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watermelon lime spritzer

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We thoroughly enjoyed the long weekend. Saturday was beautiful and hot and a great day to spend on the water. The kids were excited to go tubing and even Z went in the tube with hubby.

We had friends over after and had a great time cooking together in the kitchen and barbecuing outside. We had chicken, beef kebabs, warm potato salad and fresh naan. It was delicious!

We quenched our thirst with watermelon drinks. The kids had blended watermelon, happily pouring their drinks from the watermelon keg.

For our drinks, we had watermelon lime spritzers. The combination of the watermelon, lime and mint was refreshing. Perfect for a hot summer day!

Watermelon Lime Spritzer

1/4 cup blended watermelon, strained
1/4 lime, juiced
simple syrup
mint leaves
sparkling or still water

Fill a glass with ice. Add the blended watermelon, strained. Add the lime and a splash of simple syrup – as sweet as you like it. Top the glass off with your choice of still or sparkling water. Garnish with mint. Enjoy!

#MenchiesMyWay – win a summer vip pass!

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There’s nothing better than a cool treat on a hot day. That’s why Menchie’s is always a favourite this summer.

Menchie’s is the largest growing frozen yogurt franchise in Canada. Menchie’s just launched the new Oreo cookie flavour, one of over 150 flavours available at the froyo joint. The best part of Menchie’s is it lets your creativity shine.

You start at the yogurt bar where you can mix up your favourite frozen yogurt and sorbet. Next you head on over to the snack bar where you can add toppings like nuts and candies. Next stop is the toppings bar where you can add fruit, cookie dough or bobas. Last stop are the sauces  – from Nutella to peanut butter sauce, there’s a topping for everyone.

Menchie’s is giving away a Summer VIP Pass giving you 7 complimentary visits to any Menchie’s location across Canada. Winning is easy!

1. Get creative and take a picture of your Menchie’s creation
2. Follow @Mechies_CA and @fareenjj on Twitter or Instagram
3. Name your creation and share it on Twitter or Instagram – be sure to hashtag #MenchiesMyWay as well as tag both @Menchies_CA and @fareen.

I’ll pick a winner on August 18th.

I went to Menchie’s on 17th Avenue in Calgary a couple weeks ago and came up with this creation – The Nutty Chocolate Bomb made with Oreo and Nutella froyo, topped with Nutella, almonds, peanuts and Nanaimo bars!

What’s your creation?

banana cake

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There’s something about a bundt cake. It looks great, provides comfort and always seems to impress.

My mom makes really amazing banana cupcakes.They are moist and flavourful and perfect for on the go. I decided to use her recipe but made a bundt to serve for dessert. The ripe bananas made the cake sweet and the chocolate paired so well with the fruit.

The cake itself was fine on its own but I thought I’d make it even better – I added chocolate on top! I made a quick ganache and once it was a little cool, I poured it on top of the cake. It took it to another level. Chocolate always seems to have that effect.

Banana Cake

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas
2 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup yogurt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup whipping cream

icing sugar

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Mash the bananas and add to the mixture.

Add the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add in the yogurt and the chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into a greased bundt pan or muffin pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

For the topping, heat the whipping cream until it starts boiling. Pour over the chocolate chips. Let cool a bit and then pour on top of the cooled cake. It’s best to place the cake on top of a rack placed on top of a tray. Dust with icing sugar.

cream scones

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Happy belated Father’s Day! Hope all the daddies out there had a wonderful father’s day yesterday!

Our breakfast was a last minute arrangement so we wanted something that was quick and stress-free. We celebrated the dads with a breakfast of steak and eggs. I made a huge batch of scrambled eggs, thinking this would be better than making everyone individual omelets.

Hubby sprinkled some streak with lots of Montreal Steak Spiced which was done on the grill. The combo of the steak and eggs was just perfect for a celebration breakfast.

To go with the steak and eggs, I quickly whipped up a batch of cream scones. This is my favourite recipe for scones! It’s a great way to use up any extra whipping cream you may have lying around. It’s also a quick and easy way to make scones – no rolling, no cutting – it’s perfect when you’re in a hurry.

I discovered Julie’s recipe on Babble a couple of years ago and have loved it every since. Best served warm with butter and jam, they are sure to be a fave.

Cream Scones
From Babble

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup whipping cream

Preheat the oven to 400F. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the cream and stir just until the dough comes together. Drop by the large spoonful onto a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden. Serve warm. Makes about 1 dozen scones.

strawberry kulfi

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One of the best things about summer is all the great fruit. From cherries and lychees to watermelon and strawberries, there is something for everyone.

The other best thing – ice cream! You don’t really need much of an excuse in the summer, right?

I decided to add some strawberries to one of our favourite ice creams, kulfi. The marriage of the berries with the kulfi mixture was a delicious one.

Kulfi is one of the easiest things to make. You don’t even need an ice cream machine. Just mix everything together and pour into the molds. Easy peasy!

Strawberry Kulfi

1 cup whipping cream
1 can evaporated milk
1 can condensed milk

1/3 cup strawberries, pureed
3 splashes of kewra
essence

Mix everything together and pour into popsicle molds. Once frozen, enjoy!

** Kewra is an Indian essence used in desserts. It can be found in most East Indian grocery stores.

Kulfi

1 cup whipping cream
1 can evaporated milk
1 can condensed milk
3 splashes of kewra essence
roasted almonds

Mix the milks and essence together and pour into a shallow dish and top
with almonds.  The mixture can alternately be put into popsicle molds. 
If using an ice cream machine, add the almonds in the last five minutes.
– See more at:
http://www.foodmamma.com/2011/07/kulfi-two-ways.html#sthash.ujjuXylV.dpuf

taco casserole

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Around here, we are huge fans of tacos. Soft wraps or hard shells, we love them all. With tacos being so easy to prepare and everyone loving them, they are likely to be seen on the menu once a week.

Our new favourite way to eat tacos is in a casserole! While boiling a pound of pasta, we cook off some ground beef with taco seasoning. When both are done, we combine the two, put them in a casserole dish and cover the mixture with cheddar cheese. The dish is baked until the cheese is ooey and gooey.

When we are ready to eat, we top the pasta with salsa, sour cream, onions, tomatoes and avocados.  It’s like eating a taco with a fork! Perfect for taco Tuesday!

2015 world partnership walk

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It looks like the weather is going to be gorgeous in Calgary this weekend. If you’re looking for something fun to do outdoors on Sunday, you should definitely check out the World Partnership Walk at Prince’s Island Park.

Taking place for over 30 years, the Walk has raised almost $90 million for international development programs and initiatives. This year, Q and his cousins have gotten together and formed a team. If you’re looking to make a donation, feel free to sponsor him here.

This annual event boasts great entertainment, and of course, delicious food! This year, there are six food vendors to fill our bellies – Africana, A Fine Balance, Bubbles & Subs, Fiasco Gelato, Waffles & Chix, Calgary Mini Donuts and Subway. It’s going to be so hard to choose!

Click here to find out more information. Hope to see you there!

Homemade Donair Meat

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Love donairs as much as we do? Homemade donair meat is super easy and very tasty. Impress your friends by making it at home.

We love donairs around here so when I saw this recipe last year for donair meat, it was definitely something I wanted to try.

Making this is easy. I just toss all the ingredients into my mixer and let the hook do the kneading for ten minutes until everything is incorporated.

The meat is then formed into a loaf and baked off. Once sliced, I fry up the meat in a pan before stuffing it into pitas. This step is totally optional. Q loves this so much, he is content just eating the meat by itself. He also asks for donair sandwiches, happily taking it for lunch.

Homemade Donairs

For dinner, we stuff it into a pita with some lettuce, onions and tomatoes. Topped with a garlicky dressing, it tastes just like from a restaurant! A quick version of donair sauce that we use is sour cream, agave and garlic. So yum!

Not Just For Pitas

The meat is pretty good on pizza too. Check out this donair pizza I created for pizza week last year.

Homemade Donair Meat
Adapted from All Recipes

1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp flour
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 pound ground beef

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, place the ground beef and then add the salt, oregano, flour, black pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder.

Using the kneading hook, knead the mixture for ten minutes.

Form the meat into a loaf, and place it on a broiler pan or baking sheet.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes in the preheated oven, turning the loaf over about half way through. This will ensure even cooking. Serve, or allow the meat to chill before slicing and reheating.