Four Bean Salad with Tangy Dressing

My mom used to make bean salad everytime we had company over. It was my least favorite dish. It was weird to eat a bowl of sweet and tart beans. Just didn't work for me.

Then my sister made it one night not too long ago. And it was fantastic. Hearty and filling with the tartness complementing the heaviness of the beans. I just couldn't stop eating it.

It's funny how dishes we remember as a child resurface in our adult lives. And it's amazing how our tastebuds change!

Four Bean Salad with Tangy Dressing

Serves 4-6

1 can Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained

1 can Chick Peas, rinsed and drained

1 can Cut Wax Beans, rinsed and drained

1 can Cut Green Beans, rinsed and drained

1 Green Bell Pepper, chopped

1 Red Onion, chopped

1/2 cup Cilantro, chopped

For the Dressing:

1/2 cup Red Wine Vinegar

1 tbsp Sugar

2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tsp Celery Seed

1 tbsp Mustard Dijon

Salt and Pepper

In a large bowl mix together all the salad ingredients.

In a seperate bowl, disolve the sugar in the vinegar. Add the other dressing ingredients and mix well. Pour the dressing onto the bean salad. Stir, cover, and refrigerate until service (the longer you refrigerate, the better this salad tastes, so I suggest you make it the night before).

German Marble Cake and a BBQ Celebration!

Today was my husband's birthday celebration. Nothing dramatic... just a low key barbeque with family. But of course, food wise, nothing can be "low key." We needed to make a spread fit for celebration!

On the menu? Barbeqie pork ribs, thyme marinated chicken thighs, smokies, grilled vegetables, greek pasta salad, and some sangria to wash it all down.

Oh, and the cake. Decisions, decisions. Every year, my husband gets some kind of awesome cake. The most memorable had to be the "Turtle" cake, followed by the patriotic vanilla cake . This year, when I asked him what kind of cake he wanted, he said "A Marble Cake." At first, I was surprised, but then I remembered...

On my birthday last year, I was blessed by a German friend, Julia, who surprised me with a German marble cake for my birthday. My husband loved it so much, he ate about 3/4 of it. He ate it as it was, and then for breakfast, lunch, and every time in between until it was gone. And it left such a strong impression that when I asked him about his birthday cake, he didn't even hesitate before asking for this one.

I am not sure if I can ever replicate Julia's delicious cake, but here is my recipe, which complemented our barbeque celebration just perfectly!

German Marble Cake

Makes 1 cake

1 cup Butter, room temperature

1 cup Sugar

4 Large eggs, separated yolks and whites

1 cup Skim Milk

1 tsp Almond Extract

3 1/4 cups Flour

1 tbsp Baking Powder

1 pinch Salt

1/4 cup Cocoa Powder

3 tbsp Triple Sec

Icing Sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a bundt or fluted pan (like an angel food cake pan)and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in the egg yolks, milk, and almond extract.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into the butter and egg yolk mixture.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold them into the batter.

Move half of the batter into a separate bowl. Mix in the cocoa powder and triple sec.

Spoon the batter into the cake pan, alternating white and brown batter. Then swirl with a fork.

Bake for about 60 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Creamy Cilantro & Coconut Chicken

Here is an interesting dish.... creamy and comforting lifted up with the freshness of cilantro. Inspired by Thai flavours with the coconut milk and fish sauce, this dish is super easy to make and is a great alternative for those who do not like spicy dishes. Also, because of the light, fresh flavours, this dish would make a great summer main course.

If you prefer, you could make this delicious dish with a nice white fish like halibut or grouper. Just cut it into 1 1/2 inch cubes and instead of adding them at the beginning of the recipe, add them after you add the coconut milk and fish sauce. Let the fish cook in the sauce for about 5 minutes only.  Enjoy!

Creamy Cilantro & Coconut Chicken

Serves 2 generously

1/3 cup Fresh Cilantro Leaves, chopped

6 cloves Garlic, peeled

1/2 tsp Black Pepper

Pinch of Rock Salt

2 tsp Vegetable Oil

400 grams Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breast or Thigh, cut into 1 to 1 1/2 inch cubes

1 Medium Onion, diced (about 2/3 cup)

1 can (14 oz) Coconut Milk

2 tbsp Fish Sauce

Place the cilantro, garlic and rock salt into a mortar and pestle and pound into a paste.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Cook the chicken for about 3-4 minutes, then add the onions and cook until the onions just start to soften. Add the cilantro paste, coconut milk, and fish sauce. Let cook for about 8 minutes until the chicken is cooked and the sauce thickens a little.

Serve over steamed rice or tossed with rice noodles.

Crispy Rice & Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mmm... cookies! So quick to make, and a big batch put in the freezer provides homemade goodies for a long time to come!

These cookies are a little twist on regular chocolate chip cookies because they have rice krispies in them as well. I love the addition of the rice krispies because they add an additional texture component and almost lighten the cookies.

Crispy Rice & Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 60 cookies

1 cup Butter

1 cup Brown Sugar

2/3 cup White Sugar

2 Eggs

2 tsp Vanilla

2 1/2 cups Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt

2 cups Chocolate Chips

4 cups Rice Krispies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Sift in the flour, baking soda and salt and mix to incorporate. Fold in the chocolate chips and rice krispies.

Drop by spoonful onto the lined baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Mini Carrot & Ginger Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

 

I don't really think that I have a sweet tooth. Yes, I do occasionally crave a piece of dark chocolate or a homemade sweet, but in most cases, I would choose savory over sweet anyday.

The exception to this seems to be carrot cake. For a cake filled with vegetables, carrot cake is pretty delicious and sweet. In fact, I love it so much that I wanted my wedding cake to be carrot cake (over-ruled by Chocolate-Raspberry....).

Carrot cake is deliciously moist, and of course, topping it with sweet, velvety cream cheese icing doesn't hurt!

Mini Carrot & Ginger Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

Makes 60 Mini Cupcakes

For the Cupcakes

2 cups Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

2 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Baking Soda

3/4 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg

3/4 cup Brown Sugar

3/4 cup White Sugar

3 Large Eggs

3/4 cup Vegetable Oil

1 tsp Vanilla

1 tsp Fresh Ginger, grated

2 cups Grated Carrots

1 cup Canned Crushed Pineapple, drained

2/3 cup Chopped Walnuts

For the Icing

1 cup Cream Cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup Butter, room temperature

1/2 tsp Vanilla

2 3/4 cup Icing Sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line mini muffin tins.

In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the white and brown sugar, eggs, oil, vanilla and ginger. Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Stir in the carrots, pineapple, and walnuts.

Spoon the mixture into the muffin cups until 2/3 full. Bake for 11-13 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the icing, beat the butter, cream cheese and vanilla in a bowl until completely smooth. Add the icing sugar, half a cup at a time until the icing is smooth. At this point, you can spread onto the cooled cupcakes or you can place in the fridge and cool for 1-2 hours and pipe the icing onto the cupcakes.