29 September 2009

Recipe for Orzo Risotto for O-Ovarian Cancer


Orzo Risotto
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!!!!!!
Best Blogger Tips

21 September 2009

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 and Decorate as well as Pim of Chez Pim and Menu for Hope.
Best Blogger Tips

18 September 2009

Royal Foodie Joust

Chicken Apple Sausage


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."

Best Blogger Tips

17 September 2009

"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. Best Blogger Tips

15 September 2009

Orzo Pasta Salad My Way

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.

Best Blogger Tips

13 September 2009

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.

Lemon Tart with Candied Lemons
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.
Best Blogger Tips

11 September 2009

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

***********
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)

Best Blogger Tips

10 September 2009

Filo Appetizer uses "Notes on Cooking"


Filo Pizza with Basil, Tomatoes and Feta

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.

Best Blogger Tips

6 September 2009

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

*********************************
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.

Best Blogger Tips

4 September 2009

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.
Best Blogger Tips

2 September 2009

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.

Best Blogger Tips