Manu's spicy olive tortilla wraps

A great place for picking up new recipes after confirming their tastiness are work functions. Especially if your work is fond of the potluck party.

Manu, an colleague from an old job has given me tasty recipes in the past: Manny's heavenly hash, chicken soup. Another party pleaser that he often makes are his spicy olive tortilla wraps. I can never have just one. So when my new workplace had a potluck party, I e-mailed him for the recipe. And here it is:

	green onion, finely chop
1 can	black olives
6 cloves	garlic
1/4 bunch	cilantro
2 containers	Herb and dill cream cheese
1 tbsn	paprika
1/2 tbsn	pepper
2 pinch	salt
	burrito shells

Instructions

1.  Chop up very finely a bunch of green onion, can of sliced black olives, 6 cloves of garlic, ¼ bunch of cilantro and throw in a bowl
2. Add 2 containers of herb and dill cream cheese (Don’t use low fat, the real stuff) add to bowl
3. Add a table spoon of Papirika, ½ table spoon of pepper and a couple pinches of salt (Manu's notes: I like it spicy so I add a generous amount of chilli flakes or cayane pepper)
4. Mix it all up real well and taste – if you want add more of something now is the time to do it
5. On a regular size burrito shell (doesn’t matter flavor, white or brown) spread a layer all over
6. Roll it up, cut the ends off (either throw them away or eat yourselves), and with whats left cut in about1.5 inch pieces

The Finished product - sorry it's so blurry!

Ariana helped me make these - and if a 2-year old toddler can make them, anyone can. She even declared them to be "good" and couldn't stop pinching them. They were quite garlicky and slightly spicy so I'm surprised she didn't spit it out. But then again, she is part Romanian and it was inevitable that she like garlic!

Notes: 
1. I mixed all the first ingredients up in my food processor to "finely chop" everything. It didn't detract from the taste, but I think the next time I do this, I'll manually cut up the olives to improve the texture of the rolls. I think it need some chunkiness to it. 
2. I didn't buy two separate tubs of herb, and dill cream cheese (since the combination didn't exist and I wasn't entirely sure if that was a typo on Manu's part or not) but one large tub of herb and garlic.

A great vegetarian finger food for future parties. Thanks Manu!  

Lemony Lemon Brownies

Damn you, Pinterest. It's visual crack and I can't stop pinning!

A friend Victoria recently pinned a recipe for "lemony lemon brownies". Sounds gross, right? Brownies to me mean chocolate. Don't worry - this recipe doesn't have any of that. It's more a lemon-bar, really. Anyway, wanted to bake something to take to a Christmas party and this recipe seemed super simple.

The original recipe site:
https://sites.google.com/site/beckycharms/cakies/lemony-lemon-brownies

The "Brownie" Batter

3/4 cup all-purpose flour {King Arthur All-Purpose Flour}

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt {Sea Salt}

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons lemon zest

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Tart Lemon Glaze

1 rounded cup powdered sugar

4 tablespoon lemon juice

8 teaspoons lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease/Spray an 8-by-8-inch baking dish with butter/cooking spray and set aside. 

Zest and juice two small/large lemons; set aside. {whatever you have}

In the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the flour, sugar, salt, and softened butter until combined. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice until combined. Pour into the flour mixture and beat at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. 

Pour into baking dish and bake for 23-25 minutes, or until just starting to turn golden around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before glazing.  Do not overbake, or the bars will be dry. {even with the yummy glaze}

When brownies are cooled completely, make the glaze...sift the powdered sugar, add lemon zest and juice, and whisk together all three ingredients. Spread 1/2 the glaze over the brownies with a rubber spatula.  Let glaze set.  Spread the remaining glaze over the bars, and let it set.  This glaze does not harden like most.  Cut into bars, and serve!

The batter looked heavenly after it was mixed. I wanted to eat the whole thing! It was like whipped lemon heaven. 

 

Unfortunately, I don't own an 8x8 pan only a 9x9 one and so the end result was kind of thin (like a little over a cm) after about 18 minutes. It didn't rise any. I used a silicone pan which made the brownie/cake tear when I popped it out. The glaze was runny (as warned) and it took about 4 small lemons to make it. Anyway, I used one of those flat scrapers to try and cut it and what a mess that made. I switched to a pizza cutter about 3/4's of the way through and that was a much, much better idea. Less mess and clean cuts!

 

The husband said it was tasty and my 2 year old toddler kept sneaking in and taking them. The people are the party I went to gave it high reviews too. Next time I make it I'd like to try and find a smaller pan.

Update March 3 2013: I've made this three more times since my initial attempt. I use my rectangular baking pan lined with parchment paper which works a lot better. Especially since I can just lift the parchment and put into a re-purposed chocolate tin. 

The first time I took it to a friend's house for her Oscars party. Either the lemons weren't super fresh or I stored them too close to a squash or used a knife that I had used to make squash soup (which I admit I made that same day), because it had a squashy flavour about it. Or maybe it was just the piece I got? One guy couldn't stop eating them. Nica said the last time I made them the bars were better.

The second time I took them into work. Weren't bad. I think I still overcooked them by a minute but the frosting really saved it. I selectively gave them out so had leftovers and when Nica and I ate them a couple of drunken nights later they were AWESOME. 

The third time I made them I used Trader Joe's gluten-free flour which you can use "cup for cup like real flour".  I wasn't sure of the chemistry of everything because after beating the butter, flour, sugar and salt, the resulting mixture was more solid and moist than crumbly like it normally is with regular flour. And after adding the lemon and egg mixture, it wasn't fluffy and creamy and almost looked like the lemon curdled. But I baked it anyway and it turned out super moist!  Thumbs up gluten-free recipe and in fact, I think I almost prefer it to the regular flour kind. Upping the rating from 8.5 to 9 out of 10. 

So my tips with this recipe?
* Use parchment paper to line whatever you're baking it in. Easier to transfer out of the pan (and clean), easier to hold in the glaze and easier to cut.
* Use a pizza cutter to slice the cake.
*  I used a KitchenAid mixer to mix everything. Probably not a tip since I'm sure you can still use an electric beater. I just wanted to point out that you don't HAVE to.
* You will need 6 (small) lemons to make this recipe and you will have leftover juice that you can freeze in ice cube trays for future use. 2 lemons for the cake, 4 lemons for the icing.

This is a super simple recipe that I can even get my toddler involved in. The hardest part is getting the rind off the lemons.

Asian Coleslaw Recipe

It's always nice when you work with colleagues who have healthy habits and good recipes. Trang has given me two more to try. The first is an Asian coleslaw and the other is a chewy chocolate chip cookie.

Here's the slaw recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/asian-coleslaw/detail.aspx?scale=5&ismetric=0

I'm always on the hunt for a good dressing that integrates peanut butter. She substitutes the three tablespoons of vegetable oil with one vegetable oil and two tablespoons of water to cut down on the fat. She says it's makes it a little runnier, but still tasty.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 tablespoons and 1-1/2 teaspoons creamy peanut butter 1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons brown sugar 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root

2-1/4 teaspoons minced garlic 2-1/2 cups thinly sliced green cabbage 1 cup thinly sliced red cabbage 1 cup shredded napa cabbage 1 red bell peppers, thinly sliced 1 carrots, julienned 3 green onions, chopped 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

You have scaled this recipe's ingredients to yield a new amount (5). The directions below still refer to the original recipe yield (10).

1.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, oil, peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and garlic.

2.

In a large bowl, mix the green cabbage, red cabbage, napa cabbage, red bell peppers, carrots, green onions, and cilantro. Toss with the peanut butter mixture just before serving. Update December 23, 2012: I meant to write my review of this when I made it a few weeks ago. OHMIGOD it's delicious! I am a stickler for keeping to an original recipe so it took me a couple days to collect all the ingredients, but the dressing was ridiculously good. I always find myself in stores looking for a good peanut butter satay sauce and nothing ever lives up. But this? Totally hits the spot for the sweet and salty combination. It would be great with satays and salads.

Home made granola bars

My sister Jen came over the other day with her kids and father-in-law after we visited the pumpkin patch. She also brought cinnamon buns (which we promptly consumed by Nica) and homemade granola. Now normally I detest granola. I find it way too chewy and dry and... healthy (Lord forbid). But I took one bite of hers and I couldn't stop! I asked for piece after piece until it was all gone (sorry kids).

Surprisingly, Ariana who normally eats everything didn't like it even though it had raisins and it was sweet. Must have been the texture.

Here is the recipe that I can't wait to try out:

http://www.canadianliving.com/food/gluten_free_chewy_honey_nut_snack_bars.php

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (60 mL) almond butter or natural peanut butter
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) liquid honey
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) packed brown sugar
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) vegetable oil
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) cinnamon
• 2/3 cup (150 mL) gluten-free large-flake rolled oats
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped dates
• 1/3 cup (75 mL) hulled unsalted sunflower seeds
• 1 egg white

Preparation

In saucepan, bring almond butter, honey, brown sugar, oil, salt and cinnamon to boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute. Let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, in bowl, combine rolled oats, pecans, dates and sunflower seeds; set aside.

Whisk egg white into honey mixture; fold in oat mixture until evenly coated. Press firmly into parchment paper–lined or greased foil-lined 8-inch (2 L) square cake pan.

Bake in 325°F (160°C) oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack for 30 minutes. Refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour. Cut into bars.

Mac N' Cheese

My friend Janine is a vegetarian and the other day came into work complimenting a recipe she had tried the night before. It's Rachael Ray's mac n' cheese with roasted parsnips and cauliflower. She said it was easy to make and soooo delicious.

Having a toddler, mac n' cheese was a surefire win, right? (then again, my kid eats anything so that's not much to go by). Without reading the recipe, I bought a parsnip before I headed home.

It took me a few days before I finally had a night to try the recipe and by this time Mommy-brain had kicked in and I was convinced it was a risotto recipe. *sigh*. Anyway, I googled the recipe and tried it out. Turns out I should have bought TWO large parsnips (not one) but it did still turn out quite well. I had also run out of my regular extra virgin olive oil so I used less than what was called for (I only had super good extra virgin olive oil that I use for salads).  Also, instead of roasting the garlic with the oil (to make garlic oil), I just wrapped it in foil and tossed it in the oven along with the cauliflower.

The end result? 8 out of 10. I saw Nica sneak at least three bowls and Ariana finished off her plate too. Would be great for a children's party!

Here's the website link: http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=4566

And here's the recipe:

Ingredients

• 4 cloves garlic, halved
• About 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• 2 large parsnips, peeled and chopped
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup chicken stock or vegetable stock
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Fontina cheese or Gruyère cheese
• 1 pound regular or whole wheat ziti or Italian-style, straight-cut macaroni

Serves 4-6

Preparation

Pre-heat the oven to 400°F.

In a small pot, combine the garlic and EVOO; heat over a low flame and gently cook until the garlic is light golden in color and very fragrant, about 10-15 minutes. Remove the garlic cloves and reserve.

Pile the cauliflower on a baking sheet and dress with the lemon juice, about 3-4 tablespoons of the garlic-infused oil and the thyme, salt and pepper. Toss to combine and spread the florets out in a single layer. Roast to brown at the edges and until tender, 20-25 minutes. Cover with the Parmigiano Reggiano and roast for 5 minutes more. Turn the oven off.

Meanwhile, boil the parsnips in salted water to tender, 10-15 minutes. Puree in a food processor with the garlic cloves.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta.

In a saucepot, combine the remaining garlic oil and butter over medium heat. When the butter foams, whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute; add the stock and milk and thicken. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg; combine the sauce with the parsnip puree and melt in the cheese.

Cook the pasta to al dente. Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce. Arrange in a serving dish topped with crispy cauliflower florets on top.

This is one of many "Yum-o!" recipes – it's good and good for you. To find out more about Yum-o!, Rachael's nonprofit organization, visit
www.yum-o.org.