Warm Spinach Salad

I know I say this a lot but this is one of my all-time favourites. HIGHLY RECOMMEND you trying it.

Here's the recipe:

• Baby spinach
• A little bit of red onion, chopped
• Half an apple of your choice, thinly sliced and chopped
• Rasins/ dried cranberries
• Mixed seeds like pumpkin and sesame seeds
• Pecans, toasted
• Goat's cheese/Feta/Bre - your choice- crumbled
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• Dash of salt and pepper
• 1 tsp olive oil

Preparation:

• Put baby spinach, dried fruit, mixed seeds into a medium sized bowl.
• On the stove with a pea sized amount of oil, put in the chopped red onion. Add small sprinkle of brown sugar so that the onions get a slight amount of caramelization going on. Medium-High heat then low to simmer for about 2-3 minutes. Once done add to salad.
• Add the cheese.
• Toast some pecans, then add to salad.
• In a small bowl combine sliced and chopped apple, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 2 tbsp maple syrup, salt and pepper. Once combined, place in microwave and heat for about 1 minute. Once done add a splash of olive oil. Wisk together.
• Add to salad and serve immediately.

ENJOY!

HELLO AGAIN

SO I kind of haven't kept up with posting lately. I guess I want this blog to be recreation and not really a priority to post. BUT that doesn't mean I won't try to post as much as possible.
I would like to kick back into posting with something absolutely A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

Homemade flaky biscuits with HOMEMADE BRUSHETTA. Brew-shhkket-tah (proper pronunciation).
This is literally the best Brushetta I've ever had. I know you'll agree once you try it. This one is another recipe that I made up. So I'm proud of my own personal version. It's very easy to make! If you don't want to make homemade biscuits then I recommend serving on toasted english muffins or on toasted french bread.

Here's the recipe:

Kristen's Homemade Brushetta

• About 2 or 3 roma tomatoes, diced

• 1/2 red onion, minced

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 tsp parsley, finely chopped

• 1 tsp basil, finely chopped

• 1 tsp oregano, ground

• 1/2 small eggplant, finely chopped/diced

• 1/4 of a zucchini, finely chopped/diced

• Few crumbles of goat's cheese... Or feta- whatever you prefer

• finely shredded mozzerella or parmesan cheese- again whichever you prefer

• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

• 4 tbsp olive oil

• A touch of sea salt and fresh cracked pepper

Preparation:

• Put all ingredients except cheeses into a medium sized bowl. Toss. Cover, and let sit for about 15 minutes. You can also put it in the fridge and use whenever needed. 

• Toast bread of choice

• Assemble the brushetta on up of bread or biscuits. Add cheese on top. 

•Bake at 350 degrees for about 5-10 minutes.

Homemade Flaky Biscuits:

• 2 cups flour

• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, plus more to add on top later

• 3/4 cups milk

Preparation

• Wisk together flour, powder and salt. Cut the butter -very cold- into dry ingredients and cut in flour mixture until butter pieces are about the size of a pea. Add in milk and mix just until combined.

• Roll out the dough on a surfaces layered thin with powdered sugar. Roll out until about 1 inch thick.

• Cut out circles to form the biscuits. Place on a prepared baking sheet. Add a small cube of butter on top.

• Bake at 450 degrees for about 10-12 minutes.

ENJOY!

Carrot, Orange, Raisin Cupcakes

My beautiful cousin Victoria had a nice visit this week and we decided to make something fun so we decided on these DELICIOUS carrot cupcakes. I know it's not fall but carrot cupcakes are too good to pass up the rest of the year. These are absolutely amazing cupcakes with an equally amazing orange infused cream cheese icing.

Recipe:

Cupcakes:
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup canola or corn oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp grated orange zest
• 1 cup grated carrots ( about 2 large carrots)
• 3/4 cup golden raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Icing:
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 6 ounce cream cheese (room temperature)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tsp grated orange zest
• 1 tsp juice from an orange

Preparation:
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Line muffin pan with paper cupcake liners.
• Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar until smooth and thick (about 1 minute). Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. On low speed, mix in the oil, vanilla, and orange zest until blended.
• Mix in the carrots, raisins, and walnuts.
•Fill liners with about 1/4 cup batter. Bake for about 28 minutes. Cool cupcakes for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
• Make the frosting: In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on low speed, beat the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until smooth and blended thoroughly. Add in the powdered sugar, mixing until smooth, then beat on medium speed for 1 minute to lighten the frosting further.
• Using a spoon, mix in orange zest and juice into the frosting. Spoon about 1/4 cup of frosting on each cupcake. place walnut halves on top to decorate. Serve, or cover and refrigerate.