an elegant lunch at the Court of Two Sisters restaurant, where rich history blends soulfully with jazz music. The delicious food is only enhanced by the music provided by a strolling Jazz trio. We also had the opportunity to learn how to peel a local favorite, crawfish!

To celebrate our last culinary stop with Joan we decided to have a Southern Feast starting with my Low Country Crab Cakes with Remoulade Sauce and Corne Maque Choux. Visit the round-up at Foodalogue to see what everyone else came up with for our farewell feast.

I also served up a traditional Red Velvet Cake (the recipe can be found below). Red Velvet Cake is a favorite in the South. The cake is actually a creation from the Waldorf-Astoria. The hotel cake features garden beets for the color, but Southerners sometimes use food coloring to achieve that classic red colour. In some cases, Red Velvet cake is used as the groom’s cake at weddings, birthdays, holidays and at special pot luck dinners (which are a specialty of the South to show off their Southern hospitality they are so famous for). Traditionally, the cake is decorated with flowers like mums. A small clear glass holder is put in the center of the cake to hold flowers, and then flower tops are placed around the plate. Not only does it taste fabulous, it also makes a spectacular show piece. This cake does take some time and effort to make, but it’s well worth it. It’s a real show shopper in all ways!!! What a way to end Joan's Culinary Journey. Thank you Joan!!!

**Lowcountry Crab Cakes**

1 lb Lump Atlantic Blue Crab meat (picked fresh)
2 T sweet onion, minced
3 T fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 T mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper
Dash salt
1 T lemon juice
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Large eggs, lightly beaten
1 -1/2 C bread crumbs
1/2 stick unsalted butter
Tartar or Remoulade Sauce (recipe follows)
Lemon Wedges
****************
Lightly toss lump crab meat, onion, parsley, mayonnaise, mustard, pepper, salt, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, eggs and ½ cup bread crumbs. Form to make eight (8) crab cakes. Heat the unsalted butter at medium heat in a large iron skillet. Roll crab cakes in remaining bread crumbs. Place in heated butter and cook until golden brown, turning once to cook the other side. Careful not to burn!

Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and serve with tartar or remoulade sauce and a lemon wedge.

**Remoulade Sauce**

This is a quick and easy version of a New Orleans favorite.

1 pint mayonnaise
2 T Creole mustard
2 T grated onion
3 T prepared horseradish
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
1 T white wine
dash Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp hot sauce
***************
Mix all ingredients well.
Makes 2-1/4 cups sauce.


**Corn Maque Coux (Smothered Corn)**
A spicy Cajun dish of smothered corn and seasonings (pronounced mock shoo)

12 ears fresh corn
2 T vegetable oil
1 T butter
1 large onion, chopped fine
1 medium-sized green pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 T sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp hot sauce
1/2 cup milk
***********
Scrape off corn kernels into a bowl; scrape milk and remaining pulp from cob with a knife. Combine oil and butter in a large skillet; heat until butter melts. Add the corn, onion, and bell pepper and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, chopped tomatoes, sugar, salt, pepper, hot sauce and cook, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes, or until the corn is tender. Lower the heat if the mixture begins to stick. Add the milk, stir, and remove from heat.

**Red Velvet Cake**

2 ½ cups plain flour

1 ½ cups sugar

1 tsp cocoa baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

1- ½ cup vegetable oil

1 tsp white vinegar

1 tsp vanilla flavoring

1 tsp almond flavoring

2 eggs (medium or large)

1 bottle red food coloring (1 oz size)

***********

Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda and cocoa powder into a big bowl that you’ll use to mix the cake. Using a hand or table mixer, put in the milk. Mix. Add oil and mix. Add vinegar, vanilla and almond flavoring. Mix. Lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl. Add and mix. Add the food coloring. Mix until the batter is even in color.

Grease and flour 3 cake pans – size 8 inches. Evenly pour the batter into the three pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until the center tests done with a toothpick. Let the cake cool and then frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

½ cup margarine (softened)

8 oz. cream cheese

½ tsp vanilla flavoring

1 box of confectioners sugar (1 pound)

1 cup pecans (may also want some extras to sprinkle on top)

*******

Beat the margarine and cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl until light and creamy. Add vanilla and confectioners sugar and beat well. Hand stir in pecans. Spread cream cheese icing between layers of the Red Velvet cake, up the sides and on top. If you have lots of pecans, then sprinkle some pieces on top.The pecans are especially good toasted a bit in the oven for this recipe.

Pesto & Chargrilled Vegetable Pasta

Two pasta dishes in the same week? I am afraid not...even if I would have loved that!!! This dish made an appearance last week and it sure was tasty and heart-healthy. Ruth over at Once Upon a Feast recently celebrated Presto Pasta Night's second birthday!!!! I don't make pasta nearly as often as I would like to or should, but, I do try and join in on the fun whenever I do over at Presto Pasta Nights. I found this recipe on Taste.com.au which is an Australian site and added a few twists to make it my own.

**Pesto & Chargrilled Vegetable Spaghetti**

400g dried spaghetti
1/2 cup kalamata olives
3 - 4 campari tomatoes
100g eggplant, sliced horizontally
100g green or red pepper, cut in half and seeded

Basil and Parsley Pesto

1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 bunch basil, leaves picked
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked
2 garlic cloves
2 T olive oil
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1/2 lemon, juiced

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Make basil and parsley pesto: Place pine nuts, basil, parsley and garlic in food processor. Process until roughly chopped. With motor still running, pour oil into feed tube in a slow and steady stream until oil is incorporated. Add parmesan and lemon juice. Process to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Barbeque vegetables over medium heat on barbecue. Grill eggplant approximately 3 minutes per side depending on thickness, tomatoes 2 minutes (until skin is loosened and can be removed), peppers until blackened on outside. (Put peppers in a brown paper bag for 10 minutes and then remove skins and slice into strips).

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water for 10 to 12 minutes or until tender. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup water.

Return pasta to saucepan over low heat. Add 1/2 cup pesto (see note), olives, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and reserved water. Toss until well combined and heated through. Serve immediately.

NOTE: Place remaining pesto in an airtight container. Cover surface with a thin layer of oil. Seal. Refrigerate for up to 1 month.

Serves 4