Recipe: Chili-Lime Shrimp

I'm so excited to share that this season I will be teaming up with President's Choice to bring the Lifestyle File recipes to Loblaws locations across the Greater Toronto Area. I'm pretty excited to be back in a classroom and to share my love of food and the culinary arts with more people.
I really think food brings people together and it is a common topic regardless of age, location or any other demographic. My students made my first class such an enjoyable experience and I'm really looking forward to the next time I'm back in the Loblaws kitchen.

Thought I'd share one of the recipes that I shared in my first class. I did a Chili Lime Shrimp and paired it with PC's recipe for Southwest Succotash. Both dishes had lime and cilantro and paired together really nicely. You can also serve this shrimp with a salad and some rice for a filling meal.

Shrimp is a great lean protein and I feel the flavours in this recipe really punch it up quite a bit. I got some great feedback from my students who ate it during class, hope you enjoy it too!

Chili-Lime Shrimp

1 pkg PC Brand Raw Jumbo Black Tiger Shrimp, deveined and shell on (18-20 pieces)

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and diced

1 tsp cumin powder

¼ cup olive oil

2 limes, juiced

1 tsp lime zest

1/3 tsp salt

3 tbsp chili powder

chopped cilantro leaves to garnish

1)Preheat oven to 400 degrees Celsius

2)Line a baking sheet with foil paper (this makes for easy clean up later)

     3)Place all the ingredients (except the shrimp and cilantro) into a large bowl

    *Taste your marinade (it should be a little salty and spicy with a tang

4) Leaving the shells on the shrimp add them to the marinade, making sure they are coated with the mixture

5) Cover and let the shrimp sit in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour

6) Line the shrimp up on the baking sheet and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes

7) When the shrimp are an even pink colour they are cooked

8) Arrange the shrimp on a platter or plate and sprinkle some chopped cilantro leaves on top
9) Squeeze some more fresh lime on top of the shrimp right before serving to brighten the flavours

Serve with rice and Southwest Succotash

This recipe can easily be adapted to cook on a grill and would also make a great stuffing for tacos (but take the shell off before marinating)

Panko-crusted Masala Cauliflower Steaks

This week I'm going meat-free and eating delicious, flavourful vegetarian food has become an exciting project to work on. I walked up and down the aisles of my local grocery store looking for inspiration and found it in the international foods aisle where my eyes happened to rest on panko crumbs. They are so easy to work with and add an instant crunch to whatever you're working with. This recipe for masala panko crusted cauliflower steaks will be sure to please the most skeptical vegetarian, but as it really brings the heat--don't be afraid to dial down the amount of spices if you are into a more milder flavour or pair it with something cooling like a cucumber-yogurt dip. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Cauliflower 

Panko bread crumbs 

Masala mixture-

1/3 tsp garam masala

1/3 tsp corriander powder

1/3 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp tandoori powder

Juice of half a lemon

2 tbsp olive oil 

Salt to taste

Chilli flakes to taste

Mix the spices, oil and lemon juice.

Cut cauliflower into 1 inch thick steaks and baste with the masala mixture and spread them out on a baking sheet.

Roast in the oven at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender.

Sprinkle Japanese-style panko crumbs on the cauliflower steaks, creating a crust. 

Continue to bake the cauliflower for 5 more minutes, carefully watching to make sure the panko is crisp but not burnt. 

Enjoy and serve with cucumber yogurt dip, corriander chutney or as an accompaniment to a salad.

Persimmon, Prosciutto and Arugula...oh my!

Today I am sharing a recipe that is perfect for entertaining as it is quick, easy and it is great as a make ahead appetizer but also looks impressive and tastes delicious.
In my opinion, that makes it a total win!

I love that this app keeps me out of the kitchen and leaves my guests feeling like it's a special occasion.
It truly can't be easier and while we are still enjoying the end of persimmon season, we might as well use them when we entertain.

Persimmon-Prosciutto Rolls

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

3 ripe persimmons

1 pkg prosciutto

a handful of arugula or mixed greens

Method:

Step One Peel the skin off a persimmon and cut it into slices about a centimeter thick and a few centimeters wide

Step Two Carefully remove a piece of prosciutto from the packaging. Be careful to pull the ham back very slowly as it tears easily

Step Three Cut the prosciutto into two long strips

Step Four Make a “bouquet” of a few pieces of arugula by holding them together at the ends

Step Five Place the lettuce bouquet and the persimmon onto the end of the piece of ham and slowly roll it while holding on to the other fillings. Roll the hall the way you would a piece of sushi or a place mat

Step Six Arrange your rolls on a  platter, keeping the “seam” side down on the plate

Butternut Squash Soup...in a blender

So I FINALLY used my Vitamix blender for what I bought it for today and the results were awesome! I made a fresh, homemade RAW hot soup at home in ten minutes. Don't have a fancy blender? 

You can still blend up a quick soup just like this in no time! 

On the weekend, roast up some butternut squash and keep it in the fridge in a sealed container. Then, on a night you are too tired to really cook, peel the skin off half an onion, chop an apple (cored) and put them in a blender with about 1/2 cup of chicken or vegetable broth. Blend it until it liquifies and then add your reserved roasted butternut squash, some fresh or dried rosemary and 2 cups more of the stock of your choice. Blend away before transferring to a pot to heat through and finish with salt and pepper and a little milk or coconut milk(if you're vegan). Dinner will be ready in half the time because you didn't chop your onion or squash and you didn't have to wait for it to cook on the stove.

Serve it with some bread or salad and it's perfect for a cold winter weeknight. 

How to roast your butternut squash:

1) using a few passes of a sharp knife (be careful) slice your squash in half lengthwise

2) using a spoon or a serated knife, remove the seeds from the squash

3)pierce the outer skin of the squash with a fork a few times (both halves)

4) place them flesh facing down on a baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper

5) allow the squash to roast in the oven at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes

6) when they are done the squash flesh will be a bright orange colour

7) allow it to cool a bit and then use a spoon to scoop out the roasted flesh of the butternut squash

8) reserve in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days and use it in a soup or other dishes

Enjoy!

Heart-Shaped Vegetables

Who doesn't love a little extra love on Valentine's Day? The perfect way to spread a little love and joy is with vegetables cut into the shape of hearts of course! I find zucchini to be really good for this as it's easy to cut and therefore safer to work with. Today, however, I had carrots on hand, and they added a very fun, lovable touch to this hearty soup. Given the weather out there this weekend, this is the perfect way to introduce a nice hearty comfort food to your Valentine celebrations.

Start by washing, peeling and trimming your carrots. If you are using zucchini, I would leave the peel as the green edges offer a nice contrast to your final dish.

Carefully (carrots have a tendency to roll), cut a 45 degree edge into the carrot that goes all the way through the length of the vegetable.

Using a vegetable peeler or a smaller paring knife, cut off the angles to form the tip of the heart at the bottom. If you are just learning to do this and not so comfortable with a knife, I'd highly recommend using a vegetable peeler and peeling away until you get a straight edge.

Cut small bite sized pieces off of your vegetable and voila! Heart- shaped carrots!

I found I had to go back and fix a few that didn't have enough of  wedge cut out, but that was simple enough to do.

Hope this brings you a little warmth this soup season and results in some smiles on your loved ones' faces. Enjoy!

"You're Mine"-estrone Soup

I'm not sure about where you live, but where I live- it's freezing this weekend! To beat the cold and stay warm, I'm making a hearty (Valentine pun-intended) minestrone soup for lunch. The perfect way to add a little extra love?

Heart-shaped carrots! (The how-to will be in my next post) The recipe is down below. You can easily make this a vegan soup, but I am so partial to a little grated cheese melting it's way into this hot, soupy deliciousness...I can't give it up! But this is a completely vegetarian dish. Enjoy!

Minestrone Soup 

Preparation time: 15 minutes Total time: 30 minutes

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

½ of a bunch of spinach washed, chopped

4 cups of vegetable stock or chicken stock

1 can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 onion, finely diced

2 cloves of garlic, diced

1 green chili pepper, chopped or ½ teaspoon of chili flakes

1 tablespoon of fresh parsely, chopped

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

2 bay leaves, dried or fresh

1 can diced tomatoes

3 cups of water or vegetable stock

½ cups of pasta of your choice, cooked

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Step One Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots, garlic and chili and cook for a few minutes until the vegetables have softened

Step Two Then add the tomato paste and stir to allow all the vegetables to be coated. Cook for 3-5 minutes

Step Three Add the beans, chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper and stir gently

Step Four Add the water or vegetable stock and increase the heat to medium-high, allowing the soup to cook for about 10 minutes

Step Five Arrange the Spinach and cooked pasta in bowls and spoon the hot soup over top, allowing the heat from the soup to gently cook the greens. Alternatively, if you plan to eat all of the soup in one sitting, you can add the greens at the very end of the cooking process in order to keep their nutritional content high and their colour a bright green. Garnish with a little chopped parsley and grated cheddar cheese (if desired)

The most beautiful, quick and easy appetizer you ever did see...

Let's face it- the holiday are a busy time. If you're like me, you love going the extra mile when you're entertaining, to let your friends and family know you love them. There's something magical about the moments when you're hosting and toasting, surrounded by the warmth of loved ones; but when there's shopping, wrapping, baking and cooking to do, sometimes there's just not a lot of time left for beautiful plate presentation or extra fancy dishes.

It's at moments like these that efficiency is key, so I thought I'd share one of my favourite time-saving appetizers with all of you.

This plate will be sure to wow your guests and make them feel like you took some extra time and thought to make something special. It looks beautiful, tastes amazing and it's ready to eat in under 5 minutes. 

If you ask me, that makes it a winner.

All you need are Boursin cheese (it's an herb flavoured, medallion-shaped, soft cream cheese), pomegranate seeds and some chopped rosemary. 

Simply place the cheese medallion in the centre of a plate, and sprinkle the top with fresh chopped rosemary. Then add some pomegranate seeds on top and serve it with a plate of crackers. I like to showcase this showstopper on a plate all  by itself since it's so beautiful and the colours really pop. Serve this on a pretty white or neutral plate to really get the effect as the colours play off each other and it's an instant attention grabber.

Hope you enjoy entertaining with this quick and simple, elegant dish as much as I do. Bon appetite!

Compound Butter

It's the most wonderful time of the year and a lot of us are busy with holiday parties, work events and even casual get-togethers. While it's quick and easy to grab a bottle of wine to take over to a friend's house, I sometimes find myself inspired to give them something a little more personal.

I always appreciate little thoughtful gestures from friends and a homemade hostess gift is one of the ways I love to have my friends feel all warm and fuzzy too.

This recipe for compound butter is so quick and easy and it's a great addition to any holiday table as well. I like to use it as a finishing touch on roasted potatoes, boiled vegetables or with freshly baked bread. Make it for yourself, make it for others...either way it's a crowd pleaser and an easy and delicious way to take your dinner to the next level.

Rosemary Compound Butter

Preparation time: 10 minutes Total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

½ cup salted butter

3 tablespoons of fresh rosemary, removed from the stem and chopped

Method:

Step One Leave the butter at room temperature to soften about 30 minutes to an hour

Step Two Mix the butter and rosemary in a bowl, combining with a spatula

Step Three  Spoon the mixture on to a sheet of parchment paper and roll it into a log shape

Step Four Tie the ends off with string or twist off the ends

Lemon and Shallot Compound Butter

Preparation time: 10 minutes Total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

½ cup salted butter

2 tablespoons of fresh lemon zest

1 small shallot, finely diced

 

Method:

Step One Leave the butter at room temperature to soften for about 30 minutes to an hour

Step Two Mix the butter, lemon and shallots in a bowl, combining with a spatula

Step Three Spoon the mixture on to a sheet of parchment paper and roll it into a log shape

Step Four Tie the ends off with string or twist off the ends