Carrot muffins with cream cheese/orange zest frosting
1 cup of cake flour
1 cup of whole wheat flour
2 tsp of baking powder
2 tsp of cinnamon
¼ tsp of salt
1 cup of sugar
½ cup of chopped walnuts or pecan nuts
½ cup of raisins
½ cup of coconut
3 eggs
¼ cup of oil
1 cup of water
¼ of low-fat milk
1 apple, grated
2 cups of grated carrots

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF)
2. Sift the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl
3. Stir in the sugar, nuts, raisins and coconut
4. Add the eggs, oil and water and stir until just combined
5. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until just combined
6. Spoon into the muffin trays and bake for 20 – 25 minutes, until done

The frosting
12 ounce of cream cheese at room temp.
2 ½ cup of powder sugar
Zest of one orange
½ lb of unsalted butter at room temp.
1 tsp of vanilla

Using a mixer, beat together cream cheese, sugar and orange zest.
Start on low and gradually speed to med. high and beat until smooth
and fluffy. Add butter and mix until smooth. Add vanilla and mix until
combined. Spread on top of muffins. Garnish with walnuts or pecans.

Note: If you don’t have cake flour, you can make your own by:
Combining all purpose flour and cornstarch
The easiest way to do this substitution is to put 2 Tbsp of cornstarch
On the bottom of a 1-cup measuring cup, then fill the cup as usual with
all purpose flour and level top.

Baked Garlic Escargot

Baked Garlic Escargot
1 can of escargot
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
½ cup of butter
¼ cup of a red pepper (minced)
1 Tablespoon of lemon juice
1 Teaspoon of parsley (dry or fresh) Optional
¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
Mozzarella cheese

In a saucepan, heat butter garlic and lemon juice
And cayenne pepper
And set aside.
Place escargot individually in dish. Add butter mixture
to fill each hole. Spread cheese over top. Garnish with red pepper.
Bake in oven at 400f for about 15 min. Until golden brown.
This is such an easy recipe and delish!

Patty Pan Squash Soup

Patty Pan Squash Soup


2 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small hot Jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and chopped
2 ribs celery, strings removed and chopped
2 medium (12-14 ounces) gold potatoes, peeled and cut into small dice
2 pounds small yellow squash, chopped (or young zucchini)
1 pinch white pepper
4 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon of dry thyme
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon of curry
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon turmeric (optional)
1 tablespoon tahini (optional)
1 tablespoon juice from lemon(optional)
salt and white pepper, to taste (optional)

Garnish: slivers of red bell pepper or fresh cilantro

Heat a large non-stick or enamel-coated pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, reduce the heat to medium, and cook, covered but stirring every minute or so, until it begins to brown, about 5 minutes (add a little water if it tends to stick). Add the garlic and hot pepper and cook for another minute.

Add all remaining ingredients except the optional ones. Cover and cook until the potatoes are completely tender (about 25-40 minutes).
Remove half of the soup and put it into a blender* and puree at high speed until completely smooth. (Be careful--hot liquids can erupt from your blender; I always remove the center cup from the lid and cover the opening with a kitchen towel.) Once it's blended, pour the soup into another pot. Add the remaining soup to the blender, along with any optional ingredients you choose to use, and blend well. Add to the other half of the soup, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Ladle into bowls, garnish with slices of red bell pepper or cilantro, and serve. Great with a Baguette!
Note: you can use any type of summer squash for this soup.

Gardening pickings

Bruschetta with Tomato & Avocado

Bruschetta with Tomato & Avocado

Ingredients

• 1/2 loaf whole-grain French, or other thin loaf bread
• 3 Tbsp / 45 ml extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 cup / 240 ml fresh tomatoes, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, passed through a garlic press
• 1/2 tsp / 5 ml sea salt
• 1/2 tsp / 5 ml freshly ground black pepper
• 1 handful fresh arugula leaves, finely chopped
• 1 handful fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp best quality balsamic vinegar
• 2 fresh avocados
• Juice of 1/2 fresh lemon

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 375º F / 190 ºC. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Slice bread into thin, 1/2-inch slices on the diagonal. Arrange slices on baking sheet. Don’t overlap. Use another baking sheet if necessary.
3. Use a baking brush to lightly coat each piece of bread with olive oil. Bake for several minutes or until lightly toasted. Remove from oven. Set aside.
4. In a medium-sized oven-safe mixing bowl combine tomato, remaining olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Place in hot oven and bake for 10 minutes or until tomatoes are soft. Remove from heat.
5. Transfer cooked tomatoes to new mixing bowl. Add chopped arugula, basil and balsamic vinegar. Mix gently to combine. Set aside.
6. Peel avocados. Cut in half and remove pits. Dice avocado and toss with lemon juice.
7. Top each piece of bread with tomato mixture. Top with avocado. Serve.

Slightly Flattened Herbed Chicken

Serves 4
The reason why I say “ slightly flatten” is because I didn’t take out the spine. I only cut up along one side of the chicken’s spine. The term to flatten a chicken is to Butterfly or spatchcock. It's really easy! You make a cut along both sides of the spine. (take out the backbone and it can later be used for stock). You will need poultry shears or a very sharp knife for this task. Then after you’ve cut out the back bone, you turn the chicken over and press down on it to flatten it. Chose the way you prefer to flatten your chicken. As a result of this technique, the chicken cooks more quickly and more evenly.
You will need:
1 whole 3-4 pound chicken, trimmed of excess fat and spatchcocked/butterflied/slightly flatten.
A big shallow baking pan to fit the chicken.
Preheat oven at 350 F.

2 onions each cut in 4 pieces
1 lemon quartered
Place pieces of onion and lemon underneath chicken

Rub mixture:
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon of fresh cilantro
1 tablspoon of fresh basil
1-2 tablespoon coarsely chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
1. Mix all rub ingredients in a bowl. Pour over chicken a bit at a time and rub all over.
2. Place chicken in preheated oven.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes per pound. A 3 to 4 pound chicken will cook in 2 to 2 ½ hours.
4. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
I served my chicken with rice and salad. Serve with your favourite side dish. Enjoy!

Banana Bread

Banana Bread
Ingredients
1 cup white sugar
½ cup veg oil
2 eggs, beaten
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¼ cup of orange juice

Beat sugar and oil together in a large bowl.
Add eggs and mashed bananas; beat well.
Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt
Together; add to banana mixture and blend well.
Mix in orange juice, combining well. Pour into
a greased and floured 9x5x2 ½ “ loaf pan. Bake
at 350*F about 1 hour 15 min. Or until cake
tester inserted in center comes out clean.
Turn out and cool on cake rack. You can
Slice this bread very thin. Enjoy!