recipe #19 - Chia Seed Preserves

To say I've become a bit obsessed with chia seeds would be an understatement. Not only have I been making my own chocolate chia seed pudding for breakfast at work for a few weeks now (recipe to come, once I take a proper photograph of it and not a silly instagram), but I have also been adding them into everything under the sun; sauces, salads, etc. They are chock full of health benefits including fiber and omega 3 to name a few.  When I saw that Oh She Glows had made a jam recipe, I knew I had to make my own or three, peach, peach-raspberry and blueberry.

1. Peach 2. Peach-Raspberry 3. Blueberry

Here's my adaptation for peach preserve:

Ingredients:

-3 cups pealed and cut up peach pieces
-2 tbsp honey
-2 tbsp chia seeds

1. In a medium pot, add peaches and honey, bring to a boil at a low heat level.
2. Once boiling, turn down the heat and mash up the fruit for around five minutes.
3. Stir in chia seeds and let it thicken for twenty minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Remove from heat and let cool; add to jar/container. It lasts in the fridge for around a week.

*For peach-raspberry/blueberry preserve:

I used the same recipe as above, however I used maple syrup instead of honey.

I've been enjoying mine with oatmeal in the morning. It makes it taste like pie filling. Other uses on waffles/pancakes/chia seed pudding/toast/etc.

-mjb

recipe #18 - Cauliflower Pizza Crust

To say I'm slightly obsessed with cauliflower would be an understatement. My love of cauliflower has already been blogged about here and here. I even have a pinterest board started dedicated solely to cauliflower. Last week I finally made cauliflower pizza crust. It's been on my cauliflower bucket list since I first learned about cauliflower rice. I know I will be making this in the future instead of giving in to ordering pizza.

Ingredients:

-1 cup cooked, cauliflower rice**
-1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
-1 egg, beaten
-1 tsp dried oregano
-1/2 tsp garlic salt (I used garlic powder)
-olive oil (optional, i did not do this, but it was in the original recipe)

Other - pizza sauce (I used a thin layer of olive oil and franks hot sauce) and pre-cooked pizza toppings.

1. Preheat oven to 450
2. In a medium bowl mix cauliflower rice, cheese and egg together. Add in spices, transfer to a cookie sheet (pre-spray cooking sheet with non-sticking cooking spray) and pat out your pizza crust. You want it to be thin, but not too thin or it won't cook properly. If you are using olive oil this is where you would brush a thin layer over to help browning, mine worked fine without this.
3. Bake between 15-30 minutes until crust is browned. My oven took around 30 minutes.
4. Take out pizza crust, add pre-cooked pizza topping and broil for 5 minutes.

**How to Cook cauliflower rice:

1. Clean and cut cauliflower into florets.
2. Use a food processor to pulse until the cauliflower looks like grains.
3. Place the cauliflower into a microwavable bowl and microwave for 8 minutes.
4. My cauliflower made around 2 1/2 cups.

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

-mjb

birthday party 2012

I have been putting joining Pinterest off for months now but I finally bit the bullet.  I have started a board for my 30th birthday party which I have decided upon the theme of '30 things I love'.  If you are so inclined please check out my board for the upcoming months as I plan my fabulous birthday party.

-mjb

Freezer, Fridge and Pantry Challenge: Day 3, 4 & 5

So here we are a few weeks later with the rest of my Freezer, Fridge and Pantry Challenge. The first image is of Black Bean Tacos that I made at a friends house. I think I may have pursued her to do her very own challenge.

Black Bean Tacos with Lettuce Wrap

Next up, is a simple pasta recipe that I just added a bit of olive oil and freshly grated parmesan to one of those Ziggy fettucini fresh pastas - full disclosure: I had to make this that night because the pasta was one day from expiring.

Parmesan Pasta with Sauteed Vegetables

The Friday I did my original challenge I went out to dinner with some girlfriend's so last week I challenged myself again to another challenge as I was going out of town for the weekend. Here is the only photo I took of my food. I will definitely make this meal again.

Poached Chicken, Asian Broccoli Slaw, Roasted Veggies and Spinach Salad

cheers

-mjb

Freezer, Fridge & Pantry Challenge: Days 1 and 2

A few weeks ago I brought one of those flavoured tunas to work to go with a salad. When I opened it up and noticed the expiry date from over a year ago, I realized a) I am kind of over flavoured tuna, b) I really need to go through my pantry more and c) I keep my pantry fully stocked to the point that I am not eating what I am buying.  Therefore my 'Freezer, Fridge & Pantry' challenge idea was born; I may coin the term after this.

Day 1 - Cheeseburger on roasted red pepper bun with homemade 3 bean soup and peas & carrots

Day One:

It may not look like much, but it was sure tasty. When I was younger, my dad was diagnosed with diabetes and this is a take on the meal he would make himself.  I make this when I'm feeling a little nostalgic. The soup was from my freezer, as was the peas and corn. Everything else came from the fridge.

Day 2: Poached chicken with spicy sauce, shaved asparagus salad and asian broccoli coleslaw

Day 2:

I decided I would poach some of my frozen chicken breasts I had after a friend had successfully done it last week and raved her outcomes. It is beginning to feel like summer and I do not want to use my oven more than I need to so poached chicken will soon be a staple. The sauce I made for it consisted of sesame oil, soya sauce and some pimento paste, I would say maybe 1 tsp of each. The broccoli coleslaw came from my fridge. The shaved asparagus salad is my new favourite! Crunchy and satisfying similar to cold noodles with this meal. Here is the dressing I mixed for both

Asian Dressing:

1 tbsp rice vinegar
1-2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp minced ginger
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp chili paste
a few drops lime juice
a few drops honey/agave
sesame seeds

I cannot wait to eat this again for lunch

-mjb

Challenges

Dear Blog

I am a horrible blogger, I keep saying I will blog more and I do not follow through. Therefore I have come up with a solution, I will set myself some challenges.

Challenge 1: Next week I am attempting to not go grocery shopping at all, therefore all meals will be prepared with my pantry and refrigerator.
Challenge 2: I want to maybe do a week of bento boxes for lunch.
Challenge 3: I want to start a new feature on my blog, 'What's for Dinner'. In actuality I have started taking photos of meals, but have not posted them and then too much time has passed.  This will change!

Here are my 'failed' attempts and if anyone wants I will post the recipes

Grainy Mustard Chicken on a bed of baby spinach with roasted beans, cauliflower and cauliflower rice

Panko Crusted Chicken Breast with baby bok choy salad and tahini quinoa lentil salad

Spicy Beef Broccoli on a bed of rice

-mjb

recipe #17 - Burger Cake

I really enjoy baking cakes for my friends on their birthday.  In the past I have made a timbit cake filled with smaller timbit bits inside, a cake with pudding inside, a cake covered in reese peanut butter cups and cupcakes galore.  My good friend Laura requested a cake that looked like a burger to fit in with her burger, beers and bowling theme. I am all too happy to oblige.

I cheated with using box cakes and icing, but I figured if I was going to decorate this then I was going to 'cheat' somewhere in the process. Therefore I will not write out an ingredients list, but I did end up going to Michaels to find the 'cheese'. I was told to say it was magic that I used for it, but really it's a sheet of edible sugar.

In all its glory

yum!

Aftermath - It was really hard to cut

I normally hate decorating cakes but I found this one let me be very creative. I did google images of burger cakes for inspiration but when it came down to it I just let my creativity flow. I've already been asked to make a barbie cake next year. I'm already figuring out how I will decorate her dress. I'm thinking Banksy mixed with Marie Antoinette.

-mjb