2 ingredient peach jam

Peach jam. More accurately, this is probably considered peach compote. Did you know for the FDA to label something “jam” it needs to be about 55% sugar whereas a compote is slow cooked fruit in a sugar syrup.  

Now, I’m not one to meticulously read labels or make everything homemade to avoid weird ingredients (hi, I love diet coke) but other than orange marmalade (my #1 favourite, I’m totally an old lady, spread) I make my own jam. Compote. Stewed fruit to spread on lightly toasted buttery bread. It just tastes better and there is 1-2 tablespoons of sugar instead of 55% sugar. 

According to the Vineland Growers Co-Operative, 98% of Ontario’s peach crop comes from the Niagara Region. And yet, even though we’re in the height of peach season, in the last 3 weeks I’ve yet to have 1 good peach from the grocery store. I’ve waited till they smell sweet and are soft to the touch but they have still been a little tart. Not good enough. 

So I made jam. Any fruit can be made better with a little heat and a little sugar. And a little cinnamon because I love cinnamon and peaches so much. 

Do you want the easiest recipe that can hardly be considered a recipe? 

[yumprint-recipe id=’6′]

---

ps: these peaches and cream cookies are also really, really good.

Advertisement

caprese: 2 ways

Yesterday I shared the recipe for small batch pesto; and it was easier and more delicious than I thought. 

So, with a cup of pesto I needed to think of a few recipes to use it up. If you’re a regular, you know I grocery shop each week and only buy what I need for the week, which means before the pesto was prepped I knew I needed to have what I was going to eat it with in the fridge. 

Caprese! 

My favourite summer staple is easily dressed up as an easy, yet impressive, salad and dressed down and tossed in pasta. As you’ll also recall, I don’t like leftovers but will make the same thing every day or use what I have lying around and jazz it up (aka: how the pasta came to be). 

Grab that pesto, let’s do caprese, 2 ways. 

For one serving
5 large cherry tomatoes, quarterd
10 mini bocconcini, halved
1/4 cup pesto
healthy drizzle balsamic vinegar or glaze
a couple of fresh basil leaves wouldn’t hurt either

For one serving
2 oz dry pasta, cooked to specifications on the box
1/4 cup pesto
3 mini bocconcini, quartered
3 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 tablespoon cream (sour cream or greek yougart would also work)
optional: parmesan cheese

Cook pasta as per directions on the box
In a medium fry pan, heat pesto on med-low heat. Once warm, add cream, cooked and drained pasta, cheese, and tomatoes. Stir until bocconcini is melted.
Serve immediately with some fresh parmesan on top.

THE CHEEEEESE! 

 

small batch basil pistachio pesto

Spring fever. It’s a thing and it’s here. 

Not an illness, thank goodness, but an overwhelming desire to open the windows and watch the curtains billow in the breeze while sipping iced coffee and sitting in the sun spot like a kitten. 

I adore basil and always wanted to love pesto…but never tried it. Basil, nuts, cheese, garlic, what’s not to like? Oh, the oil. I don’t like oily foods. Still, after the success I had with chopsticks and ramen in Calgary, I was willing to try new things. 

Pesto is delicious! 

I have a cute little mini chopper, so I scaled down a recipe to make a small batch of pesto. You should start making this now and keep making it all spring and summer long. 

[yumprint-recipe id=’5′]

Tomorrow: 2 recipes using this delicious pesto.

3 things to make leftovers more exciting

Buying or roasting a whole chicken is very economical but being single, after 2 days you’re thinking “what the heck do I do with the rest of this?”. Same goes for just about anything you buy in bulk. Sure, you can save it for salads for the week but that can get a little boring. 

Inspired by my I-have-a-lot-of-chicken-leftover supper earlier this week I thought up 7 different, easy, ways to make the chicken leftovers a little more exciting. Butter or Boston lettuce is a healthy alternative to putting these on bread or in a wrap (sound the alarms, I have chosen something over a carb). I do love love love butter lettuce though. All of these ingredients can be found at a grocery store and the whole process of minimal chopping, heating, mixing, and topping takes less than 15 minutes. 

A personal favourite: buffalo chicken wraps. Heat chicken (I usually do it in a non-stick pan on the stove top) and then toss in buffalo sauce. Nestle blue cheese into lettuce cups and and top with warm, saucy chicken. Serve with celery and carrot sticks. 

Laura is likely cringing that I am ruining one of her favourite sauces, but, let’s take a trip down south for some BBQ slathered chicken topped with pimento cheese and some bread and butter pickles. It sounds odd, but it works. Promise. 

A great option for lunchtime; heat chicken in the oven topped with a layer of fig jam and brie, place into lettuce cups with thinly sliced green apples. Craving carbs? Try this in a croissant. No warming necessary for this one; mix chicken with tzatziki (I love this one from PC, the blue menu alternative is not nearly as good) and top with crumbled feta and sliced cucumbers. Craving carbs? Put it in a pita. Carb free chicken parm? Who wouldn’t love that? Place a thin layer of marinara and parmesan cheese on top of leftover chicken and broil till warmed through and the cheese is melty. Top with fresh basil and wrap in butter lettuce. I’ll admit, this isn’t something I’ve tried but I’m surprisingly good at pairing food that I wouldn’t typically eat. I’m thinking this would work hot or cold. Chicken + tomatillo salsa + corn (mmm, trying roasting it first) + cotija. I think Bobby Flay would approve. Craving carbs? Have some chips + guac on the side. Think tiny fajitas. Sub teriyaki with salsa if you’d prefer. This is one of my go-to lunches. Open and drain white tuna in water, add small pieces of cubed cheddar (for me, the sharper the better), some toasted slivered almonds, and balsamic vinegar (fig is my fave. A warning, if you aren’t used to just vinegar it can be strong, you may want to use a balsamic vinaigrette instead), scoop into lettuce cups or use thickly sliced peppers as a scooper. Craving carbs? Try pretzel thins as a scooper. 

 

What flavour combo am I missing? What are you trying first?

banana raspberry chocolate chip bread

Hello friends! I shared this recipe last year – 366 days ago exactly – and with a few edits I’m re-posting it during my self-proclaimed heart shaped sweets week on the blog. This recipe is extra special with addition of raspberries. I hope you bake it for someone special this weekend to say “hi! i heart you (in a lusty OR platonic way); please accept this bread as a token of my affection” (apparently I also write wedding vows). Hot carbs, better than hot boys. Probably. 

---

You should make this for the love(s) of your life. 

The thing is…I kind of love Valentine’s Day. Ok, no I don’t. I love there is a day dedicated to hearts and pink so that I can buy all sorts of cute, pink, heart-shaped things. Measuring cups? Check! Cards? Check! Ice cube tray that moonlights as butter mold? Check! Washi tape? Check! Kitchen towels? Check! Jars with pink lids? Check! 

Is this breakfast? It shouldn’t be…but sure! I’m a big fan of the treat yo’self movement; especially around “holidays” when everyone in the whole world (seemingly) teams up to remind you you haven’t been on a date in…well…let’s just say a long time. (Cause there ain’t no way I’m actually telling you how long it’s been. The internet is forever.)

And then, the internet is all “hey that boy you’ve been e-stalking lusting over just posted about all the things you like and you’re pretty much soulmates”.

And then you’re all “I just can’t even with you right now, internet.”

And the internet is all “how does wifi being temporarily down sound to you?”

And I’m like “nevermind; I love you forever. Show me more memes. Why is everyone on snapchat? Why doesn’t Netflix Canada have the same shows as Netflix US? What does the term ‘wokest baes’ mean and how was an online magazine allowed to use it in a title?”

Anyway about my soulmate. I mean about this bread…

In addition to loving all things heart-shaped and boys I’ve never met, I like eating my feelings in the form of warm banana bread studded with sweet raspberries and decadent (milk) chocolate chips slathered in salted butter.

Appropriately, Valentine’s Day fell on a weekend last year. As it always should. I think Valentine’s Day should be the second Saturday of the month just as Halloween should be the last Friday in October. There is lots of time to bake this on Saturday and eat it with a cup of coffee softly crying to yourself watching Netflix in bed on Sunday morning. Two years ago I made cookies. But this bread has bananas and raspberries. Fruit! And chocolate. Antioxidants! Basically, it’s almost good for you. 

[yumprint-recipe id=’3′] 
ps: I suspect this is just as tasty without a side of sad single-girl whimpers. I hope your plus one, kids, and friends all enjoy!
pps: HEART BUTTER! (put softened butter into a heart-shaped ice cube tray, put in freezer till hard)