Fortune Cookies (Soy/Dairy-Free) May 20, 2008

Who knew making fortune cookies could be so easy? These can be fun for so many occasions. Just think of all the types of notes you could leave inside these: birthday wishes, cheesy romantic I love yous, funny girls-night messages … the list goes on and on. I am making these for a birthday – good times.

INGREDIENTS:

1 egg white

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pinch salt

1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 cup white sugar

DIRECTIONS:
1) Write your fortunes on strips of paper about 4 inches long and 1/2 inch wide AND preheat your oven to 400F.

2) Grease a cookie sheet with a very thin coat of butter.

3) Mix egg white and vanilla until foamy but not stiff.

4) Sift flour, salt, and sugar, and blend into the egg white mixture.

5) Drop batter by tsp about 4 inches apart on cookie sheet, and with back of spoon, smooth batter into round shapes, making sure batter is as even as possible (do not make too many at first — these cookies have to be HOT in order to form).

6) Bake cookies for 5 min or until they look golden on the edges (the middles typically look pale).

NOTE – Prepare more cookies on another buttered cookie sheet while the first batch is baking!

7) Take cookies out of oven, and remove from sheets using wide spatula to put cookies upside down on a wooden board.

8] Quickly put a fortune in the middle of the cookie and fold the cookie in half – fold cookie in half one more time, then place folded cookies into a muffin tin to cool.

Yummers!

Dilly Potato Salad May 13, 2008

It’s nearing summer and that means BBQ and picnic season is just around the corner.  I was inspired by my day-dreaming of beer and cottages, and thought I’d honour those thoughts by making a savory potato salad.  I love fresh dill, but I think if you didn’t have any around, the dried dill would certainly suffice. 

 

INGREDIENTS:

3 large potatos, chopped

1 bunch of fresh dill, chopped

2 tbsp dijon mustard

1/3 cup sour cream (use full fat if you can – it’s so much tastier!)

2 tbsp mayo

2 tbsp plain cream cheese  

1/2 cup chopped celery

salt and pepper to taste

 
DIRECTIONS:

1) bring a large pot of salted water to boil; add in chopped potato and boil for 15 min (don’t overboil or the salad will be mushy).

2) combine all remaining ingredients in a small bowl.

3) drain potatos once cooked, and run under cold water until cooled.

4) mix the chilled potatos with the sauce and chill in fridge for about an hour.  Serve cold.

Toasted Almond Pesto May 13, 2008

Pesto is by far one of the easiest and versatile sauces to make.  It pairs well with any pasta or your choice, and tastes great over just about anything (gnocchi, tofu, chicken, fish … you get the point).  I’ve even used it as a dipping sauce for crusty bread.  This variation uses toasted almonds instead of pine nuts, so you get the sweetness from the almonds, plus all their wonderful health benefits too.  Really one of the best meals I’ve made.

 

INGREDIENTS:

1 package of pasta (I used rigatoni)

1/2 cup of skinless almonds, slivered

1/2 cup of freshly grated parmasean cheese

1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic gloves

1-2 cups of fresh basil

salt and pepper

 

DIRECTIONS:

1) boil pasta as per package instructions.

2) heat a fry pan to extra hot, and toast almonds for about a min – do not burn!

3) transfer toasted almonds into a food processor and pulse.

3) add olive oil, basil and garlic to food processor and blend until smooth.

4) place mixture into a large bowl and combine with parmessean, and salt and pepper to taste.

5) add sauce to pasta and serve hot or cold!  Garnish with a few basil leaves and a bit of parmessean.