I love making pizzettes. They are so taste and you can do so many different varieties, the combinations are endless (strawberries and basil drizzled in balsamic glaze, caramelized onions and brie – you name it). I love pairing this version of bruschetta with a melbec like Kaiken. Very smooth, light and easy drinking. You can also find the original recipe on my first blog post It’s all about the food!

Here is what you will need:

• Naan breads
• Mini bocconcini cut,
• Olive oil,
• Tomatoes cored and chopped
• Garlic minced
• Fresh basil chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Balsamic glaze.

How to make the bruschetta pizzette:

• Preheat the oven to 425. In a bowl combine bocconcini, olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, basil, salt and pepper. Place Naan bread on a pizza pan or baking sheet. Spread bruschetta mixture over the Naan bread. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Take out of…

There is nothing like the smell of homemade bread wafting through my house as it bakes early on a Saturday morning. Making bread from scratch use to scare me until my parents bought me a bread machine. Don’t worry, this post is NOT about baking bread in a bread machine but it is unfortunately how I started to learn how to make bread.
There is something gratifying and therapeutic about making homemade bread. I don’t think I’ve bought a loaf of store bought bread for about 3 years – it is just that good!
The big differences that you will find with homemade bread vs. store bought bread are taste and shelf life. The taste of homemade bread is out of this world and is probably one of the most comforting tastes you can have when a warm slice has been cut and smeared with butter…just heavenly! The other difference…

My husband is from Newfoundland, so cod is a fish that we eat quite often. When we go “home” cod is always something that we look forward to having because it is so fresh. This recipe is a very simple dish that has been a staple in many Newfoundland kitchens, it has a mild flavour and is a flakey white fish, so I find that most kids will eat it. I usually top the cod with coleslaw and sliced avocado but it also tastes good with hollandaise sauce. I also use my homemade bread recipe to make buns but you can easily use brioche buns which, tastes so good with it. Haddock comes from the same family as cod, so you can easily substitute with it in this recipe.

Here is what you will need:

• 1 1/2 – 2 pounds of salted cod
• 2 tbsp of butter
• 1 onion chopped

When it comes to sort of fast food, I like to eat at The Habit Burger Grill.  But I do not want to spend precious WW points eating a burger on a bun. That would be more than half of my total daily points! At The Habit you can get their burgers and sandwiches as a lettuce wrap. So I order the tuna filet sandwich as a lettuce wrap.

Tuna lettuce wrap

I am not satisfied with a piece of tuna in a bunch of lettuce, though. I bring along a toasted pita half, cut a pita-sized portion of the tuna and stuff it, some lettuce, and a slice of tomato into my pita. Now I have a nice hand-held sandwich to eat. WW points=4 for the tuna and its dressing (no teriyaki sauce, please) and WW points=2 for the pita, so a total of 6 WW points.

Tuna filet…

Are you a ham or turkey kind of person for the holidays?

I’m a turkey kind of gal. Actually, I could care less what the entree is; my favorite part of holiday meals are the sides. Give me a plate full of stuffing and mashed potatoes any day over sliced turkey or ham.

My family usually cooks a turkey for Thanksgiving and a ham for Christmas. One year, my mom really, really wanted something called a “country ham”. She had it specially ordered from Virginia or Georgia and hung it up in our pantry for the month leading up to Christmas.

When it was time to bite down on the treasured ham—you couldn’t get through one bite. It was so, so salty. It was the saltiest thing I had ever tasted in my life. We had to throw that country ham away and have been doing turkey for both holidays…

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Cod not to be confused with salt cod is something I eat often. Most seafood I’m really not that into but ill make a exception for cod. I prefer meatier fish like cod, mahi, or tuna. The challenge is keeping me interested so I’m always trying to think of different ways to get it in my diet.

I pass up my paella pan on the daily. Sometimes I wonder why I don’t use it more often since its perfectly good pan and I make paella only maybe twice a year. So I promised my pan I utilize it more. So here’s me keeping my promise to it. I can’t be the only one that thinks this pan is incredibly under utilized right? I love it because its the epitome of one pot , pan to table meals. You don’t need a serving platter or extra dishes. Everything looks pretty impressive…

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So it’s that time of year, the squirrels are stealing patio furniture stuffing, to carry up the trees and it driving me absolutely crazy. I thought that ended there, but I noticed my basil plants look a little… manhandled and distressed. So that’s where I drew the line. So, although I’m trying and working on it. I have absolutely no green thumb. But I must pat myself on the back because its getting a little better. So this unprompted attack on my basil was a big blow and now personal. So I collected a good portion of the plant. I just want it outside as much as it can be before I have to bring everyone in before the real cold sets in.

With that being said I’ve been having to think of ways to utilize all this basil. Meatballs came to mind and I love meatballs, but I live…

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I’m getting a cold so maybe I just have honey bourbon on the brain. I went to the store the other day and I saw this franks red hot dry mix. I figured it looked interesting enough. I saw it a couple times before and it definitely stood out in the spice aisle. This time I went for it.

With the cold weather out I’m already getting ready for a lot of smoking. I’m even getting a lot request from people to not forget about them when I do. It’s not till after these storms and showers that I’ll resupply the wood and keep a pile just for smoking. The only thing with a wood pile comes snakes. The thought alone stresses me out. Since the last couple storms haven’t passed and its a beautiful day out. I decided let set up the grill. This was probably my best fire…

I don’t think I have ever made a carrot cake but after making this one, I will definitely be making it again. If you are looking for a beginner recipe, this is it. What makes it even better is the cream cheese frosting. Yum.

It’s also one of those cakes that seems like it can’t be healthy, but it’s really filled with goodness. First of all, it has whole wheat flour (I used half white and half whole wheat) which is very healthy. There is also tons of grated carrot – 1 pound – so that gives has a lot of nutrition and it helps to keep the cake moist.

The greek yogurt keeps the cake moist too and the cinnamon gives nice flavour. I also like that it wasn’t overly sweet, it was the perfect amount of maple syrup in the batter. Another thing I liked is the chopped…

Halloween is over and it is now time to think about Thanksgiving! I love Thanksgiving and all the food. Even though we don’t celebrate with a traditional meal on Thanksgiving day (we travel for Mid-America Oireachtas, Irish dance regionals in Kentucky) we will be together eating appetizers somewhere enroute. It is about being together more than food for me (though my children think differently).

So, enjoy your family (actual or chosen) and do the things you love!

This has been a hit for years on my blog. Green Beans with Brown Butter and Sliced Almonds (or Toasted Pecans) (click for link to recipe) is delicious! It takes ordinary green beans to another level. You have to be super patient to make the brown butter but it is worth the extra time to make it. Prepare your beans ahead of time, have the sliced almonds ready to go and this is…

This recipe takes the tears and pressure out of putting this  type of dessert together, and you can do it in about twenty minutes.  It is an uncomplicated recipe for this complicated and sobering time.  I did post this recipe a year or so ago, but sometimes we need to revisit a favourite recipe. My dear, dear friends   I definitely think today we need to treat ourselves to something that will make us smile.

Chocolate dark as midnight.  Caramel sauce –  toffee-like  with just a suggestion of burnt sugar.    A superb marriage of flavours.   CHOCOLATE AND SALTED DULCE DE LECHE TART is a very indulgent and very,  very French dessert.    Faced with the complex demands of making the perfect crust, the silky smooth chocolate filling and the smoky rich caramel sauce,  no wonder the perfect Paris hostess would pop into her favourite patisserie and picks up this tart.

Cake Rusk are the Indian version of Italian Biscotti and are a favorite tea time snack across India and Pakistan

Ingredients

• 1cupall purpose flour
• 1teaspoonbaking powder
• ½cupunsalted butter, at room temperature
• ½cupgranulated white sugar
• ½teaspoonvanilla extract
• 2eggs, at room temperature

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 F degrees.
2. In a bowl sift together all purpose flour and baking powder. Set aside.
3. Using your stand or hand mixer, beat the room temperature butter till it becomes soft and creamy.
4. Add sugar gradually and cream the butter and sugar together till it becomes smooth and creamy.
5. Add in the eggs, one by one and beat the whole mixture till it comes to a smooth consistency.
6. Add in the vanilla extract and mix.
7. Now add the flour and baking powder slowly into wet ingredients.
8. Beat the mixture for 2 minutes till it looks smooth.
9. Pour the batter into a 8 x 8 square cake…

If you are familiar with Indian food, you know the term “Palak
Paneer” refers to spinach cottage cheese.
Palak paneer is famous north Indian gravy dish made with spinach and Indian
cottage cheese. This dish is simple and easy to make at home in few minutes. If
you are craving comfort in the form of an Indian curry, this is perfect recipe
for you. For all the vegans out there, you can easily swap out paneer for tofu.
It is perfectly served with Indian flatbread like roti, naan, paratha or even rice.

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When it comes to paneer, using good quality of paneer is
always the key! You can get the paneer in any Indian store; however homemade paneer
is always the best way to go! I will share my paneer recipe soon! It is very easy,
and you can make big batch ahead of time, hence when you want to…

Pasta is pretty much my favorite ingredient to cook with. Because pasta is so incredibly versatile, and it is a great base to just add anything to! I think of pasta like a blank state for all my culinary imaginations. We can all agree that there is a lot of passion for pasta around the world and we are all pasta lovers at heart! You don’t have to be a chef or a professional to make a deliciously elegant yet simple pasta dish. This dish was an experiment turned into success!

You can never go wrong with an easy pasta dish for your kids! My son loves pasta, so I end up making it for him at least twice a week. On those days, I try not to cook two different meals. I just get creative with pasta itself and create new fusion flavors to make a one pot meal…

Aglio E Olio is a quintessential classic Italian pasta dish. You may be wondering what kind of name is this? Aglio means garlic and Olio means oil. It is one of the magical dishes that uses simple ingredients and turns into a magnificent dish in about 15 minutes. Many say this dish was invented in Naples and it is known as a peasant dish, created by poor farmers who had nothing but the most basic ingredients on hand. The traditional recipe uses the spaghetti, however, you can use any pasta you have available in the house.

This is my take on Aglio E Olio. This dish is on top of my comfort food list because I love pasta, olive oil, garlic, and spices! This dish is very simple at its finest. Make sure to cook pasta al dente and don’t forget the pinch of salt in boiling water. Trust me!…

As a parent, sometimes it’s hard not to feel completely defeated when our kids won’t eat the food we spend time and effort preparing. I feel that every parent has their own struggles when it comes to getting their kids to eat vegetables. I won’t lie but it’s a struggle I face every single day. After consistent daily efforts, at least my toddler attempts to try all new foods even though there isn’t guarantee of him finishing it. My goal is to remain persistent in exposing him to new flavors while trying not to get frustrated in the process. However, I do find different creative ways to sneak veggies into meals which helps make this process easier. One meal that I know will always go down well in our household is pasta! I incorporate all types of veggies in our weekly pasta meals. Pasta dishes are super versatile, filling, comforting…