Muffins: Bran & Cranberries

Muffins are a convenient and healthy hand-size breakfast treat if you are in a rush to go out the door. Make enough muffins to freeze individually in plastic lunch bags (or save the planet and use a large plastic airtight container where you can grab one or two muffins for the road and leave the rest in the freezer for another day).

Preset the oven at 400 degrees F and try these yummy muffins as follows:


















Ingredients:

• 1 cup bran (or all bran with raisins with oat bran added to make up the cup)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/3 cup molasses
  
• 1 cup all purpose flour
  
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
  
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/3 cup olive oil
  
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped dried cranberries

Method:

Combine bran, milk and molasses and let stand until most of the moisture is taken up. Meanwhile combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and cranberries together. Stir in bran mixture, egg and oil. Beat quickly until just mixed, taking care not to over mix the batter.


















Fill muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake in hot oven for approximately 15-20 minutes. If you are not familiar with your oven, set your timer for about 5 minutes less so you can check for doneness. Often your nose will smell the muffins before the timer is done, so check the muffins to avoid scorching.


















Remove from pan and serve warm or freeze. Makes 1 dozen. (Recipe doubles nicely)


















Don't forget some fruit or juice and a coffee or tea! Have a nice day!!

Egg Frittata

Here is an easy way to prepare eggs, veggies and cheese. Lovely for brunch and even leftovers taste terrific!



















First prep your ingredients. For the one I made here, here is what I had on hand:

• 1 or 2 red and yellow bell peppers, diced
• 5-6 green onions, sliced
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 8-10 brown mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 5-6 eggs, whisked
• salt and pepper to taste
• vegetable oil
• red chili flakes (hot)
• essence (spice blend)
  

Heat a non-stick skillet on high heat and add 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Sprinkle a few red chili flakes in oil, and add the diced mushrooms. Add salt and pepper to taste. Saute 2-3 minutes. Add peppers, onion and garlic.

Saute vegetables until soft and mushrooms have turned a bit golden. Season eggs with a teaspoon of essence and pour the whisked eggs over the vegetables in the skillet. When the eggs start to bubble around the edge of the skillet, turn down the heat to medium. Top with shredded cheese and cover the pan to keep in the heat and cook the frittata.

Keep an eye on your creation. Depending on whether you are using gas or electric heat, you may have to adjust your burner temperature and even gently lift back the edges of the frittata once to let some of the uncooked egg fall to the pan bottom.























Try not to take the lid off lots but don't let it over cook either. (Don't fret if it is a tad underdone...that is what microwaves are for. When serving, just blast each serving 10-20 seconds, if need be)

Serve the egg dish with fruit, toast or muffins, and your favorite condiment. Dante's hot sauce is a favorite one around here, but for a milder palate, you can use ketchup or fresh salsa.







Mmmm. With a coffee or tea, this will start your day right!

Hot Chocolate - From Scratch

On a cold winter day, nothing beats warming up with a hot mug of cocoa. You may be tempted to rip open a package of instant hot chocolate, but you'll be missing out on the comfort and traditional taste that can only be had with the real thing.

First prepare these ingredients multiplied by the desired number of servings:

• 1 cup of milk
• 2 heaping teaspoons of cocoa powder
• 2 heaping teaspoons of brown sugar
• cinnamon to taste

First, start some water boiling and put the cocoa powder into a pot. Slowly stir in the boiling water, adding just enough to completely dissolve the cocoa.

Next, add the milk and heat the pot at medium. Stir the brown sugar into the heated milk and continue stirring so the milk doesn't burn.

Once the hot chocolate is steaming, ladle into mugs and enjoy - adding a sprinkle of cinnamon if desired.

Bison Lasagne

We love Bison and lasagne. This recipe incorporates both.

Ingredients include:

• 4 cups of homemade or store bought tomato sauce
• 8 cups fresh spinach
• 2 pounds ground bison
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 12 whole wheat lazagne noodles
  
• 2 cups dry cottage cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
• 4-6 cloves crushed garlic
• fresh ground pepper
  

Cook the bison in a little oil, add worcestershire sauce, garlic and fresh pepper. Add tomato sauce and simmer for 15-20 minutes while you cook the lasagne noodles in a large pot of salted water. When the noodles are el-dente, remove from hot water and cool in cold water. Drain and set aside. Briefly blanch the fresh spinach in hot water. Drain and chop. Add two eggs to about 2 cups of dry cottage cheese, shredded parmesan, and the spinach. Season with fresh pepper. Layer a lasagne pan with tomato meat sauce, noodles, tomato meat sauce, more noodles, cottage cheese mixture, more noodles, tomato meat sauce, noodles, cottage cheese, noodles, tomato meat sauce and top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake covered in 375 degree oven for about 30 to 40 minutes. Let set 10 minutes before serving. Nice with fresh buns and a green vegetable or a fresh salad.Mama Mia!!

Korean BBQ Beef (Bulgogi) - the easy way

Prepare the following ingredients:

• 6-8 cloves of garlic
• Jar of Korean BBQ Beef marniation sauce (bulgogi yang-nyom)
• 4-6 pounds of thinly sliced beef (sogogi)
  

Note: Try to pick the beef up from the same Korean grocery store you get the marination sauce from; they will probably have high quality shaved beef labelled as "Sliced Bulgogi Beef". Otherwise try to get a very low fat cut of beef and slice it as thin as possible.

First, mince the garlic with a sharp knife. Then pour the marination sauce into a large container and add the minced garlic. Stir the combination to distribute the garlic in the sauce.




Take a slice of beef and dip both sides in the marinade so that it is well coated. The beef should pick up some pieces of garlic in the process.





Now lay the coated slice of beef at the bottom of a large sealable container. Repeat this process until all of the beef has been deposited in the container. Pour any marinade left over the beef.




Seal the container and store in the fridge overnight to let the beef absorb the flavour.






After the beef has marinated overnight, fry it in a cast iron pan. Do not add any oil because the marinade contains sesame oil already. Cook until the meat takes on a brown glossy appearance, but don't cook so long that it turns dark and dry.


Enjoy with a side of sticky rice, kimchi, and bean sprouts.

Oven Baked Salmon In Foil

Prepare the following ingredients:

• Wild salmon fillet
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2 salad onions, sliced
• 1/3 each of a red, yellow and orange pepper, sliced
• 1/2 lemon
  
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• Emeril's essence
• Black pepper, freshly ground
• Splash of Disaronno
• 5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• salt, a pinch to taste

Cut a section of tin foil large enough to wrap your salmon for baking in the oven.

Place a layer of thinly sliced white onion on the foil to act as a bed for the salmon. Drizzle some olive oil over the onions and grind some fresh black pepper corns over the onion.

Lay the salmon fillet skin-side down on the bed of seasoned onion.

Squeeze a bit of lemon juice onto the top of the salmon and then drizzle some Disaronno over it.

Lightly dust the top of the salmon with Emeril's essence (add a bit more if you like the heat) and add a pinch of salt to suit your taste (the salt is optional as there may be some salt in the essence depending on where you purchased it or how you made it).

Sprinkle the sliced salad onions evenly over the surface of the salmon and then layer the yellow, red, and orange pepper slices on top of the onions.

Top it off with curls of butter spaced an inch or two apart and some freshly ground black pepper.

Drizzle some more olive oil over the top.

Wrap the tin foil over the salmon and place in an oven that has been pre-heated to 350F. Remove the salmon after 30 to 40 minutes to see whether it is done in the thickest part of the salmon.

Remove the wrapped salmon from the oven and let it rest for five minutes. Serve while hot.

Bon Appétit!!

Chicken Breasts with Shiitake Mushroom & Onion Cream Sauce

Prepare the following ingredients:

• 2 dozen Shiitake mushrooms, sliced
  
• 8 cloves of fresh garlic, thinly sliced
  
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 6 to 8 chicken breasts
• Emeril's essence
• Berbere spice mix -- or your favourite hot pepper spice
• 2/3 cup of cream
• 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup of flour, for thickening the sauce
• splash of brandy and Disaronno
• canola oil
• fresh ground black pepper
• salt to taste

Lightly dust the chicken breasts (on all sides) with the essence and your favourite hot pepper spice. I like mine spicy so I'm not shy when applying the hot spices.

Add a small amount of canola oil to a hot frying pan and sear the seasoned chicken breasts on all sides to seal in the juices and give the breasts a nice crisp spicy exterior. Once seared, remove the breasts and set them aside.

Add another small amount of canola oil to same frying pan and bring to high heat (just to where the oil begins to smoke). Then add your chopped onions and sliced mushrooms to the pan, add freshly ground pepper and a pinch of salt to suit your taste as well. Stir frequently so that all the ingredients cook evenly (depending on the size of your frying pan you may have to cook the onions and mushrooms in two or three stages as you don't want to overload the frying pan). Once you begin to see that the onions are starting to caramelize, add the thinly sliced garlic. Once the garlic begins to caramelize (don't let it burn), add a generous splash of brandy and a smaller splash of Disaronno. Stir the mixture until the alcohol has vaporized and then remove it from the pan and set it aside.

In the same frying pan (continuing to use the same pan will ensure that all the good flavours that are building up in the pan from the previous stages are carried through into the sauce) add your cream and chicken broth and bring to a slow boil, stirring frequently so that the cream does not burn. In a separate container (a glass cup will work fine) stir your white flour into a half cup of cold water and mix well. Strain any lumps and then slowly add the flour-water mixture to your boiling sauce, stirring continuously.

Transfer the sauce to a larger cooking pan (one large enough to accommodate all of the ingredients that you have been working with) and add the mushroom, onion and garlic mixture. Bring the contents to a slow boil and stir occasionally until the sauce thickens to your liking. Taste the contents to see whether you need to add additional spice or salt.

Add the chicken breasts back into this larger pan, cover, and continue to cook the entire contents at a low simmer for another 45 minutes. Taste again just prior to serving.

Serve the completed dish with a mixture of your favourite vegetables and some small baby potatoes. I find that broccoli and cauliflower work well together with this dish. Kale and Brussels sprouts also work well as alternates. The sauce makes a wonderful gravy.

Bon Appetite!!

Steamed Sticky Rice

Making sticky rice is a lot easier when you have a rice cooker, so let's assume that you have one.

Prepare the following ingredients:

• 1 cup of sticky rice (also called sushi rice) per person
• water

First, add the rice to the rice cooker pot. Second, rinse and wash the rice several times until the water is no longer cloudy.

Then, fill the rice pot with water to the line corresponding to the amount of rice that you have added (in our case we added 3 cups of rice, so we're filling the pot to the 3 cup mark with water).

Turn the rice cooker on, and once it starts to steam your rice is done.

Enjoy!

Tuna Kimchi Soup (Chamchi Kimchi Jjigae)

Prepare the following ingredients:

• 2 cans of chunked light tuna (chamchi)
• 1/2 cup of green onion, thinly sliced (pa)
  
• 3 cups of cabbage kimchi (baechu kimchi)
• 1 cup of kimchi broth (liquid from the jar)
  
• 6-8 cups of water (mul)
  
• sesame oil (chamgirum)
  
• Korean red chili pepper powder (gochu garu)

Add sesame oil to a hot frying pan, lightly coating the bottom. Add a layer of kimchi to the pan, frying for 5 minutes to dry the cabbage out and infuse with sesame flavour.




Remove the kimchi and add to a large pot. Repeat until all of the kimchi has been fried and put in the pot.









Add the kimchi broth, drained tuna, green onions, and 4 cups of water into the pot. Heat to boiling and then simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add sesame oil, red pepper powder, and water to taste.

Enjoy with a side dish of steamed sticky rice!

Puffed Wheat Squares

Prepare the following ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of butter
• 1/2 cup of corn syrup
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 3/2 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 6-7 cups of puffed wheat
• Pinch of salt

Combine all of the ingredients except for the puffed wheat in a large pot. Stir and bring to a boil over medium heat.





Simmer for 1 minute, then remove from heat.







Fold in the puffed wheat, ensuring that the wheat is covered with the sauce.

Press into a lightly greased 8x8 inch pan. Allow to cool and set, then cut into squares.

Enjoy!