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lavender lemon curd

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It’s the time for giving and there’s nothing better than giving something that you have taken the time to make. Around here, we do a lot of baking. From cookies to tarts to Christmas crack, there is something for everyone.

If you’re looking for something a little different, this Lavender Lemon Curd is the perfect thing! Lavender and lemon make a great combination and they work well together in this luscious curd.

Either on it’s own or paired with some shortbread, the floral citrus curd will definitely stand out. We love to eat it with fresh baked scones. This homemade gift is sure to please any citrus lover on your list!

Lavender Lemon Curd

3 lemons
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp lavender
1/4 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
4 extra-large eggs
1/2 cup lemon juice (3 to 4 lemons)
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Using a carrot peeler, remove the zest of 3 lemons, being careful to avoid the white pith. Put the zest in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the sugar and lavender and pulse until the zest is very finely minced into the sugar.

Cream the butter and beat in the sugar and lemon mixture. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and then add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until combined.

Pour the mixture into a 2 quart saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly. The lemon curd will thicken at about 170 degrees F, or just below simmer. Remove from the heat and cool or refrigerate.

choco banana nut muffins

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My first instinct when I see a bunch of ripe bananas is to make banana bread. I decided to change it up a little today and make some muffins. It’s always nice to have something baked for school lunches or for an afternoon treat.

These muffins feature bananas and are complemented with chocolate chips, coconut and pecans. It made the perfect after school snack!

Choco Banana Nut Muffins

1/2 butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 bananas, mashed
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup pecans

Cream the butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and mix. Add the flour and baking soda and mix until incorporated. Add the remaining ingredients until well mixed. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes.

pumpkin cinnamon rolls

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I don’t cook often with pumpkin but for some reason, I got it in my head that I had to make some pumpkin cinnamon rolls. Cinnamon rolls are one of Q’s favourites so he was totally on board and couldn’t wait to help.

I loved working with this dough – so smooth. It was easy to roll out and then cover in butter, sugar and spices. The house smelled amazing as they baked and we couldn’t wait to smother them in cream cheese icing before digging in. Q loved these, saying that these may be better than the original.

 

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

2/3 cup warm milk
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 TB ground cinnamon
1 TB all spice
1/2 cup butter, softened

Microwave the milk for 45 to 60 seconds. Then, dissolve yeast in warm milk in a large bowl. Add sugar, butter, salt, eggs, pumpkin and flour. Mix well. Allow the dough to come together with the dough hook of the mixer.

Put the ball of dough into a bowl that is sprayed with cooking spray.  Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for roughly 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size.

In a bowl, combine the brown sugar, all spice and cinnamon. Once the dough has risen, roll it out into a rectangle.  Spread the softened butter on the dough and then sprinkle with the sugar and spice mix.

Roll up the dough starting with the longer side and cut into rolls. Place the cinnamon rolls in a lightly greased rectangular pan. Let the rolls rise another 30 to 60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degree.  Once your cinnamon rolls have risen, bake them in the preheated oven until golden brown, approximately 18 to 20 minutes.

Eat warm as is or with some delicious cream cheese frosting.

1 cup warm milk
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, melted
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, softened

Microwave the milk for 45 to 60 seconds. Then, dissolve yeast in warm
milk in a large bowl. Add sugar, butter, salt, eggs, and flour. Mix
well. Allow the dough to come together with the dough hook of the mixer.

Put the ball of dough into a bowl that is sprayed with cooking spray.
Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place
for roughly 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size.

Once the dough has risen, roll it out into a 16 x 21″ rectangle.  Spread
the softened butter on the dough and then sprinkle with brown sugar and
cinnamon.

Roll up the dough starting with the longer side and cut into 12 cinnamon
rolls (or more smaller rolls, if you prefer). To even out the
rectangle, I cut off all the edges and the scraps made an additional 12
mini rolls.

Place the cinnamon rolls in a lightly greased rectangular pan. Let the rolls rise another 30 to 60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degree.  Once your cinnamon rolls have risen, bake
them in the preheated oven until golden brown, approximately 18 to 20
minutes.

Eat warm as is or with some delicious cream cheese frosting. – See more at: https://foodmamma.com/2012/05/after-discovering-last-month-qs-love-of.html#sthash.4jLTxXmR.dpuf

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beef pot roast

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Life is busy. Our days are spent running from one activity to the next. We try and keep Sundays free, a day to spend at home and putter around the house. Sundays seem like the perfect day to have something cooking for a few hours, filling the house with aromatic smells.

Yesterday we spent our Sunday enjoying the smells of a roast while we hung around the house. Cooked alongside lots of veggies and topped with a creamy gravy, this pot roast gives a sense of comfort. The perfect Sunday Supper.

We love beef around here. Since we love it so much, I felt I had to enter the Canadian Beef Blogger Ambassador Contest. I am up against 9 other competitors and would love your votes. Thanks for your help! Click here to vote.

Beef Pot Roast

1 small roast (3 to 4 pounds)
3 carrots, cut into chunks
2 onions, cut into large chunks
handful brussel sprouts, halved
1 pound mini potatoes, halved
6 cloves garlic
1 cup red wine
4 cups beef broth
salt
pepper
thyme
olive oil

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Heat oil in a pot on the stove. Add the onions and cook for a couple minutes. Remove and place on a dish. Add the carrots and brussel sprouts. Cook until there is a bit of colour. Remove and place with the onions.

Coat the roast with salt and pepper. Sear on all sides until there is a nice crust. Remove from the pan. Add one cup of red wine to deglaze the pan and scrape up all the bits. Place the roast back in along with the vegetables (including the potatoes) and cover with beef broth. Add a couple sprigs of thyme, throw in the garlic and place in the oven for approximately 3 1/2 hours.

Gravy

Remove the roast and cover with foil. Remove the vegetables. In a small pot, melt 2 TB butter and add 1/4 cup flour. Slowly add the drippings from the roast and stir until smooth.

yyc pizza week + blogger challenge

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Starting on Friday, it’s everyone’s favourite week – YYC Pizza Week! What better way to support Meals on Wheels than by stuffing your face with delicious pie at participating restaurants. With so many options to choose from, you could technically have pizza for every meal – all for a good cause, of course.

I was happy to participate once again in the Food Blogger Pizza Challenge. We were supposed to pick two out of the four ingredients from The Italian Store to come up with our creation. The four ingredients were: fig spread, homemade pesto, ricotta, pitted assorted olives.

I chose to use fig spread and ricotta and Hubby helped in creating the Fiery Fig BBQ Chicken Pizza. The fig spread was used in creating the fiery bbq sauce. Made with the spread, poblano peppers, ketchup, balsamic and spices, the sauce was tangy and sweet and oh so good. We literally licked the pot clean.

I topped the pizza with cheese, bbq’d chicken and red onions. Once out of the oven, I topped the pie with ricotta fresca, which added a creamy, cool component to the pizza.

The pizzas from all the challengers will be posted on Friday where you’ll have a chance to vote. Be sure to visit a participating restaurant next week and support Meals on Wheels!

Fiery Fig BBQ Sauce

1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3 TB fig spread
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 poblano pepper, roasted
salt
pepper
oil
sriracha, as hot as you like it

Heat some oil in a pan and add the onions and garlic. Add the ketchup, vinegar, fig spread and spices and cook for a few minutes. Add the mixture to a blender along with the pepper and sriracha. Blend until smooth. Enough for one pizza.

canada beef and karisma resorts

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I first learned about the Canadian Beef Culinary Series last year, when I attended the Canada Beef & Karisma dinner at Rouge restaurant in Calgary. It was there that I sampled amazing beef dishes created by Chefs Allemeier and Rogalski and learned about Karisma resort. It was also there that I won a stay at the hotel in the Mayan Riviera, which turned out to be one of our favourite vacations (Part 1 | Part 2).

I was excited to be invited this month to the Karisma Influencer and Media event held at the new Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence which opened earlier this year in Calgary.

We were fortunate to be treated to a four course meal made by the talented chefs at Karisma Hotels featuring Canada Beef.  With Jeroen Hanlo, VP of Food & Beverage Operations at Karisma Hotels, the chefs kept us entertained and well fed all evening. 

We first toured the amazing centre – fully equipped with a consumer kitchen, commercial kitchen as well as the beef fabrication room. We learned a lot from Marty Carpenter, the Centre Director and Abe van Melle, the Centre Technical Manager.

The evening started out with a tasty bite – beef tartare with habanero aioli. The platter was beautiful arranged with flowers and the beef was served on potato chips.

Our first course was Canadian AAA Spice Rubbed Tri-Tip, Baby Beets, Blue Cheese, Chantrelle Mushroom prepared by Chef Florian Durre, Executive Chef and Elorado Royale.

Our second course was Canadian AAA Petit Tenderloin, Yucatan Sauce “Chimole” prepared by Chef Jonaten Gomez Luna, Executive Chef at La Chique.

Our main course was the Canadian AAA Aged Rib-Eye, Black Corn Truffle, Creamy Sweet Corn  with Traditional Mole and Tamarind. The rib-eye was my favourite cut, soft like butter. This course was prepared by Chef Francisco Perez, Executive Chef and Dorado Seaside Suites.

The final course was an amazing sight. The chefs prepared dessert using liquid nitrogen! The nitrogen was used to make creamy rhubarb sorbet as well as icy beads of carrot juice. This along with some coconut sponge, yogurt foam and cotton candy made for a flavourful dessert with lots of textures.

It was a fantastic evening, combining a couple of my favourite things – beef and Mexico!

calgary food tours – craving kensington

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I was thrilled to finally take part in a food tour a couple months ago. It was so amazing, I’ve been raving about it since. My friend Karen Anderson, the nicest person you will ever meet, started Calgary Food Tours in 2006. The tours take place through different neighbourhoods around the city (as well as some markets) while the tour guides share their passion for food along with some history.

The tour that I took was Craving Kensington which included two blocks of deliciousness in the neighbourhood of Kensington. The tour started at the beautiful Kensington Riverside Inn. Our tour guide Jenny filled us in on some interesting history of both Calgary and Kensington. Having been born and raised in Calgary, I was a little embarrassed that I didn’t know a lot of the information that I learned that day.

Next stop was lunch at Pulcinella. This gorgeous 2-story restaurant is family run and serves delicious Neopolitan pizza cooked in a wood burning oven from Naples. We started with crispy calamari and a tomato salad with creamy burrata. This was then followed by a couple of thin crust pizzas. A lot of food for four people!

 
 

Following our Italian lunch, we went to The Naked Leaf and had a little tutorial and tasting. The store boasts many organic teas as well as an amazing patio to enjoy the drinks on.

 

Wine lovers rejoice – there’s a stop at the Kensington Wine Market! The staff here are happy to share their knowledge and a glass or two of their favourites.

We moved along next to the Peasant Cheese Shop and tried out a few of their many cheeses. While there, you can also pick up some accompaniments like crackers, preserves and charcuterie.

It’s a good thing we were doing a little bit of walking because our next stop was more food. We stopped at Brasserie Kensington for some of their poutine. The fries were perfect topped with cheese curds and duck gravy. Definitely going back again for that!

We ended the tour on a sweet note – at Crave. We were able to tour their newly renovated store and we learned how to do their trademark swirl. We were able to practice hands on so that was fun. Of course, sampling was involved.

If you ever get a chance, definitely try out one of the tours offered by Calgary Food Tours. It was a fun afternoon and I left with a full stomach and so much knowledge!

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.

three cheese pasta

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When I stayed at the Banff Springs Hotel a couple months ago, I indulged one day with their Grown-Up Mac and Cheese –  a pasta dish made with Boursin and lobster. It was a comforting meal and was so delicious. I’ve been thinking about it ever since I ate it.

I decided to give it a go, and make some Mac and Cheese tonight. I’m hoping Q will love it and that it will be a hit for school lunch.

Using this recipe as a reference, I made the pasta dish with lots of mushrooms. I ended up not putting the pasta in the oven with breadcrumbs because I wanted the dish to be creamy through and through. The addition of three different cheeses – Boursin, Cheddar and Parmesan – made the dish ooey and gooey.

This pasta dish was definitely a splurge but oh so worth every single bite!

Three Cheese Pasta
Slightly adapted from here.

1 pound pasta
4 TB butter
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
2 TB flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups milk
2 stalks of thyme
1 package Boursin cheese with garlic and herbs
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water, following package directions. Drain and set aside. In a large saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-low heat. Add the mushrooms until they are cooked. Add 2 TB butter and add the flour and stir until well blended and bubbly. Add salt and pepper, and the milk. Cook, stirring, until thickened. Add the herbs, Boursin cheese, and Cheddar and Parmesan cheeses.

Cook, stirring, until cheeses have melted. Stir in the drained pasta. Indulge!

Grown-Up Mac and Cheese

banff springs hotel eats

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After a hard week of moving, I am dreaming of an escape. I loved my little getaway last month to the Banff Springs Hotel. Although I was there for work, I was able to enjoy a lot of what the beautiful hotel had to offer. Finding a place to fill your belly was an easy task with all the dining options available. There were so many places to eat, there are still a lot more places I have yet to visit. Here are the few I was able to check out.

In-Room Dining
I was exhausted my first night and in-room dining seemed the way to go. I made a great choice with the Grown-Up Mac and Cheese.  The decadent pasta contained lobster, foraged mushroom and truffled Boursin cream. It was rich and was the perfect bowl of comfort food.

Samurai Sushi Bar and Restaurant
This popular sushi restaurant located close to the spa is one you definitely want to make reservations for. I was able to get room at the sushi bar and enjoyed a couple of rolls. Definitely helped with my sushi craving.

Castle Pantry
This deli in the hotel was perfect for grabbing something quick and delicious. I had heard lots about the seafood chowder – filled with fish and shrimp. Definitely a must try. Hubby had the chili and was delighted with the meat-filled dish.

Rundle Lounge
Afternoon Tea is a must try, located on the second floor of the Rundle Lounge. It’s a great way to spend the afternoon. Read more about it here.

The restaurant is also a great place for lunch. We ordered the Lamb Donair Flatbread which had hummus, onion and was topped with yogurt. It was cheesy and delicious.  We also tried the Surf & Turf Roll, minus the bacon. The sandwich was filled with lobster, shrimp, scallops and smoked salmon – the perfect dish for seafood lovers. Served with a side of sweet potato fries, our meal was filling and delicious.

I’m looking forward to my next visit to the castle in the mountains!