Chocolate Snow Caps

Since it is cookie week, I've decided to start the week of with a cookie recipe instead of my usual Meatless Monday recipe, and today it's Chocolate Snow Caps day. And let's also point out that they have a subtle hint of coffee. Now, let's just take a moment and think about what these cookies are? And by that I mean pure heaven. Did you hear about last week how The Cookie Monster (or is it Veggie Monster now? haha!) uploaded a video saying he wanted to host SNL... yes, I did say that The Cookie Monster wants to host SNL. (Personally, I would rather see Buddy the Elf host...).

Anyway, all this talk of cookies basically means that cookies are on the brain. Have I got you thinking, sorry, I mean craving, cookies? Woops, sorry! Guess you'll just have to whip up a batch of these.

Chocolate Coffee Snow Caps (makes 18)
Recipe adapted from: Martha Stewart

Ingredients
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 tsp instant coffee
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
4 oz semi sweet chocolate
1 tbsp milk
1/3 cup confectioners sugar (for coating)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt chocolate over a pan of boiling water, taking it off and allowing it to cool before it's ready to be added to the other ingredients.

In a bowl whisk flour, cocoa powder, espresso baking powder and salt together.

In a separate bowl using an electric mixer beat butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Next beat in the egg and mix in cooled chocolate.

Add the dry ingredients in two to three additions, mixing well in between. Finally mix in the milk and shape dough into a disk and wrap in plastic and put in the freezer for about 30 minutes or until firm and easy to work with.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and prepare a bowl with your icing sugar. Shape dough into 1-inch balls - I used a cookie scoop as it made them more uniform in size. Roll the balls in the sugar coating and place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. The cookies will spread during baking.

Bake for 12-14 minutes until the cookies have spread and are cracked on top. The cookies will be soft to the touch. Allow them to cool completely before delving in!

This first batch of cookies will be perfect for cookie week, as well as a wonderful addition to your holiday baking!

- Lou

Gluten Free Vegetarian Quiche

Ah, another Monday and you know what that means? Time for another one of Lou's Meatless Monday vegetarian dishes... on today's menu: quiche! And guess what, not only is this a vegetarian quiche, but it also has a gluten-free crust! And want to know something even better? It tastes amazing. This quiche has the perfect balance of hearty veggies, cheese and delicious eggs, some milk and maybe a smidgen of cream... yum! This is a fun and unusual take on Meatless Monday, usually a nice soup or stew or pasta dish would be a Meatless Monday dinner, but not today!

I'm sure that everyone in your house will enjoy this quiche, it's a big hit here! And the gluten-free crust is made with ingredients available at practically every grocery store!

Note: If you don't want/need a gluten free crust, this can be made in literally an instant, it's the crust that takes a little bit longer. You can use either a store bought crust, or your own recipe!

Vegetarian Quiche

Gluten-Free Crust
1 cup ground almonds
1 cup rice flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
4 tbsp olive oil

Directions

Pulse ingredients together in a food processor until it forms into a ball. Remove from food processor onto a well flour surface and knead lightly. Press dough into pie dish.

Quiche Filling
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup cream
1 cup broccoli chopped
1 cup white button mushrooms sliced
1/2 cup cheddar cheese grated
1/2 tsp onion powder
pinch of nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Firstly, prep the ingredients, chop the veggies and grate the cheese. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and pour into pastry lined dish.

Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes, or until center of the quiche has just barely set. Remove from oven and cool 15 minutes prior to serving.

Hope you all have a great Monday, that's meatless and delicious! Plus, how fun is this post? Two recipes for the price of one... woo!

- Lou

Vegetarian Curry

It's Meatless Monday, and you know what that means, a vegetarian dish! We're traveling over to India today and cooking up a delicious, and simple vegetarian curry. This is not only tasty, but it's very hearty too.. you won't even miss your meat! It's not spicy either, so hopefully the kids in your life will give it a try. You can eat it over a bowl of warm rice, and I can guarantee you that it will warm you up. Like a few of our recent Meatless Monday dishes, this dish is not labour intensive, yet it yields delightful results.

I'd also like to take this post to introduce everyone to my wonderful, wonderful new mentor! Jules from Butcher, Baker. We've been paired up for a couple of weeks now and she's so sweet and wonderful! It was through the Adopt-A-Blogger initiative that she found me, and I have to say I am so glad! Being in this food blogging world, and trying to navigate it all by myself can be a little intimidating - have you seen the thousands and thousands of fellow foodies out there? I'm glad to have someone on my side!

Jules' blog is filled with tons of neat recipes, and wonderful commentary! If you haven't, please check out Jules' blog! I love it so much, I've bookmarked this foccacia recipe and I'm slowly, but surely psyching myself out to make it!

Go check out Jules' blog, and while you're reading why not eat a warm bowl of this hearty curry?

Vegetarian Curry
Recipe adapted from: Martha Stewart

Ingredients
1/2 medium onion (chopped, or grated)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp + 1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp ginger
2 1/4 cups crushed tomato
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 19oz can chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
juice of 1 small lime (or more to taste)

Directions

Start by chopping or grating your onion and garlic. Once that is done, heat the olive oil in a pan and cook the onion over medium heat for about 5 minutes, adding in the garlic and then cooking for another minute or so.

While the onion is cooking, you can start draining and rinsing your chickpeas.

When onion and garlic are done, add in the curry powder and ginger, stirring to evenly distribute throughout onions. Pour in crushed tomatoes and water, stir to combine, and finally add in the chickpeas.

Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer for 15 minutes, without the lid. When the 15 minutes are up, squirt in the lime juice and serve over a bowl of warm rice!

This curry is sure to warm you up, and the meat lovers in your household won't even be complaining about the lack of meat and the vegetarians will love it.

Happy Meatless Monday! And keep an eye out later this week, I'll be posting a recipe for homemade curry powder - none of that store bought junk!

- Lou

Whole Wheat Apple Muffins

Confession, I had chocolate chips for breakfast. Why? Good question... well, it was because we were all out of these muffins! (And also, I was making mint chocolate chip cookies, so they were tempting me,) but really, it was because we had no more muffins. It was still a good breakfast, but not nearly as satisfying as these bad boys.

These are hearty, and scrumptious, and they are the perfect breakfast, especially when you are rushing out the door at 7:50 when you're supposed to be somewhere at 8... no that didn't happen to me this week, it's just a hypothetical situation.

These have it all, protein (walnuts!) as well as some sweetness (apples!) and hearty (oatmeal!). Don't these just make you want to dance a little jig? Or lick your lips in anticipation, whatever floats your boat.

Whole Wheat Apple Muffins
recipe adapted from: Gourmetish

Ingredients
(makes 12 muffins)

1 1/2 cups chopped apple
1 cup oats
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup apple cider
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter a muffin tin.

Start by peeling and chopping the apples, place them aside in a bowl.

In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients, (flours, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg,) create a well in the middle.

In another bowl, combine the wet ingredients (yogurt, apple cider, vegetable oil, vanilla, and egg).

Pour the wet ingredients into the well in the dry ingredients. Mix just until combine. Add the apples and walnuts, mixing until evenly distributed. Be careful not to over-mix as that will create a very dense muffing.

Using an ice cream scoop, scoop batter into the muffin tin until about 2/3 of the way full.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until when pricked with a toothpick it comes out clean.

Make a batch of these and enjoy them for breakfast this week! Yum!

- Lou

Green Beans in Vinaigrette

A Meatless Monday side dish today, green beans in vinaigrette! This is such a nice twist on the classic and succulent warm green beans, with a dollop of butter - which happen to be a favourite of mine! This dish adds layers to your meal, not only because it's eaten cool, but the vinaigrette makes it very similar to a salad. Not only are these green beans the perfect side dish to your meatless Monday main such as Roasted Butternut Squash Soup or Baked Tortellini but it is also a great sweet and vinegary side dish for Thanksgiving!

Everyone knows how crazy busy things get on Thanksgiving, so why not make a simple, and sure to please side dish like these green beans in vinaigrette?

Green Beans in Vinaigrette
Recipe Adapted from: Martha Stewart

Ingredients
1-2 lbs green beans, ends trimmed
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp white-wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions

Have a bowl/pot of cold water prepared. Steam green beans for 5-8 minutes. I like steaming green beans because they turn a vibrant green and remain nice and crunchy as well.

Once they are done steaming, quickly move the beans to the water to stop them from cooking. Once cooled, dry off and place in your serving dish.

In a bowl whisk together the oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Once mixed, pour over beans and toss to serve.

It's that easy, and delicious. Yum!! Have a great Meatless Monday and be sure to put this on your list for Thanksgiving!

- Lou

Bolognese Sauce

Seems as if I'm all about the sauces these days! Three in a row! First pesto sauce, then pizza sauce, and now, this scrumptious and aromatic bolognese sauce! This is, honestly the best meat sauce I have ever tasted, and smelled. It's aroma fills up the entire house. And guess what? Even after being in the fridge for a couple of days, when you take the lid of it's container, you're engulfed in the smell of this delicious sauce.

Somehow, someone works their magic, and all of the flavours just blend together in perfect harmony. It's like, when you're listening to an orchestra, and it sounds amazing, but then when you listen to just one instrument on it's own, it's not quite as wonderful, but somehow together all the instruments create magic. You know, if you're into orchestras and all that jazz. (Pun intended.)

I think everyone (obviously, not vegetarians!) love a good meat sauce, there is something so comforting about it, and on these cold November nights, there is nothing better than a nice comforting dish.

I can already tell that this recipe is going to be a staple around here during the winter months, and I can't wait to make it again!

p.s How cute is this bowl? Gotta love Anthropologie and my mother's obsession with everything being mismatched!

Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients
1 lbs ground chicken or turkey
1 lbs sausage meat (preferably spicy)
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 stalk celery
1 carrot
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 5.5oz can tomato paste
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp milk
pepper to taste

Directions

If you've got a food processor, throw in the red pepper, celery, carrot and onion, and pulse a few times until your desired size. I like my vegetables to be small, especially so that my sister would eat it, she hates all things veggies, so I pulsed probably about 5 or 6 times. If you don't have a food processor, you could chop them by hand, I just found this to be a lot easier, and less time consuming. Once finished, set your vegetables aside.

Next, throw the chicken/turkey and sausage meet in a pan and cook.

Once the meat is cooked, add in the chopped veggies, and cook for about 3 minutes. Then add in the crushed garlic and cook for another minute.

Spoon in the tomato paste, and stir it around in the pan, you want it to be evenly distributed and be sure to let it cook for about a minute in order for it to sweeten. After the minute, add in the crushed tomatoes and stir. Finally, stir in the milk and lastly, add in salt, pepper, nutmeg and herbs (basil, oregano).

Simmer the sauce for about 20 minutes. Once done simmering, serve with whichever pasta you like, we went with whole wheat rotini!

Hope that you enjoy this sauce, I can't get enough of it!

- Lou

recipe adapted from: Tyler's Ultimate Lasagna

Homemade Pizza Sauce

It's another Meatless Monday, so you know what that means! A vegetarian meal from yours truly, and this time it's homemade pizza sauce!

Pizza is one of those universal foods loved by so many, especially kids. Ask any kid, they'll tell you their favourite food is pizza. Pizza is to a cook, what a blank canvas is to an artist. You can do whatever you want to your pizza! But one of the major steps in creating pizza is... the sauce! None of this store bought junk, homemade pizza sauce is as easy as one, two, three.

I'm sure there are some moms (and dads) out there looking around for ideas for Meatless Monday, and they may have children to take care of and are not be able to stand there and watch their, say, risotto cook. Maybe, they want something that their kids will enjoy making and personalizing. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Pizza, is definitely the ideal Meatless Monday dinner for families.

It's pretty easy to find dough in the grocery store these days, so head out and buy yourself some dough and make tonight a pizza night! Stock up on mushrooms, mozarella cheese, red and green peppers, onions, pineapple, and really whatever vegetables suit your fancy! Just remember, make this a vegetarian pizza!

Basic Pizza Sauce

Ingredients
1 can (5.5 oz) tomato paste
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp granulated sugar
1 clove garlic (crushed)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried parsley

Directions

I literally meant it when I said it's as easy as 1, 2 3.

1. Mix all of the ingredients together.

2. Simmer over low heat for 8-10 minutes.

3. Spoon onto dough.

And the last step is the fun part, get creative with the toppings!!

I hope that everyone is having a marvelous, meatless Monday!

- Lou