I have a confession to make.  Perhaps some of you are saying-another one?  I love sweet and salty almond granola bars!  I know that they have as many calories and as much fat as a chocolate bar but I rarely indulge in a chocolate bars. 

Our son and his wife are very savvy about whole food/non additive cooking.  He pointed out that the issue with granola bars is that fat and sugary gunk hold the ingredients into a bar shape.  They pack these little jars up instead for lunch at work (and in his case and/or school).  The night that we had dinner at their home, we each had our own granola bar in a jar to pour over vanilla bean ice cream-oh my.  They keep the following ingredients in their pantry and then each assemble  their own concoction according to personal preference:

Pecans, almonds, cashews, hazelnuts,  walnuts  and/or other  favourite nuts.  Seeds like sunflower, pumpkin, sesame and poppy.  Dried fruit like raisins, cranberries, apricots , banana, mango, apple, etc.   Chocolate chips-milk chocolate chips cost a little more but are highly recommended. Making your own granola ensures that even less white sugar and additives  are consumed.  This process is adapted from Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. :

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix 2 c of oatmeal (not instant) with 1 t of cinnamon and ¼ c unsweetened coconut and spread onto a baking sheet.  Drizzle with  5 T of maple syrup or liquid honey and a little olive oil.  Stir well and then smooth out.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring and smoothing every 5 minutes.

Kath’s quote:  “My own prescription for health is less paperwork and more running barefoot through the grass.”  ~Terri Guillemets

 

When a Winnipegger has never been to Alycia’s in the North End-it is a kind of sacrilege.  Pierogies are part of my eastern European heritage, so it is silly that I had never been.  The late John Candy was so fond of Alycia’s cooking that he had her pierogies flown to California for him.

Alycia’s pierogies can be served deep fried, pan-fried or boiled and come traditionally filled with cheese and potato or upon special request with cottage cheese or sauerkraut.  The cottage cheese ones that I ordered were sweetened slightly and since I also had kubassa the combination of sweet and salty was just to my liking.

Since I was raised on my Polish Grandma and then my Mom’s hand pinched pierogies, I am a pierogi snob.  I don’t go for deep frying or stuffing them with Mexican ingredients.  Don’t mess with my carbs!  I do admit that I have tasted perogy lasagne and Boston’s Pizza’s perogy pizza and was duly impressed.  But that was because the essential ingredients of potato, onion, bacon, cheese and sour cream were all included. 

Perogy lasagne recipe:

Ingredients

5 potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/2 c milk

1/2 c butter, melted

1/2 pound bacon, diced

1 onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 (16 oz) package lasagna noodles

2 c shredded Cheddar cheese

salt and pepper to taste

1 (8 ounce) container sour cream

3 T chopped fresh green onions

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the potatoes in a large pot with water to cover over high heat.  Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender. Remove from heat, drain, then combine with the milk and 6 tablespoons of butter, mash and set aside.  Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Saute the bacon, onion and garlic in the butter for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the bacon is fully cooked.  Cook the lasagna noodles according to package directions and cool under running water.  Place 1/2 of the mashed potatoes into the bottom of a 9×13 buttered baking dish. Top this with 1/3 of the cheese, followed by a layer of lasagna noodles. Repeat this with the remaining potatoes, another 1/3 of the cheese and a layer of noodles. Then arrange the bacon, onion and garlic over the noodles, then another layer of noodles, and finally top all with the remaining cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F  for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve with sour cream and chopped green onions.

Kath’s quote: “Throughout history, the Poles have defended Europe. They would fight, and – between battles – they would eat and drink.”-E. de Pomiand

Because we are “cottage people” and pancakes are what are often cooked up for the masses of people assembled on our deck, pancakes represent weekends and leisure and the good life.  In fact our little cabin is called “Life Is Good!”

 

“Banana Pancakes” was the song that was playing when my son stop the car by the lake, got out on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend. 

Often for very special occasions like Mother’s Day or one of the kid’s birthday’s, my husband will make these famous pancakes (famous in our house that is).  The recipe has a number of stages and takes a bit of prep but they are so worth it!  They also happen to be lot fat (but that’s besides the point).

2 T butter

¼ c sugar

2 t cinnamon

3 medium apples peeled & slices

Batter :

1/3 c flour

½ t baking powder

2 egg yolks

1/3 c milk

4 egg whites

1/3 c sugar

 In two 9 inch pie plates or one 13 x 9 baking dish, melt butter in 400 degree oven, about 2 minutes.  Combine sugar & cinnamon.  Sprinkle evenly over margarine.  Bake for 2 minutes or until melted.  Arrange apple slices in overlapping circles over top.  Bake for 19 minutes.  Meanwhile in bowl, combine flour & baking powder, blending in egg yolks & milk.  In large bowl, beat egg whites until white & frothy.  Gradually beat in sugar until soft peaks form.  Fold into milk mixture.  Spread evenly over apples.  Bake for 15 -20 minutes or until lightly browned.  Loosen edges with knife, invert onto serving plate.  Makes 6 servings.

Our fav pancakes: The Big Apple from the Original Pancake House and  Buttermilk Pancakes at Smitty’s.  Please comment and let me know yours.

 Kath’s quote: “I’ll make you banana pancakes.  Pretend like its the weekend.” -Jack Johnson

My husband and I finally got to La Beaujena last month.  We loved the hospitality and the simple, yet cozy decor.  We also enjoyed the leisurely pace of the meal as we ordered seven dishes and a lovely Gewurztraminer.  In the end it was too much food for us and will likely order the five course “surprize” meal next time.

Amuse Bouche:  Black truffle and foie gras on puff pastry pillows with mushroom and bleu cheese pate on walnut ginger crisps. The truffle and foie gras were sautéed lightly in olive oil and served simply, one atop the other. The ginger walnut crisps presented a nice compliment to the bleu cheese in the pate.

Soup Course:  Asparagus Shrimp Soup with baby bella mushrooms. First step was simmering pounds of asparagus and then liquefying with an immersion blender. The mushroom and shrimp gave it texture and rounded out the flavours.

Pasta Course:  Red bean meat balls with a spicy tomato sauce on linguine. Crumbled bacon, mashed red beans and bread crumbs combined to form one of the tastiest little meat balls ever. The sauce contained serrano chilies and tomatoes to form a fiery accompaniment.

First Meat Course:  Duck leg comfit, roasted turnips, shallots and sour cheery sauce.  Roasting the meat in duck fat for several hours makes it tender and juicy.  The sour cherry sauce beautifully balanced the fat.

Second Meat Couse:  Braised pork tenderloin with apples, pears and parmesan risotto balls. The rissoto balls turned out to be the star of this dish even though the pork was unusually tender and juicy.

Salad Course:  Orzo salad with cucumber and orange. Cleansed the palate exactly as it was intended to.

Dessert:  Lemon cream cheesecake tart with raspberry sauce.

Have you been to Winnipeg’s La Beaujena’s yet?

Kath’s quote: “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”-Virginia Woolf

Can you think back and remember with vivid detail, a perfect day? 

On October 1, 2009 we spent the final day of our 25th wedding anniversary trip to Europe, in Paris.  The morning was filled with the exquisite art of the Impressionist painters at the Musee d’Orsay.  The Musee was walking distance from our hotel and our first stop was at one of the many Brasseries on various corners where we savoured our croissants and cappuccinos.  In Paris, couples don’t sit across from each other but side to side with their faces to the street.  The perfect way to keep warm and watch the world go by at the same time.

The afternoon was spent strolling the Champs d’Elysee.  We began at the Louvre which was across the Seine from our hotel and ended at the Arc de Triomphe.  In between we found a famous  tea house called Laduree (to think that we almost stopped at Movenpick!).

This exquisite restaurant has been run by the same family since 1862.  All the paper products and china cups and tea pots were soft pastels of pink, lavender, periwinkle blue and mint green. 

We ordered the house specialty of macarons.  They were unlike anything we had ever sampled.  There was a cake layer, a cream layer and then they were covered with a candied meringue.  We sampled pistachio, coffee, chocolate and caramel.  We also shared a divine cake layered with a pistachio creme and raspberries.

Kath’s quote:“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for all of Paris is a movable feast.” – Ernest Hemingway