Mexican Chopped Salad

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Chatty Kathy

Leafy green salad This is the best, most refreshing light and lively salad dressing whenever you are having a Mexican style meal – salad may not be something often on a Mexican comida menu, but we usually want a bit of a green, fresh vegetable element on our dinner table!

We love this as a salad dressing on a variety of greens, but also fabulous on an assortment of chopped vegetables, i.e. jicama, cucumbers, radish, red onion, carrot … you get the idea!

¼ cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons honey
½ teaspoon cumin
1 clove garlic
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
taste and add salt if needed

Blend all ingredients well and dress your salad only when ready to serve.

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Cinnamon Bun Dough

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Chatty Kathy

Warm from the oven, these cinnamon knots are guaranteed to make your home smell amazing.

Warm, cinnamon buns, fresh from the oven oozing cinnamon and butter are a real wintery treat. When the girls were growing up, their favourite way to use this dough was in cinnamon knots. So much fun when my darling granddaughters Sloan and Stella are now in the kitchen helping! I love it.

These little sweeties love helping Nana in the kitchen, and it is even more fun for Nana – never too young to learn how to make a great sweet yeast dough. They are already well versed in making pizza dough!

Scald 1 cup milk

Pour into a bowl, adding 1/3 cup sugar, 2 tsp salt, 1/2 cup butter

Stir until the butter has totally melted and the sugar and salt have dissolved.

Meanwhile ….., dissolve: (I use my kitchen aide stand mixer for this part)

1 tsp sugar in 1/2 cup lukewarm water

Stir in 1 tbsp (or 1 envelope) yeast

Let sit for 10 minutes to allow the yeast to bloom. Stir and add milk/butter mixture.

Add 1 beaten egg, followed by 2 cups unbleached flour.

Stir and knead until mixed well – slowly add another 2 cups flour. You may need to do this by hand at this point. Knead well until the dough is soft. It may take up to another cup of flour to get to this point and not have the dough too sticky.

Turn into a greased bowl, cover and allow to rise in a warm spot until doubled.

Tip dough onto lightly floured surface.

At this point you have a few options:

a) Cut dough into 24 equal pieces: Set up 2 bowls, one with melted butter and the other with mixed 1/2 cup white sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon. Dip each piece into first the melted butter, then the sugar mixture before tying into a knot and placing in a greased muffin tin.

b) Roll dough out into rectangle, brush generously with melted butter, and sprinkle over first cinnamon, then brown sugar. Starting on the long side, roll up, leaving cut side down. Cut into 1″ pieces and set on greased baking dish.

c) Using same method as b, once you have the rolled cinnamon buns, do not cut – instead join the ends into a circle, pinching well together. Set onto a greased baking sheet. Then – take scissors and snip about 2/3 of the way through all the way around. Once you have made it around the circle, gently twist each bun to lay flat while staying attached in the middle.

Whatever method you use – now allow the dough to rest and rise again – about 30-40 minutes.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, just until golden brown.

San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Chatty Kathy

One thing I don’t think (no, I’m sure) I’ve ever had to prepare for in travel plans is for volcanic activity delays …. We started out our trip in Vernon at 8 ish on Wed morning – all flights looking like they are just fine and dandy ……. Flight to Calgary was smooth and simple – got there to find out we had a 2 hour delay before our next flight to Puerto Vallarta. Next thing we knew it was cancelled altogether due to the volcanic ash in the air from activity in Colima, Jalisco, Mexico. It was a definite no fly zone. I suppose we could look on the bright side and be grateful that we weren’t on the flight the day before – they flew all the way to 30 minutes from Puerto Vallarta before being turned around, and came all the way back to Calgary. Now, that would have been frustrating.

In any case, we found ourselves spending the night at the Clarion Hotel in Calgary before again leaving for the airport at 5:30 a.m. This time it was clear and sunny in Puerta Vallarta, so the flight went off without any issues. Sadly for us, this meant we missed our flight to Leon in Guanajuato state.

Not to be deterred we got off the plane, walked across the street for a marvellous taco and hopped into a taxi to go check out the bus schedules. Two buses later and a night in Guadalajara we arrived in San Miguel de Allende. Simple, right? Maybe, but it took 52 hours of travel time!

Right across the street from the PV airport, these amazing fish tacos are huge and will immediately satisfy your craving for a taste of Mexico.

This was my dainty little shrimp taco (camarones), and it was anything but dainty – however it was delicious!

Our Mexican dining room in San Miguel de Allende, we love it here!

As the sun starts to set over San Miguel de Allende you can see the pastel colours and the amazing view from our rooftop deck.

This is the most beautiful office I’ve ever worked, and done my blog from, and it looks out over amazing flowers and garden area – the wall is all window.

Our first day we walked about five hours, and no I’m not exaggerating ….. in these areas you are either walking up or down hill – no flat areas.

Yes – we walked all the way up from San Miguel to El Charco – the botanical gardens. About 1.5 km up and then it was about 3 km walk through the gardens before heading down.

Amazing cactus throughout the botanical gardens.

Having heard that these red fruits on the cactus plant are edible, Grant plucked one off … trying to avoid the spikes (not totally successful in that), broke it open and we all had a taste. Not very flavourful, and what we didn’t notice was all the teensy tiny barbs on the fruit itself. Everybody was having mini barbs stuck in their lips for quite a while …..

Always a cathedral handy – every barrio (neighbourhood) has their own, and even in some small towns the church will be very elaborate.

After all that walking we rewarded ourselves with dinner at “Aperi” … and thoroughly loved the 7 course tasting menu, accompanied with wine pairings …. no Grant did not do the wine pairings. It really was a “foodie” dream come true.

Sadly, this photo does not do the pork belly justice – arrived with the upended margarita glass leaking smoke, and the hickory scent wafted up as the glass was lifted away. That pork belly was out of this world delicious.

Just a few of the other courses – unbelievably beautiful and delicious, every plate was dreamy.

Gorditas – slightly thicker tortillas, and then stuffed with your choice of many fillings – a great quick lunch.

Just enjoying another church plaza, coffee break and munching churros. Grant decided to prove to us that we don’t need that selfie stick we see everybody using. Or is he disproving that theory?? For some reason everybody wants their photo taken with that small fountain …

These ladies sit in the parks all day stitching up “Lupita” dolls.

The next day we played tourist and went on a couple of tours – Wilson went “birding” and Viv and I took in a house tour. Grant …. had lime ice cream and walked around. During edit stage of this blog, Wilson wanted it mentioned that he saw some birds.

One of the beautiful bedrooms on our house tour.

Most Mexican style homes are centered around a courtyard – and this one was amazing – so lush. It is hard to believe what is behind that doorway right off the street.

Morning mist over San Miguel de Allende – floating away to leave a beautiful day for us.

Hotel Rosewood had a beautiful roof top bar to enjoy a sunset. San Miguel de Allende is truly a gorgeous place, and it is easy to see why it becomes home to so many ex-pats. Primarily US but a good showing of Canadians as well, along with a sprinkling of the rest of the world. Actually …. a few years ago it was voted by Conde Naste as the Number 1 place to live, in the whole world.

Vivian’s drink – gin/watermelon/basil/cucumber – delicious

My drink – mescal, cucumber, lemongrass, and soda water.

I’d like to post Grant’s drink (beer) and Wilson’s (red wine) but they are boring.

Main salon at our Casa, and home of the nightly crib match for Grant and Wilson.

Whipping up a dinner of carnitas (slow roasted pork), potatoes and zucchini, green beans and salad. The joys of having your own kitchen.

While we all thoroughly enjoyed San Miguel de Allende, it is time to move on ….. and we have to say that this whole Air BNB gig is the best. We just love having a place to lounge in the morning, relax with your coffee and take your time getting going – eat in or out as your mood dictates.

Time to move on to Guanajuato – only 2 nights there to explore a beautiful silver city. More on that to come …..

Tandoori Roasted Cauliflower with Mint Cilantro Chutney

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Chatty Kathy

This roasted cauliflower dish was recommended to me so many times that I finally got around to making it, and we loved it – so delicious.

Tandoori Spice

2 tsp. chili (or cayenne)
1 Tbsp. cardamom (ground, or seeds)
4 Tbsp. cumin seeds

2 Tbsp. coriander seeds

½ whole nutmeg, grated
2 tsp. whole cloves
2-3 sticks cinnamon
2 Tbsp. ground turmeric
2 Tbsp. paprika

Put everything except turmeric and paprika in a spice blender – blend well and then stir in the turmeric and paprika. Store in airtight jar – will keep for months My spice grinder is getting a little old and struggles with the cinnamon … next time I might try using ground cinnamon.

(let’s be honest – if you buy a tandoori spice blend at the store you might be just as happy with this dish, but I love playing with spices so I enjoyed making my own!)

1 large head cauliflower

4 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. minced ginger
1 Tbsp. tandoori spice blend
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp. sea salt
½ cup yogurt

I like to marinate this in a ziplock bag – allows the cauliflower to get the spice blend in all those nooks and crannies. Just put everything in the bag, give it a squish, squish, add the cauliflower and allow to rest in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour, even better if allowed to rest overnight.

Roast at 400 for 40-60 minutes, depending on the size of the cauliflower. Remove from oven and drizzle with a great quality olive oil and a generous squeeze of freshly squeezed lemon.

Serve with Cilantro Mint Chutney

2 cups loosely packed mint leaves
1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
1 shallot, minced
½ red chili, minced
juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup yogurt
1 Tbsp olive oil
a couple pinches sea salt
1 tsp. raw honey

So easy to do – give all ingredients a whiz or two in the food processor, or a mortar and pestle, until you have a pesto like consistency. Season to taste and serve with this delicious cauliflower.

Best & Easiest Brownies

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Best & Easiest Brownies

This brownie recipe is simply the easiest, quickest, and most kid friendly brownie I have found. Really – one pot, one spoon, a measuring unit or two and the baking pan … all done before you know it.

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp butter
6 tbsp cocoa powder
1 cup white sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 cup flour
(optional – 1/2 cup chopped walnuts)
(optional – 1/2 cup chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350
Grease 8 x 8 x 2 square pan

In medium saucepan melt the butter and cocoa. Remove from heat, stir in sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well between each one. Add vanilla. Stir in flour and the walnuts (if using).

Bake for aproximately 30 minutes – test at 25 minutes to see if a toothpick comes out cleanly. Do not overbake.

Remove from oven, cool and eat – they won’t last long! If you chose to use the chocolate chips – I put them on top as soon as it comes out of the oven, allow to sit for a minute then spread until smooth. The chips melt pretty quickly.

By the time you think you are having a chocolate craving, these can be in the oven before you change your mind! Easy clean up too. The kids learned to make these on their own in elementary school and it is still a quick favorite around our house.

Chocolatey Chew Turtle Brownies

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Chatty Kathy

These brownies are for those days when you have a little extra time, or really want to impress someone that loves chocolate.

6 tbsp unsalted butter

6 oz coarsely chopped good quality semi sweet chocolate

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Not Dutch process)

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350

Line a buttered 8 inch square baking pan wiht foil or parchment paper, letting enough hang over to make it easy to lift the brownies out later. Butter lining too!

Heat butter, chocolate and cocoa in either a heatproof medium bowl over warm water, or in a microwave, stirring at 10 second intervals. If you choose the microwave be careful – they can be over heated in a few seconds.

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together in another bowl and set aside.

Put sugar, eggs and vanilla in bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment and beat on medium speed until pale, golden and fluffy – about 4 minutes. Add chocolate mixture, and beat until combined. Add flour, beat again scraping down sides of bowl until well mixed.

Pour batter into prepped pan, smooth top with spatula. Bake until a tester comes out with a few crumbs but not wet – around 35 minutes. Let cool for about 15 minutes in pan. Lift out brownies and allow to cool completely on wire rack before adding topping.

TURTLE CARAMEL TOPPING

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup heavy cream

2 tsp pure vanilla extract1/2 tsp coarse salt

1 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans

Using medium saucepan combine water and sugar – bring to a boil over med-high heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. When syrup starts to boil – QUIT stirring and wash down your sides with a wet pastry brush. Continue to cook, swirling pan every so often, until a medium amber – again – this is the place to watch carefully because it will go from a rich amber color to burnt pretty quickly. Remove from the heat, and quickly add cream, vanilla and salt. Stir very gently until mixture is smooth. Add pecans and stir until caramel begins to cool and thicken. A couple of minutes will do it.

Pour caramel over cooled brownies and spread with an offset spatula. Refridgerate until cool – at least 30 min to an hour.

Let brownies stand at room temperature at least 15 minutes before serving. If doing this for a dessert wipe knife with a hot damp cloth between each cut to get a smooth line. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Roasted Pork Shoulder and Cherry Tomatoes

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Chatty Kathy

This spice rub may taste strong initially but once it has roasted on the pork, you will have a hard time getting it carved with all the fingers trying to grab pieces of the crusted edges! A great way to serve pork to a crowd – so tender and juicy.

1 tbsp plus 1 tsp coriander seeds

2 tsp fennel seeds

2 tsp whole black peppercorns

1/2 star anise pod

4 garlic cloves, crushed, plus 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic

1 tbsp kosher salt

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

One 4-5 pound boneless pork shoulder roast

2 cups dry red wine (make sure it is good wine – good enough to drink!)

2 pints cherry tomatoes or small late-season tomatoes, halved

1 teaspoon finely chopped lemon zest

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 tbsp bread crumbs, lightly toasted

In a spice grinder, grind the coriander, fennel, peppercorns and star anise to a fine powder. Transfer the spices to a bowl and stir in the crushed garlic, salt and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Rub the spice mixture all over the pork shoulder roast, wrap it in plastic and refrigerate overnight.

Unwrap the pork and let it return to room temperature before proceeding.

Preheat the oven to 300°. Set the pork shoulder on a rack in a medium roasting pan. Pour the wine into the pan and roast the meat for about 4 hours, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 180°.

Transfer the pork to a carving board, cover loosely with foil and let rest for about 15 minutes. Turn oven up to 375

While the pork rests, toss the cherry tomatoes with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and spread them out on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for about 20-30 minutes, just until soft.

In a small bowl, stir the chopped garlic with the lemon zest, bread crumbs and parsley. Thinly slice the pork and sprinkle with the parsley mixture. Serve with the roasted cherry tomatoes.

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Category Archives: Uncategorized

Mexican Chopped Salad

Cinnamon Bun Dough

San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico

Tandoori Roasted Cauliflower with Mint Cilantro Chutney

Best & Easiest Brownies

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Chocolatey Chew Turtle Brownies

Roasted Pork Shoulder and Cherry Tomatoes