Chips

Salty snacks are my jam. Sure, chocolate cake is good, but hit me with a bag of Miss. Vickie's potato chips and this girl will be in heaven.  Tonight I was craving a treat so I decided to try out making my own potato chips. OH BABY! It is beyond easy and they are beyond tasty. You seriously cannot go wrong.  Use whatever spices you want to season them.  Dill, chili powder, garlic salt, pepper, the list goes on and on.  Try this out - you won't be disappointed.  I used potatoes that I grabbed from a Farmer's Markets on my way home from work Friday. They were on the small side, so I would recommend using large potatoes so it speeds up the process. It does take some time but it's completely worth it knowing they aren't deep fried and processed. Enjoy!

Yield: Snacks for 2
Ingredients
1-2 large white or red potatoes, slices SUPER thin (depends on how hungry you are)
A splash of olive oil
any spice/herb you love (I used salt and pepper this time)

Method
Wash and slice potatoes super thin. Toss them in a bowl with olive oil and spices. Spread slices on a microwave safe plate, making sure they aren't on top of one another.  Place in microwave for 5ish minutes. Remove from microwave (careful the plate is HOT), flip slices (I'm not sure if you HAVE to do this step... I will experiment this week and let you know). Put back in the microwave for 5 more minutes. Remove when they all have brown flecks throughout. They should be hard to the touch (that's what she said). Remove and let cool for 2 minutes. Serve. 

They should be fine to keep for a day or two in an air-tight if you cannot eat them all.

Pita Pita

I've fallen in love...again.  Last week a friend introduced me to an amazing Mediterranean fast food place in London called Pita Pita that serves the best hummus I've ever eaten. Ever. Ever.You MUST go!  It's not a place that you want to stay to eat because it's fairly busy, small and packed with teenagers. Definitely more of a grab and go place. I confess....I went again today.  Order the small hummus with chicken and ask for hot sauce on it. You won't regret it! It will last you at least 2 meals and it's under $7.00. That means that it the last 7 days I've had Pita Pita for 4 meals. Dirty...but ohhhhhhhh so good (that's what she said).
Do it.

Pita Pita

456 Wharncliffe Road South, London, ON N6J

(519) 672-0068 ()‎

Food Forward

I received an email forward from my Aunt a few weeks ago with some very helpful food pointers that I thought I'd pass along.  Enjoy!

• To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.
• When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking tin, use a bit of dry cake mix instead and there won't be any white mess on the outside of the cake.
• Wrap celery in aluminium foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.
• Cure for headaches: take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.
• Don't throw out all that leftover wine. Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.

Crock Pot Pulled Pork

I've made pulled pork before (here) but it had quite a few ingredients which can be a royal pain in the ass for people who don't have a ridiculous amount of spices like this girl does.  This week I made a super quick pulled pork in tomato sauce and it was great.  I prepared it the night before (took about 10 minutes) and plugged it in on the way out the door in the morning.  Nothing beats coming home to the smell of a home cooked meal and not having to cook it yourself.  Thank you Mr. Crock Pot. I have to say I'm more of a BBQ sauce pulled pork girl, but this tomato based sauce was definitely yummy.
Ingredients
1 pork loin
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground coriander
2 bay leaves
1 large can tomato sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Method
Toss everything into a large crock pot and coat meat with sauce.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Remove bay leaves. Transfer meat to cutting board and pull apart using two forks.  Add meat back into sauce and stir to coat.  Serve on fresh buns with lots of sauce (that's what she said).

Slacker McGee

I'm sorry for not being around lately. I have been really focused on the house and much less on creating new recipes.  My bad.  Once school wraps up in a few weeks I will certainly have more time to dedicate to the kitchen.  I've been cooking but haven't been trying out new things. Stick with me... I will get my ass in gear soon enough.

Black Bean Brownies

Yup! You read that right! I recently attended a training workshop on implementing and promoting healthier foods in highschools.  I completely support this endeavour and was pumped to try out some new healthier recipes from Bake It Up, a resource prepared by the Ontario Public Health Association.  While at the training I had the opportunity to sample a few recipes including Black Bean Brownies.  Sounds nasty, right? Think again! I decided that this would be a great experimental recipe to make with my Nutrition students.  They were disgusted when they read the recipe but I was happy to see that most actually sampled and enjoyed the brownies! Success!  The follow recipe is from Bake It Up.

 
Ingredients
1 can black beans, rinsed, drained and MASHED (do this BEFORE mixing with anything else!)
¾ cup whole-wheat flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

3 tablespoons canola oil

2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line an 8-inch (20 cm) square metal baking pan with foil, leaving a 2-inch (5 cm) overhang at opposite ends. Lightly spray foil with non-stick cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, combine beans, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. With a wooden spoon, beat in eggs, sugar, applesauce, oil and vanilla until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan.

3. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until just a few moist crumbs cling to a tester inserted in the centre. Do not over-bake. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Using foil overhangs as handles, remove from pan and transfer brownies to a cutting board. Cut into squares.