Holy Moly, this soup is good. Apple cheddar squash soup.

It's a snowy November afternoon here and I wanted something warm to stick to my ribs. This soup definitely did the trick. I made a few substitutions as I didn't have quite everything on hand (even after 2 trips to the grocery store, I blame old age). It still turned out fantastic. I found this on the Food Network website and it made quite a lot. They said it serves 4 but I think I could squeak it to 6.

5 tablespoons unsalted butter (I cut it to 4)
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 medium apples, thinly sliced
1 large white potato, diced
1 1/2 cups chopped peeled, butternut squash
Kosher salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried sage (I ran out and used savoury as a substitute)
2 tablespoons flour (gluten free)
1/3 cup apple cider (feel free to crack a can of Rock Creek and drink the remainder while cooking)
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (gluten free)
1 cup of milk
2 ounces proscuitto, torn into bite size pieces (I used bacon as a substitute)
2 cups grated sharp cheddar (I used low fat) plus more for garnish
Chopped green onions/chives for garnish


Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a large pot over medium-low heat and add the onion, apples, potato and butternut squash. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the onion is soft, about 8 minutes. Stir in the sage and flour. Add the cider and cook over medium-high heat, stirring until thickened. Add the broth and milk, cover and bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring until the potato is soft, about 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the proscuitto and cook until crisp, about 2 minutes. Drain and pat dry on paper towel. (I cooked bacon in the microwave to save time here).

Add the cheese to the soup and stir over medium-low heat until melted. Puree in a blender in small batches until smooth. Garnish with proscuitto, cheddar and chives.

Grilled Garlic Parmesan Zucchini

Whoa. I've been eating a lot of zucchini lately. Tonight I was craving some garlic bread and this totally did the gluten-free trick. The original recipe is from Allrecipes.com but I made some adjustments by substituting olive oil for butter and leaving 1 tbsp of parsley out.

Serves 4

3 zucchini
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup parmesan (I used a Superstore blue menu light version and it was delish)
Black pepper to taste.

Preheat grill to medium heat. I used a grill pan on my stovetop as it was chilly tonight.

Cut the zucchini crosswise in the middle. Slice each half into 3 sections, making 6 slices per zucchini.

In a bowl mix the olive oil and garlic. Brush the mixture over both sides of each zucchini slice. Sprinkle each slice with Parmesan cheese, and place the slices, cheese side up, on the grill. I sprinkled a little pepper over them at this point.

Grill the zucchini until the underside has grill marks, it is cooked through and the cheese has melted. This took about 8-minutes.

Make your own curry powder

I came down with the monster cold on the weekend. For four days I was trapped in my apartment with only the occasional run to the 7-11 for more juice.  On Sunday night, I decided I needed some comfort food and tried to make Chicken Divan but realized (with horror) that I was out of curry powder.

However if you have a well stocked pantry you can whip this up in a jiffy. It's fragrant and has the same warmth. Note: not a spicy, hot curry.

Recipe from Food.com

2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground pepper.

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl. Bottle!

Sesame Chicken

Another great Pinterest find. This recipe comes from the Budget Bytes blog that promises great food on, well a budget. It was quick, easy and used ingredients that were already in my pantry.

1 large egg
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken (I used thighs, you could use breasts)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp water
1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 inch grated ginger (I used stuff out of a tube so measuring an inch wasn't exact. I probably used 2 tsps)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 Tbsp cornstarch
4 cups jasmine rice cooked (I probably used 2)
2 whole green onions, sliced (I used 1)

In a bowl, whisk the egg and cornstarch together with a pinch of salt and pepper. Trim any fat from the chicken and cut into small 1 inch pieces. Toss the chicken into the egg mixture and coat thoroughly.

Heat a skillet with 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken and all of the egg mixture. Cook the chicken, stirring occasionally, until it is golden brown and cooked all the way through. I found this took about 10 minutes. Drain off excess oil.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the soy/sesame sauce. In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, water, sesame oil, brown sugar, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, sesame seeds, and cornstarch.

Once the chicken is cooked, pour the soy mixture over it. Toss the chicken to coat through. As soon as the sauce hits the hot skillet it will thicken (mine caramelized a bit as I was too slow), so once it is coated remove the pan from the heat.

Serve over jasmine rice and garnish with green onions. Serves about 4 or 3 if you are really hungry.

Taco Zucchini Boats

A few friends have recently been busy posting recipes on Pinterest that come from the Skinnytaste blog. The recipes are healthy, low-fat, delicious and it's easy to find gluten-free ones.  I gave this recipe a try a few nights ago and really enjoyed it, though I altered the measurements a bit (I found I only filled 2 zucchinis instead of the recommended 4. Maybe my zucchinis were bigger).  I believe the author is bringing out a cookbook which I'm looking forward to.

Serves 2-3

2 medium zucchinis, cut in half lengthwise
1/2 cup mild salsa
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp kosher salt (I usually leave out)
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 small onion, minced
2 Tbsp bell pepper, minced
4 oz can tomato sauce (I used about 3/4 of a 200 ml can)
1/4 cup of water
1/2 cup reduced fat Mexican shredded cheese
1/4 cup chopped scallions or cilantro for topping (I forgot of course)

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Preheat your oven to 400 F. Place 1/4 cup of salsa in the bottom of a large casserole dish.

Using a small spoon, scoop out the inside of the zucchini halves but leave about 1/4 inch around the sides and bottom. Save about 3/4 cup of the scooped zucchini, chop it into small pieces. Squeeze out the extra water in it onto paper towel and then set it aside. Discard the rest. Drop the zucchini halves into the water and let them boil for 1 minute. Remove from water and set aside.

In a large skillet, brown the ground turkey. Break it up with a spoon while it is cooking. When it is no longer pink, add the spices and mix well. Add the onion, bell pepper, chopped zucchini, tomato sauce and water. Stir and cover, simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes.

Fill the hollowed zucchini boats with the turkey mixture evenly, Top each with 1 Tbsp of shredded cheese. Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes until cheese is melted and zucchini is cooked through. Top with scallions or cilantro and serve with remaining salsa on the side.

*When I made these I cooked 1 zucchini the first night and saved half the meat mixture in tupperware. The next day all I had to do for great leftovers was to boil another zucchini, fill with meat and bake. I also found that I ate about 1 and 1/2 zucchinis. If you served one big boat per person I'd also make a side like rice or salad.

Bacon-wrapped pineapple

Two of my favourite things together at last.


I had these treats while on vacation in the Okanagan this summer. My dear and amazingly talented friend, Allison, cooked them up for us one night before supper. Yesterday I wanted to make a quick and easy appetizer so I wrapped these up and they were a big hit.

1 pkg of bacon
Some pineapple (I bought two 500 g containers of pineapple slices as there were none ripe)
About 1/2 cup of brown sugar (or more, I probably used more)

Set oven to 350.

Cut the package of bacon in half so that you have half slices to work with. Dredge the bacon, one at a time, in the brown sugar. Place a small piece of pineapple on the bacon. Roll the bacon around the pineapple and fasten with a toothpick. I cooked them on cookie sheets with parchment paper to lessen the mess.

Bake in the oven at 350 for about 10-15 minutes. It depends on how crispy you like your bacon.

The spice rub to end all other spice rubs

Oh my god. This is amazing. I went to visit my uncle Andrew and aunt Carolyn last week on the West Coast and they treated me to barbecued ribs with this amazing homemade rub. It's official title is "Couzan Billy's" rub and a quick google search gave me a few different variations. I don't know who Couzan Billy is, but thumbs up dude.

This has also been successful on chicken thighs and I can't wait to try it on salmon on the grill.

4 tsp paprika
3 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp black pepper, roughly ground
1 1/2 tsp basil, dried
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp oregano, dried
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp white pepper (I didn't have any so I just threw in more regular stuff)
1 tsp thyme, dried

In a mortar and pestle, grind the basil, oregano and thyme. Add to the rest of the ingredients. Thoroughly mix and bottle.