Adobo Chicken - saying farewell over dinner...

Over the past decade we have been fortunate to host many students from Japan in our home.  Each one has been unique and memorable to us in their own special way.  We feel the home stay experience hasn't only enriched the lives of the students, but all of ours as well.  I love seeing how these young people grow into themselves from the day of their arrival in Canada to the day they return to Japan.  This is such a life changing opportunity: coming to a new country, studying in English, meeting new friends, tasting new foods, seeing Canada in all it's natural and multicultural beauty, learning to embrace their independence, and becoming part of our family.

The hardest part of hosting a home stay student is having to say good bye when they return to Japan.  These girls are always treated like they are a member of our family - so often it is like saying good bye to one of our own when they leave.  We have a tradition of saying farewell to our students over a family dinner.  This dinner is usually also attended by extended family members our students have gotten to know during their time with us.  It is a celebration of their time in Canada and one last gathering for all of us around the table.

Last night we said good bye to Megumi - she arrived last fall and stayed with us for three months before moving to a home closer to her job at the airport.  Today she is on an airplane back to Japan.  It made me so happy to see that she returns home with fond memories of her time in Vancouver and a stronger sense of confidence in who she is and what she wants in her life.  That is the greatest pay off of hosting a student for me...not the money we are paid, but instead seeing that I (and my family) have had a positive influence on their life.  Okay, let's be honest, the cooking compliments I am given by my students are good too!!

Megumi loves my Epicure products...so last night I made Adobo chicken, my yummy scalloped potatoes, lemon dilly green beans. and a tossed green salad. A blueberry buttermilk pie followed for dessert, but I can't take credit for that as it was not homemade.

The recipe I used was Adobo Chicken...a Latin inspired recipe...

Notes:  I used the recipe on the side of Epicure's Adobo seasoning bottle - it mixed 2 tablespoons of the seasoning with 1/2 cup vinegar.  I used cider vinegar as per someones recommendation.  I drizzled it over, and then roasted my chicken pieces in the oven.  Once they were done I sprinkled Epicure's Arriba Sansel over them and served.

Verdict:  The taste of the seasoning and vinegar together is really good and it flavored the chicken - unfortunately the meat didn't brown with it, it turned out a pale color like I cooked it without seasoning at all.  The sauce is too liquid to grab onto the chicken.  Next time I would add tomato paste to the mixture to make the Red Adobo Sauce.  I think this would stick to the chicken better and help it to brown.  I would use the sauce I made last night as is on steamed vegetables - I think that would be a nice complement of tastes.

I guess they can't all turn out well!  That is part of the adventure of recipe trying.
Happy Cooking!

P.S.  The green beans were EXCELLENT - stir fry them in a little olive oil and then toss with a spoon of Epicure's Lemon Dilly Dip Mix.

Instant chocolate pudding finally made healthier...

I don't know about you but I have fond memories of chocolate pudding from when I was a little girl.  To me it was comfort food.

It is sad but in the years since I was young, chocolate pudding has kind of been ruined by all the ready-made varieties available in grocery stores.  Have you looked at the list of ingredients on the packages?  So many preservatives that I can't even pronounce.  I'm sorry but if I can't even say it, how is my poor body going to digest it?  Even the top-selling instant chocolate pudding brand disappoints me with it's list of ingredients.

Epicure's "Chocolate Pudding in an Instant" launched with their 2011 product line-up...I was curious because of my affection for pudding.  I bought a package to put in my sample bag and discovered....drum roll please...their pudding only has FOUR ingredients...sugar, tapioca, cocoa and sea salt!!  No preservatives and no artificial colors.  I got very excited and wondered about it's taste...

I made "Epicure's Chocolate Pudding in as Instant" into a Chocolate Parfait.

Notes:  I used one package of the pudding mix ($5.95) and mixed it with 2 cups of skim milk.  My youngest daughter stirred it with a whisk for 2 minutes, then I stirred it for another 2 minutes.  (the package says 2 minutes total, but the first stirs were child-strength, next time I may use the electric mixer, I think it would be fastest)  At this point it looked very pudding-like.  I spooned it into small dishes, put them in the fridge for 5 minutes and then added a layer of cream I had whipped ahead of time.  On top of this I added some blackberries and then shaved a little semi-sweet chocolate over everything.  This made 8 smaller servings (really all you need!) or it could have been done as 6 regular servings if you like.  I put them in the fridge for an hour before serving.

Verdict:  Chocolate pudding is back in our house!  Woo hoo!  This was easy to make and I LOVE that it is not full of junk.  The whole family LOVED it.  I can't wait to try to make pudding pops in the freezer with this...move over Fudgsicles!!  I think the way I made it tonight would be great with sliced strawberries.  If you don't have time for "made from scratch" this mix is pretty close - especially since it's ingredients are all things you know.

Cheers!

P.S.  I know I may seem partial to Epicure products because I sell them, but when I make their recipes or use their ingredients I am trying them out honestly for my family and my business.   I don't want to personally recommend anything to my customers that isn't a good product - therefore I test it first.

Chasing away the blues with blueberry muffins...

I think the winter blues are out looking for me, but I am determined not to let them catch up!

2011 has started with some challenges for our family and I am trying to keep us focused so we can get past them and make this a great year.  This week we have a few friends struggling with serious health problems, and our thoughts are with them for a speedy recovery.  This makes me also remember how lucky I am to be healthy and have a healthy family.  That is a great comfort to me, and is probably what gives me the strength to remain positive even when life throws in a speed bump along the way.

So, what do I do when I feel blue?  I bake.  Somehow the routine of assembling the ingredients, reading a recipe and making it, is therapeutic.  It makes me feel good.

The taste of blueberries make me happy too...maybe it's because they remind me of hot summer days when we can pick them in our backyard.  A little taste-bud escape from the rainy, winter day outside.

The recipe I have chosen is Shari's Any Berry Muffins  - it was shared with me three years ago by a dear friend of mine.  This is not the first time I have made these!  


Shari's Any Berry Muffins

• 1 cup frozen berries
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup plain yoghurt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 tsp vanilla

Mix flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl.  Mix yoghurt and baking soda together in a glass dish/measuring cup, cover with plastic wrap and allow to expand.  In a separate bowl beat egg.  Add vanilla, oil and sugar.  Then start adding dry mixture and yoghurt mixture, mixing by hand - alternating small amounts at a time.  Add berries - folding into batter gently.  Bake regular sized muffins at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick when inserted comes out clean.  Makes 12 muffins.

Notes:  I used blueberries to make my batch of muffins.  I also decreased the amount of sugar to 3/4 of what the recipe calls for, otherwise I followed the instructions.  I think it would be interesting to try this recipe with apple sauce instead of the oil - if I had some on hand I would have done it today.  (when I make these next time I will try it that way and leave my thoughts in the comments here)  I made my batch in a mini-muffin pan - it yielded 24 muffins.  I adjusted the baking time to 20 minutes and they came out perfect.  

Verdict:  These are delicious blueberry muffins - nice and moist because of the yoghurt!  My children love them and are excited they have gone to school in their lunch bags.  This is a basic recipe that I think you could jazz up with a little kitchen imagination...maybe a little lemon zest or some chopped pecans?  If you like a classic blueberry muffin then leave the recipe as is, and serve them warm with a little pat of butter for breakfast.  Yummy!  

Cauliflower and Cheese Soup for a cold winter's night

It all began yesterday with a cauliflower in my fridge begging to be turned into something delicious and exciting...the idea of steaming it and making cheese sauce to pour on top was already making me yawn, so I reached for the recipes and started looking for some inspiration.

The recipe that I chose was Epicure's Zippy Cauliflower and Cheese Soup.  


Notes:  It seemed simple enough - I basically simmered a cauliflower, an onion, chicken bouillon, garlic and Epicure's Spanish Seasoning.  The seasoning really made a difference, it gave it a gorgeous "saffron" color and took the taste beyond ordinary cauliflower soup.  After the simmering you remove the vegetables and mash them - I liked that they were not pureed beyond recognition like many recipes call for.  You add cheddar cheese (I used medium as that is all I had), cream (I used 1/2 and 1/2), a little butter and flour, as well as Epicure's Cheese and Jalapeno Dip Mix.  The recipe called for 2 tablespoons but I was worried it would be too spicy for my kids to eat so I reduced this to 1 tablespoon.  I think this was a good call because the soup had just the right amount of "zip" for our family.  If you enjoy spicy I would go for both tablespoons.

Verdict:  We enjoyed this soup, and it made enough that you could have it as a meal with some nice bread and a salad.  I loved the texture and the flavors - not your typical creamy cauliflower soup.  This was not an overly cheesy cauliflower soup either -you could definitely taste the cheese, but it was subtle.  Using the sharp cheddar as the recipe called for, would probably have made it more so.  


Here is a link to the recipe I used:
http://www.epicureselections.com/en/recipe/715/zippy-cauliflower-and-cheese-soup

Cheers!

P.S.  Cauliflowers are in season now and not expensive at the grocery store, making this the best time of year to make soup out of them!  

Sunday night dinner...Champagne Shrimp & Pasta

Sunday night at our house is a pretty social event.  We have an open invitation for our families and friends to come on over and join us around the dinner table.  Sometimes our table is set for six while other times it is all-out buffet style for sixteen or more.  Sometimes the seats are filled with only family members, other times neighbors and friends from both near and far places are added to the mix.  The one constant every Sunday is the warmth and welcome my family and I try to share with everyone around us.

Tonight we were eleven around the table, including three of our grown nephews, MDP, my mom, and a former home stay student. The boys told us this afternoon that they were coming for dinner and I know they are usually pretty hungry.  My originally planned turkey breast roast was definitely not going to fill everyone up!  Not a problem - menu changes or additions are normal fare around here on Sundays so I am quick to adapt with a recipe and ingredients from my pantry.

I chose a recipe for Champagne Shrimp and Pasta (allrecipes.ca) as I had a leftover bottle of champagne from New Year's, and a bag of wild Canadian shrimp in my freezer:

Notes:  I followed the recipe as per the original instructions except I doubled it so it would feed a crowd and substituted linguine for the angel hair pasta.  I tossed the pasta and sauce together in a big serving dish and added a few tablespoons of the parmesan cheese before mixing.

Verdict:  Everyone at the table loved it!  This is a pasta dish you could proudly serve your guests.  I read a review on the allrecipe website that said the reviewer felt it was a restaurant quality dish and I have to say that I agree.  The taste of the champagne is absorbed into the shrimp while cooking and tastes so good.  I would make this recipe again.

Here is a link to the recipe I used:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Champagne-Shrimp-and-Pasta/Detail.aspx?prop31=2

Cheers!