Recipe for Orzo Risotto for O-Ovarian Cancer

O-rzo Risotto is based on a delicious dish I have been making for years after visiting Aglaia Kremezi at her cooking school Keartisanal on the island of Kea in Greece. It’s foolproof, and can be adapted to any number of vegetables you find at the farmer’s market or have taking over your garden. It shows how crumbled feta becomes a thick, creamy sauce that absorbs and amplifies the other flavours of this dish and what a difference the two cornerstones of Greek cooking, olive oil and lemons, can make to a seemingly familiar dish. This amazing dish can be served as a side or as all important main dish just like risotto. It is indescribably good and one of my all time favourite dishes!!!!!!

The dish brings back many wonderful memories of my time on Kea with Aglaia, Costas, Kostis, Marcie, the kids and Pope and Melek!!!! Aglaia Kremezi is a Julia Child winning cookbook author and writes for several publications as well. Each morning we gathered as a group to pick fresh herbs, tender grape leaves, lemons, zucchini blossoms and seasonal vegetables from Aglaia's extensive gardens to prepare a sumptuous lunch. In Aglaias style.... what was available in the garden dictated what was on the menu. Some days we would linger over a glass of wine under the arbour and enjoy our efforts; and other days we would venture to a secluded beach where we barbecued freshly caught fish. We hiked many of the ancient trails from one end of the island to the other with a botany lesson thrown in here and there. If you enjoy seafood, immersing yourself in a different culture and instant friendships this is the place for you.

I am submitting this recipe to the 2nd Annual O Foods Contest for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month hosted by Michelle of Bleeding Espresso and Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy. This is the second year for the O Foods Contest for Ovarian Cancer Awareness. The O Foods tradition is in honor of award-winning pastry chef Gina DePalma, author of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen. Gina has been fighting ovarian cancer for the past year and a half, and in addition to physically battling the disease, she has also started the Cowgirl Cure Foundation to raise awareness and money for research as well.

I am too late to submit my recipe for the contest but I am hoping the ladies will consider me for the roundup as we all raise awareness for this worthy event. That's what galavanting off to San Francisco will do!!! Check out the rounds at Bleeding Espresso and Ms. Adventures in Italy

From the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund:

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women; a woman’s lifetime risk of ovarian cancer is 1 in 67.

The symptoms of ovarian cancer are often vague and subtle, making it difficult to diagnose, but include bloating, pelvic and/or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly; and urinary symptoms (urgency or frequency).

There is no effective screening test for ovarian cancer but there are tests which can detect ovarian cancer when patients are at high risk or have early symptoms.

In spite of this, patients are usually diagnosed in advanced stages and only 45% survive longer than five years. Only 19% of cases are caught before the cancer has spread beyond the ovary to the pelvic region.

When ovarian cancer is detected and treated early on, the five-year survival rate is greater than 92%.

Please help spread the word about ovarian cancer. Together we can make enough noise to kill this silent killer.

**O-rzo Risotto with Zucchini, Dill and Feta**
Print this recipe

8 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup olive oil
4 - 5 cloves of peeled and thinly sliced garlic
4 cups diced or grated zucchini or yellow squash
1/2 cup white wine
1 lb orzo (approximately 2 cups)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 T grated or shredded lemon zest
1-1 1/2 cups feta cheese, mashed
fennel fronds, fresh dill or mint

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To serve six as a main course or eight as a side dish, heat chicken or vegetable broth or, if you don’t have broth, water. In a large skillet, heat olive oil and add 4 or 5 cloves of peeled and thinly sliced garlic and four cups of diced or grated zucchini or yellow squash. Sauté, stirring, for 10 minutes over medium-high heat; the squash will exude a good deal of liquid. Add 1/2 cup of white wine, a pound of orzo, and salt and pepper to taste, and stir to coat the pasta with oil. Pour in three cups of broth and continue to cook for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently and adding more liquid as needed. The pasta can be al dente, for the risotto effect, or cooked completely through, as you like.Remove the cooked orzo from the heat and add freshly squeezed lemon juice, grated or shredded lemon zest, and 1 -1/2 cups of feta cheese, mashed with a fork (and now: magic sauce). Buy the least salty feta you can find and save some of the crumbs for garnish. Snip over the risotto whatever combination you like of fennel fronds, fresh dill, and mint. Let the garden tell you how to season an irresistibly Greek, and simple, dish.

You may also enjoy......

Greek Avgolemeno Soup with Orzo
Andrea Meyers - Orzo with Parmesan and Basil
Hugging the Coast - Creamy Indian Spiced Orzo Pudding
Jennifer Garner - Shrimp and Orzo
Vegetarian Times - Orzo with Lemony Leek Sauce,

Cheese Lovers Mac 'N' Cheese

Cheese Lovers Mac 'N' Cheese

It is lights out for a few days here on More Than Burnt Toast. I am headed to San Francisco!! I will be touring the city with a ferry ride to Sausalito included (any thoughts on where to eat in Sausalito?); indulging myself with a "foodie" tour of Little Italy; am invited to Chef Michael Mina’s newest outpost RN74 as guests of The Mushroom Council;and also headed to dinner at Contigo a star on the culinary scene with blogging friends old and new. Of course there is the conference itself where there is a line up of amazing activities and speakers. All in all I am looking forward to these next few days with anticipation!!!! It will be fun to meet a lot of the bloggers that we visit each and every day.

I am headed to San Francisco as a guest speaker at BlogHer Food. I will be speaking as a part of a panel about BloggerAid-Changing the Face of Famine and "How Blogs Can Save the World", along with Genie of The Inadvertent Gardener and The Hunger Challenge, Lydia of The Perfect Pantry and Drop In & Decorate as well as Pim of Chez Pim and Menu for Hope.

Before I head south I leave you with a very comforting dish that was part of the Ultimate Recipe Showdown Comfort Foods. The winner of the competition was Rick Massa with his Cheese Lovers 5 Cheese Mac and Cheese . I found the recipe on Emily's site Sugar Plum. "Our" girl was there and did so well in the competition!!!! I have wanted to make this for a while but had to wait until the cooler weather arrived....weeeellllllllll here it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The mac 'n' cheese was heavenly...and such comfort food on these cooler evenings. So, off to the city and I look forward to catching up with you all when I get back. In the meantime check out these other mac 'n' cheese recipes..........

White on Rice Couple - One Pot, Stove Top, Creamy Mac and Cheese
Mushroom Channel - Mushroom Mac 'n' Cheese with Mustard Greens
BlogHer - Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
Cooking Light - Three-Cheese Macaroni and Cheese

Royal Foodie Joust

It has been a little while since I entered the monthy event the Royal Foodie Joust over at Jenn's site Leftover Queen . Jenn is our talented and industrious mentor who developed the Foodie Blog Roll which now has over 5,000 members. When I started entering the Joust I remember saying it had a mere 1,000 members. How times change!!! Can you imagine visiting so many wonderful food blogs!!! Each month the previous month's winner of the Joust chooses 3 ingredients for the following months challenge. The Royal Foodie Joust is a fun monthly peer voted competition that is hosted on TheLeftoverQueen/FoodieBlogroll Forum! Like a fine wine it gets better with age. Every month the competition gets stiffer and more creative as Jousters try to outdo each other! I would agree and say that it is also one of the friendliest competitions I have ever seen. As Jenn says, "We don’t bite, unless of course there is real food in our faces."

This month the winner chose:

apples, cayenne pepper and maple syrup.

Let the GAMES BEGIN!!!!!!!!!!!I immediately thought of some delicious chicken/apple sausages I wanted to duplicate. Now you could have these for dinner with a roasted sweet potato mash and an apple cider sauce, but for this time around I chose to have these beauties for my breakfast with the works...sunny-side up eggs, hashbrowns and Canadian bacon. This is a simple and homey use of the 3 ingredients that is sure to please. If you have any leftovers bring on the puff pastry and make heart-healthy sausage rolls for a great beginning for any cocktail party......very retro!!!!

** Chicken-Apple Sausage**

2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 small Fuji apples, peeled and grated
2 pounds ground chicken breast
1/4 to 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped sage
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper

*********************
In a large, heavy skillet heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and apples and cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from the pan and cool. In a large bowl combine the chicken, maple syrup, thyme, sage, salt, pepper and cayenne. Add the cooled onion mixture and mix well.

On a plastic-covered surface, form the mixture into 8 (4-ounce) patties, about 3 inches in diameter each. Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a 12-inch skillet over high heat. Add 4 patties to the pan and cook until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and serve hot. Melt the butter in a nonstick saute pan over medium heat.

For a hearty breakfast serve with eggs, hashbrowns and bacon.

"Back To Nature" from Kraft Canada

Last week I was contacted to review a new product from Kraft Canada and their Back to Nature products. I do the occasional review on my blog if tyhe product is a healthy alternative, available here in Canada or eco-friendly. A day later a beautiful basket arrived at my doorstep with a sampling of each variety they had to offer compliments of Edelman. Nuts are a great snack on their own, but there are many wonderful fruits, seeds and other foods that can be mixed with them to create delicious flavour combinations as they have for their 6 nut/fruit combinations for their new product line.

When it comes to snacking, more and more Canadians are realizing the benefits of nuts which are one of the world’s oldest and most satisfying grab-and-go foods. According to their web site nut consumption is on the rise. In fact, nut consumption in Canada grew by 14% in one year alone, with trail mix growth increasing by 22%. Nuts are definitely a staple in my home and purchased regularily.

This does not mean, however, that all nuts are created equal. Back to Nature is dedicated to keeping ingredients the way nature intended them to be. Some nuts are low quality, processed, or may contain preservatives and artificial flavours that just aren’t found in nature. Not only can this make a difference in the nutrition and health value of the nuts, but it can affect the taste too.
Nuts have natural oils and can spoil quickly if exposed to oxygen. Often packaged nuts are not sealed adequately or there is no barrier to prevent oxygen from leaking inside the bag, resulting in stale and sometimes even spoiled nuts. Instead the company uses nitrogen flushing—a 100% natural process that helps keep nuts fresh in the package before they are opened. Before sealing the bag, the package is filled with nitrogen, which in turn pushes the excess oxygen out of the bag. This keeps the nuts fresher, longer. This packaging method is standard practice with coffee beans, which also have natural oils that can spoil. The packages also come with a quick seal feature so that you can seal in the freshness and consume your product at a later time if you want to have only a handful at a time. They also do not require scissors or your teeth to open the packaging which is a bonus if you are out and about.

Another great thing about Back to Nature is that it has no artificial additives, preservatives, sweeteners, chemicals, hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup. It’s 100% natural. They also only use premium ingredients...the best available nuts and harvested fruits. Nut types are individually roasted in small batches. Almonds separated from pistachios separated from cashews so that each nut retains their original flavour and crunch. Even the dried cranberries are juicy because the cranberries they use are dried with their juices intact.

Trail mix is a combination of dried fruit, grains, nuts, and sometimes chocolate which is developed as a snack food to be taken along on outdoor hikes, trips or as an after-school snack. I would consider it an ideal snack food because it is tasty, lightweight, easy to store, and nutritious, and provides a quick boost from the carbohydrates in the dried fruit and sustained energy from the mono - and polyunsaturated fats in nuts. I am headed to San Francisco next week for BlogHer Food with day trips exploring the city as well as the coast, so, these packages will come in very handy in my day pack. Some of the nuts are already gone and were so fresh and delicious!!!! The trail mixes will be saved for next week. I am especially looking forward to the chocolate/vanilla mix that will cure my cravings for chocolate in the city of The Ghirardelli Chocolate Company.

Try sprinkling nuts into salads, yogurt, cereal, pasta and cooked vegetables. Or add a handful to your muffin and pancake batter for an extra punch of flavour and nutrition. Add fruit and nuts to a cheese platter for new twist on a favourite appetizer. Experiment with flavour and texture by sprinkling or blending it in with softer cheeses. Chocolate bark is a decadent treat any time of year. Try adding your favourite trail mix into the recipe for a guaranteed flavour (and nutrition) boost.

Back to nature has 6 varieties to choose from. Try them today!!!!!!


Made with premium almonds, plump California raisins (sun-dried with no added sugars or preservatives), jumbo and large grade pistachios, and cranberries that are dried with their natural juices intact. This premium trail mix is 100% natural—no preservatives, no additives, all delicious.










They start by meticulously selecting the highest grade of almonds commercially available: Nonpareil almonds, prized for their superior size. Then they gently dry roast them, and then steep them in sea salt to create delicious almonds—100% natural with absolutely no additives or added oils.














After roasting, the nuts are blended together to create a 100% natural Sea Salt Roasted Cashew, Almond and Pistachio mix—four simple ingredients, one great taste.








A perfect combination of taste and texture. They begin with crunchy pecans that are sourced from Southwest US and Mexico. Then they’re mixed in with their sun-dried and premium-grade California apricots, delicious pumpkin and sunflower seeds, highest-grade almonds and plump raisins to create a delicious, 100% natural trail mix that has no additives or preservatives.







Only jumbo cashews make the cut for Back to Nature. USDA Fancy Grade whole cashews—no pieces or picked-over remains. They dry roast them and then gently steep them in sea salt to preserve their natural taste and crunch—creating a 100% natural mix without any additives, preservatives or added oils.









They start with plump cranberries from bogs in Quebec and eastern Canada that grow cranberries exclusively for drying, not juicing. Then they dry them with their natural juices intact, creating a “juicy” dried cranberry. Then they add premium almonds that have been slowly tumbled in dark chocolate of over 50% cacao. Then they finish this perfect recipe with almonds coated in vanilla from Madagascar. The result is a 100% natural, 100% delicious snack.

Orzo Pasta Salad My Way

There's something about the birth of September that makes me want to get down to serious cooking, baking and comfort foods. The nights are a little cooler, the days a little shorter and there is what can only be described as a crisp scent to the air. I love the feeling of shuffling through fallen leaves and sitting by a cozy fire reading a good book with a cup of hot chocolate or better yet a glass of award winning wine.

Alas summer is still clinging on with it's hot, lazy summer days. Now don't get me wrong because I am all for relishing the lazy days of summer so that is why the barbecue is still raring to go at a moments notice. Each season has it's pleasures. I am always searching for special salads to add to my long list of favourites and this one fits the bill to a "T".

This tasty salad is a perfect compliment to a barbecued salmon or chicken dish with it's light citrusy lemon notes. It takes pasta to a whole new level using rice-shaped pasta. Orzo is Italian and means "barley". I frequently use it in soups, salads and baked casseroles. Despite its rice shape, orzo is not made out of rice but of hard wheat semolina. It is also known as risone in Italian, manéstra or kritharáki ("little barley") in Greek, and şehriye (in Turkish).

This is my entry to this week's Presto Pasta Nights which I am submitting to Ruth over at Once Upon a Feast . This week's event is being hosted by Sweet Kitchen so go ahead and check out her site. You will be glad you did.

I would also like to thank Arlette of Phoenician Gourmet for awarding me with the "Kreativ Blogger" Award. Thank you Arlette!!!!







**Orzo Pasta Salad**
Printable Recipe

1 cup orzo pasta
1 cup diced cucumber, peeled
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh dill (or more, to taste)
1/4 cup champagne vinegar or other white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup red onion diced
1/2 cup feta cheese, mashed with a fork
1 small lemon, zest and juice
Salt and pepper

*****************
Cook orzo in boiling water approximately 8 minutes. until tender. Drain and transfer to a bowl.
Mix together champagne vinegar and rice wine vinegar and add to orzo immediately and allow to cool slightly.

Add oil, onion, lemon juice, and lemon zest and stir well.

When pasta is cooled to room temperature add cucumber, feta, salt and pepper and stir gently.

Chill for several hours to allow flavors to marry. Serve at room temperature if possible.

LiveStrong with a Lemon Tart with Candied Lemons

LiveSTRONG with a Taste of Yellow is a yearly event created by Barbara of Winos and Foodies . She describes this event as her "way of supporting the Lance Armstrong Foundation by raising awareness of cancer issues world wide. It is a way for all food and wine bloggers to share their stories. The happy and the sad, the struggles and the triumphs." I don't think there is anyone among us who has not been touched by cancer in some way, whether it be a friend or afamily member, a co-worker or a neighbour. Raising awareness for cancer research as well as early detection to help save lives are something to shout out to the rooftops about today and always.

LiveSTRONG Day 2009 was moved to October 2nd to coincide with the date Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with cancer 10 years ago. Since his recovery from cancer he has gone on to win the Tour De France seven times.

LiveSTRONG With A Taste Of Yellow is Barbara's way of supporting the Lance Armstrong Foundation by raising awareness of cancer issues world wide. Last year I sent over Lemony Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Rouladen so this year opted for something sweet. Look for the roundup on October 2nd.

My foodie obsession would be lemon rather than chocolate. No matter whether it is sweet or savoury I am always tempted to surrender to the enticing texture of a lemon custard filling or a creamy avgolemono. This tarts uncomplicated ingredients are as enticing as how uncomplicated it is to prepare. This tart is based on a recipe I found from Mission Hill Winery chefs in the Okanagan. I topped it with the most delicious and simple to prepare candied lemons for that special touch.

**Lemon Tart with Candied Lemons*

Short Pastry

1 cup butter
¾ cup fine granulated sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla essence
2 cups flour
pinch of salt

Filling


9 eggs
1¾ cups fine granulated sugar
5 lemons (zest of 2, juice of all 5)
1 cup cream

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To make Short Pastry beat together butter, salt and sugar until smooth with a hand mixer. Add eggs one at a time and continue to beat. Split vanilla bean and scrape seeds into butter & egg mixture. Slowly add flour until incorporated. Dough should look and feel smooth. Form in to a flattened ball shape and wrap in plastic and set aside.


To prepare Filling whisk together eggs, sugar and lemon zest. Stir in lemon juice, then cream. Strain through a fine sieve and set aside.

Press dough into tart tin to make a 1/8-inch thick crust. Cover the dough with greaseproof paper and fill with uncooked rice or beans then put into fridge for 20 minutes to chill. Remove from fridge and place in a 350° oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and discard the paper and rice. Put the shell back into oven and continue to bake until golden.


Turn oven down to 250°. Brush shell with a little beaten egg and bake for 3 minutes to set. Carefully pour in the lemon custard to completely fill shell and bake for 40 minutes. Edges will be set while the centre will look like jelly when the pan is moved. Place in fridge and chill well.

Candied Lemon Slices

1 cup granulated sugar
2 large lemons, cut into 1/8-inch thick slices


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In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar with 1 cup water.

Bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar. Add the lemon slices. Cover and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes or until the peel is slightly translucent. Remove from the heat and let the lemon slices cool in the syrup. Remove lemon slices and let dry for hours or bake at 200F just to dry up the syrup. Save syrup for cocktails or iced tea.

Grilled Chicken Club with Garlic Pesto Mayonnaise

Aaaah summer!!! It is still holding on and the barbecue is still blazing. I do love a nice juicy hamburger with melted cheese and dripping with luscious toppings just like all of us but for me a nice chicken burger is right up there as well. This is a version of a club sandwich with barbecued chicken, melted cheese, and salty bacon. It has the addition of a few slices of ripe avocado in each bite but the "piece de resistance" would be the garlic pesto mayonnaise. I had some leftover basil pesto from the other day so made a special sauce for my burger. I had read somewhere in the blogosphere about the more traditional way of making pesto, after all what did we do before technology!!!

Historically, pesto is prepared in a marble mortar with a wooden pestle. The leaves are washed, dried, placed in the mortar with garlic and coarse salt, and crushed to a creamy consistency. The pine nuts are added and crushed together with the other ingredients. When the nuts are well-incorporated into the "cream", grated cheese or olive oil can be added and mixed with a wooden spoon. But I am told that if you have ever tasted pesto in Italy you know that the pesto here is just not the same. Some day I hope to taste pesto somewhere in a vineyard in the rolling hillsides of Italy, but, until then I will do my best to duplicate it at home in a time-honoured Italian style.

Most of the pesto you encounter here is different for a couple of reasons. You can purchase reasonably good pesto in the frozen foods section of your local grocers but it is also easily made at home. Modern conveniences such as food processors and blenders make this Genovese sauce a breeze. It is quick and easy to blitz the ingredients and voila you have food from the Gods!!! Now don't get me wrong, I do understand that this is absolutely delicious and the way I prepare my own pesto with my own copious amounts of basil. But...and I do say but.....because the ingredients are not hand chopped in the time-honoured way you end up with a texture that is more like a moist paste and there is little to no definition between ingredients. I realize, after trying this method at the recommendation of another blogger, chopping all the ingredients by hand and not blending them is the key!! When pasta is graced with a pesto that has been hand chopped you will get bursts of basil flavours in every bite. By hand chopping all your ingredients together your pesto will take on a personality of it's own. I grew my own basil this year, which has seen better days by this time of the year, but I highly recommend it.

So, if you are serious about making good pesto, get a good sharp knife or mezzaluna. You'll need it!!!! Chopping the ingredients will take twenty or thirty minutes. Whatever you use to chop, make sure it has a sharp blade or the basil will turn dark. Believe me the reward at the end will be two fold. You will have developed muscles of a Greek Adonis as well as developed a mouthwatering combination for your pasta.

For this sandwich I mixed some of my leftover pesto with mayonnaise and more garlic for an accompaniment to my grilled sandwich.


**Grilled Chicken Club with Garlic Pesto Mayonnaise**

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets
Salt and black pepper, to taste
8 slices Swiss or other cheese of your choice
4 Kaiser rolls, sliced horizontally, toasted
4 lettuce leaves
8 tomato slices
8 slices bacon, cooked crisply
1/4 avocado, peeled, sliced
Garlic Pesto Mayonnaise, recipe follows

****************

Preheat grill. Season chicken with salt and pepper and grill over medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Top each chicken fillet with 2 slices cheese; heat on grill until cheese melts.

Spread garlic pesto mayonnaise on bottom half of each roll and top with lettuce, tomato, bacon, chicken and avocado.

Close each sandwich with top half of roll and serve.

Garlic Pesto Mayonnaise

1 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup lightly toasted pine nuts
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup mayonnaise

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On a cutting board with a sharp knife or mezzaluna chop basil, pine nuts and garlic until a fine consistency. Add to a bowl. To this add salt, pepper, Parmesan. and mayonnaise, stirring to blend well. Cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to serve.(Of course you could prepare the basil in a food processor if you like for speed)

Filo Appetizer uses "Notes on Cooking"

A while back I received a copy of Notes on Cooking which I was lucky enough to win in a giveaway on Susan's site The Well Seasoned Cook. We all know Susan who is the founder and proprietress of My Legume Love Affair. I apologize to Susan for not bringing this informative book to your attention sooner. I received my copy from the authors them selves!!!

Chef and food stylist Lauren Braun Costello teamed up with Russel Reich to write this succinct, instructive and indispensable guide "Notes on Cooking: A Short Guide to an Essential Craft". From her experience as an Executive Chef of Gotham Caterers in New York, to recipe testing for the 75th anniversary edition of Joy of Cooking, to her current role as a food stylist for The View and The Early Show, Lauren is an undisputed expert on the culinary arts.

It condenses the art of cooking into exactly 216 kitchen snippets of advice that can benefit everyone from the amateur to the expert. It reads like a seasoned chef standing over your shoulder in the kitchen.

You'll find common sense, but rarely thought of tips such as our mantra "Shop locally".

Another excellent tip, which I can relate to coming from an allergy and respiratory background is that if you are prone to seasonal allergies, buy and eat local honey. Local bees collect pollen from local flora. Eating continual small doses of their honey can act like a series of immunology injections, strengthening your tolerance and lessening your allergies."

There are also tips on how to perk up the food and flavour of your dishes like the chefs do in their restaurants. Yes ...restaurant secrets are shared with us!!!

The novice chef will pick up advice to make him feel more competent in the kitchen. The experienced cook will find information that will help to make them even better. This is a unique book that will be appreciated by any foodie on your list. Or pick one up for yourself so that you have something useful to read as you wait for the water to boil.

Now on to a simple and easy recipe. This recipe came about from trying to decide what to do with that leftover filo and bits and pieces in the refrigerator. Salty cheese, tomatoes, and basil make this a savory treat. Pair with a tossed green salad for a light summer supper if you want have it all to yourself...but don't be greedy share with a friend. In this case I shared with many and cut the "pizza" into appetizer size pieces to share the love.

**Filo Pizza with Feta, Basil and Tomatoes**

1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
1/2 cup finely crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
10 (18 x 14–inch) sheets frozen filo dough, thawed
Cooking spray
2 cups thinly sliced plum tomatoes
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

*************
Preheat oven to 375°.

Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl.

Cut filo sheets in half crosswise. Working with 1 filo sheet half at a time (cover remaining dough to keep from drying), place filo sheet on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Coat filo sheet with cooking spray. Repeat with 2 more layers of filo. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cheese mixture. Repeat layers 5 times, ending with 2 filo sheets. Coat top filo sheet with cooking spray; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cheese mixture.Pat tomato slices with a paper towel. Arrange tomato slices on top of cheese, leaving a 1-inch border. Sprinkle with onions and the remaining 6 tablespoons cheese mixture.Bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until golden. Sprinkle with basil leaves.

What advice did I use from the book to make this recipe.

#130 " Store your produce as your grocer does....whole tomatoes , grown in the sun and ripened on the vine, loose their flavour and texture in the chill of the icebox. Refrigerate only after they have been sliced and therefore left unprotected by their natural seal." This I knew but it is good to be reminded.

#186 - "Grate cheese yourself. Pre-shredded cheeses offer convenience but lacks flavour. Stabilizers and additives are needed to keep such cheese from clumping together....."

Chicken Saltimbocca with Garden Pea Mash

Back in the '70's recipes like this were really popular. Almost every restaurant served Chicken Kiev or Saltimbocca in one form or another. I like Saltimbocca because it's so easy to make and hits all the right spots. "Saltimbocca" is Italian for "leaps into the mouth." It's a great description!! The recipe is sweet, salty and savory all at once. Saltimbocca is one of those classic Roman dishes usually reserved for veal, but works really well with chicken as well.

While it might sound like a fancy Ferrari sports car kind of dish, it’s actually an easy laidback Vespa kind of recipe... one that is ready in less than 30 minutes and perfect for weeknight family dinners or for guests on the weekend. I served it with some garlic/herb mashed potatoes and a pea mash that was quick and easy. I would definitely make this dish again but for a nicer presentation, quicker cooking time and more uniform cooking distribution I would use thin chicken cutlets. Just pound those babies with a meat mallet and release your inner frustrations!!! Almost as therapeutic and satisfying as eating this delicious combination of flavours in the saltimbocca itself.

Use Italian proscuitto for its silky butteriness and light salty flavour.

**Chicken Saltimboca with Garden Pea Mash**

Printable Recipe

¼ cup all-purpose flour
Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 fresh whole sage leaves
4 (6 to 8 ounces each) chicken cutlets
4 slices (3 ounces) thinly-sliced proscuitto
4 slices buffalo mozzarella
Juice of 1 lemon
4 sage leaves, chopped
4 teaspoons olive oil
¾ cup dry white wine
1/3 cup reduced-sodium canned chicken broth
1 tablespoon cold butter

Garden Pea Mash

1/3 cup vegetable stock
400g frozen or fresh garden peas
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
small bunch basil, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of ½ lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper

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In a shallow bowl, stir together flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.
Lay one sage leaf lengthwise on each cutlet, then wrap a prosciutto slice around middle of each cutlet, encasing sage. Flatten with the palm of your hand to help prosciutto adhere to the chicken. Dredge cutlets in seasoned flour; tap off excess.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat. Cook 2 cutlets until golden-brown and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove cutlets and keep warm. Repeat with remaining 2 teaspoons oil and remaining 2 cutlets. Put a slice of fresh mozzarella on top of each chicken breast and flash under the grill for two minutes.

While the chicken is under the grill, add wine and broth to skillet; cook over high heat until reduced by three-quarters, about 2 minutes. Add lemon juice. Remove from heat; let cook 1 minute. Add butter and minced sage ; stir until butter is melted, about 30 seconds.

For the pea and basil mash, bring the stock to the boil and add the peas and red onion. Cook for 3-4 minutes until just tender. Place in a food processor with the garlic and basil and blend roughly. Stir in the olive oil and lemon juice and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. To serve place a heap of the pea mash in the centre of the plate. Place the chicken on top.

Spoon sauce over cutlets; serve immediately.

Vegetarian Times Giveaway

If you are thinking of making the switch to a vegetarian life-style for its health benefits, you’ll be pleased to find that there is a wonderful additional benefit to vegetarian eating. It’s a delicious and fun way to explore new foods. A vegetarian meal can be as familiar as spaghetti with marinara sauce, as comforting as a bowl of rich, potato soup, or as exotic as grilled polenta with portobello mushrooms.A vegetarian menu is a powerful and pleasing way to achieve good health.

Vegetarians avoid meat, fish, and poultry. Those who include dairy products and eggs in their diets are called lacto-ovo vegetarians. Vegans eat no meat, fish, poultry, eggs, or dairy products. I grew up with a dad who was lacto-ovo vegetarian so am quite familiar with the variety of dishes available.

You may recall a few months ago Shelby of The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch and I gave away 3 magazine subscriptions to 3 lucky winners due to the generosity of Aaron of Magazine Direct. This month Shelby is giving away 3 subscriptions to Vegetarian Times which delivers simple, delicious food, plus expert health and lifestyle information that is exclusively vegetarian. It is all wrapped in a fresh new prospective. A big hug to Aaron for sponsoring this giveaway!!!

I had a hard time choosing just one recipe with dishes such as Orzo with Lemony Leek Sauce, Penne with Butternut Squash and Pesto, Fresh Berry Tart with Roasted Nut Crust, Earth Apple Torte, and Goat Cheese and Blackberry Tart. I did finally decide upon a delicious and familiar soup with greek flavours, but will be sure to make more dishes from this amazing magazine.

Please visit Shelby at The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch to see what she has cooked up from the pages of Vegetarian Times. Leave a comment on her post and be entered to win one of three chances to win a years subscription to the magazine!!!!

In honour of this giveaway I made one of my all time favourite soups from the pages of Vegetarian Times Greek Avgolemono Soup. It's a traditional Greek soup made with broth, rice, celery, carrots, eggs and lemon. Since this is vegetarian this soup leaves out the chicken and includes orzo, which gives it a richer, fuller texture. You could also use Arborio rice but it may take a little longer to become al dente. It was as delicious as I remember, all that was missing was a warm sea breeze and the view from an Agean seaside resort.

Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club Lightens up Lunch in Style

With the kids headed back to school and summer vacation over for another year it is time to think seriously about creating healthy and delicious lunches that we pack either for work or for our kids to take to school. Unless one of your parents was a caterer or a culinary"ista", the memories we have of taking lunch to school as a child are less than favourable. SORRY MOM!!!!Who doesn't remember having ham and cheese sandwiches day in and day out!! Our parents weren't trying to bore our tastebuds and turn us off of bag lunches forever, they were likely just being pragmatic.

My own daughter had hot lunches at school every day while in school which is typical in British Columbia (in those days I even volunteered as a hot lunch mom and made over 150 hot lunches every day) so we had to watch the menu so as not to duplicate the lasagna or scalloped potatoes the kidlets had at lunch for supper. For years my own lunch has consisted of leftovers from supper the night before and now for the moment I have 3 hours lunches so am able to head home and get creative in the kitchen. But when the ladies asked for our help in creating some delicious lunch options for their kids as well as themselves I was right there to help out with tons of delicious recipe choices found on the pages of Cooking Light magazine. The Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club is here to bring your lunch out of the 80's and into a whole new way of thinking about lunch!!

Bringing a lunch to work is a great idea for lots of reasons... it saves calories, it saves money, and it even saves time, allowing you to relax at lunch instead of fighting the crowds at your local fast-food restaurants. Why settle for the same boring sandwich everyday when you can have a fabulous bag lunch lightened up by the pages of Cooking Light magazine!!!

Convenience might be the reason most people give for going out to a restaurant to grab a quick bite. But what makes restaurant eating more exciting? We love novelty people and trying something different!!! Variety is "the spice of life" and never rang so true as it does here. We love to try new things, new flavors, and new experiences. Even if we end up eating at the same couple of restaurants 99% of the time, the very act of going out to get your lunch dangles the potential for something new and different in front of us.

Use lunch as a chance to introduce new flavors and foods into your diet. One of the things that keeps people going back to a good deli, for example, is the variety of sandwiches and the interesting combinations of ingredients. This is all well and good but you can create this same appeal from your own kitchen!!!!

At our Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club we all share a love for Cooking Light magazine which has an emphasis on healthy eating and living. Each issue covers light cuisine and includes more than 70 delicious and flavourful recipes. It also explores food and nutrition news as well as fitness, health and beauty.

We would love to share these ideas with you each month by putting together a delicious meal for each other through our Virtual Supper Club. The idea is simple because we all share a common interest in cooking and all things "foodie". This is a team effort where we will be getting together virtually once a month and combining what Cooking Light readers like best...good food with great company!!! Ultimately this is what has brought myself Val of More Than Burnt Toast, Helene of La Cuisine d'Helene, Shelby of The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch, Jamie of Mom's Cooking Club and Aggie of Aggie's Kitchen together to share their love of food, blogging and their commitment to a health conscious lifestyle to create the very 1st ever Virtual Supper Club sponsored by Cooking Light magazine!!!

Check out this months menu where we share our ideas for a lunch that will have you looking forward to peaking into the bag. We will also be featured on the Cooking Light web site as well as sharing their fantastic recipes with you all!!!!!! Although distance prevents us from gathering as a group in each others homes we have enjoyed getting to know one another and have developed a menu from Cooking Light magazine that is sure to bring smiles when your family opens their lunch bags or boxes. See us on their blog Test Kitchen Secrets HERE !!!

We start with Cooking Light's Lemony Hummus with Spicy Whole-Wheat Pita Chips in this post. This dish makes a wholesome accompaniment to the rest of our Vurtial Supper Club menu. Shelby offers some delicious Vegetarian Minestrone here to accompany Helene's Mozzarella Chicken Sandwich here. What a delicious combination. To round off the plate we have a delicious Lemony Orzo Salad here brought from the pages of Cooking Light by Aggie. And what would even lunch be without dessert in the form of Jamie's Chocolate Fudge Snack Cake here We hope you will visit each of these pages and get some delicious ideas for your own lunch for your family. ENJOY!!!